if
I
I
OFFICIAL ORGAH
HEDRaSKA
$1.00
PER YEAR
IN ADVANCE.
1.
LLIANCE
III
STATE FARIIERS'ALLIAllCR
n
t
I
I
NO.10.
VOL.1.
LINCOLN, NEBRASKA, WEDNESDAY, AUG. 21, 1889.
.1
c
t3v
) A-
4
1 '
n
!
Editorial Notes and Clippings.
CluVbTm? Rates.
To those of our readers who might
wish to take a Daily newspaper one
whose -opinions are its own, fearless
and outspoken, we would say that we
have made arrangements witn the pub
lishers of the Daily Call, of this city,
whereby we can furnish their Daily
and The Ai.uanck at $6 per year.
Or, The Alliance and Weekly Call,
one year for $1,50. The weekly Call
re a '6 col. quarto well tilled with good
familv reading. This is an excellent
chance to get two papers for nearly the
price of one. Sample copies of Daily
or Weekly Call will be sent upon ap
plication. THIS TIME IT IS YOU.
Your subHcription has expired, and unless re
newed within the-W-1 "V" next nfteetl da;8'
or satisfactory ar ranjrementt made
with the editor, i your name will be
removed from our books and the
paper discontin M tied. We' trust
you will feel it your duty to send
us vour subftrip tion and continue
with us. Should- -this paragraph be
marked with a blue cross it means you.
A letter from Bro. Root of Omaha,
one from Bro. Stebbins of North
Platte, one from Bro. Petersen of Big
Springes, and one from Illinois are
crowded out this week. They will
appear in our next.
We learn that at tKe coming meet
ing of the Alliance, of Adams county
that measures will be adopted looking
to a thorough organization of the
county. The field is ripe, and an
old time awakening is looked for.
The Farmers Alliance is a practical
organization for the farmers and mean
business. It invites all. farmers who
have not as yet become members to
thoroughly investigate and study its
principles. Write to the state secre
tary, J. M. Thompson, , Lincoln, for
all information, who will cheerfully
respond. .
Retiuution has at lait overtaken
t'K -Judge David S. Terry, the noto
rious bully who killed Senator Bro
derick in a duel t'uirty years ago, and
has so iong terrorized the Pacific
coasf. There is little doubt hut that
' the prompt action of Marshall Nagle,
bo'was tuardirg Justice Field, pre
vented the desperado, and his equally
notorious wife, Sirah Altbea IliW,
from aiding another victim to his
list of innocent men w hom he has
murdered. No Ikmefan he attach
ed to the marshall as he was acting
nuder orders from Attorney General
Miller and if an inquest must he held
it is lit iter ibat Terry should be the
subject than another innocen. man
should be sacrificed, to this murderer
Terrv's insatiate h'e.
Among the many aspirants for con
gressional honors in the second dis
trict, made vacant by the death of
Congressman Laird, Ave note the fol
lowing: Hon. N. V. Harlan, John
M. Franse, Judge Post and Captain
Scott of York county; Ex-governor
Dawes, Judge Morris and ' George H.
Hastings of Saline county; John Jan
sen, of Fillmore county; Judge Nor
val, of Seward county; Smith Cald
well, of Nuckolls county; J. B. Pins
more, of Clay county; Gen. C.J.
Dilworth, H. Bostwick, E. N. Crane
and F. P. Olmstead, of Adams county;
-Secretary of State Laws; Judge Gaslin
and McKinney, of Webster county.
There are a large number of back
precincts to hoar from yet before this
list is complete.
Nebraska's corn crop is receiving
a large flure of fiee advertising and
there is perhaps no doubt it will be
the greatest yuld ever grown in the
State. But sometimes in these. wicked
days of tiusta and combines, it does
not look lilce good policy to keep the
outside world so well posted in regard
to hew or what; the farmeisare doing
for fear of a combine asairst them
when selling dai come?. In all other
branches of industry and trade there
is always more or less secrecy as to
scock on hand and cost of production.
But in the case of the faimer, he is
figured up and down and out some
times on kis own reports, every newspaper-
heralds his business the
amount of corn h9 raises his hogs
and hii cattle are numbered .and
there is no doubt that all trie infor
mation is used to his disadvantage by
carabines against hitn on market day,
so that sometimes we think the
farmer and newspaper tell many
things about the crops tbatshouldle
kept a profound secret or as much
so as possible for the farmers benefit
and profit. '
And now comes the wily politi
cian and the capitalistic press of the
country and tills us that the indebt
edness of the country being in excess
ot the money in circulation
is msig-
nificant. That one dollar is capable
of liquidating thousands of dollars of
debts. s an illustration they cite
us to the twelve men who were sitting;
around a table, all owing each other
a dollar. The man at the head of
tht table takes out a dollar and .pass
es it to the person next to him to
whom he owes it. He passes it to
the next whom he owes, and so on
around the table the dollar goes,
coming back to the man who started
it and twelve collars of debts
PAID WITH A SINGLE DOLLAR. Well,
that might do as an illustration of
the powers of the "Almighty Dollar"
but it will not pass muster under, the
exegencies of the present. If all the
millions of indebtedness of the peo
ple were to each other if farmer A
held a mortgage on farmer B's farm,
and farmer B on farmer C's farm and
soon, the amount of farmer B's
mortgage payed to farmer A, if cor
responding with the amount held
against A by B, and payed to B by A
and so on, a million of mortgages
could be lifted with $500. But this
is not the case, as every school boy
in Nebraska knows. This great
mountain of mortgaged indebtedness
is held by the great monied centers of
this country and Europe, and if farm
er A by some lucky combination of
circumstances is able to pay off the
mortgage on his farm, away it floats
to the money center, and this class
being the creditor class, owing no
body else, stays there unless bor
rowed out.
So, under these circumstances, how
can the great debtor, class of this
country ever hope to get out from
under the galling yoke of debt when
there is not sufficient money in cir
culation to pay their debts. There is
only one way the inevitable under
our present system and that is to
turn over all they have got to the
creditor class and be a mere chattel.
WILL THE SHYLOCK LOOSEN HIS
GRIP.
The money power of the nation is
becoming so arrogant and dictatorial
that party leaders are becoming
alarmed.. They see a sentiment rap
idly rising against any further en
croachments of this power, which, , if
not heeded, will wreck their parties.
On the other hand, the money power
has had its sway so long that it, too,
is a menacing danger to the party
that dares to ignore its demands.
Therefore, a crisis is approaching. A
compromise must either ie effected or
a political revolution is imminent.
Which will it be? This money pow
er has been stealthily working for the
past twenty-five years to bring about
the condition of things where we find
ourselves today. Will they consent
to lay aside the sickle when the har
vest is ripe? This is the question.
They may consent to congress doing
something temporary for the relief of
the people in order to ward off for the
time being the pending crisis, but as
for interfering with the system which
they have for so long been gradually
bringing about, they will never con
sent to to that. Without a complete
eradification of this ' system the peo
ple cannnot for once hope for relief
of a permanent character. Just so
long as a few national bankers con
trol the money of the nation, just so
long will the indebtedness of the peo
ple exceed the amount of money in
circulation, and the fruits of their in
dustry their homes pass into the
hands ot an idle aristocracy. There
fore, be not deceived if something
should be done by the coming con
gress for our relief outside of interfer
ing with the millionaire and pauper
system, the national bank act, as it
will only be a sup, a morsel to quiet
us. "Eternal vigilance is the price of
liberty."
The money gods of Wall street
were a secret skulking foe in the rear
while our soldiers were fighting the
enemy in front. They got an "ex
ception" clause placed in the honest
dollar of Abraham Lincoln, and made
it dishonest -only worth 43 cents,
in this depreciated money the soldier
was paid. He sold it to these moor
ish pirates for the 43 cents, who in
turn, invested it in government bonds
at face value. With these bonds
they established the robber system
called national banks. With this
system they control the money of the
nation, contracting and expanding it
at will for speculative purposes. They
want to do a little extra at contrac
tion now and want the government to
help them, so they again make a stab
at the soldier by objecting to the liber
al policy of Corporal Tanner in the
allowing of these veterans claims. At
their first fire the machinery of the
government backed them up, and Dr.
Carpenter, the liberal examiner of the
pension department, Tanner's main
support, falls. A warning to Tanner
to be careful how he trifles with the
powers that be and controls the poli-
cyot trie government Wall street.
It would never do to allow a liberal
payment of the soldiers claims as mil
lions of dollars would be put in circu
lation and thus interfere with a sys
tem of free robbery. But the soldier
has at last discovered this masked bat
tery which has been firing into him
from the rear ever since the guns of
Sumpter shook the Continent, and if
we discern things correctly, there is
"blood in the moon." In their grap
plhigs with this well fortified band of
freebooters they will have the undivid
ed support of the people of the na
tion. While at Hastings, this week, we
had the pleasure of meeting with Bro.
H. B. McGaw, a former secretary of
of the County Alliance of Adams
ccnty, We found that our worthy
brother had not lost a bit of his old
time enthuiasm, in fact had taken on
an extra head of steam, and was forg
ing ahead at a rate as never before.
He is sanguine that by a careful apd
consistant course from now on, the
success of the Alliance is assured'.
We mention Bro. McGaw as an in
dex to the fact that the old guard
still lives.
THIS TIME IT IS YOU.
In another column will be found a
short paragraph with the above head
over it. It is our intention to make
The Alliance the best farm journal in
the state, and in order to do this we
must have your hearty support. At
present our expenses are heavy and
our income small, but we hope by a
diligent effort on our own part, and a
little push once in a while from those
who are interested in this great ' re
form movement, to be able in the
near future to increase our office force
and enlarge the paper. Now it each
and everyone of our subscribers will
send us the name of a neighbor ac
companied with the price of subscrip
tion we shall in a very short time be
able to do this. In regard to the par
agraph spoken of above, we would
say that this is done not only to pro
tect ourselves but also you, as we are
aware that people are getting tired of
having papers thrust upon them with
out their consent. We therefore take
this method of letting you know when
your subscription expires. We hope,
however, that we shall not be obliged
to discontinue sending the paper to
any of our present subscribers on this
account, for if hard work will do it
we shall make it one that you cannot
afford to be without.-
THE VOICE OF THE PEOPLE.
Under this head we solicit short articles
from the people upon any and all subjects
of interest. We cannot undertake to te re
sponsible however for any matter appearing
under this head the design being to allow
the greatest freedom to writers whereby
they can discuss, and thus take an interest
in the great questions of the day which are.
so materially aifeetingthe people. Writeplain
but nevermind your spelling, grammar.,, or
anything of that sort, we'll attend to that.
Sign what you choose to your articles, but
send ub your name always. 1
Mason City, Aug. 16. Editor Al
liance: In reading Bro. Meeham's
letter in No. 8 1 feel like saing a word
in regard to the papers we read.
The Alliances of Algernon township
have resolved not to support
any paper that will not work
for our interest. The two papers in
Mason City, viz: The Transcript and
the Advocate, one a democratic and
one a republican paper, were requested
to publish the memorial to congress,
which wras published in No. 1 of The
Alliance. They first agreed to pub
lish it, but afterward changed their
minds, and now. will not publish it.
Now, brother farmers, this goes to
prove that both old parties are trying
to keep us ignorant on financial ques
tions. They think, we . dont need to
know anything only how to raise grain
and live hard. If the papers ol this
country had done their duty we -would
have heard of , the Farmers' Alliance
sooner. As it is, it is right in our
midst before we hear of it.
Old Harry.
Elwood, Aug. 14. Editor Alli
ance: Yes, I am w illing to give your
paper a trial,and here is one dollar for
subscription. According to my way of
thinking, every farmer who is a lover
of truth, and especially those who are
members of the Alliance, if thev are
not willing to give their support to
such papers as yours they are not very
reliable members. It is a fact that
manv of us farmers are really too
smart for any use, so that it is a hard
matter for anybody to learn us any
thing. But it ought not to make any
difference, we ought to stand by the
truth, we ought to protect the truth,
because it is an article that is very
scarce in this world. It can be fonnd
in your paper, but in few others; yes
in few others. The sample copies you
have sent me are divided out among
neighbors, and if you feel like sending
me more I shall be glad to distribute
them. I am not a member or the Alli
ances but I know my duty is to join
tlxm if T ovov rot n nhnnrfi nlthoiicrh I
have heard so-called smart farmers
claim that we have got no business to
buck against rings, trusts, railroad
corporations, or any kind of public
grabbers and pickpockets, and why
not? Because they have got the mon
ey, you know.
Yours very truly,
John P. Anderson.
Hansen, Neb., 1889.
Editor Alliance: It seems queer
that it takes a great many people so
long to see their situation. I see by
quite a number who write to the "Al
liance that they still think that the Al
liance should take to one or the other of
the old "parties." I suppose it is be
cause we have trained in the old "par
ties" so long that it has become second
nature with some of us. The old "par
ties" were all right, for the purpose
which brought them into exi stence, but
they have passed their days of useful
ness and seem to simply strive to re
tain some fat office and legislate to
their own and corporation benefit, ig
noring the people who placed them there
to represent them. Brother farmers
we have 110 use for any party, all we
need is simply to perfect our organiza
tion, then after that is acomplished,
select men from amongt ourselves to
represent our interests and v elect them
to do business for the farmer and labor
ing class of our state instead of rail
roads and monopolies. I would ask,
how can we eyer expect to reap any
benefit so longas we send some lawyer,
doctor or professional man to repre
sent us? Again, how can we expect
any help from a few of our own class
when the majority is professional, it
would be like playing a "sheep among
wolves" and expect the sheep to win
the game. Some will say the farmer
is not educated and their occupation is
different, and they would sell out just
as quick 'asanyTStie". GtKwsTwe
might send the poorest one among us
to the legislature and they could not
do any worse than some we have there,
as it is the farmers and laborers are
looked upon as a class but a little above
the brutes, all we are fit for is to toil
and support the whole business. Our
business men seem to be very good
men and take an interest in the far
mer as long as there is no move among
us to better our condition, when that is
done it is a different thing, as I will
show by one little transaction which
transpired at this place. There was
formed over a year ago a corporation
of Allicnce farmers, to do a general,
business at Hansen, Neb., in due time
a store was started, as is customary the
whole trade is represented by runners,
in May a runner came and took an or
der from the farmers store, in due
time the manager of the store received
this reply..
Omaha, Neb., May 11, 89.
Farmers alliance, Hansen, Neb.
Gentlemen:
We have your order to our Mr. Ver
phol and regret that we cannot fill
same as it would interfere seriously
with our other trade in Adams county,
were wre to sell to you.
Truly yours,
Paxton & Gallacher. ,
Now you can see the "hand writing
on the wall" very plain, the merchants
of Adams county have refused to pat
ronize the Omaha house if they sold to
the Alliance. They might as well say
to the farmers, you have no right to do
anything but farm and come to us with
your produce and we will fix the price
for you, J and then charge you what we
please for our goods. They seem to
lose sight of the fact that the pros
perity of the farmer and laborer means
prosperity to all branches of busines.
.Now brother farmers let us take
more interest In perfecting our organi
zation, talk to your neighbor who does
not belong and show him that we need
him and he needs us, do not let your
local Alliances go down, if there is only
a dozen of you stick together and wait
until we are organized, then in due
time Ave will receive information from
the proper source. We can all work
together and) accomplish our purpose
and see if we cannot get together a
legislature that will treat us with re
spect if nothing more, and not do as
our late senators did: Resolve that
the Alliance missrepresents facts and
have no right to open our mouths.
Xours sincerely,
L. 8. Orcutt.
Phillips, Neb., Aug., 13. Edi
tor Alliance: I enclose order for
one year's subscription to your vala-
able paper. I send you a short com-1
munication from the Phillips Farm
ers' Alliance Business Association, in
corporated with $15,000 capital. It
is our aim to. transact a general busi
ness such as we may profitably han
dle. The'prime object is to ship our
produce and thereby receive all that
the railroads leave us, which, by the
way, is not a great deal. We have
about 150 members composed from
three Alliances, Munroe Center,
Prairie Center and the St. Joe Farm
ers' Alliance. We commenced busi-
ness Aug. 5 tn
Since starting the
monops have been paying closer foi
grain than they ever have before. 1
think their aim is to detract from the
farmers move, thereby holding out
the impression that our institution is
a failure. With regard to prices it
may have its effect with some, but
the majority will not be deceived by
such a move for well they know that
if we allow them to hold sway they
will soon put down prices to, the old
basis, and the same with regard to
weights. They promise to make it
interesting for us, yet we know from
their actions that they are already
sick. They desire to sell ' their
buildings at actual cost, thereby
showing that they are aware the move
is not portentious of good to them.
We hope to see the time soon come
when farmers everywhere will own
buildings through which to ship our
producs. We think it would be
grand work for our state officers and
state paper to promulgate such a
move throughout the state and United
States. , E. H. Ball,
Sec. and Agt. F. A. B. A., Phillips,
Neb.
. Nelson, Neb., Aug. s 13. Editor
Alliance: The sample copies sent
me I read over with great pleasure to
hear of a great many of the thick
htaded farmers and other working
men are beginning to feel the shoe
pinch, so they are now partly open
ing their eyes before the storm cloud
bursts to entomb them in the worst
despotism ever known. The farmers
and producers convention recently
held at Huron, Dakota, had the
right ring with" it. You have
thoughtfully said Dakota's wise ex
ample is well worthy of imitation by
the Alliances all over, the country.
Yer, and I should say by every man
and woman who have the interest
and welfare of their country at heart.
I greatly admire the manhood in
passing the following resolution:
Resolved. That we will not sup
port any paper that is not in sym
pathy with the Alliance movement
and will not give it its friendly sup
port. This is the principle I have
advocated and upheld for years.
Drop all the lying, shamming, capi
talistic papers, patronize alone those
papers fighting your battles, then you
send an entering wedge to the down
fall of both the corrupt old parties.
John H. Hunt.
Spannuth Pre., Lincoln Co. Neb:,
Aug. 1 2th," 89. Editor Alliance;
Your paper is a welcome weekly
visitor to our home and we hope it
will continue to visit, not only to us
but many more. Our community is
hew as yet and we are all new and
poor homesteaders, but with the help
of providence and the Alliance we
hope to gain an earthly and education
al wealth in the future.
It is high time that the farmers of
this state unite and see that laws are
made to benefit them and the labor
ing classes. If things should keep on
goiifg the way they have been for the
last twenty years, there w-ould soon
be no class in this country but million
airs and paupers.
Now a few words to the members
of the Alliances throughout the state.
We are now approaching the time1
when caucuses for the conventions to
be held, and the ward politicians are
laying their bait to catch the "horny
handed granger" to send the delegate
to the convention who will favor their
schemes, it is at this caucus that we
farmers ought to be present and
see that the right man is sent to'the
county convention, and the founda
tion to a pure government is formed:
but nine times out of ten the men
that ought to see to the caucus will
stay at home and afterwards kick him
self, for the man he wanted to go" to
the convention did not go, atld the
ward politician got his man to repre
resent him in the convention. Now
brother farmers see that good and
faithful men be sent to the conven-
tions, and the corner stone to a pure
government is laid.
Some of our, members are in favor
of a third party. Let us try the old
party once more and see that good
men are put up.for office, as both old
parties have very good principles if
they do not get into the hands of
shylocks politically; if we cannot
purify them in the way described we
will and must form a third party.
C. F. Preitauer.
Ganeiy, Neb., Aug. 3. Editor
Alliance. Enclosed please find
draft tor two dollars, subscriptions
forthenaner The farmers of Lo-
lor tne paper, ine tarmers ot l,o-
gan county and vicinity are waking
up to the needs of the hour. And
, . . . , ,. ,
well they might, for I do not think
there is a more oppressed people in
. . r xt u 1 u i
the state of Nebraska than in vthis
county. Scarcely a quarter section
u: j- v u-
FluCUurilWum uatC uut
some eastern corporation has a death
grip on it to the occupant (cannot
call him an owner for he is not), and
the railroads, grain and stock mer
chants, the same death hold on the
products of the soil. For Heaven's
sake what is the outlook? Anything
but encouraging. But the workers
of this great state have made a move
all along the line, the clouds of
darkness are breaking, and so will
monopoly if every farmer and me
chanic will put his( shoulder to the
wheel and push to the final. It cer
tainly is oncouraging to see how .the
farmers and mechanics are taking
hold of this mighty work in this part
of the field, and, erelong we hope to
send you a report of such a work
here that our foes cannot gainsay or
treat it lightly.
Yours heart and soul for the right.
Chas. S. Wells, Sr.
Chaplain of Alliance 468.
Sulliran Changes His Mind.
Suppose John L. Sullivan should
change his mind from his present
pugilistic way of thinking and swear
by all power of Heaven and" earth
that under no circumstances could he
be induced to lay his hands on any
mortal man, (quite a change) and he
had $1,000 in each pocket, and,
would meet in a lonely spot one of
his old acquaintances who knew of
both of these circumstances, and said
friend was somewhat ahead of his
friends in the line of coaxing money
out of people. Now you may imag
ine the following dialogue:
' "John, I want your money."
'You cant have it."
"I will have it."
"No, you won't."
"You can't help yourself, because
you will not fight nor lay hands on
me, although you could whip as
many such men as I as could get
around you."
"You shall not," says John, but
Mr. Thief walks up and takes the
money out of John's pocket. All
the time John is growling about such
treatment, and the thief goes into
another pocket, and John says it is
naughty, but thief does not stop un
til John's pockets are all cleaned out
and he is a beggar. Now the thief
will laugh at John for his foolishness
and his weakness. And yet. this
thief was a very small man, but he
took advantage of the foolishness and
silliness of John, who could have de
fended himself nnd his property it he
had but made a slight effort.
Now, gentle readers, let us make
an application. John L. is the
many thousand farmers of these
great United States, all standing
aloof from each other and opposing
any and all organizations of the
farmer on the ground that they can't
do anything by uniting, and the little
thief is the many trusts, pools, com
bines and corporations that are. or
ganized to filch the farmer and then
laugh when the farmer says it is
naughty to steal. .
Now for application No. 2:
.John L. is the man who does net
believe in secret societies. The
thief does believe in any and all
things that will give him money that
he does not earn, regardless of from
whom it comes. John will not or
ganize under any circumstances, but
the thief does organize and the result
is the same as it always is, the anti
secret man has his enemies for his
counsel, for his friends, and the fact
that he 1 does not believe in dis
criminating keeps him still in the
clutches of this very class all the
time. ' J. Y. M. S.
XOTICi: TO SUBSCRIBERS.
Subscribers not receiving their pa
per regularly will please report the
fact promptly to us.
Superstitions About Eire.
- "To hang an egg on Ascentlon Day
in' the roof of a house," said Reginald
Scott, in 1854, "prose rve the same from
all hurt." Probably this was written
with an eye to tho "hurts" arising
from witchcraft, with which eggs are
supposed to possasa certain mysterious
powers. In north Germany, if you.
have a desire to neo the ladies of tho
broomstick on May Day, their festi
val, you must take an egg laid on
Maundy Thursday and stand where
two roads meet; or else you must go
to church 011 Good Friday, but coruo
out before the blessing. It was for
merly quite an article of domestic bo-
lief that the shells must be broken
nfter eating, eggs lest the witches
should Bail out to 6Crt in them; or. aa
Sir Thomas Browue declared, lest they
."should draw or prick their name
therein, and venlliciously mischief"
the person who had partaken of tho
North Germans, ignoring thi
side of the question, say: 4,Brealc
the 8hell8 or ou wlll get the. ague,"
. and Netherlanders advise you to securo
: yourselves against the attacks of thta
-dtaameablo visitor by oatlnff on Ka
ter Day a couple of eggs which wero
laid ou Good Friday. Scotch fishes,
who may be reckoned among the most
superstitious of folks.believe that con
trary winds and much vexation of
spirit will result of having eggs on
board with them, while in tho west of
England it is considered very unlucky
to bring birds' eggs into the house,
although they may be hang up with
impunity on the outside. Mr. George,
in his "Folklore of the Northeast of
Scotland," gives us some curious par--'
ticulars concerning chickens and tho-.
best method of securing a satisfactory
brood. Tho hen, it scorns," should tx
set on an odd number of eg. or the
cnances are tnat most, 11 rot all. win
be addled a mournful prospect for tho
hen wife j also, they must be placed
under the mother bird att3r sunset or
the chickens will be blinl. If tho -woman
who performs this otilca car
ries the egjs wrapped up in her
chemies the result will be hen blttls;
if she wears a man's hat, cocks.
Furthermore, it is well for her t re
peat a story charm, 'A' in the.jo.'th's
A' oot thoegoethir." There are many
farmer's wives, even in tho present
day, who would never dream of allow
ing eggs to be brought into tha house
or taken out alter dark, this being
extremely unlucky. Cuthbert lledo
mentions the case of a farmer's wife in
Rutland who received a sitting of
ducks' eggs Trom a noighbor, at nine
o'clock at night. "I cannot imagine
how she CDvild have been so foolish."
said he good woman, much dUtrassad ;
and her visitor, upon inquiry, was to'ul
that ducks' eggs brourht into a homo
after sunset would never' ba hatched.
A Lincolnshire superstition declares
that if eggs are carried over r.mmng
water they will be useless for settiug
purposes; vhi(ein Ahorde?n there is
an idea prevalent among the country
folks that should it thuudo; a short
time before chickens aro hatched thoy
will die in the shell. The same wise
acres may bo credited witli the notion
that the year tho farmer's gooJ wifo
presents him witty an ddition to hi
family is a bad season for the poultry
yard. "Raima and' chuckens," say
they, 'dinna thrive in ae yer," tho
probable explanation being that tho
good wife, taken up with the care of her
biirn, has less time Lo attend to tho
rearing of the chuckens. Reside) tho
divination practiced with the white of
an egg, which certainly appears of a,
vague and .unsatisfactory character,
another species Of fortune-telling' with
eggs is in vosrue in Northumberland
on tho eve of St. Agnes. A maiden
desirous of knowing what her future
lord is like is enjoined to boil an egg,
after having spent the wholo day fast
ing and in silenee. thon to extract tho
yolk, fill the cavity with h U and eat
tho whole, including the sheli. This
highly unpalatable supper finished,
the heroic maid must walk backward,
uttering the invo; - tion to the saint:
Sweet St Ajrrcs. work thv fast,
If ever I be jo marry man
Or man to marry me,
I hope this nigbt t) sco.
If all necessary rites and ceremonies
have been duly performed, the girl
may confidently count upon seeing her
future husband in her dreams dreams
which we would presume, as our
Yankee friends say, would bear a
strong resemblance to nightmare. Ex.
The West Point Jacket.
It 1b said that the mnln reason for
the movement to change the uniform
of tho men in the first class at West
Point is that they change their syotems
with the present gray jackets. These
jackets are cut almost to a corset
tightness in the first place, nnd since
they don't wear out as f st as tho ca
dets grow they naturally gettighter
and tighter each few months. Tho
women have taught the boys to bo
very proud of tho s'im waists that dis
tinguish tho corps, so that each follow
hangs on to his jae!c?t as long as ho
cn. It Is s lid tha o:vs day whouaca-1
det fell Into tho water his commanding
officer ordared him to take oft hi
jacket and wrinx it The youth
did so and displayed beneath it noth
ing but an undershirt, with cutTs and
collars pinned to it. An investigation
followed and showed that whereas,
most of tho bijrger boys had been com
pelled to discard their shirts, them
were even some who had to cut away
the lower halves of their undershirt
in order to button their juckets around
their waists. This will not surprise
soldiers. In every country th;re aro
swell regiment? that achieve good
looks more or less in tho same way.
There are oven talcs of the sort
about some of the dandies in our
Seventh. Mew York Sun. 4 .
ft Was Largely Force of Habit.
Tapa," said tho fiir girl, with a
touch of snduess in her tones, MI have
received a noto from William saying
you kicked, him as ho lort tho house last
night'
"Yes." replied papa. "I have always
paid your expenses, nnd I footed thl
Rill merely to ba coaslstont." Draco'
Magazine.
' ''How did yoa lilr tha sjram t,cUv.Mt
'Well, St was sura n tsckl discourse t-hat 1
Hlept through tie wao'.o of it.'Rtiua
f 51
" I
"I
f
i
V
(
!
I,'
W
r
