Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, 1884-03-13


| lina's Indian Summer days in December,
while on Monday morning at o'clock the
mercury ran down to 100 below zero. Old
residents here say it has been long time
since the weather has been as cold as it was
| in January and unhesitatingy pronounce
it the coolest I ever experienced. Doubt
less New Englanders suffer as little from
the severity of the weather as those who
| live in a warmer climate. Their houses,
the manner of construction and furnish
ing of which hope to write you hereafter,
are models of comfort, and we are protected
from the cold outside by comfortable cloth
ing and the silk handkerchief worn around
the neck under the over-cOat collar l have
stood the cold much better than l have
stood up on the ice, which has covered our
roads and walks three or four weeks sue
cessively, causing both the righteous, and
wicked to "stand in slippery placcs.' The
Connecticut River which flows quite near
| has been covered with not less than eigh-
teen inches of ice, stopping all navigation,
| and making safe crossing for both pedeS-
trians and teams. Just now we are in the
midst of areal New Eng gland Snow Storm" ."
About eighteen inches of snow fell on Tues
day. Yesterday we had an intermissiOn,
and many were rejoiced to behold the face
of the sun; but to-day the beautiful snow,
in its spotless, quiet, majesty has been fall
ing until the ground now must have a COW
ering of white not less than two feet deep,
and the merry jingle of the sleigh bells is
heard on every hand. Judging from pres
ent appearance it will be yet many, days
before the sun, returning from his far OFT
voyaging, shall call from their icy beds, and
warm into life and light the roots, and ten
der flowers, and grasses. There is yet no
indication of swelling bud The snow
and ice bring to New Englanders enjoya-
BILE
SPORTS.
Racing on the ice on the river has been
popular to those who have been willing to
subject their horses to such an ordeal.
| There is always something SO fascinating
about the jingle of the sleigh-bells, and the
Buffalo robe, that your correspondent has
pledged himself not to refuse even one oppor-
tunity forjoinirg one ofthese parties pleas
ure bent. My young friends skate with ease
and grace have evidently wished to have
me stir up their pure minds, by way of re-
membrane, Of what Dickens has graphical
ly written touching the performances of Mr..
Wrinkles with skates on ice; and have been
not little amused that l should prefer
wearing my skates on my hands. l have
now realized why authors Of readers which
/ have used in the South have made their
books somewhat unacceptable to Southern
teachers and pupils, since find that almost
every child has its sled, and never seems to
be happier than when sliding down these
Connecticut hills. These authors are OF
Northern birth and growth, and have natu-
rally prepared their books for children who
are accustomed to such winter sports. Fish
ing has been during the winter, a popular
and remunerative sport. A friend goes
from my boarding house quite frequently,
and about as frequently supplies perch, and
pickerel, for our menu. He goes not forth,
however, after the manner of the S. c.,
angler, in his piscatorial pursuits, armed
with the inevitable rod and Oyster-can OF
earth worms, but with such appliances as
will enable him, standing upon the icy bed
of the river, or pond, to operate as many
lines as he pleases at one time, with which
he decoys and brings through holes made in
the ice the members Of the finny tribe.
But lest your readers may think / am
mistaken as to the length of time / have
been here, and write as one still unaccus-
toned to manners and methods, l defer 9TH
er thoughts and imnrrffGns fns Until nn9tter
THE IGNORANT JURoR.-The supreme
court of Tennessee has recently rendered a
decision on the subject Of jurors that will
be welcomed by all, as it is certainly in
accord with the spirit Of the law and with
the public sentiment and the practical good
sense Of the age.
Heretofore, the law has placed premi-
um on ignorait jurors. The man who read
newspapers or books, who mixed with the
world, and, consequently, knew the current
news of the day, was regarded as an inn
proper Juror, and one that could not serve
while the ideal juryman was deemed to be
| the man who was illiterate and uneducated,
could not read or write, and knew nothing
of the crime, Or, indeed, anything else:
The issue in this case, presented in Ten
nessee, was as follows: y juror upon trial
for murder declared that he had read q full
account of the crime in the papers, and had
formed an opinion regarding it, but believ-
ed that this would yield to evidence. This
juror, the supreme court decided, was
good one.
This decision is very similar to one re-
Gently rendered by the supreme court of In
diana, which declared that reading an ac-
count of crime in a newspaper was no good
reason why Juror should be unfit to serve
in that case. This is manfeStly the drift of
! judicial decision of late, and numerous other
courts have held that knowledge of the de-
tails of crime is not incompatible with
Jury service, and the principle is now being
recognized in our own courts.
The ignorant juror, the man who can not
read and post himself on the events Of the
day, should be excluded from service instead
| of encouraged as he has been. Intelligence
rules in everything except in the jury box,
where, hitherto, a premium has been placed
upon illiteracy.
| We hope to see all the courts follow in the
footsteps of the Tennessee tribunal. 1t will
! be in the interest of good verdicts, and will
do much to prevent the escape and secure
the conviction of criminals.
VINES on HOUsES.-It is generally sup
posed that vines make houses damp, for
| which reason there are not nearly us many
cottages and houses beautified with vines
as there would be. 1t is only when the
climbers are allowed to cover the caves and
obstruct the cutters, or find their way un-
der the shingles that they become objection
able, and these conditions, should of course,
be guarded against. The GdrdIeer's Month";
| Ws remarks in this respect are taken :
"Vines should always be kept cut down be-
! low the roof. 1t is a little trouble to do
shoes BACKED without some trouble. Those
who know how beautifully and cosy looks Il
vine covered cottage will not object to the
| few hours labor it requires to keep vines
from stopping up the gutter. Vines really
make a dry wall The millions Of rOotlets
| by which they adhere to the wall absorb
water and examination will prove vine
covered wall to be as dry as an old bone.
One great advantage Of Il vine covered cot
tage not often thought of, is that it is cooler
| i'm simmer and warmer in winter than