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MM. 1. J. BUitWAT, Kdltr and Proprleler
3F'FICE-COK.F0T A WASHIKOTOKStuKBT
TERM8, IN ADVANCE:
One year....
w months.
-.17
THree mombi
AD VEBTWEME NTH Inserted on
Terms.
FACT, FATE AND FANCY;
Im r urtac than hmw
Br Mas. A. J. DOKTWAT.
API-Hp or "JUDITH MOD," "KI.LKX DOWII,'
"AJOE akd ant "the axerr
o," tan woman's sfbckk,"
hu mninw,"
R&f KTC. KTCb
.i -r-rcd,eorduisUAetafConirres,ln the
: r SK78, by Mrs. A J. Dunfwsy, in t he office of
lue Librarian of Pruning at Wh Union City. 1
CHAPTER IX.
"I wish I could feel that everything
van rig-tot confound it all!" exclaimed
Chaplain Emerson through hie set teeth,
as tiie steamer bore him away toward
ins distant fields of duty. "But, some
bow Tot not satisfied, and I really
hardly know why."
But mattera had progressed too far for
him to aee-hts way clear for honorable
retraction now. He well knew that his
wife and daughters were already busy
to ibe eyes in preparations for the
double wedding, so there remained lit
tle else that be could do about it than to
quietly awafft the event. His efforts to
discover the real condition of the fi
nances of the Snowden Arm had so sig
nally failed, and he was so thoroughly
suspieiooBtoatbe had not (Uncovered the
whole truth, that 'he had no heart to
further pursue the possible fortunes of
Lillie's husband elect, so he busied him
seif a boot bis -re I or Imaginary duties
after bis return from the eity till the
morning of the very day when he was
to Rive away hie daughters in marriage.
Mrs. Knierson, jioor thing, grieved
sorely over her husband's neglect of his
duties at home. She felt an almost un
controllable longing for his presence
and counsel. And she was so utterly
lonely. At this particular erhis iu her
hie it was indeed a pity that her bus
biud could ootaee and realize bow deso
late she was.
The doable wedding created a nine
days' wonder in all the country round j
about. The -bidden guests were num
bered by scores, and nobody who had
bt-eo in if ted to partake of the feast liar- j
bored a tbongtit of remaining away.
Whole families came in wagous, some
drawn by horses and some by oxen.
Other- -sine afoot, and young men and
maidens, the former greatly predomin
ating, ccme on horseback.
Lillie and Grace were certainly beau
tiful specimens of rustic maidenhood in
their pretty-fashioned attire of simple
whi:e. The apple-faced mother of
John Anders was among the guest c,
iter n ii tot face beaming with happi
ness. Mri-. Snowden mere was also present,
her fa' ! rra elaborately stuffed i o showy
mvir .tiquc. and her frost-bitten hair
surmounted by a white cap, set oft with
artificial roses. The senior Soowden, as
well ah tne senior Anders, was also
present, but if there Is a lime when gen
tlemen's noses aie more entirely out of
joint than all other", it is at a wedding
where the decisions of the feminine por
tions of the household are always con
sidered auJauL .
Mrs. EsDeraoajr. good soul, bustled
about the kitchen, the perspiration
standing in great beads on Iter oily
features, and her red hauds busy every
where. "I do wonder if your pap ain't goln'
to git here in time to see yon married?"
sVie said U her daughters, who had been
ready for an hoar for the expected ad
veut of the husbands-to-be, and who
had iK-en waiting long in the stilling
heat of their low, unfinished chamber
f .r 1b appearance of their internal
head.
"He needn't come If be doesn't want
" aid' Ufliej "marriage is no tiling
ui. hollow mockery, anyhow," and
sbemted dreamily through her little
window and across the lawn, with the
air of one who sees nothing.
"Ah, child, if that's the way you feel
about it, you'd better say 'no,' when the
parson pats the solemn question for final
answer. Don't go into marriage with
your soul perjured. Yoo'll have plenty
o' trouble on yoor heart before you get
through with life without having any
thing on yonr conscience to load it
down, till you'll feel so wretched and
guilty like, you can't hide from uotulu',"
said her mother reproachfully.
"If I didn't intend to be happier than
I ever have been, I wouldn't get mar
ried." exclaimed Grace.
"I was a thous,nd Umee nsppjer
fore I ever thought f marrying than
I ever expect to be again," wa9 Tjne's
sad reply.
"Why ?" asked Grace, her great eyes
suiuiug. vuv nvuiu ,niun joy Were
not going to secure your true-love for
a husband, from the way you talk,
Alul
to be honest with you, I don't believe
you care one whit more for John than
you do for Aloozo. You don't act like
an expectant bride who is in love with
her attianced ought to act. Though for
that matter, I've been happier myself
than I now am."
"Hush!" cried Lillie, stamping her
foot in a rage. "You'll make me hate
you if talk like that."
"For mercy's sake,' don't quarrel,
gals," the mother exclaimed in affright.
"The folks down stairs will hear you,
and a pretty scandal they'll make of it.
But there comes your pap, at last. It's
better late than never, but I do wish be
VOLXDJDE VIII.
r
had acted like he bad some Interest in
this whole aflalr."
Captain Emerson alighted from his
horse, and entering bis door-yard, en
countered tiie throng of assembled
guests With an air of eordial hospitality
which HJt everybody at ease. To enter
tain a rowd, ami set all the eredit ami
glory of It when the eflort costs you
nothing but the exhibition of a little
pomposity, Is a task which lias occa
sioned many ti word of hearty commen
dation for other men besides Captain
Emerson from their delighted guests.
But, if the guests were pleased with the
Captain aud delighted with ills cordial
ity of mauner, they were equally dis
gusted With the cold, unfeeling manner
wltb which his wife accosted him.
'You have come at last, Itave you,
pap ?" she said. "I 'lowed I'd have to
send tbel sheriff after you."
Then she returned to the supervision
of her tables, which had lieen tastefully
pread under some stately oaks iu the
yard, awl which she was over zealous
to keep In perfeet order for the approach
ing least.
The world is very unequally divided,"
remarked the elder Anders to his wife,
aside. ''I only hope that Lillie Emer
son will 'be like her father. For should
she have her mother's disposition.
there's precious little comfort in store
for John."
It was not the fault of Mrn. Emerson
that her guests so misjudged tier, as the
reader know. Yet her guests did not
know, and so they imrtook of her toil
and bounty iu all uneharitablenes, and
looked iihii her jovial lord as a martyr
to counttbial uusuilableness.
As Lillie stood before the altar and
joined her hand with John's and spoke
the fitting voire, it was as though a
death knell had tolled the words in her
ears. And John, poor fellow, listened to
the soft responses of his new sister
Grace, as though they were so many
words of molten lead poured into Ids
own unresisting heart.
Of course, my reader will declare that
such a union was both foolish and
wicked. Each bad deceived the other,
and both were deceived in imagining
that they would tiius make each other
happy over tiie graves of their own bur
ied affections.
Grace acknowledged her new relation
to tier husband's parents with becom
ing dignity. If she did not love her
husband with the deep devotion of
which her nature was caiwble, she cer
tainly loved no other, and was therefore
not aware but that she was aetiug hon
estly with herself.
Lillie, who had been sad and ab
stracted till after the marriage service,
rallied, and was soou the gayest of the
tbroug. "Nobody should know she
was uot happy," she thought. "And
least of all should her husband's par
ents 8USM9Ct It,"
Mrs. Emerson had no time for senti
ment or the luxury of .sadness. Her
marvel of a dinner followed the bridal
ceremony in quick succession, and she
willingly waited upon everybody, uot
by any means excluding the lbr-,core ;
children who attended the feast, aud
wbo were compelled to await their turn j
at the second aud third tables. But the
good woman's supplies were apparently
as inexhauslable as the Captain's hu
mor, and all, indeed, "weut merry as a
marriage bell," at least, so the revelers
imagined, and so it would have been in
reality but for the fact that human du
plicity had marred the choicest oppor
tunities for tbe young people's happi
ness, and placed the seal of human fiat
upon tbeir future prospects, thus caus
ing tbe mistake of an hour to become
tbe calamity of a lifetime.
It was extremely difficult for the sen
ior Snowden to control the feverish anx
iety under which he labored till the
deed for one thousand acres of the Em
erson realty was duly signed, cotiveyed
aud delivered, iu fee simple, to the con
trol aud custody of Alonzo Soowden,
Junior, and Grace Amanda, bis wife.
Then a ebeek for fifteen thousand dol
lars iu gold coin, also drawn iu favor of
tbe young husband and wife, was placed
iu the hauds of the parties interested, as
a present from tbe young man's par
ents, after which the elder Snowden de
parted in a carriage for their city home,
leaving the young couple with a paper
foundation for future wealth, upon
which the bride builded reasonable ex
pectations, in spite of her dissatisfaction
at the existing arrangements between
her husband and her parents, to the
making of which she bad not been cou
riered as anything but a silent part
ner. The parents of John Anders readily
accepted tbe proffered hospitality of the
Kmersons, aud remained overnight, ao-
IfMnpa'tylng their son and daughter-in-
te un tue lollnwlnf lv mul
ly refrajUB as dld of
flU i? tmm uny ratlou f
hlioi!'ll 8elUeraeu" t honeymoon
should be over, or at least began.
Lillie eon kt not help being .deased
with the homeof herhusba-MP, ,!are,.
Alow, rambling cottage e upon a slop
ing lawu that lay witli n, manv '
toward the river, where a painted ferry
boat with ropes and pulleys plied busily
between companion honks, fringed with
alder and haeel undergrowth.
Every floor of the unpretending.
whitewasbeJ cottage was daintily cov-
ered with a neat rag-carpet. Brackets,
picture-frames, what-nots, ottomans,
X'OTfXXVIVU. OXSKOOIV, THURSDAY, NOATE3IBER i,
crystal work, hanging-baskets, alr
oastles, patchwork quills, tidies, worsted
work, aud curtains of home-made lace,
adorued the rooms. From parlor to
kitchen, and from bed-rooms to wood
shed, the house-keeping was immacu
late. Even the chickens, that are a
nuisance In most country kitchen yards
unless fenced away from the door, ram
bled seemingly at their own sweet will,
aud yet molested nothing. The very
oats were sleek and comfortable, like
their smooth-faced mistress; and the
huge house-dog was as good-natured and
as much at home as everything and ev
erybody else about the model establish
ment. The senior Anders was just such a
looking man as you might expect to
find in such a model home. His kindly
face beamed with mild good uatnre, and
his kindly voice at ouce assured every
body who heard it that Its owner was
a large hearted, if not as active, as his
bnsj, hustling wife.
Tiie maid of all work had a simple tea
in readiness for the bridal party upon
their arrival, and John led Lillie to the
table aud bowed his head for his father's
blessing, with a feeling of prayerful res
ignation to circumstances which his
wife also endeavored to evoke, hut with
out success.
The perversity of woman's love na
ture has erplexed the ablest minds
ever since the very dawn of literature.
Love is not only blind, but obstinate.
It will not go where it is bidden, nor
stay at the simple optiou of anybody.
Cases almost without number may eas
ily be recalled to the memory of the
reader, wherein Kireuts, money, respect
ability, and every other imaginable
requisite to what tile world considers
desirable matohes, have been rendered
unhappy, if not unbearable, by the ab
sence of tiie eseutial elements of love.
Aud John Anders ilid not love Lillie,
and Lillie did uot love John. Each
could have been equally contented with
almost any other well-disposed person
for a companion for life. And, as each
felt and realized the force of this humil-
latitig truth, though eaeh resolved to
conceal the fact from the other so long
as they both should live, it was little
wonder that they sat together for the
first time at the hospitable board of the
husband's parents and looked upon the
prospects for the future with no very ecs
tatic expectations.
Mrs. Auders, mere, was ail aglow
with happines. She had been mar
ried to her good and genial huslmnd in
the old-fashioned times when people
married for love, and she no more cor
rectly imagined the feelings of her
children who had been made legally one
through a ooucourse of circumstances
that merely drifted them into the
current, than If she aud they had been
horu upon different planets, with na
tures as widely apart as the antipodes.
Maniage Is always more or less of a
sacrifice, no matter what parties under
take it, or what motives prompt it. No
two human beings, each endowed with
individual will and desire, can reasona-
l.lt' ariuot In t Imrniiirlil v harmonize
w,nolt n)UCU ylellIIIIB of ,,er,0al pref-
erenceon the port of both. Wheu love
prompts this sacrifice, it becomes an
easy yoke, ami is n burden of compara
tive lightness. Especially does woman
glory in any sort of concession that she
fancies will conduce to the happiness of
her beloved.
Lillie was a conscientious girl, aud so
was firmly resolved to do her duty.
"He shall never know to his dying day
that I married him to conceal 1113 love
for another less worthy than himself,"
she thought. "He loves me, ami I shall
deserve his love."
John, equally consclentions, made a
like resolve, and with what strength of
purpose they adhered to their determi
nations, tiie reader shall see.
And now let us leave them for a sea
son to solve as best they can the prob
lem of their ne'w existence, while we,
Imviug married both the parties, and
thereby reached the commencement of
our story, transport the reader to other
ami more exciting Incidents connected
with tbeir history.
To be continued.
OUR EUBOPEAN 00RBESP0NDEH0E,
I.rTTKK MMREK TWELVK.
MT. HLAXC.
"(jake Leman woos me with Its crystal fsee.
Sang Byron, In the wanderings of CMlde
Jlntold, nnd It hai charmed and fael
nated every one who has seen It from
great Ctesar to the traveler of the present
time. Any one who has gone by rail
from Frieburg can never forget the first
sight of Lake Geneva, as coming
through a tunnel, the train turns sud
denly to the right, and the whole mag
nificent panorama of the broad expanse
of water witli Its surrounding mountains
bursts suddenly and unexpectedly upon
him.
Taking the morning boat from Lau
ra ne up the lake, in nn hour we are
lauded at a station a mile from the cas
tle of Chillon, whose white walls, rising
apparently from the very water, had
been insight for some time. A pleasant
walk nlong a well-made carrlagewoy at
"ie toot of the vine-clad hills brings lis
to the bridge which croeses the moat.
... entrance to the castle we see,
engraved in German, Uie strange motto
for a prison, "May ho UZZX oZ and a half milesionly part way down the mountain
, come in aud go out." As soon as we
I are within the walls, we seek the dun -
Fkkb Sfsecu. Fbee Pit bus, Free I'eom.e.
geons which have been clothed with
such a melancholy Interest by Byron's
poem, "The Prisoner of Chillon."
Two or three underground rooms
must be passed through before reaching
the main duugeon. In one of these Is a
blackened beam on which prisoners
were sometimes executed; another has
a narrow, obscure stairway which com
municates with the council chamber
above, aud iu a third is a huge flat rock
on which the condemned were said to
pass their last night. Going through a
low double doorway, witli the remnant
of a great Iran door yet hanging by its
rust) hinges, we come Into a large, dimly-lighted
dungeon where, '
There are seven pillars ofgothle E-'d,"
"And in each pillar there Ik a rinc
And In eaeh ring there Is a chain."
The column to which Bonivard is said
to have been chained yet has a massive,
rusted, Iron ring fastened to it. The
deep, circular paths, worn In the rocks
around each of these pillars, tell of the
years of anguish which have rolled
over the unhappy prisoners who have
been here confined. The surroundings
are literally as Byron gives them, and
we can almost see the wild-eyed pris
oner tugging to break his chain that he
may reach the body of his dying brother.
Among the hundreds of names In
scribed on the pillars, we find Byron,
Sue, George Saud and Victor Hugo.
With au Involuntary shudder we leave
the dungeons which are so suggestive of
sulleringsand death, and go through the
apartments above. In the center of one
Is a great wooden pillar to which the
victims were fastened and tortured, and
murks of the fire are in it yet. Not far
from here is a deep, dark well or pit
opening into the waters of the lake, down
which the executed were thrown, and
where the condemned were frequently
cant alive. The whole place seemed
reeking with murder, and we were glad
to get out of it wiiere we could look over
the battlements into the deep water
beneath.
Looking out over the lake, we sec the
little island witli the three trees whloh
Byron mentioned.
"And then there was a little isle.
Which In mjr very iaee did smile,
Tbe only one In new."
Tbe castle of Chillon in itself con
sidered is worthy hut little attention,
and were it not that it has been immor
talized by the genius of Byron, it would
be comparatively unknown to English
speaking people. It Is a mistake to
think that Byron's "Prisoner" Is the
Bonivard who was so long imprisoned
here by the Duke of Savoy, and yet we
can but say :
"Chillon ! thy prison i a holy place.
And thy sad floor au altar lor twa trod
Until his very steps had left a trace
Worn, as If tby cold pavement were a rod.
By Bonivard ! May none thoe marks eOaee !
For they appeal from tyranny to God."
If in this connection the reader will
turn to the third canto of "CIMdeJIar
oltVt J'ilgrimage," lie will find abundant
description of all this Lake Geneva re- j
giou.
Going by train up the Rhone Valley,
we soon came to the Gorge of the Trlent,
where this stream cuts through the base
of a mountain range and makes Its way
into the Rhone. Iu some places the
chasm is more than four hundred feet
high, and the perpendicular sides almost
meet at the top. A broad footpatli lias
been made up it, which, suspended from
the rock, crosses from side to side,
giving many fine views. Europe lios
hut one finer gorge. Mnrligny, at the
angle of the Rhone, la the Intersection
of three great mountain passes, the
Simplon to Lago Maggiore in Italy, the
Great St. Bernard to Turin, and the
Tete-Nolre to the valley of Chamouny,
at the very foot of JIt. Blanc.
Leaviug Martigny by carriage early
in the morning, we zigzag up the side
of the mountain for two or three hours,
until the valley of the Rhone for a long
distance lies below us, nnd what seemed
mountains to us when we started, be
came little hills far below us. Much of
the way the road is along the side of the
mountain, swept by avalanches In early
spring, but these are very rare In sum
mer, although at long intervals a trav
eler loses his life by oue. e go up
and up until the summit, six thousand
six hundred feet above the sea level, 19
reached. From this point the descent
Into the valley on the opposite side Is
very steep and sudden. Then a ride of
three or four hours down tne winumg,
dashing stream, at the foot of grand
snow-capped mountains, and nearly all
the time In sight of glaciers, brings us
to the beautiful green valley of Cham
ouny, right at the base of Mt, Blanc,
amid the grandest scenery which the
Alps and all Europe can furnish.
After a good night's rost, we are up
early and ready for the ascent of the
r.,ionvnrt. n snur from which there
is a fine view of the Merde Glace and
the glaciers from It. We climb slowly
up by a winding path cut in tbe side of
the mountain, and after a hard walk of
two hours are at the little restaurant at
the summit, six thousand three hundred
feet nbove the level of the sea. The
ascent of this mountolu Is made solely
for the fine view it affords of the im
mense sea of Ice which fills all the high
er gorges of the Alps, and particularly
the Mt, Blanc range. If the reader can
. 1 . 1 r . var frnm
'n3,,! " , r om
I wide, and of unknown depth, tosaed up
1 into waves, and then instantly frozen, he
can get some idea of this great glacier.
For ages it has ground its way along
this gorge, pushing the debris farther
down Into the valley until it looks as if
a company of giants had been at work
carrying the dirt and rocks down from
the mountains. At the lower end of the
glaciers, the edges for several hundred
feet from the shore are so covered with
dirt aud rocks that it is often difficult to
tell, with any certainty, where the edge
of the chasm Is. As it advances slowly
over the irregularities of the bottom of
the gorge, the glacier is broken up by
crerasse, whloh generally extend across
It- Many of these are shallow, while
others are hundreds of feet deep, and a
stone dropped down oue of them crashes
from side to side until it seems to be lost
in the vast depth, and the sound of the
fall is no longer heard. Ou the top the
glacier looks like snow ice, and is honey
combed by the action of tbe sun, buta
little way down it is solid and very blue.
Higher up, the glaclerseems whiter and
more firm, and still higher it is of a daz
zling brilliancy, while there are many
considerable-sized hills of ice, where two
glacier streams join. With a guide
there is very little danger in crossing
the glacier, as steps are cut in the worst
places, and the iron-pointed Alpenstock
prevents one from slipping. Only a, few
days before our visit, a German profes
sor from Berlin slipped into an opening
nnd was fatally injured. Crossing, we
clamber over many rods of ground-up
rock, which formed the edge of the
glacier when it was larger and filled up
more of the gorge, aud up the sides of
the mountain on the opposite side. We
follow this down toward the valley at a
considerable height above the glacier,
aud have constantly changing views of
tbe frozen billows and icy-walled chasm
below us. In half an hour we came to
what used to be the terrible Mauvals
Pas, a path cut iu tiie almost perpendic
ular shies of the mountain, but now so
well protected by Iron railings that there
is no danger unless one is dizzy when
at great heights. Most of the way the
outer edge of the path is unprotected,
and it gives one far from a pleasant feel
ing to look over the jagged edge, and
see the certain death on the sharp roaks
hundreds of feet below which await the
poor unfortunate who makes only one
misstep. A little furtheron we come to
the Chapeau, a small house hidden be
hind the projecting rocks so as to be
out of tiie way of danger from ava
lanches which sweepdowu the mountain
sides in winter and. early in spring.
This is situated upon a precipitous oil If,
and from it is obtained a fine view up
the glaoier, aud at right angles to this
the whole valley of Chamouuy seems to
he sunk deep dowu betweeu the mount
ains, while the impetuous little stream,
the Arve, for a little way seems to for
get its haste, and winds lovingly
through til e green meadows of the val
ley. Almost at a glance we have the
lofty, sunw-covered mountain tops, the
frozen river with its sluggish but power
ful current, and nearly two thousand
feet below us the loveliest of green val
leys, which looks like a mighty picture
by some giant artist, set in a frame of
great mountains. The view from tue
Chapeau Is one of those which only tho
Alps can give, and which will linger
forever iu the memory.
Descending a steep path through the
wooded hillside, we soon come to a little
hut from whioh a short excursion can
be made to the end of the glacier and
the ice grotto from which the stream
under It flows. This lias been enlarged
by the guides so that it can. be ascended
some two hundred feet, and here oue is
within the very glacier itself. As we
had heeti in the grotto of the Grinden
wald glacier on our former trip, we had
no curiosity to again euter one of Na
ture's vast Ice-houses.
Coming down to the level of the val
ley, we cross it and begin to follow the
winding path which leads up the steep
mountain on tiie apposite side. After
three hours of iiard climbing, we had
reached the little hotel on Mt. Flegere,
which is also six thousand feet above
the sea, from which, if we ore favored
with a clear day, we can seethe entire
Mt. Blanc range and Mt, Blanc itself,
with its vast snow fields from base to
summit. All the morning the greater
part of the mountain tops had been cov
ered with clouds, but by the time we
readied tbe hotel of Mt. Flegere late in
the afternoon, the clouds had broken
away, aud we bad an unobstructed view
of the lofty, snow-white dome of Mt.
Blanc, glittering In the full rays of the
Roltlnir sun. Before us wa n view
which the wildest Mights of ourimagin
ation had never conceived. Within
sight were literally "Alps piled upon
Alps," fr vic could see at once thirteen
mountain peaks, the lowest of which is
two miles high, aud in the midst, reach
iug up Iu the Heavens until we can
hardly distinguish it from tbe clouds,
Mt, Blane, the monarch of
European mountains, three miles high
These mountains are mosty of granite,
aud several of the peaks run up almost
as pointed as cathedral spires, so much
so that they are called needles. We
could almo9t look down upon the Mer
de Glace opposite us, and within eight
we could count nine great glaciers
which reached down Into the -alley,
I and as ra.ny sruai.er ones, which came
slopes. In the oregrounu ana more
1 than a half a mile below us lies the
KXTMBEIt 11.
green valley of Chamouny aud its little
village, with the road aud the stream
winding through the green fields so far
away that they look almostlikeribbous,
At times parts of the mountain range,
or the summits of the mountains, would
bo covered by clouds, and occasionally
the dome of Mt. Blanc, bright with sun
light, would appear above the clouds.
After enjoying the wonderful view for
more than au hour, we descend nnd
reach our hotel at six o'clock.
During the day we have made, on
foot, twenty-one miles of mouutalu
travellug, having climbed two peaks,
each six thousand feet high. The reader
can get some idea of what it Is to lift
oue's body up these two mountains, by
thinking of going up a pair of stairs
fifteen thousand steps high, or going up
and down a pair of ordinary bouse stairs
about eight hundred times in one day.
It was the hardest day's work I had
done in many a year.
There aresixcompetinglinesof stages
from Chamouny to Geneva, a distance
of fifty miles, and so sharp is the com
petition between them that the fare to
Geneva had fallen from twenty-five to
three francs. These great coaches are
each drawn by from three to six horses,
and make the distance down in six
hours. Much of the way the road is cut
through Bolid rocks, and walled up at
the side. I think I never saw so fiue a
carriage road, or oue with such a good
road-bed and grade. And indeed the
fine roads over nearly all Europo are a
wonder to Americans. Most of them are
graded almost as carefully as railroads,
and tho wagou track is covered with
broken stone. The upper part of the
road is through a rough country, but
the ten miles nearest Geneva is iu a rich
aud well-cultivated region. I should
remember this ride as one of the pieas-
autest of my trip if it were not that a
"native," smoking a "long niue" made
of the most villainous tobacco which
ever grew, sat 011 the seat in front of me
and gave me most of the way this
wretched second-hand tobacco smoke.
All over the continent almost every
man smokes and drinks beer or wine,
aud the presence of Iadfes is not consid
ered a restraint to either.
Geneva, which is beautifully situated
at the foot of the lake, is one of the most
important cities iu Switzerland, nnd
contains more foreign residents than
auy other. It is mentioned by Oresar in
the first book of his Gallic War, and
from that time has been a place of im
portance. It has a largo number of
watch and jewelry establishments, and j
extensively manufactures music boxes
aud carved work. Ou a clear day oue
can get a fine view of Mt. Blanc from
the quay in front of the Hotel de Russie.
In Geneva aud along the lake there are
a large number of English hotels and
ladles' boarding schools. On our former
visit we attended Pierre Hyacinth's
church, hut someone else conducted the
service. We, however saw him and his
American wife as they left tbe church.
While in Geneva we were awakened
very early oue morning by an unearthly
noise under our window. Our first im
pression was that half a dozen full brass
bands had come to give us a serenade,
but on looking out we could see only a
market woman with a little wagon and
a dotikey about the size of a four-week-old
culf. The woman seemed to he
reasoning with the animal and enforc
ing her arguments with frequent slaps on
his long ears. He was sustaining his
side of the discusssion in that way
which only a donkey can, and which
cannot be equaled or imitated by any
thing in this world, and it was his vig
orous presentation of his view of the
question which awakened me. Wheu I
looked at the insignificant little animal
and heard the fearful noise he made,
which seemed to fill the air for mites
around, it seemed astonishing that such
wouderful vocal powercould be wrapped
up in so small a brown skin, aud the
longer his powerful argumeutconliuued
the more ray wonder grew, and to this
day I cannot hear a donkey address an
audience or speak to a friend a couple of
miles away, without being filled with
awe at tiie wonderful mauner in which
he seems to be constructed. Until
heard this Geneva donkev I never half
realized what must have been the Inter
view between Baalim and the beast on
which he rode, or was signified when
"the ass opened his mouth aud spake."
We will bring this long letter to
close by asking our readers to get a
through ticket via Mt, Ceuls tunnel for
Naples, eight hundred miles away,
where we hope they will be sufficiently
recovered from the long ride of two days
and nights without the comforts of a
sleeping car, to go with us to tho buried
city of Pompeii, and make the ascent of
Vesuvius. O. R. BcnciIAKD.
The organization of society will never
be jierfect so long as some persons have
more than enough to make them happy
as property cau make them, while
others, by their best exertions, cannot
obtain enougn lor tins purpose, prop
erty, of Itself considered, is nothing; but
taken In counection with what it brings,
it Is of much importance to happiness.
as furnishing the means of protecting
ourselves from those outward things
which excite disagreeable sensations.
aud of gratifying those senses which na
ture uas given us, as the eye, the car, etc.
"Somehow or other." said Frederick
the Great, "Providence seems to do the
most for the best disciplined troops."
"I have always noticed," said Napoleon,
"that Providence favors tbe heaviest
battalions."
A JonTOalfortneJPeopie.
la voted to the Interesrsof
Independent In Polities and Religion.
Alive to all Live Issues, and Thoroughly
RadleBllnOpfiosingandExposinsthe'SVroDj;
of the Masses.
Cwrea pondenls writing over asomedslKnn
tnres mast make known their names to the
Editor, or uo attention will be given to tiiel
communication.
OUE WASHINGTON LETTER.
T E"rroR or the Nw North WBfir:
elegraph brings us the welcome
news that the yellow fever is waning at
-Memphis, and 9O0 will have disap
peared under the chilling touohe9 of
Jack Frost. We know by personal ex
perience and observation in 1678, the
horrors of a Memphis epidemic, and for
the few who remained there this season
to lead a forlorn hope against the King
of Terrors in that horrible struggle for
life given by the yellow fever, we have
had most earnest sympathy and fellow
feeling. Many friends have succumbed.
One, Dr. Wm. It. Lowry, a physician
who began the treatment of yellow fever
during the Mexican War, and since has
been in more or less annual contact with
it, to our Intense surprise and'pain was
not proof against the disease, and bis
name, too, is iuscribed in the roil of tbe
dead. Mr. Toruony, a lawyer, who in
the past made Washington his home
during the sitting of Congress, with all
bis family, is also amoug tbe dead. To
the few who survive is due the greatest
praise for their courage, Oue of these,
J. M. Keatiug. editor of the Atmeal.
seems to bear a charmed life. In 1867
he was iu daily contact with choless
and yellow fever, the same in 1S7S, un
this year was at times the only oneofh s
force at work in the office. Acting as
editor, compositor, clerk, etc., belabored
incessautly upon his paper and among
the sick and alllicted, and we are thank
ful indeed that such a brave, loyal spirit
has been spared by the destroyer. Mem
phis seemes a doomed city. Plague has.
swiftly followed plague, sweeping thou
sands out of existeuce, and crushing out
and paralyzing all trade and business,
and though revival has followed,' yet it
has not been of that permanent type
which begets improvement in values
aud increase of population. In ISM tbe
Gayoso House was the largest hotel In
Memphis, in 1873 It was given up to
squatters. Other hotels were aban
doned, and on every band were otlier in
dications of decay and abandonment.
How can it recover from the fearful
blow of 1S7S? We fear it is impossible.
Ford's Tiieater, in which Mr. Lincoln
was killed, and which has since been
used by the government as an army
medical museum, was found this sum
mer to be in a most unsafe condition.
It was a mere shell, erected on tbe
weakest of foundation walls, and Ibera
Is every reason to suppose that had it
been continued in use as a theater, home
terrible accident would before this have
occurred through the breakingorcqliaps
Ing of its walls under the pssureiglvft
by some large or unusual audience. "Tn
view of its insecurity, the wouder Is that
italready has not fallen down. Thorough
repairs have been made, and thebuildlng
Is now regarded as safe for the purposes
of the surgeon general.
The new State House is being slowly
finished, and by March next the War
and Navy Departments can be removed
to it. Congress is to blame for tbe slow
progress made toward completion of
tliis magnificent, as well as essential
building, for instead of appropriating
enough to finish in one year, the funds
requisite have been doled out in tuch
manner as to stop all work one-half of
each year. How not to do it is some
what the rule govern! ng appropriations.
unless votes are to be gained. Then, as
with the river and harbor bill, the
merest schoolboy fishing stream, where
a piu hook suffices to catch the largest
minnow therein, cau secure a slice of
plunder if some member demands it.
Dean Stanley when visiting here, said
he regarded this new state building
as the finest official structure he had
ever seen, and it was one of which
Americans had cause to he proud.
The Capitol begins to show signs of
life as the worklngmen are busied mak
ing the usual repairs aud preparations
for Congress. Proper ventilation of the
House of Representatives Is the most
difficult problem In the whole matter of
repairs at the Capitol. Every yearsome
new scheme is devised, only .to be
abandoned, and there is constant com
plaint by members at the impure alt
which fills the chamber during tbe
dally sessions. We fear that bad air is
the scapegoat for every ill aflllcting our
solons. The more dissipated the mem
ber, the greater bis indulgence In liquor
and tobacco in and out of the hall, the
greater his condemnation of the imper-
fectuess of ventilation. A member
whose dietary at home is of plainesr
food, and whose regularity of habits is
precisely what Is needed to give him
rugged health, enters our hotels, feasts
at all hours of the day and night upon
the richest of viands, and nbandons all
exercise and regularity. Ill health nec
essarily follows, but of course bad air
alone is chargeable with bis aflllctions.
MUs Eva Mills, our leading Boprano
singer, lias entered into an engagement
with Max Maretzek, of New York, to
sing in his operatic troupe this winter.
She has a magnificent voice, and we feel
assured will make her mark in her pro
fession. Our citizens gave her a fare
well benefit recently at Llneolu Half,
and the crowded house testified to the
warm regard felt for her In her native
hOohen the labor ogltstor, has shaken
the dust o he Federal Capital from his
No 11 hrocans, and has departed from
mir midst X" New York and other
Xceseast. That he may remain there,
Fs the truest wish of every Uv of
peWashlngton, D. a, October 25, 1M8
n Gal. J-'