Rensselaer Union, Volume 7, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 24 December 1874 — Page 6

HAPS AND MISHAPS.

—Sarah Jane Tisdale, of Dayton, Ohio, waa lately burned to death by her clothes catching fire at a stove grate. —A. New York railroad, conductor, dropped his ticket-punch lust out of Syracuse the other day, and had nothing' else to do but to stop his train and run back after it. After a half-hour’s search it was found in the snow. —Little 'George Householder, of Knoxville, Tenn., took a peep at a powder flask that he had buried and touched a match to it. As likely as not when he makes a tour ot the country with a handorgan he will say he lost his eyes in the war. —Mr. Skillings, of West Gorham. Me., tired into his poultry-yard the other night and brought down Messrs. Perkins and Blake, two quiet citizens who had got in among his chickens. Perkins died in a short time, and Blake carries thirty-seven wounds. —Mrs. Stephen Willard, of New Haven, Conn., while drawing water from a well, recently, was struck on the head by a pulley-pin which accidentally fell out of its place, inflicting injuries from which her mind has been nearly destroyed. —Mrs. Vetter, eighty-five years old, living in Cincinnati, met a t errible death the other afternoon. She was preparing her dinner and took from the stove a tea-kettle full of boiling water. By some means she fell and the contents of the kettle ran over her face and chest, killing her instantly. Her daughter came to visit her and found her dead on the floor, with the kettle beside her. —The other afternoon William Dun ham, an employe in a lerannu (Ohio) saw-mill, went underneath an edging saw to oil it, when his clothes were caught by the cogs in the feed-wheel, ami he was jerked backward on the saw. In a twinkling he was cut through from the left shoulder to the right hip. His backbonAaind heart were both severed, ami his bowel> s.-at let cd around. - —Two boys and a girl, children of Moses Homan, captain of a canal-boat lying at Fairpoit. N. Y„ went out to play the other afternoon, and not returning at evening their mother became alarmed at their absence. Accompanied by neighbors, and, indeed, the entire village, a search was made. The bodies of the children were found in a mill pond, upon the thin ice of which they ventured the evening before. The boys were aged respectively ten ami twelve yeara, amb the girl fourteen years. •

FACTS AND FIGURES.

—The Utica (N. Y.) Herald'll summary of the cheese business, shows that 330 factories have- made 439,990, boxvszQ*:. cheese this year, against 416,083'boxes last year, a gain of 4 per cent. —Nothing like leather. Chicago has twelve "firms engaged in the tanning of hides, which employ nearly 1,000 men, use 25.900 cords of bark, and produce $4 ,325,000 worth of leather per annum, —There are in West Virginia 171,793 children of school age, of whom 81.100 attend school, and consequently 90.693 receive no education whatever, save such as they can avail themselves of at home. The number of schools in the State is 2,857. —The Commissioner of Customs denounces the fashionable European tourist, male or female, as a high-toned and very costly smuggler. lie estimates the Value of dutiable goods brought to this country by these tourists and whisked unceremoniously through the CustomHouse as wearing apparel at $128,000,000 annually. —The whole number of Postmasters iri the United Mutes is 34,294, of which 1,408 are appointed t>y the President, The number of employes of the postal railway service is 2,173, and their compensation $2,351,809. The whole number of persons in the employ of the Postoffice service is 49.000. —Alaska is fast paying for herself. Since the acquisition of that territory the Government has derived an income therefrom a> follows: Taxes on sealskins. sl,l-50.219.75; rent forfur-seal islands, $170,180 72-. sale of seal-skins taken by Government agents, under Section 6. act July 1, 1870, $29,529.17; total income, $1,330,229.67. —The Atlanta A’rav- says that gold ore ria.. is said to be v-ieltT-"" ing the enormous amount of sso,ooo a ton. The mines are owned by capitalists, one of them, the Aqueduct, having been sold to Mr. Hand, of Ohio, for $500,000. It is expected that by next J sumtm-r^2.(k'o-persunswill 4)c employed in the ore mills

Disputing the Legal Existence of a Court.

It has been well remarked by a distintingubhedhistorian that “for ways that are dark and tricks tha’, are vain the Heathen Chinee.is peculiar,” and this wise aphorism might be truthfully.applied to the average California attorney. A case in which one of this class figured occurred in the municipal Criminal Court last week. Mr, Blank, a young attorney of the last-mentioned class, appeared as counsel for a villainous-look-ing Chinaman, w ho was called to receive sentence on his third conviction oh one charge of grand larceny. Ab Shook was told to stajid up. and the Judge gazed upon him with an eye in which there was a varied assortment of, stern justice and commiseration, Mr. Blank slowly rose from his chair, ran his botiy fingers through his raven locks, and, extending his right arm in a dignified and authoritative manner, signified his intention of making a little speech. “ I propose.” said Mr. Blank, waving his hand at the assembled spectator' with rare self-possession—“l propose to contest the authority of this court in the matter people of the State of California versus my worthy and innocent client, Ah Shook; I propose, may it please your Honor—and 1 don’t think it will—l propose to establish the (act that this court has no authority and no legal existence and that all its acts since its assumed organization have been null and void and non rwtpio inent ix. ” “ Hold on, young man!” exclaimed the Court, tyith a deprecatory motion of the jiMlicial hand, “ that game won’t play here worth a cent. v' hile this court has the deal the percentage remains in its favor, and you needn't think you Can hog the game or bust the bank. ' Maybe you think you’re playing it smart, but thia Court has bad its eye-teeth tiled and sand-papered long ago, and all traces of vegetation have been carefully extirpated from its opticular organs." . “ May it please your Honor,” responded Mr. Blank, “1 have a long line of authorities to present. Here, James, bring in the documents.’’ At these words a little boy about three feet high entered

the court room bearing about fifty ponderous tomes. “ Now, your Honor,” continued Mr. Blank, " I move that the defendant be discharged on the ground that the court has no legal existence." The Court adjusted its spectacles and remarked gravely: “Young fyller, there are times when patience ceases to be a virtue." At Uns juncture the Deputy’ Sheriff stood behind the attorney ready and willing to take him by the collar and throw him down stairs; the clerk in an abstracted manner laid his hand upon a heavy glass inkstand, and the porter 'stood at the door with a large-sized broom in his hand. “My friend,” continued the Court, mildly, “it is now autumn, when l^e cottonwoods shed their leaves and nothing is green but the evergreen. But you make a—hem—a condemned mistake when you take me for an evergreen. In all the experience of this Court it has never happened that an attorney was fool enough to request the Court to legislate itself out of office, and .out of the perquisites and emoluments pertaining to the same. This Court was at first disposed to deal leniently with this depraved heathen; but in order to vindicate its autho’ity it imposes a sentence upon your client of four years in the ! State Prison. As for your authorities, ■ you may go—ahem—to the Supreme Court or anywhere else with them. This Court stands upon its dignity, sir, and if it did not respect your poverty’ it would impose a fine of $1 50 upon you for con- ‘ tempt; but the Court is magnanimous, sir. You may take your hand oil' his collar, Mr. Sheriff. The court now adjourns for refreshments.” The lawyer was seen half an hour later loading up an express wagon with 1 bis authorities. — Francisco Morning Call.

Beason Among Insects.

Loourxo at the nervous system of in-■-ects. in whoy» there i- no definite brarn, bill merely a succession of ganglia united by a double nervous cord, many physiol ugists have thought that reason could be one of the attributes of the insect race. Yet-nothing is more certain- than that they are able to converse with each other and comm niieate ideas, this fact showing that they must possess reason. As far as we know the hymenopterous iusects^-namdy,—tbebces t waispkand tnits, are the best linguists of the insect race, their language being chiefly conducted by means of their antenme. A good example.of this was witnessed by me last summer (1872). At hreakfast-:ime some pieces of the white of egg were left on a plate. A wasp came in at the window, and after flying’about for a while alighted on 1 lie piate, wentto the piiae ofeeg and tried to carry it off. Wishing to see what tiie insect would do, I would not allow it to be dis urbed. After several Unavailing attempts to lilt the piece of egg the w asp laid it down and flew out of the window. Presently tiro wasps came in, flew direct to the pla e, —picked up the ph ee of egg, and in some way or other contrived to get it out of the window. These were evidently the first wasp and a companion whom it had fetched to help it.

1 -had a kind of suspicion that w hen the wasps reached their home they would tell their companions of their good fortune, and so I put some more egg on the plate and waited. In a very short time wasp after wasp came in, went to the plate without hesitation, and carried off a piece of egg. The stream of w;asps was so regular that 1 was aide to trace them to their nest, which, was in a lane about half a mile from my house. Tne insect had evidently, reasoned with itself that, although tiie piece of egg was too heavy for one wasp, it might be carried by two; sb it went off to find a companion, told it the state of things, and induced it to help it in carrying off the coveted morsel. Then the two had evidently told the other inhab it an ts. _of_ the nest that there was a supply of new* and dainty food within reach, and had acted as guides to the locality. Here is positive proof that these insects possess a very definite language of their own, for it is impossible that human beings could have acted in a more rational manner.

Every one knows that Wasps carry out one of the first principles of the military art by always having the gate of thei’r fortress guarded by a sentinel. Should there be danger, the sentinel gives the alarm, and out dash all the inhabitants at the offender indicated by the sentinel. It is clear that, out of the many hun;d red wasps, which form a full-sized nest, the individual who is to act aS sentinel must be selected and its task appointed. tVe do not know how the selection is' made, but that such is the case is evident; for the rest of the wasps acknowledge their sentinel and trust to it for guarding the approaches of the nest while they go about their usual task of collecting food for the young and new material for the nest. As for ants, some of their performancesare absolutely startling, so closely do they resemble the customs of human i civilization. They have armies commanded by officers. who issue their orders, insist upon obedience, and. on tin- march, will not permit any of the privates to stray from the ranks. There are some ants which will till the ground, weed it. plant the particular grain on which they feed, cut i it when ripe and store it away in their I subterranean granaries. , There are ants i I,which areas arrant slaveholders as any ■ people on earth ever were. They make I -ystvmatie raids on the nests of other j ants, carry off the yet unhatched cocoons, • | and rear,them in their own nests to be I i their servants. . There are ants which bury their dead : a fact which was discovered by acci , den". ’ . A lady had been obliged to kill some ants, the bodies oiL which lay about t* ground. Presently a single ant found ! its dead Companions, and examined them and then went off. Directly it returned j with a number of others, and proceeded! to the dead bodies. Four ants went to each corpse, two lifting it and the other two follow ing, the main bodv, some 2tX) in number, following behind’. The four bearers took their office in turns; one pair relieving the other when "Aliev were tired. They went .straight to a’samiy hiHoekran-.t there the bearers nut down their ..burdens, and the others immedi ately began to dig holts. A dead ant yas then,placed in each grave, and the 1 soil filled in The most curious part of ' the pioceedings was that some six orJ seven ants refused to assist in gravedigging; upon which the rest set on them killed them, dug one large hole and turn bled them unceremoniously into it! , In Froebel’s work on South America there is a good account of the proceedings of some ants:

“ I had several opportunities of observing the manner of several kinds of ants living In, the houses. All of them are very inoffensive and even useful creatures. Oh ope occasion 1 witnessed a remarkable instance of the concerted and organized action of a crowd of them. They were ®f a minute species, but, by the wonderful order and speediness with which they worked together, and which it would have been difficult to realize with men, they succeeded in performing a tasK apparently quite beyond their capability. “ They carried a dead scorpion of fullgrown size up the wall of our room from the floor to the ceiling, and thence along the under-surface of a beam to a considerable distance, ’ when at last they brought It safely into .their best in the interior qf the wood. During the latter* part of this achievement they had to bear the whole weight of the scorpion, together with their own, in their inverted position, and in this way to move along the beam. “ The order was.so perfect that not the slightest deviation from an absolute symmetry and equality of distances and arrangement was observable in the manner of taking hold of the body of the scorpion and in the movement of .the little army of workmen. No corps of engineers could be drilled to a more absolute perfection in the performance of a mechanical task. According to a rough calculation there must have been from 500 to 600 of these intelligent little creatures at work. Besides those engaged in the transport none were seen. A single one was sitting on the sting at the end of the scorpion’s tail as if placed there to overlook and direct the whole movements; all the rest were, without exception, at work. The* operation may have, lasted about an hear.” This scene is an exact reproduction, in the insect world, of the manner in which : the ancient Egyptians and Assyrians conveyed their colossal statues to their places. There we see hundreds of men all dragging at the mukudinous ropes at- : lacked to the car on which the statue i lay, and all pulling in time to the gest- ; tires of a single man placed on the top lof the statue. The ants, however, had a ■ still more difficult tusk than the men; for they possessed no carriage on w hich to lay the scorpion and were obliged to sustain the whole of its weight as they passed over the ceiling. 4ft tire same work Froedel has narrated another example of the manner in which ants can combine and make them selves intelligible to their fellow-insects: “ Another time I witnessed the transmigration of a whole state or wealth of ants, from a hole in the wall, ( across our veranda, into another hole in the opposite wall. “Two facts struck my attention in this case. The - first was that the marching army of these insects, all moving in ®ne direction, consisted of individuals of such a difference in size and shape that to consider them as belonging to one species seemed very difficult, and the idea of a commonwealth of different insect nationalities wa<strongly suggested. “ The second was that some little beetles, of the family of Coccinellida, marched along with the ants from one ho|e into the other; not quite of their own will, for I observed that several times one of them tried to deviate from the line, but was quickly brought back to the ranks by some of the ants placing themselves at its side. The fact of little beetles, of the very family just mentioned, existing in the nests of ants is well known; but it is of considerable intenst to seethe fact repeated in distinct climates, with different species of insects of both tribes, and under opposite circumstances.” As to the different sizes of the ants all entomologists know- that, in the hotter parts of the world, the males, females, soldiers and workers of the same species will vary in size from that of a wasp to that of a common garden-ant, and that the shape and aspect are as different as their size. The second point is a very curious one. It has long been known that many beetles live in ants’ nests, but 1 believe that this is the only record of the beetles accompanying the ants in their migrations.— " Man and Beast Here and Hereafter," by Bet. J. G. Wood, London .

PHUNNYGRAMS.

—A Chien go man woke hiswife the other night; and, in a startled tone of voice, informed her that he had swallowed a dose of strychnine. “ Well, you fool," said she, “ lie still or it may come up.” —“ Now, then,” said a physician, cheerily, to a patient, “ you have got along far enough to indulge in a little animal food, and ” “ No, you don’t, Doctor," interrupted the patient; “I’ve suffered enough on your gruel and slops, and I’d starve sooner than begin on hay and oats?’ —The Detroit Free Press tells about an urchin who was seated on the Postoffice steps of that city, going through a watermelon, when a man halted and asked: “This is a great town for hogs, isn’t it, bub?” “ Wall, no,” drawled the lad, as he filled his mouth again, and kept his eyes on the man, “you’ll be awful lonesome here.” AFiAtEain on tlie Saginawßoad had nearly reached the junction, the other day, an old lady suddenly shouted out ; “ Stop tliis keer —stop her!” A passenger wanted to know what was up. and the old woman ran up and down the passageway and excitedly exclaimed: “Where’s the man who runs these kgers? I’ve left a quart bottle of cold tea at Detroit ” The train didn’t back up. —A twelve-year-old-boy, pretty well dressed, entered "an office on Jefferson avenue the day before Thakseiving and begged for twenty cents. “Want" it to buy a Thanksgiving dinner with?” asked the proprietor. “Yes." answered the boy. “ What'll you get—a chicken?" " No, sir." replied the boy, very honestly. “ M e’ve got a turkey, and we want some i oysters to stuff it with!" The srentle- ’ man put his wallet back. Detroit Free Press. _ —ln one of cur Walnut street drv I goods houses is employed a young man of diminutive stature and' somewhat feminine appearance, although a tip-top i salesman and clerk. Ong day, npt long ’ since, a little girl was sent to the store ! to make some purchases, and it fell to , the lot of -this young man to attend to her. She was a mere bunch of femininity, not able to talk plain. She asked if ihe had atty " totten flannel.” He replied ; that he had. and asked how much She wanted. “ I don’t know,” was the replv. “Well, what do you want it for?”, said the clerk, “ Want to make papa?;! §hirt,” " Well, how big is your papa ; is he as big as me?” “ Big’as you."said the little maiden* ” I dess he is; he. wouldn’t be much of „ a .papa if hfc wasn'tJ’— ; State Register.

RECIPES, ETC.

—The Medical and Surgical Reporter ssy»:-“ Dr. D. H. L. Hogg, of Texas, writes us that he has found liquor calcis (water of lime) very useful as a mouthwash. It improves the gums and prevents the toothache. He has used it in private practice and personally.” , —An old farmer talks thus about his boys: From nineteen ?o twenty they knew more thanhejlid; at twenty-five they knew as much; at thirty they were willing to hear what he had to say; at thirty-five they asked his advice, and he thinks when they get to be forty that they will actually acknowledge that the old man does know something. ’ _ —Cleansing Bottles, Etc.—Bottles that have had medicines in them may be cleansed by putting ashes in each, immersing them In cold water, and then heating the water gradually till it boils. After bailing them an hour let them remain in the water till it is cold. Wash them in soapsuds, and rinse them till clear in fair water. Pie-plates that have been long used for baking are apt to impart an unpleasant taste on account of the rancidity of the butter and lard imbibed. Put them in a brass kettle, with ashes and cold water, and boil them an hour. —Corn Bread.—Add to a quart of buttermilk one-half cup of yeast; set in a warm place over night. In the morning add one piut of dry bread crumbs, half a cup of sugar, two or three eggs, a teaspoonful of soda, a little salt, and corn meal enough to make a moderately stiff batter, and stir well. Instead of baking, I steam this loaf, having for the purpose a tin pudding-form, or bucket, with a closefitting lid. Into this (well buttered) I pour the batter in the morning. After standing an hour or two, and when perfectly light, I place the bucket in a pot of boiling water and steam it one and a half or two hours. You will then turn out a beautiful light brown loaf, delicious enough for the Empress of the Grangers, if there is.such. a dignitary.—J/i'.s. p V. 8., in Household. —Good Recipe for Doughnuts.—Take three eggs, beat well; have your pot on the fire and your lard all melted ready to fry the nuts. Take three tablespoonfuls of the melted lard, two good heaping cups of sugar, rolled; sift about, three pints of flour, put it in the bread bowl, make a round place in the middle of the flour to hold your eggs; when they are beaten pour them into the flour; now the sugar, then the melted lard, now one-half teacup of sour cream or buttermilk, into which put one heaping teaspoonful of soda; beat the milk and soda up till it foams, pour that among all the rest; now put in ground cinnamon to suit you, or any other spice you like best. And now the secret comes: if you want them good don't mix quick,, but take your time; work and squeeze the e ggs, ba rd, su gar, e t c., back ward and forward through the fingers until it will be stiff and make dough in spite of you. When you fry, try and keep the grease at a regular heat, and not too hot, but* fry quickly. Make the dough about as stiff as biscuit dough,— Cincinnati Times.

Jerking the Reins.

Perfect horses—if we may take the word of gentlemen of the equine profession, as, of course, we may and must, since, as a rule, they are more severely veracious than was “ the Father of his Country” himself —-are quite numerous; but a perfect driver who can find? A horse of average intelligence may be controlled in good.part=at least, ou ordinary occasions—by the voice; in this way, without the use of the whip or reins, he may be made to go faster or slower, or to stop at once. The horse always knows whether he is going away from the stable or toward it; he knows also the places where he has been accustomed to stop; and, although he wears blinders, he sees everything before him and on -each side, and much that is behind him. He is the most sagacious of animals. The reins and whip might, I believe, be dispensed with altogether; and that they are used is owing rather to timidity and st.upidity on the part of man than to the lack of docility or tractability on the part of the beast. Much has been said and something has been done of late to prevent the too free use of the whip, both as a persuader to more rapid mot ion and as a gratification of an evil temper by those having charge of these noble creatures; but, for my part, I have always had great sympathy as well for those unfortunate, unoffending horses whose drivers—too kindhearted, too absent-minded, or too indo-. lent to use the whip—hrb continually jerking the reins. If the end in view were to destroy the temper or break, the spirit of the animal —to make of a good racer, roadster, carriage or saddle horse a poor, dispirited, ambitionless hack —this, I should suppose, would be just the means to be used for its accomplishment. Horses, however, are not the-only creatures that are afflicted in this way,'and horse-drivers are not the only persons who so afflict. In the government of the family there is a gfreat deal of jerking the reins. Many parents, instead of controlling their children in a reasonable way, with or without the use,of. the rod, are continually badgering and hectoring them. Some have a way of bringing up the mistakes or errors of the past, even though as parents they had forgiven and forgotten them long ago. on the principle that they should be moaned and howled over periodically. Some parents have a way of reminding their children of their faults in the presence of others, cutting their tender sensibilities with the keen edge of irony, perhaps, or piously predicting for them the doom of such as are ungrateful or disobedient to parents. Some parents have a way of reiterating their dissatisfaction in view of an jiction or. choice of their chile ren which it is impossible to alter or remedy and concerning which it were well for them to be silent. i

In many such instances there is no lack of parental affection? There may be a strong desire for the children's well being and doing; but, just as drivers continually and almost unconsciously jerk the reins, without so much as thinking to take the whip from its socket, so these parents, not only unconscious that they arc doing wrong, but gvc.n thinking that they are doing their duty, jerk the reins of parental authority. The Apostle Paul was not a father —by the way, it is a pity he wasn’t ; but he understood human nature pretty well, and was' a close observer of different methods of parental managing, and, • after exhorting children to obey their parents, he adds: “ Fathers, provoke not [do not irritate} your children, lest they be discouraged. ’ The 1 apostle-evidently* had in mind the ivery fault we are considering, ilusbands sometimes jerk the reins.

It is not ordinarily great sins—like intemperance, gambling, and unfaithfulness—that destroy the- peace of the household and make home so often like the house into which the seven devils were entered, for these offenses are comparatively rare; but it is the minor transgressions and shortcomings. The trouble is due in numberless instances to the conduct of the husband toward the wife. He forgets the “ honor” that is her due as the “ weaker vessel.” If his victuals are not cooked to his taste, if his dinner is not ready at the moment, if his linen is not immaculate, if the servants are insolent or leave without due notice, if he have met with losses in business, if he is kept awake nights by the children, if almost anything occurs to mar the peace of his existence, he is apt to manifest his displeasure, first of all toward her with whom, according to Peter, who was a husband as well as an apostle, he should dwell “ according to knowledge”—that is, “in accordance with an intelligent view of the nature of their relation.” It is not enough that the husband be not “ bitter” against his wife; he should not be sharp with her; he should not jerk the reins, even if they are made of silk. Among employers there is a tendency to jerk the reins. Many a man who would scorn to be unjust in payment of services rendered, even to the amount of a mill, or who M ould not use violence if he had the opportunity and provocation of a plantation overseer, does great injustice to the conscientiousness and general faithfulness of those whom he employs and injures their feelings perhaps twenty times a day by his quickness of manner or bluntness of speech. Many a housekeeper of culture and refinement seems to forget that her servants have necessities and weaknesses similar to her own, that they are liable to mistakes and to failure in the performance of duty and that perfection is no more likely to be found in the kitchen than in the drawingroom. Such housekeepers are quick to perceive and sharp in the correction of faults; while They pass by excellencies" without a word of commendation. “Masters [and mistresses], give unto your servants that which is just and equal.” The “ help” of the period is far from perfect; but it is not improved by the constant jerking of the reins. Teachers are too much inclined to jerk the reins. They have smiles and smooth words for “the scholars who learn easily," who have few difficulties to overcome and need little sympathy or encouragement ; and reserve their frowns and maledictions for those luckless wights to whom a ladder is like an oak plank, who are always striving and never achieving, and who are poorly enough off' with all the advice and good-natured incitement That a teacher can command. Ministers, like “the rest of mankind,” occasionally jerk the. reins They sometimes show an inclination to lord It over God’s heritage. They say and even do sharp things now and then; not for the good that may be accomplished thereby, but for the sake of saying and doing them. They seem to be fearful that some may not be aware or may forget that they have the “oversight of the flock of God.” Now this jerking the reins by those in authority is not a determined and deliberate sin. There is no “malice prepense” in it. It is rather a habit that grows little by little, until at length it may become intolerable. There are parents, estimable citizens, with whom their children cannot live; housekeepers with whom as such no fault can be found who have become obliged to do their own work or leave it undone: and husbands or wives—the weaker sex sometimes hold the reins—with whom, though they are excellent persons, their companions find it very difficult or quite impossible to get along. I know of an old man, now a widower, for whom all his friends are thankful that he has outlived his better half, so that before he dies he may have a little rest. I have.an idea that if a horse,-habitu-ally tormented in the manner we have been considering, were, like Balaam’s ass, for a few moments endowed with the gift of human speech, he would discourse somewhat in this wise: “ Good sir [or madam], I am pot a stone nor a post to be jerked in this way, nor am I a wild animal. lam a horse, the most faithful, intelligent, affectionate servant man has in all the brute creation, lam ready to do your bidding at any hour of the day or night, to eat what you give me, and to live where you may please to stable me. You sometimes leave me without a blanket, exposed to cold or wet; you sometimes forget to feed and water me at the proper time; you often give me musty hay, or sour meal, and sometimes only post-meal. I have even known you, when I was hungry, to hitch me to a post with an iron top. You sometimes whip me when lam going fast enough. All these afflictions and inflictions I have borne and can bear again; but do not, I beg of you—do not keep jerking the; reins, for the iron bit to which Iffey are attached passes through my mouth, and when you jerk it does you no good, for I go no faster than if you were to speak to me ever so gently, for my hearing is good, and it does me harm; it hurts and irritates me and makes me an ambition less, spiritless creature.” The human expostulation, if utterance were given it, would be essentially the, same. — Rev. E. N. Pomeroy, in N. T. 7m dependent. -

Air.

Lord Kinnaird, in the course of a long letter to a contemporary regarding the ventilation of dw-elling houses, says: People imagine that as foul air is light it is only necessary to open a hole in the ceiling or open a window at the top to allow it to escape, and «a're surprised when these openings are closed by the inmates to feel cold air bearing down on their heads. The fact is that the foul air emitted from the lungs of the occupants of a room ascends while warm, but when cold it falls to the ground. 'Anyone taking a ladder and going to the top of a room where a number of people are sitting would find the vitiated air unbearable. 4- bird could not live long in it. When there is a fire-place in a room the foul air first ascends, and then when it gets cold descends, and is then drawn up the chimney, so that a person sitting near the fire-place inhales this bad air. The remedy is to take off the vitiated air at the ceiling by a syphon acting on the reverse system of a water syphon. Where there is no fire-place in a room the case is serious indeed. M e found that a bird placed on the floor of such a room where two people slept- was dead in the morning. Were not our ancestors wise in having high bedsteads, and they were higher than the iron bedsteads now com monly used. “ Shakedowns’^are there-, foreunost injurious to health. The great difficulty in ventilation is to make the

air move. One plan may be seen carried out on a large scale in the Houses of Parliament. A huge furnace at the t«p of the house, kept constantly burning draws its life from the Houses, libraries’ dining room, tea-rooms, committee rooms and kitchen of the Palace of Westminster, and such is its power that burnt pieces of paper have been drawn from the Victoria Station to the Palace. The real difficulty is the supplying of fresh air tor fill up the vacuum, which in our dwellings is drawn from the windowcashes, and doors and key holes.

Clean the Horse Stables.

An intelligent pterson would suppose that such a suggestion as the above heading conveys is entirely superfluous. Yet if one will visit the premises of farmers it will be seen that more than threefourths of those who keep horses are surprisingly slack in regard to having their stables cleaned. We have in mind several energetic and intelligent tillers of the soil who sometimes do not clean their stables once in two weeks. A short time since, having occasion to go into one of the stables of the farmers alluded to, the horses were found standing with their hind feet on the accumulations of the stable, which were more than six inches in depth, while their fore feet were on the floor. Such a filthy and unhealthy practice cannot be denounced with too great emphasis. Besides this, such a pile of manure renders the position of any aninial, whether lying or standing, exceedingly uncomfortable. To day we went into the stable of a neighbor who keeps good horses and nice harness, and in the rear of one horse one harness had been trampled down into t manure all night. To appearance ie droppings, had not been removed for a week. His large, indolent boy is accustomed to fritter away several hours every day loafing at the stores and hotel. ’ The remedy is to give peremptory orders that every stall must be cleaned neatly, twice daily, and well littered at evening. As soon as the animals are fed in the morning our stables are cleaned out. If this is not done twice every day some one’s memory gets such' a waking up that the stables will not be neglected again for a long time. Let a heedless helper be called out of bed once or twice in the evening and be directed to clean out the stables and litter them properly, and this light task will not be likely to be omitted again for a long time. When stables are kept clean, as they should be, it Will not require one minute per stall, morning and evening, to keep, all the accumulations removed, so that every ani mal -will have a comfortable place to lie down. The large box stall of our cow is scraped clean every time a person goes to milk. Before milking the floor is generously littered with’ bog grass. Every Time thmstabies are _ Cleanef the accumulations are thrown on a wheelbarrow’ and wheeled to a compost heap, a few rods distant, w’here the manure is mingled with muck. By this practice the entrance of t®B barn and stable is kept neat and free from manure. If the small item of cleaning the stable twice daily can only be made a practice not to be omitted, a helper will accomplish just as much at other employment in a day as if the stables were not cleaned oftener than once in two weeks. Try it, and see how much more satisfactory it is, in every respect, than to let the stalls be reeking with filth day after day.— N. Y. Herald.

The Massachusetts Mutual has w r on a suit in the Federal Court' of a Western circuit, establishing the Important doctrine that any falsehood in the answ’ers filed to the questions on which a life insurance policy is based vitiates the claim of the policy-holder, even when the occasion of death was in no way related to the precise points on which there was falsehood. The heirs of a policy-holder who in the examination denied ever having had a certain disease when in fact he had had it failed to recover the amount of his policy, although his death w-as not due to the disease whose existence he had concealed. — Springfield (Mass.) Republican. The only thoroughly blighted being is the young man w r ho has been deceived in a meerschaum. When he has expended his money in purchasing the costly comfort, when he has consumed tobacco enough to unsettle the nerves of a rhinoceros, and the stubborn pipe still refuses to color, demonstrating to him the fact that he has been sold, then does the hollowness of this world and all that therein is become fully and disgustingly apparent. Anna S. Getsinger. of Honesdale, Pa., writes the following: “After suffering for nearly two years from neuralgia in the breast, passing up into the throat, face and head, I was entirely cured and restored to health by using Dr. L. Q. C. Wishart’s Pine Tree Tar Cordial.” Fearful —the amount of money thrown away in not buying shoes protected VEIt TIPS. Parents, be wise and insist that your shoe-dealer should keep them.

WISHART’S PineTreeTarCordial ' ‘ It is now fifteen vears since the attention of the public was first called by Dr. L. Q. C. Wishart to this wonderful remedy- and so well has it stood rhe test of tniie that to-day it not only Aas the wiMence of the entire community, but is more frequently prescribed by physicians in their practice titan any other proprietary preparation In the country, . It is the vital principle of the Pine T.ree obtained by a peculiar process in the distillation of the Tar, by winch its h '/hest medicinal properties are retained. For the following Complaints— Inflammation of the Lungs, Cou’glis, SoiVThroat and Breast, Bronchitis. Consumption, Liver Complaint, Weak Stomach, Disease of the Kidneys, Urinary Complaints., Nervous Debility, Dyspepsia. and diseases arising from .an impure condition of the blood-thereis no remt-dy in the world that has been used so successfully or can show such a pimnier of marvelous cures. The following will serve to show the estimation in which tins sovereign remedy is held by those who have used it. Consumption for Ten Years Cured. Dr. L. Q. C. WishaßT: Dear Sir—l am grateful to you Irtiin the fact that you have made a medicine that wiil cure the disea-edf the Lungs. My wife has had the Consumption for ten years. Physicians bad told me that they could only patch her up for the time being. She was confit.ed to her bed. and had been for some time. I heard of your Pine Tree Tar Cordial audeecuredonelxittle-.it relieved her cough. She has now finished her fourth bottle, and Is able to do rhe work for her family, and may God speed you on with vonr great discovery and cure you have made for Consumption. R HOpKlys Jackson Center, Shelby Co., Ohio. From St. Louis, Mo. Db. WtstTART, PnTi.AT>Eg.rwr a: Dear Sir—During a visit to Philadelphia Boihe three years ago. I wassuf faring from a severe cold, and was induced to fake a bott’e of font Pine Tree Tar Cordial, which had the effect Of curing me in a few days. I have used it in tny family ever since, and am of the opinion that it saved the life of my daughter, who was suffering from a severe and painful cough. If the publication of this will be of any service, yon »re «r liberty to use It. Yours respectfuliv, JOHN 11ODN ETT, St. Louis, Mo. For sale by fill Druggists and Storekcepc re, and at Drt s L. Q. C. WISH ART’SOffice, Mo. 232 N. Second St, Philadelphia, Pa.