The Exeter Times, 1888-1-19, Page 3u�
l
•
A STRANGE VISITOR,
Between tw n the parallels of twenty and
and twenty-seven degrees south latitude,
territory nominally embraeed within the
boundaries of, the Argentine l tepnblic asidBo
livi Hee lee the>Q'ra7pUhtzco (Great Wilder+lees).
which is probably,, at present, the least
known region of its size on the earth's sur -
fade. Nor is it a desert traota as the reader
might at first conjecture, but, on the con-
trary, well watered,: remarkably fertile, and
rich ne natural resources.
That
so. broad an extent of: country, come.
prising not loss than three hundred thousand
square miles, should have remained unviait-
eti and unknown for iso long a time in this
century of travel is due in part to its geo-
graphical position, but chiefly to the hostil-
ityof t s Indian tribes that inhabit it.
h a.
Aein)lieative of the climate and general
eharac'worthy d
i of the. region, itis of note,
that
�,Iiiiaso
n f the. G o are of fin
�' d so e
h
h u warlike,
si i�o wa L and
physis ,remarkable for their
longevity. Thus far these savages have
successfully resisted the approaches of white
explorers and travellers,
The Chaco is believed to be a paradise b p r of
game >and: of wild honey, for no less than
seven varieties of wild bees have been found
in its floweryj"glades. Deer, tapirs, oapy-
baras, and peccaries abound, ,also the arma-
dillo, wild cattle, wild horses, and the
jaguar. The; reptile family is also welt' re-
presented; as is shown by the following ad-
venture related by Mr, Wilhelm B. Marin,
a young gentleman who spent several,!
months last season exploring the course of
the River Pilcomayo.
Mr, Marin is an enthusiastic believer in
the future of the Chaco whioh, he confident-
y predicts, is destined not long hence to be•
dome the Garden State of South America.'
His exploration was effected by means of a
small steam launch which he. shipped to
South America in sections, and set up at As -
union, on the Paraguay River, near its con•.
fluence with the Pilconiayo. Both the
Piloomayo and the Vermejo are large
rivers, not less than eight hundred or a
thousand miles in length, which flow•down
out of the Chaco and unite,with the ,Para-
amity
ara-
euayand the Parana to form the Rio do
Plata:
The Stanley, as Mr. Marin named his littl
steamer, in honor of the great'"African 'e
plorer whose deeds he would emulate in th
American continent, was a well-
pointed little craft, but only about thirt
feet in length by eight feet beam. To sery
as a defence if attacked, and to furnish
dormitory by night, an awning covered wit
sheet -iron and whitewashed was carried over
the entire length of the desk,` the smoke
stack alone rising through it. Wide
shutters of white iron closed in the sides, so
that the entire deck could be converted into
a single, long room, at will.
By night -this sufficed admirably to keep
out bn wild beasts when the little craft
was reeked to the- bank—ands''
off+ d hostile :na-
tives. Nothing could get aboard, save per-
haps at the small, hinged windows, one or
two of which were generally left open for
ventilation.
Otis odd deck house worked so well, that
the voyagers did not often feel it necessary
to do) guard duty by night, being assured
thatathe noiseof an attack outside their
iron'shield would rouse them in time to re-
pel the assailants.
The engine was constructed to burn wood
instead of coal. The party and crew con-
sisted of Mr. Marinand a fellow -explorer,.
Mr, C. P. Luth, an American engineer, hired
in I<uenos.Ayres, whose name was Sackett,
a gook called Lugar, and two gauchos of the
`gowboy stamp,natives of Rosario in the Ar-
gentine country. These latter were wood-
cutters, fireinen, and men of all work to
the party.
The launch left Asuncion en the 2d day
of December, which,' in the southern hemi-
sphere, corresponds to June with us. On
the day before Christmas, after various ex.
periences, the party reached the foot of
what Mr. Marin terms the Third Rapids of
the:Pilcomayo, which, however, the water
being slack, the little craft was able to sur-
mount, by aid of a line and an impovised
windlass, for a few hundred feet of the most
rapid current.
The day before Christmas was thus em-
ployed ; and
m-ployed,;`and late that evening they tied up
in the shadow of some lofty manaunna nut -
trees. to the bank above the rapids, all be-
ing much fatigued from the hard labor.
an-
Luth, 'trying to get a big lineeon ue, and
haul us ashore 1'
Improbable nolo as
� b his. idea, was+ there was
yet something in the strange, grating noise
that strongly suggested it. I heard Saelrett,
or same of the others who had their bunks
farther forward, rouse up, ae if to listen.
Then the sound moved aft again.
s
Luth reached for.his ,
e,gun and then
al•eppedto the window, but instant! started
back with an exclamation of astonishment
or alarm, and I saw what I took fer an Indi-
an's head and 'nock appsar in the moonlit
aperture, po tiro, as if trying to look in !
1 heard Luth 's gun -cocks olick, and
!whispered, 'Don't shoot; for I thought,
o i 1 . thisg '
p ss b y Indian is only peeping about
from mere curiosity.
" Won't shoot.!' encored F'•
Luth, Then
shook yourself,andbe quick , quk l Why, Marin
don't you see that 'tis a tremendous serpent?'
"Before his words werearticulated, the
creature's head was. thruat iu at the little
window, darkening i
t. With that wo both
raised our pisses and fired, and then by mu-
tual impulse ran around the engine to the
forward end of the boat. Sackett was try
in to light his lanternu
g g � ,while the two gain
oleos crying out, Culebra! culebra! gra7zde!
(snake 1 big snake !) threw down one of the
shutters, and jumping into the water, waded
ashore, followed by Lugar, the cook,
"indeed, we were not a little inclined to
do the same thing, for from the rackets aft,
it was evident that the reptile was aboard
as, and tumbling about among our bunks,'
and whether our shots had disabled it, we
could only surmise. It was thrashing
around, and its tail banged against th
engines repeatedly.
At len th Sackett got his lantern burn-
ing, and puttipg that othe end ofaike-
pole, we thrust the light bank toward the
engine, to discern, if possible. Where the
snake lay, and get another shot at it.
"For some moments we peered about, ven-
turing back a little way, but failed to get.
sight of it, though we still heard it moving.
Suddenly Sackett yelled that it was crawl-
ing under, the mess table, right beside us !,
Before we could back off, its head rose, all
bloody from the shot we mad fired at it,
behind the table, and its jaws snapped close:
to our faces I
la "Luth and Sackett who stood a step ba -
hind me, promptly leaped backwards, and
e disappeared' through the aperture' which
x- the gauchos had made by removing the side
he shutter; and I, obeying my first impluse of
a e horror, sprang aft, around the engine.
Ye `' Sackett had dropped his lantern, and
e the only light now on board was the dim
a moonlight that ca no in at the shutter holo
h forward and the little window through which
The . night was warm, and there was a
bright moon, the silvery radiance from
whiah.fell through the foliage of the branches
of the giant tree which projected out over
the ,water. ` No ` Indians had shown them-
selves during the day-; and after a hearty
meal, the tired explorers turned in? their
arms, as usual, being set ready: for instant
use both fore and aft.
" We soon fell sound asleep," Mr. Marin
relates, "into that overpowering slumber
which comes from heavy toil, and will hold
a person in its embrace for ten hours with-
out waking. But not long after midnight,
I was roused by an indefinite kind of noise
which I at first thought was made by the
wind, causing a branch to scrape the top
of our iron cove";
"I was about dozing all again, when a
considerable bump, as of something falling
on the shield overhead, set me broad awake.
"My companions did not waken, how-
ever. I thought that it aright be some
small, wild animal that, had either fallen or
leaped out of the brandies which overhung
the boat, and so lay still, listening, for
some moments, thinking, too, what an odd
Christmas eve it was, and how different
from anything I bad ever previously experi•
enced.
" Shortly after, I heard a curious inter-
mittent rustle and stir of the trees, which I
know could not be due to the wind ; yet it
sounded as though one or more, large
branohesere swaying heavily. That a
in the treetops over us, was my
se ; and rising quietly from my
ok up my gun and then peeped
out at the window -light which
puma war
first surni
bunk, 1
cautiously
was swung half back, to admit air: But I
could 'distinguish nothing, and 'supposing
that it was probably a sloth, or a wild oat,
I lay down again.
"I had soa:reely taken a reclining posture,
however, when there was a heavy splash
in the water, on the opposite side of the
boat; and a few moments later, the little
craft tipped perceptibly to that side, as if a
very. heavy Man had stepped suddenly
aboard.
"Immediately, too, i heard a grating,.
scraping noise, which began on the side` of
the boat near the guards, and p',seed up
over the iron sheeting •oi the cover, as if
a big hawser wag being hauled athwart us.
The sound waked Mr. I;uth, who started
suddenly from sleep into a sitting position.
"&Ning to the moonlight, it was not
very dark, He parsednronrent, then saw
me sitting not and w',isptred, ' What's go-
ing on outside?'
" ‘Don't know,' 1 said. ' Santa Claus,
perhaps,! hard sledding itt this country 1'
"The scraping, grinding sound moved
ai forward,
"'it`s Ltd/Mies, I believe,' "muttered
the serpent had crept in. 'I,could hear the
ophidian's long body moving slowly, and
judged that its head was coining toward me.
" I would have given almost any price for
a light juatthen t A horrid odor filled the
air ! Outside, Sackett and Luth were shout-
ing to me to come ashore but for the life
of me I durst not stir now, nor answer them,
lest the serpent night strike at the sound
of my voice. I wondered whether snakes
could see in the dark 1
" Suddenly I'heard its jaws snap again, on
the port side of the engine—the very place
where I had supposed its tail was ! and.
making' a trienzied jump, dashed out for-
ward and landed in the mud and water, over-
board.
"' Are yon bitten ?' Luth cried out. He
and Sackett:then assisted' nee up the bank.
" The reptile still continued to crawl
around inside our deck house; and after lis-
tening to its movements for a while we de-
termined to kindle a' fire and secure a little
light on this dark and scaly subject. The.
gauchos were afraid to go out far to collect
tire wood, lest, as they said, the mate of the
serpent might be in•the%vicinity. Enough
wasgathered up, however, to kindle a con.
siderable bonfire, by the light of which we
approached our ,little steamer again and
finally boarded her, gun in hand,: in search
of the snake.
"A portion of its mottled body was then
espied lying diegonally across the deck,
just in front of the engine boiler. By way
of stirring up t'• e creature, Luth fired a
load of heavy shoe into it, at which it squirm-
ed. alightly and crawled slowly for a few
feet, but soon came to a standstill again.
" He's about done for,' said Sackett; and
taking one of the pike poles which had also
a hook with the pike, he. went forward and
struck it into the reptile's hard, shining car-
cass. Again it writhed a little; then all
three of us took hold of the pole andthus
wore able to haul it out.
" It appeared that our first shots had fair-
ly riddled its neck and head -otherwise we
might have had much more trouble, in dis-
posing of thebrute ;j for it was truly an
ugly reptile to encounter. The thickest
portion of his body was almost as large as
the thigh of anadult man'; and I may com-
pare its flattened head to a good-sized water
pitcher of three'. quarts capacity. It was
nearly twenty-four feet long.
"1t was what the gauchos called a sucuz i- 't
aba, or water boa, and is said to be noctur-
nal in its habits. I suppose that it had swung !
itself down upon the launch from the large
nut trees on the bank.
" Our deck had been meet shockingly de-
filed with its blood but the blood was much
more easily removed than was the peculiar,
disgusting odor which seemed to emanate !
from its carcass, and for a long time resisted
the action of our chlorides.
"After that night's adventure, we took
the precaution to affix a net of tarred line to
the outside of our open window lights."
Able to Hold His Own.
Mrs. Homer (the landlady)—" Mr. De
Smith has just had his. breakfast, Mr.
Simpson, and he made no complaie in about
Smith, you know, is momething of an ath-
A Scramble Among the Ladies.
Mother (to daughter who has been out)—
" Why, Clara, what's the matter I Your
bat is all askew, your wrap torn, and your
general appearance dishevelled and disrepu-
Dieughter—" Yes, mammon I've been to
the matinee. I got a seat, bub you ought to
see'some of the other ladies,"
A Cold World.
Atwell (handing office, boy Sir cente)—
Wilhelm, get me a pitit of beer.
Office Boy—But beer is nevelt, dente a pint,
Anerch-a-Vell, 'vet of dot ---hang him up de
balance, ean't you ? Thad if non don't hook
In an exhaustive paper upon methods of
certain measetres of a thicknees of it film of
silver which can just be peteeived by the
eye, and arrivea at the concinsten.that 0. 2
trolliontbe of a millimeter ie en tipper linnt
of the diameter of eliver molecule,
WJuy People Become Bald.
At the o enin meeting ofBritish
4t is
4 nhe r
i
Tris
g g
h to ice oo'
o g � Ass ratio{i the inaugural ad•
dress was delivered by';Mt. C. t Wheeler.,
who said it was the object of the 13ritioh
Trichological Aasouiation to trace the loss of
hair to its true: causes, to investigate the
secrets of nature, and learn the physiological
actions of rnmediee that would benefit rind
assist nature to repair disordered functions,
Out of 17,000 mei upon the "Medical Regis-
ter" he believed that scarcely ,twenty had
Made a special study of the hair, Hair -
falling ,night be induced by one cause only,
or byeeveral acting"together or` in sueces-
sion, as debilitating influences,: nerve trou-
bles, excitement, care, worry, blood diseas-
es, hereditary .:predisposition, occupation,
climate, mechanical obstructiou, ,mental
emotion, bad ventilation, high temperature,
vegetoid plaints, and animal parasites, The
cause. of baldness was not in the chair shaft,
but in the faulty function of nutrition, and.
althoughe •
th every s
t in this countrysome
50,000so-oallecl"hairdreasers, their tretment
had proved practical! impotent to revent
y� prevent,
arrest, or modify the progress of baldness.
The association was endeavouring: to estab,
lish a hospital' for the treatment of . hair
diseases with a staff; of trichologists and
periodical lectured and demonstrations ; and
it behooved them to impress upon the na
tion the advisability of giving the: enemies.
tion a charter, and compelling every trichol-
ogist to pass an examination before being
allowed to practice.
The habit of keeping; the hair dry and
free . from some kind of grease to assist the
depressed powers of ,the hair was to his
mind a source of a great deal of baldness.
Out of 380 subjects between the age of 25
and 50 who had peeped under his observe
tion ninety-two were either bald or getting
SO, and the curious fact was brought: to
light that sixty-one out of the ninety-two
were. wine drinkers..
In fifty habitual spirit -drinkers, men of e
similar ages, he found seven partially limb
and eleven quite bald. Among total ab-
stainers,� on the other hand, he found nine
Rartly bald and, seven totally bald out of
fifty. After obtaining these .statistics he i
took note of fifty .," bear-brinking drunk- s
ards, the investigation resulting in ,the c
discovery that five were partially'bald and
four quite bald. It was only fair,. however,
to add that the spirit -drinkers werewell-to
do, while the beer -drinking drunkards be-
longed to the very poorest classes.
On another occasion he made notes of 140
bald persons of mixed classes and of various.
ages. This shower that 47 wore full beards,
43 shaved; nearly the whole face, 41 shaves! Y
only the chin, and 9 shaved only the mous-
tache, showing that the beard bad little to
do with baldness as a cause..In his own
experience since 1870, when this matter 'be-
gan to especially engage attention, he wan
not able to demonstrate' conclusively the
transmission of any special fungus or para
site from lower animals to.man. or woman in
this excessive hair falling or baldness.
He had never been in a position to ,do this
experitnentally, yet his conviction was that
the dog and the cat were often the cause of
some hair loss ;' and trichologists . should
study and that the question when they had
an opportunity of `witnessing the commence-
ment of extensive hair -failing, when no
other cause could with a certainty
or even assigned : for it.: It . was becoming
an increased belief that dogs were subject
to some unknown disease which caused bald-
ness to human beings. Cases of this kind
had been brought within his view and had
induced him to give a good deal of attention p
to the subject.
In one instance, Mr. Wheeler said, a gen-
tleman, an artist, had a large black retriev-
er 'dog whose.coat had suddenly become
grey, in fact almost white, and it was beingg
shed in such large quantities that he could
not be had in the house without everything
being covered with hairs.: This gentleman
had a beautiful head. of hair when he first
spoke about the dog, but when he came
again the next year he was 'mite bald. He
also said the female servant that attended
the dog had nearly' lost the whole of her
hair.
For himself he was convinced that the
continuous electric current was the most.
active' and efficient hair stimulant of the
day. It was a remedy of great therapeutic
value when wed as"an accessory to other
remedies.—London Standard.
OLD: LAV1 RY DAYS.
On
a nest brio
bowie u
s in
e Detroit '
U �
framed legend which announces to the pub.
lie that "funeral wreaths and crosses are
preserved here,"
But this floral undertaking does not ac-
count for the frequent visits of cultivated
men and women frpm all parts of the coun-
try,:'who mtiko„pilgrimages here as to a
shrine of interest, The house: is the home
of Lewis G. Clark, whose name ie. on the
silver doorplate, who bears the historic die -
tinction of being the first slave who,' dis-
guised as a white irian,`suceeeded in making'
hie escape from,slavery to freedom and who
is the original George' Harris Uncle Tom's.
Cabin.
He is a well- reser"ved relic P r of a strange
and romantic past which can never again
have it parallel in the world's history, and
his 70 cover years must be read by the light
of other days to give them that equal bal-
ance of sun and shadow, which is her
w theirs b
right. In himself Mr, Clark nnftes some
of the best qualities of both races, mentally
and physically. Seeing his color would not
determine to which race he belonged but
"his speech betrayeth him"—he has the col-
loquial dialect of his people whenever he
lapses into stories of the past, but his
shrewdness and versatilit would become a
Yankee born. y
Aske to' tell 1 something hmg of his early life,
the old man gave a simple recital of auoh
points as, occurred to hint at the moment.
‘,1' was given to a Mr. Sam Campbell in
Madison County, Kentucky, the fust time
ween I was 5 yeaba old."
Then he diverged to give an account of
his ":goin' ter meetin'',” aevent which next
to his "escape'' seems to have dwelt in his
memory.
" I was 7 yeah' old en' I never had been
to meetin'. Master's folks was away and
Aunt Sukoy fixed me. She put on master's
white shirt au' the collah came up to my
ars—the shirt was made of old-fashioned
loom cotton. A strip was torn off the lower
half to make a necktie. I wore mittens
fixed oaten an. old slave woman's stocking.
egg, My las' yeah's shoes had been soaked
nto shape and,. laced with green cotton
trings. I wore old: Maslen white bell-
rowned beaver hat, and my ,sooks were a
pa'ar of Aunt Sukey's etookin'-legs. An' I
arried a cane made of a, cherry saplin'.
Afore 1 went, Aunt Chloe tole me wat 1 was
to do."
"'Fust yo' sweep up de yard, den fill dat
ar'i from de spring, and drive de gooses
an' goshlius to de goose pastur', an' wash
o'sel f in de erik, afo' yo' go to de meetin'."
" Aunt Chloe also give me some lessons
about how I was to behave.
" ` You must `keep your mouth to yoseff,
an' oa..arry yoh manners aid yob,' was what
she told me. So I done took :my hat off,
but kept on my mittens.
'''lc was a blind preacher I remember ;
his name was Bartlett and he was mounted
high up on a rough box. Aunt Chloe told me
to tell 'How'dy' to them all,; so I went and
shook hands with everybody. When I him
to the preacher Hell down and hurt myself,
so I cried,' and I could hear the other bcys
as they crowded up :
"' Look at dat shirt 1'
"' Know he: done stole dat shut from
Mash Campbell?"
"'Is datar a white boy; wot sort is he?'
":The fust time I was sold was on a mort-
gage at Lincoln County Court Rouse, Ken
tucky, by the Sheriff, Ben Duncan. I.was
a young boy at that time.
". the next time was: at Tom Kennedy'
Imitation in Garrett County, Ky., afte
is. death.
An English Officer's Marriage to an African.
Mr. Justice Stirling, sitting in the Chan-
cery Division, London, the other day, had
before him an exwaordinary and romantic fo
marriage, case, arising , out of the death of H
Commander Bethell, who was shot by the
Boers in 1884 in an engagement in which "
A
.
Sir Charles Warren also took part. Com- bu
mender Bethell a few months before his bu
death had become enamored of a native sit
girl belonging to the Baralong tribe, and he tot
married her according to the rites of that sla
tribe, the ceremony consisting of the slaugh
ter of an ox, the head of which was sent to ma
the mother of the bride,: while the father
was provided with a plough to plough the ou
land.
The name of the bride was Teepoo, and g
tan days after the death of Commander wo
Bethell she gave birth to a daughter, who mei
was subsequently baptized under the name
of " Mabetele," ` meaning " Mother of
Bethell." -In support of'theee statements,
Montsioa, an African King, chief of the
Boralaedo Baralaog, made an affidavit to 3h
the effect that Teepoo was duly married to he
Commander Bethell, and that she was not bli,
before married. Commander Bethell, by, nn,
lair will, left a cortain number of heifers to
Teepee, and directed that if a child were
barn it should be educated in England after•
it reached eight years of age, and if a boy
that he should enter' the Eo;'lish army, but
ist m
$ 8 Gastonia,
8,
4`kr a net m
Thecustom
of is '
k in n the't
s g ander finis
let
we get from a Seandinaviau myth, • Lok
anevil spirit, bated Balder, the Apollo
northern mythology, and sought to kill hi
But Friga, Balder'smother, had sworn
" everything that s rim s from fire,ai
earth, or water," not to harm the celeti
favorite. The mistletoe not coning in th
Loki made an. arrow of it au
gave it to the blindgod Heba to test: T..
gocl of darkues+i shot the arrow ams lialde
was slain. But as all the gods and goddes
es prayed for the restoration- of their dar
ing, Odin brought him back to life again
The mistletoe was the i g
n given to the god
des' of love to keep, and everyone passim
under it received a kiss, to show it was th
emblem of love and not of death.
It may interest O
i those who. value all thin
the more for their. antiquity q
toknow the
long before Christianityfound its way int
y
the
land of the Norsemen—before the sea
kings under Canute turned their dragon
headed prows towards the Schalk clic} o
Albion's isle -stalwart youths of Seandin
avia claimed li -tributes from fair-haire
maidens "under
u der the mistletoe bough"a
Odin's feast, and found the sport quite a
agreeable as do the youths' P
y irks of the preaen
day; in Scandinavia or elsewhere.
Our Christmas -tree we get from Germany
Perhaps the poetic idea of making sprue
and fir bear fruit out of kind and out of sea
son to brighten the dullness of wintry hours
may be taken from a legend of the tim
of Thor and Odin, but it more probably ha
its origin in mediieval'pageantry. • We hay
taken it from Germany, and that but recent
ly, for sixty years ago it was a custom no
known in England. S. T. Coleridge, in
describing a visit ,to Germany in 1826, give
a: graphic account of the.Clnistmas-tre
custom, as one of which he had never before
hoard, and peculiar to the German people,
It came to America with the German set-
tlers of Pennsylvania, who kept up the out-
tom decades before the descendants of the
Puritans adcpted it
The custom of gift -giving comes tons from
a legend of medieval Italy, St. Nicholas, a
bishop of the church in the fourth century
inherited a large fortune, all of which he
gave away in charity, dowering portionless
maidens and aiding poor children, A legend
which tells how the good bishop restored to
life three children that had been murdered
caused him to be regarded as the patron
saint of children,• and it soon came to be the
custom for the elder members of the family
to give little gifts of toys or sweetmeats to
the little ones on the eve of St. Nicholas
day, which' was December 6.' In southern
Italy this is still one of the great festivals of
the year, and far morepre.eminen tly the chil-
dren's day there than Christmas, It is easy
to see how this festival, falling so near to
that of the nativity,;beeame in most instances
to be combined with it. Santa Claus is
only St. Nicholas in Holland speech. The
saint' who, in' Italy, the home of his birth,
was a mai of tall and imposing presence,
became in the Deutsch legend short -legged
and pot-bellied, and the necessities of the
climate supplied his garments of fur. Hang -
beg the stocking was a Netherland custom
also, and as this was generally suspended by
the huge' open fireplace, the story,that the
saint made his entrance through its cavern
nus'mouth followed very `naturally. The
addition of the sleigh and the reindeer was
also necessary to explain satisfactorily to
the children how the saint. could visit all the
cities of the lowlands in the short space of a
single night. Kris Kringle, is often spoken
Qe
of
m.
b
r,
el
his
d
h�
r
s•
•
g'
e
t
0
d
t.
s
t.
e
e
s
e
s
e
r of as the Germs,n Santa (Anus, but this an
error. Kris Lines, is a corruption of
Christ Kindlein, or the Clefist child, and be
erived from a wholly. different legend
hich describes the Saviour in the guise of
child bringing gifts to the little ones on
he anniversary of his birth as a human in-
nt. This legend the poetic Germans allied
ith their Christmas tree, and have alwaye
d Holland, with his Christmas stocking and
" The third time was at Lancaste ,r Gar- d
rielt Co., at the county seat. I was part of w
herses, eattle and other things. But the t
titles was in suck a fix they couldn't make ea
any public sale. It was right after that I
run away. I started off on a horse aud was w
disguised as a white man. I never coul
have:escaped but for that. I was dreadfix
ignorant and couldn't read the sien.posts
lt
was then that I was George° Harris
port I stepped at Mrs. Stafford's. She was
a great friend to me, arid taught me mor
than anyone else. There I met Mrs. Stowe
and told her all my story. 'You know she
made George Hama able to handle flax and
maehinery and quick at such things. Theta
what I was—"
Here Mr. Clark diverged again, and pro.
duced a little spinning -wheel, with a distal
of flax, from which he deftly spun a thread
or two while he talked.
't Did Mrs. Stowe ever pay you anything
✓ sitting for the character of George
"• Never," answered Mr. Clark, solemnly.
good mary folks writ to her about it,
t she never paid any ateention to them,
t she ueed to send for me to come into the
ting -room and talk within° for hours, ern
d her all that I had ever seen or done in
very over and over. '
" Have you often been taken fors e. white
All my life. That's the way I found
I could run away. I remember when I
a a little fellow my missie had a boy mine
e—looked like me—an' in summer 'he
re ono garment like me, One day a
ghbor from where they used to live kim
in. They gtve him gm—so'glad to gee him;
they give him rum—so glad to see him—
then he asked, 'Why, Betsy, am them boys
twins ? I never knowed you had twins I'
en oh, wasn't unesis mad! She said when
was gone : The old fool to drink himself
ite child !' Then she took off that gar-
ment and made me work, iu de sugar bush
all clay in a blazin' hot sun.' It most kill
me an' all my skin peel off after a while an'
then was whiter than ever, he -he 1"
It is like the page of a romanee th hear
n tell how he wer t back to steal hie
thers and bring them North. He elu-
ded, too, and they shared in his prosper -
He has a grateful word to say for wo-
n everyvvhere, but particularly for the
men of Ohio.
The men were afraid of polities," he
d, "but the women are amid of nothing.
oy got the clothee till bad So many I
id send (sheets of them to the colored.
in Cenada,"
t tones this repreeentative of a femme
neater in fiction Speaks in the softly
slipped ayllables ot hie people. This is CE-
peeially noticeable when he tolls stories of
old deem. But as soon a0 he limonite
quent he uses the language of an eclucat-
man, with a touch of pulpit oratory.
Do you sing any of the songs of slavery!"
asked, with a romantic echo of Long -
1 his reindeer.
1Vhen I got North to Boston and arabriclge-
Facts About Sponges.
A dealer in sponger' gives some interesting
° facts in regard to this -curious product.
There is a sponge in Philadelphia on tem-
porary exhibition that measures ten feet in
circumference. It is front the Mediterran-
ean. This sponge has taken medals in
France, Amsterdem,New Orleans and other
places. The owners of it would not sell it
for five hundred dollars. It holds fifteen
gellons of water.
The :Mediterranean sponges are taken in
the Grecian Archipelago by men in diving -
suites, who go into mnch deeper water than
they do in Florida There most of them
are taken with grappling irons, in the stone
way EIS OyStentl.
They can be seen with the eye on the
bottom, clinging to the rocks. When one
is dislodged another grows in its place in
from six months to a year. A great many
are also taken in the &themes. The mar-
ket for that crepes Nassau, Neve Providence.
Key West is the market for the Florida
sponges, which are taken all along the coast.
Trieste and London are the markets for the
Mediterranean sponges. Some are taken
off the coast of China. •
"We had one once," continued this in-
formant, "that enclosed a large jug. It
was a fine sponge, and had grown complete-
ly around the jug. They are frequently
' full of shells. When a sponge is first taken
Out of the water it is as black as ink, and it
has to be treated by various processes until
it becomes the color commonly seen.
" A spooge is the lowest order of ani
mal life, if, indeed, it is animal and
not vegetcsble. humber of minute
animals live in it. The business is about
half a century old in this country. Sponges
are sold by the bale in this country, and by
the ease in Europe. They weigh from
twenty.five to one hundred pounds.
. " When sold by weight the dealers are
allowed to sand therd about twenty-flve per
mat. Prices range from ten dollen to one
hundred and fifty dollars, the larger sum
many grades, such al silk, velvet, cup,
glass, beth, surgeon aucl slate."
Never Heard of Such Rapid Advancement.
A Dutchman, whose I3011 had been em•
ploy oil ari insurance companyn office, was
met by me acquaintance, who inquired :
't ell, Mr. &lidera how is Hans geteino
Along in his new place ? '
rodent alteady."
rapid aclvancemeet, Thee yonng man mutt
Th
000
folk
A.
as bee only wefe, and had no nate:Axon ehe,
committing polygamy.
the
Of' Not fAuch Interest. 010
millions of people left hornelose and start/ ivey
Hetsband—" Yes, in t'shiaa."
pen such a provokingly loag distsarce away.
to be killed, one walrtat is duffed down hie
throat, Each day Ile is given all additfalla
nrallIllt) and on the ieventaatinth day he has
twenty -eine walint to. lie then iretnemee.
I fat.
"Loud he sang songe of David. ,
Ile a negro and etelaved."
" Lora bless yell, no. I never sing any
wee rained in de house an' never worked
Son—" Papa, how do they catch lima-
buttea glove; my boy."
15 (E. anti stlixt tate
" yes, plenty of people write goo°
nettle ; but you field Hans was a director."
A Strange Thing.
time yen draw a breath eomebocly diem."
breathing on that eccotutt."
PERSONAL
L.
OST
Q
Tho Doke of Connaught will aaaume cora:
eland in fi•eleud in April
A granddaughter of Charles Dickens
g,
a flourishing business with a type writer..
y
M. Grey saw 'twel ye Cabinets with 120,
Ministers aYerve under him while Cabinets,
of Prance.
Most o' . io e
t tl oudon
f + ch ,reh„ s have ofiereas
up prayers for the recovery of The Crown
1'iiCaaeo1 German
y
T, r
The ,�oz4rtJazs?malsa s t at alar
Y b K e Williaxri.
wants to abdicate: in favor of his son, the
coronation tc take place in May.
"'Tie rent ,American deer s
g stalker," Mr,^w
Wynans, now controls 230,000 acres, of deer;
forest, and, employs several hundred kee ere:
P
At the recent marriage of the daughter
g of
the great Rabbi of Paris, Zsdoo an to
Kann,
the Rabbi ferael Levy,fourteen bridesmaids
a
appeared.
p
p
d.
Baron de Hirsch has not yet made his al-
leged magnificent endo , t,
�, wmi.n . of Jewislc
echoola £u Russia, but has invited. suggestions
.
from several sources as to the best means or
giving'efiect to Eoin
a benevolent intentions,;
and has entered into negotiations with the;
Russian Government u the sub'
o !seri
A casket presented to the Queen of Eng,
land recently, worked bymembers f the.-
Societyof, Decorative Art
r o
Art Needlework, is•,:
made of wood cover it
ed with green velvet,;:
which is divided in -o anels and beautifull
p y -
embroidered in silk and gold thread. The
or a
namentatfon oonsfots of conventionalized
flowers and gold scrolls, tho royal arms and
and monogram on the front,, and a short in-
scription with the date of presentation on
p n
the. back. The caaket stands on eight golds
feet.
Algernon Charles Svvinburne has brokone
forth again. This time he uses satire as hie,
weapon. The January number of the Nine-
teenth Century will have all article froin hia
pen entitled " Dethroning Tennyson." It
will relate how a crazy woman devoted years,
to proving that Tennyson's poems were •
written by Darwin. Algernon Charles in -
playful. He doubtless expects to give the
death -blow to the 13econian theory. Swirl--
burne has the satisfaction of knowiog thate
no one will ever claim the authorship of him
poems, at any rate. He can &Mord to enter
gleefully bete the Bacon -Shakespeare. con-
troversy.
The three famous Germans, Kaiser Wil-
liam Bismarck, and Moltke, who manage&
the last war against France, will not be able
to conduct the campaigns against Russia, in
the event of hostilities growing out of the
present debate. All three of them were fit
the field with the German army as it march-
ed. through France in 1870, but we cannot,
imagine them taking the field again, even irt
a war with Russia, whenthe that of them is,
91 yeeas of ago, the aecond over 87, and the,
third nearly 73. They are all yet rather -
lively men tor their age, and Prince Bis-
marck is still full of energy ; but none of
them could endure the harassments of ware
A Detective's Yarm
detectives, .Lenoir, who was at the head or
the French police during the reign of Louie,
XV., is deecribed in Temple Bar. Accord-
ing to popular belief the great 'detective
was end.owed with superhirman omniscience,
and the very mention of his name struck
terror orinuna
The young Enlace of Orleens maintained!„
that robberies would be less fremtent in '
Paris if people only avoided crowded thole,
oughfares, and, wagered a hundred gold,
pieees with Lenoir that no one would ven-
ture to rob him. A day was tut for, the
nobleman to try the experiment.
Simply dressed and unaccompanied, saves
by Leuoir, the Duke set out on his excur-
sion, amd avoiding the more frequent parts"
of the city, was piloted by the lieutenant toe
a comparatively deserted apace of ground,.
designed as the site of te new boulevard,
where to all appearance they were absolute-
ly alone. However, after walking two or
three hundred yards, they beheld at the
door of a miserable hovel a shabbily clad,
hard -featured woman brandishing a came
and severely chastising a boy about tern
years old, who was crying bitterly, Then
Duke dtepped hastily forward and com-
manded her to desist.
you only knew. what a little wretch he is 2
Nothing but a sound threshing veill keep him..
straight ; and if I did not give it him now.
and then there would be no end to his wick—
ed tricks."
Meanwhile the urchin, with tears stream-
ing down his cheeks, crept quietly up to lete,
would-be protector with a piteous air, as if •
to implore his intercession.
" Now, Monseigneur whispered Lenoir,.
"I hope you are convinced that you have
lost your bet."
The duke regarded the speaker with as-
tonishment.
" Deign to search your pockets and you
will see."
Monseigneur did a,s he was requested, and
discovered that the only article of value be
had brought with him, a snuff box, enriohea
with diaznonds, was missing, Horrified by
such precoolous depravity, he declared has
intention of placieg the lad in the hands off
some ;arta dieciplinarian who wonld -under-
take to bring him, up properly.
" You will do as you like about that Mon-
seigneur." observed Lenoir, " but he nrust
that be discharged from the prison out of.
which I bad him taken, this morning, ex-
twessly for the purpose of stealing your
Royal Highness' snuff box."
As Par as They Usually Get in Grammar.
" It is a peculiar thing now to note thee
strailarity of custom in ell countries," said -
e pedantic old gentleman to a young travel-
ing man on the cars.
Yes, sir," mid the young traveling
man, who could think of nothing else to.
Now look at our gran -mete You will
notice thaii the first verb we learn to e miti-
gate is the verb to love. It ia the same in
nearly all languagee "
" Yet," responded the traveler!. " and
did you ever notice, too, Mutt that is about'
as far as a, good many of in ever get in,
grammar ?' --tMerelvent Traveler.
A Hoary- Old Time Server.
" Mae" said Bobby, after a theughful
!once, " do you know that den't believe,
Santa Claw is really as good as he is oraek-
" Why, Bobby, what makes you thiek
"Because he gives his biceet preeente
little boye and girls that have rich pas."
saulted you?" netted hie honor of a meek,
gentleman who act:need bis wife of atsault
With intent, to kill. "No ,yout honor,"
gaid the poor, main feeling of hinseelf tender -
iy, "I'm the Ono that had the raw bide; irs,
feet., your limier, hare it still,"