McHenry Public Library District Digital Archives

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 28 Jul 1880, p. 6

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m u«tmm iw u»**r WW* 4 . ' * *>&, tb»»e dined ; and now CM b» mgVgr attiro, Quit*C0«t«0'i»<i, almost do*iig, In my SWi-^tiair by I hp fit* I *Wt think o'er iny oration Forio-morrow motn in coidft fltaMfeing aids my cojnlatinn,- • Moistened by a glass of pork r». MM a*e • common jnry, *•*«- ' I can work on them I know, Bra M/trmi>f verbal iurr, J s? Thnt s-hiill - yes, slip told ,r«* , Totd me ihat she loved ine dotny, •Heath th« nightingale's sweet Gentlemen, the ease is clenrlf One of cruel heartless wrong. DMBBCPS von'H <rive rav client. D»iwi»»-ps '--v* h«t bliss was aunq, As •toniid fitrurp pliant. 8be allowed my arm to twine!-- Gentlemen, this tale of Borrow Must have filled your hearts with f He»n» that scorn so vile -- tn-mowow I shall see aiy love again I Gentlemen, the came is simpldj By your verdict you will saf-- Cupid i rests within each dimply Till 1 kiss the roftue away, ]>K and law together *i(in«, • J»(»ve has knocked law in the I SBK this stupid speechifying! 1 will think it oat in bed. --Titurtf't *\ f- m* A- 'w* : viy , PUSS IN BOOTS. ^ *4TTOH* THE BKBBTXHCI TMK "Hitcli up oldNance, Josiah, the girls •TO going berrying." *% How you do indulge them wild young critters, Maria. They'll break their necks yet if they keep on," sighed the old gentleman, as he walked away to execute the imperative commands of bis wife. " You'll have to hurry, girls, for Nance won't stand a minute for ye, the flies be ao bad," called Aunt Maria from the foot of the stairs leading up to the chambers of the humble farm house, where a bevy of young voices were in an animated dis­ cussion over their equipments for the projected berry party. "Anything will do, and the more grotesque the better," exclaimed Hattie Willard, fastening a pair of shoes three times too large for her dainty little feet, with white oord in lieu of the original strings. " They had fished out of Aunt Maria's huge garret all sorts of antiquated cast- off garments, and arrayed themselves and came down dancing at her call as perfect a set of guys as ever were seen. "Ye are a sight to behold," exclaimed Chat lady laughing until her fat sides ached and the tears glittered in her kind blu# eyes, as the young city misses stood before her. Hattie had on the great coarse shoes and dilapidated brown dress, figured with green "Polka dots," and looking, as she said, like a multitude of cats' eyes minus the lids. She was clad in an old calico wrapper which she declared Mrs. Noah would have considered too ancient for her. May was completely overshad­ owed by a blue skirt and sacque, which she asserted was ample enough to contain the whole party if they would only keep together. And petite Rose, the youngest and the pet of the party, had, by dint of a fancy leather belt and quantity of pins, surrounded herself with another of her aunt's ugly old gowns, while over her : sunny tresses she had tied a battered broad-brimmed hat of Uncle Josiah's. "Oh, gracious me," exclaimed Aunt Maria, as soon as she could recover her breath from laughing, "you don't think. Rose Willard, you are going berrying in them little slippers and lovely pink stockings? They'd bs in rags in no time." "I shall have to, Aunty. I haven't another thing to put on. I don't want to spoil my new kid boots and my gauze slippers are newer than these, and the girls have appropriated everything." "Well, you can't go thatNvay, child," returned her aunt, decidedly, and she marched off and returned with a pair of boots which she designated as "fine." "Your Uncle Josiah has got «*n«ll»r feet than I have, and though of course they will be forty miles too big, you won't have much walking to do. So put them on and you'll be puss in boots sure enough." The young lady oomplied with the oommands amid peals of laughter, nTH then climbed into the one-horse wagon with the rest, and with Miss Hattie for driver they rattled down the road leav­ ing their fat and jolly old Aunty standing in the vine-wreathed porch of the country home, laughing until the tears ran down her ruddy cheeks. "Such comical young things," nh*> said as her husband entered the house. "You are just as simple as they be, Maria, and I wish to goodness they were safe back' in New York," he replied, pettishly. " Oh, dear me surs? Ye forgit ye was ever young yourself, Josiah. If ye oouldn't laugh at little Rose in that big bag of a drees and your big boots you couldn't laugh at anything. And then Katie so tall and grand-like in that old spotted gown, a foot too short," and she began giving way to mirth again at the mere recollection. " Laff away, Maria. The day of judg­ ment is coming for all and these trifling things will all have to be ao counted for." 14 Oh, go to pot with your day judgment. You are the longest-faced Christian I ever saw. As for me, I intend to enjoy this world and get all the innocent pleasure I can while I live, even if it's a Hundred years, and when I die I shan't be any more afraid of the day of judg­ ment than some other folks I know on as thinks a long face is going to take them straight into heaven." With that parting shot she indignantly *iped her eyes with her cheek apron and •returned into the great kitchen, prepar- Jng dainties for the children of her broth­ ers and remembering the time' then she. Charley and Fred were of caie household --they to drift away to the great city, grow rich and marry far above her station in life, while she was left to plod in the old homestead as the wife of Deacon Josiah Stubbs. Her heart was as warm and tender as when they were all children under the same roof, and the annual coming of the daughters of Charley and Fred to the old homestead, had become the joy of her life, and though her hjisband sighed and groaned and was made mLsei^ble by tile laughter-loving set of madcap girlHi he was obliged to remember that the place was once the home of their father, and they were to be denied nothing in the power of Aunt Maria to grant. Meanwhile, the girls in their pictur­ esque costumes went jolting along the , green tree shaded lane. s " Never a jollier set of blackberriers!" exclaimed Sue, holding up a pair of white-gloved hands. " Who would think these same ten-buttoned kids had mingled in grand festivities at the opera- house, and actually been clasped by the exquisite Theopliilus Manly in the Ger­ man!" •' And nevera jolKer darling than good, dear Aunt Maria. Why, she s not a day over sixteen," laughed May, adjusting her antiquated "shaker." v" Bless your great heart," chimed in Hattie, queen of the party, as she spurred OD old Nance to her best efforts. " But how she ever came to many that walk­ ing tombstone, Josiah Stubbs, passeth my understanding." " Turn to the left," interrupted May, mimicing the nasal tones of their uncle; "and keep tip the road a good bit till ye come to 'Squire Buttles' waterin' trough, and let Nancy drink there; then turn to the right inter a sort o' blind wood road, and you'll soon oome to the berry patch." " Verbatim," laughed Rose. "What a memory you have, cousin May. But 1 hope we shall not encounter that nobby 'Squire Buttles while dame Nancy re­ gales herself at the trough." " You haven't the least idea he would recognise Aunt Maria's city nieces in such rigs?" questioned Sue. " He certainly would know the hone." "Well, for your comfort, yonder is the stately white mansion of the Buttles family, and here is the watering troughs good half mile away, and not a sail in sight," said Hattie, drawing rein. They sat chattering and laughing as only girls can, talking altogether, and, what was strange, intelligibly to each other, while the patient steed was sip­ ping from the moss-covered basin, when the sound of clattering hoofs broke upo» their merrv chatter, and splendidly formed and graceful youna gentleman went dashing, lifting his &hat as he passed. "Shades of Erebus!" gasped Rose. " It is no other than the 'Squire. I shall die of vexation. I wonder if lie saw un­ cle's boots?" "Nonsense," laughed Hattie, turning down the obscure wood road indicated; "do you suppose he could see four pair of feet and as many old hats at that Gil­ pin pace?" Thus rattling on they reached the berry patch, and were soon in the midst nf the luscious food, planning how they would surprise Aunt Maria with full pails, and of the pies and short cake j that good soul* would make for them on j the morrow. j "There! I've completely demolished aunty's dress," exclaimed Hattie, while May held up a pretty white arm marked by ugly scratches, and declared she was disfigured for life. "Oh, dear! it is high noon, I know," interposed Rose, coming out of a tangle of briars heated and flushed, "and I have picked my last berry. It is fearful work, and I am completely fagged out. Let's have dinner." "It isn't more than 10 o'clock," laughed Hattie. "I don't care, I'm in a starving condi­ tion." "Oh! oh! oh!" "What in the world is the matter?" asked all the girls in a breath as Rose ended her sentence with scream after scream, and then dashing in haste down the glen. "Oh! a great snake," exclaimed Sue. Instantly they all followed Rose, who was stumbling over stones and logs, and at last would have fallen head first over a precipice had she not landed in the arms of a gentleman who was lying at full length upon the green sward beneath a majestic oak, beside a babbling brook. Fortunately at the sound of the girls screaming he had risen to his feet, and so saved her from a most ignominious fall. As it was she stood breathless, pale and trembling in every limb, minps one boot, and her hat having disappeared to keep it company, leaving her glorious hair in a state of wonderful enchant­ ment "What has happened?" questioned the gentleman, as he supported the trembl­ ing girL On the instant waves of brilliant blushes swept away all the pallor from the face of Rose, for she knew her pre­ server was no other than the young 'Squire Buttles. "It was a snake," she managed to ar­ ticulate, as she sank down out of his j arms at the foot of the tree, where they were joined by the rest of the frightened girls. "I stepped right on it," Rose con­ tinued, "and but for Uncle Josiah's boots I must have been bitten;" and then she blushed more divinely still as she glanced put I at the pretty, pink-stockened foot. 1 A smile lighted up the face of the gen­ tleman as he took in the picturesque group, all disconcerted and rosy as a June morning. "It is a most disgraceful escapade," exclamed Hattie, "and you will think us a disreputable set to be gotten up in such costumes," and she turned with great dignity to the gentleman who had intro­ duced himself. "Not in the, least, Miss Willard," he replied; "people do not go berrying in silken hose and Sunday hats," and he smiled down into the apple-blossom face of Rose. "Oh! yes, they do," laughed rognish Sue; "as Rose., for instance. She wanted to wear tiny kid slippers also, but Aunt Maria vetoed it sacrificed Uncle's boots." "And the loss will never be remedied. I fear we shall be victimized by a fresh supply of groans and moans," said May. "As for myself," exclaimed Rose, with tears springing into her eyes, "if they were the famous seven-league ones I would not go back an inch for the last one. Henceforth all woodland charms are gone for me. In everything I shall see that ugly monster." "And there is our lunch basket and our berry pails!" said Hattie, ruefully. The young gentleman at once volun­ teered to go for them, and during his ab­ sence the girls repaired their wardrobe as best they could, and when he re­ turned they urged him to lunch with them. Afterward, in the cool of the evening, he assisted them to their wagon and stood hat in hand as thev'idrpvj away. In explaining the event of the day to Aunt Maria they all declared that "young 'Squire Buttles was just splendid--so in­ tellectual and all that." "I should think he ought to be," re­ turned the old lady, ' 'for he has travel&l all over Europe, to say nothing of hia own country. • A week or two later Aunt Maria stood in the vine-covered veranda, looking over her spectacles at a group of young folks playing croquet. "I wonder, Josiah," said she, "which one 'Squire Buttles is after, for he spends most of his time here." "It don't make much difference," growled that gentleman. "If he would marry the whole of them and cart them off I'd be very glad for one." " You're a pretty Christian," replied she; "But I do believe little Rosy is the one, because he is her very shadder. Hee, he is bending over her now, asking htr to go somewhere, and here they com? ana she a leaning on his arm." "May I go boat-riding with Mr. But" ties, Auaty?" asked the young lady, from the foot oi the veranda steps. "Of couiqe you may, child. YouU take good cai^ cf her, sir, and won't let her get frightened to death by any more snakes ?" questioned Aunt Maria. " I think I can safely promise that," laughing down intone vexed and blush­ ing face of the girl; " ,yut she must be provided with a shav^ as the evening "I had hoped you would not desire to do so," he whispered warmly. » "Why?" she questioned. "Because our meeting was so ro­ mantic and altogether happy, and--" The shawl and Aunt Maria's many injunctions interrupted them, and they walked away in the gloaming. "It is a match, sartin," ejaculated the old lady, "and I^shall have little Rosy always near me," and she wiped her misty glasses and went into the house triumphantly, happy in spite of the caus­ tic remarks of Uncle Josiah. "You are as romantic as any young gal, and about as silly. At your time of fife a body ought to think of dying, in­ stead of love and marrying." "Botheration! If I was so set oh dy­ ing as you be I'd go off and be done with it. As for me I shall rejoice with the young folks just as long as I live, and take comfort in seeing such a sweet, pretty thing as Rosy win the love of such a grand gentleman as the voting 'Squire." On the river, in the moonlight, he told his love and won the consent of Rose to become his wife, and before another summer had come with all its flowers and fruitage they were married, and Hattie, Sue and May vacillate between the But­ tles mansion and the old homestead when in the country, anct* Aunt Maria declares that Uncle Josiah's boots made the for­ tune of Rose. PASSING SMILES. THE man who ate his dinner with the fork of a river has been trying to spin a mountain top. PAINTING a window shutter is a good deed in more ways than one. It helps the blind. WHEN a landlady discovered that her boarders were dropping off, the burden of her song became: "Nothing but leaves." « THE men folks complain of climbing to the upper stories, but a woman can get up stares easily enough--if she is good-looking. PARSON--"Rather dr6wsy weather, this, farmer Jones." Farmer Jones-- "Aye, parson, so it be; 'minds one o' sermon time, don't it?" A VERMONT town board wrestled with the word "dangerous," to be used as a sign on a bridge, for over an hour, and finally got it "Danjeruus." A MICHIGAN Congressman told a friend that he was filled with amazement; and the friend went down to the bar and called for amazement. WHY is paper money more valuable than gold? When you put it in yeur pocket you double it, and when you take it out you find it still increases. AT a ball--Match-making MAMMA to her marriageable daughter: "Virginia, dear, don't lose sight of that gentleman in mourning. He may be a widower." WHEN Beecher was asked what enjoy­ ment there was in heaven for an old maid so homely that she has to help herself up whenever she falls down in the winter, he could make no reply. JOBBINS says that he can get into a circus for fifty cents, but it takes five hundred pounds to get into his front door some nights when his wife's gone to sleep and he's lost his night-key. '•You can't bring decency out of dirt," says a modern philosopher. Can't eh? Then you never looked at the water in the laundry tubs after the clean white clothes were taken out of it, did ypu? TEACHER--"What is an abbreviation?" Scholar--"A shortening." Teacher-- "Yes; give me an example." Scholar-- "Some folks use butter, but mother says hog's lard is good enough for anybody." CHILD of seven, before being brought into the drawing-room. Row heard out­ side room. Scream from child. Child in alto: "Tompany [company] or no tompany, I won't have my face washed with spit." LIGHT-MINDED young thing, in a bath­ ing suit--" Surely, Aunt Margaret, you're not going to wear your spectacles in the water?" Aunt M.--"Indeed I am. Nothing shall induce me to take off an­ other thing." ROBINSON, (after a long whist bout at the club)--"It's awfully late, Brown. What will you say to your wife?" Brown, (in a whisper)--"Oh, I shan't say much, you know--'Good morning dear,' or something of that sort. She'll say the rest." IT is true, Epaminondas, vou can't make a silk purse out of a sow s ear, but that is no reason why you should go en­ tirely back on the pig. You can make mighty good souse of it, which is more than you can do with all the raw sillr this side of -Lyons. AN advertisement says: "Save your hair while you have it." Many young ladies take this advice. They take their hair off before going to bed, and care­ fully place it on the bureau or back of a chair, where the rats can't get at it. At least rumor says they do. "WHAT are you doing out there, my daughter, in the night dew?" said the kindly old gentleman on the piazza. " Practicing fencing," was the sweet reply, as she leaned over the pickets till her face was dreadfully close to Wil­ liam's. THE only cool tiling which has been seen in town for the past week is the fel­ low who comes into the office, smokes some other fellow's pipe, uses some other fellow's desk, and then asks if you are not going to say beer before he has to go. --Boston Globe. WHAT the editor printed: " The Hon. Luke Lethertung, our distinguished representative to the National Congress, has very kindly favored us with a copy of his able and masterly speech on the 'Improvement of Bobtailed Frogs.'" What the editor Baid: "What in thunder does that fool send his rubbish here for?" JONES gave a lawyer a bill to be col­ lected to the amount of $30. Calling for it after a while he inquired if it had been collected. "Oh, yes," said the lawyer, "I have it all for you." "What charge for collection?" "Oh," said the lawyer, lau^liing, "I am not going to charge you --why, I have known you since you were a baby, and your fatlier before you; 820 will be about right," handing over 810. "Well," said Jones, as he medi­ tated upon the transaction, "it's darned lucky he didn't know my grandfather, or I shouldn't have got anything." lay be chilly.' While her aunt was absent for the re­ quired article Rose said: "I do wish Aunty would permit me to forget that unfortunate episode." Black Coats. The late famous Rev. Dr. Macdonald was crossing at Kessock on one of his frequent journeys. The day was very stormy, and there was difficulty in get­ ting the boat across. An old woman, one of the passengers, quoted the saying that " where there were black coats there was always bad weather," and asked the doctor if he could give any reason for it. He answered, with habitual quickness, that "ministers are at war with Satan, and that he supposed the latter, »s prince of the power of the air, was at the bottom of the matter." Coming back some time after, the day being fine, the old woman was there again, and this time quietly remarked, to the discomfiture of the doctor, " I see you have made your peace with the prince of the power of the air." OUR YOUKG FOLKS. Jemima Crow. Ob, listen, children, onu and all!! Oh, listen, hi nil anil Jowl Whito I re!at<» the mournful tak^^:vif# Of poor Jemima Crow. Si r : Jemiaia was a epinatcr crow, Of iao«t accomplished nuen; Hi r feathered back was Rloecy 1 Her bill was bright and keen. *•*«. mate, let nfc*, Her wings wore always trimly (Ire--ed, - Her voice, though eliarp, was low; And the food word of every blr4' ® * « v. Follov/ed Jemima Crow. "/•' £ . Jemima's aister had a .. A happy wife was she Upon a pine they mt in This family of three. Upon a pine-tree l>ough they sat, Each evening in a row; Bridegroom and bride nat aide hy (ride,' And then--Jemima Crow. s A short way off she sat alone, And turnod this problem o'er: " Given a tree too big for three. What is the size for four?" Always the answer seemed the i And always it was this: " 'Tin dull for me as number three, And four were not amiss." So when, this spring, the throe came back. All; in their wonted row. Now how can I the-fact deny T There came another crow! A black and gentlemanly bird He was, or Beeiued to be; But lo! 4,Ca\v Caw!" quotli brother-in-law, "Get out! 'lhis is our tree." " I am Jemima's promised spouse," fhe stran«er urged. But still " Get out! Caw! Caw!" cried brother-in-law, Whetting an angry bill. " No bough is big enough for fonr. And scarcely BO for three. This is our home. And so begone. And find another tree." Jemima wept, Jemima prayed, In vain. Away they flew. They found a perch upon a birch, And there they sit in view. Disconsolate Jemima Bits Heir sable lord beside; He caweth gay the livelong day, But cannot cheer his bride. For still her arithmetic mind Revolves this problem o'er: " Why is a tree too big for three Not big enough for four ?" Deal Oently Witli the Boyik " I don't believe in being too strict with boys," said Col. Morton. " I've seen a good {leal of the world in general, and have learned some lessons in regard to the treatment of boys that I will never forget. I remember particularly a little incident that occurred some years ago on board a vessel, then lying in New York harbor, in which I had taken pass­ age for Liverpool. While I stood on the deck idly watching the crowds on shore and on the decks of the different vessels moored around us, a ship's yawl belonging to a craft that lay some dis­ tance below us was rowed alongside, and an old gentlemen, one of the sternest- looking men I ever saw, came aboard and inquired for the Captain. He was shown below, and after an absence of half an hour reappeared on deck accom­ panied by the latter. As the two passed a group of four sailors the men touched their caps politely, and one of them, the youngest, and about the roughest-look- mg of the four, turned and looked after them with a startled, eager gaze, and an expression of mingled bitterness, aston­ ishment and vague regret on his bronzed and weather-beaten face. The old gen­ tleman re-entered the yawl and was rowed rapidly back to the ship, the sails of which were already being hoisted; and, when the boats had reached her side, its occupants mounted hastily on deck, and the great white-winged ' bird of the ocean' was moving slowly down the bay, the sailor, who was still looking after it with the singular expression on his face, turned to his companions and said coolly and quietly : ' Mates, would you like to know who that old gentleman is?' 'Why, yes, if he's anything out of the common run,' responded one of the men. ' Who is lie?' Charlie ?' ' Well, mates, I don't know that he has any­ thing in particular to distinguish him from other men, only he -- Well, mates, that old gentleman is my father!' At this astounding revelation I faced about and regarded him in silent, incredulous amazement, the men stared at him for a full minute in mute, open-mouthed as­ tonishment, and then 'your father,' ejaculated they in chorus, ' your father! Lord bless us, Charlie ! But you don't expect us to believe that ?' The sailor laughed a careless, half-mqcking laugh. ' It is rather a tough statement coming from such a poor devil as I,' said he, ' but I'd swear to its truth if I was go­ ing to swing the next minute on the yardarm. I haven't seen him since was 14 years old, and I was 27 yesterday.' "'Lord bless us,' repeated the men, ' but he didn't know you, Charlie ?' "'Know me! God, no! Thirteen years have changed me a cussed sight more than they have him. But he's my father, for all that, and I'm precious glad he didn't know me as I did him the in­ stant I sighted his face,' was the an­ swer. "'Tell us the story, Charlie ; tell us the story,' was the eager request. " ' Not while that craft is in sight, mates,' and his eyes looked after the slowly receding ship, with a half-long- ing, half-weary expression in their brown depths ; ' wait till to-night, and I'll tell you the story. Aye, aye, sir !' and he turned away in answer to a call from the Captain. "' His father! Could it be ?' I thought, looking after the tall, broad-shouldered, rouglily-clad seaman. ' This rough, profane, reckless-looking sailor the son of that dignified, refined, and evidently wealthy old gentleman?' It was hard to believe, but I determined to hear his story, and I did. Coming upon him some hours afterward, I asked permis­ sion to do so. " ' Certainly, sir,' he answered, touch­ ing his cap with ocean-bred politeness, ' if you think it worth your while.' "And that night, standing on the moon­ lit deck, with crew and passengers around him, Charlie told his story. '"I didn't expect to have so many hearers,' he began, coiling his arms sailor-fashion on his broad breast;' and I dare say that when you've heard my yarn, you'll all think that the time you spent in listening to it was wasted, but, such as it is, you are welcome to hear it. As I've said, the old gentleman who was on board this morning is my father. He is, or was when he called me his son, a wealthy merchant of New Orleans. I was his only child, and, if he'd been a different father, I might now be a dif­ ferent man, a better man, may be, and not the roving, homeless castaway that I am. I had little affection for him, and he seemed to have as little for me. May be I was wrong in thinking so, but, if he felt it, he never showed it to me. I never thought of confiding anything to him, for he was too stern, too reserved, and, instead of trusting him, I feared him. He was very strict with me, al­ lowed me no freedom of speech or action in his presence, and I was never so ill- at-ease as when with him. Perhaps he thought such treatment was best and for my good, as I was inclined to be wild, and he knew it; but I sometimes think, even now, that if he'd been a lit­ tle less stern, a little more indulgent, it would have been best for me. But it's no use to think that now. Gradually I came to regard him as a tyrant from whose thralldom I longed to escape, and I resolved that, when I was 14, I would go to sea, with or without his permis­ sion, which I knew I wouldn't get. I didn't know what sea-life was then, or I might have given up the idea. My birthday came at last, and I went to him for his consent. He refused it, as I knew he would do, sternly and harshly, and commanded me never to mention suph a thing to him again. " And, if yQU go in direct defiance of my will, I tell you, once for all," says he, " to stay. Never come back to me, never call me father again, for I will never own you as my son--never, as long as I live." " That's exactly what he said, and, mates and gentlemen, I'll remember every word of it to my dying day. He didn't speak another word to me, except to order me out of his presence, and I've never heard his voice, never seen his face, from that day until this morning, when he came aboard this ship, for that night I slipped from the house that had sheltered me fourteen years, went down to the dock, and shipped as cabin-boy on a craft bousd to the West Indies. She sailed that night, and I've never since then been afloat on the Mississippi. I've had a rough-and- tumble tame of it since that night, for a sailor's life, gentlemen, is a bad one at best; but I've never tried any other, and I reckon I never will. But I sometimes think, even now, that if my father's refusal had been given in a dif­ ferent way; if he had been more gentle with me ; had reasoned with, instead of reprimanding me so harshly, I would have stayed with him, and maybe I would have been some comfort and pleasure to him now in his old age, in­ stead of being what I am and always will be. But I s'pose it's no use think­ ing and saying what might have been. If my mother,' and in uttering that holy name the deep, cool, careless tones in which he had spoken all along changed and became low and soft--al­ most sweet; 'if my mother, who died when I was only 7, had lived, all would have been different, for she was gentle to me and I loved her ; but she did not. I might have made a better man of my­ self anyhow, if I had tried at the start; but I thought that as there was nobody in all the world that cared whether I was good or bad, worthy or unworthy, there was no use trying. Yes, sir,'--to one of the passengers--' I know that was a mistaken idea. But no matter now. What 1 am, I am, and will be to the last day of my life. Whether my father or myself is most to be blamed I've never decided--never tried to decide, indeed, I've never thought, and don't want to. I leave his judgment and mine to others and to the great all-knowing One against whom I have sinned so greatly. "'And now, mates and gentlemen, you've heard my yarn, and know what I don't--whether it was worth hearing or not. Whatever else may be said of it, I say this much, it's true from begin­ ning to end.' " We thanked Charlie heartily for his story, and on more than one of us it made a good and lasting impression. It certainly did on me, for I had a boy of my own at home with vhom I was wont to be rather strict--too strict, I was sure, when I heard Charlie's story--and I resolved that my treatment of him should, in the future, be different from what it had hitherto been. Firm and resolute, but gentle and kind withal, I would henceforth be with him, lest he might one day be what the poor fellow before me was ; and I, his father, be to blame for it all."--Chicago Ledger. Habits of the Beaver. I am well acquainted with the habits of the Northern beaver. Several years ago I bought up several hundred acres of mining lands near the south shore of Lake Superior, in Ontonagon County, Mich. On Carp River, a small stream that crossed a part of my lands, the beavers had built several dams, and formedexten- sive ponds, in which they built theic houses, or lodges, as the Indians call them. These lodges are built in water several feet in depth, and the entrance is several feet under water, but the floor of fhe lodge is built at least two feet -above high water mark. Tfle floor is built solid from the bottom of the pond, except the entrance. Although the beaver is warmly slad with long fine fur, he is very sensitive to the cold, and rarely, if ever, leaves the pond or lodge during cold weather. He lays in his-winter supply of food, which mainly consists of the bark of a species of poplar. He cuts down small trees and cuts them into short pieces of one foot, or a little over, in length, and takes them into the pond, and fastens one end of these pieces securely in the mud at the bottom of the pond. These pieees of wood are dragged up into the lodge, as often as food is needed, and the bark gnawed off; and after being denuded of the bark, they are by no means thrown away as useless, but are taken under the ice, and carefully placed in the dam, to strengthen it. They built one dam a little below the foot of Carp Lake, which raised the lake thirty inches. The lake is a small one-- about one mile long and a fourth of a mile wide. I measured the stump of a maple tree that they had cut down, and it measured fourteen inchs in diameter. There were no less than eleven dams on the stream, all in sight of our buildings, where we were mining for copper. The beaver posesses great engineering skill, always building his dams in the form of an arch, the crown of the arch being invariably up stream, giving it strength to resist the pressure of the water. The Indians used to tell me many singular traits of character that this animal posses­ ses. They build their dams and lodges of ihud, sticks and stones, compactly and tery strong. I once saw an albino beaver skin. I thought, and still think, that it was the purest white I ever saw. The Horse's Frog. If we were to go to many a black­ smith and ask him if he did not think nature had made a mistake in putting the clumsy frog into the horse's foot he would hardly be ready to say yes, and very likely would put on a surprised look, and perhaps explain that in some countries horses did very well without shoes, and so the frog was left to care for itself. But while not ready to take ground with you in any criticism of the plan upon which the foot is constructed, you have but to look in the corner of the shop where two horses stand newly shod; lift up their feet and observe for yourself that, if the smith has not said it, the knife has said the frog is a bad thing, and must be cut away. The horses do not stand on the ground, but nearly half an inch higher, on the iron of tiieir shoes, and which takes the weight of the horse on the outer shell of the hoof. The practice is as sensible as it would be for a man who had to travel on all-fours, taking the weight on the nails of his fingers and toes rather than on the cushion which lies behind the In. It is always the soft part--the india rub­ ber part of the feet of animals that have such--which receives the weight, and not the heelly, hard part. We know what an elephant's foot is ; it is all rub', er i te. The horse has the same incased in a shell, which gives him accuracy and steadiness of movement. Now, this cas­ ing protects the frog. It grows slowly, the frog grows rapidly. The healthy foot of the colt shows a center, if not projecting, at least level with the line of the hoof. He does not take his weight wholly on the rim of his feet. Old horses would have feet more like them if blacksmiths would allow they knew a little less than nature, and really knew enough to read her intentions. The object in shoeing the animal, aside from the occasional one of changing its gait, is simply to prevent the wear and shattering of the outer shell, and to en­ able it to take a firmer hold of the ground, escaping the slipping of the unshod horn. It is an unfortunate incident of our sys­ tem of shoeing that the horse is raised from the ground as a boy is when he mounts stilts.--Farm and Fireside. Interesting Figures from the Census. We have now sufficient returns of the census of our cities to form an estimate of the total of our urban population which shall be approximately correct, and to cipher up its gain within the last ten years. We find that we have but one city, New York, with a population exceeding a million, and only three be­ sides --Philadelphia, Brooklyn and Chi­ cago--with above half a million ; while six cities have between 200,000 and 500,000. They "are St. Louis, Boston, Baltimore. Cincinnati, San Francisco, and New Orleans. Of these cities Chicago has made the greatest gain, 61 per cent., in ten years, and San Francisco comes next with an increase of 51 per cent. The smallest growth in population is shown by New Orleans, the number of whose inhab­ itants is only 8 per cent, greater than in 1870. The South, as a whole, has not grown in population, for obvious reasons, at as rapid a rate as the North, but some of its cities show a percentage of increase which is equaled by that of few at the North. The gain in New Orleans has been but 16,000 in a population approach­ ing 200,000 in 1870. The increase in Louisville has been only 11 per cent, and Charleston has added only a few hundred to its population, which is still short of 50,000. But the rate of increase of Baltimore has been 23 per cent., and "of St. Louis 21 per cent., the same as that of Philadelphia. Others among the Southern cities have grown -with a rapidity which indicates remarkable enterprise, and suggests that they are the places in the South whither active spirits are tending. The city which leads the list in this respect is Atlanta. In 1870 its population was only 21,798 ; in 1880 it numbers 40,000. Galveston, which is now one of the most prosperous cities in the country, and is growing at the expense of New Orleans, has increased 68 per cent., its popula­ tion in 1880 being 23,000, against 13,818 in 1870. Houston, Texas, now has 17,000 inhabitants, against 9,382 in 1870. Nashville, Tenn., is another of the Southern cities which is growing rap­ idly. Its population was 25,865 in 1870; it is now 43,000. St. Joseph, Mo., has run up from 17,565 in 1870 to 35,000 in 1880, and Wheeling, in West Virginia, now has 31,661 inhabitants, to 19,280 ten years ago ; while Wilmington, Del., has increased from 30,481 to 42,000, and Wilmington, N. C., from 13,446 to 20,000. The growth of the smaller far West­ ern cities, almost without exception, has been extraordinary. For instance, Kan­ sas City has gained 77 per cent.: Den­ ver, 614 per cent.; Minneapolis, 244 per cent; St. Paul, 104 per cent.; and Ra­ cine, 84 per cent. Our urban population has increased at the rate of about 20 per cent., so far as the present returns go ; and, supposing it to bear the same proportion to the whole that it bore in 1870, the total population of the United States in 1880 is about 48,0^0,000, the aggregate esti­ mated by Gen. Walker.--New York Sun. Vegetin< Purifies the Blood, Renova Invigorates the Whole Sysft ITS MEDICINAL PR0PKKTIK3 ARB Alterative, Tonic, Solvel , 4 D,ur<^. * ^aarrmm is made exclusively from tfialtifces'Af care­ fully selected barks, roots and herbs, and *o strongly cam- centnted that it will eflectually eradicate from the BJTSUMI every taint of Kerofnlfti *«rnrnlont UUUMT, Tumor*, Cancer, Cancerous Humor, alpelaa, Salt Ithcum, Syphilitic iMaeaae*. Canker, Falntncu at the Hlomaeh. and all diseases that ariM from impure blood. Sciatica, Inflammatory and Cliroialc Hhmnntlwa, Neuralgia, Uoitt and Spinal Complaint*, can' only be effectually cured throwgh the Mood. For 1Jl««rs and Kruptlvc nititaiti of the Sltin, Pustule*, Pimple*, lllotclics. Bails. Tettsr. flealdhead and lilnKworm. VMBIM baa never failed to eftect a permanent cure. For Pains In tike Baclc. Hldatr Co«a- plainta, Dropsy, Female Weakness, cor rime*, arising from internal ulceration, sad uterine disease* and General Debility, Vaawmrs acta directly upon tbe causes of these complainta. It In­ vigorates and strengthens the whole system, acts upon tbe aecretive organs, allays Inflammation, cores ulceration and regulates the bowels. For Catarrh, Dyspepsia. Habitual Cos- tfveness, Palpitation of the Heart, Head­ ache, Piles, nervousness, and General Prostration ot the Nervous Systemf no medicine baa ever given such perfect satisfaction as the VBGRIXB. It purifies the blood, deansea all of the organs, and possesses a controlling fiower over tha nervous system. Tha remarkable cure* effected by VEOETIHS Have induced many physicians and apothecaries whom w» know to prescribe and Ube it in their own families. In fact, VssrrtNE is the best remedy yet discovered tor tbe above diseases, and is the only reliable 3IAN)D PURIFIER yet placed before the public. Tecreline Is Sold toj all Droffglsts. ^JJNFERMENTED_ "MAlTmTTEfif TRADE MARK MALT AND HOPS^ DYSPEPSIA is the nr©vaiHn& sualaov of civilized life. It lies at the bottom of one-half our misery. It is the rock upon which many of our business ventures have split. It clouds the mind, weakens the body, and preys upon the vitality. Where shall we find relief from this morbid, melancholy misery ? MALT BSTTEKS! A Food Medicine, builds up enfeebled digestion, regulates the flow of the gastric juices, dissolves and assimilates every article of diet, and cures a thousand morbid forms assumed by Dyspepsia. Prepared by the MALT BIT* TERS COMPANY; Sold everywhere. MALT BITTERS COMPANY BOSTON, MASS. KIN Itching Humors, Scaly Eruptions, Scalp Affoctions, Salt Rheum. Psoriasis, Hculd Head, Ulcers ana Sores infallibly cured by the Cutlcnra Remedies, ' which have performed miracles of healing, sinparalloled in medioal history. Send for ILLUSTRATED TREATISE, con- tabling testimonials from every part of tha Union. Prepared by WEEKS & i'OTlkK, Gbamiata, Boston. Mass. Sold by Druggists. Davy Crockett in Camden, N. J. The venerable President Gill, of the National State Bank, tells this anecdote of the eccentric individual whose name heads this article. It is remembered of Col. Crockett that he was very skillful in the use of the rifle, and that he won much of his fame by the dexterous use of that firearm. About the year 1831 or 1832 the Colonel visited Camden for the purpose of giving an exhibition of his skill in rifle shooting to a few of his friends, as well as to astonish the na­ tives by some crack shots. The ground selected for rifle practice was that near where the county Court House now stands, and in full view of the then Cam­ den and Amboy railroad. Duryig the progress of the shooting, th^ first loco­ motive on the road, with which the en­ gineers were experimenting, passed along, and when the sight of it broke upon Col. Crockett's vision he irrever­ ently exclaimed, " Hell in harness," and for a moment gazed in astonishment at the moving wonder. Wherever he appeared Col. Crockett was lionized, but he found it impossible to withstand the growing popularity of (Jen. Jackcon, and going to Texas he cast his fortunes with that State, in its contest against Mexico, and was murdered by the Mexi­ cans after he had surrendered with six survivors of the attack upon Fort Al­ amo.-- West Jersey Press. Strange Impulses. The conduct of people in great crises is a wonderful puzzle. Take the Sea- wanahaka disaster, and we read of a man who stood on the deck and burned to death in spite oi all urgings to jump into the water. He was so perplexed that he utterly forgot self. On the other hand, some of the rescued people in the small bonts were clamorous to get ashore, and did all they could to prevent rescues until they themselves were on land. Such utter selfishness is hard to believe. Among the rescued, one old woman whose hand-bag, containing S372, had been saved for her, was so in­ dignant at the loss of si* pairs of win- dow-fasteners that she compelled the people of the hospital who had taken care of her to send for six new fasteners. She also wanted a diver who was going down to be ordered to look for her spec­ tacles. A very indignant man called at Randall's island for his bag, and, learn­ ing that it was lost, threatened a law­ suit at once. This led to a new search, and it was finally found. It contained a pair of stockings, a chemise and a comb and brush. A singular fact connected with steamboat disasters is that the dead always have their pockets turned inside out. They are regularly found so. The truth seems to be that some utterly lose their head, and on the other liaud the trying hour develops a cunning deviltry in others that is something for human nature to blush at. Robbery is a sure element of every great accident that renders io possible.--Hartford Courant. THK expression of a boy's face, at the end of a straw that lacks two inches of reaching the cider in a barrel, is sup­ posed to bd the model that the artist selected in the delineation of Adam leav­ ing Paradise, Perry Davis' Pain Killer IS KECOMMENDKD By Physicians, by Missiot.aricr,, by Minintert, by Mtchan- ics, by Nurreft in Hospitals. BX KVERYUOUr, Dim VII I tD IS A SURE CURE for I AIR HILLtn sore Throat, Chillis Diarrhea, Bysentcry, Cramps, Glial* era., and all ltoivel Complaint*. S H U V I I I C D E * ' r S B K B I S T I t E i n . s «IH HILLtn known to the World for Sick lli^ailuriic. Puin in the Back, Pain in tit® Side, HhcKniatism and Neuralgia. VNQIT FATIOXABLT THE Seat Xjinlmexit Aladel lis equal havinf never yet been found. BT For Sale by all medicine Dealers. The Koran. A curlo«S»y to every on«, and a necesaity to nil atmleiitn of llivtor.v or .Religion : THH KORAN OF MOHAMMED ;tianslated from the Arable by Geo:gp Sale. Formerly published at $2.75; a neif, beautiful type, neat, cloth-bound edition; price, 1» cent*, and 41 cents for postage. Catalogue of many •tandard works, remarkably low in price, with extra terms to olub*, free. Say wbere you saw ttiia Advertisement. •MKBIOAN BOOK EXCHANGE. Tribuns Building, N.T. YOU CAN BE CURED OF YOUR CATARRH! now? Send lOc to DR. C. R. SYKES, !<!» E. Madison st, Chicago, III., and he will Bond by return mail " Tbe Trns Theory of Catarrh and full information of a Sura Cure." Name this paper, and write without delay. Are sold by all Hardware and Harness Dealers. Ther® is no one owning a horse or mule but what will find la this line of goods, something of great value, and es­ pecially adapted to their wants. COVERT M'F'G CO. WBSTTBOY„N. ¥., Sole Manufacturers. AGENTS MAKE #5.00 PER IMY BELLING OUR NEW Platform FAMILY SCALE Weighs accurately up lo 25 lbs. Its Immlsoma appearance sells it nt sljrht to house-keepers. Jk. R£OUI«A& BOOM FOR AGENTS. 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CornpUte, authentic, lotr-priced. Fnl'y Illustrated. Positively the best and cheapest Book. JVone other official. ~ AI.SO THE I-lfr'E OF by his life-long friend, Hon J. W. FORNEY, editor Philadelphia Pre.in. Fully llliiKtrateil. Posi­ tively the ablest and most tmly aifh-ial work. We grant the best teruss. Send 50 cents for outfit of either book, or $ I for outfit of both. Address HUltllAltl) liUOS.. Clileac*. III. 6EN. GARFIELD; nfic, lov-priced. Fnl'y and cheapest Bool SEN. HANCOCK RED RIVER VALLEY 2,000,000 Acres Wheat Lands beat in the World, for sale by tha St. Paul, Kiwapolis & Manitoba R.R. CO. Tbrss dollars psr acre allowed tha Battler for brstb» lag Md ssltlvsilon. For particulars apply to D. A. McKIIILAY. Hsl OnudMlrasr. »i, P»«i. s»s--^

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