Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 5, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 22 October 1874 — Page 8

A Romance of Real Lite.

Evntroaoe in a while a passage in the history of a life is brought to light which is stream and more romantic than any fiction. Notwithstanding the industry of the Jenkins family, these do not always find their way into the newspapers. The announcement in the New York papers a few months ago of the departure of a certain vessel for England recalled to those who were acquainted with one of her passengers an interesting story. This person was a young German under thirty years old wuo had just completed a : period of teaching in a Berkshire County seminary, and Who was now with Ids newly-married wife on his way to the Fatherland. Some years before, in his native Germany, this young man had fallen in love with one of the blooming maidens in the place where he resided, and his attachment was ardently returned by the young woman. A speedy marriage would nave been consummated had not parental authority interfered. The father of the girl objected to the bans, and did everything in his power to keep the lovers apart. In this distracting state of affairs they did not elope after the usual fashion, but the young man, forbidden the house of his beloved, bade fare wall to his country and passed over to France, to forget, If possible; in new scenes and occupations, his fraulein. Several years followed in giddy, fashionable Paris, in which the self-exile gained some knowledge of the world, as well as made ae quisitions to liis studies in music and languages. After a time as he developed into larger manhood, and his native abilaies, adorned by culture, drew him into a refined and intellectual society, lie outgrew his love so. the simple girl at home, and came to consider his old attachment its a mer« boyish passion. This would have been all well enough if the “girl he left behind" had only shared in this growth and change. So far from that, the years only st rengthened her affection. Her life had "been quiet and uneventful, and she had plenty of time to brood over the image of the absent one. A few years more spent in France and then the young man came to America to try his fortune as a teacher in our schools. A year or two more passed, in which he vas successfully employed in the Berkshire boarding-school. Ilis ability, good looks and address made him a favorite In society, and he on his part found thcAmeiican girls quite as interesting as their German sisters had been! Just here, and a little more than a year ago, he received a letter from the father of his early llame informing him that his daughter was still deeply in love, that she,was indeed utterly disconsolate and miserable without him, that she was likely to die of disappointment if she coultfci’t marry him, and, most astounding or all, that she was coming to America! —that she would embark alone in a few days for New York,where she hoped to be met by her old lover. Probably quite different conclusions would be arrived at by different persons as to the duty of the young man in this most painful dilemma. The girlV father bad denounced him, utterly refusing him for a son-inlaw; forced to a separation, lie had gradually outgrown his love, coming finally to rejoice in the circumstances that had forbidden him to ally himself wita a woman unfitted to be his'ltfe-compamoh. What was he to do? The girl was already on her way to New York. Unattended, totally ignorant of our language and customs, the steamer on its arrival at the city would turn her adrift It took cur hero hut a short time to decide. Obeying a conscience that most would call oversensitive and morbid, he went to the metropolis to meet the solitary German girl at the wharf w here she landed, and in a few days more the long-separated and strangely-met pair were married. Several months followed in the seminary, during which the ignorant wife gained some practical knowledge of English, and then the two sailed away for the old world, the husband to fulfill an engagement to teach in a German institution and the wife to share her fortunes with his. It is to be hoped that the bride is as happy as she had dreamed, and as for the fine-grained and chivalrous groom, our best wishes alone can attend him.— Cor. Sprin'gfield (Mass.) Republican.

A Fight Between a Tiger and a Grizzly Bear.

Id an articfe on “ Show Life," In the Chicago Times, the writer tells the following old-time incident: Ofi one occasion Lent was part owner of a traveling circus and menagerie. One day he met. a man out West who had a grizzly bear for sale. As the animal was a splendid specimen of a young grizzly, Lent purchased him, and after he got him he found himself in the position of the man who drew the elephant. There was but one cage in the menagerie that could contain the bear, and that already had an occupant in the shape of a large and finely-developed Bengal tiger. Lent told one of his partners that he was going to quarter the grizzly with the tiger 5 "The aickens you are,” was the answer. “ Why that tiger will make a square meal of him before you can wink.” “All right. If he does* I'm satisfied.” says Lent. “You look after your tiger j and I’ll take care of my bear.” The grizzly was accordingly lifted into the cage, the tiger having previously j been driven to an opposite corner bv'the ] application of hot irons. Then all the employes of the circus gathered to witness the fight. The animals sighted each other at the same insTanf , t)uT, wfille lfie tiger’s eyes blazed with fury and his, tail lashed the bars in his excitement, the grizzly simply nodded in a sleepy manner, as if in recognition of the presence of the other beast, and crouched against the bars awaiting developments. They remained as far apart as the cage woulcl permit for at least five minutes, but j every moment the rage of the tiger seemed toi increase, while the bear seemed to be sinking into a deep slumber. At last the tiger began to growl and sidle toward the bear, moving from side to 6ide of the cage as he did so. The growling aroused the bear to life, and he had just time to measure his enemy when, with the rapidity of lightning, the tiger sprang forward and alighted on his head and back. For a moment there was a terrible howling from both animals as they rolled over and over in the cage, and then they separated for an instant, thq bear seeming to have shaken off his antagonist. During the brief cessation •Of hostilities it was seen that the bear had got decidedly the worst of the com- i bat, as he was bleeding freely from several gaping wounds. » The backer of the tiger was delighted and wan tied Lent to consent to having a stop put to the fight. “ No,” answered he. “ Letnhem fight, and I’ll bet on the bear,” Bo\at it they went again, and there sras fbrrible fighting for several

minutes. It finally ended in thq tiger giving several mournful howls, andwhen they were separated he slunk away to his corner as meek and submissive-look-ing as an animal could be. After that day the bear bossed that cage, and if the tiger became unruly he received a blow from the grizzly's paw that set him. to thinking over past events at once.

The Prisons of Paris.

The Petite Roquette is the name given to the house of correction for youthful delinquent!under sixteen years of age, and for lads under age w hose parents have, as a last resource, brought them before the President of the Tribunal of the Seine. This must be necessarily a difficult and delicate dutjqand, as might be expected, the inquiry is often too slightly pursued. Worthless parents, wishing to be relieved of the care of their offspring, and perhaps about to contract a second marriage, will falsely accuse the poor boys. The system here is strictfly separate and cellular. This is doubtless absolutely necessary in the earlier stages of their treatment ; still, it is a sharp remedy, and it is very painful to see these young creatures, at the very age when their spirits are most buoyant, immersed in solitude, seeing nq.one but the officers and chaplains, and left to work and sleep alone. One fine lad, whose cell I with Ole warder, when I asked him how he came into that place, hesitated at first for an answer, and then replied, “They said I stole." His countenance rather belied liis evasive reply and I could not but doubt whether the facts altogether bore out Ijis favorable representation of his case. The youth looked well and as happy as circumstances w ould allow. I believe he was near the cud of his term. Six months is, I was informed, the utmost limit of their confinement here, with the exception of some more hopeful characters, who are detained with a view to further probation and ultimate apprenticeship If they are not w ell conducted, and are not claimed by their parents at the end of that time, they are removed to juvenile agricultural colleges, such as Mettray. I was happy to find some alleviations provided for "the misery of their situation, as well as means for their improvement, in the services and religious instruction of tlre chapet, and in the classes for instruction in .the..elements—of general knowledge. Separation here also is*triu■genrly enforced. The chapclisa rotunda, and is fitted tip with rows of box-like seats in concentric circles, all converging around the altar and the priest. There they sit unseen by each other and all seen by him. Their relatives, when they have any, are allowed to visit them, but the interview must take place on the wrong side of a wire grating. Even in the hours of recreation they are alone. Each little unfortunate has his own little yard, in which for one hour daily he may stretch his limbs under the eye of the vigilant keeper. I observed one, and only one, grim concession to childish tastes. A slight recognition of the fact, so truly and well expressed by Keble, jthat “ the heart of childhood is all mirth,” is seen in the hoop which bangs up at the entrance to each yard;.but the play must be indeed a slow one. No sooner has the unhappy urchin got his droop into fair motion when it falls against the walls of the inclosure and he has to begin again. This place is also their lavatory, where in all possible weathers, with the running pipe, soap and towels, each youngster performs his toilet. When the water is frozen in the pipes the soft-hearted authorities make a virtue of necessity and allow them to wash indoors The" system, although so stern and perhaps needlessly harsh, appears in many respects most admirable, and vastly superior to the practice, still to be found in England, of confining mere children with veterans whose hair has grown gray in crime. My last visit was reserved" for that which, on account of its painful associations, is in some respects the most interesting—the prison of the condemned — L>t Gr<ttitle Roquette. It is used as the temporary depot of those under sentence of penal servitude, as well as for the confinement of men condemned to death. There appeared to be nothing worthy of special notice in its ordinary an an cements. They pass the day in common, but-sleep separately at night. Quite apart from the rest are the three cel is for the condemned,—They are spaeious and airy, and extremely well secured. A warden and a soldier, who are changed every two hours, are in constant attendance upon him. He is never left alone, day or night. The chaplain also pays him frequent visits. All other visitors (except, when necessary, his legal adviser) are excluded. As. happily, the cells were at the time unoccupied, I was allowed to enter them. The gloom and stillness of the weird place made me shudder. —Good Words.

How to Make an Eolian Harp.

An instrument of the kind about to be described seems to be of very ancient origin, but was introduced during the last century. The harp produces a very pleasing melodious sound, especially in the open air, and -is not difficult to construct. A long, narrow box, the length of a window, or the position in which it is to be placed, is the first requisite : it must be made of thin deal, four inches deep and five nr width: At the extremities of the top glue two pieces of oak about half an inch high and a quarter of an inch thick for bridges to which the strings are to be fixed": writliin the box at each end glue two pieces of beechwood about an inch square and the width of the box. Into one bridge fix seven pegs, such as are used for piano strings; into the other bridge fasten the same number of small brass pins; and to these pins end of the strings,Jmade of small cat-gut, and twist the other end of the strings around the pegs; then tune them in unison. Place over the top of the strings a thin board supported by four pegs ana about three inches from the sounding-board, to procure a free passage for the wind. The harp should be exposed to the wind at a partly-opened window; to increase the draught of air the door, or an opposite window in the room, should be open. The strings in a current of air sound in union; and with the increasing or decreasing; force of the current the melody changes into pleasing; soft, low sounds and diatonic scales, which unite and occasionally form very delightful musical tones. If the harp can be placed in a suitable position so as to receive a sufficient draught of air, in a grotto, or romantically-situated arbor, or hidden in 9ome shady nook near a waterfall, the effect of its sweet sounds is very charming —CasselTs Household Guide. WhV are ladies thieves? Because they steal gentlemen’s hearts and hook ekch other’s dresses. 1 J 7.

Imagination Power.

Many persons are sick merely from the effect of imagination or habit, the old woman, for example, who has been bedridden for vears 'with her rheumatics. She was left alone one summer day at the farm-house with both front and rear doors open. She saw a mad bull tearing across the pasture in the direction of the house, and feeling that it was “ neck or nothing" she bounced out of that bed in double. quick time, barred both the door, and never complained of rheumatism afterward. h j Many cases arc given in the medical journals of persons who have been bitten by dogs and. have afterward taken to foaming at the mouth, shuddering at the sight of water, and imitating a dog’s bark, imagining that these are signs of hydrophobia, and have actually died in convulsive agonies, the tacts being that mad dogs don’t foam at the mouth,, never bark and can drink water " like a fish.” So far from running about in desperation as if a hundred thousand dilapidated tin-pans were tied to their caudal

prolongations, really mad, dogs are the quietest individuals in the world, make no noise, seem to want to be alone, keep their mouths shut, the distinctive symptoms of such madness being great restlessness, pawing the face and eating their own fresh dejections. Mad dogs do not -run after -people, hut will snap at anyone who comes in their way, especially individuals of their own kind; they seem to trot or run as if looking at something straight ahead. Infinite mischief is done in publishing cases of persons becoming hydrophobic one, ten and even twenty years after, the last remembered biting*of a dog, the reporters of such tales not having taken pains to inquire if there had not been a later biting. Such monstrous absurdities are well calculated to keep nervous persons who have been once bitten by a dog in a state of wearying uneasiness all their lives long afterward. If a person has been bitten by a dog supposed to be mad, the animal should be put in a quiet room and let alone, only slipping in food and drink from time to time.; if really mad death will take place in a day or two, and if not mad there w ill be a complete recovery. Only one bite in, twenty of dogs supposed to be mad is fatal. A dog in New Jersey last year bit a woman, and ran under'the sola: her hus-Ji.-ind dragged him (Hit._hy.llie tail, held. him up and whipped him; in this position the dog got a chance of biting his master, who died in a few days of hydrophobia; this shows that the state of mind of the animal gives virulence to the bite. A mother nursing her infant child was thrown into a sudden, tempestuous rage; as soon as it was over, she finished nursing the child, which was at once taken with convulsions; the state of mind of the mother imparting virulence to the milk of her bosom. A* lady saw at a distance a window sash falling immediately on the ends of the fingers of her little grandchild; the child’s fingers were crushed—those of the grandmother were similarly affected. This is given on the testimony of the distinguished Dr. Brown-Sequard. The lesson is, seek to control the imagination and to guard against intense mental excitement by habituating the mind to take a calm, measured and deliberate view of all the circumstances of life. Intelligent people should bear these things in mind. The greatest throat-swabber of the age began to think he hpd sore throat too, and swabbed himself every day; and when he died his throat was found to have been as well as anybody’s. The best way to escape—imaginative diseases is to be just as busy as you can in doing something useful, profitable or good; to have the mind fully employed in some commendable object; it is thus that the washerwoman is often happier than the w ife of the millionaire; the liodcarrier than he who has “ retired from business,’’ — Hall's Journal of Health.

Glanders.

This terrible disease is more prevalent at the present time, perhaps, than ever before. We call it “ terrible” becjause it is always fatal to animals afflicted with it, and also to men who become poisoned by contact ol’ its virus with a cut or sore or bruise, and the death following is a most painful one. Why is it now so prevalent? Doubtless in some degree as a sequence to the epizootic of the last two years. The horses were left in a condition rendering them more susceptible to contagious diseases. and more liable to suffer from unfavorable circumstances. We know that men, in a certain condition of their system, will take malarious or infectious diseases when at other times they can be exposed without harm. So we believe that bad ventilation of stables, improper food, or too little of it, overworking, want of care generally, will render a horse liable to glanders or farcy at the present time wheu before the epizootic lie would have been exempt. And what is the condition of many of the stablesin this State? Is there such an atmosphere within them as any animal ought to breathe? Is it not. in many instances, almost suffocating to men who enter them? What would induce the owners of horses to sleep one night in the average stall, even if they had a hair mattress under them? Would not the ammonia from the stall seriously affect the eyes and ears of the sleeper? And vet we keep .pur horses there day after dav and night after night. Why should the bedding, soaked and filthy as it often is, be placed under the crib*in the morning, compelling the horse to breathe its effluvia ,all day? Howmany stalls are used month after month, without being washed out Or purified with any disinfectant? Is it strange 1 that horses suffer from “ pink-eye and "cough and glanders”? It is a question which some people ask, if the epizootic of 1872 was not sent to make us appreciate the value of horses, and the latter forms of it to warn us to take better care of them. We do not propose to attempt to describe glanders or farcy, but only rec- j ommend owners who have any suspicion j of these diseases to apply to a good veterinary. If the horse is affected with either of them, he will order the animal killed, and the stall where he stood to be thoroughly purified by carbolic acid and : whitewash, and the harness and everything that has been worn by or U6ed j about the horse to be thoroughly i cleansed. As the disease is both contagious and infectious, if the virus from a glandered horse conies in contact with a cut. sore or bleeding surface on another horse, or if a horse is confined in the same stable with one having the glanders, the disease is liable to be communicated. We repeat, that the disease is a dangerous one, and every means should he taken by everybody to prevent its spread, by treating, * feeding and their j

horses correctly, by keeping their stables Clean and with good ventilation, and by immediately killing horses having the disease.— Our Dumb Animal*. —’

A Savage Lot of Bees.

One of the terrors of the Nile traveler is bees! At one time the adverse wind made it necessary that Dr. Schweinfurth’s boat should be towed by the crew. As the rope was being drawn along through the grass on the banks, it happened that it disturbed a sw r arm of bees. In a moment, like a great cloud, they burst upon the men who were dragging. Every one of them threw themselves headlong into the water, and hurried to regain the boat. The swarm followed them, and in a. few seconds filled every nook and cranny of the deck. Dr. Schweinfurth was sitting quietly in his rude cabin, Arranging his botanical specimens, when he heard a scampering around the deck, which he at first took to be the usual frolicking of his people, but as the noise increased he called out for an explanation of the disturbance. For an answer he received only the cry of “ Bees!, bees! ” Springing up he endeavored to light his pipe, hoping to protect himself with smoke, but it was too late; the bees were already upon him. Thousands surroundtd him and be was mercilessly stung all over his face and hands. He endeavored to proted his face with his handkerchief, but all to no purpose* the more violently he flung his hands about the more violent became the impetuosity of the irritated insects. At length, almost maddened, he threw himself into the river, but the stings still rained down upon his head. He tried to gain the main land, hoping to find shelter in the woods, but some of the faithful servants, know ing that course to be certain death, forced him back into the boat. Here he wrapped himself in a sheet, which, after he had crushed the bees inside, afforded him some protecAiunr He crouched dow T n in this way for full three hours, while the buzzing continued uninterruptedly, and solitary stings penetrated through the linen covering. Every one in the boat pursued the same course, and gradually the buzzing subsided. "" At length some courageous fellows crept stealthily- to the banks and set fire to the reeds. The—smoke—which—joseblinded and stupefied the bees so that the boat was successfully driven beyond their reach. Free from further appr«hension the sufferers proceeded to examine their injuries. Some of the stings were extracted with pincers, but those which remained produced ulcers and even fever, wdiich kept the whole boat’s company in an uncomfortable state for several days.

Eating Forbidden Fruit.

Nothing exhibits more clearly the necessity of resisting the beginning of evil than a contemplation of the ruin and misery men bring upon themselves. It is vainly imagined in youth that time and opportunities once lost mgy be recovered at will, and that, after having indulged in a course of folly, a man may turn to virtue and Well-doing when lie pleases. This fallacy leads many imperceptibly from step to step in the downward and treacherous steep of vice, till reason and conscience are alike unheeded, and there is ultimately no effort, because there is no inclination, to return. We do not mean to say that there are not many with strength of mind and purpose who resolutely abandon evil courses and live exemplary lives, but they are so rare as to offer no inducement to follow their examples, and only serve to show us how desperate is the risk they run. Giving way to sinful courses has been aptly compared to being carried forward by a current swiftly, easily, pleasantly—it is not till we try to make headway against it that we find how hard is the task. Habitual indulgence binds its votary, with a chain, the firmness of whose grasp he begins to realize when he attempts to "break it. There is just this difference in the abandonment of evil habits, that the longer the effort is delayed the more difficult the task becomes. It is thus made evident that the best security for a virtuous life is to begin betimes. The inclination being led aright, early habit makes the performance of duty easy and pleasant. The most casual observation of the wrecks around us convinces us that indulgence in for bidden pleasures is the destroyer of peace and fortune, of character and selfrespect, and that, without a good conscience, a properly-governed mind, and a well-directed life, discontent and disappointment will blast every enjoyment. The derelict is generally an object of interest and concern to some one. In howmany houses is the skeleton a wayward and * disobedient son ? To him who “knows the right,, but still the wrong pursues,” indulgence in forbidden pleasure does not yield the gratification which it promised. There is always more or less a feeling of degradation and of selfinflicted ostracism,"w-hich all his boisterous mirth and the boldness inspired by the presence and applause of kindred associates fail entirely to dissipate. How often is he suddenly arrested by the thought of an anxious father, a weeping mother, or distressed wife? Their prayers and tears seem to haunt him. The black sheep in the family, although his name is not often heard, is more an object of anxiety thfcn are steady, stay-at-home, well-to-do boys and girls who nestle under the parental roof-tree. — Tinsley's Magazine ... ___

An Elephant’s Revenge.

At Sacramento, a few weeks ago, some fellow at a menagerie gave a piece of tobacco to an elephant, which caused the animal to give way to a terrible fit ot anger. It seized the nearest object upon which to wreak its vengeance, and this proved to be the eleven-vear-old son of a Mr. H. W. Luhrs. The great beast wound his trunk about the boy and squeezed him so tightly as to break his right am between the elbow and the wrist and to severely bruise his body. Being compelled to release his hold of the boy, the enraged animal, as soon as the lad dropped, again attempted to seize him, and in the effort came near taking the youth’s head oft. It was on all hands considered more than fortunate that the animal did not cast him down and trample him to death, and also fortunate that Se angered brute did not run a-muck in e crowd, as elephants have done when tobacco has been given them, The boy was not dangerously hurt. Such a trick may have seemed very funny to the fellow who played it, but it would have been more generally satisfactory Ijad the ! elephant given him the hug instead of injuring an innocent boy. Old Prob. hit it eighty-eight times out of every hundred, last month.

Walk Your Horses.

We frequently' see the above, clause painted over the archways to bridges as a caution against fast driving while crossing the bridge. It is not in this light, however, that we use it on this occasion. It has been customary at our State, district and county fairs to give large premiums for the best running and trotting horses. ’Die object of these premiums is to cultivate the two gaits and improve the usefulness of not only the individual animal, but to improve the race of the animal by the transmission of the trotting and running qualities or abilities from sire to son and from dam to progeny. The idea is a good one, and we approve of it. By this custom the racehorse and the trotter of to-day have been made much superior to the race-horse and trotter of twenty, and ten, and even five years ago. The muscle of the sire and dam, as enlarged and strengthened by practice, as well as the ambitious spirit of the animal, is transmitted to the progeny, and the result is a general improvement of the race of horses. Now of all the useful gaits pjfthe horse a good fast walking gait is the most valuable to the farmer. In almost every place in which a farmer uses a horse the walk is the gait used. In the plow, before the harrow or cultivator, before the wagon, and, indeed, in all uses to which the horse is-put on She farm, the wait is the gait in which he is required to travel." For all teaming purposes, also, on the road, the team horse walks nine miles where lie trots one, and in none of the useful occupations to which he is put is required to run. The walk, then, is really the most universally useful gait. The walk is also as capable of improvement in the individual animal and in the race of horses as is the trotting or running gait, and yet a walking race for horses is a thing seldom heard of at our agricul tural fairs. We think this is a great oversight in the management, and one that will be acknowledged by every farmer in the country. Why not change the practice in this respect, and introduce walking races as well'as trotting, pacing and running races, at our fairs? By so doing there is no doubt the value of our farm as well as roadster horses and carriage horses may be very much enhanced. —Sacramento Record.

Size of the Whale.

The sperm whale attains a very great size. The measure of a whale in whaling parlance is indicated by the number of barrels of oil it will make. Ask any old whaling captain of forty years’ experience how long is the longest sperm whale and he will strive to answer thequestion by estimating the known proportions of his ship. “Let me see. From just forrardof the main swifter, well, say forty-five feet, and you have his eye; allow one-third for the head and you have seventy-two. Well, now, seventytwo feet is a long whale; but I never measured one.” The largest whale we took made 107 barrels. Its length was seventy-nine feet; from the nose to, the bunch of the neck, twenty-six feet; thence to the. hump, twenty-nine feet; from hump to tail, seventeen feet; length of tail, seven feet; breadth of tail, sixteen feet six inches; height at forehead, eleven feet-; width, nine feet six inches; girt at fin, forty-one feet six inches; at junction of tail, seven feet nine inches; lower jaw, sixteen feet long and forty-one inches in circumference at thick part. It had fifty-one teeth, the heaviest weighing twenty-five ounces. Blubber on back, eighteen incites; on side, twelve to fifteen inches, and belly, nine to ten inches. The hump was two feet above the level. The case made barrels; body, seven-ty-three and a halfbarrels; junk, fourteen and a half barrels. Capt, Sullivan, of the James Arnold, of New Bedford, off New Zealand took in one voyage eight whales that made over 100 barrels each, the largest yielding 137 barrels. The head of this made fifty-three barrels, and the case baled twenty-seven barrels. It was ninety feet long; the flukes eighteen feet, jaw eighteen feet, case twentydwo feet, and forehead thirteen and a half feet high. During the same season and on the same ground, Capt. Vincent, ship Oneida, of New Bedford, took ten sperm whales, which stowed 1,140 barrels. Capt. Norton, ship Monka, of New Bedford, took on the off-shore ground a sperm whale that stowed 145 barrels; the dimensions of this monster were not taken. The proportions of whales vary much with the sex and age. The young bulls and the cows are slender; the cows are about one-third the size of the bull, when measured by the oil the}* yield. — Cor. N. V. Observer. . :

Wet Boots.

A friend writes from Europe: What an amount of discomfort wet boots entail, to be sure f and how well we all recall the fretful efforts we have now and then made to draw on a pair of hardbaked ones which were put by the tire over night to dry. Damp and adhesive within, they are without stiff and unyielding as horn. Once on, they are a sort of modern stocks, destructive of all comfort and entirely demoralizing to the temper. The following simple device will rob> the cold, wet barnyard of a slushy winter or spring evening of half its promise of discomfort for the next morning: When the boots are taken off fill them quite full with dry oats. This grain has a great fondness for damp and will rapidly absorb the last vestige of it from the wet leather. As it takes up the moisture it swells and fills the boot with a tightlyfitting last, keeping its form good and drjing the leather without hardening it. In the morning shake out the oats and hang them in a bag near the fire to dry, ready for the next night, draw on the boots and go happily about the day’s work. —American Agriculturist.

A Russian Croesus.

The Continental Herald gave an account the other day of the opening of a Russian chapel erected in the Canton of Tessin by a Baron whoih the local papers call “ a Russian Croesus. ” It seems that this gentleman has become so entranced by the scenery at Lugano that he has resolved on building a magnificent chateau in the neighborhood. The building will cost 5,000,000 francs, the decorations 800,000 francs, and the furniture about as much’mpre; but this will be but a bagatelle to the owner, as the Tessinois journals sav he has an annual income ot over 10,000‘000 francs. They set down his entourage as thirty Russian servants, sixteen Russian and Swedish singeijp and sixty musicians, who cost him alone 150,000 "francs a year. In order to gratify further his musical tastes a ciSleofated prima donna is engaged Occasionally for his exclusive enjoyment., and by .way of keeping his orchestra in practice the

members of it are obliged to play at a certain hour each day throughout the year, although in the absence of M. le Baron there is not a single auditor. The Baron is said to have “ sumptuous palaces” at Paris, Vienna and Nice; to have made his money by speculations in Russian railways; to change every two years all his personnel and even his acquaintances, and tb ignore completely his relatives.

Free and Easy Visitors.

“ I always make myself at home every where!” sayS Mrs. A. “I don’t want people to put themselves out for me! I am free and easy wherever I am!” Mow these “free and easy” visitors are, of all other kinds of visitors, the most thoroughly disagreeable. They will inflict themselves upon you at any time and expect to be always cordially welcomed because they are so free and easy and so loth to put anybody to trouble. They will come before breakfast, or just as you are sitting down to dinner, and draw up their chairs quite like one of the family. Early in the morning they delight to “run in,” and they will come right up to your chamber to save you the trouble of coming down, and there they will sit and watch you make your toilet, and comment on how gray your hair is getting, and inquire the cost of the lace on your petticoat, and wonder if you are not a great deal stouter, and redder in the face than you used to be. Free and easy visitors will hunt over your writing-desk after paper to write notes, and they will read the postmarks on your letters, and ask you who on earth you know in Dingtown, or Cat Fally, and wonder how you can ever find time to write letters! They will bathe their foreheads in the contents of your cologne bottle and scent their handkerchiefs with your expensive extract of Pond Lily, and scatter your Night Blooming Cereus. at two dollars a bottle, profusely over their flounces and fringes, and declare it is delightful!They will brush their hair with your brush, and put their feet on your sofa, and open your various boxes, and inquire what kind of toilet powder you use, and tie knots in the fringes of your Paisley shawl, aud help themselves to your glass of lemonade. They will go to your pantry after a Tuncli—fliey came out so early they didn’t eat half a breakfast—aud iu all probability they will stay to dinner, and suggest that you have boiled salmon and pickled ovsters—they are so fond of them! They will exclaim over the way you manage your children, and tell you about the wonderful children of Uncle Isaac or Cousin Sally! Ah! if anybody could have cliildren like them it would be a dositive comfort to have twenty of them! Yes, indeed! Your “ free and easy” visitors drop in upon you very often at meal-time, and when invited to partake they invariably tell you they are not hungry, they wouldn’t eat a mouthful,—they had no idea it was so near dinner —and then they “ sit up,” and they eat as much as any healthy laborer could do who had been at work on the Hoosac Tunnel since its commencement! We can abide “ genteel’’ visitors, and “ stuck-up” visitors, and begging visitors, and visitors who make us glad twice, but from “free and easy” visitors good Lord deliver us ! —Kate Thorn, in N. Y. Weekly.

Reducing Bones for Gardens.

It is not often that bones can be collected on the farm in sufficient quantities for field crops, but every man who has a garden can make a lit tle excellent manure by saving those within his reach. It is useless to recommend converting them into home-made superphosphate by using sulphuric acid; the difficulty and trouble in procuring the acjd away from cities, and the care and 'experience required to use it, are sufficient objections. There are, how-ever, two modes of reducing the bones which every gardener may easily adopt. One is to place them in thin layers in a fermenting heap of manure, which, if they are previously broken, will soften them enough to cause crumbling after the lapse of weeks, when the heap is worked over. Even a common hot-bed will do, if the bones are first broken into fragments. The other mode is to boil them, as follows: Mix them in a large kettle with wood ashes, and to make the ashes caustic add about a peck of fresh lime to each barrel of bones. -Saturate and cover the ashes well with water, and then apply heat, say for twenty-four hours, or during the day for two consecutive days. All the bones by this time, except the very hardest parts, will be so reduced as to be easily pulverized, being in a pasty condition, suitable for placing in layers in making the compost heap. Another day’s boiling will reduce the remainder of the hard bones. —iV. T. World.

A Blind King.

The blind King of Hanover has returned to Paris to have another look at the art treasures of the bity, for, although an indefatigable sight-seer when with us a year ago, he could not get through all there was to be seeff This may seem an odd way of speaking of a blind man, but there is not much exaggeration about it. King George sees with the eyes of his daughter,- who has a faculty possessed by few. With her father upon her arm she enters a museum or any public place and begins a conversation in a low, running voice, giving, in few words, a general idea of theTrobm and of the people in it, then going into details as they go on. The King enters like a man with good eyes, and, when on his daughter’s arm, never fails to return the salutes addressed to *him from whatever direction thev may come. It is evident, therefore' that there is some system of telegraphy known to the two, and from long habit the King has become so expert that he rarely makes a mistake. At a soiree he is led up to the host or hostess, bows at the right moment, and goes through the ceremony with all the ease of a man who can see. He even pays most unexpectedly compliments, when the daughter, without saying a word, teleeraphs that a lady is young and ’beauGful: and when surprise is expressed King George gallantly replies that he sees with his soul. When I saw him at the Louvre I longed for an opportunity to hear what the Princess said as they went from picture to picture, the King looking intently upon the wall, but could hear nothing but a low hum too indistinct to be comprehended by ears less attentive than those of her father. Her language cannot be understood by others, even when not spoken with "the usual rapidity. It is very touching to see the love and devotion of this young Princess.—Pam Letter. Board of health —A farmer's cupboard.