Plymouth Weekly Democrat, Volume 14, Number 35, Plymouth, Marshall County, 6 May 1869 — Page 1

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PLYMOUTH WEEKLY DEMOCRAT VOLUME XIV. PLYMOUTH, INDIANA, THURSDAY, MAY 6, 1869. NUMBER 35.

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The Old Pennsylvania Farmer. BT BAYARD TAYLOR. Wellwell I this is a comfort, now the air is mild as May, And yet 'tis March the twentieth, or twenty-first. to day : And Renben ploughs the hill for corn ; I thonght it would he toauh. Bat now I see the farrows turned, I guess it's dry enough. ii 1 don't half live, penned up iu doors ; a stove's not like the snu. When I c in't see how things go on, I fear they're b idly done : I might have farmed till now, I think one s fanfly is so queer As if a man can't oversee who's in his eightieth year ! III. Father, i mind, was eighty-five before he ?ave up his; Bat B wmmm slgtli and crippled with the rhenmatiz. I followed in the old, steady way. so he was satisfied ; Bot Renben likes new-fangled things and ways I can't abide. IV. I'm glad I built this southern porch; my chair seems easier here : 1 haven't 9een as fine a spring this fivs and twenty ear I how the time goes round so BjOftBl ! a week, I would hve sworn. Since they were husktn? on the flat, and now they plough for corn I When I was yoünsr, time had for m i t lazy ox's pace, Bnt now it's like a blooded horse, that means to win the rare. And yet I can't till out my days, I tire luyselt with naught ; I'd rather use my loirs and hand than pin my head with thought. VI. There's Marshall, too. 1 see from here : tie and his bovs besrin. Why don't tin take ÜM lower Mil that one is poor and thin. A coat of lime it onsrht to have, bu' they're a doless set : They think BWBJBMnCl as feoi, hut we shall see what corn they gel ! VIT. Aero, the level. Brown's new place begins to make a show : 1 thought he'd have to watt for trees, nut, bless me, how they irrow ! They ray it'sflne two aers tilled with evergreens , and things ; But so much land I it vorries me, for not a cent it brings. i m. He has the right, I 61 deny, to please himself that wav. But 'tis a bad example set, and leads young folks astray : Book-learninc srets the upper-hand and work L'ets slow and slack, And. they that come long after us will find things gone to wrack. IT. Now Reuben's on the hither side, his team comes bark again : 1 know how iseB he -:ts t he share, I see the hortest rain : I had that field M dM of stones, but he mu-t plongh so rteep. He'll h a- it like turnpike soon, and scarcely tit for -heep. If father lived, I'd like to know what he would ay to these New notions of the younger mn, who farm by chemistries ; There's different stock and other gMs ; there's i patent plongh and cart Five nnndred dollars for a bull ! it would have broke his heart. XI. The miples must be putting out; I see a some- i thine red Down yonder where the clearing laps across the j m-adnw's head. &wamp-cahbage grows bsidethe run; the green j is good to see. But wheat's the color, after all, that cheers and 'livens me. XII. They think I have an ea.-y time, no need to worry nowBit in the porch all ny and watch them mow, and sow, and plough ; teei in the summer in the shade, in winter in the snu I'd ra-her do the thimj myself, and know j;i-t h .w it's done I XIII. Well-1 suppose 1 m old. and yet 'tis not so long am When Reuben spread the swarth to dry, and Jesse learned Jo mow. And William mked, and Israel hoed, and Jos h pi'ched with nr ; But snch a man as I was then my boys will never be ! XIV. I don't tiind William's hankering for lectures and for books ; tie never had a farming knack you'd see it n his looks; But handsome is that handsome does, and lie is well to do: Twonlii ease my mnd if I conld say the same of Jesse, too. XV. There' one black sheep in every (1 jck. so th ere nn't be in mine. But I mm wrotK that second time hi bond to undersign ; It's Ws than what his share will be but there's the inte Mai ' In ten vears more I might have had two thonsand to invest. XVI. There'-) no use thinking of it now, and yet it mikes me sore ; The w ij I've slnved and savd, I ouht to count a little more. J never lam a foot of land, and that's a comfort, sme. And if the r do not call me rich, they cannot call me poor. xvu. "Well, well! ten thonsand times I've thought the things I'm (Making now; I've i'ioiight them in ihe harvest field and in the c!-ver mow: And s. m-tim M I tr-t tired of them, and wish I'd something new But this is all I've seen and known ; so what's a man to do? XVIII. Tis IBM my time is nearly ont, of that I'm not afraid : I nev-r cheated any man, and all my debts are paid . Thev cill it re-t that we shall have, but work would do no harm ; There curt be rivers there, and fields, without eoine sort o' farm ! -lleai'A and Home. The report of the New York Commission" of Immigration for 1868 shows that BtMM aliens arrived at that port during; the year. This was a decrease of 29,041 from the year 167. Of the wh le number. 101 were fnm Germany, 47,571 t-om Ireland, MjMG from England, and -'AA'M from other countries. The number of immigrants from Sweden was nearly 10,000 greater than in 1807. Josh Billings was asked, " I low fast does) sound travel ?" and his opinion is that it depend a good deal ahout the noise you are talking about. "The sound of a dinner horn, for instance, travels half a miie in a second, while an invitation to gt up in the morning I have known to be I quarters uv an hour goin up 2 pair of stairs, and then not hev Strength left to be heard." V correspondent of the New England Jf.yrmtr reports a yHd of 202 pounds of butter from a 44 Native" cow last year, borne milk was also used by the family.

MR. JOHN STOTPS DIFFICULTY. Less than forty years ago, in a certain west country town of England, lived Mr. John Stott, head of the constabulary, so astute a thief-catcher that his friends thought it a pity he should throw his wits away upon provincial vagabonds, and not give them broad and noble scope as a Bow Street runner. His enemies, the local scoundrels, thought the same ; but contented themselves with observing darkly that " he was so sharp that he would one day probably cut himself," or that " he was too clever to live." In spite of these intellectual advantages, or in consequence of them, Mr. Stott was as vain as a peacock, and made the not uncommon mistake of imagining himself even a cleverer fellow than he really was. He kept the little town (for it was a little one then) so clear of evil doers, and got so complimented thereupon by the bench of magtrates, that he could not conceive that any misdemeanor could be committed which his sagacity should be unable to ferret out, or should fail to bring it home to the true culprit. " I don't pretend for to say," was one of his favorite remarks, 4 as I was never puzzled in my profession, but this I will say, as no man ever took me in twice" ; and then he would resume his pipe with the air of a man who has modestly confessed to a weakness, which no other per son would have dreamed of attributing to him. Even his wife believed in Mr. John Stott, and so doubtless would his valet de rhumbrc, if he had happened to have kept one. 41 Burglary at Sir Robert Air's last night," said he, sententiously, as he sat smoking after supper in his snug little par lor, one summer evening, while his wife mixed his gin-punch after his own particular receipt. m You have got the wretches, of course," observed Mrs. Stott, paring the lemon peel so that you could see through it, "or else it would not be my John." "Well, no," returned the great man, rightly appropriating the last observation as a com -diment rather than an expression of doubt as to his personal identity. " The fact is, it's very queer : but I have not got. the wretches. 1 shall have them to-morrow, but at present they are absolutely at large." " Lor, John ! I can scarcely believe you when you toll nie. Why, how on earth could they have got away from ou? Thev could not have been ordinary burg lars." " You are right, ma'am," returned the chief constable, with a gratified look ; " you have hit the nail exactly on the head. They were not ordinary men ; they were acrobats." " Acrobats!" answered MrsStott, softly ; " dear me ! " She had no very accurate idea what "acrobats" were; they might be a reliir'ous sect, or they might be a pavage tribe, or, possibly, even both. But she had long passed for a woman of sense and sagacity, through maintaining a discreet silence except when her husband's talents seemed to demand her eulogies, and she was not going to risk that reputation now. She had a full share of the curiosity of her sex, but she had more than ttieir ordi nary patience. She waited to be informed upon the subject in question, without haz arding the remark which occurred to her, that acrobats had white hair and pink eyes, and, therefore, could be easily recog nized by the constabulary ; and sht had not to wait long. " Yes, it must have been them Turn biers," mused Mr. Stott, sipping his punch out of a teaspoon ; " and less than three and the boy could never have done it. It wa9 her Ladyship's dressingroom window, as looks out on the back, as they broke in at, and no ladder could have been put thee because of the flowerstand. It must have been that little devil in the tights and spangles at top of the three others. I have measured the height from the ground, and it just tallies That's what comes of allowing them itinerants to be in the place at all. The idea of the mayor letting them have the Town-

fa ill to show their tricks in ! I d put a stop to everything of that sort, if I hid my way ; and I will do it, too, in future." "But you will not interfere with Mr. Shaw, John, I do hope, since he has been so pleasant and civil." "No ma'am, no. Mr Shaw is a man of science, in his line, and what is more, a man of substance. Mr. Shaw's exhibition is itinerant, it is true, but that is from the necessity of the case. His collection of wild animals is interesting in a h'gh degree, as the rector was observing to me only yesterday. But them acrobats is quite another matter. However, lissom as they are, they must run a little faster, and climb a little higher, I can promise them, before they can get out of the reach of John Stott" " They stood upon one another's shoulders, and the boy clambered up them, I suppose ?" " Yes, ma'am that was their ingenious Method ; and if they had to do with a common mind though I say it who should not sty it the manner in which the thing was done would have remained a mystery. If a ladder had been used, it mu4 needs have made some mark upon the miirno nette-box My men were all a ape when I stated that circumstance, and began looking up in the air, as though some bird had done it. But, of course, when I said ' Them Tumblers !' they saw everything clear enough. Sir Robert, who assisted our investigations in person, was so good as to pay that I reminded him of Christopher Columbus and his egg." " You don't say so! " said Mrs. Stott, admiringly, and wondering within herself what that, story was, and whether Mr. Christopher Columbus could possibly have been an oviparous animal. "And did her Ladyship lose much ? " "Some rings and pins, and three or four pounds in gold. Curiously enough, there was a bundle of bank notes upon the dressing table which entirely escaped the young rogue's attention, or her loss would have been much more serious." " And yet he was such a frank faced honest-looking little fellow, that I never should have thought harm of him," said good-natured Mrs. Stott ; "but of course you're right." " Well, most probably," observed her lord and master with a short, dry chuckle. "By ten o'clock to morrow morning, when the justices meet, we snail have Una hon est looking young gentleman and hi9 friends in the Town-hall, taking part in a public performance of another kind than that with which they favored the town last week. And then we shall see what we shall see." Mr. Stott arose, took his official hat down from its peg, and prepared to go his rounds, a nightly precaution he seldom omitted, notwithstanding the absence of all native criminals from his strictly preserved territory ; as for the acrobats, they had fled with the first dawn of morning,

and were not likely to return till they were brought back ; but he had dispatched two of his small "force in pursuit of them, and hence there was the more need for his personal vigilance. 44 1 shall be back at two, as usual, my dear, if not before," said Mr. John Stott About two a. m., from long habit, the wife of the chief-constable was accustomed to awake and presently to hear her husband's heavy footfall coming up the stairs; but upon the present occasion there was no such welcome sound. She sat up in bed with her night cap tucked behind her ears, and listened attentively, but in vain, for him. Notwithstanding his precarious calling, Mr Stott was a model of punctuality, and as Time (which in her opinion was almost the only thing that could do it) went on without him, she began to be seriously alarmed lest this admirable man, whom human ingenuity had never yet baffled, had been overwhelmed by envious Fate. There had been thunder in the air that night, and a bolt might have struck him. But at daylight she heard the front-door open, and a slow tread come up the stairs. The wife of a chief-constable should be above the suspicion of trepidation, but it was so unlike his ordinary step, that it made her heart go pitapat. However, it teas her husband, whose noble spirit something had evidently cast down. Instead of kicking his boots across the room, as usual, he drew them off, and then sat in his stockings, thinking. " John" said she, in much confusion and alarm, 44 what is the matter, my dear? nave you not caught them albatrosses ?

I mean albinos. " Yes, ma'am, they're safe enough, but ! the deuce of it is that in their absencethere has been another burglary. Mrs. Colonel Peewit's house has been broken into Just in the same way through the second floor back window. It's nothing less than magic, for that had a mignonette-box, and there is no mark of a ladder to be found there neither. I've had mv bull's eye over every square inch of it." " Lor, John !" 44 There was nobody in the room," went on the chief-constable, musing, " and the window was open, so that the thing might have been done easy enough, when he had once got there. But how he ever did get there, that's the question, unless the dwvil had wintra" 44 But the Devil hau wines!" was Mrs. Stott's involuntary exclamation ; the good lady was so flus Hered by her late anxiety, that for once she spoke in a hurry. 44 You will presently cause me to imagine that I have made a .wond mistake in my life, ma'am, in the having married a fool," was her husband's stern rejoinder. Then he went on soliloquizing. 44 The thief, who ever he was, took the same things, rings and pins, and such-like, but he also took a plated inkstand. That looks as if he did not know his trade.

.nd yet, to have effected an entrance just ig j M M T 8hah , out of my mind Unwhere nobody would have thought such a , r taklc tbi. n;vsterv: and t mugt be

thing practicable, he must have been most uncommon cunning. Cunniug? No, tor then I should see the thing as plain as the church tower. It's downright unaccountable. How is it humanly possible that things can be stole out of a second floor window without a ladder, or anything to climb up by, unless it's a water-spout, thaVs what I want to know. And what's more, even if lie got up, how did he ever get down again ?" Hearing these remarks put aloud, and in an interrogative form, Mrs. Stott thought it incumbent upon hei to speak, and the more so, as she had ingeniously elaborated a theory of her own to account for the whole mystery. 44 If nobody could have got in from the outside, John, people a9 was inside could have done it easy enough. It was one of them trapesing servant girls, who dresses so tine, and is always wanting money to buy gewgaws, you may take my word for it." 44 1 don't suppose, ma'am," returned the chief constable, with supreme contempt. 44 that the Bench of Justices would 4 take your word for it,' even if was weak enough to do so, which 1 am not. roe servants are all above suspicion, both at Sir Robert's and Mrs. Peewit's, that was the tirst thing as we looked to, of course. But even if it were otherwise, do you supple that thieving is an epidemic, that it should break out in one household to-day, and in another to-morrow, as this has done ? You had better go to sleep, ma'am, and leave me to think the matter out alone." Which, accordingly, this great, man, having drawn his night cap on, the better to consider in, proceeded to do. Two burglaries on two following nights, in a town under his personal superinten dence, and nobody yet in custody ! He had never imagined that such a plot could betall his 'scutcheon ! It was not impossi ble, in a town so slenderly guarded, that a lad ler might have been employed without detection, but, most certainly in neither of these cases had such an instrument been used. The ft wer boxes had, in both instances, projected beyond the sill, so that the top of any ladder must have rested on them, and left its mark. There was also no trace of the foot of it iu the soil below, or sign of an attempt to remove such trace, although, in the case of Sir Robert's house, there was a flower-bed immediately beneath the window." Mr. Stott, in short, brought all his intelligence to bear upon this prob'em in vain, and nothing came of it but headache. Next day, the who.e town was in a state of intense alarm. The .,!.. e r ilitii'l-l' Ii; 1 iTi'itcii mnrOi excitement among the inhabitants, hut not so much on account of the crime, as of the sagacious manuer in which thc chief-constable had discovered the mode depredation ; but now, not only had a 00 ami outrage been committed, but thtact of its occurrence while the aero bat? were away had proved theii innocence this particular offense (though the magnates, not knowing how else to account r their Mianm rsiTTimitted them for a nonth, as ropues and vagabonds, and ueraived Mr. John Stott's solution of the rddle tfto- I ther. The chairman of the Bench.who ; l I been accustomed to suck that offnal a brains before addressing his audiece in the Town-ball, had nothing to saj upon the subject except to recommend people to shut their second -floor windowfhich, since it was Tery warm weather, id most of them cultivated 11 iwer-boxt-sW not give general satisfaction. The next night, the mayor's n house was robbed in a precisely simiK manner. It was on a Friday, and the IN papers, which came out the next day published Becond and third editions, to d tne dotails. Besides the burglary, '8ort of sacrilege had been committed, ne thief had actually possessed himself cfi Municipal Mace. This beautiful ojec.. although not intrinsically valuable, JKi apparently excited his greed, for hed dragged it out ef its case as far as t window, and thence let it fall with seport that had

alarmed the house, and dented the ground below. When the door was opened, however (which the servants declined to do, until the 44 proper authorities ' arrived), the marauder had vanished, and with him this Emblem of Authority, as well as a pair of his Lordship's boot-hooks. There happened to b-3 nothing kept in that room but the mayor's boots and the town mace. But the incident was, of course, as distressing to Mr. John Stott as though the regalia had been plundered He felt that his great reputation was giving way under these repeated shocks ; while the re t of the constabulary were of course overwhelmed with disgrace ; and the Tory newspapers openly advocated 44 stringent measures " and the calling out of the Yeomanry. 44 1 "suppose," sighed his wife upon this Saturday afternoon, 44 there is no chance of your going with me to-night to the show? And "yet it seems such a pity, after that civil Mr. Shaw has sent us these tickets ; and you know I never enjoy anythinglet it be wild beastesses, or what not without you, John. How fine they look, with this picture of the lion and the unicorn, though the bill says as the unicorn is dead, with Sha m Show, 4 patronized by all the crowned heads of Europe, and 4 admit the bearer,' with his autograph in the corner, in red ink ! Why, the msyor's own invitations are not more splendid." 44 Don't talk of the mayor, woman, for that makes me think of the mace," replied her husband, with a shiver. 44 1 don't wish to see any show but one, and that's the

man that stole that mace, with a pair ot handcuffs on him, or, what would be better still, a-standine underneath a bit of wood, with a rope round his neck, anda parson by his side. But there, it's no good wishing. Upon my life, I sometimes wonder if the Devil himself is not a doing on it all to vex me." 41 Lor, John, you make me creep f 44 Well, I can't make you fly, I reckon," replied Mr. Stotf, surlily ; 44 and yet that's what this fellow can do, confound him ! He's like a bird of the air, a bird of prey." 44 Well, John, do you know I can't help sometimes thinking only I would not have mentioned it unless you had that, perhaps, after all, it is a bird ! You know a magpie is a thief by nature." " And so you suppose a magpie could luv ctVhn thp tnwn maop ru von v w,, mMm ..... fni than tuor,omfl. II'. . 1 V ' 1 . 1 . 1 W ' " ' . . a t i . , V i J " pipers. 44 1 forgot the mace, John," observed Mrs. Stott, humbly. 44 1 wish I could forget it," growled the chief-constable. 44 You had better put on your bonnet, and take my ticket round the corner to Mrs. Jones, who will be glad enough to go with you ; only take care Shaw don t keep you both, and put you in a cage for a pair of owls There I m sorrir tr ru an rmlp Afra St.nt.t. hnt. t.h f.rt j - - mmZ left alone to think it out." So Mrs. Stott, obedieut wife as she was, attired herself in gorgeous apparel, and, accompanied by her friend and neighbor, the Parish doctor's wife, honored Mr Shaw's menagerie with her presence. It was a sort of fete which that practical student of Natural history (which included some knowledge of mankind) had given to the inhabitants of the town, and every thing was on a very splendid scale. The show was lit up by rows of chandeliers, made of circlets of wood and candles, from the latter of which, as they of necessity hung very low, the tallow dripped upon the heads of the company; but that was not found cut till the next morning. The floor and cages had been thoroughly swept aud garnished, and some attempt had even been made, by means of unguents and spices (or, in other words, chlorate of lime), to mitigate the odor that hangs .about all establishments devoted to the reception of wild beasts. But it must be confessed that this last refinement was a failure it was like the jar of ottar, which, 44 do what you will, the scent of the rose9 would cling to it still ;" only in t his case the perfume was the result of a combination ; the hyena and the muskrat, the royal Bengal tiger and the mar oaosot, ech contributed their soupeon. , In place of the usual showman, Mr. Shaw I hiimelf, with an elegant white wand, i pointed out the various objects of interest, explained their habits, anl narrated anecdotes of their extraordinary sagacity. The monkey-cages, as usual, were the chief attraction; their irnocent gambols, i and the remarkable pencfunt they exhibited for biting each other'i tails, were the i admiration of the behok'ers. Mrs. 8tott, while regarding these paiodies upon mankind with a contemplative air, was very 1 nearly indeed, literally within half ah inch or so paying a grest penalty ffsf her philosophic abstraction. A ribbed face baboon of gigantic size, looking not unlike one of Mr. Cooper's Indian heroes in his war paint, made a sratch at her fingers, which, loaded with "ings, happened j to be ungloved, for she hid just been takiug refreshments. 44 Your charms even vanquish the brute ( creation, Mrs. Stott," observed the clerk to the mttgistrates gallantly; "the cnamored aninal seeks your hand." 44 Yes but, like the rest of the male sex, , for wht is in it, or on it," replied Mrs. i Jones who had been an heiress in a small way tdl her husband removed from her th invidious distinction by spending all h'f money. The ribbed face baboon streamed with tdisanpointment, and swung by his rope headforemost, and with his eyes shut, tor the rest of the evening. Tt was 1 a. m., and the chief constable's wife had been in bed since midnight, but she had not fallen asleep. She was aw tit ing the arrival ot Mr. Stott, in hopes that he might have some good news to tell her, or to comfort him with her sympathy in case he hadn't. It was a beautiful night, and she had left the window open, through which the soft fresh air came gratefully enough after the atmosphere of the me-i-aa ill .a nagene. 8hc would oe aoie to eaten tne majestic footfall of her lord while it was yet a great way off, and she was listening for it. Presently, through the deep summer stillness sounded a humau step, which, albeit not that she was expecting, seemed familiar to her. It was a step which, although it moved with quickness, had a slight limp such as she had noticed in the gait of Mr. Shaw. Yet he had himself assured her that very evening that he was a man of early habits, and always shut up his house on wheels before twelve o'clock. It was most unlikely that on the night of his fete, of all nichts, he should have made id exception to this salutary practice ; and yet she knew no other step than his like that step. It stopped beneath the win dow, and then there was a sliding.scrambling noise, as though something were struggling up the water-pipe that ran down the side of the house, and she felt

at once that the mystery of these nightly thefts was about to be solved. She was frightened, of course ; but she did not shut her eyes and put her head under the bed clothes, as most ladies would have done under such circumstances ; on the contrary, she stared so hard at the window, that the sides seemed to meet, and leave no window at all. Or was it that tbe space had become obscured by the presence of the marauder ? Yes, that was it ; and what a marauder ! The face of the intruder she could not catch ; but he saw that he was quite black, very inadequately attired, and provided with a long tail. That late imprudent reply of hen; to her husband, 44 But the Devil has wings," came into her mind with terrible emphasis. No wonder that even the chief-constable's vigilance had failed to Ah, that face ! There was no mistaking those very strikingly marked features ! It was, without doubt, her late admirer, the ribbed face baboon ; and, whether from motives of delicacy or fear, Mrs. Stott did dive under the bedclothes then, with only her nose left out to breathe through, like the elephant when under water, as Mr. Shaw had instructively informed her not three hours ago. She could hear a little, however, as well as breathe ; and she distinctly caught the quiet chuckle of her visitor, and the chink of her rings as he swept them off the dressing-table with his hairy paws. Presently, there was a shrill whistle from below, and the chuckling ceased ; and then came the sliding, scrambling noise again. The ribbed face baboon had put the rings in his mouth having no pocket and slid down the water spout to his master with the spoil. 44 John," cried Mrs. Stott, when the chief-constable put in his long-wished for appearance, and as soon as he had got inside the door, 44 I've found it all out." 44 Pshaw !" said her husband contemptuously. 44 Lor," cried she, 44 well, you are a won

der! How ever did you find out it was Mr. Shaw and his ribbed face baboon ?" ! 41 Never you mind ma'am," rejoined Mr. Stott, with his old confident air ; I fuive found it out. And now let me hear how far your testimony goes in corroboration of my views." The next day, " from information received," as he darkly hinted, the chief-constable apprehended the keeper of the menagerie, and searched his house on wheels with such effect that all the stolen property was recovered. Mr. Shaw, it appeared, had trained the ribbed-faced baboon to climb up water-spouts and sweep from dressing tables all articles that glittered, which accounted for his taking the plated inkstand and the municipal mace. If his education had been suffered to progress, he would doubtless in time have been taught to carry oft' bank-notes and railway dividends. But, thanks to Mrs. Stott, his occupation was henceforth gone. The chief-coustable, however, got all the credit for the discovery, and was held by everybody, including his wife, in higher estimation for sagacity than ever. It was true that he had been at fault at first, and in more than one instance ; but then, as he himself observed : " I may still say as no man ever took me in twice, for this was not a Man, but a Hape." The above curious incident happened at Shrewsbury in 1834, and was without doubt the circumstance on which Edgar Poe founded his famous story of " The Murder in the Rue Morgue." Chambers' Journal. The Railroads of the World at the End or the Year 1868. The Commercial and Financed Chronicle gives the following table of the miles of railroad in the several countries of the world, their cost per mile, the number of square miles and number of inhabitants to each mile of railroad: Countries and State. Len'th in mile?. Cost Sq. m'le per to each mile. mile. Inhabitantx to i'ach mile. North America. America Dom. of Canada. 42,247 f 44,255 71. (M 876,15 Ontario 1,407 575 22, 145 2.. a 76,314: KM.W l.StM.51 74 811 j 365 2(i t.SM.M 30,771; 11963' 1.411.62 47 WW 128 79 IJtt.OO 54,920 2,825.14 SBUOSt.13 aebec Brunswick Nova Scotia.. Mexico West India Islands. Cuba Jamacia Socth America. Colombia Venezuela British Guayana. Braz 1 Paraguay Peru Chili Argentine Republic Kl'ROPK U. K. of Gt.Brit ain and Ireland French Empire. Siain Portugal Swi8 Republic. Italy Roman States. . . Prussia N.German State (other) S German staterAustrian Empire lielglum Holand Sweden Norway Denmark Russia (In En rope Tnrkey ( in Enrope Greec ( Asia.

431 52.108 109.0! 3.362.59 14 27,4l( 446.13 : 3,151.85 I ' . AX 166.667 10,873.33 MJ8M8 to b6.212 13.: 334 56 32..W.79 60 9i,319 1.695.00 2 589 77 012,201,1571 5,8 7.42 19,61. M H B.TM 1,874. 11,739.19 101 56,410 4,937.65 249 1.19 394 61,309 34.01 4,327. 231 1 53,918 486.32 5,451.75 j 14.247 176.969 8 6) 2.0?10 9 934 158,714 21.26 3.763 06 3,429 107,156 69 29 I 67."S 10 502 101,317 69.H9 T.OS.SI M7 ST. 132 17 02 1,814.99 4,10 13,108 24 60 S,0M ' 111 86,3 7 11. 3.2". M 5,926 120.171 23.5 3,'.W1.70 1.311 89,327 18.57 4,315 63 3,681 N7 5.i 16 S3 3,179.58 4.429 78,918 51.21 7,854.39 1,799 166,981 ti St I 9 1 H3 881 97,2H 1546' 4.M0.1I 1,194 2.S3N 112.8! 3 415! 41 !,t74 2,800 63 33.669 95 40 1 57,114 MM 4,010.21 4,317 160,922 455.31 15,365.75 319 46.72! 629 50 19.295 83 100( 50,000 301.6 13.253 10 113 48.701 4,708.40 113,337 .76 100 60.000 5 360 IN' 100 1 00.(10 4.092 95,7'. 342 7 43.864 13 103 75,(NMi BDB.8018S.441.il 37 61,63 667.57 48.405.13 468 96,504 380.34 5.341 88 33 65,308 7,3S7.3lS961,4tS8.SB 85 93.103 1,411.7 3 52! s 69,711 10,000 00 75,00 J (Kl 1 409 113,312 212.33 1.404 33 174 8003 1,856 M 3.177.79 Utt 9.i2 ,17.0 535 41 87 59.108 4,405.75 1,613 97 17, 87,72! 6,261.70 10,315.13

Turkey in Asia Persia British India Java Ceylon ' Africa. K?ypt I Algeria I Cape Colony ' Natal ! Australia. Victoria New 8. Wales. . . (ut.-ensland bouth Anstralia. New Zealand l recapitulation. North America. West India Is lands South America. . Europe Asia Africa Australia. 4t,R02 45,655 93.01 1.100.2 4.348 JB 1 1.77:. M 6,i'l 11 49 452 :t9 16,689 11 l.84 09 445 50 34S 1,434 116,382 56,60 133,876 4,474 .2.709 fH3 94.233 789 98.033 130.39 1,199 n M 39 666 61 912 M 3,00000 Ag 'te. In World. 109,1 n 99.191 17s oti 5.353 3 Pure Citttern Water. Cistern water becomes foul and of fensive because it contains a large amount of organic maiter derived from the roof of the house, absorbed from the air, etc. This matter may be in the form of germs, or it may be in the process of growth or decay. It may be vegetable or animal, or both, the latter condition generally prevailing. This matter undergoes rapid growth and decay, and exceed

ingly rapid multiplication. When the temperature is warm, as in the summer, there are two ways to correct the evil : First, by entire separation of all organic matter from the water ; second, by its complete destruc'ion while in the water. The first object can scarcely be accomplished, aa no simple filter would separa'e all germs, and even if separated, the wa! r could not be kept for use exposed to the air. The proper method of purification is, therefore, by chemical destruction. This may be effectually, economically, and safely done by the permanganate of potasaa, used in the proportion of about an ounce to fifty gallons of water. A destructive chemical change takes place, the organic matter is reduced, and the whole mass is prec:pitated as an inert and harmless sediment. The chemical reaction is marked by a purple coloring of the solution, and this color indicates the presence of organic matter. The permanganate should be added until this color disappears, when you may know that the organic mattei is entirely destroyed, for an infioitesimal quantity of the latter will be delected by the former. This preparation of potash may be obtained at any druggist's. A Physician, in Hearth and Home. FACTS AXD FIGURES. Fourteen incomes in Hartford, Conn., exceed $200,000 each. Ex-Senator Dixon, of Connecticut, returns an income $100,000. The area of Minnesota is larger than the six New England States. The Eaglish railroads earn on an average 57 17s per mile per week. Hans Christian Andersen speaks four languages fluently, and reads four more. The highest store rent paid in Lew York is $f0,000 ; the highest in Chicago. $52 000. There are 160 cases of divorce pending in the Supreme Judicial Court for Middlesex, Mass. Tns number of persons who died from drunkenness in Russia, list year, was 2,748 seven a day. Smoking pipes to the aggregate value of fifty-two million francs were manufactured in France last year. All the sons of the Harpers brothers have been admitted to the firm since the death of James Harper. A London publisher announces a reli gious tract with the title : " Salts and Senna, a Cathartic in Seven Doses." A ore at aquarium is being constructed at Berlin, for which 8,000 living varieties of marine life have been collected. More than $3:10,000 has been spent since 1855 in decorating the Capitol at Washington with works of art. A bio blast was recently made in California. Twelve hundred kegs of powder were used and a mountain was blown up. In Vienna last year seventy-one Roman Catholics were admitted to the Lutheran churches, and eleven Lutherans turned Roman Catholics. Mrs. Rachel Vkntrous died in New Hav:n, Conn , a tew days ago, aged 93 yrn leaving M grandchildren, 49 greatgrandchildren, and 3 great great grandchildren. The Tuckers, of Monson, Mass., are a long lived family. Two died lately aged 96 and 100 ; and there are four still living, of whom the oldest is 89 and the youngest 79. In California, four locust trees less than twenty years old were lately cut, and twenty-nine wagon hubs having been made from them the remainder made more than four cords of firewood. The Houses of Parliament in Londoi cost $15,000,000 in gold, and it is now said that people of taste have a most noble monument, and people of business a most

inconvenient house. Toads are sold in Paris at the rate of fifty cents a dozen. The animal is used for the protection of vineyards and garJens from the ravages of insects that escape the pursuit of the birds. The average winnings of the gambling tables at Ems, Baden, Wiesbaden, Ham burg and Manheim have, for the last ten years, amounted to an annutl grand total of three and a half million ollars. Thk canary bird has been an object ot traffic for five centuries. Five hundred years ago there was but one kind of canary bird, but the original stock has been so mixed and adulterated that the varieties now number at least 50. Mr. A. T. Stewart's property on Broadway alone is worth about $5,000,000. Mr. W. B. Astor's real estate on Broadway is worth about $3,000,000. The L rillard estate has $8,000,000 invested in that thoroughfare. A la roe sperm whale was recently harpooned on the coast of Madagascar. From it was obtained 285 pounds of amtergris, worth about $25,000. Sailors say that ambergris is pnniuced by dispepsia iu the whale. A Boston merchant is the possessor of a business ledger 190 years old. It was formerly the property of Lieut. Gov. Usher, of New Hampshire, and contains accounts dating back to 1678 which are as legible as when written. An enterprising youth of 15, a resi dent of Pittsburgh, bought liquor in four BakMBM on a recent Sunday, and on the following Monday lodged information against the dealers for selling liquor on the Sabbath, and received $100 as the informer's fee. Colonel Houert Johnson, who has recently died, was the second, but eldest surviving, son of the ex President. He serred during the greater portion of the late war, and, when his father became President, he assumed the position of his Private Secretary. Next year is the centenary of American Universalism, and is to be duly celebrated by the payment of all debts and obligations resting on the various organizations of the denomination. A memorial monument at Washington, to cost $100,000, is talked of. In California, there is made, on an aversgf.from 550 to 100 gallons of wine to the acre. The four most productive of the winegrowing districts of Europe are: Italy, giving to the acre 44 gallons; Austria and her provinces, 265 5 6 gallons; France, 176 2-7 gallons; Nassau, 237 gallons. Oliver Dver, in Packard's Monthly for May, gives the following figures as the cost of a "wedding outfit" for a fashionable young man in Gotham underwear only being enumerated : 1 pair of wedding socks f 15 1 pmr of wedding drawers 30 1 pair of wedding saspendera 25 1 wedding uhlrt 75 1 wedding undershirt 35 1 wedding necktie SA 1 wedding pocket handkerchief 150 Total wedding underwear 6355

A Spicy Letter from Grace Greenwood. Grace Greenwood publishes the following racy and characteristic letter in the Philadelphia Star : Editor of the Star Sir : I find in your issue of yesterday the following paragraph : " Dr. Lippincott (the husband of Grace Greenwood), a fourth-class clerk in the Post Office Department, was an applicant for the position of General Superintendent in the Post Office Department, but failed to get the appointment" During the visit of Mr. Macready to this country, as he was traveling on a Western steamboat, he was pointed out by a wagcish clerk to a rough backwoods man, as Ole Bull, who was then giving concerts in the West. The great tragedian sat apart on the deck, wrapped in poetic contemplation and insular dignity ; but the tall Missourian strode immediately up to him, and with a startling slap on the Shoulder, thus addressed him : Hello, old hots ! Old Buil ! whar's your fiddle " The stately actor turned upon him, and, with a "withering look," and in the most tragic tone, replied : " Sir, I am nt a horse, neither am I a bull, neither have I a fiddle." In like manner, I hsve to reply that Mr. Lippincott, of Philadelphia, "the husband of Grace Greenwood," is not a doctor ; neither is he a " fourth-class clerk in the Post Office Department ;" neither has he b en "an applicant for the position of General Superintendent of the Post Office Department ;" neither has he failed to get the appointment. As for the excellent Dr. Lippincott, is it net enough that he should miss of the office to which he aspired, that you must divorce him from his lawful wife, a most estimable lady, and bestow him upon a stranger ? As for us, belonging to another branch of the Lippincott tree, we have applied for no office at Washington, though we have, I will confess, held ourselves open to the proffer ot a first-class foreign mission. With slight solicitation we would consent to be "a looker on in Vienna," though, perhaps, Madrid would be a better point, as our wordly possessions principally consist of certain dilapidated "Castles in Spain." That we missed of Paris was not, we feel assured, because our honored President loved Philadelphia less, but Galena more. A. Curtin has fallen upon our hopes of St. Petersburg, and if we mourn, it will not be Russian Sables. As for the Court of St. James, it seems " your Motley is the only wear." I think I have some reason to complain of you editor for apparently classing me among the "bigimistic writers of the day," in assigning to me so many amiable consorts If you would only vary the name occasionally there would be some relief in the variety ; bat toujour Lippincott The same disclaimer I now put forth for the benefit of Dr. Lippincot must apply to Mr. J. B. Lippincott the great publisher, and to Gen. Lippincott, late D orkeeper of the Senate. They are " all honorable men," doubtless, but they are not my husbands ; and I hereby warn all persons against trusting me on their account. Grace Greenwood. Washington, April 21, 1869. The Principle Which Gives Relish to Food and Drink. Much too little has hitherto been thought by physiologists, and almost nothing has been written on that beautiful provision for our happiness by which everything that is useful as food or drink is most agreeable to the palate, so that the higher our relish for any given article, the more perfectly is it digested, and made to supply the wants of the system ; we have, therefore, a natural guide to the right kind of food at the right time, and, on the other hand, have a disrelish for articles which, not being suited to our condition, would be injurious. But a little reflection will show us that in this adaption of our palates to the peculiar taste or osmazome of every distinct article of food, we have a faithful sentinel, inviting the admission of friends and protecting us from the approach of enemies. Place before a child who has never tasted of sugar, or butter, or superfine flour, or any other elements of food that have been separated from their natural connections, and whose tastes are therefore unperverted. milk, unbolted bread, meat8,fruits, or any other natural food, and he will choose just thut article which is best adapted to his condition at the time, and may be trusted to eat as much as he pleases. But the taste is perverted with food in which the flavor is excessive, as in butter, sugar, fine flour, etc, and it is no guide, but deceptive. ALd here wo are liable to err. Our natural gustatory pleasures are not in proportion to the amount of osmazome in our food or drink. Nature's flavors are vi ry delicate, and the very choicest relish is hat produced by very slight traces ot osmazome. For example, take nutmeg, a very slight grating of which will flavor a large bowl of porridge. Attempt to increase the relish by increasing the quantity of the spice, and you utterly fail, making your beverage ksi and less agreeable as you increase the quantity of nutmeg, till it becomes disgusting, and positively injurious to the digestive process ; and this is true of all other condiments, and, indeed, all other good things. Delicate flavors are agreeable and useful in prompting digestion ; but every article which is capable of promoting health and happiness in appropriate quantities, is capable of doing harm in unnatural quantities Dr. Bellows. Hints. The London Horse Book furnishes the following hints, which owners of horses would do well to heed : " Many horses are made vicious from cruel treatment " More horses fall from weariness than any other cause. " When a horse falls, he is more frightened than his rider.

"A frightened animal cannot use its senses aright ; it must first be reassured by gentle treatment "It is speed that kills the horse. " Never strike an animal upon the head. " Careless application of the whip has blinded many horses. "More horses are lamed from bad shoeing than from all other causes together. " Never kick nor scream at a hone, nor jerk the bit in his month." A person discoursing of the painful position of the Siamsae twins, concluded by remarking : " However, it is well they are brothers ; if strangers to each other, their predicament would be distressing ."

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