Image provided by: University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries, Lincoln, NE
About McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886 | View Entire Issue (June 12, 1884)
JUBILEE HYMN. Almighty god of nations hear Ourgratoful song of praise , "Which now with heart slncero.wo raise , For Thy redeeming grace. ' * i J > 4 Savior , Thou didst on earth appear To fcave a ruined world ; Dlds'tdioon Calvary-'s tugged hill To bless with peace untold. Spirit , divine , 'tis Thou that leads The wandering sons of men To Christ , the sinner's only hope. For pardon , peace and Heaven. HalU Triune God , the Three In One , One undivided three. To Thee with grateful heart wo raise Our song of jubilee. Ye beasts that roam In deserts wild , And fowls that throng the groves , Ye fish that sweep the stormy deep , Make known how Jesus loves. Waves , winds and hurricanes declare , Spread forth His mighty power ; Sun , moon and stars , with all Heaven's host Join in this gladsome hour. Hay we , the sons of Adam's host , When all our toils are o'er , Join with the blood-washed , happy throng , On the eternal shore. Detroit Free Press. MAB'S KEEPSAKE. Mab and I had been idling about in Tuscancy for some weeks with Uncle Wallace , and wo had many plans made for more extended journeyiugs , when our uncle was suddenly obliged to re turn to England on pressing business. As we could not and would not accom pany him , he installed us in a quiet lit tle hotel , gave us a liberal amount of pocket money , and left us with strict injunctions to remain quietly where we were until his return. "We were to make no excursions requiring longer than a day's absence for Uncle Wal lace highly disapproved of ladies travel ing alone in foreign countries. I was quite old enough to chaperon Mab withersoever she cared to go ; but , not being argumentative , I agreed to keep her and myself in strict seclusion until our uncle rejoined us. But , after three days of our own so ciety , we both gre.w horriby mopish. Mab1 had made crooked little sketches of the old cathedral till we both hated the sight of the hoary edifice , we had tried all the cakes in the little confec tioner's , and had read our small library twice over. "Effie , there is to be a rural fete at San Vito on Wednesday , and I am go ing , " Mable announced on the fourth day."San "San Vito is eight hours from here , " I said deprecatingly. "I don't care if it is eighty. "But think of your promise to Uncle Wallace not to go anywhere. ' 'We shall be away only one night ; and I shall die of the'blues' it we don't have some amusement. " I remonstrated to the utmost of my ability , but was overruled in the end , as I knew I should be. Mab , having had her own way ever since-she was a baby , was not likely to relinquish her sceptre at the ripe age of twenty. So the next afternoon , armed with shawl straps and a small valise , we betook ourselves to the railway station and bought tickets for San Vito. "Mademoiselle should inquire care fully the hours of the trams , as the time-tables are oftei inaccurate on this line , " said our smiling landlord as we departed. Our only fellow traveler in the coupe was a gentleman of about thirty. He was reading the Times as we entered ; but I noticed that he seemed to take more interest in Mab's pretty face than in the news. Yet he was not the least impertinent ; and he apparently imag ined that his furtive but comprehensive glances were quite unnoticed. Every one admired Mabel she was like a sea-shell , or a tea-rose , or any delicately-tinted lovely bit of nature and I could not blame this man for being only human. He had pleasant dark eyes with plenty of fun in them , sleek dark hair , a good length of limb , and a look of the patrician about him from the toe of his well-fitting boot to his finely-shaped hand. As the stranger had been thoughtful and kind concerning the disposal of our luggage and the arrangement of refrac tory curtains , politeness demanded that I should address him , 'and we were soon chatting together like old friends- He gave us bis card , on which was en graved , "Sidney Weir , Oakland , Kent , " and he gleaned from our conversation that the Misses Warburton of Exham were his traveling companions. I sud denly occurred to me that I was play ing the chaperon very hardly in making such advances to a perfect stranger , and I tried to frighten Mab into becom ing propriety and reserve ; but , when I flattered myself that I was looking my sternest , she actually gave Mr. Weir her pretty litte hand to hold while he told her fortune in the pink palm. The subject of bric-a-brac having come up , Mr. Weir produced a curious ly-carved little silver whistle from his pocket , which he said had once saved his life in India. II had a peculiar shrill note , very penetrating and striking for so small an article , and used as a sig nal of distress , it had brought help when he was overpowered by the enemy. He seemed pleased with Mab's warm admiration of the whistle , and , as she was returning it , he said simply. "I should be so pleased if you would accept the little toy as a keepsake. I shall only lose it if it continues to jingle about with my keys and small change ; and perhaps it would serve as a charm to ward off danger from you on some occasion. Its duty to me is done. " Mab hesitated ; but , seeing the dis appointed look on ulr. Weir's face , she took the little trinket , with a smile of thanks , and fastened it to one of her bracelets. I thought it a bold , forward thing to do , but I knew that my opinion or displeasure would make but little difference to my younger sister. It was growing late as we drew near the little station of Gimino , where we should have to change carriages for Sail Vito. Our companion's destina tion was a town further along the Gim- ino line , so we should soon be obliged to separate. I was secretly pleased ; but to Mr. Weir and Mab the time -was ipping away altogether too quickly. Arrived at Gimino , we made the very unpleasant discovery that the San Vito train had gone on without us , and that there would be no other till 5 o'clock in the morning. "What will you do"asked Mr.Weir. "I have ten minutes to spare before my train-goes ; jf I'could be of any service to you in engaging a room at the hotel or in any other way , I should be most happy. " "I think it would bo better not to go to the hotel , " said Mab ; we should never wake up for the. early train , and we have not the time to wait for the next one. " "YesV I answered , "we could get some refreshment here , and stay in tiie waiting-room till our train comes. It is eleven o'clock now , and the time is not so very long. We can take a com fortable nap in the waiting-room. " Something in Mr. Weir's manner be trayed that he did not approve of our plan , but he was too polite to say any thing against it. He called a waiter to attend to our wants , and , in answer to the second sharp call from the locomo tive , took his leave , lingering long over the hand-shake with Mab , and aisap- peared in the darkness. . "I wish he hadn't gone. I feel lone ly in this strange place , " said Mab , with a little shiver. "Nonsense , child ! It would have been obstrusive and indelicate if he had remained. You forget that we are only friends of a day. Why should he alter his plans for us ? " I spoke boldly ; but I too was very ill at ease. The little coffee-room was gradually filling with rough-looking men , who watched us the only women in the place furtively and curiously , speaking a language which we but lit tle understood. The hotel was a mile distant , and we could not take refuge in it at this hour of the night , even if we had known the way. "Mab , how foolish of you to wear your diamond ring on a journey of this kind it attracts attention ! " I said , in an undertone , as the light caught the brilliant on her finger when she raised her coffee cup. I happened to glance out of the win dow at that instant , and , to my horror , saw a man with evil black eyes and grizzled hair staring intently at Mab and me with a wicked look about him which I could not forget. As I caught his eye , he slunk away in the darkness , and presently the railway porter came to escort us to the waiting room. "It is against the rules of the road to allow the waiting room to be occupied at night , " he began ; "but if you will be content without a light , and with both doors locked on the outside , I have no objection to your waiting there for your Jxain. " This was appalling to be locked up for five hours in a shabby little Italian waiting room , in total darkness. By feeing the man we prevailed upon him to allow us to bolt the outer door on the inside , so that we should feel a lit tle less like prisoners. "The guard walks up and down the platform till daylight , so you can feel quite safe , " said the porter consoling ly , as he wished us good night and shut the door of the dark little den upon us. I fortunately bethought me of some wax matches in the valise , and , light ing one for a moment , we took in the situation a mean little room , with a door on two sides , hard benches round the walls , and a long table. Surely not an inviting apartment'for repose ! We made ourselves as comfortable as the circumstances would permit , and tried to forget our , position in sleep ; but I became preternaturally wakeful. Here were we , two unprotected women , dropped down at this little wayside station , for all the long night hours sus picious characters were-lurking about , and we might be robbed and murdered without our friends ever knowing of our fate ! In the midst of my cheerful reflections it consoled me a little to see the guard pass by slowly at intervals , with his lantern gleaming on the red band of his cap. Suddenly , my ears sharpened by the silence , I h'earda stealthy step approach the inner door of our prison , and the quiet grating of the key in the lock was distinctly audible. My heart seemed to stop beating with fright ; and then , to my unspeakable horror , the door softly opened , and the evil looking man with the grizzled hair , whom I had seen through the window of the coffee room , crept in with a dim lantern in his hand. "Listen ! " he said , in a hoarse whis per , fixing me with his wicked eyes. "If you are quiet , I will do you no harm ; but , if you scream or make the least disturbance , I know how to silence you. I want the ring your friend's pretty finger wears , and whatever money and other valuables you have about you. Make no resistance , as you value your life. " 1 suppose I grew very white and trembled , for Mabel said in a surpris ingly firm voice : Don't faint , Effie , but give the man the valise to search ; our lives are worth more than the trumpery it contains. " The robber sat his * lantern on the table and .began undoing the straps of our valise , placing it on the floor before the door at which he had entered. Where was the guard outside that his light did not shine again through our window ? He might have rescued us , buthe did not come. "Effie , " said Mab in a whisper to me she need not have whispered , for the robber could not understand our lan guage "I am not going to give up my ring without a struggle. This man evidently thinks the other door locked on'the outside and safe against our opening it ; otherwise he would not let us stand so close to it. I have my hand on the bolt now ; there I have slipped it ! I am going to dash the robber's lantern from the table with this bundle of shawls ; in the darkness we can rush out upon the platform and call the guard. Don't lose your head or try to detain me , for I am quite resolved. Be ready to fly when I give the signal. " Before I could recover from my as tonishment at this bold plan , there was a crass of glass upon the floor , dark ness , a volly of Italian oaths , and my sister and I were tearing madly down the deserted , platform. "Guard , guard ! " we shrieked , with all the energy of despair ; but from some inexplicablecause he could not orwouldnotJiearus , though wa-saw his form quiio plainly in the distance. Steps were heard in pursuit of us , and the angry curses of the burglar reached our terror-stricken ears , wnen an inspiration seized Mabel. She put her little silver whistle to her lips and blew till its peculiar note rang out like a clarion on the still air. The sund of hasty footsteps approaching preaching from another direction be came audible ; but whether they were for good or ill we could not tell. Mab had lost her courage , and was leaning on me , half tainting , when a voice calling in English , "Hallo ! What is the matter ? What are you rascals doing ? " seemed to put new life into her. her.Two Two men ran towards us , one of Whom , to our amazement and delight , we recognized as Sidney Weir , our traveling companion. We clung to him , and hovered over him with tears , hysterical laughter and incoherent thanks , and did not notice that during our explanations both rob ber and guard had disappeared. Mr. Weir said that he had felt uneasy at leaving us alone in the little station , and , finding another belated traveler , they had whiled away the night smok ing and walking up and down on the road near at hand. He had not told of his change of plans , thinking it might annoy us. When he saw the rough lot of men who collected about the coffee-room , he was very glad he had waited , for he thought we might be subjected to annoyance , if nothing worse. The sound of Mabel's whistle had reached his ears as a signal of dis tress , and he would never feel suffi ciently thankful that he had given her the little toy. "What 1 fail to understand is this rascally guard deserting his post so shamefully , " said our rescuer , ringing a huge bell which hung near. Presently an astonished group of waiters and porters gathered round us with lights , and began asking a thou sand questions. One of the newcomers ers stumbled over something lying in a dark corner. "What is this ? " he cried. "Moser the guard in a drunken sleep ! He will lose his place for this , and deserves it too ! " It was afterwards discovered that Anton Moser , the real guard had been drugged by two ruffians , one of whom had stolen his lantern and cap , while the other made his daring attempt upon Mabel and me. We had lost all interest in the fete at San Vito , and , like frightened disobe dient children , our only wish was to re turn home , if the little hotel we had left could be called home. Sidney Weir accompanied us ; and , when uncle Wal lace returned , he found a suitor for Mabel's hand awaiting his approval. The approval was not withheld , as Mab's fase betrayed that her heart had found its idol. TRAIN TJME. The Drummer Who Knew Pretty Well What He Was Betting On. "We are running pretty fast now , ain't we ? " said a drummer to his com panion , as the train whizzed along at a lively rate. "At least thirty miles an hour , " replied the other. "Thirty miles ! We haint going less than a mile a minute. " "You are way off. We are not going a bit faster than thirty-five miles an hour at the outside. I have been riding on trains for twenty years , and you can't fool me on speed. I've got it down so fine I can tell within a mile or two of just how fast we are . " -"You eh ! " running."You can , repliedthe first speaker ; "you think you have it down fine , eh ? Now , I'll just bet you $51 can guess closer to the number of seconds it takes us to run from one mile to another than you can. Is it a go ? " It was a "go. " The money was put up in another drummer's hands , and he took out his watch and stood up in the aisle so neither of the wagerers could see his ticker. The passengers who had overheard the conversation gathered around to see how the bet would come out. As a white mile post whizzed past the window the referee cried , "Now ! " The contestants looked out of the window at the line of wire fence and procession of fast-disappearing tele graph poles. "Time ! " cried the drum mer in the aisle , as the next mile post showed itself in one fleeting instant. Every eye was turned to the makers of the wager. According to agreement they were to write out the number of seconds they guessed and hand the paper to the referee. The man who "had it down fine" did this very promptly , but the one who started the conversation was slow. He had some figuring to do with his lead pencil. There was considerable excitement among the on-lookers , and several side bets were made. In a few moments the drummer had completed his 'calcu lations , and the referee announced : "Charley puts it at one minute and forty seconds. Bob makes it one min ute and twenty-five seconds. The actual time by the w.atch was one min ute and twenty-four seconds. Bob wins. " The man who "had it down fine , " but flnssed it by fifteen seconds and lost his money , took his defeat in good humor , but begged Bob to tell him how he had worked it. "I hadn't it " ought to give away , said Bob , " 'cause I've been makin' about § 15 a week with it all winter. I usually hit it to the second , but this time I forgot that I'd had only one drink this morning. ' ' 'Wh at h as your drinks got to do with it , I'd like to know ? " "Why , you see , it takes at least four drinks to settle my pulse down so that I can rely on it to the very second. " For thousands of years it was the practice among the Chinese coopers to place a boy inside the barrel to hold up the head while the hoops were tighten ed. History does not explain how the boy was released , but it is supposed he was left to fast until he could crawl out at the bung hole. "What is wanted in this country , " said the bride as she examined the wed ding presents , "is silver-service re form ; that set is plated. " Sixty cigars for every man , woman and child were made ha and imported into this country last year. BY THE BROOKSIDE. 'There ' are tassels on the birches , Waving yellow o'er the stream ; Scattering a golden dust To mingle with its gleam , There are blossoms on the maples , Blossoms red as robin's breast ; They are drooping , drooping silently , On wavelets white top crest. There are pussies on the willows , 'Pussies white and silver grav That fall down from the brookside , Then drifting run away ; Green leaves are faintly showing , Just peeping , peeping through , Between the waving tassels , On the pussy willow too ; And the red , red maple blossoms , Step daintily aside , That rich and growing banners green Hay shade the bright brookside. Spring beauties gleam amid the grass , Blue violets peep over ; Play hide and seek , the whole day Ionic , With the wind , the fickle rover ; There's a warbling 'mid the branches ; There's ahumining _ through the trees ; An inexpressible sweetness From each and all these ; A something I can not tell you , Dame Nature would not confide , If you go , you will hear it all , ' Down by tbe sweet brookside. "Inter-Ouean. PLANTATION NEGROES. The Life of field Humid Their Domes tic Uclntioii' . Wilmington ( N. C. ) Cor. Troy Times. Plantation negroes are , to those wjio see them for the" first time , most miser able specimens of "men and brothers , " if they are to be judged by their exter nal appearance. They are usually very black in color with pronounced negro features , and ignorant. In some cases they are but a few degrees above the animals. They live only in the present , know nor care nothing for the future , and seem to regard freedom as only the means of deciding for them whether they will work or remain idle , and , as may be supposed , if bacon and corn bread could be had without the labor , it is safe to say they would remain idle. I was told , however , despite their de jected , work-a-day look , they are a very happy and contented people , and they are treated with much considera tion and kindness on the two planta tions I visited , being allowed to build huts and cut all their fire wood on the lands , and in illness cared for either by the overseer or owner , who employs a physician in urgent cases. These plantations have also stores upon the grounds wherein the hands can buy at market rates all the necessaries of their lives , food , clothing and shoes in fact , anything that can be had at the usual or "gen eral country store. " And thishas been done in order to keep the "plantation hands" at home , for it' during the plan tation season the hands can get off to town after pay day , there is no chance of their return until all their money is spent , and either work or starvation stares them in the face. And , as most plantation hands are born and raised in the work , they know no other. Occa sionally a more ambitious or intelligent one will aspire to. "learn to be a bar ber , " and leave his "native heath , " but it is said that they do not , as a rule , take to education , and prefer to remain ignorant and work by day , and if they can dance and frolic by night they are content with life as they find it. Their domestic relations and moral life is better left unquestioned in many cases , although the law compels marriage. It is often honored in the breach only , but they have the * enthusiastic religious "revivals , " and their colored preachers are ever on the plantations and hold services in their church at "Orton" for the religiously inclined. Some of the women seem disposed to think that the lives of "house servants are more enviable than then : own , working as they do in the hot fields , but it is not an energetic longing and involves to much thought to be put into active execution. One rather bright looking young woman , to whom I spoke , asked her what wages she earned as field hand , and she said : "Mostly $3 a week , but they say I could get $12 for a month as cook. " Her mental arithmetic was a little off , but sh3 was in earnest. I told her I did not think she would like the north ern states , it was so much colder , and she laughed and said : "That's what they all say , mebbe I would not. " Freedom means to this class of people only the ability to earn money and pro vide for themselves , instead of having everything provided for them , and it will be a long , long time before they are elevated or educated sufficiently to understand how much has been done for them. The Object of Education. From a Florida Letter. Every man ought to have a hobby something to enjoy in total distinction from .work. Every woman ought to have one. Women need hobbies more than men. There is an awful amount of bosh written about the education of woman and her place in the social sys tem. The sole purpose of all educa tion is to enable the boy or girl to be happy and confer happiness. This is the whole duty of man. Happiness here and forever , for yourself and those on whom you can confer it , is the pur pose of your existence. In how many systems of education , loaded with the idea of making the student fit for labor , does the all-important consideration enter of teaching him how to be happy when he is not at work , where and how to find what will surely be the greatest need of his life rest. Here and there in the world are rare exceptions to the general rule. There is sometimes a family in which the father and mother know how to enjoy life sensibly in its hours of play or rest , and around them grow up boys and girls fit to live , fit to do all the duties of life , fit to make their own lives happy and useful. From childhood they have known that life is surrounded by thou sands of wonders , whether of man's making or of God's creation. Nature and art alike furnish them with sources of knowledge and pleasure. You don't see those children dawdling around hotel drawing rooms when the family V i. are traveling. The boys may go a fish ing and the girls go hunting flowers , orboth may go together and each share the other's enjoyment. I met two of such a family the other day in the pine woods , a mile from the hotel. I did not know them , nor they me. I was digging up the bulb of a plant , and as it came out of the ground I heard an exclamation , "It is bulbous after all , Tom. " Then I sawthe bright and pleasant countenance of a seven teen-year old girl , who had come. She had the same curiosity about the flow ers which I had. Then for a while she and her brother Tom rambled along with mo. They were out for a walk. That to them meant keen enjoyment of pretty much all they saw. Trees , flow ers , animals , the very skies and clouds were more or less subjects of intelli gent observation to them. She caught half a dozen lizards as we walked along , handled them gently , examined them carefully and let them go un harmed. They talked of the lishing. He had seen me going or coming in. He knew all about the fishing in his own part of the country , and a great deal about the habits of the fish. The two , brother and sister , discussed one with another the flowers and animals. Clearly they had been brought up from childhood to take a keen inter est in the environments ef country life. And I was not surprised when she caught si ht of an engraved gem in my ring , to find that at 17 she , and at 15 he , knew enough about art to talk intelligently and without blunders. We had a very pleasant chat as we strolled hither and thither in the old pine woods ; and they two were very happy children. I doubt not they confer a. great deal of happiness and do a great deal of good in the circle in which they live. We met in the woods , and they left me in the woods , and I did not see them again. In the hotel I looked around at some hundreds of faces , and failed to see those. Nor was there any other young girl's face there which seemed to have uny ideas beyond the circle described on the floor by the edge of a skirt. The moral of this somewhat rambling letter is this : Teach your young people how to be happy , how to enjoy life , how to make others happy. Give them interests in the things which surround life. Don't send them to Europe until they have some worthy tastes and de sires to be intelligently gratified by their going. If they can not find pleas ure in studying nature and its products , don't take them to Florida. A IIUttOKIST'S EOMANCE. The Courtship of liurdette and the "Wife for "Whom He Tenderly Carried. Dccatur llopublican. Carrie Burdette , wife of Robert J. Burdette , died at Ardrnore , Pa. , Mon day. She was an invalid from her marriage , and the great humorist cared for her us he would a babe , giving her every possible comfort. Mrs. Bur dette wjis the daughter of Auren * Garrett - rett , of Peoria , and was married to Burdette some fifteen years ago. Her father was opposed to Bob , and he made the course of true love of the young couple anything but smooth. Bob was a clerk in the postoflice at that time , and Carrie was a beautiful young lady , but with a will of her own that moVe than matched that of her father. One day the old man commanded her to discard Bob. She refused and a violent lent altercation ensued. Carrie had an undefined trouble with her heait that this precipitated. She was stricken down with a spasm. They sent for Bob and he found her pale and lifeless on the sofa. Here she managed to ex press a wish that they might be mar ried before she died , and a clergyman was sent for. The marriage of the great humorist was celebrated amid tears and sighs , the orange blossoms absent and only the pallor of the dying face looking out from among the pil lows. Strange to say she immediately began to recover and soon regained her former strength. With it , however , was an unaccountable malady. A Good Well. Arkanaaw Traveler. Several days ago a northern gentle man came to Little Hock and announced his intention of buying a home. "I am not so particular with regard to the house and grounds , " said he , "as I am about the water. There must be a well of cold water. " "Think I've got the very place , " re plied an old fellow whose shirt bosom was streaked with tobacco juice. "Meet me here to-morrow. " The nexb day the old fellow came ' down and cond'ucted the northern gen tleman to his premises. "House is not very good. " said the nothern gentleman. "No , nothin' extra. " "Grounds not very pleasing. " "No great shakes. Let's try the water. " He drew a bucket of water from the well , and when the northern gentlyman dank his teeth chattel ed. "Why , that's the coldest water I ever drank. " The northern gentleman was so much pleased that he bought the place with out further questioning , seeing that the old fellow was not anxious to sell , and fearing that he might change his mind. Several days afterwards , the north ern gentleman sought the old fellow and said : "I oughjb to take a gun and shoot you , you swindling scoundrel. " "What's the matter ? " looking up in surprise. "Matter ! why that water is so warm I can't drink it. I bought it with the understanding that it was cold. " "Was cold when you bought it , pod- ner. " "But it's warm now. " "Yes , for you see , the ice has melted. No trouble to make thac water cold , podner. All you've got to do is to throw in a cart load of ice. No well is any account unless you take care of it. I'm in the ice business. Would like to have your trade. " A mule with five legs has been born in Alabama. We shall look for a large falling off in the population of that state within the next six or eight years. [ Burlington Free Press. PEATEK FOB POLITICIANS. Supplication Offered Up byB T.T r.Bri - tel In tlia Chicago Conrentlon. Following is the praver offered by Kev. Mr. Bristol upon theopening of the republican national convention at Chicago : "God of our fathers , wo adore and worship Thee , and to Theo , by Whose grace and providence wo are what we are as a nation , wo would lift our hearts in devout thanksgiving and everlasting - lasting praise. We thank Thee for our glorious national heritage , for this magnificent land of wealthy bills and fertile plains , and for the laws and in stitutions which makes it a land of pro gress and of liberty. Wo thank Theo For our Christian sires , lovers of free dom and of God ; men of conscience and integrity , whose names have jew elled history and the memory of whose deeds is an inspiration to heroism and patriotic pride. Wo thank Theo for Plymouth Hock , for Yorktown , for Appomattox footsteps to mark the progress of righteousness and the higher law. Wo thank Thee for the Declara tion of Independence , the constitution of the United States , the emancipation proclamation our blood-bought char ters of freedom. We thank Thee for the republican party and for its splen did history , and its still more splendid possibility , and now , as this great con vention , enters on a work which will in volve the most precious interests 6f 50,000,000 people and ( in a large sense ) the interests of the free institutions we devoutly and most earnestly supplicate the blessing of Almighty God. Bless the members of this body , the homes , the states , the parts of the nation which they represent , and may the ambition of patriotism , the wisdom of states manship and the righteousness of Christian consciousness possess every breast and control every action , and may the result of this convention be in harmony with the will of God concern ing us and be received with joy by the per pie of the whole land , and grant , Almighty God , that the coming politic al campaign may be conducted with that decency , intelligence , patriotism and dignity of temper that becomes a free and intelligent people. Continue Thy mercies to us ; bless our country with peace , prosperity and universal enhghtment. May we never deny the faith of our fathers ; may we never cease to be a temperate and free and industrious , a Sabbath keeping , a God fearing and a Christian people , blessed with the righteousness which 'exalteth a nation. ' " The Girl Who Elopes. The reasons for leaving the paternal roof between two days in company with a young man appear to be varied. Sometimes a cruel parent selects a hus band without asking the daughter's consent. Oftener some would-be hus band selects the daughter and the old , man won't consent , thus necessitating an elopement for the double purpose of getting married and escaping the pa ternal boot. On occasion the elope ment is necessary to avoid the revolver or shotgun of another fellow who has taken a notion to the girl. Ordinarily elopements do not take place if the course of true love meets with no ob stacle in the home of either member of the seeking-to-be-wedded couple. Girls are freakish , however , and sometimes run away to be married for no apparent cause whatever. It will be remembered that a daughter of the immortal Mr. Wardle was getting ' , ready to run away with the lamous Pickwickian without so much as sug gesting to her adorable Snodgrass the propriety of asking her father whether he had any objections to the wedding 1 taking place at home in the usual way. The sixteen-year old daughter of an ex-alderman of Long Island City has made herself famous by an elopement of this kind. She was pretty and rich , and answered to the charming name of ' Fanny. Her brother had a friend /'I named Walter , who also was rich , / good-looking and 25. Walter visited the brother and fell in love with Fanny , which , under the circumstances , was natural enough. Nobody had any ob jection to Walter or the match , and if Walter had asked for Fanny she would have been given to him. But Walter and Fanny concluded to r be romantic and run away to get mar ried. Fanny spent the day kissing her mother and wondering what in the liv ing werld she would wear to get mar ! ' ' ried in. She kissed her mother good night at 10 o'clock , went to her room , packed her satchel , met her lover , and posted to the city of New York , where they were married , after which a note was sent home , and the maternal bless ing , which they might have had by word of mouth lor the asking , was tel egraphed to them , and they went on their wedding tour rejoicing. The only explanation that can be given for this highly gratuitous elope ment is that it runs in the family. Two older sisters of Fanny have secured 'husbands by this method. Whether the mother of these eloping daugters set the example by eloping herself is not reported , but as the eloping ten dency seems to be irresistible in the blood , it is not at all improbable. If Fanny's mother has any more unmar ried daughters , however , who develop an alarming tendency to lass her on any particular day , she should employ detectives at once to shadow the over- affectionate girl , unless she wants the elopement to succeed. The eloping tendency is too strong in that family to be checked by anything short of the most rigorous measures. One of the drawbacks to the pleasure of angling is that if you bring home a string of which you are proud , some en vious son of Walton is liable to insinu ate that you caught post mortem trout. [ Lowell Courier. One of the results of the panic is the fact , cabled from London , that several wealthy Americans abroad will be obliged to return home immediately. And another that several at-home will want to go abroad. [ Boston Post. Jobbins didn't mean it for swearing when he found , one night , that his barn-door had disappeared , and re marked that it was "a door-gone shame. " [ Yonkers Gazette.