Newspaper Page Text
- 5
NORTH GEO •»-4 ■ 1 | * J * ■ * i 1tZ
Vol. VII. New Series.
My lot is SSi
The humbler walk*.of life; with feet
.
That oft are weary—begging bread
And Mirtered with the dust and heat,
And all the story of my years
Is but * tale of smiles and tears.
The 'TgXsZZZ*™ >•; ■
winds of every clime may bring
A tribute of respect to me—
Yet all the story of tty years
b but a tale of smiles and tears.
It may be that suy Iffc frath wrought
Some mighty truth from chaos, when
The wsy wns dark and no one sought
T* cheer the burden’d hearts of men.
Still, all the story of toy years
Is but a tale smiles and tears.
It matters *ot what rank 1 hold
Among the sons of toil and strife,
Or whether young or whether old,
I resell the goal of mortal life,
fbr all the story of my years
Is aye a tale of smiles and tear*
For all the stales 0 f my years
Are but the tales ot tniiien and tears.
—[Morris H. Turk.
A Bomance of the Rail,
'GERTRUDS PRESCOTT, THOMPSON.
It was on the Pan Handle railroad
itn-January, 1863, and tlio train was rttn
aiiing from Cincinnati to Chicago. I got
<fm hoard at Newcastle, lud. Entering
;acar in the middio of the train I seated
aayshlf about a third way down on the
Tight and was soon bttty studying tile
'passengers. Presently my mind was
'attracted by a little girl, apparently
iabout eight years of age, who sat in the
'seaVin front of me. Beside her sat a
;young lady, seemingly 30 years of ago,
:rosy cheeks, laughing cyos and a sweet
aiad gentle voice. These points I noted
in her animated, conversation with the
little one, who, was evidently her sister.
Carrie, the little girl, had on* of
those toy telegraphic “tickers, M and
she was having a high time
with it, regardless of the ominous
looks and , frowns of an Old
*naid, who sat a few seats front, on tile
other side. As she continued her sport,
'alternately tick! Sift her :n
u "“' u s ,ltl uuoccupjea seat
wd ingratiating herself into tho good
graces of the being who might be
occupying the other end, sho became
quit| well acquainted, during the long
trip, with the whole car, the aforesaid
old Staid excepted.
Dtring the course of her mcanderings
ishe spied a vacant scat in the rear of the
one she occupied and flew to it, ticker
in hand. The other occupant of tho
*eat was a young man who had been
interestedly watching the frolics of the
hqppy darling, and he immediately
fcegan * conversation with her, which
resulted in his obtaining possession of
the ticker.
Placing the ticker on tho sill, that it
might more closely resemble a true
telegraph machine, ho began to form
the letters of the alphabet. As the
sound fell on my cars, I noticed with
surprise that the attention of the young
& IS S ttic of him was * jk{so ceu
tred in tho soundi produced by the
operator,,
I listened, (how could I help
it; everybody heard it,) and by and
I recognized words, carefully spelled.
Soon he framed a, sentence. It was,
“Going home?” What could ho mean
by that! He looked toward the young
lady; she nodded her head in affirma¬
tion of the telegraphed query. Could
it be he was talking with her? Soon,
came again from the machine, carelessly
spelt this time, apparently to mislead
those who were able to understand, “is
your father the same as ever? ’ another
o#d. It must be. He was talking to
her. What could I do? It was wrong
to play the eavesdropper, but if people
will talk out loud in vour presence, are
you to blame for hearing?
It was soon apparent that the young
man, the young lady and myself were
the dhly ones in tho cars who un
detftaqjjs". the mystic swallowing signs of
my
acffiplesHwU^ttd prepared to listen.
The Conversation consisted of just such
talk as might pass between acquaint
ances who had not met for about six
months, although it was confined mostly
to Mm, as her share consisted of guard
ednods or shakes of the head. He
asked.for her health; her family’s, and
touched on a matter which the
“"h® n0t We| ! fathom » l,ut . from
of the lady's face and her im
patient nods, judged it was unpleasant,
Myejt 4 least, ' disagreeable. Then he
wound up by telegraphing; “I must get
ontffibre; this is my home.”
“Log’nsp’tL^ho the'ydfr&g brakcuian shouted,
ihd man disappeared.
At soon as thf ^raia was under way
again, Carrie an again her wander
lags, and thi! o seated herself be
* 1
SPRING PLACE. GEORGIA. TI Y. JANUARY 12, 1888.
side me. Being fond of children, I
talked with her on one subject and
another, when it occurred to me to have
a .little fun with the ticker. Procuring
It of the little one, I asked:
‘‘Do you know how to telegraph?”
“No, sir.” ,
r, < „ W Mo to take a lessonf”
“les, sir! Sister has tried to teach
me, but I can’t learn, somehow."
Nevertheless, I began the lesson. I
first made a, then b, then c, then spelt
“C-a-r-r-i e,” telling her as I went along
what letters I was making. So cn
grossed was I that I did not notice a
pair of lustrous gray eyes and flaming
cheeks over in the scat in front, until I
heard a voice of silvery sweetness say:
“Excuse »ne, please, sir, but do
understand the telegraph?"
“1 believe I am sufficiently acquainted
to enable me to understand it in ordi
nary use.”
Blushing profusely, she again said:
“I hope you will excuse my unman
nerly way of addressing a stranger, but
will you tell me—did you—do you know
what passed between us?”
“I could not help but hear,” I repliod,
“but I assure you it is safo with me.”
She looked at me searchingly and did
not seem at case.
Presently she turned herself back and
seemed while for a time absorbed in thought,
I continued playing with Carrie,
although I ceased from the further ma
.
hipulation of the ticker. Carrie, after a
while, ieft my side and left me alone
with my thoughts.
“I wonder,” I cogitated, “what’s in the
wind! She seems very nervous and dis
pleased that I overheard their converse
tion. Such a pretty girl t«, I wonder
cf-no Tllask her'- and learin# for
ward I said* as gently as UcU.d, -V
displeasure, it I, a stranger, may be per
“ d r
Sh SsSkxvk
Sho looked at the ciwii'’f.r some sec
turning' to a
SB
“Mr. Williams, *$» I feel well
acquainted already f||| ie There is
a something which pros to think
you are my friend and that I shall need
your services. I fully appreciate how
widely I depart frOm the customs of so¬
ciety iu thus talking with ouo whom I
never met beforo, but the ice is broken,
and I am about to seek a great favor at
your hands. Are you going to Chicago t >
“I am,” I replied, growing .interested
each moment “and shall be delighted to
be of service to you.”
,
“I should be much plcasod to have
you call at my father’s house at your
earliest convenience.
I was bewildered, but as the train
was nearing the end of the route I phil¬
osophically accepted the situation,
thanked my good luck and agreed to
call at three tho next day. So tho
adieus were spoken at the station and
we separated.
Promptly at the appointed time. I was
at the house of the yolmg lady, and dur¬
ing the few moments l had to wait lor
her appearance, as she had just come in
from a drive, I was speculating as to
what the “great favor” she' had men¬
tioned was. So absorbed was 1 in build¬
ing situations in which I was tho hero
rescuing a persecuted girl that I did not
see her enter the room, nor Was I aware
of her presence till a light hand on my
shoulder caused me to look upon as
sweet a face as it ever had been my lot
to see. I stood spell-bound and'could
not even utter the conventional civili¬
ties necessary to the occasion.
Perceiving my confusion sho merrily
remarked, “Well, I am surprised, real¬
ly. I always thought reporters were
never embarrassed.”
“I sincerely beg your pardon, ” I re¬
plied, “but I must confess that your
presence-is, so cqiq.p!ctg „a 'summoned surprise and
the errand for which I inn is
so new an experience that I must really
plead a lack of that control of mysoif
that never before deserted me. Such
a sudden vision of loveli—”
“Pardon me if I interrupt you,” she
said. “Arc you sure you were not
about to use a stereotyped phrase of
your profession—but, there, I am very
ungenerous in chaffing you this way,
but you know, a woman glories in an
opportunity to make a man feel uncom
fortalde, that is, when she feels certain
she can set it ali right again. Besides,
1 am in my stronghold, as it were, and..
I could scream real hard if yougot
1 bit, my lips, djho was this woniaul
Her making fun of me in
intelligent, self-reliant way ft
me that I was talk!
a practical, self-posi
' :
of of fortune, fortune, and and she she spoke spoke in in a *
manner manner so so full full of of fun, fun, and and the the merry merry
twinkle twinkle in in her her eye eye indicated indicated so so strongly strongly
the the entire entire absence absence of of any any deliberate deliberate idea idea
of of offending offending that that it it won won from from me me only only
the the highest highest esteem—“but,” esteem—“but,” I I said said to to
myself, myself, “if “if she she were were only only a a man.” man.” i
“Now,” “Now,” said said she, she, as as if if divining divbing my, my ;
thoughts, thoughts, “I “I hope hope I I have havo not not provoked provoked
you, you, but but let let us us come come to to business. business. You You
remember remember I I said said 'i I had had * a favor favor to to
ask of you. You heard what passed
between that gentleman and myself,
I call him "gentleman” because it is
polite to do so. He is my persecutor,
Some two or three years ago, being
desirous of knowing something or being
proficient in some art or trade that
be of benefit to me if misfortune
befell my father’s household, I studied
telegraphy, and, although my
was not in favor of it, I accepted a posi
tion as operator at a station on the Pan
Handle road. This “gentleman” was
the operator at Logansport, where ho left
the train. I had to send nearly all
my Work through his office. As the
work of the office Was pretty heavy, my
signature appeared pretty frequently
there, and ho was not long in finding
out that the operator at B— fcras not a
man. After that discovery lie suddenly
found out that a good many things in
my office were not nice enough for a
lady. One,day a lot of pot-plants came
down, these wore followed t by kniek
knacks, odds and ends to fix up with,
and in stormy weather ho would run
down and insist that my instruments
needed adjusting. What could I do?
I could not very well say that I did not
want those things, or his help, for he
gave me to understand he Was acting
under orders from headquarters; al
though my wire never revealed an^ subh
ing, that instead of respecting him as I
I" flr f, i f lined t0 C !°’ h0 became very
“~I t =
~~
»»«» m ' j :
“V
ators. 'Instead of taffig'thAlln|'" jA... it
seemed to me it Was very evident he
should do, he has followed me so per¬
sistently that I told Charlie of it and he
has sworn that if he meets him he will
shoot him, Charlie is so quick-tem¬
pered, but true-hearted, that I am sure
he will keep his word. Now, what I
want you to do is to help me to make
-this man desist, for Charlie will surely
do something that will bring oiir family
name into notoriety if he ever sees him.
Will you help me?’’
Bhe had spoken so earnestly,so openly,
so free from affectation, that, as she pro¬
ceeded, she held me spell-bound, untit
she mentioned “CharMc,” when a queer
feeling ran over me and I was even more
at a loss for something to say than when
she first entered the room.
Charlie! Who was Charlie?
Was he hor lover ? Did
slio think that I was there solely
to serve her, regardless of others? my
blood almost run cold when I realized
that I had come on an errand of help to
her. I had indicated by my presence
that I was willing to do her bidding
and that the idea of “playing second
fiddle” was neither here nor there. I
swallowed the lump in my throat and
huskily replied:
“Miss Hilliard, it will be a great
pleasure to me to be of the slightest ser¬
vice to you. Name the task and I will
help you if I can. First, give me the
name of this offensive party and I will
proceed to the best of my ability.”
What an effort it was to say that I
Thera was “Charlie” still ringing in my
ears and, to my horror, she burst forth:
“Oh, Iamsoglndl I know you can
help me. You newspaper men have
such a faculty for digging out scrapes
and Charlie won’t have anything
to do with it. How I would
hate to have him do anything rash.
I love him so, that it would
break my heart to see his temper lead
him to an extreme in this matter, for he
thinks the world of me.”
There was “CharliO” again! He
thought the world of her. She evidently
wanted someone else to rid her of her
unpleasant follower, so that Charlie’s
fingers might not be soiled by the affair
Well, I must keep my word to her any
way; but I left that hous* in afardif
f erC nt frame of mind than when I
entered it.
“Confound that young one and her
ticker.”
Once in my room I began to think
over the case. The unpleasant fellow’s
was Charles M. Bteeklev. lhad
’
occasion when *4 had been ss
to f‘write up” an affair
Logan&^ft, Log I 7
had occasion to
us*. us*, oft$T the wire considerably a(
the ^hit * srein Blockley presided,
and bwsin^wf^ talkf^considerably with him in a
the^mattef As I ransacked my brain
in in the t recollected that thi
same same eierator < was mixed up in a little
defalc8tjfl| affair had been in that hushed same office; that that had the
up; he
boen boen affowed to remain in his position,
which whic was quite a lucrative one, by the
clemenfy of his “super,” who consid
ered him an expert operator.'
“Now,” I thought, “here is a point to
work on; but, plague take it all, what
pleasu^Js there now in working for
her, when it is-only to rid hor of an
obstacle to her complete enjoyment of
the society of another. Confound the
ticker, ; confound Charlie, Confound
I stepped. If my temper was getting
the beet■* of me why could I blame
Charlie?
lhad promised, and I must dp it' but
I assured myself that ip the next affair
of the kind I would knoto what I was
workbufor, before 1 promised.
Next day I went to Loganspart and
called da Blockley. Inviting him to a
private significantly: honvorsation, I said abruptly
and
“Yb$ remember that little affair of
- yours here, about eight months ago?"
Blobklev started, felt he was power- Affirm
lesg> he eitated, and then nodded
at ivelv
“Thou let mo tell you something
Miss Hilliard is tired of your attentions
wants them discontinued. As I am a
ne ar frbid of hers I am in a position
to :* deiqjM offr-^you a cessation of your persecu
tion £ persist, I will venti
lftlo * few { u . th e n , oUr
nawe Will have enough con
L zrzjtz
m
I emphasized “fortune,” and Block
rr,:r.is■—
‘
i hfethtug up *to this
m* L i game was up and
Amply asked:
“What do you propose to do?”
“Nothing, if you leave her alone;
then you will be left alone. If you
bother her, you will be bothered. So
that’s enough.”
“I understand.”
I slowly ascended the steps of her
house about a week following my first
Visit. I was shown to the same room
and: thelsame chair. The same thoughts
were in my mind when she entered the
room again. How lovely she was. Who
could blame Charlie for worshipping
her? Charlie was likely to have her
love. I only wished I wero Charlie;
that’s all.
“Miss Hilliard, it gives me pleasure to
inform you that Mr. Biockley will, in
all human probability, never trouble you
again.”
I know my tone was melancholy, for
a sudden thought paled her face.
“You have not killed him?” she ex¬
claimed, in a startled tone.
I smiled. Herfranknoss dispelled my
previous thoughts. Killed him? What
a transition it would be for a murderer,
with blood on his hands, to be standing
without the menace of the law over his
head, talking to one of the loveliest of
women. Killed him! How I wantid
to laugh, but I simply replied,
“Not quite so bad as that, I hope,”
and then proceeded to relato the affair
as it had been arranged.
‘ ‘How can I eveV thank you, ” she asked.
“You do not know what a load you have
lifted off my mind. What can I do to
repay you?”
“The fact that you and Charlie may
blend your lives peacefully together and
that I have been an instrument toward
that end will amply repay rao,” I replied.
“Allow me to congratulate Charlie.”
“Congratulate Charlie for what? For
being my brother? He who would give
his life for me (and I the same for him)
will thank you most sincerely for this
service to me. Charlie is iny brother,
and a good, noble brother he is too.”
Her brother 1 Her brother! Had
I, been spending my venom on
the brother of an angel? If I
had been embarrassed on ray first visit
I was doubly so now. I stammered,
tried to say something, stopped, started
again and finally stopped entirely. She
saw my confusion and came to my help.
“Mr. Williams, you arc a Welcome
guest at fhis house whenever you may
cl u...
Words! Did I ever-choose to
was not many moqns before
ird became Mrs. Williams, and
f little toys we delight to spend
<* i|j I'licker. with now and then is a
te ”
.-■ft
A DAILY PARADE.
Government Employes Quitting
Work in Washington.
The Curious Spectacle Present¬
ed at the Hour of Four.
Thero are some queer sights about the
Government departments daily when
the hour of 4 arrives and the 10,000 of
Uncle Sam’s servants turn out on dress
parade, writes a Washington correspon
dent ’ You do not get so good a view
of tllcm in the morning as they go in,
f fr they are more scattered then. The
Umid ones begin to come along nearly
^alf tlle an morning, hour before and time they to begin straggle work in
“
untU after nine o’clock, But at night
U* ere ' 9 no draggling. They are
promptly on tin and when the hand
P oiQts to 4 ike a bee line for the
door ' By half-past three to a quarter
<>* f°« r *»rk is laid aside and prepana
t,on8 are mado % lightning disappear-
8QC0 when the momenfc for disappear
ance comeSl
Yhe scenes outside the buildings are
as curious as those within. By 3.45 you
® oe * a l roat °* every building a number
of vcdncle9 °* yari °d description wait
J [ n 8- dr,ve Some “ by aro flno ba > “ dsome ams - and liyar5 ■“ « d
’
drivers. They are the carriages of the
ants ’ They are, most of them srovernment
turnoute - T! sr class
° f carr!a S C8 ive and
it:
» oy are
driven iQ '
♦ife or sister
for whooi e j&j
another and i
uu .
■
, “tancl
b'ft
: 45 :
vldual who walks to the carriage
in a dignified way, as though he were
afraid of breaking, is either a head of
department orassistaut. flee how* defer¬
entially the clerks bear themselves tow¬
ard him. If they are os fortunate as to
catch his eye they doff their hats with a
vigor quite surprising in its comparison
with the energy exhibited at the desk
by this same individual. That individ¬
ual who precedes the secretary, open¬
ing doors and bowing obsequiously as
he enters the carriage, and the door is
closed behind him, is the “messenger”
at his office. He blacks his master’s
boots, brushos his clothes, brings him his
lunch from the restaurant in the build
ing, and jumps to help him on with his
overcoat when he soes him ready to start
out.
That other dignified person, who
carries a bouquet in his hand, is not the
head of the department. He is
a division chief or head of a bureau. He
feels just as good overit, however, as tho
head of tho department fools in his
place. He is the recipient of as much
attention in his way from his own sub¬
ordinates as the secretary gets, and en¬
joys it more. That bouquet which he is
carrying home to his wife—or somebody
else—was placed on his desk by some of
his subordinates who hoped to make
their $100 a month job more secure by
it. And that elegant “shine” was
placed on his boot by a gentleman with
simiiiar ambitions regarding his $60 a
month job. The giver of tho bouquet is
probably following along in easy dis¬
tance hugging himself wiih a secret de¬
light at having mado a new point in his
efforts to make himself “solid with the
old man.”
The procession as it comes out is a
curious mixture. Pretty young girls,
with rosy cheeks and shining eyes;
plump and pleasing widows, whoso eyes
are as active as those of their younger
sisters; lean old maids who are hurrying
home to their cats and parrots; young
dapper men with dude collars and canes,
who mako eyes at the pretty girls as
they go by; smirking old widowers, who
are trying to catch the eye of some
plump widow; rummy and seedy old
sinners, whose rum-blossomed noses and
unsteady steps tell very well what is the
matter with them.
There are some touching sights, too.
The smile on the face of the man in
threadbare but well-brushed clothes,
when he sees the faces of a group of
children waiting for him, the empty
sleeve, the crutch, the wooden legs
which poorly support the worn out old
soldieT; the pretty girl on crutches,
whom everybody pities for her mis¬
fortune; the lunch basket, the hollow
cough and wasted cheek of men and
women slowly dying from disease con¬
tracted by long hours in close rooms.
NO. 49.
The Ship.
A king, a pope, sad a kaiser,
And * quoen—most fair was she
Went sailing, sailing, sailing,
Over a sunny sea.
And amid them sat a beggar,
A churl of low degree; .*
And they all went sailing, sailing.
Over the sunny sea.
And the king said to the kaiser
And his comrades fair and frost
“Let us turn adrift this beggar.
This churl of low degree;
For he tainte the balmy odors
That blow to you and me,
As we travel, sailing, sailing,
Over the sunny sea.”
“The ship is mine,” saH the beggar.
That churl of low degrees
“And we’re all of us sailing, nailing.
To the grave, o’er the sunny se*.
And you may not, and you cannot,
Get rid of mine or me;
No, not for your crowns and aceptrea—
My name is TfoMh f’ quoth he.
—(C. Mackey.
humorous:
Jjail-birds are of the same stripe.
' Means businoss—The merchant.
No dentist lias yet been able to pull
fco tooth of time.
The mighty dollar is not mentioned
|n ornithology. Yet it is a tenth of a*
eft gi a
J ■ W imt t " said' the opera singer,
“k notes for notes; large notes for high
notes ..>
, aSel
lion tea young lady he is court
P"*“’
A. pumped out petroleum well, like w
man driveu out of his native country,
a “ exile. "ft "
They raise vegetable taiiow in Aus
«“»■ 1»*« <• —
r Vft -
ft & quiet activity, but very
- bustle i out the dress reform
ns there w * popular be
esnnot be a wedding
without a hitch in it.
pay running expenses.
Snooks—“I suppose you have a wid*
acquaintance in Now York, Mr. Blinks!”
Blinks—“Well, yes, one that weight
about 250.”
First Tramp—“Tho melancholy day*
have come.” Second Tramp—“Tha
saddest of the year.” “Yes, everybody
has wood to saw.”
Young Mr. Sissy (to his pretty cousin)
—In your matrimonial fishing, Maude, if
you should mako a catch like me, what
would you do? Maude—Throw it back
in, Charley.
An umbrella dealer tells “how to opan
an umbrella without damaging it.” It
would bo more important to know how
to take your eyes off an umbrella with¬
out losing it.
A teacher m this city asked a class to
write an essay on “The Result of Lazi¬
ness,” and one of the bright but lazy
boys in the class handed in as his com¬
position a blank sheet of paper.
When a young man is making love to
a girl he is apt to tell her that he withes
her silvery accents might ring in his ear
forever, but nine times out of ten he
would as soon hear a perpetual steam
whistle tan or fifteen years after tha
minister has got his fee.
Young Crimsonbeak—“Goose again
for dinner to-day?” Landlady— “Yes,
sir.” “Well, I declare I've boarded
here for throe years and I think you’ve
had goose for dinner nearly every day.”
“I guess you’re right, Mr. Crimson
beak. You seldom miss a meal.”
A New Gnn.
The new Lebel gun which is to b*
used by the French army is described a*
a very effective weapon. It is a repeat¬
ing rifle, throwing a small steel-pointed
bail, which is propelled by a newly in¬
vented smokeless powder of great pow¬
er. Tho balls revolve at the rateof
1,000 revolutions a minute, and are af¬
fective at a distance of a mile and s
half. In recent tests bullets at 500
yards penetrated a brick wall eight in¬
ches; and it is said, that at a mile they
will pass through a man as easily as at
ten paces. The cartridges are so small
that a soldier can carry 300 rounds.
One hundred and sixteen rounds baa
heretofore been the maximum.
A Sagacious Clerk.
“I am tired ot the struggle of life,”
said a melancholy merchant to his clerk.
“Tired of life!”
“Yes, it will be a >weet relief wb*a
my time comes to sink in obscurity and
oblivion.
“Why don’t you take your ad. out of
the papers right away?” asked the clerk
sympathetically.—[Merchant Traveler.
ft -
