The Plymouth weekly Democrat., August 12, 1869, Image 1

About The Plymouth weekly Democrat. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1860-1869

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-T -
PLYMOUTH WEEKLY
DEMOCRAT.
X
1 .
VOLUME XIV.
POETRY.
ZOT REAPER.
BY If ATM AN D. CRN ER.
Du l ow- cif hadow aud brightness neet
r thf wem dt yeUowlag wheat.
With a ill aatkr pow where Ike white bom reata
Ob Itto flrftefl glory of Roldea crest
Whilr a livelier hne. a- tlx warm South blow.
With wave on wave to the orchard flow.
Kar to the right, a brown-armed row,
I -ce the stalwart reaper go
Their shoulders rising and falling free,
like swimmers that -port in a MM Mi
While here and there a scyt he-blade's Mm
Pips like a dolphin, and round them play ;
And the jocund shout of the Harvest Home
Floate, mellow and deep, from the jasper MM
Straight to the verge of our shaded path,
fn regular windrow -weeps the swath.
Par behind it dretches away.
Plumed at the -ides by tawny pray.
And opening. I--ugthening on to u.
Like the Red Sea path of the Exodus.
Through the shallowing waves, n- the griiy-lx-ardi-re-1.
Paster and fuller now -wing the steel.
With a Aery flash, a the sunbeams writhe
From tip to ha-p of the sweeping scythe.
There, following, is the sheaf-piled wain.
With the steed neck-deep in the golden grain.
And now, to breathe froir. their task-work sore.
The dripping toilers have reached the shore.
But a cooling draught from the bubbling spring,
A jest, a laugh and some bantering.
Brown foreheads brushed of the shining sweat.
Like jewels of honor there proudly set.
And then, with their backs to the shaven lea,
Another plunge in the amber sea.
A lazy music pervades the air.
From thicket, and meadow, and near jnrttrre ,'
XJ if. the leaf-coverts and flowers among.
The sleepy soul of the sunshine sung.
From the velvety edge of this darling dell
Luxurious languors softly swell.
To lull the spirit and woo the seuxe
To day-dream, sloth and indolence.
But sweeter, pleasant er far to we
Than wind, or bird, or droning bee.
That lusty shout, so cheery and blithe.
That ringing sound of the whetting scythe.
It speaks or laurels nobly won
By the good stroug arm in the good strong sun -Of
energies, heavenly seconded.
To wrest from earth's bosom the boon of bread
For wife and little one- -cbaritv
And the hungry mvriads over the sea I
Ir -ings a song, and an echo springs
World-wide and clear, as the scyth .blade rings.
Telling of n an and his dignity."
His hope to be noble, his ri"'nt'to free
Of the God-like power Ir , unfurled.
Of the brawn and bod-; aufl oal of tne world
"ackant t Monthly for Atgit.
Miscellaneous.
THK I'KOPHKTK PISTOL.
" And that, " said I. " is pretty nearly
all that I have to tell you."
The above words formed the peroration
of a synopsis of several years' traveling,
communicated by me to a fellow-passenger
from Heisingtors to Stockholm, as we
leaned over the side of the good ship
Viberg, and watehed the eount less groups
t rocky islets, erested with green foliage,
which arose on every side from the smooth
Iranuuri'iil f v IK li tor WMS A loll f.
fan. wiry American, with a cold clear
tnd a look of indomitable tir,p'ie m'
TO Pinched
Mfli.ch .cave him the asp. .f ((o
pugnacuuis friend of niDv) a nmn
you would like l0 ha(k lQ back wHb jn
I row.
WmL, stranger," remarked hr at the
elosc of my narrative, yu hev bin about
a bit, I reckon : but yu hain't seen much,
and that's nnue, v'u hain't done much
xiei'her."
My dignity was somewhat ruffled bv this
plain spoken f rllitl ; for I privately re
garded myself as a second Sinbad, on the
strength of a moderate acquaintance with
the majority of the countries which figure
on the tourist's visiting list. Mo. cover,
my listener had himself provoked my cam
rtuunicativeness by a series, of searching
luesüons upon every point of my per
sonal history, from the color of my grand
talker's hair to the amount of pocket
money allowed me at Rugby. Cons
piently, there was, perhaps, a shade of
acrimony in my tone as I replied . M I've
done what I could ; but, of course, every
body can't have as many adventures äs
you.''
" Wal, yu air about right thar," returned
he, taking my wordi literally ; u I've seen
a few things in my time, I reckon ; but.
mark ye, it s cause I've looked about me,
and fixed tor doin' somethin' wharever I
went, 'stead O1 trailin' about with my ejefl
-diet and my hands in the pockeU o' my
panteys, like mm folk. Now, I'll tell yu
how yu Britishers travel; yu jest f.. Ihr
the railway track right square from one
big town to another, and see the opera
houses, and the theaytres, and the prom
nades, and sitch like ; and o' course ,
meet a heap ' riffrifT, and mayhap L
vtire eye teeth drawn a little tco ttfck ;
uul a'ter devotin' three weeks or A month
to seein' a eount ry with some millions o'
people in it, yu come back Hn,i wriu ,t
tarnat.on teg book to say ' ;t;nat air n,untr;.
am t no great pile o pun':vlns ;i t(.r a thV
critters thar jut al Y, aml shiftier, and
goKl lor nothin h ;dl to ( lu,it aI1(, t,. ,ie8
--and no wonth- M.,.jn. Uvv r my raned
t..rnner..and liain-t itt inestimable
blessin ol a lree Bntiafa const itootion
t h vfr:,n-r' t." H concluded, with
paternal superioritv of a missioiiarv
illArwling a Hottentot, "that's the way
Ml go to work : but, vu OOaeTTe, 'taint the
right way, nohow yu' kin fix it."
"And how did yoa go t,, wm then ! "
Hhked I wishing to diver the current of
his flood of extempore criticism.
" Wal, I fixed to dn somethin and I done
it . leastways a man that I heen a team
Mcr in the Rocky Mountains, a jold-diK-ger
in Aanliakji, a sailor in the Injim
' .;,. a inn keeper at Shanghai, a newa
paper editor at San Franciskey, and an
aent for one notion or another in everv
o.mtryin Kurop-, niout say he'd done
wvihin', I guess, if he and a mind to."
And have you really done all that"
asked I somewhat startled at the catalogue.
" Keckon I keT; I've been kinder movin'
'und ever sin' I was as bur as a molasnm
?ar and I ain't done yet. Qanai I'm like
l"lm Brown's soul in the old tomg 1
rnarehin' on ' pretty .-onid'able, and it'll
take a while to tire me of it tew.
" And do you always travel alone, then ""
' Reckon I do, leastways, what yu'd (11
lone. I've got a bosom friend here,
i ntt'1' M, witn ,l s,i', chnckle,
' and'T ;"H hanfl inU Ul brvast BOCfcel
t..m il,,'i'1"nr ,nc than one gtod
?JLe. -o IteUye. Ves. he
holds his tontn, V . "l-
'taint
" jusi as i piease, wnu n
-very ma,, ..r
And with this -nii. . i e
dnced a s,all but Eü2 S K
htted- A ith a rinynme revolver,
nw.nu,iK ,. K "yonet, and orna
IlienU'il aloi t I he stoelf I .i
of-iK. r i . K ith eleven Bttlds
of s.h er, arrangefl in the f,)rm of a aanare
good Mends we've been, aha and me- I
tu v. r mistrusted him but once, and that
sr low n in Australey, when I wtr cold
W" ip Turon way. Two felhrs cum
to mv tent one night, cause theyM hearn
as I'd a heap o' gold thar, and they thought
o' lwin' so kind as to relieve me o' the
Vt)onsibility o' gardin it. I hearn 'em
reepin in. and o' course tlie fust thing 1
did war to slap all six barrels into em, jest
to ghre 'em a hint not to call a'ter visitin'
hours. I beam a screech, and then a pal
tin' o' feet runnin' off; but it war too dark
to see an vt hin', and all the rest o' that
night mv feel in s ain't to be scribeU, no
how ! "
" Ah. von were afraid you had killed one
of them. I suppose.?" said I, pleased at.
this solitary touch of humanity iu my
grislv acquaintance.
"Killed! why, darn it, stranger, d've
want to insult me! No, by Jingo! I war
'fraid I'd Wliimml one on 'em ! and to have,
my own revolver miss a close range, a'ter
being true to me for so many years, were
more'u I could bear !" (The pathos with
which he said this was indescribable.) " I
felt ivirtiSbr cheap all that night, so I tell
ft : vu might hav bought me for a cent,
anv t inn-'fore morning.' Hut as soon as
it war lipht, I cum out, and thar I seen one
feller lyin dead betcre the tent-door, and
a track o blood all whar t other nau run
off, jest like a strick o' molasses 'cross it
buckwheat cake; and, says I, 'Thank
Heaven. I've hit 'em both !' andthe weight
that war taken off my mind in that air
moment stranger, thar ain't no 'scribin'
it!"
The real fervor of his tone as he uttered
the last sentence, with all the air of a good
man. whose conscieLce has iust been re
lieved of some overwhelming burden, can
uot be conveved in words.
"I daresay you'd hardly guess, ne .
Ii, r..r t:..i"t T I'nJ ;iw tins rvolver
"rr"' :r:. . r: m a
visum; but I . tnougn, stare as mucll
as von like: and the way it happe' war
jest so ; Father had bin dead 'bou -a -llont,
when I cum in late one night f.r,.ui nxin'
a rail fence that one of our OXen lyi(
mahed : and a'ter I'd sot y tbo kitcht n
fire for a spell, and done A tol'able stroke
o' supper, I began toffeel a Ieetle drow-v.
I w arn't to say asleep, )mt jest so as if yuVi
spoke to me sudden, I'd hev thought a
minute 'BW I answered when, all to
once, I seen faiVf stannin' right 'fore me,
with his big stra hat ' one side, and his
high-boots and striped shirt-sleeves, and
his hands m his pockets that war the only
ghost-like thing 'bout him, for while he
war alive they war mostly in some one
else's), and he says to me, says he : Tv
niv boy, I mv name s Cyras Jehoatp'
Flint, stranger, and I ain't ashamed
'Cv, mv boy, I've cum back !
spirit -world to tell you sutlr ( the
haps be none the wusso'k' -ff? u ll per
le ve yu much," says ' I didn't
safe to go 'long ' i cause yu air
them two bp- jelfR -handed, whereas
vour'n wdl ' 'tMUn and hve sisters of
'fore tl Kinder need proppin'up aome,
vu ; .v can stand by theirsclve. Now,
:- jest listen to me To-morrow mornin.
ne very fust thing, yu up and job open
the back o' that old cuhbtwrd in the vor
ner, jest above the top shell, and thar vu'll
find a re volver, the best yu ever fingered;
and may Heaven bless it "to yure use. And
now kneel down, and receive mv blessin '
I war jest a gwine to du it, when all to
once I slipped off my chair, and cm the
all-tin-dest lick with mv none agin the
fender as ever I seen ! a lid w hen I cum to
agin, ther wasn't uobody thar. 1 Wal, cuss
it!' says I (though thai air language ain't
polte proper for mmkm o' the church),
'I hope the next time father comes from
t other world, he'll contrive to do it at a
Peas nable hour, 'stead o1 showin up a'ter
bedtime, and rankin1 his own fiesh and
blood break his nose in this here fash'n '
But for all that, didn't forget what he
said: and Tust thing next mornin' I up
and into the kitchen, and out with the
back o the cupboard, and thar lay the n
volver, a-s sure as ever thing war In the
world. And now, stranger, if yon don't
behave that air story, here u the 'dentical
JJwtf. ;iu'l y can't, go ag:iin that no-
Agamsl sucli confirmatorv evidence it
would have been useless to argue; and I
readily assented, only venturing to Inquire
into the mystery of the atagubny arranged
studs on the stock of the pistol."
" Wal, stranger," returned my com
panion. " yu wouldn't guess the trick o'
them studs in a hurry, so VU t 11 you.
Each o' tliem air studs on that revoh ( r
Mauds for the life of a man that him and
ine he 9 clared off. There's eleven on 'em
altogether, anl I reeon that's a pretty
t liable stroke O1 work for one man and
one Weepilll."
Used as I am to extraordinary conti
deuces, this cool, complacent statement
tairlv staggered me for a moment.
" Good Ibaven ! " I gasped, "do von
mean to tell me that you have murdered
eleven men f
" No, stranger," replied he slowly ami
sententiously ; " yu hev got on the wrong
ferryboat n making that air statement. I
mean to tell yu that I've found it necessa
rv at different pe ri-ods o' my life, to rub
out eleven human critters who must other
wise hev offered the same ci vility in me ;
and I -alc'late yu don't call that murderin v
Tliar'sone wantin' yet to complete the
dozen, as yu see; but' added he cheerful
fullv, "that won't be long a-coming,' I
guess."
"The old cannibal!" said I i... ntallv ;
" he talks of killing people as if he were
only collecting photographs. Pray Heaven
he may not take it into his head to add me
to his museum !"
"Thar's one 'vantage I've got with this
weepun," pursued the Yankee; "I canal
ways tell at fust sight o' a man whether
I'm a-gwine to kill him some day or not."
" How's that," asked I, not w ithout ase
cret shudder, and a slight anxiety as to
which way the stale had turned with re
gard to myself.
"Wal, jet this way; whenever Im -et a
man that I'm hound to rub out bime-by,
the hammer o' tlds revolver's sure to gin
a ort r citck so- m to show that he
knows his dooty 'ipeeCfo' that air individ
-oal ; and he never makes a mistake, he
don't."
The perfect, air of conviction with
which he said this was the reverse of
agreeable; and I could not help reflecting
" A pretty thing if this precious pistol
should have happened to click when h.
saw me first, and he should think it neos
sary to vindicate its infallibility !" My
countenance probably expressed some dis
quietude, for my companion suddenly
broke my meditations by observing, in an
encouraging tone :
" Vu hain't no call to be skenred,
stranger; he didn't click at sight o'you,
and I in kinder glad on't, for you're good
kumpny in yure way; although yu air
tarnation green in the ways of the world."
As this estimate of my abilities was
evidently too deeply rooted to admit of
refutation, I let it pass, merely Inquiring
whether the fatal augury had ever proved
fefeie.
"Never, stranger," he replied emphati
cally. " Yu can't 'sped propwry to go
wrong, and that air weepun's a prophet,
PLYMOUTH, INDLAna, THURSDAY,
jest as much as Dan'l or Zck" I w.on t
sav that I wouldn't hev bin ghu X 9 "r je,
to catch him slippin' and ret zun r,rod
tew ; but vou mout as well 'speet l,jn'ral
Grant to be 'fraid, as this weepulJ? to tell a
lie."
"And tliat one time what Was it?"
asked I.
" Wal, seein' it's yu, stranger, I don't
mind tellin', though I ain't so precious
spry at talkin' on that air subject, I car.
It's a good few years now sin' I happened
on a feller who hailed from a village on
the Mississippi called 4 Burnt Clearin','
cause of a big fire they'd hed thar on;e
on a time; and we froze together power
ful, and was just like brothers all at or.ee.
Wharever one went, 'tother went ; what
ever one did, 'tother did: and if this im
hed a dollar, that un war good for fifty
cents on't, least thing. We went down to
Noo Orleens, and up to PhiUuielphy by
the c;;rs, and east'ard to Charleston on a
tradln1 spec; and I tell ye, we fotehed up
the dollars rieht smart. I saved him from
bein' chawed up by a b'ar that looke'
plaguy angshusto make his closer pisJ '
ance;and he saved me from , ,n ,
drowned in floodtiiMe. when my r
,ur,-,l m, ,,-mJ t .iSSlS
while thar
mind like
j 'Mit i j i 1 1
out
V au, But all the
ot hanging' in r
a eloiwl in vnimv' i.v.
spues t'
je Iralt of thcihull sv-., ' y ia
war t'
a ToWoetion
-m - , ran-1 uiui
tun
' 'IM' mv weemiM I'.irt
1
1 ' TVer
seen Vhis feller hed gin a
Xk
come, it had a sound indescribable ,h,,.rv
ana ominous r-j
But let me tnit ... T : Agt Wtt.
iirnr n , -
- 1
in my head like , l!SJ2 StUC
wuldn't o awav V U! ttcVv lo' aml
the time cum w' ' M mst' ftrul,r-
One year ear' t? ar more n a t,l(t-
in Kans.is, a. we were down
iri
a ore' T'v äoout in spots, and mak-
agree
& i naui ; uu one uay w e
U.VAAe Un the nrorit. anrl nmlrn n
fl
f fT ision. cause nevt mornin' he wnr
t
Wtin' off to Burnt Clearin' to see his
folks, and I war bound to make tracks for
Beaton on some business of my own. Wal,
evenin' cum, and a'ter lickerin' up a spell,
to ile our brains fur the cipherin , we be
gan totin' up. But somehow or another,
we couldn't come to a right settlement o'
our two shares, nohow we could fix it ;
and what with the licker we'd hed, and
the worry o' cipherin', we both com
menced to git raythcr savagerous. At
lat, up he jumps, and hollers out: 'I'd
not hev bin so thunderin' keen upon this
hyur trade if I'd know n that mv pardner
war nothin out a darned mean flint -shavin'
thief o1 a Yankee. At them words a
shiver ran all through me like them 'lec
trie tixins' that book larned folks tell on,
and my right hand flew out as if somebody
nroved it, and fotehed him a lick 'tween
the eves that brou't him down like a pine
in t clearin'. (He war a fine feller, bigger'n
me some way, and all the way out
as hard; and, by Jingo! 'twar a reg'lar
pleasure knockin' him down.) Up he
got lookin' mighty wrathy ; and says he:
' It'll take a leetle burnt powder to put
away the HaeU o' that air blow cum out
into tin- forest.' The sun war settin', and
everythin' war dead still, as if waitin' to
see what we'd do. I fcBeted him out
readily 'nurT, for I war cool as an icicle,
now I know'd the job hed got to cum
through : but when I seen the dyin' light
streamiu' down the shadowy arches ofthe
forest, and the everlastin' trees stannin'
up tall and grand, and whisperin' with all
their leaves, as if God war 8peakin
through them in His own Temple'of Natur'
by Hevin', stranger, I cum very nigh
feenn1 as if I war p'raps doin' wrong!
" Wall, that air feelin' didn't last long.
1 reckon. The fust click o' them locks
(we'd 'greed to load only three barrels
each, to save time) the fust click 'o them
locks war like the smell o' roast meat to a
starvin' man; and when I toed my mark
at fifteen paces, I felt as comfortable as if
I'd bin sittin' fore a big tire with a gh
o' whisky in my hand. We both cracked
off to once ; I got a serateh on the left
side, and a bit o' his sleeve went flyin'
jest below the shoulder. 'Better luck
next time, says I ; and the second load
went off. He'd aimed hierher this time
and the pill skilled my ha r and knocked
oil" my hat; but jest in the same moment
I seen him turn half round and go ker
chunk right on his face. I run in upon
him, like a fool, forgettin' that he'd got
one shot left ; and he hoisted hisself on
his elby and let slap, jest tetchin' my thigh
as I cum on (his hand war shaky, vou
know, or he d not hev made sitch a bad
shot) ; but that war his last card, and then
I know'd I hed him.
" 01 feller,' says I, 'I've kinder won
the hand this time, thar ain't no dodgin'
it. So, 'fore yu go under, hev vu any
niessidges to leave ?'
" ' Wal,' says he, 'there's a gal at Burnt
Clearin' that I war pretty bad on last fall
Kezia Harper, next door to the meetin'
house guess you mout gin her this hyur
locket, if 'tain t outer yure way.'
" ' She's as good as got it already,' savs
I, puttin' it in my pouch.
" ' Thar's a feller in the next village,
Nathan Hickman, that they used to call
' Straight -eye ' I war to have fought him
this fall ; yu tell him why I -an't cum, for
no one didn't oughter think I war 'Iraid.'
u ' If the cooa aayi a word agin you,'
says I, ' I'll grease my boots with his fiver.
Is thar anything else?'
M ' Wal,' says he, ' I guess that's about
all.'
"'fJood by, then, ole feller,' says I;
bless yu!' And with that I clapped my
pistol to his bead, and blew it as small as
corn-shucks. "
"Gom1 Heaven!" says I, revolted at this
cold blooded buuhery, "could you not
have spared the man's life, even then?"
"Stranger," replied the old slaughterer,
with indescribable dignity," "if you want
to tind a critter so cussed mean as to hurt
a man's feeliu's by sparin' him a'ter he's
b Q whipped in a fair fight, I guess yu'd
better not come to Cyrus Jehosajihat
r lint ! Now, then, I calc'late we'd best
be lookin' a'ter our flxin's, for them's the
v j .ocKnoim sinnin yonder.
And, so speaking, he turned Uon
heel and vanished into the cabin.
his
A lady while out berrying at Nort h
Granville, N. Y., came upon a corpse with
the throat cut from ear to ear Bhc
dropped her pail of fruit and rushed for
the vdlaers, who at once repaired to tlie
cent to fmd that the corpse had conic
to life and run off with the berries. The
elrver rogue had stained hin neck and
breast with berry juice.
e cold, clear tone of M
Wt li. , .. ' "" ' inese
mm2u2 511m!y "nged with sorrow,
was such as m compassionate judge might
and tö ohüun9nß S death
and to me, guessinn as I did J
that f rya,Hl myself out'o
that air fancy by sayin Whate.rpr'
possible, that ain't ! Whv to thi'T Jl
quarrelln' 'ud be like a man c tr"',K". 25
in balC and flehth? rfiST c-rttinghissel
Anecdote, of Rothschild.
Rothschild had few tastes or pleasures
out of the Stoc k Exchange and his coum
ing-house, in St. Switi.in' Srill
t n i --....... it i m m
r a u .. neu
ooum a me orent Ccrn.un
railed on hin n June moo w;ti. -
of mtrotluction from his broth- .vi? ?
foru he said to him, "I un'' Üin ES"
of nausie. This." naf r510 nothing
rattling the loSse L-m,S 0cke,. and
music f we unoV, JTm U;eTe! V is m-v
Monev-mak; 4lftnd uthat m 'Cbangc."
enjoyment - . 8t J'a8, Ä2 Pu"uit antl
less than ' f oschild's life. He cared
was
v - many uo ior tne money when it
.acte. He had no taste or inclina
i .yson Of his friend k.i
tior
r-Cirtr - ' -"1 rt UK l
moX , ,um" as sn as he; has
22? n- ou-v -mfort everv re-
dm ,s amWtion to arrive at his
t! !!n re luickly an! more effectuallv
nor
uu w- new iuwaru it Willi
e energy'. When his end was reached
;t
had lost all its charm for him. and b
turned his never-wearying mind to -thing
else." It was in the m- JS"
and lightings, the plots and ; . Ibüngs
ing money, not at all -neks of niak-
nmch in the hos-1, n? W,n( T n,l
u.btaH ing of It, that he de-
" I '' c. W mAM . It .
x,: --f. ram a mnner compardori to
''7im ön0 occasion " I hoe that ydur
uuurx-n arc noi no fond of money and
nusiness tr tüe exclusion of more impor
tant things. Ism sure vou would not
Wish that" "lam sure 1 should Mriah
that" he answered ; " I wish them to give
mind, and soul, and heart, and body
everything to business. That is the wav
to be happy. It requires a great deal öf
Doiuneas and a great deal of caution t
make a great fortune ; and, when you hav
got it, it requires ten times as much wit t
keep it."
To all who were willinc'to work in this
tasnion, he was, after his fashion, a good
i lj -p i.i .
. . . - . - .
menu, oome oi me weaumesi commer
cial houses now in London owe their pros
per ty to the readiness with which Roths
child, seeing good business qualities in the
young men around him, helped them on
with his great influence. There were
cases in which he went out of his way to
put exceptional opportunities of money
making in the way of his favorites. Even
his charities, according to his own confess
ion, were eccentric, and chiefly indulged
in for his own entertainment. " Some
times, to amuse myself," he said, " I given
beggar a guinea. He thinks it is a mis
take, and, for fear I should find it out, off
he runs as hard as he can. I advise you to
give a beggar a guinea, sometimes ; it is
very amusing."
A saying attributed to him 'gives evi
dence, if true, of some humor. Once, it
is said, a German prince, visiting London,
brought letters of credit to the banker.
He was shown into the inner room of the
famous counting-house in St, Swithin's
lam-, where Rothschild sat busy with a
heap of papers. The name being an
nounced, Rothschild nodded, offered his
visitor a chair, and then went on with the
work before him. For this treatment the
prince, who expected that everything
should give way to one of his rank and
dignity, was not prepared. Standing a
minute or two, he exclaimed, ';Did vou
not hear, sir, who I am ? I am" repeat
ing his titles. "Oh, very well," said
Rothschild, "take two chairs then."
At another time two strangers were ad
mitted into the same private room. They
were tall foreigners, with mustaches and
beards such as were not often seen in the
citv thirty or fortv years ago, and Roths
child, always timid, was frightened from
the moment of their entrance. He put his
own interpretation upon the excited move
ments with wliich they fumbled about in
their pockets; aud before the expected
pistols could be produced, he had thrown
a great ledirer in the direction of their
heads, and brought in a bc?y of clerks by
his cries of " murder." The strangers were
pinioned, and then, after lone anestioninirs
and explanations, it appeared tliat thev
were wealthy bankers from the Continent,
who, nervous in the presence of a banker
so much more wealthy, had had some difti
culty in finding the letters of introduction
which thev were to present. Famumm
fjomton Merchant.
Ieath from a Scientific Point of View.
It is a law of nature that whatever has
a beginning must also have an end, the
idea of death itself being associated with
m rtu.
But this term of life, the moment that
reduces to inert matter the body which
life had animated, may arrive sooner or
later, accidentally or naturally.
Accidental death happens when one of
the essential organs of life, from some
cause or other, ceases to act ; these prin
cipal organs being the brain, lungs and
neart.
The action of the brain, however, may
be almost wholly suppressed, and yet life
continue ; ureatuing may be lor some time
suspended, and yet life linger within ;
oui wuen me ocaung oi tne Heart cwase
then life is extinct.
Accidental death, therefore, is all the
more rapid from its cause acting more im
mediately on the circulating centre ; it may
happen at all ages, although it is much
more frequent in the earlier than the later
stages of existence.
Natural death is much rarer ; accidents
or disease almost always consuming life
before the period primitively fixed upon
by Nature.
It may also happen at a more or less ad
vanced age, according to the peculiarities
of constitution, sex, race, climate, etc.
When the work of destruction follows its
usual course, life dejiarts in an opposite
sense from the one in which it liad been
developed : in the embryo life seems to
march from the heart to the remoter or
gans, but in the old man it gradually for
sakes Iii bmly from the circumference to
the center. Then the members, becom
ing motionless, and obeying the law
of heaviness, lose their sensibility and
heat; and the muscles no longer obey the
will, even if the w ill exist ; the skin be
comes cold and dry. or is covered with a
viscous sweat ; the face a.vimes a charac
teristic aspect, and appears emaciated ;
the eyes withdraw deep into their orbits,
the cornea is unsettled, the eyelids are
half closed by the lowering of the upper
one, the cheek bones become prominent,
the nose droops, and the discolored lips
are parted and puckered. The voice, like
thought, becomes incoherent ; the eyes
lose their powers of vision, and the olfac
tory nerves are insensible to odors; but
bearing is among the last of the faculties
that leave him. The abdominal and pec
toral viscera cease to fulfil their functions,
drinks fall into the aesophagus as into an
inert tube; breathing becomes short, slow,
and irregular, now suspended, now re
newed, terminating finally in the last gasp.
The pulse beats rapidly but fainter and
fainter, offering numerous remittances un
til it ceases to be appreciable. The heart
still continues beating feebly and irregu
AUGUST 12
1869.
larly, and its las
moment that
contraction marks
the
onarates life from A,m
vestige of
. -. . . . A,
111., w..... .
No
tain t; ' riTnains, except in cer
I hi- i ' 1 vi winr urn
, Sy rrtAin otganic propc-Ttfes; th
Raar?er "e contracted, w as t
t v . lyin ior some time
1,. . . . J" oioou
lhe contain ; the irritabilitv of the
muscles is demonstrated when placed un
der the infhiemv if tlw. ,...!.. -i
ui i ve
I lie mm n ii... t.i i
TV. , . w " - oillC Due
im meint oi me
won disap
pear, her, the blood decomposes its lion id
ÖfbÄ! tUT8' its "olid
etcnunw being deposited either on the
heart or on the sides of the vessels Then
follows decomposition, which slowlv and
mysteriously rHSee. the whole 1 o wate
ÄnintoCw?;n t ammDia WhP
mat ers in fl ?h H Ved all animal
ml S In rf " of Ptfction. 1 hese
the ino mplex composition return to
tb fß-VOn combinations which enabled
. plants to elaborate them; thus the
study of pntrefaetidhi at first so revolting,
acquires a special philosophical interest,
while revealing to us a chainwork of phe
nomena admirable tin account of its beau
tiful simplicity. AppUstojis Journal.
How Joe iiöst His Dinner.
In the town of Newcastle, in England,
there was a man who went by the name
of Patient Joe. He worked in a coal
mine. He was called Patient Joe, because,
if grief came to him, he would sav, "It's
all for the best ; those who love God shall
find that all things twork together for
good."
If all things went well with him,
Joe would praise God ; and if things went
ill with him, he w ould praise God still, and
say, God knows best what is for mv good.
We .must not judge of things by this life
alone, there Is a life to come after this : and
things that may not seem good for us here
may be good for us there.
In the coal pit where Joe worked some
of the men would jeer and laugh at him
when he said, " It's all forthebest." There
was a man of the name of Tim, who would
miss no chance to laugh at Joe.
One day, as Tim and Joe were getting
ready to go down into the deep pit, Joe,
w ho had brought his dinner of bacon and
bread with him, laid it on the ground for
a moment. Before he could take it up, a
hungry dog seized it, and ran off.
" IIa, ha r cried Tim, " that's all for the
best, is it, Joe V The loss of thy dinner is
all for the best, is it, man? Now stick to
thy creed, and say, Yes."
Well, I do say Yes," said Joe, " but, as
1 must eat, it is my dutv to try to get back
my dinner. If I get it"back, it will be all
for the best ; and if I don't get it back,
why, it will be all for the best just the same.
God is so great, that He can rule the
smallest things as well as the largest."
So Joe ran after the dog ; and Tim, with
a laugh and an oath, went down into the
coal pit. Joe ran a long way, but could
not catch the dog. At last Joe gave up
the chase, and came back to the mine.
thinking to himself that the men would all
have a good laugh at him.g
But he found them all pale with alarm
and awe. " What a narrow escape you
have had, Joe !" said one of them. "The
f has caved in, and poor Tim is killed,
f that dog had not run off with your
dinner, you would have gone down with
Tim into the pit and been killed too."
Joe took of his hat ; and while his
breast heaved, and his cheeks crew pale.
and the tears came to his eyes, he looked
up to heaven, but said not a word. The
Nursery.
m t m
An Indignant Damsel.
We heard a good joke on a resident of
Dog Creek the other day. The party re
ferred to is a bachelor and lives on the
wagon road. A few days ago an emigrant
wagon from Oregon came along and
camped near our friend's place. The head
of the family soon made himself acquaint
ed with the proprietor of the premises, and
asked him why he didn't have a woman to
keep house for him. The answ er was that
he intended to marry just as soon as he
could find a woman willing to enter the
bonds of matrimony. The Oregonian re
marked that he could find him a partner if
he would take her. The bachelor said t hat
was right into his hand, and the emigrant
invited hira into his camp. The emi
grant called upon a bouncing damsel of
about twenty years, and informed
her that the gentleman accompanying
him was "on the marry," and willing to
take her for better or for worse. Tne dam
sel, delighted with the prospect, advanced,
and, seizing our friend by the hand, assured
him that she was glad to see him, and was
ready to marry him at the " drop of a hat,"
while the old lady hastened up to congratu
late her " darter on her goxl luck. Sur
prised and alarmed at the serious turn mat
ters had taken, our friend, who is constitu
tionally opposed to the institution of mat
rimony, endeavored to explain by saying
that he was only joking and did not want
to marry. At this the Oregonian became
indignant, and the would-ln bride request
ed her father to take his rifle and "drap
the varmint in his tracks." At this atfec
tionate suggestion the bachelor left for his
fortifications, the last thing he heard being
the voice of the old lady consoling her
"darter" with the remark that it was best to
"let the bilk goSfuubi, Vol., Courier.
The drain Speculator.
The Chicago correspondent of the New
Orleans JiepiiUican writes a spicy letter to
that paper on the subject of Chicago graiu
dealers, from which we clip the following:
" The 'grain speculator 1 is a rakish-looking
chap, anywhere from twenty-five to
fifty, wears the tightest and most striped
breeches, mounts a nobby tile and sports
the gayest necktie out; drives a team, very
natty and fast always (who ever saw a
grain speculator on toot ) tools 1 down in
the morning to the ' Board,' and 4 tools' up
in the evening to hear 4 Molly ' twank on
the piano; lunches at 4 Delnionico's 1 and
after dark let me whisper it very low is
seen going into the 'European' with
'Mollv'on his arm ('another bottle for
No. 6 ) or is seen coming down stairs very
late from the neighborhood of 4 Aiken's,'
muttering something about his great lack
of foresight in not 4 coppering that there
ace.'
44 Whence comes the 'grain speculator,'
and whither he goes when he has played
himself out, no mortal man knows. He
appears suddenly, resplendent in jewels
and striped shirts, and like a comet dashes
across the horizon of the grain market, and
disappears aa rapidly after a short, and
sometime brilliant career, as he came. The
'grain speculator' is indeed a wonderful
man-. His rooms are magnificent and are
always filled with mirrors and tobacco
smoke. He loves with a love tliat is more
than love, all games of chance, and no one
ever need spoil for a bet while the ' grain
peculator' liveth, as he will sUike his be
torn dollar whenever ho has one chance in
fifty. He has traveled this wide world o'er,
does everything for a living ; always has
money and a diamond pin, and wouldn't
be a simple child of nature for any con
sideration. He is first seen seated in an
office m the rear of the Chamber of Com
merce, with a wonderful gilt sign an
nouncing to the ignorant public that his
name is Smith, and that he is prepared to
buy any amount of grain, make ruinous
advances, sell and buv on anv terms, and
at the shortest notice. By if in the fore
noon he emerges from his office, and Joins
a group often or a dozen other 'grain
speculators,' and talks with an astonishing
volubility of 4 shorts,' and ' longs,' ' seller
July,' 'seller August,' etc. Pretty soon
Brown comes along. Brown wants to
buy. Smith wants to sell. Smith, by the
way, hasn't a bushel of grain in the world ;
he has only a handful in a little box on his
office desk. Brown wants 20,000 bushels
of wheat on the first day of August at
sixty cents. Smith agrees to deliver 20,
00i bushels at that price, and on that day.
e
mrgain closed, bmith and Brown, like
A. 4
two gamecocks about to fight, eye an im
aginary 'grain of corn' that's the fluctu
ation of the market and when the 1st of
August comes along, if grain can be
bought at any figure below sixty cents,
Smith buys 'and delivers 20,000" bushels
and pockets the difference. Should erain
go up and be worth seventv cents, Smith
don't buy and don't deliver. He only
i i x ire i .
ousts tu ne nas no iunds to compromise
A. 1 t m. m -
witn Drown, who takes his chances, too
and gets put oft the 'Board.' In plain
hnglish, Smith bets Brown that grain
will be less than sixtv cents on Aueust 1st.
hiiu crown oeis u win dc more. Heads
.1 Tl 1 . Ill . V - '
i win; tails, you lose.
. a -. r
A Word for Local Newspapers.
We clip the following from the New York
Tribune; it is true, and we commend it to
every one who has interestwhere he re-
sines :
.M ining is more common tnan to hear
nPtnl tfllk nf what thor nov non.cor.-
XT..,.-.
for advertising, &c, as no much oiren in
cluirity. Newspapers, by enhancing the
vaiue oi property in their neighborhood,
and giving t he localities in which thev are
published a reputation abroad, benefit all
such, particularly if they are merchants or
real estate owners, thrice the nmrtnnt
yearly ofthe meager sum they pay for their
support. Besides every public spirited
citizen has a laudable pride in havinc a
paper of which he is not ashamed, even
though he should pick it up in New York
or Y ashington.
A good looking, thriving sheet helps
property, gives cnaracier to locality, and
in many respects is a desirable public con
venience. If from any cause the matter
in the local or editorial column should not
be to your standard, do not cast it aside
and pronounce it good for nothing, until
sausneu mat there has been no more lat
bestow ed upon it than is paid for. If you
want a irood readable sheet it must be
supported And it must not be supported
ma spirit of charity either, but because
you feel a necessity to support it. The
local press is the power that moves the
people.
kzow rour
Know yon the hour when Pbcebun Ptealt.
From where Aurora blushing Urn,
And mount the heaven on jjlowinp v.heelu.
And gilds the gray of dawning ekiee?
Know you the time when bird? begin
To carol to the riainp nun,
Wlien from the woods their jocund din
Proclaims the reign of night ie done F
Know you the moment when the dew
Exhales in silvery sighs from blooms
Whereon it slept the whole night through,
Till Phoeou the wrapt earth illumee f
Know you the moment, time and hour
Of daybreak? Well, yon do, mayhap.
Well, that's the time I feel a power
Of pleasure in " that other nap."
Prom lin.
What Ailed the Telegraph !
During the fortnight which ended last
Saturdav niirht. the teleirraDh line between
here and Chicago was mysteriously inter-
t'ered with so that no message could be
sent, and all dispatches were sent by way
of liacine and Savanna. At first the
trouble was laid to the high water some
where, but alter the various streams sub
sided, the trouble continued the same as
betöre. In the day time, however, the
line worked as well as could be desired.
After a week of niehtlv search for the
cause of the break, it was discovered last 1
J V
rnuay evening, in tne snape oi a long
iron rod, which a miner at La Salle placed
against the wires upon quitting his work.
1 he rod was knocked down, and the line
worked well enough. The miner was
warned that a repetition of such a dis
posal of his working txls would result in
trouble to himself as well as to the tele
graph company. He was utterly amazed
at the power of his rod over the wires,
and thought the telegraph was a "mighty
quare thing to be sthopped by the likes o
that rod. JJarenjrt (Jmm) Uautte, '2d.
Keeping a Secret.
Tue Newport Jrewrj" relates a capital
story of Stuart, the painter, which illus
trates finely the power which a secret has
to propagate itself, if once allowed a little
I A L .. .
airing, aim mi reacu a iev ears, cauari
had. as he supposed, discovered a secret
art of coloring very valuable. He told it
to a friend. His friend valued it very
highly, and came a time afterwards to ask
permission to communicate it, under oath
of eternal secrecy, to a friend of his who
needed every possible aid to enable him to
rise.
"Let me see," said Stuart, making a
chalk mark on a board at hand ; 44 1 know
the art, and that is "
44 One," said his friend.
44 You know it," said Stuart, making an
other mark by the side of the one already
made; "and that is "
44 Two," cried the other.
44 Well, you tell your friend, and that
will be making a third mark
"Three only," said the other.
"No," said Stuart, "it is one hundred
and eleven!" (111).
A J.ar nv i llnri-i Wmmmmm (Inn
of our Portland hotel kei wn wtm not long lue
; : I l. r.ll I . A 1 4 .
Tinimicu iu lur mnuwuu' maimer . a. a. mui to
"aiTafr XnSSt SJS
cwionally; what deduction will yon make for
thst?" " Fifty cent a meal and fifty cent a lode- i
Ing," replied the landlord. Time wore on, and A.
B wm sometimes there, and aometlmei not After
awhile the landlord presented hi bill for three ,
week' board -.in. In a abort time A B appeared
Willi a t lllllHfl lllll Ol UKOOIIIIIIIHII Illt-MI- HIHI IIMIK
S nii-ed Meal eaten, three, fl 50; l.idginn. I
twven, awf.ae: mean mMten. mxiv, 900; loaginga
mlMed, fourteen, $7 ; balance In favor of A. B . P
The landlord, of course, was) a Uttle astoniahed at
the rennlt of the reckoning, and therefore Mid not
a word, for the het of teaaon. that be couldn't
think of anything that would do justice to the uh
Ject. Whereupon A. B.. to relieve the landlord'
perplexity, remarked with cool urbanity, ,v well,
never mind the f$ ; I'll take It out in board." The
landlord couldn't 1'' how to keep even with ueli I
boarder, and so the connection between him and
A. B.. H- landlord and boarder, came to an end.
Ibrtlatid Oreprmlon.
NUMBEB 49.
FACTS AND FIGURES
There are now. in Rntaia, 360 printing
offices. b
Hans Christian Andersen never was
married.
TnK Central Park at New York is
called the Suicide's Paradise.
A CLERGYMAN has recovered $20,000 for
i n injury on an English railway.
During the last three years 1.200
horses have perished by tire in New York
Twenty-eight young Chinese have
arrived in Marseilles to study theology.
The Princess Metternich recently paid
a dress -maker's bill of $240.000 for one
season in Paris.
There has not been a day's interruption
in the operation ofthe (cean telegraph
since July 27, 1866.
Macmill.vn, the London publisher, ha
presented IK volumes of hi publications
to the Harvard College librarv.
Cm.iforma consumes fifty per cent "f
its own wines, the Atlantic State twenty
tive and Europe the remainder
A Chinksk giant, eight and one half fret
high, arrived at New York a few d;iv
since. He is properly named Chang-Hi
George Hudson, the ex-rail way king of
London, has been presented with 4,100
by his friends to keep him foe starving.
The Protestant churches in this coun
trv raise annually, for foreign missions
$1,726.000, and sustain 481 Tririnsrirs and
895 native assistants.
DUHM the period between 181 and
1868, fifty-four years, six and a half mil
lion people left Great Britain to seek
homes in other climes.
The Harttord Time states that " Per
sons troubled with corns can find relief bv
calling on Mr. Be feer. Colt's band will
t(" present and furnish good music."
I . r .
l m uiiiiouoA v. iiKTegaiionai l nurrh in
Massachusetts has subscribed $1.700 for
I . . T1,,vv
singing and 1 1.8K) for preaching. The
value placed upon each is about equal.
The largest artesian well in the world
is that of Passy. near Paris, Ining two
feet in diameter and dischareine 5.00000
gallons of water in twentv-four hourv
TnE " Great Canadian Traveler" is a
C n the Grand Trunk railway.
u name, wno nas conducted six-
tcen .v""s, and traveled 570,000 miles.
Dr. Kohn, a Breslau oculist, finds 61
per cent, of the night compositors he has
examined near-sighted, and that the light
of oil lamps is more detrimental than that
of gas.
There are sixteen portraits of Mary
Queen of Scots in the British national
gallery in LondoE, each of them unlike
all the others in every detail of feature
and complexion.
The late Henrv Keep left to his wife
and daughter $2,000,000 worth of stock of
flu nrt liu i vfi rn T? i i 1 r. . , 1 nitli inntfon
tions not to sell it, as it would pav better
than anv investment.
than any investment.
The total amount of the gifts presented
to the Pope, on the occasion of the fif
teenth anniversarv of his entering the
pnesinoou, is estimated at m0U0.0o
francs.
The Knoxvillc IFrtt? savs it is es
timated that the blackberry crop of Ten
nessee, it properlv harvested, would make
. , , ,,,,. 1 1 .
iw.uou uarreis oi wine, wonn aoout fr.
000,000.
Yankee Robinson's Circus Troupe
drove into Brookville, Pa., on a recent
Sunday, and put up at the hotels engaged
for them. On Monday they w ere arrested
aud fined for breaking the Sabbath by
traveling on that day.
In the reign of Edward I, the price of a
Bible, fairly written, was $37. The hire
of a laboring man was three half pence a
day. To purchase a copy of the Bible
would, therefore, take 4,800 days' earnings
of such a man, or about thirteen years'
ion.
A conseuvative old human miracle ol
Danville, Vt., in his eighty-fifth year, who
never rode in a stage or car, or attended a
circus or lecture in his life, and never cot
drunk, recently walked to Hanover, N. H .
a distance of 125 miles.
David Melville, of Newport, K. I.
said to have been the first person to intro
duce gas light into this country. In the
year 1812 he lighted his residence in New
port, a factory in Pa wt ticket, and Beaver
Tail Lighthouse, Narragansett Bay
During the sixteen years ofthe exist
ence of the New York Newsboys' Lodg
ing House, lodging has been furnished 66,
451 different obvs ; restored to friend.
4,823; tarnished' with homo. L8N; aad
furnished 42.S46 lodgings and 2Kl9:tl
meals.
The annual report of the Auguata (,i;i )
cotton factory shows the follow ing figures
as the result of a year's operations: Total
earnings, fl4U. '.. : total expenses, f4.
046.37; net profits on the year's opera
tions $120, 1 .8, on a working capital oi
$;to,0(K).
PiGEOKS have bet n killed in New ork
State with Carolina riee in their Top
Fr oin the known rapidity with which
tkaae birds accomplish the proceai of di
irestion, it is calculated that thev inui
have flown 400 miles in six howa, 01 OTCf
,
a mile a minute
The amount of business transact t-d in
the post office in New York may be judged
by the fact that two windows are open for
the sale of stamps n sums leas than on
dollar. 1 he receipts at each of these w in
(jows arerage ti.ooo per day. The daily
consumption of stamps at the offline must
be in all about foO.OOO.
Rev Thomas S Bcrnell and his wife.
formerly of Northampton. Mass., who
have been missionaries in India for the
last twenty one vears. recent lv returned
home to Northampton. Tin v were l&S
days in going to India when thev tint
went out, and but thirty eight in return
injr, so great has been the improvement in
traveling within the last twodeead -
A kkw davs ago a fanner sent to
New York one hundred bushels of potatoes.
to raise which cost him not far from fortv
dollars. He received from his correspond
eilt in return ten dollars, or ten cents a
bushel. The freight bill for transportation
.1 J .11 C tl .a 1 I a
W118 tMfVt'II IHHUtrM. rM IIIH1 1111 nau IDC
Plre of paying one dollar for the
privilege of giving away one hundred
bushels of itotatoes.
XT . x. , . . . ... m , .
Two New 1 Ork ladies stopped their ar
riage on a crossing. One went into a store
and the other remained in the carriage
.,. i. .., u .
Two gentlemen w ishing to cross the street
ordered the coachman to move on The
lady in the carriage told him not to
On this one of the gentlemen opened the
coach-door, and with his IhmMs and spurs
stepped through the carriage. He was
followed by his companion, to the extreme
discomposure of the lady w ithin as well as
the lady without. To complete the jest a
party of sailors coming up, and relishing
the joke, scrambled through the carriage
urn