The Portland daily press., 1869-06-04
Melted lard rubbed over the heads and under
the wings of both chickens and mothers will
drive the ticks away. @ th19
AGRIcoLA.
Charlie. DisL.n., CIV I..ro..,, . ,..,e,. !,

AGRIcoLA.
eatai llLa --4-------- - 4 II 80 = 717i
Charles Dickens "FIy Loaf from Life.,
Dickens has been sick-an event that has
caused more genuine apprehension and sor-
sowiui ioreboding than II Bonaparte, victo-
.ia, Francis Joseph, Alexander, william, Vic
.or Emanuel, Abdul Aziz successor of aAb.
uui ~ was") and Plus Ninth, had been in
imminent perm OF death. The great novelist
describes his experiences with characteristic
humor.A After noting the identity Of his
symptoms with those he inflicted upon Mr..
Merd's in Little Dorrit, he makes these fur
ther remafkss under the caption of a "FIv
Leaffronla a Lhcs: gi7odFaa 9Iia
| -a.s sdl q ~ no '>~sllsaaW ~ flr'r7a uoad
bnt while Iso rested, thankfully recovering
every hour, had experlencesmore odd than
sln snls. mad experiences OF spirfsal conceit,
ior which, as giving me a new warning
against that curse OF mankind, shall always
ieei erateIui to the supposition that was too
iar gone to protest against playing sick lion
| 70 any stray donkey with an itching hoof
All sorts OF people seemed to become vicari-
ously reilglonsly religious at my expense. 1
received the most uncompromising warning
tnat was Heathen on the conclusive au-
tnorlty oil a field preacher, who, like the most
OF his ignorant and vain and daring cIass
couiu not construct tolerable sentence In
ms native tongue or pen iair letter. This
INSPIRED individual called me to order round- 1
| ~, and knew In the freest and easiest way
where was going to, and what would be-
come OF me II failed to fashion myself on
MS Drignt example, and was on terms OF bias
phemous confidence with the Heavenly Host.
He was in the secrets OF my heart, and in the
lowest soundings of my souI-hel land could
reaa the depths Of my nature better than his
AD Y, and could turn me inside ont, like his-i
own clammy glove. But what Is far |
more extraordinary than this--ior |
such dirty water as this could alone |
pc drawn from such shallow and muddy |
SOURCE found from the information of q |
penehced clergyman Of whom never heard, |
ana whom never saw, that had not, as / |
rather supposed / had, lived lie OF some |
reading, contemplation and inquiry; that |
nad not studied, as l rather supposed / had, |
70 incuicate some Christian lessons in books;
that had never tried, as rather supposed l |
had, to turn child or two to the knowledge /
and love OF our Saviour; that / never had |
bad, as rather supposed had had, departed /
friends, or stood beside open graves; but that |
l had lived life Of "nninterrupted prosper |
lty," and that I needed this .check over
much," and that the way to turn it to account
was TO read these sermons and these poems,
lnclose !, and written and issued by my cor
respondent beg iti may be understood that
reiate facts OF my own monumental expe- I
rlence, and no vam imaginlngs. The docu-
ments in proof lie near my hand. .io nsilnri3.fll
Another odd entry on the fy-leaf, of a |
more entertaining character, was the wonder
ful persistency with which kind sympatnizers
assumed that had injuriously coupled with |
the SO suddenly relinguished pursuit. those
personal habits of mine, most OBVIOUSLY in
compntlble with il, aud most plainly fmpossi-
Die OF being maintained, along with II. As |
az that exercise, all that cold bathing ali that
wind and weather, all that uphill trainipa-l
all that everything else, say, which is usually
carried about by express trains In portman-
Ieau and hatrbox, and partaken of under a
naming row OF gas-lights in the company OF
two thousand people,. This assuming of 4
whole case against all facts and likelihood. |
struck me as particularly droll, and was an
oddity OF which l certainly had no ADEQUATE
experlence in life until turned that curious |
fy-leaf sssu s1awic sls ~ tll G--,,-' ]
MY old acquainrances, the begging-letter
writers, came out on the fy-leaf, very piously
indeed. They were glad, at such q serious
crisis, to offer me another Opportunity of
sending that Post-Ofice order. / needn't
make It pound, as previously insisted on;
ten shllilngs might. ease my mind. q And
Heaven forbid that they should refuse. at such
an insignificant figure, to take weight of
the memory of an erring low-creatnre =
One gentleman, OF an artistic turn fand copi-
ously illustrating the books of the Mendicity
Society, thought it might soothe my con-
science in the tender respect of gifts misused,
iy y0alR alsna of original desisnMas speci.
men of which he enclosed me work OF art ]
which recognize as tracing from wood
cut originally published in the late Mrs. Troll ,
lope's book on America forty or fifty wears
ago. The number of people who were pre-
pared to live long years after me, untiring
benefactors to their species, for fifty pounds | ,
apiece down, was astonishing Also, OF thcs-t I
who wanted bank noles for stiff penRept
amounts, to give away--not to keep
account. .tf.- ~ f..risfx.s
IN ns;r"asoS n ,asn,,snSo.:shs for themselves
into the hy7leaf that rAs ntse .Sa. gn v ~
ery prescriber ydether in moral or physical
direction, baew me tnorougniy1sknew
fvss through e.oeraI aps1oe eaoeert1 aOMn sna
everybody was on the mosssurprisisnlsi init
mate terms with u,,aa me, a few public institu-
nefs 10 my mind, Of which, after coAsidera-
Bile selfexamination, 4 have not discovered |
any indication. Neat little printed hrms
hweies addressed to these corners, beginning /,
with these wo-ds: 81 give and bequeath,n Nel-
Will it seem exaegerstive to state my beli9
| thai the most honest, the most modest, ano
the least vain. glorious Of all the records upon
this strange fy-leaf, wasa letter from the |
self-deceiyed discoveref ofsthe rocondite se-
Get how to live four or five hundred years.? I
Doubtless it viii seem so, yet the statement |
is mt exaggefative by any means, but Is made |
in my serious and sincere coaviction. With |
this, and with laugh at the rest that shall /
not be cynical, turn the fy.kat, and 60 on
again, ~ - !. 1890 II
-. -s--.l - - - - ~ --.l aa II