Newspaper Page Text
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THE NATIONAL TRIBUTE: WASHINGTON, D. 0., SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 16s 1882.
where the oarwas lying, was about three
inches thick. "In loosening the oar and
breaking the chain which secured the
canoe, much, noise would be made. It
was necessary to have two or three rails
or poles. Smith and I went out some dis
tance from the river to procure them, and to
ecc if any 'house was near. We found au
old orchard, enclosed by a dilapidated fence.
On the southern borders of the orchard we
found two log huts, but they were old and
ten an 11 ess.
""We returned to the river, carrying with
us three or four stout rails. As we were
satisfied we should not be beard we set to
work regardless of the noise we made. We
found the canoe was locked or fastened in a
large slab of ice, which extended beyond it
into the swift water. Wc first used our sheot-inmknivesaudsoniesharp-poiutedandsharp-cornered
rocks, and loosened the canoe from
its icy bed. A passage-way for the canoe
was next broken through the ice to the cur
rent of the stream. We then took our
stoutest rail and broke the chain by prying
on it I took a rail and placed myself in
the end of the canoe farthest out from the
shore. Our haversacks, coats, and blankets
were then placed in it, and Trippe and
Taylor came aboard. Trippe, with the oar
in hand, launched us out into the river. We
found a swiftly-rushing current, and were
compelled to row up stream. We kept
bearing to our right, however, and soon
came in contact with the ice, which extended
out from the opposite bank. I took my rail
and began breaking the ice. Soon I had
broken a narrow passage-way for the canoe,
into which we thrust it, and it became
steady. I kept on breaking the iee and
pushing the pieces aside. The canoe was
pushed nearer and nearer the bank. Soon
I could reach the low branches of a tree,
which stood near the water's brink. I held
on to the boughs of the tree, and walked
ashore on the ice. Taylor and I removed
our baggage and Trippe went back and
brought over our three comrades."
The second day out, they determined to
try the experiment of procuring food at a
farm-house.
A "NWUnOW ESCAI'E.
"While examining the out-houso Taylor
noticed a stable or shed about sixty yards
distant. By going to it he would be still
farther from the dwelling, and he would feel
safer while prosecuting his search. As a
last resort before going to tho dwelling, he
visited the stable in the hope of finding some
corn, upon which we would have subsisted
in preference to running too great a risk in
procuring more palatable food. He could
find no corn in the stable, nor grain of any
kind. There was some hay or straw, and a
lot of corn-blades tied in bundles. In a shed
adjoining the stable were six or seven horses
feeding on corn-blades. Taylor was impressed
with tho idea that they were cavalry
horses, and on further examination a saddle
or rig for each of the horses was fcurid. He
then determined not to visit the dwelling at
all, as it was certain there was half a dozen
or more men, perhaps cavalrymen, inside of
it, sheltering for the night. He then quietly
rejoined us at the roadside. We had run a
great risk; our escape had been narrow.
Had Taylor gone half a dozen steps nearer
tho house he would have walked on some
plank or slabs in front of the door ; his foot
falls might have been heard by those inside,
and his presence become known: It was
manifest that good fortune was still a com
panion of our journey. Had the plaii we
had devised been followed our recapture
would certainly have ensued. Our sense of
hunger had .subsided, or been overcome by
weariness. We left the road and went some
dsstfliicfcsouth of it into a heavy forest When
neariy a mile from the road we halted, and
quickly spread our bed upon the ground.
We then sank wearily to rest, and were sleep
ing soaudly before sunrise.
"It was on the morning of February 22d
that we had thus sought repose in the win
tery forest of Virginia. We had ot out of
Carolina soon after crossing Dan Iiiver, and
had traveled almost due northward until we
passed Martinsville, Henry county, Virginia.
We passed about two miles to the right of
Martinsville, and then bore a little west of
north. On February 22d we were hid not
many miles probably not more than a
night's march from the southern boundary
of Franklin county, Virginia. It was the
anniversary of Washington's birth. We re
membered the fact, and revered the memory
of Washington, although his native State
had tendered us a very poor and meager
hospitality, and was treating ns shabbily.
The forest of Virginia, however, protected us
from her own and our country's enemies.
To be continued.
"Fooling General Sherman."
About.six mile3 out of Savannah, I came
across a fanner who accepted a plug of to
bacco, and was ready to sit down on a log
and answer all questions. When I asked
him about Sherman's approach, he burst
into a loud laugh and slapped his leg, and
was So tickled that he did not calm down for
two minutes.
"Excuse me, stranger," he finally said,
"but whenever I think of how I fooled Gin
eral Sherman it tickles me all over."
"Did you fool him?"
"Wall, I rather reckon."
"How?"
"Wall, you see, that's my place up thar'
on the rise. When the war broke out I was
the most cantankerous rebel you ever saw.
I swore I'd fight and fout and fit till we
licked the Yanks, if it took a hundred years.
I reckon Gineral Sherman heard of it."
"Probably he did."
"And after he took Atlanta he made up
his mind to gobble me. He knew I'd swore
to die before I'd surrender, and he came
along down from Atlauti with over 70,000
men to surround me. Mighty cute old man,
that Gineral Sherman!"
"Yes."
"Wall, they got here one night about ten
o'clock. I reckon that nigh on to 30,000 of
them surrounded my house up thar' and
called fur me to come out and surrender and
end the war."
"And of course you did?"
"And of course I didn't! That's whar'
the fun comes in. I wasn't home at all, but
was down in Varginuy with Lee. They
entered the house and sarched and sarched,
and went to the barn and called and called,
and when the old woman finally told 'em
I wasn't home they was tho maddest
crowd yon ever sot eyes on. They had
hoofed it all the way from Atlanta to git
their paws on me, and had had their long
march for nothing! I expect Sherman was
ready to bust with madness, and I reckon
he won't never quite forgive me. It tickles
the old woman wuss than it tickles me, and
you'd better come up to the house and hear
her tell what them 70,000 Yankees said when
they got here and found me gone."
... m -
LEE AS A HUMORIST.
I!ot He Could Have Knrteil Hie War ol the Kcbcl-
Hon Within Three 3Ionths.
Rev. J. Scott, in rhila. Times.
" General Lee as a humorist," sounds queer,
and yet the great confederate captain was
not without the facility to produce and ap
preciate the choicest wit and humor. The
truth is, all great men, from Shakespeare
upward or downward, are many-sided. The
story of Lee's life is in the main a history of
"sieges, battles, and hairbreadth escapes,"
but there was many a green and sheltered
nook where ho enjoyed the amenities and
even the gaj'eties of life.
Here is an incident illustrative of this
point It was furnished by a confederate
officer and will at least help to beguile tho
tedium of a summer day: While on tho
campaign of Maryland in the fall of 1P02 a
young officer of the Army of Northern Vir
ginia was placed in command of 'the rear
guard Of Longstrcet's division. There was
nothing that occurred during this march
into Maryland deserving of special mention.
A HUNGKY GUAKD.
After the sanguinary battle of Sharpsburg
this identical officer was in tho town of
Sharpsburg with more prisoners of war than
he felt it prudent to keep in that exposed
position. He ordered, therefore, a lieuten
ant of his command to transfer them to the
opposito bank of the Potomac and remain
there nntil he came himself. On tho after
noon of the last day that tho confederate
army remained at Sharpsburg' the lieuten
ant returned and reported to his command
ing officer that tho guard and prisoners
were in a well-nigh starving contlition and
must have immediate relief. Our young
officer replied: "Wait and I will see if I
cannot procure rations for them." He
mounted his horse and just as he was start
ing General Evans, of South Carolina, passed
by. Ho saluted him and said: "General,
where could I get some rations?" telling
him that he wanted them for tho provost
guard and prisoners. "Go," answered
General Evans, " to General Longslreet, as
you are under his orders." He accordingly
went to General Longstrcet's headquarters,
who directed him to General Lee.
A TALK WITH THE GEXREKAL.
After riding a few minutes he found Gen.
Lee in the midst of a pine thicket sitting
quietly on a rock on the left of his lines.
.Near by General Chilton, his chief of staff,
was seated, engaged in writing.
"General Lee, I believe?" said the officer-
"Yes "said the General; "what can I uo
for you ? "
"Well, sir," in an embarrassed manner, "I
am sent br General Longstreet for an order
for rations."
"Whom do you want them for?"
" I am Provost Marshal of Gen. Longstreet
and very much need the rations for the
guard and prisoners of war for," added he,
" I have had no rations for a week."
"What!" 'said tho General, "no rations
for a week? That, sir, is a remarkable
statement. I have had nothing to eat since
this morning and am very hungry now."
GENERAL LEE'S DEDUCTION.
" Did I understand you to soy that you
had, been without rations for your guard and
prisoners for a week? "
" Yes, sir," was the prompt response.
"That," said General Lee, "is the most
extraordinary thing I ever heard," and with
a significant side glance at his chief of staff,
he continued; "if you will go and impart
your plan of subsisting troops without ra
tions to Colonel Cole, commissary . of the
army, you will greatly oblige mo and serve
the confederacy. I think, with such a plan,
I could end the war in three months."
The young man blushed to his ear tips,
again bowed and withdrew, not feeling quite
as important a3 when he first accosted tho
veteran commander-in-chief.
Marietta, Ga., 1882.
Wanted to he Posted.
At the second battle of Bull Run a recruit
who had just joined a New York regiment
turned around upon his captain as an order
was given, and a3ked :
" Say, Cap, what are we going to do now? "
" Move by the flank to tho left of the
regiment," was the reply.
" All right just as soon move as not."
After the company had held its new posi
tion for a quarter of an hour there came
another order, and the recruit asked:
"Say, Cap, which way now? "
" Going to advance."
"All right, I am with you."
The company moved forward with tho line
and was presently hotly engaged with Jack
son's men. They had not been at it over
five minutes when the recruit slid ui to the
captain and shouted :
" Say, Cap, holler as loud as you can and
let's spe if I can hear you."
"What in do you mean? Back into
that line with you !" shouted tho officer.
" All righ t, Cap all righ t ! The reason I
wanted yon to holler was to see if I could
hear your voice when you ordered a retreat!
It's all right, I guess I can hear it if them
rebs don't bring up any more guns."
Slaking Stained (llass Window.
In making stained glass windowR, the col
oriugmatter red, green, flesh color, or what
ever it may be is first stirred with the glass
in its molten state. When it is rolled into
sheets and cools it comes out tho brilliant
hue desired. Next, imagine an old-fashioned
patchwork quilt, where the little blocks or
leaves are cut out by means of paper patterns
and sewed together to make the complete
figure. There you have tho idea of tho
stained glass windows. Artists who are
adepts make a large design of the painting
wanted. Di fferenl small parts of it are trans
ferred from this, and pasteboard patterns
made from these like the patchwork quilt.
The glass is cut into the shape desired with
a diamond. Then the pieces are joined to
gether into the perfect whole. The edges are
united by means of solder and lead, where
the patchwork bits would bo sewed with a
needle. Thus, making a stained glass win
dow is about as much mechanical as artistic.
Pare and fine work, such as the human faco
and parts of the human figure, are painted
upon the glass, requiring the touch of an
artist.
The chief justice of one of tho West India
islands, of good name and family, highly
connected at home, and Avell known in Lon
don circles, has just married his black cook.
The alliance has caused much surprise in the
colony, and some admiration among the
udge's friends, who vaunt his courage.
SOUTHERN PRISON LIFE.
Free Lance Continues the Slory of His
Experiences at "Millcn.
XI.
Nov. 8th. This is Presidential election
day, and wo of Millcn Prison have not ig
nored the fact. Polls were established early
this morning and placed under police pro
tection; rival orators are holding forth to
interested crowds, and voting is quietly in
progress. In the absence of tickets black
and white beans have been substituted the
black ones for Lincoln and the white onc3
for McClellan. The rebels evince consider
able eagerness to know the result. Although
not of legal age I have voted for Lincoln.
Au impression prevails that a majority for
McClellan will give us better rations. The
first prisoners that arrived here were fed
very well. Each man, for a day's ration, re
ceived a pint of meal, six spoonfuls of rice or
peas, a teaspoonful of salt, and six ounces of
raw beef. The ljeef at first consisted of the
heads of the cattle slaughtered for the guards.
Nevertheless, even from cattle heads the
prisoners made very palatable soups. To
get " a good soup bone " is the loftiest ambi
tion of the average prisoner. Regular beef
was finally substituted for the cattle heads,
but the rations dwindled daily, and now
consist of about half the quantities I have
stated. Wet get them raw, however, which
is a matter of great consequence, since we
have fuel enough to cook them with. On
tho whole, they are better rations than wo
had at Andersonville, but are insufficient to
maintain health and life. They are prob
ably reduced in quantity with the view of
encouraging enlistments in the Foreign Le
gion. The Kaiders who were put in the
stocks yesterday have taken the oath of alle
giance to the southern confederacy, and now
help to man tho artillery that commands
the stockade. They were afraid to come
back among us, lest they should be hanged.
It is impossible for a man who has never
been imprisoned to realize what the loss of
liberty meaus. I wish I had a copy of Byron.
I would like to read " Tho Lament of Tasso"
and "The Prisoner of Chillon."
A MAJORITY FOR LINCOLN".
Nov. 9lh. About half the prisoners voted
yesterday. Over 4,500 votes were cast, of
which Lincoln received a majority of over
900. The announcement was greeted with
three rousing cheers. McClellan's chief sup
port came from his old soldiers of the Army
of the Potomac. Two violins are owned in a
neighboring detachment, and to-day t i : '
got up a " sttg dance." Since tho daf Ui.
capture this is tho first time I have e- x i j
prisoners have life enough about the) . - :
ance was of brief duration, for, wit . .ig
men on every hand, it seemed sadly . jm
nriato. Tho death rate is just about 1 .'.in
here as it was in Andersonville, in pr T ; .,; j
to our numbers. From twenty-fivo t : ' . i v - j
five dead men aro carried out daily. '.:-. i i
dition to other diseases, rheumatis , in sa i
aggravated form, is very prevaler. . 'I'h; I
sentinels shoot no prisoners withot. i ,v u-'
provocation, we attnunte tuts la' to t'x
moral effect of tho commandant's oi
Nov. lOW. I was outside the sto . e to- '
day, gathering wood. An excurs. k tutu !
arrived irom Augusta, loaacu wicu , i
ing girls and pretty women. As wc nvn ' --d
past them their countenances betn t - f. . ;
ings of wondor, pity, and abhorre . T.v
were representatives of the " mean ' .:;; .. w ;
they had heard so much about, am u .
hard-looking ones at that. A covi d :aiy
wagon drove by, and with true feminine cu
riosity they ran up to see what was inside of
it. It was filled with dead prisoners, stark
naked, piled up in a great heap, and being
hauled to the graveyard. They gave some
small shrieks and hurried away. The strip
ping of dead bodies is tho only source of cloth
ing supply which tho living prisoners have.
The paroled men generally dress in white
aud make suits of clothes out of meal sacks.
Their pantaloons usually bear a largo bluo
brand of some kind located so thoughtfully
that it cannot bo seen when tho wearer sits
down. Some of the rebels at this post strut
about in very handsome uniforms, which
were doubtless procured from England. An
artillery officer whom 1 saw to-day especially
attracted my attention. The rebel uniform
looks very tasteful when made out of good
material, in artistic style, and decorated
with silver braid. Few of tho rebels in the
field manage to keep themselves uniformed
as their army regulations provide.
REPRESENTED IN A ORAVEYARD.
.Nov. 11th. To-day I saw one prisoner try
to rob another of a blanket. Captain Bowes
chanced to be passing at the time and in the
excited confederate fashion drew his revol
ver aud pointed it at tho thief. Tho blauket
was instantly returned and tho culprit was
sent out to tho stocks. I don't hear any
bloodhounds baying around this stockade,
but a pack of them are, no doubt, kept in
tho vicinity. The rebels say that " twenty
seven Slates of tho old Union," besides tho
navy, the regular army and tho District of
Columbia, aro represented in the graveyard
at Andorsonvillo. All the prisoners who
have ever passed through Augusta state that
they were treated very kindly by the people
of that city. Prisoners of war should be
exchanged after a battle as promptly as tho
dead aro buried or the wounded cared for.
Macon, through which wo passed in com
ing from Andersonville, is a pretty town of
10,000 inhabitants. The prison pen there,
styled Camp Oglethorpe," encloses about
two acres of ground, and at last accounts
was used for the confinement of Union offi
cers. It is on the east side of town. Its
salient features are as follows : A fifteen
foot slockado, a dead line, murderous senti
nels, no shelter, scurvy and diarrhcua, thin
rations of rico, corn-niea,l and "nigger peas,"
and constant tunneling operations. Macon
is on the Ocmulgee liivor.
Nov. 12M. To-day all the rations we have
received consist of three small sweet pota
toes per man, to last for twenty-four hours.
Death from literal starvation appears not
very far remote. In coming from Andtr
sonvillo tho members of our division made
a desperate effort to increase their stock of
cooking utensils. Everything of the kind
along the route which tho boldest thiof
could steal was " taken in." While we were
making a halt at a station ono night,
through the connivance of a gang of good
natured guards, we tore tho entire tin roof
from a freight car, and, separating tho
square sheets of tin, divided them among
ns. Out of this convenient material we
have manufactured rude but serviceable
articles to make gruel, mush and soup in.
In this stockade we have pure a'r some
thing the filthy hog-pen of Andersonville
did not boast of. As wo live out of doors,
to give us plenty of pure air is about the
least the confederacy should do for us. It
would be a fortuuate thing for us if we
could live aud fatten on air.
Nov. 13(k. The Union prisoners captured
at the battle of Pittsburg Landing were con
veyed southward by rail. Many of them
passed through Jackson, Mississippi. A
train-load of them were stoned there by the
citizens, but, being afterwards exchanged,
helped tike that city in 1863, and they were
the men who burned it to the ground. Sher
man ordered certain buildings burned, but
they burned all.
t THE LORD'S TRAYER MODIFIED.
Nov. l'iih. The prisoners here have modi
fied the Lord's Prayer. They now render a
portion of it: "Give ns every afternoon our
sweet potatoes and a little chunk of beef."
There appears to be a story connected with
the big tunnel discovered shortly before we
left Audersonville. A conspiracy had been
formed to capture the artillery and attack
the militia camps. The tunnel was large
enough for three men to march through it
abreast, aud the intention was, on its com
pletion, to rally tho prisoners at night,
arm them with clubs and tent stakes, and
make an outbreak and a desperate battle for
liberty. Considering the condition of affairs
at that time a fierce struggle would undoubt
edly have been made had the tunnel not been
found by the rebels, and if no removals had
taken xlace. It is said that two scouts were
dispatched with orders to reach Sherman's
army, and inform that General of the intended
line of inarch. It was believed that enough
muskets could be captured from the militia
to arm nearly all tho prisoners who were able
to travel any distance from the stockade.
Five hundred men worked on that tunnel,
and on smaller ones necessary to the general
plan. No tunneling appears to have been
attempted at this prison. So many failures
have attended such operations that we are
losing faith in them. Death appears to be
an easier ordeal here than was the case at
Andersonville. Cool, rainy, winter weather
helps a man oil'. Many a prisoner who is able
to draw his rations in the afternoon and walk
around in tho evening is found dead in the
morning. If ho is without some kind of beg
garly shelter his impoverished blood is chilled
through aud through by the night air, and
his miseries come to au abrupt termination.
This is better than reaching the same goal
after weeks and months of long-drawn-out
mental and physical agony. When you are
faco to face with death for a long period it
, n.. i of its dreadful aspect. Death
'e the natural winding up of a long
invri-i .j.'ent in rebel, stockades. When I
look .: u nan I can almost tell how long he
I as bcei i prisoner. Lf a year's imprison
ment. ; n't kill a man it will ruin his
fcaalth f i life. Boys of the requisite amount
cipu' 'rom 18 to 22 years of age, endure
t :eae hi. mips better than men who are 30
$ ears old ;nd upwards.
GOING HOME TO DIE.
-ii:
, Nov. ' r: i. To-day the peas issued to our
&ynoVr' were worni-caten and worthless.
iny
t.
was mado to tho commandant,
sd -them set outside and better oues
o us. Such an incident at Andcr-
.IlO Or-
XT "
rL.V
'- ould have amazed us. Wirz would
ll-avs .. ' us that anything was good enough
fbr"ir .eesonsof ." As I have before
mea'. " 1, Captain Bowes is a splendid fel
low, a, d .s much respected by the prisoners.
Tv j ; isand sick have been ordered to be
reft'':, u e shipped to Savannah to-morrow
fi. i a ' tnge. A Federal fleet lies off that
viij. j-e surgeons aro now busily engaged
in selecting the fortunate ones who are to be
liberated. One division after another, in duo
order, " falls in," and the surgeons pass along
the lines and designate the lucky persons,
aud they are taken out of the stockade.
Judging by appearance a- considerable pro
portion of them will die before they reach
tho North. Several railroad trains passed
here yesterday, going toward Macon, crowded
with recently-exchanged rebel soldiers, who
threw hard crackers of Northern manufacture
to Union prisoners who happened to be at
the depot on business. These facts havo
started the rumor of a general exchange. I
have had a touch of pneumonia, which is
very fatal here, but am recovering to-day.
(On November loth Sherman commenced his
famous march from Atlanta to the sea.)
Nov. lGlh. Ono of the most remarkable
instances of mortality at Andersonville that
I have yet heard of was tho death of twenty
eight men out of a company of Vermont
heavy artillery. Thoy were all neighbors at
home. There will bo sad times there when
their fate is finally learned. Tho company
numbered a hundred men when it was first
organized. How many it numbered on being
captured I don't know. (Of tho Sixteenth
Connecticut infantry captured at Plymouth,
N. C, and confined in Andersonvillo, Milieu,
&c, one-half died within seven months.)
Five hundred sick and wounded prisoners
arrived here to-day from Andersonville. As
they slowly entered the stockade, hobbling
along with sticks and rude crutches, ragged,
filthy, woe-begono, and shivering with cold,
they formed a picture of humau wretched
ness such as the brush of a painter hits never
depicted. As if to add to the horror of the
scene, upwards of a thousand sick and dying
men who had been taken out of the stockade
for exchange duriug tho twenty-four hpurs
preceding were turned back iuto tho stockade
to await orders, and were compelled to lie
down on tho cold, wet ground near tho gate,
from which many of them will nover rise.
Dead men aro plenty every morning. This
is a tough place, and "these are times that
try men's souls." Our rations seem to grow
thinner and thinnor every day. The guards
at this prison are well clad, usually in citi
zens' attire, and look well fed. There is
quite a camp of them on the outside.
To be continued.
Entered according to net of Congress in tlicycar
1882 byThu National Tribune in the office of tho
Librarian of Congress at "Washington.
Itoyal Surnnmcs.
. Sir Bernard Burke, the well-known Irish
herald, has frequently been asked, "What is
the surname of the children of Queen Vic
toia?" and he says: "I feel persuaded that
the royal honse of Saxe-Coburg has no sur
name. When tho adoption of surnames be
came general, the ancestors of that illustrious
race were Kings, and needed no other desig
nation than the Christian namo added to the
royal title." The plantaganets aud the
Tudors were in quite other case, and the su
briquet of the iormer originated their surname.
mxa
A 'DOMESTIC DESPOT.
The Overthrow of a Mother-in-Law
and the Eeturn of Peace.
"Ah, dear me, dear me!" sighed Mrs. Cop
man. "What a world of trouble this is!"
Her son-in-law looked up from the news
paper he was reading. He was a tall, hand
some man of thirty, with soft, dark eyes, and
here and there a silver streak in his hair.
"Is there any new trial developing itself?"
he asked, kindly.
" No," said Mrs. Copman, " nothing espe
cial; except that Marion wants the green
parlor for a studio. There's such an excel
lent north light to it, you know." " Well,"
said Henry Charteris, "why not let her have
it?"
"But what shall we dp for a reception
room ""asked the old lady.
" Take my library," suggested he.
"My dear Henry! And all the books
what is to become of them ? But dear Ma
rion, would be so delighted if only the plan
were practicable."
"Put them in my bedroom," said Mr.
Charteris, absently. "Floyd can easily
knock up a, few shelves there. It is a pity
that Marion should be disturbed in the
prosecution of her art."
" You are always so kind and thoughtful,"
said Mrs. Copman, brightening up, as she
hurried away to give the necessary direc
tions. Floyd, Mr. Charteris's faithful Scotch ser
vitor,stared blankly when the old lady issued
her orders.
"My master's library," he said, "up to his
bedroom? Wherever will I put the books?"
"Oh, there's plenty of room for a few
shelves," said Mrs. Copman, briskly. "And
if there should bo a volume or so left over,
thoy can easily be put in the closet nnder
the stairs, which has a good large window
looking over the stables."
Floyd whistled under his breath, but
there was nothing for it but to obey.
" I never saw such a m'other-in-lawed house
as this in all my life! " said he to the house
keeper, with a groan. " Here's Mr. Henry
crowded into the bedroom in the north wing
and the closet under the stairs, while Mrs.
Copman and her three Gordon-faced daugh
ters, havo usurped the whole house with
their studios and their music rooms and
their boudoirs, and the mischief knows what
all!"
The housekeeper shook her head.
"Ah, you may well say so," said she. "And
that ain't the worst of it, neither, Floyd."
"Eh?" said the old man.
" How long is ifc since Mrs. Charteris
poor lady died ? " mysteriously questioned
Mrs. Akers.
"Sixteen seventeen months, ain't it?"
said Floyd ; " but why ? "
"Ah," said tho housekeeper, "when the
two years are up she'll make him marry one
of the three sisters. Yon see."
"But they're not one of them nnder
forty, and as plain as pike-stafis," ejaculated
Floyd, in dismay.
" You'll find as that won't make no differ
ence," ajd Mrs. Akers, gloomily. " Tha'tfs
what she's got her eyes on, as true as you're
alive, Floyd. And she never yet failed in
what she made np her mind to do."
While Mrs. Akers and Mr. Floyd were en
gaged in this 'discussion of family affairs,
Mrs. Copman herself was cheerfully bust
ling about, ordering the maids, tormenting
the footman, suggesting this, that and the
other thing to her three bony, high
cheeked daughters, Marion, Arabella, and
Meliccnt, nntil suddenly glancing 'up, she
chanced to observe a light figure, clad in a
pretty muslin, with a floating scarf, enter
the greenhouse door, across the garden.
She rang the bell, energetically.
"Floyd," said she, "who is that that
person in the garden? "
" It'3 Miss Jetty Lane, the parson's daugh
ter," said Floyd; "at least," coughing behind
his hand, " it looked like her."
" And what is she doing in our green
house, I'd like to know," demanded Mrs.
Copman, hotly.
"She goes there to get flowers for her
wax-work, ma'am," said Floyd. "My mas
ter "Your master would allow himself to be
preyed on by every one in the village, if he
hadn't some one to protect him," said Mrs.
Copman, severely. " Go at once, Floyd or
stay, I believe I had better go myself.
This sort of thing must be put a stop to."
And sho hurried out to tho greenhouse
where pretty Jetty Lane was culling sprays
of white stephauotis in an unconsciously
graceful attitude, as she reached up among
the glossy, dark-green branches for the star
like blossoms.
"Oh!" said Mrs. Copman, stiffly, "Miss
Lane, I believe."
Jetty paused and turned. Only home
from boarding-school three months, she had
never met Mrs. Copman face to face before.
"It's the terrible mother-in-law," sho said
to herself, and she answered aloud :
" Yes ; I am getting a few flowers to model
in Avax, and
"Ah!" said Mrs. Copman, "but perhaps
you hadn't better get any more. The flowers
don't bloom very profusely and my daughters
like them for their hair. Besides, Mr. Char
teris don't approve of tho whole neighbor
hood running riot through his grounds."
Jetty's deep blue eyes flashed.
"Madam," said sho, "did Mr. Charteris
tell you to say this?"
" N-not exactly," faultered thesour-visaged
widow; "but "
"Then," said Jetty, "you have been guilty
of a very rude and inhospitable action."
And, flinging her white buds and blossoms
on the floor of tho greenhouse, she walked
out like a princess.
"Well, I never!" said Mrs. Copman,
scarcely knowing whether to be indignant
or surprised at this imperial conduct
Jetty Lane hurried on, never stopping to
wipo away tho tears which seemed to scald
her eyelids nntil she was safe in the lit
tle hazel copse ; and, once there under the
cool, quivering boughs of the trees, she burst
into a passion of tears.
"Miss Lane Jetty!" uttered a remon
strating voice.
"Yes, I know," said Jetty laughing and
sobbing in tho same breath, "I'm very' fool
ish, and I ought to know better, but it isn't
pleasant to be turned out of a place."
"What do you mean? " asked Henry Char
teris, gravely.
A dark frown gathered over his counte
nance. He had known that Mrs. Copman
and his three sisters-in-law were selfish, a'r
rogant, and domineering. He had been
quite aware that he was little more than a
prisoner of state in his own house ; he had
even formed some vague idea that Arabella,
the youngest and least hard-favored of the
three, had designs on his heart. As far as
he wa9 personally concerned, it mattered
not one straw. But now that innocent,
dewy-eyed Jetty had been thus ruthlessly
attacked, things assumed quite a different
aspect. He looked down upon the sweet,
blushing face ; ho took both the little hands
in his.
" Jetty," said he, " this is an uneven bat
tle. One widow and three resolute spinsters
against an unprotected specimen of the genus
homo. Yet I think if I had an efficient
lieutenant I could defeat the enemy yet
Will you join the ranks?"
"I I don't think I understand you,"
faltered Jetty.
" You are eighteen, I am thirty," he went
on; "and yet, Jetty, I feel young enough
in my heart to be your match. Dear little
Jetty, will you be my wife? Do you lovo
me, Jetty?"
And Jetty bravely answered :
" Yes, I will be your wife, Mr. Charteris.
I do love you, and," she added artlessly, " I
have loved yon ever since I first came homo
from school and met you at the Sunday
School picnic under the maple trees."
Mrs. Copman and her three daughters had
gone to New York to order their spring
wardrobes charged to Mr. Charteris's ac
count, of course and it was late on the
afternoon of the third day of their absence
when they returned, cross, irritable, and
tired Marion a shade redder-no3ed than
usual, Arabella more pettish, Melicent more
blowsy and coarse.
To their amazement and indignation the
sound of one of Schubert's nocturnes floated
out from the parlor windows as they ad
vanced. "Who is presuming to play on our piano!"
said Mrs. Copman, in a rage.
"And tho windows are open, too fading
the parlor carpet! " Miss Melicent screamed.
"As sure as you live, mamma," gasped
Arabella, "it's that bold parson's daughter,
Jetty Lane."
" The impudence of some people," cried
Marion" when mamma as good as ordered
her off the premises not a month ago."
"Henry," said Mrs., Copman, angrily, as
she canght sight of her son-in-law serenely
smoking a cigar, just inside of the casement,
" why is it that the carriage was not sent to
meet us? Why are we compelled to walk
all the way from the depot in this broiling
heat? And what is that young woman hero
for?" as she caught sight of Jetty's white
dress in the back-ground of the large, dim
room.
"The carriage was not sent for you," said
Mr. Charteris, calmly, " because Mrs. Char
teris was using it."
"Mrs. Charteris!" gasped the widow,
dropping at least half a dozen of her parcels
in the path, while Henry led forward the
lovely young bride, all in white, with cheeks
like pale roses.
"Mrs. Charteris, he repeated, "my wife I
Let me present you and the Misses Copman
to her."
And that was the end of the complication,
for of coufse"Mrs. Copman and her daughters
were too high-spirited to remain under tho
same roof with such a dimpled and lovely
young usurper. And they removed all that
belonged to them and a good deal that
didn't from the house the next day in high
dudgeon.
" To think what fools men are," said the
widow; when dear Henry was 30 comfort
able to me and the three girls."
But apparently dear Henry was of quite
another way of thinking, for, as he stood
with Jetty on the terrace, watching the car
riage drive away which contained the widow
and her three daughters, he said:
"My dear, I feel as if a nightmare were
lifted off my life. And now now 'we can
begin to be happy.
3Iafcins the Sntro Tunnel Useful.
From the Toronto Globe.
The huge Sutro Tunnel which has been
run under the mountains of the Comstock
Mines in Nevada is four miles long, and the
water runs through it in a pine flume, made
close to prevent the escape of vapor.
The temperature of the water is 195, and
3,000,000 gallons are discharged every twenty-four
hours. The water loses but 70 of
heat on the passage, and is used for mechan
ical purposes by that company, and after
ward conducted through a second tunnel,
1,100 feet along, and along an open water
way a mile and a half in length to the Car
son Eiver. Along its course dams aro built,
and hot-water baths thus extemporized,
which are always ready for use.
It is also used for a laundry, and for irri
gating a tract of a thousand acres belonging
to the tunnel company, and a plan is on foot
to lead the hot water by iron pipes under
the surface of the ground, near the roots of
a large number of fruit trees, and also to
turn it to account as a means of supplying
artificial heat to hot-houses on a large scale.
Tho Itoby Crop at Saratoga.
A correspondent writing from Saratoga
says: Babies do not seem to be a large
crop at the Saratoga hotels. Most of the
children are of an age when, according to the
progressive ideas of these days, they are, in
their own opinion, quite capable of taking
caro of themselves, and this seems to bo ap
preciated by the maids who ate nominally
set in charge over them, for they remain at a
respectable distance in the background. I
suppose most fashionable mothers who have
the misfortune to be afflicted with young
babies prefer to go elsewhere than to Sara
toga, as there are so many demands upon
their time. I was trying to make frionds
with a wee little thing of six months as it lay
iu the arms of its nurse to-day. Its mother,
a striking-looking blonde of only twenty
two, as pretty as a picture, although so very
languid, came up, and said: "I would not
give tho world for my baby, but," with a
sigh, "you don't know what a core and
responsibility it is." Yet I saw this lady at
the race3 in the early part of the day;
later in the afternoon I saw her sailing on
the lake in the midst of a gay parcy, and in
the evening she was the most untiring of
dancers at tho hop. I may have been mis
taken, but I could not see how her baby
could bo any trouble to her.
A prize drill has-been arranged between a
military company of Austin, Texas, and a
broom battalion of young women, except
that no agreement can be reached as to TYhat
sex the judges shall belong to.
A
