The Smoky Hill and Republican union. [volume], April 16, 1864, Image 1

About The Smoky Hill and Republican union. [volume] (Junction City, Kan.) 1861-1864

Image provided by: Kansas State Historical Society; Topeka, KS

                
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"WE JOIN OURSELVES TO NO PARTY THAT-DOES NOT CARRY THE FLAG, AND KEEP STEP TO THE MUSIC OF THE UNION."
Volume III.
JUNCTION CITY, ,KANSAS, SATUEDAY, JPRIL 16, 1864.
dumber 22.
THE SMOKY HILL AND "REPUBLICAN UNION.
moto pll aitb glcpu&'n Virion,
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, HOW I FOUND THE GRIZZLY LEAD.
Tt was natural enough that a Mexican
jpcon, finding himself belated in tho woods,
should culloct a pile of sticks and make a
fire and lay down and sleep. It is nothing
"wonderful that he should ' make his pile"
on an unknown silver vein by accident.
But all your scientific notions of processes
seem to bo knocked, when (as tho story
goes) the peon got up in the morning and
found where the fire had been, a smelted
mass of pure unadulterated silver. That is
the way the famous Tajo mine was discov
ered. You think that was cneof tho "most
wonderful " stoiies you ever heard. Wait
till ou hear mine :
jjtra "Waters and I (it was ouly last week)
were out prospecting tor silver leads, up in
the mountains I must wait till all the
particular fiiends have located their claims
before I tell you tho exact latitude and lon
gitude of the pluce I say, Jim Waters
and myself were prospecting f r silver, and
aud I, being an old hand at tho business,
was duly charged with test tubes and pock
et flnsk of nitric acid. Ono morning, after
breakfast, we started from camp, leaving
our traps in the tent, guns pibtols, and all
excepting the bottle of uitiic acid, which
was on no occasion absent from my pocket.
Well, in a little while we separated, Jim
taking the one side of a range of hills, and
I the other, in about half an hour I heard
i.m screaming at the top of his bent,
"Mike ! Mike ! Oh, Lord, Mike P (Meke's
my uaiiic.) " Jim's found it, by golly !
he's found something rich and no mistake,
thie timu ! Jim's not easily excited. Jim
has got it at last I" I started on full run
towards the voice. I paused to take breath.
" MiV-o ! Mike !" re echoed Jim. " Mike!
Mike V louder and louder. 1 ran on ; I
gained the summit of the ridge and looked
down. Jerusalem and General Jackson!
what did I see? Mike, twenty yards be
low, oc the tip top of a scrubby oak tree,
and the biggest grizzly out of door under
neath, coulumplating him with the utmost
satisfaction. "Mike! Mike !" roared Jim.
"II 1 and Halifax !" I responded, and I
made for tho timber on my side of the
ridge, giizzty in full chase.
I had no time to choose my bush, but
made for the nearest and up I ran like a
squirrel. Grizzly made a grab at mo, and
carried awa tho better half of my coat
tail, and after tearing it to shreds sat down
to consider. It was wonderful how intelli
gent he looked. He measured the tree at a
single glance. The vertical distance be
tween us was awful short. Grizzly felt
sure of his game. He laughed ; laughed
juEt as plain as Mr. Jefferson does at the
theatre ! He was in no hurry, having a
dead sure thing of it. He waited only to
enjoy my horror. This gave time to col
lect my sense?. 1 thought of my bottle of
icid it was safe, the pocket of my coat
;rcmained. I uttered a cry of joy ; my
courage and my coolness returned on the
instant.
jnZ1r growled and looked puzzled. I
got.siureanoeadj footing on a pro
jeeting limb, and taking Vu2 nssk from my
pocket, I uncorked it and held it firffily in
my hand I knew it was worth a doze2
pistols. Facing old grizzly, and looking
him steadily in the eyes, I exclaimed, in a
defiant tone, " Come on, you infernal griz
zly varmint ; you're juEt the specimen I
have been looking for. Come on I'll assay
you!"
Grizzly growled again, shook himself,
growled louder and looked up at me quiszi I
cally. The -next instant ue was on nis way
up the tree. He reached the fork and then
slowly 6tretchcd himself .upward until his
smiling face was within six inches of the
reach of my right hand, when I emptied
tho vial of my wrath directly in his eyes.
"Jenosiphat ! ' GrizzW tumbled down with
a roar that sounded-like gufcural' thunder.
He reared and he tumbled, he ripped and
he tore. A thousandNnad buffalo bulls
were nothing to it. "ft was my turn to
laugh j you rekon I did it ; I went into fits
and out of them a dozen times. I knew
the varment was stark blind. I shouted for
Jib; but ho only bugged the teree the
tighter. He thought that 1 was in the last
agony, and that grizzly was making a meal
ofime. " .i
Finding that Jim would'nt came, I ran
orer.the hill to find him ;-ad it was some
timoSefore I could recall him Fo his tenses
and persuade him to come down. 1 could
not induce him to go towards the besrrun
til we went, back to our tent for our rifles,
for which -Tio sat out in double-quick time,
and I was obliged to follow. Arrived at
our tent, we refreshed ourselves, and, arm
ed to the teeth, we retraced our steps leis
urely to the scene of my triumph; and
what a scene. Grizzly was lying motion
less, he had expended all his fury ; and I
wish I may die if he hadn't ripped up sev
enteen acres and a quarter of the roughest
ground you ever saw true as gospel, I
measured it myself.
Bushes were torn up by the roots ; rocks
weighing tons were rolled from their beds.
But what interested us most was a silver
tein laid bare for a hundred yardf, the pure
virgin silver glistening in the sun. Talk of
your Bailey leads, your Russ ledges, your
Mexican Tajos ! Here was a vein of solid
silver, one hundred feet wide (I measured
it)! We stuck up notices, finished grizzly,
and came away, and I am now down here
after tools and provisions. Don't tell any
body who I am, or I'll be watched and fol
lowed when I go back. I'll sell in a private
way a few hundred feet of the extension,
to be located by myself. Bannock Times.
HOW THEY MARRY IN FRANCE.
There are few of our readers, perhaps,
aware that in Paris thero is a number of
offices in which forlorn bachelors and fair
dames in bingle-blesseduess may, for a coo
peration, have themselves duly provided
with partners for life; few perhaps will be
lieve that persous of respectable positions
in society, and even of rank, have recourse
to these matrimonial agencies. Such, how
ever, is the fact j aud we have seen it
proved by the report of a case in the news
papers, in which one Foy, the great mar
riage broker, is represented as having got
judgment against a dishonest client for
500, for having negotiated the marriage
of a marquis.
'1 he marriage brokers, and this man Foy
ospecially, are accustomed to advertise their
business day after day in the newspapers;
and their calling is perfectly recognized by
the authorities, and as generally accepted
by the population, as that of an upholster,
a coal-dealer, a lawyer or a physician. A
customer en entering says :
" Mr. Foy, here's a guinea. I want to be
married. The girl must be handsome and
young and must have money."
' My dear sir, says Foy, " you have
called in time. Baron Bing de Bing sent
for me yesterday to marry his daughter.
Go to her there is the address my fee,
200.
Tho hearer presents himself to the Bar
on, states his business, desciibes bis posi
tion and is accepted. The Baron then rings
for his daughter.
" My dear," tays he, " this is Monsieur
Dundu, whose ancestors distinguished them
selves in the Crusades and having been
ruioed by the revolution, their descendants
took to making candles, and have amassed
mouey. You will marry him my dear."
" Very well, papa," says the damsel.
' O, joyful day !" says the lover, and he
kisses the- tips of the lady's fingers.
" When shall the ceremony be?"
"O, not too soon," replies the young
lady with a modest blush, " not before the
day after to-morrow, decidedly !"
" Be it po, idol of my heart !" cries
Dundu, and he hurries off to order dresses,
prepare deeds, and buy the ring, and the
day after to-morrow the thing is done.
This is the way marriages are concocted,
and we ask, can anything be more charm
ingly expeditious ? No love making, no
heart breaking, no weeping, no difficulties;
e cry thing is as easy as the buying of a
pair of gloves. But our girls would not
like it. lhey think too much of a courtship.
AH AMERICAN LADY AT IBS FRENCH CO0RT.
The Emperor and Empress not unfre
quently take a great liking to persons acci
dentally presented to them, invite them to
their most select parties, make much of
them, and sometimes rousing a little jeal
ousy, by so doing among the persons be
longing io me court, ur tne ladies om
cially foremost, the reigning favorites are
Princess Metternicb, extremely clever and
piquante, who invents the oddest toilets,
dances the oddest dances, and says the
oddest things ; the Marquise de Gallifer,
whose past life is a romance not altogether
according to the French proverb, (" fit for
school-girl reading,") but who is very hand
some, brilliant, merry and audacious; and
two others, the handsome and dashing
wives of men high in the employment of
the Emperor. These ladies spend enor
mous sums on their toilette, and are per
petually inventing some merry and bril
liant nonsense for the amusement of the
Empress.
Among the persons from "outside" most
in favor just now in the inner circle of the
court is a very handsome and accomplished
American lady, the youthful wife of a mil
lionaire, possessing a magnificent voice, a
very amiable temper, and wonderfully
splendid hair. After a very small and a
very merry party in the Eaipress' private
apartment a few nights ago, the Imperial
hosts and their guests sat down to an ex
quisite " little supper," this lady being one
of the party. During the supper one of the
Empress' ladies began playfully to tcae
Mrs. about her hair, declaring that no
human head could grow such a luxuriant
mass of lustrous hair, and inviting her to
confess to sporting certain skillfully con
trived additions to the locks of nature's
bestowing. Mrs. modestly protested
that her hair, such as it was, was really and
truly her own in right of growth and not of
purchase.
All present speedily took part in the
laughing dispute, some declaring for the
opinion of the lady of honor, the others for
that of Mrs. . The Emperor and Em
press, greatly amused at the dispute, pro
fessed a strong desire to know the tacts in
the case, and the Empeior, declaring that
it was clearly impossible to get at the truth
in any other way, invited Mrs. to
settle the controversy by letting down her
hair and giving ocular demonstration of its
being her own. The lady, whereupon, drew
out the comb and the hair pins that held
up her hair, and shook its heavy and shin
ing masses all over her shoulder., thus giv
ing conclusive proof of the tenue by which
she held it. As French women seldom
have good heads of hair, it is probable that
some little disappointment may have been
caused to some of the ladies by this mag
nificent torrent of hair displayed by Mrs.
but the gentlemen were all in rap-
A BALEFUL MARRIAGE.
Married, sometime about the year 1856,
by his 'Satanic Majesty, Mr. Copperhead
Democracy and Miss Rattlesnake Slavery,
both of the United States.
Slices of the wedding cake were sent to
all the Locofoco editors, in consequence of
which they have never ceased to uff the
(above) union.
FIRST BORN.
Born, in the summer of 1857, Lecompton
Border Ruffian, son of Hon. Mr. Copper
bead Democracy.
This unsightly child, born six months
after the above marriage, after a month's
sickly existence, died from a peculiar dis
ease called Free States.
SECOND CALL.
Born, at Charleston, S. C, in the year
of Grace, 1860, Mr. Secession Pro Slavery
Rebellion, true son of Mr.'C and Mrs. R.
S. Democracy, Jimmy Buchanan, acting
granny. i
This, which looked so much like its
" daddy," is now going on three years old.
Its infancy was marked by so much preco
city, that it is now universally believed that
it is " too smart to live." Its backbone
was broken by the fall of Yicksburg, its
face horribly burnt in the fire at Gettysburg,
and one of its feet ampatated in Ohio. Its
death, however, is looked for soon. The
old man, they say, is " raving mad "
through fear that his dear son will die.
The old lady is also in a "dreadful pucker''
and some of her friends have got the "sym
pathetic hts.'
THIRD SON.
Born, in New York City, in July, 1863,
Mr. Patrick Riot, third son of Mr. C. and
Mrs. R. S. Democracy.
This monster baby came very nearly
being still born, but by the aid of Dr. Sey
mour and his " friends " it lived about five
days.
The fatality which has attended these
children shows that no child of such parents
can ever live. And yet they survive long
enough to cause great trouble. And as
long as the old folks live there is danger of
an "increase in the family. lhe people
will rejoice and cry Amen at the extinction
of the race.
tu res at the really beautiful spectacle, the
lady's husband, who worships her, being as
proud of her triumph as though his wife's
luxuriant locks were his owa creation.
THE BIGHT BIRD.
Old Dr. Nichols, who formerly practised
medicine, found the calls and fees did not
come fast enough to please him, so he
added an apothecary shop to his business,
for the sale of drugs and medicines. He
bad a great sign painted to attract the won
dering eyes of the villages, and the doctor
loved to stand in front of his shop and
explain its beauties to the gaping beholders.
One of these was an Irishman, who gazed
at it for a while with a comical look, and
then exclaimed
" Och, and by the powers, doctor, if it
isn't fine ! But there's something a little
bit wanting in it."
"And what, pray, is that!" asked the
doctor.
"Why, you see," said Pat, "you've got
a beautiful sheet of water here, and not a
bit of a bird swimming in it."
" Aye ! yes," replied the doctor, "that is
a good idea. I'll have a couple of swans
painted there; wouldn't they be fine ?"
" Faith, and I don't know bu what they
would," said Pat ; " but I'm after thinking
there's another kind of bird would be more
appropriate,"
" And what is that?" asked the doctor.
" Why, I can't exactly think of bis name
jist now, but he is one of thea kind of
birds that when he sings, he cries, ' Qaaek,
quack, quack, quack,!' "
The last seen of Pat and the doctor was,
Pat running for dear life, and the dooter
after hint. - -
The law depriving colored persons of the
right to settle in Iowa has been repealed.
THE RIP VAN WINKLES OF OUR RACE.
One of the most suscioct and comprehen
sive statements of the kind that we have
ever seen appears in a speech made by the
Rev. Samuel Coley, at a Wesleyan mission
ary anniversay. It is a passage worth pre
serving :
" 1 suppose that no country has ever had
such a power of invention and such a stunt
ed intellectual development as China. The
Chinese is the largest, yet beyond its own
realm the least influential, of monarchies.
From China no mission ever started, no
conqueror ever marched. Before all people
in rudimental invention they are behind
all people in development. They had both
gold and silver coins before the .first Darrc
was minted, yet they traffic by the scales
to this day. They first had gunpowder,
but have got little farther with its use than
to blaze it away in crackers. They were
long beforehand with the magnet, but no
junk ever crossed the ocean except in tow
of a British ship. They have printed from
time immemorial, but their literature awakes
no progressive intellect. They have made
glass for two thousand years, and ordinarily
do not make it clear enough to see through
yet. Their astronomy is -still astrology,
nor has their chemistry awoke from dreams
of alchemy. They have politeness, but its
odd forms and slavery of etiquette only
make them more unsocial. They have a
wonderful language, but its elaborate clev
erness is a curse and a fetter to their minds,
making it the labor of a life to learn to read.
They are not without notions of dignity,
but spen find it in nails long enough for
claws, and the women in feet crushed into
the shapelcssness of hoofs. In the South
Atlantic there is a sea the great Sargazo.
All the currents pats by it. Dull, dead,
heaving waves just move the heaped-up
tangle of weeds that grow and the drift of
wrecks that rot in that stagnant, melancholy
ocean limbo. China is the Sargazo sea in
the ooeaa of huojsalty."
mm
q. Mr. Lincoln was walking up Penn
sylvania Avenue the other day, relating "a
little storv7' to 8ecretarr. Seward, when the
latter called his attenion to a new sin
bearing the Mine of 'T. R-Strang."
L"HaP says Old Abe, bit countenance
lighting np with a peculiar smile, "T,,R.
Strong, hat eofiee an streager." Seward
smiled, bat esada ao reply. We dea'fc see
how be ooald reply after otrooioae a thing
as that,
A PHILANTHROPIC D0O.
The Paris Patrie is the authority for the
following : At one of the cafes on the boule
vards they had a dog, which was a universal
favorite. He was accustomed to fetch and
carry, and one of his duties was to go with
a basket to the baker's shop every morning
for the rolls. One morning the mistress of
the cafe found that a roll was wanting.
The same thing occurred the next morning,
and tho attention of the baker was called to
the error. As tho deficiency continued, the
baker unhesitatinglyasserted that it must be
the dog that stole it. A waiter was sent to
follow the dog from the shop home ; but
the latter, instead of returning home direct,
took his way down a by-street, and entered
a passage leading to a stable,. Here be
placed his basket on the ground, drew the
cloth aside, and taking out a roll, ho ap
proached a closed kennel, from which the
nose of another dog was protruding. His
imprisoned friend took the roll in a quiet,
undemonstrative way, as though it were a
thing to which she was accustomed, and the
dog picked up his basket and trotted
home.- The waiter made some lnqumes'of
the porter, and learned that the animal for
whose sake the dog had committed ' petty
larceny, bad had maternal duties to perform
towards three pups from the day when the
first roll was missing. The landlady wis
so much interested in the matter that she
would not allow the dog to be interfered
with, and be continued to abstract the roll
daily till his friend was in a condition to
do without it, when be resumed bis former
probity.
THE GRANTS.
The Ohio State Journal copies from the
Scottish American Journal an interesting
geneological sketch of the clans of the
Grants, in Scotland, concluding as follows :
"'In Straptbspey the name prevailed al
most to the exclusion of every other in the
district, ag alluded to by Sir Alexander Bos
well, Baronet, in bis lively verses :
Come the Grants of Tullockgorum,
Wi their pipers gann before 'em,
Frond the mothers are that bore 'em.
Next the Grants of Rothiemurehus,
Every maa his sword and durk has.
Every man as proud' a Turk is.
To this the Journal adds :
" We don't care a piper's about the
'clan of Grants' of the twelfth century in
Scotland. They may have been very decent
fellows for their time ; but they have been
dead too long.to.be of much account now.
"Nay with all the ' Grants ' of Tullochgorora,
We go for the GRANT that drives ' rebi ' before
him.
None of yonr ' Grants ' of Rothiemurchns,
But the 'wide-awake' Grant, born in Clermont
eoanty. Ohio, son of a tanner, and for.whom
the Uaning of tho rebels and the cruthiag
of this infernal rebellion the magoifieent
work is."
"
ConjtacTloN. At a christening, while a
mieister was ttakiag the certificate, he forgot
the date, and happened to say :
" Let me tee, this is the 30th."
The thirtieth !" exclaimed the indignant
other. " Indeed, it is oaly the eleveatb!"
yWh'a were the first gamblers 7
Adam aid, Eve: -They threw.a pair-o'-dice
for aa apple,' and lost like the. "-dace" in
the operation,
AN ITEM FOR THE HOME CIRCLE.
The following sensible article on domestic
philosophy we find in one of our exchanges:
" If the" ultimate consequences of one's
acta are to be laid to bis charge the man
who invented rocking cradles for children
rest under a fearful load of responsibility.
The downright murder of tens of thousands
of infants, and the weakened brains of hun
dreds of adults, are undoubted results of
his invention. To rock a child in the
cradle, or swing him in a crib amounts to
just this : the rapid motion disturbs the
uatural flow of blood and produces stupor
or drowsiness. Can anvbodv sunDose for
a moment that such an operation is a
healthy one ? Every one knows the dizzy
and often sickening effect of moving rapidly
in a swing; yet wherein docs this differ
from the motion a child receives when
rocked in a cradle ? It is equivalent to
lying in a ship berth during a violent storm,
and that sickens nine people out of ten.
A very gentle, slow, motion may sometimes
be soothing, though always of doubtful
expediency, but move a cradle as rapidly as
the swing of a pendulum three feet long,
that is once in a second, is positive cruelty.
We always feel like grasping and staving
the arms of the mother or curse who to
secure quietude, swings the cradle or crib
with a rapidity equal to that of a pendulum
a foot long. If any mother is disposed to
laugh at our suggestions or consider them
wuimsicai, we Deg or ner to get ner Dcd
hung on cords, then lie down in it herself,
and then swing it with the same rapidity
that she allows the cradle to be rocked.
What she -will experience in both head and
stomach is just what the infant experiences.
We insist that this, rocking of children is
a useless habit. If not accustomed to rock
ing, they 'will go to sleep quite as well
when lying quietly, as when shaken in a
cradle. If they do not, there is trouble
from sickness or hunger, or more likely
from an overloaded stomach ; and though
the rocking may produce a temporary stu
por, the trouble is made worse thereafter by
the unnatural means taken to produce quiet
for the time being."
A SCOUTS EXPLOIT.
A letter from Port Hudson says : " One
of our scouts, Philbrick, of the 3d Massa
chusetts caalry, recently rodo out alone
within the enemy's lines, and captured a
robel colonel, with the audacity that de
serves special notice. Colonel Bradford
was isiting his affianced, at a plantation
house four miles from Jackson, whero he
supposed himself entirely safe, as the rebel
pickets were within call. Philbrick, late at
night, stole into the negro quarters, and
learned from tho slaves, who are always our
friend, all that he wished to know. Quiet
ly fastening his horse, he crept to the front
door, burst it open, and pistol in band, as
tonished the assembled party with the sight
of a Union soldier on the rampage. The
scout thundered out his orders to an imag
inary company through the back window,
kicked over the whist table, smashing the
goblets and a bottle of ' Widow Cliunot,"
that had probably paid recent duty at Ba
ton Ropge, disarmed the Colonel, and took
both him and his servant prisoners, mount
ed them on their own horses, and brought
tbem off amid the tears and lamentations
of the affianced and her friends. Through
by-roads the unlucky colonel was brought
safely to camp,'and is now on his way to
"Virginia with a letter of introduction to
Gen. Butler. The prisoner nearly ground
op a fine set of natural teeth, when be
learned that bis capture bad been effected
by a siogle soldier, armed no better than
himself.
J&T Young man a word. We want to
tell you when you should take your hat
and be off. And mind what we offer. It is:
When you are asked to " take a drink."
When you find out that you are courting
an extravagant or slovenly girl.
When you find yourself in doubtful com
pany. When you find that- your expenses run
ahead of your income.
When you arc abusing the confidence of
your friends.
When you think that you are a great
deal wiser than older and more expericned
people than yourself.
When you feel like getting trusted for a
suit of clothes because you havu't the money
to pay for them.
VVhen you " wait npon " a lady just for
the fun of it.
When you don't perform yon duty, your
whole duty, and nothing but your duty. -
Cats at Sea. Considering bow much
the cats abhor cold water, our readers must
often have wondered why sea faring men
are so fond of taking the animal with tbem
on a voyage. This is explained by two
circumstances. Marine insurance does not
cover damage done to cargo by the depre
dations of rats ; but if the owner of the
damaged goods can prove that the ship was
sent to see unfurnished with a cat, he can
recover damages from the ship master.
Again, a ship fonnd at sea with no living
creature on board is considered a derelect,
aad is forfeited to the Admiralty, the find
ers, or the Queen. It has often happened
that after a ship has been abandoned,' some
domestic aniaia a dog, a canary-bird, or
most' frequently a eat, from its hatred of
faeiag lb waveshas saved the Teasel from
beiag condemned as a derelict.
TQtx-BECKoirara.
The sun-diaL seems to have been the
earliest expedient for reckoning time,known
to the historical antiqunrv. Holv Writ
mentions its use in the book of Isaiah. By
the ancients it was called Sciathericum,
being matked by a shadow. Among the
Romans it was in general request, and an
account is given of one being placed in the
Court of the Temple of Quirinus. The first
sun-dial used at Homo was about three
hundred years before Christ. Before this,
there was no division of the day into hours;
nor docs that word occur in the Twelvo
Tables. The only distinctions of time were
then, sunrise and sunset, before and after
meridian ; nnd Pliny says that even the
term mid-day was not inaugurated until
several days later. Our own familiar abre-
viatioo3, "A. M." and " P. M." for ante
mcridianus (before noon) and post merid
ianus (after noon) therefore date back to
this old Roman observance and expression.
Herodotus informs us that Greeks borrowed
the invention of the sun dial from the-Bab-yloninns.
Even at this civilized period theso deno
ters of time arc sometimes seen in Europe.
"I count only the hours that are serene,"
is the significant motto on an antiquated
sun-dinl near Venice; and in the Temple,
London, there is a dial upon which is in
scribed the admonitory Hue, " Begouo about
your business."
The Chinese, as early as the ninth cen
tury, detailed men to watch on the towers,
in order to auuounce tho hours of the day
by striking on a board suspended for tho
purpose. A similar custom is still observed
among the Russians. Alfred tho Great, it
is said, measured his time by the. continued
burning of wax tapers, with notches denot
ing the respective hours. Another crude
method is seen in certain portions of the
East. Should you ask a native the " time
of day," ho would stand erect in the sun,
and measure his shadow. An allusion is
made to this in Job : " As a servant ear
nestly desireth tho shadow," etc.
Succeeding tho sun-dial came the hour
glass. It was iuveuted at Alexandria, 150
B.C.
In the year 157 B. C, the clepsydra or
water-clock, was introduced at Rome. The
nature of its mechanism is enveloped in
historical quandary. A meagre description,
however, of the one presented by the King
of Persia to Charlemagne, is to be found in
the "Annates Francorum" The author
says : u Likewise a time-piece wonderfully
constructed of brass, with mechanical art,
in which the course of the twelve hours was
turned towards a clepsydra, with as many
bras balls, which full down at the comple
tion of the hour, And, by the fall, sounded
a bell under them."
About the eleventh century a monk the
Abbot of IIitham with no other design
than the beguilcmcnt of his tedium, con
structed a time-teller somewhat similar to
our clocks, it materially differing froih the
sun-dial and the water clock. The ingen
ious machine not only measured tho time,
but at certain intervals produced a ppculiar
sound, for the purpose of admonishing the
sacristan to matins and vespers. Little did
the ecclesiastic suppose that his exertions
to relieve the lassitude of the hours had
given to the world an invention than which
none could be more useful and important.
Clocks, moved by weights, began to be used
in the European monasteries about the same
century.
In 1232 the Sultan sent to the Emperor
Frederick II. a most curious clock, "of
wonderful construction' and valued at five
thousnnd ducats, "it appeared," writes an
old author, " to resemble, internally a ce
lestial globe, in which figures of the sun,
moon, and planets, formed with great skill,
moved, being impelled by weights and
wheels, so that, performing their course in
certain fixed intervals, they pointed out the
hour, night and day, with infallible certain
ty." About the close of the fifteenth cen
tury watches were introduced.
I could tell you many interesting stories,
or rather legends, associated with some of
the time-worn clocks of England and Ger
many. However, I am persuaded, by my
love to appear sagely, to wind up my paper
about clocks, by suggesting with all mod
esty, that we should live the sixty years of
life-allotment as if they were but sixty days;
that we should write over our clocks, and
within our watches, what Pascal superfixed
to his clock :
ilAb hoc momenta, pendcl ctUrnitat"
(On this very moment bangs eternity.)
Then would we better execute our parts in
the world ; then would we, when the eye
lids of life close, like Pygmalion, view the
occult and palpitating thoughts, with the
glories of a loftier and lovelier existence, in
the good Fatherland to be enjoyed in tho
great Hereafter I
jLrtemus Ward on Enlistments.
Young men, enlist rite off I Are ye afeerd
it will spile yore bewty ? Let me tell you
that the prettiest gals in the country air
hereafter a goin to be korted by fellers on
krutcbes, who hev dua grate things ia bat
tel, and yew chapeys that staid hosts in
yure country's darkest ours, woaa't stead
no more chance ov gittin' I of ea tha& J.
Davis ov goin' to heaven iaa. ealaa ! En
list ! ealist 1 4a the aaae ev Hamaihff
daddy, list, oh, fist !
20,000,000 galloas of serf hem molestM
were manufactured it 1863,