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UNDER THE MAGNOLIAS.
Jir down their western way.
A winding forest path invites my feet.
Low winds are calling from thedewy aisles;
JAef ore me lies the heron's dim retreat,
Jl maze of leafy miles.
Some power occult so moves me that I cross
The eleeping garden where bananas lean,
And win, through hoary oak groves droped with
moss,
, The woodland's wide demesne.
.A mocking bird salutes me as I go.
An oriole greets me as I prets along;
T feel in all my veins a quickening glow,
Companioned thus by Bong.
Through interlacing boughs of pino and palm
1 catch brief glimpses of a turquoise sk;
Below, as softly as an evening psalm,
The river ripples by.
I gain ere long the royal forest's heart.
And pause, where proud magnolias lift in
etate
Their wealth of blossoms, whose pale petals
part
,8weetly inviolate.
Here, in the oarly legendary days,
Besides these mighty, time-def jing boles.
Gathered around their camjufires ruddy blaze
The Fwarthy Seminoles.
And through the trembling shadows round me
cast
My startled fancy pictures, even now,
A stealthy chieftain gliding slylj past,
With bow of htouta.sli lniugh.
Recalling memories of a perif-lied time.
While thus I htray through changing glow and
gloom,
1 do not heed lion trumjxrt creepers climb
Or golden jasmines bloom;
But taking leaveof present thoughts and things,
I vojago on jears that swiftly backward flow
And dwell with tllose who rii-wd as forebt
kings
Two centuries ago.
THi: MODEL MAX.
Hodon't play the fiddle, part his ha'r in the mid
dle, nor dress like an Anglican dude.
TlVhon ho goes to a party with Meigs or McCartj,
lie never is noisy and rude.
"He lives in frugality and Mu-et conjugality, and
wants xiie but two times a daj;
Ho never eats onions nor treads on jour bunions,
nor growls when jou get in his aj ;
Trie's wihO and lie's witty, pecse ering and gritt j ,
and Iris a magnificent head;
He's all right and sweetness, he's tlforough com
pleteness, he's perfection in 'liort but he's
dr.d!
UNCLE EBEN'S CLOCK.
It is a tall, old-fashioned clock, some
what dingy as to its ancient red paint,
and somewhat faded as to its once ro
splendcnt ornamentations. A gilt ball is
missing from one of its spires, and its
weights have broken down so many
times that the cords are much shortened
by repeated tyjhg.
It is said to have existed three years
without a cse; but the works became
clogged b broom driven particles of
sturdy "Vermont soil, and tho weights as
they slowly descended to tho kitchen
floor, were liable to deal unmerciful
r thumps upon unoffending objects; so
Grandmother Palmer did extra spinning,
and bought a smart covoring for the busy
timepiece. Tho dress is not tho man,
oieither is it tho clock; but correct ap
iparel generates self-respect, and self
iresect begets good behavior; according
ly, what had been a giddy, go-as-you
please time-server speedily developed
into a correct and responsible timekeep-
er. It has kept tho family time for
aiearly one hundred years,
If I tell you that this worthy centen
arian is at least as devoted tp tho Pal
mer family as though it were a canary
luird or a tortoise shell cat,I shall doubt
less bo laughed to scorn and' sentenced
-to oblivion or to a lunatic asylum without
further hearing. Nevertheless, I will
publicly avow my convictions, and sub
mit to my fate.
""Sou will say, of course, with supremo
contempt for my presumptious ignor
ance, that man is not allowed to create,
only to combine, to disintegrate, or to
change in form tho creations already
existing; therefore, the clock, being an
invention of man, must bo devoid of per-
cipienco and volition, and incapable of
"feeling of any sort.
Very good, my friend. I dare say
that you wil cheerfully declare your in
ability to create that property, so little
-understood, called force; but will admit
that force often comes at your bidding.
Tou are allowed to make such changes
and combinations as to produce a marvel-
us degree of power. There is, perhaps,
a latent consciousness as well as a latent
force. Its workings are not understood,
consequently they are not believed in,
unless in crude fashion, by the heathen,
or in frightfully materialistic fashion by
some coldblooded athiest.
To say that intelligence cannot exist
in our world without a brain, a spinal
cord, and a circulation of tho blood, is
-blasphemous. It is to say that Divinity
itself must have a cerebrum and a cere
bellum, lungs and heart, or it is to deny
spiritual existence altogether,.
Tt is not considered a violent suppo
sition by tho Christian world that dis
embodied spirits occasionally honor us
-with their presence; although perhaps
the majority will doubt the power of
-Shese ghosts or eidolon to manifest them
.selves. Inconsistently enough, the most
.ardent spiritualist will flatly deny the
possibility of an intelligence oxisting in
so highly organized a corporeity as an
exemplary clock.
For myself, I am inclined to concede
to all created integers a certain degree of
intelligence. Indeed, since we cannot
tremember the time when we were insent
nent objects, I claim that it is impossible
to prove the- existence of insentient ob
jects. Let us discuss a few of the so-called
nmconscious forces. Wo will begin Tvith
the weather, the appropriate introduc
tion to every well-conducted conversa
tion. Most peoplo consider tho weather
a blind tool in tho hand of the Creator.
. 'iThey think it a great .sin to grumble
-about a snow-storm in September, or a
"frost in tho middle of June. Thoy say
that tho One who holds the deep in the
Jhollow of his hand has ordered these
-.things to be. Submissive folio -ers of
-Job, are not also tho hairs of your heads
' numbered? Shall you, therefore, be held
blameless if you insist -upon turning
' -.winter into summer, and compel your
"household to enduro the rigors of a New
.England January without the comfort
oTafire:? Perhaps your family deserve
to f :eeze; it may be all for tne Desc m tue
ond, and a part of tuo oivtuo pu, uuk,
- i that has nothing to do with your accoun-
tability. Just so with tho weather. I
t .hold-it accountable for thundering in
v-mM-TrinfAi.. nnd for raining when a Sun-
H srvi.,...,,..! hot, inst started out on a pic-
pic
wX Tc. For all that I canprpve tothe
icon
i- ' Si .o- t, ?f ctvk mTHMTiPWira m mraa. A DacKea an oia Tause on me my -
the weather may be under the control of
a secret organization, a meteorological
Tammany, so to speak, and Boss Boreas
may be always planning to cheat us out
of the golden sunshine. But no doubt
we deserve bad weather, and it is quite
proper to be patient.
If that mighty force called the ocean
has power of volition, why will it rear its
white crests and lower its deep troughs
for the destruction of mankind?
If the whirlwinds are intelligent, why
should they sweep hundreds of lives with
one breath into eternity?
My egotistic brother man, no doubt to
yourself, and possibly to your sweet
heart, you are the acme of perfection;
but there may be existing intelligences
to whom you are no more agreeable than
a rattlesnake or a potato beetle. Besides
why do you crush every day with your
foot a myraid tiny things that enjoy life
after their own fashion in the microsco
pic world? "Why will you persist in
swallowing day after day if you live
near Boston whole colonies of joyous
animalcules, all to alleviate your individ
ual thirst? Can those tiny organisms
believe that you have sensibility and a
conscience ? Will they not believe rather
that you are a blind tool?
It i3 the old story of the giant and the
pigmies. If tho giant continues in the
flesh, and if there are many piginiee, he
will occasionally sit down on a few mil
lions, or plant one of his toes upon a col
ony, of them. If the giant realizes what
he has done, he is glad or sorry, or else
ho thinks the pigmies are so small that
it doesn t hurt them to be killed. What
ever ho thinks, tho pigmies continue to
suffer depopulation, and it would be ab
surd to say that tho giant did not exer
cise free w ill.
To bo sure, all things are limited as to
free will. I cannot, at present, leap off
into sjwee and describe a graceful hy
perbola, as our long-haired guests, the
comets, have tho knack of doing; hue I
can describe a comfortable eclipse in
company with Mother Earth. A bur
dock cannot walk abroad, but its burs
cling like a book-agent to any one that
passes by. A gold dollar has not muscu
lar energy w ith which to jump out of
your pocket, but it can drop through a
very small hole in the lining, or it can
slip through your fingers and roll into
an obscure crack with as much compla
cency as though it had all tho bumps on
tho phonological chart. It can't laugh
or put its little joke into tho "Mirthful
Mention" page, so you thinkit isn't hav
ing a good time.
Although man is unwilling to believe
in intelligence of an order different from
his own, yet modern research if one bo
not blind is constantly revealing con
sciousness where least expected. It is
possible that the time may come when
wo will converse with tho trees on our
way through tho forests, lift our hats to
tho town pump, bid our houses good-
morning, and argue with the rocking-
chair that has waylaid us in tho dark.
Even now, when certain persons place
tho tips of their fingers upon a table,
raps follow and questions are answered.
Tho spirit mongers and their followers
claim that these are from their departed
kindred. Now as every one knows who
has attended a seance, tho communica
tions are such as one might oxpect to
elicit from a w ooden consciousness.
Although Uncle Ebeh's clock has
never manifested its emotions otherwise
than by a varied and soulful ticks, yet I
venture to assort that it is possessed by
its own appropriate personality. I trust
that this personality will continue to ex
ist long after the cherry case and weary
pendulum have given up their task.
Since in the present period of eternity
we need to make small coins of time
known as hours, minutes and seconds, is
it not possible that all the periods of du
ration may bo meted out to us in the
same way? In tho Golden City, we read,
hero is to bo no night Tho new earth
ts never to turn from tho glory of its
ispiritual sun; yet do we not also- read
that the tree of life is to yield its fruit
overy month? And it is not possible
that this spiritual month will bo made up
of days, and the day of hours? If Undo
Eben's clock has counted tho mundane
hours aright, may it not also dole out
tho hours in paradise?
I cannot bo too eulogistic in speaking
of our clock. Conscientious in the ex
treme, it has never purposely misrepre
sented the time but once ; that we will speak
of later. When I say that it has needed
few repairs, I do not expect you to regard
its healthy condition, as a virtue, any
more than you would necessarily consid
er a person virtuous because he had
needed no physician. Our clock had a
good constitution to start with, and a
happy disposition after the first three
years. It rarely stopped unless its keep
er had forgotten to wind it, and when at
last it waxed old and rheumatic, a little
oil has always been potent to bring it to
time again.
A family clock has duties to perform
outside the regular routine. Uncle Eben's
timepiece has discharged these duties
faithfully. It has given three warn
ings. Once it struck twelve in the middle of
the night when it had been unable to
move for several days. My Great-uncle
Thomas heard the warning, and died
within the year.
One afternoon it stopped, without ap
parent cause, at twenty minutes past
three. After standing still for half an
hour, to the consternation of the family
it voluntarily resumed its task, and tick
ed on peacefully as though nothing had
happened. In just six months from that
day Grandfather Palmer died at twenty
minutes past three in tho afternoon.
Tho third warning presaged Uncle
Eben's own death Tho family sat around
the table one Sabbath evening, when
looking up to seo if it was bedtime,
it was nine o'clock, Uncle Eben saw
the minute hand slowly retreat from its
position on XU until it passed tho hour
hand in its backward course, and stood
at the half-hour. At half-past eight, one
Sabbath evening, Uncle Eben went to
his eternal rest; or to his new depart
ment of eternal labors, if that way of
putting it is more in accordance with tho
modem idea of heaven.
One more reminiscence, and I think I
will have-proven the faithfulness of our
family friend. To tell my story, I must
give a few family details. Uncle Eben
had never married; and ho had a snug
little property. the old home farm, with
such additions as ho had made through
thrift and industry. He also-had a favor
ite nephew, Daniel Palmer, my worthy
self. But Uncle Eben quarreled with
me when I was twelve years old; that is
to say, I called him an old fossil when
He loroade my playing cams ac me vil
lage tavern; and after thus freeing my
and ran away to sea. That is the way
tl a j tuicles frequently quarrel with their
nephews; but "such quarrels are not popu
lar with story writers.
Uncle Eben regretted having quarreled
with me, for he liked me very much. He
heard nothing from me for two years;
then the warning came and he felt it
necessary to make his will. As I was a
young many of great daring and reck
lessness, he feared that I might have
passed beyond the benefits of a will, and
found a watery grave. He did the best
he could under the circumstances; he
willed all the property to me in case I
claimed it within five years; otherwise it
was to go to certain Jared Wilson, a
wealthy second cousin of mine, Uncle
Eben's nearest relative after myself.
Meanwhile I, unhappy youth, was be
ing kicked and cuffed about by a crew of
of ruffianly sailors far away on the sea.
I had decided that I would not go home
or oven write home until I had acquired
an independent fortune. Fortunes do
not leap forth out of the deep-sounding
sea at the beck of a poor little land-lubber,
and the years dragged slowly on
without adding to my humble posses
sions. Uncle Eben had died, and the five
years of grace were nearly spent before I
finally decided that solid earth was bet
ter than water, and that I would forgive
Uncle Eben, and return home for a taste
of tho fatted calf. I had had no news
from my native town since the morning I
Went away, so ! knew nothing of the
changed conditions at home. I thought
to find Undo Eben hale, hearty and
prosperous, as when I had left him. I
fancied that he might bo growing a trifle
gray, and that he might even bo begin
ning to wear spectacles; but then his
form would bo erect, tho grasp of his
hand firm, and his notions of right and
wrong as orthodox as ever. How re
freshing the puritanic rectitude of my
uncle seemed to mo through a vista of
seven years with the jolly tar, can be ap
preciated by those only who hae had
tho same experience.
Although I gave no notice of my 10
turn, I think Cousin Jared must have
had a mental conviction of my increasing
nearness, for he was seen to be uneasy
and apprehensive. The five years would
expire at twelve o'clock, Dec. 31, 1836.
At one minute past twelve Jared pio
jiosed to bo mabter of the Palmer estate.
That ho might take possession punctual
ly, on the ovening of Dec. 31, ho sta
tioned himself in tho kitchen of Uncle
Eben's old red farm house, accompanied
by his lawyer.
Tho farmhouso was occupied by a
family that had lived there many years,
and, by the provisions of tho will, wore
to livo there and take charge of tho
premises until one of the heirs mentioned
had taken possession. Tho family con
sisted of James Hallet, wife and daughter,
persons who had known mo from my
babyhood. Undo Eben put me in
Susan Hallot's arms when he brought
mo home from Grandfather Brown's a
helpless orphan, aged six months. Susan
Hallet cared for me, scolded me, and
cried over me for the next twelve years.
Of courso she wept over mo and worried
about mo more than ever after my de
parture, and I suppose she lectured
Undo Eben soundly for having quarreled
with me. Tina Hallet, my playmate and
dearest fnend from my earliest recollec
tion, was one year younger than I.
When I ran away to sea, it was with tho
secret resolution that Tina should share
my immense fortune when I came homo
with it.
Naturally tho Hallets did not fancy
having tho old farm seized upon by Jared
Wilson. They have often told mo how
they sat there through that December
evening, James Hallet, his wife Susan,
and his daughter Tina, all despairingly
watching the doparture of tho old year.
They had not quite given up tho hope
that I might appear at the last moment,
but it certainly began to look very dubi-
Jared Wilson sat with his watch in his
hand, waiting impatiently for the fateful
index to crawl up from half-past eleven
to twelve. The lawyer grew very sleepy,
and dozed off in the big armchair, but
rest of tho company sat bolt upright
their hearts beating in unison with the
swinging of tho pendulum.
At a quarter to twelve, Jared 's watch
suddenly ceased ticking, a proof to my
mind that it did not sympathize with the
greedy haste of its owner. No one else
present had a watch, or the key to a
watch, so Jared ruefully rut his time
piece in his pocket, and gave himself up
to the contemplation of Uncle i ben's
clock.
"You are just five minutes too slow,"
he said to James Hallet. "I keep the
correct time."
He arose, no one disputing his right,
and moved along the minute hand five
minutes, causing the clock to utter a
sharp click, the ten-mmute fore-runner
of the hour. Then he sat down and
waited again.
Under ordinary circumstances, ten
minutes is not long to wait; but I have it
on the authority of the three Hallets
that those ten minutes were unlike any
others that Father Time had ever swung
them through. It seemed at least half
an hour before the minute hand had
moved along one space; but it certainly
did move, and the pendulum kept on
swinging as briskly as. ever.
"Something ails that tarnal dock!"
said Jared anxiously, when at last the
hand had reached the five-minute sta
tion. "It can't be right.'
"You are in too much of a hurry,
Jared," eaid James Hallet. "That clock
has kept accurate time, unless you can
make the earth go faster."
The lawyer opened his eyes a little,
blinked, then settled back in his chair
and slept sounder than ever. James Hal
let poked the fire energetically, and
again busied himself with toasting his
heels. The penddnm ticked on loudly
and defiantly. A good length of tallow
candle was leisurely consumed, and still,
after what teemed like hours of waiting,
the hand lacked one minute of twelve.
The Halletts had given up all hope,
and Jared Wilson was smiling and tri
umphant, when suddenly,' at the very
last tick, the door burst open, and I
staggered in, breathless and exhausted.
I had learned tho state of affairs at
Elijah Smith's, where I had thought of
staying over night, and I had hurried on
for dear life.
The Hallets gave a shout of joy,
Jared howled with rage, and Uncle
Eben's dock gleefully struck twdve. I
aw Jared shake his fist tthe old dock
as he departed with crest-fallen mien.
So I received my inheritance,, and' I
have never ceased to be3giatefalthat I
was permitted to return before it was jpo
But, let me whisper in confidence,
Billy Smith, a good friend of mine,
Deacon Smith these twenty years. did
tell me privately that it was half -past
one by their kitchen clock when I started
up the hill towards the farmhouse; so it
is perfectly evident to a reasonable mind
that Unde Eben's dock went slowly on
purpose. Be that as it may, it has kept
the best of time ever since, and Jared
Wilson never disputed the justice of my
claims.
Now I have an important question for
to answer. Holy writ is very positive in
its denunciation of liars. The old clock
certainly did tell a fib, and I assented to
it. . Will the clock and I be pardoned for
the deceptions? Mother Hallet always
said yes; my wife Tina also says yes;
but at times I have my doubts.
UEUIVTH VOX MOLTKE.
Gieatent .tiul Most Sucessful ofUiing
Soldler.s. Count Helmuth Von Moltke, Chief
Marshall of the German Empire, and
chief of the general staff, was born in
Hecklenburg on October 26, 1800. He
belongs to an old family who had their
seat for centuries in the place where he
was born. While he was a boy his fath
er settled on an estato Holsten, then in
Denmark. He and a brother were sent
to Copenhagen to receive a military educ
ation, and in 1822 he entered the Prus
sian army as a comet, after a period of
study in the Prussian Military Acadmy.
About this timo he was left to his own
resources, his parents having lost all their
fortune. By the utmost frugality he
managed, however, on only to live on
his slender stipend as an officer in the
Prussian army, but to save tho cost of
instruction in tho modern languages,
thus acquiring what has proved to be of
great use to him.
As a member of the general staff he
jiassed seven years in Turkey, where he
served in ono campaign. He returned to
Prussia in 1845, when he was appointed
adjutant to Prince Henry. Several "norks
from his pen, descriptive of what he saw
in Turkey, were published about this time,
annonymously, and provoking consider
able interest. After rapid promotion
in tho subordinate offices, in 1858 Von
Moltke was made chief of tho grand
general staff' of tho Prussian army. The
next year ho becamo a leiuteuant gen
eral. In tho successful wars with Denmark,
1863-64, with Austria, 1866, and Franco
1870-71, Von Moltke 's strategical powers
were of the greatest service to the side
he served. He not only sketched the plan
of these campaigns, but assisted in carry
ing them out. For his services against
Austria in 1866, especially as holding the
chief command at tho decisive battle of
Sadowa, ho was decorated with tho order
of tho Black Eagle. His title of Count
was given him in 1870, the same year in
Mhich ho was decorated with the order
of St. George, the highest military de
coration of Russia. The year following,
1871, tho Emperor of Germany conferred
on him the grand cross of the order
of tho Iron Cross, and made him chief
marshal of the German Empire.
Von Moltke is a very tall, thin man,
with light yellowish hair, and a sallow,
beardless, wrinkled face, out of which
shine a pair of stony gray eyes. As seen
abroad, he is wrapped a long, dark mili
tary coat, a cap on his small head, and
iaultlessly dressed in a general s uniform.
He walks slowly and noiselessly and
alone, unaccompanied even by a servant.
Every one who meets him looks at him
attentively. If the passer-by is a soldier
he stands on one side and salutes. The
old general returns 'the salute slowly
and deliberately, but apparently without
seeing to whom.
His wife died some yeais ago, ho
never had a child, and his nearest rela
tions, with the exception of a nephew and
a niece, seem to .be kept at a distance by
him. Ho is known as Moltke, the Silent,
and his appearance is so mysteriously
quiet and cold that ho seems to bo the
incarnation of concentrated thought.
No one, it is said, has ever seen Count
Von Moltke excited, not even at Sedan,
where the greatest victory of modern
times deeded the fortunes of the two
most jjowerful empires of the continent.
On tho battle-field his cold, clear eye
passed slowly from one point to the oth
er, and his cold, clear mnftl weighted the
chances of victory and defeat with the in
tensity and serenity of a mathematician
pondering oyer tho solution of some
grave problen.
Tree-rianting-.
Harper's Magazine.
As a rule, I have not much sympathy
with the effort to set out large trees in
hope of obtaining shade more quickly.
The trees have to be trimmed up or cut
back so greatly that their symmetry is
often destroyed. They are also apt to be
checked in their growth so seriously by
such removal that a slender sapling,
planted at the same time, overtakes and
passes them. I prefer a young tree,
straight-stemmed, healthy, and typical
of its species or variety. Still, when
large trees can be removed in winter with
a great ball of frozen earth that insures
the preservation of the nbrous roots,
ranch time can be saved. It should ever
be remembered that prompt, rapid growth
of the transplanted tree depends on two
things plenty of small fibrous roots, and
a fertile soil to receive them. It usually
happens that the purchaser employs a
local citizen to aid in putting his ground
in order. In every rural neighborhood
there are smart men: smart is the proper
adjective, for they are neither sagacious
nor trustworthy, and there is ever a dis
mal hiatus between their promises and
performance. Such men lie in wait for
new-comers, to take advantage of their
inexperience and necessary absence. They
will assure their confiding employers
that they are beyond learning, anything
new in the planting of trees which is
true, in a sinister sense. They will leave
roots exposed to sun and wind; in brief,
pay no more attention to them than a
baby-farmer would bestow on an infant's
appetite, and then, when convenient,
thrust them into a hole scarcely large
enough for a post. They expect to re
ceive their money long before the dis
honest character of their work can be
discovered. The number of trees which
this class of men have dwarfed or lolled
outright would make a forest. The result
of a well-meaning yet ignorant man's work
might be equally unsatisfactory. There
fore, the purchaser of the acre should
know how a tree should be planted, and
see to it himself, or he should by careful
inquiry select a man for tho task who
could bring' testimonials from those to
whom he '-had rendered like services in
the past.
ui&iBOML destined to receive a snade
or fruit tree should be at least three feet
I in diameter and two feet deep. It then
should be partially filled with good sur
face soil, upon -which the tree should
stand, so that its roots could-extend
naturally "according to their original
growth. Good fine loam should be sift
ed through and over them, and they
should not be permitted to come in con
tact with decaying matter or coarse, un
fermented manure. The tree should be
set as deeply in the soil as it stood when
first taken up. As the earth is thrown
gently through and over the roots it
should be packed lightly against them
with the foot, and water, should the sea
son be rather dry and warm, poured in
from time to .time to settle the fine soil
about them. The surface should bo
levelled at last with a slight dip toward
the tree, so that spring and summer rains
may be retained directly about the roots..
Then a mulch of coarse manure is help
ful, for it keeps the surface moist, and
its richness will reach the roots gradual
ly in a diluted form. A mulch of straw,
leaves, or coarse hay is better than none
at all. After being planted, three stout
stakes should be inserted firmly in tho
earth at the three points of a triangle,
the tree being its centre. Then by a rope
of straw or some soft material the tree
should be braced firmly between the pro
tecting stakes, and thus it is kept from
being whipped around by the wind.
Should periods of drought ensue during
the growing season, it would bo well
to rake the mulch one side, and saturate
the ground around tho young tree with
an abundance of water, and the mulch
afterward spread as before. Such water
ing is often essential, and it should be
thorough.
I'urt Vigilance.
Those who have occasion to pass along
the lower portion of Sacramento street,
says the San Francisco Alta, often note
one old building, which, although it is
devoted to prosaic business purposes, and
does its best to preserve a decorous and
cheerful aspect, yet has a subtlo some
thing about it that strikes a chill to the
beholder. Tins is no other than Fort
Vigilance, contemptuously nick-named
"Gunnybags," the old headquarters of
tho vigilanco committee, which still ex
ists on the south side of the street, near
Front. It is a low, two-story brick
building, begrimmed with age, and has
grown -very .weak in tho joints during
the last few years, so that it looks as
though it might at anytime collapse into
total ruin liko tho celebrated "one-hoss
shay.') This building is ono of tho most
notable relics of early days. The band
of refaolute men who made it their head
quarters in tho fifties were a necessary
check to the lawless, defiant spirit which
had taken possession of the town, and
the ghastly figures which wero sw ung
out of Foit Gunnybags's upper windows
effectually stemmed the progress of
crime. Dismal recollections must always
cluster around it, however, for in tho ex
citement of tho day the intemperate hasto
of somo members of tho committee over
ruled tho calmer judgment of the mi
nority, and along with the desperadoes
who met a deserved fate at their hands
tho "Fort" witnessed the death struggles
of several innocent men.
The building is now used for very un
poetical purposes. It is occupied by a
salt company, and great blocks of tho
crude stuff at the door givo evidence of
tho quantities stored in basement and
upper story.
"You ought to furnish a first-class
ghost story," urged a reporter to the
proprietor on tho occasion of his visit.
"Haven't any of you men ever seen any
thing or heard anything, or imagined
something out of the common going on
up overnead i That window out or
which thoy used to push tho poor fel
lows on a plank and then swing them off
you have all tho conditions for some
striking supernatural visitations."
"That is true, replied the saline mer
chant meditatively. "But I assure you
wo have never seen a thing out of the
common. ve been here twenty-one
years now, and there hasn't a ghost
made his appearance in all that time. I
tell you what, I guess they're alraid we'll
salt them down !"
The Hog oti tlie Farm .
Farm, Field and Stockman.
Thereis one point in favor of the hog
which is" not placed always to its credit,
and that is, unlike the horse, cow, or
sheep, it produces a number of young at
one birth. This fact enables those who
make hog raising a spedalty to rapidly
increase such stock, and cheapens the
cost of production by reducing the num
ber of sources from which the supply is
derived. Taking this into consideration,
and also that tho hog will eat anything
that may bo produced upon the farm, ho
is a more valuable animal than is ascribed
to him. Although the hog may be made
to produce pork at a low cost, yet our
farmers have, as a rule, for generations,
adopted the most expensive methods of
feeding that could be devised, and in so
practicing they have also partially
changed the nature, cf the animal in or
der to conform it to the requirements of
a concentrated diet. May not this have
something to do with the introduction of
new diseases that cause disaster to the
swine industry? We believe the time
will come when corn wfll not be fed so
lavishly, and that some other Hnd of a
hog wfll be preferred to that which is al
ways indolent and in a constantly dis
eased condition.
But while the clover pasture is recom
mended as the best place for growing
hogs, our fanners are averse to allowing
them to run upon it. Where there are
cows and other stock that demand the
pasture the hog has no place with them.
He cannot be turned upon the pasture
without a ring in his snout to prevent
him from tearing up the earth, and yet
the roots to him are more preferable
than the stalks and leaves. We
think the better plan is .to soil
the swine in a large yard, cutting
grass and weeds, and feeding all material
that is collected on the farm that would
otherwise be wasted. Fed in this man
ner, and on a variable diet, a meal of corn
once a day would not be lost, while the
manure saved will pay well for the labor.
But for the fact that most farmers dread
the labor required, soiling the hogs
would be an established method, yet the
manure from a large herd, in one year
alone, would almost pay the expenses of
everything but food.
Head for Jim and Tail for Hoh.
Albany Journal.
Boscoo Conkling told a group of law
yers the other day of having just been
tempted to take up a divorce case, al
though he had eschewed that branch of
practice, because the lair litigant naa in
terested him in the redtal of her wrongs
by disdosing the manner in which she
had chosen her husband. "I 'had two
suitors," she narrated, "and thoy were
were just about equal in good looks,
agreeableness, social position and out
look for fotune. They popped the ques
tion within two days of each other. I
really had no preference. I suppose I
didn't care much fov either. The day
came in which I was to give answers. I
couldn't make up my mind, so I flipped
up a cent, 'head for Jim and tail for Bob,'
and that was how I dedded." She took
the chances, and they went "against her
her, for she got a husband who ill-treated
her, and became a worthless scamp,
while the rejected ssuitor is possessor of
riches and fame.
A CARPETED CEILrSG .
An'Entirely ew Tiling in Interior Decora
tion. The modern tendency to turn things
topsyturvy is strongly illustrated in the
carpeted ceiling which adorns tho reception-room
of a fashionable dancing
school in tho dty. To carry out the idea
completely the floor should have been
frescoed, but tho professional decorator
to whom tho ceiling is indebted for its
novel ornamentation weakly yielded to
the popular taste of the period by placing
another carpet on the floor. It must,
however, be added that the proud Aubus
son on the ceiling, by its brilliant color
ing as well as its lofty position, a far
more conspicuous object than its meek
and lowly brother on the floor. It may
be necerrary to explain that the purpose
in placing this carpet on tho ceiling is
purely aesthetic. Imported by a gentle
man who intended it for the' breakfast
room of his villa on. tho Hudson, a sud
den change in the stock market tore
this shadowy product of tho loom from
its luxurious quarters, and a happy
chance only saved it from the profane
hands of some heartless auctioneer. Its
preservercame in the person of its pres
ent owner, a gentleman who has waltzed
through life witli such success that tho
purchase of a score of Aubusson would
bo for him a comparatively trifling ex
penditure. Being about to refurnish
the elegant house used for his school, he
needed a carpet for tho reception-room.
The Aubusson was recommended, and he
bought it.
But tho 2roress:onal decorator who
had been engaged to suprintend tho re
fitting and ornamentation of tho build
ing was not consulted when tho purchaso
was made, and when the carpet was un
rolled befoio him. promptly declared it
to be utterly unsuitable for tho room. The
bright floral pattern was, ho said, not in
harmonj with the predominating color in
the furniture coverings, and the blue
ground was jronounced a still greater de
fect, for it w ould givo peoplo tho impres
sion that the floor was flying up at them.
Finding the owner of tho carpet not quite
convinced by these arguments the artist
fell back on stronger grounds by pointing
out tho moral and aesthetic faults of the
floor-covering, its obstructiveness, lack of
repose, refinement, sympathy, sentiment,
or conscientiousness. This arraignment
was rendered still more effective by the"
horror-struck air of tho orator and his
closing declaration that to placo the
carpet in that particular room would be to
ruin his professional reputation and drive
him to hide his blighted hopes in an un
timely grave.
"But what shall bo done Avith the
carpet?" asked its perplexed proprietor.
The artist ran his hands through his
hair and turned his eyes upward, as if to
read the answer in tho stars. Tho dreamy
orbs encountered the ceiling and sudden
ly lighted up with tho glow of a new
inspiration.
"Poot heem up, zare!" he cried, while
in his joy at the happy thought he ex
ecuted a pirouette which made the dancing-master
turn pale with envy.
The suggestion was approved, and as
tho carpet was in one piece there was not
much difficulty experienced in carrying
out the idea. When this had been done
there remained on tho ceiling, on each
side of tho carpet, an uncovered space of
about twenty inches, which 'was filled in
by the fresco painters with a very clover
imitation of tho texture and coloring of
a carpet.
This plan of carpeting a ceiling may
in time be followed in many houses. Tho
carpet trade would doubtless approve of
carpeted ceilings, provided the floors
wero carpeted as well, and the designers
would find in the new pattern essential
for ceiling coverings a fine field for the
exercise of the spiritual sido of their
imaginations, for there would probably
by a great run on Ax-minister seraphim,
Wilton cherubim, Brussels angels, and
Moquett saints.
Jngersoll Kebuked lty lainar.
Bob Ingersoll visited Washington last
week, writes a correspondent of the
Philadelphia Press. After making the
capital his home for many years, he has
removed to New York, where he hopes
the profits of his legal business wfll great
ly exceed the comfortable income he de
rived from the practice of his profession
in the district of Columbia. Ingersoll
has many friends among politicians of
both parties, and one of his admirers is
Secretary Lamar. The infidel called up
on the secretary at the interior depart
ment, and Ingersoll, in the course of
half an hour's conversation, said scores
of witty things, which Lamar, lying up
on the sofa in his private office, enjoyed
immensely. Ingersoll finally made some
remark in ridicule of orthodox Christiani
ty. There was a momentary pause when
he finished, and the secretary jumped to
his feet, throwing his long hair with an
impatient gesture back from his forehead,
"Ingersoll," he exclaimed, "I hope to
live to see the day when you will come
to this capital city and preach to the
world Christ and Him crucified ! With
your magnificent abilities and splendid
oratory you could work a revival such as
tho world has never seen. I hope, Bob,
to see the day when this will come to
pass, and you could not engage in any
grander or more noble work."
An awkward silence followed and the
infidel appeared to bo momentarily em
barrassed. He told - a story about a
Cornish miner, who, not believing in a
God, sacrificed his life willingly to succor
fifty of his comrades imprisoned in a
mine. The story was not pertinent to
the secretary's remarks and in no sense
an answer to the appeal. Ingersoll
seemed to appredate this, and he soon
turned the conversation away from re
ligious subjects.
Osawkie Times: We have learned from
a number of prominent farmers in this
vicinity that the wheat is injured to
some extent, some pieces are complete
ly killed out, but the larger part of the
acreage is looking well, and a good
crop is antidpated.
CHILDREN'S CHITCHAT.
"WelL my young gentleman, and how
would you like your hair cut?" "Oh,
like papa's, please with a little round
hold at the top."
First boy. "I say Jimmy, there's no
water. It's frozen everywhere." Second
boy: "Bully! Maybe we won't have
to wash ourselves till the middle ,of
spring!"
Grandpa: "Tell me,Ethel, why do you
have six buttons on your gloves?" Ethel:
"Yes, grandpa, dear, I will tell you. The
reason is, if I had seven buttons, or five,
they would not match the six button
holes." He was a hopeful youth who asked
his mother why she did not print the
stones, sne torn nun. "zou tell nice
stories, mamma," he continued, 'only
some of them have a good many ancTs in
them."
He was a persistent little boy who
told his mother, who 'thought he was too
young to wear trousers, that "he would
be willing to go without pockets if he
only could wear something that had
legs."
A small boy, the son of a gifted
clergyman in his state, was heard one
night addressing the following petition
to his Maker: "O God, pleaso bless
mamma, and please bless papa; but the
less you have to do with Aunt Mario tho
better. Amen."
"Mamma, what does it mean when it
says, 'The shades of night were falling
fast ?' " "You should try and figure out
those things for yourself, Johnny." . "I
know now. It means when sister Jane
pulls nown the parlor blinds, then Gus
Smith comes in to spend the evening,
eh?"
Mrs. Jones "Did you tako Johnny to
school, Jeremiah?" Mr. Jones "I did.
excellent sohool it is, Matilda. Tho
scholars are models of deportment; tho
curriculum is first-class, and tho pro
fessor a man of abihty. At least that ii
the way he struck me." Johnny ( with
a groan) 'Tou ought to have stayed
about an hour, and seen how he struck
me."
Little Ethel had just commenced to
study her catechism, and her mother
was hearing her say it. "Now, Ethel,"
her mother commenced, "what must you
do before you you can have you sins for
given?" "I des," said Ethel very thougt
tully, "I des I must go out and commit
tho sin."
"Are you enjoying your dinner?"
asked Bobby of the minister, who was
taking a Sunday dinner with tho family.
"Yes. Bobby," responded tho minister.
"Mamma said this morning sho thought
yoii would, as she didn't suppose that,
with your small salary and big family,
you get much to eat from one week's end
to the other."
"Papa, did you ever smoke when you
was a boy?" asked a ten-year old lad
who was vigoroudy chewing coffee to
disguise the vile odor of a cigarette which
clung to him still. "Yes, once," replied
the father, as he sniffed the bmell of to
bacco in the air. "What did your papa
say ?" asked the boy with usual interest.
"He didn't say a word, my son; but this
is what he did when he found it out."
When tho temperature of his scion was
several degrees hotter than tho ambient
atmosphere.
A Sunday school teacher was telling
her children how the devil goeth about
like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may
devour; and after the lesson was through,
she added that those who wished could
ask questions. At once a little boy spoko
up, and asked how fast the devil could
run. "Hush! Johnnie," baid the teacher,
"such questions are very profane."
"Well, I don't care," said Johnnio; "ho
can't outrun pa, anyhow, 'cause I heard
pa tell a man down the street tho other
day that he caught the devil tho night
that ho camo home from the lodge."
A Fashionable Thief.
Chicago Nows.
Last summer when Professor H., of
Washington, a gentleman well known to
the scientific world,returned from Europe,
he brought with him a camel's hair shawl,
valued at 8600, as a present for his wife.
A lady friend to whom Mrs. H. exhibited
the gift, inquired if there was any mark
upon it by which it could be distinguished
in case it was either lost or stolen. Mrs.
H. replied that there was not.- At her
friend's suggestion sho marked her
initials upon a narrow piece of tape and
sewed them in the center of the shawl.
Last week Mrs. H. attended a reception
at a fashionable house in the northwest
ern part of Washington dty. Everybody
who was supposed to bo anybody was
thro. When Mrs. H., at the conclu
sion of the festivities, looked for her
shawl it could not be found. She in
quired of tho maid in attendance, who
remarked that a lady at that moment
leaving the room had taken a shawl
similar to the description given by Mrs.
H. The latter, addressing the departing
guest, politely said:
"Excuse me, but I think you are wear
my shawl."
"You are mistaken," was the freezing
reply. "I have nothing that does no be
long to be."
A close inspection, however, convinced
Mrs. H. that she was correct in her sur
mises. "You shall not leave this room," said
Bhe "until I have personally satisfied my
self that I am in error." Then turning
to several ladies who were watching the
proceedings with astonishment, Mrs. H.
proceeded:
"If one of you ladies will examine the
under side of that shawl, you will find
my initials sewed in the center."
The garment was grasped by two or
three curious hands simultaneously. A
single glance showed the letters "E. J.
H.," predsely as ISib. H. had said.
Meanwhile the aristocratic' thief was flee
ing down stairs as fast as shame and
ridicule could drive her. She is the wife
of an officer in the United States navy
and a descendant of one o' the bluest
blooded families.
Gneda Springs Herald: Kansas is a
blue grass "country if not blue-grass,
it is an orchard grass country, for this
grass sddom fails. No crop pays like
grass; and the farmer who sows five or
ten bushels of. seed each year is the
farmer will have a bank on his farm in
the next ten years. All we need to have
tho tame grasses here is to sow the
seed.
Abilene post No. 63, G. A. B.. are pre
paring to hold a fair and entertainment
at an early day,
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