Rensselaer Republican, Volume 14, Number 29, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 April 1882 — Page 2

THE SOLO. I gaze on tlie blazoned windows, The columns a»by and cold, , ,%■ The fretted groinings and arches, The ceiling of azure and gold. **The organ shudders and mutters Like a monster dying puin; - Tho chorus has wailed its parting, Lamenting, repenting in vain. Thsn'ont of the sadness rises An angel whose wings are furled; You lift your voice in tho solo, And I fly from a stricken world, I traverse the shining oceans Where melody rims tho skies, . And I pas; the, islands ot glory, And the headlands of Paradise. Yon hear me, r care not whither, * $ So lobg as I hear you ting, For toll and grief arc forgotten, And life is a heavenly thing. The music ends and I shivc-r, For my soul has returned to earth. And the silence falls like a sorrow, Which hlanchcs the face of mirth. —Harper for February.

A BOOK- KEEFER.

Translated From tit • French of Alphonse Daudet. “Brr! what a fog! ’ said the man, ms he stepped into the street. He quickly turned up the coller of his coat and pulled his comforter over his mouth; then, with his head bent down and his hands thrust into his back poektts, he started for the office whistling. A real fog, indeed. The streets however, were comparatively clear of it, in the heart of great cities the fog lasts no longer than the snow. The roofs tear it, the walls absorb it:it loses itself in the houses as they are opened r making the stairways slippery, and balustrades damp. The rush ot vehicles, the coining and going of pedestrians, those morning pedestrians, so but vied and so poor, cut it bear it away, disperse it; it clings to the shrunken and thin office garments,. to the shop girl’s waterproofs to the loose little veils and to the huge silk oil cloth covered bandbox boxes, liiit upon the yet deserted quays, on the bridges, the strand and the river, there was a heavy, opaque motionles mist, amid which the sun was descending back of Notre Dame Despite the wind despite the fog, tlie man followed the quays,only the quays, to go to his office. He might Have taken another route, but the river seemed to possess a mysterious attraction for him. It was his delight to pass along (he parapets, to brush against those stone balustrades worn by the elbows of the idlers. At that hour and in such weather idlers are rare. Nevertheless,now and then we met a woman with a huge bundle of soiled linen resting against the parapet, or some foor devil leaning over on his elbows towards the water with an air of weariness. The man turned around each time, looked at them curiously and as erwards at the water as if in his mind a secret thought connected these people with the river The river had not an inviting appearance that morning. The fog which mounted from among its waves, seemed to make it leaden. The gloomy roofs on the banks,all the irregular and leaning chimney shafts which were reflected, jmingled and smoking in the midst of the water, suggested some lugubrious manufac-

tory, sending to Paris from the depth of the Seine all the smoke in the guise of fog. The man,however had not the air of discovering anything so very melancholy about all this. The dampness penetrated him at every poiut and his garments had not a dry thread in them; but he went on all the same, whistling.with at happy smile,at the corner of liis lips for such a long while he had been accustomed to the mists of the Seine! Then, he knew, that on reaching his destination he would find an excellent foot warmer well lined with fur his stove which roared while waiting for him, and the warm little plate from which he ate his breakfast every morning. These are some of the prison joys known only to those poor crouching beings whose whole lives *re passed iu a corner. “I must not forget to buy some apples,” said he to himself, from time to time, and he whistled and hastened on. You never saw any one go to his work so gayly . The quays, still the quays; then a bridge. Now he was behind Notre Dame. At this point of the isle the fog was more intense i han ever. It came from three directions simultaneously, half obliterated the lofty towers and massed itself at the angle .of the bridge as if it washed to hide something. The man stopped; he fciad arrived. There was a confused glimpse of sinister shadows, of people squatted upon the sidewalk who had the air of wAing, and as at the gratings of hospitals and squares, of baskets spread out, displaying rows of biscuits, oranges aud apples. Oh! the beautiful apples, so fresh, so red in the mist! He filled his pockets with them, smiling upon the vender who was shivering, her feet on her footstone; afterwards he pushed open a door in the fog and crossed a little court yard in which a horse was standing harnessed to a cart. “Have you something for us?” asked he as he passed. A carter dripping with water answered: “Yes, monsieur; something very nice.” Then he quickly entered his office. It was warm there and he felt well satisfied. The stove roared in a cottier. The foot-warmer was in its place. His little arm-chair awaited him in the full light near the window. The fog, hanging liken curtain b.fbre the panes of glass, made the brightness uniform and soft, and the huge books,

with grecti backs, were in a straight line on their cases. It was like a notary’s office. _ Thg naan drew a long breathy he *ras at home, f *• # Before going to work he opened a large closet, taking from it a pair of lnstrlpg slepves, which he carefully put on, a small earthenware dish and some lumps of sugar from a case ;then he began to pare his apples, looking around him with satisfaction. The fact is that It would be impossible to find a gayer, lighter or better arranged offloe. But what was strange was the noise of water which one heard from every direction which surrounded and enveloped one. as if he were Jn the cabin of a bout. Below the Beina dashed growlingly against the %rches of the bridge, tearing its foamy flood at this part of the isle always encumbered with planks, stakes and rubbish. But, in the very house, all around the office, there was a gushing of water as if pitchers were being violently emptied, the noise of a vast wash. One could not tell why, but simply to hear this water froze one. One felt that it struck a hard floor, that it rebounded from broad slabs, from marble tables that made it appear still colder. What had they in that strange house that needed so much washing? What was the indelible stain? At times, when this gushing ceased, below, at the further end of the house, drops were heard falling one by one, as after a thaw or a heavy rain. One might say that a fog, massed upon the roof and walls, not melting in the beat of the stove and dropping continually. The man paid no attention to this. He was altogether engrossed by his appies which he had begun to sizzle in tho earthenware dish with a slight perfume of caromel, and this pretty song prevented him from hearine the noise of the water, the sinister noise of the water. “Whenever you are ready, Register!” said a hoarse voice at the further end of the nouse. He cast a look at his apples and went away very regretfully. Where did he go? Through the door, open partially for a moment, came a miiseous and cold air which smelled of reeds and the marsh, and there was a vision of old clothes drying upon cords; faded blouses, watermen’s jacketsjand a woman’s calico dress suspended at its full length by the sleeves, which dripped, dripped. It was over. The man returned. He deposited on his table some small objects all soaked with water, and went shivering towards the stove to take the numbness out of his hands, red with cold.

“They must be mad, indeed, to do such things in such weather as this!” said he to himself, shaking. “What is the matter of them all?” And when he was well warmed and his sugar had commenced to Jelly at the edge of his dish, he began to eat his breakfast on a corner of his desk. As he ate he opened one of his registers and turned the leaves complacently. The huge book was well kept! Straight lines, headings in blue ink, little reflections of gold powder and blotters on every page—such care, such order. Jt seemed as if business were prosperous. The man had the satisfied air of an accountant looking at the close of the year. While he was amusing himself by turning the pages of his book the doors opened in the adjoining hall, and the footsteps of a crowd sounded upon the marble slabs people spoke in low tones as if in a church: “Oh! how young she is! What a shame!” and they pushed and whispered. What difference did it make to him that she was young? Tranquilly, as he finished his apples, he drew before him the objects he had just brought in; a thimble full of sand, a portmonnaie with a soil in it, a pair of small rusty scissors, so rusty that they could never be used again!—a work girl’s book, the pages of which were glued together by the dampness, and a letter in tatters, partially effaced, of which these few words could be made out: “The baby—no money —nothing to pay the nurse.” The book keeper shrugged his shoulders, as much as to say: .The old, old story! I know it by heart!” Then he took up his pen, carefully blew off the crumbs of bread which had fallen upon his huge volume, made a gesture to put his hand in the proper position, and in his most beautiful round chirography wrote the name he had deciphered in the wet little book: « Felicie Rameau, burnisher, aged seventeen.”

The store of Jacob Barer, at Branchtown, a suburb of Philadelphia, burned. Loss, $50,000. The British government proposes to disfranchise certain boroughs for corrupt election practices. Five hundred and eighty emigrants started from Stettin, via Bremen, for the United States Tuesday. Judge Advocate General Swaim has found mitigating circumstances in the case of Sergeant Mason. A couple recently divorced in Los Angelos, Cal., repented, made up, and were remarried tne next day. Hundreds ot telegrams, are being received at the white house urging the president not to §ign the Chinese bill. If the water recedes in the Louisiana sugar districts within twenty days, enough can be saved for seed and fair grinding. Robert Fov, a Lake Erie & Western brakeman, was killed at Reed’s station while making a coupling.

CONGRESSIONAL.

SENATE. W ashinston , March 27.—Petitions *were presented in favor of the Lowell bankrupey bill. The bill was passed granting pento the widows of Presidents Garfield, Tyler and Polk. The tariff commission bill coming up, Messrs. Van Wyck and Anthony dvocated a commission of congressmen, while Mr. Brown favored the bill, or a civilian commission. The agricultural appropriation bill, with amendments, was reported back. HOUSE. Petitions were presentecLasking for the passage of the Lowell fhnkruptcy Bills were introduced and jeferred: By Mr, Haskell, by request—Authorizing the department of justice to audit the claims of medical experts at the Guieau trial. It provides that the experts shall not be paic in excess of S2S T per day io? each day of actual attenuance. By Mr. Cox—To repeal the act requiring what is kuown as “the ironclad oath” as a condition precedent to hoi ling offices, serving upon jury or to the acquirement of any rights under the laws of the United States. SENATE. Washington, March 28.—The bill was passed to facilitate the payment of dividends to the creditors of the Freedmens bank. The committee on pensions reported a bill providing that on and after its passage all soldiers and sailors who, since the 16th of July,lßßo, have been pensioned or rated at SSO per month for total and permanent dis-' ability, shall receive $72 per month. HOUSE. The morning hour was dispensed with, and Mr. Kelley attempted to call up the tariff commission bill. Mr. Bowman antagonized it with the bill referring private claims to the court of claims,and Mr. Manning with the agricultural appropriation bill. Both motions were rejected and the house went into committee of the whole. The tariff commission bill was taken up and Mr. Kassou addressed the house. The Frelinghuyser-Trescott correspondence was submitted. The secretary of war informed the house that 800,000 more rations will be needed for the sufferers of the floods. Adjourned. SENATE. Washington, March 29.—Mr. Cockrell offered a resolution directing the secretary of state to inquire regarding United States citizens imprisoned in Ireland. The estimates for service for 1883 were $5,841,713.90. The amount of appropriations last year, including deficiencies, were $5,090,866. The amount in the present bill as it came from the house is $4,929,203. Additions made by the senate committee increased the amount $230,800, making the total as reported to the senate $5,160,003, being $6&,137 in excess of the bill of 1882. T. le total of the items increased the appropria ion made by the committee is $316,000, and the deductions $85,200. Among the items increased by the committee are a new building for Indian schools, $50,000; for the education of Indian children in the slates, SI7,CCC. le total appropriation exclusively fori ndustrial schools is $412,200. Pending action, after an executive session, the senate adjourned.

HOUSE. The senate amendment to the house bill granting a pension of $5,000 a year to Lucretia It. Garfield was concurred in. The amendment includes the names of Sarah C. Polk and Julia G, Tyler. Mr. Lord reported back the bill for the construction of a ship canal across Michigan. Referred to committee of the whole. Bills for the erection of public buildings at the following plac s were reported and referred to committee of the whole: Clarksburg, West Virginia, New Albany, Indiana, and Terre Haute, Indiana. The house went into committee of the whole on the tariff commission bill, and Mr. Carlisle resumed his argument, contending that a protective tariff was not the cause of the increase in the price of labor. Mr. Fisher, of Pennsylvania, reported the following: “Any owner of gold bullion or gold coin may deposit the same at any mint to be formed into coin or bars for his benefit. It shall be lawful, however, to refuse any deposit.” Adjourned. SENATE. Washington, March 30.—A bill was passed to authorize the secretary of the treasury to report the amount of the claims of the state of Kansas for money expended and the indebtedness assumed by the state in suppressing Indian hostilities. The Indian appropriation bill was taken up, and the amendment adopted appropriating $5,000 for schools, lands, agricultural implements and seeds for the Seminoles in Florida. The senate next took up and Mr. Hoar earnestly advocated nis amendment to appropriate $2,000,000 for the education of all Indian children (except those of the five civilized tribes) west of the Mississippi river at S2OO each per annum. Mr. Plumb antagonized the positions taken by Mr. Boar as to the duty of the Amerioan people to the Indians, and Mr. Hoar announced he woilld to-morrow modify his amendment bv reducing the appropriation to $600,000. HOUSE. The house refused to consider the Utah contested election case, and went into committee of the whole on the tariff commission bill. An executive communication commends to the attention of Congress

the bill of the interior department for the more adequate prevention of trespasses upon Indian land. Imprisonment is recommended as the penalty as well as a fine. The secretary of the interior says trespass frequently results in bloodshed and . open war with the Indians.

STORIES OF THE FLOOD;

A Wolf in the Boat—Heroism of an indian. A funeral In boats—Other Incidents Many incidents, of which some are pathetic, others thrilling, a few humorous and all interesting, may be found m the newspaper accounts of the Mississippi floods. Last Monday the backwater got to be so threatening on the Trask plantation, nearEfelena, Ark., that William Ware and Westly Hendricks started for a more secure abiding place. They were paddling leisurely along iu a dugout when out of the water and into the boat sprang a gray wolf. The beast was a big fellow, and, as the glaring green of his eyes betokened, was ravenous for food. The occupants of the boat were taken aback so completely that they did not know which way to turn, butthe wolf quickly made them act by springing at the throat of Hendricks. The latter’s paddle fortunately came down upon the wolfs head, and it was well that the shock stunned the animal, which was thrown quivering into the water. But the blow overturned the boat also, and an exciting struggle to right the dugout before the wolf could recover followed. This the men succeeded in doing, and, in the language of the Irish bull-maker, - before the wolf recovered his senses he lost them altogether. Having removed the slain, which was five feet from tip to tii> the men paddled without further adventure to Ht-leua.

An Indian, who lives some fifty miles below Memphis, is mentioned by many people of the neighborhood as the hero of the occasion. One of bis good acts was the rescue of a widow and her two little children near Commerce, Miss. The widow’s house was a short way from a levee, which broke aud let in a roaring flood. The occupants of the house succeeded in climbing to the roof, but they-were not safe there, as the spectators on a w harf-;boat not far off knew, for the c irrent was strong enough to sweep the dwelling a.vay. Several persons volunteered to go to what seemed almost certain death in an effort to rescue the family One young man put out in a skiff, but the skiff was capsized and the bold adventurer was drowned. Shortly afterwards the Indian came down the river in his boat. He saw the situation, and directing his skiff into the flood and raising one oar to steer he managed to throw the boat against the house. The. woman and children got in. As he pushed off the boat was whirled round and round in an eddy, but drifted into calm water and finally reached a place of safety. Little Lulu Stone died at New Madlid a lew days ago. The streets of the town were submerged, but as the cemetery on a knoll wa# high aud dry it was decided to bury the child there. It was impossible to use carriages and therefore the friends of the family came to the house of mourning in boats. The funeral procession is described as the saddest sight ever witnessed in the town. The fi-st skiff contained the casket, with Senator Morrison, the grand father, and an oarsman; iu the second boat was the stricken mother and her other children, with a stout oarsman, aud then came a Ibng line of boats, loaded with friends and relatives. Trie procession moved slowly down Main street to Water street and thence to the knoll, where the little one was left.

A corresppondent of the Chicago Times took a ride in a skiff last Tuesday among the submerged plantation near McGee’s Station, just below Memphis. At one place he found a farmer walking upon stilts around his yard, in about two feet of water. While the reporter was talking to the man a splash attracted the attention of both. When the reporter saw that the splash had been caused by a child falling from a second story window into the water he was alarmed. “Nevermind,” said the father,quietly “that’s Jim; but he won’t get drownded; he’s got four gourds on.” The reporter was much interested to learn that most of the little ones in the neighborhood had similar rude lifepreservers tied to their persons As a rescuing party from Helena were rowing across the neighboring bottom lands, last Wednesday, they saw a large box moored to the branches of a tree. When the boat had approached within earshot the gray wool of an*old darkey popped inti view. The rescuers said: “What are ye doin’ hear, old hoss?” “I’se ole Noah an’ dis am de a’k,” was the reply: “de rain had been a failin’ fur fo’ty days an’ fo’ty nights, but de Lo’d sabed ole Noah.” The rescuers thought that the darkey was joking. When hey took him into the boat., however, they soon learned that the poor fellow wa s daft. Fear and exposure had overturned a mind already weakened by age. A colony was established recently at Six Mile Lake in Tuniqa county, Miss., The colonists knew nothing of the habits of the erratic Father of Waters and the flood caught them napping. The first warning was the sound of the torient breaking through tho levee. All who were at home got upon the tops of the houses, but several men who happened to be in the fields climbed trees. Four men were imprisoned in that way for twenty hours, the angry water lapping their feet as it swayed the branches to which they clung. Rescue came at last in the shape of a steamboat that

happened to be swept through the break in the levee, A resident _of Caruthersvill* went ’* a bbat last Wedqesday co look after some cattle which he had placed upon a platform in a swam\>. In paddling through the swamp the voyager Baw eighteen deer on a narrow strip of dry land. He wantonly shot every one of the poor brutes and gained the curses of his neighbors for his pains.

FARM AND GARDEN.

The Liverpool Butchers’ and Drovers’ Journal notes the recent transfer of a large number of pedigreed polled cattle, and states that several American buyers are picking up some of the best bred individuals. The seasons will soon open for active operation on the farm, and it is not nessary, to intelligent to repeat the instructions usually advanced in the spring relative to the preparations for a vigorous campaign. No rules can be laid down which will suit every fanner, and ever locality abd condition of things; consequently, much depends upon the sound judgment and good common-sense of every business. It is to be supposed that during the dull and uncomfortable days and long evenings of the winter months, just now about ending, the husbandman has not neglected to study the results of the past in bis own operations, but also to take advantage of the experience of his brethren of the plow, as presented in these and the jpages of other agricultural journals of the country, and thus have prepared himself for tlfe live labors of the coming season} as remarked by a very sensible farmer at a late meeting of an agricultural club.

The first thing the merchant turns to on opening his morning paper is the “Commercial Department,’’ to enable him to judge of the state of the market, to determine him as to his operations for the day; the dealer in stocks, to his telegram, to enable him to select his favorites, to sell or buy; the lawyer will turn to the latest decision in ihe courts for his guidance; the mechanic and inventor, to the scientific journals devoted to the arts and science—and so on to the end of the chapter. Evbryone who wishes to be up to the times in his profession is seeking information as to the best means of advancingjhis business, and keeping up with the competition which now meets him at every step in life. It is not now which the farmer, any more than it is with those of most other profession, that he can travel in the dog-trot manner of his fathers —before steam engines, drills, mowing machines and other imprfftred machinet y, and the conveniences of transportation. His land has been depleted of its virgin Boil, and requires resuscitation; he cannot compete with the rich prairies of thejWest|without he can use the means which are now placed at his command, in the fertilizers of commerce, to supplement the moderate amount of home-made manure which he is accustomed to secure. One important consideration with the farmer should be to keep a head of his work—there is an old adage, and which is perfectly true, that “You must drive the work or the work will drive y.qu”—and make the best use of the labor at your hand. As remarked by the farmer quoted above, there is a necessity for a thorough tillage of this soil. Some farmers Studied to see how little labor they could expend upon the land and get a crop, instead of studying how much labor they could bestow upon it with the certainty of getting on ample return. They required to plow and harrow and pulverize the land a great deal more than in former times. They should take an example from the gardener, who raked and pulverized the grow rid so that every seed he put down gfew. Another element of success in farming is early sowing, but this may depend upon the condition of the land. If drained or dry this may be carried out, notwithstanding the danger which may be apprehended of frosts. There is more risk run generally by sowing latt than early. If farmers keep stock, they should endeavor to keep the best, and they ought to secure good stock by using the males of those different varieties which make the best kind of animals. Iu this way they should endeavor to produce the best meat with which to get their share of the trade in the markets which were opening up to them in the Old World. A requisite to successful stock raising was the care of the animals during the first year. And while taking good care of them, if they got a pound of flesh on the animal, thay should not let it off, for they would only have to buy it on again, which would add to the cost of a animal. Whatever was worth doing at all was worth, doing well, and should be done in *the best manner possible. If any one supposed that a lazy, brainless fellow could make a successful farmer he is mistaken. We do not know of any industry which required . more judgment, thought, wisaomjand discretion. Those desiring4o move evergreens this spring had better do it in Marco, or early in April, than wait until the new growth starts. Evergreens can be moved then, but there is more danger from heat and dry weather, aud more care is required. Even if the tree live after tne new growth .starts that growth may all he lost during the current year. If moved now, with a ball of earth attached so that the roots suffer little displacement, the earth soon settles about them and. a moderate growth can be counted on this year. In the other case 1 there is always danger. The writer has moved thousands of them, and much prefer the period of suspension from growth.