Year: 1879




traction. Paris was besieged and the Com
mune was about its devilish work. The opera
was Les Cent Vicrges, in which, as you are
aware, there is a song by the prima donna
which tells of the glories of the gay capital
This night in the house there were many
Frenchmen and when Aimee sang the song of
Paris, she gave it with such effect that heard
the people crying all around me. For herself,
she wept too and was not ashamed of it. She
sang and acted the words and music with her
whole heart and power, and displayed pathos
and emotion wonderful as coming from Aimee,
who, two minutes before, had had us roaring
with laughter"


The Rev. DIR. Berkeley writes to the st. Louis
Globe-Democrat that he baptized Henry Clay
in his parlor at Ashland, KY, and at the same
time administered the ordinance to his daugh-
ter-in-law, Mrs Thomas Clay, and four of her
children, on the 22d of June, 1917. A few
friends only were present The water was TAX
en- by the hand out of large cut-gass urn
which, among his many presents, had been
given to Mr.. Clay by manufacturer IN Pitts
burg, Pa. 1t was said that this urn was the
largest piece of cut-glass then known. Mr.. Clay
was then seventy years old. He was afterward
confirmed publicly in church,


A correspondent writing from Guilford,
Conn, about the affairs of the Rev. w. III. H.
Murray, says: HE has many creditors both
in Guilford and Madison, not large ones, but
farmers who have furnished hay and grain for
use on the stock farm, and others who have in
one way or another trusted him and his repre-
sentatives in small accounts. With hardly an
exception they have stood by 'Parson' Murray,
as they call him, and would never have
thought of going to law about their claims had
not outside creditors done it first. But the
minister's famous letter, in which he strikes
back vigorously at his maligners, gives up the
fight and announces his retirement from the
world has opened the eyes of his friends and
supporters. They no longer expect to see him
at his farm again, and expect that his credit
ors will do what they see fit with his property
without molestation from him. His affairs
here are in a terribly mixed up condition.
Eight of the horses, including valuable mare,
are claimed by Miss Ida Hull, the sister of Mr..
Murray's wife, and both Mr.. Good MIR. Muir
rays tdctotum, and Mr. Dutchman, work
man on the farm, say they own stallion
apiece in the lot. These horses are all in the
keeping of the sheriff, and it is going to be a
difficult matter to decide upon the justice OF
their claims in the absence OF Mr. Murray.
The farm is mortgaged in 900. 1t is ex-
pected that the dividend from the estate will
be very SMALL unless some of the large credit
ors abstain from appearing


The late Mr.. Rowland Hill, when he was a
little boy, was an eager reader OF Miss Edge
worth's stories, and they impressed him so
deeply that he resolved to follow in the path
she traced, and before he died to do something
that should be for the signal advantage of man.
kind. How he was to benefit his fellowmen he
did not, of course know; but that he should
benefit them, and that in some large way, was
his fixed resolution almost from childhood.
As he with his parents and his five brothers
and two sisters gathered day by day for their
meals-meals of the most frugal kind whereat
nothing stronger than water was ever drunk
there was a constant discussion among them on
the best means of reforming the world. Boys
and girls alike were eager for the work. They
had an extremely wise and ambitious mother,
who toied night and day to keep her little
family from sinking through poverty out of the
class into which they had been born. When
Rowland was mere child, his mother used to
talk over with him her difficulties, almost as II
he were q man. He had known her dread the
visit of the pestman, as there was not money
enough in the house to pay the postage. His
father kept school, and Rowland when eleven
wears old began to assist him in teaching.
When he was twelve his education came to an
end, and he became altogether teacher.
Rowland Hills marriage was n true romance.
He and his future wife had in their childhood
been playfellows together. He was in his old
age never weary of telling how much he owed
to the tender devotion of his wife during the
years of their long and happy welded life.


Daniel Drew did not own q dollar OF real es-
tate when he died, but among his personal
property was $50 worth of bibles and hymn
books. After he became bankrupt he said
that his only regret was the fact that having
I, If GOs0 ~ anInxv MatbO-
dist seminary, he had not been able to pay the
money over. He donated the money. but kept
it in his own possession, paying the interest on
it to the seminary. The trustees of the semin-
ary had every confidence in him and left the
money in his hands. He never dreamed OF
losing it; but the crash came and it went with
everything else. The seminary has been built
and improved on its expectations and now is
in debt.


The biography of James Buchanan, presi-
dent of the United States, is in danger of new
er being finished. The work was first intrusted
to the hands of the late William B. Reed, but
he was obliged to give it up when it became
necessary for him to remove from Philadelphia
to New York. Then it was transferred to the
late Hon. John Cadwalader, but his other duties
prevented him from making much progress
with it, Now a contract has been made with
George Ticknor Curtis of New York to write
the life and have it ready for publication IN
1880. Mr.. Curtis is to have charge OF the
printing and publication, and is to receive
IS 900 for his literary labors and one-half the
copyright of the work.


There is an interesting hermit named Austin
Sheldon in the wilds of Pike County, Pa. He
is seventy-three years old, totally deaf, and
lives in cave which he has rudely fitted up
for habtation. His only companion is q
tame rat. His personal appearance is start
ling. He is about five feet in height, and his
hair and beard are as white as snow. His
clothes are worn and patched, and he wears
waistband made of hickory withe to support
his garments For his defence against wild
beasts he carries long knife as, sharp as
razor which he made by grinding down an old
file. He says that his parents were Connecti-
cut farmers In early manhood he fell i'll love
with an accomplished girl and they were en-
gagged to be married. Her parents broke off
the match by secretly sending her away to
school. This so preyed upon Austin's
mind that he gave up business and started out
to find her. He travelled from State to State
but in vain, and finally, when his money was
nearly spent he resolved to settle down in Penn
sylvania He fell into the hands of land spec
ula1ors who soon got what cash he had and
decided him the barren tract of land upon
which he now lives His astonishment when
he saw the ''farm'' that had been decided him
may be imagined He found nothing but a
forest and as storm came up he was obliged
to take refuge in cave in ledge of rocks.
This cave he has ever since inhabited. For
nearly twenty years he has subsisted upon wild
fruit and in the winter he trapped game and
fish, For three years the hermit never saw
human being. But he has grown tired OF that
kind of life, and lately told Phlladelphla
Times correspondent that he intended to re-
turn to civilization to die.


Our Boston Letter.