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About The Columbus journal. (Columbus, Neb.) 1874-1911 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1885)
ODD SUPERSTITIONS. Strange 'toIon or People In Variooa Countries Concerning Matrimony. There is perhaps no period in a woman's life that so completely changes her whole existence as mar riage, and for that very reason she is apto be more superstitious and fanci ful at that time than at any other; and while superstitions arc fast becoming a something of the past, there are very lew women who will not hesitate be fore making Friday their wedding day or will not rejoice at the sunshine, for happy is the bride tne sun sumo vu. June and October have always been held as the most propitious months in the twelve, a happy result being ren dered doubly certain if the ceremony was timed so as to take place at the full moon, or when the sun and moon were conjunction. The Romans were very superstitious about marrving in May or February; they avoided all celebration days, and the calends, nones and ides of every mnt. Tho H9v of the week on which the 14th of May fell was considered very unlucky in nianv parts of "merry old England," and in the Orkney islands a bride selects her wedding day so that its evening may have a growing moon and a flowing tide. In Scotland the last day of the year is thought to be lucky, and if the moon should happen to bo full at any time when a wedding takes place the bride's cup of happiness is expected to be always full. In Perth shire the couple who have had their hinna mihltslipd at the ond of one and arc married at the beginning of another quarter of a year can expect nothing but ends. The dav of the week is also of great importance, Sunday being a great favorite in some parts of England and Ireland. And although an English lass would not marry on Friday, the French girl thinks the last Friday in the month particularly fortunate. Most of us know the old saying concerning tho wedding day: "Monday for wealth, Tuesday for health, Wednesday the best day of all: Thursday for crosses, Friday for losses, Saturday no luck at all." In Yorkshire, when the bride is on tho point of crossing her father's thres lmlrt nfter rp.ttirninjr from church, a plate, containing a few small pieces of cake, is thrown from an upper window of the house by a male relative. If the plate is broken she will be happy; if notshe will not expect to escape misery. In Sweden a bride must carry bread in her pocket, and as many pieces as she can throw away just so much trouble docs she cast from her; but it is no luck to gather the pieces. Should the bride lose her slipper then she will lose all troubles, only in this case the person who picks it up will gain riches. The Manxmen put salt in their pockets and the Italians "blessed" charms. It is an unhappy omen for tho wed ding to be put o'ff when the day has been fixed, and it is believed much harm will ensue if a bridegroom stands at tho junction of cross roads or beside a closed gate on his wedding morn. In England it is thought to be a bad sign if a bride fails to shed tears on the happy day, or if she indulges herself by taking a last look at the looking glass after her toilet is completed; but she may gratify her vanity without danger if she leaves one hand ungloved. To look back or go back before enter ing the church door, to marry in green, or while there is an open grave in the churchyard, are all unfortunate, and tho bride must be careful to go in at nno ilnnr :ind out at the other. When the bridemaids undress tho bride they must throw away all the pins. Woe to the bride if a single one be left about her, nothing will go right Woe to the bridemaids if they keep one of them, for thev will not be married before Whitsuntide, or until tho Easter fol lowing at the soonest. If the bridal party venture off dry land they must go up stream. The bride must, to be lucky, wear "Something old and something new. Something gold and something blue." If she should see a strange cat or hear a cat sneeze on hor wedding day then she will be very happy; and if on her wedding morning she steps from her bed on to something higher and again on to something higher still she will from that moment me in the world. For this purpose a table is placed be side the bed, and if it can stand near the dreser or something higher than it, then she must step from the, table to that which is higher. But woe betide her should she fall. In leaving the house and church she must be very careful to put her right foot forward, and on no account allow anj- one to speak to her husband until she has called him by mine. To break the wedding ring is an omen that the wearer will soon be a widow, but "Afi your wedding ring wears So will wear away your cares." Every Oilier Saturday. branches; be may excel in some one de. partment of one branch, but to do thw he must neglect all the rest, except in those points in which they bear directly on the specialty ho has chosen. Wo do not go to Louis Agassiz for disser tations on art and literature, or to Humboldt for definitions in theology and metaphysics, or to Longfellow for solutions of mathematical and astrono mical problems, or to Sir William Thomson for poetry and rhetoric. Said an eminent author and divine still living, when asked his opinion of a certain book just published: "I know nothing of current literature; I have read nothing ior me mat u jc.. Ae-assiz is quoted as saying on one oc- !nn- T haven't looked into a news FIRST PRINCIPLES. for Young ViWtvu -. paper for seventeen years, ana a in alive yet." The ordinary reader finds that he must choose, and choose severely, or he will accomplish nothing worth ac counting. He can read but one page of one book at a time, and if that page is foolish, worthless, unwholesome, vicious, he is trebly cheated and wronged; his time is gone, his mental force wasted, ana ne nas ww;u intellectual system an evil element which will work its natural course. Those are wise who allow their reading to be selected for them by competent persons until their taste and judgment are formed after the best models and they are able to choose intellectually for themselves. The mother who is careful to know that the literature lyin"- around in her children's way is nf tn. Tirht sort, that the amusements they engage in and tho companions they associate with aro negatively harmless and positively benchcial, is miimr tho lpformininr force of their wills in the direction of virtue and honor, and this guidance will continue when she rests beneath the sod. When one habitually cultivates that which is noblest in himself according to the one standard the Word of God and keeps in sympathy with thoso of the same mind, his moral choices will not be likely to be much aside of what they should be. He who loves the best authors will know how to choose the best books. The mother who is able to take a wide and comprehensive view of her varied duties to her family will see that tho most important are first discharged and then that thoso less imnnrfffnh nm not left undone. And may we not trust that when in blind ness and darkness and uncertainity, but in humblo reliance on the Divine Goodness, we arc compelled to choose wo know not what or how. He who disposes the lot when it is cast into the lap will guide our choices and lead our lect in patus or ngnteousuess auu pi.,. N. AN ANCIENT MARINER, Jr. Tribune. THE COMMON SKUNK. WHICH? A Question of T.lfe Which Never Falls to Comfort V Kvrry Day. This interrogative confronts us every dav of our lives, and often every hour in the day. Which particular industry shall I devote iny.-elf to, which pressing duty shall I discharge first, which of two days shall I choose? "Art is long and time is fleeting," and we must choose quickly or tin opportunity pre sented may he gone anil gone forever. That we all can choose and do choose every day and hour of our lives is here taken for granted, and we have neither time, space nor inclination to enter into metaphysical discussions as to the freedom of the will and the determin ing power of the choice (about which a great deal of talking is done and very little known). But if anything is here .said that mav determine the choice of any of an reader in right directions, there will he reason for thanksgiving. The housekeeper finds that in order to do certain things she must neglect other things. While she is pol ishing window-panes, she can't be cleaning silver, or brushing down cob webs, or wiping finger-marks from the nm rw tiirnmo i"inii'l nr tnnlrincr uwui.-,, . . "c 1 -- -...., bedding. ibe must constantly from a great many things that most the 1131. 1 on, " .. - . .. . matters. some of the "mint, anise and cummin" is likely to be neglected. If she is too careful of the smaller matters she may overlook and leave undone the .larger." If the housekeeper is also the house mother and housewife, a new set of choices is added, and she finds that there are'new duties oven more imperi ous than those of housekeeping. If she cares for children's minds and bodies as she should, seme things in some circles counted important must go undone. She can't embroider their clothes, and garnish their rooms, and feed them on dainties prepared by her own hands, and cultivate meir minus herself, and devote he;self to her hus band and society and care properly for everything all at the same time. There isn't enough of her, even when spread out very thin, to go around. If she has assistants. -and can thus multiply herself, of course her ability to do is nlargcd; even then she will find the interrogative at the head of this essay confronting her at every turn. The student may start out ambitious1 to circumnavigate the world of knowl- xlir Imt he soon finds that lie must choose. He can not An Interefltlnc Description of the nahltat and Habits ot tho Mephitis Mephltlca An Odorous Topic. The common skunk (Mephitis mephi tica) is found from Mexico to the Arctic regions, and is everywhere too well known to need description; its black and white color, peculiar habits, and especially its power of emitting an in tensely fetid odor at will, at once dis tinguish it. The skunk has thirty-four highly developed carnivorous teeth. This species is in more ways than one the enemy of tho farmer; it has a very decided penchant for eggs, and in some localities is a frequent invader of the chicken house. Its appetite for poultry is also excellent, but its slow and clumsy mntinn make it but an indifferent poacher in this direction. It kills large numbers of the common rabbit, and de stroys a great number of prairie hens and ruffled grouse by eating the eggs of these birds. In hard times the skunk is glad to content itself with insects, f roW and mice. This is a very prolific species, there being from five to nine youilg in each litter; they are horn in the early spring, in a rude nest built at the inner extremity of the shallow bur row dug by this animal. These bur rows arc much more easily dug out than those of the fox, being seiuom more than two feet under ground, or more than nine feet in extreme length, and having generally but a single en trance. At the end of the gallery is a largo excavation, and here in a large nest of leaves, from six to a dozen in dividuals of this species may be found lvin"- iu the winter time. Although the skunk does not strictly hibernate, it seldom leaves its burrow during the winter season, and is at this time dull and inactive, but by no means asleep. The intolerable odor for which this animal is so justly notorious, is not, as is sometimes supposed, derived from the secretion of the kidneys, but is the product of two large glands situ ated in its rear, and opening outwardly by two small ducts. The fetid scent 'is contained in aslightly yellowish, transparent fluid, said to be phosphorescent in the dark, which is secreted by these glands. This fluid the animal can, by means of a strong muscle round the gland, squirt to the distance of ten or more feet, and its aim is painfully accurate, the noisome fluid almost invariably saluting an enemy in the face and eyes. Men have been known to be made almost blind by such an encounter, the irritating fluid tirivliieinn- a most violent ophthalmia. Dos also are at times made violently ill, and have their eyes severely inflamed as the result, of their attackinga skunk. This nauseous fluid has been used to some slight extent in medicine, one drop doses three times a day having been given with marked benefit in cases of asthma, and a tincture of it bottled has beon used as a sort of smelling spirits, it being applied to tho nose when an attack of asthma was threat ened. However, the general verdict of the patients has been that the cure was worse than the disease. . The skunk has many enemies. Wolves, foxes, the wildcat and the panther all prey upon it, and several kinds of largo night owl capture and eat it whenever opportunity offers; as it is a strictly nocturnal animal, it probably but seldom falls a victim to anv species of hawk. Several tribes of Indians eat the skunk and pronounce it equal to opossum, and much superior to the flesh of the raccoon. Doubtless such is the case, as the animal is usually r . "hI very fat This Ul-smelung weasel is a Tt netnlT to be done, and while doing V "J 7 It se neglect partial' v or wholly the ?asly cap ..red in any sort of trap It t If "she attends to the weightier P1 ? W" i " " !SLJ without its being in the least tainted by its peculiar fluid. If shot behind the shoulder with a good charge of heavy shot, and so killed instantly, little" or no odor is appreciable, and if caught in a heavy dead fall, and so jat once crushed to death, one's nostrils are not at all outraged, and it is a more pleasant animal to skin than a recently Killed mink. The skunk has frequently been tamed its odoriferous glands be ing destroyed by an operation and makes a gentle and playful pet, becom ing very fond of those who feed and caress it, Ralph W. Seiss, in Country Gentleman. Aa Article Full of Instruction Mechanics. A well-grounded knowledge of the great law or principle of conservation of energy should be taught with the multiplication table. It can be so taught if the teachers themselves aro certain that there is in the universe only so much energy, and that we can not make one particle more than al ready existed. With a clear under standing of this principle, no time m ll be wasted in search after perpetual motion machines, and fewer mistakes will be made by really earnest seekers after improved machines for use or im proved methods. When a young man brings to me some wonderful improve ment over the ordinary crank motion, some device that is to supersede the crank of the steam engine, a feeling of utter helplessness couys over me; I know not where or now 10 uegm; has had no opportunity to learn the simple laws of mechanics, and to point out the fallacv of his argument means to teach him the laws of mechanics, so I can only say to him, "Don't" and may advise him what books to read. We hear or read almost daily of the wonders of science, and what is to De accomplished by electricity. "It is to be the great power of the future. Is it a power now? We may use it in directly to drive machinery, we may make use of it to propel the cars on our street roads, but is it a power in the sense that steam is a power? Let us think of this a few moment?. e call steam a power, and our factories are driven by steam power; or we call water when falling a power, and wo drive the machinery in other factories by water-wheel-; or we pump water in to tho reservoirs atFairmount by water power. Where we have no fall of water, and where fuel is scarce but wind plenty, we grind corn in a mill driven by wind, and the wind is our power; these and other sources of power may be called primary powers. cnnn,inrv nnvir is that which 13 transmitted from the prime motor to a machine. One machine may be driven by belt power, and another may be driven by gearing, etc. Electricity, as we now use it, as a power must bo classed in its greatest economy with the secondary powers, w'.th the belt or the n-earin not with the steam engine and the water wheel. We djg from the earth coal that contains the stored up onery of the sun's heat expended on forests that existed long before man came to live on this planet. e burn that coal under our boilers, and the steam generated by this applica tion of heat to water is used to drive tho piston of the steam engine, and from thence is the power conveyed by belt or gearing by shafts, or even by electricity, to the machines to be oper ated. We can burn up zinc in costly acids, and generate electricity that can be used to drive an electric engine, and so in turn operate machines exactly as in the case of the steam engine. Inthiscaso electricity is a power exactly as steam is to be considered as a power; and what is more, the electric battery will give us more nearly the whole of the stored up energy of the metal eaten up in the battery than the most improved steam engine can give us of the storod up energy of the coal that is devoured ?n n.n fnmaees under the boilers. With all this advantage electric batteries are not used to drive machines with any hope of economical results. Zinc has been gathered from the earth as an ore, it has been converted into a metal, or the metal has been gathered from the ore by means of coal and much labor; its market price is measured by the cost of its production. To burn up zinc at five cents a pound in acids costing but a few cents per pound, with a certainty of getting from the metal seventy or eighty per cent of its theoretical energy in motive force, yet makes the venture a more costly one than the burning of coal under a boiler with the knowledge that we aro at the best getting but little more than ten per cent of the theoretical 'power that lies hidden in that coal. The elec tricity that is now lighting our streets, the electricity that is utilized in places to drive the street cars, has behind it the steam engine or the waterfall, the windmill or some other motor. By means of a steam engine we drive a dynamo electric machine, and the electricity thence proceeding lights our streets, or may be reconverieu, wmi some loss, back into the power that created it; for one dynamo machine can be made thus to drive another, the electricity being carried from one to the other by proper conductors. What, then, is electricity as wc now use it in the way of power, but as the belts and the gearing that carries our steam power to the machines? It is a belt with more or less slip. But this is not to remain so forever. ;The future of electricity as a power is full of promise. The coal wj now squander, using but a small per centage of its theoretical dynamic force, is capable of 3'ielding its energy either as heat or as electricity; and the time will come when we will not burn this coal to boil wa ter, and in that boiling lose say 1,000 units of its heat at the moment of the conversion of water into steam, lose all this, never to be getting it back, but wc will take from the coal its energy in the form of electricity we hope in more near ratio to its true value, and then we can convert that energy into what soever other form of energy we may re quire. The best that science can do is to point out just what energy there is in this or that source of power. The most wc can hope to utilize of this en ergy as power will never amount to 100 per" cent Nature gives us nothing without exacting something in pay ment A pound of water is the same as a a pound of metal so far as its power of gravity is concerned. In falling through snaee it will exert iust as much force as any other pound weight is capable of doing, and no more; it will do the work due to one pound falling at any given velocity less the friction of the machine or of the moving parts. We turn water into steam with a certain knowledge of the power that can be gained by using the elastic vapor as a spring, or we may tear the gases, which combined from water, apart, and use these gases in recombination to produce power, but less power than was taken to tear them apart, never more. Science has made us so sure of these facts that we can base our faith on them, and with this knowledge wc are willing that others than ourselves shall invest0 their money in machines which arc claimed to be able to develop from live drops of pure water inclosed in a ball, power enough to propel the larmst steamship across the ocean. It is iTiorauce of the unalterable laws of physics that leads ignorant people into Visit little From an Inhabitant of s Zalnnd in the Atlantic. An elderly man with grizzled locks and an "I-am-a-sad-sea-dog" expression on his sun-burnt face, sat besido a Tribune man, the other day, in the rotunda of the Grand Pacific. He gazed intently upon the busy scene, and every time the bell rang and the cry of "Front" issued from the clerk's lips he gave a start Presently he turned to the reporter, and, in a strong Celtic accent, said: "You've gotten a gran' pl-?.-ace here" "Indeed we have," said tho Tribune man. "You are a stranger, I pre sume''" "Yes," said the old man; "I'm from a very fa-a-r land." "From Ireland?" XXOl J.I1I5 WU3 a Utwutu giuut w dissatisfaction. "From Scotland?" "Well, yes and no. I'll tell you where I'm from. I'm from St Hilda." The reporter had often heard of that far-away island, the Pitcairn Island of the Northern Atlantic, which is shroud ed one-half of the year in mist and rain, and the other half with spray that is dashed up on its rock-bound shores; but this was the first man he had ever met who had been there, and felt as if he was speaking to an inhabitant of another world. No wonder the old man had the smell of the salt "sea focine" upon him. The wonder was that he was not a second edition of Lot's wife. "Yes," continued he, "I come from St Kilda, and my name is John Borsen. A sister of mine married one John Macdonald, of Stornaway, and he emigrated to near Winnipeg. So when they sent me money to come over and sec them before I die I just come, but I'm too old to stand it now, so I m o-oin"- home." All this was said in a sort "of broken English, and with an accent such as Shiela in the "Princess nf Thiile" must have used. The re- and -- excel in all One year ago," says the Chris tian Advocate, "we announced the names of certain writers of special articles. Though the number was small, four have 'gone to the still dwelling.1 The first to fall was that eminent physician. Dr. Willard Parker, of New York; the second, Isaac P. Cook, D. D., of Baltimore; the third. Bishop Simpson; and the last Bishoi. Wiley. The only one who had com pleted his article, was Isaac P. Cook, who finished it and his life almost at the same time-" cnnonrfnrincr monev on so-caiieu w on- derf ul inventions that out of nothing, ar,fn trir-A us oT-eat results. An igno rant man will spend his time pondering over perpetual motion machines, so will a man with brain gone wrong; the first will quit his foily with more learn-in"-, the second finds his home in tne matlhousc. A third and worse class aim to deceive, and, for a time, many a one has done so. When shrewd igno rance resorts to dishonest methods, the confiding public is apt to suffer in pock et Coleman Sellers, in Scientific American. John Van Wert, of White Lake, N. Y., was stung by a hornet at the bass of the brain, and since that time has besn blind and helplsaa. Buffalo press porter asked Mr. Borsen to jrive him some information as to St. Kilda, which with the "ahs," and "ohs," and "don't you sees," and "of course you'll be .nv" linino- eliminated, was as fol- lows: "We're getting fewer and fewer ev crv year at St. Kilda, and there's now only about a hundred people on the inland. This, we are told, is because we marry-our cou.-ins. That I don't know. At any rate, it is not the old people that die, but the babies between two months and a year. It is about eighty miles from the mainland, and twice" a year a ship comes to us and supplies us with what we want, and takes away birds' feathers and the oil we get from the sea birds. We have oneminister on the island, and he be longs to the Free Church, and he is also the schoolmaster. Formerly we had no glass for our windows, except we got the glass from a wrecked ship, but'somo good people on the mainland sent us glass, and wc also have iron roofs on our houses now. They have tried to get us to leave the island, but none of us will do it" "How do you catch the sea birds:1 "The wav we do it is to drive a stake into the brow of the clifl. and tlicu throw a rope of cowhide over, lue man then descends and catches the birds with a net" "Manv accidents?" "TCn. never that I know of." "Do you have many shipwrecks?" "O. avc. nearly every year; a sometimes the men are saved and sometimes they are not Once upon a time a Spanish man-of-war was wrecked at St. Kilda, and that is the reason so many of us have black hair and eyes. In these days very few ships ever visited us." "Who does the island belong to? "It belongs to the Laird of Dunve gan, Macleod of Macleod." "How do you pay rent?" "We pay rent in feathers and oil. He's a good Laird, is Macleod." Chi cago Tribune. WEDDINGS IN ITALY. A Poetical Reporter' Account of a Mar riage in Naples. Now I am going to copy from the Corricrede Maltino (Morning Journal), of Naples, the notice of a wedding ac cording to the customs in the rural parts of Southern Italy, where there is no allocation. Let us say mat tne writer of the notice is poetical and in dead earnest: "Let us twine the perfumed lotus lotus, the lover of shady springs and fountains with which to crown the beautiful and well-beiovcd bride, and that bride is the adored Signorina Ter esina Addimandi, who has consecrated and fulfilled with willing sweetness her chaste vow of love. The groom is p.icnii-ile. the second son of the Baron of Grella. The wedding took place at Carifi, on the 5th of November. Both of these new worshippers of Hymen are in the happv springtime of life, and unite the most beautiful gifts of mind to the amplitudes of fortune; she I translate it literally from the Italian, and ought to emphasize the -she' and the he,' but in the whole font of the Jot'rnal ollice the only italics fitting type for this translation arc to be found in the weather reports of the When she is full of grace, wit, talent and modestv; he is endowed with a stron"-character and noble sentiments. "Married at Carifi, the newly-wedded pair and invited guests were in ten carriages, and these Stately vehicles were flanked on cither side by twenty cavaliers, richly dressed young nobles, gentlemen of the neighborhood and there were other line cavaliers who heralded the procession as it, over hill and through winding valley, journeyed on to Stevcno, where the Baron of Grella resides. A large nuinuer oi villages ami hamlets are on the wa', and at the entrance of each one :i triumphal arch had been erected by the villagers and peasants, and, to pass under these arches of triumph, wedding processions, according to an ancient custom preserved in these rural ham lets, must pay a good round sum. " At Sturno an immense crowd of holidav-niakers in their picturesque lo cal costumes welcomed tne rauiaiu couple, while the Cavaliero Angelo, the Baron of Grella (the father of the new husband), joyously welcomed liis children. The Baron of Grella is one of nature's noblemen, in whom gen tillcza e virtu son doti antiehc ' high breeding and virtue arc of ancient heritage. The vast halls of the baronial pal ace sparkled with gold in the midst of clouds of flowers, and for four days the festivities were kept up by means of sumptuous banquets and splendid balls. Every one wished the newly-married pair a long life as long and as deep as i Mu affection which has united them." (Then follow some lines of poetry with which the writer of the wedding notice takes farewell, and which I leave to Riley to put into rhyme and metre, but tie prose of which is : O, couple loved of Venus, farewell, tender lovers, . iL Tranuuil aud sweet ever bo thy pleasures: May the fates, cheating the flight of destiny. Weave slowly the thread of your happy days. May dreams or love soothe your sleep: May kisses of love cnann your awaklnsr, Aud iuthc bosom of happiness in your bea- tirul home. Free from care, may all your hours glide smoothly. There, then, is a country wedding for you among the upper classes in the rural naris of Southern Italy. Cor. In- I diauapolis Journal THE LIMS-KILN CLUD. Result or Kcpcrl-tifiit on Varl-mi WentnrK by l'r.if. Z-iUi -offiT .-Uiortr.ii-Jt. As soon as tbe meeting opened Brother fcinlmir announced that Prof. Zolli- coffcr Short t-.ieV-. of Meridian. Miss was in the anteroom. The Professor camo this way to give the various local members of the club the benefit of his experience in compounding cures for chilblains, boils, ringworms, etc., and for the past three days had been experi menting on a number of individuals. He had been asked to add' ess the meet ing on the subject of "Diseases, Ail ments and Thei r Preventives and Cures." and when the hall was ready for his re ception ho entered with the air of a man Eerfectlv at home in the highest society. e would doubtless have handled his subject in a thorough aid able manner had not somethiag occurred to pre vent it Samuel Shin came limping in as the Professor took the platform, and de manded a chance to be heard. The stranger ha J sold him a box of salve for two dollars and warranted it to knock his chilblains sky-high in six hours. In stead of the chifblains it was Samuel who had been elevated about seventy five feet, and he felt that he was still rising. His feet had been made so sore that locomotion was hardly possible, and the pedals which formerly slipped into No. 12 boots without any effort could not now be induced to enter a six-inch stove-pipe. The Hon. Oliver Cromwell Asbestos followed Brother Shin. He had for years been troubled with a wart on his nose. The Professor had taxed him one dollar for a small phial of liquid, and warranted it to run that wart into the back counties inside of a day, and that without pain to anybody. He wanted the club to gaze on his nose ! Indeed his face was all nose, aud the nose was all wart. Three different re putable physicians had plainly told him that he woiiild never be pretty again. The innocent-looking Pickles Smith come third. For the last five years he has had a scar on his scalp, bein the result of a blow from a stick of wood in the hands of his devoted wife. The Pro fessor offered to remove the scar and cause a new urowth of wool over tho spot for the small sum of seventy-five cents. Piikles handed out the solid cash and bowed his head to the yoke. He wanted the club to gaze on that head, and pulled off his cap to give the mem bers a fair chance. Two-thirds of his wool had vanished, and the other third was just d'ing to pull up stakes, while the scalp resembled a dude's crushed strawberry evening vest. The Professor had been dreadful un easy from the outset, and as Brother Smith exhibited, his head the man of cures made a bolt for the door. Before reaching it he was seized and flung down, and by the orders of Brother Gardner he was searched. An inspec tion of his pockets brought to light thirty cents iu cash, a remedy for bad breath, and various receipts for salves and liquids. The money was divided among the three sufferers, and the Professor was then escorted to the alley door and given a start in the world. As Giveadam Jones was the starter, and a he had on a new na:r of co.vh'ules and plenty of room to sw.hj: Ii:s K the send-oll" was probably all that could be desired. "Which goes to prove," said Brother Gardner, as the hall recovered its usual order, "dat, while we mus' put mo' or less confidence in human natur as we pass frew life, de man who buys a jack knife widout tryin' de blades on a shin gle may fin' whittlin' harder work than hoein' co'n." Detroit Free Fress. MISCELLANEOUS. Colored gems in bridal jewelry arc n longer considered fashionable. The foreign telegrams to the Lon n i mtx. including long letter from K . 0511X1. cost onasiiigleday recently - V). At the burning of tho Brickett House, iu Haverhill, Mass., a baby was thrown out of the window and feather beds were carefully carried down-stairs. Boston Globe. Gloves do not appear to have been worn in England before the end of the tenth century, and their manufacture was at that time confined almost exclu sively to Germany. The House of Representatives of Vermont refused to increase the Gover nor's meager salary to 92,000, but added $500 to the present amount and made it $1,500. Troy Times. An English magistrate has refused to fine a vounsr woman for using ob scene language, because "tho womaa bad really used no worse language than he had beard magistrates wno sat; on the bench use at their clubs, of an evening-" A letter from Ascencion, the capi tal of Paraguay, gives the surprising in formation that of the 300,000 population of the Paraguayan Republic only 80, 000 one in ten are men. The 270,000 women are the farmers, producers and laborers. They work slavishly and are verv poor. While the men sit at home and drink and smoke, the womeu inde fatigably toil ami support the families. A most inopportune dislocation of tho jaw is recorded atarconnt wedding. It seems that during the performance of the ceremony the bride sneezed bo violently as to dislocate her jaw at tin critical moment when she sliouiu navs pronounced the solemn oui. As she wrts unable to articulate the word it was found necessary for the whole party to repair to a surgeon before the ceremony could be completed. Union Musicak. Mulhall, in his "Progress of tho World," writes that in effect the inven tion of machinery has given mankind an accession of power beyond calcula tion. The United States, for example, make a million of sewing machines yearly, which can do as much work as formerly required 12,000,000 women working by hand. A single shoe factory in Massachusetts turns out as many pairs of boots as 30,000 bootmakers in Paris. Boston Journal. A writer in the Detroit Ncias states that the great Lake Mistassini, which a Canadian explorer claims to have dis covered, was visited by Charles Albauel, a Jesuit father, in 1672, and described by him in his letters to his superior. As the letters are quoted there does not seem to be any doubt about the matter. The Canadian explorer is too subsequent by two centuries. Besides tho lako is not a quarter as largo as he says it is. James Harnett, a lunatic much giv ing to sing "Sweet Violets," escaped from Ward Island, New York, the other morning. He opened the outer dooi with a key he had manufactured out ol a comb. Reaching the shore he made a raft oifi: of a few floating logs and em barked for a perilous ride over Hell Gate. He landed on Long Island, near Astorio, and rushed through the streets yelling at the top of his voice. He was recaptured. N. Y. Herald. USEFUL COSTUMES. YOUR BEST TIME FOR ACQUIRING A PRACTICAL EDUCATION IS NOW. GO TO A. & I. TURNER'S BOOK AND MUSIC STORE -FOR THE- BEST I GOODS -AT- The Lowest Prices! fd VI SUCCESS. A DECIDED THE FREMONT NORMAL AND BUSINESS COLLEGE, AT FREMONT, NEU., Opened successfully October 21, with ten teachers and n good attendance, w ich doubled durim; the tirt five week!., and i Mill steadily i:n-re.iiinr. Klftv Students in the HuMiiess Uolleire Mid Short-hand Classes: nearly titty in the Normal or Teachers' Duptrtiiientund common branches, and a good attendance in the Music and Art Departments. CONSULT THE FOLLOWING ALPHA BETICAL LIST. OYSTERS. The Facaltj. PRESIDENT JONES has had over twenty years experience in Educational work. PROFESSOR HAMLIN, Principil of the Business College, has had over fifteen years' experience and is a Superior Pen man ind Expert Accountant. PROFESSOR MOHLER is an original aud inspiring teacher in the Natural Science and Business Department. PROFESSOR LAWTON, or Ronton, Mass.. is a superior instructor in Music. Miss Sarah Sherman, of Chicago, is an artist of rare talent and skill, and a mo.t successful Teacher. Miss I.ydia L. Jones and Miss Jesir Cowles .ire grad uates. of the Northwestern ITnhersity, and able teachers. Mr. A. A. CoaIo i. a practical short-hand reporter am! an adept at type-writing. Tin- other teach ers are thoroughly quali tied. EXPENSES VKBY LOW. Tuition for fifteen weeks $."i. Hoard costs from $2.."H) to f! ik) a week. In clubs and by sc lt-boarding it co-U less. Places can be found for several more students who wish to pay part or whole ot board by housework or chores. No Vacation. The WINTER TERM ol l." weeks will begiu Dee. 30, but students can kntki: atanytimk, and are doing so contin ually, paying charges only from time of entering to time of leaving. For particulars auures mi- uuuki signed V. V. JOSE. A. 31.. Prest. of Normal College, Fremont. NI. :2-lir.. ALBUMS Arithmetics. Arnold's Ink (genuine). Algebras, Autograph Al bums, Alphabet 11 ocks. Author's Cards, Arks, Accordeons, Abstract Legal Cap. BRUSHES, Baskcts.Uaby Toys, Books, Bibles, Bells for boys. Blank Books, Birthday Cards, Basket Buggies, boy's Tool-chests, Balls, Banker's Cases, boy's "Wagons, Sleds and Wheelbar rows, Butcher Books, Brass-edged Ru lers, Bill -books, Book Straps, Base Balls and Hats. CAI1IF., Cards. Calling Cards, Card Case-. Combs. Comb Cases. Cigar Ca ses, Checker Board-;, Children's Chairs, Cups and Saucers (fancy) Circulating Library, Collar aud CuU Boxes, Copy Books,"Christmas Cards, Chinese Toys, Crayons, Checkers. Chess-meu, Croquet sets. lMKtlEMTIC Sewing Machines, Draw ing Paper. Dressing Cases, Drums, Diaries, Drafts iu books, Dolls, Dressed Dolls, Dominoes, Drawing books. school Erasers The Oyster Industry or America and That of Europe Compared. The oyster industry is rapidly pass ing from tho hands of the fishermen into those of oyster culturists. The oyster, being sedentary except for a few days in the earliest stages of its exist ence is easily exterminated in any given locality, since, although it may not be possible for tho lisherman to rake up from the bottom every individual, whole sale methods of capture soon result in covering up or otherwise destroying the ovster banks or reefs, as the communi ties of oysters are technically termed. The main difference between the oyster industry of America and that of Europe lies in the fact that in Europe the na tive beds have long since been practic ally destroyed, perhaps not more than six or seven per cent, of thp oysters of Europe passing from tho native beds directly into the hands of the consumer. It is probable that from sixty to seventy five per cent, are reared from the seed in artificial parks, the remainder hav ing been laid down for a timo to in crease in size and flavor in the shoal waters along the coasts. In the United States, on the other hand, from thirty to forty per cent of all the oysters consumed are carried from the native beds directly to market. The oyster fishery is everywhere carried on in the most reckless manner, and in all directions oyster grounds are becoming deteriorated, and in somo cases have been entirely destroyed. It remains to bo seen whether the Governments of the States will regulate the oyster fish eries before it is too late, or will per mit the destruction of these vast reser voirs of food. At present the oyster is one of the cheapest articles of diet in the United States, while in England, as has been well said, an o-ster is usually worth as much as, or more than a new laid eg. It can hardly be -expected that tHe price of American oysters will always remain so low as t present; but, taking into consideration the great wcaltTi of the natural beds along the en tire Atlantic coast, it seems probable that a moderate amount of protection will keep the, price of seed oysters far below the present European rates, and that the immense stretches of sub merged land along our coasts especially suited for oyster planting may be util ized and may be made to produce an abundant harvest at much less cost than which accompanies the complicated system of culture in France and Hol land. G. Brown Goode, in Scientific American. The First Newspaper Illustration. According to a book on the subject just published in London, it appears that the effort to illustrate important or special current events was much earlier made than" many are aware. Tho first attempt to illustrate the news of the day seems to have been made in 1fi07. when a tract on "Woful News from Wales" curiously illustrated & flood that occurred in Monmoutshire. Another tract, in thesameycar, pictures Hoods in Somersetshire and Yorkshire. There were others, in 1C12 and 1613, illustrating, among other things, the burning of Tiverton and "The Wonders of this Windie Winter." Favorite sub jects with those early wood-cutters were murders, battles and floods, with now and then a supernatural flight, whether of ghost or meteor. There were some very good cuts in 1641 and 1643, one or two counted worthy the pages of a modern illustrated paper. The fir paper that attempted regularly to illus trate features of its news was the Mer curius Civicus, published in London during the civil war. War maps were published as early as 1701, when the London iW gave an outline drawing of the seat of war in Italy, and in 1746 the Dublin Journal gave a plan of th battle of Culloden. .Eicm nge. mom The Vermont Legislature bill to a! low women paying taxes the right to voto was defeated How Skirts arc Mado and Finished Now Some UlnU for Drcamnakers. There are many methods of plaiting skirts nowadays. They are kiltod, side pleated, single, double and triple box plaiting, aud what is still bettor for woolen goods they are accordeon plHt'd by tho Kursheedt accordeon plaiting machine with such pressure that the plaits remain intact so long as the fabric lasts. The Greek plait is also new and can be formed in either medium or largo fold. A simple plan for makinga woolen costume is to use double-width material for the skirt. This is passed around the figure and has only one seam, that in tho back instead of the usual gored breadths ; all the fullness is massed in layers of plaits that fall in with the placket hole behind. Darts are taken in the top of the front and sides to make the skirt fit smoothly over the gored foundation skirt. The lower portion mav be finished in any desirable style. One authority states "that winter toil ettes will have the skirts merely plaited at the back, the breadths being then al lowed to fall loose over a simulated skirt, which is edged round the foot with a narrow flounce or fluting. This is the nearest approach to simplicity achieved, for the front and sides of many skirts are trimmed or draped more or less elaborately. A stylisii skirt is made perfectly plain and round and is about two yards and a half wide at the foot. It is pleated in large hollow pleats, fastened down at the waist nly. Over this skirt i draped a narrow searf, which turns off over the hips, is tied at the back and falls over the skirt in two lapels. It is very stylish. A practical suit for November wear is made of plain French sansparell poplin combined with a figured variety, which has just been introduced. The ground is in the same shade as the plain sans parell poplin, while the figures are small embroidered dots like eyelets, some times three of them grouped to ether wilh attractive effect. The suit w made after Deniorest's model. Tlit Uains fonl eo.tume of dark blue, plain poplins for skirt, hich has box-pleating at lower edge, and is trimmed with five rows of silver plaid-braid. The over skirt is of the embroidered French pop lin in same rich blue and has revcrs held in position bv a row of antique silver buttons, while the edges are bordered with a band of the tinscl plaided braid. The tight-fitting vest is of plain poplin, closed with silver but tons and trimmed with a band of braid down rout and about lower portion. The jacket is tight-fitting, with fronts verv much cut away and the extension in the side forms and baek pieces laid iu pleats on the inside, below the waist line. The coat-shaped sleeves and stylish jacket are of the embroidered French poplin. The hat worn with this costume is in navy-blue felt, has a high crown and rather broad, slightly up turned brim, faced with silver plaided braid and trimmed about crown with rows of the same, each row being secured by a buckle in antique silver, matching the handsome buttons on rovers and securing rest. Philadelphia Times. UNION PACIFIC LAND OFFICE. Improved and Unimproved Farms, Hay and Grazing Lands and City Property for Sale Cheap AT THE Union Pacific Land Office, On Long Time and low rate of Interest. tSTFlnal proof made on Timber Claims Homesteads and Pre-emptions. I3TA11 wishing to buy lands of any de scription will please call and examine my list of lands before lookini: elsewhere igTAU having lands to sell will please call and give inc a description, term , prices, etc. I3TI a'so am prepared to insure prop erty, a I have the agency of several first-class Fire insurance companies. F. V. OTT, Solicitor, speakt German. WAJIHEI. C. SMITH, 30-tf Columbus, Nebraska. KJJYKLOPKS, Elementary books, Erasers (blackboard), (rubber). FICTIOX Books, Floral .Mbums, Fur niture polish. iiKAMMAKK, Geographies, Geome trics.Glove boxes, toy Uuns,G roscopes (to illustrate the law's of motion). ia,tKlKK'S Readers, hand-tome Holi day gifts. Hand-glares, Hobby-horses, Ilatul-satchels, Histories. l.'liS, (all good kinds and colors). Ink stands (common and fancy). JKU'Eli Cases, Jews harps. KKGS of ink. Kitchen sets. I.EIM2EKM, Ledger paper, Legal cap, Lunch bankets, Lookingglasses. 3&AKOX & Hamlin Organs, .Magnets, Music boxes, Magazines, Mustache cups. Mouth organs, Memorandum, Music books. Mumc holders, Machine oil, Mats, Moderator's record, Muci lage, Microscopes. KFUI.i for sewing lindanes. Note paper. OKUA.N, Oil for sewing msihines, Organ stools, Organ seats. 1EKICIICAI.S. Pictures, Puzzle blocks, Presents, Picture books. Piano, Pens, Papctries, PeiiciN, Purses. Pol ish for furniture. Pamphlet eases. Paper cutters, Paper fasteners. Picture puz zles, Picture frames. Pocket books, Perlumery and Perfumery cases, Paper racks, Pencil holders. KEWAKD cards, Rubber balls, Rub ber dolls. MCHOOEi books, Sewing stands, School Satchels. Slates, Stereoscopes and pic tures, Scrap books. Scrap pictures, Sewing machine needles. Scholar's com panions, specie purses, singing toy canaries, Sleds for boys, Shawl straps, Shell goods. TELGKCOPfX Toys or all kinds, children's Trunks, Thermometers, Tooth brushes (folding), Tea sets for girls. Tool chests for boys, Ten-pin set for boys, Tooth picks, Tin toys. VIOLINS and strings, Vases. 1VOODBRIDGK Organs, "Work bas kets, "Waste baskets, Whips (with case), "Webster's dictionaries, Weather glasses, Work boxes, AVhips for boys, Wagons for boys, What-nots, "Wooden tooth picks. Mil Street, "Journal" Building. SPEICE & NORTH, General Agents for the Sale of REAL ESTATE. Union Pacific, and Midland Pacific R. B. Lands for sale at from 3.00 to f 10.00 per acre for cash, or on five or ten years time, in annual payments to suit pur chasers. "We have also a large and choice lot of other lands, improved and unimproved, for sale at low price and on reasonable terms. Also business and residence lots in the city. "We keep a complete abstractor title to all real es tate in Platte County. 621 COLVMBIJS, WEB. LOUIS SCHREIBEE, BlacMffiaiWaioiMaKer ft The Story of an Egg. Of an iron egg in the Berlin Museum the following story is told: Many years ago :i prince became aflianced to a lovely princess, to whom he promised to send a niagtiificent gift as a testimonial oi his affection. In due time the messen ger arrived, bringing the promised gift, which proved to be an iron egg. The princess was so angry to think that the prince should send her so valueless a present that she threw it upon the floor, when the irou egg opened, disclosing a silver lining. Surprised at such a dis covery, she took the egg in her hand, and while examining it closely discov ered a secret spring, which she touched and the silver lining opened disclosing a "olden valk. Examining it cicely she found another spring, which when opened disclosed within the golden yolk a ruby crown. Subjecting that to an ex amination she touched a spring and forth came the diamond ring with which he affianced her to himself. Chicago IaUr 9cean. All kinds of Repairing done on Short Notice. Buggies, Wag ons, etc., made to order, and all work Guar anteed. Also sell the world-famous Walter A. Wood Mowers, Reapers, Combin ed Machines, Harvesters, and Self-hinders the best made. igrShop opposite the " Tattersall," on fc anop ove gt COLUMBUS. sen, TAJIK SAE-JIO:, CONTRACTOR AND BUILDER. Plans and estimates supplied for cither frame or brick buildings. Good work guaranteed. Shop on 13th Street, near St. Paul Lumber Yard, Columbus, Ne braska. 2 Cmo. -VTOTICE XO TEACHERS. J. B. M oncrief. Co. Snpt., Will be in his office at the Court House on the third Saturday of each month for the purpose of examining applicants for teacher's certificates, and for the transactton of any other business pertaining to schools. 66i-y mm him in presents given atcay. Send us 5 cents postage, i t :i .-m. ,!! rrot WW 3UU OJ Ulli juu "... (,-- free a package of goods or large '" that will start you in work that will at once bring you in money faster than any thing else in America. All about the $200,000 in presents with each box. Agents wanted everywhere, or either sex, of all ages, for all the time, or spare time only, to work for us at their own homes. Fortunes for all workers ab solutely assured. Don't delay. II. Hal lmt 8c, Co., Portland, 3Iaine. Cures Guaranteed I DR. WARN'S SPECIFIC No. 1. A Certain Cure for Nervous Debility, Seminal Weakness, Involuntary Emis sions, Spermatorrhea, and all diseases of the geni to-urinary organs caused by self abuse or over indulgence. Trice, $1 00 per box, six boxes $5.00. DR. WARN'S SPECIFIC No. 2. For Epileptic Fits, Mental Anxiety, Loss or 3Iemorv, Softening of the Brain, and all those diseases of the brain. 1'rUe $1.00 per box, six boxes $5.00. DR. "WARN'S SPECIFIC No. 3. For Impotence, Sterility in either sex, Loss or Tower, premature old age, and all those diseases requiring a thorough in vigorating or the sexual organs. Trice $2.00 per box, six boxes $10.00. DR. "WARN'S SPECIFIC No. 4. For Headache, Nervous Neuralgia, and all acute diseases or the nervous system. Trice 50c per box, six boxes $2.50. DR. "WARN'S SPECIFIC No.f5. For all diseases caused by the over-u-e or tobacco or liquor. This remedy is par tic;ularlv efficacious in averting; palsy and delirium tremens. Trice $1.00 per "ox, six boxes $5.00. AVe Guarantee a Cure, or agree to re fund double the money paid. Certificate in each box. This guarantee applies to each of our live Specifics. Sent by mail to any address, secure from observation, on receipt of price. Be careful to mention the number of Specific wanted. Our Specifics are only recommended for spe cific diseases. Beware of remedies war-r-.ntf.il in i-nm. all these diseases with one medicine. To avoid counterfeits and al ways secure tne genuine, order only from dowtv & cmx:, DRUGGISTS, 19.1 CoIumbiH, Nth. HealthisWealth! rnSTI anAUi I EUBBtBEjyiRE AT M E KT.-- j S500 REWARD! XTt will ptrttixrranwil for tar tiuot UwConptee prtemU. Sick Hdiclw.lDdigMtlon,Coctiptlon or CcllT.a.u, cannot an with Wnl'i V.gtUSI. Uitt Fill", wb Ui imv Uouar ttrfctlr eomplW with. Thr r partly Tfjttb!.nJ ttrcrbll to ci ntltfirtlon. Biftt CwUd. tar Ui.i.cm tailing 30 pOli, 23 cnu. Tn ul by all droreUU. Dtwutoi ttmnitrblta and Imitating. Tba ftaoln musbctnrtd oatr trf J011M C WEST CO., 131 A 153 W. Vfelbon St.. Chlcmc at trial padc taal kj mail pnpaidos nctipt of a Z cal iUCJ WIN Br E. C. West's Nekvz asd iskaix je"' urr atranteed erccilic for llystena, Diki SSSons, FiU. Nervous. Ncuralsia. of alcohol or tobacco. Wakefulness. Mental 1M ?S Hoftonin of tho Brain resulting :w i in sanity and leadins to misery, decay and death. Premature OMAro, Barrenness, Loss of; powec in either box. InToluntary Vfc orrheca caused by ovor-oxertion ot tho ra n. Beu Bbnseor over-indulgence. Lach box cwtaM onomonth-s treatment. $UOa boi.or Btx boxes Cor$5Xa sent by mail prepaidon receipt or price. WE GUARANTEE SIX BOXES To rare any case c1orlcATb-Jfu for six boxes, accompanied with Jf "'" Send tho purchaser our vmtten rMteo to jo tod tho money if the treatmontdocanoteffect euro. Guarantees issued only by JOHN O. "WEST Sc. CO., 862 W. MADISON ST., CHICAGO, ILLS., Solo Prop's West's Liver Pills. more money than at anything else by taking an agency for Mi lwit sellincr book out. Be ginners succeed grandly. None fail. Terms free. Hallett Book Co.. Tort land, Maine. 4-32-y i
