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About The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936 | View Entire Issue (July 9, 1885)
LIFE'S DAT. Into the field ot life we pass a " At early morn. The jeweled grass "With sunbeams kissed spreads at our fo t ; Aud youth , like morn , all pure and sweet And bright Is filled wiih rosy dreams ; While in the purple heavens gleam * Tlie star of fortune and ol fame , And in its ! trht we read a name O dream , most swtet , it is our own : More glorious still , it shines alone ! The sun speeds on ; the star no mor * Is seen. Illus'vts dreams are o'er. Fortune and fame so coy and fleet But mock our weary , war-worn feet Ambition's fairest prize has flown ; A name appears , but not our own. What have we then for all our pains ? 1 For all our prayers ? Are there no graina Of good to showJ Has all been lost In that our cherished plans arc crossed , And dissipated each fond dream As snow flakes melt within the stream ! Ah , no I See how our souls are filled With wealth of harvests we have tilled ; With meekness , patience , love and truth ; Blest springs of everlasting youth ; Bright jewels ol the crown within ; ' Klpc fruit of life's sharp discipline ; Of which there dawns tho twilight gray Of day that dies not with the day. George W. Crofts , in The Current. THE YOUNG TEACHEtt. It was the evening of the commence ment exercises at Mrs. Weston's largo boarding school. All was noise and excitement. The pupils were flying about in a flutter of anxiety , and in various stages of in- completed toilette. "What have you done .with mv flowers , Nell ? There , how provoking You have tipped over my powder. Your elbows are always in the wrong place ! " quoth Miss Lydia Holcamp , one of the older girls , her temper get ting the better of her. "Dear me" There , I'm ready at last. I wonder where that Miss Barker is. I want her to give mo another drilling in that recitation. I dressed early "on pur pose , and now I suppose she will be away prinking her dollylied self ! " "Dear me , Lydia. you have had more instructions on your recitation than any of the rest have had on theirs. I should think it would be better to study by yourself , and let Miss Barker have a little rest. The poor thing is overworked. " ' 'Oil , pshaw ! " exclaimed Miss Hol camp with a sneer-"she ; likes to show ofl , that is all. If she didn't like it she wouldn't be a teacher of elocution. " Thus speaking , Lydia Holcamp de parted to seek her instructress in elo cution an art up.pn winch the young lady prided herself Lydia was especially anxious to dis tinguish herself to-night , for the rea- eon that among those present ohe ex pected there would be a certain Mr. Harry Quintard , a member of wealthy family whom she had visited during her vacation. Her own father was a rich man , and the families had always been on terms of friendship. Harry and his sister she knew would conic , and failure was not to be thought of. But ' Miss Barker's services were not to be secured ; she was engaged with sonic of the younger pupils. "You can not see Miss Barker , " re marked the preceptress. "You will have no difficulty with your piece. Miss Holcamp , unless you. fail to re member certain passages. If I recol lect correctly Miss Barker advised yon to make sure of those points. Have you done so ? " "Oh ! 1 remember it perfectly ! " an swered Miss Holcamp with conlidence. "But I wished Miss Barker to show me how to fall into that dramatic atti tude which 1 like so much. " "Think of what you are aaying Miss Holoamp , and that will aid you to the expression. Miss Barker can not give all her time to one. " Lydia went pouting away. The evening anvanced , the guests assembled , and at last Lydia's turn to recite arrived. She was a girl of most remarkable assurance , and she went fearlessly on untill suddenly her memory failed'her. It was what the teachers had fear ed. ed.Miss Miss Holcamp had somo ability , they said , but ho application. She was no student. She glanced helplessld toward Miss Barker , who proniptep her. Again she went on. Again she stopped for want of words. . - At last , after several promptings , she came to the end of her selection. Miss Barker had retreated behind the draperies , sore and disappointed that one of her most promising pupils had thus failed. "Itwas all your fault , " burst forth " Lydia , "you"hateful , disagreeable thing ! I believe you were jealous , and meant 1 should fail , when you went and hid yourself away with thoae children to-night. You knew I needed another lesson. " The fair little teacher turned pale and trembled. She was not accus tomed to such language. Most of her pupils were kind and obedient. She was slim , and young , and pret ty , this teacher and a great student and worker. All the teachers respect ed and liked her. "You have made me fail , and I hope I may never see your face again ! " concluded Lydia as she flounced away. Just outside of the draperies stood a handsome young man. He heard the abuse lavished upon the young teacher , and his lip curled. "Who is the tall fair girl in grey ! " he had inquired during the evening. "Miss Barker the teacher of oloeu- > lion , " had been the reply. , He started. "Is it possible ? " said he. "She ap pears as young as the pupils. " Not one word came from Miss Baker's lips now , but he heard teach ers and scholors exclaiming that ii was a shame after the attention oho had lavished upon Miss Holcamp during the past term. Mr. Harry Quintard ( for he it was -who had overheard Miss Holcamp ) made his way to the preceptress when the exercises"were over , and asked her for an introduction to Miss Barker. "Ah , vou mustn't be making love to my pe't teacher , Mr. Quintard."said the lady , with nu arch glance and an admonitory tap of her fan. Nevertheless , Mr. Harry Quintard was presentlv seated by the side of "pretty Misa'Barker , " as.uearly all called her in the school. She looked a little pale and wearied , and Harry noticed that her hands trembled , "JNo wonder , " he thought. "It must bo very exhausting work , teaching all those great girls , " ho said. "I should dearly like to hear yoiT recite something yourself. " The eyes which looked into "pretty MS3 Barker's , " were frank and ad miring. At this moment , his sister came up to them. She looked cold , and drew her brother aside. She had left Lydia , who had recently joined her , and wanted her brother to come to them. "Lyd , " said she , "is only a teacher in the school , Hal. Come with us. " "You will have to excuse me for the present , " said Hal , who saw that others were making their waj to Miss Barker's seat , "unless you and Lydia will join us , for I lik'e Miss Barker very much. She is a perfect lady. " And Hal 'kept his word. Ho kept by the little teacher's side for the rest of the evening , much to Lydia's cha grin. "Tell me , where will you spend jour vacation ? " ho asked at parting. She colored as she replied : "I'm going to a vary lonely place in the country , and shall spend the time in working very hard. " "But why not rest ? " he added ; "you need rest , surely. "Tell mo then , " he added , "where you will go , that I may hope to see you again ? " She shook her head. "It is best not , " she said. "What ! " he exclaimed ; "have i then treated you so badly that you will never seo'me again. " Miss Barker's eyes fell , and again the warm color came over cheek and forehead. "There is a lady who was onco very kind to me , " she said , who lives very humbly among the mountains'of Cum berland , and 1 am going to spend my summer with her. In the autumn I hope to begin a new phase of my art. You see I am poor , Mr. Quintard , and depend upou my exertions for a liv ing. " She looked straight into her com panion's eyes as she spoke , and Harry Quintard read there both determina tion and pride. The expression in cluded something else , too. It said , "You know now my circumstance , and also that I wish you to know them. " Harry's eyes , however , never falter ed beneath hers. They grew earnest and ardent. "Will you give me the name of the place ? " he asked gravely , and yet in a pleading voice. * * She wrote the address upon a smal card and gave it to him. * * * * * It was a month later that Harry Quintard entered the parlor of one of the most fashionable hotels in Kes- wick. . It was a popular resort among the lake tourists , and to-night there was grand reception going on. Music and recitations were to be fol lowed by dancing in the ballroom. Someone was singing as he went in , and presently a murmur ran through the throng as a lady , young , fair aa the morn and graceful as a willow , was led forward and received with a greet ing of warm applause. What was there about this charming vision that sent Harry's blood tingling through his veins with a wild pleasure- able thrill ? Sleeping or waking he had scarcely onco lost his fair face from his mental sight since last they had met. Yet what could this mean ? This brilliant entree among people of wealth and position ? He had thought again and again of their meeting. He had fancied all kinds of rural scenes places isolated and beautiful , yet wild withal , with none but himself to ad mire the charming face and form that ' had so bewitched'him ; but to meet her thus , surrounded by an eulogic crowd this indeed he had never thought of. Later he made his way to her side. She had not forgotten him , that was plain. Nay , more , Harry saw that the surprise was also a pleasure. The rosebud face with its spirituelle light , was lifted to his , above her raiment of pale blue , and Harry knew that the excitement of her success made her radiant , yet under all that tho young man felt there lurked a deeper pleasure at their meeting. "I gave some recitations in the town near wherel was stopping , " said Linda Barker , in explanation ; "I saw tho minister there , and he arranged to give me the church. " The form of tho young artist grew dignified and jrava as she thus recorded her busi- uesn proceedings. "The people who beard me were so kind as to invitemo - to rocite for them , and so it happens I am here. I shall be kept very busy , I trust , this summer. " Mr. Quintard looked down in open admiration of this darling young girl svith her baby face. "Ihen I am to be cheated out of those coveted woodland rambles. I have been counting upon them ever since we parted. " Linda smiled. "If you knew my history , Mr. Quin tard , "you would say that I was not , jndeo.d , born for my present surround ings. " They become you so well that I could never think that , " he re plied. They were now away from the crowd. "Linda , " he said , "before I leave you to-night I want you to promise-I me something. I want you to promise you will marry me in the au tumn. " " - "But how could that be , Mr. Quin- turd ? Even were you not the affi anced of another , your family would never regard me as a suitable mate for you. " "Affianced to another ! " Harry was so bewildered that he could only repeat her words. "What do you mean ? " Before she could reply a voice sound ed at their side. They had thought themselves alone. "Yes , Harry Quintard dare you deny it ? " fc Itwas Lydia Holcamp "who stood there before them and thus accused him. him.Had Had Harry Quintard not once heard Lydia's abuse of her teacher , he would indeed have been dumb founded. As it was , he read tho game in a trico. "Yes , madam , I do deny it , " ho ejaculated , looking Lydia straight in the face. * He had heard his sister say that Miss Holcamp was sojourning in the moun tains , but he had not troubled himself to enquire where. Lydia , however , was not to be thwart ed in her purpose. "Do you deny this , too ? " and she coolly read a portion of a letter * con taining vows of affection , and having for a signature his own name. "It is a base forgery , and yoil know it , woman ! " cried Harry , al most beside himself with herj persistency. And let me tell you at | once , before you go any further , that ; I can very easily prove it to Miss * Barker , if in no other way , through my own writing. " Ho had taken tho letter from her hand. "There is a very palpable difference between this writing and my own see ! " . i He showed Linda one that ho took from iiis pocket as he spoke. Linda turned toward him a pale but trusting face. Ho was trembling from head to feet with indignation. She laid her hand on his arm and whispered : "Corno , I believe you , " and while thegirl's mocking laugh followed them they left the room. Once away from her , Harry clasped Linda to his breast. "Tell me , " he cried , "do you really trust me ? Do you know that girl fabricated that stbrv because she hates you ? " "And loves you , " murmured Linda , with downcastlids. "And in your eyes does that excuse her ? Tell me , do you loye me , Linda' darling , answer me ? " "I can not answer you until you' hear my story , " faltered Linda , draw ing away from him and sinking into a seat. She had grown pale , and her eyes were suffused with tears. "Hear the blunt truth. I am tho daughter of a coal miner. " Harry heard with profound aston ishment , it is true , but he did not start from her a smile , indeed , dawned upon his face. "Yon remind me of something which perhaps I ought to have told you , " he said. "My grandfather wa a poor carpenter , my father began his career in my grandfather's shop. From that he became a builder , and is now to be sure a rich contractor. So you see I am not much in advance of you in that respect. " Both laughed , but Linda said : "Ah , but with you all has been dif ferent. You have been well educated , and your wealth would enable you to make a rich match. I have "had to earn money while striving to educate myself. 1 worked in a factory for t\yo .years , when father died. He was killed in a mine , and as my mother was also dead , I was left alone , [ had attended the common school , and was there encouraged to recite. 1 saved .money and went to Manchester , and "worked for one year in a.factory there. While in that city I attended every free entertainment , and studied much at night. At last I applied for a posi tion to teach , and secured it. Then you met me. " "My noble girl , " cried Harry , "I would rather have you for my wife to-day than any petted idle darling of luxury that I ever heard of. " Harry Quintard meant what he said , and Linda Barker knew it. He stooped his face till his lips met hers in a long kiss. Thus the daughter of a miner and the grandson of a carpenter betrothed themselves in true modern fashion. And among the circles of fashion and art to-day there walks no more perfect lady than Mrs. Harry Quintard. Alfred Crayon. Bill Nye and the Bronze Goddess. I am in favor of a Statue of Liberty Enlightening the World , because it will show that we keep it on tap win ter and summer. We want tho whole broad world to remember that when it gets tired of oppression it can come here and oppress us. We are used to it and we rather like it. If wo don't like it we can get on the steamer and go abroad , where we may visit the effete monarchies and have a high old time. The sight of the Goddess of Liberty standing there night and day , bathing her feet in the rippling sea , will be a good thing. It may be productive of good in a direction that many have not thought of. As slie stands there day after day bathing her feet in tho broad Atlantic , porhaps some moss grown * Mormon moving toward the far west , a confirmed victim of his matrimonial habit , may fix the bright picture on his so-called mind , and re membering how , on his arrival in New York , he saw Libertbathing her feot with impunity may be led in after " ' years to"try'it on himself. Boston Globe. Where the Scorpion Gets His Poison. When he strikes you with the end of his tail , like a wasp , he exudes a ven- 4&OUS liquid , and a man might better hold a red-hot iron in his hand than to get a tenth part of a drop of this liquid into his blood. It is not neces sarily fatal , particularly in tho Baha mas ; but it condenses the heat of forty furnaces. In some parts of South America scorpion bites are frequently fatal , but I have not heard of any one having been killed by them in Nassau. This is easily accounted for. The scorpion likes to feed on decayed wood. In South America , where dye- woods and other poisonous woods abound , the scorpion feeds upon them , and thus work into themselves a good supply of outside poison , which , taken together with his naturally poisonous liquid , does its work for whoever is unfortunate enough to be stung. But , in Nassau , such poisonous woods are few , and the scorpions have to fatten themselves respectably on pine , cedar and mahogany. From a Nassau Let ter. They rocked the boat and were drowned ID South Park Lake , Chicago. This Is certainly dying as the fool dieth. THE MlLTTAKr AFl'HOE. Grant's Literary Methods and Ambitions. The New York Commercial Advertiser of June 9 published some interesting gossip about Gen. Grant and his liter ary methods. It decribes him as com pletely dominated by tho desire to finish his book , that he may leave it as a legacy to his family. Ho some times wakes up in tho night , calls for n light , jots down some remembrance , and then gees to sleep again. He sjops in tho midst of conversation to record a reminiscence. Once on awakening , after a dose of morphia , and when his attandauts thought that he'could not stand , he walked over to a chair , sat down , and in his delirium said , aa if in great surprise : "Well , this is funny. Here ate my books , papers , pictures , and furniture , yet I am in Illinois. Harrison , how did I get out , here ? Someone has brought mo here. I wonder what for. I am away from my book and no time should be lost in its completion. I suppose I shall have to make the best of""it. . But , by tho way , Washburne and Morton are com ing to dinner with me , and I have no clothes on. " "You are not in Illinois , " said one of those present. "That's all right ; I know what I am doing. Can't I see the old barn ? I know every inch of this ground. " It was the action of a mind weighted with one subject , and to this day the general does not know what occurred. Not long ago in the middle of the njght he awoke. "Harrison , Harrison , light the gas ! " 'he ' exclaimed. Tho man servant did so. "Bring me the paper and pencil. " They were brought ; he jotted down an idea , and then ordered tho lights to be extinguished. Ho was recently asked : - "What about that story of the sur render of Gen. Lee's sword ? " "I didn't take his sword , " replied tho general , "because I didn't think it would be right. Nothing was said or thought of it. " "It is usual to take the sword , isn't it ? " "Yes : but I wouldn't do it in that ase. " To the writer of this artic-le the gen eral said in the course of conversation : "I have read a good deal in my life , but I know of no grander man than Gen. llobert E. Lee. " His usual habit is to rise early , breakfast at 8 o'clock , and get to work by 9 or 9:30 o'clock. He work's steadi ly until 12 or 1 o'clock , and then takes luncheon. Until recently he had a short ride in the park almost daily. Later in the afternoon ho sometimes works for two hours again , and some times even at night for a little while. r He writes in his own room , on the Grst floor above the parlor. His writ ing-table an ordinary card-table is set about the middle of the room. Ho sits with his back to the bay-window at East Sixty-sixth street. At his right is the bureau , and further on the fire place. On the opposite sde is his bed. He wears slippers , vest , trousers , and dressing-gown. On his head he has a black sLk cap , or a mixed worsted one , as ho is subject to attacts of neuralgia. He uses a large , old- fashioned pair of hard rubber spec tacles. He generally writes with a lead pencil on common manilla paper. The general composes with great rapidit } ' , and but seldom interlines. \Vhen trying to express an idea just right he often gets up and walks around the room , although his locomo tion is strained and slow , his leg still being lame. It is thought by some that the leg which was injured when he fell on the slippery pavement was broken and wrongly set. In an adjoining room there is a steno grapher , to whom , when tho general wishes to record an idea quickly , he dictates , the stenographer taken it down. When dictating the general talks very rapidly , but tho swelling on : the neck is so large that it interferes considerably with the clearness and distinctness of his speech. The general keeps by his side many records from the war department at Washington , and in handling them ; Col. Fred is of great service to his father. The general has a great deal of confidence in the ability of the colo nel. Ho said some time ago : "For an ordinary looking man Fred is tho best informed , particularly on mili tary subjects , I ever saw. When he was in Europe he showed a great ac quaintance with the history of the countries we visited. " It was particularly unfortunate , says the writer , that Gen. Badeau , when Gen. Grant was thought to be dying , should have allowed the impression to exist that he , in great part , was the author of the book. The family was incensed at the report. Col. Fred Grant showed the manuscript to a Friend familiar with Gen. Grant's writ ing , and asked whoso it was. The jrenllernan quickly responded : "It is Gen. Grant's. " It is a significant fact that nothing mere is to be heard from Ren. Badeau. He has left the house , bag and baggage , and has not been in it for some time. When the book was completed Gen. Grant was much delighted. He took it to Mrs. Grant , and said : "Here is your book. It's all done , [ t's the only legacy I have to leave you or my family. " ; He invariably refers to the book now as Mrs. Grant's. Tho first vol ume of the book will appear in Decem ber , tho second in March. It has al ready over three hundred thousand subscribers , which insures a handsome income to the family. Thirty shaves for twelve cents is the ordinary timber's rale in India. Time is not mouev in that country , evidently. But then , the bar bers there don't have to converse in three or , four different languages and arc apt to wear 11 tie else than exceedingly brief Oscar Wilde trousers and bugs. Their rates are about aa much too low as ours here are too high. Peck's Sun. The flrst monkey ever born in this country first saw the light of day in New York Satur- 3ay. The only event of a similar nature was the birth a year or. so ago of tome Manoziques In the Cincinnati zoological gardens. The mother of the new arrival was brought from Calcutta bj a sailor last fall. Pith and Point. The man who fails for a million dol lars must command respect. New York has received as many aa 1,000UOO hananas per day. That is aa good as 500,000 slip-ups. Perry Davis is an inmate of a west ern county house , but of an eastern tomb which'cost $8,000. It may do for theologians to call it "Sheol , " but the old term is good enough for most of us in tho usual daily walks of life. No sooner did a real Boston girl re move to Chicago to reside than she dated her letters from "Chicago-by- the-Lake. " It was a Nashville cook tiiis time who mistook arsenic for baking pow der. Of course she kept them side by side on tho shelf. The consumption' ' of beer has in creased by 58.000,000 gallons in one year. Somebody's head must be get ting used to the motion. Ten yards of flirtation and n bushel of gush are mentioned by tho Boston Globe as a full seaside outfit for tho average young lady. England's big cannon booms a charge of almost GOO pounds of powder at once. Such spendthrift habits should not be encouraged in a gun. It has been satisfactorily settled that a yachtsman need not know how to sail a yacht. All that is needed is a uniform and a roll to his gait. This country imported about 18,000- 000 bottles of wine last year and con sumed 29,000,000. Nobody got hold of a bottle that wasn't "imported. " New Hampshire could put about 800 militia in the field if occasion de manded , but they would have to carry pitchforks and wear their every-day clothes. They keep finding Indictments against Ferd. Ward , but after a man has been drowned fifteen or twenty times it's no use to pour more water over him. Tho New York Evening Post gives up the fight at last and says : "Tho time has arrived for bidding farewell in these columns to Keelv and his 'motor. ' " Apples are getting large enough to twist a boy of 10 out of bed and half way down stairs at every grip , and the opportunity should not be lost by a single youth. If it can on the one hand bo called "cholera infantuni , " why can't it on the other hand be referred to as "chol era adultum ? " The infants shouldn't have all the advantage. It is believed that if Miss Dudley is kept in prison much longer she will bo driven to write poetry , and for this reason many influential people are moving to have her released. A St. Louis woman was spit on from a third-story window by a boy anil she has sued the lad's employer for 85,000 damages. The defense will bo " . " "contributory negligence. Eighty-two per cent of all the fires occurring in New York city are traced directly to carelessness. It's no won der an overworked reporter slips his grammar now and then. A chap in Arizona has improved on the idea of an art loan. He has got up a , "money loan" scheme , and only tho other day eight stage coach passengers lent him nearly § 1,000. The Brooklyn Kaqle knows of a pro fessional roller-skater with a bullet in bis head. We can't see anything odd ibout that. That's no placo 10 shoot jno of those chaps if you want to lay liirn up. Prof. Proctor says that at least 450- )00 ) meteoric bodies fall from theheav- 3ns every hour of tho twenty-four for : he entire year , and yet it is hard work .o find a chap who lias had his hat jnocked oft' Of the nine great musical composers ) f Germany not one of them had a aco an average man would like to neeton a lonely road at twilight's solemn hour. He'd count on either jeing dunned or thumped. A Chicago paper asserts that the roting man who starts out in life with he feeling that he doesn't know beans roin broomsticks has at least $5,000 : apital over ail others. No such man jver started in Chicago. Fargo has all along supposed that iho had 17,000 population , but a cen- IHS taken by the police fails to show juite 10,000. How 7,000 people ilipped out of town inside of two days s what bothers those who didn't go. More than 100 men and women over iO years of age have been injured or dlled in skating rinks within the last iix months. Most of 'em were wid- > ws and widowers who were trying to ihow off like people of 20. De'.roit' Tree Press. An Eloquent Tramp. A stupid looking-tramp knocked at he door of one ot the finest residence n Austin , and was received by tho ady of the house , who expressed some suriosity to know what he wanted. "Please , mum , give me a dime to jet a glass of bread 'sense me , I nean a loaf of beer. " "I hain't got no money , " the lady eplied. "Ain't pot no money ? Then , nadamc , you should move into a iheaper house , so you will not deceive he humble tramp by the gorgeous- ss of you residence. You are living ) eyond your means. Economy is yealth. " "Now you clear out of here or I'll ' all my h'usband. " "Cut down your expenses , madame cut down your expenses , or sooner > r later your husband will be in my ix. I had just such a wife as you , md that is what has brought me to he condition I am now in. Reduce Tour expenses , madame , and some ol hese days you may have a dime a vhole dime which may be the means ) f preventing some hungry , thirsty 'ellow mortal from oommittingsuicide ; > r it may be a quarter , a coin of the of twenty five cents , that will ipholster the dark clouds of his dcs- lairing soul with a silver-plated lining md his stomach with bock beer. Fail ady' , good bye. " Texas Siftinqs. Base ball is a game in which diamonds arc Jways trumps.- PASSING EVENTS. Tho total state school fund of Geor gia in 1884 was $5,08,454. One family arrived at Newport last week with sixty-four trunks. There is an active demand for cot tages at Long Branch this year. Nearly one-half Iho entire popula tion of BnfTulo is of Teutonic origin. Corn has gone up 25 per cent , in Monterey , Mexico , in tho last few days. . One-fifth of the legal voters of Mas sachusetts arovotrans of the civil war. The construction of a. hotel costing : $750,000 is on the tapis in Washington. Tho northwestern lumber resources have decreased 25 per cent , in the last year. year.A dude has boon defined in an At lanta court as "a fellow who is mash s " . * yi ed on himself. Mrs. Black Boar , a Piogan squaw , ! u ! \ died at tho Blackfeet reservation , i ; Montana , aged 124 years. I V The first bee-tree ever found in east- i f ern Washington territory was discov- I \ ed a few days ago near the Touchit. "A frisk , " is tho fashionable name for a ball in Philadelphia , and a theater warty of buds is a "dovo i "I1. " H " party. A lawyer named Scipio Africanus Kenner is under arrest at Salt Lako City , charged with stealing ten.thou- saiul brick. A statue of Moses in tho Bullrushes , by Herman Kein , is to bo placed at the lily pond in Fairmount park. Philadelphia. f Largo flocks of blackbirds n Los ! Angeles county , California , are prov ing a check to tho depredations of grasshoppers. ' The Dominion government has re- duced tho tax on timber in British Columbia to 15 cents a tree or 20 cents per one thousand. The Washington territory Grand lodge of Masons has declared retail liquor dealers ineligible to member ship in the order. The population of Macon , Ga. , was 12,000 accord ing to the United States census in 1880 , and is now 25,000 ac cording to the directory census. An Italalian ship has been sheathed with glass plates , to take the place of 3opper sheathing. Tho joints are \ jVs made tight by the"use of mastic. ' ! j Bicycling is now utilized for wedding i j journeys. Tho bride rides the tricycle ( ' and the groom the bicycle , or , more easily , both ride the sociable tricycle. Next to Senator Stanford's largo vineyard at Vina , Cal. , Los Angeles claims to have tho largest in tho world , covering three thousand acres. An elevated railroad train was de- laved a minute in New Yord owing to V" * tlfe fringe on a lady passenger's dress * I . jj becoming entangled with the button H on a brakeman's coat. A novel game of base-ball will bo played at Carlton , Yamhill county , Oregon , at an early day. Nine young- ladies will play nine gentlemen , who must be over 50 years of age. An exchange states that if a castor- oil plant is Kept growing in a room , mosquitoes , Uies , and other pests will not enter , or if they should they are soon found dead beneath tho leaves. Fifteen tons of grasshoppers , com prising , it is estimated , 60,000,000 separate insects , were captured at the Natoma vineyard , near Folsoni , Cal. , by drowning in the irrigating ditches. Strawberry shortcake has been served out to all the prisoners in tho Arkansas penitentiary , despite tho provisions of the constitution concern ing cruel and unusual punishment. Oae juror in Clarke county , Georgia , has caused no less than twenty mis trials , and now it is proposed to leave ft his name and those of other men who y have acted in tha same manner out of the jury lists. The Columbia Indians in "Harney valley , Oregon , are much incensed over "the recent killing by whito men of two Indian horse-thieves , and they lire reported to be holding war dances. Ihe neighboring whites are alarmed. In an account of the war between the fishermen of New Jersey and Dela- ivare The Cleveland Leader remarks in in offhand manner that New Jersey iiad better annex the three counties of Delaware , that is to say , tho whole state. There is a Hotel Boston in New Sfork , opposite the Central park , which ins alight sandstone front ornamented with blue trimmings , as if to indicate .he blue blood which is proverbially issosiatcd with the first circles of the 'Hub. " A New Hampshire court has lately lecided that a physician's horse and juggy are "tools , " and as such are sxeinpt from seizure for debt when hey are necessary to enable him to iractice his profession with reasonable A carious statistical fact has been liscovercd. There are twelve thous- i ' ind stamp collectors among children > f the New York public schools , and nany dealers in stamps. The collec- ors of buttons , old coins , and other imall bric-a-brac were not enumer- itetl. According to Bill Nye , the sign of listress for a Maine man in search of a irink is , close your right eye. hook our right foot around and back of f ' our left leg , with the left hand exe- itite tho celebrated gesture of Sam'l ot ' 'osen , and place the right hand on the j tomach. > r The Robbins family at Green's Land- ' ng , Hancock county , Me. , includes a j ioy 21 years of age , who weighs but hirty-three pounds. He talks , walks , ooks , and acts like a grown man , and s about the : height ofa'common 3-year 1 ld child. His parents have had sever- ' il offers for him , but they will not let , lim go on exhibition for "fear someone * " ' ' ] vill steal him. A gentleman from Lebanon , Linn ll lounty , Oregon , stales that the Mbn- : olian pheasants which were turned oose in that section have wonderfull - ' i ! nultiplied. Scores of half fledo-c'd 1 > heasants of this breed are seennl ° - ' uost evory day scurrying about over ( he Albany prairie. These are the / lirds which were brought from China iy Mr. Denny , formerly United Stales- I onsul there.