The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

; jSi-j, tr-': $Rt§rortj JIam&|l?r, J. VAN SLTKE, Puwumns*. McHESRY. ' ILLINOIS. | ASB BOSSS^U iisit H|U and Valley* I can look down in the valley, t j ' From my hill-top far aml tBlr; 5' At my heart I smile for asking. - r Ever, "Here, or there?" ^ And I wonder at the question, Stepping o'er my favored height; Surely, heart, no longest seeking Finis a fairer uightl Here if? mimmer stillness, broken Oul.y "uv ihe 8<)iig of birds; And the air seems breathing, softly. Noble poet-words. There the noise of little children Breaks upon the sunlit air. And the mothers listen, smiling-- Po they think it fair 1 Here are gardens rich and stately, Blossoms sweet and royal-rare; Not a touch to mar the r beauty, Brightening all the air! . t ,, There the flowers that blossom wildly -" ' Nestle low amid the graaaj And the maidens stoop to pluok them, Sieging, as they pass. -*i» « «<t If" t<#i ; tO.t »!"> t • *!><}' frit * f % i *' • * « ! - • . •(! Here Uie Rnnset-clory lingers . •*. Radiant on the stately clemes; There the tree-tops bend to shadow Lowly cottage homes. Here the mountain splendor glitters Close and grand, by night or day; There the soft low grasses border All the common way. 1 can look down in the valley, From my hill-top, lone and grand; "• „ S*rely, heart, no fairer summit •* ' ' Bmtlrs in all the land ! • , And I wonder at the question, ~ Standing 'mid the glory rare; * ' Wonder at my heart for asking 1 Ever, "Here, or there ?" tyjpaniB Harrison. »i- Around the Farm. * M». VICK says in liiB Floral Guide that ten drops of carbolic acid, to be ob­ tained from any of our druggists, put in a pint of water and poured on the earth in flower pots, will destroy all earth worms, which do so much damage to the plants. A trial will satisfy all of its ben­ eficial effects. THE fact of the Duchess family of ^tart-horns changing owners so often, and tuG i5clS©r8 not being enriched by the thousands obtained sufficient to ena­ ble or induce them to keep on breeding, looks suspicious. "Why did Messrs. Thorne,, Sheldon, 0ampbell and Morris all selloifrfc afteig^rtfch short ownership? --Mdore'sRurctf, CREAM should not be kept over two days or forty-eight hours. If kept longer its flavor will be hurt. Three days will show it; and the fourth it will be spoiled. After that good butter can­ not be made from the cream, however carefully it may have been kept, and however pure the air and the milk from which it is made. THE nest-boxes of hens should be movable, so that after hatching, and oc­ casionally wheu used only lor laying, they may be conveniently cleaned. One way of cleansing is to whitewash them, but another, preferred by some, is to kindle a fire inside and char them. This practice will effectually destroy vermin and their larvae, and will thor­ oughly purify the nests by leaving a coating of charcoal inside. IT is not well to prune vines or trees just at the time the sap begins to flow the most rapidly in spring, because it is likely to issue from the wounds, discol­ oring the bark below, and making the plants look unsightly, even if no fferther injury follows. But if trees or vines are pruned early enough to ensure a good frosting of the wounds for a few nights1 before the sap begins to flow, there will be little danger of what is usually termed bleeding. A VETERINARY surgeon writes to the •Country Gentleman that his experience with sawdust is that it is the best bed­ ding to be had for horses or cattle. It is superior to straw in many respects. It is a much better absorbent than straw and is much cleaner. For a pawing horse, it is much better, inasmuch as he displaces the bedding only where the foot touches the floor of the stall, while stray, being long, is displaced generally by the act of pawing. A CORRESPONDENT of the Inter-Ocean says that to destroy rats sec Indian meal •on a plate for three nights; the fourth night sprinkle strychnine over the meal. It may be placed under floors or boxes, patting blocks under the sides of the boxes, that the rats may have access to the iheal; remove the plate and poison in the mornings If the poison is set the first night only one or two will get it, and others will take the alarm and leave. If the meal is set without the poison for several nights a great many will become accustomed to using it. MEAT FOR EUROPE.--It is of interest to the farmers in the West to know that fresh meat can be successfully ahipped from this country to English markets. We noted a short time ago that a cargo, as an experiment, had been shipped. We are now informed by cable, that it arrived in good oondition. The ^shipments from Philadelphia will con­ tinue. This new trade bids fair to open up a new and profitable industry to this country, and as emigration has fallen off and they do not come here to eat.-our meat, we will furnish John Bull with his steaks •on his native soil; providing, however, that he will encourage the industry by giving us good prices. REPAIRING OLD TOOM AND MAKING NEW ONES.--When the winds howl and the enow flies or the rain pours it is an excellent time to look over the tools that will be needed next summer; to put new teeth into the rakes and new knives into the machines; and also to look over the harness, and wash and oil them until they seem as good as new. But be sure and examine if they are rotten and liable to break if an extra strain comes upon them. A doctor's bill for caring for a broken leg, arm or head, to say nothing of the severe physical pain, the sleepless mights and long confinement would cost you more than several pairs of new har­ ness. And, when all these things arp attended to, new tools can be made, seed- planters, drills, hotbed sashes and frames, besides little conveniences for the kitchen which will lighten the work of the housewife, whose labors are never ended. REPAIRING RURAL ROADS.--Every ob­ server of our highway management must have seen that we have heavy guns--so to speak--in the care of our roads, but lack light artillery. Repairs are made deep, hollows filled, and knolls leveled, but it seems no one's duty to fill ruts and poke stones out of the tow-path. To umber up two yoke of oxen for such small services is expensive. We need for this work light, spry teams. _ A big boy with a cheap horse and a diagonal road scraper could do the business nicely and often, with some person of mature judgment to set him on. Scrapings be­ tween scrapings are required to keep earth roads in shape. Somebody to run out after every muddy spell ail summer long. A big boy--old enough to pay some regard to the footing of the school- ma'am--would make nothing of rubbing out eight or ten miles of ruts in a day, both ways, kicking now and then a stone out of the track, at a cost, say, of ten or twenty cents per mile.--Hartford Cour- ant. GOOD "HEUP" DESCRIBED.--I have hired a good deal of " help " daring the last eight years, and I find it very diffi­ cult to get good farm hands. Some are lazy, some are careless, some are good for nothing alone, and of all the hands I have hired I have only had two that I called urai-class, good Lauds. Now, I will tell you what kind of men these two were. In the first place, they were honest, and willing to give a full day's work for a full day's pay. Next, they got up early in the morning, never hav­ ing to be sailed, and proceeded about their work. They were faithful when left alone, doing a good day's work and taking care of everything. They saw when a gate wanted fixing, or a board needed nailing to the fence, and did it at noontime or morning or night, as the case might be. They never got the horses' shoulders sore, for they always saw that the collars fitted, properly. They were just as good the last day they worked for me as they were the first, which cannot be said of every hand. In fact, they were profitable men to have around, and I kept them as long as I could.--Cor. Western Rural. About the House. A METHOD has been disoovered for making more than the usual quantity of tea from any given quantity of the leaf. The whole secret consists in steaming the leaf before steeping. By this pro­ cess fourteen pints of good quality can be brewed from one ounce of tea. " CEMENT FOR BROKEN CHINA.--Make a thick solution of gum arabic in water, then stir in plaster of paris until the mixture becomes a sticky paste. Apply with a brash to the broken edges, stick them together, and in three 'days the ar­ ticle cannot be broken in the same plaoe. PULLED BREAD.--Pull the soft portion of a new loaf into rough pieces; let them be of equal size, say about two or three inches each way. Dry the pieces in a slow oven or before the fire till they be­ come a nice light brown color, and when they are quite orisp they will be ready for line. They very nice with soffse. BLACK WAUTOT BTAIN.--Take one quarter of a pound if asphaltum, one- half pound of common beeswax, ancf one gallon of turpentine. If the mixture is found too thin, add beeswax; if too light in color, add asphaltum; a very little will make a difference in the shade. Varnishing is not necessary, as the wax gives a good gloss. This is a good stain for pine. ALWAYS fill the bowl of the lamp loosely with batting or raw cotton be­ fore putting in any oil, as in case of an accident by breaking or bursting the lamp, the oil cannot then be scattered all over the room. Less space will also be left for disengaged explosive gas, when the 1amp from carelessness or acci­ dent is lighted after being allowed to get empty, or nearly so. ORANGE CAKE.--One cap of sugar, half a cup of butter, two cups of floor, half a cup of sweet milk, a teaspoonful of baking powder sifted with the flour. Rub the butter and sugar to a cream, add the eggs, the whites and yolks beaten separately, then the milk, then the flour. Bake in jelly-pans. Squeeze the juice from an orange, add to it the grated rind, make it stiff with powdered sugar, and stir the white of one egg well beaten. Spread this on the cakes and lay one on another, like jelly cake. HOG'S HEAD-CHEESE. -- Thorougly clean the head, which must be split open, put it over the lire, with plenty of cold water and a handful of salt. Boil until the bones drop out; it will require five or six hoars, or perhaps longer, as it de­ pends on the size of the head. When done, drain off the broth, take out every particle «f bone, put the meat in a chopping bowl, season with pepper, red and black, half a teacupful of sweet mar­ joram ; the same of summer savory ; the same of sage ; a teaspoonful of powdered allspice, two of cloves, a salt spoonful of powdered mace. Chop all together as fine as possible ; add half a pint of the broth and the same of sharp vinegar; put in molds, and when cold cat ia slices. The Miners and the Emma Mine. The Emma Mine was thoroughly ex­ amined by English experts. It gave every indication of being worth ten times the amount it was sold for in Lon­ don. No distillery in Kentucky ever held up sach a promise of wealth as did the Emma. We do not espeet to con­ vince Eastern people of the truth of this, but miners iiiiderstand it perfectly. But while w© hear from the Eastern papers all about mining properties bought by Englishmen that nave proved to be un­ fortunate not a word is said about the other class. We would suppose that even Eastern people would stop to think that there was another side to the story, or Englishmen would not continue to in­ vest here. We know one mine in this State which, since its purchase, has in­ creased in value more than the Emma has depreciated, and yet, while to-day its stock is held at many millions, it does not look so well as the Emma dip when it was sold. Emma was a misfor­ tune, not an intended swindle, and that fact will yet be fully demonstrated.-- Virginia City Enterprise. WHILE riding in a Philadelphia street car, a few days ago, a lady disoovered that her baby, nine months old, was li- fact was observed by another lady m the car, who spoke to the mother and gave her the first intimation she had ever had of the sad reality. Physicians say the child has been blind from birth. The neighbors of the mother now re­ member that the child was never seen to smile or notice anything. ̂PRESIDENTIAL TALK. Tiiden. The Utica Herald say*: "Outside of New York, events seem rapidly shap­ ing to make Gov. Til den the candidate of the East in the National Convention. The lapse of a few months is likely to narrow the contest down to £ selection between him and one or two Western Democrats." A A: . : y The New York Tribune says: " The report comes from Massachusetts that Mr. Blaine is veiy unpopular with Republicans of that State, so much so that they would vote for Conkling in preference. The Springfield Republi­ can says the assertion seems a bold one, but it believes it to be true." A Kentucky Straw* The latest Legislature to be sounded on the Presidential question is that of Kentucky. The inquiries were made only of Democratic members, of whom 45 were seen. Of »this number 13 were for Hendricks, 13 for Allen, 7 for Thur- m&u, 7 fur Pendleton, 3 for Tiiden, and ome each fair Bayard and Kerr. Waahbat-ne. The Minneapolis (Minn.) correspond­ ent of the Chicago Tribune telegraphs: " The Evening Mail publishes political interviews with a large number of prom­ inent citizens and business men. The prevailing sentiment is in favor of Wash- bume for President, with Blaine as the second choice." . Seymour. "We beg to miorm these bogus mongers, who are fond of substituting fancies for facts, that Gov. Seymour is not a candidate for the Presidency; that under no circumstances would he accept a nomination; that if the office ef Presi­ dent could be tendered him to-morrow, without the trouble of an election, he would peremptorily decline." Ada ma. The Adams party is growing. In fact, it has been doubled. There are two men in it now. The new recruit is the "Bos­ ton Herald editor, but, like his Spring­ field companion, he shows a disposition to compromise on Bristow. This is what he says: " With Adams or Bristow, or, better still, Adams and Bristow nomi­ nated on one side, and Tiiden or Bayard on the other, we should feel that a good centennial year's work had been began." Morton. Senator Morton's Mends profess con­ fidence -of his success as a candidate for the Presidential nomination. The In­ dianapolis Journal gives these grounds for such faith : " The Journal will not attempt, like some of its contemporaries, to prediot the exact strength of each Presidential candidate on every ballot, but it mm assure ihc publio (Wife pos­ itively that Senator Morton will receive the solid vote of other States besides Indiana on the first ballot, and will de­ velop a strength from the beginning that will surprise his opponents. This statement is based on information re­ ceived from trustworthy sources, and,, may be accepted as reliable." Oonklfng. Gen. Boynton is inclined to think that the Conk ling movement has been underestimated. He writes to the Cin­ cinnati Gazette: "There is a great deal more in the Conkling movement than has been believed. His friends have made a very strong organization, composed of some of the keenest and most active men in the Republican par­ ty. They claim New York solid in the Convention, and are now working to secure the neighboring States as a nu­ cleus. _ The battle-ground now is Penn­ sylvania. The Blaine men are certain of it. The Conkling men are confident they will get it. Meanwhile Simcn Came­ ron is a sphinx, and is for the man that wins." ̂ Third-Term. The Washington correspondent of the New York Evening Post sends the fol­ lowing : ' * Two gentlemen who visited the White House on Thursday tell of an interesting and significant conversation which they had with CoL Fred. Grant on the third-term question. They were speaking of the candidates for the next Bapublican nomination for President, when Fred, burst out with an emphasis and earnestness that his hearers say con­ vinced them of his sincerity, saying : 'If anybody thinks there's any third term here, he's mistaken. D'ather don't want to be President any more, and won t accept a nomination if the Cincin­ nati Convention offer it to him.' This was repeated in substance several times. The conversation turning to the chances of different candidates, Fred, expressed unbounded admiration for Senator Conk­ ling, remarking : * Me s a statesman, a good Republican, and just the man for President.' He added the hope that Mr. Conkling would get the nomination, and said he thought he would slip in as Lincoln did ^ in 1860. The gentlemen who heard him believe he only echoed the opinions of his father." ® Sherman. The New York Tribune has the fol­ lowingHere's a Presidential rumor that might be called a 4 scorer.9 A Wash­ ington correspondent of the Philadelphia limes had Ms breath knocked out of him by it: 'A strong combination is in progress to make Gen. Wm. T. Sherman the Republican candidate for the Presi­ dency, and it is confidently assorted that MI a very short time it will display very formidable proportions. The move­ ment for Gen. Sherman is concentrating the dissatisfied from all the camps, and has a shrewd manager in his brother, Senator Sherman, of Ohio. Ohio will present some other man t.harn Hayes, and it looks now as if the result will be a united and earnest delegation for Gen. Sherman. He is a brother-in-law of the E wings, the most powerful Democratic family in Ohio, and it is urged that he would sweep the Buckeye State at the election. What iB most significant in this movement is the fact that it shows the entire absence of any concentration of sentiment among the Republican managers as to their candidate for 1876.' That extraordinary news will startle Ohio when it gets out there." IHB Balmoral Curling Club, which only played its maiden game last winter, has ceased to exist, orders having, been sent to all the members of the dab on the Royal estates to discontinue the 'game. _Queen Victoria is understood to have said that she did not see much amusement in the game of ourling, and that she was afraid it tended to encour­ age a love for malt liquor, a All Sorts. 0 PBACSICEIJ coasters in Nevada tire UB- ing a sled with but one runner. A SISTER of Gen. Meade has received a position as copyist in the Pension Of­ fice in Washington. Six thousand cart-loads of snow were removed last week from the chief thor­ oughfares of Boston. A GIRL inquired of the Mayor of Meri- clei?, Ct., if he could not forbid her widowed mother to marry again. She thought the police ought to be mmla to interfere. BENJAIDN FRANKLIN introduced broom corn into this country. While examin­ ing an imported corn whisk he found a single seed, which he planted in his gar­ den. From that seed the corn was propagated. A WOMAN chased a man in Cincinnati, caught him, and clang to him until a policeman arrived. A year previously lie had ended a friendly acquaintance by stealing her Jewelry, and she had never ceased looking for him. THERE are 203,000,000 British sub­ jects, exclusive of thoso in the British Isles. About 5,000,000 are in America, nearly 2,500,000 are in Australia, 2,000,- 000 in Africa, about 176,000 in Europe, and nearly 193,000,000 in Asia. A MAN with a large family was com-gvjauvur* auui «cc jjtiiniuujr ww uuiu* The Utica (N. Y.) Observer observes: ! plaining of the difficulty of supporting to inform these bogus news- of them. 44 But," said a friend, 1 * -* m V ... .. It U.V -- A- - i you have sons big enough to earn something for you." "The difficulty is," said the man, " they are too big to work." A FRENCHMAN, who'has lived in Amer­ ica for some years, says: "When they build a railroad, the first thing they do is to break ground. This is done with great ceremony. Then they break the stockholders. This is done without ceremony." •<* MR. SIPPET, a noted hermit, of Pike County, Pa., is dead. He was formerly a wealthy merchant of New York, but financial reverses impelled him to go into the hermit business, and for thirty- five years he sustained himself by hunt­ ing and fishing. A MAN named Gill sued the Grand Junction Caual Company, England, to recover compensation for the lunacy of his wife, which he swore resulted from fright caused by a boiler explosion on the canal in October, 1874. The jury awarded him £100. A NEW HAMPSHIRE dealer in fancy fowls sings the praises of his favorite breeds in the following unique hymn : If you want som« feathered at "» That will not your wishes m J at ihoir aeaU you uaiiy kss ook, Bny some eggs or get a fl I Of the famous Plymouth R J THE average speed of railway trains in Germany is twenty-eight miles an hour for fast trains, and twenty-one miles an hour for ordinary passenger trains. The greatest speed attained is on the Ber­ lin, Potsdam and Magdeburg Rail­ road, where they run at the rate of thirty-four miles an hour. A ball; was recently given by the Vol­ unteer Fire Brigade of Coventry, and at 3 in the morning, while the dancing was in full progress, the gas was turned off, and the entreaties of the firemen could not persuade the authorities to turn it on. The result is that to-day Coventry is without any fire department. "THIS loaded cigar business," says the Sacramento Record- Union of Jan. 31, " is being carried too far, and as a practical joke is becoming too serious to be amusing. Yesterday afternoon a citizen had his left cheek burst open by the explosion of one of them, and will, in addition to the pain and disoomfort, have a bad scar to show as a result of jsome friend's ' fun.' WORKING tramps in Springfield, Mass., has thinned out the ranks of the fraternity very perceptibly. A year ago the applicants for lodging at the station house averaged from thirty-five to fifty per night, and now the average is but two. Among the applicants* one night last week were a newly-married couple from Vermont. The groom was twenty- two Mid the bride seventeen. A BILL has been introduced in the Maryland Legislature which makes it unlawful for the proprietor, lessee or manager of any public entertainment to mark or designate any seat as sold, re­ served or taken, unless it has been act­ ually sold one hour prior to the com­ mencement of the entertainment. The violation of these provisions, and con­ viction thereof before a magistrate or court, will subject the proprietor to a fine of $5 for every seat thus marked. A DREAM WITHIN A DREAM. I ateod amid the roar Of a aurf-tormented ahore. And i hold within my hand Grain* of the goideii atnd; How few, yet how they creep Through my Angers to the deep, While 1 weep--while I weep! Oh Ood t can I not grasp Them with a tighter olaept Oh God ! can I not save One from the pitiless wave? Is all that we see or seem But a dream within a dreamt --Edgar A. Pot. A CORRESPONDENT of the London Times, who signs his letter "Trojan Horse," draws attention to the strate­ gical difficulties attending the tunnel scheme which is to unite England and Fr nee. He says it is not enough to guard against assault through the tun­ nel, but points to the danger of the Communists, Fenians,, and others pos­ sessing themselves temporarily of the outlet on the English shore, which would enable them to obtain continuous aid from France. "Why," asks the writer, "risk the rare safety given by nature to the country ?" The Fortification Bill. The Fortification Appropriation bill, as matured and adopted by the House of Representatives, appropriates $315,000, as follows: For protection, preservation and re­ pair of fortifications and other works of defense, $100,000. For armament of sea-coast fortifica­ tions, including Gatling guns, and for all necessary expenses, $165,000. For harbor defenses, torpedo experi­ ments, etc., $50,000. THE population of Kentucky is 1,666,- 525. WEATHER TALK. Weather Precedents -- The Winters of a Century Age. • [from the Springfield Republican.] The "eldest inhabitant" has at last forsaken his biding place, and referring to the journal kepi by tho Rev. Thomas Smith, of Portland. MP _ makes the fol­ lowing interesting statements in relation to the winters of a century ago and more: „ In 1735, January was pleasant and moderate, and February was a "summer month." _ In 1738, January came in like April; in 1749 there were but two snow-storms; February was a sus&mer month again, and March the same. In J 751} -Tan nary. 15, the frest was entirely out of the ground, February was like spring, and "winter ends a wonder through the whole." In 1756, in Jan­ uary, the fish, as they are reported to have done this year, " struck in" from the sea, the weather being so warm. February was delightful, and March blustering, but soft as May. In 1773, Mr. Smith records a summer day in Jan­ uary 27. " wonderful moderate," and February 9, "no snow<«ihoe Deoastber 29--wonderful Weather. We saw two robbins." In the year 1765, February 27, the New "iork Gazette and Pont Boy reports that "last Thursday the weather was so uncommon warm that young lads went into the river to swim." In 1772 the temperature was so high in England that leaves came out on the trees in Jan- uary, and birds hatched their broods in February. In 1789, the weather was equally mild, and the maidens of Co­ logne wore wreaths of violets and corn flowers On Christmas, and on Twelfth Day. In 1421 the trees flowered in the month of March, and the vines in April. Cherries ripened in the latter month, and grapes appeared in May. In 1572, the trees were covered with leaves in January and the birds hatched their young in February, as in 1772. In 1775 the same tiling was repeated, and it is added that the corn was in the ear at Easter. There was in Franoe neither snow DOT frost throughout the winters of 1538, 1607, 1609, 1617, and 1659. Finally, in 1672, even in the north of Germany, the stoves were not lighted, and the trees flowered in February. CUMATE AND WKATHEB. Climate is geographically fixed, while weather is atmospherically variable; cli­ mate is a calculated quantity, while weather is an unknown one. All sorts of rules are applicable to climate, but none are applicable to weather. Climate is monarchy, weather is anarchy. Climate is a constitutional government, whose organiziition we see and understand; latitude and altitude are its king and queen ; dryness and dampness .are its two houses of parliament; animal and vegetable products are its subjects, and the isothermal lines are its newspapers, but weather is a red-hot, radical repub­ lic, all excitements and uxiu»rciuiiies$ a despiser of old rales, a hater of pro priety and order. Climate is a great, stately sovereign, whose will determines the whole character of the lives and hab­ its of its retainers, but whose rule is regular, and therefore so little felt that it seems like liberty ; but weather is a cruel, capricious tyrant, who changes his decrees every day, and who forces us by his ever-varying whims to remember that we are slaves. Climate is local; weather is universal. We are indiffer­ ent to climate because we are accus­ tomed to it, but we are dependent on weather because we never know what form it will take to-morrow. Climate is the rale; weather is the exoeption.-- Blackwood Magazine. OTHER MILD WINTERS. No doubt, were the records properly searched, there could be found parallels for the seemingly unparalleled mildness, thus far, of the present winter. Indeed, we have already been favoied with a reminiscence or two which bear on the case. One old resident of the city in­ forms us that the winter of 1837-38-- during which the Patriot war was waging --was one of wonderful leniency, so much that vessels navigated Lake Erie during some part of every month of the season. Seven years earlier---1829-30-- occurred a winter of still more marked Southern characteristics. A veteran of Little Valley(Cftttwrsngns County, testifies to the local paper, as to this season, that in the middle ef Jan­ uary he found an elder bush with green shoots upon it six inches long. He tapped his sugar bush on the 11th of February, and the same day found a snake basking in the warm sunshine. There was no sleighing that winter, and hardly a time that farmers could not plow their fields. The farmers of the present day will be encouraged to learn, moreover, that the summer following this unusual season was an exceedingly fine one. t Another interesting fact has been re called in this connection, to-wit, that the first month of this centennial winter closely resembles that of 1776. The newspapers of that day speak of tho ex­ traordinary mildness of the season. It was even said that the lack of the usual ice in Boston harbor prevented Wash­ ington from crossing his forces and at­ tempting a surprise of the city, and the Americans were enabled to continually •end forth vessels from all parts of the harbor to the West Indies for munitions of war. The mild season also allowed Gen. Schuyler, in these first days of January, to dispatch hlfi well-planned little expedition up the Mohawk Valley to surprise the Highlanders under John- •on.--Buffalo Daily Courier. A Bet Paid. The Albany Journal tells this story : " Ex-Alderman J. W. Serviss, formerly •f this city, now of Amsterdam, some seven years since resolved to play a practical joke upon ' Stove Arnold, of the Arnold House, of that village. Needing a confederate, he took into his confidence 4 Dave' Manny, of the Manny House. The two proceeded to the Arnold House, where Serviss stated to Arnold that himself and friend had made a bet, and that they had agreed to submit the matter to his decision, the bet to- be paid ae soon as he should de­ cide who was the winner. Feeling hon­ ored at this mark of confidence, he of the Arnold House at once signified his assent to the arralignment. The ex-Al­ derman then stilted the bet, as follows : He, Serviss, h;id bet Maimy the drinks for the entire party at Arnold's, that when the spire of- the new Catholic ca­ thedral fell it would- fall to the west; while Manny had* bet ifc would fall to the east. Then calling for drinks for the entire party, he blandly informed the umpire that as soon as he decided the bet the loser would pay the score. Of' course the laagh was upon Arnold, and fluids to the tune of twenty shillings were abstracted from his bar. He looked pusslcd for a £uOiut;ui, tL«u quieiiy pro­ ducing a book, carefully noted down ihe terms of the bet. Daring the gale of last week the spire of that cathedral fell. It fell to the east. Tidings of the fact reached Arnold, who drew on hi«. ulster as if he had been greased, drove . up to his house as rapidly as possible, produced the lxx>k in which he had re­ corded the bet, and almost before the ex Alderman had heard of the fail of the t spire he was presented with a bill for, twenty shillings worth of drinks with nseven years' interest added." ILLiMHS ITEMS. QufROT wants a new City TUl^ bat feels a little too poor to buildit just now. MT. STERLING is going to have a brass band, and real estate has rapidly de­ clined. HON. THOS. S. RIDGEWAY. State Treas- • nrer, is announced as a candidate for t,be Governorship, subject to the action of * ' the Republican State Convention, THE clearings of the Chicago banks for the week foot up a total of $18,777,- '• 804.07, being about $1,153,000 in excess of those for the corresponding week last '• year. THE documents in the State Depart­ ment, relating to the Illinois regiments in the Mexican, Black Hawk, and other' early wars in the West, are being trans- <, ferred to the Adjutant General's office. CONDUCTOR NIOHOM, of the Indianap- olis, Bloomington and WaDash Road, had his left hand smashed between the' bumpers at Farmer City one morning' last week. Two fingers were ampu­ tated. RICHARD WOODROW, a worthy farmer - of Green Valley, Tazewell County, was engaged with various others in moving a neighbor's house with teams of horses ! the other day, when, being near the building and between the two lines of teams, he fell and was instantly crashed • - to death beneath it. C. H. STODDARD and a oarps of engm-** eers have left Rock Island under instructions from George Skinner, General Manager Of the Rockford,' Rock Island and St. Louis Railroad, to survey the route from Sterling to Rock- ford, in accordance with the promise made at the meeting in Rockford. SUIT has been commenced in the Cir­ cuit Court at Quincy by John Boyle, of Camp Point, against the Chicago, Bur­ lington and Quincy Railway for the al­ leged destruction of a quantity of hay by sparks from an engine belonging to - the company in November last, and also ( for the killing of a number of hogs in the same month. Boyle lays his dam- ; ages at $2,000. A SAD accident occurred at Joliet, last Tuesday afternoon. Abcrat 5 o'clock a * little boy named Willie Crosson jumped - . on a western- bound freight on the Book Maud Road, and fell underneath, The cars passed over his right arms near the • shoulder, also aeross the right foot' and ' left, leg below the knee. This is the first ' accident of the kind in Joliet since the decision of the Supreme Court against the oity in the snit brought by the lat­ ter to oast this track from the heart of the oity. ONE of the theatrical attractions ot Chicago is the famons "Wild whose real name is Julian Kent. He ia playing at Wood's Museum in a hair-feq raising drama entitled " Wild Bill; or, , i Life on the Border," in wliioe is intro- „:, duced a terrific combat between the hero 1 and a real live bear. The bear fights a real fight, and a Chicago paper pre-"^'* . diets that one of these evenings it will! H give an audience the horrible satisfaction -. - of seeing the interior of Mr. Kent's an­ atomy. THE Jonesboro Gazette says: "H no further calamity befall, there will be a partial crop «f peaches. Your corre­ spondent has visited several orchards, snd essmmeu tho buus on liuuureuB of trees, with the following results ; On the trees that were kept growing by cultivo.- v tion all summer and late in. the fall, the. :,... buds are about one-fourth alive. On the trees which made their growth early and were not cultivated, abont one- : u twentieth are alive. Some varieties, , however, stood the test better than ^, others, as was the case with orchards, pp3 But it is very evident that no one will get rich on peaches this year." / A BUTCHER named Jim Burke and a t farmer named Joseph Keefe having had pn;<i some difficulty at Lake Forest, Lake . }{ •* County, a day or two since, agreed to , fight it out. They drew off their ooats, * ' and, before the bystanders could inter- fere, they drew back to strike each ^ other. Keefe got in the first blow, and uiifw felled his antagonist to the ground, where ^ he lay insensible. The bystanders car- ' ried him to his home, and summoned Dr. Henderson. An examination showed ^ a that the skull was fractured above the left eye. Other physicians have been tof examine Buxke and give the opinion that '>$*: the man must die. Keeie was taken in custody by the Sheriff, , ALE. last week wm consumed by the * •' ' Peoria Board of Supervisors in the se­ lection of plans for the proposed new Court House. Competition has been fuller than* is customary even in more extensive buildings. Twenty- ;" four of the beet architects in the West had plans on r; exhibition. The cbortee finally narrowed down to four or five, any one of which woolu have been ' an orasiment to the county. After sev- •:"' eral ballets, and at a late hour last Satur­ day nigbt, the board concluded to accept v the one offered by Wilcox & Miller, of Chicago. Their plan is a very fine one, and provides for a building in what is known as the1 Modernized classic style of ; architecture. It is to be fire-proof throughout, and equipped with all mod­ ern conveniences!. Tips cost will b* about $200,000. THE New York Grajihic offers to pub­ lish the picture of any girl who, by bal­ lot, shall be selected as the most beauti­ ful by any community. The object of the proposition is tb raise a "pretty girls' fund " for the benefit of the exhibi­ tion. One hundred dollars mat be lest with the photograph. •J