A CHEAP BAROMETER, 
Every firmer should carefully observe the 
“ signs of the weather,” and shape his business 
to suit. He may not be aide to foretell the state 
of the weather by a barometer, or by observing 
the movements of index pointers. But if he 
will commit to memory the following quaint 
effusion of Dr. Jknner, who was celebrated in 
his day for his practical sense, he will find in 
them a useful guide: 
“ The hollow winds begin to blow, 
The clouds look black, the glass is low; 
The aool. fulls down, the spaniels sleep, 
The spiders from their cobwebs peep. 
Last night the snn went pale to bed, 
The moon In haloes hid her head; 
The boding shepherd heaves a sigh, 
For, see! a rainbow spans the sky; 
The walls are damp, the ditches smell, 
Closed la the pink-eyed pimpernel. 
Hark, how tiie chairs and tables crack! 
Oh! Betty’s bones are oa the rack; 
Loud quack the ducks, the peacocks cry, 
The distant hills arc seeming nigh; 
How restless arc the snorting swine, 
The busy Hies disturb the kiue; 
Low o’er the grass the swallow wings, 
The cricket, too, how sharp he sings 1 
Fuss on the hearth, with velvet paws, 
Sits wiping o’er her whiskered jaws; 
Through the clear stream the fishes rise, 
And nimbly catch the incautious flies; 
The glow-worms, numerous and bright, 
burned the dewy dell last night; 
At dusk the squalid toad was seen 
Hopping and crawling o'er the green; 
The whirring wind the dust obeys, 
And in the rapid eddy plays, 
The frog has changed his yellow vest, 
And in a russet coat is dr eat; 
Though Juno, the air la cold and still, 
The mellow blackbird's voice is shrill; 
My dog, so altered in his taste, 
Quits mutton bom*s, cm grass to feast; 
And see yon rook x, ho>v odd their flighty 
They imitate the gliding kite. 
And seem precipitate to fall, 
As if they felt the piercing ball:— 
’Twill surely rain. I see with sorrow, 
Our jaunt , snail be put off tomorrow.” 
Remember lhat there are three variable qual¬ 
ities of the atmosphere, from which result va¬ 
riations in the weather—these are. Its weight, 
temperature, ami moisture; and by a careful 
observation ot these, it is possible frequently to 
predicate the weather we are likely to have. 
“ Ho tell me why the kettle’s lid 
Is moving up and down; 
And why that smoke comes puffing out 
So fiercely from the kettle’s spout— 
It sprinkles, see, your gown!” 
“ Ahl Charlie, boy, yon do not know 
That under that small lid 
A giant, powerful and strong, 
Who pushes ships and trains along, 
Is in the kettle bid. ’ 
“A real giant! oh, mamma, 
Yoa must be in a dream ” 
“No dream, my child; the slave of man, 
H« does more work than horses can; 
The giant’s name is Steam. 
“ Giants of old were mighty men, 
Who mighty deeds could do; 
So when one does the work of ten, 
In digging mini* or draining fen, 
We call him giant too. 
“And steam has strength for works so vast, 
You can no giant name. 
In alt the books, from first to last, 
Which tell the story of the past. 
That ever dhl the same. 
“ And you, my boy, will learn one day, 
How that which moves the lid. 
Can with the ponderous piston play. 
And make the fly-wheel spin away, 
And work as it is bid.” 
[Moatreali Witness. 
Tiie above fitting emblem is an appropriate 
illustration at the close of a season] which has 
been most bountiful in producing! the staple 
Grains and Fruits of the country. Let it be a 
reminder of the causes we have for gratitude 
and thanksgiving. 
On the left is Ceres, the daughter of Saturn, 
and the fabled inventor of Agriculture, who 
was honored by the aucients as the ’goddess of 
Corn. In her left hand is seen the ripened 
wheat, to denote the realm over which she 
ruled, and in her right hand she holds the 
sickle, the only implement used in ancient days 
to gather the golden grain. The inventive 
genius of man has destroyed much of the poetry 
of Agriculture. The shepherd’s crook Is seen 
no more, and the sweet notes of his well-tuned 
pipe float no more on the evening breeze. The 
nnslghtly cradle and the ponderous reaping 
machine have taken the place of the poetical 
sickle, which, in our childish days, we were 
wont to see men and maidens wield so grace¬ 
fully, and wave with joy, as they shouted the 
“harvest home.” Poetry falls before utility, 
and while we love the beauty of the past, we 
rejoice in present good and future progress. 
On the right sits Pomona, the goddess of 
Fruit and Fruit Trees. From frost and blight 
and all evil, she preserved the fruits of the 
garden. In her hand she holds the horn, of 
plenty, and scatters upon the earth its rich 
treasures—the luscious Peach, the melting Pear, 
the Melon and the Grape—gifts worthy of a 
goddess. It was a poetical idea, this belief in a 
protector of Fruit and Trees—a beautiful god¬ 
dess, with sleepless eyes. But, we have learned 
the unpoetical lesson, that only by labor and 
skill, and unceasing watchfulness, can we obtain 
the rich fruits of the earth. 
Written for Moore’s Rural New-Yorker. 
WILLIE’S CHRISTMAS [GIFT 
“Allie, tell Harry' and Jennie and Wil¬ 
lie to come into the library; and be real still 
about it, for I want to tell you all a secret,” 
whispered Sc si e Lee to her brother, one morn¬ 
ing after breakfast. Mrs. Lee had gone out to 
do some shopping, so the children had a good 
time for their secret convention. As'soon as 
they were all in the room, Susie, who seemed 
to be the only one who understood the' secret, 
began to tell them what it was. “ You know,” 
she said, “ it is almost Christmas time/and we 
always have some nice presents on Christmas. 
You think i: is Krlst Kringlb who, sends 
them to us, but I’ve found out .where they 
come from. It is our father and mother who 
give them to us.” 
“No, it isn’t, it is Krist Krengle,” shouted 
Willie. 
“I’ll tell you how it is, Little brother,” said 
Susie. “ Do you know what Christmas is?” 
“It’s a day when we get ever so many good¬ 
ies!” 
“That’s not all of it, Willie. It is the 
birthday of Christ. God, the good, gave 
Him to come into this world, where,we are all 
wicked, and help us to be good like Him. So 
He was God s gift to us. And Krist is only 
another name for Christ. And you know all 
our good things come from Him. God puts it 
into the hearts of our parents to give them to 
us. And I think that as they always give us 
presents, we ought to give them some too. It 
will make them know that we love them.” 
“Oh, yes,” cried all the rest; “let us give 
them some Christmas gifts, too.” 
“ Where will we get money enough [to buy 
things that will please big folks?” asked 
Harry. 
“ And what can we get that they will like?” 
said Jennie. 
“ Susie can tell the best,” said Allie; “let 
her make a plan for us. We ought to, for she 
was the first one to think of it.” 
“ 1 think they would like something that we 
make ourselves better than anything we can 
purchase.” 
So it was agreed by all that they should each 
make something for this object, and give their 
parents a pleasaut surprise. There were a 
great many sly talks in corners, and a great 
deal of quiet work going on for a few weeks. 
There was an unusual amount of painting and 
drawing done, needle-cases, work-boxes, pin¬ 
cushions and slippers made. But there was one 
little curb head which could think of nothing 
good enough to give ” Mamma,” and the face of 
little Willie was sometimes very sad as he 
saw the others doing 60 much. The little 
hands were busy helping all they could, and the 
little feet ran quickly when there was some¬ 
thing needed to aid in the work of love. 
On Christmas morning, after their own gifts 
had been discussed, they gave their presents, 
and a surprise it was, iudeed, to the glad parents. 
All but Willie. He had hidden behind his 
mother’s chair, and remained there until the 
rest had gone from the room. Then he came 
timidly and laid a little paper in his mother’s 
hand. 
“Mamma,” he said, in a trembling voice. “I 
couldu’t make you anything, but i love you just 
as well. I could not think of anything else to 
give you, so I’ve brought you one of my pretty 
curls. Is it good enough for a Curistmas pres¬ 
ent. mamma?” 
There it lay, the beautiful golden ringlet 
which had hung about the face of her darling. 
Tears came to the mother's eyes as she took it; 
not tears of sorrow, but of gladness—of joy for 
the love of the precious child, which knew of 
no way to express itself but by a curl. 
•■Yes, Willie, darling,” she said, as she 
pressed him fon!ly to her heart} “you love 
mamma, and that is enough for a Christmas 
gift.” 
Warm kisses she pressed upon his brow, and 
told him beautiful things as the little arms 
clasped ner neck, till her darling nestled down 
against her heart and slept. No child ever gave 
it-* mother a better, richer Christmas gift, than 
little Willis, for he gave her his heart and 
love, which were more precious to her than all 
the costly things that wealth could possibly 
purchase. L. Jarvis Wilton. 
FOR BAROMETRICAL OBSERVERS. 
but little talking. After dinner there was 
a slack of hostilities. A Johnnie rose up on 
the parapet of his line, and shook a paper as 
a sign of truce, then sprung over in the corn¬ 
field. 
“ At once a hundred men from either line 
were over their works and side by side, 
ping papers for papers, 
Negretti & Zambra, the celebrated Lon¬ 
don meteorological instrument makers, give 
the following rules for observing the barome¬ 
ter. Sir John Herschcll some years since pub¬ 
lished an essay on this instrument, but it is not 
so simple or so intelligible as this: 
A Rising Barometer.—A “rapid” rise 
indicates unsettled weather. 
A “gradual” rise indicates settled weather. 
A “ rise ” with dry air and cold increasing 
in summer, indicates a wind from northward; 
and if rain has fallen better weather is to be 
expected. 
A “rise” with moist air and a low tempera¬ 
ture indicates wind and rain from northward. 
A “ rise ” with southerly wind indicates flue 
weather. 
A Steady Barometer —With dry air and 
a seasonable temperature indicates a continuance 
of very fine weather. 
A Falling Barometer.—A “rapid” fall 
indicates stormy weather. 
A “rapid” fall with westerly wind indicates 
stormy weather from northward. 
A “fall” with a northerly wind indicates a 
storm, with rain and hail in summer, and snow 
in winter. 
A “fall” with increased moisture in the air 
and heat increasing indicates wind and rain from 
the southward. 
A “ fall ” with dry air and cold increasing in 
winter indicates snow. 
A “ fall ” after very calm and warm weather 
indicates rain, with squally weather. 
Gen. Grant taking Paducah. 
Colonel Wm. S. Hyllyer, formerly a 
member of Geu. Grant’s staff, related the fol¬ 
lowing in response to a serenade in New York 
lately: 
I remember well three years ago in August, 
when Gen. Grant was in command of the dis¬ 
trict of Cairo, news was brought to him that 
the rebel army bail seized Paducah, and were 
moving on Columbus. He telegraphed to Gen. 
Fremont, who was then in command in Mis¬ 
souri, asking permission to go and take Paducah. 
It was then three o’clock in the afternoon. 
Hour al ter hour passed and no reply came from 
St. Louis. Seven o’clock came, and the oflicer 
announced the troops had embarked and the 
caissons were ready; still no answer. The op¬ 
erator at St. Louis was questioned about the tele¬ 
gram, and he replied that the dispatch had been 
placed in Gen. Fremont’s hands; and, gentle¬ 
men, he had telegraphed to Washington to know 
whether or not it would be policy to invade the 
sacred soil of Kentucky, and gentlemen who 
should have been the heroes of this war were 
playing the part of walking gentlemen. Midnight 
came, and still no answer, when Gen. Grant, 
turning to me, said:—“Come on; I will take 
Paducah If it costs me my commission. ” (Cheers.) 
And the morning snn shone on the Federal 
bayonets marching through the streets of Padu¬ 
cah. This act not onl; saved the Tennessee and 
Cumberland rivers, but paved the way for 
those expeditions which ended iu the capture 
of Forts Henry atd Donelson. We started 
back to Cairo and there we received instructions 
to “ take Paducah, if you are strong enough.” 
This is a circumstance in the military history 
of this wan which shows you the great charac¬ 
teristic of Gen. Grant. 
swap- 
tobacco for coffee or 
jack-knives, hard tack or sugar for com cake. 
New acquaintances were made. In some instan¬ 
ces old acquaintances were revived. A Con¬ 
necticut Sergeant found a townsman and school¬ 
mate in a Sergeant from over me way. A Con¬ 
necticut oflicer found a kinsman in a rebel officer. 
A loyal Maryland regiment was vis-a-vis with 
a Maryland seccsh regiment. Many.links of union 
were there. One found a brother on the other 
side, and yet uuother his own father. There’s 
the romance of war for you! 
“ After a little time the swapping of the day 
was done, and officers and men returned to their 
own lines. All was quiet again until the artillery 
re-opened fire. Then a half score of loiterers 
sprang up from their concealment in the corn, 
and scrambled back to their places behind the 
works. Thus the fighting and the chatting alter¬ 
nate. Queer business this war! ” 
SLEEPING WITH THE MOUTH OPEN. 
Mr. Geo. Gatlin, in his quaintly got-up 
monograph, "The Breath of Life.” attributes 
very many human bodily ills to the extraordi¬ 
nary habit, so common, he says, among the 
people, of sleeping with the mouth open—in 
this condition breathing being injuriously per¬ 
formed through the mouth, instead of the safe 
and natural process through the nostrils. Upon 
the list of ills said to be produced by this bad 
habit, we find wild dreams, nightmare, nervous 
debility, impaired digestive action, and, besides, 
no end of unpleasant consequences derived from 
these and other sources. If one-half of what 
ho affirms bo true, it can not be improper to 
take account of what he has inculcated. But 
we do not mean to do so here just now. Our 
disposition at present would dispute the sound¬ 
ness of certain conclusions offered for accept¬ 
ance. For instance, we do not believe that 
sleeping with the mouth open is the sole cause 
of disturbed and unrefreshing slumbers. 
We do not seek to deny that this bad habit is 
a powerful cause of mischief to the brain, the 
nervous system, and to the organic functions 
generally, but it is not admitted to be the sole 
cause. A man must lie very far gone in the 
vanity of his own theory, who can attempt to 
explain so many things to the eye of reason and 
observation as George Catlln does, by the sim¬ 
ple act of sleeping with the mouth open. Dis¬ 
turbance of the mind, when sleep overshadows 
the brain, may proceed, wo think, from other 
causes than breathing though the open mouth. 
Fear or extreme anxiety, produced by external 
circumstances upon the waking miud, is an 
invincible cause of unquiet sleep, whether the 
mouth bo open or closed, but of course it would 
be all the more intense it the mouth were kept 
open. 
The Confederate Ten-Dollar BilL 
A member of the Second New York Artil¬ 
lery, writing to a friend, incloses a ten-dollar 
Confederate bill. The bill is printed on interior 
paper, but the meehauieal execution is very 
good. The letter gives the following account of 
the manner in which the bill came into the wTi- 
ter’s possession: 
“ I send you a ten-dollar Confederate bill; I 
will not ask you to give me credit for it. any 
more than the credit of fighting for it. I was 
out on picket the other night, and my pit was 
quite close to the rebel line, so much so that I 
had a talk with a‘Johnny’ directly opposite. 
Towards morning we agreed not to fixe at 
each other, and then we got on more friendly 
terms. 
“ He asked me what I would give him for a 
plug of tobacco ? I offered him an old jack-knife, 
which he agreed to take. He told me to bring 
it over. I could not see it, so I told him to 
come and get it! At length we agreed to meet 
each other half-way. We did so, and made the 
exchange; but mark his treachery! I had 
scarcely turned my back to return w hen he col¬ 
lared me and tried to drag me into the rebel 
lines. We had quite a sou tile. At last I got 
the villain by the throat with my left hand: 1 
then threw my right leg behind him. and 
backed him over it 1 Down came the Confed¬ 
eracy 1 As he struck the hard ground his pock¬ 
et-book fell from his pocket; also the knife I had 
given him. These I picked up iu quick lime, 
and ran to my pit, 
“When ’Johnnie Reb’ got up he looked 
daggers. Lie would liked to have made a rush 
upon me, but I don’t thmk he liked the looks 
of my rifle pointing towards him. I found 
nothing in the pocket-book but twelve dollars, 
two of which I sent to my mother, and teu I re¬ 
served for you.” 
A SUBSTITUTE FOR BRANDY IN CASES OF 
EXHAUSTION. 
In the “ Transactions of the Obstetrical So¬ 
ciety,” London, Dr. Druitt recommends for this 
purpose lean beef, chopped up, inclosed la a jar 
and subjected for an hour or more to heat, when 
it will separate into three portions, fat, fiber and 
liquid essence. Straiu off the last and separate 
the fat by means of blotting-paper, when a dear 
amber liquid is obtained of an intensely aro¬ 
matic smell and flavor, very stimulating to the 
brain. Different samples of moat zfeld differ¬ 
ed quantities of it. and it cont* ms a variable 
proportion of gelatinous m»*er. It yields on 
evaporation about one-six^imth of solid residue 
which soon effervesces on exposure to the air 
from the saline Risers contained. This is not 
intended as a substitute for common beef-tea, 
but it is ^commanded as an auxiliary to and 
pai lia* substitute for brandy in all cases of great 
exhaustion or weakness, attended with cerebral 
depression. It is free from bulk, and exerts a 
rapid stimulating power over the brain. In the 
sequela* of severe and exhausting labor it is 
Invaluable. 
A Tribute to Gen. Bidwell. 
A correspondent, writing after Sheridan’s 
last battle of the death of this General, says: 
Thau this noble General no officer was more be¬ 
loved or more respected in the whole army. His 
was the form that, on that portentous evening in 
the Wilderness, when the right of the Sixth 
Corps, being the right of the army, was sur¬ 
prised and broken, sat among the bullets on his 
horse, in the language of Gen. Sedgwick, “like 
a man of iroD," coolly directing the movements 
which repulsed the enemy, gave us back the 
field, and saved the whole Army of the i’oto- 
mac lrom disaster. I visited him this afternoon 
in a house where he had been conveyed after his 
wound, and where he was dying. Stretching 
out a pale hand, a hand known of long friend¬ 
ship, a baud whose grasp was always au honor, 
but which was doubly precious aud teuder at 
such au hour, he said. “ Good-bye,’’ wiLh the 
words added, "lam going last.” 
“ Indeed, iudeed, General, I hope it is not so 
bad as that.” 
" Such is fate,” was his reply, as the shadow 
oi more than mortal sufi'ering passed over his 
face and darkened it. 
RELATIVE SIZES OF ULTIMATE ATOMS 
Professor Gustavus Hinrichs of Iowa 
State University, communicates to SUliman's 
Journal an article on the distribution of the 
dark lines in the spectra of the elements, in 
which he reasons from the few facta yet known 
that theso lines will probably be found at regu¬ 
lar intervals in their spectra. Ho concludes 
that the lines must be produced by the bulk 
the particles or atoms, and that an exact knowl¬ 
edge ot the laws ami distances of their distri¬ 
bution must lead to a knowledge of tl>>' relative 
dimensions of the atoms themselves, in leugth, 
breadth and thickness, lie remarks:—“Thus 
optica will give us the form and size as chem¬ 
istry has given us the weight of the atoms.” 
PHYSIOLOGICAL FACTS. 
The number of bones in the frame work of 
the human body is 260—10S of which are iu the 
feet and hands,—there being 27 in each. 
The quantity of blood in adults is, on an aver¬ 
age, about 30 pounds, which passes through the 
heart oueo in four minutes. 
Only one - tenfh of the human body is solid 
matter. A dead body weighing 120 pounds was 
dried in an ovitt till all the moisture was ex¬ 
pelled, and its weight was reduced to 12 pounds. 
Egyptian mummies are bodies thoroughly 
dried, and uslully weigh about seven pounds. 
The lungs Of an adult ordinarily inhale 20 
cubic Inches of air at once, and if we breathe 
20 times in i minute, the quantity of air con¬ 
sumed in tint time will bo 800 cubic inches, or 
48,000 inched an hour, and 1,152,000 inches iu a 
day, which is equal to eighty-six hogsheads. 
A FROG IN A STONE THIRTY YEARS, 
After the Battle, Oct. 19th. 
A correspondent writes after the battle: 
The scene at Gen. Sheridan’s headquarters to- 
uighi has been wildly exciting. Scores of offi¬ 
cers are here talking the battle over. G«n. 
Custer arrived about 9 o’clock. The first thing 
he did was to hug Gen. Sheridan with all his 
might, lifting him in air, whirling him around 
and around, with the shout — “ By Jove, we've 
cleaned them out aud got the guns!” Catch¬ 
ing sight of Geu, Torbert, Custer went through 
the Name proceeding withh im, until Torbert was 
forced to cry out — “ There, there, old fellow; 
don’t capture me! ” 
A Neutral Cornfield and its Reunions' 
“ There is a cornfield between our lines at 
one point, a little to the left of Cemetery Hill. 
The opposing pickets will creep into that for an 
A eca.-ional friendly chat, or for a barter, or for a 
game of cards—only thiuk of it! Two of them 
were playing a gaum a few days since, with 
Abe Lincuin and Jeff. Davis :ia imaginary 
stakes. The Llncolnitc lost. ’ There,’ says the 
winner,— 4 Old Abo belongs to me.’ ’ Well, I’d 
send him over by the Reteraburg express,’n- 
»ponded the defeated Yank. One day last week 
there had been a lively shelling and s,»uia 
musketry filing during the forenoon—of eourse 
We have just had ono of those instances 
which show that some reptiles can exist with* 
1 j out air, fowl or water for a very long period. 
K I have read with interest various accounts of 
biads found grown over in holes in trees and im- 
vl prisoned in crevices of rocks. A frog was 
,•] recoutly discovered by a mason of tins place, In 
the center of a stone which hud been In a wall 
] above thirty years. When discovered and re- 
\ leased, it quickly recovered its muscular actiou 
fr) atid began to hop about. It was, however, 
totally blind. This frog is still living while I 
V write.—J. B., Johnstown, Ta. 
