Essex County herald. [volume], January 29, 1876, Image 1

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TERMS: $1.50 TER "ANNUM, . DEVOTED TO LOCAL, POLITICAL AND GENERAL NEWS, AND THE INTERESTS OF ESSEX COUNTY. IX ADVANCE. '
VOL. IV. GUILDHALL, VEBMONT, SATUIIDAY, JAXUAIIY 29, ' 1876. ' NO. 5.
The letter II.
The following extraordinary linos are worth
repeating. The poem, as mere Teres, ia very
fine bat as an enigma it ia marvelous.
'Twas whispered In heaven, 'twas muttered in
hell,
And echo cangbt faintly the sonnd aa it fell ;
On the confines of earth 'twas permitted to
rest,
And the 'depths of the ocean its presence con
test j - .
'Twill be found in the sphere when 'lis riven
asunder,
Be seen in the lightning, and beard in the
thundor;- , ' '
'Twas allotted to man with his earliest breath,
Attends at his birth, etd awaits bim at death;
Presides o'er his happiness, honors and health;
Is the prop of bis house and the end of his
wealth. ,,
In the heaps of the miser 'tis hoarded with
caje,
But is sure to be lost with hia prodigal heir.
It begins every hope, every wish it most
bonnd ;
With the husbandman toils ; with the monarch
is crowned.
Without it the soldier, the sailor may roam,
But woo to the wretch who expels it from
home I ; .
In the whispers of oonsoienoe its voice will be
found, .
Nor e'en in the whirlwind of passion be
drowned.
'Twil soften the heart ; thongh deaf be the
ear,
'Twill make it acutely and instantly hear ;
But in shade lot it rest like a delicate flower ;
Oh ! breathe on it softly it dies in an hour.
A BOX OF DIAMONDS.
I don't mind telling the story. It's a
good many years now since it happened,
and sad years somo of them were. I
was a young mnu then, and had been
knocking about in the Brazils and the
Went Indies everywhere in South
America, I may say, for Ibeliovo I made
one of the fiivst parties of Englishmen to
cross the Andes from Valparaiso to
Buenos Ayres, no light feat in those
days, I can tell you. I was a doctor by
profession, and many a time, by the ex
ercise of my professional skill, I have
saved my own scalp among the savage
Indians of the Pampas. I am net going,
however, to tell you anything about the
Indiaus now.
As I said before, I had been knock
ing around a good deal in South Ameri
ca, and f-Lippcd as doctor on board nn
old tub of a trader leaving Rio Janeiro
homeward bonnd for Bristol, with a
'lull cargo and a couple of cabin passen
gers. Tho Good Hope was commanded by
Captain McParlano, a hard-headed old
Scotchman. John Williamson first
mate, and a crew of thirteen hands, all
told, made up of Englishmen, Dutch
men, and Swedes. We sailed on the
fourteenth of December, a biasing hot
day, with scarcely a breath of . wind to
fill the sails ; but the captain was anxi
ous to got away, as yellow fever was in
port, and lie had no miud to knocking his
heels in quarantine any longer than he
could help. We had, however, hardly
got clear of Eaza island when a breeze
struck up, and wo were soon bowling
along as fast as the old shin could be
made to etep along, all studding sails
set, and, so tar, a clean bill of health on
board.
On tho twenty first, however, I was
bitting for'ard, getting a breath of fresh
aiir, and smoking my pipe, when Tote,
tho steward's mate, came up and sum
ruonded mo aft to see one of our cabin
passengers, Mr. Wrfliam Grierson, who
had been very unwell during the night,
and began to be afraid that he was in
for a touch of the fever f I went aft and
saw him, but thoro did not appear to be
any very alarming symptoms just nt
present, so I prescribed some cooling
medicine and left him.
Ho was, however, worso the next day,
and the next, yet. it was not a case of
yellow Lvcy, and there was something
in the symptoms that fairly baffled me.
On the twenty-fourth he was so much
worse' that I lx-gan to bo seriously
alarmed, and communicated my fears to
tho captain. ; i
"It is not yellow fever,' of that I am
sure."
" What is it then, doctor f"
" Well, to tell the truth, I can hardly
say. Nothing that I can administer seems
to do him any good, and he is evidently
sinking rapidly."
"Humph!" said the captain, "mys
terious, to say the least of it. Does he
know of his condition ?"
Tho conversation was cut short by the
arrival of Tele, who informed ns that
Mr. Grierson had been seized with a
sudden and alarming access of pain, and
was apparently dying, adding that the
patient wished to see mo at onoo and
alone. In obedience to the summons I
went below, and having shut tho cabin
door and administered the necessary
remedies, asked the dying man the rea
Bon for his wishing to see me.
"I wish to see you because I feel that
I am dying, and I can put off no longer
what I wish to say, if it is to be said at
all," responded the patient, feebly.
" Fetch me that box from the top of
my sea-clieit and listen "
I brought ifc, a small, oblong, mahoga
ny box, and laid it by his side upon the
coverlet, and Mr. Grierson, laying his
hand upon it and at the same time de
taching tho key from a string by which
it was suspended round his neck, with
which his fingers played nervously dur
ing hi recital, continued:
"I 'am a murderer. Aye 1 you may
staro, and think perhaps that my mind is
wandering, but it ia the truth. Twenty
five years ago twenty-five years of
misery I committed the deed which I
am now in the presence of my Maker
about to confess. I was a clerk in a
banking house in London, and the facili
ties and opportunities for peculation of
fered me were too much for me to with
stand, but circumstances occurred which
convinced me that discovery could hard
ly be much longer delayed, and I was
casting about how to make my escape
while there was yet time. Just at this
juncture one of the senior clerks in the
house had to be sent down to Bristol in
charge of a very large sum of money in
gold, and I was deputed to accompany
him to guard the treasure.
" In those times matters were differ
ently conducted from what they are in
the present day, and we had to take the
money in a box, strongly secured and
sealed, with us, by the mail coach,
which started from one of the old inns
in the city for the west of England.
There was a Aim of two thousand
guineas in the box, and the idea sug
gested itself to my mind that if I could
become master of such a sum I could get
clear away by some ship leaving Bristol
for foreign parts before the bank could
become aware of the fact of my escape.
But how to get rid of my companion.
Briefly: for I feel my strength sinking
and I must hurry forward to the end of
what I have to tell you. I procured
poiRon, which I poured into a leathern
bottle, which I carried on the road, and,
wntching my opportunity, offered it to
him to drink. He sank back in a cor
ner of the coach and in a few minutes
was a corpse. Emptying the remaining
contents of the bottle out of the window,
and placing the dead man in such an at
titude as would lead people to suppose
ho had died naturally in his sleep, I
hailed the guard with every simulation
of trepidation, and stopped the coach.
Tho outside passengers got down, and a
scene of great excitement occurred. At
the next village, the local doctor, who
as it happened was a man of no great
skill, was sent for, and dexterously in
sinuating to him that I had known my
companion to have suffered from heart
disease of somo years' standing, with
many compliments to tho .professionrl
acumen of the doctor himself, that
worthy was not long in pronouncing it
a case of sudden death from disease of
the heart; and I was suffered, in view
of my representations as to the urgency
of my mission to Bristol, to proceed on
my journey. Thi3 is the bare outline of
my crime, tho details would only weary
you, and my time is short. I succeeded
in leaving England and reaching Brazil,
where I have amassed a fortune. That
fortune is within the box which lies be
neath my hand ."
He paused, for a violent spasm'came
over iim, and it was not for some time
that I could recover him sufficiently to
enable him to proceed.
Raising himself in bed with difliculty,
he unlocked the box, and disclosed an
array of unset diamonds, whose bril
liancy dazzled me.
"Here are 50,000 worth of dia
monds," proceeded Mr. Grierson. " I
have converted all my fortune into theso
gems, ana these I intend to mtrust to
your care. Take this box at once to
your own cabin and return to mo for
your instructions as to tho disposal of
tho contents.
I hesitated, but he was imperative.
" Not a word. I am dying fast and
I implore you to accede o my last ro
quest.".
I took the box, locked it, and left tho
cabin.
As I opened tho door I ran up against
Pete. ." -"
What are you doing here V
"Nothing."
I passed on along the main deck to
ward my cabin forward, and on my way
I met Oaptam McFarlane.
"How ia your patient, doctor?"
" Dying, I fear. He cannot latt
l0Dg." .
I passed on, nd depositing tho box
in a place of safety, returned. Grierson
was rapidly sinking, and in a few short
sentences he instructed mo as to the
disposal of his property. Ten thousand
pounds was to go to the bankers,
Mepsrs. Holt A Wardley, of Lombard
street, and tho balanco to tho family of
tho murdered mau, whose namo was
given me, and whose representative I
pledgod my word to do my best to dis
cover. Finally, binding me over not to dis
close what I had just been told, except
to parties named by him in his dying re
quest, Grierson relapsed into a stato of
partial insensibility, from which I in
vain attempted to rouse him, and before
half au hour had elapsed the unhappy
man was no more.
; Going on dock, I communicated tho
news to tho captain, who gave the nec
essary directions as to the funeral, which
took place next day; find once more we
were plowing our way through the blue
water as if nothing had happened.
I was an altered man. The strange
commission with which I had been in
trusted, weighed on my mind. Over and
over again in tho stillness of the night
I opened the box of diamonds, and
gazed on the brilliancy of the gems.
What proof was there that they were
not mine; the box with its brass plate
bearing the owner's name could be de
stroyed in a moment, and then over
and over again the devil whispered to
ine, but thank God, I resisted tho te'mp-
tationi 1 1 would fulfill the trust confided
to me, and I prayed fervently for
strength to resist the evil promptings of
my baser self;
One day I sat alone, the box unlocked
on my table, gazing with an irrepressi
ble curiosity, which I was unable to con
trol, on the jewels which scintillated
with a devilish luster before my dazed
vision. The door sudddenly opened and
Captain McFarlane entered.
I beg your pardon, doctor; didn't
know you were engaged." But before I
could close the box or reply his eye had
caught the shimmer of the brilliants.
"Halloo!" what's here!"
With a firm hand he closed the lid
and read the name upon the plate. In
nocent as I was, involuntarily stung by
the remembrance of what my thoughts
had been but a moment before, I quailed
before lus eye.
" I know all now that man was poi
soned consider yourself my prisoner."
I endeavored to explain. I told every
thing as it occurred, and I appealed to
the captain to believe the story, or at
least to await its reasonable confirmation
before acting on his rash conclusion. He
was incredulous. One concession I ob
tained, and that was that all should be
kept secret till our arrival in port, and
that I should not be publicly branded as
a suspected murderer before the crew.
A fortnight passed, a weary fortnight,
during which I repeatedly endeavored to
shake tho conclusion at which Captain
McFarlane had so hastily arrived. Sud
denly, without a moment's warning,
the captain fell siok. He was suffering
from a low fever. I begged him to ao
cept my service.
"Never; you shall not poison me,
too."
Days passed, and the captain got
worse and worse; he babbled in his de
lirium of poison, of stolen jewels; and
night and day I watched at his bedside,
jealously excluding everybody who
might perchance overhear his ravings
and rise up in judgment against me.
One day the crisis came. A few hours
would determine all. If he died I was
once more a free man, free from the im
putation of a foul crime, free to carry
out my honest intention of fulfilling tho
dead man's wishes, but also free from
the dread of exposure which to me would
be worse, as a bare suspicion, than death
itself.
If the captain could but sleep, his life
would be saved. How easy to make
that sleep his last. The devil was at my
olbow, the laudanum bottle in my hand.
But at my soreBt need the strength to
resist was given to me. I poured out
the proper dose, and advanced towards
the cot in which the captain lay. A
strange light was in his eyes. Rising
suddenly, and throwing the bedclothes
off his tall, lean, sinewy form, he half
leaped from tho bed, and seizing the
box of diamonds, which ho had through
out his illness never allowed from be
neath his pillow, in one hand, he
shrieked:
"Never, never ! Will you allow me
to be poisoned like a dog ! Help I some
of you." The effort was too much;
clasping tho box to his bosom he fell
back on his pillow a convulsive shud
der passed ovor his frame he was
dead.
I don't protend to analyze my feelings
at that momont. My reason well-nigh
deserted me. I did not stop to think of
tho possible consequences. Snatching
tho box from the relaxing grasp of the
corpse I rushed from the cabin and fell
over Pete, who was just outside.
"See to the captain. He is dead,"
and I sped onward; but the powerful
man had his hand upon my arm.
'Doctor not go so quick Mr,
Gnerson dead, cap'n die, too doctor
got his box of jewels. Give up that
box," aud he seized mo in his grasp and
struggled with me for the possession of
tho box.
At that moment tho strength of a lion
was ia me; I wrestled with my assailant,
and, freeing myself from his grasp,
made for tho companion stairs. I had
reached the deck, with what intentions
I knew not, but Peto was again with
me, wrestling with tho strength of a
demon for the possession of the prize.
Iliff'ship wa3 rolling heavily in a dead
calm, and, as we foil together, we slid
across the deck toward the lee scup
pers. With a superhuman effort I ireod
my right arm, and, with all my forco,
threw the box over the quarter-dock
railings. It flew open as it fell into the
sea, and in the moonlight the diamonds
fell like a shower of falling stars into
tho black water.
The man, seeing my movement, left
his hold of me, and sprang forward to
catch tho box as it fell. A heavy lurch,
and I was alone on the deck.
The rapidity with which everything
had taken place seemed to have stunned
me, and deprived me of the power to
utter even one cry for help. When I
recovered myself it was too late Pete
and tho diamonds were gone forever.
I looked arouifd the deck was de
serted, save by the man at the wheel,
who, half hidden by the wheel house,
had not seen the struggle.
Can I be blamed? I held my tongue.
The captain was buried at dawn, and
the chiof officer took command of the
ship. It was clear that Pete must have
fallen overboard, and no one suspected
the share I had had in tho catastrophe.
In due time we arrived at Bristol, aud
for my own satisfaction I instituted tho
necessary inquiries as to the individuals
named by the man Grierson. Tho bank
had long rinoe ceased to exist. I traced
soma vague rumor ol a man Having
died suddenly in a stage coach while
passing through an obscure village in
Somersetshire, but could never obtain
any clew to his representatives. It was,
-. - it ii i "" -i a 9 t
pernaps, as weu mat j. luueu. x am
still a poor man, but I would rather die
so than accept the possibility of becom
ing rich at the terrible risk which at
tended the unlucky bequest of the box
of diamonds.
Hydopliobla from the Bite of a Cat,
Henry Murray was a laborer of sober
habits and healthy constitution. On
the night of October 19, 1875, while em
ployed as a watchman on certain build
ings in the Suburbs of Brooklyn, fj. T.,
he attempted to drive a strange cat from
one of them. The animal sprang into
his face and bit him on the nose, but,
the wound inflicted being nothing more
than a slight scratch, he paid no atten
tion to it. The wound soon healed. A
few days ago he felt a pain in his nose,
but no thought of the encounter with
the cat occurred to him, he eupposing
he had taken a cold. All that night he
complained of a headache, and of feel
ing languid and the next day was quite
ill, although he continued at his work.
On the next morning his respiration be
came labored, and he swallowed with
difficulty, saying that his throat seemed
to be closing against him. His friends
became alarmed at the symptoms, and
Dr. John D. Sullivan was called in, who
tells the following story of the case :
I was called in and found him in bed,
but looking quite well. But, while
talking to him, he suddenly jerked up,
all his muscles going into a spasm,
After telling me of his difficulty in drink
ing, I called for a glass of water and
handed it to him. As he took it his
hand began to tremble, and only with
great effort he succeeded at last in get
ting it to his mouth and taking a mouth
ful. He had no "actual dread of water,"
which hydrophobia literally means, but
his throat contracted violently, together
with all tho muscles of his body. The
muscles were affected, but tho spasms
were nervous. After that was over he
seemed as well as ever in his life, except
that ho felt a soreness in his forehead,
he said. At that timo 1 knew nothing
about the cat bite, and not liking to
frighten him with any questions, I took
his father and mother into another room
and asked them if he had been bitten by
any animal. Thoy said no, except some
ten years previously, when he had been
slightly bitten by a dog. Whilo talking
with his father, his mother went back,
however, aud questioned him on the sub
ject, and he mentioned the cat bite
spoken of as the only one. When I saw
the symptoms were fully developed,
asked him about it, and he said that for
the last two or three days ho had 'had
darting pains in his nose. Thore was,
nowever, no swelling about the spot, nor
any discoloration. I saw him again, and
his symptoms having become more in
tense in e rerj way, in spite of the reme
dies I had applied, I sought a consulta
tion with another physician, aud called
in Dr. Pilcher. I had administered se
datives with some quinine. Tho quinine
I gave him thinking he mip;ht not have
recovered from au attack of malarial
fever he had had somo time beforo.
When Dr. Pilcher arrived, tho symp
toms were still worse, although tho
sedatives were increased, and we
thought tho steam bath was the only
thing that could help him. However,
thore were no facilities for it there, and
when I went to tho police station for an
ambulance, intending to take him to the
hospital, where a bath could be had, I
could not get ono. It was, however,
then too late. . He was jumping and
struggling violently, his agony being
awful to witness. We finally concluded
to let him alone, and he went rapidly
into collapso, remaining in a very low
condition until he diod from shet-r ex
haustion. There was, during his low
state, moro or loss spasmodio action of
the muscles and a continual accumula
tion of foam" sputum " wo would call
it in his mouth, which seemed to choke
him when ho triod to swallow and to
throw him into tho spasms. He was not
afraid of any fluid, but could not swal
low it, the attempt to do so' almost
asphyxiating him. At such times ho
grew livid.
Young Murray remarked to Dr. Sul
livan that if he could only get the
trouble out of his throat ho would be all
right. He became delirious, and im
agined that somebody was outsido who
wanted to shoot him. He also seemed
to fear that the doctors were going to
cut his nose off. He gave rational an
swers to questions, even when violently
delirious. Dr. Sullivan is fully of the
belief that the- case was one of genuine
hydrophobia.' lie is also of opinion that
if tho case had been put under medical
treatment two weeks ago, tho effects of
the virus oould have been eradicated
from the system, and the life of Mr.
Murray saved.
Thirty years ago or more a clock in a
neighboring city bore the following ap
propriate inscription on it :
" I'm old and worn as my faoe appears, -' '
For I've wali.ed on time for a hundred years ;
Many have fallen since I began,
Mauy will fall ere my raoo I've ran ;
I've buried tho world with it hopes aud fears
lu my long, long march of a hundred years.
The light to sell pop-corn at tho
Centennial exposition has beeu sold fur
$3,000. ,- -.
IN A QUICKSAND., t .
A Terrible Bltaatlea In Which a 11 aa was
Placed A Narrow Escape.
The fate that grasps and holds you,
and makos you look it in tho face as it
slowly murders you, is one which to
look forward to must break the strongest
human fortitude. Accident has thrown
many a man in the power of such slow
destruction, and those who have escaped
have had a story to tell. Forest and
Stream says that Mr. Frank Wade, of
Indianapolis, while on a fishing excur
sion at Maxincuckee pond, went up the
margin of a small muddy stream, and
saw some beautiful water lilies, that he
very much wished to gather.' Leaping
across, he struck on a miry level and
found hims If sinking.
The hoi rible truth burst on him that
he was in a quicksand. The sensation
was dreadful. The mud grasped him
like a vise. His legs were helpless,
and his feet seemed to be treading on
nothing. And still he sank. Now he
was above hia waist and rapidly losing
strength.
Up to this time he had indulged the
hope of extricating himself, but now he
began to call for help. Again and again
ho called with all his strength. His
cries were heard by two companions,
Messrs. Elliott and Gall, about a quar
ter of a mile distant on the lake, and by
some instinct they at once took in the
situation.
In a moment they were making toward
him as fast as oars would carry them,
but moments are years to a man in
Frank's situation. By this time he was
up to his armpits. The mud and sand
seemed to press him from all directions,
Respiration was diflloult, and his breath
ing was growing shorter. Each breath
was drawn with a distinct effort.
He grasped at a little bunch o ' grass,
and held to it lit e a drowning man to a
life preserver. With the other hand he
managed to get hold of a small piece of
au old barrel stave, which lay within
reach, and worked that under his arm.
Both these stays soon failed him, and he
continued to descend.
Tho othor boys were fast approaohing,
but now his arms were extended above
his head, and his rescue seomed doubt
ful. He thought of home, of mother,
sisters and friends. . He wondered what
he had done to deserve such an ignomi
nious death. He wondered if his body
would ever be recovered if he sank out
of sight. His senses reeled, and his
head seemed to be bursting.
The approaching resoners struck
bar. In an instant they jumped out and
were dragging the skiff over it. It was
hard work, but soon dono. Tho life of
Frank Wado was at stake. In deeper
water again they rowed towards him like
athletes.
The boat strikes the land. They leap
out and run to Frank, bringing an oar
with them. When they got to him the
mud was within an inch of his mouth,
His head was thrown back, and the back
part of it imbedded in mud. He was
pale aud helpless.
With all possible haste an oar was ex
tended to him. He was too weak to grasp
it firmly, but managed to get it under his
arms, and thus sustained himself. Then
hope revived. After a few moments of
rest he worked the oar into such position
that ho could Seize it with both hands,
and then tho work of extrication began.
Liltlo by little he managed to loosen
his body, though he could not move it,
Then the boys would work him back and
forth with the oar. Without describing
this process in detail, suffice to say that
after about half an hour of hard work he
was finally dragged out.
How to Save.
The way to save, the Ledger tells us,
is to begin with tho little matters and
begin at once. No one ever made his
way from poverty to riches who scorned
economy in small things, and could not
comprehend tho value of a single cent.
Tho poor man, who would get ahead pe
cuniarily, muHt learn to save cent after
cent one at a time, if ho can do no more
till ho gets a hundred of them, aud so
h is a dollar, is a wise and noble thing for
him to do. Having thus actually saved hia
first dollar, he will have acquired with
it a power of self- denial aud a tonacity
of purposo which will enable him to save
ono dollar after another till he' gets
a hundred. And then ho can save
on indefinitely, and become indepen
dent in fortune.
"But," says somo one who has lived
all his life without saving, " how am
I to save. My habits are fixed. How
can I learn to lay by something for old
age?"
You must do as to money matters what
a curtain auoimit school of philosophers
did as to morals. Those old sages used,
every night, to review their actions for
the day, and see what they, ought not to
have done, and what they might have
done better of tho things which it had
been necessary f or . them to do. So,
too, must you, every night, review the
outlays of tho day, and see what you
have spent that you ought not to have
spent, and how you might have got
more economically whatever it was ne
cessary for you to obtain. Any ono who
faithfully makes such a review of his
expenditures will be apt to discover
many opportunities for " retrenchment
and reform." And then if he will, he
cuu at once begin to save, and may ac
quire economical habits which will
seoure his future prosperity. ' j
Winter in Cauadlan Town.
A month of snow to most young peo
ple, at all events, would bo highly en
joyable. It is scarcely enough to reduco
the pleasure and novelty of sleighing to
mere means of transit, or to dull the
ears to the merry tinkling of the bells ;
and perhaps it would hardly give them
an overdose of skating, even though
that pastime had to be carried on in a
damp and unhealthy little rink. But six
months, six long interminable months of
white chaos, with nothing to relieve the
eye but snow, deep snow I Thero are
dances ad nauseam all through tho
winter, and their merry evenings have
often been held up by Canadians as the
result of, and peculiar to, their hSrd win
ters; but is it, I ask, necessary to the
Bucoess of a ball that tho thermometer
should stand at thirty below zero, and
that every guest on tho way thither
should have periodically to feel his nose
and ears in order to satisfy himself that
he still possesses those organs ? , Get a
sensible Canadian in a corner toward
the end of March, button-holo him, and
he will sing you a different song. Tou
will gather from him that, although he
has never spent a winter away from his
native land, he feels the cold more and
moro every year, and pines for some
thing that his instincts tell him would be
more natural and more agreeable. Un
less you are a lumberman, exercise is
next to an impossibility, and you conse
quently suffer, unless you can do with
out it, which few Englishmen can. En
deavor to walk along a country road, and
even if you can manage to stagger on
for a mile or two you will run the risk
of being put into the county lunatic
asylum. Riding, of course, is an im
possibility, so there is nothing for it but
to sit in a stove-heated room, or to rush
through the freezing air, muffled up to
the eyes, in a sleigh. At this season of
the year the farmers, boing thrown out
of work, throng the barrooms in great
Newfoundland coats, with hoods and red
scarfs around their waists, and fur caps
of vast extent upon their heads. But
still "harder looking crowd" are the
lumbermen, or shantymen, who, turned
adrift from the far backwoods, are let
loose on the peaceful inhabitants of Kis
awlce. They may, indeed, bo reckoned
among the evils of winter--English,
Irish, Scotch, French and Canadians, all
roughened down to that state of exist
ence which lives only to drink or curse.
The streets present, however, a very gay
appearance, as do also the stores and
hotels. An unceasing stream of sleighs
of every description glides swiftly and
noisolessly through the streets; the
steam from the horoes rises up between
the houses, through the cold air, and the
jangling of a thousand bells continues
from morning till night.
Where has All tho Gold Gone I
An English writer who, of course
must depend to a great degree upon
guess work, says that not less than five
thousand millions dollars' worth of gold
and silver have been taken from the
earth since the days of Noah. Of this
amount he thinks that three .billions
two hundred millions have been pro
duced since the discovery of America,
The Christian world is credited with
having had two thousand millions, most
of which has been disposed of by ship
wrecks, gilding, fire, and various other
ways, as effectually, tho AUa California
suggests, as many of our citizen have
disposed of theirs by investing m stocks.
He thinks this loss proceeds at the rate
of sixteen millions annually, which is
undoubtedly too low. One-half of the
balauoe, three hundred and fifty mil
lions, he thinks is held in. tho form of
plate and ornaments. Of tho balance of
three thousand millions in the anti
Christian world, waste and losses omit
ted, ho thinks that over a thousand bil
lions have been hidden in Asiatio lands
in different atros of the world, and he
continues that it is well known that
thousand millions were thus hidden in
India aud China in the six years sue
ceediog 1851 ; that is during the time
when wholesale murder and slaughter
and wholesale robbery and despoliation
wore tho business of the natives and
their enemies. Ono would think that
China must be carpeted with gold leaf,
paved with silver dollars, glittering with
the precious metals, did he think only
of the vastsums sent there for hundreds
of years post, littlo or none of which
over comes back. But somehow these
metals have a fate there as they have else
wherethey disappear. Like many other
commodities.they serve theirpurpose and
disappear. What became of all the gold
with which Solomon covered his grand
temple ? What became of all the Span
ish spoils in South America and in
Mexioo ? Ono might ask such questions
forever and be no wiser therefor. Gold
and silver serve thtir purposes and dis
appear, as do the human race and old boots
and all other material things, and there
is none so wise as can tell us accurately
what has beoome of thorn. When the
faucet is turned, whore has the gaslight
gone ? one might ask, and the question
would be as reasonable and perhaps as
difficult to answer. Wo know pretty
well, the paper significantly adds, where
our, little portion of gold aud silver has
gone, but th it knowledge does got give
us any particular gratification.
' A Pennsylvania man named his first
throe boys America, United S'aites and
Christopher Columbus, and a new comet
he has called Centennial, v .; v v
Items of Interest. -' -From
pole io ' pole The telegraph
wiros.
A good soldier would as soon eat as
fight.
Tight boots show a narrow under
standing. ' .''-
Two Illinois men havo patented an
apparatus by which all the lamps in
a town can be lit or extinguished at
once. .' : ...
Let us carefully observe those good
qualities wherein our enemies excel us,
and endeavor to excel them by avoiding
what is faulty and imitating what is ex
cellent in them.
If you don't want your wife to bothei
you every day with the remark, " Don't
forget that worsted," just mention to
her the pretty girl who tends the worst
ed counter where you got the last.
According to a very ancient English
rhymester, when Christmas fails on Sat
urday tho winter shall be full of great
tempests, that shall slay both man and
beast; fruit and corn shall fail greatly,
and many old people perish.
"Tho boy. at the head of the clasB
will stato what were tho dark ages -of
the world." Boy hesitates. " Next,
Master Briggs, can you tell me what the
dark oges were?" " I guess they were
the ages before spectacles were invent
ed." V Go to your seats." ,
" How are you getting on in your new
place ?" asked a lady of a girl whom she
had recommended for a situation.
"Very well, thank you," answered the
girl. " I am glad to hear it," said the
lady. " Your employer is a very nice
lady, and you cannot do too much for
her." I don't mean to, madam," was '
the innocent reply.
Hot Springs, Ark., keeps up its round'
of unique amusements. The local paper
thus advises its readers: Go up to tho
park to-day and witness the bear rob the
bee-gum. It is worth seeing, and will
be quite a treat to those who are not ac
quainted with the manners and habits of
this interesting bird. There will also ,
be skating in the evening. ......
An unwilling juryman recently ex
cused himself from service by a letter,
of which the following is a literal copy :
" Sir As I am a Fauriner and my leng
wich Danich I am not ettel compitint of
the Englich lengwich to be a jewry man
and my contious du not allow me to
geive my openian en wat I do not ender
stan. An answer vel oblight."
The roads in some parts of Germany
are lined during the entire distance with
rows of poplars, or of apple trees, tho
branches of. which latter bend beneath
the weight of the fruit. A fine of three
shillings is the penalty for plucking tho
fruit, consequently it is permitted to
ripen, and the owners or the community
reap the benefit of their foresight in
making shade trees at onco beautiful
and profitable.
The giving of scholarships at Amherst
College is to be on a more critical plan
hereafter. All who apply for them
must give a full account of their iucome,
including what they earn and receive as
gifts, and all their necessary expenses,
such as tuition, fuel, room rent, books,
etc., and all incidental expensos. They
must also pledge themselves not to ex
pend anything for tobacco, liquors, bil
liards, or dancing lessons.
Strange Hallucination.
One of the most extravagant conceits
peculiar to a deranged mind belongs to
a poor fellow who may, during every
twenty-four hours, be seen at regular
times standing about the railroad depots
in Louisville. For several months past
he has believed himself to be tho
general superintendent of the railroads
leading into the city. In his madness
thore is method. He has the schedule
of every railroad committed to memory,
and is ou time with the arrival and de
parture of every train at the various de
pots in the city. At 2 :20 r. m. lie is at
the Shortline depot to see that the Cin
cinnati train gets off all right ; a few
n inutes later he is at tho Jeffersonville,
Madison and Indianapolis and Ohio and
Mississippi depot, and thence he goes
to the Nashville depot, thus making the
rounds until- all the trains liave arrived
and departed.
As it is above the dignity of so im
portant an official to command tho sub
ordinates in person, he is never known
to give an order, but contents himself
with standing around the platforms,
watching every movement of the em-'
ployeos. After the arrival or departure
of a train tho countenance of this queer
creature lights up with an expression of
supreme satisfaction, and Without say
ing a word to auy ono, complacently
puts his hands in his pockets and walks
away with an air of indifference and
self-importance.
Won the Money.
"Bet half a dollar I shall fall down !
Bet half a dollar I shall fall!"' mur
mured an old chap the other evening as, .
with too much whisky, he was feeling
his way down the street. " Bet half a
dol " Just here the old fellow's heels
flew so high into the air that his head
and shoulders beat them back to the
ground. Rising to a sitting posture, he
took up his hat, rubbed the back of his
Lead, and then said : ' Won the money,
by thunder I And it is tho first bet I've
won this winter I"