Rensselaer Republican, Volume 17, Number 44, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 9 July 1885 — Page 2

WHO HIDES HIS TIMR Who bides his time, and day by day Faces defeat full patiently, And lifts a mirthful roundelay, Hoyfever poor his fortunes be— » He will not fail in any qualm Of poverty—the paltry dime It will grow golden in bis palm, Who bides his time. - Who bides his time—he tastes the sweet Of honey id the saltest tear; And though he fares with slowest feet, t Joy runs to meet him drawing near; The birds are heralds of his cause, And, like a never ending rhyme, v The roadside blooms in his applause. Who bides his time. Who bides his time, aiid fevers not Tn the hot race that none achieves, Shall wear cool wreathed laurel, wrought With crimson berries in the leaves. And he shall resgn a goodly king. And sway his hand o’er every clime, With peace writ on his signet ring, Who bides his time. -James IF. Riley. FIFTY-THREE. , No, my friend, you are not old, Though to silver turns the gold Of your hair, and though the blue Of your eyes grows fainter, too, Ana you gravely say to me, ’ - - j •Aht to-day I’m fifty-three." Such a loyal heart as In your bosom Time defies. And your voice must still be young, For it late sweet verses sung.; And your laugh is wondrously Spring-attuned for fifty-three. Some there are but half those years Deaf to everything cheers. Dumb when* they should kindly speak, Blind to all the poor and weak. Older these, ’tis plain to see, Are than you at fifty-three. None throughout the world, in sooth, Part so slowly with their youth As those spirits who delight In making dreary pathways bright. Old my friend, i/ou will not be When much more than fifty-three. ' —By Margaret Eytinge, in'Harper" s Weekly.

THE SHERIFF OF SHALLYHOE

A Frontier Episode. PART L A sunburned man in the regulation uniform of the mountains sat on a bowlder in the shade at the top of the divide. His pony, tethered by a long lariat of raw-hide, cropped the grass among the stones and tree roots. The man, too, had just finished al fresco a repast of some sort, and was in the act of lighting a briarwood pipe. As he sheltered the match with his hand from the gentle breeze his ear caught a faroff sound as of a horse’s hoofs away down the mountain side in the direction opposite whence he had himself come. The pony heard it, too, for he raised his head, pricked his ears and gave a low whinny. The man finished lighting his pipe, glanced at the smoke and saw that it blew away from the approaching horseman, and then walked over to the brow of the declivity, which commanded a view of the road half a mile distant and 500 feet below. A horseman was passing over this visible section of the road, and the man watched him keenly until he disappeared where the trees cut off further opportunity for obsbrvation. “I don’t reckon it’s him,” he remarked, half to himself and half to the pony, who seemed to listen; “but I s’pose I mought as well halt him and find out for sure.” Accordingly he led the pony into the cedars and stationed himself behind a tree trunk which commanded the approach at short range. As the approaching horse’s hoofs sounded nearer he cocked his doublebarreled gun, and when the rider’s head came in sight threw it with light-ning-like quickness to his shoulder and call out in an authoritative voice, “Hands up, stranger 1” ; The rider started, reined in his horse, and for an instant seemed half inclined to take the chance either of flight or combat, but seeing that he was fairly covered by a double-muzzle suggestive of “buck and ball,” he complied, and held up his hands, the horse resuming his mechanical grit till the level summit was gained, when he stopped of his own accord, with the drooping head and heavy breathing of a hard-pushed animal. “What’s this for?” said the newcomer, eyeing the still leveled gun uncomfortably.

“Wai, stranger, I ax your parding if you ain’t the right feller, an’ I think you ain’t But I’m the Sheriff o’ ShalIvhoe County; an’ I’m looking for a man. No you ain’t him,” he added, lowering his gun, naif-cocking the hammers and throwing it into the hollow of his left arm. “He’s got a game eye and a slash across the nose, and you hain’t got nary one.” “All right, Sheriff," said the horseman cheerfully, as he dismounted. “I hain’t got thsm ear-marks, but my horse is pretty nigh played and I guess I’ve got far enough away from Bender City to rest a bit.” “Come up from Bender, have you? I expect the man I want is down to Bender. How long since you left there?” “About two hours. I got out in a hurry. I hain’t got no use for Bender just now." “That’s singular,” said the Sheriff; “I don’t reckon my man’ll have much use for Bender after to-night, if not sooner.” 0 Then after a pause, during which he thoughtfully regarded his companion: “Stranger, tain’t none o’ my business. I ain’t arter you, but you’ve been shove lately, hain’t you?” The stranger passed his hand over the lower part of his face, which was several shades lighter than the rest and comparatively smooth, from a recent acquaintance with a razor. “Yes,” he said, “I’d most forgot that, and it does kind o’ give me away, don’t it! As you say, Sheriff, it ain’t none o’ your business, but I’ve just had an almighty big scare along o’ that beard o’ mine, and I don’t mind tellin’ you about it You see, about two years ago I and a pard o* mine went up into the Blue Horse Range on * report of placer mining. There was a pileof men went up there, and things was pretty lively for a while. There was a hard lot, that jumped felaims when they, could and raised the devil generally, and there was a law and order party that wanted every feller to have a fair ■how. '.v'** “Well, just off the toughs had the upper hand, but after awhile mofe American men come in and we—me and my pard—was always on the law and order side—we began to feel strong enough to take a hand. So we called a meetin * anijl I was chose Cap’n, and

we gave out that there wa'n’t to be no more foolin’ like what we’d had so much of up to then. “Well, the toughs, they attended the meetin’ of course—every able man in camp, was to that meetin’ — and they tried ay they ,/knew to break it up, but we was too many for ’em and passed our resolutions all straight by a large majority. It’s wonderful the boys didn’t get to shootin’ while the meetin’ was goin’ on, but they didn’t, and after it was over they kinder stood round waitin’ to see what would happen. “They’s most always somethin’ happens when a crowd like that’s waitin’ for it, with shootin’ irons and knives in its belts, and pretty soon it come. There was three or four knots of the boys, some of ’em one party and some another, and some mixed, and Pike Murphy’s saloon was clost by, wide open and all lit up gorgeous.” “Who’d you say?” interrupted the Sheriff; “Pike Murphy ?” < ‘■‘That’s what I said, Sheriff. Know him?” “I’ve heerd on him—that’s all. Drive ahead!” “As I was sayin’, Pike Murphy was servin’ out his pizen pretty liberal, and his pard and him was ’round among the boys as much as they was behind the bar. Oh, they was capitalists, they was, and had their hired bartenders, they did! “Well, Pike’s pard, he was wus nor Pike for all sorts of pure cussedness. Barndollar was the name he went by, and we called him Dolly for short Fust I knowed Dolly come out of the saloon and a lot of others ’round, and he sings out: ‘Where’s the feller that said he’d run Pike Murphy an’ his gang out o’camp? Let me get a show at him oncet!’ “Like a dura fool he hadn’t draw’d before makin’ this speech, so I jus kivered him quietly and tole him to hold up his hands, and he, like any other dura fool, undertook to draw after I had the drop on him fair. Well, as a matter of course I just shot him right in his tracks, and he didn’t write home to his friends no more. j “The law and order party -they backed me up good. They was two or three more of tne crowd shot to once and some more lynched before we got through with ’em, but we ended by act’ly runnifi’ Pike and what was left of his gang out o’ camp. The law and order party naturally took possession of his stock of liquors and after takin’ toll all round, appinted a good steady feller executor of the estate, with power to continue the business for the benefit of the commonwealth. “Well, you see, Pike couldn’t in the natur of things, cherish much affection for me, and I got word from over the Divide that he was a laying for me and sweatin’ he’d kill me on sight. Now, I’ll say for Pike that he was a man that always kept his word—’specially in matters of this sort. It was a kind of a religion with him, and I knowed I’d have to be mighty spry when the time come. “I used .to shave them days, but, come winter, I let my beard grow long, and somehow 1 never shaved again till this forenoon down to Bender. I’ve been knockin’ about ever since, from one camp to another, and doin’ fairly well on the whole, and, finally, thinks I, I’ll go down to Frisco and see some folks again. So last week I lit out, intending to take the train somewheres down the range. “I got to Bender last night and seen the sights and slept late this mornin’ and thought I’d ride out and see an old pard o’ mine that’s got a ranch back in the foothills, when just as I was goin’ to start I seen a barber-pole, and thinks I, ‘l’ll have a shave and look kind o’ civilized like on account of Tom’s havin’ his family with him.” So in I goes —there wa’n’t nobody else in the shop —and sits down, not takin’ notice of the feller that tended the shop. “Well, he clipped off my beard with his shears and got me well lathered before I took a square look at him, and then, Great Scott! I seen it was Pike himself!

“He didn’t know me yet, that was plain, on account of the beard, but I knowed he would before he got all through; and then, stranger, I just felt myself turnin’ as pale as death inside. I don’t know whether I showed it in my face or not, for I was afraid to let Pike see my eyes. “Why didn’t I draw on him then and thar? Well, stranger, I don’t blame you for askin’ that question, not a bit. It’s perfectly natural, but I’m ashamed to say I had most carelessly took off my belt and hung it up out of reach. Of course, if I had a shooter handy there wouldn’t have been no difficulty at all in getting the drop on him. But here ( he was, with one hand holding my head stiddy and the other—Well, stranger, I never thought to object to a sharp razor for shavin’ before. PART 11. “Pike had his tools in prime order and awful convenient. He was always a quick, handy man with weapons of any kind. I thought he'd have to reach for a towel or something, but he never let go his grip on me till he got most through ; and, I tell yoii, when I felt that razor edge on my throat it was kingdom come, sure enough. “Lookin’ back on it now, I don’t suppose he would have done for me that way. Pike may have,been a murderer and a horse thief, but he didn’t raever, io far is I know, come down to the cutthroat business. But it Wasn’t much of a time for cool reasoning, that wasn’t, and I tell you you can’t know till you have tried it how awful xjeakenin’ it is to the nerves to haVea razor drawn across your windpipe by a truth-ful-disposed man who has sworn to kill you., “Well, that was the longest shave I ever had; but after a little eternity he went across the room for something, and I put a twist into my voice and said something about getting my tobacker, and got up and walked over to where my traps were hung. I never looked! toward him till I got a holt on my army Colt, and then I turned, quick as a flash, and had him covered before he looked round. “The minutd he saw me standin’ up and nigh on clean shaved, he know’d me, but he" went on stropping his razor cool as you please. ‘“That you, Cap?' says he. " • “ ‘Yes,’ says I, It’s me, Pike. Never

mind about the second course. I knows its customary, but there’s your half dollar all the same,’ and I chucked one on the floor. “ ‘Oh, that’s all right, Gap,’ says he. ‘I don’t owe you no grudge now,’ says he. ‘You may as well sit down agin.’ ‘“Not if the court knows it,’ says I. ‘I know you for a truthful man, Pike, and I know ypu swore to lay me out for what I did up to Blue Horse, and I don’t propose to have you do no more foolin’ round my windpipe with no razor.’ “ ’Well,’ says he, ‘you’ve got* the floor and I hain’t got nothin’ to say.’ “‘I have, tho’,’ says I, and I made him lay down his razor and hold up his hands till I tied ’em w ith a bridle thar was bangin’ up behind the door, and then I triced him up on one of the rafters, just so he could stand easy.’ “ ‘Now, Pike, says I, ‘don’t you hollow till I’m out of bearin’, ’cause ,if you do I’ll come back and shoot you through the winder. I’m not sure but Pm doin’ wrong to let you off this way, anyhow,’ says I, ‘but I’m a stranger in Bender, and I don’t know the ways of the place, so J.’H give the Sheriff another chance.’ “ ‘Then I got up as soon as I could and lit out from Bender, ’cause I heer’d at the hotel that this here barber (that was afore I know’d who he was) was a leadin’ citizen and was runnin’ for Mayor or somethin’. So I reckoned he could whoop up the boys and make it uncomfortable for me if I stayed in that neighborhood too long. That’s the reason why I fresh shaved, Mr. Sheriff. Now, if you don’t mind tellin’ me, who is it your after?” “Well, stranger,” said the Sheriff, slowly, “I’m after Pike Murphy—though he don’t go by that name in Bender. He’s been regularly sentenced to be hung in three, different counties in Nevada and Colorado, besides which the woods is tolerable full of citizens’ committees that’s just spilin’ to interview him. We didn’t know till yesterday that he was down to Bender and runnin’ a barber shop. Of course he goes by a digerent name there. I’ve got a strong'posse appointed to meet me here before sundowh. It’s about time some on ’em was cornin’ along. Bein’ as you know him, stranger, maybe you’d like to go along with us?” interrogatively. With that readiness to risk life for the sake of a little excitement which is characteristic of the Anglo-Saxon man, the stranger accepted with pleasure his new-found friend’s invitation. “William Mack Kyarter is my name,” he said. “It s my real name, too. I come from Pennsylvania, and I ain’t no ways ashamed to have it known who I am.” The Sheriff and his companion proceeded to make themselves comfortable, where they could keep an eye on the trail which led Benderwards, and in due time the posse began to ride in, singly and by twos and threes, until some twelve or fifteen determined-look-ing men were assembled, all heavily armed 1 . In the late dusk of the summer evening they rode into Bender, silently surrounded Murphy’s shop, and four men, led by the Sheriff, entered and summoned him to surrender. Pike was professionally engaged at the moment, but warned perhaps by his morning’s experience, he had his revolver within easy readh, and dropping behind his customer’s chair, much to that individual’s consternation, opened fire on the Sheriff’s party. The skirmish was short and lively and peculiarly entertaining to the unfortunate customer, who with a long white peignoir, or whatever that mysterious garment may be called wherewith tonsorial artists are accustomed to swathe their victims, found himself suddenly converted into a species of fortification. When the first shots rang out the bullets whistled in close proximity to his person. He started from his recumbent position, grasping the arms of the chair, but was transfixed by the voice of the Sheriff. “You sit still, stranger!” he roared, adding to his own posse, “take to cover and wing him if you can, boys,” upon which the three deputies promptly availed themselves of such shelter as the establishment afforded, taking snapshots whenever the unhappy Pike inadvertently exposed any portion of his anatomy. In a skirmish of his character, or in a regular pitched battle, it is surprising how many shots can be fired and but little damage done. Of the score or so of bullets which flew back and forth across the room only three drew blood; two of them lightly scored the arm of the devoted customer, and the third, passing through the board partitions, pierced both ears os a mule on which one of the Sheriff’s men was mounted, creating a diversion in the darkness outside in which mulish heels and a spmmafily' unseated rider bore conspicuous parts. Kyarter was nearest the door, and remarking, “I’ll fix Him, Sheriff,” bolted around to the rear of the shop, seized a i double-barreled shotgun from one of the guards, thrust it through a pane of glass withoutwaiting to open the window, and, presenting it within three feet of the discomfited ruffian,remarked, “Now, then, Pike!” That individual turned his heed and looked into the double muzzles, which seemed to grow larger as he gazed. One glance was enough. “Put her down, Cap,” he said. “My hands is up.” A crowd had rapidly gathered from the neighboring saloons, which formed the business center oi Bender City, while the arrest was effected, but it was kept back by a cordon of the Sheriff’s men. Presently the prisoner, securely pinioned, was brought out and lifted to the back of a led horfre, while the Sheriff read his warrant to the crowd—which seemed somewhat inclined to attempt a rescue. He gave, also, a brief summary of the prisoner’s history, with some of the aliases by which he was known. Popular incredulity and indifference as to alleged murders gave way to righteous wrath as soon as it was known that he was a thrice-convicted horse-thief, and when the posse rode out of town all danger of a rescue was over, and the Sheriff’s only solicitation was lest a citizens’ committee should take the matter into their own hands. Nor was his anxiety without foundation. As the , party rode up the long mountain road

consultations in a low tone of voice took place among the members of its rear guard. At length one passed to the front and engaged the Sheriff in conversation. ’ Then another joined, riding Up on the other side where the trail widened a little.' At a favorable moment his wjrists were seized, and, although he struggled manfully for a few secondsj he was quickly overpowered and disarmed. • * „ * * . * * * Early on. the following morning a camping party, bound for one of the smaller mountain parks, crossed the divide. Some of them had walked on in advance of the team which was toiling slowly up the long ascent Two girls, just (from an Eastern school, were leading the way, alpenstocks in hand. As they paused for a moment to wait and rest, one, with speechless horror, clutched the other by the harid, and both gazed with pallid faces upon ajifeless form that hung by the neck from a limb of the widespreading oak under whose shade they stood. Thrust in his belt was a half-sheet of paper, on which was rudely printed: “Pike Murphy, horse-thief and murderer. Done by order of Judge Lynch by the Citizens’ Committee of Shallyhoe County, June 15, 18.— Charles L. Norton, in Chicago Inter-Ocean. ,

Hints to Gourmands.

The flesh of young animals digests quicker than that of mature ones. This is true, also, of the flesh of wild birds, which is more tender than that of domesticated ones. This is accounted for by the greater amount of exercise they take, thereby renewing their flesh more rapidly and making it younger than that of birds which live a more quiet life. Fish of all kinds is food for nervous people. Raw eggs, contrary to the general opinion, are not so digestible as those which have been cooked. They should be boiled just enough to harden the white. Some persons digest hardboiled eggs better than those cooked rare. Neither fried eggs nor anything else fried should be eaten by nervous people. The very first thing for any one who has exhausted himself by mental work, or one who has been born weak or irritable, is to furnish his brain with sufficient food to either repair the damage it has sustained or to build it up into a strong, -, healthy condition. Good bread, with plenty of sweet butter, is an excellent food for the nerves. Animal food is more nutritious to the nervous system and tothebody generally than vegetable. It has all the essential elements for the formation of the tissues of the body, and is easily digested. It appears to be the natural sustenance for human beings. The first food taken by humanitymilk—is strickly an animal substance. It contains all the elements necessary to the growth of the human body and to its maintenance in a state of health. This cannot be said of any one article of vegetable food. If a person uses up his brain faster than he makes it he soon becomes irritable and nervous. And if he does not assimilate enough food to supply its demands his mind is sure to become weak. The healthiest and strongest individuals, even, should eat a far greater proportion of meat than of vegetable food. Beef should be taken as the standard meat; It answers every purpose of the system when not cooked too much. VeaLand pork are not as easily digested. Pork; so far as composition goes, is an excellent food for nervous persons, but it is not easily •digested

The Tyrant, Habit.

The Emperor William is a man of exceedingly economical habits, and the study lamp on his work-table is a simple oil lamp of a pattern such as since the introduction of petroleum lamps can hardly be met with on the table of the humblest citizen of Berlin. But it was not economy that accounts for the fact, so much as the difficulty which an old man has in changing a habit. The explanation is given by the British American Register. The Emperor has for years been accustomed to screw down the wick whenever h,e ceases writing or reading or leaves the room. When the petroleum lamps finally came into general use, the Emperor’s valet, Krause, bought one an,d put it on the work-table. True to his habit, his imperial master screwed down the wick on writing; and, as a matter of course, the room was soon filled with an insupportable smoke, which greatly affected the nose and eyes of the monarch, and necessitated the opening of doors and windows. Krause finally volunteered the remark: “No, your Majesty, that sort of lamp will not suit.” “But what are we to do, Krause? Had we better get our oil lamp back again? You know my eyes are weaker, and require a brighter light.” “Well, your Majesty, we can have a new lamp made with an extra large burner, so as to do away v ith petroleum altogether.” “Quite right, Krause, let us try it.” And Krause got a lamp of the old pattern, had the burner enlarged to an almost colossal size, a green glass shade added to it, and to this day, the new lamp, defying all innovations, asserts its place of honor on the work-table of the most dilligent of monarchs.— Youth’s Companion.

Coolness Underfire.

An exhibition of composure under fire, perhaps never recounted in print, occurred during the Schleswig-Holstein war in 1840. A. Prussian force was beleaguering the fortress of Friedrichsort, at that time commanded by a Danish General noted for coolness and dandyism, and both fortress; and town were subjected to a most unmerciful pelting, in the progress of which a shell passed through the well of the commandant’s office, demolished a clerk or two in transit, and msde its exit through the opposite wall of the building. Naturally there ensued a moment of hurry and confusion among the people in the office. The commandant, however, sat calmly at his desk, and in his usual tones requested an orderly to stop the hole in the wall with a blanket before the draft should give him his death of cold— New York Comntercial Advertiser. '"'ti .

THE MIGRATIONS OF BIRDS.

Marvelous Speed of the Swallow—The Flight in Search of ]sew Foot Supplies. Among all the migrants the swallow has-, perhaps, attracted most attention in all ages and countries, says a writer in The Edinburgh Review. It arrives in Sussex villages with remarkable punctuality ; none of the migrants pern form their journeys more rapidly than the swallows and their congeners. A swift with young ones, or during migration, covers from 1,500 to 2,000 miles a day. It begins business feeding its young about 3 o’clock a. m., and continues it till 9p. m. At that season, therefore, the swift spends nearly eighteen hours upon the wing, and it has been computed that at the ordinary rate of traveling of this very fast bird it would circumnavigate the globe in about fourteen days. At a push, if it were making forced flights, the swift would probably keep on the wing, with very brief intervals of rest, during fourteen days. The speed of the whole tribe is marvelous, and seems the more sc when compared with that of the swiftest of animals that depend for their progressive powers on legs, however many legs they may be furnished with. The hare is swift, yet in Turner’s well-known picture of rain, steam, and speed the hare’s fate is sealed; she will be run over and crushed by the engine rushing in her wake. The swiftest animals would soon break down at forty miles an hour, which the swallow unconsciously accomplishes, merely twittering all the while. All the swallows tribe are found in every part of Great Britain, including Shetland, except the swift, which is not found in those islands. Dr. Saxby, author of “Birds of Shetland,” says that one day a poor fellow, a cripple, who happened at the time to be exceedingly ill off and in want of food, came to him with a swallow in his hand. The doctor ordered the man some dinner. It seems he had opened his door, restless and half famished, when in flew the swallow and bro ught hip, so to speak, a dinner. “After this,” said the poor fellow, “folks need na tell me that the Lord does not answer prayer.” The swallow can hardly be inelegant, "When ’it walks, however, it does so with particularly short steps, assisted by the wings, and In accomplishing any journey longer than a few inches it spreads its wings and takes flight. It twitters both on the wing and on the nest, and a more incessant, cheerful, amiable, happy little song no other musician has ever executed. Much has been said of that “inexplicable longing” and “incomprehensible presentiment of coming events” which occasion birds to migrate from certain districts before the food supplies begin to fail. Quails, woodcocks,snipes, and many other birds, it is said, are in the finest condition at the time of commencing their migration, while none of them are emaciated at that season, so that the pinch of hunger, it is argued, cannot have yet affected them. But it should be remembered that fat, as well as lean, birds may feel that pinch, and that birds are very fast-living creatures, full of life, movement, and alertness, quick to observe, to feel, and to act. In the rapid digestion of their food they are assisted by a special organ which grinds down such items as grain, gravel, nails, or needles, swallowed in mistake or from caprice or curiosity, with astonishing facility. They prefer feeding nearly all day, and when fully crammed they\ sometimes become as plump as ortolans, or as well-fed quails, whose skin bursts when they fall to the gun. But when the appetite is urgent, obesity does not by any means preclude hunger. Twelve hours fast and snow and a change of wind are very urgent facts in the lives of these quick creatures in the autumn of the year, and then begins that sudden migration which the lighthouse-keepers have observed. It is impossible to imagine creatures more practical and full of action and freer from “presentiments” than birds, engaged as they are from day to day snatching their food at nature’s board. Perhaps we may compare them to the guests of Macbeth, since all goes well so long as the ghost abstains from making its appearance; but very suddenly sometimes, in the case of the northern birds, the specter of hunger puts th,em to flight Fat or lean, they must go on the instant, and that is why they arrive pell-mell upon our coast; but, as the country to be cleared of its birds of summer is extenBIVO, autt tiro aißtanco cri cue - joitrneyß various, they naturally arrive' at intervals. The migration of birds is worldwide. The birds of North America make corresponding movements to those of northern Europe, traveling in a northeasterly and southwesterly direction, and at the same seasons. The countries of the Gulf of Mexico form the chief retreat of the North American migrants, especially Mexico itself, with its three zones and great variety of climate. But some of them go as far as the West Indies and New Granada. A great number winter in the Southern States.

The Yellow Oath.

A large number of Chinese had to be examined as witnesses in the case, and, as it has often been remarked that the Chinese care but little or not at all for the American form of oath, the district attorney moved that, under the provisions of the civil code which provide that a witness who does not believe in the Christian religion may be sworn in the manner which he considers most binding on his conscience, the Chinese witnesses be required, in addition to taking tho nmialbath, to take the Wong Chung, qr “yellow” oath. The motion was granigdf'and after the first Chinese witness was called, and the usual oath had been administered, the yellow oath was produced. This is a piece of paper eleven inches long by eight wide, upon which there are 123 characters. Before this was administered by the interpreter a literal translation was furnished and read for the information of the court and jury. A free translation of the same is as follows : “This is to call the spirits, both good and evil, to descend and watch over the trial of Wdng Ah Foo, who is charged with murdering Loi Ah Gow. If I swear falsely and tell one untruth, or do not make a statement according to the facts in the case, I humbly beg the celestial and terrestrial spirits to redress the wrong done to Loi Ah

Gow, and to punish m» immediately for having been a false witness, to arrest my soul in its flight, to make me perish by the Sword, or cause me to die while on the sea and before I reach One-half the distance to China. This is the true and solemn oath, uttered by my own lips, and signed by me this day of the second month in the eleventh year Quong Soy; and in proof of the earnestness of my assertion, may my soul be destroyed, as I destroy this, paper, by fire.” The witness repeated, after the interpreter, every word printed 6n the paper and the'n affixed the date and his signature to it, after which, with a match furnished by the obliging clerk of the court, <he lit the yellow oath and watched while it turned to ashes. In answer to questions by the counsel for the defense, the witness said that he felt bound to tell the truth under the American oath, and he believed that after taking the Chinese oath he would be afraid to tell an untruth— San Francisco Call. J

German Philosophy and Philosophers.

When we speak of German philosophy we do not mean to imply that it differs essentially from the philosophy of other countries. We refer to it thus shfaply to point out the path that German thinkers have followed, especially in the domain of purely speculative thought. In this department the philosophy of Germany takes high rank—according to many authorities the highest. At least, for a century past, abstruse speculation has been chiefly represented by the thinkers of that country, and with the awakening, especially in Anglo-Saxon countries, of a renewed passion for “practical” knowledge, Germany has keen allowed to bear the palm in the realms of metaphysics with no danger of a rival. The philosophic system of other countries, that of Bacon in England, Descartes in France, and Spinoza in Holland, awakened little attention in Germany. The works of John Locke, however, did attract some notice, and the system of Leibnitz, who is regarded as the founder of modern German philosophy, may be sajd to he -founded upon Locke’s speculations. Leibnitz was a marvelous specimen of precocious genius, his first philosophical treatise beingwritten at the age of 17. He lived from 1616 to 1716, and waaone of the finest scholars of his own, or, indeed, any age. His system of philosophy supposed the mind and body to be two distinct machines, acting independently of, but in harmony with, each other. He also held to the theory of “monads,” that is, the indestructible entities of matter and of mind, claiming the Deity to be the prime monad, and asserted that all ideas were innate. The great opponent of Leibnitz was Christian Wolf, who founded all his philosophy on logical propositions, and set aside those very doctrines on whiph Leibnitz grounded his reasoning. After these'two philosophers had passed away, there was a term pf quiescence in German philosophy, broken by the teaching of Emanuel Kent, the philosopher of “Pure Reason,” and the father of modern philosophical criti-" cism. The central point of his system lies in the proposition that before we can know anything concerning objects, and what degree or knowledge perception can give us. Kant’s “Critique of the Pure Reason,” published in 1781, is one of the most remarkable philosophical works ever written. Fichte was a disciple of h ant, but went beyond his master in transforming all knowledge into pure idealism. Fichte’s works have been largely translated into English, and Constitute the most brilliant and beautiful philosophical system ever enunciated. A kind of revolutionary excitement was aroused in German thought by Fichte’s writings, and for twenty-five years new and wonderful systems of philosophy were a spontaneous growth in that country. Of these, however, few survived. Schelling was the next writer to gain a general influence. He was at first simply an expounder of Fichte, but gradually elifninated a philosophy of his own, founded on the theory that the true sources of knowledge are not experience or reflection, but intellectual intuition. This theory has betrayed the followers of Schelling into the numberless absurdities of mysticism. Hegel, who succeeded Schelling as the dominant spirit of German phical thinker. The foundation of his system is, that the union of assertion and negation, the harmonizing of every proposition with its contradictory is the source of all knowledge. The Hegelian system has been modified largely by the speculations of Schleiermacher, Schubert, and others, but it still remains the most powerful school of German philosophy. Th’te principal opposing system is that of Schopenhauer, whose fundamental doctrine is that the only essential reality in the universe is will, all phenomena being but manifestations of the single original will. In conclusion, we may remark that notwithstanding all the absurdities to which German speculative philosophy has given birth, it has had a beneficial influence, not only on the intellectual life of Germany, but also upon that of the entire world.— lnter Ocean.

Concerning Oratorical Contests.

We believe .that the abolition of the oratorical contests should be taken into serious consideration. If there are reasons for i and against them, let us hear them. The whole university is interested. What are their benefits? Does any college escape trouble over its primary contest? Do they engender envy, enmity, and hate? Do they develop character and manhood? Is there any gain in scholarship? What kind of men do they develop? Do they produce orators and thinkers? •Has a diligent student, a clear writer an intelligent reader, a man of broad thought and ideas, equal chances against a mere declaimer ?» What do these orators amount to after they get out of college? Is there any good education training in the whole business ? If a man steals a speech and takes the contest, is it all right and is he a hero? We are not expressing an opinion; we are simply asking questions which we think are pertineiU. Those who Cire interested ought £0 answer,—Bloomington Progress.