Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 43, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 2 July 1885 — His business Compelled It. [ARTICLE]

His business Compelled It.

Senator Don Cameron says that Prof. Bell, the telphohe man, once offered him a controlling interest in the stock of his company for $6,000. The Senator declined. Last year the company’s profits were over $1,500,000. The women of New York are not to have a club-house after all. One of them declares there is no need, of getting such an institution in order to provide them with the comforts of home. "What is more desired by them, it is said, is the freedom of a club in their homes. According to a Texas paper civilization is pushing the picturesque cowboy in that State to the wall. It says: ‘•We had better bid the, old time cow-f boy a fond farewell this spring. The days of making a living in this country by riding around all day on a pony are drawing to a close. We are sorry to lose the kind-hearted, generous fellows, but there is no use kicking against the inevitable.” Of the twenty “oldest Masons” in the world, so far as anybody knows, the three who tak? the precedence live in Great Britain, and Sir Moses Montefiore, centenarian though he is, does hot come among them. So far as Masonic Token can tell, the really oldest Mason is John Tressider, of Falmouth, England, whowas initiated in 1805, on the Gth day of August. The oldest in America still appears to be Captain Sylvanus Hatch, of Port La~vacca. Texas, initiated in 1800. The diversions of the old Kaiser William have aw ays been manly and -in steiking ctnitfasf fb those Qf his Bavarian neighbor, which are taken in solitude and in as much gloom as is compatible their enjoyment. Perhaps there are few older figures in history than that of the strange monarch, who may—or strictly speaking, may not —be seen occasionally in the Munich Opera-house, having one of Wagner’s lyric dramas all to himself. This potentate is the “Jack Horner” of royalty, who takes his Christmas pie into the corner and eats it by himself.

The old town of Atsion, on the New Jepsey division of the .Reading railroad, at tho junction of Camden, Burlington, and Atlantic Counties, has been purchased by a New York company, who intend to cut the tract, comprising some 2,500 acres, into building lots. The place was founded over a century ago by one Samuel Richards, who established one of the first iron foundries in the United States there, and for fifty years it was one of the manufacturing centers of South Jersey, but, owing to a lack of ore, the works were abandoned, and the town finally became ah most deserted.

A Massachusetts veteran vented his feelings over the movement to relieve ex-soldiers from the operations of the civil-service act as follows: “I regard the amendment as aa insult te our intelligence. Many soldiers have held and do hold offices, and so far as I know they ask no favors, and I cannot learn that this change has been made at the request of any considerable number of soldiers. Good men voted for it, but the whole thing is the work of demagogues, who expect to make themselves solid with the soldiers, and that fact shows that they believe that they can be caught with chaff.” According to the New York Herahrs ■Washington correspondent the. attaches of the White House are able, from long experience, to form a “very good impression” of the character and standing of callers from, their cards. If these accomplished employes should lose their situations at any time, they should have no trouble in finding lucrative engagements as fortune tellers. Indeed, they might add to their perquisites now by foretelling the fate of anxious office-seekers, since, if they can size up strange visitors so accurately, the mind and secret intentions of the President must be an open page to them.

The New York Tlmes s%rs that Gen. Sheridan's little accident while oat driving lately recalls another narrow escape he had daring the later days. ®f the war, when sadden ly tripped np one day he stumbled and fell beneath a stallion's feet in camp and was fiercely Kicked, narrowly escaping death. The horses hoofs scraped his coati and ripped the cloth. It was by a decidedly informal rolling over the ground in a hurry that he saved his life, so the soldiers say, for the kick was viciously repeated. There Wasn’t anything very heroic in the General's retreat, but that other experience with horseflesh which Bcchanan Bead has sung to such purpose was scarcely of more consequence to Philip himself. MoxosdiHELA, Pennsylvania, has a eat that put oat a fire. Not long since the family oi Tarter McFarland all wept out to a temperance meeting leaving Master Tcm, a-favorite cat, in sole occupation of the house. Gn their return the eat rushed out and plunged intc JLLe snow, where Ms actions excited so much interest as to ’ lead to an examination. -when his feet were found to

be blistered. Tha Bitting-room serveV to explain matters. A live coal had been thrown 09 1 and set the carpet on fire. Pubs bad evidently clawed ont the fire for a considerable distance about the spot burned, leaving nothing but a center of ends, charred and frizzled. All the circumstances indicated that the cat had put out the fire, and he is held in higher esteem than ever.

Abe Buzzard, the famous Pennsylvania outlaw of whom so much has been written, is described by a neighbor as anything but a hero. The neighbor says: “Imagine a dirty, slovenlylooking sneak, the height of whose ambition is to rob a hen-roost, skirmishing around a farm-yard while the men are working in the field ready to steal anything he can lay his hands on, from a dunghill rooster to a clothes-horse, and yon have a picture of Abe Buzzard in all his glory. I lived in Lancaster County, and have seen the whole Buzzard gang brought to court more than once, and in no instance did their daring adventures amount to more than robbing a country store; and that was always done while honest men slept, and in such a bungling manner that* any of the country constables could always capture the thieves ana recover the goods if they had so desired.

The Ansti alian colonies have taken an important departure in their commercial relations by moving for the establishment of a colonial zollverein or a customs union which will develop their rapidly-growing commerce, already aggregating over $500,000,000 per annum, and protect their intercolonial trade. Hitherto they have had no right to adopt a discriminative tariff, and were bound to lax intercolonial trade like foreign. The results for which they are now moving^namely; intercolonial free trade—will place their trade upon the same basis as our inter-State free trade, and the same influences will be brought so bear in developing industry %nd stimulating production; and, more than this, will undoubtedly in time bring about a kind of release from the commercial domination of the mother country bV increasing home products. The bill granting permission to the colonies to exercise these new privileges ba3 passed the English Parliament, and Victoria and Tasmania have already availed themselves of their newly-acquired right. The other colonies will soon follow oh the same line, when trade between them will be as free as between our own States.

A California -woman has just had a cheerful experience with the bones of her lamented husband, who died and was buried in the Boston cemetery thirty years ago. The widow went to the far West soon after his death, and the grief she felt, which was, of course, great, was mitigated by time, and perhaps other sources of consolation, until she became peaceful and happy, and, in fact; ceased to dwell upon the memory of the departed- Within the past year, however, she has developed mediumistic powers, and during the exercise of these she was surprised by a communication from the spirit of her husband, many communications, to be more exact. The spirit of the Boston man, indeed, might be said to have haunted her, so numerous were his visits and persistent his demands. Nothing would satisfy him but that she should go back to Boston, gather up his bones and cremate them. Finally, yielding to his importunities, she made the journey, procured the services of an undertaker and dug for the remains. Owing to lapse of time, these were found to be in a somewhat dilapidated condition, but she recognized the skull, which she took into her own hands, having promised the visiting shade that she would personally superintend the burning of that once proud organ. To the skull were added a few more bones, and the lady departed happy. But only for a brief hour. That same day at dinner the husband’s spirit called upon her again, and announced with displeasure that she had failed to gather all the remains, and that he desired her to return and secure the missing relics, not forgetting his whiskers, which must be there, and of which, as she was aware, he had been very vain when alive.—Once more she went with the undertaker, the tomb wa3 opened, and with her own fingers she sifted the dust, being at length rewarded by a handful more Of “remains," including the missing beard. Again she plied tile fire in the fnrnace, and would have gathered the ashes as a keepsake, but for the difficulty of separating them from the fuel, and, therefore, left them to be carried off by the ash man. If she hears no .more from the departed in regard to his troublesome body, she will go West once more, but a gho3t who is so whimsical cannot be depended npon. and she makes no definite plana. Her experience is calculated to deter other widows from experimenting with spiritualism.

“How do you manage to secure the best carls in the s paek.” exclaimed a lady to her male opponent in a game of euehre. * “I cannot help it madam,* replied the gentleman, my business compels me to hold the hist winning cards.” -■ ■*And why pray ?” ; “I am a pawnbroker." "And what has that to do with this game, I would like to know ?” * “My business, madam, compels mo. to bold a loan hand.”: —Carl Prc&tft Hieei/y. ” , i-~ ■' ■■■■ ' - : . ■ ...