The Abbeville press and banner. [volume], July 25, 1888, Image 6

About The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924

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WHEN ROBIN SINGS.
Oid memories rise when the robin bird sings;
When he sings to the d?wy, sweet flowers.
With quavers and trills and with echo that
thrills
The glad hearts of the spring-tide houre.
Old faces shine out from the dim, olden
time
And a chorus of light laughter rings,
like the tinkle of bells swung low in dream
dells,
To the air that the robin bird sings.
They come from the east, from the north and
the south,
Over land and far over the sea
That stretches so wide with the voice of its
tide
Chanting faintly a weird melody.
They come with the winds that awaken the
leaves
And there sounds with the rustle of wings
The first trembling note of the echoes that
float
Through the wood when the robin bird
sings.
Old vows are renewed when his piping is
heard,
And cold hearts con love's lesson again,
When his young voice calls in a joy-song
that falls
Like the silvery drip of the rain.
O sweet is the season when apple-trees bloom
And sweet is the meraorv that clings
To the heart s spring-time and the love-songs
that chime
With the air that the robin bird sings.
?OUa Perkins Toph, in Current.
9
- SANDY SFILLERS.
BY OPIE P. HEAD.
In a rugged district of Ea9t Tennessee,
in that section of country where,
during the war, not only neighbors
were arrayed against each other, but
where the members of once devoted families
huuted one another with deadly intent,
there is a small graveyard under a
spreading persimmon tree. No one
knows the name of a siugle eternal
deeper who lies beneath this tree. A
skirmish took place on the site of the
burying ground, a fierce hand-to-hand
encounter; and, after the fight, the victims,
dressed so much alike that no one
eould tell to which side they belonged,
were burled together. When the time
tame for removing Federal soldiers to
national cemeteries, the "Persimmontree
Graveyard" was left undisturbed.
ft ear this graveyard there lives an old
fellow named Sandy Spillers. During
the war he was a Confederate guerrilla. |
His fearless daring, his enterprise, and j
the manystorie3 of his violence made his
aame a terror.
Last year on Memorial day old Sandy,
driving a spring wagon loaded with wild
blossoms and the perfumed twigs of rare j
bushes, and followed by a large number j
eighbors, drew up under the old peraimmon
tree.
''Sandy," said an old man as he placed
box on the ground, "you've got ter
_ >-*iake a sort uvspeech."
"You know I kaia't make no speech,"
Bandy replied. i
"Wall, thar'll hatter be some sort uv
expernation made ter these yer folk#
rbout this here proceedin' an' we don't j
Tow that thar's a man that ken do hit,
lietter'n you ken, so git right up thar on i
that box an' let ther cat outea the bag." >
"I'll do the best I ken," Sandy replied, i
as he took off his white wool hat and
threw it on the ground, "with the hope
that I won't hurt nobody's feelins." He j
got up on the box, looked about him in 1
a half-embarrassed way, and then said:j]
"A good many o' you know what I wuz ]
duriu' the war. You know that I wuz I
ealled a tough customer an' I'll say right j ]
here that I aiu't prepared to dispute it, i .
auther. j ]
j "I won't tell in purticler how I wiu j
forced ter sorter bush-whack, but I will 1
aav that the Lawd knows that I never I
had nothiu' ergin ther oi l flag. Wall, jl
?ne day while I wuz layin' in ther cane- ; 1
t>rake down yonder on the: creek, fast i
releep, fur I had been er dodgin' round 1
all ther day afore, a party o' I'nion sol- j i
diers come up, they did, an' nabbed me, ' <
*fo' I know'd they wuz in ther curmu- | '
ity. '1 hey didn't gin me no chance ter 1
fight an' I don't reckon I desarved none, f
Ther sergeant uv ther party he sorter <
grinned at me, an' says: ! i
"Psrson Sandy, we know you an' we (
wanter tell you that it's all up with i
jou.' I
, " 'I 'lowed ez much,' said I.
* " 'Well, you mout.' says he. 'Dave, i
fetch that rope offen my sadd'e.' j 1
1 "The feller fotch the rope, an' I don't i
think I ever seed a uglier-lookin' string <
in my life. Ventlemen,' says I, 'thar , <
?in't no us'n axin' mussy frum you, I i
reckon, but I tell you whut 1 wush you'd '
do. I wush you'd take me over yonder 1
whar ray wife an' daughter lives?'bout 1
mile frum here?an' let me look at 'em <
tg'in. You won't hear no squealin1, I I
ken tell you that, fur my folks is ez i
merry ez this here generation hez turned
eut.'
" 'You can't lead us inter no sort o'j
trap,' the sergeant 'lowed, 'an' you i
aeente. try. Hold up yo'head an'take i
this here medicine?' I
"'Gentlemen,' says T, 'nearly ever' i
feller in this here curmunity is ergin me, <
?n' I don't see how I ken lead you in er i
trap. Ef I had ?'?en in sich comman' o' >
traps I would 'er slep' at ray home las' i
aight 'stead o' laying out here. I ain't <
er good man, I ken veil you that, an' I i
have did things that a Christun would '<
sorter shake his head at, but I don't i
-wanter lead you in no trap. I jest i
wanter see my folks one mo' time, an' , ]
then I'll go out an hoi' up my head ]
mn'er er tree. You won't hear no ;
bellerin', I ken tell you that. My wife ]
won't beg, and ray daughter won't, (
They'll gin you some pies an' sweet j
bread, I 'low, an' tell me goodbye, an' , (
that will be ther eend o' it. Don't think, |
gentlemen, that I'm beggia' fur my life, i'
out jest fer a chance ter take one mo' : i
aquiut at them folks.' i <
" 'I don't see no harm in lettin' you 1
look at yo' folks' ergin,' said the ser- ! ]
geaut. 'I don't b'l'eve that you could i
lead us into ? trip ef yer wanted ter, fur
we've beat about the bu&h here tell yo' l
sorter fellers is pretty skace. Fetch i
him along, boys.'
"Wall, they tuck me home, an' when ]
we went inter the house Moll?that's my (
wife?she wus er baking' some pies on
the h'ath. She looked up an' says, says
si.e: 'Sandy, I see they've got you. it;,
do peer like bad luck comes in er bunch. ' (
Last night theowte tuck off the Dominecker
hen an' now the Yankees have colch 5
yon. It do peer like we never will git
traight no rno'. Thar's Zelda'?meanin'
my daughter?'tore her coat when she
got over the fence this mornin' an' thar
in't enough home'ade stuf on ther place
ter fix her up agin. Sandy, they are
goin' ter haugyou, I reckon.'
" 'Yas,' I 'lowed.
" Wall, that'swhut I 'lowed, too, an'
?wall, fur pity sake, ef my pies ain't
most bodatiously burnt up.'
"Then the sargeant, atter sorter snickerin'
at my wife?an' he neenter done
that fur thar ain't a smarter woman round
* kere nowhars?turned to mc an' said :
" 'Have you finished all yo' arthly
angements? I'm sorter pushed fur time
^ - *, ,
an' kain't neglcck my duty in talkin'
erbout family erfairs, however pleasant
that mout be; so keep yo' promise now
an' come on out here an' take yo' medicine.'
" 'Yas, Sandy,' said my wife, 'ef you've
got to take it go an'swafler it down, but
I'll declar' ter goodness I'm mightly pestered
erbout them pies bein' burned.
I'm afeered I'm sorter losin' my mind.
Sandy, I reckon I'd better crap that bottom
field on sheers ef I ken git anybody
to do the squar' thing by me.'
'Just then my daughter Zelda come
in. Wife she made a sly motion at her,
an' Zelda she bowed ter the men an' sot
down, an' then I hearn the Sargeant
whisper to one o' his men an' say: 'She's
the puttyest critter I ever seed.' He sot
down an' gunter wind the rope in a ball.
The cat went over an' humped her back
an'gunter rubherse'f agin the Sargent's
leg. 'Come away, kittie,' said Zelda.
'You mus'n't be so free with comp'ny,
fur they mout think you ain't got good
manners.' She smiled, an'I seed anew
light creep inter the Sargent's eyes.
Ain't you glad,'says Zelda, speakin' tei
theJSargent, 'that the war is m'ghty nigh
over?'
" 'The Lawd in heaven knows I am,'
he replied, 'fur I'm sick o' seein blood.'
" 'I never woulder had nuthin' to do
with it,' said I, 'if it hadnter been
shoved on me.'
" 'Whv didn't you go inter the rec
o'nizcd army, 'stead o' bushwhackin'?'
the sargeant asked."
'Cause I couldn't get a whack at the
folks I wanted. You see, some o' the
folks in this curmunity got inter the
habit o' shootin' at me, an' bein a mighty
han' ter take up idea3 that is surgested
by folks, I drapped sorter nach'ly inter
ther habit o' shootin' at them. They
stayed right here, an' so did I, an' ever
once in a while I'd drap one o' em; but I
ain't never shot at a Inion soldier yit,
an1 never wauted ter, I coulder drapped
you t'other day when you wuz ndin'
under Spencer's bluif, fur I wuz right
above you.' "He
didn't say nothin' fur some time,
but he kep' on lookin' at Zelda. 'Ole
man,' says he, 'I ain't got it in my heart
to hang you. You ain't a enemy to our
side arter all. Boys, let's go.'
" 'Gentlemen,' says my wife, I've got
some pies that ain't burnt, an' ef you'll
stay we'll'?here she broke down, and
drappin' on her knees, 'gun ter praise
ther Lawd. Zelda then drapped, an' I
re.kon I drapped, too. After that we
all fell ter eatin' pies. The next day the
sargeant he come back an' brought us
the news that the war wuz over. I
could make this talk longer, but I won't
fur you all know that the sergeant married
zelda. lie is a jedge in Nashville
now, an'"?here old Sandy took up a
package and began to take a newspaper
from about it. "My son-in-law an' his
wife sent these here flowers to be scattered
on these unknown men's graves.
We'll sprinkle 'em along with the dogwood
blossoms an' the flowers o' the red
bud tree."? Ckicajo Ecening Lamp.
A K.issinn Prison Kitchen.
We went to the prison kitchen, where
the dinner was icing got ready for the
convicts, says a liussian correspondent
of the Pull Mull Gazette. The smell of
the soHp was fragraut and appetizing.
Great towls'of boiled buckwkeat stood
ready to be served and the reservoir of
soup was piping hot. I tasted both.
Buckweat is an acquired ta>te, but the
30up was capital. It is served out in
wooden bowls, each containing a portion
for live, who sit round the bowl with
wooden spoons, helping themselves. In
the bakery we found the great loaves of !
rye bread all hot from the oven. In appearance
rye bread is like a dull gingerbread,
but in taste it has an acidity not
pleasing to the unaccustomed palate. The
Kussians all cat it when at large and the
prison bread is quite as good as that you
?et in private houses. I asked about
the dietary scale. I was assured by Mr.
Saloraan and the Governor that no re- |
striction is placed upon the amount of
Food prisoners may consume. They had
is much, bread as tney carea to eat at
breakfast, at dinner and at supper. As
i rule the daily consumption of bread
lid not extend two pounds per man.
There was no skilly. t^uass, a kind of
thin beer, was supplied them, and this
igain without limit a3 to the quantity.
Of the soup eac'i man could have a3
much as he pleased; also buckweat. The
5nly article which was weighed out was
meat. Every man received a quarter of |
i pound of meat a day. They do not 1
weigh their prisoners in Russia on entering
and on leaving jail. That is a practise
which they might introduce with
id van'age. Theie is no argument so
crushing to the assailants of the cruelty
>f prison treatment as the evidence of
ivoirdupois?the statistic of increase of
weight which has accompanied the aleged
privatiou and torture. And as
;hey do not weigh their prisoners neither
3o they photograph them: neither do
:hey take impressions of their thumbs,
is is done iu some French prisons.
A Nntnral Timepiece.
The New York Sun gives these points j
ibout the construction of a "-noon- j
mark" on a farm:
A noon mark is a line drawn due j
aorth and south upon which the shadow :
>f a pin erected at its southern extremity |
will be cast by the sun at twelve o'clock i
u., solar time. But this will agree with
:nean or clock time only on the 21st
Jays of March and September in each
(rear. If your watch is carried on either j
>f the-e days you cau set your pin, and
tvhen the hands are at twelve draw a line
where the pin casts a shadow. If you
lave agood com; ass, aud know just how
much to allow for the variation of the
needle, you can make a uorth and south
line by its use, or you can establish
i meridian line thus: Set a stake perpendicular
eight or ten feet high, and
mother say ten feet north and in a direct
line with the north or polar star.
The line between these stakes will be due
north aud south, and when the shadow
cast by the southern one falls directly
toward the other on either of the days
named above (or within a day or two
thereof) it will be just twelve o'clock.
You can set your watch correctly thereby
and -with it construct your noon
mark as directed above. The difference
between solar time as shown by a noon
mark and mean or clock time varies
every day, until the difference amounts
to about fifteen minutes, then it begins
to grow less daily until they agree
again. Some almanacs give thu dilferen
e between mean and solar time, aud by
their use you can from your noon mark j
regulate your timepieces.
Leap Year.
We wera sitting, after supper,
Tete-a-tete upon the stair,
With the gleam of waxen tapers
Falling go'.d upan his hair,
And his roguish eyes were downcast,
While upon his sunburnt cheek
T ie dash of red grew deeper.
Ca se voit. I had to speak.
The strong, brown fingers trembled
As I held them fast in mine:
A shy, sweet glance made glad my heart
Like draughts of Gascon wine.
' I kissed his unresisting lips,
And then, in keen delight,
He sighed: "I bet them ten to one
That you'd propose to-night!"
?Lift
BUDGET OF FUN.
HUMOROUS SKETCHES FROM
VARIOUS SOURCES.
A Country Idyl?What Ailed Him
?She Thought the Price
Was High?The Doctor's
Verdict, Etc., Etc.
"Have you dug your grass?' askad the city
chap,
ui tne staring farmer man,
For he thought he would not crush the swain
Beneath his social ban.
"How was your crop when you dug your
grass'
Did tbe weevils hurt your peas?
And did the canker worm destroy
Your young cucumber tress?
"I love, good sir, the country air.
From the town I fain would flee
And lose myself in rural dreams
'Neath the potato tree.
L would pluck the turnip from its vine,
Thro' the parsnip meadow push.
And rest heneath the grateful shade
Of the bending cabbage bush.
"Oh, I fain would be a simple swain
And drive my yoke of cows,
And rest at noon beneath the shade
Of tbe rutabaga boughs.
Oh, I'd hunt the woods for the cocoanut
bush
The whole of the livelong day,
Or start at morn with the rustic hoe
To dig the hills for hay.
"And if at the noonday I grew faint
With my labors' strain and rush,
I would mix the milkweed's luscious milk
With the mushrooms luscious mush.
I would pluck the pineapple from the pine?
But why has your color fled?"
But the farmer fell with a sickening thud?
The farmer man was dead!
?S. IK. Foss, in. Yankee Blade.
What Ailed Him.
Brown?"You don't look well lately,
Robinson."
Kobinson?"No; I can't sleep at night
on account of lung trouble."
Brown?"Nonsense; your lungs are
right?"
Robinson ? "Yes, mine are; the
trouble iB with the baby's."?Judge.
She Thoujfht the Price Was High.
"John, dear, do they play baseball by
electricity?"
"Why, of course not. What made
you think of such a thing?"
"Ob. nnthinrr- nnlv T saw in the ria
per that the Boston baseball club had
paid $20,000 for a battery."?Harvand
Lampoon.
The Doctor's Verdict.
Ethel (to the family physician)?
"Why, doctor! you really aon't think
| that po R'der hurts the complexiou ("
I Dr. Gruff?"Well, no; some kinds
! don't."
Ethel?"Oh, please tell me which kind ,
: is the best, and I promise I will use no
other."
Dr. Grufi?"Baking powder?take in- i
ternally."?Judge.
The Porter's Delicate Flattery.
Rich Old Lady (entering a palace car) J
?"I want a seat on the shady side, porter."
Porter?"Impossible, madam. On
whichever side you sit will be the sunny |
side."
The old lady gave him a dollar, and
writes to the papers to complain of the
overworked condition of the palace car
employes.?Harper'a Bazar.
In Hard Lines.
"This is a tough, tough world,
Charley," as he gazed in dismay at an
open letter in his hand.
"What's the trouble now?" asked '
n i ! i
l/uai ic jr.
"You know that pretty little thing in ;
pink I've spent so much time and money !'
on?" I'
"Yes." |
"She refused me point black last j
night, and now the old man sends me a!
bills of three doliars for a broken gate." (
?Epoch. j
Giving Other Suitors a Show. 1
"Edward, dear, I hardly know my j1
own heart," said the girl, softly, "and j i
you must give me a little time to think j
it all over." j1
" Will you want very much time," he 1
asked, tenderly aud hopefully. "When ! '
may I come for an answer?" j1
In a low, sweet voice the girl replied: :1
"At the end of the se.ison." And she j'
arose languidly, adjusted her tournure ! t
with the gentle tap indicative of uo'ile ' {
birth, and moved gracefully away.?Life.
A Man of Business.
Boston Man (who has been rescued as ]
he was going down for the third time)? j J
" Is your uume Hoxey?"
Rescuer?" Yes. Keep your mouth j'
shut!" |J
Boston Man?" D-do business on State i !
street?" I'
Rescuer?"Yes. Shut up and save '
your breath 1"
Boston Man?"Say, Hoxey, would it
b-be convenient for you to pay me that |
two dollars and a half to-day that you !
b-borrowed a year or two ago?''?Tid- j
Bits.
Only one Obstacle, but
"I fear it can never be, George," said
the maiden, sadly; "there is an insur- j*
mountable obstacie in the way."
"I am sure I can remove it Laura," ;'
said George, eagerly, "if you will only ! J
let mc try."
Laura pointed silently to a portrait of
her father?a large, cross-eyed man,
with red hair, a square jaw and a foot j
like a canvas-covered ham; and George j
took his hat and groped his way out '
through the hall toward the front door. 1
He was'nt large enough to remove such
an obstacle, and he knew it."?Chicago {
Tribune.
A Hospitable Invitation.Z
It was oue of those cold spoils which j
visit ua frequently during the summer, '
aud they two had met quite in a premeditated
way, on the avenue.
"What are you going to do this even- (
ing?" she asked, turning the batteries of 1
two beautiful ^yes upon him.
"Oh, I suppose I II stay at home and
hug the stove," he auswered gloomily.
"Come up to our house," she said, ]
sweetly, in a suggestive voice. And the .
beating of their own hearts was all the ,
sound they heard.?Detroit Free Press. '
J
Doubting His Capit &I. 1
Mrs. Catchachance?"What aboutjj
that advertisement, wohn, that you were !
going to answer." (
Mr. Catchachance?"The one about
doubling up my capital?"
Mrs. C.?"Yes." j
Mr. C.?"Oh, I answered it. Sent a
dollar and got a reply."
Mrs. C.?"And did they show you to
your satisfaction how to double up your
capital ?"
Mr. C.?"Not to my satisfaction, but ,
they certainly showed mo how to do it."
Mrs. C.?"I'm so gladl"
Mr. C.?"They said my children were
my capital, and if I fed my children on
green npple3 I would double up my capital
at once."?Bos'on Courier.
A Righteous Judgment.
That the old alcaldes of California
v
." - ' ' /... ,-.V
sometimes delivered judgments instinct
with homely wisdom is clearly shown
by the following anecdote:
A wife once summoned her husband
before an alcalde for having serenaded
another woman.
'Bring forth the culprit," said the
judge, "and let him play to us as he
played before the woman he wished to
captivate."
When this \va9 done the judge asked:
"Is that the tune you played?"
"Si, scnor."
"Is that the best you can play it?"
"Si, senor."
"Then I fine you $2fordistuibing the
public peace."?New Hacen News.
Romances Prom the Senate CloakRoom.
Senator Kenna, of West Virginia, and
Senator Black, of Kentucky, are great
sportsmen, as everyone knows. Each is
the owner of a pointer, the relative
merits of which they are frequently engaged
in discussing in the cloak-rooms j
of the Senate. The other dav Kenna i
said to Blackburn, lighting a fresh
cigar:
"Joe, you inay talk as much as you
like about your dog, but mine won't go
out with me when the cartridges don't
fit my gnn."
An audible smile went around the
room, and everybody thought, "Well,
for once, Joe Blackburn has been beaten
at his own game." The junior Senator
from Kentucky, however, was equal to
the occasion, fie looked at Kenna for
a minute, and then quietly remarked:
"Well, Ivcnna I admit that your dog
exhibits an intelligence almost akin to
reason, but I don't mind backing mine
against him. I was in the fields one day
with that dog, and a man I was not acquainted
with came along near us. My
dog pointed at him. I called to that
dog. but nothing would induce him to
move. So I went up to the stranger.
" 'Sir,' I said, 'would you oblige me
with your name?' "
"'Certainly,' replied the stranger;
'my name is Partridge.'"
Without another word Kenna took
Blackburn's arm and both disappeared
in the direction of the Senate restaurant,
followed by the shouts of their
friends.?Chicago Herald.
Stonewall Jackson.
The histoay of Stonewall Jackson's
life, writes Colonel Burr in the New
York Graphic, is like the history of an
old-time Cromwellian soldier. He was
a born Puritan and an ingrained fighter.
He taught philosophy in the Virginia
Military Institute and was a pillar of
the Presbyterian Church. No o::e
imagined him to be much of a soldier,
and still less was he considered a man j
who would lay aside his professor's
robe and cap to take up the sword
in defense of slavery. He was the
superintendent of a Sunday-school,
where the black people of his neighoorhood
were instructed, and he never
missed a Sunday from among his slave
pupils. They loved the stem face 1 man,
and he &howed them all tho kindness of
which his nature was capable. If he
had been born in New England and
brought up under the influence* which
were potent there in his young days, he
would have been a soldier with John
Brown and an ardent adherent of Garrison
and his doctrines. As it was, he
was not su3pccted of any ardent love for
the peculiar institution of the South.
The world was mistaken. Within a
week after Virginia had passed the ordinance
of secession, the grim, stalwart,
bony college teacher had offered his services
to the State, and wai placed in
command of the troops at Harper's Ferry.
His fame began with the lirst battle of
the war. He won his title of "Stonewall"
at the battle of Bull Run. In the
crisis of that light General Bernard E.
Bee, who was doing his best to rally his
broken and almost routed division of I
Confederates, shouted: "See, there is I
atanrlinor likfi a stone wall. I
Kally on the Virginians!" He died with |
the cry on his lips, but the title clubg to j
;he sturdy soldier to whom it w&3 thus
jiven.
" From the day of that disastrous battle !
intil the early spring days of 18(53 this I
rattling hero was one of the most !
iangerous enemies the Union armiej had
:o encounter. He was here to-day and
:here to-morrow. He shunned 110 peril,
le avoided no danger. He fought and
gained victories, and he carried his Bible
ilong and prayed as he fought. When
Hooker moved upon Chancellorsville, in
May, 1803, Jackson dashed down around
the right of the uational army, swept his
orother-in-religion, General Howard, and
tiis corps almost out of existence, and
was held at bay finally only by nearly the
whole force of the Potomac soldiers.
Fie rested on the night of the 2d of May
near Chancellorsville. It was quite dark
oetween 8 and o'dock, and he rode out
with a party of his olliccrs to reconnoitre j
the Union position. As he rode back |
toward-his own lines the men who loved j
tiim as no other commander on either j
side was loved poured a volley of rifle |
bullets into the approaching cavalcade.
rhey had mistaken Jackson and his
atficers for a squad of Union cavalry.
Covered with wounds, the dying General
was carried to his tent, aud five days
iftcr the soul of this gallant soldier
passed to its last account. "I.et us pass
jver the river," said he. as he closed hi3 i
;ves forever, "and rest bcueath the shade
)"f the trees."
Methodist Nuns.
Methodist nims are to be a novelty in '
feminine experience. Tney were created (
t>y the Methodist General Conference, J1
ifter a carefiil consideration of the sub- J,
ject by the committee on missions. The ' (
committee reported favorably, and the ! (
conference inserted in the discipline of ' (
Ihe church a section regulating them. ' .
l'hey are to be called deaconesses, and j
they will be very s m'lar to the nuns
jf the Roman Catholic Church, except ]
that they arc not to take vows of life i ,
scrvice or of celibacy. Ev(Nj annual
conference in which these deafnesses (
ire established will have a board of ,
nine members to control this kind of ; .
work. Nothing more definite than that
was done by the conference, but the im- !
pression is that the Methodist nuns will j
wear distinctive costumes, and live in
houses by themselves. They will min- '
ister to the poor and sick, care for or- !
phans, and do other work of charity.
They will be required to serve on proba- !
tion of continual service of two years be- 1
fore being made deaconesses, and the/;?
will have to be at least twenty-five years !!
of age. It ha3 long been a desire of Rev. 1
Dr. Dix, of Trinity, to have such duties
performed by regular orders of women, 1
und he succeeded several years ago in ^
forming an organigation of Episcopalian j
nuns, but they have not been formally
indorsed by the denomination, and so J
the Methodists are the first Protestant
Church in America to attempt tho re- 1
cruiting and uniforming of religious sisters.
The first of these deaconesses will 1
very likely be seen in Chicago.
"And what costumes will the dea- !
conesses wear?" was asked of nearly
every member of the committee respnu j
sible for their creation. J
No definite answer could be obtained.
Naturally a sober garb will be chosen.^
Neva York Sun, 1
DRAGON BOAT DAY.
A CHINESE HOLIDAY RESEMBLING
FOURTH OF JULY.
Origin of the Festival?The Dragon
Boat Races at Canton?Great
Crowds of Chinese in
Holiday Attire.
A writer in the Chinese Evangelist says
that a great gala day in China is the
Dragon Boat festival, or the feast of the
fifth day of the fifth moon. It resembles
our Fourth of July more than any other
holiday of the Chinese, and has many
features of interest in connection with it
which are well worth describing.
The origin of the festival dates back
1- it-- irA T? r\ < 1 tl<nni
to IU6 year *?OXJ D. Vs. At tuat nuig buvto
lived a statesman, Kuh Yuen, who was
celebrated for his virtues and his integrity.
He had the courage to urge
some reforms upon his liege, which were
not at all pleasing to the monarch. An
enemy took advantage of his loss of favor
and accused him of plotting to usurp
the throne. Kuh Yuen waa degraded
and banished from court. This unjust
punishment wore upon him until life
became unbearable, and after composing
an ode recounting his misfortunes and
his devotion to his prince, he rowed to
the middle of the Mihlo river in a small
boat, and before his friends could reach
him had thrown himself overboard and
was drowned. The way in which his
friends rowed to the spot to try to
rescue him, each anxious to be the first,
is commemorated by a procession of
boats, and the races between the different
boats are the chief features of the day.
On this day offerings of rice, wrapped
in bamboo leaves and tied with withes,
are thrown into the water to feed his
spirit, and gifts of these same rice balls
are exchanged among friends.
At Canton, where the river and canals
give ample water room for the boa's to
race ana parade, the festival is seen at
its be3t, and the day is long looked forward
to with great anticipations of pleasure,
for the Cninese take especial delight
in gorgeous pageants and processions.
The dragon boat is a long, narrow boat,
sometimes sixty to a hundred feet in
length with a projecting prow shaped
like the mythical dragon's head, and a
stern representing his tail. The rowers
use paddle3 only, and are all seated in a
row down each side of the boat facing
the bow, and when it is impossible for
the boat to turn, at a given signal each
man reverses in his seat and the dragon
navigates tail first. In the centre of the
boat is a huge drum and gong on which
a continual beating is kept up, and with
which the rowers keep time. At intervals
between the centre and the ends are
banners, embroidered standards, smaller
gongs, with handsomely clad men standing
by them, who shout and wave flags
or large fans and jump up and down in
time with the beat of the drum, while
occasionally a conch-shell blower adds
his efforts to the din. The dragon boats I
are built and owned by different clans,
guilds or villages, and there is great rivalry
between them. Weeks before the
day arrives the distant sound of the drum
can be heard from the creeks running
into the river where some boat is practicing
for the race. On the day itself
every one comes out in his brightest
clothe*, and the banks of the
river and canals are crowded
with an ever-increasing throng,
all eagerly watching for the first arrival
of the boats. When the sound of the
drum and gon^ and the shouts can be
heard in the di-tance, the phlegmatic
Chinamen lose for once their sedateness,
and when the long boat with its handsome
silk banners, embroidered flags,
gayly-attired boatmen and band comes
into view, a shout goes up from the
crowd, firecrackers are discharged in
salvos, and the pleasure of the day commences.
The boatmen respond to the
welcome by redoubled shouts and row in '
quuker time. To make the excitement j
greater another boat appears, perhaps |
from some district which was the winner ;
last year. Then the greatest fun of the
day is witnessed. "A race!" is the cry;
the first boat allows its rival to get even
witn it, ana tnen, atnia toe cries aim
cheers of the populace, the rowers swiftly |
ply their paddles, the long, grotesque
dragon-head shoots over the water, the
banner bearers jump up and down in
unison with the stroke, while the drum
and gong add an unearthly clamor to the
air already fraught with the report of the
firecrackers and the noise of the crowd.
So fierce is the rivalry that the partisans
of each clan, who usually follow
the boats in smaller one3, often carry
stones and weapons to use with merciless
effect if their boat Bhould be defeated.
These attendant boats supply substitute
rowers in case, as it very often happens,
any of the rowers should be overcome by
the heat. They also take charge of the
gifts of wine and roast pig which are
sent out to the boats by the shopkeepera j
before whose buildings they pass. The
pig exchange at Canton is situated near
the opening of the canal, which divides
the English concession from the Chinese
city. It is always liberal in its gifts,
consequently the canal is alive the whole
day with dragon boats, and the writer,
who lived next door to the exchange,
used to look forward with the same :
eagerness as the Chiuese children to the !
fifth day of the fifth moon, and the 1
pageant made a lasting impression on j
the mind. We used to invite our Chinese j
friends to wituess the parade from our j
windows, from which a view of the
canal for half a mile could be had, with !
/?nn Timor! mws of humanitv on both i
sides of it, for on this day the gates to i
the English concession were thrown open
to any well-dressed Chinese. As almost
every one was attired in their best and !
jayest clothes, the mingled co'ors of j
arange, red, green, purple and blue in all
shades made the crowd present the most i
brilliant and variegated appearance?a ;
jort sf crazy Chinese pattern.
So elaborate are the preparations at
Canton that one day does not suffice for
the boats to make the round of calls on
their patrons, and the festival often
continues till the third day. Some years,
in consequence of some parti ularly i
lerce encounter the year before, the
luthorities forbid the boats to parade,
ind then dire is the grief of the small
joy and of many larger boys. The
Chinese work so hard all the time that it
8 a pleasant sight to see thom give themlelvcs
to the enjoyment of the day with
>uch a childlike abandon, and were it
lot for the danger arising from the '
ierce spirit of rivalry and the idolatrous j
Dractices connected with it, we would be ,
*!ad to have it remain as a national holiday,
commemorating, as it does, the
idelity of a courtier who could not enjure
unmerited disgrace. At night all
he guilds give dinners to their emjloyes,
and there is feasting everywhere.
At Pekin, where there is no river, the
people have recourse to horse and cart
md camel races, but even the members
)f the blood royal, as well as many of the
setter class, resort to the city of Tang
Jhow, which stands on the banks of the
Peiho, to see the dragon boats.
Mra. Langtry owns nearly $250,000
ivorth of real estate.
Feeding: the Chinese.
The Oceanic Steamship Company's office
at San Francisco was crowded the
other forenoon by Cninamen anxious to
avail themselves of the reduced rate of
passage by the Canadian Pacific steamship
Abvssinia. Many held off to the last
minute in the hope that better terms
might be made, but the agents were inexorable.
"What does it cost to feed
Chinese passengers?" was asked of the
agent by a reporter of the San Francisco
Examihtr.
"I have brought over 1500 of them
one trip at an average cost of four and
three-eighths cents per man. Yes, it was
a little pinched, but they had enough.
Up to 300 a fair average of the cost is
ten cents per head daily; above that the
average lowers. I think the Pacific Mail
figures on twelve cents, but that depends
on circumstances."
"What kind of food do they get:"
'"Chiefly rice. We take twenty-six
different kinds of chows. We take
white beans, brown beans, black beans,
red beans, green beans?every kind of
beans; orange peels, sauce, dried
shrimps, dried fish,* dried abalone, although
they get little of that. But the
principal diet is rice. Five pounds of
fresh beef will go as far with one hundred
Chinamen as with five white men.
Ttior tolro a moaa nf fipp ftnfl R nmft.ll
piece of fresh meat, which they lift, bite
off a small piece and return to the dish.
Then they pitch into the rice with their
chopsticks, and sample the sauces. They
are fond of salt pork and salt meat.
Fresh meat goes farther. They should
never get salted meat or pork."
"Have you ever had trouble with
Chinese passengers?"
"Often. I remember once in the Peking
we had a thousand of them, and they
kicked about their food. I went down
to find out what the trouble was, and
then brought down the ch:cf oficer. The
rice was not cooked to?their liking.
44 41 will give you ten minutes to begin
eating,' said the chief o.ficer; 'after
that the rice will be thrown overboard.'
44 We could not move. We were surrounded.
4Time's up,' said I, calling my
boys to clear away. 4Over she goes.'
The Chinamen looked sulky for a minute
or so, then sat down and ate the riee,
and that wa* the last of it.
"We never have any trouble coming
this way till after we leave Yokohoma.
Up to that time the coolie is busy filling
up and by the time he reachej Yokohama
he is all swollen out with rice, cutting
a very ridiculous figure, with his
spindle legs and overhanging stomach.
After leaving Japa he is good condition
and listens to the incendiary talk of the
Chinese highbinder. If we.backed down
or weakened in anyway it would be all
up with us. Chinamen are a hard crew
to handle on shipboard."
The Fishermen of Paris.
Fishing in Paris extends from the
Point-du-Jour to Bercy, a length of
some miles. By this time to morrow
morning, be the weather ever so unpro
pitious, both banks of the Seine will be
lined with rods held by so many statues,
while here and there a few punts will be
anchored in the middle of the stream or
under the bridges. The favorite spots
j ?horrible to say?are those in proximity
to the sewer openings, and for these
deadly battles are often fought by rival
pretenders. Here the fish congregate in
j shoals on the lookout for the living
matter ejected by the drains. This is
not relishing to the eater of the Seine
fish, and ought to be prohibited by the
sanitary authorities; but, until some big
wig of bumbledom is poisoned by them,
there is no hope of such a thing. How
the anglers can withstand the foul cdors
which envelop them is not easy to understand.
But what will the Parisian fishermen
not do to fill his basket? He will
stand in the dirty river up to his knees'
and under a scorching sun to get a bite
or two. How many have caught, not
fish, but typhus, it would be difficult toj
say. Occasionally they slip into a hole
and get drowned, and then the fish take
their revenge on the body. But do they
ever catch any fish? is a question often
asked. Well, yes; but not many.. If
you will watch them long enough you
will see a gudgeon about the size of the
little finger landed now and then, amid
the delight of the lookers-on and the
joyful triumph of the fisher. However,'
it is only fair to add that the great ma-,
jority of these anglers on the banks are
mere cockneys, who know as much about'
fishing as deer stalking. xne reai, cona
fide sportsmen of the deep are to be|
found in the punts. These often go
home with good baskets. But what with
the steamboats and the poison from the
sewers, the pastime is dying out in Parte
for the lack of fish, and the angler must
go further up and down the river if he
wishe3 to avoid what the street boys call
"fishermen's luck."?London Olobe.
A Factory's Detect!re-Physician.
"That's our visiting physician," saic|
the superintendent of a large cigarette
manufactory to a New York Tetcgravi
reporter a3 he pointed to a well known
medical man passing by.
"Your visiting physician; what do
you meaa?"
"Our company pays him a regular j
salary, and in return he is obliged to
spend two hours each day in the manufactory,
looking after the sanitary condition
of the various deparments and thq
health of the employes. We have more
than a thousand giris of all ages working
for us, in addition to our male help. In
the building we have a regular infirmary,
and if any of the employes are taken
sick they are cared for ou the premises.
This is a matter of greater importance to
us than one might imagine at firit
thought. Suppose smallpox or any other
infectious disease were to Lreak out in
the factory and it became public. It
would destroy the sale of our cigarettcs
atid cost us thousands of dol ars. The
doctor goes through the different departments
every day and closely scrutinizes
all the employe*, although they
do not realize it. If there is any evidence
of one being ill she is immediately called
out quietly to the infirmary, where her
case is carefully inquired into. In addition
to this our employes have the
benefit of his treatment for ordinary illness
free of charge."
How a Mule Got Over a Fence.
One of the clerks in the Orphans'
Court, Baltimore, is responsible for the
following: "He was out riding on the
Catonsville road, and in a passing a field
where two horses and a mule were grazing
he saw that they had cropped the
grass very short. In the next field was a
line crop of timothy, and the mule was
standing by the rail fence eyeing the
feed very wistfully. In a minute the
mule had made up his mind, and placing
his nose deliberately under the top rail
he lifted it out, reducing the height that
much. He then jumped or tried to jump
over, but got stuck with his fore feet in
the clover patch and his hind feet on the
other side. Then one of the Horses very
deliberately backed up,and letting fly his
heels planted them squarely on the mule,
landing him clcan over into the clover
patch. The two horses followed in the
gap thus made, and all three went to
browsing, apparently well satisfied, "r?
Baltimore American.
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? ' .' v._- f ViT*^
' ' '*" - % . - " ": V
WORDS OP WISD03L
Ho that is ignoble in small deeds can-;
Qot act nobly in great deeds.
You should forgive many things in
others, but nothing in yourself. <j
Manners must adorn kno.wledcre, and
imooth its way through the world.
A man doe3 harm to others by his
actions, to himself by his thoughts. !
The end of man is an action and not
thought, though it were the noblest i >. .1
Work and play are necessary ^ to each
other, but they should not be mixed*
The happiness of your life depends
upon the character of your thoughts.
History is a mighty drama, enacted
upon the theatre of Time, with suns tor
Lamps, and eternity for a background.
Is not he imprudent who, seeing the
tide making haste toward him apace,!
will sleep till the sea overwhelms aim!
Hold fast by the present! Every situation?nay,
every moment?is one of *" '
infinite value, for it is the representative
of a whole eternity.
A good habit for some people to cultivate
is the habit of silence. Under some
conditions a man can make more noise in'
the world by keeping his mouth shut
than in any other way. f|
Gratitude is a virtue th&t has commonly
profit annexed to it. And where is
virtue that has not? Bat still the
virtue is to be valued for itsel/,.and not
for the profit that attaches to it.
The high pri:eof life, the crowning '
fortune of a man, is to be born to some
pursuit which finds him in employment
and happiness, whether it be to make
baskets, or broadswords, or canals, or'
songs. '
Bad luck is simply a man with his(
hands in his pockets and pipe in his
mouth, looking on to see how' it is com-'
ingout. Good luck is a man of pluck,1
with his sleevesrolled up and working to
make it come out right.
We may teach rules of right conduct,
and explain clearly their reasons and
foundations, but unless we can stimulate
the moral sense of a child or a man to ' -voluntary
exercise, we cannot hope to
form or reform character. . ^
*' ????*
How Lucca Obtained the Emperor's
Pardon.
The circumstances under whiclf Pauline ^
Lucca, the noted opera singer, sought
and obtained pardon of the late Lm-I ;
peror William for having broken her
contract and suddenly left the F.oyal
Italian Opera at Berlin, in the year 1872,(
nave, says me jLonuon jov"* w,,1J J"0*, "
come to light. It was during the
Kaiser's visit to Ischl, in 1881. At th? '
gala representation of "Versprechtea *
Hinter'm Herd," which took place in _
honor of the sovereign. Lucca played
the role of Randl. The opportunity of
taking the heart of the kina Kaiser by
storm was too favorable for her to lorego.
As she stepped upon the stage, fresh and
merry in her character as Alwerin Randl*'
a basket of grass on her back, a sickla
in her hand and wooden shoes on her,
pretty little feet, and began to chatterj
in genuine patois, she suddenly took' J.
corn flowers out of her basket. As she^
wove them together into a nosegay she
related, still in patois, that the (ierman
Emperor had come into the valley, and
she wished to oiler him a bunch of h'l
favorite fowers that he might be no '
no ionger angry with her, but forgive^. 7
her for her former bad behavior toward
him. For after the rain sunshine must'
follow, so she hoped that the sunshine of
his favor might also lighten upon her /again.
At the last words she knelt'
down beside her basket, as if accidentally^
and raised her eyes pleadingly to the
'box in which the venerable Kaiser waa
seated, who sought in vain to conceal
ihis emotion. It was but momentary/ %
and only the initiated understood that
T.iir>r?n. had nrnvftiled. After the reDre
sentation the Emperor sent a request for
the cornflower bouquet, and the hope of
seeing her very soon a^ain -in Berlin. i
iOn March 22, 1882, there appeared
.once more the runaway favorite of Berjlin,
Pauline Lucca, in "Carmen," after
a ten years' absence from the stage of
; the Royal Opera House.
I Some New Woods.
| Two assorted cargoes of selected
woods grown in North Borneo have
'already arrived here in the ships Siberian
Jand Walter Siegfried,and the heavy logs
{of the beautiful and almost indsstructiible
timber can be seen at the godowns of
'Messrs. Startseff & Forbis, on Ike river1 \
bank. The woods consist of Billion,' -
jRasack, Kurin, Serayah, ironwood log*
and beams, planks, pilos poles and rau-^
,way sleepers. Two more cargoes wiU
soon be here in the Solidor ana Loong'jwha,
fiom the port of Sandakan, which
is near to the best forests. - ^
; These woods possess extraordinary
merits, and in mauy respects are un^
equaled. The Billian logs are of ab* , 1
'normal strength and durability. Thlj
wood bears heat or cold, dampness oij
dryness, resists the sea worm and white
ant,and virtually is indestructible. When
new the wood is of oak color, but if kept
long becomes almost black. It ia verji
heavy, weighing seventy pounds to th(|
cubic foot, and sinks in water. It if
especially suitable for use in imperial
palaces or great temples, or in the
yamens of high dignitaries. The Rasack
wood is lighter, weighing fifty-fool)
pounds to the cub'c foot. The Ka^ora
weighs fifty-two pounds, the Serayali, a
very fine wood for furniture, weigha
foity-threc pounds; the Kruen, or
Borneo walnut, also makes beautiful
furniture and house fittings. It weigh*
fifty-one pounds. The Ga^il weigha'
fifty-nine pounds.and can be had inloj|f
of sixty or seventy feet long. There ia
also a very fine and indestructible timber,
the white ironwood, weighingsixtyfive
pounds per cubic foot, and very
strong.?Chinese Times.
How to Keep Cool.
Don't get excited.
Bathe frequently.
Leave alcohol alone.
Don't over feed.
If you must drink, drink slowly an<l
sparing!v. It is the throat, not the'
stomach that is dry.
Don't drink large quantities oI ioe
water. Put oatmeal in it. Lemonade
is better still.
Keep your temper even.
Cola water poured on the wrist where
the pulse is, is cooling.
Warm baths before going to bed opea
the pores of the skin and induce perspi*
ration.
Don't get angry. . w
Don't argue. *'
Don t worry.
A contented mind can stand more heat
with less suffering than a fretful one.
Passionate men see everything like a
man standing on his head?a Terr hot
position.
. Don't be chump enough to sweat for
fashion's sake.
Clothes light in color are the coolest,
as light goods reflect the sun's rays while
black absorbs them.?Philadelphia Call. \
Statistics show that more people die
of consumption than from any other
cause. j
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ySSk i. .'J- <j