The weekly Shasta courier. [volume], July 12, 1873, Image 1

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(T|jf Metklij fclwsta Cffivncr.
VOL. 22.
As One.
M. B. Wyman (sister of Bret Harte) conti ib
utes the following lines, to the July Overland:
So much of life do we have and hold—
Clouds and sunshine, pleasure and pain—
Which.shall avail when the tale is told ?
Will it be loss, or will it be gain?
What of the storms that blow high and low.
Sweep and dash over sea and shore,
Down the broad paths where the rosea grow,
‘Scattering leaves that shall bloom no more?
What of the hopes that the storms of life
Battle, baffle, and bring to earth ?
After the struggle, the care and strife,
*■ • Shall It avail when we know their worth ?
Ever and ever the world rolls on —
Hours, days, and the years fly fast;
And jov and pain, as the night and morn,
Shall be even as one.at the last.
American Independence.
As each year is bringing us nearer to the
end of our first century of national existence,
and as political, commercial, and internal
changes in our country are making us more
and more unlike our ancestors, it becomes
so much the more necessary to study Amer
ican history. Each Fourth of July calls up
the Declaration of Independence, and the
public men who backed that document with
their lives and fortunes. Harper's Mfiga
zitie for July has a very interesting article
on the •“ Signers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence,” by Benson J. Lossing. It is
too long to be given entire, but we republish
the opening portion:
We are all familiar with the signatures
of the men who subscribed their names to
the Declaration of Independence, but few
of us know how they wrote in the text of
letters or other writings, or their methods
of expression in epistles. To reveal their
their style of penmanship, and modes of
souieol them in the expression of their
thoughts in letters, is the chief object of
these papers.
The materials for such revelations have
been drawn from the full treasury of auto
graphic and pictorial wealth of Thomas Ad
dis Emmet, M. D., of the city of Xew York
He kindly pave the freedom of its range to
the writer, who has already, in a preceding
number of this Magazine, spoken of Dr.
Emmet's rare collections and his generous
use of them. He owns autograph letters of
every signer of the Declaration of Independ
ence excepting Hutton Gwinnet, of Georgia,
from whose hand, it is believed, none exists
in this country—only his signature to letters
—and John Hart. Dr, Emmet a'so owns
a large number of autograph letters ol per
sons of eminence who corresponded with
the Signers, or with others, upon topics
connected with the earlier history of our
republic, together with valuable manuscript
documents, contemporary newspapers, polit
ical broadside publications, and thousands
of pictures, such as portraits of men and
women, buildings and scenery, in America,
and illustrations of remarkable events in our
history. 'I hese he has me ) in illustrating,
in the peculiar manner known as “ laying
down,” on fine drawing paper, a Biogrnphv
of the Signers of the Declaration of Inde
pendence, written by John Sanderson. Rob
ert Wain. Jun.. and others, and published
originally in Philadelphia, in seven volumes.
By the mode of illustrating above alluded
to an edition of nine octavo volumes has.
under the hand of Dr. Emmet, expanded
into nineteen folio ones, with a title-page
for each, and a printed index for the whole.
Ihere are in the whole work, so enlarged,
almost 3000 illustrations, of which there are
1,196 portraits (60 of them in water color),
935 views of places, things, and events, 354
autograph letters and documents, and 136
head and tail pieces on India paper, and ex
quisitely engraved. Among the water-col
or sketches are portraits of filly-one of the
fifty six Signers. In the introduction are
por ra tsand autographs of Charles the Sec
ond and the first three Georges, of Louis
XI \ .. It illiain Penn, the Duke of Marllror
ough, Oglethorpe. John Hamden, and oth
ers, with those of Napoleon the First. Dr
Emmet has illustrated the lives of the Gen
erals of the Revolution in the same way.
From these superb, nay, wonderful vol
umes, illustrative of the lives of the Signers,
have been drawn the chief mateiials for the
construction of these papers. The illustra
tions consist of an engravi d fac-simile of a
sentence in a letter, by which the style of
the hand writing of each Signer is shown,
vit I that of his signature to such letter.
F ull copies, or extracts, or a synopsis of the
<0 items of these letters are given, with
notes explanatory of facts and allusions con
tained in them, with brief sketches of the
wr ters. The names of the Signers so treat
ed are here presented in alphabetical order.
The following prelimimnary observations are
made in elucidation of the subject:
Early in June, 1776. Richard Henry Lee.
of Virginia, offered a resolution in the Con
tinental fe’ongress. then sitting in the State
house at Philadelphia. “That these united
colonies arc. and of right ought to be, free
ami independent stales ; and that all polit
ical connect ion between us and the state
of Great Britain is. and ought to be, totally
dissolved.’’ Further action on this resolu
tion was postponed till the Ist of July fol
lowing. Meanwhile a committee of five, of
which Thomas Jefferson was chairman, were
appointed to prepare a Declaration of Inde
pendence. that no time might be lost iu the
event ol the passage of Lee a resolution. To
the ready pen of Jefferson was assigned the
task of writing it; and after several amend
ments made by others of the committee had
been agreed to. a copy, in the chairman's
small round band, was reported with the
resolution. On the I’d of July that resolu
tion was passed, but debates on the form of
the Declaration continued until the 4lh.
when it, too, was adopted, at about the
hour of two o’etnek m-tfae afternoon. It
wassipied on that day by John Hancock,
ordered tq Be engrossed on parchment, and
the copy so prepared to be signed by all the
delegates who had voted in the affirma
tive. That important act was performed on
the second day of August following, when
the names of the fifty-four delegates then
present "vtere affixed to the document. It
was VEbrward segued two offers—Thomas
M Kean.bCDelaware and Matthew Thorn
ton. of Xew Hampshire. The former was
absent in August with a regiment of City
Atsocialors of Philadelphia, and the latter
was not a member of Coagress until thesne
ceeping aatamn, when he obtained permis
sion to sign it.
In compliance with an order of Congress
given on the 13th of January, 1777, an au
thenticated printed copy of the declaration,
with the printed names of the members who
had subscribed to the same, was sent to
“ each of the United States,'’ with a request
that they should “ have the same put on
record.” To each of these copies the auto
graph signature of John Hancock, as Presi
dent of Congress, and that of Charles Thom
son, as secretary of thft body, were attach
ed. These broadsides were print“d in Bal
timore by Mary Catherine Goddard, a sis
ter of William Goduard. printer. Her broth
er was embarrassed in his business, and she
ably conducted his aflairs in her own name
for about eight years, from 1773. One of
these broadsides is in Dr. Emmet’s collection.
lota from the Cause of his Country in
First in the order we have chosen appears
the name of John Adams.
He was an honest, impetuous, outspoken
man ; vain, egotistical, opinionated ; a close
observer of men and things, too frank for a
successful partisan politician or diplomate,
and an unselfish patriot. The following let
ter, never before published, written from
Passy, near Paris, on the 7th of December,
1778. is so characteristic of the man. and
so full of interesting gossip concerning his
colleagues, that I give it in full. Mr. Adams
was then forty-three years of age. and was
joint commissioner of the United States at
the French court with Dr. Franklin and
Arthur Lee. He had succeeded Silas Deane
in April of that year. Finding a want of
harmony between Franklin and Lee, he had
advised Congress to intrust the mission to
one man, expecting, perhaps, that John
Adams would be that person. The election
of Dr. Franklin to be “ Minister Plenipoten
tiary,” in September, showed a disposition
on the part of Congress to make the Sage
the sole commissioner, which they did.
Adams bad doubtless heard of this measure,
and that intelligence evidently inspired and
gave tone to his letter. The custom then
prevailing of using capital initials for the
names of nouns, and sometimes of other
parts of speech, is well illustrated in this
letter. In all other letters the modern
style will be followed in the printing.
Here is the epistle :
“ I wish I could unbosom myself to you
without Reserve concerning the state of af
fairs here, but you know the danger. The
two Passions of Ambition and Avarice,
which have been the Bane of Society and
the Curse of human Kind in all ages and
countries, are not without their influence
upon our Affairs here, but I fancy the last
of the two has done the most mischief.
Where the Carcass is, there the crows will
assemble, and you and I have too much Kx
perience of the Greediness with which the
Loaves and Fishes were aimed at under the
old Government, and with which the Conti
nental Treasury has been sought for under
the new. to expect that the Coffers of the
American Banker here would not make some
men's Mouths water. This appetite for the
Banker’s Treasure 1 take to have been the
source of the most of the Altercations and
Disputations.
” Your Old Friend [meaning John Ad
ams] is a man of Honor and Integrity, al
tho’, to be very frank and very impartial, he
can not easily at all Times, any more than
your humble Servant, govern bis Temper,
and he has some Notions of Klegance, Hank,
and Dignity that may be carried rather too
far. He bsbie i of opinion that the public
Monies have been too freely issued here,
and has often ( The other you
know personally [meaning Dr. Franklin],
and though he loves his eise, hates to offend,
and seldom gives any opinion until obliged
to do it, I know also, and it is necessary you
should be informed, that he is overwhelmed
with a correspondence from all Quarters,
most of them upon trifling subjects, and in
a more tiifling Style, with unmeaning Vis
its from Multitudes of People, chiefly from
the Vanity of having it to say that they
have seen him.
“ There is another thing which I am oblig
ed to mention : there are so many private
Families, Ladies and Gentlemen, that he
visits so often, and they are so fond of him
that he can not well avoid it. and so much
Intercourse with Academicians, that all
these Things together keep his Mind in such
a constant state of Dissipation, that if he
is left alone here the public Business will
suffer in a degree beyond Description, pro
vided our Affairs are continued upon the
present footing. If, indeed, you take out
of his Hands the Public Treasury, and the
Direction of the Frigates and Continental
Vessels that are sent here, and all Commer
cial Affairs, and intrust them to Persons to
be appointed by Congress, at Nantes and
Bordeaux. I should think it would be best
to have him here alone, with such a Secre
tary as you can confide in ; but if he is left
here alone, even with such a Secretary, and
all Maratime and Commercial and pecuni
ary. ns well as political, 8 flairs are left in
his Hands. 1 nm persuaded that Franee and
America both will have Reason to repent
it. He is not only so indolent that Busi
ness will bo neglected, but yon know that
altho’ he has as determined a soul as anv
Man, yet it is his constant Policy never to
say yes or no decidedly but when he can
not avoid it: and it is certain that in order
to preserve the Friendship between the two
Countries your Minister here must upon
some occasions speak freely and without
Reserve, preserving Decency and Politeness
at the same Time.
” Both he anil the other Colleague were, I
am sorry to say it. in a constant opposition
to your Old Friend, and this Misunderstand
ing was no secret at Court, iu tbe City, or
in the Sea port Towns, either to French,
English, or Americans, and this was car
ried so far that Insinuations, 1 have been
told, have been made at Court against your
Old Friend [the writer], not by either of
his Colleagues, that 1 ever heard, but prob
ably by somebody or other emboldened by
and taking advantage of the Misunderstand
ing among the he was too friend
ly with his Lordship, and was much attach
ed to Lord Shelburne, and even that be
corresponded with his Lordship, and commu
nicated Intelligence to him. This, whoever
suggested it, 1 am perfectly confident was a
cruel Calumny, and,would., nut. bare made
an Impression if the Colleagues had contra
dicted it in the manner that you and 1 should
have done. You and T had an opportunity
to know bis attachment to our cause lung
before Hostilities commenced, and 1 have
not a color of ground for Suspicion that
from that Time to this he has deviated an
SHASTA, CAL., SATURDAY, JULY 12, 1873.
Thought, Word, or Deed. When he left
England, or soon after, he wrote a letter of
mere Compliment to his Lordship, a mere
Card to bid him farewell, and received such
another in return, which, he assures me,
are all the Letters that have passed between
them, and 1 have not a doubt of the Truth
of it.
“ The other Gentleman, whom you know,
I need not say much of {meaning Arthur
Lee]. You know his Ambition, his Desire
of making a Fortune, and of promoting his
Relations. You also know his Art, aud
his Enterprise. Such Characters are often
useful, allho’ always to be carefully watched
and controuled, especially in such a Govern
ment as ours.
“ There has been so much said hw'.BWrira
and among Americans here about his mak
ing a Fortune by Speculating in English
Funds, and by private Trade, that it is say
ing nothing new to mention it. Our Coun
trymen will naturally desire to know if it is
true, and it will be expected of me that I
should say something of it. I assure yon I
know nothing about it. An intimate Friend
of bis, who recommended the Major to you,
certainly speculated largely in the Funds,
from whence suspicions arose that the other
was concerned with him. but I know of no
Proof that he was. Combinations, Associ
ations, Copartnerships in Trade, have been
formed here, in which he and his Brothers
are supposed to be connected, but I know
nothing more than you do about them. But
supposing it was proved yt he speculated
and traded, the Question is whether it was
justifiable. Neither you nor I should have
done it, most certainly. Nor would it have
been forgiven in either of Us. Whoever
makes Profits in public Life, neither of Us
must be the Man. But it does not prove
it unlawful in him. II he did not employ
the Public Money, norso much of his Time
as to neglect the Public Business, where is
the Harm? that is the question; and it
onght to be remembered that he was here a
long Time, not as Ambassador, Envoy,
Commissioner, Minister, or in any other
Trust or Character, from Congress, but
merely as an agent for the Committee of
Commerce and Correspondence.
“Some of the Gentleman of Character
who are now in America from this Country
have had Prejudices imprinted into them
against your old Correspondent [the writer].
lam extremely sorry for this, because I
think it is against a worthy Character, and
because it will be likely to have unhappy
Effects both with yon and abroad.
“The other Gentleman [Silas Deane],
whose consolation when left out by his con
stituents was that ho stood well with the
Body to which he was sent, consoled him
self, also, when recalled by that body, with
the thought that he was esteemed by ye
Court where he had resided. This no doubt,
will be displayed in all its variegated colors.
The letter from the Minister expressing his
Esteem, the Present from an higher Person
age [the King of France], and, above all,
the fleet [of Beaumarchais], and the Magnif
icence yt accompanied it, will be all repeat
er! and rung in changes in order to magnify
Merit; yet 1 am sorry to see in the News
papers such expressions as these, ‘ Mr. ,
who was the principal Negotiator.’ Such
expressions, if true, might not be used, be
cause they have only a Tendency to occa
sion Division and Animosity, and can not
do any Good. But there is Cause to rjpubt
the Justice of them. In short, I think upon
an Examination of the treatise and Instruc
tions sent from Congress—l think it was
probable that there was not much Discus
sion in the Case. 1 wish with all my heart
there had been more.
“ This Letter is uot so free as I wish to
write to you, but still it is too free to be
used without Discretion. You will use it,
accordingly, only for the Public Good.
Knowing the Animosity that has been in
two against me here, which I believe to
have been [carried to an] nnwarrantade
length, knowing the Inveteracy of many
subalterns and collateral Characters, which
1 think is usurious to the individual as well
as the Public, and knowing that you will
have these Things in Contemplation and
much at Heart, 1 have said thus much of
my Lieutenants upon this subject, which, I
hope, will do no Harm. ’
The West Coast of Mexico. —The
trade of the west coast of Mexico is and
has been for many years almost entirely un
der the control of Germans and Spaniards.
There are some few English and French,
but the Gormans largely preponderate.
Business, as conducted by them, has requir
ed the control of immense capital; and
though, measured by our commercial stand
ard, their method would be Unequivocally
condemned, their system has resulted in the
monopoly which they have hitherto enjoyed,
and to which their enterprise and forecast
entitle them. They have almost entirely
adopted the old Spanish system of “ expedi
tions ; ’’ each great house importing one or
two, or perhaps even three, cargoes a year.
A month or two before these expeditions
are expected to arrive, the merchants, say
of Mazallan, open negotiations with the
Collector to ascertain the discount which
he will permit upon the regular tariff. As
(he duties upon each cargo amount to from
8150,000 to 8300,000, the question becomes
of considerable importance to both parties.
If the Collector proves inconsiderate or ob
tuse, and the vessels approach before the
negotiations are concluded, instructions are
sent to the captains to cruise in the gulf;
and in the meantime the Collector at Gnav
mas. or Acapulco, or San Bias, is consulted,
and if he proves more reasonable, the car
goes are disembarked at one of those ports,
and afterward shipped on coasters to Max
atlan. I wenty, thirty, or even forty per
cent, has not beeu considered an extraor
dinary discount in times past.
With such a profit to start upon—for the
goods are always entered and cost estimat
ed upon a lull duty basis—and with Euro
pean capital at from five to six per cent per
annum after expiration of the manufacturers’
credits, it is not surprising that they, in
turn, sell on liberal lime; eight months, or
even a year, being readily accorded to relia
ble customers. 1 bus. many of these great
houses have from 8500.000 to 81,200.000
out in bills receivable—a capital in itself
upward of 81.000,000 stock in store, and as
much more afloat! Of course, American
manufactures can not be introduced in the
face of such competition ; and, with this ex
planation, it will readily be understood how
the ports have been practically sealed against
American commercial enterprise.—Over
land Monthly for July.
Sew Books.
Annual Record of Science and Indus
try for 1872. Edited by Spencer F.
Haird, with the assistance of eminent
men of science. New York: Harper &
Bros.
This volume is the second of a series in
which it is proposed to present, year by
year, the most important discoveries in the.
various branches of science. The work
opens with a very interesting “ General
Summary of Scientific and Industrial Pro
gress daring the year 1871 ,** which occu
pies ai**» iMtJ>
there referred for details to the pages of the
volume, and to the systematic and alphabet
ical indexes accompanying it. It would be
impossible for any one, however unscientific
to open the leaves of this book without
finding something, probably many things,
to engage his interest and attention. As
tronomy, chemistry, geology, explorations,
botany, agriculture, mechanics, and engi
neering, all these subjects, and many more,
are duly considered, bringing to bear all the
light which the study and research of the
past year have gained, so that, if the reader
does not care for all these topics, he can not
fail of an interest in some of The
purpose of this series seems in every way
a praiseworthy one, and we commend the
present volume, as well as its bredecessor,
to all those who desire within the limits o(
one volume an accurate and comprehensive
account of the result of scientific labor
during each of the past two years.
Miss Beecher’s Housekeeping and Health
keepers. New York: Harper & Bros.
We have been much pleased with this
work, containing as it does “ five hundred
recipes for economical and healthful cook
ing; also many directions for securing
health and happiness.” The recipes are ex
cellent, and comprehend every thing which
could be desired by any housekeeper ; while
the subsequent chapters on Home Ventila
tion ; On Stoves and Chimneys; Cleanli
ness ; Clothing; Early Kising; Habits of
System and Order; Care of the Aged;
Care of the Sick ; Accidents and Antidotes;
Care of Yards and Gardens; Sewing, Cut
ting, and Fitting; Care of Infants ; Domes
tic Amusements and Social Duties; etc.,
are each and all admirable, and calculated
to do much good wherever read. We have
purposely given the headings of a number
of the chapters of this work, in order to
show that it is not a mere recipe book as
many are, but is full of other excellent mat
ter—illustrated, too, in many cases, by in
teresting cuts. The farmer can learn some
thing from the chapter on “ Care of Do
mestic Animals;” the nurse much from the
author’s comments on “ The Care of the
Sick ;” the inexperienced gardener can gain
light from the chapter on “ Yards and Gar
dens : ” and there are few wives and moth
ers who will not heartily enjoy what the au
thor has to say about making home beauti
tiful in many economical and delightful
ways. Miss Beecher has done a good work,
and her volumes will cheer and encourage
many young housekeepers, and not a few
among the veterans in the service.
Training. —Training men for the prize
ring. they are not allowed to touch lager
beer, tobacco or any other such stuff. Bil
liard players training for a match carefully
avoid all such indulgences. When not
training, these people are likely to indulge
pretty freely in spirits and tobacco; bnt
when seeking the highest health, they are
compelled to deny themselves. And yet
we constantly hear the healthfulness of lager
and the meerschaum seriously discussed. It
is stated as a historical fact that no man
who has graduated at the head of his class
in Harvard College, within the last fifty
five years, has used either spirits or to
bacco in any form. And when it is stat
ed that the use of both is very common
among the studenls in that famous universi
ty, and that formerly such indulgences were
wellnigh universal, the fact that no victor
has used either is very significant.
Speaking of the training of prize-fighters,
I have watched the candidates for the prize
ring during their training with great inter
est. Jack , a famous fighter, was a
great devotee of cigars. He did about
twelve a day. On the day before he went
over into Jersey to begin his training, he
did seventeen by way of emphasis. 1 was
curious about one thing: how could he cut
off so short? I said,
“ Jack. 1 should think it would nearly kill
you to break off so suddenly.”
“Oh no,” he replied, “not if I am train
ing. If I were loafing 'round, eating and
drinking everything, it would be awful hard
on mo to give up cigars but when 1 go to
training, 1 don’t even think of it.”
Whoever is in high health, with pure
blood and a clear head, finds it easy to give
up bad habits. High temper and profanity
are easily got rid of when the brain is clear
and clean. Ah! what a means of grace is
perlect health !To day
Chicago has discovered an addition to its
list of attractions in a cemetery which pos
sesses the property of petrifying bodies in
terred therein. A baby lately exhnmed
there was so perfectly “ marblified ” (Chica
go vernacular) that - its relatives wanted to
take it home as a mantel ornament; and it
is now suggested that a company bo formed
to bnry people in artistic attitudes, and thns
establish a statue factory to supply art gal
leries throughout the world.
The surgeon of a ship of war used to pre
scribe salt water for his patients in all dis
orders. Having sailed one evening on a
party of plea-ure, he happened by some mis
chance to be lost overboard, The captain,
who had not heard of the disaster, asked
one of the tars next day if he had heard any
thing of the doctor. “ Yes,” answered Jack;
“ he was drowned last night in his own med
icine-chest.”
Bret Harte’s Literary Career.— ln
1864 he was appointed Secretary of the
United States Branch Mint in San Fran
cisco, a position which, daring the six years
he held it, gave him time and opportunity
for more careful work than any which he
had heretofore accomplished. During this
time some of the most famous of his poems
and sketches were written. “ John Burns
of Gettysburg,” “The Pliocene Skull,”
“ The Society upon the Stanislow,” “ How
are you. Sanitary ? ” and other little nnjqne
verses were written about tbis lime and first
appeared (for the most part) anonymously
in the San Francisco papers. Ip July, 18C8,
the publication of the Overland Monthly
jyts begun, with Bret Harte as its organizer
and eorlop. !T- TBe sM<4*n of the magazine
was immediate and decided. We can not
tell how much of its renown was owing to
the series of remarkable stones which im
mediately began to flow from the pen of its
accomplished editor, nor how much to the
rare talent which he seems to have had in
awaking the dormant energies of those who
constituted bis loyal Stas' of contributors.
The Overland became at once a unique, pi
quant and highly-desired element in the cur
rent literature of the Republic; and it
found a multitude of readers on both sides
of the Atlantic. In its pages, August, 1868,
appeared “ The Luck of Boaring Camp,” a
story which, whatever may be the merits of
those which have succeeded it, gave Harte
the first of his fame as a prose-writer. But
it was not until January of the next year
that the stimulated appetite of the impa
tient public was appeased by the production
of “ The Outcasts of Poker Flat,” a dra
matic tale which probably contains more
firmly-drawn and distinct characters than
have appeared in any one of Harte-'s stories
or sketches. “ Higgles" came next, and
marshaled in their long array, the inimitable
personages who figure in still later stones
emerged from their shadowy realm and
and passed into the language and familiar
acquaintance of the English-speaking world.
Harte’s poems are more thickly scattered
through his later work in California than
elsewhere. Some of the best-known were
written between 1865 and 1870; “Plain
I .alienage from Truthful James,” popularly
quoted as the “ Heathen Chinee,” appeared
in The Overland of September, 1870 A
more ambitious work, “ The Lost Galleon,”
was an earlier production, and gave title to
a thin volume of fugitive bits of verse pub
lished in San Francisco a year or two be
fore. Harte’s first book was the “ Condens
ed Novels," a collection of wonderful imita
tions, too real to be called parodies, first
printed in The Californian, published in a
poorly executed volume in New York, call
ed in and republished and reinforced in 1871.
Four new volumes have issued from the
pen of the poet-storyteller, and a great con
stituency hnngrily waits for more.—Scrib
ner's for June. -- - •
Atmospheric Impurities. There are
some impurities in the atmosphere which
have been thought favorable to the lungs.
The coal smoke of cities has been so regard
ed. It has been likewise asserted that con
sumption, when actually developed, is less
rapid in its progress in an atmosphere of
coal smoke. The same opinion prevails
with reference to many odors and effluvia,
bnt it may well be doubted whether a pure,
odorless atmosphere is susceptible of im
provement. The “ balsamic odors” of cer
tain forests have long enjoyed a reputation
for healing maladies of the lungs, but I
think their virtues come from the
life which wandering among these gWves in
volves. Jf the odor of pine forests and tar
kilns were concentrated in the air of a fur
nace-heated house, 1 fancy that life in that
atmosphere would not favor the lungs
But 1 have no donbt that living in
the pine forests of Upper Georgia has often
cured consumption.
But if you will select two consumptives
in similar condition, and yon will take one
to saunter in the elevated pine regions of
the South, 1 will let you select the most
unhealthy locality in the Northern States,
and I will take my case there. Now, if
you wifi give me plenty of flannels and a
saddle-horse, I will wager yon a farm that
my patient will recover sooner than yours.
You may take your case to the hills of San
Domingo, and have him live gently and qui
etly, arjd I will lake mine to the worst re
gion of'New England, and with the flannels
and saddle I will cure my patient in half the
time which it will take to cure yours.— To
day.
Life in the Ocean Depths.— The unsci
entific man is generally startled when Agas
siz tells him that “ the ocean is the true
home of animal life.” He is so accustomed
to think of the sea as barren and desert
that he “ makes great eyes,” as the Germans
say. when the naturalist assures him that it
is the land which is comparatively bare of
animal life. The land, to be sure, is the
habitation of the most perfect animals ; and
as it is, besides, the home of our own spe
cies, we naturally connect the idea of life
with it rather than with the ocean. The
land, moreover, affords more favorable con
ditions for the development of a greater va
riety of functions, amoung which is the fac
ulty of uttering sounds, while almost all ma
rine animals are dumb. The latter have
such a quiet way that we are apt to over
look them—the fate of quiet people gener
ally.
Sure it is that in the number both of spe
cies and of individuals the ocean far exceeds
the land. We begin to realize this when
we look down into a shallow, waveless sea,
and observe the variety of creatures of all
sorts—crabs, snails, worms, starfishes,
polyps—which have their homes among the
sea weed ; and yet those animals which we
are able to see in their submarine abodes
are nothing in comparison to the hosts of
smaller creatures imperceptible to our eyes
—the infusoria —myriads of which the mi
croscope brings to our view, and which are
all, without exception, aquatic.
A yonng lady who was recently seen help
ing her mamma to do the housework, had
several offers of marriage right off. Since
then all the yonng ladies in the neighbor
hood. when evert hey see a yonng man about,
begin to assist their mammas in a similar
manner. * ' •
Only One Head.— Henry VII., after
the death of Jane Seymour, had some diffi
culty to get another wife. His first offer
was to the Duchess of Milan ; bnt her an
swer was, “ She had bnt one head ; if she
had two. one should be at his service! ”
ASECDOTES.
Momentum vs. the Professor.— The ex
tent to which theory often fails in practice
is furnished by a venerated professor, a most
distinguished mathematician, whose works
are still used as text-books in many of our
institutions, and which occuired within the
compass of our own experience:
He went to Bethel. On his return he
spent the Sabbath in Lewiston. Monday
morning he was told the horse was sick.
Nevertheless he started. The horse went a
few rods, fell down, and broke both thills.
The professor then sent his wife home, and
also sent to Brunswick for another hor?e
and carriage to take him and the broken
chaise home.
When the driver came, they lashed the
two vehicles together, and started. All
went well till they came to the first long,
steep hill between Lewiston and Brunswick.
On its summit they held a consultation.
The professor had an exaggerated idea of
his strength, and said, “ Mr. Chandler, it is
too much for the horse to hold these two
carriages on this steep descent. Take the
horse out; 1 will get into the shafts.”
“ Professor,” replied Chandler, “ the arm
girth is strong, and so is the breeching.”
“ But the horse, Mr. Chandler; “it is too
much for the horse. Besides being strong
er, 1 know how to take advantage of the
descent, and can manage it much belter
than the horse.”
“ If the horse can’t hold it. you can't.”
“ Do you, sir, intend to place me, in point
of intelligence and knowledge of mechani
cal forces, below a horse? I have made
mathematics the study of a lifetime.”
“ I have no intention to be disrespectful,
sir; but I know that a horse understands
his own business, which is handling a load
on a hill, better than all the professors in
the United States. I was sent up here by
my employer, who confides in me to take
care of his property. If you will take the
business out of my hands, and be horse
yourself, you must be answerable for the con
sequences.”
The professor had a habit, when a little
excited, of giving a nervous twitch at the
lappel of his coat with his right hand. “ I,”
replied he. with a most emphatic twitch.
“ assume all responsibility.”
The driver, in reality nothing loth to wit
ness the operation, took out the horse and
held him by the bridle, and the professor,
getting into the shafts, took hold of them
at the ends. The forward carriage was just
descending the hill, and the hinder one a
little over the summit, when the professor
trod upon a rolling stone, which caused him
to plunge forward, and increased the veloci
ty of his load so much that he was forced to
walk faster than he desired, and exchange
the slanting position, with his shoulders
thrown well back and his feet braced, which
he had at first adopted, for a perpendicular
one. At length he was put in a run, the
carriages going at a fearful rate. At the
bottom of the hill was a brook; on each
side, precipitous banks. The professor was
between Scylla and Charybdis, going nine
feet a leap. In order to cramp the forward
wheel, he turned suddenly to the right. The
shafts of the forward carriage went two feet
into the bank, breaking them both short off.
The lashing of the hinder one slipped; it
ran into the forward one, breaking the fend
er, and both turned over at the bot
tom of the hill with a tremendous crash,
the learned gentleman describing a parabola
—one of his favorite figures—and landing
some rods away. He rose from the earth a
dirtier and a wiser man ; knees skinned,
pants torn, a piece of skin knocked off his
foieheud, and his best hat flat as a pancake
underneath the hind carriage ; and, looking
about him, he exclaimed :
“ Is it possible I could have been so much
deceived as to the momentum ? It was pro
digious ! ”
“ 1 don’t know anything about moment
um,” exclaimed Chandler, “ but I do know
something about horses. I know it makes a
mighty difference about holding back a load
on a steep hill whether the horse has two
legs or four, and whether he weighs one
hundred and seventy-five or one thousand
two hundred pounds.”
It cost the professor $37 50 to ascertain
how much horse-power he represented.—
Spark of Genius.
Anecdote of Prof. Webber. —The Rev.
Prof. Webber officiates occasionally for one
of the Congregational Churches in Burling
ton. When coming up from Middlebury on
a recent Saturday afternoon for that pur
pose, a lively Boston “ drummer ” shared a
seat with him in the car. The B. D. was
very loquacious, and at once engaged the
professor in conversation, which was kept
up until Burlington was reached, without
revealing the latter’s home or vocation.
Drummer was evidently pleased with his
new acquaintance, and asked where he
would stop. The professor indicated the
American Hotel. Drummer said he would
stop theie also. At the hotel he made him
self agreeable to the professor until they re
tired for the night, and the next morning
asked him where he should attend church.
Professor said he usually attended the Con
gregational. Drummer said he would ac
company him. though he generally attended
the Episcopal. The gentlemen went to
church; drummer followed the professor up
the aisle until the pnlpit stairs were reached,
and when he realized the situation remarked
confusedly that he guessed he wouldn’t go
any farther, and sank into the nearest seat.
Boston drummers are pretty sharp, but the
best of them will get sold sometimes.
Couldn’t Remember the Name. —A few
days ago, a group of men were discussing
the propensity of people to address with the
title of “ Uncle” certain old gentlemen in a
community, and counting up the different
individuals who had been so designated in
the vicinity.
“And there was Mr. Jonas Bailey,” said
Deacon A , beginning a contribution of
names from the town where he had formerly
lived. “ I don’t know what his Christian
name was ; don’t know as I ever knew ; but
rmple always called him ‘ Uncle, ever since
can remember.”
“Wasn't bis name Jonas?”inquired a
listener.
‘‘Jonas? Well, yes, 1 believe it was
Jonas. How happened yon to know?"
“ Why, yon said so yourself just now,
didn't you?”
“I ? Not as I know of. Well. I declare,
that is curious! ” returned the good Deacon,
bursting into a hearty laugh, in which he
had plenty of company.
HOUSEHOLD.
Unairkd Chambers. —The following sen
sible advice is given us by a correspondent
in the Country Gentleman:
“ I pass some houses in every town whoso
windows might as well be sealed in with
the walls for any purpose they lave but to
let in the light. They are never opened,
summer or winter. In winter it is too cold;
in the summer the flies stray in, or, if they
are netted, the dust sifts through the nets.
Now. I can tell a person who inhabits such
chambers wheu 1 pass him in the street —
there is such a smell about his-abithing.
I always wish for* sniff df MMtoMbqtfew
horn, or burnt feathers, or sowfetSing of the
sort, to ‘ take the taste out.’ A house that
is never aired has every nook and corner
filled with stale odors of cooked meats, boil
ed vegetables, especially cabbage and onions,
which, as the weeks go by, literally reek in
their hiding places.
“ Who has not wished sometimes to hang
a new servant’s clothing ont of doors some
frosty night until it should be thoroughly
aired? But 1 have seen the fine ladies
come sweeping into church with their vel
vets and silks, when said velvets and silks
gave unmistakable evidence of having been
boused in just such shut-up chambers. Oh,
what a tale that odor of pork and cabbage
tells about the lady's style of housekeeping !
The very garments of the children tell the
same story of uncleanliness. It is bad to
have unwashed clothes, bnt there may be an
excuse for it. But what excuse can there
be for unaired ones, when air is so cheap
and free? There is death in such unaired
chamtiers. Better a swarm of flies or a
cloud of du»t, better frost and snow in a
room, than these intolerable smells. Dear
girls, the first thing in the morning, when
you are ready to go down stairs, throw open
your windows, take apart the clothing of
your beds, and let the air blow through it
as hard as it will. There is health and
wealth in such a policy. It helps to keep
away the doctors with long bills. It helps
to make your eyes to sparkle and to make
your cheeks glow, and to make others love
your presence. Girls who live in close,
shut-up rooms, can only be tolerated at the
best in any circle.”
Items for Housekeepers. —Do everything
at the proper time. Keep everything in its
place. Always mend your clothes before
washing them.
Alum or vinegar is good to set colors,
red, green or yellow.
Sal soda will bleach ; one spoonful is suffi
cient for a kettle of clothes.
Save your suds for the garden and plants,
or to harden yards when sandy.
A hot shovel held over varnished furni
ture will take out splits.
A bit of glue, dissolved in skim milk and
water, will restore okl rusty crape.
Ribbons of any kind should be washed in
cold suds, and not rinsed.
If flat irons are rough, mb them well with
fine salt, and it will make them smooth.
If you are buying a carpet for durabilty,
yon must choose small figures.
A bit of soap rubbed on the hinges of
doors will prevent them from creaking.
Scotch snuff, if put in the boles where
crickets run out, will destroy them.
Wood ashes and common salt wet with
water will stop the cracks of the store, and
prevent the smoke from esciping.
Green should be the prevailing color for ‘
bed-hangings and window drapery.
Oranc.eade. —lmpregnate a few lumps of
loaf-sugar with the oil of orange, by rubbing
into them as much as you can readily from
the rind of four oranges. Roll as many or
anges as you design to use. squeeze the
juice, allowing eight to one quart of water.
Throw the skins into half a pint of water as
you squeeze them, let them stand a short
time, press them a little, and add this water
to the other juice. The very highest-flavor
ed oranges should be selected, and if not
found sour enough to impart an agreeable
acid, lemon juice may be added, with the
caution that it must not be used freely
enough to impair the distinct flavor of the
orange, which is meant to predominate.
The oil should only be slightly rubbed from
the oranges. Allow half a pound of sugar
to the quart of orangeade, but in this mat
ter consult, if possible, the taste of some ex
perienced desert-maker. With all care to
give an exact recipe, the proportions of
both sugar and water may require modify
ing—a little more or a little less, as the
case may be.
Tomato Sour.—ln one gallon of water
put two and a half pounds of lamb, boiling it
until the water is reduced to one-half the
quantity and the meat is in shreds ; strain
the liquor, put in two quarts of skinned to
matoes, stirring very often and well, that
they may dissolve, and boil half an hour ;
again strain, add a tablespoonful of butter,
and if the tomatoes are very acid, about
half tablespoonful of white sugar. In win
ter use tomatoes that have been canned
with very little cooking, and are nearly
whole.
Dveing Blue. —Dip the goods in a strong
solution of alum. Then prepare a small
amount of water with Prussian blue, and
dip a few rags in it; add a little more blue
and immerse a lew more, and so on, the
amount of blue to be regulated by the shade
desired. I have found about an ounce to a
pound of goods generally sufficient. The
blue dye to be used cold.
A Wonderful Doo. —lf the following
story, told by the Nashua (N. II.) Tele
graph, is true, one may not wonder at the
Toss of population in that State, but may
ask, What is the use of population, wheu
dogs know so much? The Telegraph says
that recently a gentleman connected with a
machine shop had occasion to visit a store
house situated some distance from the main
building of the establishment. He discov
ered, on searching his pocket, that he had
left the door key on a nail over his bench,
and having a habit of talking to himself,
spoke of the fact, whereupon his dog, who
was at bis heels, turned and suddenly disap
peared in the direction of the shop. The
gentleman's curiosity was aroused, so be sat
down on the door stone and waited with
patience for the animal's return. It appears
that Rover went directly to his master’s
bench, jumped upon it, smelled of several
keys hanging on the wall, selected the right
one and returned to his master, and appear
ed greatly pleased and apparently as anx
ious for praise a? a boy would have been.
NO. 16,