Newspaper Page Text
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Vol. VIH. New Series.
Tho Last Kiss.
I put the half-written poem.
Why- £he pen idly trailed in rny hand,
Writh “Had I words to complete it,
,
Who’d read it, or who’d understand?”
But -.u& little bare feet on the stairway.
And tho faint, smothered laugh in the hall,
And tho eerie-low lisp on the silence,
Cry up to me over it oil.
So I gathored It up—where wa3 broken
The tear-faded thread of my theme,
Telling how, as one night I sat writing,
A fairy broko in on my dream—
A littlo inquisitivo fairy—
My own little girl, with the gold
Of the sun in her hair, and the dewy
B! Je eyes of the fairies of old.
‘Twes the doar little girl that I scolde.l
“For was it a moment like this,”
I said, “when she knew I was busy,
To eomo romping in fora kiss?
Como rowdying up from her mother
And clam ring there at my lmea
For 'one ’ittle kiss for my dolly
And one ’ittlo uzzer for mei’
God pity the heart that repelled her
And the cold hand that turned her away)
And take from tlio lips that denied her
This nnswerless prayer of to-day!
Take, Lord, from my memory forever
That pitiful sob of despair,
And tho patter and trip of the bare little feet
And tho one piercing cry on the stairl
I put by the half-written poem,
AA'htle tho pen idly trailed in my hand,
Writes on, “Had I words to complete ifc
AVho’d road it or who’d understand!’’
But the little buro feet on the stairway,
And the faint smothered laugh in the ball,
Aud the ecrie-low lisp on the silence,
Cry up to me over it all.
—[James Whitcomb Riley.
THE ROGUES OF INDIA.
Many woudcrlul things have been
written about tho jugglers of India, but
things still moro wonderful could bo
written about the thieves. I have lived
in Bombay, Madras, Calcutta, and Ran
goon, aud have been knowing to somo
operations of these gentry which seemed
incredible,
Every foreigner is considered fair j j
game by tho natives. While there are
plenty there who will who not will rob him swindle by force, j
is none not him ;
if it can bo done. On threo different
occasions, in different hotels, I sent out
by waiters to make purchases or get
money changed. In each instance they
ran away, although in no case was tho
sum over a dollar, and in every ease the
native left lucrative employment in order
to belt me. It couldn’t havo been the
idea of gain so much as tlio idea of get¬
ting ahead of a foreigner. While thero
is no positive security from thieves in
India, there is partial security in hiring
a chowkadar. This fellow is a thief
from away hack. He is known to be,
and lm is employed on tills account. If
you pay him so that ho can afford to be
honest, he will keep other thieves away,
It is a point of honor with the fraternity
not to steal from any one employing a
chowkadar. His services are a species
of blackmail, but you must cither pay
him or be at tho mercy of tho slickest,
slyest set pf rascals on earth.
At Bombay I had a bungalow with
an English artillery Captain on leave of
absence. As he had with him two ser¬
vants whom he felt ho could trust, we
determined not to employ a chowkadar.
Several called to offer their services, and
all seemed greatly surprised and annoyed
when sent off. One of tho fellows was
an old man with a foxy look, and he
protested to the Captain.
“I am a great thief, but too sharp for
the officers, who have never yet laid
hands o:i me. I know all tho thieves,
and if I am with you no one will dare
steal from you.”
“And if wo do not employ you?”
“You will surely be robbed.”
“Well, wo shall try to get along
without you, and if thieves come, somo
one may get killed.”
The old man wont away with a look
of cunning on his face, and we liad no
doubt that be would be among the first
to seek to lay hands on our goods.
There were but three rooms to our
burgdow—a parlor, kitchen, and bed¬
room. Tho Captain aud myself occupied
the parlor as a sitting room, dining
room aud bedroom, while tho cook and
his fellow servant occupied the other
two. We kept but little money by us
aud had but few goods. The Captaiu
was experimenting a littlo with a new
explosive, and I was making a report to
the home Government on the various
vegetable poisons of that peninsular.
We therefore had plenty of leisure to
plan for our protection aud watch all
suspects.
O i the second day after tlio sly old
man was sent away, a lamo native
woman, leading a boy about 4 years of
age, sent in word by the servant that
she wanted to seo the Captain on im¬
portant business. The pair wove ad
mitted, and she began making inquiries
about her husband, who she said was a
SPRING PLACE. GEORGIA, THURSDAY. MARCH 22, 1888.
member of the Captain’s command. She
gave the name of a native known to tho
officer, and asked so many questions
that she took up fiftoen minutes’ time.
I was not much interested ia her story,
but was iu the actions of the child. No
sooner did she let go of his hand than
he began running about to inspect
things. Wo saw afterward how hard
she tried to draw all our attention to
herself. The Captain paid no heed to
the child; but presently, as I
watched, I saw the little shaver grab
something from a stand.
He then returned to his mother and
took her hand. After a moment I re¬
membered that my field glasses rested
on the stand, and as I rose- up to look
for them they were not to be seen. I
went over to the child, and notwith
standing the fact that he shrank away
and began to cry, as if scared at me, I
picked him up and gavo him a shako.
The glasses fell to the lloor from tho
folds of a cloth about his waist, and
with them three spoons which he had
stolen iu the kitchen. He ran away as I
put him down, and the woman hurried
after him. It was a put-up job to
pilfer from us, and, while tho child did
not look more than four years of age,
wo afterward learned that he was over
ten.
In India everybody sleeps during the
middle of the day. That is, everybody
should. About a week after the
occurrence related above, tho Captain
ciirned into a hammock under the ve¬
randa about 11 o’clock one forenoou for
a nap. I should have climbed into
off that day, und 1 removed coat aud
V05 ‘ aQ d sa ‘ down to a table in a corner
^ our room. Ihe window before me
was but a light bamboo shade was
down to keep the sua out. Tho captain
had had plenty of time to go to sleep
tvlieu I happened to look out through
‘bo slats of tho blind. AYliilo I saw
nothing, I felt that something was
wron g. and 1 softly rose up aud went
t0 lho door opening out on the veranda,
^his door was, ot course, wide open,
^1? ‘ eu ‘ were in slippers, aud I mado
,lot ‘ho least uoiso us I reached the
door. Ihe vorauda was about 20 feet
ai, d tho Captain’s hammock was
s ' lm 2 at the centre. I peered cautiously
ou ‘> au d I saw tho figure of
the sly old man right under the ham¬
mock. His buck was towards me, but
i determined to seo what he would do,
and then capturo him if I oould. As I
looked he slowly rose up on the
Captain’s left, cocked his ears to listen,
aud then his deft black fingers began a
soarcli of the sleeping man's pockets.
l braced myself, took a full breath, and
Was on him at a bound. I seized him
iinnl y by the body, but lie sank down,
wriggled two or throe times, aud noxt
minute ha was goao, upsetting me by
grasping my feet, aud heaving away as
ho went. It did not seem that he had
been at work over ten seconds when I
grabbed him, and yet in that timo he
had extracted the Captain’s watch and
wallet, and several other articles. All
were left behind, but the thief had dis¬
appeared like a shadow.
Perhaps tho bc3t way would have
been to give ia aud employ a chowkadar
but wo were both determined not to bo
bulldozed into it. All portable articles
not in hourly uso were put into a strong
wooden chest and kept under lock and
key and both of us were on the watch
for any new movemnt. A couple of
weeks had passed aud we were begin¬
ning to feel safe, when tli3 fellows at¬
tempted a very bold game. A juggler
camo to tlia veranda aud began to per¬
form and wo both went out. While the
room was left aloue, tho thieves—there
were three of them—came through the
garden alongside the house and cut a
hole through tho sido exactly back of
the chest. The captain happened to
look ia just us the box wa3 being
moved and with a couple of bounds ho
crossed the room and seized one of the
handles. I could not realize the situa¬
tion until the thieves had pulled
the chest half way out, and by the time
I had got around the bungalow they had
disappeared. How they could have lo¬
cated the chest so exactly was a mystery
to us, as it had been moved several
feet only the night before. They cut
neither to the right nor the left, but
exactly back of it, and tho space was
only an inch widor than the chest.
The next move created a sensation in
Bombay. Opposite our bungalow,
which was on a side street, was one be¬
longing to a nativo—a known thief.
Tho fraternity had somehow got the
idea that we had a'great pile of money
hidden in our bnogalow, and that the
Captain was making gold nuggets by
tho wholesale. Ho was, as I said, ex¬
perimenting with a new explosive, and
this probably started the idea. The ex¬
plosive was either dynamite or some-
thing very near it One day, after the
Captain had been fussing around in the
front yard for half an hour, and while
ho was reading on the veranda, there
was a terrible explosion. It seemed as
if our house was lifted a foot high, and
everything inside was thrown into con¬
fusion as it settled back. It was an
explosion which was felt for half a mile
around, and when we got out doors wo
found a liolo in our front yard into
which a couple of bullocks could
have been dumped. That wasn’t
all, however. A big ditch
had been opened straight across
tho street to tho other bunga¬
low, and the bruised and battered
bodies of three natives were thrown out
within thirty feet of the big hole. It
took us some little time to figuro out
what had occurred, The sly old man
and his pals had dug a tunnel from the
native bungalow to within three feet of
ours. It was iuteuded to pass under
the house and break ground Inside,
there being no floors in our place. The
explosion, which took place ia an iron
kettle, was almost over the tunnel, and
tho force was mainly downward. The
concussion followed along tho ditch and
blew the roof off the native bungalow.
The thieves were either creeping for¬
ward or backward in the tunnel, and
death came to them so quickly that they
never knew what hurt them.
Next morning a native priost, accom¬
panied by a scribe, called upon us to se¬
cure our account of the affair. The
Captain had explained matters to the
authorities, and thero had been no in¬
quest. The priest said that the sly old
maa had been one of his most devoted
followers, aud as he was a person of
considerable importance in Nagpoor,
where ho had many relatives, au account
of his death was to be published in the
native language. The visit was made
us at au early hour ia tho morning,
while everything was lying around loose,
and the two men had scaroely left the
house when we missed tho field glasses,
a pocket compass, a pair of shoes, and
two or three other articles. A native
detectiv.e assured us that tho priest and
scribe were two notorious thieves, who
had come in that disguise to get even
with us.
1 was bittou by a poisonous snako at
Bcngalore, and for several woeks was
unablo to leavo my bed. While out of
danger after tho first two or three days,
enough of tho poison circulated through
my system to keep me weak and feverish
for a long timo. While lying on my bed
on my right sido I could look
out on an extensive back yard. Thero
was a path running down to a summer
house, and beyond the summer house
■was a thicket aud a ravine. Midway
between tho bungalow and tho summer
house, and off to the left of tho path,
were the stables. One forenoon as I lay
looking out on this yard, I saw an al¬
most naked nativo come out of the
thicket, glide up the path and turn into
the stables. I knew from his actions
that ho was a thief, hut the hand bell
had been accidentally removed beyond
my reach, and I could not cal! loud
enough in my weak state to give an
alarm. There were three servants at the
stables, but it turned out that they were
gambling and deeply interested. The
thief entered the buildings and stole
two suits of clothing and some horse
goods, and went back down tho
with the bundle on his back.
The Captain wa3 raving angry
the loss, as he had been bothered a
deal with thieves, aud after dinner
had a consultation. Ho went to a friend
and borrowed a 6teel trap which
once been sent for and captured a tiger.
It was larger than tho bear trap3 seen
this country, requiring tho services of
men and a lever to set it. The
men were sent away on errands, and,
assisted by a corporal from the barracks,
the Captain set the trap in tho centre
the path, between the summer
and the stables. An excavation
made to sink it out of sight, and
dirt and leaves were scattered over the
spot. The Captain’s family was away,
and the stable men never went
their quarters. If anybody fell into
trap it would bo some native who
no business in tho grounds. The
of the stable goods had not been
ported to tho police, and tho thief
not alarmed. He might not
another visit to tho place, but it
hoped he would. There was a
chaiu attached to the trap, and
led to a small tree and was made
with a padlock.
It was nearly a week before
unusual occurred. A bell bad
fixed in tho housekeeper’s room, with
cord running to the head of my bed,
and it was arranged that when I gave
certain signal slio was to run to
kitchen and send a native utter
Captain, providing ho was not at home.
That signal would mean game in tho
trap. If any one came at night, all tho
people would be at home, and could do
as directed by the Captain. I could
not leave my room, and must certainly
be a good sentinel if awake. If asleep,
any noise out of routine would urou3o
me. Tho Captain did not come
home, after leaving in tho morning,
until 1 o’clock. We had be¬
gun to despair of luck in
trapping a thief, when, one morning
about 10 o’clock, just after I bad opened
my eyes from a nap lasting half an hour,
I saw the head of a native as ho poerod
from behind the summer house. It was
a thief spying out tho land. I got
hold of the bell cord, but waited to see
what the fellow would do. In two or
threo minutes he stopped out iu full
sight, and I was quite sure he was the
same who came before. He came boldly
up tho path, as if bent on an errand,
and walked directly over the trap. I
was so astonished that I forgot to ring
until he had turned into the stables.
Tho housekeeper had gone to the
kitchen aiyl was wrangling with the
cook, and so my signal was unheard.
The fellow was out of my sight seven or
eight minutes, and whan he reappeared
he had a sack of horso feed on his
shoulders. He hid caught the stable
men napping again. 1 rang and rang,
but no one came. He went down the
path bent over and seeming to glide,
but as he reached tho trap tho dirt and
leaves float.-in a the fellow
seemed to spring into tho air, and next
instant I saw that he was fast in the
jaws. He pitched forward, and I could
see his right ankle was held in tho vise.
He quickly scrambled up, however,
looked sharply around him, and thon
uttered a low whistle. Inside of thirty
seoonds four natives came from the
thicket to assist him. The
trap puizlell them. If they had
ever seta one before, they did not
know how to manage the springs. Tho
prisoner must have been in terrible
agony, for the teeth went to tho bone on
each side of His log; but ho never
brought a groan. While the five were
consulting I rang agnin, and this time
tile housokcepef^Gxmo and sent for the
Captain. Long enough before lie oame
the affair was ondod. AYhon the men
found they could not libomte the pris¬
oner tboy dcsignod to cut his leg off
above the trap. lie refused to agree, as
it would doubtless have been the death
of him. They had nothing with which
to break' tho chaiu or lock, and, doubt¬
less fearing that tho prisoner would
poach on tho gang, tho four plunged
their knivo3 into him and ran away. By
the time the Captain got home tho man
was dead.—[New York Sun
Billions oi Pins.
It is stated that the present annual
production of common pins in this
country is eighteen billions, or eighteen
thousand millions (18,000,000,000).
This, however, is but a daily pin apiece,
and only for 300 days ia a year, for
each of our sixty million people. The
old question is up again in tho press:
“What becomes of all the pins?” It
would bo no troublo for each person to
drop out of sight his or her one pin a
day, and they would bo pretty well
scattered about, and hard to find, even
if not “lost in a haymow.” But if all
these pins of only one year’s supply
were deposited in one heap, it would be
quite a different matter. The averago
sized pin is an inch long. Wo weighed
some of those on delicate scales, and
found them to run two grains each, or
3500 to the pound. So tho eiglitceu
billion pins would weigh ovor five
million pounds (5,142,857 lbs.), or 2571
tons; and it would take over 5000 horses
or oxen to haul them in loads of a ton
each.—[Prairie Farmer.
A Watch Without Hands.
Tho watch without hands which has
recently been brought before the public
is simply a watch with ordinary whoel
work in which the intermediate teeth
are wanting and which gear every min
uto and hour only. The contrivance,
though admitted to possess some incon
veniencies, is on tho other hand claimed
to present some genuino preferences
over tho ordinary make. Tims, tho
construction not only allows tho reading
to be acourate, but also permits of esti¬
mating the tiaie that separates each
passing minute. There is not only an
optical signal given, but also an acous¬
tic one, since at every chaugo of figure
the car perceives a slight sound, and
consequently it becomes useless for one
to examine his watch in order to meas¬
ure a given interval of time—a feature
of special valuo to engineers, physi¬
cians, officers, travelers and observers.
The experimenter knows exactly when a
minute Bun. begins and ends. —[New York
PEKIN.
Vivid Pen Picture of the Great
Chinese City.
Its Dirty Streets, Queer Shops,
and Emperor’s Palace.
When Sir Honry Purkes returned to
Pekin he said he had come back to
“dust, dirt and disdain;” and most
travelers will find tbis sentence, sweep¬
ing though it may bo, rather lacking in
D’s than otherwise. However much
Pekin may be described, its condition
would still remain inconceivable to
those who have not seen it; all the filth
thrown into tho roadway-*-a mixturo of
mud and abominations, in tho ruts in
which the springles3 cart-wheels are
forever sticking! You get along Curio
street—.supposed by some people to be
the most beautiful iu China—by walking
along tho little bits of crumbling
ground in front of each shop, and then
swinging yourself around tho wooden
pillar that supports the roof, so as to
avoid getting soiled by tho quagmire
below. The shop fronts are of wondrous
carved wood; highly gilded signs hang
out into the street; wonderful beams
with curved ends project across the
roadway, and striugs from which dangle
red feathers. But I muct say that the
last thing I am struck with is the
magnificcnco of the scene. The shops
are pleasant enough. One goes into a
back parlor, set out like a miniature
museum; through that a courtyard; then
an inner sanctum not overcrowded with
pretty things, aud with plenty of chairs.
But tho prices of the curios are ex¬
orbitant; so that one can only be glad
that Pelwn shopkeepers bow and smile
as politely on non-buyers as on custom¬
ers. Indeed, it is customary for them
to send their wares on inspection to the
different bouses day after day. “Niun.
ber one thing! six dollars,” say they.
a
and it is yours; whereupon you feel sure
at once tho thing is no real curio at all
aud worth nothing. This bargaining is
a great amusement each day after broak
fast. Pekin furs are lovely, and thor#
are lovely white feather-like Thibetan
sheepskins, red-backed Mongolian squir¬
rels, and, most fascinating of all, cinna¬
mon or cream-colored fox skins, so soft
that they could almost l»e passed
through the traditional ring.
Tho great sights of Pekin aro behind
closod gates at present. Sometimes
somo aro opon; otliors never. Wo go to
the clock tower; a wattle fence is hur¬
riedly erected across tho opening as wo
approach. Wo go to the examination
hall—sometimes open, but shut today.
Of course you can go again, if you liked
the smells last time. It ii adjoining
tho observatory; where the carved
bronze supports of the instruments—
weird dragons chained to mountains lest
they should escape, redundant foliage,
etc.—deservo to bo one of the wonders
of the world. I am glad to have seen
them; I should like to see them again.
But, oh dear 1 the smells! and the man
with loatlisomo sores and the hideous
voice, who wants to try gentlemen’s
cigars for them and to touch ladies’
dresses, who fights with strangers for a
larger tip when ho has more than
enough already. That man is of a piece
with Pekin.
The outside of the emperor’s palace—
all that any European has ever seen of
it since the days of Marco Polo—is idca^
a fairy palace. High walls shut in the
forbidden city; a moat surrounds
them; and then there aro the glistening
yellow tiles, the roofs built by the old
Mongols in imitation of their tents.
Then there is tho green hill with its
trees, and palaco roofs climbing up it.
The entrances arc of deep blue, bright
green, golden dragoued, with here and
there a touch of vermilion. The sky is
blue above, the sun shines, and there ia
the road way sits a child stark naked, its
face so dirty that it is impossible to seo
what it is like, its head misshapen
with disease. No wonder tho present
emperor never cares to dbme outside,
and is supposed never to have done so.
The world inside must bo fa: mere do
liglitful, if it matches with thoso glitter¬
ing fairy roofs.—[St. Jam03 Budget.
Speaking from Experience.
“Docs your mother wear felt slip¬
per-:?” asked an old lady of a little boy
where she was visiting.
‘■Yes, ma'am, she do. I’ve felt ’em,”
answered the small boy, significantly.
—[Detroit Fros Press.
A young lady recently presented her
lover with au elaborately constructed
penwiper, and was astonished tho fol¬
lowing Sunday to see him corao into
ehprch wearing it as a cravat.
NO. 7.
Make Me a Song.
Out of tho stlenoe mako me n song.
Beautiful, sad and soft and low;
Let the loveliest music sound along
And wing each note with wail of wo%
Dim and drear;
As hope’s last tear
Out of the silence make me a hymn
AY hose sounds are shadows soft and dim.
Out of the stillness in your heart—
A thousand songs are sleeping there—
Make me but. one, thou child of art,
The song of a hope in a last despair,
Dark and low,
A chant of woe;
Out of tho stillness, tone by tone,
Soft as a snowflake, wild as a moan.
Out of the dark rocosses flash me a song.
Brightly dark and darkly bright;
Let it sweep as a love-star sweeps along
The mystical shadows of the night;
Sing it sweet,
AVliere nothing is drear, or dark, or dim,
And earth songs molt into heaven’s hymn,
—[Father Ryan.
HUMOROUS.
Needs aigual ability—Maa at railway
crossing.
AVisely improving tho present— Selb
mg a dupliaate gift.
It takes a great deal of pluck to gel
the feathers off a live goose.
18S8 is but little over a fraction oi
time, anyhow—one and three eights.
“Give me a dude egg, please," said
the boarder. “A dude egg? What is
that?” “A fresh one.”
The frequent changes in the Cabinets
of Europe lead'one to believe that the
Ministers aro Methodists.
Ia Arkansas squirrels are so plentiful
that they are sold by the bushel. They
sro generally shot by the barrel.
The best mechanic in tho world can’t
make a pair of boots that are all right
One of them is bound to be left.
A physician says: “If a child does
not thrive on fresh milk, boil it.” This
Is too severe. Why not whip it?
There aro two kinds of clubs, social
and constabulary, and they are both
efficacious iu knocking a man out.
It lias been averred that a lady with a
diamond ring will scratch her nose ia a
given period four times as often os other
women.
Tramp (at door): I feel so very much
distressed. Madam: Something you
have eaten? Tramp: No, something I've
not eaten.
Ho (at a very late hour, with deep
tenderness)—How can I leave thee? She
—Really, Mr. Stayer, I can’t tell you. )
wish to heaven I could.
Caller (to littlo Bobby)- -Bobby what
makes your eyas so bright? Bobby,
(after a little thought)--I dess it’s tause
I liain’t had ’em very long.
A stenographer onco said to Senator
Evarts, “Mr. Evarts, your long sen¬
tences trouble me.” His quick rotort
was, “Only criminals aro ofruid of long
sentences.”
She: “Boforowe were married you
promised to fulfill every wish you read
iu my eyes, but I don’t find it so at all.”
He: “Yes, since that time I havo grown
very near-sighted.”
Two young writers were talking of
their hopes, their ambitions. “If I have
not mado a roputatioa by tha timo I’m
thirty I shall blow my brains out,” as¬
sorted one. “My dear boy," replied the
other, “you are as good as dead.”
A horrible story comes from Africa.
Two travelers, George and Annie Moore,
were captured by cannibalistic natives
and sent to the chief of the tribe as a
present. The chief ate George first,
and then remarked, with a sigh, “I’ve
had enough; I can’t eat Annie Moore.
The most novel complaint of impure
milk reported is that of a London boy,
boarded out under the poor-law regu¬
lation, who reported that the milk given
him out of town, instead of being taken
out of clean tins, had been squeezed out
of a nasty cow, aud he “seoi ’em a-do
lag it.”
A teacher noticing that upon an ex¬
amination paper the Isthmus of Panama
was every time spelled “Panamaugh,”
was curious to know the name of tha au
thor of such extraordinary spelling, and
turning to tho head of the previous
P a S a ‘, found the child’s name to be Katie
Uummebaugh.
Prof. Proctor, speaking of tho pos¬
sibility of human beings flying, says:
“Tho great difficulty which man haa
first to overcomo is that of maintaining
his balance.” Doesn’t the professor
kaow that tho difficulty of maintaining
his balanco has caused moro than one
man to fly—to Canada?
Go forth in haste 1
No time to wastel
Proclaim to all creation—
That men are wise
Who advertise
In the present generation.
