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NORTH GEORGIA TIMES.
Vol. VIII. New Series.
The Kettle on the Crane. •
How many pleasant pictures does the recol¬
lection bring
Of home arid bygone pleasures that around
the fireside cling!
What tender reminiscences come thronging
On the brain,
When in dreams I hear the singing of the
kettle on the crane—
Hear it singing, singing, singing.
r Loud and merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
Soft and low.
There's the broad, wide open chimney, with
its roaring, crackling fire,
Built up with logs of gen’rous size to make
the flamos leap higher;
And near, the waiting table stands, spread
bountiful and plain,
While cheerily the kettle sings and sings
upon the crane,
Hear it singing, singing, singing,
Loudand merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
Soft and low.
Grandmother in the corner sits and softly to
and fro
She rocks, and dreams of friends and scenes
in days of long ago;
Her face grows sweet and tender ns the past
comes back again,
While listening to the singing of tho kettle
on the crane.
Hear it singing, singing, singing,
Loud and merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
Soft and low.
I see the children caper, as with gleeful
laugh and call
Thoy watch the dancing pictures of the
shadows on the wall,
And hear the baby cooing to tho mother’s
low refrain
That follows tho soft music of the kettle on
the crane.
Hoar it singing, singing, singing,
Loud and merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
> Soft and low. /
And, ere the evening hour is hone, with
lingering step and slow,
A youth and smiling maiden come, and in
the embers’ glow
They read tho iuturo story, and thoy seo a
wedding train,
And bells chime witli tho singing of tho
kettle on the crane,
<* Hear it singing, singing, singing,
V 4? Loud nnd merry, fust and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
Soft and low.
These precious old-time memories, they hold
me like a spell—
The clock upon the mantel, where I learned
the time to tell;
The simple, homely furniture, the keepsakes
few and plain,
And the murmuring of the kettle as it hung
Upon tho crane.
Hear it singing, singing, singing,
Loud and merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
Soft and low.
Oh! there’s hliss supremo in home, when its
joys are pure and sweat,
And life’s most sacred memories around the
hearthstone meet,
And the tenderest thoughts and saddest ones
come borne upon the strain
Of 'the singing of tho kottlo as it hung upon
the crane.
Hear it singing, singing, singing,
Loud and merry, fast and slow;
Hear it murmur, murmur, murmur,
* Soft and low.
—[Barbara Deane.
BIOHARD OGDEN’S DUTY
5Ir. Wagner was superintendent of
the great Bessemer Steel Works in
Pennsylvania. Ono morning, about
ten yearn ago, a young man came into
his offico whom he recognized as Richard
Ogden, assistant book-keeper in a Phila¬
delphia importing Arm. Mr. AVagncr
shook hands with him heartily.
He had known Ogden since ho was a
boy, and liked him thoroughly. IIo
was a keen-eyed, doggedly honest fel¬
low, and, unlike most young men, al¬
ways hard at work. IIo had married
lately, too. 5Ir. AVagner had been at
his little house and seen tho wife and
baby.
“Hillo, Ogden! How came you here?
In the busy season, too?”
“It is not busy for me, sir,” said Og
iden, gravely; “I am discharged. The
firm, like all other Philadelphia firms,
found it necessary to lessen expenses,
and discharged one-fourth of their men.
I was tho youngest book-keeper, and
had to go of course.”
“That is bad—bad.” (It was in the
days when the hard times were hardest.)
What are you going to do, Richard?”
“I can find nothing to do in Phila
delphia. There are twenty thousand
men there looking for work. I came to
ask you for it.”
“Me? 5Iy dear boy, our book-keepers
have been with us for years 1"
Richard laughed. “I did not come
to oust them from their desks, 5Ir.
Wagner. I do not hope to get any
-work for my head. I must put my
hands to it now. Is there no placo in
the mill for me?”
“Among the hands? You do not mean
that, Ogden? ’
“Yes, I do,” coloring slightly. “A
man is a man, no matter how he earns
SPRING PLACE. GEORGIA, THURSDAY. APRIL lit, 1888.
hirbrcad. I cannot.aflord to be idle
week. With tho wages which you pay
your puddlers or firemen, I can support
Mary and the boy in this village, where
living is so cheap, at least until times
mend.”
“Very well, my lad,” said Mr. Wag¬
ner, after a moment’s hesitation, “you
are right. I’ll find a place for you to¬
morrow. By tho way, you used to have
a good deal of knowledge of chemistry,
chi’
“Yes, I thought of teaching it after I
left college.”
“Very good; Til put you near Mr.
Ferris. Ho can probably give you a
few hints which may bo useful; a son
of Judge Ferris, you know. Educated
as a mining engineer; but ho has gone
into the works, like any poor lad, to
work his way to a practical knowledge
of tho business. He has charge of tlio
converter,” ho added, with a tone of
respect, to which Ogden, never having
heard of the converter, listened with in¬
difference.
The next morning Ogden, in a work¬
man’s clothc.s, presented himself at the
office, and 51 r. Wagner himself took him
into the mill and gavo him his work,
introducing him to Sir. Ferris in the
tono which ho would use in speaking of
au equal. Tho familiarity was kindly
meant, but injudicious.
“Who’s that young cub old Wagner’s
making much of?” said Jake Crawford
to the man at tho coal heap beside him.
“Dunno; one of his pets, I reckon.”
Jake w r as one of tho most drunken
and vicious men in tho works. He
scanned Ogdon’s gentlemanly bearing
and white hands with a scowl of con¬
tempt, which changed to a positive
glare when Sir. Wagner shook hands
with him saying, “Good-by, my lad,
nnd good luck 1”
From that time Jake set down the
young fellow as his enemy, whom he
was bound to overturn. Ogden pres¬
ently noticed that this man shoved him
unnecessarily wliq^ he passed him in
the throng, and swore nt him under his
breath, but, supposing him to bo a
drunken fellow, thought no more about
it. Ills indifference but enraged Craw¬
ford the more. Poor Richard, whom
he met on Sundays dressed like a gen¬
tleman, going with his wife to church,
became in his eyes the embodiment of
tho “bloated aristocrats” whom ho
hated so heartily.
“I’ll fix his lordship for life 1” he said
every day, and watched his chanco to
do it. Ferris, on the contrary, as 5Ir.
Wagner had foreseen, was attracted to
tho young man, and gave him work
near to him, frequently explaining tile
processes to him. Ogden’s previous
knowledge of chemistry mado him an
intelligent hearer.
The “converter,” of which 5Ir. Ferris
had charge, is an enormous pot in which
tho molten metaland carbon is subjected
to the force ot a terrific blast by which
the carbon is dissipated, At tho in
slant when the right amount is left, the
huge vessel is overturned into a pit,
where it flows into tubes prepared for
it.
Ferris’s duty was to watch tho lurid
flames of tho metal, and when, by tho
change in their tint, he saw'the moment
had come, to press on a lover which, by
hydraulic machinery, overturned tho
vast converter.
Every time this was done, steel to the
amount of six thousand dollars was
made. If he missed the time, was a
second too early or too late, the firm
were loosers to that amount.
Tho men were not allowed to speak to
him as the moment approached. Ogden
always stood near, deafened by tho
thunderous roar of the blast, but watch¬
ing Ferris’s pale, intent face.
After a few' weeks Ogdon learnod to
distinguish the subtle change in tho
flame which marked tho critical mo¬
ment.
lie told Ferris so one day, jokingly
adding, “I can take your place now, on
an emergency.”
“I hope I may not have to call on
you,” said Ferris, laughing.
Jake Crawford was behind the twm
men. His cunning eyes sparkled. He
followed Ogden home in the dark, loit¬
ering about until he saw Richard’s
wife run down tho path to meet him.
“How is Ben?” said Ogden eagerly.
“Better. I think it is not croup,
only an ordinary cold.
“Ben’s the baby!-Aha!” muttered
Jake. “I’ve got it, I’ll settle his lord
ship, now,” thumping his fist on his leg
and chuckling drunkenly.
Ogden’s watch began at 2 o’clock the
next morning. Littlo Ben was cough¬
ing and choking all night ;his father sat
beside his crib until it was time to g°»
and then set off with a heavy heart.
“What is the matter?” said Ferris,
passing him.
“The boy is threatened with croup.
think I could not Hve. Perris, if I
should lose that child,” said Ogden.
Crawford overheard, nodded, and
laughed.
At nine o’clock that morning there
was a blow to bo made, About eight
Ferris stepped aside to eat his break¬
fast, which was placed in a tin pail on
a barrel Ho had some cold coffee,
which ho set in a tin cup to warm be¬
side a furnace.
“Look to that, Crawford, will you?”
he said, and Jake assiduously bent over
the cup. Out of his dirty pocket he
took a white paper containing, no-t
poison, but a nauseating medicine, slow
and sure in action. This he hastily
shook into tho coffee.
Ferris made a wry face, but gulped it
down. Ho was hungry and cold. A
little before nine Mr, Berringer, the
principal owner of the works, came in
and stood near Ferris. Ho never
wearied of listening to tho roar of the
blast, or of watching the great ma¬
chinery in motion, and the rush of white
liquid metal from tho caldron.
“Are you ill, Ferris?’’ ho said, com¬
ing up to the young man, as he sat with
his hand upon tho lever and his eyo
upon the fiery fluid. “ Your lips are
blue."
“Yes,” said Ferris curtly. But I’ll
sec this through.”
Mr. Berringer watched him closely.
“You can't do it! You aro near faint
ing now. How long will it he until it
is ready?”
“About ten minutes,” gasped Ferris,
with a shudder of pain.
“Is there nobody who can take your;
place?”
“ I—I don’t know,” he said dully.
Then he dropped tho lever, and stag¬
gered forward. “I—I cannot seol” ho
cried.
“Great heaven! What is to be done?”
cried 5Ir. Berringer.
A quiet voice was heard from among
tho startlod men, “I think I can tnko
5Ir. Ferris’s place, if you will trust mo.”
“Ogden? Yo3; try Ogden,” said
Farris, as ho sank down. Somo of tho
men carried him out. Richard Ogdon
stepped up to his platform and put his
hand on tho lever which the mill owner
held.
“I’ll try you, young man. It’s all I
can do. Remember if you fail by an
instant, it is a loss of several thousand
dollars to us.”
“I know, sir, I’ll do my duty as well
as I can,” said Ogden calmly; but ho
breathed a hurried prayer to God for
help.
The frightful roar of the blast
drowned all souuds, tho curious work¬
men gathered around, watching Rich¬
ard’s eyes fixed on the flickering flame.,
It seemed to him as if the beating of the
blood iu his veins kept time with tho
fire. Suddenly, distinct and sharp, ho
heard, outside of tho window near
which he stood, his boy’s name.
“Benny Ogden, he’s dying of croup,
where’s his father?'’
“Great God!” He started wildly
forward; then grasped the lover again
with strained eyes and clutched teeth.
His duty. He had promised ho would
do his duty. The next instant, the
flame as if in pity for man changed its
hue, and tho lever sank. Out from the
converter rolled the fiery flood. Rich¬
ard sprang down from tho platform,
white and trembling.
“Is it Benny you’re goin’ to?” said
Dan 5IcCarthy. “I’m just afther seein’
the bye go past tlie mill wid his mother,
an’ its well and hearty he is. It wur
Jake Crawford as played that durty
thrick on yees, zur,” turning to 5Ir.
Berringer; “an’ it wur him as dosed the
coffee for 5Iisther Ferris.”
5Ir. Berringer w T as a man of few
words. “Send for a policeman for
Crawford. Y’oung man, tho firm owes
you something, and we will pay it as
best we can.”
They did pay it. This was four years
ago. 5Ir. Ferris has been promoted in
the works and Richard Ogden holds his
place at a high salary. In one of the
prettiest cottages in the village you may
find 5Iary and Ben, who is the big
brother of two youngsters as fat and
chubby as himself.—[Youth’s Com¬
panion.
A Singular Affliction.
John Burgess of Erie, Penn., is suf¬
fering from a singular affliction. He is
a railroad engineer, and a short time
ago, after stepping off his engine, he
slipped on a piece of ice and fell, strik¬
ing the ground quite violently with the
back of his head. He was helped home,
and now that he has begun to recover
from the first painful effects of his fall
and can raise himself up, he is very
much alarmed to find that when erect he
is totally blind. In n lying posture he
enjoys his sight as previous to his falb
but as soon as he assumes an upright
position he can see nothing whatever.
BLEAK REGIONS.
Some Wild and Uninhabitable
Spots on the Earth.
Bear Island, the Most Desolate
Place In the World.
Far to tho northward of Europo be¬
gins a series of wild islands which are,
geographically, not a part of Europo,
but of North America. If the great sub¬
sidence which made them islands had
never taken place, North America would
have extended farther east than Eng¬
land or France are.
The Island of this class which lies
nearest to the European continent is
Bear Island, a land of lakes, hills and
marshes. Bctwocn it and tho Norwegian
coast, two hundred nnd eighty milos
distant, the ocean is eighteen hundred
feet deep.
Bear Island is, perhaps, tho most
desolate land in 'tho world. The names
given its hills tell the story of the im¬
pression mado upon explorers. The
English named tho largest of theso hills
Mount Misery, and tho Dutch named
another Jammerberg, which means
Mount Calamity. Thero are not trees,
but such an nbundanco of lichens that,
from a distance, somo of tho land looks
grassy. Although Bear Island is said to
havo received its name from tho killing
of a bear thero by the Dutch discoverers,
there aro now no living creatures on the
island except insects.
Bear Island has, however, somo value,
for there aro largo and rich coal de¬
posits. Perhaps, when the coal of tho
rest of tho world has been nearly ex¬
hausted, men may go to livo on this
dismal spot of tho earth in order to
mine its coal.
The marks of vegetation in the coal
strata prove that the island belongs to
the American continent, for thoy aro
the same as thoso upon the coal in tho
Arctic regions of America.
To tho northward of Boar Island lies
the more interesting land of Spitzber
g^yavhmh is fortm.aU in having been
onco inhabited by men, and still being
inhabited by animals.
The five large islands of Spitsbergen
cover twenty-two thousand seven hun¬
dred and twenty square miles; and
though the northern shoro is only six
hundred and fifty miles from the north
pole, tho southern shore has a climate
which owing to tho influctico of tho
Gulf stream, the recent Swedish ex¬
plorers declare superior to that of Scan¬
dinavia.
The explorers say that this climate, in
summer at least, is one of the healthiest
in the world, and that colds, catarrhs, and
affections of tho chest are never known
there. Sailors falling into the water let
their clothes dry upon their bodies, as
they say they cannot take cold in Spitz
bergen.
It is deemed probable that health re¬
sets may before very long bo built on
the banks of Spitzbergen creeks and in¬
lets for the benefit of invalids from Eng¬
land and the continent. Fancy going to
the Arctic ocean to get rid of colds and
catarrh 1
If people ever do seok Spitzbergen as
a summer resort, they will find at least
ono interesting circumstance; tho sun
does not set for foiir whole months, so
that the summer sojourner need not be
afraid of tho “night air.” There is,
however, a great deal oil fog and cloud,
with heavy .frosts, even in midsummer.
In the last century, Spitzbergen often
swarmed with whalers. Villages built
of planks were found everywhere along
tKe shores.
There wa3 a Dutch port and an Eng¬
lish port, and as many as twelve
thousand whalers, of various nationali¬
ties, found themselves there at once.
Tho Dutch had a promising town,
called Smeerenbcrg. Thero was no
government over the island, and tho
crews of rival fleets sometimes fought
pitched battles on tho beach.
All theso men were birds of passage,
but one old Russian, named Starashtchin,
found a lonely spot on the west coast,
and lived a hermit’s life there for
twenty-threo years, and proved thesalu
brity of tho climato by dying of old age.
The loneliness of this old man through
the dark Arctic nights, that were
months long, seems something terrible
to think of. But it was what he
sought.
The whales and walruses for which
tho Europeans resorted to the island,
were exterminated at last, and the plank
villages fell into decay. Very few
visitors now find their way to Spitz¬
bergen, and nobody lives there—except
wild foxes, white bears, queer, stump
taiied rats, and a few reindeer.—[Youth’s
Companion.
ltieh Men's Beginnings,
Instances of lowly beginnings are not
rare in the list of Chicago millionaires.
AV. Doane, tho president of the Mer¬
chants’ Loan and Trust company, began
commercial career in Chicago a very
small dealer in peanuts. AY. 51. Hoyt,
tho wholesale grocer and founder of tho
immeuso tea trado between Chicago and
China, in his youth kopt a littlo apple
stand at the door of the old Richmond
liotol on Lake street. L. J. Gage’s first
work was as a carpenter in his father's
box factory on the West side. The Libby
brothers, the immensely rich packers,
started as working butchers. Jacob
Rosenburg, the capitalist, and Levi Ro
scnfeld, who died last summer, whose
great fortunes were largely increased by
their share in tho Michael Reese $11,
000,000 estate, wore both peddlers and
carried packs about tho surrounding
country. II. A. Kolin, the head of tho
big wholesale clothing house on Frank¬
lin street., was also a peddler. N. K.
Fairbank boasts that he can lay a brick
now as well as in his youth, when he
worked as a mason. C. II. McCormick
and Leander .1. McCormick were foun
drymen. The first shop they owned was
a small shed on North Water street, east
of Rush. B. P. Hutchinson earned his
youthful w r ages as a shoemaker. Nelson
Morns blacked boots and did chores
around a small inn in tho old Sherman
stock yards. Afterward ho began trad¬
ing in lame hogs. C. B. Farwell’s first
employment in Chicago was tho smallest
clerk in Georgo Smith’s bank on Lake
street. Conrad Scipp, the millionaire
brewer, was a common brewery hand
and his partner, Lehmann, was a car¬
penter. Jerome Beecher was a com¬
mon workingman. John T. Lester was
a clerk in A. G. Downs’ dry goods store
—[Chicago News.
The Sympathetic Bond in Twins.
A very strango and remarkable illus¬
tration of the roy-terioiH bond of union
and sympathy which exists between
twins has been brought to light recent¬
ly, at Tiffin, Ohio. Charles Foacannon,
aged twenty-five, got his arm in the
P lancr tho churn factory, and it was
ground to pulp (o tho elbow. At tho
exact time that this happened, 2.45 p.
in., his twin sister, living over a milo
away, suddenly cried out in great
agony, saying that thero was a fear¬
ful pain in her arm. Sho suffered so in
a few moments that a physician was
sent for, and soon after lie arrived throe
other physicians arrived, bringing her
brother, whose arm they proceeded to
amputate at once. When the sister had
first been taken with the pain, she had
cried out: “Oh, Charlio is hurt.”
While the arm of her brother was being
amputated, the sister, who was kopt in
another part of the house, and did not
know w’hat was going on, suffered ter¬
ribly and screamed with agony. It was
necessary to give her an injection of
morphine ia the arm to quiet her. Since
then, whenever the brother is unusually
restless or suffers much, so tho sister
suffers in a similar degree, and it is
feared that her arm will have to bo am
putated. By inquiry wo learned that
twm years ago, while tho brother wa9
away from homo, ho had hi3 nose
broken, and at the same time of day
tho sister complained o"f great pain m
her nose, and within an hour it hod
swollen alarmingly, and it was necessary
to summon a physician. Every fact in
this case is known to bo true, and it is
puzzling tho physicians greatly.—[Com*
mercial Gazette.
A Fatal Delay.
The young man had been trying to
toll her how madly he loved her for over
an hour, but couldn’t pluck up tho
courage.
“Excuse me a moment, Mr. Feather
ly,” she sa\d, “I think I hear a ring at
the telephone.” And in her queenly
way she swept into an adjoining room.
Presently she returned and then hi3
mad passion found a voico.
“I am sorry, Mr. Feathcrly,” sho
said, “to cause you pain, but I am al¬
ready engaged. 5Ir. Sampson, learning
that you wero here, has urged his suit
through tho telephone.”—[New York
Sun.
House Poison.
If the condensed breath collected on
tho cool window panes of a rocm whero
a number of persons have assembled bo
burned, a smell as of singed hair will
show tho presence of organic matter;
and if the condensed breath be allowed
to remain on tho windows for a few
days, it will bo found, on examination
by a microscope, that it is alive with
animalcules. The inhalation of air con¬
taining such putrescent matter causes
untold complaints which might be
avoided by a circulation of fresh air.—
Philadelphia Bulletin,
NO. II.
Her Dough Was All Wedding Cake.
In brown holland apron she stood in the
kitchen;
Her sleeves were rolled up, nnd her cheeks
all aglow;
Her hair was coiled neatly, when I, indis
erectly,
Stood watching while Nancy was kneading
the dough.
Now, who could 1)0 neater, or brighter, or
sweeter.
Or who hum a song so delightfully low,
Or who look so slender,so graceful, so tender,
As Nancy, sweet Nancy, whilo kneading
the dough;
How deftly she pressed it, and squeezed it,
caressed it,
And twisted and turned it, now quick and
now slow;
Ah! me, but that madness I’ve paid for in
sadness,
’Twas my heart she was kneading as well
ns the dough.
At last when she turned from her pan to the
dresser,
She saw mo and blushed, and said shyly
“Please go,
Or my bread I’ll be spoiling, in spite of my
toiling,
If you stand hero and watch whilo I’m
kneading tho dough. ”
I begged for permission to stay—sho’d not
listen;
The sweet littlo tyrant said: “No, sir! no!
no 1”
Y r et when I had vanished on being thus ban
ished,
My heart stayed with Nancy while knead
ing the dough.
I’m dreaming, sweet Nancy, and see you in
fancy.
Your heart, love, has softened and pitied
my woe;
And we, door, are rich in a dainty, wee
kitchen;
Where Nancy, my Nancy, stands kneading
the dough.
—[Brooklyn Citizen.
HUMOROUS.
Rabid transit—5Iad dog on tbo fly.
Shake-spear experts—Tho early Ro¬
mans.
In the days of manuscript books people
learned by wrote.
When liour-glasses were in uso people
always had a rattling time. - »■
The only dairy which does not use
water to excess is tho dromedary.
Bitter strife prevails between 5Iii
waukeo brewers and their men. In othei
words, they aro at lagerhoads.
A physician says—If a child does not
thrive oil fresh milk, bail it. This is
too severe. Why not spank it?
If the pen is really mightier than tho
sword, wo wonder why it doesn’t turn
on somo of tho poets and stab them to
death.
“Now, my dear,” said the teacher,
“what i3 memory?" Tho little girl an¬
swered, alter a moment’s reflection, “It
is the thing you forget with.”
Young 5Ir. AValdo (at tho opera to
5Iiss Breezy of Chicago)—Isn’t that lady
soated immediately in front of us eating
peanuts? 5Iiss Breezy—Yes, and isn’t
the odor delicious?
< « Thero is another fashionable insti¬
tution that should be sat on,” said the
lecturer on hygiene, “and that is tho
bustle.” And every lady in the audi¬
ence gave vent to au audible titter.
5Iinister: “So you go to school, do
you, Bobby?” Bobby: “Yes, sir."
Minister: “Lot mo hear you spoil kit¬
ten.” Bobby: “I’m gettingtoo big a
boy to spell kitten. Try me on cat.”
Clara—Have you noticed tho com¬
plete control that cross old uncle of
llattio’s lias over her? What a will he
must havol Julia—Ho has,indeed; and
Hattie’s awfully afraiff she’ll bo lett out
of it.
A correspondent wants to know where
to go to tako lessons on tho accordion.
Go down in a diving bell a milo or two,
though that will bo pretty rough on the
innocent fishes, but it won’t bother your
neighbors.
Citizen to Coal Dealer—Say, I want a
ton of coal. Coal Dealer—AU right.
Shall wo send it up right away? Citi¬
zen—Oh, no. If it’s anything like tho
last, I’ll just call for it on my way homo
and carry it up in my overcoat pocket.
“Are you tho head waiter?” asked a
hotel patron of a pompous individual
who was posing near tho dining room
door. “Well, sir, I serve in that ca¬
pacity, but my official title, if you
please, is the dining-room superintend¬
ent.”
An Inalienable Right—Tramp: “I
ain’t dono nothin’ y’r honor.” Jfcstice:
“The evidence shows that you set that
big bulldog of yours on that littlo child
and the dog almost tore the infant to
pieces.” “The dog done it.” “You
were heard to shout, clap your hands,
and say ‘sick’m’ over and over again.”
“ That was all right, judge. You can’t
interfere with a man’s right to free
speech,”
