Pike County Democrat, Volume 9, Number 34, Petersburg, Pike County, 2 January 1879 — Page 1

HED EVEBY one year., six month, three mont*"* ADVERTISING RATES: I square (9 lines), one insertion.H oo h additional insertion... so paid for in advance.

a tooj wt w. P. KNIGH’", Editor and Proprietor. Offlco in HoBay’o How Building, Coin Street, bet. Sixth and Seromth. __ii-—— VOT.TTME ft PETERSBURG, INDIANA, THURSDAY, JANUARY 2, 1879 NUMBER 34

PIKE COUNTY--—T,„. ALL K1KU8 OF W Neatly Ezxvtcd at Raaacaable Rate* NOTICE! Persons receiving a copy of the paper with this notiee crossed in lend pencil are notified * that the time of their subscription has ex- ^ piredu

Pull knee-deep lies the winter snow, And the winter winds are wearily sighing Toll ye the church bell sad and slow, And tread softly and speak low, Por the Old Year lies a-dying. Old Year, yon must not die; You come to us readily, You lived with us.steadily, » . Old Year, you must not die. He lieth still; ho doth not move; He will not sec the dawn of day. He hath no other Mfe above. l.- --7 ---- ” * vunu uuianai, I Old Year, you must not go; go lOTtjflr as you have been with us, &' Such joy as you have seen with us, Old Year, you shall out go. I He froth’d his bumpers to the brim; £ . A Year we shall not see, p* Hut the’ his eyes are waxing dim, Juid tho’ bis foes speak ill of him, pr He was a friend to mo. * IfeV- Old Year, you sliall not die j H*’ We did so laugh and cry with you, I’ve half a mind to die with you, [,... Old Year, * you must die. *. ' He was full of Joke and Jest, But all his merry quips are o’er. To See him die, across the wasto His son and lielr does ride post-haste, ■ But lie’ll be dead before. Every one for bis own, The night Is starry and ©Old,'toy friend, B9 And the New Year, lilitne andhbold, my Bp „ friend, ,< ,t J- Come up to take hts own.: S 116 bro*«'e8 > dver the enow I heard Jest now the crowing cock. The ehadows flicker to niuifi o; The cricket chirps; the light burns low; *Tis nearly twelve o’clock. Shake hapds, before you die,' v r - Old I ear, we’ll dearly rue fot you; What Is It we ean db for yon? , Speak out before yon die. His face is growing sharp and thin. * Alack I our friend Is gone, JOHN HATHATUFS CREDITOR.

BY J. G. PURDY. In the dnsk of New Year’s Eve, made darker by the twilight gloom of his luxurious library, John Hathaway sat, alone. Yet not alone; for all about him, crowding every alcove and corner, were the wisest and wittiest companions, prepared to advise him if John Hathaway were a man to be advised; to instruct him if so potent a man' could need instruction, or to entertain him if a man so lofty could stoop to entertainment. Scorning all such compahionship, and turning his back upon it, John Hathaway still had for company his own thoughts; and these he would not scorn, for they were his, and: qpqld not turn his '— “ ’’ _ns back upon, for they haunted him and would not be thrust behind. As he sat'the re in such company, the rich mart wished hopelessly for a solitude where those persistent ghosts could not penetrate 5 and even While he wished they plucked at and bulleted him more intrusively than before. He was a prosperous man. Himself and every thing about him proclaimed -that /act and emphasised it. Wealth was his servant and luxury his atmos“tere. Health had not altogether partpany with him, ge had reached lie; bia-1 ieaDMHTbeea formed ^ v. " ^ cal m ^H^KIevetnaarfhis.ambitions had been greatly gratified, and he had only the easy tasg now of standing upon the height he had conquered, Surely such a man might be contented1, and leave unquiet aspirations to those of us who have not reached hjs happy plane. But John Hathaway was an innovator, and so was not contented. While he was occupied with his ghosts his wife came in. She was not a ghost. Substantial even, to grosspess and. unspiritual to the point of vulgarity was Mrs. Hathaway. And yet she was not the disturbing element in her husband’s life. He did not care enough about her to fret on her account. Whatever ^troubles he had came from within, never from without. She was in lightsome mood just now in the slow, slumbrous fashion a cow might manifest. “ Why on earth don’t you light the >gas, John?” she said; “you are the queerest one! You must have plenty of nice things to thihk about, to sit here in the dark. Don’t oatch me. saving the gas that way. Why don’t you come-” , “How much do you want, Maria'?” asked this husband, speaking as if his ' wife were his washerwoman, and putting his hand into his pocket. §, “Idon’t want any money,’’sheanswered in a confused kind of way, jumbling injury and explanation ir*<her mind and in her tones. “It’s New Year’s Eve, you know, and I thought perhaps you’d like to come and pip with the rest of us and talk.”

“1 don’t like,” said John, still -as,if his wife were a servant who had been rather too presumptuous. She was not a woman of high'or delicate nature, but she felt vaguely that it would be nice if John were to her more as other men were to their wives. She had tried in her way to bring it about. She had failed, and she went away with a dull, faint ache in her heart. After she had gone, John, for the first time in years, thought a little about her in her absence. “Poor creature!” he said presently. -“•Ste acts sometimes almost as i! she lovea the, and that is uncomfortable. Perhaps if I would make love to her a little she would stop. It’s worth try* a be sat there in the deepened darkness, thinking about it, a sweet voice, singing softly and half sadly, was heard, and a beautiful young girl entered the room, bearing an antique silver lamp in her hand. She Vas John Hathawajf’s daughter, the oifly child that had ever blessed him, and she had come to the library to find some book to while away the evenings-this child whose father had nothing to say to her on New Year’s Eve, and whose mother would not let her be in quietness. She stopped when she saw her father, and a look, half glad and half frightened, can.e into her face. “ I did not know you wero here, papa,” she said,and her voice had in it the pathos of a child doubtful of a welcome nrom her own father. As she stood hesitating, her father held out his hand toward her with some show of interest, and at the signal she , ana put her very pretty lamp,” he said, “ and it is a very pretty notion to light the library with it instead of gas. Yon may leave it with me.” She set the lamp upon the table, and went away without speaking, but with the bitter team of outraged loye dropping from her eyes. “ Silly-child!’’ said John. “ Hour her face lighted Up when she thought I was ; to fondle her!^ It is, not to my to have a moping, melancholy f; and it would be to my credit s a daughter brilliant and gay as (would be if 1 made a fuss over n his child—and she was a good

and most lovable child—could not; draw this rnun’s rnird away from himself. “Yes, yes,” he said, “it will add to my comfort and my credit to treat them differently. This Is New Year’s Eve, and I will turd over a new leaf.” “ Any of these old ones wCl answer the purpose.” John Hathaway started as he heard the words, and looked quickly around. This voice was not the voice of snv of the ghosts that had been haunting him. Remorse might have spoken those words, and in that tone, bnt remorse had never tron bled him. Yet, alt bough he could not r< cognize it. the voice had. : a familiar sound. - • :j=~ v?'« The light shed by the little silver' lamp tempered the gloom of the place, and John Hathaway leaned forward and peered into the alcoves and co rners. He eould see nothing that was not familiar. fie chilled for a second as the wavering flame of the lamp threw the lengthened shadow of the statuette toward him, but M an instant he had reoognized the-grotesque thing and laughed nervously. His laugh was repeated by the same voice that hai spoken, and now the voice was so like his q>wn that for' a moment John thought it was only an echo. The library was so unused to voices {hat its acoustic properties had never been tested. It was not an echo, however, for the voice want on: “ There is nc use in tnrning over any ; new leaves, Joiin Hathaway ; as I said before, any of these old ones will answer for the purpose.” John looked for the speaker close beside himself, where he ought to have looked in the fij’st place, and saw standing there a quiat, conservative-looking gentleman, who might be the President Df a Savings Hank, the Trustee of a large estate, or the Director of a Life Insurance Company, for all his appearanoe showed to the contrary. The gen

uguxbu DbUUU - ny utoiu, wiux one hand resting thereon, and the other holding a somewhat large roll of paper, and his whole demeanor was courteously businesslike. John Hathaway arose from the chair and stood before Ms gnest. “ Do you wish to see me, sir? I’ardon me if I do net recognize .you,” said John; with some deference. His tone and manner.* toward this stranger were very different to those he had usijd toward his wife and daughter. “ It is very strange you do not know mo,” said the visitor. “We have had dealings together every day since your business life commenced.” K John looked at him steadily for a moment. “ Ah, I recognize you how,” he said. “Pray be seated. Does business bring you here ?” He spoke with some enthusiasm, for the prospect of business, even with this. Presence, was the prospect of a pleasant change. The stranger seated himself by the table, pushed away the articles thereon, so as to leave a clear space in front of himself, laid his roll of papers in the space thus made; turned in Ms chair so as to face Ms h ost, and put one leg over the other in a comfortable way, as if settled for a pr jlonjfsd confereut^. -- This is the end of the Quarter, and I have come for a settlement of my account.” “ I—I don’t understand yon. 1 have no outstanding account*,’’ said John. “ Pardon me, You have this one. It was opened twenty-five years ago tonight. As I said, this is the end of the quarter. I like system and promptness in my settlements.” ' ■ Twenty-five yearn ago? This is all a mystery to me, I’^said John. S “ Perhaps the mention of yottr wife will refresh your memory. By tlh Way, I was here and heard the conversation you had with ber and your daughter this everting. [ was much pleased with year words and your manner, as showing thaVyou Were still faithful 1» the agreement male with me twenty-five years ago “ You will excuse me from discussing my wife and daughter with you,” Johi answered, somewhat tartly. “ They have nothing tb do with this matter.” “ Every thing,” responded the visitor. “ On the night I speak of, you formed a fixed and relentless resolve to win and marry the woman who is now youi wife.” “Well?” /■* “ The resolve was not prompted bj love, for in the fulfillment of it you deserted and thereby murdered the girl whom you lovod an^ who loved you ” John Hathaway made an impatient gesture, as if to check the recital, but the other imperiously motioned him tc silence, and nroceeded.

“The girl you deserted was poor. The girl you chose was rich, and von wanted her money, not herself, for you had decided tc get wealth, at whatever sacrifice, and to make the getting of it your one aim and ambition.. Before that you had worked for it conscientiously and unsuccessfully, but on that night, just 25 years ago, you turned over a new leaf, and bade conscience and its scruples farewell.” “You are making much talk, and with very littl 9 point,” said John, impatiently. “ What has all this to do with an account between you and me?” This; yon wanted a rich wife. I secured her for you, and so secured your subsequent success and prosperity. I come now :for the aniount due me, according to agreement.” “You? Yes; I might have known. It must have been you and none other who gave me the wife I have. But I owe von nothing for it.” And John laughed dismally. “Pardon lie; let me refresh your memory further.” The stranger unrolled his papers and spread them out upon the ta »le, where he examined them rapidly. “Ah, I remember,” he said. **I have only a memorandum here in my own handwriting. Yonr record of the tranasaction was on the new leaf vou turned over on that New Year’s Eve, and that is uhe only one that did not come into ny possession. However, my memorandum is perfectly valid. On the night I speak of, you said most emphatically that you wculd give your soul to secure the wife who could make you rich. I accepted your proposal and delivered to yiu the wile. You are indebted to mo in the sum of one * soul. I have come to close the account.” The credit >r looked at John, and impatiently drimmed with his linger on the table. John looked at the creditor without jmy further show of emotion, than would have been evoked by any other collect >r who had called vrtth an annoying bill. “ Yon have allowed the account to run a long time,” he said at length. “I have kept track of it, and knew that it was perfectly safe,” answered the creditor. “ And thoie papers,” said John, with a listless wa re of his hand toward the table. “ Ha ve they any bearing on this WObuat?”;^ ^ ■

fThoep are your annual vouchers, so speak,” the creditor responded. “ They are the new leaves that you turn'•j v "Uw j*wn ivuv vo uunu j vU eui-U" ed over at the beginning of every year. You were not so bad that you couldn’t make good Resolutions, and not so good that you-couldn’t break them at the first opportunity. Every new leaf you turned over you tore out and threw away very shortly. I gathered them up, as I do most loose things. You see a good resolution repudiated is worth just twice as much to meas a bad resolution adhered to. • Your throwing these away was an annual acknowledgment of your indebtedness to me, and my possession <n them is cumulative proof in support of my claim.” “Iam not at aH disposed to dispute your claim?” said John, very much as if his visitor were a book agent who had called with a forgotten subscription. “ The matter had escaped my memory, but now that you have mentioned it, we may as well arrange the details of payment without delay.” The Debtor drew his chair to the table, and sat close beside the Creditor. The latter smiled cordially and rubbed his hands, as being pleased that settlejnent was to be made so promptly, and without any unnecessary fuss. And the little lamp that John Hathaway’s unloved daughter had left with him Bhed its dim fight over the uncanny group and their dread transaction; the gentle influence of the good aiding the evu purpose of the bad. “ Ndw,” said the Debtor,11 if you will take pencil and paper and make a memorandum of the various items in this business, merely as a matter of form, we can close the account in short order.’l With,some slight signs of reluctance and disappointment, the Creditor prepared himself to do the work suggested. When he was ready, John Hathaway commenced to tell on the items.

” xweniy-nve years ago 1 married a woman I did not love, my only motive towing to get her money. Put that down,” he said. “ Next item,” said the Creditor, writ* "fi "During all these years my only conscience has been the daily market report.” “ I have that down already,” said the Creditor, sitting with his pencil suspended. i“My home, the home of my wife and child, has been only the waiting-room to my counting-house.” “ Counting-house,” repeated the Creditor, as he made the entry. “For a dozen years I have not troubled myself to think whether the monev I got belonged to me or to others, so that'the law would allow me to keep it.” “ Keep it!” was echoed in a business monotone by the Creditor, and the recital went on. “ The fact that 1 was ruining other men has not deterred me from a single speculation.” “ Go; that is down.” ” I.have been Director of three savings banks, and President of a life insurance company.” & 4What ajecord it is!” exclaimed the Wlluii,1 imt&iag-it, rftwui he made the entry an approving smile overspread his face. “ The wife whose money was the cor-ner-stone of my fortune I have not even been grateful to. I have chilled her whole life, and made it as wretched as possible by my sneering indifference.” “ Go on,” The Creditor said it gleefully. t “ Notwithstanding the wrong I have done her, 1 am so selfish that ffeel myself wronged in being bound for life to a woman whose mind is as gross as her . laald Creditor, ititing, “ I have no love even for my child, for her only fa something I and c; sold myself, for a fdrhaveF you noted alTthe “ All the items,” answered the Creditor, looking on with a pleased smile; ** and 1 have seldom had a finer record.” John Hathaway paid no attention to the compliment. He merely leaned back in hk chair and said, with an air. of being weary of the conference r “ Now please take the trouble to find the sum of those items, subtract the to, tal from the amount of the original capital, and see how mnch Soul is left. ” It Was terrible, and at the same time pistol, to ' ' see the change that came over the Creator’s fade as he heard his Debtor*e words.' There was wrath, mingled with, humiliation, in the look with which he regarded the sheet of paper before him.

•• understand," saw Joan, “lao not dispute your claim in the least, ancl am entirely willing to make over to you all the soul 1 have left after such a course of business as you have recorded.” With an angry dash of the pencil the Creditor wrote on the margin of the paper the words, “No assets.” “There is not enough for collateral on the debt of nature,” he said, “ and that is the safest debt that’s known. I should have foreclosed earlier. Well, I shall have to charge the whole thing to profit and loss, and call the account balanced. Goodnight.” And he arose and tore his carefully gathered papers into fragments. “ Good-night,” said the Debtor, also rising. “ l am sorry I can do no better by you, but I assure you you fare as well as any of my creditors have ever done.” The next moment the light John Hathaway’s daughter had left shone over only one evil presence instead of two. John Hathaway’s creditor had gone. “ Better Call*Her a Woman.” Mr. Justice Neilson, of Brooklyn, told a lawyer in the court the other day that he would better call a woman who had been on the witness-stand as a woman, and not a lady. “ Better call her a woman,” said th» Justice, “ God made a woman, but a lady is only a modern fixture iu a fine dress.” Tins is a *>oun£ doctrine, and comes appropriately from a bench of justice. There is no easier method of becoming confused as to what is legal and what is illegal, what is right and what is wrong, than the habitual misuse ol words. “ Theft ” is a good word, because it does not disguise the moral character of the act which it describes; but “misappropriation” is a bad word, because its meaning is uncertain, and it conveys only a slight notion of the moral quality of the act which it stands for. It is not likely that any one will be made a thief by using the word “ lady ” for “ woman,” but in nine cases out of ten the employment of the word “lady” is vulgar, and upon general .principles the practice should be condemned as part of an inflated, extravagant and deceptive manner of speech.— New York Evening Post. Mono for a toper: Mind your rye.

CURRENT EVENTS. The loss of life by the sinking of the steamer Byzantin was fortunately not so great as at first reported. The steamer Rinaldo, with which she collided, has arrived at Constantinople, and her Captain reports 90 persons saved from the sinking vessel. ' The Imperial Government has addressed a letter of condolence to the Legation of the United States at Berlin, expressing profound regret at the death of Bayard Taylor. The newspapers publish leading articles eulogistic of the late Minister. The funeral services took I place on Sunday, the 22d, with imposing ceremonies. The remains will be transported to America. The Jury in the case of James E. Whalen against Gen. Sheridan, on trial in the United States Circuit Court, at Now York, brought in a verdict for the defendant. The suit was for the recovery of over $400,000 forthe seizure of the Killona plantation in St. Charles Parish, La., in August, 1867, and the ejectment of Whalen by military order of Gen. Sheridan, ^ho was then Military Governor. A motion wffi he made for a now trial. The great Illinois and St.Louis Bridge, built by Captain Eads at a cost of $7,000,000,was sold at auction on the 20th, for $2,000,000. The purchaser was Mr. Anthony J. Thomas, of New York, acting as representative for the bondholders. A new company has }>een organized, with Solon Humphreys, of New

os -rresiuens, It is officially reported that instructions have been sent to the Russian Mis(ffim at Cabal to withdraw. It is rumored that the Ameer has fled, leaving his son, Yakoob Khan, in power. The British forces are advancing from Jallalabad. Great excitement exists in-St. Petersburg on account of the Government^ efforts to suppress meetings of students. The lecture halls have been closed, and all meetings are prohibited, in the Universities as well as outside. The carrying of arms is prohibited except by express authorization. Among the many mentioned in connection with the Berlin mission, made vacant by the death of Bayard Taylor, are ex-Minister Washburne and Judge Lawrence, of Illinois, and Gov. Itartranf t, of Pennsylvania. It is understood that Mr. George W. Curtis, of New York, could have the mission if he desired it, but. win not accept. •Additional names suggested to the don are ex-1 Henderson,of Missouri,ex-Senatorltam-say, of Minnesota, and ex-Segator Fro* linghuysen, of New Jersey. Gen. Miles has offered as a suggestion to the Congressional Indian Transfer Committee, that the roving bands of Indians be tjiraed over to the Army, to be governed by martial law, while the Indians on reservations remain tinder the ^ndian Bureau. Governor Anthony, of Kansas, duping his recent visit to Washington, secured the assent of the Government to surrender to the State authorities of the ■Cheyenne Chiefs who instigated the recent massacres. He also succeeded in securing from the Secretary of War additional troops for the protection of the southwestern border of the State. Representative Alpheus S. Williams of-the Detroit, Mich., District, died ii Washington on the 21st, and Represen tative Beverly B. Douglas, of Virginia died on the 22d. The following are the highest prices of gold for each of the years of suspension.

1883.. 1861.. 1865.. 1866.. 1867.. 1868.. 1869.. 1870.. ...114 ...152% ...285 .. .2:13 V ...16714 ...145% ...160 ...162% ...123%

1871.. . 1872.. . 1873.. . 1874.. . 1875.. . 1876.. . 1877.. . 1878.. . •115* •115* .119* .114* .117* .115 .107* .107

Capt. John Cowdon’s plan for solving the Mississippi River problem is at least bold and original. Heretofore the only plan proposed of keeping the river in its channel and protecting the adjacent country has been to build levees along the banks. Captain Cowdon proposes, in effect, to lower the bed of the river. He claims that t.hia can be done for $10,000,000, while the estimate of the Government Engineer to levee the river is for $46,000,000, and that of Capt. Eads to carry out his plan is $50,000,000. Capt. Cowdon was before the House Committee on Commerce a few days ago, and explained his plan at some length, with maps, diagrams, etc. The Committee was favorably impressed with his statement, and will give him another hearing.. Archbishop Purcell, of Cincinnati, it is stated by authority, has writtqp to Rome requesting the Pope to relieve him of his Episcopacy. The venerable prelate is probably the oldest Archbishop in the United States, being 79 years of age. He has been a Bishop for 45 years, and an Archbishop for 23 years. A desire to be relieved from the cares of his important office is the reason of his request. The New York Produce Exohange has addressed a circular to the various Boards of Trade throughout the country, favoring the adoption, at an early date, of tie pound avoirdupois as the nnit of weight for grain and. all other articles of produce. This will be in conformity with the English law recently passed, which took effect on Jan. 1, 1879. , ^ On account of funds not being provided to pay the expenses of the Blaine Investigating Committee, no action will be taken by the Committee until after the holiday recess.

MINOR NOTES. The President has nominated John P. Hoyt, of Michigan, Associate Justice of Washington Territory: 1i" Ignatius Donnelly, Democrat, will contest the seat of W. D. Washburn, Republican, returned to Congress from the St. Paul, Minn., District. Charges against Judge Blodgett, of Chicago, have been presented to 'the House of Representatives, with a view of impeachment. On account of the gravity of the charges, Speaker Randal! decided not to make them public until after Congress reconvenes. At Nlcholsonvtlle, Ky., on the 21st, Charles Campbell stabbed James Hawkins in the arm and then cut his throat, causing deatlr in three minutes. Campbell is a negro and was enraged st Hawkins because of the letter’s interference in "the procurement by Campbell of >-a license to marry a grasswidow. Campbell made his escape. In a. ten-pin alley at Crockett, Texas, on the 21st, W. A. Hall struck James H. Wall in the head With a ten-pin ball, fracturing his skull and causing death. The murderer was arrested and held in $2,000 ball. The members of th$ Canvass ng Board of Brevard County, Florida, have been indicted by the United States Ora ad Jury for making fraudulent returns, and are in Jail at Jacksonville, in default ei $3,000 bail .each. The Grand Jury in the United States Uircuit Court has indicted R. T. Arnold, Henry Blrdson and J. S. Ellin far violation of the election laws ig the ejection of Peter W. Robinson, United States Supervisor of Election, from voting precinct at Waverly Station, Sussex County, Va. John W. Rice, who shot an J killed, accidentally, as he claimed, his friend George W. Angier, in Cleveland, on the 19th, has been arrested for murder. Angier lived

feet that Bice had been jealous of his (Angler’s) attentions to Mrs. Bice, and that he had on several occasions threatened to shoot him. Stephen D. Richards, who murdered Mtb. Harrison and her three children in Kearney County, Neb., on Nov. 2 last, and subsequently poisoned Peter Anderson, a neighbor, and then fled the State, was arrested at Mount Pleasant, O., his 'ormer residence, on the 21st, and has since been* surrendered to the Nebraska authorities. Richards lived with Mrs. Harrison on the Nebraska farm and murdered her and her children in order to gain* possession of her homestead. He secreted the remains of his victims in a haystack, and there being nq near neighbors the murders were not discovered until theB 9th of December, upon which day Richards poisoned Anderson and made his escape. At Fort Smith, Ark., on the 20th, John Postoaks, a Creek Indian, and James Diggs, a negro, were hanged on the same gallows. Postoaks murdered Johnlngley, in October, J8Tf, and Diggs murdered J. C. Gould inAugust, 1878. The Indianapolis Savings Bank has suspended payment. It is claimed that all Indebtedness win ultimately be paid in full. THItah|^y7umberland and the Princess Thy^^K were married with Castle, Copenhagen, on the evening of the 21st. “ Buck ” Jenkins, an alleged horse-thief, was taken from the custody of an officer, about 10 miles west'of Corning, Ark., on the night of the 23d, by a gang of masked men, and hanged to a tree. Jenkins formerly lived in Jefferson County, 111., where he was arrested by the local officers, a reward of $50 having been offered for his apprehension. - ^ Very severe weather is reported throughout Great Britain and from the Continent, as well as in this country. The heaviest snowfall known for’30 years occurred in the North of Scotland, the snow in some localities, it is said, being 12 feet deep. Railroad traffic was brought to a stand-still. In Switzerland and portfons of Germany there has not been so great a fall of snow in years. The suffering among the poorer classes is unprecedented. At Menardville, Texas, on the 20th, Green Johnson, colored, was hanged for the murder of his wife in 1878. A negro named Davidson, charged with murder, was hanged by a mob near Wilmington, N. C., on the 23d. At Kansas City, on the morning of the 23d, the offices of the &&ning Mail, the Commercial Indicator, Rhoades & Gough’s book-bindery, were completely destroyed by Are, supposed to have been caused by an incendiary. Losses generally covered by insurance. A party of six highwaymen and robbers were recentlv captured near Reek flreek.

Wy. T., with a number of stolen hones and other valuable plunder in their possession. The fatal rinderpest having made its way from the J&uasian frontier to the neighborhood of Berlin, the strongest measures have been adopted to prevent the infection from penetrating to the capital. > Capt. Wetmore, formerly of the Navy, has commenced suit in the Washington courts against Admiral Porter, for the alienation of the affections of complainant’s wife. A number of affectionate letters from the Admiral to the lady have been made public and the suit promises to develop a scandal of the first water. . Admiral Hoff,.U. S. N., died in Washington oh the 25th, aged 69. The Great Council of Geneva, Switzerland, h»B accepted the principle of separation of Church and State, and appointed a committee to prepare a separation bill E. L. Pierce, of Boston, has been appointed Assistant Treasurer of the United States AtBoston, on Christmas. Eve, Ezra Wilson killed his wife, from whom he had been separated, and then killed himself. Abe Rothschild, on trial at Marshall, Texas, for the murder of his mistress, “Diamond Bessie," has been convicted of murder in the first degree. David O. Gibson, his two sons, Wm. P. and Thos. W. Gibson, and Samuel P. Moore, all of Rockcastle County, Ky., are under arrest charged' with having drawn from the Government on fraudulent vouchers over $10,000, while acting as United States Pension Agents. The .Arkansas Conference Seminary of the MethodiBt Episcopal Church,located at Harrison, Ark., was entirely destroyed by fire on the morning of the 20th. The building was Just approaching completion, and It was expected the school would take possession about New Tear’s. Doss, $7,000; no insurance. Incendiarism is suspected. Rkd-pepfbb Catsup.—Cut up red peppers and place them in a preservingkettle until it is full; then cover with the beet cider-vinegar and boil until the peppers have dropped tctpieces. After removing from the fire, as soon as the sauce is cool enough, rub it through a wire sieve. It is much better without salt or any other condiments, and it is of a beautiful scartet oolor. and so thick that it must be put up for use in largemouthed bottles or Jars, and will keep fresh for years. It should boil slowly for at least 4 hours,

FOBTY-FOUBTH CONGRESS. In the Senate, on the 20th, no business of Importance was transacted. An executive session was held and the Senate adjourned to January 7,1879.In the House, hills authorizing payment to the State of Tennessee for keeping United States military prisoners j constituting Portsmouth, O., a port of deliv- “““ «>tuiuau, ui uunauui x, yossoui The morning hour having expired the Speaker laid before the House several communications, among them one from Secretary Sherman in answer to a resolution calling for information as to what balance on loan accounts was standing to the credit of the United States In ttny -National bank from March, 1876, to the present time. The letter states that there were no balances Oil loan accounts standing to the credit of the United States Treasurer in any National bank from March, 1876, to January, 1878, and incloses a list of National Bank depositories with the balance and loan account held from February, 1878, to December, 1878; The banks which held such balances had been made depositories under the law. The large balance held by the First National Bank, New York, was caused by the temporary deposits of the proceeds of 4X per cent, bonds and large subscriptions of that bank to the tper cent. loan. After some little discussion, the House adjourned to January 7. The Appetite for Opinni. ■r Morphia, as most people know, is one of the principal constituents of opium, and acts on tne body in very much the same way. It is used for sleeplessness, and for the relief of pain, and if for any other purpose, these are sufficient for onr object. What a boon these. drugs have been to humanity, only those who have been racked with pain and troubled with sleepless, weary nights,can tell. It was fonnd, however, that both morphia and opium had most vicious effects on the stomach and intestinal canal, so that their use coaid not long be persevered in without evil consequences to the general system. No other known drug was so efficient or powerful in the affections for which these were emuloved. and therefore the

medical profession had to cast about for another method of administration, which would mitigate, if not altogether do away with, their evil effects. It is now a good many years since Dr. Alexander Wood of Edinburgh suggested the use of morphia by means of subcutaneous injection; a method by jehich the action of the drug is rendered quicker and more certain, its bad effects— when to be used for a short time— fewer, ahd a much smaller dose is required. The mechanical actions of morphia on the alimentary canal were, to a certain extent, got rid of. A considerable time elapsed before the practice became any thing like general, for the profession looked askance at so dangerous a method of using a powerful drug. Of late years, however, the administration of morphia by means of injection beneath the skin has spread very widely. No doubt, as used In this way, morphia is truly marvellous in its effects, and has proved a real godsend to both medical men and their patients The profession was carried away by the wonderful power they had got "hold of, and, as they themselves confess, did not always use it with the discrimination and forethought that was necessary in dealing with so powerful, subtle and alluring a drug. It is little 'to be wondered ">1 ~jft these days of ujiiversai themselves into the secret, KnJdld their best to spread the fame of the new mode of exhibition among their friettds and fellow-sufferers. So far little harm might have been done; but in an evil day medical men lent their patients the power of relieving.their own sufferings, real or imaginary. As a consequence, morphia injections are now used by many private persons for other reasons than the relief of pain and the banishing of wakefulness. Indeed, we have reason to believe that among certain classes of society it is becoming too commonly abused, and bids fair soon to grow into a general vice.—London Spectator. A Fatherly Man. . Griswold Street, from Fort to Congress, offers such superior facilities for falling down in the winter that all newsboys and bootblacks who look upon the bright and cheerful side of life loaf around that section a great deal in order to be on hand when the climax occurs. Seven of them stood in a row yesterday morning as a fatherly, uni wieldly citizen turned the corner of the Moffatt Block. “Selectyour spot!” they yelled, as he reached the descent, and in about a minute he reached the conclusion that they had gathered there to see him fall. Some men would have jumped aside in - to the street, but this fatherly man continued on. He resolved to himself:

“ Now, these boys are poor, forlorn boys. They seldom have anyfnn. They are hungry, ragged, and do not look forward to Christmas. They wish me to fall. If, by falling, I can add to their happiness, it is myduty to do so.” Those boys may never know that that good man fell on purpose to please them. He suddenly made a slip to the left, stretching out his leg until it looked to be ten feet long—then a slip to the right, and as he recovered he stuck "his heels towards the South Pole, clawed out like a million angle-worms fastened together, and the snow where he struck flew sixteen feet. He didn't get up and tell the boys that it was a put-up job to lighten their burdens ot care and sorrow for a moment, but he knows and the reader knows that it was.—Detroit Free Press: The Popular 4-per-cent Loan. The Secretary of the Treasury has issued a circular calling renewed attention to the issue of 4-per-cent. bonds. They are issued in denominations of $50 and upward, both coupon and registered, and bear 4-per-cent. interest, payable quarterly. They are exempt from payment of taxes or duties to the United Sides, as well as from taxation in any form by or under State, municipal or local authority. Upon receipt of full payment the bonds will be transmitted free of charge to subscribers. Applications should specify the amountand denomination required, and, for registered bonds, the full name the *bonds shall be made payable. The interest on registered bonds will be paid by a check issued by the Treasury of the United States to the order of the holder, and mailed to his address ■ The check is payable on presentation, properly indorsed at the office of the Assistant Treasurer of the United States in New York in coin or United States notes, as the holder may prefer, or, if desired, in United States notes at the office of the Treasurer or any Assistant Treasurer of the United States. All National banks are invited to become financial agents of the Government and depositories of public moneys received on the sale of these bonds. Upon complying with section 5,153, Revised Statutes of the United States, all banks, bankers, paymasters and other public officers and other persons are invited to aid in placing these bonds. They can make their arragements through National banks for the deposit of the purchase money of the bonds. —A commission, composed of experts, will meet in Berlin during the Easter holidays to decide on the measures to be taken for the compulsory teaching of drawing in the higher schools.

A California View of Chinese Cheap £>s1kk* The general idea which seems to be prevalent throughout the country with reference^ the Chinese, is that they are by habit, training and religion bent upon doing work for the smallest possible wages. But, as a matter of fact, the cheapness of the Asiatic is relative rather than absolute. He will work for less wages than the average white man in order to secure his place. He is enabled to do this, for ages of thrift, rendered necessary in & teeming population, have made economy in small things second nature with him. He can live on rice and sleep in a bunk. There is, besides, no family, at least in this country, depending on his kbcrf. The friends and "relatives in his native land can easily enough be maintained for a year on the saving?, of a 'month anywhere in the United States. Bat when competition has been destroyed the Chinaman advances Ms wages. If he is not deeply learned in Adam Smith or Ricardo, he understands the operations of the law of supply and demand just as well as if he had modern economical science at his fingers’ ends. Domestic service was the second field into which the Chinaman pressed when there was no longer a chance to work in the gold fields. There are Chinese eoofes in this city who now command higher wages than the average Aryan. A similar state of things is observable in the other departments of life into which these people have crowded. They work for cheap wages only to learn trades. When they have mastered the art,whatever it may be, they go into the business themselves and set up opposition to their former employers. Their operations are in the nature of a peace invasion. They have evidently been close students nf r.nr arunnt fltmet.nve When

ever they reeve on a particular point they do so in force. Working for less than others at first, they press forward with the rasisfclessnsss of fate. When firm standing ground is reached and competition is destroyed, both theprice of labor and of the things maamf>tett>red is at once raised. The contest is wholly unequal. The invaders have no taxes tq pay, comparatively speaking. Usually they own no property. All that Is got out of them is a poll-tax, and that does not pay the expense entailed by their criminals and paupers. Whatever trades the Chinese have learned in this city they have nearly monopolized. Most of the commerce with their native land is in their hands. They can, if unrestricted, not only dominate this State but the whole country. The nnmber necessary to do all the work, mahufseture all the articles and till all the lands in America, would not be missed in China. These people in time would supply themselves with whatever they needed and do all the China trade. They would leave ns little but the professions, literature, engineering, speculative philosophy and Europtair commerce, If theyjwere allowed to vote, in 100 years they would convert the United States into an appanage of China; substitute the books of Confucius for the Bible and blot out ufc >r v~tin*, the menace now Is simply to the laboring clhs«prf( They are bearing the whole brunt of this most singular collision. If they are supplanted they must stand idly by doing nothing. In time they will be forced into barbarism. But they do not belong to a race that will long tamely, submit to wrongs. They wilt become restless and revolutionary to an extent that will render the strengthening of Government a necessity. In the large augmentation of the police force of this city, we have one. offset for whatever has been made by Chinese cheap labor. In the increase of crime 'and pauperism we have another. But this cheapness, for which so much has been sacrificed, as already shown, is evanescent in its nature. Wherever it deatroTO-competition it disappears. While the flftcesa of competition is going on it renders our own workers reckless and desperate. No one can look at the question with the eye of a statesman without perceiving that this thing can not go on. The peaceful Conquest of a great Aryan nation can not be accomplished by Asiatic hordes. .There does not appear to be any escape from these conclusions.—San Francisco Bulletin. A Mule Sticks a Can of Sitro-Glycerine, There was a disastrous and fatal explosion of nitro-glycerine and blastingpowder at Earlington, Ky., a mining town 60 miles south of Evansville, Ind., last nitrht. The St. Bernard Coal Com

pany, m whose tomes the explosion occurred, have of late begun to use a small quantity of mtro-glycerine with powder for blasting purposes. Last night an old colored man was ordered to carry some nitro-glycerine. He went to the magazine, and, after getting a supply, left a can of it sitting by the car-track dll he could deliver the charge. While gone a team of empty cars came by drawn by two males. 0n8 of the males kicked the can of explosive matter, whidh instantly exploded, blowing mules, cars, and the negro driver into atoms, and filling the passage with debris and rubbish cf all kinds from the the roof. Two seconds later the blasting powder stored in the adjoining room exploded, with terrific force. The shocks were distinctively felt at Madisonville, Ky., three miles distant, and were attributed to an earthquake. The wildest confusion prevailed in Earlington, as it was supposed to be an explosion of firedamp, and there were 80 men in the chambers beyond reach. The v^role city tumid out,and afrighted and weeping miners’ wives, mothers and children made a scene which beggars description. The population gathered at the mouth of the pit and made various attempts to enter, but the volumes of smoke that rolled out prevented,and for an hour the most agonizing suspense prevailed. By that time the miners began to emerge, sa the smoke decreased in volume, and the safety of all was announced. Not one was injured, though all sustained some nervous shock. The only deaths were those of the driver and the males. -Cor. Qincinnati Enquirer. Ik many respects the present must be a far more agreeable period for royalty to live in than the past. They can have so much more life and variety. Poor Marie Antoinette, whose very zest in living led her into a thousand indiscretions, would have worked off her superabundant energy in these days by foreign excursions,' yachting, hunting, etc. The Empress of Austria, that horsiest of rov&l ladies, spent last year neat Melton, England, and the yeap before in Northamptonshire. Now 3he is undei way for the County %teath, Ireland, which is second to no hunting country in Christendom, LomxtN has 38,900 cabm them being lawyers, cler doctors, find one real lord, amenj ren anc

PUNGENT PARAGRAPHS. “Phil, my jewel,” Said Pat, “I’m mighty sorry ye caa’t dine with me today.” “Arrah, and. why can’t I dine with yeP” said the astonished Phil. > “ Because, my dear,” returned Pat, “ I haven’t asked ye as yet.” I have her a rose and gave her a ring, and I asked her to marry me then, bat she sent them all back, the insensible thing, and said she’d no notion of men. I told- her I had oceans of money and goods, tried to frighten her bad with a growl, but she answered she wasn’t brought up in the woods, to be scared at the screach of an owl. I called her a baggage, and every thing bad, I slighted her features and form; till at length I succeeded in getting her mad, and she raged like the* sea in a storm. And then in a moment I turned and smiled, and called her my angel and all; she fell in my arms like a wearisome child, and exclaimed, “We will marry this fall.” LOVE’S YOUNG DREAM. Strophe. A young man woke with the kiss ofmom, Carol and sing, light- hearted boy; —' 0n the woodland echoes his song Is born— W hat is the world, but lave and.toy? Singing he twines lor his dear love’s breast, Bluebell and violet, daintily pressed; Tenderly londled, lightly caressed— Carol and sing, oh dreaming hoy I Anti-Strophe. A wasp got up at the break of day— Tenderly spread the plaster on; And he opened the session the good old way Pour on the arnica, till It Is gone. And he "stropped” his bodkin with anxious " care, He whetted his edges, keen and bare. Till it gleamed like steel In the morning air— lUng for the arnica I Ponritonl Catastrophe. Kun for the doctor I Bun like sin! Put on some mnd till the doctor comes; This is the hole where the probe went in; How It hums, and trobs like a hundred ■ drums. Tell like a mad man; mutter and growl, Trample the violets, rave and howl,

IVUVW1 VUU L/lUdSUAlO—"IV T w uiuj own>| Shriek for the arnica! here it comes. —ffawkeye. The Meanest Office. Here are two good anecdotes told by Vice-President Wheeler to-day to a single listener while taking lunch in his parlor at the Capitol. The Vice-Presi-dent had been saying that he felt the moss growing on him since his inau-' guration, and that he fretted a good deal under the enforced idleness of his position. To show how little real power and responsibility attach to the official whom franklin proposed should be called “ His -Most Superfluous Highness,” he tohLtiipiffiry of Hainan: “When Vice-President he used to say the office was the meanest one in the country. He was dozing in his chair in the Senate one day when I came over , from the House and asked him jokingly if he could think of any thing that would make his happiness complete. ‘Yes,’ he replied, • if I could have a bowl of sweet baked apples and milk I should be perfectly happy.’ I told him that . was my favorite lunch, and we went down to the restaurant together.' While we were eating Hamlin said: • Wheeler, to show yon what a no-account office this Vice-Presidency is, let me tell you What happened to ins shortly after me that he woiiRr Postmaster in his town. The office paid « . a salary of just $25 a year. Well, I went to the Postmaster-General and he referred me to the Fir3t Assistant, who hemmed and hawed awhile, and then stud ‘ TKtfacts is, Mr. Vice-President, the Congressman from that district has recommended another man for this post-office. He represents the people now, and you—why—ah—you don’t represent any body in particular.’ So I found the Vice-President of the United States had not influence enough to get a man appointed to a $25 post-office.’ ” To this story Mr. Wheeler added one about himself: “ A few weeks after I became Vice-President,” he said, “I went one day to a church in Washington. The good minister prayed for the President and the Cabinet, and for the Senators and House of Representatives, and the Governors of the several States, and finally for the heathen, but made no mention of the Vice-President. As I was walking home Sam. Shellabarger came up and took my arm, and said, ‘ The preacher was rather hard on you to leave yon out of his prayer altogether.’ ‘Yes,’ 1 replied, ‘it struck me that he was •, he.put me down below the '' heathen as not worth praying for at all.* Alter a while I got over fretting about my uselessness in the Government ma- , chine, although I always appear to myself somewhat like a contingent remainder or an administrator de bon is non."—

uor. vieveiana neraia. Literary Aspirants. A young woman who was lately brought before the police courts in New . York as a professional beggar, was discovered to be an educated, well-born South Carolinian. She had, as she supposed, “a genius for poetry, ” and left her home with only money enough to reach Baltimore,' hoping to pay her way to New York and to support herself thereafter by the sale of her poems. She left Baltimore with a satchel full of manuscript, and two cents in her pocket. As a matter of course, she was speedily reduced to starvation and beggary. It would answer a good purpose if this woman’s story could be held up as a warning before the countless young men and women who hope to earn literary fame, and thus secure fortune. Much-maligned “genius’-’ is to do all by one mighty bound, without the necessary study,* without experience, and always without work. Every editor of a magazine or literary paper can testify how wide-spread is this delnsion. , A Kentucky woman sent a novel of i enormous size to a publisher lately, stating that she “ expected a price for it which would buy back the estates which her family had lost during the ' war.” The book, as might have been expected, had not asingle spark of wit or 'wisdom to lighten its dullness. A young girl of 17 lately wrote to the editor of one of the great New York dailies, saying that she “would graduate is a month, and would like to secure a position as managing editor of a political paper.” There is not prohably a publishing " office in the countryrrfvhich does not.roceive scores of manuscripts in the year, from authors as ignorant as these of the real work required in the field which they seek to enter. The best course of study for all of them to pursue would be the biographies of successful men of letters. They would then find that an apprenticeship is needed in authorship as in any other profession; that every gfeat poet, historian, essayist, or eyeri novelist, has been a conscientious, painstaking artist, with whose success persistence arid hard work had as much to do as genius, —Youth's Companion. ^ i r