Saturday Evening Mail, Volume 7, Number 5, Terre Haute, Vigo County, 29 July 1876 — Page 1

Vol. 7.-'— No 5..

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THE MAIL

A PAPER FOR THE PEOPLE.

iSECOND EDITION. Town-Talk.

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FOR THE CONSIDERATION I* ARTICULABLY 6K MEMBERS OF THE CITY COCNCH. AND ''t* BOARD OK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS.

Just at this time there are two officers who are not to be envied namely, the •city and the county treasurers. The sad stories they are compelled to listen to every day and the touching appeals for further time in which to pay delinquent taxes, are quite enough to melt much harder hearts than are possessed by cither of the officers named. No duty more distasteful could be imagined than tho one which at present stares tbem in the face-. The amoufit of taxes now delinquent is greater than was ever known before and there probably uever was a time when the enforced collection of taxes would have caused such general and terrible distress. Men are delinquent with whom it is an utter impossibility to pay and irretrievable ruin to be pressed for payment. In some cases the amount due is greater tjian everything tho man has on earth would sell for if attached and sold. Hon who have broken up in business and who have absolutely nothing left except the poor clothes they wear and the few comforts they are able to carry home to their families out of the little they are able to earn by daily labor, have in some cases taxes to the amount of hundreds of dollars hanging over them which were assessed on the things in their posses sion before the failure came—hanging over them like a mill stone which is sure to drop and crush them into pow dor. For nothing in this world is certain but taxes and death.

T. T. knows a man whoso entire possessions consist of a bouse and lot which cost hlui four years ago a little over throe thousand dollars, and the small stock of household goods which render it habitable. Ho is a hard working, sober man. His family consists of a wife, four children, and bis mother, who is an invalid. In tho past three years be has had work about half the time—through no fault of his, bt» it observed—and what little money be has had in that time has been carofully and judiciously spent for the bare necessities of life. On his property there is a mortgage, Incurred when he built the bouse and when times seemed good, for two thousand dollars. The amount bad at ono time been cut down to near sixteon hundred dollars, but now tho interest has accumulated and it stands at about the original sum. The property could not be sold at present for as much money as this mortgage amounts to but the mortgagee is an honorable man and has no disposition te foreclose because he knows the property is worth three thousand dollars and he is willing to wait until it will bring its fnlr value On this property the taxes have accumulated until at present there is delin-

qnent something over one hundred dol-

lars—near one hundred and twenty-five perhaps. He cannot borrow the money with which to pay these taxes because he has no adequate »ecurlty to oflar for it. Nobody will take a seoond mortgage on the house for that amount, because if a sale was forced new it would scarcely pay off the lira! mortgage. Ue is not able to give individual security for tho money in bank, and could not be certain of paying tb&ftots If he could. Yet he is told thftt his taxosjmu«t be paid. What la he to dot Upon inquiry as to what will be done in case he is unable to pay, he iearns that first, his porsonal property will be setaed, and sold la the highest bidder this failing to satisfy the claim, and It undoubtedly would foil in a sale of that kind, his property must next be sold. So that the collection of these taxes Is to, In any event, strip him bare, turn him oat of his home, leavo his Innocent children, his faithful wife, his helpless mother, shelterless, and with nowhere to lay their heads— perhaps to drive tbem all to the poor house. Is this the way for an enlightened City or State to treat its citiaeens?

Should honest misfortune be visited by punishment like that? Is it wise for a City or a State to crush out and utterly destroy its people in any such way

Yet there are hundreds of cases in 3 Vigo oounty whioh if mercilessly prom®d will result in diftrws equal to that above depicted. 'Hie picture is not exaggerated. Men are not delinquent becauso they tike to be, or from choice, but from sad necessity. The past three years have been terrible years of suffering and misfortune to many yet nearly all still have hope that in the future better times will come. It Is not the part of wisdom for thorn who have the powor to crush out this hope that sustains the distressed.

Those who are urfclng the collection of all delinquent, taxes that cap be made without reference to whom it destroya, are urged to stop and think. T. T. implores them to have merey on the poor and the unfortunates o* at least to

exercise a humane discretion. He entreats them to liston with patience to the appeals of those whose all is threatened and whose very lives it may be are dependent on their clemency. Better to cut down expenses in all departments of the publio service—to stop "improvements," reduce salaries, borrow money —anything—rather than to rednoo useful citizens to beggary and want Think of it, gentlemen of the City Council, and of the Board of County Commissioners, Take it home with you and give it your earnest consideration. Talk with the delinquents themselves and hoar their story. And then when you oome together for the transaction of business, do not by implication blame the treasurer for the magnitude of the delinquent list, but rather commend him for his humanity and If it is in your powor, adopt some wise measure of relief for those distressed ones who at present are harassed to death for money which it is beyond their power to pay.

Husks and Nubbins.

I -A No. 218.

QUIET MSN.

There is an old proverb that "still waters run deep," and another, that "barking dogs do not bite." The question has often been raised whether the world finds out its real great men or whether some of tbem do not pass through life unknown and unappreciated except by their more immediate and intimate acquaintances. It seems almost incredible that in all the centuries of the past there may have been persons as groat, in every attiibute of true greatness, as any of those whose names shine from the pages of history, but who are now as utterly unknown as if thoy had never been born And yet that such is the fact is not only .possible but extremely probable. Gray struck the true note when, in his immortal elegy, he said: "Some mute, inglorious Milton here may rest. Some Cromwell, guiltless of his country's blood."

There is a species of men in the world who illustrate tho noisy waters and barking dogs of the proverbs. They are empty and shallow, and for that very reason they make the more noise. They are always advertising themselves in one way or another and by that means manage to keep themselves constantly "before the public." The commonest thing when done by them takes on some shade of peculiarity which distinguishes it from similar acts done by the multitude and makes it worthy of special mention. They have a marvelous ingenuity for getting their names Into papers (and books too) and by dint of such efforts como by and by into possession of an extensive reputation, or rat ho notoriety. And so, many people thinking that a man's abilities are in proportion to his notoriety, th03e shallow, prating, blustering fellows come to have a reputation for much more than they ate really worth.

There is another species of men who are almost the exaot antipodes of -the former. They represent the still waters and the silent dogs. They don't bark muoh nor spend their energies in a shallow fussiness. They never ran understand tho proper occasion to get their name in the papers nor the importance ot its ever getting there at all. They would not be worth a cent a year as advertising agents. They do heroic deeds as if thoy were matters of course. They say wise things which are never said again and are unheard, save by the chance lew who happen to be present. They are substantial builders who have no time for needless ornament and false show. Time seems to them the only precious thing, whioh tbey cannot afford to waste in trumpeting their small performances to the world. Besides, they despise the advertising spirit. It savors of the street vendor and the corner mountebank. They prerer to build In secret, like tho coral beneath the sea, and wait for time to ifeveal tbem. They feel oonfident that if they grow straight and tall the people will see tbem when they tower high above the beads of their fellows. And they are not mistaken. The fisherman does not go to the noisy rapids to cast in his line, but to the still, deep places in the river where experience has taught him the large fish quietly lie. 80, when a man of uncommon strength and wisdom is needed for the emergency, he is often drawn out of some unknown by-way-some "still place" in the river of life,—where his neighbors did not suspect his presence. The man of large and genuine ability differs from the make-believe great man in this, that he finds the reward of his efforts, not in the plaudits of the multitude so much as in the sense of satisfaction within his own breast. None know better than be that men often receive praise when tbey do not deserve it and are credited with motives that never moved them. A man's own conscience, If it be a true one, will approve or condemn his acts according as they are good or bad and he who has an honest heart and Is fortunate enough to secure its approval of all Us conduct, need be little concerned about what others my

or think of 'him. At the

best, is the desire for notoriety, to be advertised to and known by many peo pie,—is this desire any indication of great talents or of a noblte spirit? We are inclined to think it is not. The ambition for fame is essentially a small ambition so also is the ambition for power and position. The only gfeat ambition is that for self-development—the desire to make of one's self all that bo is eatable of. When a man feels that he possesses great powers of intellect, naturally he wants to exorcise them and make them felt in the community and the world. But after all, the gratification will result from tho exercise of his faculties and not from tho opinions and praises of others.

Undoubtedly the greater a man becomes, the more widely his faculties are expanded and the more finely .they are educated, the more he1 finds his happiness to depend upon simple things. Nearly all great men bare been simple men—simple in their clothes, in their food, in their habits, in everything. They have cared little for the world's show, for its noise and fussiness. The great book of Nature and their own hearts, with the enjoyments and endearments of a common home, have been sufficient for their happiness. And if notoriety came it was generally through no effort to that end on their part but only because tho exercise of their commanding powers necessarily attracted the attention of the world.

There are those who think that ambition for fame is necessary as a stimulus to set a man's mental machinery into operation and keep it going at the speed requisite to accomplish great results. There will be no dispute that there have been men of the grandest intellectual powers—Coleridge and DeQuincey, for example—who have not accomplished a tithe of what they were capable of. These men lacked the vigor and energy of will which was necessary to keep their splendid minds in regular and harmonious action, but it is impossible tbat any ambition for fame could have supplied the absent energy. If the gratification produced by the exorcise of its own faculties is not sufficient to stimulate the great mirid to a healthy activity, all other expedients must be regarded as hopeless. In such cases as DeQuincey's and Coleridge's the lack of production is probably caused by the fact tbat tbeir sense of passive enjoyment hopelessly exceeded the pleasures of productive activity and converted ihem from workers into dreamers.

'BIRTHS IN HIGH LIFE. A Washington Jenkins alludes to a recent event in high life as follows:

The tiny little n'aiden who has so recently came into this strange world of ours at the White House, has been so heartily welcomed and made so much of already, that were it not for her sweet babyhood, one might almost fear she would be hopelessly spoiled. The fair young mother is much to be congratulated on the budding of her little summer rose, who seems to have been sent to quiet the weary ache in the hearts of tbe grand-parents for that other littlo One who passed away to tho better land at the very sunrise of his baby life, before tbe shadow of earth rested on his heart or soul."

In connection with this it may be not out of placo to notice as an occurrence of similar interest that the wife of Ikey Miller, the game pugilist, presented him with twins last week. One is christened Conkey Bill and the other Sam the Slogger. Ikev says it is real elogant to see them in the cradle. Already Conkey Bill has fibbed Sam in the gob for trying to suck an undue share of tho matornal nutrition but Sam is reported to be very quick with his mauleys and counters on Con key's snoot, giving him one, two, three, without any interference. Ikey'fl little summer roses have not any weary aches as yet in the hearts of their grand-parents, but they have given their aunt-ln-law a blue eye^ and are otherwise budding bully.—[NewsLetter.

a WHOM NOT TO MARRY. Women who love their husbands are ippy and at rest. Those who do not are disturbed and restless. Tbey are always seeking for some means or

TERRE HAUTE, IND., SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 29. 1876.

Rill­

ing time. They are ready to flirt at any moment. Their children are, according to tbeir means, either hidden In nurseries or handed to the care of 8ally, the slatternly nurse, to shake, and slap, and stuff with sugar, as her wisdom dictates, while society and amusements of all sorts occupy their mother's time. Home is not happy to tbe poor woman, because she htus chosen her mate foolishly—because she trusted to that "love after marriage" which mercenary old people promise thoee who make what they call a sensible match.

Sad as a neglected wife, who loves her husband well, must be, I believe she Is

bore, especially in the close intercourse of home life: and she who does not give her heart to her husband is not likely to oare much for bis children. 80, girls, if yon do not love your lover, don't marry him. Remember that marriage Is a serious step, and that when you give him your hand that be mav encircle it with a wedding ring, yon seal tbe happiness or misery of yonr natural lifts. Dont marry unless your an sure of your love for him, and his for you*

IF there be any bond in life which ought to be aaoredly guarded from everything. It is that which unites members of a family. If there be a spot on earth from which strife and dieoord/hould be banished, it is the fireaide. There centre the fondest hopes and fondest ties.

People and Things.

The reason why some people put on airs is because they have nothing else to put on.

If you wish for money, send ^postal card to tbe man who owes you, and the thing is dun.

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Tho individual who was accidentally injured by the discharge of his duty is still very low.

Simultaneously with the saying of Mr. Beecher that wealth is an impediment to true happines, comes the announcement that he has closed with a lecture bureau for a season of fifty nights at $40,000. What is life without impediments, any way

Now is tho time for lovers to gfct spoony over ice cream, she taking a few pretty dabs at his vanilla, and he borrowing a taste of her chocolate. This process inspires confidence in the d«r when they will be throwing corn beef and cabbage across tbe table.'

Science has taken a new direction. Gen. Pleasanton holds that the reanoh why a man and his wife fall out anil chide and fight is because their electricties have become the same. When the man gets drunk he becomes a woman, and growfe quarrelsome over little things.

Unless a man is in a hurry to finish his dinner, he may never know hoyr much heat to the square inch is contained in an apple dumpling hot from the steam boiler. A mouthful of one has been known to make a man' shed tears, drink water, and say he did not like dumplings.

They have a Mexican circus at Tucson, Arizona, this summer. It is held in a corral, and tbe prices of admission are $1 for a a place in tbe shade and 50 cents in the sun. Each one to furnish bis own seat. Three horses and four men compose the whele outfit, and thoy make lots of money. I

A good definition of the difference between tho Old School and the New School, was given by the Hon. J. B. Grinnell, of Iowa. "As near as I can understand," said he, "the children of the Old School Presbyterians sin as soon as they are born, and the children of the New as soon as tbey know how."

Did you ever know anybody to stick to any kind of business, no matter how unpromising, ten years at most, who did not prosper? Not one. No matter how hard it might be in the beginning, if he stuck to it earnestly and faithfully, and tried nothing else, no matter how hard he might have found it to keep his head above water, still if he persevered he always came out right in the long run.

The early Massachusetts fathers did not believe in paint. The Rev. Thomas Allen of Charlestown, was brpught up in 1630 for "having paint about his dwelling," and only escaped by showing that it was done before bis time, and that he disapproved of it. Tbe first Boston church was never painted, and a list of Boston mechanics in 1670 does not include a painter. This abomination did hot become common until after the Revolution, mi --.r.w .i,1 ti ...» i,"* 1

George Francis Train, so asserts Jennie June in the Baltimore American, "is now generally considered a lunatic." She says that he sits ten hours every day on a shaded bench in Madison park petting children who play there. He will shake hands with no adult, for fear it might take strength out of him, and he says that ho is developing a willpower tbat will in time enable him to kill anybody by a mere exertion of his mind.

A wag, who had wrapped a piece of cloth having the word "Centennial" on it around an egg, and then boiled it so that the word appeared plainly on the shell, sadly deceived a Portland (Conn.) farmer, who took it out of a nest where it had been placed, and exhibited it at the office of a local newswpnper as a wonderful manifestation of the hen's intimate knowledge of the history of the United States.

The Reveille, of Austin, Nevada, thus muses: "How times have changed! We now speak of telegrams from Jerusalem. Solomon in all his glory never dreamed of such a thing, and be would have called the man a liar by the watch who would have told him that tbe time would come when a telegraphic message could. be sent from Jerusalem to Austin in less time than a locomotive oould go from Dan to Beersheba."

Brigham Young is tbe father of sixtythree children, forty-five of whom are Uving. More than half of these are females, and, with but two or three extions, all are blondes, and none what may be called beautiftiL. The last child born unto Brigham is a little girl, about six years old, daughter of Amelia Van Cott, Brigham *s fourteenth wife. Slie is a woman of about forty, rather pretty, and the next favorite to Amelia Ftolaom, his eighteenth wife. No. 18 is credited with having a high grade temper, and ft Is saidahe treats Brigham as if ahe were his mother-in-law instead of his wife—(Salt Lake cor. San Frandsoo Chroakde. sj

A man called at a poetoffice In Maine, purcbasod a three-cent stamp snd requested the clerk to put it on the letter for him. This the accommodating clerk offered to do, but asked him why he did not do it himself. The answer was that as he could nelthor read nor' write he could not, but after some instruction he was persuaded to try, and succeeding, was much pleased to discover that although ho was uneducated he could lick a postage stamp and affix it to an envelope.

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Not approving the cost and unnecessary display ordinarily attending funerals," wrote Gibson Young, editor of the Ballston (N. Y.) Democrat, just before his death, "I desire to be placed in a chestnut coffin, oiled, but not painted. This is to be enolosed in a white pine or black walnut box. I hope none of my family will wear mourning—a useless expense, and a miserable fashion. Above all things, see that every measure be resorted to proving that I am dead, doad, before placed in a coffin."

Gay Scotch tartans arlP'&fo'H in costumes for seaside resorts. Calico grows more and more fashion­

able

in these centennial times. The Chicago Tribune has along communication on "rearing girls." A curb bit is a good remedy. 1 Gossip, big wooden needles and worsted, beguile the hours on the balconies of fashionable summering houses.

A woman in Anderson county, Ky., gave birth to five children one day last week% Four of them are living and doing well.

Old anglers say that if you wish to catoh a fine fish you must not throw your bait directly at them. Young ladies may take a hint.

Mrs. Barber of Ovid, Mich., was recently bitten by a rattlesnake. Her mouth and nock turned perfectly black in a few moments, but a physician packed her body In salted mud and administered antidotes in large quantities, and she will recover.

A Brooklyn girl who was "converted" last winter is now at Saratoga, and the other day, in a letter to her mother, she wrote: "I find it impossible to hang on to my religion here, but don't say anything to Mr. Talmage about it, as I will make it all up when I get home."

Here is the last new notion in ladies dresses: The Paris papers announce that it is considered tbat silk, velvet etc., cannot be made to fit close enough to the female form, and that we are shortly to be gratified by the sight' of cuirasses en peau de chevreau, or in other words, bodies fitting, very literally, "like a kid glove."

A bridal party was gathered in Oneida, N. Y., and everything was ready for the ceremony. Then the young woman quit tbe room, and soon afterward the following note was banded in: "Arthur —You will wait for me in vain, for the longer you wait the further away 111 be. I shan't marry you to-night. You went back on me a year ago, snd IH get even with you now."

Saratoga correspondents note anew style of walking adopted by the young ladies there. It is called the "chicken step," and is only used while passing along tbe corridors or through the parlors of tbe hotel. It consists of veiy many rapid evolutions or steps per minute, very similar to a duplex shuffle, the body elevated on the toes, and inclined at an angle of forty-live. Like tbe Grecian bend, it must have Its day.

The Woman's Journal, of Boston, has the following: "The newspaper* of the country have been ringing with tbe praises of Miss Allison, the lady engineer of the woman's pavilion, who was doing the work for which a man would have been handsomely paid, while she, poor girl, wf* so badly paid that she could not, in tt^ Christian city of Philadelphia, get ewipnh sslsry to enable her to keep souland VMty together, and ahe was found by Mra. Gage and Miss Anthony prostrated upon a bed of illness, which tbe physician certified had been brought about by the want *f nourishing food in plain English she was ill from starvation."

Sour

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Some one writes: "Who that witnessed the review of the union armies at Washington, at the close of the war, will ever forget Custer when his thoroughbred horse ran away with him down Pennsylvania avenue. With his arms full of flowers, his hat lost and hair streaming, he dashed by the grand stand utterly able to control his fiery steed. But with all the excitement of the moment, he did not forget to salute tbe president and generals on the stand in a gallant style that filled the spectators with admiration."

1' 44

Feminitems.

The bustle is slipping out of fashion. Striped hosiery for ladies is losing its infatuation. 'J* 'i

Red parasols have become fashionable among Parisian ladies. The most timid girl has courage enough to talk scandal.

Price Five Cents*

GOOD MANNERS.

Us a rule of good manners to avoid exaggeration. A lady loses as soon as she admires too easily and too much. In. man or woman the face and person lose power when they are on the strain to express admiration. A man makes his inferior his superiors by heat. Why need you, who are not a sossip, talk as a gossip, and tell eagerly what the neighbors or tbe journals say? State

opinion without apology. The attude is the main point, assuring your. companion that, oome good news or bad you remain in good heart and mind, which is tbe best news you can commu* nicate. Self control is the rule. You have in you there, a noisy, sensual savage, which you are to keep down and turn all his strength to beauty. For example, what a seneschal ana'detective is laughter! It seems to require several generations of edueation to train a: shrieking orashouting habit out of man. 1 Sometimes when in almost all expressions, the Choctaw and tbe slave nave been worked out of him a coarse nature still betrays itself in his oontemptible squeals of joy. The great gain is not to shine, not to conquer your companion—then you learn nothing but deceit—but to find a companion who knows what you do not to tilt with. him and be overthrown, horse and foot, with utter destruction of all yeur learning and logic. There is a defeat that is useful. Then you can see the real and the counterfeit, and you will never Accept tbe counterfeit again. You Will adopt the art of war that defeated ypu. You will ride to battle horsed on the very logic you found irresistible- You will accept the fertile truth instead of the solemn, customary lie.

When people come to see us, we foolishly prattle, lest we be inhospitable. Bet things said for conversation are chalk eggs. Don't say things. What you are stands over you the while, and thunders so tbat I cannot hear what you say to the contrary. A lady of my acquaintance said: "I don't earo so much for what they say, as I do what makes them say it." The law of the table isbeauty—a respect to the common soul of all the guests. Everything is unseasonable that is private to two or three, or to ary portion of the company. Tact never for a moment violates this law never intrudes tbe orders of the house, tbe vicesof the absent, or a tariff of expenses, or professional privacies. As we say, we never "talk snop" before company. Lovers abstain from caresses, and haters from insults, while they sitin one parlor with common friends... Would we codify-tbe laws tbat should reign in households, and whose daily vs transgression annoys and mortifies us,.' and degrades our household lifo, wo must learn to adorn every day with saorifices. Good manners are mado up of?, petty sacrifices.v- 1

TELL-TALE LIPS.

I have observed that lips become morec or less contracted in the course of years, in proportion as they are accustomed lo express good humor and generosity, or peevishness and a contracted mind. Remark tbe effect which a moment of ill-

inent. Remark the reverse, and make' similar judgment. The mouth is tha frankest part of tbe face it cannot in the least conceal its sensation. We can neither hide ill-temper with it nor good we may Affect what we please, but af-. fection will not help ns. In a wrong cause it will only make our observei-s resent the endeavor to impose on tbem.. The mouth is the seat of one class of? emotions as the eyes are of anotbor or, rather, it expresses the same emotions,, out in greater detail, and with a moreirrepreMlble tendency to be in motion. It is the region of smiles and dimples, and of trembling tenderness: of a sharp: sorrow, or of full breathing joy, of candor, or reserve, of anxious care, or liberal sympathy. Tbe mouth, out of its many sensibilities, may be fancied throwing up one great expression into, the eye—aa many fights in a city reflect abroad luster into the heavens.—[Albany (N. Y.) Press.

SETTLE YOUR ESTATE YO UR8ELF. There are many men whose business, is in such a state tbat, if they were to die, their affairs would bo like a ships from whose rudder the pilot has been, shot down, with no one to take his' ilsce. leaving it at tbe mercy of the sea. ."his Is matter that touches many persons, and the prosperity of thousands of families. The condition of the family while its head is liying, and its condition after he is dead, present frequently a sad contrast and every man who has bsd tbe settling of estates will give emphasis to onr words, in deploring the too general want of care in holding things together, and In hand, in such a^ way that the settlement shall be easy when the master of tbe household steps E out at tbe call of God's providence.

NAMING INDIAN BABIES. Tbe Sioux Indians name their papooses after events transpiring at the' time of their birth. As illustrative of this peculiar trait, Red Cloud is known' to have taken that name from tbe fact tbat'the Western sky was overspread with red clouds at tbe time of his birth sr while tbe bringing of a captive borseu with spotted tail gave the now great chief tbe singular cognomen of Spotted Tail. Sitting Bull received this name because a buffalo bull was by a lucky abot thrown upon its haunches in plain sight of bis mother's tepee at the natal hour while tbe oavortings of a fractious pony furnished a name for the reaoubtable Crazy Horse.

HOW TO GET COOL.

When the thermometer stands at 80 degrees, my warm young friends, don't fame, nor fuss, nor nn yourselves into a^ blaze. NO. Sit down in some quiet place and think otdy 0/ eool things. Think of snow: think of ice think of cold water trickling down your back. Think of holding a Ave eel in each hand. Imagine yourself under an leaf showerbath, or sitting at nightfall on top of aniiii iceberg then tnr to shiver. Do all this without once starring from your position, and you'll get oool, or my name's not* Jack^-gt. Nicholas.