HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Exeter Times, 1889-3-7, Page 63 A. WOMA.ITS PRISON,
iltrange Experi.enoes Belated by the War.
d.en,
waa for several years assistant werden
ha a Mate prima where only male oonvicta
weonfined, and I left: that to become
warden of a prisou where over 300 femalea
Were 'ander lack teed key the year round.
If forced to chooee I would prefer to have
charge of 500 melee rather thao 100 females,
Most Tame enter prison feeling that they
have deeerved their punishment and anxious
to make all the good time poasilole. No
woman admits her guilt, and by the time
•ehe reaches prison she has convinced herself
that she is e. martyr. One not familiar with
the workinga of IA female prison can have no
idea of the trouble and annoyance an obstin-
ate inmate OBI3 cause. A male convict who
M obstinate, malicious, and bent on caueing
trouble ma be punished and forced to give
in, but you can only go so far in inflicting
monishment on a wornen, and the limit
tearcely compels obedience to routine or
elera.
One i:af my first patients was a woman
named 'Mary Noonan. She was on a life
sentence for the murder of her husband, and
had been in the prison five years. A change
of wardens alwaye renewe the hopes of those
looking for a pardon, and it always menses a weal. She had been gone half an hour be- iron burned themadman flesh end so intim-
change in the conduct of certain priaonersfore she was missed, and it was a full hour ated him that he turned his wrath from his
I had not been in the new place a fortuight before the means of exit was discovered. brothers to the stove. He rushed at it and
when I discovered that all the convicts The dirt had been carried to the rear end of declared he would throw it into the street.
exoept one were perfectly innocent of orime the room and flung behind some old The lunatic endeavored to pick the stove
and had been sent up through mistake or tubs and mangles, and she had done no in his arms, but the hot iron burned his
malice, The exception was a youngish wo- her work as well aa the °ref tieetmem.
man named Haskins, who had poisoned the She had likewise got hold of breed and meat,
man who betrayed her and was inaking ewo me„ mot got into the street she only
neatly to desert her. She not only acknow- went two am:tares before hiding herBelf in
ledged the crime, but felt that she had onlY a horse barn. The owner had no horse, and
done her duty in revenging herself, The as it was summer time the woman oould not
innocents were all agog for seine thange to Puffer lying on the hay up stairs. There
^benefit them, wnile at least a hundred ex- wet water below, and she economized her
fpeeted me to recommend them for pardon. food to inake it last as long as possible. Im-
-Mrs. Noonan sought an interview with me medietely that her escape was discovered, I
for the purpose of stating' that she had dis- used every exertion to secure her recapture,
covered new evidence bearing on her case : having depots watched and the country
evidence which would conclusively prove scoured in every direction. .8 week past
her own innocence. She had, in a fit of and I could not obtain the slightest clue.
anger, as the records of the case showed, Then owe night a, barn on the alley opposite the
stabbed her hueband with a butcher knife one she was hidden in was eet on fire, and
at noontinae and before her four children. before the engines got to work the roof of
It was the clearest case in the world, but the other was ablaze. I happened to be
the contended that a great WM:1g had been early on the spot, and what was my as -
done her, and that the real murderer had tonishment when Mrs. Williams quietly
escaped. opened the door and et alked plump into my
The new evidence had comes to her in a arms. She shed tears of vexation when re -
dream She had dreamed that a clerk in a turned to her old quarters, having made up
certain grocery near her home had stabbed
Noonan before he entered the house,
and
that the guilty ma,n was now anxious to con -
fees the fact and obtain her release. The
idea was so absurd and silly that I eould not
promise laer anything, and from that hour
she determined to make me all the trouble
possible. She first refused to work. I gave
her a day in which to think it over, and as
she remained obdurate she was locked up in
a dark cell with only bread and water. Oa
the fourth day word was brought me that
Mrs. Noonan was dead. I went with the
prison doctor to the cell, and we found the
body growing rigid and cold. Both ot us
had men many cases of shamming, and,
while convinced that this waa another, the
counterfeit was startling. The acme dropped,
the half-shne eyes had the glaze of death,
and the flesh assumed that pallor which
only death can bring. And yet we both
felt that the woman was alive. Indeed,
there was a flutter of the pulse and the heart
to prove it. It was a case of e.nbaiation sus-
pended by will power. Perhaps not more
than one person in ten thousand is able to
• control mind and muscle in this manner. It
is, for a time, next door to actual death. It
does not require nerve, as I understand it,
but simply the power to collapae, as it were.
Prieoners who have thus shammed on me,
have explained afterward that they heard
every word spoken around them, though
no voice sounded natural. They did not re-
alize any feeling except that of extreme
lightnees, as if all solidity had gone out of
the body. It required no particular effort
to hold the brealth or keep the linabs rigid.
I ordered the body to be prepared and
placed in a coffin and the coffin placed in a
shed next to the laundry. 1 supposed this
was what Mary wanted and had ,planned
for. All the other prisoners believed her
dead, and she had two or three particular
friends who wept over her loss. The coffin
was placed in the shed about sundown, and
two men set to watch it. At midnight
Mary rose up, climbed out, and was work-
ing to loosen a board when aceosted by the
watchers. She returned to her work next
morning as usual, and refused to anewer any
queations or make any explanations. About
once a week fertile next five years she had
some new scheme to annoy me, and I was
ever wonderince what she would do newt.
It is seldom that one hears of a woman es-
, coping from a primp. This is not for the
, reason that they do not long for liberty, nor
that some of them are nob desperate enough
• at times to take any risk. One of the moat
...deceptive of the inmates of the prison was a
Oittle woman of 30, all smiles and sunshine,
who had been sent up for a number of years'
ffer committing a robbery. She was good-
looking, well educated, and evidently of
good birth. Every word and movement
was ladylike, and during the six moat= she
tied aerved before I took charge she had
quite won the matron's heart. She was
placed in charge of twelve sewing women in
a room on the second floor, fronting a side
street. These women made the oletthing of
the inmatea. This sewing room was lighted
by two windows, defended by bars, of course.
Aaff this room was a stock or store room, and
1Virs. Newman, as the little woman was
called, had the key to this and was in
charge. There was but one window in this
room. Mra. Newraan was the last person I
should have picked out as a plotter. Indeed,
I should not have expected her to go out had
the doors been left open.
One midafternoon it was reported that the
throe yeste when I took oherge. She claim -
aid to be the violate of a conespiracy, but
Seemed content to bide her time. Off the
laundry was a lerge, badly -lighted room
whith haa been intended for y refreotorcells,
t3TRUGGLIE 'A MADMAN.
Tbe '1'errible Experiences of the Brothers
sad Nether of Frank Dere.
•
but which had never been fimehed up. 0 Frahle Betio a young German, aged 23, live
room was now used as a catch-all for the ing with his family, in West Twentieth
laundry. There were eleven women in the Street, Chicago, has for several years been
laundry, s,nel in doing what she did Mcs, conaidered nuldly inseam Two years ago
Williams had to blind them all. One end he was Bent to the asylum at Jefferson, but
of this room visas toward the side street, and was released in a few months and returned
the wall was tame feet) deep, and sunk sixlhome. He never exhibited any, eigne of vio-
or seven feet into the ground. The floor lenoe until last night about 10 o'clock, when,
was of concrete. A month before I came , without warning, be struck his mother and
the forewoman was taken sick and Mrs, commenced to abuee her in the vilest manner.
Williams was promoted to her plaoe. She His brothers "spoke to him sharply, but this
could now patilS any where about the laundry only inturiated him, and seizing a chair, he
unquestioned, and she at once began, work- rushed tat hie mother with the evident inten-
bite on a plan to eecape. Her tool's were an
old hatchet and a smell fire shovel, and she
began digging from the roora described to
Mon of braining her.
The two brothers eeized him and succeeded
in forcing him into the kitchen, where a ter -
undermine ehe wall. She was never absent rible struggle took place. The intention of
from the laundry over a quarter ot an hour tlae brothers was to throw the lunatic to the
at a time, and could not work at her digging floor and tie him hand and feet. With the
over two hours per day. The other women
saw her go and come, but it was not their
fbosinees to inquire into her movements.
In about 'seventy days Mrs. Williams had
gone down under the wall and was ready to
break the surface of the ground on the other
side. She would not risk daylight, AB the
other had done, but waited nearly is weak
until some extra, ws,eh gave her an excuse to
remain in the laundry an hour later then
ounning of a madman he divined. their o see
and used every portable object in the room to
defend himaelf. Time on again he hurled
his brothers to the door, biting, scratching
and kicking at ithem whatever they came
within reach. In the souffde the madinan's
clothes were almost torn from his body, his
arms being bared to the shoulders. In some
way his bare arm cenee in contact with the
kitchen atove, which was still hot. The hot
little holy was missing, and fifteen m nutes
later I had discovered that she had gone by
the window. Where she got a file I never
could learn, but she procured one somehow
. and filed of three bars. She was engaged
.at this work for three months. When she
got ready to go the made a stout rope of
cloth, fattened one end to a remaining bar,
and then 'slid down to the earth in safety.
•She had secretly made herself (map and a
oloak, and the walked off two blocks, board-
ed a street car, and was soon out of the
neighborhood. A trifling circumstance led
to her oapture that same night. If she had
planned' to meet friends, they had not opine
oti, She had no money, and though the
conductor did not put her off on this account),
the was flurried by the situation. She got
off at a street running out into the country,
and vealked briskly away, I happened to
take thin same oar two home later, and over-
heard the conductor relating the cirouni-
stance. I caught at the idete that it was
Ws, Newreato end at 10 o'clock that nicht
I found her in is fame house ten miles away.
She laughed merrily, Mid hoped I vvouild
hear her no 111 will.
The assistant forewoman in the laundry
Was a Mtn William, who had been sentenced
to seven shore' iraprisoisment for maitning is
ttlinantlas toad adepted. Slehd,beeuin
her mind that her escape was asssured.
Another of the inmates who pulled the presented a terrible appearance. Nearly
wool over my eyes for the moment was a
Miss Hutchins who was serving a sentence
for pocket picking. I give you her prison
narae but it was said that she was the wife
of a notorious thief and bank sneak. He
had exaneted the law in his endeavors to
get her clear, and bad made his boasts that
she should not serve her time out. When
I took charge I waa warned to be on the
&len, and I kept my eyes open as far as
possible. Miss Hutchins and two others
were employed in making fancy baskets
which were sold to procure books and
papers for the prisoners. They had a
small room off the hall leading from the
corridor to the Laundry, and were constant
ly under some one's eyes. I had been in
in the place about three months when two
young women called as visitors. It BO hap
penad that the matron was busy, and I
volunteered to escort. them about until she
should lee at leisure. We went to the
bakery, kitchen, laundry, and other places
and would have passed by the basket
room had they not particulary requested
to enter it. Not is sign of recognition
passed between the visitor and any of the
three workers. A few questions were
asked, Boma of the finished work admired,
and we passed out, As the door closed
behind us one of the visitors exclaimed:
"Dear me, but I have lost my gloves. I
must have left them on the table inethe laun-
dry."
I, of courae, volunteered to go after them
and I found them on the table. I did not
stop to speak with any one, and was not
flesh in half a dozen ,places. With a roar of
pain he loosened held and put forth whole family was beneath tue avalanche,
every effort to upset tho stove. Peering was most active in the search. By the
that he would ucceed and eat the house on
Twenty-fourth of April he nad advanced so
fire the brothers again interfered. After s
far, that, after breakfng through six feet of
a
long struggle in which.the lunatio battered ice he could touch the ground with a long
and bruised hie face and eyes in a terrible pole. Three friends worked with him.
manner, he was 'finally thrown to the .floor The four worked vigorously, and made
in an exhausted condition and tied hand their way, at length, into Bowie's house but
and foot. Although only partially conscious
no one, dead or living, was there. As it
the madman struggled hard to break his was pzobable that, at the fatal moment, the
viotims
bonds, and the family conoluded that the had sought ahelter in the atable
only thing to be done was to call in the which wee about is hundred feet from the
police. A patrol wagon was summoned.
house, Boccie and his companions directed
.
As soon as the maniac save the officers he their efforts in that quarter.
became wild again andefought as well as he After they bad burrowed for some time,
could against being removed. Fifteen
. one of them thrust a pole through an aper-
uterain
were spent tryineto get him out andl
ture, and, on withdrawing it, heard a hoarse,
s
the offieers were iinally compelled to roll faint voice say:
him in a heamylelanket and strap him .
"Help, oh dear husband 1 Help, dear bro.
up
-He was taken to the Detention Hospital tner 1 We are alive."
for the Insane. The phylsicians there report They now worked with redoubled activity,
his condition serious. The room where the
and soon made a considerable opening. And
struggle took mlace at the Berg's residence there, under the snow, Roceia to his joy
found his wife, daughter, and a sister-in-
law.
The three Bufferers were incapable of mov-
ing, and were shrunken almost to skeletons.
Tney were carefully removed from their
place of imprisonment and conveyed to the
house of a friend, and proper measures adopt-
ed for their restoration. In a few days they
were fairly recovered.
Their lives were preserved during them,
" Pet a native, slap him if you will witla long five weeks, in the following manner:
the open hand, but never strike him with
the closed fist, and never shoot until you are
first attacked and escape seems hopeless."
This was meant ---and I, too, quote it—as
both -literal and figurative advice. The
"petting policy" is the only one thatcarries
an explorer safely through Negro Africa,
and it is the one that men like Livingston,
Speke, Grant, Kirk, Thomson, De Brazes,
Emin, Schweinfurth, Lonsdale Coquilhat,
and Fangele have pursued with such sum
cess; whereaa what I would term the," fiat
fashion"—the impatient recourse to brute
force—has often led to grievous disasters,
and has never reaulted in much increase of
knowledge or main to civilization. It is the
application of the old fable, "Tho wind, the
sun, and the traveler, or persuasion is better
than force." which is so often needed as an
explanation of African success and failures.
A savage is much like a cat. Once get your
h d ur alm not
Five Weeks Beneath an Avalanohe.
A reunwirabletinstan'oe of three pergola
surviving an imprimentment of five weeks
under an avalanche is recorded in " Piastre, -
terse of Peril and Suffering," In the valley
of the Upper Sture at the feet of the Alps,
ia the little hamlet of Bergolebto. In • the
winter of 1755 the falls of mow werc; uncone
imply heavy.. On. the Nineteenth of March
the parish priest, who was on hiii wee, to the
church, heard a noim from the mountedne,
and, °eating up hie eyes, he saw two avid -
&whim descending towards the village. He
gave the alarm to some villagers, and then
retreated into his own house. '
The avalanolles came and buried over
thirty houses, and twenty-two persons were
found to be missing,—among them the
parish prieat who had given the alarm. The
Amount of snow which lay over the ruined
-dwellings was about forty-two feet deep,
two hundred and seventy feet long, and
isixty feet wide.
When the surviving peasants had shaken
,off the terror and depreaaion which such an
event must neceesarily (muse, they est about
trying to cave any life or property possible.
More than three hundred peasants trona
neighborfug villages came to their assistance.
But they could do little; the thiekness of
the snow mass was so great, and the snow
zontinued to fall from the clouds in awls
.amount that they were obliged to discon-
tinue their fruitless exertions, and waiJ till
the setting in of the warm:April winds whiela
would partly melt the gigantic piles.
On the Eighteenth of April the villagers
returned to their melancholy task. It was
with no hope of finding any human being
alive. One of them mama Ronda, whose
every piece of furniture in the room is broken
and blood. is smeared over everything. The
two brothers were severely bruised.
Stanley% Method.
I remember Stanley once saying to me,
just as I was dilating to ascend the Congo :
THE 1,ADZ AND THE PANTHER.
'Wonderful Conrsee Mumma by a Wonsan
tinder Beisperate Orcionstanees.
Mrs. II—wife of a Bombay offieial
H—;wife
ammie us the follewing aecounS of a reeent
adventure
I was visiting some friends at Matheran,
a delightful hill resort, which affords an
Agreeable relief durleg the. hot season to a
large number of jaded Bombay officials, On
my arrive' at Bella Vista, I found that some
ether of S—'e Mende had unexpectedly
leaked to be put up. and were iudmid occu-
pying the sperm room of the bungalow. I
therefore ipaiated that no change ehould be
made in the family arrangements on my ac-
count. At my earneat 'solicitation I was al-
lowed to have my way and take up my quar-
ters in a 000l, inviting tent emoted about
thirty yards from the house, and which I
foundeniue host was ming as a study. The
renioval of his books was the work of a f eW
minutes, and these were quickly replaced
by the iaeoessary furniture of a bedroom I
soon found everything arranged to my mind,
and I cougratulated myself upon having
secured the coolest and most delightful sleep-
ing apartment: in the place. The, look-
out from the door was one of exceptional
beauty. The moon ehone out cleat and
soft over the whole landscape before
me. Having done a great deal that
day, I was very weary and tired, so I soon
prepared for bed. My little fox terrier
Fidget, my only companion, took up her
timid place at the foot of my bed. I crept
under the muequito curtains and soon sunk
into a sound sleep. In about an hour I was
avvakened by the growling and barking of
Fieget, and by the light of the moon I
caught sight ot is huge panther 'Mending in
the doorway of my tent. Its eyes were flash-
ing fire, and it vvas lashing its long tail fur-
iously to and fro, as if it really tneant Mis-
chief. In a moment more it seemed on the
point of making e spring at me, and I could
no longer doubt that it was bent on making
a meal on my dog or myself. I in no way,
however, lost my presence of miud, as I
commenced shouting with all my might,
which caused the beast to beat 86 eetreat
He walked slowly towards the open door, by
which he heel entered, but only to walk
round the outside of the tent and enter by
another opening, which brought) him some-
what nearer to the bed, I stretched out my
hand and clutched at my candles and matches
and 'pickle, struck a light. This, toeether
with my shouting and the dog's barking,
startled the animal, and he again disappear.
ed. I was not certain that he would Mend
such trifling any longer, so I made a dash
for my dressing -gown, slipped into my
slippers, tucked my dog under my arm
and ran for my life. Unfortunately,
could not tell where the animal was, and the
and—your open 5100 0, yo p ,
your fist—in centact with his body, gently
and in friendship, and it is rare that he does
not yield sympathetically. If he waxes
friendly you may pat his broad back approv-
ingly, if he is saucy yon may vent your an -
They had taken refuge in the rack and
manger, which being strong, had withstood
the strain, though the roof fell. Fortunate
ly two goats were near them, which supplied
them with goat's milk in quantity sufficient
to sustain life.
To feed the goats was of prime importance.
Immedietely over the manger was a hole
into the hey loft, through this hole one of
the women was able to pull down fodder into
the rack, and when she could no longer reach
it, the sagacious animals olimbed upon her
shouldere, and. helped themselves.
Through the whole of their imprisonment
they were in tend darkness. After the first
five or BiX days they Buffered little, morn
'lunge ,r though a quart of goat's milk had
to suffice tor -tho ishroo- Mhos suffered far
more from the excessive coldness of the melte
ed snow water that trickled over therm
The Seoret of Broiling.
We are told that beefsteak for broiling
ahould be cut three-quarters of an inch thick
and put over a hot fire of coal or charcoal,
Quite right; but when it has browned quick -
absent over seventy 'or eighty seconds. The noyance in -a smart slap, but beware of the ly, as it should, and been turnedand browned
owner of the gime thanked me, complained kick and the knock -down blovv. They on the other aide, it yet remains raw in the
of a sudden headache, and remarked that effectually ,preolude reconciliation. Chaff middle, and if left longer the surface burns.
they would trouble me no further. I passed the savage, poke him in the ribs, pull his This is the experience of the novice, • who
them through two wickets and the main hall ear, make nimgrin, and urge the grin on has yet to learn two things; first, that imme-
and out of the front door, and had just got into a laugh, and he is pouts, and the con- diately after the first browning the fire must
chute in the office to write a letter when a tagion of good humor spreads among his decrease in heat, or the meat be brought
messenger from the matron said I was want- hesitating fellows. You need not go in for further away so that the steak may cook ten
ed at once. When I reached her she stood buffooneries or lower met dignity which or twelve minutes without burning—less
beside a sharp, good-looking young woman should always attend the white man, but time will not cook it nicely in the middle;
who was in dialmoille, and a stranger. She you will find a little playfulness, a little and second, that, like baked meat, the sur -
had been discovered in one of the cells almost 1 human sympathy and kindness in no way face must be kept moist with hob fat, Be -
by accident.
"What does this mean ?" tasked, failing
to connect her presence with an absence.
"1 do not know 1" she replied, wringine
her hands and lookiag in is helpless way.
"Oh, air, where am I, and won't you take
me home ?"
I own up that she befooled vaeneatly, and
delayed me a quarter of an hour. It was a
put-up job. The two girls had come in to
do just what they did do. When 1 started
for the gloves Miss Hutchins cane into
the hall. In the minute and is half
she was clothed at the expense of one
of the visitors, and the latter found
refuge in an open cell, A carriage
stood in front of the prison to carry them
away, and they had a long start. There
were two crooks in the job, and the party
felt so elated over bamboozling me that they
got drunk as they pushed along the highway
for a town twenty miles off. Fifteen miles
away the carriage was upset and broken,
Mies Hutchins injured, and the other three
arrested for brawling. Suspicion was arous-
ed, and I wax telegraphed to, and inside of
twentrefour hours I had my prisoner back.
Later on those who had helped her escape
bad to serve out sentences for six months,
and the crooks were wanted for is job which
gave them five years apiece.
Great Strike in Gas.
COLLINOWOOD, Feb. 28.—Sunday morning
while pumping water for a. baptism in the
Ileptist church in this town, the top of the
pump (which is situated inside the building)
was blown off by natural gas. The windoevs
and doors were immediately thrown open
and due precautions were taken to prevent
the gakt taking fire. No damage was done to
the edifice, btzt the oongregation was areatly
alarmed. The gas is still rushing from the
well with great force, bat from the uncertain
Sivi of the pipe it is almost impossible to
estimate the quantity that is escaping. Ex.
°Moment prevails ha town, and great things
are expected from this find.
Miss Atnelia Wadsworth, of Springfield,
ha ving publioly leotttrect on marriage as a
failure, a newspaper intim weiat to work and
proved that she had been engaged and
siltea three different thaws.
A silver pocket flask that excites attention
is delicately emboseed With masses of twin-
ing foliage and decorations.
A bib pin that claims recognition ie decor-
ated ite the lOvver part of the froolm•from
beneath which are seen the tees of two till'
feat,
prejudice the respect that the poor sevage
innately feels for the—to him—godlike white
man. In penetrating mad over -running
these uncivilized lands European travelers
should remember that they belong to the
native inhabitants, not to the civilized din
coverer—it is timer country, not ours—and
this is too easily forgotten.—[The Fortnight-
ly Review..
Well -Dressed Missouri.
A Washington clee,patch to the New York
World says : —The recent appointment of a
Mr. Overall as a member of the Police Board
in St. Louis suggested to Mr. Springer to-
day how very sartorial a State Missouri is.
Veat and Schurz are two of its leading orna-
ments. The State Legialature has a Dresser,
a Beaver, two Drapers, and several Taylors.
It has its Coats, and its Stocking too, and
and now that an Overall has been produced,
all the publio life of MiSHOUVi mane to require
ate trousers and an umbrella.
fore your steak is put over cover both sides
with melted suet, and afterward as it dries
spread on a little butter or beef fat. Have
ready in a hot platter a few spoonfuls of
water, in which the bones cut from the steak
have been boiling, also salt and pepper.
When the steak is done lay it in the platter
and keep it hot for five minutes, turning ie
once in the time. Thus you will have both
good steak and good gravy.
A young person named Irving Latimer,
in gaol at Jackson, Mich., is receiving large
quantities of flowers and good things to
eat from kind-hearted ladies of that place.
He is accused of murdering his mother for
her money. Should he prove to be innocent
he will no doubt feel bound to return gifts
which were made under a misapprehension
of the facts. The good ladies would even
then be shocked to leern that the jellies
they had prepared for an interesting mur-
derer had been eaten by an innocent im-
postor.
CIETABENC/.
A Pekin weekly nevespaper has jue
ished a aerial store which contained 2, 40-
oho.ptere, You get the worth of your
ImAnneY0ihniowhionma'an eays limb plaided Path -
es are the first Atep in a downward caner. •
Most any one oan atand a bushel of the
downward.
A horse named "Bob Ingersoll" has len
ruled off all the California ram:mourns. He
didn't seems to believe in anything except
bolting.
The New Orleans Picayune has come to.,
the conolueion that "a limited lability aot
prevents a mm from paying more debts
than suits his convenience.
When it is one minute after 8 o'clock It Is
past 8. When it ie thirty minutes after 13
it is on/y half past 8. Here is another dia.
oovery to make the world pause and feel
8adThere are explosives which have seventy
times more power than gunpowder, and yet,
it is only now and then that a man seats
himself on a keg of powder to enjoy a quiet
amoke.
Boston is to have a thirteen story business
block. If it ever gets on fire the flames are
to atart in the third story where the enginea.
can reach them. The architect has provided
for that. •
An Ohio farmer mortgagea his farra to
get his wife some diamond ear -rings, and
she lost one of them in the Buda the very
first wash day, and attempted to hang her-
self in the barn.
• A rich man in Portland, 0., got drunk the,
other dam and bought thirty-six coffins for
himself, leaving only about ten more in
stook in the town. The rich are always
taking these advantages.
Two witnesses in a case in Iowa, who swore,
that they Saw rnan forty rods off draw a.
revolver were proved to be so neemsighted
that they coold,not tell a revolver from a.
poodle dos, fifteen rods away.
An English ship which recently enteted
'Vera Cruz'hful seven of its crew laid up with
broken bones. The mate had been pratie-
tug on them for a week or two and he was
astonished that any complaint 'should be
made.
An Italian newspaper warns Italians;
against immigrating to this country, saying
that Canadians have no respect for them.
That is not true. An Italian laborer or hand
organ grinder is respected for what there is
inAlainmOhio cow waa found in a swamp the
other day where she had passed thirtymix
days and nights of anxious waiting. She
had grown so thin that a mem easily picked
her up, and it took three days to get her full
dark shrubbery with trees overhead looked of hay -
just the piece for him to be hiding ; but I George Comer, a resident of Virginia City,
claims to have been visited by Satan, and to
have Mad a long talk with the old boy. Ho
was told that everything was 0. K. this win-
ter, with business pushing his majesty day.
and night.
The medical student who suicided in Now
York the other day.left a message reading:
"I die because there us no room for any more
deist( rs." Be must have been crazy. Hun-
dreds of dootors are graduating every year
and findingpatients.
South Caroline. always hangs a murderer
in public, and she defies any one to find is
spectator of any harigiug who has subse-
quently taken human life. She dahlia that
every execution makes a profound impres-
Bion of the vengesnce of the law.
had to take my chance, and I ran as if fifty
bulls were behind me, leaving my slippers
on the path, and tumbling up the steps, I
fell into the verandah panting. I rushed to
the door, which was looked from the rest of
the house, and knocking loudly called out
"Mn. S---, there is a panther in my tent."
You can imagine the commotion; everyone
was about in a few Beconds ; the gentlemen
all seized their guns and ran out to see if
there was any chance of a shot, and I was
made a great fuss of ; everyone said what a
wonderful escape I had had. They saw no
more of the panther, but the next morning
we heard that he made for the house of an-
other friend some distance off, and there he
attempted to carry off a big English bull-
dog, which he found asleep in the inner ver-
randah. Fortunately the erica of the dog
brought the servants to the rearue, but not
hAfora it. menee ena rem, aea been !right-
fully mauled. My friends are all of the
• opinion that the mosquito curtains saved
my lite. The beast was evidentally very
hungry and was at one moment preparing
to epring upon us, but he was puzzled by
my aurroundings and probably took them
for some kind of trap. But I never for a
moment lost my presence of mind; this
and the watchfulness of my little dog en-
abled me to beat a safe retreat and escape
the jaws of my midnight visitor.—[The Lon-
don Queen.
The Two Parrots.
An old retired major and an old maid
lived in adjoining houses, and each of them
had is parrot. The old lady was very religi-
ous, and had only taught her parrot scrip-
tural phrases, whilst the major's bird, hav-
ing been brought up in the barracks, had
heard the use of bad language. The lady
gave a party, and invited the major to
attend and bring his parrot. He did so,
e.nd on carrying the bird into the room it
looked around and called out "1 wish that
blanked old woman next door was dead ;"
and the old lady's parrot at owe chimed In
with : " We beseech thee to hear us, dear
brethren."
Boulanger's Mistake.
The other night Gen. Boulanger mortally
offended the beautiful Mme. de Tredern by
aeking her to sing Paulus's song, "En
Revenant de la Revue," or, as we call it,
"Boulanger March"—a requat about equiva-
lent to asking Adelina Patti to sing "Cham-
pagne Charley,' or a fragment out of that
very scandalous operetta, "Le Retour
d'Ulysee," which Mlle. Mily-Meyer is likely
to make a auccese at the Beam-Padden.—
[London World,
Two Much For the Lawyer.
A lawyer, who had been baffled by a fem-
inine witness whom he was cross-examining,
at last said, with an air of mystery : "Now,
madam, having got to the street in which
you reside, will you please answer frankly
which aide of the etreet you live on?" On
either side," quietly answered the witness.
"How can that be?" thundered the exas-
perated lawyer. "Why, if you're going up
the street, I live on -the right eide ; but h
you are going down, I live on the left side."
General laughter, and the lawyer gave it up.
r ---
Good Cause for Hatred.
JobOon--" Hang portieres, I, may 1" Dob-
son—" Correct. They generally, are hung.
But why do you dislike them ?' Jobson—
" Well, it few years ago, when it man was
angry, he could bang the doors and so re-
lieve hie feelings, Now, wdll, you oan'e
bang a portiere. There seems to lse really
, nothing left to do but keep a oat and tramp
on it."
Mrs. Winks Mollified.
MM. Winks (enraged—" How is thie ?
Mrs. Sten:kap% letter of reference said you
were a good cook, and yet you have utterly
spoiled the first meal attempted." New
Girl—" May be Mrs, Stuokurr don't: know
nothing about cooking," Mrs. Winks
Probably that is the MUM Well,
teach you myself."
Despite the fact that Women lace, wear
thin ehoes and expose their health in a
dozen other ways, the average of longevity
of the female MaX is inereasing. It is doubt.
less due to their obstinaay.
Fire Screens.
bermare now so many pretty ways of
making screens, that it seemo a real case of
" embarras de richesses ;" but I think, for a,
fire shield, nothing is eo charming as plate-
glass, as it does away with the rather forlorn
feeling that comes over one when an opaque
-
screen hides the glowing coma from view ;,
and, though not in iteelf a novelty, still
there are ao many pretty new ways of fram-
ing and decorating the glass, that I think it,
may claim a place among "winter novelties."
The prettiest is an oval wooden frame, paint
ed oream, lighly flecked with gold " cloue a "
rising to a point at the top. A group of
roses, ivy, and berries, or auy design select-
ed, may be modelled lightly below the point,
a delicate trail being carried down one side,
end on the other a few birds or butterflies
painted fiat. The reverse side would be
pretty carried out in a different style, say a
small landscape painted, and shaded off
underneath the point, with a few grasses
rising from the bottom of the frame, with
here and there a bee or butterfly poised. The
modelling must be very light, ensi not car-
ried too far down or near the edge, as a
screen of tlais description is constantly mov-
ed about—The Queen.
Macaulay on British Politics.
Macaulay had not an exalted idea of Brit-
ish politics. In a, newly -published letter
which he wrote to the late Duncan McLaren
about the alienation of the Scottish Dissen-
ters from the Whig Government, he said
I am familiar, I am sorry to say, and so
are all men in office, with the low selfishness
of mankind. One man gives you to under-
stand that unless his earldom is turned into
a marquisette he cannot continue to support
the Government. Another stays away from
the House ot Commons on an Important di-
vision because his father is nob made Lord -
Lieutenant. Your precious townsman—
(but this is between ourselves) --tells me
that he shall withdraw his support from me
• because I have positively refused to ask
Lord Melborne to make him a Grand Cross
of the Bath. These things are pitiable, but
I am used to them. I do hope, however,
that the whole (Resenting body of Scotland
is not about to lower itself to the level of
suoh people as I have mentioned."
The Piokerel he Caught.
On a recent trip Governor Routt gave me
permission to tell a fish dory, which, he
says, General Grant enjoyed exceedingly.
In the early days of Leadvillehs boom a group
of miners and good fellowwere gathered
around the tavern stove spinning yeitne.
One had caught a 10 pound trout, another
had harpooned it whale in the Arctic seam
and no on when up spoke the little Govern-
or: " Well, boys, all ehat'a nothing to my
luck ; I once caught is pickerel that Weighed
180 pounds 1" "Oh, Glovernor 1 a pickerel
weighing 180 poundal" remunded from all
aides. No one would believe the tale, but
Routt persisted, and, after vainly trying to
shake their incredulity explained: "Pick-
erel is my wife's name." He mays ho never
ep,ent a cent: for cigars or other luxuries dor-
Mg the rest of his visit. One of his hearers
gave him a Share in the mine that started
him on the high road to great wealth.—(Chis
cage America.
Dropped .Dead From Excitement.
CLINTON, March O.—David Webb, a re-
tired farmer, of 'Goderich township, about
70 years Of age, dropped dead the other
afternoon from excitement while attending
a Meeting of the creditors of It M. Amoy
at the Grand Video. hotel.