Rensselaer Republican, Volume 16, Number 16, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 27 December 1883 — Old-Time Letter Writing. [ARTICLE]

Old-Time Letter Writing.

Jbnnih Soott, 7 years of age, is lecturing in Texas. She will have a hard time getting a husband if she keeps on nt this sate. , The ®#lony of Russian Hebrews located os a farm of eight hundred acres in Middlesex county, Virginia, proved an utter failure, after $5,000 had been •expended, and the families will be sent back to Baltimore. Thh Sew. John Wilder ( colorecs has begun mot at Pittsburgh against three Reformed Presbyterian clergymen, asking sls#,oof damages, in that they asserted that he was a monomaniac, and this was a hindrance to his gaining a liveUbood. Snt Swafford North cote's ■visit to Ireland was successful, if in nothing else, in once more giving a good stir up to the miserable antagonisms between Orangemen and Roman Catholics whmk had of late years so happily subsided, and may very likely cost the taxpayers a very handsome sum in the cost of a special police and troops to keep order in Berry and Belfast. Thb growth of the railway system of New York State is shown by the report of the State Engineer and Surveyor. The first spike was driven on the Mohawk and "Hudson railroad in 1831, and fee growth of the system by degrades fe shown by the following table: MUes Miles Miles MiJee on all each on all each Year. roads, decade. lYear. roads, decade. 1831 IT 17 ‘862 2*599 672 1811 553 512 1872 4,659 2,051 1852 1,906 I,STS 1882..... 6,622 1,971 Is the oelebrated trial at Nyiregkyhaza, Hungary, where a number of Jews were falsely accused of killing a Christian maiden for sacrificial purposes, the coimsel for the defense alleged that the police commissioner had by torture secured the confessions :from witnesses and prisoners upon which the State had relied principally for a conviction. The two men fought a duel and the police commissioner was severely wounded in the che6t. Jay-Ewe-See, the fastest trotter of his age the world lias ever seen, stands but fifteen hands, and Robert Bonner declined to buy him one year ago on that account. He liked the form and breeding of the horse, but did not believe that he had size enough to make a world-beater. But, now that Jay-Eye-See has trotted a mile in 2:10£, the opinion that it is impossible to get length of stride for a fast mile without height of 15.3 to 16 hands falls to the ground. The English Ghost-Hunters’ League, which has been investigating all the ghosts aad haunted houses which come within its knowledge, and have absolutely nothing to show for two years’ labor* is becoming discouraged. It now prints a card asking all people with supernatural affairs about them or their houses to come forward, promising as an inducement that “nothing wilL in any cose be printed or published With or without names, except with the full consent of the persons concerned.” Ah umbrella to cover the city of Buenos Ayres is described by a writer as the newest thing proposed in the " Argentine Republic. Messrs. W. Bournhofer and John Fluckigen say in a formal letter to the authorities that for $5,750,000 they willerectin the Flazo de Lorea a base 674 feet in diameter and 1,500 feet high, tile ribs to be of cost iron and 31 inches in circumference. These ribs are to be eight feet apart. The lining is to be of wrought iron, an inch and a half thick. The Manitobans will probably soon come to the conclusion that the true solution of their present difficulties “consist ip. a frieddlv and peaceful separation from British connection and a union upon equitable terms with the great North American Confederation of Sovereign States.”. We can point to Dominion authority in this matter. ‘Senator McPherson, a supporter of Sir John Macdonald, hold that was the remedy for the Eastern Provinces against their harsh treatment by the British authorities in 1849. • , In York county, Me., recently, a man died who had had one doctor treating him for pyaemia and another for Bright’s disease. Each determined to settle the question of disease by a post mortem without letting the other know it. Just as the kidney doctor had, uncovered the coffin the blood-poison man drove into the graveyard with his assistants, and the two disputed so long over the question of possession that they were surprised and nearly captured by a party from the village who had been attracted by the light of the moving lanterns. ' Various are the methods of initiating Liras*' •• - » • *’"*' ' ■'< » •

Harvard students into the secret societies. All aspiring young men are put through, for two weeks, a series of menial and humiliating drudgery and subjection. One New Yorker' is said to have been lately made to sell papers for a week, dressed in striped bed-ticking. A well-dressed young man obediently dashed through Harvard square, holding out a long-handled tin dipper, and pathetically imploring,, “Won’t yougiva me a little something?” at the same time devoutly crossing himself. Others were fantastically dressed and placarded, and sent on ridiculous errands. The penalty of disobedience is a closing of the doors of the societies forever to the candidate. Violence is not resorted to in the initiations which are curious and ingenious methods for making the candidate ridiculous. \ Thomas Hughes, relating an experience in organizing the Rugby, settlement, in Tennessee, says there was no ordained minister among the settlers. The most suitable man was a Methodist, who conducted the English Church service in the morning, and accommodated those who were otherwise inclined in the evening. Hughes was rejoiced to see the denominations inextricably mingled, the settlers attending both services with perfect impartiality, as convenience might dictate. This man was soon ordained by the Protestant Episcopal -Bishop of Tennessee, who wrote in reply to Mr. Hughes; “He need not rub up his Greek. Of course, he must undergo examination in tlie Bible and prayer book, as - there are certain canonical examinations which cannot be dispensed with. I ain willing to go very far to satisfy the Nonconformists, and am willing to compromise anything but fundamental principles.” ’LoimviM-H Courier-Journal: A most interesting colloquy took place yesterday in the Tennessee Department at the Exposition between Dr. Graham, who is in his 100th year, and Mr. Horst, aged 85., Old times were recalled in all their glory, and many reminiscences recited. The picture of Gen. Jackson hanging in the exhibit was framed by Mr. Hurst in 1836. The frame is of hickory branches, and was fashioned by his own hands. Dr. Graham Tuesday last arose at early dawn and went out fossil-hunting more than 100 miles- in Indiana, returning the same day. He expressed himself as feeling just as well as possible after his trip, said such journeys might fatigue young men, but could not tire him. In fact, he felt just as spry as he did when he went to the dancing-party in 1806 with Nancy Hanks and Polly Hobbs. All three were members of the Methodist Church, and were arraigned for breaking its rules. Poor Polly sobbed and dried bitterly, and begged not to be turned ont of the church, but she was a culprit and they dismissed her. Nancy Hanks said she did not propose t® hava them direct her conscience, that she saw no harm in dancing, and that she would do it again, so they turned her out. Young Graham protested his ignorance of the regulations on that point, and promised he never would do so again, and said that he regretted his course exceedingly, so he was allowed to retain his membership. In a few months Nancy Hanks married Mr. Lincoln, the father of the President, and Dr. Graham attended the wedding. He tells many interesting stories of the days of Daniel Boone—of times when the State of Kentucky was only a back county of Virginia; of life on Corn Island and in the wilds among the red man of the forests.

It is a common but unjust complaint tliat cheap postage killed the art of letter writing. In the last century the dispatch of an epistle was an affair of some moment. The expense of the post was not to be incurred without consideration; and since it was the receiver nf the missive who had to pay for” it, every gentleman who valued his reputation was anxious that his friends should find his correspondence worth the money. The knack of composing an elegant and entertaining letter was one of the first accomplishments demanded of a man of wit and culture. The broad pages upon which he expended his pains took the place, in some degree, which has since been fill-*, ed by the newspaper and the magazine; every letter-writer tried to be an essayist, a chronicler of politics and business, a critic, a gossip, Hundreds of volumes of private correspondence have been oolleoted and printed in our time, which rank with the most "valuable materials for history and the most entertaining illustrations of the tastes, opinions and manners of pa;#generations; and no inconsiderable part of them possess besides a positive literary quality. It is true that as soon as we go back to the fashionable era of lnffnr-iyyifinff in ilin iimo nf Walnnlo letter vv r loiugi w exit? eiuiu ut tt uiiruitJ and Pope, we find ourselves, in the midst of insincerity and artifice; but these were characteristics of the society of that day, and the letters would not be prized so highly as they are if they were not faithful reflections of the life from which they came.— New York Tribun ?. - If a man empties his purse into his head, no man can take it away from him. An investment in knowledge always pays the best interest— Frank' l in. , .. .. * : H ■-v |V • -w*r-- . . J.■ “S'" “'.nl .... A