? ' ..i * \ : i *l*\ / *i '*'<)% *t""| ' > . .j ... . ' . ' ' ~ J '" '' - .... 'W'^ *.-/ ! ?i l rtkkl ' ' ' ' .-isjTxrsd jwar *sX 7*^.. I ' - + + ? fc ? ifl * ?2 "I I I I > . .' . - 1 , '* t * t ' ' ' V ^ : . 4 ' ;?., - i. V : _ a1" *"* ??MI ' .. ?... _ _ V * '-K? '" ?' ,1111 E ;i3l)HVILLE PRESS & BJMflE: * - - r,,, . ... . . t ^ '",,oi'' ; ' ' '. . : ' ? - '' . < nt>b] i T .t i -j n w a 2 ,, < BY W. A. iMe AND HUGH WILSON. . ABBEVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 2. 1876. , iihnoK yoLDME XXIV.-NO. 17. ; " "L t_ 1 "" 1 ^ ' ' i r -'J.-. A Day of Summer Beauty. Oat in the golden summer air, Amid (be purple heather, A woman eat with drooping head. And hands clone knit together; Never a bitter word she said, . * ^ Though all bar limbs looked oold and deadCold in the glowiog haze that lay Over the fair groen earth that day, That day of ?ummer beauty. For, far away, where leafy woods - <. Touched the blue sky, cloud riven, A thonBand-birds rang out l.fe's bliss In jubilee to heaven; How oould the poor, old, withered throat Carol echoes to each soft note? Eyery soul must pay life's cost? ?er deepest silence praised God most, That day of summer beauty. Too di.iled her soul, too worn, to feel 8ummer delight acutely; While sa-th was praiaiDg God aloud, Her pitienoe p'a'sod him mutely. Her narrow life of tbouarht and care, Not life to live, but life to bear; ' Coniouted that her eonl was ead, While all God's uonlloaa things were glad, That day of Bunmer beauty. And where ahe etayed, a du*ty speak In gorao and heather glory, A weary spirit watcbe4 and road The pathos of her story: A spirit, doubt oppressed a-id worn, J HaJ found another moro forlorn, ^ Tha? (rnetful, stayed, LOr sought to gn?M Life's rBcaaw'-gi, which are fathomless, Through all the oummor beauty. ,/A!tr ? /The General's Address. A Story of tha Dark-Day* of the ^ Revolutionary War.'? ?' ' y ' The sufferings of the American army ' during the Revolutionary war were severe. The American Cougress was accused of not treating the army fairly, add at one time there was great danger that the troops would leave the field. Washington appealed to Congress at tiiis jnnctnre, but no heed was paid to his request. In writing to the secretary oI war on the subject he said: ' Only conceive the mortification the troops must suffer (even the general officers), when they cannot invite a French officer or traveling acquaintance to a better duiper khan bad whisky (and not always that) and a bit of beef without vegetables * ' will afford them." Congress, though it professed a desire that the army shouldreceive justice, V declared its inability to do anything : until the separate States were consulted. A'xjommittee appointed to make 'inowa tbair grievances to Congress re* rahiM and "reported their ' iu success. This report fell like fire on the suffering army, and it was evident that ' some deoisive action would be developed before long. At length, on the ' if frmlr in on I VUilVU V/J. ^U.??L \~l~iy AW wva AVtlU MU anonymous address that was distributed through the army, calling on the officers meet next day to decide on the mea8' ~ nres tliat should be adopied to obtain a redress of their grievances. . This addfess, it was ascertained years after, was written by Major Armstrong, aifl-df-camp t?> General Gates. Its f Ikngiage was well calculated to set on flia the army that was already prepared ...for an explosion. The - v aidre-s commernsed with the statemenf' of3 tlie * disappointment felt at the report of the indifference of ihe government to theirrights, sayV that i'aith baa its limits as well 4Mist'' its temper, and there are points beyond which neither can be stretched **" without sinking into cowardice or | ipltfciging into credulity.'S He then a gtalEbs a sapid 8uri.\1 in Carrier Pigeons and Shipwrecks. , An interesting lecture on the utiliza-; . tion of the homing or carrier pigeon was given at the zoological gardens, Regent's park,. Loudon, recently, by Mr. Tegetmeier. After describing the origin of the pigeon voyageurs, .'the methods of training lor tne long coneours, or races, the powers of flight, extending to upward of five hundred miles a day, the lecturer described the details of the pigeon post U6ed daring the siege of Paris, and stated that at the present time every foi tress and fortified town in dermany was provided with flights of trained pigeons by which communications could be sent into the town, if invested by a hostile force. He then proceeded to describe the latest application of the homing faonlty if these birds'?namely, the establishment of communications from lightships sothe shore, so that by the use of the , maritime code of signals, two or three letterH stamped on the wing would conrey the intelligence that assistance of tnv kind was desired, and would proride a means of communication when 10 other meihod was available. The ex periment is being tried, in the first instance, at Harwich, and as soon as a sufficient stock of birds has been reared, it is proposed to keep relays on board the adjacent lightships, so that in case >( a second wreck like that of the Deutsohland, requests for assistance jould be immediately conveyed to the authorities a* Harwicn. London Beauties. It is no slight work which the beau lies 01 juonaon nave to perioral, a correspondent writes. As I heard one say to another the .other night, on a crowded staircase, where people had been waiting for half au hoar unable to get either up or down: " We have to go to a reception and a ball yet. and this is our third party to-night." 'To drag around from house to house like this, night after night, requires a ^institution of oast iron; and most of these ..fair damsels seem to have it. The first rose of the year is not a more beautiful object than some of these girls, with tjjieir perfect forms ,;.>?rd/ complexionft as fresh and clear a* the c&ylight. They are beginning life without^ an twtriety or a care, and imagine that they will meet with nothing much worse on the road than a dull party or stupid partner; but we old ttagem, who have trudged on a good vay ahead, know very well the kind of entertainment which will presently be spread out before them. It seems to me that the crop of these beauties is more abundant than ever this year. THE MENNONITES. illl.j.- * <. * V A Description of a Peculiar Sect In Pennsylvania?How they Live and Dreie. A correspondent writing from Lancaster, Pa., draws this picture of the Mennonites, a noted sect there: A representative Mennonite is an object of curiosity. Travelers going through this valley are puzzled to know what to make of them. Mennonite men are nearly always above the medium height They are tall, straight, and angukr. They wear their straight, black hair rather long, until it nearly reaches then shoulders. Their coats are cut straight up and down. The material is of gray wool, and is home-made. There are no buttons on their olothing, hooks and eyes being used instead. The vest is cut high; so is the shirt; and around their necks they wear black scarfs or stock?. Vests, and wide, lone, straight ' pft^iql/Mraar lnnlring more like ft pair of bags than like pantaloons,, are of brown jeans, ooarsely and rudely pade np. Therfc *ft no stylo abouk-'them. The Mennonite costume consists of a black SloutjfThft fc|th i^vfry wide hrim, which is worn a part or Summer and aB winter, The men wear heavy oowhide boots 'MU This style o?drisi fas worn by their fathers in this valley over two hmidred-jearsfttio, and has been wcrn ever since. Tlie women wear black sun bonne^s^ ^ed; with pasteboard slips, browri calico gowns, and blaok woolen capes or ahawli. Their feet are oovrted with blnej gtookings knit at home' from wool raised On the farm, and rough kip shoes., , , . The women are, as a general thing, small as oompared with the stature of their husbands. Young and old dress alike, so that unless a close inspection is made a man twenty years of age can hardly be told'from one fifty years old. They stand quite erect, and, like the Chinamen, resemble eacU other very much. The married women become plump and sluggish, and the young ladies may be ever bo handsome, yet '? 1 _ 1-1 ? IL-!-. J A* tney always looapuun m mair uumeauc garb, and their black eyes and rosy cheeks are hid away under the flaps of their uncommonly large sun bonnets. They are quiet, and rprely smile. The old folks are more loquacious than the young. A fair daughter will go to church wit hher .father aad mother. She "wiD"6it between* them, and look neither to the right nor to the left. At the close of the services all of them may stop in leaving "the builJing to recognize and speak to friends for a short time, but the conversation is very limited. I visited one, of their farmhouses?a small,; two-story, stone house, with four ihl^ll'iooma fcud; * Jritcken* ..There was no carpet on the floors, and the furniture was neat and plain. The boards were sorubbed fresh and clean; the windows up stairs' were open; the beds, pufP5d up with" bounciug feather bolsters, looked sweet and clean; extra apparel hung on pegs in a corner, and a chest servod for a wardrobe for the other clothing. The walls were white as the driven snow, and the pleasant air of the shady grovo without bulged in the common paper curtains. Their diet is principally eggs and vegetables. They ' I cat VOIJ llbUO rn^au. Abont theii*dwelling6 are their immense barns, large enough to hold ?t dozen of the houses they live in. These barns contain the remains of the crop of last year. The stables are filled with horses and cows, and in the outbmjkty&gs *?"0* tt^~plain family carriage, wagons, plow8,~~and other implement?. These men are hard working farmers, sun-browned and honest, caring nothing at all about politics, and living only Xti.till the soil, deaLhoneetiy with their neighbors^nd save money. The husband is sole manager of his household, the wife and children doing his bidding in the most minute particular. They are people of remarkably few words, speaking only when it is absolutely necessary. They would not knowingly wrong anybody. Their religion embraces the doctrine of the golden rule. One of their leading men, who has ac^eiredj ft. large fortune, will not take more'than- four p6r cent, for the use of his money, because, as he says,' it is not fair, right, just, nor honest to receive any more. It is certain, also, that a?a nlnnfrr r\f +Viom wlin Inon lUUiO U1U v* VUVM u money to their friends-and neighbors Who Otegooi Jp& erjen M bond, note, or collateral, nor do they ask for or receive any interest. They sell nothing on credit. They keep no accounts. .Their verbal promise to pay is as good as a first mortgage or a government bond. They never go to law, and crime is unWW ill ATI Cnrlons Facts About Blind Tom. Blind- Tom's birthpboe ifl Qeorgia, and he begnn to excite attention as a musician at the age of four years. All sounds afford him delight; even the crying of a child causes him to danoe about in a state of ecstasy. When at home he often bit and pinched his brothers and sisters to make them emit cries of pain. If kept away from a piano, he will beat against the wall, drag chairs about the room, and make all sorts of noises. When in Ldndon a flate was procured for him of a very complicated pattern, and having twentyrtwo keys. He fro quently rises up at night and plays this instrument* imitating upon it all sorts of sound?}, whioh he may hear at the time. Onoe When the agent attempted co make him stop playing a piano in a high-toned hotel at three o'clock in the morning, Tom seized him and threw him through the door. > In Washington he threw a man down stairs who came into his room. , When at, home in Georgia he liveB in a building about two hundred yards irom the house, aud there remains alone with his piano, playing all day and night, like one possessed with madness. Bad weather has an fiffeot upon his music. In cloudy, rainj^leasons, he. plays somber music in minor chords; and when the sun shines and the birds sing, he indulges in waltzes and light music. Sometimes he will hammer away for hours, producing the most horrible discords imaginable. Suddenly a change comes over nim, and he indulges in magnificent bursts of harmony taken from the best productions of the masA?? ^VIA VtOQ VlAOVl Tiers. QUITO mo umiuuvA/u xx%j amm an idiot, aqd he played nearly as well at the ageofsoven as he does now ; bnt now his repertoire is much larger, as he can play anything he has ever heard. Ho now playn about 7,000 pieces, and picks up new ones everywhere. It is a onrious fact that he will not play any Sunday-school musio if ho can help it, having a great dxslike for it. asl Tftwi^SeTmri' A subscriber, says the Hartford Post, who signs his letter *"0haries," writes us: "Something within me tolls me I have genius. At dawn, at midday and eventide, I break forth in poetic song; my waking hours tpe musical with the lute tones of an unseen Orpheus, and in my sleep the muses bend lovingly o'er my oot. How shall I develop and perfect this inspiration?this divine afflatus?this gift of the gods V Gome down to Hartford, Charles, and peddle olame. A Boring Life. Young Jessup, of Philadelphia, who was killed in a duel in Colorado, pos sessed a roving disposition. He served ! in the army when fourteen years of age, ' and in 1866, then only twenty, he, with i a single companion, Btarted on an over- 1 land trip around the world. The journey ] across the plains at that time was par- 1 tioularly dangerous. The Indians were suspicious and resentful of theencroaoh- i ment of the whites. The frontier posts < were insufficiently guarded, and, as a consequence, the savages had grown ] bolder in their raids. The two young ] men left Leavenworth, Kan., with a can- j vas covered wagon and four light mules. < For about a month they traveled entirely i alone, but on the borders of Nebraska ( they found the Indians so bad that they J found it neoessary to join a train for the i purpose cf mutual protection. Their ] party numbered thirty-four in all, and i for nearly three weeks the party was be- 1 set by bands of hostile Sioux, who fol-. ] lowed them until they came to a mili < tary post. Arriving at Denver, then ] just rising into prominenoe, the- two young men visited the different mining camps and towns of Colorado, skirting the mountains to Bishop's pass, and prooeeded thenoe to Salt lake City. Proceeding westward toward Sacramento they made frequent detours, visiting whatever was of inter eft by the way, now journeying alone and again joining the wagon trains they overtook. In California they explored the wonders of the Tosemite, then a comparatively unknown region, and after remaining here some time they sailed for the Sandwich islands and thence to China, Cochin China, Malacca, Ceylon and India to the Himalayas, returning half way back to Allahabad. Upon making the great journey across oentral India by "coolie dak "?a two-wheeled cart drawn by six teen natives?they arrived in Bombay. Proceeding thence by steamer to Aden, and up the Bed sea to Suez and through lower Egypt to Alexandria, their fnrther journey was interrupted by a cable telegram to young Jessup announcing his mother's dangerous sickness anenefit of the rat when it should come mt. Then he carefully dismissed his illies, and stoned them in different diections lest they should go back to reiume the siege and fall into his torpedo >it. Mr. Posonby did not come home unil quite late, not until his wife and son lad returned and retired, tired of waitng for him. As the house was quite lark and quiet when he approached it, le naturally supposed his spouse had >een detained later than she expected, le felt under the door mat for the key, >ut as that useful little "open sesame " ras in the lock on the inside of the door, le couldn't find it He felt fuither un ler cne mac, ana men coin King ne mignc iave puslied it away, began to feel .round the poroh for it, sweeping his land out in circling swoops, accompanyng these erratio movements with stinIry exclamations and mutterings. In ne of these vigorous sweeps be thrust lis hand into something that lifted him o his feet. A terrible, cold, vicious omething that shut down on his hand ike a wild beast and just raised him up tntil only his tip toes touched the^porch loor. The wail that broke from Ins palid lips silenced all the dogs in the ward, ii a woKe up a private nigni watcnman ?ho wan pacing bis vigilant beat on top if a salt barrel j net around the corner nth his eyes shut. It wakened bis 6on, rho thrust bis bead out of the window ud shouted "fire I" in the most stentoian toneS tbat a youth of eleven years an command. It roused his wife from ler peaceful slumbers, who thrust her lead outof another window and screamed 4 thieves I" with nil the full piercingvigir of her womanly voice. It wa-tened lis neighbors in both directions, who eaned out of their windows and shot at dr. Posonby, who stood on the porch, lancing about in an ecstasy of agony, lowling at every jump. In a moment >e became calm enough to investigate ; .e removed the trap, explained and was dmitted to the house. He explained o Mrs. Posenby, as she bandaged his rounded hand, that he thought sure it ms " snakes," and when that good lady idiculed the idea, and said thero were o snakes about here, he shook his head roarily, and looked at her out of the corer of his eyes with a sweet, sad smile. .' ' i I i .; . / Disbanding the Army. The position of the American army t the close of the Revolutionary war ras by no means an agreeable one for lie officers and men who had been so >ng engaged in military duty. Major forth says : "The inmates of the same ant or hut for seven long years grasped ach other's hand in silent agony?to go hey knew not whither, all recolleotion # *Ka rtitril rtiinfinofinrt i liUQ OIU W IllUilV ?u'J WITH vvvu^/uvtvu Dst, or to the youthful never known, tieir hard earned military knowledge rorse than useless?to be cast on a rorld long since by them forgotten, levered from friends, uid all the joys nd griefs whioh soldiers feel; griefs rhile hope remained?when shared by umbers, almost joys. To go in silenoe nd alone, and poor and helpless--it was do hard! Oh, on that sad day how iany hearts were wrung. I saw it all, or will the scene be ever blurred from ly view." The brave, generous hearted old 5aron Steuben looked on the pitiful j cenes with swimming eyes. Seeing Jolonel Cochrane, a brave and meritorius officer, standing apart with a sad nd disconsolate look, he approached im, and tried to cheer him up by sayjg that better times would come soon. 'For myself," replied the offioer, "I an stand it; but," pointing to a mere ovel, "my wife and daughters are in tie garret of that wretched tavern, and have nowhere to carry them, nor even loney to remove them." "Come, ome," said the baron, "I will pay my Bapects to Mrs. Cochrane and your aughters, if you pleaseand leaving im standing alone, he strode away to tie tavern, where he found the ladies auk in despondency at the dismal prosect before them. The sight was too inch for his benevolent heart, and mptying the entire oontents-of his UT86 on the table, he hastened away to scape their tears and blessings. As he ' rent down to the wharf xfherethe troops , rere embarking, he came upon a poor . aldier, whose wounds were yet un- ; ealed, bitterly lamenting that he had j ot the means to get to New York. . touched with his sufferings, the baron's J and instinctively sought his pocktt, , ut, alas I the last cent had just been . >ft in the miserable garret. Turning to q officer, he borrowed a dollar and gave ; to the poor fellow, and hurried him ? ? ? 1..'--. XL. J3 _1_ I Doara a sioop. j\eacmng m? u?uk, | 16 latter turned, and with tears streamig down his cheeks, eiclaimed : " God Imighty bles? von, baron." Soon the Lst tent was struck and the last gun -heeled away. Children. Children muet be taught proper maners at table, of course, but to prohibit liem from laughing or talking at their leals, is wholly unphysiological. Joynsnesa promotes the circulation of the lood and helps digestion. All disagreeble and uncomforteble topios should be anished from the table, and the conersation encouraged should be of the ioat oheerful kind. A gentleman from Lyons, France, isplays thirty-seven varieties of roses, nd a new and beautiful geranium, the [onal?Riokes Nakashima. FUNERALS COST TOO MUCH. We Spend jffore Money than we can Afford to that we May Stake an Ostentation* Dleplay. It is very strange, the material importance we now attaoh to a funeral. We insist that it shall be conducted with a certain show, at.a certain oost; we refuse to be oontenfc with an observation of the mere proprieties. Expensive superfluities are demanded; we do not believe we have discharged our duty to the dead, unless we have honored him or her with at least an approaoh to pageantry. We fancy that kinship or friendship should be expressed in a prodigal outlay; that bereavement must be reckoned by disregard of dollars and oents. Except on the score of taste, there may be no objection to this. When any member of a rioh or well-to-do family dies, it is a question for relatives to dehow emensive a funeral the de ceased shall have. If they wish to make a great display; if they like to reuder his death more conspicuous than anything in his life has been; if they want to advertise their income npon his ooffln and its accompaniments, surely nobody should gainsay them. Bat when the dead was poor;* when he leaves a family with little or no means, it is more than foolish to use the little they possess, or to inour indebtedness, in order to trick out his corpse, and to send it to the cemetery in a manner they cannot afford, and which certainiy can oe of no possible benefit to him. By such worse than useless extravagance they wrong his memory and themselves, and encourage a custom extremely unwise in itself and decidedly mischievous in its results. Persons who can best afford to bury their kinsfolks or friends sumptuously, are less apt to do so than persons who cannot afford it. It is one of our national weaknesses?and a miserable weakness it is?to struggle against any and every appearance of poverty just in proportion to the degree of our poverty. We seem to be unoonscious that this constitutes the real meanness which nnMfllroo fhaf. va ara avoid. ing. We are wont to speak of it as oar pride, when any true pride would blush at it, knowing it to be nothing but the most vulgar vanity wearing a worthy name. ; It would be surprising to learn how oommon it is for familie3.in this and other large oities to overtax themselves to provide paraphernalia for the tomb. Not infrequently they spend every dollar that has been left, even exceeding the amount sometimes, and in many instances anticipating a large share of, if not all, the insurance upOn the life of the deceased. Not a few instances might be cited in which money, has been borrowed to defray funeral expenses, when, if the funeral hod been modestly and properly managed, there would have been no need of borrowing at all. W*at an unworthy return is this to the mail who has probably worked hard for years, and given himself endless anxiety to save something for his family in the event of his sudden death I Of what advantage is it to him, in his sheeted sleep, that there should be a few more flowers or carriages, that the coffin should be real rosewood, or the handles genuine silver? All has ended; all is well with him. To him money is no longer essential; whatever he has gained beyond necessary expenditure should be .devoted to the service of the living. Undoubtedly, they who so exceed their means in such post-mortem parade are generally influenced by good though mistaken motives. They do not know? at least, they do not think?how far suoh ostentation is removed from honest reverence, from veracious grief, for the loved and lost. If they oould see how hollow, how pitiable, is this saoriflce of sensibility to mere display, this profanation of affection for theatric effeot, they would never be guilty of it. Influenced by the spirit of imitation?by an ignoble desire to do what others do, irrespective of ability or fitness?they torn occasions which are distressing, and which should be sacred, to tawdry spectacles for idle oomment and vulgar gossip. They who lead the best, the purest, the noblest lives, care not for, indeed, they are opposed to?gaudy obsequies. They prefer, when they have acted their part and the dark curtain has descended between them and the world, that they shall be borne quietly to the grave, without pomp or circumstance. It is only the vain, the shallow, the undeserving?secretly conscious how totally unimportant tneir a earn muse do, even to their own cirole?who want to em?hasize it with display and expenditure. t is well to shear death of the unnatural terrors with which superstition and monasticism have invested it; it is well to make it as little solemn as it may be ; to view the inevitable with calmness and philosophy; but it is not well to deprive the tragedy which we must all undergo of its pathetic simpleness and awful dignity.?New York Times. Brazilian Silkworms. In the Brazilian department of th<> Centennial there is a very interesting display made by Senor Luis de Rezende, Upon wooden tablets arranged in a rack, Senor Rezende exhibits silkworm eggs, then silkworms, one, two, three, and so on, up to twenty-five days old? those of each day being upon a separate tablet, and cared for by an attendant. In a series of glass bottles, and preserved in spirits, are.specimens of silkworms, showing each stage of silkworm existence, "from the cradle to the grave "?that is, commencing with one day old, advancing to twenty-five days old, then from beginning to spin to the formation of the chrysalis, and, finally, the emerging of the butterfly?the whole having been produoed at Rio de Janeiro. Another case contains a collection of Brazilian butterflies, one of rrrVlirtll f>10 A IITftftl B/lhlmift. IS ft fiilk producer. It measures about seven inches across the wings from tip to tip, and is about five inches long. Its coooon is much larger than that of the ordinary silkworm, and produces about five times as much silk, the latter being of a somewhat brownish cast of color. Burning Coal Dost Burning coal dust as fuel is a com- j plete success. Instead of being molded ' into blocks, as by the Loiseau process, \ the dust, in its loose condition, is shoveled into furnaces of stationary engines or locomotives. The heat obtained is equal to that from an equal weight of lump coal. The burning is effected by foroing a current of air and i steam through the du?t in the furnaoo, I which prevents it from caking, increases ! the supply of oxygen and adds some : hydrogen, all of which tends to make tho combustion more vigorous. The j Pottsville Miners' Journal estimates, that one-third of all the coal which is | mined is crumbled to dust and made unsaleable. Forty million tons are thought to be available for market, and much of it is close by railroad tracks, rhe new invention is supposed to be applicable to the use of steamships and smelting furnaces. Brained bj a Lunatic. Mr. John Shank, a wealthy farmer, seventy-six years of age, living on Salt Fork creek, about sue roil:s north from 'Lawrenoebnrg, Indiana, was discovered by his daughter, Eliza Shank, lying up against an old smokehouse, gasping in the agonies of death, with the blood oozing from his month and nose, and with the entire back of his skull mashed and crushed in a horrible manner. Miss Shank at first was petrified with horror, and then, with a piercing scream, alarmed the inmates of her home, all of whom came r ashing out just in time to see the old man fall back a corpse. At first it was thought that Mr. Slifcnk had been plundered and then murdered, but the discovery of the bloody ax with which the murder had been committed lying near the victim, and the sight immediately thereafter of Ezra Shank sauntering leisurely up from the bam, which is located not more than a dozen yards from the scene Of the tragedy, together with the knowledge that he had been chopping wood not ten minutes before the crime was conimittdd, convinced the friends of the deceased that the crime was a patricide, and that Ezra was l1< A ?1 L MM MMkl f 1 lU <1 MAM ?rt MMM ! uuv giui&jr sun. jluis auu la uuw luirujr eight years of age, and for nearly a quarter of a century has been hopelessly insane. Until very recently, how-, ever, he had never been suspected of being vicious; indeed, he had been considered perfectly harmless, and the most of the time was kept about the old homestead rather than in an asylum because of his harmlessness. He is of a powerful frame, being over six feet high and weighing upward of 250 pounds, constituting, therefore, anything but a frail antagonist in a desperate fight. His father was a man equally tall, but by no means so heavy, besides being enfeebled by his weight of nearly fourscore years. Ezra had been of late ver* obstinate and lazy, and once or twice had indulged in some savage threats whenever any of the children, of whom there are ten, all grown and nearly all living at home, insisted on his doing any work. , No attention, however,'was paid to \ these threats, and Ezra was requested to , take the ax and break up some wood, i in compliance he took the ax, but in going to work was very sulky and would j answer no questions. It is supposed , that his father happened along when he ( felt most vicious and begun a con versa- j tion,.when, with the horrible despera- , tion of a: madman, the,son raised the j cruel :ax and dashed- out his father's brains. The sight presented was sicken- . ing in the extreme, and the aged* wife J and mother, on beholding it, fainted, and has ever since been utterly prostrated, only hovering between We and death. The sons at first were frenzied and sought to question their brother, but they could get noth ng out of him. He would answer no questions, and when shown the lifeless body of his father evinced ni more concern than had he been discnssiug the weather. . tr"s? The Keafocky Shower of Fle-li. '' At last we have a proper explanation of this muoh talked, of phenomenon. Mr. L. -Brandeis writes to the: Sanitarian'/'"In 1537, while1 Paracelsus was engaged in the production of Jiis "elixir of life, " he came across a very strange looking vegetable mass, to which he gave the name of " nostoak.'" The want, of rapid transportation, combined with the perishable nature of the substances fallen, havo hitherto prevented a complete and exhaustive examination. The specimens of the " Kentucky shower," however, reached this city well preserved in glycerine, and it has been comparatively easy to identify the substance and to fix its status. The "Kentucky wonder " is nothing more or less than the " nostoo " of the old alchemist. Tho nostoo belongs to the conferva; it consists of translucent, gelatinous bodies, joined together by threadlike tubes or seed bearers. Tiiere are about a# iU.n mnMnln* ?%lon# Alflflfll. Ullljr opccioo Ul iiiuo OUi^miu ywui I.UU4U fled; two or three binds have even been } found in a fossil state. Like other confer??, the nostoc propagates by selfdivision as well as by seeds or spores. When these spores work their way out of the gelatinous envelope they may be wafted by the winds here and there, and they may bo carried great distances. Wherever they may fall, and find oongenial soil, namely, dampness or recent rain, they will thrive and spread very rapidly, and many cases are re-: corded where they have covered miles of ground, in a very few hours, with, long strings of-nostoc. t On account of this rapidity of growth, people almost everywhere faithfully believe the nostoc to fall from the clouds, and ascribe to it many mysterious virtues. The plant is not confined to any special locality or to any climate; sown by the whirlwind, carried by a current of air, in need of moisture only for existence and support, it thrives everywhere. Icebergs afloat in mid-ocean have been found covered with it. In New Zealand it is found in large masses of quaking jelly, several feet in circumference, and covering miles of damp soil; and in our own country it may be found in damp woods, on meadows, and * on marshy or even gravolly bottoms. 1 Ail me uoatocs are cumpuaeu ui a semi-liquid cellulose and vegetable profceine. The edible nostoo is highly valued 1 in China, where it forms an essential in' * gredient "oi the edible birdnest soup. 1 Hie flesh that was supposed to have T fallen from the clouds iu Kentucky is the flesh colored nostoc. The flavor of y it approaches frog or spring chicken * legs, and it is gTeedily devoured by al- 1 most all domesticated animals. c Such supposed " showers " are not 1 rare, and are entirely in harmony with < natural laws. In the East Indies the t same nostoc is used as an application in 1 ulcers and scrofulous disease, while 1 ev-ry nation in the East considers it i nourishing and palatable, and uses it i even for food when dried by sun heat. 1 She Threw It. j A fortnight ago a lady, with true , feminine recklessness in times of ex citement, threw a stone at a cow which 1 had invaded her flower garden. The ' stone happened to be a choice specimen j of gold quartz which by some accident , ' -3 m.'mh1aaa/1 A f rt/\n*od f no I1UU UUCil UXiapJUCCU. Ul wuiou liivj | . lady did not hit the cow, and the missile \ went off at right angles, and landed in a ' neighbor's yard. A few days afterward | lie pioked it up, and wan astonished at I the show of gold which ho saw on all aides. Taking it down to a jeweler, it was tested, and the gold pronounced to j he of the best quality. The lucky fin dor was wonderfully: elated for a few days, and would not I have taken #100 a square foot for his laud, but the lady who threw the stone having heard of his good fortune, mistrusted the truth, and having asked to see the specimen, at onoe identified it as a portion of her cabinet, and carried it off in triumph. items or jwerwu The speeches that have not been made are the best. The desert of Sahara covers 2,000,'000 square miles. We take great liberties with those from whom we expect nothing. There is no use disputing with a man who will not be convinced. A man should be doing a good business, if it is not so profitable. The wholesale prices for cattle have reached the lowest price since 1862, What species of love is that which is never reciprocated ? A neuralgic affection. Some people cannot drive to liappiwith four , horses, and others can reach the goal on foot. .> Never look a' gift horse in the mouth, nor examine the date of en oxchange begged from an editor. In Kern county, California, a few dayB ago, sixteen hnndred sheep were sold to a butcher for fifty cents a head. When the voun? ladies hand you a card nowadays with the cabalistic letter? Y. M. O. A, it means "yoti may call again." i ; -? , Doing business without advertising, says the Danbury Newt, is a good deal like trying to borrow a flag on the * fonrth of July.; a o ; Laughing may make a man grow fat, but you've got to mix it nightly with bread and meat and a quiet conscience if you get it to stick. *?1 It is proposed to amend the cotastitn- tion of Connecticut by adding a section making nine members'jury competent to render S verdict, * A Yankee, describing an opponent whose person was extremely thin, says : "I will tell yen what, 'sir-Ttfcat man don't amount to a sum in arithmetic; cast him up, and there's nothing to carry." ' A new trouble threatens the country* The scarcity of help if already being felt, especially in tne West. Nearly everybody is being withdrawn from the field and shop to fill vacancies in the family of the late A. T. Stewart. Accustom yourself to overcome and master things of difficulty; for, if you observe, the left hand for want of practice is insignificant, and not adapted to general business, yet it holds the bridle bet> ter than tl^o right, from constant use. " Ii Eastern lands," when the government wants to get rid of a troublesome subject, he is invited to dine with the chief local official, and word is sent to bis family that "his dinner did not agree ?JAL 1-MUiaU Un vuMitfia inf/N Wit 11 JUHII|# * UibCl N1UUU UU J^HDOvn AMVW history. "Oh, my dear sir I" said a poor sufferer to a dentist, "this is the second fvrong tooth you've pulled out 1" " Very sorry, my dear sir/' said the blundering operator; " but as there, were only three il together when I begun, I'm sure to be right next time." A Chicago paper says that a clergyman )f that city thinks it looks decidedly mspioiouB for a member cf his congregation to send him a mesa of firli on tfonday morning, especially when he recollects that that membepwaa not at ihiirck the day before, - < i An old fellow was paid his week's vages in New York, recently, receiving die most part of it: in silve? half dollars, Se looked benignly at them as thev lay a his palm, chuckled as though in xiumph, and exclaimed : " That s the ituff the rats can't chew." The first.lord of the admiralty on his drof dnnm +,h? Thamaa in rather ?*M?? \ leaky vessel, observed the men working the pumps. " Dear me!" he said, "I did not. Jipow you had a well on . board, s