"EVENING STAR" SATURDAY SUPPLEMENT OF ENTERTAINING READING.

Bro. 51.1

AUCKLAND, SATURDAY, OCTOBER 21, 1876.

[Price; ONE PENNY

MY MOTHER

I s »y il softly as I weep, I And kiss the cold, hard stone ; §he lies hero bat a facuom deep, pAnd I sifc here alone. gbe hud not loat the girlish grace, I Yoc wore the womaus crown, md now die Joug grass marks the place § Of her they've coffined down. fpres3 my cheek down close to wkere I While daisy cups are seen, And wish a bed some cubits square, f \Vittt coverlit of green ; i spacions bed, grass-roofed o'er head, f Aud wide euoagh for two, VVlure she and I, though we are dead, | May love the long years through. freach out pleading hands, and fold I My arms about the stona : J'd rather be here, still aud cold— f Toe way's so dark and lone.— I call her, but she doe 3 not hear, $or speak a word, I ween ; [^shudder with a sudden fear— The grave dark is between. heart will sob aloud and moan | From out its darkening shiver ; My life has caught the minor tone, And moans on like a river TEhat seeks invain the far-off sea ; ;f I gather up my woe, 'md cotter homeward o'er tha lea That smiles in bloom below.

BEREAVEMENT.

feilsnb the voices of labor iAuii the beat, of the rescie3s flail, Jin this holy hoar of shadows, ivhen the days grow wan and pale— knd swallows fly from the meadows Ho their home in tho sheltered eaves, fAud birds ia the blossoming orchard ■Hide deep in the fragrant leaves. Oh ! oftentimes in the. twilight, So mary months ago, I sang sweet tender ballads. iYes, sang them soft and low, tkhen the Tarm wind kissed the roses Ami the lily's lips of snow. I saug old tender ballads Without a note of woe. I for 1 eat id the amber sunset, s the day went down the west. While the sweet facts of my baby Against my heart was pressed ; tUne wee face of my darling, |L:ke a bird in its sheltered neat; RVhile 1 sang tho dear old melodies, To woo him to his rest; Till the tints of the snn grew lower On the sea and the old brown mill : fend the little red mouth grew silent, Laa dear iittle hands iay soill; (The tender red mouth in its sweetness, SVith lips like an unblown rose, iitul bare feet ended like rose-leaves, l.ay hudhed in that sweat repose. kNow under the Summer dust, fHidden deep fr im the sunset's glow, .Under the hearts of she roses, That shining head lies low ; The shining head of my baby, With its sofc bright silken hair, Lie 3 under the hearts o£ the roses And t-he daisies' fragrant snow. Yet often now in the twilight lc seems that he must be near ; I fold my empty longing arms And try to think him here, Aud to sing the same old ballads : , But a sob comes in my throat Thai; rings my heart with anguish And I cannot sing a note. For never again in the twilight. When the Summer days grows white, Shall I sit in the amber sunset, Before the coming of night, And sing those sweet old lullabies, Iv tender measure and slow ; Shall I croon those dear old ballads, Without a note of woe. The clover grows pink and fragrant, ! And the clover grows white as snow, \ The wind blows sweet with its kisses ' And warm with the sunset's glow ; The birds fly home from the meadows To their birdling3 in the n^sfc, I While 1 moan in my desolate sorrow With no child to hold at my breast.

TEE HOSE AND THE LILY. o ;A lovely Rose and Lily growing '. In a garden, side by Side, The fiose, with love'a own rarlianos glowing, 'fumed and said, in beauty's pride : Wherefore rai.se ihy head so bigh, Since not half so fair ss I? Sure all magic charms that hover O'er the lips of maiden fair, In my bosom'a depth the lover, Fondly sacking, riadeth there, On her dewy lips repose 'All the glories of. the Hose !' Lily turned to apeak, soft fmiling With a pr.mil yet gentle grace, For well ahe knew the charm be^uling Of lmr pure and virgin face : 'The whiteness of the maiden's breast, Of beauty is the surest test!' That moment, through the garden bounding, Comes the treasui'd of my life ; i As light they hear her foo&rall soul ding, Ceased each angry word of Btrife. The lovely iiowers she stands befo. c, And th.-y ace aiaceib evermore ! Her fair young cheek, where li'iea, iohCB, Infasr, friendship t-ver bloom, To the riv.il flowers disclosert, In baauty's garden both have room Each dedans, from envy free, Noue so beautiful as she !

At the Plantation.

BY DAVID LEE,

The parlor at Col. Allen's was an immense square room, and, by no means, an elegant apartment. The floor was bare; the pictures almost lost in the wall's white expanne. There were two largo sofas, and a set of stiff, formal, black chairs. A little bookcase hid in one corner, and a few more articles were placed about; but the expanse was undeni ably barren. Still, a cheering gleam was sent out by the bright fire on the hearth. Then I opened the piano ; and, as Flavia sang in a thin, but sweet, soprano, ' The Belle of the Mohawk Vale, 7 it seemed to me that the sofas and chairs got better acquainted with each other.

I don't know ■whether Flavia could be called a pretty girl. Her features had just the least sharpnes°, and complexion a slight snllowness ; but she had a prof union of light, waving hair, and she was young, aud, yes —pretty. She was entirely unaffected, and her spoilt, petulant manner rather became her. I don't think she ever tried to please anybody, bub when with those she liked, she was delightfully vivacious and entertaining ; and she never remained near persons whom she did not like.

Before th& first song was ended a young man entered the room, •whom. Charley intro duced ay his friend, Dick Thornton. He was tail and handaome, but with insincere, light eyes. Flavia evidently liked him, and Char ley appeared well pleased with his future brother-in-law ; and no one asked my opinion. He was pleasantly genial, though by no means witty, and possessed a fine voice. I shall not soon forget his singing of ' The Old Cabin Home,' ' Tho Mocking Bird,' and others of those old Southern songs which were then echoed over all the land.

The good colonel was enjoying the evening in his quiet, but hearty manner. He was fond of a song, and also of a joke; and though the latter had sometimes to be ex plained to him before he saw the point, he enjoyed it just as well afterward. Mrs. Allen came iv to tell us that Joe was dancing in the back-yard We ail decided to witness the performance, and found the end of the yard brilliant with the light of pine knots, which gleamed fitfully on a row of negroes outside, leaning against the fence. Within, a negro fiddler sat on an ungainly chair, see-sawing his tunes, while a group of admiring youngsters stood as near him as they dared, watching the movements of the bow with the utmost venera'ion.

Out in the full light was Joe—as straight a roan once as any, but now with both legs frightfully deformed. ' Got it m a febar.' his mother said. ' Corns on from dancin',' was Joe's account of his misfortune, and he regarded any oth?r a3 insulting. Certain it was, Joe had always danced to excess, and it was not his intention to give up now. So far from being sensitive, ho was supremely happy vvben ht could get the white folks to look at his shuffles. And now, as we approached, be improvised many movements and pose 3. Tho tiddler, too, seemed newly inspired; though his musical ideas or memories were very limited, he showed considerable skill in dishing them up anew every few minutes It was a wild scene, hedged abour, with shadow ; on one side the intent group of ne groes, on the other the tall white house ; and, ia the full glare of the light, tho leaping form, contorted arid impish. I suppose Joe, if ma liguant, would soon have been converted into a rirst-clasa demon by his superstitious com panions ; but he was an arbless, good-natured soul, very much aSSfclied to his master's family, and delighted to win their uotica. After awhile the dance ceased, a-id Joe drew near to hear himseif complimented. ' You are qui'-e spry, Joe, still,' said his master. 'Yes, Mas'; I calk'iate to jump 'round consid'rable yet, the Lord witliu'.' ' I want your Sancho to-morrow, Joe,' said Charley, 'as Mr. Lee and I are goiny' after ducks.' • You better take Ring, Mas' 'Cha'lie, if you's gwine in the ma'ah ; he done save my old woman from a 'gator las' week.' 'Indeed! How?' ' She was comin' 'cross the slough, sah, on ole Jam, an' a 'gator come dashin' 'long ; an' ol« Jem got to rearm', an' throw'd her oil* ; an' that 'gator's jaws snapped like a sieel trap right on my ole woman's head ; an' she done tought de las' trump was soundiu' - an' dat JtUop, he just got hold o'dat 'gator, an' made him loose his holt, an my ole woman got on de bank ; but she los dat cushin she be£ from you, Miss Fla', to pin her hair back on : dc 'gator swum down stream, wid it in his teef, an' de hair-pins stiokia' out all roun' !' FJavia jerked herself into the house in some indignation, as we broke into laughter at this unexpected climax.

Composition of Air.

The most beautiful analysis which Liebig in veated is that of air. The composition of the air was made known at the end of the last ceatnry, and then it waa shown to couaisb of oxygen and nitrogen in certain proportions, the oxygen being abont one-fifth, and tho ni trogen about four-fifths of the volume, and nearly the sarae proportions by weight. But these proportions were not exactly ascer tained, because it was necessary to remove the oxygen by means of a complicated pro cess of deflagration, by mixing it with hy drogen, which occasioned certain imperfec tions. These were entirely removed by the method winch Liebig invtmed. He took a quantity of air, enclosed ie ia one of these tubes, aDd then brought in contact; with it a solution of pyrogallic acid in caustic potash. This pyiogallate of potash has a very great

avidity for oxygen, and in a short time absorbs the whole of tbe oxygon contained in the tnbe. In that tube we have a quantity of air, and my assistant has introduced a quantity of pyrogallate of potash, and you see how gradually the absorption takes place. The gas becomes diminished, and the gss rises in the tube accordingly, and out of the original five parfca there remain only four at the conclusion of the experiment. The whole of the ©xygen is absorbed without leaving any residue whatever, and you have one of the moat accurate methods of ascer taining the composition of the air. Apply ing this generally to the most varying circum stances, it is found that the air, for instance on Mount Blanc, and in the deepest mine, and wherever else it haa been investigated in-any part of the globe, haa the samo com position. There is nowhere any difference whatever. The very same regularity is ob served in the composition of sea %vater. Wherever you analyse it—exceni; in the im mediate neighborhood of mouths if rivers — it contains the samo anouus of bis ■, and this regularity of composition is one ■■< the great safeguards for the existence and preservation of animal ani vegetable life. Of course there are impurities in the air. Thi3 room, for instanca, now contains a quantity of car bonic acid, and in other places there is found a quantity of ammonia, and that increases during the winter time, when no vegetation is going on, and decreases daring the summer. These small additions of gasses not being oxycen or nitrogen, are so imperceptible that it requires very large volumnes merely to show their presence, and still larger ones in order to show their quantity. Therefore, in an analysis like this, the presence of these slight impurities is actually beyond tho limits of accuracy which are imposed upon us by oar methods of research. We cannot regu late the pressure or the temperature aa we should like, so that thore should ba no differ ence between the pressure inside or out. There are these slight irregularities which we alwayß have to allow for, but they are still greater than those produced by the ad mixture of carbonic acid and ammonia. And here again you find a wonderful provi sion of nature, that the diffusion of gasses is co great thab they cannot, for any length of time, collect in enclosed places, except they are specially made impervious to gassos. la open nature, in rooms, in caverns, houses, valleys, on mountains, the gasscs get dif fused so quickly that you may stand before a burning limekiln and you will hardly per ceive it; ; in fact, in order to perceive the presence of gas, which goes away in vol umnes, >ou must actually go clow to the tire and hang your head over ifc.

Nasby on the Letters.

HOW HE INDUCED BASCOM TO KEEP IIIS

BOURBON BOTTLE PILLED

Oonfedrifc X Roads, (Wich is in the State uv Kentucky.) Augnst 7, 1876. Theee wuz wunst a doctor wich hed a bark wich wood either physic or puke, accordia ez he stript off the tree up or dowß. Like to this doctor is Tilden and ffendrix. Reed ther letters up and they are hard money physic —reed them down and they arc soft; money vomick. The day I got back from the St. Loois Convenshun I commenst proparin for a stnmpin toor for our gallant srandard barers. I borrowed an extra shirt so that I cood hey one ; I borrowed a valise to kerry it in when I wuzn't speakin, and also to giv me standin at «uch hotels ez tho Committee didn't become responsible for my board, and Bascorn completed my travelin ouffit by contributia a quart bottle uv the newest, to be korricd in the valise to be yoosed when in lokalities where the nessaries uv life wuz hard to

come at

Ex I coodent go out insf ructin uv the people till I knowed wat my candidates beleeved in, I decided to waic till I got, their letters uv acceptance. Did that likker stay in the valise ? Not any. It was all gone the fust day, and I went to Basconi with tho empty bottle the next

rnornin.'

'Fill it up, G. W.' sod I, go till I hey seen them letters. 1 When will they cotno ?' askt iio ' To-day or to-morrow,' said I. ' You shood Lev kep what you hed till thp letters come,' said he

' I can't

* Basaom,' wuz the response, ' likker like yoors cannot bo kept.' And then, seem trouble ahead, I contin yood : •Promise me that you will keep this bottle filled till them letters come. It will be but a little while. And remomber, Bascora, yoo got the $400 tiiat Tilden, the reformer, pai>> f®r my vote at St. Looia.'

1 I promise,' be groaned. 'And likewise, until I ho,v read em and understood em, so that I shel not go out and spout false Dimocrisy.' 'I promise !' be groaned again. Day after day passed, but no let'era came. But promptly, every mornin', I wuz at Bascom's with that bottle, which he groaningly filled. On the thirtieth day ha rpfoosed pint-blank. 'G..W.' sed i, sternly, ' remember yoor promise.' I may be called any minit. It wuz the foolish virgins wat bed no ile in their lamps. lam no foolish virgin. Pill up the lamp, for I may be called to-nite.1

And he filled it, becoz he bed promised. But every morniii' ho wood lift up his voice ez I come in, and howl, ' Grashus hevens ! ain't them letters never comin to releeve me uv this incubus ?' At last, one mornin,' the letters come, in the Looisville papers, and Bascom come over to me happy, ez though a great wait had bin lilted off' him. •' I'll fill the bottle for the last time,' sed he gaily, ' for lo ! here be the letters.' ' 1 took tho papers and red the letters, and, the next mornin,' was promptly at hiz bar with the bottle. ' Fill it !v I remarkt, calmly. ' Not any,' said he. * Yoo liev the letters.' ' George Washington B. I replied, 'yoor promise wuz to keep this bottle filled, not only till I hod red the letlors, but till I understood etn. 1 hey bin applyin my inrellek to em for ten hours, and of I know from them letters whether I am to talk Hard money or Soft, Immejite Hesumpshen, or Pcrpetcoil Postponement, I hope never to be Postmaster.' # * * # * * * What -icrfijus wretch do ? He telegrapheu ..i. very day to both Tilden and Rend-' .. ez fullers : Shel "Masby, oa the stump, advocate Hard money or Soft ? Answer to wunst. Important, to save an innosent Dimocrat from room. And the ansers come prompt: FBOM TILDES. Hard money, uv course, but soften it a good deal in the West. Strike boldly, howovor, for Boform, and agin the Comipsheu of tho Itepublikin party. TILDEN. FKOM HJENDEIX. Soft money, uv course, but harden it a good deal in the East. Strike boldly, however, for Reform, and agin the Corrupsb.cn of the Itepublikin party.

HENDRIX

And so, hevin my instrukshens, I hed to go. 1 shel, however, before I speck, get instrukshons from John Morrissey and Fernandy Wood, ex to the best methods uv bringiu about Roforrn, and uv fighcin corrupshen in governmental matters.

Pjjteoibum V. Nasby, (Wich wants to be Postmaster.)

A Pagan Funeral.

At New York tho funeral of Baron De Palma, according to the ancient; .iiigyptiau iitß3. was the occasion for a gathering of nearly 40,000 people at tho Maoonic Temple thia afternoon. Tho deceased Baron, who came to this country fifteen yearn ago, had ec pros-jed a wish tout no Christian priest or minister should bo allowed to take part in his obsequies. They were conducted by the Tneosophical Society of this city, of which deceased was a roomber. Only those having tickets -about fifteen hundred in all—were admitted to the building. The assemblage was well dressed and intonsly curious in regard to the procedure of the funeral rites. They were of a much simpler ohnraster than had been expected. The coffin containing tho body o£ deocased waa placed on a dtas on tho platform. On the eoifia were seven, lights, arranged in the nhapo of a triangle. Colonel Olcott acted as master, and conducted tho ceremonies. With him were cix others to make responses, I'hay were habited In long black r )be.s. After a brief interval of music, the questions •■And responses began. T;iey consisted of curiously phrased questions aad answers from a regular ancient Egyptian liturgy in regard to the nature of God, the human soul, and a future stato of existence. During the questions and answors incanso, waa burned, and a ficure of a serpsnt twisted round a wooden °'-T" beside the coffin. An old gentleman who did not like the nature of ideaa set forth in the ritual, ordered hie daughter to leave the organ, bo part of the musical portion of the ceremonies had to bo dispensed with. Col. Olcott deliver ed a lengthy addf.aa on the nature of Theosophism, aud said tho deceased Bat-on, after a long life fu courts, and after a a careor of ambition, finding nothing iv the creeds to satisfy hit* inquires in regard to a future st-*tu, fouud oonsolatiod in Theo sophy. After the rites were over, the remains were removed to a vaulc in the Lutheran church yard, and will, iq said, be cremated as soon as permission can be obtatned from the authorities. The body waa embalmed scon after death.

Peculiar Sect.

Til's German travellers. Dr Radfle and Dr Sievers, have published an aOoouxib of their journey in Caucasus ia-it yea', iei which there j» » curious description of a Russian sect: called the Duchobory, or ' champions of the spirit' This sect was founded in the middle of the last century by a discharged soldier in the Government of Kharkoff. In 176S the Duchobory openly announced to the authorities at Tamboff that they would not; in future make use of any ulurqhirs, sacmd pictures, or religious forma or symbols of any kind whatever, but otily, ' pray to the in visible God.' As this eeofc not only aimed at the destruction of ihe State Church, but threatened to cause serious disturbances among the people, its members had to sutler much persecution under the government of

the Empress Catherine; and they weres badly treated by the members of the Ortho dox faith that they emigrated iv a body to the Goverrnent of Tanna, where they were permitted by the Emperor Alexander I. 3 Befctle in the diatriot^of Malotehnaya. Hera the Duchobory became very prosperous : and under a ukase of the year ISIG, which publicly recognised their blameless Jife, they were alkwed to remain unmolested till 1840, when the Empevor Nicholas ordered them to be sent into Transcaucasia. They are now living in eight settlements on the Turkish frontier. They have do churches, preachers, or forms of prayer ; they do not make the sign of the cross, and their o^ly hymns are a series of proverbs, which are transmitted verbally from generation to generation. Their prayer-meetings take place in a privito house. They sit down, tho men on oae side and che women on the other, and sing their hymns eithur Singly or in chorus ; after which they blow, shake hands, and embrace each other. Tho ' chief adviser' of the community is row a widow of thirty, named Lokeria Wassi'ewna Tolmashowa.

Justice in Utah.

The Utah paper 3 aro all Beverly criticising the lame machinery of the federal courts in the territory, and now and then introduce il lustrations of the inhuman cruelty to which prisoners arrested for very slight offences are subjected. Two late examples show the char acter of the legal lameness and inhumanity. Kichard Lewis was arrested on a charge of cat tle stealing and thrown into jail six months ago. He was granted no hearing or prelimi nary examination whatever, but had to wait for the court to reach the case in due course. The other day it came up. It was conclu sively proved that Lewis had simply taken his own cattle from a public corral, and he was acquitted of crime. Ie was jwst a mali cious prosecution, which was rendered pos sible by the Utah, system of justice and fully answered the purpose of the prosecutor. He had made Lewis svffer six months' prison life, and was doubtless well setisfied with the result.

William Williams was next called. He had been arrested find confined in jail two years ago for stealing two doliars. Ho is a boy of twenty years of ago, and was sound in body if not in morals when he was first im pawned. He came hobbling into court a cripple for life, and emaciated by desease. HewauNew Yorker, and hnd no money nor frienda in the territory. Ho was heav ily ironed when first cas: into his dungeon, and wa3 now sufferiug frum a running sore on the auclo caused by the irono. The doctor said the bone of the leg h'idjbecome diseased, and amputation of the limb would be necessary, even indeed, if that treatment could succeed in saving the boy's life. He pleaiied guilty to peUy larceny, and was sentenced to six months in prison—the full term under the law for hits crime. It is the little fellows in crime, and often the innocent, that get the full beuefio of penalties in Utah. The larger rascala are bigger and stronger than the courts. The two cases mentioned aught to have been decided in thirty min utes in a justice's court. So the outside show of jascico in Utah is kept up.

Cheap Shoes in Prospect.—The New York Bulletin status that a new tanning process put into operation at Detroit, Michigan, about two months ago, promises well. The process consists of a certain use of chemicals, with but a little bxrk, the details being kept secret by the owners. The great feature of in is that work which under the old process nook from one to two years is now done in from three to six weeks, the result being equally good. The actual work of tanning only requires an hour, the process of currying occupying the resC of the three or six weeks now required. The saving in the cost of the process as compared wth the cost of the old process is euormous, and so, general interest in tho matiter will be devoloped by the prospect of a great reduction in the cost of boots and shoes.

She wa3 an an^el blonde, and she tripped through the market until she reached a stall where a handsome butcher stood. ' Hava you a heart?' she asked, blushing timidly. ' Have I a heart, Miss ?' respond ed tho bubchsr. 'Do you think that I can w^tch you day after day and see your eyes droop as they meet mine—that I can feel yout- velvet breath upon my cheek as I stoop over to serve you—and not have a heart? Ah, maiden, 1 am all heart, and you ask me if I have one? 'Yes,' she sighed faintly, "this is beautiful, this is divine, but it ain't the kind I want this morning, so give me a bullock's heart quick, aud tuna it for stuff ing, or my old uian'Jl be raising Cain if his dinner ain't cooked." Putting Various Pleas On The Record—A. fat old gentleman was bitten in the calf of the leg by a dog. He at once rushed to the office of the justice of the peace, and prefer red a complaint against a m*n in the neigh bourhood whom he supposed to be the ownir of the offending cur. The following was the defence offered on the trial : - 1. By test imony in favour of the general good char acter of my dog, I Bhall prove that nothing could make him so forgetful of his canine dignity as to bite a calf. —2. He is blind and cannot see to bite.—3. Even if he could see to bite it would be utterly impossible for him to go out of his way to do so, on ac count of his severe lameness. 4. Granting his eyes and legs to be good he has no teeth. 5 My dog died six weeks ago.—6. I never had any dog.' A fashionable but illi+erate lady, who was travelling on the Continent, in writing to a friend, said that she had just seen thf> 'museum of iniquities' in Genoa,