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treat and be treated, but he was teazed and ironized until his good resolutions melted away. Is that so, neighbor Calker? I suppose you know, if any man does.”

"Well, yes, he did attempt to keep clear of us, but then I think he knew as well as we did that it would'nt last long. He could not see or smell liquor without tasting it, so we took good care to get him near it, and to be sure he did not refuse it then. We did teaze him some, but he had no business to mind that. If he had really intended to abstain he would not have staid in the saloon where he knew he must drink."

"Of course not, but you forget that at Ketcher's he had no other place to go to, as only the saloon and the kitchen were warm, and I think Mrs. Ketcher took good care to keep him out of the latter. But once in the saloon he was simply a victim to temptation, a tool in the hands of those who were unscrupulous enough to work his ruin for mere amusement."

"See here," said Calker, "you call our foolish doings by rather hard names." "So I do boss," replied Perkins, "I believe in calling things by their right names; I never call the devil the 'old gentleman below,' as some polite and squeamish people do. Neither you nor any of your associates can deny that poor Joe who came to your neighbarhood temperate and willing to do his duty, was, by your aid, made the wretched slave of an unwholesome appetite. Before he came here he had been temperate; whatever faults and vices he had, intemperance was not among them. He had made up his mind to work honestly and and faithfully in his profession, hoping to rise and finally return to his early home, a re deemed and honorable man. But the ill-starred man met with those who drew him with them to the bar-room where his naturally genial excitable nature, his social talents and the gifts of ready humor soon won him friends who enjoyed his company. As he was steadily earning money he was a most desirable acquisition, and so he soon learned not only to relish the gay and applauding company assembled in the tavern, but also the strong drinks dispensed there. He soon became » fixture at the saloon, a necessity to the idle crowd who go there for amusement, and his liking grew into a passion for the pleasure of the cup and the gaming table."

"I heard so much concerning the young man, his pranks and amusing conduct, his drunkenness and wobegone appearance, that I made up my mind to go and see for myself. I had to take a load of straw to Grogg's, and on being asked by him to go in and take a drop of something, I complied with his request and entered the saloon. It was about eight o'clock in the evening; I had chosen this late hour for my

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coming as I knew that the day by candle-light' would begin about that time, the assembly being warm and ready for any thing that might

turn up, from a song to a row. When I entered, the room was pretty

well filled with men of every age, from the beardless lad of eighteen to the ageworn man of eighty. The mills were in operation then, and most of the hands employed frequented the saloons. Many were there that evening, the assembly numbering from thirty to forty men. It is my opinion that if the smell of tobacco, especially the kind termed 'canaillement,' did not predominate, no one could stand the air of such a room. Take thirty more or less perspiring, often unwashed, sometimes filthy men, who bring in their clothes the odors of their various occupations; put them into a room where half that number can be made comfortable-heated to excess (heat makes one thirsty, you know) and badly ventilated-there let them stay from three to six hours nearly every evening, breathing the poisoned air and exhaling a still deadlier poison; add to this the stench of cheap tobacco, of spittoons, and the fumes of liquor, and tell me whether you think this atmosphere of physical impurity (let all else alone) can be productive of purity of morals and manners? And does not, in ninety-five cases out of a hundred, the sentiments of the crowd correspond with the dens which it haunts?

"Pshaw, Perkins, you love to paint with glaring colors. What you described just now is a saloon of the lower order, you know. But there are many who are not only neat and healthy, but actually splendid, and fit to vie with any gentleman's parlor."

"But with a parlor, friend Calker, that never sees a lady within its walls-and that's the true test of propriety. As society now is, a political convention can, with perfect propriety exclude the presence of women from their business, and men are right in preventing women from entering certain offices. She is not in her place as captain of a ship, officer in the army, or policeman. But amusements that a lady must blush to share or even to witness, are unfit for her companion, man. If you deny that, you are no logician, boss; if ethics, devised and written by men and recognized by the whole civilized world, are not a presumptuous lie, I am right in my assertion. As to those elegant' parlors' dedicated to liquor and gambling-to every one of these gilded temples of vice we have at least ten like Grogg's. But why make such statements? You know the facts far better than I do. The only strange thing about them is, that such low and repulsive places can attract thousands upon thousands who have wife and child. This is one of those sad enigmas which all philosophy fails to solve. It reaches far back into the dark ages when man, standing at the foot of

the ladder, was nearly allied to the brutes, a slave to animal desires and passions. And springing from this mean state, man's vices seem to have grown with him instead of growing less as he climbed upward. But all this is mere speculation and a transgression from our theme. Perhaps you will say that the saloons of the lower and lowest order are frequented by the scum of our population only; not always, for, neighbor Calker, do not you and many others of tolerable education and comparative wealth go there? The only difference between you is, that while the poor man spends his shilling, you spend dollars."

“And what are we to do as long as we want to make friends with our masters, the 'sovereign people,' in order to get into office? If we lived in districts where temperance notions prevailed, we should certainly let the tavern alone."

OUR STATE COURTS.

BY B. M. REYNOLDS, MADISON.

The judiciary of the State of Wisconsin consists of a Supreme Court, Circuit Courts, County Courts and Justices of the Peace, as well as Police Courts in some of the cities and villages, and the Municipal Court of Milwaukee. The Police Courts and the Municipal Court of Milwaukee are established and their jurisdiction determined by special acts of the Legislature.

The State Superintendent has judicial power in certain questions under the school laws.

The Supreme Court consists of three judges, at present as follows: Luther S. Dixon, Chief Justice.

Orsamus Cole, Associate Justice.

William P. Lyon, Associate Justice.

These judges are elected by the people and held their office six years, one being elected every two years. The salaries of the Justices of the Supreme Court are four thousand dollars each.

The Supreme Court has appellate jurisdiction in all cases arising in and determined by the Circuit Courts, and it also has a general supervisory control over all inferior courts and jurisdictions.

An appeal or writ of error will lie from the judgments or decrees of the Supreme Court to the Supreme Court of the United States, in those cases in which some right is claimed under the Constitution or laws of the United States and the decision of the Supreme Court of the State is against the validity of the claim so made.

There are twelve circuits in the State, as follows:

FIRST CIRCUIT-Robert Harkness, Elkhorn, Judge. Walworth, Racine and Kenosha counties.

SECOND CIRCUrr-David W. Small, Oconomowoc, Judge. Milwaukee and Waukesha counties.

THIRD CIRCUIT-David J. Pulling, Beaver Dam, Judge. Dodge, Washington, Ozaukee, Marquette, Green Lake and Winnebago counties.

FOURTH CIRCUIT-Campbell McLean, Fond du Lac, Judge. Fond du Lac, Sheboygan, Manitowoc and Calumet counties.

FIFTH DISTRICT-J. T. Mills, Lancaster, Judge. Grant, La Fayette, Iowa, Richland and Crawford counties.

SIXTH CIRCUIT-Romanzo Bunn, Sparta, Judge. Monroe, La Crosse, Vernon, Buffalo, Trempealeau, Jackson and Clark counties.

SEVENTH CIRCUIT-Geo. W. Cate, Amherst, Judge. Juneau, Adams, Wood, Marathon, Portage, Waushara and Waupaca counties.

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EIGHTH CIRCUIT-H. L. Humphrey, Hudson, Judge. St. Croix, Pierce, Pepin, Dunn, Eau Claire and Chippewa counties.

NINTH CIRCUIT-Alva Stewart, Portage, Judge. Dane, Columbia and Sauk counties.

TENTH CIRCUIT-E. Holmes Ellis, Green Bay, Judge. Brown Outagamie, Shawano, Oconto, Kewaunee and Door counties.

ELEVENTH CIRCUIT-Solon H. Clough, Superior City, Judge. Douglass, Burnett, Dallas, Polk, Bayfield and Ashland counties.

TWELFTH CIRCUIT-H. S. Conger, Janesville, Judge. Jefferson, Rock and Green counties.

The Circuit Judges are elected by the people once in six years, and receive a salary of twenty-five hundred dollars each.

The Circuit Courts have original jurisdiction in all civil actions in law and in equity, and in all criminal cases. An appeal or writ of error will lie to the Supreme Court from all judgments of the Circuit Courts, except in criminal causes where the accused has been acquitted.

The County Courts have jurisdiction in all cases of settlement and distribution of estates of deceased persons, and in the probate of wills and the appointment of guardians of infants and persons of unsound mind; the Circuit Courts, however, in the appointment of guardians and in some other matters, have concurrent jurisdiction with the County Courts, and an appeal may be taken in all cases from the decrees of the County Courts to the Circuit Courts and thence to the Supreme Court. Justices of the peace have jurisdiction in all civil matters, subject to appeal to the circuit courts and thence by appeal or writ of error to the Supreme court, where the amount in controversy does not exceed two hundred dollars. In cases of assault and battery and petit larceny they have power to try and determine to the amount of twenty dollars, subject to appeal as in other cases. They are a court of inquiry in all

other criminal matters, authorized to examine and bind over persons charged with crime, to answer before the circuit courts for any offense with which such persons may be charged.

In the courts all questions of fact in cases at law, may be settled by the verdict of a jury, but in the supreme court none but questions of law are examined. All criminals are tried by a jury of twelve men. The municipal court of Milwaukee in certain matters bas concurrent jurisdiction with the circuit courts.

The judicial power given to the State Superintendent is as follows:

Any person conceiving himself aggrieved in consequence of any decision made by any school-district meeting, or by the town supervisors in forming or altering, or in refusing to form or alter any schooldistrict, or concerning any other matter under the provisions of this chapter, [embracing the School Law,] may appeal to the state superintendent, who is hereby authorized and required to examine and decide the same, and such decision shall be final and conclusive."

But any decision appealed from is operative until the state superintendent shall reverse the same, and he must make and file his decision within thirty days after the hearing is closed.

THE TEACHER'S VISION.

BY FANNIE I. KENNISH, KILBOURN CITY.

The school was closed. The little clock
That hung beside the school-room door,
Chimed out the weary hour of four.
Shrill, childish shouts came ringing back,
And songs, now near, now far away,
Were echo'ng o'er the dusty way.

Fair school-girls plucked the mystic flower,
And counting o'er each pearly leaf,
A lover," lawyer, doctor, thief."

Oh! careless, gleeful, girlish laugh
That tills the youthful heart and brain
Has ne'er been touched by grief or pain.

The teacher's hazel eyes were dim
With tears unshed, as up the street
She watched the little, wand'ring feet.

She, too, was young, but sorrow's hand
Had wrought amid her giriish years
A toiling woman's hopes and fears.

No home awaited her that night,
No loving hand to toy her hair,
No loving heart her grief to share.
'Mid strangers all her lot was cast,
Her grief must sob its life away
And die for lack of sympathy.

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