Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About North Georgia times. (Spring Place, Ga.) 1879-1891 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 27, 1887)
NORTH GEORGIA TIMES. Vol. m New Series. The Doctor, the doctor la a useful man. Constructed on a noble pUn; Ste’s sometimes fat and sometimes lean And sometimes just half-way between, ~ ' confers blessings than more The doctor. The doctor goes and lingers where Ken’s moaning* freight the fetid air; Where’er he can he gives relief To sickness and as well to griof. Ah, ill could we poor mortals spare The doctor.. He may some stately palace own, All silk inside and outside stone; But still, in counting human woes, Like some base-burner stove he goe* And never sleep*—So far as known— The doctor. We may not know him when this shell ' Of day befits the spirit well, But when the spirit doth protest Against the clay that doth invest, Qur grief in confidence we tell The doctor. The doctor is a generous man. But people cheat him when they con; , They have their health restored on ‘ ‘trust,” And pay him sometimes when they must, And swear no bill is bigger than The doctor’s. —[Columbus News. A BRAVE 00 WARS. I remembered I woke up very early that morning, with that dim souse of something important being about to happen which so often inserts its;If into IsS he brain of the partially-aroused Without opening my eyes, I began drowsily wondering what it was„ Did I expect my commission? No; that ar rived three months ago. Was I to join My regiment? No; I had already done that, and was now settled in barracks in a small Irish garrison town with an. un¬ pronounceable name. Then I remember I dozed off again, only to start up and wonder what on earth it was. The start did it. I opened my eyes, and knew it was the 24th of ■ June, the day out fellows had arranged to give their picnic in Arrangounick Wood. Of course I had gone to sleep thinking of it, dreamt of it, and now ell my plans rusbcxl into my brain; how that I, Lieu¬ tenant Eric Maurice, H. M. Forty-eighth Royal Blues, stood pledged—at any rate, in my own mind—on that day to gain for my own the kindest little heart, the merriest blue eyes, the rosiest lips in all the Emerald Isle. That all these belonged to Norah O’Oregan I need not tell you; for if you have ever heard of that military town of Houstgoron, you have heard, too, of Norah. Once I had fully comprehended all that was before me, I jumped out <Jf my bed into my tub, singing, whistling and shouting, as is my wont during tha pro¬ gression of my toilet. Walls in barracks are notably not of the thickest, and I received maxy interruptions to my song: “When and how stall I earliest me-e-et her? What are the words she fir-r-st shall say?” “Bother yon!” shouted Tompkins from the room on the left, and crash came a boot hurled viciously against the wall. “By what name shall I lear-rn togree-ethor? “You idiot!’’—this from Williamson the right, accompanied by tapping, as of a brush. “Can’t you let a fellow sleep?” “I know not now, but shall kno-ow some day.” At this juncture my door was burst violently open, and in came Tompkins himself in an unbecoming state of un dress and another boot held menacingly up in the air. This, however, he drop¬ ped when he saw me already dressed and fixing a crimson rose-bud in my coat the exact shade of the silk handkerchief whose corners showed knowingly from my pocket. “Whew!—whew!” he calmly re¬ marked, seating himself on my bed. “Is that it? Poor fellow 1” And he slowly inspected me from head to foot. “Don’t you think,” he continued, “that flower leans a little too much to the left? It might fall out, you know, and then all the heavy work would fall on the hand¬ kerchief ; you can’t expect it to do the business unsupported. But stay, dear boy; alter nothing. As yon are, you are—” But here I left the room. This man always irritated me almost beyond en¬ durance, and I never could understand how any one in this wide world could find amusement in his foolish remarks. . I looked at my watch. Good gra¬ cious! It wanted still three hours to the time we were to start. Breakfast might be made to last one, but what to do with the other two rather puzzled me. I went outside and waiked'dp and down, but was soon driven in again by seeing Tompkins’ ugly faco watching me with a broad grin from his window. . However, the time nassed somehow. SPRING PLACE. GEORGIA; 3 . THURSDAY. OCTOBER 27, 1887. and I «sw no more of Tompkins, and be¬ gan to hope that after all he was not coming with us. This hope lasted until I was seated on the drag, when sudden¬ ly Iheard his loud voice as he mounted the steps to the ton. “Never know if I feel most like a cir¬ cus or a hank holiday on this thing,” he was saying. And as his head appeared over the seat opposite me, and his eye caught mine, he paused, put up his eye-glasses and slowly surveyed me from my feet upward, until his eye rested on my rose¬ bud, when he gently waved his hand to intimate that it inclined too much to the left, bunt into a loud guffaw and sat This added to the annoyance I already felt, and declining to take any part in the fun that went on during the drive, I arrived at the scene of the festivities in anything but an enviable frame of mind. But soon I saw Norah standing with some friend in tho shade of the trees, and the sight of her fresh, sweet face seemed to act like magic on my spirits, and blow all the cobwebs away. Heed¬ less of the impudent smile on Tomp¬ kins’s face that greeted my start of pleasure I made my way quickly to her ide, and the shy, sweet smite that wel-, corned me more than, repaid me for my late annoyance. “They start at once for the ruins,” I said. “Will you come, too?” “I want first to finish my sketch," she answered. “I want to put in some cattle, and hear there are some fine oxen near. Could you show me the way?” Now, I think, if Norah had asked mo anything else in the world I should have jumped at the chance of doing it for her sake; but to face bullocks 1 From my infancy I have had an inborn dread of the whole race; even the homely and succulent cow of commerce is not ex¬ empt from my dislike; while the mis¬ named “monarch of meadows, ” the un¬ mitigated bull, fills me with a feeling that hardly falls short of absolute terror! I did not answer; I could not. “Please do not come, if you would rather go with the party to the ruins,” Norah continued. “I will ask Captain Tompkins." , » It was enough. Hardly considering the consequences, I exclaimoa, ‘-.‘I will come with pleasure.” We started. “What magnificent creatures 1” she cried, when she reached the field. “Oh, and what a number. ” There certainly w ( as, and more than I cared for. Behind, before, on either hand they stood, grazing, or lay down chewing the cud. “Oh, do come closer! I must get that lovely group 1” exclaimed Norah. It was a group of four ferocious-look¬ ing beasts, one standing, the rest lying in various attitudes around. One, a great black animal eyed us steadily, and slightly altered his position the better to see us, Norah sat down ; I reluct¬ antly did the same. "Would you sharpen my pencil?" she asked. She was looking at me curiously. I fancy she half-suspected 'my nervousness; so, putting the best face of matters, I got out my knife and held out my hand for the pencil, and, as she held it toward me, I forgot all but her own sweet self and seized the little hand tenderly. She snatched it hastily away, and I think now she thought, as doubtless my atti¬ tude suggested, that I was about to pare her nails. “I think, Mr. Maurice,” she, said gently, “I could manage better if you, would not mind going the other side of the bullocks and attracting the notice of that black one in the other direction. They are looking the same way and it looks so stiff. If you held out some grass to him or switched your stick about, it might keep his attention fixed.” I rose slowly, and cautiously found my way to tho other side. It was quite needless to do anything to attract that monster’s attention; his eye was on me. As I moved, so did he; and, as I sat down, he turned his head right around, the better to watch me. I wa3 turning hot and cold by turns. “That will do nicely, thanks. Keep him in that position for a few minutes,” called Norah. Then came a silence, broken only by the beating of my heart. The suspense grew unbearable, and the perspiration began to pour down my face. I drew out my handkerchief to wipe my heated brow, when, with an angry grunt, the animal begaE to rise. I saw my fatal error; the handkerchief was redl Rapidly the brute gained his feet and with head bent low advanced toward me. It was too much. All, alt was for¬ gotten but the fate that seemed before me. I sprang up—I blush to own it—I turned around and I rani Thud, thud came those hoofs behind me. Nearer came that snortiug breath till I almost thought I felt it hot upon my neck. Faster and faster I flew— nearer and’ nearer came that frantic beast 1 Just then I thought I caught a faint voice on the air—“Pray drop your hand¬ kerchief!” I did, for I found in my ter¬ ror I have been waving it from side to side as I ran. Almost immediately the tramping of hoofs ceased; but without pausing to look behind I made straight for a fence just in front of mo, which having last. vaulted, I found myself safe at Then the whole abs^i^of my post tion burst upon me. The ridiculous figure I must have cut before Norah, the contempt she must feel for my coward¬ ice! Oh, what would I not have given to be able to wipe the list half hour out of my life 1 After a great deal of consideration as to my future conduct, I determined to face the party at lunch, when I could judgo if my late exploit was known. When I joined them, they were ail seated on the grass. I noticed a decided' pause in the conversation as I approached. Tompkins was busily helping Norah to some strawberries. His head was turned away from me, but when he saw me up went that detested glass, and the usual inspection began. When his cyo gained tho level of my pocket, where the hand¬ kerchief so lately had shown itself, he looked suddenly full in my face and, calling to the carver, said: “Brett, Mr. Maurice will take some beef.” A roar of laughter followed this sally and I felt that all was known. I felt mortified, humiliated, and, without power to face it out, rose hastily and left them, returning at once to barracks. t knew I had lost Norah O’Oregan. How could she ever care for a man whoso conduct must have appeared so contemptible ? My life after this incident was not a happy one. As far as I could I passed the time alone, pondering how to re¬ trieve the lost ground, and hailing with delight an opportunity which soon after offered itself of changing into another regiment, which was ordered abroad on immediate active service. * * * * Time passed and once more I was on my native soil. We received a perfect ovation when we .landed in dear old England. Tel-jl-Kebir was the subject of every one’s thoughts, and sick and ill as I was my check flushed with honest pleasure as handkerchiefs were waved and comes shouted. I was faint and dizzy; my arm had been amputated at the shoulder and 1 suffered acute pain, but it was a proud moment to jne, all the same. I was invalided directly aftor, and weeks were passed in the sick ward of Brighton barracks. One day the door was suddenly thrown open and some of our fellows burst in. “Cheer up, cheer up, old man!" cried one. “Hear this, ” skimming through a paper he held in his hand. “ ‘Conspic¬ uous bravery, V. C.’ Why, it’s worth dying fori” And as their cheery congratulations poured in upon me I felt it was worth living for. I began to mend rapidly at this, and was soon able to go down to the sea in a chair. One morning, as I 'Was lazily lying hack drinking in the fresh salt air, I be¬ came conscious of a figure standing by my chair. I opened my eyes. “Norah!” I cried—“Norah 1” Neither of us spoke for a few mo¬ ments as I gazed fondly on her blushing face. At last she said, “Oh, I am so sorry, and yet so very glad, so very proud!” “Then tell me you do not think me a coward now 1” I cried eagerly. “How could I? Oh, do not ask me such a question 1” she faltered. And as her eyes rested on the empty sleeve that was pinned across my breast I saw they were full of tears; and so were mine, but they were tears of joy, for as my hand closed on hers, I knew that for all time Norah was my own. Cariosity. Mr. Popinjay— Woman's curiosity amuses me. Mrs. Popinjay—Aha, by the way, what’s the stain on your hand? Mr. Popinjay—Paint, I was coming by Blobson’s fence and just touched my fin¬ ger to it to see if it was dry.—[Burling¬ ton Free Press. Not Missed. “And so your father has gone to a missionary station?” “Yes; we are quite alone now.” “Don’t you miss the directing hand of your household?” ILfjg “Oh, mother didn’t go 1” iLCHARD FISHING. Aj ( Picturesque Description of § a Cornish Industry. Millions of Fish Captured in i _ Huge Seines. h lew years ago the principal branch of Industry in a Cornish fishing village wqs the pilchard fishery, carried on by means of huge nets called seines, several hundred yards in length. The pilchard, o* as it is sometimes called, the gypsy bming, is a fish differing but slightly from a small herring, For years it used to appear off the Cornish coast with great regularity in such incredible num bers that the shoals covered sometimes, many acres in extent. As many as 6000 hogsheads have been taken by a single seine in the most prosperous times of the fishery. We will describe the scene as witnessed from the little huer’s hut by the Pothminster Head, just beyond the town, through the immediate neighbor¬ hood has been modernized, and there¬ fore deprived to a great extent of its picturesque surroundings. There was a narrow path by the edge of the cliff, margined with cushions and thickets of gorse and 1 eath and bracken. An of tarred boat, keel upward, serves for shelter, and -also as a receptacle for necessary gear, among which, hanging on the white-washed walls, are tho huge speaking-trumpets called into requisition by, the “huer" or watcher— so called from the French huer, to shout. The huer is it stalwart man of 60. His face is wrinkled and weather-worn; but his light-gray {eye is as keen and search¬ ing as ever. For weeks ho has paced that narrow path day by day until well nigh Bick with the hope deferred. Be low, to the left, on the sandy beach, there is a fleet, of boats high and dry. A few fishermen lounge about, some watch¬ ing by the low seawall; others are asleep. Two hundred y^rds away is a large boat, manned by nine hands. There is a high square heap, covered with tarpulin, in the front of it. This is the big seine, and the men are the seiners,? who arc paid so much a day, with a promised share in the take. Behind it is a smaller boat with two hands; this carries a second seine, to be attached, if need be, to the larger one. The huer paces the narrow path, paus¬ ing now and then on his beat to scan tho wide surface of tha rippling sea. He hesitates a moment, and passes on; then turns again and shields his eyes with the brown wrinkled hands. One long,, earnest look, and he rubs his eyes and hitches his trousers with quick, nervous action. At last his doubts are dispelled. Three miles away, by Godrevy Light¬ house, there is a reddish purple streak like a sunken granite reef; and hovering over it, with discordant cries and flutter of white wings, a host of sea birds The huer runs to Ids hut and takes from a nail one of the long speak¬ ing trumpets, through which he gives the summons to prepare. Never was call more welcome! The sleepers below are awakened as by an electric shock, and rush to their boats; the seiners bend to the oars, watching meantime, as they pull, the lonely huer. “Heval hevat” resound through the narrow streets of tho little town; and with wild, shrill cries of excited women and children, and hoarso Bhouts of men, the crowd throngs to the beach. “Heval heval” is the cry of the people. “What has happened?” asks the visitor, astonished and somewhat alarmed. “Is it a fire? a wreck?” “Heval heval” is tho only answer; and he also hurries to the cliff, but is warned away from the huer. Yes, there the latter stands, the ob¬ served of all observers, swaying in either hand a bush, cut from tho neighboring gorse or heather. The pale faces of an eager crowd are watching him from be¬ low; but the cries and shouting aro hushed. Nothing is heard now but the measured pulsings of the tide, and the mingled cries and clamor of the cloud of white-winged birds as thny momentarily dash into the sen, and bear away their glittering prey. The pilchard army heads for tho bay; the read streak lengthens and widens; and as the huge school comes closer in, one may hear the the rush as of a mighty wind, and see the ripples caused by millions of fins. Meantime the great seine has been shot; tho “folyer” attaches the second Beine; the * ‘blowscrs” make fast the rope ashore; and the pent-up feelings of the excited crowd on the elifl and beach break forth into one long, loud cry of delight, for with them, too, their “bread is on the waters.” Then com¬ menced tho operation of “tucking”— that is putting a deeper net within the seine, thus entirely surrounding the shoal beneath and around. As the seine is now close inshore, the pilchards can be taken out at leisure. Baskets, buck¬ ets, or other receptacles, aro utilized for the purpose of lading the fish into the boats; and women and children are all employed in cleaning, salting and storing away the fish in bulk in the cellars. On the occasion we have attempted to describe, when 6,000 hogsheads were secured in one seine, the fish were valued at £18,000; and reckoning the number of pilchards in a hogshead at 2,500, we have the astounding total of 15,000,000 fish. A simple computation will show that to count this number, at the rate of' five a second, would take a person 7ery nearly seventy days of twelve hours each. Pilchards, for which there seems to be no sale in England except when fresh, are shipped to various Medi¬ terranean ports, Italy being the largest customer. —[Chamber’s Journal The Hurricane Geyser. The most wonderful of all the won¬ ders at. the Norris Basin, Yellowstone Park, is known as the Hurricane Geyser. It is a recent outbreak, scarcely a year old. The crater is about twenty by thirty feet and is inclosod by a solid wall of rock, about ten feet in depth, to the surface of the water, and no one can tell how far below this rocky in¬ closure extends. Several days ago we could sit on the north end of this rock rib and watch the torrid waves rush down the inclosure, strike the wall be¬ neath our feet and sink into the earth, to reappear at tho upper end with undi¬ minished force. Now, eight days later, we find that the boiling flood shoots out over tho wall where we formerly sat. August Kelly, who has been the only resident of this basin during the winter, informs me that he noticed marked changes in the quantity of water dis¬ charging and tho energy displayed at this basin after the earthquakes of De¬ cember 9, 1886. Thy~ Hurricane pre seats the nppea mce of a revolving liquid globe. TJ rc is a huge bowlder in the centre of 1<he qft>-d angular crater,. over which the'- i'jr-iifs wrifl ouch force as to give f. the appowaceo of an immense wheel in perpetual motion, , The intense heat may be realized* iu a measure, when ' it is stated “that the rocks ten feet from the edge are so hot that the naked hand can only be held on them for an instant. Tho water is turbid and bears evidence of the fact that tho subterranean chambers are be-' ing enlarged. They are evidently ab¬ sorbing the material that has been dis¬ charged at other geysers. The Monarch Geyser, formerly the greatest of this basin, is now a second-class geyser of very irregular habits. Visitors sit by it for hours and often leave without witr nessing an eruption. But the Hurrri cane, like the Black Warrior of the Ebony Basin, never rests, and conse¬ quently never disappoints the wonder seeker.—[Pioneer Press. qualities of Cork. The density of cork varies with its quality and age. Thin corks are usual¬ ly heavier than those of the same volume that havo grown more rapidly, and in corks of the same class, the density in¬ creases with the age. M. Brisson gives 6-240 as an average maximum, and the ordinary density of a ten-years-old cork may be taken at 0’2. With extreme lightness are associated other valuablo qualities; that of being a poor conductor of heat or sound; impermeability to liquids; imperfect combustibility, and non-liability to decay, by reason of which it is susceptible of very numerous applications in industry. The most im¬ portant use of the substance is for bottle corks. Tho bark which is intended to be used in this form ;s kept in a damp cellar. When taken to the shop it is cut by the first workman into strips, the width of which corresponds with the length of tha future cork. A second workman cuts these strips into squares suited in size to its diameter. Tho squares, strung, are plunged into boiling water to make them swell out They are then stored in a cool place, and kept constantly moist by sprinkling, till they pass into the hands of the cork maker. He applies them in succession, giving them a rotary motion, to the edge of a wide-bladed knife, drawing them at the same time slowly along its length, and by skilful manipulation transforms the square into a round cork. This is the method usually practised in France. Workmen in other countries handle the knife in different manners. It is essen¬ tial, to obtain a good and solid cork, to take care that its axis, os it is cut from the bark, be parallel with the axis of the tree on which the bark grew; but the broad, flat corks have to be cut perpen¬ dicular to the axis of the tree. Only the finest corks are now made by hand. A good workman can turn out in the method described about one thousand corks a day.—[Popular Science Monthly. NO. 38. Beautiful Hands. My mother’s weary hands! Their praises let me speak, They have held love’s golden bands, So long—they are thin and weak. They are tremulous now and slow; But, to me, they adjust as sweet As when, so long ago, They guided my baby feet They have old and wrinkled grown; But, to me, they are just as fair As when they clasped my own And folded them first in prayer. They have toiled thro’ patient years, IVTiile no one praised their deeds. They have wiped most bitter tears, And supplied unnumbered needs. They have heavy burdens borne, When manhood’s strength has failed; They have soothed the hearts that mourn. And inspired the hearts that quailed. The naked they have clad; ! The hungry they have fed; With tender touch, and sad, They have laid away their dead. Mother’s hands are thin and old; But their every touch‘I’ll lore, Till they clasp the harp of gold That awaits their touch above. HUMOROUS. The gardeners in India are all Budd lists. There is vory little serf bathing In Russia. S Market report—Onions stronger, milk weaker. Unsatisfying food—The “provisions" of a mortgage. Hanging is too good for a painting that is badly executed. A very appropriate diet for oarsmen in training is oysters in tho shell. Although the hen is proud of her little ones, yet she does love to sit on them. Pug dogs are going out of fashion, and their naturally sad expression is deep¬ ening. It is said that drummers who travel with rubber goods arc always stretching the truth. Life isfullbf disappointments, and a man realizes it a while after he has planted sotriS bird seed with the idea that he waa going to raise canaries. A little girl wasn’t far wrong when she told her teacher, in answer to the ques¬ tion, ‘[What is the worst thing about money V s that it was “ ’cause we ain't got any.” Before marriage the question a gir asks her lover most often is: “Do you really love me?" After marriage the query becomes, “Is my hat on straight?” Drawing room car: First Porter (in a hurry)—Another wash-out! Second Porter (excitedly)—Where, where? First Porter (as he disappears through the next car)—On the clothes line 1 ", An embarassed young man who had just been married by a clergyman, not knowing how to express his gratitude, in handing over a small fee said: “I hope to give you more the'next time.” He had an auburn haired girl and promised to take her out riding, She met him at the door when he drove up in a buggy and exclaimed: “Hello, Beady?” She misunderstood him and they don’t speak now. Pedestrian—Madam, a boy who I am told is your son has just 'thro,wn a stone at me, causing a wound that is very pain¬ ful. What are you going to do about it? Mother—I don’t know. Have you tried arnica? “What are you crying about, Johnny?" asked Mr. Fizzletop of his little boy Johnny. “I can’t—boo—find—boo-my candy horse, ” and then the poor little fellow broke dowsr completely. “Where did you put it?” “I—I—eat—it up.” Stories of Cats. A St. Louis cat with only three kit¬ tens went out and brought in two young rabbits, and a few days later added a pair of young coons to her family. An engineer on the Wabash Railway, whose train has yet to meet its first ac¬ cident, attributes his good luck to a cat that has been his constant companion in the cab for a year. Dr. Snow of Danbury, Conn., has a cat and parrot that are firm friends. The parrot escaped from the cage and flew out of the window, when the cat exhibited the greatest distress, and on the Doctor’s return from a call made plain to him by her actions what had happened. A cat belonging to a Boston family is used to traveling, being taken to the country every season when the family goes. This year she had a kitten that she was anxious about, and as soon as the approaching immigration appeared she packed her little one into a partially filled trunk lest it should be overlooked. -[New York S«n.