THE M'COOK TKTBTJMJ.
SDPPtEMENX.
McCOOK , KEB.
FACT AND FANCY.
Poannts'grow to perfection in and
around Yuma , Cal.
In .Nevada the jack rabbits have
taken to girdling apple trews.
In sonio parts of California gold It
extracted from the ore by electricity.
Eleven organ-grinders arrived at
Jacksonville , Fla.in one day recently.
By strict attention to business Ital
ian chestnut-peddlers make $1.50 per
day.
day.Prohibition
Prohibition tickets were nominated
in thirty Pennsylvania counties this
year.
Oculists think another half century
will see all Americans wearing spec
tacles.
AnElmoro , Vt , man , 42 year old ,
is reported to have eloped with a
girl1 15.
New York is manufacturing canes
as big as base-ball bats to keep the
dudes from blowing away.
There are over three thousand
Knights of Labor in Seattle and Taco-
ina , Washington territory.
"White quail are among the curiosi
ties of the animal kingdom to bo found
at Pinal , Arizona territory.
Two Mormon missionaries arc
preaching in the upper part of Pick-
ens connty , South Carolina.
An Augusta , Me. , lady has become
locally noted for possessing a head of
hair that is nearly five feet long.
There are said to bo more job-print-
ingroffices in Atlanta , Ga. , than in any
other city of its size in the south.
The Connecticut fish commissioners
have received applications for 4,531
acres of oyster ground since July 1.
Flour is selling 'for SI-75 per one
hundred pounds of first-class quality
at various interior points in Oregon.
"The authorities of Fairmounfc park ,
Philadelphia , respectfully but firmly
decline the infliction of a Cogswell
f
fountain.
Hawks have congregated by the
hundreds to destroy the mice which
have been invading the fields near
Tulare , Cal.
In grading a new street railroad at
Los Angeles , Cal , recently , a blast was
fired which loosened fire thousand ,
tons of earth.
At Emniettvillc , Idaho , work has
been commenced on a ditch that is to
furnish water for irrigating 250,000
acres of land.
The colored people of Mississippi
propose to erect at "Vicksburg a § 50-
000 monument to commemorate their
emancipation.
A Germantown Reformed minister
of Springtown , Pa. , was lately dis
missed by his church tor "fanaticism
and Methodism. "
The citizens of Toronto are said to
hope that when the next census is
taken that city will have more inhabit
ants than Montreal.
A Rutland , Vt , paper has figured
out that it costs § 14,090 per year to
keep the beards of the male population
of the town in order.
England's highest medical authority
on dyspepsia , Dr. Fothergill , recom
mends milk pudding and stewed
fruits for dyspeptic and gouty people.
nineteen hotels and restaurants in
Portland , Oregon , have recently dis
charged their Chinese help and arc
mm employing none but white hands.
Many kindergarten teachers agree
that the first choice among colors ol
all children under 7 3 ears of ago is
yellow. This admits of few excep
tions.
A Rockland , Me. , sportsman was
put gnnning the other day , and mis
taking his dcg , a little fellow with a
bushy tail , for a fox , filled him with
shot.
Ham Toy , a Sacramento Chinaman ,
who was arraigned on a charge ol
striking \voman with a hatchet ,
pleaded as a justification that she was
his wife.
Easter of next year falls on St
Mark's day , April 25 , its latest possi
ble date. The last time this occurred
was in 1736 ( old style ) , and it will not
occur ajrain until 1943.
A fashion authority states that "low-
necked dresses will be dropped at tha
opera this season. The time is fast
approaching when'the opera will be
no place for respectable people tc
frequent.
Some years ago a gentleman stop-
.ping in Cohasset , Mass. , placed a coup-
Me of goldfish in the pond on Cohasset
common. Recently the pond has been
drained and cleansed , and thousand !
of goldfish were taken out.
As the holding of the winter carnival
at Montreal is an impossibility this sea
son , owing to the prevalence of small *
: pox , many prominent citizens of To-
; ronto are making a strong effort tc
fhave the attraction held there.
1 A couple of owls have been cangh !
; in Churchill county , Nevada , which
ihave hair on their faces like a monkej
and eyes and eyebrows like a human
[ being. The body of one is speckled
' .like a trout , and that of the other it
yellow.
Mr. Cable , the southern novelist ,
'gives in his adhesion to woman suff
irago by sayingIf our mothers ar
: not fit to vote , they .ought to sto |
jbearing sons. " By this brilliant logic ,
'as our fathers don't bear sons , thej
be deprived of theivght of voting
AND HOUSEHOLD.
Farm Notes.
The Concord People and Patriot is
authority for thesuggestivestatement
that with 125 farmers to one lawyer
among our inhabitants , there are 221
lawyers to fourteen farmers in Con
gress.
The mother of a large family of in
teresting .children at Athens , Ga. ,
is honorably mentioned as having nev-
I er struck one a blow in anger. Her
I corrective is simply a , dose of castor
oil and rhubarb.
The reason for a rotation of crops
is that no two plants of different kinds
require the same substances in the
same proportion for their nourish
ment. The grasses may soon exhaust
the supply of silica. These should ,
therefore , not immediately succeed
each otherin rotation. They ought to
be followed by a crop which needsless of
silica but more of potash or some
other mineral salts.
Abscesses which have discharged and
formed running "sores should be poul
ticed with linseed meal until they
cease to discharge. The wounds are
then dressed twice a day in a solution of
sugar of lead 4 drams and water one
pint. . If there is danger of the traces
chafing the sores they should be pro
tect ed by bandages and pads and the
traces bound with sheepskin.
The average yield of wheat in the
United Stctes is 11.9 bushels per acre.
Too much slip-shod farming ; less
acreage and better culture would
make a larger average yield. Ameri
can farmers will yet learn that more
yield and less acres is the true bas.is
for success in their business. Put the
same labor and nmmire'on one acre
which is ordinarily given to two , and
the yield will bo doubled. Whatever
is obtained from the. other acre in the
way oi hay or pasture may be consid
ered clear gain , and the acre applied to
wheat will be doubly better for a sec
ond crop.
Many find difficulty in keeping celery
during the winter , while others suc
ceed well with very little care. It is
not a difficult matter where the con
ditions are all favorable. Celery needs
to be kept cool , but must not be al
lowed to freexe. It requires plenty of
moisture at the roots but the stems
should be kept dry ; and lastly , that
intended for late keeping must"not be
much blanched when it is packed.
Close Farming Pays Better Than Scratch
ing the Soil.
From the American Agriculturist.
. Our own notion is that small farms ,
well cultivated , are most invariably
the most profitable ; and hence , firmly
believe ( what has often been asserted )
that if many a farmer would sell half
or two-thirds of the acres he now oc
cupies and poorly tills and manages ,
and devote his entire time and energies
to the care and cultivation of the re
mainder , he would derive far more
profit from his labor and investment ,
with much less vexation of spirit. The
fact is , as somebody truly asserts , we
have too many farmers who are ' "land
poor" ' who have so much land they
cannot maketa. living. Paradoxical
as this may appear , it applies truthful
ly to many a naturally fertile
and productive locality. When
such farmers have learned that it
is not economy to own more
land than they can till in the most
profitable manner , so that it will pay
for the money expended in keeping it
five from taxes , weed and other in-
cumbrances , they will have solved the
problem of ease in practical rural life.
The happiest and thriftiest farmers we
have ever known lived on farms of
only ten to 100 acres , every foot of
which was made to count. On the
other hand , the farmer who has so
many broad acres that ho can not
walk over them daily where rods of
fence corners are never cultivated or
otherwise utili/.ed lives a life of
anxiety and worry. Instead of work
ing like slaves and living in a miserly
manner , in order to "run a big farm , "
or purchase "all the land that joins
them , " it would be well for hosts of
farmers to sell some of their broad
acres , concentrate their efforts upon
limited areas , and look more to the
comfort and happiness of their house
holds and the proper education of
their children. Even if large farms
were the most profitable , which we
deny , small ones are to be preferred ,
for many and cogent reasons , not the
lea-sfc oLwhich are the comfort , peace
and general welfare of the owners aiid
their families.
What Produce ! , Typhoid Fever.
At this season ot the year typhoid
fever prevails in many localities. But
it is never found unless in connection
with some violation of sanitary laws.
On some premises the cesspool is so
constructed that when it is full and
overflows the overflow will be in the
cellar of the house. We know many
such instances. This overflow is most
dangerous and should be anticipated
and'prevented ; Tnit if not , disinfect
ants and ample ventilation should be
fre'elyused until the cellar is perfectly
innocuous. And here we would throw
out a hint to those who are building
to avoid this contingency.
On some premises the sewage is so
disposed of that it filters through the
soil into the well and pollutes the
drinking water. On some the barn
yard is so near the well that it cannot
fail to pollute it. Cemented cisterns
and cisterns above ground , such as are
seen in New Orleans , San Francisco
and other places insure clean and
wholesome drinking water with only
moderate care. Life and health
can be maintained only by obedience
to established , laws , and those who
violate these laws , whether through
ignorance or carelessnessmust pay the
penalty.
Acclimation of Seed.
An experienced and successful potato
iprower of Franklin Co. , Mass. , recently
made these statements : His custom
has been to change his seed potatoes
every third or fourth year. After
many trials he is convinced that seed ,
grown from 15 to' 30 miles north of
his farm yields better than that from
other localities. He formerly bought1
seed from Maine and Canada , but the
yield the first year of planting was no
greater than from home-grown stock.
The second and third years the yield
was better than from his own seed ,
thepotatoes seeming toget acclimated ,
but in no instance has it done as well
as seed procured a few miles north of
his farm. Possibly the nature of the
soil on which the seed was grown may
have influenced the result more than
location , but our informant was very
positive that the causes were climatic
ones. He had also noted much the
same result in wheat , New York State
and western-grown seed yielding the
best the second year , but never equal
ing the'first year's product from south
ern Vermont seed.
The Old'Story.
Well ! how many cows will be kept
over this "Winter at a dead loss lor
their keeping ? * " One or more on every
farm , where the owner does not test
the value of each one. If he doesvcry
likely the brag cow will pro veto be the
poorest , A farmer told us the other
day that he once bought a lot of poor
and puny ones in a drove with others ,
and because they were so small as
compared with the most of the cows
he sold them at a low price to a sharp
neighbor who thought he could see
butter in them. They did not give
more than half as much milk as the
other cows and so they were rated at
about half their value. Sad mistake !
The first owner afterawhilegrew wiser
and sadder when he found out , lie had
sold his butter tubs and kept his milk
cows. Butter was what he wanted.
Repenting of his folly he offered double
the price he sold for , butno use ; treble
was demanded. While the pasture
lasts the cows should be tested for
their value , if kept for butter , and the
cow which will not make a pound of
butter in a day should be turned into
beef. It takes a good cow to do this ,
and it will not pay to winter any but
good cows. If a farmer wants to keep
cows for the fun of it , that is another
thing , but as a business matter , he
should know what each cow can do
at pail and butter tub. Our Country
Home.
Dipped in Angel Instincts.
A writer in the Pittsburg Commercial
Gazette says : Recently I met one of
those sweet woman so aptly described
by somebody as having come into the
world with both hands outstretched
like any distributing angel's one of
the kind who clasps tightly only one
thing and that is a cornucopia of
goodness , gentleness , sympathy and
charity , which is at the command of
every one in sorrow , need , sickness or
any other adversity. Does any one
weep ? Hers is the heart to ache in re
sponse. Is any one in need ? Hers is
the purse to be opened and emptied.
Is any one sick unto death ? She is
prompt to don nurse's cap and apron
and shaie the night watches until the
final hour comes. She is not an angel ;
no , iar from it. She is only dipped in
"angel instincts , ' ' which keep heart
open to every cry for help and her ear
alert for eventale of sorrow. A great
grief had suddenly come upon her , and
those who had been ever welcome to
pour their troubles into her listening
ear came from far and near to render
sweet condolence and gracious sym
pathy. Her self-sacrifice , her zeal in
all good works , her intelligent activity
and practical faculty had won for her
the sincere love of a very wide circle ,
and Avhen her own time of deep afllic-
bion came she was abundantly sus
tained by evidence * of devotion which
can only be the lot of characters like
lier own. Would that there were more
such women in the world carrying
benedictions by their very presence.
How to Make Oyster Pie.
Philadelphia Ledger : If the oyster
cook as long as the crust does they
are overdone ! If the pie is baked first
and filled in afterward , then the blend
ed richness of the oyster and under
crust is lost. To get the true flavor
of the pie the thickened liquor should
be put inside of the pie before it is
baked. No amount of cooking will
iutrt the oyster juice. If the oysters
iiave been simply scalded in the liquor
before it is put into the pie , and then
set away in a covered bowl , the upper
crust may be lifted when the pie is
done , and they can be put in at the
ast minute , before serving , getting
sheir sufficient heating in the boiling
Iquor on their way to the table. Even
better than lifting the crust is to lift
"the rose , " the largo ornament of pas
try which fills the center of the upper
crust , and put it in the aperture. If
the ornament is carefully put into the
centerof the upper crust before baking
: here will be no difficulty in raising it.
'rom the pie. Mace , n tew peppers and
: he same thickening of flour and butter
: hat yon may make drawn butter of ,
s put into the.liqtiorwhenit first goes
ntothepie. By this means you avoid
the tough and almost tasteless filling
of the dish usually served by that
name.
Wives and Wives.
Considerable light is being thrown
rom Chicago upon the wives of that
city and their capacities. One report
er pays a tribute to "good" wives , and
shows that there is at least one sphere
of woman's usefulness that is not over
done. The reporter started out with
the commendable purpose of finding
out on what wages an artisan could
ive and lay up something for a rainy
day. He had not gone far before he
: ound that it was not a question of
wages but of wives. A stained-glass
workman who earns § 35 a week and
aas a , ' wife and four children saves
nothing. "It costs me § 30 a month
for rent and $20 a week to set our
table. We live well but save nothing. "
he said. It needs no reporter to tell
us that man is an American. "We
live well but save nothing" is as
trustworthy for identification as
his family tree would be. A Ger
man cane chair-maker on SI 2
a week also had four children. His
family "have lots to eat and my chil
dren have never been sick a day. " In
the five years since his marriage this
man has almost paid for a $1,500
housejrind lot , and now that he pays
no house rent he lays aside $5 every
Saturday night.
These are extreme cases from a col
umn of brief interviews. A tinner
earning $10.50 a week , with two chil
dren , saves $5 of it ; a man on $21 a
week , with nine children and a broth
er-in-law to has for ,
- - support , paid a
house since his marriage , and a car
penter earning $3 a day supports
three children and saves $0 a week.
But every one of these prosperous
men chanted the praises of "a good
wife. " Most ot them knew little
about their expenses , except that they
carry home their money on Saturday
night and cannot tell where the sav
ings come from. The man who lives
well but saves nothing naturally said
nothing abput-his wife.
Growing Strawberries.
The Fruit Recorder.
The successful cultivator uses his
brains as well as his hands. First , he
takes into consideration locality. If
he has high and low .ground .and he
must use both , vanties that blossom
early and show their blossoms largely-
above the leaves , should go on "the
high , dry ground , while other sorts
that have dense foliage and blossoms ,
are well hidden by such , and that blos
som late , can go on the lower soil.
One of the most important points
is to extend the season from the. ear
liest to the latest time , and he that
advocates the growing of one or two
sorts only , like the Wilson or Charles
Downing , ignores thisimportantpoint.
Set the earliest sorts on a southerly
spot , and the later sorts on a
northerly decline , and to have
very early berries keep off all mulch ,
and what is still better , keep old
plantations running for years , smvply
giving thenr a little compost yearly to
keep up vitality of plants , and further ,
to have earliest berries grow on rather
poor soil. We have picked fruit from
an old plantation of Triumph do
Gands ( which : s a latish berry ) that
was growing in grass , as soon as from
new beds of the earliest sorts.
We grow acres of old beds purposely
to get earliest fruit , and this fruit sells
for double the ju'ice with us of later
fruit.
Sorts like the Green ProlificDowner
and Kentucky , will run largely to foli
age the first season if on too rich soil ,
if mulched , but if not mulched , will
yield splendid crops for two or three
seasons after the first year , while on
the other hand , sorts like Wilson ,
Crescent , etc.will stand heavy manur
ing and mulching. For cold climates ,
they should be qro\yn in matted rows.
Too late cultivation and working in
the fall in some sections is not bene
ficial.
So we say , use your eyes and brains ,
watch closely all these things and the
habits and peculiarities of alldiffeient
sorts , and a little care and observa
tion and practice will soon pobi , you.
The Smaller Social Obligations.
Ellen Bliss Hooker , a writer in Good
Housekeeping , hasaid a good many
sensible and practical things relating
to the smaller social obligations.
Hero is one of her latent givings-out :
"The demand of social etiquette are
such that much time is necessarily
spent in receiving and returning calls.
When once this round is accomplished
and your pleasant circle of friends is
established , it would bevell to let
those friends know that there will al
ways be one evening when you will be
at home and ready to welcome them
not that they will be unwelcome at
other times , but by this method more
freedom is gained for other things. We
all need diversion and recreation
at times , and it is a mistake
to suppose that you are always
to be sufficient of yourselves for
amusement , but theyoungwoman who
considers it her duty to provide some
entertainment for each evening ot her
life will , sooner or later , find her mis
take. Soon , what.began as a pleasant
performancebecomesto be considered
by him asarighc , and whenby reason
of other cares and duties the wife can
not always be at leisureshefinds that
by her own act she has L'lid On herself
unnecessary burdens. This custom
grows largely out of the fear that the
monotony of home life may become
irksome to one who has had the five-
dom of male colnpanionship. Let
these companions find themselves
welcome in the little home circleif they
are suitable ones , if not.then the soon
er the connection is broken the better.
The social duties you owe to your
friends are important and should be
kept up. If you would preserve your
friends you must not neglect to observe
the claims of society upon you not
for dinners or balls , but the ordinary
courtesies of life. "
Higlilafe at Newport.
Margery Dcane tells a story of high
life in Newport that can hardly bo
credited. She says that the "latest
craze" is to make pets of white rats.
Kate Claxton played at the opera
house in Newport the other evening to
a large audience , in which were a
large number of the fashionble New
Yorkers left over from the season. A
few seats in front of Margery Deane sat
a well-known society lady with two
white rats in her lap. Occasionally
they leaped to her shoulder , took a
turn around her neck or were lovingly
lield against her cheek. Some very
unfashionable ladies near by shiver
ed , one left the house , and the boj's
inthe gallery cried "Rats , rats ! "
whenever there was ? a chance for ap
plause. A young girl arrived at a
Tjoarding-school at Newport with two
white rats among the rest of her lug
gage , not caged , but treated as kittens.
ABD-HL-HAMID. :
The 3Ilsorable Existence of the Sultan of
Turkey.
; His Majesty the Sultan of the Otto
man Empire is a most high and puis-
jsant monarch. His will is Jaw and
his nod is death. He has many pal
aces : he rules despoticaj.lv.over a vast
empire ; heinakesqua ies of Pashas
cross their fawning hsjUs whenever he
looks at them ; he haffthe power to do
anything to anyone of hisA aitliu.il
subjects except recall him tolife after
he has killed him. But social pow
er he has none. His life is passed in
an endless round of official drudgery ,
nay , positive servitude. Eaeh'minut-
est detail of business , from the high
est visions of diplomacy down to the
opening of a new coffee house on the
shores of the Bosphorus , passes
through his august hands ; and each
incident of every transaction forms a
focus of intrigues which , in their ,
conglomerate mass , it would takfjj
twenty Sultans with a hundred timer !
Abd-ul-llamid's power to dis ?
arm and defeat. What time , there
fore , can he have to spare for society ?
The Commander of the Faithful may
be seen any week as he goes to his
Friday's prayer. Then , belore the
gaze of an adoring populace , through
lines of splendid troops , crowds of
brilliant aides-de-camp and pashas ,
fair veiled ladies , braying brass bands ,
and sci earning dogs there passes a thin-
faced , long-nosed grizzled-bearded pale
man in a half-closed carriage.nervotis-
ly fluttering his hands before his face
by way of salute , and receiving the
'low salaams of all in return. He hur
ries into the mosque , scarce giving
himself time to throw a half-frightened
glance round , and so is lost to view
before he can well be seen. When one
considers why that face is so worn and
pale , why those hands are so nervous ,
how the heart behind that blue mili
tary coat , must be beating like a roll
of drums , one feels grateful that one is
Tint a private individual , and not his
Imperial Majesty , the Sultan Abd-ul-
Hamid II. , living as he does ,
in perpetual fear of sissassSna-
tion. The head of the state neither
caring nor daring to assume his posi
tion in society , no other Turk essays
the role of social leadership. Not
only might such an attempt cause him
to be unfavorably regarded by his
sovereign , but the Turlchas neither by
temperament nor custom any in
clination to mix in European society.
It is too cay , too animated for him.
He is a quiet , sober , reflective creature ,
who , after his day's work likes tore-
turn to his house , put on his old sKp-
pers and his old coat , and , after his
evening meal , devote himself to con
templative smoking among bis women
folk and children. Or , if he is in a
more social mood , he will perhaps in
vite some of his intimates to smoke ,
and chuckle over childish stories with
them in the ouler chamber. Again ,
he cannot return hospitality ; the
harem system puts that out of the
question. Finally , he likes to go to
bed and to rise early habits incom
patible with social duties. The Fort
nightly Review.
A Sudden IJisc In Fortune ;
So many stories are told about the
rise of men in Wall street thai , they
seldom attract as much attention now
as they did years : mo , when specula
tion was carried on with caution.
One of the most amusing specimens of
Wall street men is to bo seen every
day on his wav to the "street" in a
brougham of hi * own , with -magnif
icent team of bays and an English
coachman on tin * box. Within the
brougham sits the speculator leaning
on his cane and looking thoughtfully at
hisvellglovr > d hands. He has a pale
and almost effeminate face , and his
manner is reserved and austere. He
is very much more exclusive and ele
gant in the manner of his personal en
joyment , 2-i years old , and in deport
ment more dignified than Mr. Gould ,
Mr. Connor , or Henry Clews most
of whom go up and down in the eleva
ted , or in yellow cabs. This young-
man had charge of a certain depart
ment of velvets in a firm on Worth
street , and made all the way from § 15
to $2.1 a week. He lived in a board
ing house on Twenty-second sheet ,
on terms of special friendship with the
landlady. His father had performed
the marriage ceremony for the land
lady in earlier years , and she kept her
eye on the clergyman's son and fed
him dutifully for § 8 a week. He had
often "played" the bucket shops and
often made very tidv little winnings.
The landlady had raiser ] § 1.000 dur
ing her many years of keeping board
ers and was about to devote it to
paying oil a mortgage on her house
when the solemn little clergyman's son
succeeded in persuading her to invest
some of it in Wall street. She was a
cautious woman and agreed to let
him have § 200 every Monday morn
ing for five successive weeks. This is
not H great amount of money , but he
happened to catch the market as it
rose , and he is with it yet. His prof
its the first two weeks were enormous
and the landlady threw all of her
money into the pool. Now he is liv-
in bachelor's chambers in the
The olc er Wall street m/-n / irfS' im
mensely amused at the SJjrictacle , for
they say that a single slump of the
market will wipe him out of existence
as completely as though he had never *
lived. Brooklyn Eagle. ,
*
K. Like , of the Lnitcf sJ " 1 * " * J *
Hotel , Saratoga , says that - Pjfrl
ness at that resost last summer gave ft
no indication of hard times , It was
noticeable that a la.Tge number of
Southern people visited Saratoga this
year. Before the war that used to be
a favorite resort with them and now ,
they are begining to return in large'
numbers.
i
( The Passing- tliu Hotel Cleric.
Charles Dudley Warner in tlic November
Harper's.
The hotel clerk has disappeared , or
'is disappearing. The faithful chron-
hicler must no to this significant change
'in American life , for it means the.pass-
Jing away of a whole order of things.
Und he notes it with a certain sad-
'ness ; for , thougv His clerk was feared
by the general pjfljlic , he was the ad
miration of tho humorist. There was
never nnyjJiing in the world before an
swering to'this resplendent autocrat
of sleeping accommodations , this dar
ling of the flashingpin , perfumed locks ,
Impudent eyes , and lofty condescen
sion. He was the one being in existence
before whom the free-born American
quailed. We have so little real aris
tocracy in this country that this dom
inating person stood "out in relief : he.
had power to abase the proud , and to
make the humble crawl into a hole.
But his hour has struck and he is
issing away , not absolutely , for the
er can still find him here and
generally only iinthosegorgeous
ss where civilization is new a id
.has the appearance ot a lacquer , and is
not of the substance of the life.
* * * * * * > *
In fact , the kind of civilization that
produced the hotel clerk is gone * or is
going also. Ho belonged to an era of
smartness and pretension which the
foreign traveler did not recognize as a-
.growing development of characterbut
mistook for vulgarity. He belonged
'
to what might bocalle'd thesteamboat
period , when the * steamboat was as
gorgeous and as a barber's saloonand
its clerk had tho fine manners and the
striking attire of the gambler , lie be
longed to the era of the table in the
hotel dining room a quarter of a mile
long , where'the waiters were all drilled
to move like clock-work at a signal
from the first officer , who stood at
the head of the table. "We can see
them now facing the table in a shining
line.half whcelingat the signal stretch
ing out simultaneously over the head
of the submissive guests a hundred
arms , seizing the tops of the vegetable
dishes , and then , tramp , tramp , with
the step of the soldier going down
theechoina floor.disappearing through
swinging doors , and anon returning
with the same military precision to de
posit a plate that weighed two pounds ,
with a bang , before each awed occu
pant of a seat. As a military evolu
tion it was nearly perfect , and the
American people were rather proud of
it. It was a magnificence which some
what crushed thembut they felt-they
were somehow a part of it , and it is
doubtful if any foreign potentate was
ever served exactly in that way. It
was very cheap at five dollars a day ,
and if there had been any dinner to
match the evolutions , we might still
be in that showy period of our nation
al developemynt. The hotel clerk had
so subdued the < pirit of the traveler
'
'that he had not perhaps much appe
tite , and lather preferred magnifi
cence to comfort. But , in time , with
other standards of tastithis pa-
jeantry vanished , and the traveler be-
an to assert his manhood. * * *
Of course there an ; still traces left of
the old civili/ation , and when the
traveler finds them they awake a train
of reflections upon the singu
lar development of democratic life in
America.
Singular 3Iirriae Ceremony.
A singular marriage ceremony oc-
cured at Churchill during the cruise of
the Arctic steamer Alert ( which has just
arrived at Halifax ) along the shores
of Hudson's Bay. The missionary ,
Kev. Joseph Lofte.house , is the only
minister there. A Miss Falding of
Sheffield , England , arrived out on the
Hudson bay barque Cann Owen , to be
come Lofteshouse's wife But when
> he arrived there was nobody to mar
ry them , there being no minister or
magistrate within many hundred
miles , and Lofteshouse was , of course ,
unable to marry himself. Capt. Gor
don of the Alert was called upon to
act in the emergency , and , although
having no leaal authorization to tit ;
the gordian knot , thought that being
captain of Government steamer ho
would be justified in performing the
ceremonies , and that an entry to that
effect in the ship's log would sufficient
ly legalize the marrage. Thereupon
the contracting parties and other in-
Imbitantsof the post assembled on
board the Alert , and tho sac-red rite
was performed by Cap. Gordon read
ing the ceremonial of the Church of
England amid a gale of wind. Tin-
marriage contract awl certificates
were entered in the logand duly signed.
Druiilceiiiiess in .Switzerland.
The people of Switzerland have be-
: onie alarmed at the great increase of
drunkenness among thorn , and ate
moving to secure a more stringent le-
jal regulation of the traffic in Intoxi
cating drinks , with a strong feeling in
in favor of a high licwisesystem. The
-xcessivtt us.e of alcholic beverages has
iaused a great increase in the number
af insane patients in the asylums
maintained at the public charge ,
: he ratio to the whole borne by
: hole due to alcoholism being " 7.1 ;
? er cent. Of the deaths in thecountrv
jne in every bixteen is said to be
ihargeableto over .stimulation.rfiv \ -
: yy'J5U ? :13 ° the populace consumed
scarcely anvHiing m the way of bev-
: ragcs but Imht wines now the middle
ind lower t.ises are great Users of
vhisky , brafc'iy and gin. The reports
) f the reform bchools show that from
t5 to 50 per cent , of all the boys and
; irls were the children of dissipated
jarents. It will require the adoption
) f a ( V"l < itutional amendment to
mng tr ngh license system into use.
The property of France , stored in
he Garde-Meuble in Paris , is said to
lave a value of round 30,000,000
rancs. It consists chiefly of furniture
; las , and china and contains amon- '
ither pieces of historical intvrost. the
jed and writing desk of Louis XVI.