Illinois News Index

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 10 Jan 1883, p. 6

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, ... __ bread Ar.d *U the while to wm? KM" pi ><*, WhdW iBtM WlBtet boughs embraos. , ^ ^ Thefllickbirdaboflrt time flies apWJ* WUh eu-yy of Uw foltt who die, Wl» n>t At '*<4 their ieinur • talce, _Wb«w loaned -for sic p none ronttn y VH% 1 i lind h 'ltdD ih • re '<?HS noeclle ply. t_E.!"' ... Bat far find wide in meadows grotn. " -^rSf *|r* The golden butterflies »re see And reddened Borre i hobs between# ? 9(h> pore and prond to sell her coal, ."'•y.'f •* 'Ite stoop to basely-Rotten g tin. 1 v dive ot chaii-fJefs want and pa<n ^dple, •"# By iSbei mamntic -« c rus a prisoner s . yn» le m tlie p a eful lie Ids the quiet; and through heaven's bin* deep -r\' The Bile lit cloud wings stainless Aa>d if she be alive or dead . <ih«t ue.irv woman scarcely know*, )tni back a d forth her needle goea •a <f" ; c _ J* • « ff*.i t •• -A .Jfafe time wi'h throbbing heart am fe- *?> where the leaning alders pirU i . }%> White blossomed swallows, b itheOf nesrt, Above at Ul waters akim and dart. O'flod in heaven! shall I, who shave ' y^H.% " That dying woman's womanhood, » Vaate all (he summer's bounteous goofj4. % ^ ttkiburdcned by her weiirht of care? ^ a t.» JP-; The white moon-daisies star the gim, ' J- The lengthen!a*: shadows o'er them pMMi The meadow pool is smooth, as glass. ' "'•gflfflCMtjUan'a Magazine. CAPTAIM JACK. V W* (.,} * %. ««** from toeBa, t Captain Jack known all orer Grand Manan, and particularly at Whale Cove (where he lived in a little house the water), as "the fcg-horn"-- near Mi *1 I firstly, Ijocause his voice' had grown husky fitrni shouting to liis fellow-fish­ ermen through the thick fogs that often hang for weeks over the Bay of Fundy, Mid, secondly, because he was long told lank, and wore a broad-brimmed hat that gave him a tubular appearance. The more subtle youths often referred to him as the "whastle," because they found in his looks a more striking anal­ ogy to the steam fog whistle that was put up at the Northern Head about ten years ago. The nicknames were meant good-humoredly, and so he took them. He knew well enough that no one on the island would have hurt his feelings. {The old fishermen with whom he had grown up loved him as a brother, while the young fellows regarded him as a Idnd of permanent institution, and respected him accordingly. When the children caught sight of him, they came flocking around him, for they were sure that if Mrs. Dixon, the •tore-keeper at Whale Cove, had got in a fresh snpply of candy stieks from /it. Andrews, Captain Jack would have wme in his pockets for them. His gen­ tleness with the e children--indeed, his fondness for. all folks--was in strong oentrast to his rugged exterior; so tigged that he seemed as much a part Of the weather beaten island as the tall pines overhanging the long line of cliffs against which the wintry winds have lashed the waves these many years. He ^as about 50 years old, and until six or •even years ago, when strangers began coming to the island for the summer, bd been a fisherman. Then he had Earned his smack into a pleasure-boat, 'which lie let to parties by the day, al­ ways, however, going along himself; -Is? hs kss" the rccfii sad the setting of the currents better than any one else thereabout, and was so sure of his bearings that he oould find his way through the fog without a compass. Oapt. Jack's headquarters were at Mrs. Dixon's store, whereof a day he .wtasn't out sailing he spent most of his time sitting on the steps, puffing away •t an old clay pipe. If when the smacks came in from the t aw s the young fish­ ermen saw t:;at he was high and dry, they would join him awhile before cleaning the morning's catch, and get him to gossip about folks that he'd been taking out sailing. These folks fur­ nished him with a pr me topic, and when he once got started he sto ped only now and then to take an occasional whiff or to refill his pipe from hi« near­ est auditor's pouch; for a pipe of tobacco from any one of his hearers was a priv­ ilege Capt. Jack had claimed these many years, and tlie young men had Come to r. gard it as a kind of tribute to his conversational powers. Nor would «®y one have questioned his right to sit On the steps of Mrs. Dixon's store, least of all Mrs. Dixon herself, for Capt. JFack did her many a good turn. When he had spun his varn of gossip, and the young fellows had gone to clean the jOatoh at the flakes, he would help her things right in the shop, and even atriken charge pf it himself when she |- (Stqrfped across the way to have a chat g fjj a neighbor or two. 1 • " Sffc Dixon's being the only store at "Whale Oove, she could claim to be the .• -sole agent in the vicinity for all the wares in her shop, and she made the most©! her monopoly. Tou con Id get : a yard of calico or a cut of pork, a • pound of tea or a pound erf tofoacco, • clothing, fishing-gear and a lthe little - ktiicknacks which would appeal to> the ; taste of ffhe nimple islanders, An rafter i inducement to her customers was her ^willingness to take "merchantable fish** in payment for her goods. But there was another attraction beside this I (ffta.itive and accommodating financial ^ inrmngement. There was no exngge> 3* 'tion in Cant Jack's frequent remavk that" Polly © xin was such a smarii^hi,. downright pretty little woman, with such takin' ways about her, as y^r«B * J^ever go into her shop without feuviaf jm' maybe yer'd end hybnyinf *aometi(ing more than yer'd tiumght eT rgettin' afore yer went in." 1 had often heard this from Captam •Jack, for he and I were frequently out ? 'Sailing together. But its truth never *tmek me so forcibly as one August >morning when I went to the store to some fishing-tackle, and oame ont with about twice as much as I wanted. ? Ipapt. Jack and I were not going ont 'X. vntit noon, and he was sitting as usual :> the store steps. * *If yer've any o' that backy from the • . States about yer, I don't know as I , fnind fillin' a pipe," said Ctpt. Jack; GmiaA, as I sat down beside him, and he , ^jbegan filling his pipe, he continned: "It Istrikes me as yer's been buy in' enough ,|iue to run a trawl from Whale Cove to >3Nov;t 8cotia." f I simply repeated his usual tribute to DIXOH'H accompl shment^. v"Well," he said, very deliberately, "I 'i%l „kind o* think as she's more takin' ways ' than ever just now, for I h*»ar as she's ' - sliad whtt some folks cal « asti eako' 4 * -iftuck. Maybe yer'd fike to hear about it 'f*?'/;,--it'll be plenty o' tim • afore the wind .MClabd tide sets toward Northern He td, „ 4»d there ain't much u^e a-goin' out #• '-'feaiolere then. I've just been tellin' the i about it, an' it kind o' tickled 'em. m. to call hefr, b^ore to $fed Dixon, some dve yMrs sinoe. I can't say as she was as joyful-looking just about that time *8 wi<»V now, and loant say as I an' the other ytfung fellers--for we old chaps was young UMa--feH joyful about her being spitted to J>ixon nt ith- er. Yer see, there was a feller as was name I John Daggett as we'd been run- nin' < bout Polly for some time. We all knowed him well. He'd growed up with us been to the little school yonder with us, played with us as a youngster, and as a lad chipped in with us *t the trawls; an' yer know on an island like this, where yer didn't see many stran­ gers in those days, when a feller's growed up with yer, an' been out with yer many a day an' many a night in the storms aft' the fogs, why, yer kittd o' feel toward him like a brother. So yer may think as the fellers felt kind o' sor­ ry one day when John Daggett come back from St. Andrews an' says, as they began to nag him about Polly Good­ win, ' Boys, Polly's gone and took Ned Dixon.' But it wasn't Daggett alone as they felt sorry for; it was Polly too. They knowed Daggett had set his heart on Polly, an' that he'd love an' cherish an' care for her all his life long. But they wasn't so sure o' Ned Dixon. At that time -he was a strong big feller, with black hair hang- in' over his forehead, an' shiny black eyes. Folks would ha'called him nan'- some if he'd only been able to look 'em straight in the face. But his glanoe kind o' slid off from yourn as though he'd been doin' somethin' wrong, an' was afeerd yer'd find it out. He'd ben a schooimate wi' John Daggett an' the rest of us too, bu*: it hadn't been much we'. I seen o' him. We was sons of hon­ est fishermen, an' every day in summer when there wasn't no schoolin' we'd help the old folks at the trawls an' the fl tkes so that when we was growed up we was ready to win our livin' from the se-i, hard work though it was. But not so Ned Dixon. He never jworked.wi h the rest of us. He was off in the woods all day, an' often till late at nights, an' if he ever did- happen around while we was cleanin' the last caSch at the flakes, he'd saunter up with his hands in his rockets an' jeer at us for workin' so hard. "' It ain't such mean work I'm a-doin',' he'd say, ' an ' yet I guess it'll pay me better in the end than all your liaulin' an' scrapin'.' " At first we thought he was only bracrgin'; but by-an'-by folks began to say that lad as he was he was a-workin' with a band o' smugglers plyin' between the States an' one o' the cove* near the Southern Cross, at the other end o' the island. An' alter a while we made certain ns it was so; for when his old mother died he quit schoolin' an' went to live at the cove where the smugglers h id their head-quarters an' sold what they smuggled. For we fishermen here at Whale Covehnd kind o' okl-fashioned ideas about right an' wiong, an' didn't want any o' their good#. After that we never see'd much o' Ned Dixon. His house here was empty most o' the time, an' when he did come over we left him pretty much to himself. "So yer see, mister, it was because they had a kind o' dislike for Dixon as nnnoA^ TAJ*« ^ sorry for Pojly. But they was sur­ prised to. T ey all knew Polly. She lived near the long dock at St. An­ drews, where the smacks landed, and whenever the boats from Whale Cove hove in sigii-t she was sure to leave whatever play or work she was about and go and stand at the end of the long wharf awaitin' their comin'. Then when th.> smacks ha I la;d to, and while the o'd folks were sellin' off the c trgo, we young ones would go a-rompin' along the shore. In some o' the rough games Polly sort o' looked up to Dag­ gett as the strongest of us to protect her, ii' she hid good cauce to trust him, too; for it was once as Ned Dixon was surly to Polly that Daggett gave him such a lickin' as 1 guess he never forgot nor forgave. He was always tryin' to be kind and gentle to Pol y,' was Daggett, an' she seemed loval-like to him. An' so they growed up-- he to be a plain fisher lad, and she to be one o' the likeliest lasses about St. Andrews. But long nfter the child­ ish games was give up she was always a-waitin' for the lx>ats. An' of all the smacks in the fleet, mister, Daggettfr was mostly the %rst in. There wa» hardly a short cut n* the harbor--it might be but a strip o' water between « clnster cf rocks an' the shore--as he- didn't know, an' so he get ahe td o' his fellows toward the long wharf where Polly stood arwaitin' fc* him. An' so howl dtdjftMjftilflsDixon had forgot jHMHehk' Daggett gave . an'IiliHpPaeltled at Whale Oove just olfOr spite. Daggett was tnbre quiet liM than before, but he went about his work as usual, an' tried to he as friendly as ever with the fellers. Polly, too, become kind o' quiet, an' folks got to say after a while as how she was somewhat sad like. Not that phe hadn't a smile for every one, but there were'linee in hor face as never changed, even when she smiied. She an" Dacrgeti saw precious little o' one another, for he worked hard, goin' out early in the boats an' oomin' back late. An* so mat­ ters went on, year after year, till it began to get around how as Dixon, who had kept steadily at smugg'in', was be- ginnin' to smuggle some o' his crooked whisky into himself. He staid away a good deal from Whale Cove, and when he did come here he was noisy and quarrelsome. Polly still w>re a smile for us all, but it seemed as the lines on her face were get in' deeper. It warent many years after that afore folks began to say as Dixon was a-smugglin' more an' more spirits in*o himself, an'.was beginnin' to give Polly hard words. At any rate, he got to quarrelin' more, an' if it hadn' been that lolks were fond o' his wife, he'd a had trouble time an' again. "Daggett had nothin' to say when he heard 'em talkin' about Polly an' her trouble-*; he never staid to hear'em out. But he got more quiet like as years went on, an' when work was over he went home an' sat near the window, a-lookin' out through the dark at the house across the road. There was mostly a light there, an' often he saw a shadow fall on the hang n". An' why should he ha' staid an heerd people talkin' about Polly's troubles, when he knew al>ont 'em himself? Many a time he had watched the slight a-bnrnin' till late into the night, an' had seen a shadow come an' go, an' now an' then a hand draw-in*, back the hangin', an' a face peerin' up an' down the road, till at last, when there was no chance o' Dix­ on's coniin' home, the light would van­ ish. An' wonder it was she waited for him at all; for now, whenever Dixon came, he would go staggerin' past her up stairs, unless be h d only enough aboard to be ugly, an' then he'd stop to curse awhile. "One night it was very late before the light went out. Daggett had left the window, an' was goin' up-stairs, when he heard a noi«e across, the way. There was a loud knockin' at ^Dixon's door, an* a moment later he heard Dixon's voice: ' Hurry up, yer blamed idiot! What are yer leavin' me standin' out here for? Didn't I tell as I'd be home to-night? Why ain't yer waitin'for me?' "Ju^t then Daggett, who had gone back to the window, s iwthe light again, an' heard some one at the door. At last a slight white figure held it open. Then he heard Dixon sayaga n: 'Yer blamed idiot, why weren't yer down waitin' for me as I told yer to be? HI teach yer to do what I tells yer next time.' "A moment later Daggett heard a cry o' pain. He knowed that voice, mister --the voice as he had he - rd when he played with little Polly Goodwin along shore. He heard another cry, but be­ fore another come he was across the road, an' his hand was at Dixon's throat. "' Unhand her, yer villain!' he shout­ ed: 'unhand her, I say, or 111 throttle yer like a dog!' " ' Save me! save mei' he heard Polly call out, at the sound of his voice; an' then he clinched with Dixon, who had let go o' her as soon as he lelt Daggett's hand at liis throat. There was a short, fierce struggle, an' then Dixon went a-spinnin' over the threshold out into the road, where he lay a moment with­ out movin', while D iggett felt Polly's tremi-lin* form clingin' to him. . "'Don't yer come back here again,'he cried to Dixon--' tlon't yer come back here a ain to harm the lass, or--I'll kill yer!' "Dixon was up again, cm' his face was white with auger as he hissed: " '['ll'oome back, mind yer--I'll come Iwck. An* I won't come back aj ne. If there's Jaw for me to be got in St. An­ drews, I'll c-et it; an' if I can't lay yer out, the law will. Ill go to St. An­ drew* to-night, am' I'll comeback to­ morrow, an' if T find yer here, I'll have ver in irons. That's right, yer hussy!' he o lied to Polly. 'Hang on to him, an' shahe agin h>ra. for yer won't have higi long to hang^ott lo.' "Daggett pushed Polly bacft an' closed the door, an' atood alone focin' Dixon. But Dixon turned away with a curse, aw' walked toward tlie cove, where fhe boats was mcwred. Daggett, though, didn't think he'd go to St. Andrews t&at night. The sky was lark, an' h<r saw other Mgns e' one o' matters west 00 till the fishermen at |' irbose storm»as yer know of that comes Wli»e Cove felt pretty certatu as he*was soon a goin*t®> bring over pretty Polly Goodwin o' Andrew txv f&e house his father had) left hid*;: ao" yer may guess, mister, as his fn«nd» wa» sur­ prised when le comes bach from St. Andrews- that day an' says. »hen they begins *runnin"him about PbHIsv 'Boys, she's gone an' took Nedi Fact is, mist-*r,. they was too surprised' to say anything right stff, an' it was sometime afore Iks Harrington asks: " 'How did yst-find or* abosdtit? " 'She Sold1 now herself!'" "'An' Ell hvj-a wagen,?'saw*Ike, 'o' all my slfaare or to-morrow's csibhSba the match aitft none o' her makii!. *Whv, man, we ain't xme o' as so ttlind > nt what we'Ve- seen as she'-eibeeaidbad set on yer the- mitHf years.. D.dnit she say nothin' crise ?' " ' N t jhst then--nofc jm*tilers,* fal­ tered IXggettr. ' She couHln't, poor child, for sue •sua trvin' too liard1 to keep from crvih' to say aught I know then as she diih't c- re for 3fed' Dixon, an' I was sure a' it when sl» couli speak an' tell me alL Her father's iiawith D xon an' his g-iog. an' he knows Dixoa's got a bigger pile than L. An?' fclwa he's afeerd o^Dison, too.;:for it ain\so safe for smw gers asliore a» it Mat the Southerti Cross, aiV if Drum ukonld get m d an* peach, there's noknowiit' what might come o' it ajft. ItV hard to l>ear, as yer all knows. For JPblftj an' I ha* been friends these manyyears, an'many a time in the sto/nis aa" the fogs the thought o' her l*as warned me like --no- shine. All 1 hope for is as Dinori 'il lie good to her--so cood so to make lx* forget me. though she said as sh - never cou'd. I know vers all feel Forry few me, for we've growed up together an' worked hard together. But grumloin's no use, an* I ain't a-goin' to make I^olly feel l»ad by mopin' around.' "An' that, roister, is how Poly Good­ win came to get spliced to Ned Dixon. An' Dixon no sooner got spl oed than he fitted up his house a* Whale Cove r'g toppo jteto where Dagget\ lived, and took Polly to liv there. That w^s kind o' hard on Daggett* bat I told yer a ... , . .... P rap so sndd* aihere, a d pSays the deuvc while it lastm. But he fellas if he mnV fte near to Pbliy until dajl>reak, for !»• Inew as it wwiild go iuami with her Sb 5> xcm w >s to eome back. SJo he sat on Ae steps t iieugh the ncght an' the- afcorm, while iilte wind howled around lira and the nun beat down. "The next eve in' wires he came whore from the trawls one o' the fel- fc»rs comes up to him, an' aays to him„ "£> g rett, I guesb it's best a»yer should i-.il her.' • 'Tell who r* • 4Why, Polly Dixon/ , ; H|J • 'What about T •' " * Why, donft, yon know as Dixon's txsat h i' come floatin' ashcee near Seal Chve? He mmt ha' beea ont in last night's Rtorm.' "itw.sn't nwh Dixon had left, so TWly opened the store here, an' it's l*en a-goin' now these 'dhree years, l^lks used to amk Dasr^eti &ow she took tie news altont Dixon's drawnin' but he aesrer told. Fact, mi-iteo; didn't talk | niueh al>out lier anyhow. But last «venin' some e' them as has growed up *ith him se.'» him a-conun' toward '< m iBrom the stere, an' whan he got to where they was a elea m the catch he- < op« and ».ys, quiet like, ' Boys, Polly"!* gone an' took me this t aae.' An' that, mir-ter, is why Pol > 's get more takia: ways t'>an e*er just new. John Dag­ gett's a we» her-l>eate« eld chap, but I reckon sho knows as his heart beata u warm for >«er to day m it did the day be first »<k, (l her to marry him." "And who is John Daggett?* I asked Capt. Jack, who seemed to have finished, and wa < kucckiug thu ashes out of his PM*. "Well," h>said, deliberately,"I gness yer know him, bat I gues yer aint evtr called 'iim by tlvit name. His name's John Daggett, but folks hereaioot calld mm Capt. Jack, likewise the fog-horn." " Likewi e the whastle," I heard from l«hind, and, turning aronitd, I saw Polly sti-nd nti in thestore door smiling down n]oii Capt. Jack &s happily as if uipWinu A fyp of Cherwumi >» bm *r«m MewlMie than in ltawnM Iale. * Fight falls as te reach "tlie hall door," which is knockerless. We look in vain for the bell handle; there is none. Knuckles, and finally the handle of our umbrella being applied, produce only hollow echoes within, while not a light betokena the presence of inhabi­ tants. Having bean, however, certainly informed that "his honor" is at home, we made the best of our way round the house through multifarious mud and dirt, and are rewarded by seeing an abundance of light in the back windows and hearing much conversation and laughter. One gentle tap at the back door produces a lull, followed by some observations in a very different key from that we first heard. "Is Mr. O'Hara at home?" "Yis, sir"--this with an inde­ scribable suspicion in the tone and gen­ eral air of the hand-maiden. "Can I see him?" "Yis, sir; walk in, sir." In the kitchen were about nine or ten men and several women, some on tables, some on chairs, some leaning against the wall or sitting on three-legged stools. At a glance the magistrate is readily distinguished. Though as slov­ enly as can well be conceived, though his clothes are old and worn, there is no mistake possible here. The young man sitting close to the fire, and turn­ ing half round, with a clay pipe in his mouth, is Mr. O'Hara, a scion of the dominant castle. His kitchen is the clut)-room of the locality, and is every evening supplied with such a group as we now see before us. Unnoticed at first, a beggar sits aear the fire. He has had his supper, will sleep by the fire to-night, and in the morning after breakfast will again take the road. In this simple locality he is not a beggar, but a "poor traveling man," for Clon- naglaskin is behind the march of civili­ zation. As Mr. O'Hara advances to meet us we state the cause of our coming, apol­ ogized for the lateness of the visit and produce our letter of introduction, which he thrusts into his pocket, and we really believe never looked at it dur­ ing our stay. "Come this way, Mr. Mandus. Biddy." "Sir?" "Make down a fire in the parlor--bogwood; and b<l quick, girl." I remarked afterward that Mr. O'Hara, whenever he speaks to one of ^is men servants, generally fin­ ishes up with the word "boy." I like it; it sounds gentle and patriarchal. Through a creaky, rickety sort of pas­ sage we reaeh the parlor, Mr. O'Hara leading the May with a pariffine lamp, smelling badly, adorned with a very long chimney, but minus the globe. Biddy quickly follows with three peat coals in a shovel, succeeded by one of "the boys" bearing bogwood in a basket. In two or three minutes a cheerful blaze roars up the chimney. The room, I re­ mark, is low, and the wall-paper any­ thing but {esthetic. The floor is broken in parts, and more than once I had to shift my chair, feeling one of the legs gradually going through the rough car­ pet. Over the chimney-piece is sus- Eend a fowling-piece, flanked by a race of pistols. Hardly was the fire well lighted when, like a ghost, a long white grayliound stalked silently into the room and took up his quarters be­ fore the fire, followed soon by a cat, both quadruped^ appearing to l>e on the best of terms. I made the observation at my leisure, for Mr. O'Hara had de­ parted the moment the fire showed .signs of progress. Presently he ' re­ joined me, but would leave me again from time te time. J suspected the preparation of food, and being very hungry, began to run over in my mind what in this remote region my gentle host might be able to supply to the angel that had taken him so suddenly unawares. Finally he invited' me up­ stairs. The paraffine lamp was again removed, and I followed my host along a dilapidated staircase. Very melan­ choly-looking was the large bed-room in which I found myself, with the bare rafters above my head. For lavatory purposes, I remarked that the towel de­ pended from a nail driven into one of the shutters of the window. However, though my names are feigned, I hesi­ tate to describe very minutely the lean­ ness of this land, where the spirit, though not the material, of hospitality is so great. Descending, we found, not only cloth laid, but just placed on the table, a dish of fresh eggs and rusty bacon. I was hungry; the fare, such as it was, was excellently cooked, and I made a very hearty meal. Finally a bettle made its appearance, and was placed on the hob; glasses, a decanter and a bowl of brown sugar; no lemon, Ixret every otlwr indication of punch. Very well pleased with my host and my dinner, and with the rude, strange life wennd me, I drew my chair up to the tire and began te converse, for now, as in Homeric times, real omversation must follow meals, My host was. a fine-looking young man of about 20. If a savage, then de­ cidedly one of the gentle sort. It was imp**.<rihle to donbt that this>man, who speii4 his eveninjfs with the peasantry, and whose liowtehold arrangements were of the sort I have described, was a penfect gentleraan in feelingras w ell as To hi* servants I remarked that he spoke with' a brogw which, w.itli*mt the leasttaffectation, was absent when; he addrcesed me. He smoked ILirntsick twist, for I saw idt on the cliinwy-piece, Ishough on in vitation he [lillwlhis pipe frem my pouch. I have ^ discovered that gentlemen of this type are by no means rare'm Ireland, ! wlww* patent at gentility, no matter whe®«e derived, is universally admitted, aoj<l rfcrtainly does not arise from world- 1a' possessions <nr from the presence in th«ir establishments of domestic lux­ uries and refinements.--London Globe. long mirror and the pictures in gilt/ frames, gave a cold and hotel-like air to a room; but, then, how easy it was to keep it clean and in order 1 A few touches of the broom and feather- duster, a little picking up and replacing, and not a sign of dust or disorder re­ mained. Compare such a task with the herculean labor of putting to rights the modern internal-decoration-craze sitting-room after a musicale or "small and early," or even after a tew days of careful use by the family.--M. M.t in LippincotVs Magazine. THE SIGNAL HERYICE. Han% Best Friend. It is this prepared earth that receives no at birth, and sustains as. It is the *artl» alone, oil all the eleroents around that is neTer found t®> be an enemy ©i man. Waters deluge him with rains, oppress him with hail, dtrown him with rnsndations. The air rushes in storms, and prepare# the tempest, but the earth, indulgent and subservient to our wants* spreads our walks with flowers, and our table with plenty. Returns with inter­ est the seed committed to her care,-and, though she produces the poison, she snp- plies the antidote. Though constantly drained to furnish the luxuries, as weil as the substantial* of life, yet even to the last she continues her indulgence, and when life ends, she piously covers our remains, protecting from intrusion or harm.--Pliwj. Hoeaehold Decoration and Sweeping. No doubt, our old-timo ideas of in­ ternal decoration were orude and false to all canons of art. The-rectangular marbln m intel, with its big bouquet of wax flowers under glass, the square un- she were still p^tty Polly Goodwin a* j carved piano, the shiny horse hair fur- ~ ' niture, the carpets of many hues, the ̂ SCIENT GUANO owes much of its valuable properties to the fact that the birds which deposit it live entirely upon fish. MAN, the goat, and the wild carni- vora are the only animals capable oi resisting the tsetse fly of Africa. HONEY, after it is clarified, Herr E. Mylius has ^discovered, can be kept from fermenting or losing its flavdr by adding to it about 1 per cent, of formic acid. As TO the nature and propagation of electricity, M. Ledies holds that tbev are substantially subject to the same mcchanical laws which govern heat and light. ' • , M. ZENOER maintains that the hurri­ canes Of the West Indies and the typhoons of the Chinese .Sea have a period of twelve days, equal to that of the rotation ot the sun. A MESSAGE was sent, by metins of the un's rays reflected in a heliograpliic mirror, from one of the pyramids near Cairo, to the Khedive at Alexandria, a hundred and twenty miles, during the campaign in Egypt. STRANGE to say the expedient of pour­ ing oil upon the broken waves of the ocean to produce a comparative calm is spoken of by some of the scientific jour­ nals as a new thing. The fact is that this action of oil in stilling breakers is as old at least as Aristotle. SOLIDIFIED TEA.--One hundred parts of ground sugar and ten parts starch sugar are boiled with the uqantity of water required for solution, until the mass becomes tenacious,.but yet remains transparent. After cooling, 50 parts of dry sugar are added. The plastic mass is pressed into moulds, and when solidi­ fied forms the preserved tea. PREPARATIONS of plantain leaves for styptic purposes have now been brought into prominent notice, although their value was known centuries ago, but neglected for many generations. Dried and powdered leaves of the plant, con­ served with glycerine, make the remedy for external use. When the juice is pre­ served by alcohol or glycerine it is taken internally, and it has been of very great service in hemorrhages. Prof. Quin- man says that a knowledge of the prop­ erties of the leaves of theplantago lan- ceolata would be useful in cases of emergency, because the plant could be obtained readily, and by persons having little or no knowledge of botany. WITHIN less than twenty years fully $10,000,000 have been spent in effecting improvementa on the water-works, school buildings, public edifices, drains, and streets of Vienna, with vast advant­ ages to the health and comfort of the residents. Throughout all civilized countries the spread of the knowledge of the means of preventing disease is rapidly working great and salutary changes. People will not now endure 4.~ 1:^ W llic »0 VUTOJ VUVXJ uni) dnvi u\7 longer believe that God is responsible for disease fostered by human neglect. Even the most prayerful are beginning to concede that it is a sort of mockery to ask that they be preserved from calamity and live in comfort while the means at their disposal for insuring bf^b #ie neglected. » A Tale for Toddlers. w One evening when Locy's Papa had come home from the Office and eaten his supper he went into the Parlor and Planted Himself on the sofa. After^e had been there a Little While' he no­ ticed that Lncy did not come in and make a break at the piano, as was her custom. This puzzled the Old Gentle­ man greatly, but he was very Happy, because, the parents of girls who play the piano usually feel like taking an Ax to that Instrument. Bnt pretty soon Xiucy entered the lloom and began tell­ ing her Papa how much she loved him, and how Dark and Cheerless her life would be in case he should be Called Above. This sort of talk made her Papa feel rather solemn, for he bad been to the Races a good deal and wo<nld occasion­ ally go Out With the Boys, and when a man gets on the Shady Side of 50 he doesn't particularly care to have people lug the Sweet By and By into their con­ versation. But pretty soon Lucy placed her Lily-White Hand on her Papa's brow and began to- smooth his Hair, sayisg how glad it would make her if she could only smooth the Furrows of Care that time had placed there. Then she artfully Shifted the Subject, and spohe of how cold the weather was get­ ting and what lovely Sealskin Sacques she had seen in the store wkudows down tow a that afternoon. Then her Papa saw what she was up to, and Dropped On Himself. So by the time Lucy got around to that part of her talk where- she pot her arms around his neck and kissed him, and asked him to buy her a Sealskin, he had neatly Arranged His Lie. He told her how poor tjiie Crops had been, and that Trade was in a very dull state because of the uncertainty as to what office Ben Butler would want nest, and Sung such a Song that Loey began to think she ww lucky to have a place to sleep in and a pair of Heavy Shoes for the whiter. "No, my chad," he said, "I cannot 4hmk of spending Three Hundred Dol­ lars for a Sealskin Sacque, when times are so Hard--and Lncy said that she was sorry she had mentioned the Sub­ ject, and went away feeling quite sorry' for her Papa. Soon after she had left the room her ; Big BrotI%r came in. "I saw that : Horse you were talking about," he said to his Papa. "Did voa ?" asked the Old Gentleman. "How Fast can he go?" "Two-thirtv," replied the Big Broth­ er, "and a thousand dollars will buy him." Bising quickly from the sofa, Lucy's Papa wrote a check and handed it po his Son. "Go and close the Trade to­ night," he said, "and to-morrow after­ noon I will make some of these people that think they own Trotters look like Hired Men." So you see, children, that some Papas think more of beating Two-forty than they do of making an Only Daughter happy.-»-Chicago Tribune. 8t» Andrews. --Harper's Weekly. BMM Details of th* Work Dona fegr tfca Weather BoraM--The Bxtwt of %h» Hi*. temandltaVM. [Fromthe National RepahIlo«&.l * The weather Bureau or meteorolog­ ical division did not get into full pperar tion under government auspices until November, 1870. During that year there were but twenty-four signal sta­ tions throughout the country. In 1871 there were fifty-five. In 1873 these were increased to seventy-nine, and since 1877, when there were 109, the number has run up to 146 the present year. Each of these stations, three times daily, sends a cipher dispatch in ten words to the central or chief signal office in this city, which giveg a com­ plete history of the weather in every particular, as shown by the scientific in­ struments in use--the barometer, ther­ mometer, hygrometer, anemometer, an­ emoscope, rain-gunge, etc.--which re­ cord the direction and velocity of the wind, humidity of the air, naiura of the upper and lower clouds, rainfall, etc. At the head office these are translated, mapped, printed and sent to various points. .These maps are carefully studied by the "indications" officer, ancL his deductions are sent to the newspa­ pers, and also what is called the fact-room where they are compared with actual occurrences after the time cover has elapsed. It would be dry reading to go into details, and the whole subject can be better understood, and a very pleas­ ant time had also, by a visit to the in­ strument-rooms of the signal office on G street, where a corps of deputies to the clerk of the weather keep a record of his transactions wonderful to the un­ initiated to behold. The rooms are open to the public every forenoon. Prior to the establishment of this bureau Dr. Myer and Professor Henry, of the Smithsonian, assisted by such sci­ entists as Espy, Maury, Loomis and others, labored hard in this field, but no synoptic weather maps were issued. No work demands greater precision, more copious and circumstantial detail, and closer attention to the develop­ ments of each moment " than weather- prognosticating. The weather-map is the weather-prophet's strategy. From it he evolves his decisions and issues his pronunciamentos. He sees the weather in all its varying conditions everywhere all over the continent as plainly as you see a balloon in mid air, and his science, yet in its infancy, may, in less than another decade, so far de­ velop as to teach how to harness the elements and ride the storm. Not only are storms foretold, but the oscillations of the rivers--their rise and fall--are reported, BO that floods and dis­ tinctive stages of low water and attendant disasters can be provided against, and millions of prop­ erty has been saved by this branch of signal service alone. The coast signal stations warn vessels of the approach of storms, and give life-saving stations quick notice of the approach of marine disasters asking rescue. By Using the international code of signals--which is really a universal sign language, by which people of different tongues, who cannot understand eachsether's speech, can communicate with each other with perfect intelligence--signal men have saved much life and property through the exchange of signals, by means of which the people on wrecks have been informed of the steps being taken for their rescue on shore, and have acted in intelligent concert, thereby saving Whole shiploads 01 liuiuaii life arid val­ uable property. Space yill not allow a citation of the numerous cases, but the record of them can be seen at the chief signal office. Six years ago the Austrian Meteorological Association Journal declared that "not only had the American signal service passed all of the older European systems with amazing rapidity, but owing to the strict military training of the observ­ ers and the energy and system of the management it has spread it­ self in every direction." The ocean-line stations extend about eight hundred miles, connected princi­ pally by submarine cable, a chain of sea-coast sentinels ready to warn of danger and summon succor through the use of batteries not made for tlie bar­ barous practices of war. Now, all the military garrisons on the Indian frontier are connected with wire, erected, oper­ ated and maintained by the signal corps, and civilization has, as a consequence in the last five years, taken a stride of 200 miles in its westward march. Arizona has 1,245 miles, Texas over 2,000, and the Northwest abont 2,500. The cotton belt system was inaugurated by Gener­ al Hazen, and has already accomplished results that can be characterized as grand. The railway bulletin service is another new feature, and an excellent means of disseminating weather indica­ tions. Over 100 railroads oo-operate in this work, and under the orders of their several superintendents the weather bulletins are distributed to fully 3,000 stations that would not otherwise re­ ceive them. The extension of the special frost warnings to the fruit inter­ ests is another phase worth millions an­ nually. But above other considerations and benefits is the profits that must, sooner, or later avail through the exist­ ence of a corps of experts out of whose familiarity with the elements will at some time l»e educed methods of safety from their violence, and skill to direct them at will into channels of utility. Health and Uuderdrainiag. It gives me pleasure, also, to say that the practice of underdraining the soil has, in this State, been found so greatly to increase its productiveness that, in proportion to the area of the Stafe, it is said that we have more underdrained noil that any of the States* Under- drainage has everywhere been followed by a great lesaening of sickness, and intermittent fever, once so common, has become so rare that it is a good less prevalent than in some of the oldest of the States. Our laws relating to drain­ age have been recently much improved, and a disposition to relieve tlie soil in every portion of the State of all excess of moisture tending to lessen its pro­ ductiveness and to bring on sickness is everywhere evident.--Governor Porter, of Indiana. An extensive bed of limestone has been discovered just bevond the limits o f L o s A n g e l e s , - V . : r . - Explorations in Patagonia* As is well known, there lias beet much discussion about the existence o' a gigantic race of Patagonians, as to whose stature many were deposed tc doubt the report of Magellan. But, ii wandering over Terra del Fuego oui travelers found human cranium* anri bones of sue an enormous s ze as t. prove tho exist nee of a race v\ hi'. h ha now disappeared, and thus attest tlx veracity of Magellan. In,those reirioin- there is a rive, the Santa Cruz, almost1 unknown. Fitz Boy and D trwin aloiu within a few yi ar» have navigated it ii part. A painful spectacle was present­ ed to them on arriv r g at Cape Horn. •There is not > ridge on the ooast that a.' ':•£{ ^ ; does not Meord a shipwieok. Every part was covered with broken planks, masts snapped in pieces, ironwork twisted by the violence Of ffcft mures. Naples letter to the London Timus. " Knlm ' "W PITH AFP POUfR married man; If wife insists on making the fire in tho morning, why be indulgent and let her. Never thwart yonr wife's wishes. ONE of the sweetest pictures of do­ mestic economy is a poet blacking a white stooking so that it wont show through tbe fissure in his boots.--Puck. "You see, my friend, this turtle--one of the wonders of creation--he furnish­ es the best combs that are made and yet he cannot use one, as he hasn t a singlo hair to comb. "THE only lady that ever impressed me much," said an old bachelor ̂"was a 300-pound woman, who was standing in a car, and when the car turned a corner fell against me." SAID a miserable little Cincinnati boy, who had just received a scolding from his father: "Ma, I wish I'd never been born." "Why, Charley?" "Well, I think I'd been a better boy." A LITTLE four-year-old girl did not obey when her mother first called. So > her mother spoke rather sharply. Then i she came in and said: "Mamma, I've >•' been very kind to you to-day, and I #. dont won't yon to speak quite so largo > to me." ? " TO-MORROW is Sunday, isn't it, mam- ma?" "Y<es, dear." "Mayn't I plaT with the cards and build castles with ' them?" "Certainly not, dear!" "Bnt ' mamma, mightn't I plav with the , prayer-books, you know, If I build a church with them?" "LITTLE girl, do you know whose house this is?" asked a solemn- looking old man of a bright child seated on the church steps. "Yes, sir, it's God's, but He ain't in," she added, as the old gentleman was about to walk up the steps; "and His agent's gone to Europe." "PA, I wish I had a young elephant,* said a little Austin boy to his father. "What do you wan't an elephant for ?* "I read that they lived to be 150 years o]d, so I thought I would like to get a * young one and keep it, just to find out if they really lived that long.--Texas Siftings. AT a recent divorce trial the wife waa asked a question to which she made the following reply: "When I was first married I was so jealous of my husband that I thought every woman* I aaw . wanted him, and now I wonder how I ever could have been such a fool as to ' have him myself." "AND oh, by the by,.my son tells me you don't make his shirt collars stiff enough. He's in the Guards, you know, and they go in for being very particu­ lar!" "Well, ma'ma, all I can say is, I've got a son in the Guards myself, and I allers washes for 'im when he comes 'ome, and he don't make no complaints t" "SEE here," said - a fault-finding hus­ band, "we must have things arranged ia this house so that we shall know where everything is kept." "With all my heart," sweetly answered his wife, "and let us begin with vonr late hours, my love. I should dearly love to know where they are kept." He let things run on as usual. "No; I havent known yon long enough," she said, bashfully, shrinking away from him into one. corner of tlie sofa, and elevating her elbows in an at­ titude of self-defense. "Besides, I've been eating peaches, and my lips are ally sticky." Nevertheless, the daring youth kissed her. Whether the fierce fires of resentment were kindled in her gentle 'Z bosom nolnxly will ever know, but what she said was: "If yon say ao, I'll£0 up ; stairs and wash them." LITTLE Tommy had just prot through having a joint discussion with his father / in which the former rather got the worst; Of it. He retired to tlie end of the gal­ lery, buried his face in his hands, and . seemed oblivious to his surroundings. "Tommy, come in to your supper." No answer. "Tommy, supper is ready. Come on, now, quick." Still no re­ sponse. "What's the matter, Tommy, are yon sick ?" "No, 1 is sulkin'."--Texas Sifting 8. A CUSTOMER, with wrath in his tones and fire in his eye. entered a ready-made . clothing establishment in this city the other day. Throwing down the bundle he had bought the day before, he ex­ claimed : "Here, take back this suit, and give me my money. You swore it was all wool, when it is half cotton." "Well, I declare!" exclaimed the dealer, throw­ ing his hands into the air. "Well, I declare! Now, that is surprising. I guess the wool that cloth waa made from ~ came from a sheep raised in. tlie South that had been allowed to run through the cotton-fields. That's the only way we could possibly get any cotton in the clothing we sell here."--Philadelphia Chronicle. Bill Nye Contributes a Few Hotuieholi Recipes. To remove oils, varnishes, resin, tax; oyster soup, currant jelly and other selections from the bill of fare, use l>en« zine soap and chloroform cautiously with whitewash brush and garden hose. Then hang on the wood-pile to remove the pungent efllnvia of the benzine. To clean ceilings that have been smeared by kerosene lamps or the fragrance from fried salt pork, remove the ceiling, wash thoroughly with l>orax, turpentine and rain water, then hang on' the clothes-line to dry. Aft< r, pulver­ ize and spread ovex* the pie-plant bed foi® spring wear. To soften watfr for household pur­ poses, put in an onnoe of quicklime in a certain quantity pf water. If it is not sufficient, use less water and more quicklime. Should the immediate lime continue to remain delitierate, lay the water down on a stone and pound it with a base ball club. To wash black silk stockings, prepare a tub of lather, composed of tepid rain water and white soap, with a little am­ monia. Then stand in the tub till din­ ner is ready. Roll in a cloth to dry. Do not wring, but press the water out. This will necessitates the removal of the stockings. Woolen goods may be nicely washed if you put half an ox-gall iuto two gal­ lons of tepid water. It might be well to put the goods in the water also. If the mixture is not strong enough, put in another ox-gall. Should this fail to do the work, put in the entire ox, re­ serving the tail for soup. The ox-gall is comparatively useless for soup, and should not be preserved as aa article of c diet. THE question "Will tar explode?" which came up before aa O -de isbnrgh, N. Y., debating society, was settled by applying a red-hot iron te a barrel of the article. The test and its accompa- ayisg exploaion will m* 1* refueled. r , : i " * M • '•'Mi 'M

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