v
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W
,
Nature's Nobleman.
Tell me not that he is a poor man.
That his dress is coarse and bare,
Tell me not that his daily pittance
Is a workman's scanty fare.
Tell me not his birth is humble,
That his parentage is low.
Is he honest in his actions? '
That is all I wish to know.
Is his word to be relied on?
lias his character no blame?
Then I care not whence his birthplace;
Then I care not wheuce he came.
Would he from an unjust action
Turn away with scornful eye?
Would he, than defraud another,
Sooner on the scaffold die?
Would he spend his hard gained earnings
On a brother in distress?
Would he succor the afflicted,
And the weak ones' wrongs redress?
Then he is a man deserving
Of my love and mj' esteem,
And I care not what his birlhplace
Tothe ayes of man may seem.
Let it be a low-built shanty,
Let it be a clay-built cot,
Let it be the City Hospital,
In my eyes it matters not.
And if others will disown him,
As inferior to their caste.
Let them do it. I'll befriend him
As a brother to the last. B.
"La Belle France."
It is no wonder that Frenchmen de
light in the above affectionate compli
ment to their land. The exclamation of
a stranger will most naturally be, "How
pretty!1' Greater solidity, broader enter
prise, wider knowledge, may be found
elsewhere; but for neat arrangements
2leasing to the eye, and for graceful and
even picturesque grouping, there is noth
ing to rival France. Already in some of
our American cities we have taken a leaf
out of the Gallic book. The removal of
the black and repellent railings from
parks and squares, the construction, and
even ftie name, "Boulevards,"' the fur
nishiug of seats in open places of resort,
and the introduction of the finest flowers
to the gaze of the poorest of the people
these are points in which London, New
York, and other great capitals, wisely
imitate Paris. It is not, surely, an un
likely thing that eyes habituated to fresh
ness, order and beauty in the streets, will
more readily crave it in the home than
will those whose doors open on unsightly
heaps of dirt, or piles of decaying rubbish.
The features of Paris have been so often-
describe!! that it is useless to dwell
on them. The only objects that strike
one unpleasantly are the Hotel de Ville
and the Tuileries, in ruins, a new street
to run in front of the latter, of which the
only portion undestroyed is that which
' the late emperor had restored for the
Prince Imperial, which still stands a
hopeless omen to the minds of the Bona
partists of the restoration of the family
to power. There are the same clean
street?, the same level drives, the same
Rivulets of clear water each morning
flowing down what is no longer a
""gutter" (Salt Lake City has a like ar
rangement), the same clean looking
working, people in the blue blouses, and
the same courteous civility as of old.
f our coachman, starting in the evening,
finds himself without a, match to light
Tiis lamps; he stops at a stand, asks for
one and receives it with as much polite
ceremony as if giver and receiver were
dukes. It is a little matter, but it is one
in which the Anglo-Saxons have some
thing to learn.
The features of rural scenery in France
have been less noticed than the attrac
tions of Paris. Indeed French country
life is hardly known at all to mere tour
ists, who pass hastily from great city to
great city, many never stopping after
they have quitted the capital. In con
trast with English and American fields,
there are practically no fences. Multi
tudinous farms lie alongside, with their
crops disposed in narrow ribbons ot
wheat, oats, sanfoin, potatoes, turnips,
hemp, and, in the South, vines, with no
boundary that catches the eye. The va
riety of color is great, and the effect to
the eye is pleasing, but the arrangement
suggests the smallness of ths farms and
the multiplicity of proprietors. Ma
chinery does little, the hand does most.
In a ride.of nine hours by rail, in harvest,
only one reaping-machine was seen. One
consequence of this arrangement is the
utilization of every foot of the soil. Earl
Russell once described Irish fences as
earthen fortifications, along the road tops
ot which a carriage might be driven.
There is an improvement in this respect,
but there is room for more. No such
waste occurs here. A man's wheat
drops its heavy heads over the carrots of
his neighbor, without a bit of unsightly
or useless soil between.
The absence ot cattle from the fields is
a less -agreeable feature. From Paris to
Dijon, a run of over three hundred miles,
in only two instances were cattle seen
feeding. One could understand the
heavy back-loads of grass, vine-leaves,
And the like, being carried home by the
women, who certainly take their full
share, apparently, in the labors of the
field. The cattle have to be provided for
in their sheds. In a few cases flocks of
sheep were seen in patches from which
the crop had been removed, a man on one
side, and a dog on the other defending
the crops from them. Poor things I they
looked embarrassed and uncomfortable,
very like a company of Saxons making
believe to be at their ease in the dreary
interval that precedes a public dinner.
One would rather see them ranging freely
over the green expanse, as on the Eng-
i lisk downs, or the Scottish moors. If
tney tuiuK at an in. fiance, tney no
doubt feel tha like bipeds in many
places, "they are governed too much."
One misses also the birds which give
so much pleasure in an English landscape.
Even a solemn and reverend crow in his
spotless black, or a pair of magpies with
.their look of self-satisfied impudence,
one prefers to the total absence of birds.
$4- Under the impression that they were mis
chievous, the departments once set a
premium on the heads of small birds,
and their e'xtermination was effected.
Then it was found out, too late, that
ln
obtaining their "board" the feathered
visitors paid for their "lodging" by de
stroying the insects. But the evil was
done; and it is easier to drive a good
thing away than to win it back. As we
send cheese, bacon, preserved fruits, and
have begun to send iron, beef, and cotton
prints, to Europe, so by and by we may
he able to export our surplus sparrows.
The days in which safety could only be
had in towns are recalled to one's mind
by the arrangements of life over much
of France. One does not see small farm
houses in tke middle of the farms. The
people live in towns and villages. The
eye ranges over miles of country, tilled
as we have described it, without a dwel
ling. The social -qualities of the people
probably contribute to this plan, which
in its turn gives a certain "town" charac
ter to all the people. There is no room
for the awkward boorishness which grows
up in the isolation of English farming
life. The thrift which must be exercised,
in order to win moderate comfort, is
everywhere apparent. The tall poplars,
by far the most abundant tree, one finds
stripped annuaHy of their branches, ap
parently for fuel, and that coal-dust
which every wind scatters around Pitts
burgh , and so many other American cen
tres of coal and iron-working, is here
collected, compressed into huge bricks,
or handsome round masses, and piled up
for use at railway stations, with as much
elegance and order as if the heaps were
on exhibition. Of course, all Englishmen
and Americans have learned from infancy
upward their own immense superiority to
the poor creatures who cannot speak
English, and only babble in French; but
a. candid person will be compelled to
admit, notwithstanding, that in matters
of courtesy, taste, thrift, order, and ar
rangement, our Gallic friends can teach
us something. iV. Y. Ledger.
After the Batfle of Plevna.
At 3 in the afternoon, after leaving
Sistova, I was resting near one of these
natural fountains, when a long line of
ambulance wagons, enshrouded in dense
clouds of dust, appeared over a hill in
the distance. As the head of the line
reached us and halted by the fountain,
I learned of the heavy battle fought the
day before in front of the Turkish forti
fications around Plevna. The ambulance
wagons gradually gathered, until the
large space around the spring of cool
water wasxovered with these conveyances,
filled with human beings mangled in
every conceivable form, who gasped for
a drop of water. Some could not drink,
as the attempts fo swallow brought gush
es of blood from gaping wounds in the
throat and chest, which prevented them
from cooling their parched tongues cov
ered with the horrible dust which rose at
the slightest movement upon the roads.
Weary with this sorrowful scene, I mount
ed my horse and pushed on. A shqrt
distance from the fountain I encoun
tered a second ambulance train loaded
like its predecessor. For two hours they
continued to pass me, and then came still
longer trainB of country passport carts,
loaded with the less severe cases, inter
mixed with an apparently endless stream
of ammunition wagons, surplus baggage
carts, and camp equipages, until finally
the road became completely blocked "by
the indiscriminate mass of horses, carts,
wagons and mangled" humanity, stream
ing toward Sistova. I was compelled to
lead my horse to a rhillock by the road
side and wait for an opportunity to pass
on, as well as to allow my wagon to come
up. For more than an hour I stood there
watching the passage of this motley
caravan, and beheld hundreds of gallant
fellows roll by in open, springless carts,
with a blazing sun pouring down upon
their bloodstained forms, with choking
clouds of dust parching their burning
J throats and settling in masses upon their
agonizing countenances,until they ceased
to look like human faces. "While waiting
for the road to be cleared, we were often
asked if there were no troops coming to
the rescue, and many were the bitter com
ments made on the folly of dashing those
brave fellows against the vastly superior
Moslem force, strongly intrenched on the
height before Plevna. One officer who
was badly wounded had led the extreme
advance in the assault on the Turkish in
trenclunent. He had. penetrated far into
the Moslem lines, and said if he had been
properly supported they could have car
ried the positions ; but the column was
not strong enough, from want of troops
or generalship, and the Turks, finding
this out, turned upon them and drove
them back with fearful loss. "Not more
than half of that column came back,"
was the mournful close of the wounded
officer's statement. I learned here that
the battle of the previous day had lasted
from morning until night, the Russian at
tack being made on both wings "of the
Turkish lines under the command of Gen.
Krudener, who led the right in person,
while the Russian left was commanded
by Gen. Prince Schakoffski. "We could
not do anything with them; they were
too strong for us," was the universal re
mark of officers and soldiers, and their
cruel wounds told how wrathfully they
had endeavored to carry out the senseless
orders to carry Plevna by storm.
The above quotation really tells the
story of the battle. The immense num
bers of ammunition and transport wagons
suggested momentarily a Russian retreat;
but the absence of artillery lefuted this
idea, and I saw that the ammunition
wagons were empty, and were evidently
going for supplies, while the other wagons
contained the tent and camp equipage
of the dead and wouaded, which were no
longer needed at the front. While I was
waiting at this place a poor fellow died
in one of the wagons, and was buried by
the roadside. At last, after the stream
had been passing me for four hours, I
was enabled to pursue my journey, and
a short distance from my halting-place I
came upon a mournful scene. The dead
body of another Russian soldier lay be
side an open grave by the roadside, while
a party of Bulgarians were saying their
funeral service.
Leaving this funeral group, I soon
came upon an officer in command of the
escort of the immense trains I had encoun
tered on the roads. He said their losses
had been terrific befere Plevna, and that
during the whole operations around that
place they bad probably lost 10,000 men
killed, wounded, sick and prisoners. This
number, of course, includes the 2,000
previously telegraphed to you from Bu
charest as the results of the fighting of
the 19th, 20th, and 21st of July. I be
lieve the number to be about correct,
judging from the w.ounded that I. saw,
and more especially by the thousands of
knapsacks I met going to the rear, and
which had belonged to the men put hors
de combat before Plevna. After leaving
this escort I passed through a valley con
taining about twenty ancient mounds,
some of which had been opened in for
mer days. They are probably burial
places, constructed after some great bat
tle of ancient times, as they could not be
intended for any purposes of defense
or for watch towers down in this deep val
ley. Plevna Correspondence of the London
Times.
A Warning to Advertisers.
The insanity of Dr. I. C. Ayer, of
Lowell, affords a terrible warning to ad
vertisers. Here was a man engaged, in
the manufacture of a pill, not differing
much from a hundred other pills that
may be obtained at any drug store. In
an unguarded moment he made up his
mind that he would advertise, not in the
picayune style of the ordinary dealer,
but in a comprehensive sort of wayj by
which he could reach every possible pur
chaser of pills. He started with the idea
of devoting half of his profits each year
to advertising. The result might have
been foreseen. He accumulated money
so rapidly that he did not know what to
do with it. When he had rolled together
fifteen million dollars, and had vainly
endeavored to find some outlet for his
ever-increasing- profitd, his mind gave
way under the absorbing cares of his
vast business, and he is now a patient at
an asylum for the insane. How easily
this calamity might have been averted.
If he had stuck to the conservative
methods of many of our merchants and
refrained from advertising, he might
have been passing quietly through bank
ruptcy now instead of being loaded
down with his uncounted millions. It is a
dangerous experiment for a man who
does not want to become rich to adver
tise. Or if he advertises at all he must
advertise grudgingly and at long inter
vals, lest his profits should grow but of
all proportion to his requirements, and
he should find himself burdened with
wealth. Advertising, conducted on the
principle of devoting half the profits of
a business to it is, we repeat, a dangerous
experiment. It precipitates a fortune
upon the advertiser so suddenly that the
chances are even that he will not . know
what to do with his money. Utica Ob
teraer. Alive, Yet Officially Dead.
An illustration of the injury which,
under the French laws, may be inflicted
upon an innocent man by the loss of his
certificate of birth is afforded in the case
of Alfred Loichot, who, at the age of 21,
left Montbeliard, his native place, to
serve his time in the army. At the ex
piration of Ms period of service he did
not his parents having died in the mean
timereturn to Montbeliard, but fol
lowed his trade as a watchmaker in vari
ous places. A short time back, having
become engaged to be married, he de
termined to go there and obtain the
necessary papers, but on applying at the
payor's office, he was told that it would
be useless giving him his certificate of
birth as in the archives was contained
the certificate of his death af; the Toulon
galleys in 1871. Loichot found, upon
further inquiry, that all his former ac
quaintances believed that he had. been
condemned to penal servitude for murder,
and had died at the galleys, and he failed
to understand how the error could have
arisen until he remembered that while in
garrison at Beasoncon his money, watch
and papers had been stolen. " The thief
had availed himself of the papers to pass
himself off as Alfred Loichot, and having
committed some fresh offences, was sent
to the galleys. He died while uncter
goisg his term of imprisonment, and
hence arose the mistake. Alfred Loichot
has been compelled to apply to the civil
tribunal at Toulon for a correction of the
error, and for the removal of his name
from the death register, and the judge
ment in which sentence was passed upon
the usurper of his name.
A learned sergeant was once accused
of having disgraced the bar by taking sil
ver from a client, the etiquette of the
profession requiring that his fee should
be in gold. "I took silver," he replied,
"because I could not get gold ; but I took
every farthing the fellow had in the world,
and I hope you do not call that disgrac
ing the profession."
An Unrecorded Hero.'
HOW BLODGET CAPTURED THE RED COATS
ON THE WAY TO TICONDEROGA.
We have all read of the intrepid cour
age of the "Green Mountain Boys" at the
time of the revolutionary war,andthe usual
supposition is that all those of a patriotic
spirit were to be found in the ranks of
the American army,but many a brave
man, perhaps by the force of circum
stances, was obliged to tarry at home.
At the time the following incident
occurred, the British were in full posses
sion of Ticonderoga, and the towns for
many miles around were subjected, to the
lawless depredations of the "red coats,"
which aroused the just indignation of all
who favored the "patriotic cause." But
as a little free speech often deprived a
man of liberty, it was thought best
(using .a homely expression) to "grin and
bear it."
One day a company of British soldiers,
numbering about twenty, in passing
through the town at Cornwall, Vt., lin
gered around long enough to place a
certain mark on the house of every
person suspected or known to favor
the patriots, that others of the "King's
Own" who should follow after would
know by this mystic sign where to find,
friend or foe.
Now tliis raised the ire of one man in
particular, who determined to circumvent
them by a little plot he had formed in
his own mind. So, taking the British
officer aside and speaking in a cautious
manner, this person (Blodget by name)
saidj "Say, now, be you goin' to Ticon
derogue?" but without waiting for a re
ply, continued, "for if you be, me- and
some of my neighbors want to go 'long
with ye. We've been waiting for some
chance like this" for a loner time, and if
you'll just march out of town, so as not
to excite suspicion, you see, and will wait
for us at a certain spot I can tell ye of,
why I'll see the other men and we'll join
there. What say you?"
Now the army, both on the American
and British side, was always willing to
take new recruits whenever offered, and
as this man's story seemed plausible
enough, the British captain willingly ac
ceded to the proposal of Blodget, who
thereupon proceeded to appoint a rendez
vous which was where the public high
way or road was cut through a ledge of
limestone rock, forming a wall sOme ten
feet high on either side, on top of which
was a stunted growth of trees. Blodget,
requested the officer to wait there a cer
tain length of time, and they would make
all expedition in joining him.
As soon as Blodget saw the soldiers
out of sight, he hastily mounted his horse
and started out to inform his good
"Whig" neighbors of his intentions. It
needed but a few words in those days to
arouse a person's patriotism, so each man,
taking down his trusty firelock, or old
fusee, with no military outfit, except the
three-cornered hat of (Geri.l) Blodget,
which he fortunately discovered in some
old resting-place, they proceeded by a
much shorter route to the point of ren
dezvous, so that they had. time to secrete
themselves among the bushes at the far
thtr end of the limestone pas3 before the
Britishers came up. According to
"florae's History," published some sixty
years ago, military tactics in these days
were not by any means perfect; even Gen.
Putnam overpowered by strategy rather
than numbers. Soon was heard the tramp,
tramp, tramp of the soldiers as they
marched into the pass, where they were
expecting to halt at the further end and,
wait for the recruits to join them, but
when midway between either opening,
with the great rocks, as impenetrable as
prison walls, rising on two sides of them,
even obstructing the sunlight for a time,
they were astonished at hearing a sten
torian voice, cry "halt!" They stopped,
surprised, when the impromptu Gen.
Blodget, who had reigned his horse di
rectly in front of the opening, command
ed them to lay down their arms and sur
render. At first the officer attempted to
parley, but Blodget knew it would not do
to give time to consider the position, so
he Degan in a loud voice, amid a great
flourish of arms (in the background),
"First platoon, rise and ." But there
was no necessity for him to add "fire !"
as the captain (supposing themselves
surrounded by a large body of American
soldierg) by a sign gave the other to un
derstand that he would surrender. Then
Blodget ordered the twenty men to walk
off a few paces, stack their arms, and fall
back again. Having done so, he ordered
five of his own company to take posses
sion of them, as the five were all the men
he could muster. Strange as it may ap
pear, they really marched the twenty as
prisoners of war, not to Ticonderogaj but
to Gen. Stark, then at Bennington.
Rochester (If. Y.) Union.
Jake wa3 heard calling across the
fence to hi3 neighbor's son, a colored
youth, who goes to school at the Atlanta
University:
"Look hyar, boy, you goes ter school,
don't yer?"
"Yes, sir," replied the boy.
"Gittin' eddykashun, ain't yer?"
"Yes, sir."
"Larnin' 'rithmetick and figgerin' on a
slate, eh?"
"Yes, sir."
"Well, it don't take two whole days to
make a hour, does it?"
"W'y, no I" exclaimed the boy.
"You was gwine ter bring dat hatchet
back in an hour, warn'fc you?"
"Yes, sir."
"An' it's bin two days sense yer bor
rowed it. Now what good's eddykashun
gwine to do you thick-skulled niggers
when yer go to school a whole year and
den can't tell how long it takes to fotch
back a hatchit?"
Soon or late love is his own avenger.
Rules for Bathing.
Whether in bath-tub, river or ocean,
bathing should be accompanied only by
pleasurable sensations. The whole body
should be keptaglow. If any shiverings
or chilly sensations are experienced, either
you are not well, the water is not of the
right temperature, or you are bathing
too long. At all events, such feelings
are nature's warning that you should at
once leave the water and give yourself a
thorough rubbing with a coarse towel.
Bathing, especially swimming, necessi
tates great muscular activity, therefore
in order that digestion may not be inter
fered with, at least one hour, and better
still, two, or three, should elapse between
a hearty meal and bathing. It is. easily
seen that eleven in the forenoon, four in
the afternoon, and just before retiring at
night, are-the best times for bathing.
Some like a cold dash on rising in the
morning. Very few, comparatively, can
stand such a shock to their nervous svs
tems. Let those who enjoy it, and ex
perience a glow during the operation,
continue the practice; but let them be
careful how they urge its adoption upon
those whose nerves possess a less degree
of resistance.
Any one desiring to acquire the habit
of a cold bath every morning should be
gin the custom in the warm weather, con
tinuing it during the winter, and not com
mence it in the latter season.
If you are perspiring from walking,
rowing or other exercise, as you reach th
place of bathing, do not (as some advise)
sit down on the bank to cool off before
entering the water. Doff your clothes
and dash in as soon as possible,, only be
ing careful to keep up the exercise with
out intermission after you are. an the wa
ter. In this way you continue the glow
which you experienced from the previous
exercise.
Ten or at longest fifteen minutes in the
water should suffice for the strongest
aqueously inclined urchin. Strive always
to leave the water before you feel chilly
or certainly at the first approach of any
such sensation, and continue or rekindle
the glow by a vigorous rubbing with a
coarse towel.
Turkish superstition says, wet your
head thoroughly upon entering the bath ;
we say, do it to prevent rush of blood to
the brain, which event may cause death.
Finally, as bathing, apparently, a sim
ple process, is not without its dangers,
we would warn all boys not to begin the
practice too early in the season, or to re
peat it too often daily. Many have found
an early grave by over-indulgence, while
others have endured long years of suffer
ing from the obscure effects of excessive
bathing. No physician should consider
it below his calling to give specific direc
tion to all seeking his advice as to when
and how long they should bathe.
Home Quarrels. A house divided
against itself shall not stand, saith Scrip
ture, and there are no truer words. At
home there should be peace and unity,
though all the world is at war. Those
bound by the ties of kindred should up
hold each other, and bear with each other's
foibles, and hide them from strangers'
eyes. Those who dwell under the same
home roof must fight under one flag or
be defeated. Policy, if not good feeling,
should bind together the members of one
household.
Bad as it is to quarrel with one's neigh
bors, people may do that and yet have
some bright spots in their lives, if they
shut their doors on their quarrels, and
find within only partisans and sympa
thizers; but when brothers and sisters,
parents and children, and, worst of all,
husbands and wives begin to disagree,
spat, snarl, abuse each other, and finally
come to open quarreling, those who dwell
under that unhappy roof know before
hand the tortures of the lost. There is
nothing on earth so near Heaven as a hap
py home so like perdition as an -unhappy
one. M. K. D.y in New York Ledger.
Meaning op Amen. A correspondent
writing from Dacon, 111., sends -the fol
lowing account of a boy's attempt at de
fining: m
During the last winter there was a re
ligious interest at Varna, 111. The pas
tor of the Methodist church, the Rev.
Mr. Demming, was in the habit of hold
ing a daily children's meeting, at which
the boys and girls stopped for a few mo
ments on their way from school.' In or
der to interest and instruct children, the
pastor presented a variety of topics. One
day he asked the meaning of "Amen."
No one answered.
"You 'have often," said the clergyman,
"heard the brethren say 'amen ! amen I'
while some one was praying. What did
they mean? If any one knows, let him
hold up his hand."
Up jumped a little fellow, too eager to
answer to wait for recognition.
"I know," he called out. "It means
hurry up and get through."
There was an audible smile, and many
of the elders, we have no doubt, felt that
the definition would be very useful if it
could be generally accepted, and "amen"
used to shorten long prayers. Youth1
Companion.
God respecteth not the arithmetic of
our prayers, how many they are; nor the
rhetoric of our prayers, how long they
ere; nor the music of our prayers, how
melodious they are; nor the logic of our
prayers, how methodical they are but
the divinity of our prayers, how heart
sprung they are. Not gifts, but grac3
prevail in prayer. Trapp.
Conscience is a clock, which in one
man strikes aloud and gives warning, in
another the hands point silently to a fig
ure but strike not; meantime, hours pass
away, and. death hastens, and after death
comes judgment.
v. jm.mscs'
". J
iJ-'&- .