y,nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031476/1873-06-05/ed-1/seq-1.pdf · on which alio had boon...
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the troubl e to t rain hersel f , ev ..n if she hud the cleverness , whieli i sn ' t likely. Depend upon it , Hhc will be yo u.ig and prett y, and nil the shopmen will lie fall- ing in love with lvr , p .r.d pe >p ie will talk scandal , iiiul there will lie unpleas- antness. " "I don 't see that it follows , " I said rather sharp ly ; but I did nut like the way she spoke of widows . It is very odd ; but women whoso husbands nva al ive always give themselves aim vbout us. I think it is because they are jeal- ous of our power of marry ing again , having, as it were , two chances ui their one ; at least , I cannot discover any other reason , but , of eo7tr.su , there may be one tha t I dou ' t know of. * * * * * * H' I- . ¦ > fort nigh * iilro. J cnry arrived. It was ~ 1 ig journey from Hatley to St. Brid get' s, and the last four miles had to be done by road , in an omnibus that jolted a good deal , so that peop le were ap t to bo tired when they reached the town. Mr. Ambrose , like the courtly old gentleman he was , we nt down to meet the new mistress at the Silver Fish , wliere the omnibus always sto2> p ed. "Now they are coming, " cried the poor lady, as we heard the gaiden door open. "I sha ' nt know what to say to her , Mrs. Act ou ; I wish I hadn 't asked he r to come. " "It' s no matter , for the vicar is alone , " I replied , looking out of the window , whence I could see that gentleman rap- idly approaching the huii.se. He came straight into us , but his face wore an expression of dismcy. ' 'Well ?" we cried as lie filtered ; then , seeing his fane , his wife exclaimed , "O Justin , wh at is it ? Is she so very bad ?" "Bad! " cried the vicar , standing in f ront of ns. "What the dicke ns could Dodson send her here for ? 1 wrote for a schoolmistress , didn 't I , Mrs. Acton ?" "I believe so, " I replied meekl y; "has n't he sent one?" "Ob, do tell us what she is, " ent reat- ed Mrs. Ambrose , wringing her little white fingers. "Do t ell us what she is. " "My dear , she is a lady, " said Ihe vicar ; ami then he sat down ui - .d looked at us , and we looked at him. For a few lnoiicnts wo were too much nstonished to speak. "A lady ! what shall we do with her ?" gasped Mrs. Ambrose presentl y, as nil the social comp licatio ns of the position rose before h er. "That ' s tho both er of it; I fores ee all sorts of difficulties:. " si ghed the vicar; "but it can 't be helped , and , " he added , bri g htenin g, "perhapsoLhorpeop lewon t timl it out if we dou 't tell them . '" "Ho w is she dressed ?" I asked eager- l y. "All in black , looking small and strai ght , somehow. " "Is she prett y ?" "No. " "Then they won 't find her out ," 'aid emphaticall y. "If a woman isn 't p i y and well dre ssed , and doe s not call i n- - self a lad y, she will only bo found < 't by her own class. " "How ctiu you know ?" said the vicar , lookin g at mo. "Never mind how—I do know ; and if wo and Mrs. Henry are wis e enoug h to keep our own counsel and our own places , it will bo nil right. " "But won 't she expect to bo treated as n lady—asked to dinner and nil that ?" naked Mrs. Ambrose doubtfully. "I think not , " wild the vicar ; " and if she does wo can 't hel p it. If sho is a lady, sho will recognize hor position and accept it. " I could not tell how old she was. She migh t have boon thirty ; she migh t hav e boon fivo-and-forty. I used to watch her for half-hours nt a time to tr y and settle the question to my own satisfac- tion , but I was always puzzled, But sho showe i hor authority nt the first sign of disobedience, There was no threatenin g, no talkin g about how sho would punish them if they were naughty, but tho punishment carno swiftl y on tho commission of tho offence , and in less than a month sho had estab- lished such disci pline as had never been dreamed of under tho old rule, And sho taugh t them so wonderfully , I used to listqn in nmnzomont whil e she gave tho lessons , and tho children be- gan to improve rapidly, Wo used to wonder , Mrs. Ambrose auil I , what Mrs , Henry did in tho even- ings, Her dress was so simp le that needlework for herself could not occupy her time j yet sho was seldom out of doors , oven in tho sweet mimmor even- ings , until it was almost dark , and thou sho used to walk u p and down tho little garden that divided hor house from tho school far an hour at a tune , more for tho sake of exorcise than en- joyment , it would norm by tho rapid stead y pneo nt which she moved, Uno night , whim I was coming homo late , I stopped and spoke to hor , '• ton walk lute , Mrs , Henr y ; but perhaps it is the plonBiintcBt timo dur- ing tho hot weath e r. " •• It is the chea pest , Mrs. Acton. It mvch nn Ji ' 'of daylight to como out now siisti 'iii . uf earlier , " It struck mo all of a heap, ns tho people pay, to honr thin woman , who wan earning seventy pounds pernnnum , and appeared to have no oiiobu t herself to enro for , talk uC " wiving daylight " ns if tho cost of a camllti wove some- thin g to bo avoided. I IVIt ver y sorr . v for hor , I don 't know why it en me over mo nil nt onoo , as it did , that her life wns a very hard one. Hu t I nut my winkled old )i«)jil on the little llrm wliito fingers which rested on tho gate , m«l said— " My dear you must not work too hard. " I was frightened when I had done it. She wns so self-possessed and reserved , that I thought sho would bo an gry ; but , instead of that , the steady little fingers began to tremble and twined themselve s round feiinc with a cling ing grasp, and then I found she was cry ing. I didn 't say a word more to her . When peop le are as old as I am , and have gone through a great deal of troub le, they know m : L;.! poor weak things words are , and how often they do mor e harm than good. So I held her hand withou t speaking, and i^res ently she sto2>ped cry ing. "S ometimes I feel so lonel y, " she whisp ered , " and you are so kind ; plei^e forget it , Mrs. Acton. " ¦ Ye s ," for I quite understand her. "But is not your life too ha rd ? Can 't you let an old woman help you , my dear ?" Sh e took my hand , and kissed it. " Nu , it is not too hard , and no one can hel p me ; but it will be easier by and by. Good night. And then she slipped nwny, ns if afraid of saying more , and I went home and thoug h t-my thoughts in silence. * * * * * * * St. Bri d get' s was all alive , for the bishop was coming to hold a visitation in the town. No bishop had ever come there before within the memory of man; for the last one had been old and ill for years before his death , and the shep- h erds of those days had not thought it needful to go about anion s th eir flocks so much as is considered rig ht in the present time , and sheep living in re- mote towns bad to make long journeys when they attended Episcopal gather- ings . But that was all to be changed under the new rei gn ; for our bishop was not onl y a great scholar and a great divine , but a strong -nan also, who would go into every corner of his diocese , and see with his own eyes how matters were going on. He had onl y filled the th rone for two years , and this was his primary visitation , and it was to be held in t welve towns instead of two. St. Brid get' s was one among the twelve , and Mrs. Ambrose had been thinking about her luncheon for week s, when it occurred to the vicar that the bishop might find it convenient to sleep at St. Bridg et' s for ani ght either before or after the vesitatio n. Hu wns asked , and accepted by return of post. He would be glad to stay at St. Brid get' s vicarage on the night of the 20th , which was tho date of the vi sitation. Mrs. Ambrose was delighted with the honor , but bewildered with the res pon- sibility ; and we had man y consulta- ti ons about his lordship 's comfort , and tiit ; pro per mode of entertaining him , and were ver y nervous lest something had b een omitted or forgotten at the last moment. But when ho came , we forgot our anxiety ; he was so pleasant and genial , and took everything so easil y, that I thou ght ho was much less formidable than his chaplain—a dignified persona ge —who seemed oppressed by the dignity of his office. It al l went off nicel y : tho luncheon was charming ; the bishop affable , the cler gy in full attendance , Onl y one disappointment occurred. Our singi n g in church was not up to the mark. Mrs. Henry 's voice 'was not hoard once during the service ; and at luncheon some of tho visitors noticed tho omission. " Have you lost your lovely contralto , Mrs. Amoroso , " inquired tho rural dean ; "I did not hear her td-day . " " Oh , no , our mistress is still with us. I don 't know why she did not sin g; perhaps she has n cold , " rep lied Mrs. \mbroso. Then tho conversation drifted into educational channels , and Mrs . Henry was forgotten. But I know that she had not a cold, I had hoard hor singing magnificentl y, as I passed tho church when tho choir were practicing an hour before service , and h-ir silence puzzled me. Presently tho bishop ' s courteous voice was honrd saying ; " I hear your school is doin g remarkabl y well , Mrs, Am- brose j will you take mo to soo it pres- ently?" " Certai nly, my lord. " And ai soon ns tho general gathering had dispersed , Mr . and Mrs , Ambrose and myself accompanied tho bishop to tho school-house. Neither tho chaplain nor tho rural dean enmo with us , for which wo were nftorwnrds thankful. I entered with tho vionr , tho bishop hav- ing lingered a moment at tho door with Mrs. Ambrose to admire tho viow of tho Southbiro Wolds , with tho sea glitter- ing beyond them in tho distance , " Hero is the bishop como to soo tho school , Mrs. Henr y, " said tho vionr blandly. As ho spoke , ho glanced round tho room , rn see that all wns in order, T, not thinking of tho school , was looking at Mrs. Henry. Sho fins ' iind crimson , and then turned white to the lips , With a has ty movement , sho passed round to the other side of tho groat blank board on which alio had boon drawing a map, and tho strange though t enmo into my head : "Is sho trying to conceal her- self ?" But tho bishop was in tho school by this time , nnd the children stood at at- tention , and stared nt his apron and silk stockin gs with round-e yed ama zement , He turned to the mistre ss ivlth a civil little speech of congratulati on, Hnlf- I.iihlen behind the hoard , she swept ii enui'ti'Hv , but did not raise her eyes ; nuil thii lower part of her I' noe was cov- ered , iih it *) eehlentn ))y, by her bniidltiT - ohiof, His lordship walked about amon g the children , and tho Ambroses wero delighted ; hut over as ho moved , Mrs. Honry kept behind him , " Would vou like to hear them sing, my lord ?" inquired Mrs. Ambrose cheerfully , What could the bish op do but say tha t he should like it ? "A short song, p lease Mrs . Henry, " said the vicar , as he ranged up to the firep lace , where the bishop stood with his hands behind hiiu. Mrs. Henry, still on the other side of the great black board , made a si gn to the children , who put their hands be- hind them. Hers were quiet as usual , but they were trembling. The song began : onl y some common school mel- ody, but it startled the bishop. '* God bless me!" ho cried hurriedl y, stepp ing forward , and looking round the black board . Mrs. Henry had not sung ten " notes. Once started , the children went on by themselves , and her voice was silent ; but the bishfjjj had heard enough. Strai g ht round the black board ho \% cut with long eager strides , and in an- other minute he had his hands on Mrs. Henry ' s shoulders , forcing her to look up. "I knew it , " he sai d emphaticall y, whil e Mrs. Ambrose and I and the vicar stared , and the children sang on noi sily. He was holding her hand in both of his now , as if he never meant to let it go again. " My lord , you forget !" she said , try- ing to escape. " Hester Murr ay, I rcmun ber. '" was all he said , but her eyes sank , and the color came flushing over her face. Not- withstanding th e quaint cap and hide- ous gown , she looked beautiful then. Mr. Ambr ose came to his senses first , and covered the situation. Luckil y the children had not heard a word. " My lord , I should like to ha ve your opinion on enlarg ing the school. We think of throwin g out a class-room over the re. " And he pointed vaguel y to the other end , while all the children turned their iieads in the direction indicated , and k ept them there , while the vicar talked on for three minutes about alterations of which I had never before heard a word nor have I since. " Ah , " rep lied the bisho p in a com- posed voice, "if you want more accom- modation , it will be best gained ihere. How does it look out side ?" And , f ollowed by Mr. Ambrose , he ¦ went throu gh the door , and I ventured t o look at Mr s. Hemy. She was standing in her place , and making the children form classes ns if nothin g had h appene d. Her face be- tr ayed no sign of emotion ; and when 1 took Mrs. Ambrose ' s arm nnd wished her good afte rnoon , sho rep lied in her usual voice. Th e little scene we had witnessed mi ght have been a dream for all traces it left behind. I got Mrs. Ambrose out , and was thankful that the door closed behind us before she made a remark. " My dear , what does it mean ?" she whispered uer \ o\isl y, as wo stood in the yard. "N ever mind ; onl y don 't ta lk abou t it , " I rep lied in the same voice ; for tho bishop nnd the vicar wero coming round the corner. "I think you dino at seven , Mr. Ambrose ?" said his lordship serenel y. " Yes, my lord. " '"Then I will take a little str oll. I nave hardly had en ou gh wnlkin g _ to- day, and I should like to soo a little of your beautiful neighborhood. " Without another word wo marched way down the hill , and n few minutes later we saw his shovel hat going along tho field pathwa y to tho river. Wo th roe wont homo in silence ; but as we parted at tho vi carage gate , Mr. Ambr ose said: " Wo always know that she vos a lady. " " O, my dear Justin , I had forgotten th at , " exclaimed his wife , in a relieved tone. " Then you don 't think it Any- thing improper ?" Heaven knows what terrible things the poor lad y had been imaginin g dur- ing our silent walk ; hut tho vicar ' s ringing lnu gh swopt thorn all away, "Improper ! No. It ' s nil right , of course ; only it' s no business of ours. " That wns quite truo ; but neverthe- less I could not help thinking of it nil tho timo I was havin g my tea , and while I was dr essing for dinner ; for of course I was going to moot tho bisho p. And I thought of it aga i n later ; for as my fly passed tho school-house door , the bishop, who hml evidentl y returned from his walk , was coming out of it , and I hoard him say; "I shall soo you to- morrow morning , Hester. " "Don ' t; you had better not , " replied Mrs , Henr y 's voice, " Nonsense , " said tho bishop . And I privatel y boliovo that he ran nil th e way to tho vienrngo j for ho was there before I was , nnd onl y kept us waiting five minutes for dinner. * * * * * * * Two months Inter hor majesty ' s in- spector enmo to examine our school , nnd to his astonishment and our glorifi- cation, every child presented passed triump hantly , Wo had reck oned on eighty per cent ,; wo got n hundred. But tr ouble was oo.n ' ng upon us , and our triumph was sb .irt -lived, Ono dny Mrs. Henry camo to tho vionr , nnd gave notice tha t sho must leave in threo month s. In vain ho entreated hor to stay : oil' ond to raise her salary ; to do anythin g, in short , if sho would only remain. Hut she merely smiled and adher ed to hor ib ' cvmlnntion, Th ey told »r.e nlmoht with tenr s in their eym, and I sind: "It ' s all the bltd i op. " At which they laughed ; hut I fmow I was right , I hnil seen , if theyhiul n 't , that n chang e hud como over our mis- tress slnco tho visitntion , She wns hap p ier , moro nt rest ; tho look of strained weariness , so hnbltunl to her face before , was gon e now , and little smile s used to come ri pp ling o rer the lips tha t once were set so firm. I was very sorry to lose her ; but I was eii re she was going to be happier away from St. Bridget ' s. And the even- ing before she left us , when I went to say good-by, she took hold of my hand and kissed it , and to ld me all her story. H er realname wasMr s. Hen ryChamp- neys. Her husband , a captain in the —th reg iment , hud been killed by ac- cident in the hunting field ; thus the price of his commission wn* lost , and she found heavy debts , of which she had known nothing—debts which she oug ht never to have known nt all—ready to swallow up the little money they had left. Her own settlement of a hundred a year was all she had to depend upon , and there were two children—bri ght , handsome boys—to educate and pro- vid e lor. So she put them to school , and went into traiuii ' jj for a certificate ; got it without difficulty, and came to St. Bridget ' s. " And I had to save every penny, nnd be v ery cxreful , or the de ar boys would have suffered , " shesaid ; "for 1 wanted to provide for the future. It was very hard work , and very lonel y. I used to write stories in the evening, and some- times the magazines would take them , sometimes not ; but it was my onl y chance of getting more money. " " My dear , my poor dear , how could you do it all ?" I cried , while the tea rs ra n down my face. " It wns not so very bad , as I had not been used to a very happy life. " I don 't know anything about Captain Ch ampnoys ; but I was sure he was a brute after that littlo speech. " But n ow are you going to bo hap- py? " I asked . " Yes, I hope so , " sho whispered putting her arms round my neck. " I knew him years ago , before I was mar- ried , and—and—he says he never for got me. " " Of course not. How could ho ?" I rep lied , and kissed he r again. " Whe n I am gone , and it is over , (I will send you a newspaper ,) will you tell Mr. and Mrs. Ambrose all about it— they have been so kind ?" I promised to do what she wi shed , and with another kiss on her little face , and a glance at the shabby dress and quaint cap which I should never see again , I went home , and the next day she was gone. I n four days a 7!men arrived by post. The following was marked: " On the 2;3d , at St. J ohn ' s Church , George street , the Bishop of Southshire to Hester , widow of the lute Captain Cham pnoys. " I took it up to the vicarage , and said: "I told y ou it was all the bishop. " " What do you moan , Mrs. Acton , eh Onr bish op married ! Who is she , I wonder ?" " Sho tens M rs. Henr y, " I rep lied , calmly. " Who ?" cried tho vicar. " Mrs. Henry— our schoolmistress. " And then I gave her message , and told them all about it, "Mind , wo must say nothing, " said Jlr. Ambrose. "It is their secret , not ours. " To which wo assented , and there fore it is that no ono has known the ri ghts of the story till now, though it happened full six months ago . Knots anil Fancies. Thf witticisms of Bailey, of th e l">an- bnvy . Vi irs urj now more oxleiii-ivi'l y copied throughout the country than thuKi- of any other humorist. A Harrislmrg miikU boy stood on his feet in a closet , asleep, for three hours , whi»c his iliMrni '>d parent-! searched the city over for him , under the impres- sion that he iva s lost. A Dubuque grocer refuses to adver- tise in the papers , but spoiled n SllO su. 't of clothe: * in covering the fences nno walls wit ' a it painted si gn , which reads: " Buy ycior Kodpbish; A;. iCiiuph y at BiUolJM ." An Illinois girl , ha ving six lovers , of- fered to marry the one who should "break up " the most prairie in three days. Tho result was that she got a smart husband , and her fath er found his new farm read y for planting free of cost. A young poet once asked Doug las Jcrrold to pass a candid critici sm on two of his productions . Jcrrold waited rather impatientl y until his torment or had concluded reading the first poem , anil then quickl y exclaimed— " I like your other poem th e best. " " But you ha ve not heard it read. "' " Th at is why I pefer it. " A society of Louisville colored peop l e re cently conducted a f.iueral on eco- n omi cal principles. The rema ins wero placed in nn express wagon , and tho mourners , fift y in number , embarked in a number of street-oars chartered fur the occasion , nnd the cortege moved sol emnl y up the horse ra ilroad , throug h the princi pal streets of the city. According to Mr. Creswel l , the pos tal cards cost the U. S. Government . *l. : li> per thousand. The orde rs up to date have readied the enormous amount of 25, 000, 000, of which th e cost to the peop le will be8250 , 000, and to the Gov- ernment S3i, 0uU Allowing Slfi . OO O for additional expense of delivery—which we presume , is a liberal allowance .— a nd the net addition to the revenue is £20;) . - 000. Thirt y years ago a man entered tho Cit y of ' New York in nn almost penni- less condition , and witho ut a single ac- qniiiutnr- ' . -c in th e great wilderness of houses. To-day his name is known wherever humanity breaths . Itis spok<Mi in every city, and is as familiar to tho worker in the mine as to his br other in the mills , and wher ever lang uage is k nown and ideas are expressed th e name of this penniless , unknown , and unc outh lad of thirty years ago is uttered. It wa s John Smith. The contractor for the Cleveland water works tunnel says that when over a thousand feet from the shaft , and with thirty-five feet of wator and tho same amount of earth above him , ho has re peatedly heard the falling of tho rain on tho witter above almost as plain- l y as it could b e hea rd when falling on t lio roof of a house. Th e wo rkmen mention it as a common occurr ence to hear the splashin g of n steamer or pro- peller wheels passin g in the water above. Lust full the rip plo of water around a boom of saw-logs passing over tho spot wns plainly heard . Alt Kilglish Story. I am a middle- aged lady, living quite by uiy. ic .lf in the little town of St. Brid get' s, where it happened , and I know tho whole story from , beginni ng to end , a-id the beginnin g wns this: I was pay. ' uga mornin g visit * .o dear old Mrs. Ambrose , our vicar 's wife , wh en the vicar himself marched into th e room with his wideawake on , and said— " Bother!" I will do- him the justice to say that ho t ook otr his wideawake as soon as he r,::-<v mo . r.ml :not the requiremen ts o[ th e occasion b y addressing me. " Mrs. Actio n , here 's a bother!" " What!" w! excl aimed hurriedl y, for we saw theve was something serious. "That—that ' pri g ' of an inspector says we must have a certified mistress , " rep lied the vicar ; and then he sat down , and we all looked at each other in solemn sil ence for full three , minutes . A certified mi stre ss at St Bridget ' s! That meant tur nin g out tho dear old woman who had kept the school for thf l ast ii ve-and-twe uty years , nnd had taught our girls t o hem and stitch and da rn so beauti full y that they got places as work-w omen far nuil wide! And she had tau ght both girls and boys the best manne rs of ony children in Southshire , and had trained them up to bo honest , God-fearing men nnd women , besides teachin g tlvm son. " readin g and writing, aud the fir st four rules of arithm etic. Nearl y nil the children wh o had stayed long enou gh at the school could read oasy wordu in' largo print , aud several of the cleve r ones lmd been kn own to -write out the Lord ' s Truyor from memor y, and t o say the mul tiplicatio n table quito perfectly. What could any bod y war t moro ? No wonder Mr . Ambro se called the in- spector a pri g. I called him something much wor se, but as my thou ghts wore not put into wor ds the y need not be re- peated. " Oh , dear! dear!" cried Mrs . Am- brose , as tho full meaning of tho in- spector ' s decision broke upon hor ; " what shall wo do? Poor Mrs. Tod- kins will brea k hor heart. " Thero was no little difficulty in securing tho certified mistress . " I'll write to Dobsou , " said Mr. Am- brose to his wife. And ho wroto to Mr, Dobson the next morning as soon as ho won t into his stud y. Mr. Dobson was tho principal of the great tr ainin g college at Hatley, aud an old friend of tho vicar 's, so ho might just as well have written to him sooner , onl y none of us thi nk of all tho right thin gs to bo dono jus t nt tho righ t timo, " If you want a mistress , offer seventy pounds , " said tho pri ncipal by return of post , And tho vicnv did offer seventy pounds , though who ro tho money was to oomo from I could not toll , nnd I don t think ho could cither . Back onmo another letter from Mr. Dobsou , to say that ho had a mistress who had just finished trninin g—a widow ; exaotl y tho person to suit St. Bridget' s, and sho would ooeo pt tho situation on certain conditions. I don 't know what tlio conditions wore , except that her evenin gs wore to bo ai hor own dispoinl , only I know that it seemed to mo very odd to hea r of tho schoolmis- tress making conditions , hnd accepting suoh an enormous salary, ns if sho wero conferrin g « Invar, The vienr said it was the result of I 'ompoti tion , the supply not being equal to tho demand j but I thought it might ho iudirootly referred to strikes and unions , though I did not exactly see how ; but wlion thex 'C nro so many dreadful thin gs .wing un in tho coun- try, they work into ouch other in n wonderful mnn nor. " It is it comfort that wo nr o to have a widow, " I roninrkeil to Mr, Ambrose ; " she will ho staid nnd respectable , nnd not sneh a responsibility n« a young girl . " "Oh , I don 't know , " sighed Mrs , Ambrose pltoously • "1 think 1 would rather have n young person , ovou if sho did wear chi gnons and feathers . Widows nro so " She stopped suddenly, remembering that I was n widow , nnd went on to a Iivsh sentence ; hut T wondered what Klie was going to fiiy, "I know I shnll be nfraiil of her , " she hum, "And sho is going to piny the org an nnd ju iiniiao tho choir ; sho will bo sure to want tier own way in every- thinr ,, nnd it won 't bo nine nnd comfort- nolo ns it used to bo. And then , my dear , she Is oert nin to bo quite young ; no niiddlo.ngod person would have taken. OUR SCH00L3IISTKESS , Disa ppointed. .T though: , to-nifc'lit, to see tby f uco. Ami B. imm not for tlio nun gono down : Bii * "" .f tlic . "ha ilo w in liin place Hangs nn niy elicited heart its frowu . 1 could not doubt tliat thy dear voice Wo uld ehocr nie more than bird or lute— Ho w can my heart to-ni glit rejoice . With bird and Hiring and voice :ill muto ? TUe b reath of June upon ruy cheek 1 bore , impatient for thy kiet My fai nting lips t heir anguish i-iieaJ . The swccctucHs of th y breath lo r.u " . Oh. why did thy sweet steps dol&i , Sine© bird mid Hong and brcozu ate gone . Sli ghted for hope of thco . the iUy ! Wit hout thco ni ght puts aac!.cloth on ! Wore I away, tho u Hhoald st not chido Ono heedless moment of delay ; I seek my mnishhio at th y side— Thy voice my snug, thy smile my day . It has long boon commonl y believed that the water in which impeded pota- toes have been boiled is poisonous. It is now said to have boon discovered that this po'son , like many oth ers , potme sHCB certain remedial properties. Tho disoaso for which it is pa rticu- lar ly recommend ed is rheumatism , and there is somo evidence which goes to show that the belief in its efficacy is not without beneficial effect. A laborer , while in a state of persp ira- tion , a few days ago , became chilled by a sudden fall of rain . This brough t on an attack of rheumatism , which made him so lamo that ho wns quito unable to pursue his usual avocation. The potato water wns recommended to him. Ho tried it in the, evening, and much to his surpris e , f ound himself on tho fol- lowing morning as well as usual. Ho believed th e result was attributable to tho use of tho potato wator . Another case was that of n man who had hoon drenched by exposure to a col d storm. The second day nftorwn rd ho wns seized with sharp pains of al- most unbearable severity, nnd indica - tive of iii llnmmntory rheumatism. Ho used the potato water , and experienced immediate relief from intense suffer- ing. This rem edy should bo used only ox- ter nnlly, Tho potntoor , should bo boiled with tlio skins on , and the wator app lied as hot as it can bo borne , to tho part affected , hy rubbing. Of course we know nothing ns to whether it would pr oduce any such effect in other oases ns it scorn s to luivo had in these two , Carrvlng n. raw potato in the pocket has n Kimlln r oflVut , Many very eorions cases of rhoumn tlfim imvo been ef- fectua lly cured by this veiy Mraplo thing. Low or Coa u. — Tho total amount of conl estimat ed to have her n mined in the Unit ed BtntcR lust year wnh la . OOO , - 000 tons ; of thi s 20, 000 , 000 toas was nn thrn eile , over 2 , 000, 000 Cumberland , and over 1H , 000, (I I)0 bituminous For ; the sumo y ear Nova He otin , mined 9H 0 , . ; f l. ' O toils, 1/3-//I03 of wltictt *li« mml tn tlio United States , Oreot Britain mined liit 1,000,000 tons , nnd export ed • over 18, 000, 000, of whieh she sent 2!W , - 18-.1 tons to the United States , Parin g ' ' the yfnr tho United States exported I 400,S78 tons , A Itemed} - for Ithcunin tiNin. Some of th o bridges in China are of extra ordinary beauty and ma gnificence. Thero is ono near Pckiu built entirel y of white warble , elaborat el y orna ment- ed. Others are found over tho cana ls of still greater magn ificence and with a grand triump hal arch at each end ; and some , instead of boiu gbuiltwi fch urchu s, are fiat from ono side of the ciimd to tl. o other , marble flngsof groat length being Iniil on p iers so narro w anduiiy that tli o bridge looks as if it wero suspend ed in tho air. IVom th o amazing facilities afford ed hy tho numo rou n cana ls for transporta tion of goods by water , thes e brid ges do not req uire to be built of gront strength , for only foot-i>asH en gers use the bri d ges, which is the reas on thev are of such an elegant and fanciful constructi on. These bridges ur n built , with a num ber of arch es , the centra l nrc fi being about forty fe et wide , and hi gh enough for vessels to pass without , striking thei r mast s. The, grout el eva - tion of these br idges renders steps n ee- essnrv. Tiioy resemble , in this resp ect , tho old bridges of Venice , on which y ou ascend hv steps on one side , mid de- scend on ' tno other in tho hiuii c way. Chain bridg es wero not rond o in tins countr y for mom than eighteen centu- rion offer th ey were known and used in China. Beauty of Chinese llrh l gos. A Californ ia correspondent fro m tlio lavn beds snys it is no disparagement s the soldier to say, " As n rule , they am not good shots , " f ¦«• such is the fuel. This , I trdi o it , is owing to two causes ; Viut , they ore not drill ed enough nt target-shooting ; rkc onil , the guns nil shoot too high and wide , espe cially after being fired a numb er of roiimls, I think I am a pret ty fj ood shot with a rillo or a slx-Hhooter ; but I know n Modoc would ho t olerabl y safe before in" with nn army gnu—either rmrbi iio or Hprin glleld musket. I have tried them , nnd , while you can shoot fust and at n long distanc e , they will not do for tnr - gut work ; and that is just what shout- ing ut M nilooH Is—anil a very small tar- put iiiny nro , too , generally speakin g. Tho safety of our men during tlio Int o (l iriit was owing, in a great meah ure , to tho fact tlmt the guns used by the .Mo- docs wero those captured in the flgli * of tho 17th of January , and almost inva ri- ably they shot over their mark. Had Shots.
Transcript of y,nyshistoricnewspapers.org/lccn/sn84031476/1873-06-05/ed-1/seq-1.pdf · on which alio had boon...
the troubl e to t rain hersel f , ev ..n if shehud the cleverness , whie li isn 't likely.Depend upon it, Hhc will be you.ig andprett y, and nil the shopmen will lie fall-ing in love with lvr , p.r.d pe >p ie willtalk scandal , iiiul there wi l l lie unpleas-antness. "
"I don 't see that it follows," I saidrather sharp ly ; but I did nut like theway she spoke of widows. It is veryodd ; but women whoso husbands nvaal ive always give themselves aim vboutus. I think it is because they are jeal-ous of our power of marry ing again ,having, as it were , two chances ui theirone ; at least , I cannot discover anyother reason , but , of eo7tr.su, there maybe one tha t I dou 't know of.
* * * * * * H'
I- .¦> fort nigh * iilro. J cnry arrived.It was ~ 1 ig journey from Hatley toSt. Brid get' s, and the last four mileshad to be done by road , in an omnibusthat jolted a good deal , so that peop lewere ap t to bo tired when they reachedthe town. Mr. Ambrose , like the courtlyold gentleman he was, went down tomeet the new mistress at the SilverFish , wliere the omnibus always sto2>ped.
"Now they are coming, " cried thepoor lady, as we heard the gaiden dooropen. "I sha 'nt know what to say toher , Mrs. Actou ; I wish I hadn 't askedher to come. "
"It' s no matter , for the vicar is alone ,"I replied , looking out of the window ,whence I could see that gentleman rap-idly approaching the huii.se.
He came straight into us, but his facewore an expression of dismcy.
' 'Well ?" we cried as lie filtered ; then ,seeing his fane , his wife exclaimed , "OJustin , what is it ? Is she so very bad ?"
"Bad! " cried the vicar , standing infront of ns. "What the dickens couldDodson send her here for ? 1 wrote fora schoolmistress , didn 't I, Mrs. Acton ?"
"I believe so," I replied meekly ;"has n't he sent one?"
"Ob, do tell us what she is," ent reat-ed Mrs. Ambrose , wringing her littlewhite fingers. "Do tell us what she is."
"My dear , she is a lady," said Ihevicar ; ami then he sat down ui -.d lookedat us, and we looked at him.
For a few lnoiicnts wo were too muchnstonished to speak.
"A lady ! what shall we do with her ?"gasped Mrs. Ambrose presentl y, as nilthe social comp licatio ns of the positionrose before her.
"That 's tho both er of it; I fores eeall sorts of difficulties:. " sighed the vicar;"but it can 't be helped , and ," he added ,bri ghtenin g, "perhapsoLhorpeop lewon ttiml it out if we dou 't tell them . '"
"Ho w is she dressed ?" I asked eager-ly.
"All in black , looking small andstrai ght , somehow. "
"Is she prett y ?""No. ""Then they won 't find her out," 'aid
emphaticall y. "If a woman isn 't p i yand well dre ssed, and does not call i n--self a lady, she will only bo found < 'tby her own class. "
"How ctiu you know ?" said the vicar ,lookin g at mo.
"Never mind how—I do know ; andif wo and Mrs. Henry are wise enoughto keep our own counsel and our ownplaces , it will bo nil right. "
"But won't she expect to bo treatedas n lady—asked to dinner and nilthat ?" naked Mrs. Ambrose doubtfully.
"I think not ," wild the vicar ; "andif she does wo can 't hel p it. If sho is alady, sho will recognize hor positionand accept it."
I could not tell how old she was. Shemigh t have boon thirty ; she might hav eboon fivo-and-forty. I used to watchher for half-hours nt a time to tr y andsettle the question to my own satisfac-tion , but I was always puzzled,
But sho showe i hor authority nt thefirst sign of disobedience, There wasno threatenin g, no talkin g about howsho would punish them if they werenaughty, but tho punishment carnoswiftl y on tho commission of tho offence,and in less than a month sho had estab-lished such discipline as had never beendreamed of under tho old rule,
And sho taugh t them so wonderfully ,I used to listqn in nmnzomont whil e shegave tho lessons, and tho children be-gan to improve rapidly,
Wo used to wonder , Mrs. Ambroseauil I , what Mrs , Henry did in tho even-ings, Her dress was so simple thatneedlework for herself could not occupyher time j yet sho was seldom out ofdoors , oven in tho sweet mimmor even-ings , until it was almost dark , andthou sho used to walk up and down tholittle garden that divided hor housefrom tho school far an hour at a tune ,more for tho sake of exorcise than en-joyment , it would norm by tho rapidstead y pneo nt which she moved, Unonight , whim I was coming homo late , Istopped and spoke to hor ,
'• ton walk lute , Mrs , Henr y ; butperhaps it is the plonBiintcBt timo dur-ing tho hot weath er. "
•• It is the chea pest , Mrs. Acton. Itmvch nn Ji ' 'of daylight to como outnow siisti ' iii . uf earlier , "
It struck mo all of a heap, ns thopeople pay, to honr thin woman , whowan earning seventy pounds pernnnum ,and appeared to have no oiiobu t herselfto enro for , talk uC " wiving daylight "ns if tho cost of a camllti wove some-thin g to bo avoided. I IVIt very sorr .vfor hor , I don 't know why it en meover mo nil nt onoo , as it did , that herlife wns a very hard one. Hu t I nutmy winkled old )i«)ji l on the lit t le llrmwliito fingers which rested on tho gate ,m«l said— " My dear you must not worktoo hard. "
I was frightened when I had done it.She wns so self-possessed and reserved ,that I thought sho would bo an gry ;but , instead of that , the steady little
fingers began to tremble and twinedthemselve s round feiinc with a cling inggrasp, and then I found she was cry ing.I didn 't say a word more to her . Whenpeop le are as old as I am, and havegone through a great deal of troub le,they know m:L;.! poor weak things wordsare , and how often they do mor e harmthan good. So I held her hand withou tspeaking, and i^resently she sto2>pedcry ing.
"S ometimes I feel so lonely," shewhispered , " and you are so kind ;plei^e forget it , Mrs. Acton. "¦Ye s," for I quite understand her.
"But is not your life too ha rd ? Can 'tyou let an old woman help you, mydear ?"
She took my hand , and kissed it." Nu, it is not too hard , and no one
can help me ; but it will be easier byand by. Good night.
And then she slipped nwny, ns ifafraid of saying more , and I went homeand thoug ht-my thoughts in silence.
* * * * * * *St. Bri dget' s was all alive, for the
bishop was coming to hold a visitationin the town. No bishop had ever comethere before within the memory of man;for the last one had been old and ill foryears before his death , and the shep-herds of those days had not thought itneedful to go about anion s their flocksso much as is considered right in thepresent time , and sheep living in re-mote towns bad to make long journeyswhen they attended Episcopal gather-ings.
But that was all to be changed underthe new rei gn ; for our bishop was notonly a great scholar and a great divine ,but a strong -nan also, who would gointo every corner of his diocese, and seewith his own eyes how matters weregoing on. He had only filled the th ronefor two years , and this was his primaryvisitation , and it was to be held intwelve towns instead of two.
St. Brid get's was one among thetwelve, and Mrs. Ambrose had beenthinking about her luncheon for week s,when it occurred to the vicar that thebishop might find it convenient to sleepat St. Bridg et's for ani ght either beforeor after the vesitatio n.
Hu wns asked , and accepted by returnof post. He would be glad to stay atSt. Brid get' s vicarage on the night ofthe 20th , which was tho date of thevisitation.
Mrs. Ambrose was delighted with thehonor , but bewildered with the respon-sibility ; and we had many consulta-ti ons about his lordship 's comfort , andtiit ; pro per mode of entertaining him ,and were very nervous lest somethinghad been omitted or forgotten at thelast moment.
But when ho came, we forgot ouranxiety ; he was so pleasant and genial ,and took everything so easily, thatI thou ght ho was much less formidablethan his chaplain—a dignified persona ge—who seemed oppressed by the dignityof his office.
It al l went off nicely : tho luncheonwas charming ; the bishop affable , thecler gy in full attendance , Only onedisappointment occurred.
Our singi ng in church was not up tothe mark. Mrs. Henry 's voice 'was nothoard once during the service ; and atluncheon some of tho visitors noticedtho omission.
" Have you lost your lovely contralto ,Mrs. Amoroso ," inquired tho ruraldean ; "I did not hear her td-day ."
" Oh , no, our mistress is still withus. I don 't know why she did not sing;perhaps she has n cold," rep lied Mrs.\mbroso.
Then tho conversation drifted intoeducational channels , and Mrs . Henrywas forgotten.
But I know that she had not a cold,I had hoard hor singing magnificentl y,as I passed tho church when tho choirwere practicing an hour before service,and h-ir silence puzzled me.
Presently tho bishop 's courteous voicewas hon rd saying ; " I hear your schoolis doin g remarkabl y well , Mrs, Am-brose j will you take mo to soo it pres-ently?"
" Certai nly, my lord. "And ai soon ns tho general gathering
had dispersed , Mr . and Mrs , Ambroseand myself accompanied tho bishop totho school-house. Neither tho chaplainnor tho rural dean enmo with us, forwhich wo were nftorwnrds thankful. Ientered with tho vionr , tho bishop hav-ing lingered a moment at tho door withMrs. Ambrose to admire tho viow of thoSouthbiro Wolds , with tho sea glitter-ing beyond them in tho distance ,
" Hero is the bishop como to soo thoschool , Mrs. Henr y, " said tho vionrblandly.
As ho spoke , ho glanced round thoroom , rn see that all wns in order, T,not thinking of tho school , was lookingat Mrs. Henry. Sho fins'iind crimson ,and then turned white to the lips, Witha has ty movement , sho passed round tothe other side of tho groat blank boardon which alio had boon drawing a map,and tho strange though t enmo into myhead : "Is sho trying to conceal her-self ?"
But tho bishop was in tho school bythis time , nnd the children stood at at-tention , and stared nt his apron and silkstockin gs with round-e yed ama zement ,He turned to the mistre ss ivlth a civill i t t le speech of congratulati on, Hnlf -I .iihlen behind the hoard , she swept iienui 'ti 'Hv , but did not raise her eyes ;nuil thii lower part of her I'noe was cov-ered , iih it *) eehlentn ))y, by her bn iidltiT -ohiof , His lordship walked aboutamon g the children , and tho Ambroseswero delighted ; hut over as ho moved ,Mrs. Honry kept behind him ,
" Would vou like to hear them sing,my lord ?" inquired Mrs. Ambrosecheerfully ,
What could the bishop do but saytha t he should like it ?
"A short song, please Mrs . Henry, "said the vicar , as he ranged up to thefirep lace, where the bishop stood withhis hands behind hiiu.
Mrs. Henry, still on the other side ofthe great black board , made a sign tothe children , who put their hands be-hind them. Hers were quiet as usual ,but they were trembling. The songbegan : only some common school mel-ody, but it startled the bishop.
'* God bless me!" ho cried hurriedl y,stepp ing forward , and looking roundthe black board .
Mrs. Henry had not sung ten "notes.Once started , the children went on bythemselves , and her voice was silent ;but the bishfjjj had heard enough.
Strai ght round the black board ho\% cut with long eager strides , and in an-other minute he had his hands on Mrs.Henry 's shoulders , forcing her to lookup.
"I knew it ," he sai d emphaticall y,while Mrs. Ambrose and I and the vicarstared , and the children sang onnoi sily.
He was holding her hand in both ofhis now, as if he never meant to let itgo again.
" My lord , you forget !" she said , try-ing to escape.
" Hester Murr ay, I rcmun ber.'" wasall he said , but her eyes sank , and thecolor came flushing over her face. Not-withstanding th e quaint cap and hide-ous gown , she looked beautiful then.
Mr. Ambr ose came to his senses first ,and covered the situation. Luckil ythe children had not heard a word.
" My lord , I should like to ha ve youropinion on enlarg ing the school. Wethink of throwin g out a class-room overthe re. "
And he pointed vaguel y to the otherend , while all the children turned theiriieads in the direction indicated , andkept them there , while the vicar talkedon for three minutes about alterationsof which I had never before heard aword nor have I since.
" Ah," rep lied the bishop in a com-posed voice, "if you want more accom-modation , it will be best gained ihere.How does it look outside ?"
And , followed by Mr. Ambrose , he¦went throu gh the door , and I venturedto look at Mr s. Hemy.
She was standing in her place , andmaking the children form classes ns ifnothin g had happene d. Her face be-tr ayed no sign of emotion ; and when1 took Mrs. Ambrose 's arm nnd wishedher good afte rnoon , sho rep lied in herusual voice. Th e little scene we hadwitnessed might have been a dream forall traces it left behind. I got Mrs.Ambrose out , and was thankful that thedoor closed behind us before she madea remark.
" My dear , what does it mean ?" shewhispered uer \ o\isly, as wo stood inthe yard.
"N ever mind ; only don 't talk abou tit ," I rep lied in the same voice ; for thobishop nnd the vicar wero coming roundthe corner.
"I think you dino at seven , Mr.Ambrose ?" said his lordship serenel y.
" Yes, my lord. "'"Then I will take a little str oll. I
nave hardly had enough wnlkin g_ to-day, and I should like to soo a littleof your beautiful neighborhood. "
Without another word wo marchedway down the hill , and n few minuteslater we saw his shovel hat going alongtho field pathwa y to tho river.
Wo th roe wont homo in silence ; butas we parted at tho vicarage gate , Mr.Ambr ose said: " Wo always know thatshe vos a lady. "
" O, my dear Justin , I had forgottenth at ," exclaimed his wife, in a relievedtone. " Then you don 't think it Any-thing improper ?"
Heaven knows what terrible thingsthe poor lady had been imaginin g dur-ing our silent walk ; hut tho vicar 'sringing lnu gh swopt thorn all away,
"Improper ! No. It 's nil right , ofcourse ; only it 's no business of ours. "
That wns quite truo ; but neverthe-less I could not help thinking of it niltho timo I was havin g my tea , and whileI was dr essing for dinner ; for of courseI was going to moot tho bishop. And Ithought of it again later ; for as my flypassed tho school-house door , thebishop, who hml evidentl y returnedfrom his walk , was coming out of it , andI hoard him say; "I shall soo you to-morrow morning , Hester. "
"Don 't ; you had better not ," repliedMrs , Henr y 's voice,
" Nonsense ," said tho bishop .And I privatel y boliovo that he ran
nil th e way to tho vienrngo j for ho wasthere before I was , nnd onl y kept uswaiting five minutes for dinner.
* * * * * * *Two months Inter hor majesty 's in-
spector enmo to examine our school ,nnd to his astonishment and our glorifi-cation, every child presented passedtriump hantly , Wo had reck oned oneighty per cent , ; wo got n hundred.But tr ouble was oo.n 'ng upon us, andour triumph was sb .irt -lived, Ono dnyMrs. Henry camo to tho vionr , nnd gavenotice tha t sho must leave in threomonth s. In vain ho entreated hor tostay : oil'ond to raise her salary ; to doanythin g, in short , if sho would onlyremain. Hut she merely smiled andadher ed to hor ib 'cvmlnntion,
Th ey told »r.e nlmo ht with tenr s intheir eym, and I sind: "It 's all thebltd iop. "
At which the y laughed ; hut I fmowI was right , I hni l seen , if theyhiul n 't ,that n chang e hud como over our mis-tress slnco tho visitntion , She wnshap p ier , moro nt rest ; tho look ofstrained weariness , so hnbltunl to herface before , was gone now, and little
smiles used to come ri ppling o rer thelips tha t once were set so firm.
I was very sorry to lose her ; but Iwas eii re she was going to be happieraway from St. Bridget 's. And the even-ing before she left us, when I wentto say good-by, she took hold of myhand and kissed it , and to ld me all herstory.
H er realname wasMr s. Hen ryChamp-neys. Her husband , a captain in the—th reg iment , hud been killed by ac-cident in the hunting field ; thus theprice of his commission wn* lost , andshe found heavy debts , of which shehad known nothing—debts which sheought never to have known nt all—readyto swallow up the little money they hadleft. Her own settlement of a hundreda year was all she had to depend upon ,and there were two children—bri ght ,handsome boys—to educate and pro-vid e lor. So she put them to school ,and went into traiuii ' jj for a certificate ;got it without difficulty, and came to St.Bridget 's.
" And I had to save every penny, nndbe very cxreful , or the dear boys wouldhave suffered ," shesaid ; "for 1 wantedto provide for the future. It was veryhard work , and very lonely. I used towrite stories in the evening, and some-times the magazines would take them ,sometimes not ; but it was my onlychance of getting more money. "
" My dear , my poor dear , how couldyou do it all ?" I cried , while the tea rsra n down my face.
" It wns not so very bad , as I hadnot been used to a very happy life. "
I don 't know anything about CaptainCh ampnoys ; but I was sure he was abrute after that littlo speech.
" But now are you going to bo hap-py? " I asked .
" Yes, I hope so," sho whisperedputting her arms round my neck. " Iknew him years ago, before I was mar-ried , and—and—he says he never forgotme."
" Of course not. How could ho ?" Irep lied, and kissed her again.
" When I am gone, and it is over , (Iwill send you a newspaper ,) will you tellMr. and Mrs. Ambrose all about it—they have been so kind ?"
I promised to do what she wished ,and with another kiss on her little face,and a glance at the shabby dress andquaint cap which I should never seeagain , I went home, and the next dayshe was gone.
In four days a 7!men arrived by post.The following was marked:
" On the 2;3d , at St. J ohn 's Church ,George street , the Bishop of Southshireto Hester , widow of the lute CaptainCham pnoys. "
I took it up to the vicarage , and said:"I told you it was all the bishop. "
" What do you moan , Mrs. Acton , ehOnr bish op married ! Who is she, Iwonder ?"
" Sho tens Mrs. Henr y," I rep lied,calmly.
" Who ?" cried tho vicar." Mrs. Henry— our schoolmistress. "And then I gave her message , and
told them all about it,"Mind , wo must say nothing, " said
Jlr. Ambrose. "It is their secret , notours. "
To which wo assented , and there foreit is that no ono has known the ri ghtsof the story till now, though it happenedfull six months ago.
Knots anil Fancies.Thf witticisms of Bailey, of th e l">an-
bnvy .Vi irs ur j now more oxleiii-ivi' lycopied throughout the country thanth uKi- of any other humorist.
A Harrislmrg miikU boy stood on hisfeet in a closet , asleep, for three hours ,whi»c his iliMrni '>d parent-! searchedthe city over for him , under the impres-sion that he iva s lost.
A Dubuque grocer refuses to adver-tise in the papers , but spoiled n SllO su.'tof clothe: * in covering the fences nnowalls wit 'a it painted sign , which reads:" Buy ycior Kodpbish; A;. iCiiuph y atBiUolJM ."
An Illinois girl , having six lovers , of-fered to marry the one who should"break up " the most prairie in threedays. Tho result was that she got asmart husband , and her fath er foundhis new farm read y for planting free ofcost.
A young poet once asked DouglasJcrrold to pass a candid critici sm ontwo of his productions . Jcrrold waitedrather impatientl y until his torment orhad concluded reading the first poem ,anil then quickl y exclaimed— " I likeyour other poem th e best. " " But youhave not heard it read. "' " Th at is whyI pefer it. "
A society of Louisville colored peoplere cently conducted a f.iueral on eco-nomical principles. The rema ins weroplaced in nn express wagon , and thomourners , fift y in number , embarked ina number of street-oars chartered furthe occasion , nnd the cortege movedsolemnl y up the horse ra ilroad , throug hthe princi pal streets of the city.
According to Mr. Creswel l, the postalcards cost the U. S. Government .*l. :li>per thousand. The orde rs up to datehave readied the enormous amount of25,000,000, of which th e cost to thepeop le will be8250,000, and to the Gov-ernment S3i,0uU Allowing Slfi.OO O foradditional expense of delivery—whichwe presume , is a liberal allowance .— andthe net addition to the revenue is £20;).-000.
Thirt y years ago a man entered thoCity of 'New York in nn almost penni-less condition , and witho ut a single ac-qniii utnr- '.-c in th e great wilderness ofhouses. To-day his name is knownwherever humanity breaths . Itis spok<Miin every city, and is as familiar to thoworker in the mine as to his br other inthe mills , and wher ever language isknown and ideas are expressed the nameof this penniless , unknown , and unc outhlad of thirty years ago is uttered. Itwas John Smith.
The contractor for the Clevelandwater works tunnel says that when overa thousand feet from the shaft , andwith thirty-five feet of wator and thosame amount of earth above him , hohas repeatedly heard the falling of thorain on tho witter above almost as plain-ly as it could be heard when falling ontlio roof of a house. The workmenmention it as a common occurr ence tohear the splashin g of n steamer or pro-peller wheels passin g in the waterabove. Lust full the ripplo of wateraround a boom of saw-logs passingover tho spot wns plainly heard .
Alt Kilglish Story.I am a middle- aged lady, living quite
by uiy.ic.lf in the little town of St.Brid get's, where it happened, and Iknow tho whole story from , beginni ngto end , a-id the beginnin g wns this:
I was pay.'uga mornin g visit *.o dearold Mrs. Ambrose , our vicar 's wife,wh en the vicar himself marched intoth e room with his wideawake on, andsaid— " Bother!"
I will do- him the justice to say thatho took otr his wideawake as soon as her,: :-<v mo. r.ml :not the requiremen ts o[th e occasion by addressing me.
" Mrs. Action, here 's a bother!"" What!" w ! exclaimed hurriedl y,
for we saw theve was something serious."That—that ' pri g ' of an inspector
says we must have a certified mistress ,"rep lied the vicar ; and then he satdown , and we all looked at each otherin solemn silence for full three , minutes .
A certified mistre ss at St Bridget 's!That meant tur ning out tho dear oldwoman who had kept the school for thflast iive-and-twe uty years , nnd hadtaught our girls to hem and stitch andda rn so beauti fully that they got placesas work-w omen far nuil wide! And shehad tau ght both girls and boys the bestmanne rs of ony children in Southshire ,and had trained them up to bo honest ,God-fearing men nnd women , besidesteachin g tlvm son." readin g andwriting, aud the fir st four rules ofarithm etic. Nearl y nil the childrenwh o had stayed long enough at theschool could read oasy wordu in' largoprint , aud several of the clever oneslmd been kn own to -write out the Lord 'sTruyor from memory, and to say themul tiplicatio n table quito perfectly.What could anybod y war t moro ? Nowonder Mr . Ambro se called the in-spector a pri g. I called him somethingmuch wor se, but as my thou ghts worenot put into wor ds they need not be re-peated.
" Oh , dear! dear!" cried Mrs. Am-brose , as tho full meaning of tho in-spector 's decision broke upon hor ;" what shall wo do? Poor Mrs. Tod-kins will brea k hor heart. "
Thero was no little difficulty insecuring tho certified mistress .
" I'll write to Dobsou," said Mr. Am-brose to his wife.
And ho wroto to Mr, Dobson thenext morning as soon as ho won t intohis stud y.
Mr. Dobson was tho principal of thegreat tr ainin g college at Hatley, aud anold friend of tho vicar 's, so ho mightjust as well have written to him sooner ,onl y none of us think of all tho rightthin gs to bo dono jus t nt tho righ t timo,
" If you want a mistress , offer seventypounds ," said tho pri ncipal by returnof post ,
And tho vicnv did offer seventypounds , though whoro tho money wasto oomo from I could not toll , nnd Idon t think ho could cither .
Back onmo another letter from Mr.Dobsou , to say that ho had a mistresswho had just finished trninin g—awidow ; exaotly tho person to suit St.Bridget' s, and sho would ooeopt thosituation on certain conditions. I don 'tknow what tlio conditions wore , exceptthat her evenin gs wore to bo ai hor owndispoinl , only I know that it seemed tomo very odd to hear of tho schoolmis-tress making conditions , hnd acceptingsuoh an enormous salary, ns if sho weroconferrin g « Invar,
The vienr said it was the result ofI 'ompoti tion , the supply not being equalto tho demand j but I thought it mightho iudirootly referred to strikes andunions , though I did not exactly seehow ; but wlion thex 'C nro so manydreadful thin gs .wing un in tho coun-try, they work into ouch other in nwonderful mnnnor.
" It is it comfort that wo nr o to have awidow, " I roninrkeil to Mr, Ambrose ;" she will ho staid nnd respectable , nndnot sneh a responsibility n« a younggirl ."
"Oh , I don 't know ," sighed Mrs ,Ambrose pltoo usly • "1 think 1 wouldrather have n young person , ovou ifsho did wear chi gnons and feathers .Widows nro so "
She stopped suddenly, rememberingthat I was n widow , nnd went on to aIivsh sentence ; hut T wondered whatKl ie was going to fiiy,
"I know I shnll be nfraiil of her ," shehum, "And sho is going to piny theorgan nnd ju iiniiao tho choir ; sho willbo sure to want tier own way in every-thinr ,, nnd it won 't bo nine nnd comfort-nolo ns it used to bo. And then , mydear , she Is oert nin to bo quite young ;no niiddlo.ngod person would have taken.
OUR SCH00L3IISTKESS ,
Disappointed..T though: , to-nifc' lit, to see tby fuco.
Ami B.imm not for tlio nun gono down :Bii* "" .f tlic ."ha ilo w in liin place
Hangs nn niy elicited heart its frowu .1 could not doubt tliat thy dear voice
Would ehocr nie more than bird or lute—How can my heart to-ni glit rejoice .
With bird and Hiring and voice :ill muto ?TUe breath of June upon ruy cheek
1 bore , impatient for thy kietMy fai nting lips their anguish i-iieaJ .
The swccctucHs of th y breath lo r.u ".Oh. why did thy sweet steps dol&i ,
Sine© bird mid Hong and brcozu ate gone .Slighted for hope of thco . the iUy !
Wit hout thco night puts aac!.cloth on !Wore I away, tho u Hhoald st not chido
Ono heedless moment of delay ;I seek my mnishhio at th y side—
Thy voice my snug, thy smile my day.
It has long boon commonl y believedthat the water in which impeded pota-toes have been boiled is poisonous. Itis now said to have boon discovered thatthis po'son , like many oth ers, potme sHCBcertain remedial properties.
Tho disoaso for which it is pa rticu-lar ly recommend ed is rheumatism , andthere is somo evidence which goes toshow that the belief in its efficacy is notwithout beneficial effect.
A laborer , while in a state of persp ira-tion , a few days ago, became chilled bya sudden fall of rain . This brough t onan attack of rheumatism , which madehim so lamo that ho wns quito unableto pursue his usual avocation. Thepotato water wns recommended to him.Ho tried it in the , evening, and much tohis surpris e, found himself on tho fol-lowing morning as well as usual. Hobelieved the result was attributable totho use of tho potato wator .
Another case was that of n man whohad hoon drenched by exposure to acold storm. The second day nftorwn rdho wns seized with sharp pains of al-most unbearable severity, nnd indica -tive of iii llnmmntory rheumatism. Housed the potato water , and experiencedimmed iate relief from intense suffer-ing.
This remedy should bo used only ox-ter nnlly , Tho potntoor , should bo boiledwith tlio skins on , and the wator app liedas hot as it can bo borne , to tho partaffected , hy rubbing. Of course weknow nothing ns to whether it wouldpr oduce any such effect in other oasesns it scorn s to luivo had in these two,
Carrvlng n. raw potato in the pockethas n Kimlln r oflVut , Many very eori onscases of rhoumn tlfim imvo been ef-fectua lly cured by this veiy Mraplothing.
Low or Coa u. — Tho total amount ofconl estimat ed to have her n mined inthe Unit ed BtntcR lust year wnh la .OOO ,-000 tons ; of thi s 20,000, 000 toas wasnn thrn eile , over 2, 000,000 Cumberland ,and over 1H ,000,(I I)0 bituminous For
; the sumo year Nova Heotin , mined 9H0 ,.; fl.'O toils, 1/3-//I 03 of wltictt *li« mml tn
tlio United States , Oreot Britainmined liit 1,000,000 tons , nnd export ed
• over 18,000,000, of whieh she sent 2!W ,-18-.1 tons to the United States , Parin g
'' the yfnr tho United States exportedI 400,S78 tons ,
A Itemed}- for Ithcunin tiNin.
Some of tho bridges in China are ofextra ordinary beauty and magnificence.Thero is ono near Pckiu bui lt entirel yof white warble , elaborat ely orna ment-ed. Others are found over tho cana lsof still greater magn ificence and with agrand triump hal arch at each end ; andsome, instead of boiu gbuiltwi fch urchu s,are fiat from ono side of the ciimd to tl. oother , marble flngsof groat length beingIniil on piers so narro w anduiiy that tli obridge looks as if it wero suspend ed intho air. IVom tho amazing facilitiesafford ed hy tho numo rou n cana ls fortransporta tion of goods by water , thes ebrid ges do not req uire to be built ofgront strength , for only foot-i>asH en gersuse the bri dges, which is th e reas onthev are of such an elegant and fancifulconstructi on. These bridges ur n built ,with a num ber of arch es, the centra lnrc fi being about forty feet wide , andhi gh enough for vessels to pass without ,striking thei r mast s. The, grout eleva -tion of these br idges renders steps n ee-essnrv. Tiioy resemble , in this resp ect ,tho old bridges of Venice , on which youascend hv steps on one side , mid de-scend on' tno other in tho hiuii c way.Chain bridg es wero not rond o in tinscountr y for mom than eighteen centu-rion offer they were known and used inChina.
Beauty of Chinese llrh lgos.
A Californ ia correspondent fro m tl iolavn beds snys it is no disparagement sthe soldier to say, " As n rule , they amnot good shots , " f ¦«• such is the fuel.This , I trdi o it , is owing to two causes ;Viut , they ore not drill ed enough nttarget-shooting ; rkc onil , the guns nilshoot too high and wide , especiallyafter being fired a num b er of ro iimls, Ithink I am a pret ty fjood shot wi th arillo or a slx-Hh oot er ; but I know nModoc would ho t olerabl y safe beforein" with nn army gnu—either rmrbi iio orHprin glleld musket. I have tried them ,nnd , while you can shoot fust and at nlong distanc e, they will not do for tnr -gut work ; and that is just what shout-ing ut M nilooH Is—anil a very small tar-p ut i i iny nro , too, generally speakin g.Tho safety of our men during t l io Int o(l iriit was owing, in a great meah ure , totho fact tlmt the guns used by th e .Mo-docs wero those captured in the flgli * oftho 17th of January , and almost inva ri-ably they shot over their mark.
Had Shots.
