Newspaper Page Text
VOLUME
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L., g - J fe ■ i
THE SILENT WARRIORS.
The mm »hoae in at the window
On the printer’s case and type.
.And the heaps of doiyslic .letters
Were bathed in it* gulden light;
And I thought ot the truths there hidden,
Of the mighty po^cr there laid,
In those piles of dusky metal,
When in maisbaled .ranks arrayed.
For by them onr souls find voices
For truths the ages have taug t;
In volumes the dead have treasured,
In vords in immortal thought;
And they have tongues for our sorrows,
And songs for our joy and w. <
Aim! iu them life’s records are written,
Of all that we mortals know.
As the knights who, clad in their aimor,
Went forth in the olden days
To war ’mid the downtrod mtfions,
With wrongs that stood in their ways;
Thus our thoughts in this dusky metal
Are clad in their eoats of mail,
To conquer (he wrongs that oppress us,
.Or evils our follies entail.
The ran in golden glory
Went down ’ueath the rim of night.
And each leaden sha|ie -was ^learning
In ft ones of its dying light;
Then stars iu their hosts came marching,
And their silver lances fell
And flashed on the dnll, cold metal,
Where truths weltnow not dwell.
A eh ld in Ins feetfle wisdom,
Might place them with tiny hand,
But a king wtli his steel-armed legions
In vain would their force withstand;
Tor they are tl»e silent warriors
Whose tents are folded away.
Whose footprints go down thro’ the ages,
Whose mandates the world shall obey.
And a thought in my soul seemed striving,
As our our own good angel strides,
To warm the clay that in; olds us
And wake from our sluggish lives;
Thut we, too, are symbols vMfiftng
The touch of the Master’s hand,
Wien the truths that sleep within ns
May light up each darkened land;
Aud each ssul m its e;irthly journey
M‘.y toil with hope sublime;
To leave for the unborn nations
Great thoughts on the scroll of time.
—«/. B. Homer, in Crucible.
MISCELLAJfY .
I HE BANDIT.
In the little town of Chieti, on the
eastern coast of Italy, dwelt
Rmdettini and his wife aud daughter*
Bianca. Bianea was ahatid*ome,
spirited girl, the faroiite of all the
lage. Especially was «li« beloved
Antonio Brmdisi and Stephano
ri, the handsomest youths in all
town.
At the time my story opens,
had declared her preference for
nio, and they were publicly
Hepbano was of a fierce, jealous
position, and threatening
he left the village. All endeavors
discover his whereabouts proved
out avail, but that he had not gone
wan quite evident from his
Appearing athis home., where his
er dwelt with many comforts for
* or with all his faults, he had been
#
dutiful son.
fiianca troubled herself very
a ‘»out his place of retirement, and
ll °t ev <-‘n allow h s threats to
her.
day, some time after the
pearance of Stephano, as Bianco
thd walking in the garden she was
by rustling among the
And u por: turning to the spot she
stephano standing before her.
whited him very ooldly and
ar ‘d turned to enter the cottage,
^lephano sprang before her and
*^ittd Bianea, her from moviug.
I have come to make
<>nc m '>re appeal, to give you
one
°PP°rtumty to avert the
Wiudl 8 hall surely overwhelm you,
co, ‘lii»ue to resist all my
entreaties. 4
Bi/* ’ ^ ou are tiresome,’ coldly
<1{ “nca, hear ! I love
me you
* tter , dearer than the coward
*
.‘ Vo ” only are the coward, trying
1 a lore with threat!,'angrily
° r | e<1 Bi »nca.
(
w * r,! ! I tell I love
Y ,l0r 1 you you,
- ‘ y spurn me. I have
‘° U - h - Know then, proud girl,
I failT! j in#d
° U ’ e bandit8 and that
‘ P W shall be
1,1 Zt
P,i8 ^ er ‘ only
1 to become my wife *hall
( a Jk V m <4 *
him from a lingering, painful death.—
What say jou now, Bianca V
‘Nothing ! I will never marry you;
I will die sooner,’ and maintaining the
same cairn, cold exterior, though her
heart throbbed wildly, Bianca, brush
ed hastily past her tormentor, and en¬
tered the cottage, and upon reaching
h<*r chamber she threw herself upon her
knees before her crucifix, prayiug
white and trembling lips the Virgin
Mary to save her family from the im¬
pending trouble. Rising, she, by a
violent effort controlled her feelings*
and returned to the sitting-room whore
(her mother sat spinning. All the rest
of the day a shadow liung over Bianca
—every noise made her start painfully,
and when the hour for her father to
turn home came and past and stfll he
I ngered, she snatched uplier hat arid
started out to meet him across the
fields. She had not gone far when she
met a body of peasants bearing a litter
Antoni Brindisi was in front, and im¬
mediately upon seeing Bianca, he shot
forward and seizing her hand, tried to
dead her back, but Bianea resisted
steadily, and suddenly b" a little im¬
petuous motion, drew her hand fr >m
Antoni, and stepping to the side of the
litter., she raised the cloth which cov
ered the body and saw the features
her father. One dreadful shriek, and
she sank senseless in her lover’s arms.
Slowly she recovered, and the peasants
bore their sad load into the little cot¬
tage.
Biafica®sfatlker had fallen from a high
roek, stride upon hks head, and died
instantly, without.a groan. So said the
kind peasants, but Upon going to her
room Bianca saw a folded paper upon
the window Sill, which she opened and
read as fellows:
“A push f r Bianca, I said, and the
old man fell headlong over the rough
rocks. Do you not falter now ?’’
A week later, and Bianca again felt
the vengeance of her tormentor, for
Antonio Brindisi, her betrothed, was
missing* and no clue could be obtained
to his pt&ee of confinement, although
every search was made. Another note
lay upon tke window-sill of Bianca’s
room.
“Two gone, dear to Bianca's heart.
VYi.’l she repent ?"
This note was shown to all in the
village, together with the other, but so
close did the robbers keep themselves
that though search was continued day
and night, no trace of their hiding
place could be discovered.
Bianca for a long time seemed pros¬
trated by her trouble, but her youth
and health enabled her to recover, and
a few months after the death of her
father, her mother and herself Left, the
village aud went to Rome, where, by
the influence of her friends, she was
enabled to study and beeom** art ae:ress,
and in a short time a very successful
one.
At the end of four years, when she
was about twenty-three, she was seized
with a longing to return to her native
village, and she did so.
When Bianca, arrived at Chieti, she
found there had been built a small the
atre, at which she agreed to act for
few nights.
rawwLn-i The vHJagehs were in ecstacies. The
day before her intended appearance, to
her infinite horror, Stephano, grown
older and morc wicked looking, in¬
traded himself upon her. Bianca was
alone in the house, aud her heart sank
within her at once when be began
plead hia suit.
‘Yon have come back to the village
a lonely, s td woman, and may perhaps
be willing to look upon with more favor
the suit of one who has worn your im¬
age in his heart for long years. I ain
powerful and rich. What will be
answer now, when I agaiu ask you to
be mine ?'
‘My answer,' said Bianca, slcwly, ‘is
that I despise you* and it is with
er loathing and hate than ever that I
look upon you. You are powerless
now to do me anv harm, Stephano.’
‘Fair lady,' said Stephano with
sneer, ‘I am not as powerless as you
think, for I can again make your proud
heart quiver, and perhaps falter.
ten, girl! : Antonio Brindisi is
dead, as you have supposed him to
but is imprisoned in a cave which I
alone can enter : and though kept
starvation, he is ill-treated and
worked. Say you will he mine, and
be shall be set free, giveu gold enough
to last his whole life.’
'Rubber! villain!’ exclaimed Bianca.
Life and liberty to Antanio, purchased
at such a price, would only be curses,
not boons. He can only die and I
low him No. I will live to bring your
bead to its proper place—the block .
EASTMAN, GEORGIA, THURSDAY, MARCH 20, 1879.
Beware! for no matter how close you
keep yourself, my eyes shall find your
hiding place, and my voice shall seal
your doom!’
With a low, mocking laugh Stephano
sprang quickly from the room, and
Bianca sank almost senseless upon the
floor.
The eventful evening arrived, and
the theatre was crowded to overflow
iug ; many anxions to see their
mate and friend in her new life, and
all eager to see tbe popular
tini.
The play was ( ar below any one
Bianca'a accustomed pieces, being a
simple comedy, suited to tbe capacity
of the actors. The first scene was
scarcely any note, being merely an in¬
terview between Bianca stud her lover
In the second scene the heroine is pro¬
ceeding to the church to be married,
accompanied by the gi. Is of the village,
as a train of honor, when they were
surprised and received by a band
robbers, the chief of whom is enamor¬
ed of the young peasant girl.
curtain rose, and Bianca, in bridal
dress, followed by about a dozen girls
in holiday atti.ie, entered at the back
of the stage, singing the bridal chant.
Suddenly a terrible shriek is heard,
and the bandits rush upon them. The
bride rushes wildly across the stage,
pale and shrieking, the bandit
seizes her and she swoons. The ap
plause was tremendous, so well had
Bianea acted her part, and many silly
girls drew close to eacli other and
whispered, ‘only think if it were
A moment and the bride slowly opens
her eyes, aud partly raises herself, and
the house comes down tn another round
of applause. Slowly raising herself
and looking wildly around, she makes
a sudden bound forward, and roaches
the footlights, where, sinking on her
knees and looking wildly around, and
then stretching out her hands to the
audience, she exclaims in low, thrilling
tones :
'Dear friends, this is no acting ; the
bandits are upon us ! Look around
you ; they are la your very midst this
instant !’
The people turn, and behold, every
window and door >s guarded by a coil.
pie of ferocious looking fellows armed
to the teeth. Blank horror filled the
minds of the simple villagers, who al¬
ways held the robbers in abject fear,
and now the strangeness of their situ¬
ation keeps them sitting motionless
with pule lips and cheeks. As Bianca
gave the people the dreadful informa¬
tion, Stephano, the leader of the band,
came forward from the back of the
stage, and seizing Bianca by the shoul¬
der, drugged her upon her feet, ex¬
claiming :
‘You shall go on ! Myself and
panions are interested in the play, and
wish to see the end. It is none
your business whether you play to real
or actual robbers. G© on !’
With a proud gesture Bianca shook
off the robber's baud and resumed her
part.
The spectators sat in dumb, helpless
silence, watching wuh fascinated eyea
the progress of the play, now render¬
ed too real by the presence of the ban¬
dits. Clear, calm aud thrilling rose
anca's voice as she pleaded earnestly
to have her companions if not
spared. Not the most eager, attentive
listener could perceive the slightest
faltering of tae voice or eye. While
she was still pleading, the bridegroom
and his train came to the rescue, and
ranging themselves in order, they pre¬
sented arms and fired, and twelve rob¬
bers fell dead. With an oath and
shout ot dismay, Stephano sprang
ward, but quick as thought Bianca
seized a carbine belonging to a
rob «er, and retieating to the back
the stage, exclaimed :
‘Blank cartridges for stnge robbers,
real bullets for real ones Advance
one bb p, Stephano, and I will fire.’
Then turning to the people, she
cn n e(1 „p !>n t | Jt>ru to holp ge j 2e the rob .
f or people needed only some
fearless voice to arouse them from the
stupor, and make them act.
Stephano was tried and convicted,
and his head chopped off; but not be¬
fore he had disclosed the p’ace of An¬
tonio’s confinement, and the place of
the ban Jit’s rendezvous, which was in
a large cave but a short distance from
the village, the existence of which was
never suspicioned, and which was fill¬
ed with booty. Antonio was released
and with undiminished affection wa«
received by Bianca, and but few days
elapsed before their nuptials were cel¬
ebrated with great rejoicing. The lit
tie village ol Chieti is still in existence,
though it lias increased insist: and oop*
u’aiion and changed many of its cus¬
toms, still the name of Bla> oa Bandet
tini aud the bandit chief is qnforgot
ten.
A PERILOUS BUSINESS.
How the Operations of Torpedo¬
ing Oil Wells is Conducted.
The Pittsburg Leader says torpedo¬
ing oil wells has grown within the pest
ten years to be a business of consider¬
able magnitude. There is not a well
now in the oil enuutry but what is
morc or leS8 torpedoed. Those who
hnVe never see „ a n oil well, and are
unacquainted with the business, will
no douot wonder why this is the case.
For their information it might be well
to state the reasons :
The first is for the purpose of blast,
ing the oil rock, thereby creating cre¬
vices through which the fluid finds its
way into the well. As an illustration
many wells are put down to the prop¬
er depth without producing one gallon
of oil until torpedoed, and then they
would flow. Before torpedoing came
in vogue hundreds of expensive holes
were put down and abandoned which
no doubt would have proveD “spout
ers" had they been properly “shot."—
All wells are now torpedoed immedi¬
ately after they are down, whether
they are good ones or dry holes.
The second reason is, after wells are
opened awhile the oil sand becomes
clngged up with paraffine. It is then
necessary to clean them out, and nitro
glycerine has been found to be the
most effectual. Totpedoing is rather
expensive, but it of course pays, or the
producer woukl not pay the steep pri¬
ces asked by those who follow the bus¬
iness. The price charged for a torpedo
is regulated by the quantity of explo¬
sive material which it contains. For
instance, a shell containing a quart of
nitre-glycerine costs $40, and $20 is
charged for each additional quart.—
Four quarts is the average amount
used for a eirigJe shot; sometimes, how¬
ever, as high as sixteen quarts are
used.
The Roberts Torpedo Co., tor a long
time monopolized the business, and
operators were compelled to pay the
prices asked by Roberts, who elaims
to be the inventor of the process, and
had it patented. The immense profits
of the trade soon had the effect of in¬
ducing many others to go into the dan¬
gerous traffic. Other torpedoes were
patented, but E. A. L. Roberts, claim¬
ing that they were all infringements
on his patent, and prosecuted them to
the bitter end. The large capital which
he had accumulated enabled him to do
this, and in every instance he was suc¬
cessful in gaining the suits. Finally,
however, a class of men went into the
trade who defied the monopolist, and
even the law. These men are known
throughout oildom as “Moonlighters,’'
and in truth the^ have the sympathy
ot the producers, and their patronage
too u great extent. The moonlighter
does the work for about one-half the
price charged by agents of Roberts’
Torpedo Company, and then mak s a
big thing out of it. The moonlighter
is indebted to .the appellation to the
fact of his being compelled to do his
work alter night, for il detected in the
act ol “shooting a hole” by one
Roberts' detectives, lie is served with
an injunction. If he is found to repeat
the offense, he is then arrested for con¬
tempt of court ar.d jailed or put under
bail. The Colonel pays very liberally
for information in respect to these
freebooters, and this lias been the
means of making a number of inform*
era,.who are continually watching the
actions aud following up the trail
the moonlighter.
The danger attending the life of a
torpedo agent and particularly the
midnight manipulator of mtro-glv
cerine, is so great that it requires an
immense amount, of nerve. The latter
is dogged by night and watched by
day, and he knows not at what minute
an officer will pounce out upon him
and put him behind the bars. Again,
as said befiire, he is compelled to do
the work at night, which enhances the
danger ol handling the compound a
hundred fold. Tha slightest mistake^
a single misstep, the striking of his
can agaiust anytiling or the spilling of
a drop of the explosive fluid would,
ten to one, send him into eternity so
badly minced that Peter would not rec
ognize him. The Coroner’s jury in¬
vestigations in the large number of
sudden deaths which have occurred in
eases of this kind, and are occurring
throughout the oil region every day,
means on'y a ceremony over the spot
wh“re the accident took placo and not
over the remains of anybody. They
don’t uxpect tq find even enough of
the body ^ be seen through a micro
scope, and what is more never take
the trouble to look. i'he moonlighter
secretes his stock in trade in
conceivable place Hollow’ trees, brush
piles, old logs, under rocks, and in fact
any place whore it would be less like¬
ly to be found. The writer remembers
rather an amusing incident which oc¬
curred some time since near Triangle,
in consequence of this indiscriminate
use ot brush piles for magazine pur¬
poses A gentleman of that place was
out gunning one day, and fired a load
of shot at a rabbit just as it was enter¬
ing a brush pile. The shot took effect
in a can of nitroglycerine. The
tleman said his bui prise was so
that he immediately sat down.
doubt he did, for the concussion
glass in Triangle, a mile distant.
rabbit was never found.
Life Thoughts.
If you would be strong,
yourself.
He dines sumptuously who dines
of debt.
No man can be free unless he
erns hitasclf.
Children are the strongest pillars
the temple of wedded love.
The worst and most unendurable
all our ills are the imaginary ones.
Study books to know how things
ought to be ; study men to know bow
things are.
To worship rightly is to love each
other ; each (-mile a hymn, each kind¬
ly deed a prayer.
Our happiness does not consist in
being without passions, but in having
control of them.
Law is like prussic acid—a danger¬
ous remedy, and the small dose is gen¬
erally sufficient.
A handsome woman pleases the eye,
but a good woman pleases the heart.
The one is a jewel, the other a treas
ure.
It our eyes were open, we should
see that this oval globe is but an egg;
that what we call time is but the incu¬
bation of eternity.
Never retire at night without being
wiser than when you rose in the morn¬
ing, by having learned something use
ful during the day.
The earth is a great factory wheel,
which at every revolution on its axis,
receives fifty thousand raw souls, and
turns off nearly the same number work¬
ed up more or less completely.
A good book and a good woman are
excellent things for those who know
how to appreciate their value. There
are men, however, who judge ot both
from the beauty of the covering.
Never let a lie go to seed in your
soul. If you should happen to be
tempted into telling a falsehood, let it
be plucked out by a confession of your
fault as quickly as possible. Pluck it
out and cast it from you, for I assure
you that of all the noxious weeds that
find root in the garden of the soul, none
go to seed more quickly or multiply
more vapidly than does falsehood.
Sagacious Horses.
A pleasant story has just come to us
from the Cape of* Good Hope. In Graa*
Reinctt, as in all the old Dutch towns
in the colony there is, in the centre
the place, a lar^e market square, where
the farm rs, traders and others arriv¬
ing with their produce at any hour
the day or night, may ‘outspan' the
oxen or horses from their wagons,
send cattle out to the ‘commonage’ to
feed w hile they bivouac at their wag¬
ons, as is the Wont of African
to do, until the 8 o'clock morning
ket auction.
An old horse belonging to one
these parties had wandered about
search of grass and water—vainly,
doubt, tor it was during the
drought from which the country is
now recovering. Coming to a
j bare marketplace, and finding a
of men talking there, he singled
one of them, and pulled him by
sleeve with his teeth. The man
ing the horse might possibly bite, re¬
pulsed him, but it was not very
ly done; he returned to the charge,
with the same reception; but he was
a persevering animal, and
demonstrated the axiom that ‘Perse¬
verance gains the day,' for upon his
taking the chosen sleeve for the third
time between his teeth, the owner
awoke to the idea that a deed of kind¬
ness might be required of him; so put¬
ting his hand upon the horse’s neck he
said: ‘All rigid, old fellow; march on.'
The horse at once led the way to a
pump at the further side of the square.
Some colored servants were lounging
about the spot. One of .them at the
bidding of th.* white man, filled a buck¬
et with water; three times was the
bucket replenished and emptied before
the ‘great thirst’ was assuaged, and
then the grateful brute almost spske
Ins thanks to his white inend by rub'
bing his nose gently against his arm,
alter whien he walked off with a gieat
sigh of relief.
A story somewhat analogous to the
foregoing was told me by a friend,
whose uncle is a country squire in one
of our Western States, had favorite
hunter in a loose box in the stanle.—
One warm summer day he was ‘athirst’
and could get no water. He tr ed to
draw the groom's attention to the laci,
but without success. The horse was
not to be discouraged; he evidently
gave the matter consideration. The
thirst was pressing. All at once he
remembered that he had always had a
certain halter put upon his head when
led to the water. He knew where it
hung. He managed to unhook it from
its peg and carried it to the groom,
who at once, in great admiration
the knowledgeable brute, rewarded
him in the manner he desired.
Old Maid-ism.
A very foolish and yet very preva¬
lent prejudice is auteitained against
unmarried women as a class. This
we hold to be as absurd as it is un¬
generous. We will start with the to
tally unchristian axiom that women
are vastly superior to the 'lords of
creation’ in goodness. This point ad¬
mitted—and what man will gainsay
it?—we proceed to argue that many
good women in this very good world,
as worlds go, there will be quite a
number far above their sex, and so, by
consequence, incalculably above the
best of men. It might often happen
that ladies of great spiritual altitude
would never meet in the course
their liv«s a man grand enough to
mate with them, To unite with a man
whom they do not feel to be th<ir
equal would be almost as great an
rage on the finer instincts as marrying
tor money, which is a meaner, viler
thing than any unirald could possibly
dream of. Besides this there are In an ?
old maids who have numerous offers,
but they, with a fidelity worthy a bet*
ter thing than a man, cling to some
first fancy—some memory of a lover
who has been false or who has passed
away. That there are old muds of a
sour aspect, ‘with lips severe and eye
of formal cut,' we do not deny, but we
believe from our observation to be
very few coaipared with the legions
of poky old bachelors who infest the
shady side of 45, and go n after retire
from a world where we hope they will
know better. In short, we conclude
that while it is always best lor a man
to be married, it is very often the wis¬
est thing a woman can do to remain
single.
Eggs are now hatched by electrici¬
ty, Of invention necessity is the
mother, and of the hen electricity is
ftsfistcr.
so. vt.
ir&lHUMOR
f I
I
!CT2rar !w ■" I
Pie-us men—Bakers.
A goad cure —Sinecure.
Whacks work—Pugilism.
Men of note—Money-lenders,
Old Time travels on by-cycles.
The clarinet player reeds music.
To start a stubborn mule fit castors
to his feet.
A classical farmer in Iowa named
ail his pigs after Greek roots.
'Give us Mormon/ is the cry that
comes from the women of Utah.
The duty on sugar is to use about
two lumps to every cup of coffee.
What baud is it all young ladies
long to attach themselves to? A hus¬
band.
---—
Ruth was a good girl, and she had
as fine a Boaz could be found in those
days.
- e*-r* ---
‘One touch of nature ’ observed the
inebiiate as the ground rose and struck
him.
When a pickpocket pulls at your
watch, tell him plainly you have n.»
time to spare.
————**§»,—
‘This side up’ was the legend found
on the bottom of a bottle in a drunk¬
ard's pocket.
A shoemaker's wife out west call*
her husband 'Sequel' because he is a*
ways at the last.
Dame Fashion once more brings : —
ward the bustle—Ex. Never knew
it had ever been forward.
The best way to kill ofi the Chinese
is to teach them how to aid kitchen
fires with kerosene oil cans.
There's one sphere that belongs to
everybody—to women as well as men
—and that’s the atmosphere.
‘I'm afraid of a gun without a lock,,
stock or barrel,’ as the boy Raid when
his father took the ramrod to him
‘I am sitting on the style, Mary,’ he
exclaimed, as he flung himself into an
Easlake rocker of the latest design.
A Texas man shot his opponent in a
duel, and is now writing a poem about
it. It looks as if the wrong man had
been shot.
The young man who wrote and ask¬
ed his girl to accept a ‘bucket' of flow¬
ers, became a little pail when she said
she wooden ware it.
‘Yes, I'm a good dancer/ said the
barber as he sheared off the blonde
locks of a customer. ‘See me clip the
light fantastic tow
-^-—
Pipkin wants to know why a Roman
nose more than any other kind. We
don't know, unless it is because it al¬
ways humps itself.
It is better to be a do<-r keeper in.
the house of a life insurance agent thau
a man with a new style short jacket
and a hole in the seat of his pantaloons.
There is one creditor which suffering
humanity may slaughter with impuni¬
ty if his duns are unbearable. You are
authorized to kill a mosquito when he
presents his bill.
Why are boarding-house keeper^ so
extravagant? Butter is only a quar¬
ter a pound, while the same weight ol
human hair costs.15 cents—and v t
they mix them!
•
A New Jersey man tells us his wife
was kicked in the jaw by a mule.—
'Did it hurt her?’ asked a friend. 'Why,
bless you, no; but the mule broke his
leg and had to be killed.'
----—
A countryman was giving in his
evidence in a London court the ot! ■er
day and was asked by counsel if he
was born m wedlock. 'No, sir,' lie re
pi ed, ‘I was born in Devonshire.'
----
‘The pen is mightier than th * sw rd/
says the poet. Oh, yes, certainly! B
on a dark night, when there are or s
glars in the house, a good double ..il
reled shot-gun beats both of them.
- ^ ^ ^
A little b >y was shown the picture
of the martyrs thrown to the lions.
Ho startled his frieuds by shouting:—
‘Ma! oi> # ma! Just look at that poor
1 itle lion way behind there. He won’t,
get any.'