Rensselaer Republican, Volume 13, Number 50, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 September 1881 — Page 4

' SEEKING REST. ■— * ' O ye UuU fare amid three breath IreaMmr*. Spending your souls ’twlxt factory and mart. Ye whose quick eyes and paleasd eager faces Reveal the resUeas heart. What are you seeking k* your fever’d labor. Tturt knowano preae thro’ all the crowded Each for hta&eU; and no man for his neighbor,. , what ia that ye seeks } “Oh, someseek bread—no more-life’s mare And some seek Wealth and ease—the common quest; And some seek feme, that hovers In the . distance; But all are seeking rest.” _ ‘•Our temples throb, oar brains are turning, turning, - - Would Goa that what we strain at were pnsseassd; . . God knows oar souls are parch’d and black With yearning; God knows we faint for rest,” He went his way, a haggard shape and > dreary. His hard feeeset toward the kindled we*t, And low a voice, “Come unto me, ye weary, - -And I will give you rest." -Good Words.

EDWARD MILLS AND GEORGE BENTON.

A TALI BY MASK TWAIN. These two were distantly related to each other—seventh 'cousins, or something of that sOrt- ( While still babies they became orphans, and were adopted by the Brants, a childless couple, who quickly grew very fond of them. The Brants were always saying:."Be pure, honest, sober, industrious and considerate of others, aifd success iu life is assured.*’ The children heard this repeated some thousands of times before they understood it ; ; they could' repeat it themselves long before they could repeat the Lord’s prayer; it was Tainted over the Nurserydoor,and was about the first thing they* learned to read. It was destined to become the universal rule of Edward Mills’ life. Sometimes the Brants changed the wording a little and said: "Be paire, honest, sober, industrious, considerate, ana you will never lack friends,”./ Baby Mills was a comfort to everybody about him. When be wanted candy and could not have it. be listened to reason, and contents himself without it When Baby Benton wanted candy he cried for it until he got it. Baby Mills took care of his toys. Baby Benton always destroyed his in a very brief time, and them made himself so insistently disagreeable that in order to have peace in the mouse, little Edward was persuaded to yield up his playthings to him. When th? children were a little older Georgie became a heavy expense in one respect; he took no care of bis clothes, consequently he shone frequently in new ones, which was not the ease with Eddie The boys grew ap&ce. Eddie was an increasing comfort; Georgie an iucrea«ing\soiicitude. It was always sufficient to say in/ answer to Eddie’s petitions, "I would rather you would ' not do it ’—meaning swimming, skat- ] ing, picnicing, berrying, circusing, and i alhaorts of things- which boys, delight ! iny But no answer was sufficient for . Georgie; he had to be humored in bis j desires, or he would carry them with a ' high . baud. - Naturally, no boy got 1 more swimming,skating, berrying etc-, than he; no boy ever had a better time. The good Brants -did not allow the boys to play out after nine o’clock in summer evenings; they were sent to be«| kt that hour. Eddie honorably remained, but Georgie usually slipped out of the window towards 10 and enjoyed himself'until midnight It seemed impossible to break Georgie of tLis bad habit, but the Brants managed it at last by hiring him with apples and ■ marbles, to stay iu. The good Brants gave all their time and attention in vain endeavors to regulate Georgie; they said, with giateful (ears in their eves, that Eddie needed no efforts of theirs, he was so good, so considerate, and.in all ways so perfect By and by the Loys were big enqugh to work, so they Were apprenticed to a trade. Edward went volun tariaiy; George was coaxed and and bribed. Edward worked hard and faithfully, aud ceased to be an expense to the good'Brants; they praised him, so did his master; but George ran away, and it cost Mr. Brant bot.i money aud trouble to hunt him up and get him back. By aud by he ran away again—more money and more trouble. He ran away a third time, and stole a few little things to carry with him. Troubleami expense for Mr. l-rant once more, besides, it was with the greatest difficulty that he succedcd in persuading the master to let the youth go unprosecuted for the theft. ’ - Edward worked steadily along, aiid in time became a full partner in hie master’s business. George did not im- • prove; he kept the hearts of his • aged benefactors full of trouble and iheir hands full of inventvie activities to pro tect hipa from ruin. • Edward, as a boy -had interested himself in Sundayschools, Debating Societies, Penny missionary affairs, anti-tooacco or-ganixnXjfons.auti-profanity associations and adi such things; as a man he was a quiet but steady' and reliable helper in tlie’Cdureli, the temperance societies w 4 kll movements looking to the aiding and uplifting of men. This excited no remark, attracted no aitention, for it was his "natural.bent.” Finally the old people e died. The will testified their loving pride iu Elward, land left their little property to George.— because he "heeded’it;” whereas, "owing to a bountiful Providence.” such was noj the case with Edward. The property was left to George conditionally; he must buy out Edward's partner .pith it, else go to a benevolent organization called the Prisoner’s Friend Society. Th 6 old people left a letter, iu which they begged their dear son Edward to take their place and watch over Qeprge.aud lielpand shield him as they had done. Edward dutifully acquiesbed, and George became his partner in the business. He was not a valuablejpartner; he had been middling with dnuk beforejhe soon developed iuto a constant tippler, now. and his- flesh aud eyes sbowid the fact unpleasantly. Edward, had been courting a sweet' and kindlv spirited girl for some time. They loved each other dearly, and . But about this period George began to haunt her fearfully and imploringly, and at last she west crying to Edward and said her high and holy duty was plain before her—she must not let her —she must notlethcr own selfish desires interfere with it; she must marry' "poor George” and "reforih him.” It would break her- heart, she knew It would, and so on; but duly was duty. 80 she married George, and Edward's heart came very near breaking, as well as her owu. However, Edward recovered. and married another girl—a very excellent one she was. too. Children came to both families Mary did her he nest best to reform her irusLand, but the contract was too large. George went on drinking, and I y aud by he fell to misusing her aud ♦no it tie ones sadly. A great manvgood people strove with George—they . were always at it,in- fact—but he calmly took such efforts as his due and their duty, and did not mend his ways. He added a vice,’ presently—that of secret Em bling.' He got deeply in debt; he rrowed money on the firms credit,as quietly as he could, and carried thia system so far and so successfully that one morning the Sheriff took possees- ' ion of the establishment, and the two cousins found themselves penniless. fimes were hard,now,and they grew worse. Edward moved his family- into a garret, and walked the streets day and night, seeking work. He begged for it, but it was really not to be had He was astonished to see how soon his face became un welcome;he was astonished and hurt to see how quickly the ancient interest which people had In him faded out and disappeared, Htili, be must get work; ao he awaOogred hb

chagrin and toited on in aearchof Ik At last he got a tab of carrying bricks Sa ladder in a nod. and w a irateman in consequence ;but after that nobody knew him -or eared anything about him. He was not able to keep up his dues in the various moral organizations to which he belonged,and had to endure the sharp pain of seeing himself brought under the disgrace of suspension. But the faster Edward died out of public knowledge and Interest the faster George rose in them He was lying, ragged and drunk, in the gutter one morning. - A member of the Ladies’ Temperance Refuge fished him out and took him in hand, got up a subscription for him, kept him sober a whole week, then got a situation for him. An account of it was published. General attention was thus drawn to the poor fellow, and a great many people came forward and helped him toward reform with their countenance and encouragement. He did not drink a drop for twe months, and meanwhile was the pet of the good. Then he fell—in the gutter; and there was general sorrow and lamentation. But the noble sisterhood rescued him again. They cleaned him up, they fed him, they listened to the mournful music of his repentances, they got him bis situation again. An account of this also was published, and the town was drowned in happy tears over the restoration of thef poor beset and struggling victim of the fatal bowl. A grand temperance revival was gotten up, and after some rousing speeches bad been made the Chairman said, impressively, "We are now about to call for signers; and I think there is a spectacle in store for you which not many in this house will be able to view with dry eyes.” There was an eloquent-pause, and then George Benton escorted by a red sashed detachment of the Ladies of Refuge, stepped forward upon the platform and signed the pledge. The air was rent with applause, and everybody cried for joy. Everybody wrung the Rand of the new convert whe'n the meeting was over: his salary was enlarged the next day; he-was the talk of the town, and its hero. An account of it was published. George Benton fell regularly every three months, but was faithfully rescued and wrought with every time and good situations were fouqd for hiiii. Finally he was taken around ’the country lecturing as a reformed drunkard, and he had great houses and did an immense amount of good. He was as popular at home, and so trusted—during his sober intervals—that he was enabled to use the name of,a principal citizen, and get a large sum of money st the bank. A mighty Eressure was brought to bear to save im from the consequences of his forgery, and it was partially successful—he was "sent up” for only two years. When, at the end of a year, the tireless efforts were crowned with success, and he emerged from the penitentiary with a pardon in his pocket, the Prisoner’s. I Friend Society met him at the door | with a situation aud a comfortable ; salary, and all (he other benevolent ! people came forward and gave him advic?, encouragement and help. Edwatd Stills had once applied -to the | Prisoner’s Friend Society for a situaI tion. when in dire need, but the «>ues--1 tion, "Have you oeen a prisoner?” i made brief work of his case. While all these things were going on : Edward Mills had been quietly maki ing head against adversity. He was 1 .still poor, but in receipt of a steady ! and sufficient salary, as the respected and trusted cashier of a bank. George Benton never came near him, aud was never htarft to inquire about him. George got to indulging iu long absences from the town; there were ill ; reports about Jjim, but nothing indit finite. One winter’s night some masked burglars forced . their way into the bank, aud found Edward Mills there i alone. . They commanded him to re- ‘ veal the "combination,” so that they i could get into the safe. He refused. They threatened his life. He said his hir employers trusted him, and he . could not be a traitor to that trust. He eould die if lie must, bnt while he, I lived he would"le faithful;, he would ■ uht yield up the combination.” The burglars killed him. The detective bunted down the o.rim« 1 iuals, the chief one proved to be George I BeUton. A wide sympathy was felt ' for the widow and orphans of the dead .man, and all the newspapers in the land begged that all the banks in the laud would testify their appreciation of the fidelity and heroism of the murdered cashier by coming forward with a • generous contribution of money iu aid of his family now bereft of support. The result was a mass of solid cash amounting to upward of ssoo an average of nearly three-eights of a cent for each bank in the Union. The cashici’s bank testified its gratitude by endeavoring to show (but humiliatingly failed in it) that the peerless servant’s accounts were not square, and that he himself knocked his brains out with a bludgeon to escape detection and punishment. George Betfton was held for .trial. Then everybody seemed to forget the widow ana orphans in their solicitude for po i George Everything that money aud influence could do wasdone to save him; but all failed, and he was sentenced to death. Straightway the Governor was besieged with petitions for commutation of pardon; they were brought py tearful youug girls; by sorrowfuUold maids; by d put aliens of pathetic widows; by shoals of impressive orphans. But no, the Governor — for once—would not yield. Now George Benton experienced religion. The glad news flew all around. From that time forth his cell was full of girls and women and fresh flowers. All the day long there was prayer, and hymn-singing, aud thanksgiving, and homilies, and tears, with never an interruption, except an occasional fivemiuutes intermission for refreshments. This sort of thing continued up to the very gallows, and George Benton went proudly home, in the black can, before a wailing audience <jf the sweetest and liest that the region could produce. His grave had fresh flowers on it every day for a while, and the headstone bore the words under it and pointing aloft: "He has fought the good fight.” "The brave cashier’s headstone has this inscrintion: "Be pure, honest, sober, industrious and considerate, and you will never ” Nobody knotps who gave the order to leave it that way, but it was <so given. The cashier's family are in stringenj circumstances now, it is said; but no matter, a lot of appreciative people, who were not willing that an act so brave aud true as his should go unrewarded, have, collected $42,000 —and built a memorial church with it.

Historical Brevities.

Plato died at 81, pen in hand. The needle gun was patentei in 1831. • The history of iron ships dates from 1787. Coal gas for the purpose of lighting, was known ages ago to the Chinese. Pnotography was known to Leonardo de Vinci in the fifteenth century. Archimedes, born in Sicily 287, B. C. was the author of more than forty mechanical inventions. Silk first came from China, and the Chinese still have many important secrets connected with it unknown to Europeans. In 1855 the planet Neptune was discovered,by which the solar svstem was extended 2,000,000 miles beyond its former limits. According to common accounts tea was first brought into- England from Holland in 166*, and a pound then sold for sixty shillings. Home wm captured four times in sixteen years, and during that time 15,000.00 i humin beings perished by sword, pestilence and fomlne. <

Tbeidm of the kakfafcecope firet occurred to David Brewster in 1814, he was engaged in experimenting on the polarization of light by reflection from plates of glees. Over 8,000 victims were executed for witchcraft during the reign of the long Parliament. Barrington gives the whole number of those put to death in England on this charge as not less than 30,000. . In the time of Herodotus there was on the .Egean sea a community of "lake dwellers” who lived upon piles driven into the bottom the lake, and connected only by a narrow bridge with the land. The history of bells is one of the most interesting in the recital of inventions. They were first heard of about the year 400, before which date rattles were used. In the year 810 we hear of bells in the city of Bens, the army of Clothaire, king of France, having been frightened away by the ringing of them. In 660 the first peal of bells was rung in England at Croyland Abbey. Many yean ago it was estimated that there were at least 2,262 peals of bells, great and small, in England. It has been thought that the custom of ringing bells was peculiar in England, but the Cathedral of Antwerp, celebrated for its magnificent spire, has a peal of bells, 90 In number, on which is played every half hour the most elaborate music.

Spotted Tari’s Daughter.

Major Gordon, of the second infantry, now at Bt. Paul, was well acquainted with Spotted Tail, the Bioux chief, who was killed by Crow Dog at Rosebud agency. He first saw him at Fort Laramie, in 1866, he having come there on an errand so sad that it affected his after life He brought there the body of his favorite daughter for burial, and officers of the post, with other white residents of the neighborhood, took part in the obsequies. Spotted Tail killed a number or ponies at the funeral, and nailed the skulls on the posts supporting the coffin. These skulls still remain, and every year the commanding officers sees to it that the coffin is decorated with flowers and streamers. The daughter had a romantic histo’y, which is familiar to many army officers and plainsmen. She fell in love with Lieut. Brockhors Livingston, of the old 2d dragoons, and a direct descendant of the famous Chancellor Livingstons of New York. He seems to have reciprocated her love, and they lived tof ether as man and wife, though bound y no legitimate tie. Livingston at last took sick, became a prey to dementia, was sent to Europe and there died.. The poor girl awaited his return long and anxiously, and guarded as dearer than her heart’s blood bis son, a bright two or three year old son. At length news of his death reached her, and the wife —for so she considered herself, and so her native friends considered her — pined a few months with a slowly breaking heart, and then died. Her last words were the few English words of endearment Livingston had taught ner in days gone by. Spotted Tail took the beloved formwhere Livingston had first met her, and there buried it. Mrs. Livingston, the mother of the lieutenant, is still living in|New York, or was a short time ago, and has instituted inquiries relative to the son spoken of, with a view of caring for and educating him, but all trace of him was lost, for his dusky relatives preferred to keep him with themselves.

Some Fisherman’s Luck.

Over 100,000 drum fish were caught at one haul of the seine at Chincoteague Island, Virginia. A salmon was caught recently in Columbia river, Oregon, weighing eighty aud one-half pounds. A small party from Northampton, fishing at Norwich Pond, caught eighty-two pounds of pickerel and perch. A fisherman claims to have caught a brook trout two feet long in one of the mountain streams of Pendleton county, West Virginia. While J. E. Hoilobaugh and his friend, of Juniata, Pa., were hunting frogs recently id the vicinity of Tuscarora, a four-pound bass jumped into the boat, striking Hoilobaugh a smart rap on the head. Two young ladies while rowing on the river near Indian Creek, Pa., were surprised to see a large pike jump into the boat. They killed it with an oar, when it was found to weigh fourteen and one halt pounds. Charles Parker saw a commotion on the water in a pond near Salem, N. Y., and, going to the spot, not only secured a twenty-two pound pickerel, but captured a fisn line in which it w r as entangled, and the hook still in its mouth. It had broken some fisherman’s line. The Charlestown (Va.) Free Press says: "A bass weighing one pound in 1880 was returned to the Potomac, near the Great Falls, with a small sleigh-bell fastened to his tail with a wire. A few’ day ago it was caught in the canal at with bell still attached to it. It weighed six pounds.”

Killed by Bees.

St. Louis Globe-Democrat. Mr. John Massqy, a well-to-do farm, er, near Bridgeton, in St Louis countyis quite a bee fancier. Among other animals upon his well-stocked farm was a blind and an excellent animal he v as, barring the loss of sight. A few days ago the horse was turned into a small pasture, and a'Joining this was a lot containing twenty seven stands of bees. An open gate gave the animal access to both iuclocures, and his familiarity with the premises was such that he passed frjm one to the other nipping grass, as though possessed of two good eyes, The poor blind horse at last lost bis bearings, stumbled in among the beehives and unset several stands. Out poured the bees from their honeycomb in thousands to punish the despoiler of their sweet homes. How long they were iu recognizing the horse as their foe is hot known, for it was only learned by his groans and neigns of pain that anything unusual had happened. No one ceula do a thing to relieve the suffering beast, for the bees were mad. Left unmolested, the bees spent their whole tury upon the horse, covering tevery inch of his hide from bead to foot and stinging him • to death in about twenty minutes.

Married and Single Women.

Springfield Republican. A married woman in New York who claimed that she had been "betrayed” shot her seducer, and a Kentucky woman under similar circumstances blinded the man with concentrated essence ot lye. The newspapers show a lack of discrimination in commenting upon these cases. Society must, for its own protection and in just recognition of the equality of the sexes, differentiate between the young girl who is led astray and the woman whose knowledge makes.her a responsible agent. In the wholesome freedom of our American life married women must, save in very extraordinary cases, be held in equal accountability for their conduct with men. The wife who permits the attentions which Mrs. Coleman of New York suffered and encouraged from young Coles does,so with a full understanding of be* position. However much the condudt of the man is to be condemned, it will not do to condone the offense of the woinau, as oould be done in the case of a trusting young girl.

Man reigns by employing one-half of the animals to master the other. Bo the political art consists of cutting the people In two. and dominating onehalf with the ottw.-rßetafi. ”; ' When-an arm of the sea encircles a neck of laud, look out for Sifting smacks. •

THE DERVISHES.

Tnck Tortures Performed by a Peculiar Kind of Beopie. OUphaatY Land of Glload. The abeik received us at the door of his courtyard, which wae already tolerably full of native spectators and of persons who were to take part in the performanees. while many veiled women, who had apparently gotten notice that the sheik was going to exhibit his powers, crowded the surrounding roofa. After the usual preliminary politeness of pipes, sherbet and ooffee, he went into an inner room, and reappeared with a bundle of iron skewers, very much resembling those used by> cooks for trussing meat Beckoning to a wild-looking Dervish stripped to the waist, whose wandering eye had an evil look in it which the rest of his countenance did not belie —in fact it was only redeemed from being villainous by a glare of insanity—he made him open nis mouth and pnxseed with the utmost coolness to pass a skewer from the inside through each cheek, so that the points could be seen plainly protruding. He then ;>erformed a like operation on a remarkably handsome youth of fifteen, whom I aftdrward found was his son, and whose large, clear hazel eye was calmly fixed on mine, while his cheeks were being pierced, nor did a line of his countenance indicate that he was conscious of the slightest pain. ■ < Not a drop of blood flowed in eitherc&se. The two victims stood before us with their mouths pressed back and the projecting skewers showing the points through their cbeelw, with as much apparent comfort as if it were the normal* condition of their being. Leaving them In this attitude the sheik again disappeared intphis room. This time he returned with a small, square box, drawing back the sliding lid, out of which he extracted a scorpion of unusual size.its vicious tail curling and striking its own back as it writhed between his fingers.

This he handed to another dervish, clothed and looking more in his right mind than his skewered comrade, who instantly dropped the lively reptile into his mouth, and crunched it with apparent gusto. As he was as large as au ordinary land crab, it was a big mouthful, and seemed to whip up into a sort of lather as he chewed it. His countenance, as he went on munching, was so impassive that I could not judge whether live scorpion is nice or not; probably it is an acquired taste. Another dervish joined iu the repast, and disposed of a smaller one .with equal equanimity. I now suggested that we were satis fled iu regard to the skewers, aud that the company generally would feel more comfortable if they were extracted. It is decidedly unpleasant to have two men with their cheeks trussed, staring at you, while others are eating live scorpions. Their mouth were so pressed book, that they seemed to be gunning insanely; but I should think the effect of a real joke would have been dis agreeable. I longed to try and make them laugh to see whether it would not hurt them; but there is probably no such a thing as a dervish with a sense of humor, and an Arabic joke was beyond me. The sheik, too, would probably have been offended, for he went through the whole performance with the greatest solemnity, taking long, deep inspirations as he muttered incantations in which the name of Allah occurred frequently, before he touched the skewers; then, with a dentist-like twist he jerked them out. The points were bloodless, and the outside of the cheek afslight induration, like that of a cicatrized wound; there was no redness or inflammation. The sheik now once*more returned to his room and brought out a larger box, which he opened and drew from it several snakes of all sizes. These began to wriggle about the floor in a disagreeable manner, with an overpowering attraction apparently for the legs of foreigners.

Wasn’t Afeered.

Arkansas State Gazette. t The first piaffo taken to that part of Randolph county, Ibis State, surrounding Ravenden Springs, created a profound sensation. Old men would come to the hotel and gravely shake their gray heads at the musical interloper, which in vr.rnish' and audacity, had set itself up against the the fiddle, and whose hoarse tone could drown the banjo’ stwang. Several days ago, while a party of guests were in the parlor of the hotel, ainging and playing, the doos opened and ten men, unsuspendered and tanned, filed into the room and ranged along the wall. A young lady, whose fingers fell in graceful showers on the keys, was rattling off the "Carnival of Venice.” The sun-browned stalwarts were deeply impressed, and for a time nothing was said. But it was not natural for human beings to view a wonder without some attempt at expression. , . "What do you think of her?” asked one of the party of his neighbor. "The peartest thing I ever seed on four legs,” "I’d rather have it than a mule,” said some one else. “1 reckon you would,” rejoined the flrat speaker, "for they tell me that she cost mor’n a farm.” "Just listen at her cluck like a new wagin’.” Here the manager of the hotel entered and requested the guests, who evidently did not have on wedding garments, to retire. They refused, but finally consented, the leader remarking, as his forces withdrew, "I’ll go, but I won’t you to understand that I amjnot afeered, and I don’t want to be made fun of either.”

An Eagle’s Appetite.

Reading (Pa.) Eagle. J. H. Welker, proprietor of .the Joe Hooker House on Robinson street, has an eagle which is fond of feasting on cats and rats. Boys living in the northern part of the city, upon learning that the bird was fond of cats, carried some there every day to see the eagle destroy them. The report was circulated that the proprietors paid liberally for cats, and a great many more were brought than the eagle could devour. It was not aa unusual thing to see boys after school with half a dozen cats in a bag, some of which bad bsen stolen from the neighbors Finally Mr. Walker refused to allow the boys to feed any more cats to the bird, and now buys rats, paying fifty per hundred. "How many rats have you puchased during the past week?” asked the reporter of Mr. Welker, and he replied: "Seven dozen.” The rats, are thrown into the cage alive, and the eagle grabs themlon the back, pierces them through the vitals, and kills them the same as it did the cats. The rats must be perfect. without being maimed, else the eagle will not touch them.

The Bohemian Girl at Home.

A correspondent nt the Philadelphia Bulletin writing from Carlsbad says: The Bohemian girl as she appears on her native toll does not look as if she ever dreampt of marble halls, as did the girl of the late Mr. Balfe’s opera. She begins life swathed it a stiff pillow to straighten and strengthen her back. Soon after she begins to walk she takes lessons in bearing burdens on this back, and by the time she reaches womanhood can carry a ten-gallon cask of water, or a huge basket filled with fire wood or soiled clothes, up a steep hill twenty or thirty times without stopping to rest. Advancing ia years, she may be hitched with a cow or a big dog to pull a market wagon, driven by her belpved and Loving husband. If she w. a good wife she may be advanced to the dignity of being the ofi-horse with a dog for the near onA to haul a coal cert to the customer?*

doo>*, and vbtn atM unhltaflMß heßwlf she carties in a pannier the rusty looking coal of this country up ope, two or three pair of stairs, white the man and dog repose in the street. It is thus that the native Bohemian girl often ftilfils her destiny in this historic and chivalric tend. Woman is the drudge and the beast of burden here, as in many other parta of the Continent, There are fine horses for driving heavy vehicles, and there are donkeys that pull fat doHragen or lazy little boys up the hills. But there are no equestrian displays. A riding horse is more rarely seen in Carlsbad than a pretty German woman, and yet there are scores of cavaliers in cavalry uniforms aud wearing spurs that ought to be pricing the sides of the best blooded steedsof the orient. But there is not much need of horses in a country where women are the laborers, and the pleasure horse is the expensive luxury.

STORMS ON THE SUN.

The Series of Violent Disturbances noted by Astronomers During July. June closed with peaceful skies after the tomsdnas and .-thunder-storms of the middte of of the month, and Julv opened with Summer quietude prevailing all round the globe. The elements were at peace upon the earth. But on the sun there was ? far different scene. Through the still air on the afternoon of JulyJ tfie astronomer pointed his telescope at the great flreglobe that gives Xae earth light and life, and its rays fell upon the lenses with perfect steadtaeM, and, bending obediently to the focus of the instrumant, made an image of the sun that,when magnified, was as exquisitely sharp and clear as though carved in gold by a master jeweler. It required but a glance to show that the surface of this splendid ball, which the astronomer knew was 860,000 miles in diameter, though it hung, with room to spare, in the circular field of the eye-piece, was wrinkled and pitted, torn, tossed, and heaving under the strain of tempest forces. There wqre vast groups of spots, individual members of which covered more sxuare miles than all the continents of the earth; there were small specks hardly visible when greatly magnified, and around all were the crinkled lines cffacuhsi brighter than the rest of the sujface.and crowded together in places resembling a sea of flames seen from above. >lt required but a short time to show that changes were going on under the eye |of the observer, slight compared with the vast extent of the spots, yet involving motions that have po parallel on the earth. The astronomer had only to apply a spectroscope to sea that all around the sun were enormous, fiery protuberances thrown out like jets from a geyser to a height of thousands and tens of thousands of miles, and settling back in cicuds of glowing vapor. So through the calm of a Bummer afternoon, and at the safe distance of 92,000.000mi1es he could watch the storms oh the sun, trace the course of fiery cyclones blowing a hundred miles a second,and study and micrometrically measure the visible effects of forces that would shatter and vaporize the earth. Yet the enormous distance that separates the earth from the sun is not so safe in all respects as it seems. Sun storms certainly have a powerful effect upon the electrical condition of the earth, and it is suspected that they may affect the earth’s weather.

The eun was storm swept the whole month. The clear air that ringed the earth on the Ist soon after filled with clouds and thunder storms, and was swirled here and there into death-deal-ing tornadoes, so that the astronomer’s telescope became useless. But In all the intervals of fair weather it showed the sun’s face yet spotted and wrinkled and rimmed with eruptions of flaming gas. In the middle of the mon th some of the spots, or holes were of enormous magnitude and of wonderful complexity|iu shape aud detail. Again at the close of the month, huge groups and rows of spots were stretched across the disk, and the view with high magnifiers was startling and exceedingly impressive. The most that astronomers are able to say with confidence about these spots is that they are holes of a size and depth almost beyond belief; that they are produced by disturbances in the glowing matter ot the sun, and that they are governed by some law that causes them to wax and wane in number in a period of about eleven years. There were no spots to* speak of in 1878; they began to appear frequently in 1880; iu 1883 they will be most numerous, and in 1889 the sun will again be free from them.

Moral Musings.

Ifc'is easier to tie a knot in a cord of wood than to do an evid deed and get rid of the consequences. Don’t be in too great a hurry to succeed. Work hard to deserve success, and fortune is sure not to forget you. A little sin may ruin your whole life, as a rat may gnaw a hole through a dike and let the river flood the State. When in the excess of your affection you tell your wife that she is an angel is it true that you wish she were one? It by no means follow* 3 that a man has true religion in his heart because he looks as solemn as a walking West Indian epidemic. If your li r e is worth anything people will flntbit out sooner of later. Ripe fruit will fall to the ground without shaking the tree. Many a man’s idea of matrimony may be described bv saying that the courts a house on Fifth" avenue, with a woman’s name in the title deed. No man can go into bad company without suffering for IL The homely old proverb has it very tersely: ‘‘A man can’t bite the bottom out of a frying pan without smutting his nose.” Learn to be brief. Long visits, long stories, long exhortations, and long prayers seldom profit those who have to do with them. Life is short. Time is short. Moments are.precious. Learn to condense, abridge and intensify. A coffin is a somewhat grave subject on which to exercise one’s wit, but the following verses will do us no harm; There was a man bespoke a thing. Which, when the owuer homo did brine. He tnat made it did refuse it, And he that bought it would not use it. And he that had it did not know Whether he had it, yea or no. A definition is something about which a man ought to be very careful. Still, in a definition a man may not only make a grievous blunder, but at the same time make a very startling statement of. truth. A very precise and respectable lexicographer, when asked for an exact definition of the word “parasol,” replied slowly, “Parasol? It is a protection against the sun used by ladies made of cotton and whalebone.” Aloudshouter was asked why he spoke so loud when he prayed, and replied : “Why do I holler? Because I have Scripture authority for it, and I goes by Scripture entirely.” On being questioned as to the exact passage which enjoined- such a peculiar exhibition he answered promptly: “Weil, it in the Lord’s Prayer, and if you read that right you will see that the shouteis have the Word on their side. It says: 'Our Father which art in heaven hollered be thy name.’ Now, are you convinced?”

Compelled to Lick a Girl’s Shoes.

Kansu City Times. An incident illustrating the gallantry of frontiersmen toward women is related of William Porter, better known as Comanche Bill, Gen. Terry’s favorite scout. It happened in Wichita a few weeks since. Bill rode into town, dressed jn a complete suit of buckskin and with a gang of honest rangers at bis back. As he went along

he a*v a “counter-jumper ” aa he wm pleased to call him, roughly catch a and solicit her attention. The girl withdrew her arm angrily and just thien the scene Ml under Bill’s person* al nspection. ••She was a poor giri.” says Bill, ••and plainly clad in an old drees, but I was not going to see her insulted by no darned ••counterhopper,” under my mountain eyes. I jest Jumped down from my hoes, and I called for that fellow to stop. He didn’t seem to want to, but I made him stop. I took up the little girl in my arms and sat her down on a box. I took off her shoes and said to the counter-jumper: ‘Now I want you to get down and lick the dust off that poor girl’s fleet, whom you have insulted.’ ••And I made him do it. He looked down in the muzzle of a 45-calibre Colt’s for Just half a minute, and then Tie came to his milk like a little lamb. “And J made him lick that girl’s feet, though a big crowd gathered around, but I had all my men with me, and did not care whether they liked It or net”

JOCOSITIES.

Somebody calls ice-cream a “feast of free-zin.” j Nothing vulgar about the miller, when he bolts his meat . t Eve was the first of her race to feel shocked at the bare idea. A bright little maid who wasftollcky Made th e Bweet est green leav ps on maj ollca. Bat she swallowed some paint, And now she's a saint, After being an boar pale and colicky. Believe me, if all those endearing young charms Which I gazed on so fondly to-day, Were discovered encased in another man's Do youVhink 1 would caper away? Ch, no! by the sword of my parent grim, I swear that I’d venture a swoop, And in aperlod brief you’d be wishing with That you’d perished in youth with the croup. Lady Lodger—“ Your dog is unbearable, sir. He howls all night.” Male Lodger—“lndeed! Well, he might do worse than that—he might play the piano all day!” “Mamie,” said he: and his voice was singularly low, “will you be my wile? Will you cling to me as the tender vine clings to the—” “ Yes, I’ll catch on,” said she. It is said that kerosene will remove stains from furniture. It has also been known to remove furniture, stains and all, with a stove and a red-headed servant thrown in oftimes. -Billy’s little sister had fallen and hurt her nose, and she cried a great deal over it. Hearing her mother tell her to be careful lest she might spoil it next time, he said: “What’s* the good of a nose to her! She never blows it,” A bride complained to her husband that she had been too busy all day to get off her feet once, and that unhappy man, who had already discovered several surprising “make-ups” in her tout ensemble, exclaimed in amazement: “Great Jerusalem crackers! do they come off too?” “You should have seen the situation of her lips,” said the young clerk, enthusiastically. “The situatian?” began his friend. ‘‘Yes, the situation of her lips.” “What did you do?” “I grasped the situation. That’s what I did. In fact, I grasped the situation several times before I left. “No-no,” he said, “I didn’t mind having that Newfoundland dog run between my legs. But when that contemptable son rof a swamp angel whistled to the dog as he was half way through and made him turn round suddenly to go back, it raised the inferal regions with me and I was mad.” The Ashantee of Africa, when be drinks, spills a little of liquor on the ground as an offering to the gods. It is a ridiculous, heathenish custom, and will never obain in civilized communities. In this country, if the gods were to be set up on their hind legs and howl twenty seven hours a day, a whisky drinker wouid not spill any on the ground to appease them—not as long he was sober enough to pour all the stuff down his throat.

“Those Garfield Boys.”

Washington Star. “Those Garfield boys are as full of pluck as an egg is of meat,’’said an at-* tachee of the White House who has served there for twenty years to a Star reporter. “They are just like their father—and their mother, too —when it comes to a show of pluck. Why, that little Abe Garfield, he isn’t more’n 7 years old, will jump on his bicycle and nde right down those front steps of the White House portico. Don’t he get fads? Well, I should say he did; but he don’t mind them no more’n nothing. He’ll jump right up, get on that bicycle again,and go tearing down the yard like forty, right over stone curbing, or anything else, and maybe there be a lump on his head as big as a hen’s egg from the fall, tod. One day he rode right down the steps and got the hardest kind of a fall. His head struck that hard stone flagging. Before I could get to him he was up and getting on his bicycle again. I asked him, ‘Ain’t you hurt, Abe?’ By that time there was a knot farmed on the side of bis head half as big as my fist. He said yes it hurt a little, but then ‘he didn’t mind that,’ and away he went. “And there’s Irvine; he’s 10 or 12 years old. One day he undertook to climb over that iron railing around'the Treasury, over there by the fountain. He got an awful fall, and one leg oi his pants caught on the spikes, and he hung head downward. He didn’t holler like any other boy would have done—not a bit of IL He just called to some boys there to come and get him loose. He got his ankle sprained, but he wouldn’t have any help. He crawled all the way back to the White House, and nobody overheard a whim** per out of him. * One night I was standing at the front door of the house' Irvine came along, and he just lowered his head and ran at me to butt me. I jumped out of the way, and he ran his head against one of those iron doors with all his might. It knocked him down. I picked him up, and he was hurt, too, no doubt about that. I said: ‘lrve, are you hurt?’ Weil he just squeezed his head right tight in his hands and said, *Yes, some; but I didn’t cry. did I?’ Then he asked me ‘Would Scott Hayes have cried for that?’ His great ambition is to be more of a man than Scott Hayes, who was about his age. He didn’t cry, neither. You can’t make one of those Garfield boys cry. They’ve got too much pluck for that.”

An Extraordinary Accident.

A letter to the Charleston, 8. C. News and Courier from the western part of Darlington county, South Carolina, gives an account of a terrible and extra* ordinary casualty from lightning. On Thursday afternoon a group of twenty men, all white, working on the publichighway, stopped under an oak tree tn rest and shelter themselves from the sun. Clouds were visible at a distance and rain was falling some miles away, but in the immediate locality the sun was shining, the sky was dear, and nothing indicated the presonoe of electricity. One of their number had stepped off a few yards for water, when suddenly a terrific crash startled him, and turning he beheld his companions, some dead, acme completely paralysed, and others wounded and struggling in the throes of death. J. M. Mazingo, Rufus Mazingo, Willie Watteis and John B. Gatlin were killed outright These were all young men, recently married. Twelve others were stuck and more or lees stunned and mutilated. Some are probably fatally injured. There was heavy fall of rain about an hour later, k

VIRGINIA POLITICS Saa. Don't put your aim about ray neck; You’ll rumple all my ruffles., i Hz. Then let me klra you without force, And thus avcM all waffles. Bhx. There la no rweetnaea In a kiss Unices by force tie taken. Hz. I know it There! Oh, thia is Wise! This osculation. Bhx. My ruffles you have rumpled, love, And put me in a floater. Hz. Oh. never mind; I’ll fix it, dove. For I’m a Beadj aster. —Wheeling Ledger

AN OUTLAW’S WIFE.

An Interesting Chapter of the Early Life of the Wife of Jesse James. Omaha Republican. The wife of the noted train robber, Jesse James, was formerly an Omaha girl Daring the day a reporter of the Republican met several gentlemen who were well acquainted with the Ralston family, and who remembered Annie, who married Jesse James. From these gentlemen several quite interesting facts were obtained concerning the Ratetons. They came to Omaha immediately after or near the close of the war, as the sympathizers with the lost cause made it so unpleasant for them because Mr. Ralston was a Union man and had served in the Uriion army. They resided in a small brick house, standing at that time ner the corner of Seventeenth and Davenport streets. Mr. Ralston engaged in the freighting business to the West, and was assisted by his son John. Annie was then a mere child, and there are now in this city several young gentlemen and ladles who can remember her as the playmate of their childhood days. After residing here several years Mr. Rateton’s business dwindled away and he returned with his family to Independence, Mo.,the bitter feelings originating from the war having almost entirely subsided, and they are living there yet. In 1774, Annie Ralston,having grown up to be a brigh and handsome young lady, came back to Omaha on a visit, and was the guest of her cousin, who was the wife of a well-known business man here. During her stay in Omaha she attended numerous parties and also Prof. Duval’s dancing school. She was quite a favorite among those who made her acquaintance,as she bad prepossessing manners and winning ways. Among her young gentlemen friends was one who fell deeply in love with her, and she received his devoted attentions until he proposed marriage to her, and then she coldly refused him. This was entirely unexpected on his part, and. to use a very forcible expression, “it broke him all up.” He took to drink, and soon became a moral and nearly a physical wreck. His djwnfall and ruin were due to Annie Ralston’s refusal. Up to this time he had been a model young man, had excellent prospects, and was highly respected by all who knew him, but since that event he became entirely changed, and his course* from that time was downward. He is the son of a well-known professional gentleman residing in Omaha. He is now a wanderer in the new towns of the rough West, and is probably leading a reckless life of dissipation. , ' -

Annie Ralston returned to Independence, and one night about a month afterwards, she ran away from home and married the noted Jesse James, who, it seems, had met the girl by chance, and courted her clandestinely until he won her affections. She was full of romance, and she no doubt became infatuated with the bold desperado, with whose exciting career she had become well acquainted. Her marriage with the bandit was a complete surprise and a terrible blow to her respected parents, who could not believe the announcement until it was proven to them by indisputable evidence, and then they disowned their truant daughter. Her cousin in this city learned the particulars of the affair from John Ralston, who resides in St. Louis, and also from the girl’s father. Boon after the marriage the Younger brothers made their famous and fatal raid on the Northfield Bank of Minnesota, and it was generaly suspected that the two James brothers were members of the gang, and that in making their escape they followed the Missouri river down to the vicinity of Kansas City. It was thought that Jesse James would come to Omaha, and here meet his wife. A detective was detailed to keep a sharp look-out for her, but she never came hree after her marriage. Such is a chanter from the history of Annie Ralston, the outlaw’s wife.

Bottled Lightning.

Few York Time*. There has recently been invented in England, and hence will doubtlees be invented in this country within the next six months, a method of bottling electricity. The inventor has demonstrated that he can put up electricity in quantities to suit customers; that he can send it any distance, and that it will keep fresh any length of time. There is not the least doubt that he has solved the problem which has so long baffled other scientific persons, and that his bottled electricity is in every respect as good as "the best electricity* drawn directly from a dynamic engine. This invention will have an immediate and great effect upon the electric light. At present the electric light cannot.be produced without an engine, and whether the latter is driven by steam or water power, it must be kept constantly at work, since the instant it stops the electric light goes out As few persons can afford to -have their own dynamic engine in the cellar, and thus furnish their own electricity, the public must depend for their supply of light upon the electric light companies. Now there is not the least reason to believe that electricity exerts any better moral influence than gas, and we know that when a number of reasonable Christian men form themselves into a gas company they immediately become pirates of the most merciless and extortionate character. Why should we look for better things from the electric light companies? They expect to have us at their mercy, and they will be as merciless as the gas men. We shall have electric meters in our cellers that will be as mendacious and unprincipled as the gas meters,and the moment we refuse to Day for ten thousand feet of electricity which we have not used, our light will be cut off and we shall be left to candles and kero-

sene. But now that we shall soon be able to buy electricity just as we buy kero- ’ sene, we shall have all the electrictrib light companies on their several and metaphorical hips. We can buy a gallon of electricity at a time and fill our own wires without having any dealings with an electric company. Electricity will be as cheap as kerosene, and unless some monopolists manage to “corner” all the electricity in the market and hold it for a rise, even men with small incomes, who would now be ruined bv admitting such a luxury as a gas meter into their houses, will be able to have electric lights blazing in every room. There are, however,certain disadvantages attending the bottling of electricity. The dealers will be greatly tempted to adulterate it. They may either adulterate it with cheap and inflammable substances, such as turpentine, or they may simply dilute it with water. In either case the man who buys what professes to be a quart of pure double distilled electricity will be cheated. Then, cheap electricity will be used to kindle fires, and we shall read every day of unfortunate cooks who have struck tnemselves with lightning while incautiously pouring dectricity on the fire. The exhfierating

effects of a slight electrical shock are well known, and we may reasonably expect that bottled electricity will be used as a beverage instead of whisky and rum. Its effects upon the coats of the stomach and the constitution generally will, of course, be much worse than those of ardent spirits, and confirmed users of electricity will be liable to explode with deadly effect on coming Incautiously in contact with metalie substances and other good conductors. When these evils have become notorious, ws shall witness an energeto movement among those who won call themselves “temperance people” against the great evils of electricity, and they will demand the passage of a prohibitory law forbidding the sale of electricity at retail, except in accordance with the prescription of a chemist. Other less violent reformers will clamor for a license law and the appointment of inspectors to examine all electricity offered for sale and tc confiscate every gallon that is adulterated. .■! Thus it may come to pass that bottled electricity will cease to be sold, and we shall be compelled to return to gas,kerosene, or electric light companies.

A Sagacious Lizard.

New York Ban. “Thia is the third one that has been found in the park this spring,” said a man at the Arsenal, holding out a curious spiny looking object for a reporter to lopk at “No, it’s not a toad, though they call them horned .‘ toads. It’s a lizard, and the people in the.; museum call it the pbrynosma.” The animal was about four inches* long and unpleasant to look at. Its body was flat, the upper surface covered with abort dark spines, and the under surface with small plates. The back of its head was armed with several recurving short spines with shorter spines here and there. ' “You wouldn’t think such a jreature would know anything.” continued the owner of the lizard, “but a snake'has to wake up early in the season to get the best of it I call him Samson, because the first day I had him he pushed under the leg of a heavy chair that was tipped against the wall, and fairly knocked it over. Haman were as strong in proportion to his size he could lift the obelisk. No, that didn’t show any cunning, but PH show you < where toe cunning came. I caught a big striped snake about two weeks ago. I was standing in my yard when z long came a big toad putting in its best hops, and right behind the snake, so intent on the chase that it came right up to me. I caught it and kept it for some time in a box with a glass top, ; and one day it struck me that the spines on .the lizard must have been Intended a preventer against snakes. I thought I would test it, and I nut Samson into the box. Then I discovered that he was as wise as solo mon. You see, this revised Testament business makes a man familiar with Bible names. The snake evidently had not tasted food since last summer—you know they sleep all winter—and quick as a flash he darted at the lizard, but as the boys say, he got left. The little fellow went around the boxlike a shot, but finally the snake cornered him and caught him by the hind claw. Now, a toad or frog will squirm around and face a snake and get demoralized generally and give it a chance to catch hold of the head, but my lizard knew a game worth two of that. When the snake touched him he turned his head directly away. The snake tried every way he could to edge up and get the little by the head, so he went to work to swallow him tail first. He stretched out his jaw and planted his long teeth into the legs and gradually worked the body into nte mouth with - the smaller teeth. When be bad taken in as much as he could in this way, the longfangs were loosened and thrown ahead and and fresh hold taken, each side of the mouth edging ahead in turn. Nothing could stand this pressure long, and in ten minutes half of the patient lizard was out of tight. He was only waiting for his turn, and it soon came; the snake’s lips had reached his neck, when operations ceased. There were four or five spines as sharp as needles, pointing out every which way, that put an end to the swallowing* business. I didn’t see the lizard laugh: he must have felt like it, for he wasn’t hurt in the least. It took the snake half an hour to get rid of him. At every jump the lizard turned his back so that the spines faced the snake, and at last I separated them. Yes it was rather cruel; but I looked at it as a scientific investigation.

Anti-Slang Phrases.

* The “Reform Club” is the title of a new organization by young ladles for the purpose of discouraging the use of “slang phrases” in J conversation. At a recent meeting, while a member was addressing the society, she inadvertantlv made use of the expression “awful nice,” and was called to order by a sister member for transgressing the rules, i ' , “In what way fiave 1 transgressed?” asked the speaker, blushing deeply. “You Baid it would be ‘awful nice’ to admit young gentlemen to our deliberations.” replied the other. • ; “Well, wouldn’t it be?” replied the speaker," “You know you said yourself, no longer ago than yesterday, that-” W “Yes. I know; but you said ‘awful nice,’ that’s slang.” .‘ Well,” said the speaker, tartly, “if you are going to be so awful nice about it, perhaps it is; but I wouldn’t say anything if I were you, Didn’t you tell Bailie Bpriggins this morning to pull down her basque?” “No, I didn’t,” retorted the other, her face growing crimson, “and Bailie Bpriggins will say I didn’t. She won’t go back on me.\’ •‘This is a nice racket you are giving us,” cried the president, after rapping both speakers to order. “Let me ask what is the object of this society?” “To discourage slang I” cried a dozen voices. * “Correct,” said the president, “go on with the funeral” t A member rose to explain that she had been fined at the last meeting for saving ‘’‘awful nice” herself, but she hadn’t the stamps tojMjy'jt now/but would settle, however;far ih the sweet Jt’lPbe afl right,” said the president: “pay when you have the ducats.” Another member then asked, “cap a young lady say ‘old splendid’ without subjecting herself to a fine?” “You bet she can’t,” said the president, who was the original founder of the society, and therefore appealed to when any nice question was to be decided. “Then,” said the speaker, “I move that Miranda Pew comedown with the dust, for I heard her say that her beau was ‘just old splendid.” “Well, if my beau was such a hairpin as your fellow is I would not say it.” " ' ’ “Shoot the chinning,” said the president, “will you never tumble?’ But the confusion was too great to be allayed. Miranda’s blood was up: some sided with her and others against her and amid the Babel that followed could be heard such exclamations as, “Dry up!” “Nice huckleberry* you are!” “Wipe off your chin!” “Hire a hall!” etc., when a motion to adjourn was carried by a laige majority. • At a Smoking. Concert—Herr Professor: “You hafa fileaain foice, my young went! Put you font brotueeit Ina lechidimate vay!” Our Tehor: “Perhaps if I did 4t would no longer “Harr Professor: “Acb! Vat of dat? Bleasure is hot efferv ding! You should alvays brotuoeyonr foice in a lechidimate vay, vedder R ; gifs bleasure or not!” .