HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1889-2-7, Page 71
1
`‘ROLJOHING IT IN THE U
Cid APTER XX.— (Commeue
The air waa raw and cold, but our mil
wags not witheut hs pleasure.
The lake wee very full from the heavy
Mina" and the neve bounded over the
wawa with a freespringy motion. A slight
iron had hung every Wale bunts and epray
along the ',horn wieh &sparkling oryetele
ille red pigeomberriee, shiubig thr eugh their
enure; ef ice, looked like mernelian beads
Pet in eilvor, steal atrung from bath to busla.
We f -mud the rapid') at the entrance of
. Bestikalmen Lake very hard to stein, and
i
were BO often carried back by the foto° of
the water, , at, mild aa the lAir was, the
ri
greet exert on which Moodie had to make
use cf to c btain the desired object brought
the perspiretion out in big drops upon his
forehead. His long confinement to the
house and low diet had rendered him very
weak.
The old miller received ne in the most
- hearty and hospitable mammy ; and com-
plimented me upon my courage:in venturing
upon the water in such cold, rough weather.
Norah was married, but the kind -Betty
, provided us an excellent dinner, weile we
waited for the grist to be ground.
It was near four o'clock when we started
on our resume If there had been danger
In going up the stream, there was mom in
coming down. Me wrnd had changed, the
air was frosty, keen, and biting, and Mood -
ids paddle cause up from every dip into the
water, loaded with ice. For my part, I
had only to sit still est the bottom of the
mem as we floated rapidly down with
wind and tide. At the landing we
were met by old Jenny, who had a long
atory te tell us, of which we could make
neither head nor tail—how some gentleman
had called during our absence, and left a
' 'large paper, all about the Queen and the
Yankees; that there was war between Can-
ada and the States; that Toronto had been
burnt, and the governor killed, and I know
not what other strange and monstrous etate-
runts After muck fatigue; Moodie climbed
the hill, and we were once more safe by our
own fireside. Here we found the eluci-
dation of Jenny's marvellone tales: a copy
ia ef the Queen's proclamation callings upon all
loyal gentlemen to join in putting down the
unnatural rebellion. m
A letter from my sister explained the
nature of the outbreak, and *he astonish-
ment with which the news had been re-
ceived by all the settlers in the bush. My
brother and my sister's husband had already
gone off to join some ot the numerous bands
i of gentlemen who were collecting from all
quarters to march to the aid of Toronto,
which it was said was besieged by the rebel
force. She advised me not to suffer Moodie
t of my husband was aroused, he
to lei It ems in his present weak state; but
the.
instantly obeyed what he considered the im-
perative can of duty, and told me to prepare
him a few necessaries, that he might be
ready to start early in the morning.
Little sleep vieited our min that night.
We talked over the strange news for hours;
comiug separation, and the probability
-things were as bad as they appeared
we might never meet again. Our
trees in such a desperate condition
at Moodie anticipated that any change
ust be for the better; it was impossible
Thr them to be worse. But the poor, anx-
,ous wife thought only of a parting -a hich to
aer put a finishing stroke to all her mortar -
tunes.
Before the cold, snowy morning broke'we
were all stirring. The children, who had
learned that their father was preparing to
have them, were crying and clinging round
his knees. His heart was too deeply affect-
ed to eat; the meal passed over in silence,
and he rose to go. I put on my hat and
ehawl to accompany him through the wood
as far as my sister Mrs. T—'s. The
day was like our destiny, cold, dark, and
lowering. I gave the dear invalid his
oratchea, and we commenced our sorrowful
walk. Then old Jenny's lamentations burst
forth, as flinging her arms round my hus-
band's neck, she kissed and blessed him
after the fashion of her country.
"Oollittone 1 och hone 1" the cried, wring.
----deingeherhands, "maather dear, why will you
lave the wife and childher ? The poor
cre.thur is breakin' her heart intirely at
partin' wid you. Shure an' the war is
nothing to you, that you must be goin' into
danger ; an' you wid a broken leg. Ooh
hone 1 °oh hone I come lite& to your home
—you will be kilt, and thin what will be-
come of the wife and the wee bairns ?"
Her cries and lamentations followed us
into the wood. At my sister's, Moodie and
I parted; and with a heavy hearts I re-
traced my steps through the wood. For
once, I forgot all my fears. 1 never felt the
cold. Sad tears were flowing over my
cheeks; when I entered the house, leme
seemed to have deserted me, and for up-
wards of an hour I lay upon the bed and
wept.
Poomjenny did her best to comfort me,
but all joy had vanished with him who SW
the light of my life.
Left in the mosb absolute tufeertainty as
to the real state of public affairs, I could
only conjecture what might be the result of
this sudden outbreak. Several poor settlers
called at the house during the day, on their
way down to Peterborough; but they
broughb with them the most exaggerated
emeunts... 'There had been a battle, tbey
said; With "the rebels, atel the loyalists had
been defeated : Toromo was besieged by
sixty thousand men, sect all the mi
en n the
backwoodswere ordered to march instantly
to the relief of the city, .
In the evening I received a note from
Emilia, who was at Peterborough, in whioh
she informed me that my heehaw:1 bad bor.
'', rowed a horse of Mr. 5--, and had
, joined a large party of two hundred velum
teers, who had left that morning for Toron.
to; that there had been a battle with the
ierlInts ; that Colonel Moodie had been
t4
ld and/the rebels had retreated; and
ti vfishe' hoped my husband would return
in &few days.
The honest backweedemein perfectly
ignorant of the abuses that had led to the
*meet position of thiegs, regatded the
rebels as a set of tweeters, for whom no
punishment was too severe, and obeyed the
cell to arineiwith. enthusiasm. The leader,
ef the insurgents must have been aethisished
at therapidity with which a large, force was
collected, as if by magic, to repel his designs.
A great number of those volunteera were
halttpay officsere, many of whom had fought
in the continental wars with, the armies of
Nepoleon, and would have been found a
heat in themselves. I mud own that my
iiiitinh fled& was fairlyaroused, and, as /
could not aid in subduing the enemies of
my beloved with rim arm, I did What little
I meld to Serve the good came with my pen.
It may probably amuse my readere, to give
them a specimen of these loyal themes, which
wetd widely circulated through the Colony
. at the Mlle.
THE VATH Or THE CANADIAN VODUNTEgilge
...., ..,
Hume for England 1—May she claim
Otir fond clevertiors ever ;
11
And, by the glory of her name
Our brave forefathera' honest fame,
We swear—uo foe than sever
Her children from their parent's side;
Though pertell by the wave,
In weal or woe, whate'er betide,
We smear to die, et save'
Her honour from the rebel band
Whom minxes pollute our injured land I
Let tho foe come—we will not shrink
To meet them if they clue ;
Well must they fight, ere rashly think
To rend apart one sacred lint
That binds our country fair
To that dear isle, from whence we
sprung,
Which gave our fathers birth;
Whose glorious deeds her bards have
sung;
The unrivall'cl of the earth.
The higheat privilme we claim,
To own her sway—to bear her name.
Then, (=rage, loyal volunteers 1
God will defend the right;
That thought will banish elevish fears,
That blessed consoiousnen still cheers
The soldier in the fight.
The stars for us shall never burn,
The stripes may frighten slaves,
The Briton's eye will proudly turn
Where Britain's standard waves.
Beneath its folds, if heaven requires,
We'll die, as died of old our urea
In a week, Moodie reterned. So many
volunteers had poured into Toronto that
the number of friends was likely to prove as
dinstrous as that of enemies, on amount of
the want of nineties to utaintain them all.
The companies from the back townehipsi had
been remanded, and I received with delight
my own again. But thia re -union did not
last long. Several regiments of militia were
formed to defend the colony, and to my
husband was given tbe rank of captain in
one of those then stationed in Toronto.
Oa the 20th of January, 1838 he bade us
a long adieu, I 'was left with old Jenny and
the children to take care of the farm. It was
a sad, dell time. I could bear up against
all trials with him to comfort and cheer me,
but hb long -continued absence oast a gloom
upon my spirit not easily to be shaken off.
Still his very appointment to this situaticn
was a signal aot of mercy. From his full
pay, be was enabled to liquidate many
pressing debts and to send home from time
to time sums of money to procure news
-
nein for me and the little ones.These re-
mittances were greatly wanted; but I de-
murred before laying them out for comforts
which we had been so long used to diepense
with. It seemed almoat criminal to pur-
chase any articles of luxury, such as tea and
sugar, while a debt remained unpaid.
The Y—yes were very pressing forthe
thirty pounds that we owed them for the
clearing; but they had such a firm reliance
upon the honor of my husband, that, poor
and pressed for money as we were, they
never sued us. I thought it would be a
pleasing surprise to Moodie, if, with the
sums of money which I occasionally received
from him, I could diminish this debt, which
had always given him the greateet uneasi-
ness; and, my resolution once formed,I
would not allow any temptation to shake it
The money was always transmitted to
Demmer. I only reserved the sum of two
dollars a month, to pay a little lad to chop
wood for us. After a time, I began to think
the Y---ys were gifted with second -
sight ; for I never keceived a money -letter
but the very next day I was mire to Bee
some of the family.
Just at this period I received a letter from
a gentleman, requesting me to write for a
magazine (the Literary Garland), just start-
ed in Montreal, with promise to remunerate
The very drat day, a terrible accident
happened to ; a large log fell upon the
eugamkettle—the borrowed sugerdtettle—
and cracked it, spilling all the sap, and rem
deriug the vessel, wbioh had cost four dol.
lam, useless. We were all in dismay. Jest
at that time Old Wittals happened to pass
on hie way to Peterborough. He very good-
naturedly offered to get the kettle repaired
for es, synch, he said, could be easily done
by a rivet and an iron lump, Bub where
was the money to come from ? I thought
awhile. Katie had a magnificent coral and
bells, the gift of her godfather; I tusked. the
dear child if she would give it to buy another
kettle for Mr. T—. She said, I would
give ten time as meth to help mamma."
I wrote a little note to Emilia, who was
edit at ber father's; and Mr. W-----, the
storekeeper, sent us a fine augar-kettle back
by Witte's, and alto the other mended, in
exchange for the useless pieoe of finery, We
had now two kettles at work, to the joy of
Jenny, who declared that it was a kooky
fairy who had broken the old kettle.
While Jenny was engaged in boiling and
gathering the sap in the bush, I sugared off
the syrup In the house; an operation watch-
ed by the children with intense interest.
After' standing all day over the hob Move -
fire, it was quite a refreshment to breathe
tbe pure air at night. Every evening I ran
up to see Jenny in the birth, singing and
boilng down the sap in front of lier little
shanty. The old woman was in her element,
and afraid of nothing under the stars 1 she
slept beside her kettles at night, and snap-
ped her fingers .at the idea of the least
idea of danger. She was sometimes rather
despotic in her treatment of her attendant,
Sol. One morning, in particular, she be-
stowed upon the lact a severe cuffing.
I ran up the clearing to the rescue, when
my ears were assaLed by the " boo-hooing "
of the boy.
"What has happened? Why do you
beat the child, Jenny ?"
"It's Pee thin, I that will bate hini—the
unlucky omadhawn I Has not he spilt and
apnea two buckets of syrup, that I have
been the live -long night bum'. Sorra wid
him; I'd like to strip the skin off him,
would 1 Mesita 1 but 'Ms enough to vim a
saint"
"AII, Jenny 1" blubbered the poor boy,
"but you have no mercy. You forget that
I have but me eye, ana that I could not see
the root which caught my foot and threw
me down."
"Pais I an' 'tie a pity that you have the
one eye, when you don't know how to make
a betther use of it," muttered the angry
dame, as shepioked up the pails, and push-
ing him on before her, bear a retreat into
the bush.
I was heartily sick of the sugarmaking;
long befote the season was over, however,
we were well paid for our trouble. Besides
one hundred ond twelve pounds of fine soft
auger, as good as Muscovado, we had FAX
gallons of molasses, and a keg containing
six gallona of excellent vinegar. There was
no lack, this year, of nice preserves and
pickled cucumbers, dainties found in every
native Canadian establishment.
Beaides gaining a little money with my
pen, I practiced a method of pais:alum birds
and butterflies upon the white, velvety sur-
face of the large fungi, that grow plentifully
upon the bark of the sugermaple. These
had an attractive appearance; and my
brother, who wag a captain in one of the
provhional regiments, sold a great many of
them among the offieers, without saying by
whom they were painted. One rioh lady in
Peterborough, long since dead, ordered two
dozen to send as curiosities to England.
These at one shilling each, enabled me to
buy shoes for the children, who, during our
bad times, had been forced to dispense with
these necessary coverings. How often, dur-
ing the winter season, have I wept over their
little chapped feet, literally washing them
with my tears 1 But these days were to
end; Providence was doing great things for
me for my labours. Such se application un; and Hope reused her drooping head, to
was like a gleam of light springing up in the regard with a brighter glance the far-off
future
darkness; it seemed to promise Tthe dawn-
ing of a brighter day. I had never been
able to turn my thoughts towards literature
duringmy sojourn in the bush. When the
i
body s fatigued with labour, unwonted and
beyond its strength, the mind is in no con-
dition for mental occupation.
The year before, I had been requested be
an American author, of great merit, to con-
trioute to the "North American Review,"
published for several years in Philadelphia;
and he promised to remunerate me in pro-
portion to the success of the work. I had
contrived to write several articles after the
children were asleep, though the expense
even of the stationary and the postage of
the manuscripts was severely telt by one ars
destitute of mean: but the hope of being
Slowly the winter rolled away.; but he to
whom every thought turned was still dire
tant from his humble home. The receipt of
an occasional letter hem him was my only
solace during his long %Wenn, and e e were
still too poor, to indulge often in this luxury.
My poor Katie was as anxious as her
mother to hear from her father; and when
I did get the long -looked -for prize, the
would kneel down before n,e, her little el-
bows resting on my knees, her head thrown
back, and the tears trickling down her in-
nocent cbeeks, eagerly drinking in every
word. .
The spring brought us plenty of work;
we had potaton and corn to plant, aud the
garden to oultiiiite. By lending my oxen
the least service to those dear to me cheered for two days work, I gob Wittals, who had
me to the task. I never realized anything no oxen, to drag roe in a few acres of oats,
from thatisouroe ; but I believe it was not and to prepare the land for potatoes and
the fault of the editor. Several other Amer-
ican editors had written to me to furnish
them with articles; but I was unable to pay
the postage of heavy paskets to the States,
and they could not reach their destination
without being paid to the frontier. Thus,
all chance of making anything in that way
had been abandoned. I wrote to Mr. L --
and frankly informed him how I was situ-
ated. In the moat liberal manner, he offered
to pay the postage on all manuscripts to hie
office, and left me to name my own tonne of
remuneration. This opened up a new era in
my existence; and for many years I have
found in this generous man, to whom I am
Estill personally unknown, a steady friend.
I acteally shed tears of joy over the first
twenty -dollar bill I received from Montreal.
It was my own; I had earned it with my
own hand; and it seemed to my delighted
fancy to form the nude= out of which a
future independence for my family might
arise. I no longer retired to bed when the
labors of the day were over. 1 sat up, and
wrote by the light of a strange sort of
candle, that Jenny milled "elute," and which
the old woman manufactured out of pieces
of old rage, twisted together and dipped in
pork lard, and stuck in a bottle. They did
not give a bad light, but it took a great
many of them to het me for a few hours.
The faithful old ereature regarded my
writings with a jealous eye, "An', shun,
it's kitties' tiers& that your are entirely.
You were thin enough before you took to
the pen; teribblin' an' setabblin when you
8110111d be in bed an' redeem Whet good
will it be to your childhor'dear heart ! if
you die afore yeur time, by wattle' your
strength afthet that fashion ?''
Jenny never could conceive the use of
books. "Shue we oan live withoub them.
It's only a waste of time botherin' veer
brain wid the like of them ; but, thank
goodeesii I the lard will soon be all done, an'
thin we shall hear you spakin" again, instead
of sitting there doidsled up all night, de-
stroying your eyes ven porin over the dirthy
writhe."
As the sugar -making seanon drew near,
Jenny conceived the bold thouseht of making
a good Zump a huger, that the "thildher"
might have something to "ate" With their
bread dming the summer. We had no
sugar -kettle, but re neighbor proinised to
lend us his, and to give us +seventy-01,MM
troughs, on condition that We gave him half
the sugar we mead,
t
corn. The former I dropped Into the earth,
while , Jenny covered them up with the
hoe.
Our garden was well dug and plentifully
manured, the woman brieginwthe manure,
which bad lain for several yet& at the barn
door, down to the plot, in a large Indian
basket placed upon a hand -sleigh. We had
soon every sort of vegetable sown, with
plenty of melons and oucumberm and all our
beds promised a good return. There were
large flights of ducks upon the lake every
night andemonaing ; but though we had
guns, we did not know how to use them.
However, I thought of a plan, which, I
flattered myself, might prove successful ; I
gob Sol, to plant two stakea in the shallow
water, near the rice beds, and to these I
attached a slender rope'made by braiding
long strips of the inner bark of the basswood
together ; to these again I fastened, at regu.
bar intervals, about a quarter of a yard of
whipcord) headed by a strong perch -hook.
These hooks I baited with fish offal, leaving
them to float just under the water. Early
next morning, I BMW a fine black duck flut-
tering upon the line. The boy ran down
with the paddles, but before he could reach
the spot, the captive got away, by carrying
the hook and line with him. At the next
stake he found upon the hooks a large eel
and a catfish.
I had never before seen one of those
whithered, toad -like natives of the Caned -
Ian watere (so common to the Bay of Quintet,
where they grow to a great size), that I was
really terrified at the sight of the hideous
beast, and to)d Sol. to throw, it away. In
this I was very foolish; for they are es.
teemed, good sating in many parts of Owed& ;
but, to the, the sight of the reptile -like thing
la enough --it it uglier and far more disgust-
ing looking than a toad.
Whenithe trees came into leaf, and the
meadOwa were green, end flashed with fhwi
ere, the poor children used to talk constant.
ly to me of their father's return; their intro -
cent prattle math Me eery sad, Every, even-
ing we walked bete the woodei along the
math that he must dome whenever he ata
return horne to 'meet him; and, though, it
Was ti vain hope, and the walk wee taken
just to amuse the little ones, 1 used to be silly
enough MS feel deeply disappointed when we
retureed alone, Donald) Who was a Mere
baby when his father left us, °mild just be -
pin to put words togelher a Who is
papa 'When Will he Mune ?" " Will he
°erne by the mad "Will he (some in a
canoe 2" The little oreature's curiosity to
Bee this unknown father was really ventur-
ing ; and oh 1 how I longed to present the
little fellow, with his rosy oheeke and ourli
ing hair, to his father; he was so fair, so
ahogether tharming in em eyes. Entine bad
called him Cinder°, the Saxon; and he well
suited the name, with his frank, bonen dia.
position, and large, hoeing, blue eyes,
June bad commenced; the weather was
very wenn, and Mr. T— had want for
the loan of old Jenny to help hint for a deir
with his potatoes. I had just prepared
dinner when the old woinan mime shrieking
like a mad thing down the clearing, and
waving her hands towards me, I could not
inaagine what had happened.
"Ninny's mid 1" whispered Dunbar ;
"sheer the old girl for making a none."
"Joy 1. joy 1" bawled out the old woman,
now runntng breathlessly towards iss, "The
rnaether's come—the meether's 00Me
"Where ?—where ?"
" Jist above in the wood. Goodness
wedelns' ! I have run to let you know -80
taet—that my hearb—is like to—break,"
Without stopping to comfort poor Jenny,
off started the children and myself, at the
top of our speed; but I soon found that I
could not run—I was too =oh agitated. 1
gob to the head of the bush, and sat down
upon a fallen tree. The children sprang
forward like wild kids, all but Doneld, who
remained with his old nurse. I covered my
face with my hands; my heart too, was
beating audibly; end now that he was come,
Mid was so near me, I namely could com-
mand strength to meet hire. The sound of
happy young voices roused me 1.113 ; the chil-
dren were leadina him along in triumph;
and he was bending down to them, all
smiles, but hot and tired with hie long jour-
ney. 11 was almost worth our separation,
that blissful meeting. In a few minutes he
was at home, and the children upon his
knees. Katie stood eilently holding his
hand, but Addie and Dunbar had a thousand
things to tell him. Donald was frightened
at his military dress, but he peeped at him
from behind my gown until I caught and
placed him in his father's arms.
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
People With and Without Pedigrees.
Do not be startled—we do not have in
mind your ability to trace your dement
back from the farnous or notorious %milieu
of the old world, or even to the Knicker-
bockers of New York or Beacon street,
Boston. We have a different pedigree in
view. Did you help when men of your vo-
cation chipped in to start a looal fair? No?
Well, you have no pedigree in that direc-
tion. Did you take hold, pay a little and
lose a little time when the fair in your
neighborhood was orgenized ? No? Then
you have nothing to point to with pride. as
a farmer, in that regard. Did you "come
down" when the Alliance was gotten up
neer you,
with time and money? No? Ah,
then nobody will give you any credit. Did
you "throw in"when a certain neighbor
lost heavily through no fault of his own,
beginners or the bike? No? Then nobody
remembers you kindly. Did you help build
any of the churches in your vicinity ? No ?
Then neither God nor his people owe you
anything. Have you ever taught Sunday
school? No? Then the generation that
follows you will not need to thielle of you
veramaly. Did you ever open a snowed up
road, when nobody a,sked you ? No ? Then
the public owes you nothing. You have
no pedigree that mortal man cares to have
talked over. You are a sorub and run to
the woods. The hoards you are saving
will be quarreled over by those who wait
for your shoes'and no tears will be shed
when you are dibbled into the ground like
a dog. But this man, over here'let's see
what blood is in him. You helped that poor
fellow that was hailed? Yee. You binned
start that agrioultural society? Yea. You
lost some time getting up that Alliance?
Yee. You take time and pay money to help
maintain the moral, intellectual and relig
ions growth of your neighborhood? Yes.
Yon lend books to and encourage year neigh-
bors' young people 2 Yes. You a,void
quarrels and law. suits ? Yes. You help
the deserving poor? Yes. You are a
thoroughbred. It will be a sorrowfrd day
among your neighbors when you go to your
reward.
Amusing a Patient.
The old time doctor's ideas ole physician's
duty to a patient were benevolently meant
but hardly tender hearted. One of the sur-
geons of a past generation, having in charge
a case where a patient's limb was badly
crushed, announced that he was about to
perform an amputation.
A near relative of the wounded man took
the doctor to one side and asked: "Do
you think, doctor, that the patient will get
over it ?"
"He ? Never 1 hy, there hasn't been
the least chance of his recovery from the
start."
"Then what is the use of putting him
through the suffering ?"
" Oh, well, you see, we doctors don't like
to tell patients right off fleet they've got to
die. We like to do a little something to
amuse them 1"
Misapplied Pity
Bering lost his wife when his only child—
& little girl—was but six years old, Sandy
McPherson decided to venture again on the
stormy sea of matrimony. His second wife
was by no EMUS a monad She yeas very
kind to little Maggie, but she ruled her hus-
band with a rod of irols. lila club knew
him no more, his latchkey was confleoated,
his pipe tabooed and his life generally made
wretched. Rumors of the altered state of
things soon inroad abroad, and an old lady,
meeting Maggie on her way to school, Meted
the little mite warmly, bought her a big
poke of sweets and said :
"Puir wee lassie, ye've only a stepanither
the noo ; eh, bit I'negey sorry for ye, dearie."
"Ye're no' needin'," said Maggie, solemn-
ly; "but I like ye tae feel awfu' sorry for
ma puir faither."
Not fitted for Journalism.
Editor (to reportie)—" 1 think we'll dire
pense with your services hereafter."
"Wo can't afford to keep a man who
ee why m
makes enemies of the beet people m town."
4' How have I made enemies ?"
"See here—in this account of the wed-
ding last night you make no reference to the
bride being beautiful ad accomplished, and
you diemiseed the groom without saying that
he for one of the meet popular young' Men in
the city. That kind of busibeesevon't work
in this office."
A Oruel Comment.
"You write nootry some times, do you
hot Mr, De Jay 7' said a young leder.
"Oh, ywea-s, occasiotatly, 1 drop bite
wime. ' .
" you feill hard Wheal you erop ?"
"1, r don't quite oompweliond you."
'4/ thought that yeti intist drop pretty
hard, your verses always read as if it hurt
you.",--41V1erchant Traveller
TRE EARTH ON A TEAR.
Startling Conyeistone et a Quebec Fermetes
Land.
A late deepetch from Berthier, Que,
gives the following account of the land
elide near that place :—A most renteritable
phenomenon occurred in the Parish of
Bertheir, about three miles from the upper
town, to -day, and the inhabitants here-
abouts, fifteen -sixteenths of whom are
French Canadians, are in a deplorable state
of fear and parsie over what they imagine
is a -visitation from, Mod. Fernier Savignao,
just after daylight, heard a low, hollow,
rumbling noise, and felt a swaying of hie
house, He rushed into the open, where a
sight met his gaze which all but paralyzed
him. A barn about 50 yard') from bus
house was etendieg up on one corner, the
roof eliding off and Eilowly crumbling to
pieces before his eyes. Another barn,
which had etood 100 yerds front the first,
was lying flattened out on the ground, the
hay and straw tumbled all about seal the
cattle and hones standing still, ehrielting
with terror. The trees along the banks of
a email tiver that ran by the Savignao farm
aeemed to be drunk, for they 'swayed about
and anumed attitudes 'Which under certain
circumstanoes would make a man believe
he had a bad attack of the jams, The ice
which had covered the river the night be-
fore wee gone, and the bed of the river dry.
The fence si on his farm were, some of them
entirely gone, the rest ecattered about like
ehavings. Savignae called fairs two eons and
wife, and was pointing to the recent move-
ments of hh larger barn, when
THE HAWIH GAVE ANOTHER SHIVER,
seemed to assume CM appearance like the
waves of a sea, ancIthen slowly, Aunty awl,
to the onlookers, appalling, began to oink.
The large barn flopped over cn ite side, and
then spreading out disappeared into the
earth.
The barley field, formerly as fiat and
level as a billiard table, got its back up in a
hundred shapes, in some places sinking to a
depth of 504ee1, in others rising upin a series
of small hills. The banks of the river curled
back upon themselves and the ground be-
tween them arose to a ridge, the crust of
which was formed by the river bed, the
bottoms of the sides being formed of what
formerly were the banks.
To the north of Savignaces barna, and en water dad. keep d bottle of it handy. Any
the farm of Pierre Lalonde,' the latter's good spirituous liquor would do the same. '
brick -lined well rose straight up into the Thenks to the 'silk mill at Beading, Pa,,
air, where it looks like the ohimnpy of e.
subterranean house. Lalonde's farm tank 50
feet at least, and the river, which passed
within 200 yards of his house, ran into a
depression of the earth, forty acres in ex-
tent, where it formed a lake, the southern
outlet of w.hich is a crack in the ground
leading to where no one knows,
A small grade on Savignac's farm has en-
tirely disappeared, the earth opening 'and
then closing over the trees in regular
pantomime fashion. Twelve ot Savignao's
cattle snd three of his horses were swallow-
ed up in his smallest barn and all his
la
ag
rrgi
ebrn.
cu
l
at
u
r
a
l
implements were hat in his
'
XISCELLaNZOTTO,
Mist Herriet Hamner, the aoulptress, is la
Louie, receiving homy sooial. ettentions,
A blind woman who died in 1879, or her
representative, has been drewing up to date
a olaaritable pension of £20 in Leaden, The
longevity of annuitants is proverbial, but a
more terrible vista is opened by this plan of
post mortem perpetuation. What would be
the °omit cinema if this practice) were applied
by our ingcnions neighbors to their gigantic
pension list?
Detroit is raising a howl bemuse Senator
Morgan's Retaliation resoletion would out
off eer trade by Canadian reilways, leuffelo
is raising a howl because the proposed im-
position of a duty on freaks Ash would kill
her large trade in freah fish caught in the
Catiesdian lakes. There does not seem to be
anyway of killing trade that will not dam-
age at least two persons.
The Detroit " journal " hints that Can-
adians in objscting to the divorce laws and
the system of electing judges and of voting
ID the United States do not know much
about that weary, for, it says, theseithings
are all State matters. The answer is a
rether childish one, aa the objection is, of
course, to the provisions in the constitution
which permit the States to have distinctive
mid different divorce laws, te have elector-
al jedgeships, and an imperfect system of
ballot
The United States oan occasionally learn
something good from Canada or England,
The Legislatures of several of tbe States are
considering an electorel reform law similar
ID its leading feetures to that adopted in
Great Britainand the Dominion. The law in
Great Britain has practically'stopped bribery
and bas reduced the cost of general electiorui
about 75 per cent. In Canada the law has
also worked welL It may reascnably be in-
ferred that the dhange proposed wcsuld pro-
duce good results in the United States.
A writer on hounhold topics offers the
following as the quickest method of oleanieg
a lamp chimney: "Dampen a clean cloth ui
aloohol or alcohol and water; rub theichim-
ney, then the lamp, and wash out your cloth
for nexb time. If you don't get your cloth
Mo wet you Mil wipe off the 'smoke and
grease almost instently, and leave the
chimney clear and bright. If you don't
want to use clear alcohol, dilute it with
THE RoLLING or THE EARTH
twisted his dwelling house out of shape,
caused chimneys to fall and rendered the
building uninhabitable. .
The first news of the phenomenon reached
here by a score of affrighted inhabitants
who came into Berthier with news that the
devil was seento issue from the earth
breathing blue fire and enveloped in flames,
They swore they. they heard him bellow and
saw the ground move in greet billows wher-
ever he walked. They could not be induc-
ed to return, but rushed to the nearest
church, where they said mass for over an
hour.
George Valiquet headelt a party of non -
superstitious people. Half a mile this side
of 13avignacee he was suddenly stopped by h
crack an the ground a foot wide extending
across the road and about threrequarters cot
7. mile long. Stones thrown into it sent
back no sound, but the ear placed to the
oraok heard a noise as of running water.
Fifty yards the other side of the crack the
ground appeared as if it had been upturned
by some gigantic plow. It was formerly a
very level part of the country, but now was
nothing but a succession of ridges and gullies,
hills and cavities, ea the sides of which were
holes and cracks. Into some ofthete a man
could easily enter.
Sa.vignees farm was a curiosity. Hie
house lookeci like the
LI:ANIS-a TOWER or PISA.,
while his flet fields encl well kept pastures
were a succession of hills and holes.
The farm of La Tondo was in a similar
condition, though only one of his barns had
dropped through the earth, and only four of
his oattle had been killed.
All the wens in a radius of two miles were
dry, and people were melting snow to get
water. A close examination of the earth
crust suggests the Mheory that the farms
were over a vast cavern, and that the crust,
which appears to be from 6 to 12 feet thick,
has eollapeed„
At some of the holes and. oracles a rush.
ing noise can be heard as of some mighty
under -ground river, forcing its way through
the bowele of the earth. Of all the snow
which was on the groend fallen in there is
not a particle left.
One of Le Tonde'a eons'who has nob yet
got over his fright, says that he distinctly
saw it melt before his oyes, though the
temperature Was nearly zero. Its the small
villages hereabouts the greatest consterns.-
tion exerts. Nine.tenthe of the ptpalation
firmly believe that if they go to sleep they
will wake up in the infernal regions, Those
who dare walk at all are hurrying to the
churches, where they are raying masses with
an energy horn of despair, while those who
are left behind are huddled round great
fires in the mien air, apprehensively await
ing the next shake up. They can not be
induced to °Titer their houses. The priests
are doing all in their power to allay the ex-
citement, but ere nearly powerless.
A similar phenomenon'but on a much
smaller scale, occurred atBeloeil Mountain
last summer, when a fifty acre farm sank
bodily some 40 feed houses, barns and all.
A Japanese J uggier-
The skill of Japanese jugglers is illustrate
ed by a reoenb incident at a Japanese din.
her, where one of them was einployed to
entertain the company. A foreign guest
deterneined to have no optical delusion
about what the juggler did. He never let
his glances be distraoted and was not ohm
off his guard. Noticing this the old juggler
plityed to bim entirety. An imulense pace.
lam vase was brought in and Set in the
middle of the room, and the juggler crawl-
ing up let himself down into it slowly The
skeptic then eat for a half hour 'Without
taking his eyes from the vase these he he
first been convinced wee sound'and firm and
Mood on est trap door. After this prolonged
watoh the rest of the company united him
with laUghter and jeers and pointed tO
side,. where the old juggler was Seated
famog himeelf, and had been seated for
genie Minutea.
being lit by electricilight instead of gas, the
number of deaths was not ao large ail at first
suppoied. Most of the three hundred buri-
ed in the rani were rescued in a but slightly
damaged condition, and only eighteen were
taken out dead. Had there beeu a couple of
hundred gas jets pouring flumes into the
ruins of the wooden building, scores must °
have been roasted alive. Legislatures could
probably compel the lighting of all large
inflammable buildings with the electric
light.
Ireland might have had a gnat prima
donna. Countess Mary Taafe, the beautiful
daughter of Count Tosco, the prime minister
to Emperor Francis Joseph, has a soprano
voice which is described as simply perfection.
So highly has the /stung lady cultivated her
gift that the great Patti exclaimed on hear.
Ing her sing, "You are more than my
equal." Countess Mary only sings at courts
and at mass, however. lier father is also
Viscount Taafe in the peerage of Ireland,
and so the Emerald Isle can Neely claim tde
nightingale.
The women's rights movement has scored
another distinct success by the election of
Ledy Sandhurst and Min Jane Cobden as
members of the new London (England)
Connell. Now that two ladies have been re-
turned to fill positions of so muoh responsi-
bility, one may expect soon to find numer-
ous offices of minor importer= tilled by
women. It is a doubtful point whether the
ladies have greater righta as citizens in Great
Britain or the United States. In domestic
matters it is generally conceded that it is in
the United States that they enjoy the great-
est privilege. ,
"Is it a fact that they run the horses in
Australia without shoes ?" This imetion
was asked me at tbe Bay District track a few
days ago, and when I told the gentleman
that I had seen the stewards at Caulfield
threaten to expel an owner who wished to
start his horse shod, they stating it would
make two seconds difference in a mile, my
friend evidently thoneht I was deviating
from the paths of truth, still it is a fact. The
stewards wished to protect the betting pub-
lic, and knew the horse would be handicap-
ped with shoes' as all horses run much faster
when not shod.
"The Scottish Church and University
Almanac" gives facts and figures regarding
the Presbyterian churches ot the little king-
dom. The Ertablished Church is credited
with a membership of 579,043, the incomes
last yera being £385,596. The Free Church
had an income of £592, and the income of
She United Presbyterian Church is set down
at £368M08. The firat of these has rich en-
dowments. The other two are voluntary
orginizetions, mid depend upon themselves
for support. Jointly the Free and United
Presbyterian churches repreeent a little over
one-half cf the population.
The pew question has been raised in New
York by a worshipper who completes that
when attending a free church he was placed
next to a Christian who had been eating
onions. The objection to free seats on the
score of the ilevour of onions is not valid,
for onions may pervade the pews as well as
the benches. If the complaint really has a
moral it is that persons who attend public
gatherings should eathew the noisome vege-
table, The discussion consequent upon the
onion objection includes an interesting
letter from the Rev. Dr. Rainsford, former-
ly of Toronto, who upholds free seats.
Water Gas ie being used instead of coal
for driving the machinery at the Leeds
Forge Works'n Eng. The coof the gas
delivered intothe furnaces ie eight cents a
thousani net, and the flaying effected at
this one mill is £10,000 a year. Ars we have
before remarked, the time is coming when
to burn cull except th decompon water into
its constituent gases will be thought the
height of wastefulness. It may not be long
before gas works will cease supplying illum-
bmting gas, but will produce fuel as and
distribute it at about twentyfive cents a
thouBand, ming it themeelves foe the pro-
duction of eloottic light, °
In the Mother Country of late years the
tubjeot of home decoration hes been reedy
-
Mg a great deal of setter:hien. The wecerat
&rta and Craft e Exhibition in London. affords
ed an interesting commentary' on this foot.
Among the exhibitors there were fiftytWo
women, and of these thkey five 'were made
and specialists in decorative work* including
/designing, reponse°, and bae-rellef and
embroidery. ' Evening looturee hi art Work
Were given by such well-known artiste as
Morrie, Waltet Crane, and George Simonds,
The tendency antieng the lean io cultivate
the art arid Seienee Gi home decoration is in
these resale dome an adirlithble one, and
edueatum in this direptionitt sure to bear
good fruit,