Rensselaer Republican, Volume 22, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 12 December 1889 — Page 2

ALLAN QUATERMAIN.

A Record of Remarkable Adventures and Discoveries.

BY H. RIDER HAGGARD

: SYNOPSIS f Allan Quatermnin , chafing under the restraint . civilization, and in the death of his son Harry twins lonely and disconsolate ' without kith or kin concludes to make another trip Into Africa. He had heard vaguely of a distant part of Africa being; p»o pied with a strange whirej*aee, and he if possible discover the truth or falsity oTthe report. He broached the anbject to his old friends and a«v Associate adventurer* in Kukuanaland —Sir Henry’ Curtis and Captain John Good. —wlic, themselves wearied of their situation, eagerly join in the expedition. Thereupon the party embark for their new field of adventure. They soon reached Damn, and wi th the aid of theconsul complete a rrangeinentH with a party of Nakai Aakai to transport their goods. This party was loth to make the trip, but wa* iuduced todo so by the demands and threats of Umsiopogaas, a deposed Zulu ohife.whomQuatermaiu had known in other adventures- Ten. days after leaving Laniu the-party found themselves on the Tana river. At Ohara they had a quarrel with the headsman of the bearers, who wanted to extort extra payment. As the result he threatened to set the M&flui on them. The party embarked on the river in canoes. At night they doomed it unsafe to camp on shore, and therefore anchored in midstream. At a late hour, Quatermain. being awake, felt the boat move. Soon a hand, was thrust in and one of the Wakwati was stabbed to the heart. He uttered a piercing yc.U, and Quatermain, grasping battle-ax, struck a terriitic biow at the hand and severed it from the arm. the hand falling into the boat. Dark objects were then seen moving toward the shore, and it became known that the Masai had conspired to mu tier them :is they slept. The warning was in time, and their Ryes d. The party resumed its traveTs.and,after many hours of arduous labor, they reached, the mission station. They received a hearty welcome. The station was 16—rated cm ah overlooking the river.and was surrounded by a high stone wall, with a ditch on the outer side tilled wit h wat*-r. Tlu-re were a .garden and many hoaufitul cultivated flowers with in the enclosure. The mission consisted of Mr. Mat kenfcie, hie wife, little daughter, Flossie, a French cook, Alphonse, anti several natives. Here Quatermain received further information of the unknown white race they were seeking. It is feared the Masai will attack the travelers here. Flossie determines to obtain for Qnaternmm a si*H-iim*n of th** ‘Gova’ lily, one of the largest ami most beautiful flowers known. Alphonse tells the story of his life—of the heroic blood of his grandfather which does not conrse thro= his veins; of his love for his Annette Drawn for conscription,he hunts for glory on the bloody battlegeld; Ratified while in barracks. Places his Annette under protection of hiseoiWiu. He is ordered to Ton. uuin. Does hot want to be ripped open. Deserts. Flies to his Annette. Finds himself supplanted by Ins cousin. Strikes and kills his eousitl. Flees. Now finds himself in Africa. Flossie with two of three attendants, goes after a. Goyn lily. Party at mission in great distress over her failure to return. While sitting cm the veranda, after dark, a human head fails at the feet of Quatermain. It proves to be the head of on»» of Flossie's attendants. A herald *oon after knocks for admittance. Announces the capture of Flonsie by a party of two hundred and fifty masai and demamfs, as the price for her release the lives of th« Traveler*. Quatermain offers to give his life for Flossie.'*, but Mackenzie and party w ill not permit it. They ask for time, until day break, to consider the important matter. It is reluctantly - granted. /A notp yurreptitioTrsly received in Flossie's basket, demand that the exchange be not made, and •ays that, if she can find no wav of rescue, sirewill shoot herself. Uuslopogaas promises to tear the ma-ai dog limb from limb. . The reader will he enaided by this synopsis- to cn joy the remarkable storv that Follows:

CHAPTER V.— Continued. Then eagerly, quickly, almost fiercely, we fell to discussing the situation. Again I said that I would go, and again Mackenzie negatived it, and Curtis and Good, like the true men that they are, vowed that, if I did, they would go with me, and die back to back with me. “It is.” 1 said at last, “absolutely necessary that an effort of some sort, should be made before the morning.” “Then let us attack them with what force we can muster, and take our chance.” said Sir Henry. “Ay, ay,” growled Umslopogaas, in Zulu; “spoken like a man, Incubu., What is there to be afraid of? Two hundred and fifty Masai, forsooth! How many are we? The chief there [Mr. Mackenzie} has twenty men, and thou, Macumazahn, hast five men, and there are alscFffve white men- -that is, thirty men in all—enough, enough. Listen now, Macumazahn, thou who art very clever and old in war. What says the maid? These men eat and make merry; let it be their funeral feast. What said the do°f whom i hope to hew down at daybreak? That he feared no attack because we were so few. Knowest thou the old kraal where the men have camped? I saw it this morning; it is thus:’- and he drew an oval on the floor; “here is the big entrance, filled up with thorn bushes and giving on to a steep rise. Why, Incubu, thou and I with axes, will hold it against a hundred men striving to break out! Look, now; thus shall the battle go. Just as the [ight begins to glint upon the oxen’s horns —not before, «r ife- will be too dark, and not later, or they will be awakening and perceive us—let Bougwan creep round with ten men to the top end of the kraal, where the narrow entrance is. Let 'them silently slay the sentiy there so that he’makes no sound, and stand ready. Then. Incubu,' let thou and I and one of the Askari—the one with the broad chest, he is a brave man-—creep to the wide entrance . that is filled with thorn bushes, and also slay the sentry, and armed "with battle-axes take our stand also one on each side of the pathway, and (One a'few paces beyond to deal with shell as pass the twain at the gate. It '‘fe'thjcre that the rush will come. That j Will * leave .sixteen men. Lot those men be divided into two parties, with one of which shalt thou go, Macumazahn.and with one the “praying mhn” [Mr, j^tackenzie], aqd, all armed with rifles.., let them ihake their way one to the right side of the kraal and one to the left; and when thou, Macumazahn, lowest like an ox, all shall open fire with' the gbis tipon the sleeping men, hhtng'Very canefifl not to hit the little maid. Then shall Bougwan at the 'ftr end and his tori ■ men raise their war cry. and* springing over the wall, put the Masai thore»to the sword. And it shall happenßhat, beifig yet heavy

jw.ith food .sleep, ,jind by the iirmg of the guns, the falling.of ,fnen, and the spears of Boijgwan, the soldiers shall rise and rush like wild toward the thorn-stopped !| enand there the bullets from either side-shall plow through them, uhld there shall Incubu and the Askari and I wait for those who f break through, Boch ia.my plpn, Maicumarahn:tif thou hast a better,,name it.” 'jrWhnnihe had. done, I,explained to Iho othors such portions of |sus scheme Hftartifoo % thb' bld^uhi, l nht> was. indeed, in his 'sadfign fash-' i io'tf tho finest federal I ever knew.i After some discussion we determined' to accept the scheme, as it stood, as being Hie best possible under the cir♦mmaUuces, and giving as fair a chance

of success as such a forlorn hope of —which, however, considering the enormous odds and the character of our foe. was not very great. | “Ah, old lion!” I said to Umslopogaas, “thou knowest how to lie in wait as well as how to bite, where to seize as well as where to hang on. ,J “Ay, ay, Macumazahn,” he answered. “For thirty years have I been a warrior, and have seen many things. It will he a good fight. I smell blooc —I tell thee, I smell blood.”

CHAPTER VI. THE NIGHT WEAKS ON. As may be imagined, at the very first sign of a Massai the entire population of the Mission Station had sought .refuge inside the stout wall, and were now to be seen- men, women, and countless children —huddled up together in little gnoupi and all talking at once in awed tones of the awfulness of Massai manners and customs, and of the fate that they had to expect if those blood-thirsty savages succeeded in getting over the stone wall. Immediately after we had settled upon the outline of our plan of action as suggested by Umslopogaas, ~Mr.Mackenzie sent for four sharp boys of from t welve to fifteen years of age, and dispatched them to various points from whence they could keep an outlook udon the Massai camp, with orders to report from time to time what was going on. Other lads and even women were stationed at intervals along the wall in orcler to guard against the possibility of surprise. After this the twenty fighting men who formed his whole available fighting force were summoned by our host into the square formed by the house, and there, standifig by the great bole of the conifer, he earnestly addressed them and our four Askari. Indeed, it formed a very impressive scene—one not likely to be forgotten by any one who witnessed it. Immediately by the tree stood the angular form of Sir. Mackenzie, one arm outstretched as he talked, and the other resting against the giant bole, his hat off, and his plain hut kindly face clearly betraying the anguish of his mind. Next to him was his poor wife, who, seated

on a chair, had her face hidden in her hand. On the other sideot her was Alphonse, looking exceedingly uncomfortable, and behind him stood the three of us, with Umsiopogaas's grim and towering form in the background, resting, as usual} on his ax. In from stood arid squatted the group of armed men--some with rifles in their hands, and others with spears and shields—with eager attention following every word that fell from tho speaker’s lips. The white light of the moon peering in beneath the lofty boughs threw a strange wild glamour over the scene, whilst the melancholy soughing of the night wind passing through the millions of pine needles overhead added a sadness of • its own to what was already a sufficiently tragic occasion. “Men,” said Mr, Mackenzie, after he had put all the circumstances of the case fully and clearly fully before them, and explained to them the proposed plan of our forlorn hope—men, for years I have been a good friend to ye, protecting ye, teaching ye, guarding ye and yours from: harm, and ye have prospered with me. Ye have seen my child—the Waterlily, as ye call her—grow year br year, from t“nderest infancy to tender childhood, and from childhood on toward maidenhood. She has been your children's playmate, she has helped to tend ye when sick and ye have loved her.” • ‘We have, ” said a deep voice, 1 ‘and we will die to save her.” “I thank ye from my heart—l thank ye. Sure am I that now, in this hour of darkest trouble; now that her y ounffiHfeTa-rabmit 4e~be~ u u Uuffwby: cruel and savage men—who of a truth ••know not what they do”—ye will strive your best to save her, and to save me and her mother from broken "hearts. Think, too. - of your own wives and children. If she dies, her death will he followed by an attack upon us here, and at the best, even if we hold our own, your houses and gardens < will he destroyed, and your goods arid cattle swept away. I am. as ye well know, a man of peace. Never in all these years have I.lifted my hand to shed man’s blood; but now I say strike, strike, in the name of God, who bade us protect our lives, and homes. Swear to me,” he went on with added fervor—“swear to me that whilst a man of you remains alive ye will strive your Uttermost with me and with these brave white men to have the child from a bloody and cruel death.” : 11 ; ■ “Say no more, my father,” said the same deep voice, that’ belonged to a stalwart elder of the Mission; “we swear it. May we and ours uie the death of dogs and our bones be thrown to the jackals and the kites if we break the oath! It is a fearful thing to do, my father, so few to strike at so many, yet'Will, we do it or die in the doing. M’,e swear!"

“Ay, so say we all,” chimed in the ethers. “So toy weailj”,BaiM I. *, ;• ”- -Mt is well;!?, went' on MivMackenzie. ‘ ‘Ye are true men and not broken reeds to lean on. And now, friends—tvhhe and black together—lot us kneel and offep-u}) uiri fcubtbte supplication ■to thA Throne.of 'Power*-,praying; that Ho in tho hollow of whose hand lie all our lives, who giveth' life and giveth death; tatty he plettsed to make-Bt'rorig Pur hands that wemay prevail in what awaits us at the mornifig light.'’ .And an example that we all followed except Umslopogaas, Who Still • invi the: background, grimly leaning bn' j InkdsLkaas. i The ■fidf-ce old Zilu. had . 4P gods, and/worshiped naught, unless it were his .bat-tle-ax. I “Oh, God of gods!” began the clorgyI man, his deep voice, tremulous with ’ emotion, echoing up in the silence even

,to the leafy roof; “Protector of the oppressed, Refuge of those in danger, • | Guardian of the helpless, hear Thhu our prayer! Almighty Father, to Thee we come in supplication, Hear Thou our prayer. Behold. one child hast Thou given us —an innocent child, nurtured in Thy knowledge—and now she lies beneath the shadow of the sword, in danger of a fearful death at the hands of cruel men. Be with her now, oh, God, and comfort her! Save her, oh, Heavenly Father! Oh, God of battle, who teacheth our hands to war and our fingers to fight, in whose strength are hid the destinies of men, be Thou with us in the hour of strife. When we go forth into the shadow of death make thou us stong to conquer. Breathe Thou upon our foes and scatter them; turn Thou their strength to water, and bring their high-blown pride to naught; compass us about

with Thy protection; throw over us the shield of Thy power; forget tis not -now in the hour of our sore distress; help us now that the cruel man would dash our little ones against the stones! Hear Thou our prayer! And fdr those of us who, kneeling now on earth in health before Thee, shall at tho sunrise adore Thy Presence on the Throne, hear our prayer! Make them clean, oh, God; wash away their offenses in the blood of the Lamb; and when their spirits pass, oh, receive Thou them into the haven of the just. Go forth, oh, Father, go forth with us into the battle, as with the Israelites of old. Oh, God of battles, hear Thou our prayer!”

He ceased, and. after a moment’s silence we all rose, and then began bur preparations in good earnest. As Umslopogaas said, it was time to stop “talking” and get to business. The meu who were to form each little party were carefully selected, and still more carefully and minutely instructed as to what was to be done. After much consideration it was agreed that tiie ten men led by Good, whose duty it was to stampede the camp, were not to carry fire-arms; that is with the exception of Good himself, who had a revolver as well as a short sword—the Masai “sime” which I had taken from the body of our poor servant who was murdered in the canoe. Me feared that if they had fire-arms the result bf three cross-fires carried on at once .vould he that some of pur own people would be shot; besides, it appeared to ill of us that the work they had to do would best be carried out with cold steel—especially to Umslopogaas, who was, indeed, a great advocate of cold steel. We had with us four Winchester repeating rifles, besides half a dozen Martinis. I armed myself with

one of the repeaters—my own; an excellent weapon for this kind of work, where great rapidity of fire is desirable, and fitted with ordinary flap sights instead of the usual cumbersome sliding mechanism which they gen evilly have. Mr. Mackenzie took another, and the two remaining ones were given to two of his men who understood the use of them and were noted shots. The Martirfis and some rifles of Mr. Mackenzie’s were served out, together with a plentiful supply of ammunition, to the other natives who were to form the two parties whose duty it was to he to open fire from separate sides of the kraal on the sleeping Masai, and who were fortunitely all more or less accustomed to the use of a gun.

As for Umslopogaas* we know how he was armed—with an ax. It maybe remembered that he, Sir Henry, and the strongest of the Askari were to hold the thorn-stopped entrance to the kraal against the anticipated rush of men striving-to escape. Of course, for such a purpose as this guns were -useless: Therefore Sir Henry and the Askari proceeded to aim themselves in dike fashion. It so happened that Mr. Mackenzie had in his little store a selection of the very best steel Englishmade hammer-backed ax-heads. Sir Henry selected one of these weighing ibout two and a half pounds and very broad in the blade', and tho Askari took another a size smaller. After Umslopogaas had put an extraedge on these two ax-heads, we proeeded to fix them to three feet six helves, of which Mr. Mackenzie fortunately lrad some in stock, made of a light but exceedingly tough native wood, something like English ash, only more springy. When two suitable helves had been selected with great care and the ends of the haft notched to prevent the hand from slipping, the axheads were fixed on them as firmly as possible, and the weapons immersed in a bucket of water for half an hour. The result of this was to swell the wood in the socket in such a fashion that nothing short of burning would get it out again. When this important matter had been attended to by Umslopogaas, I went into my room and proceeded to open a little tin-lined deal case, which had not been undone Since we left England, and which contained—what do you think?—nothing more nor less than four mail shirts.

It had happened to us three on a previous journey that we had made in an T other part of Africa to owe our lives to iron shirts of native make, and remembering this I had suggested before we started on our present hazardous expedition that we should have some made tq fit ns.. There was a little difficulty about, this, as, armor-making is pretty w^ell!,an extinct’art, but they can do tnoßt things ih ; thfi ' way of steel work in Birmingham if they are put to it And yon will ptty -thei price, and Hie «nd of it was' that they lutfoed us out tho loveliest steel shirts it is possible to see. The workmanship was exceedingly. fine, the web being composed of thousands upon thousands of stout but tiny, rings of, tho* best stepL made; Tnese shirts, Of ralhpr apd high-necked ' jerseyb,'' weWifndd with ventilated wash leather, werenot bright,/but browned like tho barrel of :1 and mine weighed exactly seven.

pounds and fitted me so well that ] Tound I could wear it for days nexfcmj skin without being chafed. Sir Henry had two, one of the ordinary make, viz., a jersey with little dependent flaps meant to ‘ afford some protectihn to the upper part of the thighs, and another of his own design fashioned on the pattern of the garments advertised as “combinations” and weighing twelve pounds. This combination shirt, of which the seat was made of washleather, protected the whole body down to the knees, but was rather more cumbersome, inasmuch as it had to be laced up the back, and, of course, involved some extra weight. With these, shirts were what looked like four brown cloth traveling caps with ear pieces. Each of these caps was, however, quilted with steel links so as to afford a most valuable protection for the head.

It seems almost laughable to talk of Iteel shirts in these days of bullets, against which they are of course quite useless; but where one has to do with savages, armed with cutting weapons, such as assegais or battle-axes, they afford the most valuable protection, being, if well made, quite invulnerable to them. I have often thought that if only the English Government had in our savage wars, and more especially in the Zulu war, thought fit to serve out light steel shirts, there would be many a man alive to-uay, who, as it is, is dead and forgotten.

To return: on the present occasion we blessed our -foresight in bringing these shirts, and also our good luck, in that they had not been stolen by our rascally bearers when they bolted with our goods. As Curtis had two, and, after considerable deliberation, had made up his mind to wear his combination ono himself-j-the extra three or four pounds’ weight being a matter of no account to so strong a man, and the protection afforded to tho thighs being a very important matter to an individual not armed with a shield of any kind—l suggested that that he should lend the other to Umslopogaas, w lio was to share the danger and the glory of his post, As readily consented, and called the Zulu, who came bearing Sir Henry’s ax, which he had. now fixed up to his satisfaction, with him. When we showed him the steel shirt, and explained to dim that we wanted him to wear it. lie at first declined, saying that he had fought in his own skin for thirty years, and that he was not going to begin now to fight in an iron one. Thereupon I took a heavy spear, and, spreading the shirt upon tho floor, drove the spear down upon it with all my strength, the weapon rebounding without leaving a mark upon the tempered steel. This exhibition half converted him; an.d when I pointed out to him how necessary it was that he should not'letany old-fashioned prejudices he might possess stand in the way of a precaution which might preserve a valuable life at a time when men were scarce, and also that if he wore his shirt he might dispense with a shield, and so have both hands free, he yielded at once, and proceeded to invest his great frame with the “iron skin.” And, indeed, though made for Sir Henry, it fitted the great Zulu like a skin. The two men were almost of a height; and although Curtis looked the bigger man, 1 am inclined to think that'the difference was more imaginary than real, the fact being that, although he was plumper and rounder, he was not really bigger, except in the arm. Umslopogaas had, comparatively speaking, thin arms, but they were as strong as wire ropes. At any rate, when they both stood, ax in hand, invested in the brown mail, which clung to their mighty forms like a web garmeht, showing the gwell of every. mus*.., cle and the curve of every line, they formed a pair that any ten men might shrink frtlm meeting. It was now nearly one o’clock in tho morning, and the spies reported that, after having drunk tho blood of tho oxen and eaten enormous quantities of meat, the Masai were going to sleep round their watch-fires; but that sentries had been posted at the opening of the kraal. Flossie, they added, was sitting not far from the wall in the center of the western side of the kraal, and by her were the nurse and the white donkey, which was tethered to a peg. Her feet were bound with a ropg, and warriors were lying about all round hir. As there was absolutely nothing further that could be done then we all took some supper and went to lie down for a couple of hours. I could not help admiring the way old Umslopogaas flung himself down upon the floor, and, unmindful of what was hanging over him. instantly sunk into a deep sleep. I don’t know how it was with the others, but I could not do as much. Indeed, as is usual with me on these occasions, I am sorry to say that I felt rather frightened; and, now that some of the enthusiasm had gune out of me, and I began to calmly contemplate what we had undertaken to do, truth compels me to add that I did not like it. We were but thirty men, all told, a good many of whom were no doubt quite unused to fighting, and we were going to tackle two hundred and fifty of the fiorcost,- bravest and most formidable savages ih Africa, who, to make matters worse, were protected by a stone wall. It was, indeed, a mad undertaking, and what made it even madder was the exceeding im probability of our being able to take •up our positions without attracting the notice of the son tries. Of course if ,we once did thawand; accir dent, i such as thd change discharge of; a gun, might do It—we were done forj! ip: ? whole pamp would he .up in a second, and our only hope lay in a surprise. , The bed whereon I lay Indulging In these uncomfortable reflections was near an open window that looked on Ito the veranda, through which came

an extraordinary sound of groaning and weeping. For a time I could not a>|ke out what it wa3, but at last I got us and putting my head out of the window stared about, Presently I saw : & dufelfiigui’e kpeqHngon the end of the veranda and beating his breast—in which I recogntzed Alphonse. Not being able to understand his French talk or what on earth he was at, I called to him and asked him what he was doing. “Ah, monsieur,” he sighed, “I do make prayer for the souls of those whom I shall slay to-riight.” “Indeed,” I said, “then I wish that you would do it a little more quietly.” . Alphonse retreated, and I heard no moi-e of his groans. And so the time passed, till at length Sir. Mackenzie called me in a whisper through the window, for of course everything had now to be done in the most absolute silence. “Three o’clock,” he said, • ‘we must begin to move at half past,” I told him to come in and presently he entered, and I am bound to say that if it had not been that just then I had not got a laugh anywhere about me-, 1 should have exploded at the sight he presented armed for battle. To begin with, he had on a clergyman’s black swallow tail and a kind of broadrimmed clack felt hat, both of which he had donned on account, he said, of their dark color. In his hand was the Winchester repeating rifle we had' lent. him; and stuck in an elastic cricketing belt, like those worn by English boys, were, first, a huge buckhorn-handled carving knife with a guard to it, and next a long-bar-reled Colt’s revolver. “Ah, my friend,” he said, seeing me staring at his belt, “you are looking at my ‘carver.’ I thought it might come in handy if we came to close quarters; it is excellent-steel, • and many is. the pig I have killed with it.”

By thiß time everybody - was up and dressing. 1 put on a light Norfolk jacket over my mail shirt in order to have a pocket handy to hold iny cartridges, and buckled oh my revolver. Good did the same, but Sir Henry put on nothing except his mailed shirt, steel-lined cap, and a pair of “veldtschoons” or soft hide shoes, his legs being bare from the knees down. His revolver he strapped on round his middle outside the armored shirt. • Meanwhile Umslopogaas was mustering the men in the square under the big tree and going tho rounds to see that each was properly arnieil; • etc. At the last moment we made one change. Finding that two of' the men who were to have gone with the firing parties knew little or nothing of funs, but were good spearsmen, we took away their rifles, supplied them with shields and long spears of the Masai pattern and told them off to join Curtis, Umslopogaas, and the Askari in holding the wide opening; it having become clear to us that three men, however brave and strong, were too few for the work. CONTINUED NEXT WEEK.

FORTY’ YEARS IMPRISONMENT.

The Oldest Convict In the United i States an Inmate of the Indiana I ’ Prison South. Indianapolis Journal. At the gate where wagons pass in and out of the Prison South stands the oldest convict in the United States, and forty years of his life have been spent behind the walls of prisons. The name of this, aged criminal is John Hicks. He was born at Montgomery Court-house, Va., eighty-four years ago. and emigrated with his parents to Wayne county, Indiana* when quite young, locatings at Centerville, “where he learned the blacksmith's trade. His first crime was horse-stealing, and his second and third were attempted crim inal assault. Ho served out his time for horse-stealing, hut was pardoned in both the other eases. He was not out long, however, and 1 when he came to the Prison South for the first time it was to begin his sixth term in the penitentiary. II ia time expired last spring, and the old man requested the board of directors to allow him to remain at the prison. Ilis request was not granted, and when he left the institution ho told the officials he would return shortly. Three weeks later he came back in charge of the sheriff of Vigo county. His term expires on the 27th of next month, and Mr. Johnson, secretary of the State Board of Charities, has promised to find him employment if he will come to Indianapolis. ~ Hicks is about six feet in height and his snowy locks and the patriarchal beard, which sweeps his breast, make him resemble ideal portraits of Moses. His parents long ago passed to their eternal rest, and ifhehasany relatives living he does not know them. 11c was never married, but, it is said, was one time mixed up in a love affair as full of romance as the last forty yours of .his life has been of crime.

The Penalties of a “Little Lord”.

Asbtiry Park Jou mil. Mamma—Now, remember Bertram, you mustn't run to hard, or you'll perspire and sash, and mamma will have to whip you. Bertie—No. dearest. Mamma- Above all tilings, remember. under uo circumstances take your hat off, because your Fauntlei-oy cur|s are sewed in the brim.

The Passings of Foraker.

' Gazzmun—The Republican party lij 'Ohio resembles-grtsatly u-gtolVp iii ffu;' French Chutaber of • .iTT-nl;; Rvf u-. ■ I • haiEcHreitOe Lefti > -?«<»■ j •

Twixt Love can duty.

The married man with irmiiilcri phi* S ts down amt sadly sis ha "Al.uk. 1 '! Hi* poeket-book divided is 1 v* Lit overcoat and aealtkm S:h-i*uu.

NATIONAL CONGRESS

The Fifty-first session of the Congress of the United States assembled at Washington, December 8.- —- ——. In the Senate four Senators from the new States were sworn in. The daily hour of meeting was fixed at noon. The special committee on the transportation and sale of meat products was continued, j A committee to inform the President of the meeting of the Senate was appointed. □ The House was called to order at noon i by Clerk Clark. The roll call disclosed 1 the absence of O’Neal (Ind.), Randall : (Pa.), and Whitthorne (Tenn.) The Republican candidates for the offices were elected by a vote of 166 for the Republican • and 154 for the Democratic nominees—the officers elected being: Reed, of Maine, Speaker; Ed. McPherson (Pa.), clerk; ! A. J, Holmes (Iowa) Sergeant at Arms; J. j D. Wheat Postmaster and W. H. Milburn Chaplain. The last named was the Chap- ! lpin of che last House and was elected over | the Republican caucus nominee by Cheadle (Ind.), Lehibachand Moore (N. H.) voting with the Democrats. Mr. Reed was sworn in, and he then administered the oath to the members of the House. The Senate was informed by committee of the organization of the House. The drawing of seats was the very interesting ceremony .that followed. A resolution authorizing the appointment of certain committees was adopted. The Senate, Tuesday, hoard the reading of the message and adjourned. The House did likewise and then adjourned until Thursday. In the Sehate, Wednesday, Messrs. Pierce and Casey were sworn in as the Senators from North Dakota. The terms of the Senators from the new States were fixed. Various executive reports and communications were presented and referred to appropriate committees. Several petitions were also presented and referred. Many bills were introduced, among them the following: to declare trusts and com- | binations unlawful; for the free coinage of ! silver; extending the pension laws; for woman suffrage; for prohibition; to repeal the civil service law; for 1-cent postage. There_were 505 bills introduced. In the Seriate, Thursday, numerous m mortals, petitions and bills were present-, j ed. Reagan spoke in favor of his bill for j the repeal of a of the act of 1875 for ■ the sale of bonds. The House appointed a committee to investigate the office of the Sergeant-at-Arms. The Speaker announced committees on rules, accounts and enrolled bills. Both houses adjourned until Monday.

WASHINGTON AFFAIRS.

Democratic congressmen had a caucus Monday morning and nominated the old officers for officers of the House. A resolution pledging the members of tho party to every effort to secure tariff reform whs adopted. Mr. Voorliees began his work in the Senite of the Fifty-first Congress Thursday Dy offering a long preamble and resolution in reference to tariff taxation, he asked to save laid upon the table for the present, it declared that all existing tariff taxes on foreign merchandise should be so revised, repealed or amended, as to provide: 1. For the collection of a sufficient imoupt of revenue to pay the expenses of •,he Governmet, economically administered' ;he principal and interest, of the public lebt as they fall due, aud liberal pensions; aut not a dollar more. 2. For the taxation of all articles of luxary at the highest practical rates, and for ;he reduction of taxes on all necessaries jf civilized life, such as salt, sugar, woolen ?oods, iron, steel and other staple commodities to the lowest possible rates conlistent with a tariff for revenue, for noth ing but revenue. 3. For the curtailment and i overthrow, is far as possible, of all monopolies in trade oy the enlargement of the free list to the full extent that the same can be done without iihpairing and endangering the necessary revenues of the Government, aaving in view at all times and under all fircuinstances a liberal policy of trade with the people of foreign countries and jxact justice amongst our own citizens, with exclusive privileges to none. Senator Hale introduced a bill for the relief of sufferers in the wreck of meu ofwar at Samoa last March. Spooner Friday introduced a bill regulating the Federal supervision of elections. It is all right to say blow your own horn but some men haven’t any horn to blow.

THE MARKETS.

emjg. ———— —— Wheat. Corn. Oats. R y 3 J * Indianapolis.. 2 r’d 77S 1 wSSK 2 w23)4 ............ 3 r’d 74 2ye 34% Chicago 2 r’d 79)4 81)4 20)f Cincinnati 2 r’d 78 38 23 47 St. Louis 2 r’d 78 29)* 20 40)* New York 2 r’d 85)* 42% 26)4 6C Baltimore 79 10.'., 28 M PhUadelphla. 2 r’d 83% 38 28)4 Clover T01ed0........... 823* 34)4 22 8 65 Detroit 1 wh 79)4 85 23>* ......... Minneapolis ; 77)4 Liverpool i LIVE STOCK. Cattlk —Export grades [email protected] Good to choice shippers 3.75(^4.10 Common to medium shippers.... 2.00(^8.10 Stockers. 500 to 850 fi> .*.... [email protected] Good to choice heifers [email protected] Common to medium heifers [email protected] Good to choice c0w5......*..... [email protected] Fair to medium cows [email protected] Hogs—Heavy .... 8.60(1a.65 -'Jfixed 1 '. !7. ’. '. \ ' ;Ut 3$ I ‘. v vvJjsfyj St« -HeaVyrough*./...;..,;.. 3.30(^25 ,SftEEP—Oood to choice ~ 4.25<@i70 Fair to medium........... 3.65(54.00 Lamhfaj .good tdehoioij f , M &. t &fiort&2s Common tomedfupj .*>.,... * T *! ;w.t* I.TTjv. Eggs 20c. Butter, Creamery 22@24; Dairy 12, Good Country 10c. Feathers, 35c. Beeswax, 18@20; Wool 33@35, Unwashed 25; Poultry, Hens 6c. Turkeys 7%c. roosters 3c. Clover seed 2,[email protected].