Rensselaer Union, Volume 8, Number 46, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 3 August 1876 — Page 3

The Rensselaer Union. REN'SS!'INDIANA.

TIIE FLOOD OF YEARS. A Miitity Hand, from an sxhauMless am, Pours rorft the never-ending flood of Year* f Among the nations. How the rushing w ave* Bear all before them I On their foremost edge. And there aJoue. la Life: the Present there Tosses and foatna and tills the air with roar Of mingled notsea. There are the; who toll. And they who strive, and they who feaat, and they Who nnrry to and fro. The sturdy hind— Woodman and delver with the spade—are there, And busy artisan beside his bench. And pallid Btudent with hla written roll. A moment on the mounting billow seen— The flood sweeps over them and they are gone. There groups of revelers, whose bro*a are twined With roses, ride the topmost aweU awhile. And as they raise their flowing caps to touch The clinking brim to brim, are whirled beneath The waves and disappear. I bear the jar Of beaten drama, aud thunders that break forth From cannon, wber • the advancing billow sends Up to the sight long flies of a med men. That hnrry to the charge through flame and smoke. The torient bears them under whelmed and hid, Slayer and slain, in heaps of hl'Kidy foam. Down go the steed and rider; the plained chief Sinks with hie followers; the head that wears The imperial diadem goes down beside The felon’s with cropped ears and branded cheek. A lnueral train—the torrent sweeps away Bearers and bier and mourners. By the bed Of one who dies men gather sorrowing. And women weepalona: the flood rolls on; The wall is stifled, and the sobbing group Borne under. Hark to that shrill, sudden shout— The cry of an applauding multitude Swayed by some loud-tongned orator who wields The living mass as If he weie its soul. The waters choke the shout and all is still. Lo, next, a kneeling crowd and one who spread* The hands in prayer; the engulfing wave o'ertakes And swallows them and him. A sculptor wields The chi el, and tbestricken marble grows To beauty; at his easel, eager-eyed, A painter stands, and sunshine, at his touch, Ga hers up .ft the • anvas, and life glows; A poet, as he paces to and fro, Murmurs his sounding lines Awhile they ride The advancing billow, till its tossing crest Strikes them and flings them under while their tasks Are yet unfinished. See a mother smile On her yoaug babe that Biniles to her again— The to.rent wrests it Irom her arms; she shrinks And weeps, and midst her tears is carried down. A beam like that of moonlight turns the spray To glistening pearls; two lovers, hand in band, Kise on the billo - y swell and fondiy look Into oach other’s eyes. The rushing flood Flings them apart; the youth goes down; the maid. With hands outstretched in vain and streaming eyes. Waits tor the next high wave to follow him. An aged man succeeds; his bending form Sinks slowl. ; mingling with the sullen stream Gleam the white locks and then are seen no more. Lo, wider gros s the stream; a sea-like flood Saps earth s walled cities; m .salve palaces Crumble before it; fortresses and towers Dissolve in the swift waters; populous realms Swept by the torrent, see their ancient tribes Engulfed ami lost, their very languages 8 isled and never to be uttered m re. I pause and turn my eyes and, looking back. Where that tumnluouß flood has passed, I see The silent Ocean of the Past, a wuste Of waters weltering over graves, its shores Strewn with the wreck of fleets, where mast and hull _ Drop away piecemeal; battlemented walls Frown idly, green with moss, and temples stand Unroofed, forsaken by the worshipers. There lie memorial stones, whence time has gnawed > ' . The gra\ en legends, thrones of kings o’ertnrned, The broken altars of forgotten gods. Foundations of old cities and long streets Where never fall of human foot is heard Upon the desolate pavement. I behold Dim gUmmer.nge of lost jewels lar within The sleeping wat rs, diamond, sardonyx, Huby and; opaz, pearl and chrysolite, O. ce glittering at the banquet on fair brows That long ago were duet; and all around, Strown on the waters of that silent sea, Are withering briaal wreaths, aud glossy locks Shorn from lair brows by loving hands, and scrolls O’erwritten—haply with fond words of love And vows of friendship—and fair pages flung Fresh from the printer’s engine, There they lie A moment and then sink away from sight. _ I look, and th« quick tears are in my eyes, For I behold, in every one of these, ——- A blighted hope, a sepa.ate history Of human sorrow, toiling of dear ties Suddenly broken, drea.ua of happiness Dissolved in air, andh 'ppy days, too brief, That sorrowfully ended, and 1 think How painlullv must the pqpr hearts have beat In bo-oms without number, as the olow Was struck that slew their hope or broke their peace. Sadly 1 turn, and look before, where yet The flood paas. aud I behold a mist Where swarm dissolving forms, the brood of Hope, Divinely fair, that rest on banks of flower* Or wander Smbng rainbows, fading soon And reappearing, haply giving place To shapes ol grisly aspect, such as Fear Molds irpm the idjej»ir;,where serpent* lift Tkhfaeefl fc> strike, ana skeletons stretch forth The bony arm In meuaice. Farther on A belt oi diu kme-H seems to bar the way, Lohfl.flow and distant, where the Life that Is Touches the Life to Come. The Flood of Years Rolls toward it, near and ne..rer. It must pass That dismal barrier. What is there beyond? Hear w hat the wise and good have said. Beyond That belt oi darkness still the years roll on More gently, but wth not less mighty sweep. They gather up Again and softly bear All the sweet lives that late weie overwhelmed And lost to sight all that in them was good, Noble, and tfuly great and worthy of love— The lives of infants and ingenuous youths. Sages and saintly women who have made Their households happy all are raised and borne By that great current in its onward sweep. Wandering tuad rippling with caressing waves Around green isia. ds, fragrant with the breath Of flowers that never wither. So they pass, From stage to stage, along the shining coarse Of that fair river broadening like a sea. As Its smooth eddies cnrl along the.r way. They bring old friends together; hands are clasped In joy unspeakable; the mother's arms Again are folded round Ihe child she loved And lost. Old sorrows are so. gotten now, Ortotirenfcentbered to make sweet the hoar Th% J|vefpajV them; wounded hearts tnat bled Or broke arc healed forever, in the room Of this griei-shadowed Resent there shall be A Present in whose reign no grief shall gnaw The heart, and never shall a tender tie Be broken—in whose reign the eternal Change That wpits on growth ana action shall proceed. .With everlasting Cowcord hand in hand. William f allen Bryant , in Scribner ’« Monthly for Au</vet.

A SMUGGLER’S STORY.

One November evening last year found me, an elderly London lawyer, standing at the end of one of the two long piers which form the entrance to an important packet port on the south coast. While I was peering intently into the darkness a man came up and stood beside me and looked out to sea. At the same instant one of those sudden squalls which are so common at that time of year came racing past us, and the blinding rain beat upon our faces. “ You had better come into our watchhouse for a bit, sir ’’ said my friend; “it’s close by. I’m a Custom-House officer.” And walking rapidly on he brought me to a neat-looking small house, built just where the pier began to branch off from the harbor into the sea. Opening the door he showed me into a good-sized room lighted with gas, and with a capital fire blazing in the grate. On benches around the fire were three or four men in uniform like my friend, and in a bed-berth hard by another man was snoring away in happy peacefulness, recruiting himself for his turn of night duty. -‘ A fine night Tor smuggling, I should fancy?” I suggested. “ Well, sir, in old times it would have been,” said one; ** but there’s no smuggling nowadays to speak of—just a little trumpeiy bit of baccy now and then, hardly worth taking—is there, Frank ?” addressing the man opjposite. Frank, with infinite disgust, agreed to this. . ' ” ‘'You see, sir?” he went on to me, these Liberak go, on cutting down the tariff, s 6 Hftar there’s nothing left now—inst cigars and spirits, and so on. Not out what the ladies do their little bits of

smuggling still, and dearly they loves it, too. Why, sir, to this day they’re wonderful clever In concealing lace and French gloves, although there’s been no duty on them for years. We often, when we’re examining the ladies’ trunks, find two or three pair of gloves In an old boot, or some lace, perhaps, sewed up inside a petticoat. We never says nothing, and they go home and tell their friends how clever they’ve been and done the CustomHouse.” “Still,” said another mau, who had been silent until now, “we do a bit of business now and then. Last year, sir, twelve casks of pitch came over in one of our steamers with a heap of other goods. They pour the pitch hot into the casks, and when it cools it’s as hard as stone almost. Well, there was no examining this pitch except you took a pickax and broke tbe whole cask up. But our Collector invented a kind of augur, that, with a little oil, went right through tbe pitch in no time. We tried these said casks with this, and in the center of every one of them was a tin case with thirty pounds of good cigars in it—three hundredweight altogether—a very pretty haul for us.” “That was* better than your drawingroom furniture, Jack," said a young officer to one much older, who sat on a bench near me. “Never mind that,” growled the old man. “What is that?” said I. “ Well, sir, it’s rather hard upon Jack there to tell it; but you see, sir, he was at a large port in the North, and a gentleman comes down to the office aud sayß that ho was expecting what he called a ‘ sweet of drawing-room furniture—beautiful walnut wood;’he said—‘and all for awedding present for his sister, who was going to get married. Would they take great care of it ? He’d he so much obliged, and any expense ’ They told him they’d look after it, but they weren’t allowed to take anything. The next steamer, sure enough, the furniture came, and a lovely set it was—sueh couches and easy chairs and sofys! Well, sir. our men took the greatest care of it, and saw it all packed safely in the railway truck and sent away, ana we shouldn’t have heard anything more about it, only, at one of them large railway junctions where luggage trains often have to wait for a long time there was a policeman who’d served his time to a cabinet-maker, and he got wind of this furniture, and must get a look at it to see what sort of work them foreigners turned out. So he got to the truck and took up a hit of tarpaulin and examined the couch, which happened to be at the top. ‘ Pretty work,’ said he to himself; ‘ hut, my word, what a seat! they do stuff well over yonder there. It’s a queer feel, though; I wonder what they stuffs with.’ Well, sir, his curiosity got over him, and he looks out to see if anyon* was coming, whips out his knife, and cuts a little slit where it wouldn’t be seen, and pulls out, to his great wonder, baccy! Every bit of it was brimful of excellent baccy. So they seized the whole lot; but, lor’, what a wipe it was for our men—Jack there, and his mates!”"

“I’ve told you over and over again that I had nothing to do with it,” said the man, angrily. “ Well, you was there, at any rate,” retorted the other. “They’re clever fellows sometimes, sir,” said another man, “ and it isn’t a disgrace to he taken in by them. D’you mind.” said he to the other man, “ that affair at Brinemouth, some years ago?” “Ah, that was a start,” said one of them. “ You must know, sir,” he went on, “ that Brinemouth Harbor is something like this one. It has two long piers running out from the harbor, which is a good large piece of water. These piers are pretty close together, and the Customs has a watch-house on each pier and men always on the lookout, so that it was impossible for the smallest craft to get into the harbor without being seen. Well, sir, the Collector got an anonymous letter to say that the Sally, a well-known smuggler, was somewhere off the coast with a lot of tubs on board, and that they would certainly be run somewhere near. The coastguard were all warned, and we had double watches on the piers, and you may depend upon it that we didn’t go to sleep, for if we got those tubs it would be a jolly Christmas-box apiece. A day or two afterward the Collector got another bit of a note, saying the tubs would certainly be run that night. It was a darkish night, with a good bit of rain; very much such another as this, only not so squally. We walked up and down the piers, and stared out to sea, and nothing whatever did we see until just after the town-hall clock had struck twelve, when we distinctly heard the beat of oars, and after a few minutes a four-oared boat pulled in between the piers, and, being hailed, came up to the steps under the watch-house. One of the men told us that she belonged to the bark Esther, of Newcastle, from Sulina, with a cargo of wheat, which was lying out in the bay wind-bound. One of their men had got himself hurt, and thev’d come ashore for a doctor. They’d find one, wouldn’t they,-in Bank street? Did he know Brinemouth ? He should think so; had lived here years ago. They’d better row right across the harbor to the steps. It would be better to do so than to walk round. Good night! While he’d been speaking two of our men searched every inch of the boat, took up her floor-ing-boards, pricked her timbers all round to see that there was no skin, searched all the men, but with no result whatever. A nice chaffing they got all the time, I can tell you, sir. “I say, governor, I’ve got a mighty big hollow tooth; hadn’t you better have a look into it?” and so on. Well, we came to the conclusion that she was what they said she was, and we wished them good night, and they pulled away across the harbor and were soon lost to sight aad hearing in the darkness. About an hour after the boat went out again with the doctor, for we saw another man in the stern. Nothing more did we see that night, and we went home in the morning grumbling at our ill-luck, and wondering why the- dickens the doctor didn’t come back.

“ That day a young gent who lived a fast kind of life came m to see our Collector, with whom he was acquainted. Says he, ‘ I saw a queer thing last night.’ “ ‘ What was that?’ said the Collector, paring his nails. “ * Why, I was coming along Hill street about a quarter to two, and I saw about forty men, walking one after the other, and each with a couple of little tubs on his shoulders.’ ——: ’' ■ . “‘The deuce 1’ said the Collector, Jumping up and ringing the bell. ‘ Send Ir. Dawson directly,’ said he to the messenger. “Mr. Dawson was our tide surveyor who helped to rummage the boat. “ * Mr. Dawson,’ said the Collector, “ they’ve ran those tubs right under your nose.” “ When Mr. Dawson came to hear Mr. Joe Childer’a story he turned as white as a sheet and was fit to drop. . “ Well, a great hue and cry w-as made, and the men yrci-e traced ever so far, but

it was no go. They’d got the tubs Into some place of safety, ana neither our men nor the coastguard ever got one of them.” “But how on earth was it done?” said I. “It came out some time Afterward, through a friend of wine getting acquainted with one of the men. The whole affair was arranged by & very clever chap. He heard we and the coastguard had been warned and were on the look-out, so he determined to run the tubs right into the harbor. From the stern of the gig of the hark Esther, of Newcastle, wuieh we had searched so thoroughly, a stout cord was fixed below the watermark. When (he boat got to the landing far away across the harbor and out of sight and sound of us, forty men who had come into the town from different directions, and at different times, came quietly down to the landing. The cord hanging from the boat’s stem after a time brought up a stoutish rope, and this was followed by a stouter still. Upon this the men hauled silently but steadily, and the forty tubs of best French brandy, which had been sunk just outside the harbor, were pulled in between the piers, under our very noses, and taken away into the country.” “ I wonder the police didn’t see them,” said I.

“ Ah, sir, there was the funny thing. That very night ; by a curious coincidence, the police, two in number, from information received, went off to watch a house on the outskirts of the town, which was to have been broken into that night. The odd thing was that there was no attempt so break into the house at all. It was funny—wasn’t it, sir?” “ Talking about the coastguard, they get done, too, sometimes,” said another man. “I well remember, on the Kentish coast, some years ago, there had been many tries to run goods, but the coastguard were all so sharp that there was no doing any business at all. My brother-in-law, Jem Mason, was chief boatman on that station, and one hot summer’s day he was on tbe look-out with his glass, when he- saw a boat coming toward the shore from a smack which was standing off and on a good bit away. When the boat got within a short distance of the land, it turned sharp to the right, and began pulling along shore, and at the same time a man took his hat ofl and held it over the name on the stern, so that you couldn’t read it with a glass from the land. When Jem saw this he clapped his glass together, ran to the station, got two of his men to join him, and they began following the boat along the cliffs as hard as they could go. Well,sir,it is the very nastiest coast you ever saw, high cliffs and vaileys between, and it was up one hill and down another, and up another, until when the boat turned into a sandy bay, about seven miles from the station, Jem and his mates had hardly strength enough left to go down and meet it. However, by taking a couple of minutes’ breathing time, they did just manage to get down to the beach as the boat’s keel touched the sand. When the men saw them 1 they made an attempt to back her off, but Jem had hold of her and they found it was no go. Jem felt well rewarded fur all he had gone through when he found three nice little brandy-tubs lying at the bottom of the boat. So he takes ali four men into custody, and nicely they grumbled and growled over their ill-luck and cursed Jem’s sharp eyes and so on. The next thing was to get them all to the station, but when Jem proposed that they should bear a hand with the tubs, never a bit would they. “No,” says they, “hang it all, they’re your property now, and we haven’t nothing more to do with them.” So at last, Jem having made them give him their words that they wouldn’t run away—and little use it would have been, for they were all well known to him. —he and his two mates were obliged to hoist the tubs up on their shoulders and carry them to the station themselves. The tubs held about six gallons apiece and were no light weight to carry seven utiles on a blinding hot summer’s afternoon. “ Well, sir, Jem says he doesn’t know to this day how he got over them seven miles, but at last, dead beat, they did just manage to crawl up to the station and get those blessed tubs off their shoulders. It was only the thought of the share that would be coming to them of this seizure that prevented them, from breaking down altogether long before they got home. “As soon as they recovered themselves a little bit they sets to work to draw the bungs and measure the stuff. It turned out excellent quality, but not so strong as they hoped, for all three tubs was full up to the hung with salt water; and these three coastguardsmen had carried these fine samples of old ocean for seven miles along those awful cliffs. -“As soon as the bold smugglers had seen how well their trick had answered they makes each of them as fine a how as a French dancing-master and walks off. — Chambers' Journal.

Tree-Planting.

«. Massachusetts has inaugurated a movement for the encouragement of tree-plant-ing, which should stimulate similar efforts in all other States in the Union. A few months ago, Prof. C. S. Sargent, Director of the Botanic Garden and Arnold Arboretum, of Harvard University, published, in the Report for 1875 of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, a paper advocating the culture of forest-trees on poor and worn-out lands in the State. The Massachusetts Society for Promoting Agriculture has now reprinted the paper, enlarged by directions for the planting and management of seedling-trees, ana present it to the public gratuitously. The Society also offers the following list of prizes; One thousand dollars for the best plantation of five acres set with larch, or Scotch, or Corsican pine, not less than 2,700 trees to the acre; s6oofor the secondbest plantation of the same; S4OO for the third-best; S6OO for the best plantation of five acres set with white ash, not less than 5,000 trees to the acre; and S4OO for the second-best plantation of the same. The prizes will be awarded in the summer of 1877. A citizen of Boston has offered to superintend the importation of the pines and larches, which must be brought from Europe. The ashes will probable be raised from seed. According to the estimates of Mr. Sargent, the plantations will return to their owners a handsome reward for the capital and labor invested, while useless lands will be turned to account, and made in obvious ways an ornament and advantage to the State.— Chicago Tribune. —ln Charlestown, Mass., a few days ago, Jennie Mears, a girl of sixteen, employed as a domestic in Mrs. Savage’s boarding-house, was shot in the lungs, probably fatally, by Minnie, a nine-year-old daughter of Mrs. Savage. The weapon-used was found by Minnie in a bureau drawer, and, doubtless, supposing it to be the same weapon which she and several of the boarders had used to snap Caps with, she playfully aimed it at Miss Mears, thinking to frighten her, and, pulling the trigger, the contents of otte of the barrels of the revolver was discharged with the above result.

PERSONAL AND LITERARY.

—Ralph Waldo Emerson is growingold, surly and unphilosophical. | —The Brooklyn Eagle indulges in the luxury of a new word. It speaks of something as “uq-understood.” Perhaps it is the word. s —Man ton Marble, formerly proprietor of the New York World, is soon to be married, it is said; to Mrs. Lombard, a handsome and wealthy widow'. —The birth is announced of a new transitive verb, “to be suicided." The late Sultan affords a case in ]>oint; he did not commit, he was “suicided." „ —What a happy man is Bryant! like Walter Scott, appreciated and honored by his own generation—living a posthumous life and enjoying his immortality as he goes along. —George Wurater, knewn as the Lycoming giant died at the residence of his parents, In Platt Tow’nship, Pennsylvania, a few days ago. He was about twentyone years of age and tbe largest man in Northern Pennsylvania. —Gen. Custer was a pleasant companion, charming in conversation, modest as regarded his own exploits, and a man who made warm and lasting friendships. He never drank spirituous liquors-or used tobacco in any form. His literaiy qualifications were of no mean order. —The Garibaldi Guard of San Francisco, which has been in the habit of sending an annual gift of 500 francs to the distinguished soldier, has received a note from him thanking them for the 500 francs, but begging of them, he having accepted the National gift, to stop sending their annual donation. —Forney’s Fourth of July exclamation! —“ This is no common day, and we tread on no profane soil; rather let us uncover our heads and take off our sandals’ ’ —provokes unlimited merriment in Philadelphia. The man who shoujd “ uncover liis head” and “take off his sanuals” in that broiling city would be as dead as a herring in about two minutes. —The last words of Charlotte Cushman ■will not be awarded an important place in sentimental history. Her nephew had raised her, and offered a stimulating drink with the words, “Come, auntie, here is your milk punch.” She smiled, and quoted the first line of the celebrated street-car jingle: “Punch brothers, punch with care.” Then she fell into a deep sleep, from which she never awoke. The authenticity of this anecdote is unquestionable.—Chicago Tribune. —Dr. J. C. Ayer, the patent-medicine man, is now confined in Dr. Choate’s private asylum for the insane at Pleasantvillc, Westchester County,, N. Y. He has many curious fancies and freaks. One night not long ago he tied a cord about’ the neck of a sleeping attendant and attempted to hang him. More recently he escaped from the asylum and took a. pleasure jaunt to New York, but was soon overtaken and persuaded to return peaceably to the asylum. Strong hopes, are entertained of his recovery.

CENTENNIALITIES.

—The gold and silver embroidery frOm Circassia in the Russian exhibit is greatly admired. —American leather has attracted great attention from foreign, visitors, and the exhibit is said to equal any display made by foreign exhibitors. —ln the Switzerland exhibit there is a carved chess table,, with American heroes for one set of men and European figures of priests and kings for the other. —A bell in the German section weighing 500 pounds strikes ever hour. It is operated by clock-work enclosed in a glass case, which is open to the inspection of visitors. —The Centennial has been a great hastener of marriages. People have rushed into matrimony so as to go to the Centennial and On their wedding tour at the same time. —-Col. Clay, Chief of the Centennial Police, says that SI,OOO will cover the value of the goods thus far stolen. More than this amount was stolen the first day at the Vienna Exposition. —Quite as remarkable as the fact that the Krupp gun in Machinery Hall points directly at the French section, is that the eyes of the statue of Commodore Barry on the Total Abstinence fountain are riveted upon the immense Union Jack floating over the British Government building. —Philadelphia Timet. —Since the Centennial Fourth passed away with an odor of burnt fire crackers and an epidemic of calico flags, the demand for old men has visibly declined, and a revolutionary party aetat one hundred and fourteen years, who was quoted at twenty-five cents a peep three weeks ago, has now resumed his occupation as a wood-sawyer in Burlington, and attracts no more attention than the alien who only floated over day before yesterday. — Burlington Hawk-Eye. —Nobody seemed curious to know why that half-grown, countrified-looking boy in plain clothes, and not very stylish clothes, either, shopld be allowed within the indenture, attended by a fine-look-ing United States army officer, who was explaining to him the working of the different machines. A hundred more young ladies will never know how indifferent they passed by the heir of the crown of Sweden, Prince Oscar.— Philadelphia Letter in San Frnncitco Bulletin. —There was a celebration of the Centennial Fourth at a town called V irgil in New York, which was remarkable for the fact that the same orator, the same reader of the Declaration, the same Deacon who offered prayer, and the same Marshal officiated who had conducted the ceremonies of the celebration of the same day fifty years before. In this respect, the celebration at Virgil had probably no counterpart in the Union, and it is not likely that it will ever be repeated. Meanwhile that location can scarcely fail to recommend itself as a desirable residence for those who hope for a long life—On the 22d of August the annual regatta of the National Rowing Association will commence.' The professional races will be rowed in heats of three miles, one and a half mile and return. All races will be subject to the laws of boat racing, adopted by the National Association. There will be three boats in each heat, the winners ,of the heats rowing off in threes until the victory is won. The course is on the Schuylkill, from Falls bridge down to Rockland. The amateur races will be rowed in heats one and a half miles straight away. There will be four races—fours, pairs, double sculls and single sculls —lasting three days. The amateur oarsmen will contend for challenge prizes, consisting of silver-plate, punch-bowls, goblets, etc., elegantly decorated. These challenge prizes are subject to capture each summer. Ou the 25th of August a whale will be harpooned in! the Bchuyl. kill, and a half-dozen whaling crews will

be here from the coast of New En; gland to participate in the coateet. •n the following day these visiting whalers will race in whale-boats, two oars on one side and three on the other, for med als offered by the Centennial commission. On the 28ttta)f August the grand International Rowing regatta will commence, lasting two weeks. This race will be open to all regularly organized boat clubs throughout the world. The prizes will he a niece of plate each, for fours, pain, double sculls, and single sculls, ana centennial medals will be presented to each man rowing in the race, of gold for the winding crew, of silver for the second crcWj and bronze for the remainder of the fleet. The re will be an international college race for four-oared shells for a piece of plate and gold . medals to the winning crew, open only to under-graduates, ana an international graduates’ race, fouroared sheila, open only to graduates of colleges or universities, for a piece of plate and gold medals to the lucky crew,Professional races will also be held, open to all professional oarsmen throughout tbe world, for four-oared, pair-oarea and sin-gle-skull shells, for large purses.

Feminine Drivers.

There were two of them, both young ladies, and yesterday they procured an animal whicn through courtesy we will call a horse, which was attached to a low, rattling, but substantial open phaeton. They having been assured that the horse was as safe and as little liable to be frolicsome or shy as the one which had his eyes picked out “one by one,” they started for a pleasure drive down Fifth street south. One of the young ladies handled the ribbons with a grace that would have done credit to an elephant at a “German,” now ducking like a setting hen with one chicken, and alternating quick, short jerks on the hit with that peculiar slapping of the horse’s back with the lines which no one but an amateur female driver can ever hope to attain to. The other young lady grasped the cushion firmly with one hand and the side of the sdat with the other, gathered ready for a spring at a moment’s notice, ana encouraged the fair driver with a running account of all sorts of runaways both real and imaginary, directing how the reins ought to he handled, and intimating how much better she could drive. Everything went smoothly till a cow was observed lying beside the road about two blocks off, demurely chewing her cud. The result was a detour of four or five blocks to avoid the bloodthirsty bovine, the fair occupants of the phaeton congratulating themselves and each other upon their presence of mind in avoiding the impending danger. A stray stone in the road was safely passed, only two of the four wheels running over it; but, hor-

ror of horrors! the railroad track was only one block ahead, and both of them could hear a train coming plain as day, there nould be no mistake about that. One of them concluded the safest way would be for her to get out and walk to the crossing, and from that point she would signal the other if there was no danger. The driver kept her seat about half a block further,, and then she, too, got out and drove the horse, .she walking beside the vehicle, for if anything should happen it would be so much safer. ‘ A strange gentleman happening along the street, and the fair driver’ assuming as bewitching a smile as her terror at the ordeal would allow, asked him if he wouldn’t please lead the horse over the track and she would walk. Of course he would; but an amused grin spread all over his face as he gallantly took the animal by the bit. While helping the ladies into the carriage on the other side of the crossing, he naively remarked: “I guess they’ll get the streetcars running over this Seventh-street track to-morrow.” And those two young ladies now stick to it that they knew it was the horse-car track all the time, and that they only got out to rest. Afraid ? The idea!— Minneapolis Tribune.

The Story of An Adventurer.

Adventurers are plentiful here; aad, apropos of adventurers, the best story I ever heard was told me the other day about one of this class. Originally he by no means belonged to this class. Of good family and a small fortune, he was set well in the race of life, but of exceeding beauty, an - Adonis in face and figure, and a vanity and social ambition which kept pace with each other, his small fortune soon went, and Adonis is launched upon a life of debt and stratagem. He has an eye for beauty and a susceptible fancy—not heart, mind—that is entirely absorbed with the image he sees in the looking-glass. He would like beauty, therefore, as well as money, iu the wife he is diligently in search of. After many attempts and failures, he comes at last upon the paragon of women. She has good looks and money, or her father has, and' this father is notoriously indulgent. My gentleman pays his devoirs. Most young women are attracted to Adonis. He is not a fool, except in the way of vanity, but he has a skid in keeping this out of sight for a while. This shows his wit. Ana so he makes a decided impression upon Miss Croesus, and gossips begin to say that a match is imminent. Papa Croesus, who is the wisest man I ever heard of, watches and does not by any means fan the flame in his daughter’s heart by opposition. Instead, after taking the accurate measure of Adonis, he invites him to stay beneath his roof while he is in the city, and Adonis falls into the trap with great alacrity. Bag and baggage he descends upon the Croesus mansion, and' installs himself at his ease, feeling that his troubles are over. Day after day Miss Croesus rides and drives with Adonis. Day after day she sees him in every light. And by ana by she begins to avoid him, and to wonder what upon earth possessed papa to invite such a vain egotist to be his guest. Then papa comes to the rescue, and Adonis is as skillfully invited away to fresh fields and pastures new, without opportunity to declare his sentiments even. “He comes too near who comes to be denied.” Adonis came too near. The recipe of curs was perfect, and Mjss Croesus Jo this day does not know what a wise father she has. Two summers ago a very handpome fellow used to drive up and down the avenues and on the Beach road. He looked like a Duke’s son, or as we foolish Yankee folk think a Duke’s son ought to look. He was Adonis, and I have no doubt that somewhere now he is riding and driving with the same look of distinction and top same designs upon some Miss Croesus. And every flay I am expecting to hear that some foolish girl, whose papa was not the Solomon of ms time, and did not know that a near view wa9 sure disenchantment of the young gentleman, has thrown ] herself away upon scarcely more than a tailor’s model. And of such is the kingdom of Newport to a great extent. But of the older generation there are vastly different kinds and classes. Men of science, and literature, and art find their v#iy here, and what they want ia the ©I«V town rather than theme w. They do not care f or fasti.

’ 1 * ■ I Sill lon, but for the Redwood Li Drary and the cosmopolitan tone of the older and quieter society. The moral then would seem to read from this, “ Beware of Newport, young men and maiden*, lest the roaring lion* of show, and greed, and gala del itroy you,” But he who run* may read, and it would hit the nail cm the head better to say to mother* and fathers, don’t bring your pretty daughters here Into the world of fashion unless you want to put them up, a* Ethel Newcome declared she was put up, for sale to Ihe highest Bidder. Or atill worse is it if the girl I* a fortune, and may or must become a mark for Adonia, who worships only hi* image in

The Penalty of Riches.

One' of the prominent legal ldtnhiarie* of this city has far a client a wealthy old lady, now verging on to four score yearn in age. She is reported to possess about* milium, well invested in real estate aad dividend-paying bonds. She faa* bat few relatives, and these few pester her beyond all reason. Two of them an her own children, aliteady rich from the proceeds of their father’s -bounty when he died twenty years ago. There are four grandchildren, and a half-dozen nieces and nephews. Between all these a constant struggle has been going on, . for several years, to secure the favor of the old lady, and obtain.remembrance in her will. The consequence is that they keep her in constant hot water, and several times she has petulantly Informed those nearest to her that she will disinherit the entire lot. The lawyer before mentioned has drawn for the old lady no less than thirteen wills in ten years. In the beginning she devised certain bequests, and then changed them by codicils. The additions, however, became so conflicting that she was advised to make a new will. Since then every new whim or desire as to the disposition of her property demands a new wilj, and she refuses to believe in codicils at all. Once, five years ago, she arranged the deeds of certain property and the stocks and bonds in separate envelopes, and marked them on the outside, with her own hands, for those whom she designed to benefit. Repeatedly she has been advised to divide her property while she lives, but she steadily refuses, and says: “ No, If I do, I shall regret it and be unhappy.” He* latest will is now .in the Safe Deposit Company’s vaults, and devises tbe bulk of her property to certain benevolent institutions. Our legal friend predicts, however, that, he will be sent for. within three months to. draw another will, unless in the interim the aged will-maker should happen to die.. Thus the riches of. the. world trouble their' possessors, and the old lady is worrying herself to the grave disposing of her property.—ls. Y. Cor. Chicago Tribune.

A French Critie on American Living.

The defects I have pointed out in yomr hotel management suggest their own cure. Aad to the careful consideration of your people I would submit the following observations: In the first place, your breakfast is a mistake. Usually, immediately after you rise from your beds, you partake of a heavy meal of steaks or chops, garnished with potatoes, followed by three or soul 1 eggs, and surmounted,by hot rolls and buckwheat cakes. The digestive organs even of a healthy person are not now in a condition to receive each a meal; not till two or three hoars after one has awakened do they recover from the apathy which sleep produces. In France, Germany, Italy, in civilized countries in the East, throughout the West Indies, among the English, Spanish and French Creoles, this law of our nature is recognized and respected. You may be less prejudiced against my suggestions if I furnish you with illustrations from a colony of Anglo-Saxon origin instead of French. Let me submit the mode of living among tbe white inhabitants of Barbadoes, which is similar to that in most of the Antilles. On rfeibg; acup of’coffee and biscuit (the equivalent to the case au lait and roll of the French nnd Italian), then a bath; then the males of the family proceed to their places of business, usually about seven a. m., and 1 at this hour professionals, merchants and bankers may be found at their offices; at about ten a. m. a large portion of their dnties for the day are performed. The letters are read and answered. So much responsibility is removed from their minds thatthey'are now in a fit condition to digest a substantial meal. They now return to their homes for breakfast,, when they partake of fish and chops, accompanied with the inevitable rice, and followed by fruit, the whole washed down with claret or bitter ale, and' acup of coffee or tea after the meal. The next and last meal of the day is dinner. This is usually taken between five and seven. And if possible this meal should be taken after the day’s work is over. You wilt eventually become a nation of dyspepties if your men of business will persist in dining in the midst of their hours of business, and refuse themselves sufficient time to masticate and digest what they eat.— Galaxy for August.

Battle with a Cat

One of the strangest incidents that has ever fallen under our reportorial observation transpired at the Virginia Hotel i& this city last night. Mr. French, a member of the Thorne dramatic troupe, playing an engagement in this city, was the victim. He retired to rest at an early hour last night, and soon fell into a deep slumber. After the lapse of an hour or two he was aroused by a feeling of overpowering oppressiveness and suffocation, and was horrified to find that a huge cat was sitting on his breast and had its head inserted in his mouth, sucking away his breath. He found himself in an almost exhausted condition, so much so that be was unable to shake off the vampire fiend attacking him. Struggle as he would the cat only fastened its claws the deeper in his chest, and went on at its horrible feast. His groans and cries of agony, however, fortunately brought some neighboring lodgers to his relief, and he was rescued from his frightful position. Even then they were compelled to turn him out of the bed and roll him over and over on the floor before the cat could be made to release its hold and abandon its purpose. > Mr. French’s face ahd chest this morning bear frightful evidences of his terrible battle with the monster, and he will probably hereafter make special inquiry at his hotels as to the character of the cate belonging to the establishment.— M<tocrty EaUtprtM Monitor. —“ John,” said Sarah to her brother, “ you ate a good hand at guessing conundrums.; can you tell me the greatest hat that was ever made?” John did not Uke to be outdone: so he puutled his head a long time, but all to no purpose. At last hla sister quietly whispered: “The alphabet” * . • —According to mandates of fashion, ladies’ waists are worn very lottf.