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A Sudden Cure.
A melancholy woman lay
Iu sickness oa her bed,
And, in a faint and broken voice,
To her sad hubband said:
"Dear David, when iny earthly form
Has turned to lifeless cla,
0 wait and weep a little while.
Nor throw yourself away.
"J know a woman, kind an' true,
On whom ou may depend:
Oh! marry Amanita Jones
She is my deaicst friend."
"Yes, Hannah, I have wanted Ionic
To speak o' this before;
For Amarilla Jones an' I
Have talked the matter o'er."
"Then you and Arr.arilla Jones
Have been too smart and sly;
1 tell you, David Wilkinson,
I'm not a-oingto die!"
Her dark eyes flashed; her strength returned;
She left her bed of pain;
A week had scarcely passed away
When she was well again.
EuymeJ. Jlall, in tlic Chicago Tribune.
The "Witness.
AN INCIDENT
OF THE
SIIOItE.
NEW ENGLAND
There is a deep gulf of verdure which
rims inland between two rocky promon
tories. The sea once flowed there, but
loug before the memury of man. It had
finally baned itself out by throwing up,
year after Tear, a sandy barrier across
the entrance to the gulf. No doubt, even
after the tide was stopped from flowing
iu, some strong eastern wind had driven
the sea roaring over the bar and heaped
higher the bulwark of sand. One could
read this as he stood upon the rocks and
looked down upon the green spot, which,
for its contrast to the gray rocks and un
planted deep, was named Paradise. From
the sea itself its green, cool depths are
very inviting.
The coast at this point was thinly in
habited. A few fishermen's houses were
clusteied near the shore just beyond the
rock that jutted out; but the men wore
aw8y lor weeks at a time, and the wom
en wcie unceasingly busy over their in
door ork. Only the children who played
on the beach gave the place a happy
human look. As a group of them was
gatheied on the sand one morning they
saw coming toward them a singular fig
uie, moving along the shore in the di
rection of Paradise. They stopped their
play, wondering whether it were man or
beast, so confused was the outline. Little
by litt'e,as it moved slowly toward them,
they discerned a mau's form, bending be
neath some burden. They retreated a few
step and gathered upon the flat stone that
stood before the doorway of one of the
houses. The man made no motion to
corae 4oward the house and seemed not
to sc the children. As he came oppo
site tw where they stood they discovered
that he bore upon his back a huge wooden
cross. He kept on his way, staggering
through the deep sand beneath hi3 bur
den, until he waalost to sight behind the
rock which made one of the walls of
Paradise.
"Let us tell Nancy," said one of the
children. And they entered the house
together.
Winterer happened in or about this
little settlement was sure to come, sooner
or later, to the ears of Nancy Dacre. Re
mote from town,the people had no church,
minister or priest; but they were not so
very forsaken so long as they had with
them this widow, Nancy Dacre. It u?.ed
to be said that no secret was safe from
her, but every secret was safe with her.
Thei e are some women who are born con
fessoia, and she was one. It was impos
sible to withhold confidence from her.
Silent herself, she was the repository of
other people's talk, and all,' whether chil
dren or grown people, went to her with
news or with perplexities. It would be
difficult to say in just what consisted the
abso'ution she gave when faults were con
fessed, as they often were; certainly not
m any tormal words. Still, a certain
gift of peace belonged to her as surely as
the gift of hearing confessions.
She was at work in the house when the
children entered, and went with them to
the door, although the man had already
disappeared.
"He carried a great cross," said one.
'He wore ear-rings."
"He was very dark and bent."
"That was the weight of the cross."
Some of the bolder were for following
him, to see what he was about; but Nancy
dissuaded them
"If he did not speak to you, it was be
cause he did not wish to be spoken to.
Leave him alone. He may come back
this way. You need not be afraid of
him," she added, as the younger ones
came closer to her.
He did come back at dusk. The chil
dren had scattered to their several homes,
and Nancy sat alone on the door-step,
-when she perceived a man coming toward
her. Prom his appearance she did not
doubt that it was the stranger whom the
children had.scen. She rose as he came
to the door.
"Good evening," she said.
Heanswrered her in her own words; but
given with a certain thickness of utter
ance which showed him to be a for
eigner. "May I give you some supper?" The
man looked up at her quickly and nod
ded. She entered the house, while he
took, his seat on the flat stone, and pres
ently she brought him a bowl of milk and
some large ship-biscuit. He made a low
bow to her as he took his supper and
placed it before him on his knees. She
looked at him narrowly, as he sat in si-
Some of the children began to
lence eating and drinking. He was a
thick-set, somewhat clumsy man, with a
face browed deeply by exposure, and
black curly hair. His eyes, overhung by
thick brows, did not look directly at her,
but, while averted, every now and then
stole a look at her. Something about the
man,she could not say what, seemed fa
miliar to her; and she studied his face
closely, trying to recall it. Perhaps the
earnestness of her look made him uneasy.
He drained the bowl dry, placed it on
the stone beside him, and then stood si
lent, with his hands moving restlessly by
his side.
"I have seen you before," she said, finally.
Her voice was kind; but he stepped has
tily aside, then looked at her furtively.
"I don't remember," he said, slowly,
and turned his face away. "Not to-night,"
he uttered: "not to-night." But then, as
he was about 'to leave, he stopped and
said, "Many thanks."
"But where will you sleep to-night?
You may stay in my shed."
"I will sleep over there," and he point
ed toward the rocks.
'tin Paradise? There is no house there."
The man gave a groan.
"Is that Paradise where the gras grows
green?"
"So we call it."
He turned and walked hastily away.
The woman followed him with her eyes
until the could no longer descry him, as
he was lost in the shadow of the rocks.
His face perplexed her; but she could not
remember where she had ever seen it. Sev
eral days passed, and once or twice the
man had been seen clambering about
the rocks and apparently gathering ber
ries. Once he had been seen fishing,and
a smoke curled up occasionally from the
rocks. His presence there served to keep
the children away, while it yet tempted
them to go nearer and see what he was
doing. One, more daring than the others,
crept round by another way, and brought
back word that the cross which he had
been seen to carry was Taised above the
beach in front of the opening to Para
dise, but the man was not to be seen.
All this and the stories wThich one and
another had told of other men who had
acted strangely began to affect the little
community ; and, at length, on Sunday
afternoon, Nancy Dacre, unwilling that
the uneasiness should continue, left her
home and walked along the beach toward
Paradise.
follow her.
"Come back! Come back!" their moth
er cried. "Nancy will go. No one will
harm her. But you must wait till she
has been."
Nancy herself was not unwilling to go
alone. The cool breeze blew freshly be
neath the warm July sun, and the long,
swooping dip of the sea-gulls gave her
a sonse ot treedom and hie. She stepped
quickly forward, and each step seemed to
make her more buoyant. Victory is fa
bled to be winged, and this woman's life
has not been without its overcoming.
She passed round the rocky ledge and
came out in view of Paradise, with the
gray rocks which formed its northern
boundary. Midway she saw the cross
standing. It could not fail at once to
take her eye; and at its foot the man was
kneeling, his head nearly leaning upon
it, while his hands seemed busy. He did
not at once perceive her, and she stood
not far off on the sand watching him. She
saw that he had a knife in bis hand, and
was cutting into the wood. Presently he
laid his knife aside; and, going a little
way off, fell upon his breast, and, prop
ping his chin between his hands, looked
hxeoly upon the cross. The woman tor
a moment was disturbed. She had seemed
to enter this man's closet and to break in
upon some secret devotions. Yet to go
would be to disturb him more. She re
mained motionless, her eyes fixed upon
him. Then she saw his face drop into
his hands, and she could no loDger hesi
tate. She went toward him. He heard
the sound of her dress and rose hastily.
His face showed signs of great emotion,
but the sight of Nancy wrought a change
in it. He came to her and looked in her
face.
"Are you the woman wTho gave me my
supper at the house yonder, and asked me
to stay?"
"Yes, I am."
"And you are not afraid of me?"
"No; I should not have come here if I
had been. I came to see you. I didnot
know but I might help you."
"You are a good woman. I am a bad
mau."
"You cannot be wholly bad. You
have raised this cross here."
"Do you think so? Do you say so?"
he cried, eagerly. "Oh! look at me, tell
me that again." Nancy looked steadily
at him, trying again to recall his
features.
"No," she said, deliberately. "You are
not wholly bad, and you have suffered
much for what you have done."
"I have suffered hell for ten years. You
are a good woman. I have told nobody.
Yes, 1 have at last told the world. Let
me tell you here." He seized her hand
and drew her near the cross! "Do you
see this cross? Do ydusee of how many
pieces of wood it is built? I have "been
ten years building it. Yes, ten years
it was ten years ago. See, that piece is
from Malaga. I was born in Malaga,and
I went back there first; but I could
not stay there. And that is from Brazil.
And that is from Alexandria. I bought
it of a Greek. He said it was a bit of the
true cross; but he lied. I gave him all I
had for it, and I put it in the middle
see there; but it never drove it out of my
heart. And there's not a country where
I've not been and brought away a bit of
the wood. It's all the work of my own
hands; and I thought when I finished the
cross it would go away. And I worked
patiently, though the men mocked me.
And it's not gone away. Then I thought
if I planted it right here, right here, that
would be the end; but it wasn't. And
now I have cut my name and what I did
on it, that all the world may see; and, O
God, it's on me yet! '' aere shall I go?
Shall I lay myself ;n there, 'side of
him and the boy? "Y re tired. Sit ye
down and I'll tell it all to you.
No? Yell not sit down? Ye'll stand
by the cross. It's all cut on it.
Ye can read it. That's the story.
'Requiescat in pace. I, Daniel Mora,
seaman, did in a passion kill the skipper
of the schooner Nancy and his boy, and
scuttled the Nancy about two leagues to
the eastward of this cross which I set up,
and may God have mercy on my soul.
Ye'll say now that I'm not a bad man?
Ye'll not be afraid of me now? 0 blessed
mother, take it away ! Take it away ! Yes,
it was off there, where ye re looking. Oh,
but it was terrible! "Why don't ye speak?
Do ye see anything? Oh ! do you 3ee it?
I bound them in the cabin after I after
they were I didn't take any money. It
was not for that. There was nothing
but ballast in the lading. My God! The
judgment day."
Out of the blue water, under the sun
set sky, slowly there was rising, as they
looked, the masts and then the hull of a
spectral schooner, half-careened over,
water-logged, slimy. No sound was
heard ; but the silent witness to Dauiel
Mora's words lay before them, moving
sluggishly on the water. To-day the in
cessant rolling of ten years had released
the last weight that held it down.
Mora's eyes started from beneath their
shaggy brows, as he grasped the cross and
then clutched at his companion's dress.
He did not see her. He only saw the
witness, on which his eyes fixed with a
look of despair.
"Dacre! John Dacre!" he cried,
stretching out his hands imploringly to
the hulk.
"Ay ! ay !" said a voice at his side, and
he turned suddenly. The woman stood
before him, her hands clasped tightly be
fore her.
"He was my lnyband. That boy was
my child." The man fell at her feet.
"Rise, Daniel Mora. I am not thy
judge. I am a sinner, like you." But
she herself bowed low upon the ground.
Her forehead touched the cross, which
carried the tale of her old grief and this
man's crime. Daniel Mora crept thither
also, until at length he felt two cold
hands laid on his head.
"God be merciful to us sinners!" she
said. And he repeated the prayer after
her. Horace B. Scudder.in the Independ
ent.
The Japanese Restaurant.
The most popular of all the. eating
houses of Tokio is the Matsuda, on
the Ginza, at Kiobrtsbi. This is really
an immense establishment, having ac
commodation for 2,000 customers at once.
It is owned by a wealthy woman named
Matsuda Kane, by whom it was first
opened in 1872. No rooms are let for lodg
ing purposes, and the patrons are mostly
residents of Tokio, though occasionally
a rural party may be seen staring at the
unaccustomed sights about them, to the
no small amusement oi ineir uroan
neighbors. The customer is given a
numbered ticket on entering, by which his
account with the house is kept. A few
rooms are furnished in semi-foreign 3tyle,
but most preserve their Japanese charac
ter, and the food is almost entirely native.
The "bill of fare" includes some twenty
different dishes, ranging in price from
five to fifteen sen, each, the charges de
pending largely on the state of the fish
market. "While no meat is served, fowls
are cooked in a number of forms, and all
kinds of liquors can be obtained. The
Matsuda in opened at eight o'clock iu
the morning and closed about nine or
half-past nine in the evening. The busi
est hours are at midday and after sunset,
when the fifty attendants are kept very
active by the crowds of hungry and
thirsty patrons. To the passer-by the
restaurant looks most attractive at night
when the rows of lanterns under the
eaves, and the illumination of the whole
building, showing through panes of col
ored glass, present a very gay appearance.
Tokio (Japan) News.
Sm Isaac Newton An Exajiple for
Boys. Iu the middle of the seventeenth
century there was an Euglish boy of mean
and diminutive appearance, and behind
all other boys of his age. He was con
stantly at the foot of his class, and verily
it was believed that this boy would be
come only a bungler of some kind, for
surely the soul of learning was not in
him.
At the age of twelve a change was
wrought in the character and fortune of
the youth that had never obtained a "re
ward of merit," and was reg'arded by
teacher and schoolmates as an inferior.
At this time an altercation took place
between this backward boy and the one
above him in the class, whereupon the
latter treated him with indignity and
violence
The pride of the boy was outraged. He
could not revenge the insult by a blow,
because he was too weak to cope with
his opponent physically. " How, then,
shall he humble his assailant? He re
solved to surpass him in study, to get
above him in the class, and there remain,
to look down uponhis enemy and clip
from him the laurels he' so indiscreetly
wears. He resolved accomplished; be
cause a most devoted scholar; com
menced a career of glory; and Sir Isaac
Newton appeared with a key to unlock
the mysteries of motion, and a true chart
of the stupendous universe.
Progress in China.
The last budget of Chines news ixdl
cates decided progress toward an aban
donment of the old ruts on the part of
the Celestial empire. Half a dozen new
ports have been opened for trade with
the world ; the postal service has been ex
tended, .and the Government is making
great preparations to secure a fine exhi
bition of the art and industries of the
country at the Paris Exposition. Under
the Viceroy, Li-Hung-Chang, China has
made enormous strides in material pros
perity. Should the little Emperor Tsia
tien die, there is little doubt that Li-Hung-Chang
would declare the present
dynasty out and assume the imperial
honors himself. He is the head and
tront ot Uhmese progress, ana his own
province of Chilili shows the impress of
his hand. If the Viceroys of the remain
ing seventeen provinces were fully in
sympathy with this remarkable man,
there is little doubt that the old barriers
would all be demolished and China would
be eutircly open to the introduction of
foreign ideas. Li-Hung-Chang has en
couraged the introduction of steam navi
gation on the vast rivers of China, and to
day several native and American and
British lines of steamers are in operation
from Shanghai to Hong Kong and Can
ton, a distance of 1,000 miles, and be
tween Shanghai and Kantow, a distance
of 700 miles. Telegraph lines have been
commenced this year, and a railroad is
in operation between Woosung and
Shanghai, a distance of fifteen miles. The
Chinese have resisted such advanced civ
ilization, but its triumph is only a ques
tion of time. The interior provinces of
Uhina, accessible Dy great rivers, are
enormously wealthy, and contain cities
of great magnitude and importance,
whose trade has excited the cupidity of
all foreigners, who have chafed under the
obstructions placed in their way. The
British have forced their way into many
of these trade bonanzas by threats, and
their Chinese traffic is to-day greater than
that of any other nation. The Chinese
are peculiarly a nation of traders, and as
the foreign wedge has gained an entrance
into their persistent exclusiveness, and
they are perceiving that what is good
for the foreigners is good for them also,
there is little doubt that the magnificent
reign which for some thousand centuries
has been closed to the world will before
long become a rich trade arena for the
nations. Louuiille Courier-Journal.
Dairy Farming and Practical Train
ing In.
Mr. Clement Hill, British acting charge
d'affairs at Munich, states in a re
port which lie made to the foreign
office, that in Bavaria great importance
is attached to the application of sound
principles in dairy produce, and he gives
an account of a school founded seven
years ago by the agricultural committee
of the district of Southofen (encouraged
by the promise of a small government
grant) for the instruction of youths in the
dairy system of the mountain pasturage
district Algan. In this school practical
instruction is given in all that contrib
utes to the manufacture of good cheese
and butter, such as the proper treatment
of cows, milking, discrimination between
the good and the worthless kinds of milk,
and the process it should undergo. The
theoretical part of all this is also taught,
as well as simple book keeping rates of
exchange, and where possible some in
struction in veterinary art is added. The
course lasts from March to June. Many
persons come from Austria and neigh
boring districts to attend the weekly lec
tures. The theoretical teaching is gratu
itous, but the pupils have to find them
selves food and lodging, and to pay about
eighteen shillings a month to the propri
etor of the dairy for the practical instruc
tion. The six courses 1869 to 1874
were attended by sixty-three scholars.
Mr. Hill states that similar institutions ex
ist in Switzerland, Denmark and other
parts of Europe, and he suggests that
their creation in England, under the
auspices of some leading agricultural so
ciety, might work a radical improvement
in dairy farming. He is of the opinion
that America, where dairy farming is now
pursued with great success, because on
scientific principles, would then be no
longer able to supply England with
cheap cheese. Mr. Hill states that it is
not uncommon for cows of Algau, when
they have been eating bitter herbs, or in
stormy weather, to yield salt or bitter
milk, and in such cases it is the duty of
the senior to taste the milk of each teat,
and if it is unsound to milk it all away,
or at least till it runs sweet, and the re
sult is to insure a ready sale for the pro
ducts of the milk, buyers knowing that
they will be sound and good.
All "Work and No Plat. It is unfair
to expect your boys and girls to work
hard at home while they are attending
school. To acquire an education is at
this period the business of their lives. If
reluctant to learn their daily lessons they
should sternly be obliged to do so. They
should be taught alike, that from this
there is no possible escape and that be
yond it nothing is required of them. The
rest of the day is theirs, and they should
be permitted, in all innocent ways,to pass
it as they list to frolic and to play, the
prerogative and necessity of youth,
whether in the lower or higher animal
creation. But through fear of creating
habits of laziness, parents too often ex
act labor of their children after study
hours, and thus, while yearning for play
and needed recreation, under these cir
cumstances work becomes absolutely re
pugnant to them. This is the way to
make Jack a dull lad, and to establish the
verv habits it was intended to avoid for
a boy that works reluctantly is only
happy when that work is finished, and he
is thus tempted to slight and skimit over,
that he may the sooner be released. In
this way not only are the habits of lazi
ness created, but of negligence, and of a
deep-seated dislike of work which often
cling through life.
Hints for Girls. Somebody gives
the following advice to girls. It is worth
Salt in Agriculture.
volumes of fiction and sentimentalism :
"Men who are worth having want wom
en for wives. A bundle of gewgaws,
bound with a string of fiats and quavers,
sprinkled with cologne and set in a car
mine saucer this is no help for a man
who expects to raise a family of boys on
bread and meat. The piano and lace
frames are good in their places, and so
are the ribbons, frills and tassels; but
you cannot make a dinner of the former,
nor a bed-blanket of the latter and
awful as the idea may seem to you, both
dinner and bed-blankets are necessary to
domestic happiness.
"Life has its relations as well as its
fancies; but you make all its decorations,
remembering the tassels and curtains,
but forgetting the bedstead. Suppose a
man of good sense, and, of course, good
prospects, to be looking for a wife, what
chance have you to.be chosen? You may
trap him, but how much better to make
it an object for him to catch you ! If you
should entrap and marry an industrious
young man, and deceive him, he would
oe unnappy as long asne lives, ao ren
der yourselves worth catching, and you
need no shrewd mother or brother to rec
ommend you,and help you find a market."
T T
A Scetch: subaltern at Gibraltar was
one day on guard with" another officer,
who, falling down , a precipice, wasr
killed. He made no mention of the ac
cident in his guard report, leaving the
addendum, "N. B. Nothing extraordi
nary since guard-mounting," standing
without qualification. Some hours after
the brigade-major came to demand an
"You
Few persons realize the value of salt
in agricultural operations. In large
doses it is of course an injury, destroying
everything vegetable it comes into con
tact with. In heavy soil it is also an in
jury, as the tendency is "to make it still
heavier, and thus whatever good it might
have in one respect is outweighed by the
other. But in light, sandy soil, or those
elevated tracts of land not wet, but which
are liable to become dry in summer time,
it has been found of the greatest benefit,
and this chiefly on account of the prop
erty it has of absorbing moisture from
the earth in dry weather. It is for this
perhaps as much as for any chemical quali
ty that it proves so beneficial in these
cases. Usually wheat does best on rather
heavy though not wet lands; but where
salt has been used on light soils, as good
crops have been gathered as on the most
favored heavy soils. Iu the far western
States, where rain does not fall often, and
the danger to crops is chiefly through
droughts in the summer time, salt in
light doses ought to prove beneficial; and
in the sandy soils of Delaware, Maryland
and Virginia, it might be employed to a
much greater extent than now with profit.
It is chiefly for the moisture it seems
to draw from the atmosphere, that it has
often been found of' so much good for as
paragus. The asparagus requires an im
mense deal of water in the make up of
its stalks, though it does not like to grow
in wet ground ; and this moisture the salt
supplies. It has also been found of ex
cellent benefit in raising turnips, beets,
cabbage and other succulent vegetables.
But it must not be forgotten that it is an
injury in soil already wet or heavy; and
therefore good as it is in so many cases,
an indiscriminate use of it will result in
disadvantage. In this respect it is like
lime and some other things in which
even "salt will not save it." Germantown
Telegraph.
indulgence
in
sor-
Life is shortened by
anger, ill-will, anxiety, envy, grief,
row, and excessive care. The vital powd
ers are wasted by excessive bodily exer
cise in some cases, and want of a due
portion in others.
explanation, sayin
say, sir, in
your report, vLxoming extraordinary
since guard-mounting,' when your broth
er officer, on duty with you, has fallen
down a precipice four hundred feet and
been killed."
"Weel, sir," replied he, "I dinna think
there's ony thing extraordinary in it;
if he'd faun doon a precipice four hun
dred feet and no been killed, I should
hae thought it vary extraordinary indeed,
First Relation op Dam with Sire.
I am aware that the great majority of
stock breeders do not admit of the prin
ciple that the after pregnancy of the dam
will follow her first produce in looks.
My attention several years ago was called
to an old brood mare, of what breeding
I cannot recall, but with at least two
thirds thoroughbred blood coursing in
her veins, who got a "chance colt," as her
first colt, by a jack. Her owner, recog
nizing this principle mentioned above,
selected the finest,mo3t perfect and proved
stallion to breed to he could find, and
anxiously awaiting the expected foals
advent, which when it did come present
ed a decidedly mulish appearance, espe
cially about the head. When I saw the
mare she wa3 suckling her sixth colt.
Her five colts were ail from different
stallions, yet in. each case there was the
mulish appearance about each foal, but
growing less and" less from the second
down to the sixth one. As all the six
were on the same plantation I satisfied
my curiosity by a thorough examination
of each and all. Am. Stock Journal.
The rice crop of Louisiana increased
from twenty thousand barrels in 1866 to
over one hundred and seventy-five thou
sand barrels in 1876. The yield of this
year is estimated at nearly one hundred
and seventy thousand barrels, on a de
creased acreage.
Chief Justice Warren, of Georgia,
reminds youug lawyers who are inclined
to use flowerv language, that "rose3 fade,
and wTad hae put it doon in my report." I seeds keep."