Newspaper Page Text
THE SUNNY SOUTH.
JOHN H. SEALS, Editor * Proprietor.
Wm. B. SEALS, Prop’r and Cor. Editor.
■ART E. BRYAN, (•) Associate Editor
CLUB RATES.
The regular subscription price of this paper is $2 50
a year, but we offer the following liberal terms:
To three or more subscribers all sending in at the
same time the paper will be furnished one year
for .... ........$200
Any one sending a cliib of five at $2 50 each, or a club
of eight at $2 each, will receive an extra copy tree for
one year.
The Sunny South and Soys and Girls of the South
will be furnished one year for S3.
After forming a dub at $2 any number of names
may be added at the same rate.
WHAT TO READ.
Has the South None Worthy to
be Iacluded?
ATLANTA, GA.. AUGUST 27. 1881.
Apony Column.
Hiss Alice Clay has compiled a curious
book. It consists of the advertisement*
which baveappeared in the “Agony Column’ 1
of the London Times for the last eighty years.
In the American newspaper such a depart
ment is called the Personal Column, but
strange to say of such a phlegmatic self-con
trolled people as the English, they gush far
more in these newspaper appeals than our
Americans do.
A volumn compiled of New York Herald
Personals would hardly be characterized by
the frankness, quaintness, eccentricity and
seriousness, which are fonnd in Miss Clay’s
curious collation. Many of them suggest
pathetic or romantic dramas- and heart-rend
ing domestic tragedies. What maternal woe
is indicated by thissentence, “Would Philip
like to bear of his mother’s death!'’ And
this—from a deserted wife is as if written in
•warm heart’s blood. “To A.—If humanity has
not entirely fled from your breast, return oh
return before it is too late to the heart
broken distracted wife you have forsaken:
before the fond look of the eyes that won you
be lost in the stare of insanity—before they
may gaze on you and know you not: write,
tell her oh, tell her, where you are that she
may follow you—her own, her all and die,
See her just once more."
Here is an appeal from a father: “William
thou wilt go to sea, thou shale go, but ob
return and receive the blessings of a heart
broken father and mother Oul my son Wil
liam, my son, my son, would to God I had
died for thee.”
Suggestions of love and courtship are plen
ty in Miss Clay’s quaint volume. Here is an
appeal, stately and surely sincere, published
eighty years ago by a romantic victim to
love at first sight. “If the lady whom a g*-n
tleman handed into her carriage from Covent
Garden Theatre, on Wednesday, the third of
this month, will oblige the advertiser with a
line to Z Z, Spring Garden Coffee House,
saying if married or single, she will quiet the
mind of a young nobleman, who has tried
but in vain, to find the lady. The carriage
was ordered to Bond Street. The lady may
depend on honor and secrecy. Nothing but
the most honorable interview is intended
The lady was in mourning, and sufficiently
clothed to distinguish her for possessing every
virtue and charm that man could deeire in a
female that be would make choice of for a
wife. Deception will be detected, as tbe
lady’s person can never be forget.” Vain to
conjecture across tbe wide gulf of years
whether the fair nnknown consented to tbe
proposed rendezvous, and whether closer in.
tpection confirmed her charms in the eyes of
the enamoured young nobleman.
A Premium on Marriage.
In oar go-a-head city of Atlanta,
Most forward still
In every feat or good or ill,”
there has recently been projected a novel
enterprise—a bona fide organization to pro
mote matrimony.
Aware that matrimony is a great civilizing
and humanizing institution, and that many
people are deterred from entering upon its
benefits by their narrow means, Mr. Christo
pher. the talented young editor of the Atlan
ta Phonograph, has planned and will shortly,
he says, procure a charter for the establish
ment of a Mutual Relief Fund Association,
which will endow each one of its members
upon his marriage with the sum of $500, $1,-
000, or $3,000, according to the amount of the
membership fee and a J . «1 dues he has paid
into the treasury ofy association. Any
unmarried person of eitfer-aex is eligible as
a member, provided be or she is of good
moral character and not under fifteen or over
fifty years of age. Should the member reach
two-thirds of tbe life-expectancy without
marriage, he is to be paid one-half the sam
called for by the endowment cert fixate; if
he afterward marries before he is fifty, or if
he reaches that age and is still a celibate, he
will, in either case, receive the remaining
portion of the endowment There are three
classes of endowments, and each member is
required to pay an assessment for each mar
riage that may occur in the class to which
he belongs twelve months previous to the
maturity of the certificate. Thus the burden
of the premium payment falls equally on all
the members, while the Benedict and his
bride (if both are so lucky as to belong to
theM. R. Y- F.) draw their four thousand
with happy hearts, and set np their lares and
penates in the most comfortable style.
We have before us a specimen of oar own
“phiz,’’ done at the Art Gallery of Mr. L.
Moberly, McKinney, Tex. So far as we are
capable of judging, the work is done in the
highest style of the art and will compare
favorably with that done in the East or any
where else. Mr. Moberly is a true artist, is
fixed np admirably for taking pictures of any
sise and in any style. He is withal a polish
ed gentleman ahd perfectly reliable. We are
indebted to him and his charming wife for
an hour’s pleasant entertainment during
each of our visits to his thriving little city.
—Cob. Ed]
Fannie May Witt’s little story this week,
“ In the Cora,” is full of grace and poetry.
Her poem, proper, “Contretemps,” is dramat
ic and crisp.
“Vivian Ross” and “Sphintn”—Your con
tributions are accepted. Shall be glad to
hear from you again.
That paper of advice about, “What to
read” in the last Sunny South, was excel
lent so far as it went. But why should its
author halt so abruptly and completely just
at “Mason’s and Dixons line!” Was there
not one writer south of that famous bounda
ry who was worthy a place in his “goodlie
companie!” Yet a glance through any libra,
ry or through the pages of the standard
periodicals of the day would show that to
Southern writers is due that fl a vo of vigorous
individuality which freshens the s’.ream of
literature. I will quarrel with no one who
places Hawthorne’s “Scarlet Letter” at the
bead of American fiction; but side by side
with it (superior in dramatic power if infe
rior in subtle, psychological insight.) i
would place Mrs. Warfield’s “Housetiold of
B uverie.”
No Northern chronicler of the war between
tbe States has looked at facts and their rela
tions with tbe large, dispassionate glance of
Mr Stephens, or written m a vein so manly
mdsii.cere as Mr. Davis, or in such p ciur-
->qne, stirring and soldier-scholarly fashion
•s that gallant chevalier, R chard Tailor.
Few of tbe poets named have, like Margaret
Prestcn, “bodied forth” from their iuiagina
10ns rich shapes of beauty, chiseleo
finely by culture. Paul Hayne has written
uoeins superior to many that have given the
authors named their right of admission to this
select company. There are other Southern
writers—half a score at least—who deserve a
seat (no footstool eiihei) in this select book
company.
Mention of Paul Hayne has recalled the
fi ie portrait there is < f mm in the Phreno
logical Journal for September with a bio
graphical sketca and an appreciative c iar-
acterz itiou of the poer,. There is also a pen-
pic ure of his home—a picture touched with
a shade of pathos.
‘ Copse Hill’’ is the name of the home which
the poet has made for himself, and in which
he has resided for thirteen or fourteen years.
His cottage, made of unseasoned iumber.and
neatly whitewashed, stands on the crest of a
hill in the midst of eighteen acres of pine
lands, which are uncultivated, and afford tie
solemnity o»d seclusion which nature aloue
can give. Yet the bouse is far from uuin
viting; indeed, its interior is cheerv: for it
has been patiently decorated iu a fashion at
once artistic and homelike by the band ot
Mrs. Hayne, tue walls being pipered with
engravings, carefully selected from the cur
rent periodicals of the day.
Mr. Hay ne’s library consists of some two
thousand volumes, partly saved from his
original valuable collection of books, and for
tbe most part accumulated by his lab >rsas a
book reviewer. His desk, at winch be al
ways stands while writing is made out of two
ends of the work bench used in building the
cottage. Mrs. Hayue has contrived tot' ans
form it into a unique bit of furni ure. Toe
little book -cases near by are m de of boxes,
partly covered with pictures like the walls 01
the room.”
This devoted wife, who has been nurse,
housekeeper, amanuensis and faithful, in
spiring companion, has (we are not surprised
to learn it) an inherited strain of heroic blood
in ber veins. She is a daughter of Dr.
Michel of Charleston, who at eighteen years
old held a poet in the army of the first Na
poleon.
Alas for the slender appreciation (of a sub
stantial snr ) which the South accords to
genius! What a contrast is Paul Haynes’lit
tle cottage to tbe palatial homes which North
ern writers have built for tbemselves with
1 heir pens, even down to Josh Bolings, with
bis flimsy humor, founded chit fly on bad
spelling. What will be do sboul 1 phonetic
spelling come in vogue as it threatens to and
deprive his weak wit of its chief pro}.?
THE DAILY PAPER.
A Few of Its Fan Its—The Crane
for Mew 8—The Taste for
Blood—Tbe Tenden
cy to Slang.
GOD AND EVOLUTION
The Host Ratioaal Explanation
of tbe Universe—Is a Belief
in Revelation Unreason*
able?
Just Out—** Wild Work.”
TheAppletong have just issued if} their
usual elegant and Substantial 'style "$iTr
clotb, uniform with “ Minch ”) “ Wil 1
Work—Tbe Red River Tragedy,” a novel,
by Mrs. Mary E. Bryan. Nothing of pre
cisely like character has appeared in fiction.
The peculiarity of its character will partly
appear from reading the author’s “Word Be
fore” prefixed to the volume in question.
“The reign of the carpet-bagger”—a
troublous transition period—was rich in dra
matic features. Abnormal conditions ot
government ani society brought out un
wonted lights and Rhades of character and
gave rise to extraordinary incidents.
Particularly was this true of tbe States
west of tne Mississippi, where comparative
freedom from social restraints fostered iudi
viduality and independence of character—
too often to a lawless extent. There the
ku-klux proper, with its mark and muoi-
tnery, was little known. The protest against
the “carpet hag dynasty” was there more
boldly uttered. If at times it found 1 xpres*
sion in the violence of a mob, at other times
it wrought manoeuvres that showed a genius
for state-craft, and. in one instance atie .gr.
rhe results it brought about partook of tbe
character of a retr.ii irion.
Tue author of “Wild Work’’has sought
to reproduce a few scenes of that time and
region with an eye solely to their dramatic
aspect, not distorted by sectional prejudice
and not dis urbed by political side iighis
The incidents of the story are, however,
not all photographed from life. Borne i f
these have their outlines of ta.-r. colored by
imagination; others are wholly fictitious.
The catastrophe in which the story culmi
nates will be recogn zid as one which has a
place in the nation’s records. There it forms
the mo-t tragic chapter in the history of re
construction. It has been called the ' black
est blot upon the S >utb,” and the blame of it
has been saddled up m the people of an entire
section. But, notwithstanding tbe research
es of the Government’s Investigating Com
mittee tbe true nature of tbe tragedy was
never unveiled. It remains a mystery. Ac
eident had given tbe writer of this story a
glimpse behind tbe veil, and it is believed
■ hat tbe theory of tbe character and cause ■■ f
the tragedy which is Jeveloped in “Wild
Woik ” is tbe true one, though a thread of
romance is interwoven with the warp of
fact
Ouce more insisting that “Wild Work”
takes its view of the carpet-bag era simply
from a dramatic standpoint, and through 110
distorting lens of secticnal or party feeling
—out of place in a story—the book is left to
find what friends it may.
Gough’s Lectures.
The public are eagerly welcoming the ad
vent of an elegantly bound oollection of tbe
temperance lectures delivered by the great
orator and reformer, John B. Gough. Full
of fresh humor and true pathos, these lectures
are a mine of entertainment and instruction.
The great lecturer knew the springs of tears
and laughter, and the magic which swayed
thousands is apparent in this volume. An
other time we snail make some extracts from
its pages, so rich with iilu-trative anecdotes.
It i* having an immense sale, as it well de
serves.
Colonel Seals writes from Canada that he
is about to turn his face homeward. Right
glad shall we be to vacate in his favor and
bunt up some cool spot among the mountains
where the screech of the steam engine, the
sound oi the unresting hammer and the voice
of the cracked drum cannot penetrate. At
lanta is in a spasm of progress, and brick
walls rise with Aladdin like magic,
“ Lights and Shades of the Workingman’s
Life” is the characteristic title of a series of
interesting sketches of home life among the
working people, which will be begun next
week.
BY E.
Wbat a blessing a daily news pipsr is !'
ejaculated my friend C. as he finally lays tbe
“Daily Tioinkler" beside his plate an 1 pro
ceeds to sip his coffee and eat his fish, his ap
petite no whit impaired by the horrors he
has just mentally devoured—the crimes and
mishaps of the four quarters of the globe,
which the “Twinkler’ has • ft ight from the
clinking telegraph during the night and has
served up to us this morning hot as it were
I echo my friend’s praise of the daily p 1-
per, but with certain reservation. For one
thing, I,as an optimist and lover of my kind,
protest against this greed for news. It ba-
grown into positive mania. And the people
are not entirely responsible for this glutton
ous curiosity. The papers first aroused in us
the greed f< r news. They tickled our intel
lectual p dates with telegraphic tidbits till
they engendered an appetite, and we. think
ing no harm could come from such an inno
cent indulgence, aband- n-d the curb. Oar
literary taste, hitherto (lelicare and discrim
inating, thrived upon this fare, grew iu
streng'h and voracity, in arrogance and im
pudence, nil the foolhardy journalist found
himself at the mercy of the monster he hail
been hai boring, To day be is groaning un
der the pressure of a heavy contract. He l>
nound to furnish news in qiauti y and qual
ity acceptable to this ommverous appetite, or
submit, to he b okeu on the wheel of public
ipinion. Tue only circumstance in his favor
is that we have a stomach like an ostrich.
There seems no limit placed upon this grow
ing demand for news. Tue popular opinion
is that it is incompatible with progress torus
10 rest content with the same quota of news
that satisfied us ten years ago. Tuis would
be rather commendable than otherwise if the
demand were only for hetter selected matter,
for items of graver import and less sensa
tional character. But the cry is an iudis-
cri innate one for more news, the cable, the
telegraph, the telephone, and the post are
pressed into harder service, and newspaper.-
feel it incumbent upon them to present con
tents of an unbounded variety and of a most
exhaustive character. If they didn’t, their
reputation would he forever blasted by the
damning accusation that they were wanting
io enterprise, the sine qua non of j lumalistioi
U C3SS. . ..... I
Hut is there not something surfeiting in s t
ranch new-! Is it not a diet apt to ciiyoni
one’s palate occasional^ ? D> we not olio
• xpe-rieice a sort of embarras de richesseej
For myself, I confess 1 nfieu have a teeimgj
of repugnance for tbe typogiaphc monsteil
ho enthrones himself at the breakfast
table. Moist from the press, and reeking
with printer’s it k, it falls I ke a wet blanket
on my ruriositv ; its very volume takes the
edge off :ny appetite for its contents. I am
I'ke an invalid who rel shes some n t over
abundant dainty, delicately seivrd, but
whose caprice revel s from a vulgar super
abundance, however excellent ttie viands
My piquant solicitude for tbe world's welfare
receives a rebuff 1 want news, but I do no
want per-ifl >ge and p >eirv, -caudal and dap
trap m X“d with it. I would like to have
pit ny and pungent telegrams, pertinent ob
servations “boiled down” and left to simmer
To get at the news I must wade through a
,eportoiiai marsh which almost swamps me
Yet 1 feel obliged io read every word in the
Twinkler. As sure as 1 skip a column, a par
agraph, or even oneiot those dispiriting puns,
my friend accosts me, and says in a surges
tive manner: ‘T suppose you saw Thumb r
gun’s latest in the Twinkler this morning!’
My shame -faced nega mu astounds him. He
.-t .res blackly. and so pities my dullness, my
Dr. Lewis D man in his “Thustic Argu
ment” discusses the grand problem of cause
and final destiny with a freedom and width
of thought and a perfect candor and consci
entiousness rare in an argumentative writer.
Upon evolution—tbe great s|. emulative move
ment of the d iy which is constantly winning
a.wider acceptance—the learned and g fti d di
vine looks with his chart crerist'c largeness of
view. He defines it as the theory “that
nothing in nature is produced in a complete
or fl aished form, but, on the contrary, every
thing commences in a rudimentary state.
By a slow succession, through modifications
slight in degree but ii flaite in number, it at
lost appears in its final determinate form,
then again, by a reversing of the process, to
be carried back to its original condition.’’
Aside from the extremely abstract form into
which it has been cast by Herbert Speueer,
the doctrine contains nothing new, as the
idea may certainly be traced back to Leibni z
•hong be bad no idea ot employing it t.
weaken our conception of a divine agency in
nature, simply opposing it to the doctrine of
-pedal creation aud of a constant divine in
terference in mundane affairs. That there
is any universal law of Evolution or dissolu
tion, and that one is um.ed with tbe other by
1 mystic rythmic harmony, is a doctrine des
titute as yet of any scientific proof. Evolu
tion remains still an Evolution out of some
thing “Far back as we may go, we cannot
g > bdek so far that we do not enc >unter ex
istence, iu however simple and Uomogeneou-
a form.” The existence of the original mat
ter to be evolved is a fact which must be
assumed. Unless recourse is had to the fan
ciful theory of rhythmic evolution aud disso
lution, we are driven to as ume that lhe vist
Me universe had a beginning iu time. At
tins point evolution began, and for all that
existed up to this point. Evolution does not
iccount. In this sense, it does not conflict
with the idea of an intelligent cause.
Any theory of Evolution which includes as
a premise that matter is eternal is a theory
that Science will not recoin ze As little
can Evolution be rested on mere force. Evo
lution is not tbe blind working of mechanical
forces, “its order, its harmony, i s constant
progress from a lower to a higher state, can
not be accounted for on such a theory. We
ha\ e the favorable conditions as a pai t of
he process. Tnese favorable conditions are
ever varying; they result from intricate com
binarions of invariable forces. We have m
a 1 this more than tne idea of intelligent
eras ; we bave an ever acring cause; hence
Evolution, ins eail of pushing tar buck tbe
transcendental ground of being, reveals tnal
ground as a pr.seut source of phenomeua
that surround us at every stage of our pro
gress Evolution could not go on without
the constant action of this ever present Cause
Evolution, then, is simply a method by which
' he Bupieme Cause acts.” Evolution, in any
sense 111 » hicb tbe dictrine can lay claim to
a scientific footing, relales simply to the
nperaiiou of sec >nd cause—is purely
hypothesis of na:Ural science aud as such has
notuing to do with supernatural problem;
neither affirms nor denies a divine agei cy in
1 he operations of nature. Bat though it con
linns instead of denying the proof or intelli
gent cause, does it not render irrational aud
needle s tbe conception pt final cause! Tuerei-
nothing in human experience which would
lead to such a conclusion. Iu its idea Evolu
tion dees not ofily not exclude Hunt cause,
but seems naturally to imply ir, Evolution
tieiug simply devel pment, aud development
implying tendency toward an end. its
riieory, instead of rendering the notion ot
fiual cause absurd, leads 10 a grander »ud
more impressive conception of finality. N<r
BILL ARP
tin- -Whole, ttting- WsoftrmwcO VVlieiogo, _
How tbe general public would deride the
suggestion that we should have no more edi
torials! Yet would not that be a desirable
con'iugencv ! It seems very clear to me thai
our p; esent system of editing a paper tends
10 create less independence of thought than
is desirable. Wnat proportion do you sun-
pose i f the readers of our dally papers tak-
the trouble to think out for themselves auy
knotty question of finance or economy ! l)o
not the vast uiajori y of 1 hem accept tueir
opinions ready-mide from 1 he press!
And taking bat oue paper as many of
them do, the tendency is to grow one-sided
and unsvnimeirical.
Then tiutta obliges me to say, that tvse
editorials tue not always elevating or evm in
good taste. I don’t expect rhetoric il mar
vels from a man who has to gr nd out copy
in such a rapid and continuous supply. J
don’t ask him to mind his style; but 1 do beg
him not to muti'ate it, not to immerse
his editorials in an ocean of slaug.
it is such a convenient thing with wb Cato
round a period I It has force if it has uot
ri-gauce, aud this bizzare style of writing i-
the fashion. Whata strange defence! N>
oue adopts the Hugo of a prize fighter as b s
model lu drawing-room conversation. No
one talus slai g in the beau ntonde. These
li o e-jointed words are the relaxations we
allow ourselves occasionally when we chat
with an intimate friend. We are forced to
forego them in public. How is it that tbe
ed tor who-e utterances are the cynosure of
every eye indulges himself with impunity iu
-ucu verbal 1.Cense 9imp!y because he can
mde his personality behind the screen
01 his taper!
It can uot be taken in bad part if we sug
gast tiiat our papers are too deeply steeped
111 gore; It is not the most desirable thing
in tne world to have tbe coming generation
brought up ou blood and thunder.
1 re j need to read the other day that a bill
had been passed in the Michigan legislature
imposing a fine < f $1,000 and imprisonment
for a year ou any person publishing an ac
count of a murder or hanging.
Tnis gratification of a morbid fancy for
horrible details is the worst phase of sensa
tional is in.
V, ry few thoughtful people presume to de
uy that the tendency of this charnel-house
literature is to increase the percentage of
r>me in our midst. I can easily comprehend
the verdict of that New York jury which
ascribed tbe late suicide of a young girl in
that city to an overwrought fancy worked
up to the fatal pitch by brooding over cur
rent accounts of similar acts of desperation.
To sum up our American newspapers,
while they are in many respects peerless and
above reproach have faults peculiarly their
own. Tney are astute, far-sighied, sound in
logic, quick of wit. not without apprecia
tion or devoid of taste, and, above alt, full
of enterprise, and of an indomitable deter
mination to keep up with the times. Bat
inese qualities tail to elicit their meed of
commendation, because they are shorn of
their greatest glory, pure diction and fine
phraseology—also because they are tainted
with that sensationalism which is the bane
alike of our literature and art.
u octal inertia, that he undertakes toleU^ Uw**(*&&-
i.in-sVbolfc ttnna-w.-Tra-aiitfcO v-^ru*«us. ..... ,.e ... ” J ^
From the N. O. Times we learn that
Orange, Texas, near the State line of Louis
iana and on 1 ha Houston and New Orleans
railway, has been the scene of a deadly con
flict between the solid citizens and a lot of
hoodlums and desperadoes who were making
war on the German laborers who had settled
there to work iu the great lumber mills.
These riotous roughs were probably partisans
of Governor Roberts who is an avowed ene
my of tbe immigration of foreigners into the
State. However this may be, the good citi
zens of Orange defended the immigrants and
suppressed the hoodlums with shot-guns to
the extent of killing and wounding half a
dozen or so.
Mississippi has 900 white Baptist churches
with 50,000 members.
sis of final c >use unnecessary.
“Deduciug my luferenca-, ’ he says, “both
from tbe facts of tbe external world as they
are made clearly manifest to unbiassed ob
servation, and from tbe less evident, hut not
less real and more impressive, facts of the
inner world of consciousness and moral ac
tion, in which we come nearest tue mysteri
ous source of energy, of volition, of life, 1
reached the cone usion that the most ration
al explanation that can be given of our um-
veise, with all its varied manifestations,both
of matter and of mind, is tbe explanation
which recogn z *s a bri gof infinite wisdom
and power, in wbose will all existence bad its
origin. 1 nave not claimed that this infinite
being can be more than imperfectly recog-
mz-d by the limited intellect of man; nor
have 1 claimed that the existence even of this
neing can be demonstrated as we demonstrate
the abstract truths of science. 1 have only
claimed that tbe universe, as a great fact,
demands a rational explanation, aud that tbe
most rational ex. da n.a. ion that ■ an possibly be
gi ^en is that furuisned iu tbe conception ot
such a being. In this conclusion reason rests
xmlrefiiS'S to rest short of any other. Be
lief in God is a great primary fact in human
1 ature, a fact which individual consciousness
establishes, and to which tbe experience of
the whole race bears witness. Tbe connec
• ion between natural and revealed religion is
a question on which opinions are by no u>e ms
harmonious, nor can we trace with entire
precision the line of distinction between them,
hut tne couclusions of natural religion are
the postulates ou which revealed religion
rests, and both must stand or fall together.
Not only this, but the truths of natural re
ligion render the fact of a revelation in tbe
highest degree probable—the fact of a reve-
la' ion, not its specific contents. It may be
objected that this claims too much—that if
revelation be thus accepted as a postulate of
human uature, we are logically led to tbe
conclusion that revelation must have been
primeval and universal; hut this is a conclu
sion from which I not only do not shrink, but
one which, on every account, I am inclined
to accept. I by no means assert that, on the
grounds supplied by natural religion, we
can demonstrate, a priori, tbe contents of a
revelation, for were mat possible, the need of
a revelation would no longer exist. In tbe
very idea of revelation is involved the exist
ence of truth which we could arrive at in no
other w ay. It would cease to be revelation
if it contained nothing more than unaided
reason could search out.”
“^iloys and Girls ot tbe South”—
Frizes tor Stories.
The proprietors of this bright and racy lit
tle paper desire to announce through the
sunny south their offer of cash prizes for
original serial stories. There will be two
prizes of $20 and $10 for the best and second
best stories. All manuscripts must be in
hand by November first. The committee of
award consists of Mrs. Mary E Bryan, Mrs.
B. F. Abbott and Col C. W. Hubner. The
longer story should be about twenty chap
ters, to run through ten issues of the paper.
The shorter one from twelve to fifteen chap
ters, though longer if writers desire. The
publishers reserve the right of possession of
all manuscripts submitted. The stories
should be of a cht racter to entertain boys and
girls from ten to seventeen years old. Each
contestant for the prize must enclose his or
her real name in a sealed envelope, accom
panying the manuscript. These envelope
will not be opened until after the sto: i ;s have
beyn read and their merits decided upon.
Anna YouDg’s story, “ How I Lost Her,’
will please onr readers. It is well told. Some
of the short, gossipy articles this week are
very pleasant reading. Mrs. Crotsley’s poem,
“ The Heart of a Rose,” is the beet the has
written.
Be is Bard Dows on the Bor*
mons— 1 Thinks iVomen Will
Bave to Tote—An Out
look at the Gloomy
Pro-pec t.
I am glad tbe Legislature passed the Mor
mon bill. Intolerance in religious matters is
a lad thing, but there is no religion in po
lygamy or bigamy, and no good ever come
of it since the world was made. They are
mean words, and I don’t like the sound of
'em. Tue Almighty dident give Adam but
one wife to start on, and there has been no
t me since that a man needed any more. The
first man who ever had two wives was La-
mech, and he descended from Cain and mur
dered a young man when there was no court
to try him for it. N >ah dident have out one
wife, and tbe L ira blessed him. Abraham
took another by his w ife’s con ent, but she
repented of it afterwards, for it made a fuss
in tbe family. Isaac dident bave but one
and got along first rate. Jacob had several,
and be saw a sight ot trouble, for the boys
»ent (o filibustering around, and the only
two who dident get into trouble were tbe
sons of Ricbael, tbe wife that he loved first
and loved best. Joseph dident have but oue
w.f-, nor Moses nor Aaron nor Joshue
W ben D .vid anil Bulcmou got to hankering
at er other women their troubles began, and
no hmg but aim z ng grace could have saved
’em. Bauison came to grief t.hrougb a wo
man, but I’ve never seen iu the Scriplui es nor
out of ’em the history of a man wbose mis-
f irtuues came from naviug one wife and
being true to ber. I dou’t like these Mor
mons. Tne word itself means a monster,
and tbe whole system was founded in tbe
fraud of Joe Smith, who pretends that an
angel brought bim a B lue from heaven
t hey are slipping around here try ing 1j de
moralize our ignorant people, and I shall
r* j lice to see ’em slip iuto tbe cbaiQ gang.
Oar women are helpless enough now, tor
tuere is many a wife pining away with a
broken heart because the man she has
trussed basen k -pt bis marriage vows.
if tne knot that tied a sweet girl to one of
these foraging hu-Iiands could be cut without
cutting ber heart strings 1 would be glad to
see all them sort of fellers emigrate to Utah,
but as it cau't, we dou t want to see poly g
amy made any less disrespectable in Georgia
mail it is now. You may talk about your
huiwalks of educatiou aud science and law
and temperance, t ut tbe mightiest bulwark
of a s' a e is tbe purity and peace of tbe mar
riage relation. Like rather, like son. Pre
c-pt is 110C worth a cent without example,
l'ne mother is a power in tbe land for good
but how is she weakened and sboru of ber
diguity when there is a passel of balf breeds
a s rutting around Wom »n’a rights are ju at
tue same as a man's rights on this question,
and if there was a Utah wh-re a woman
kept 1 eh husbands it wouldn’t be any worse
morally than oue where the husband kept
ten wives. I would like to see an auiaz m
g ing round iieie trying to get ten men to
follow her to that sort of a U ah, wouldn’t
y< u! It’s all a one-sided business, and tbe
poor, helpless women just bave to look ou
aud bear it. i never did want the women to
vote, but as I grow older I don’t see auy sal
vation tor ’em but the ballot, and i am get
ting willing for them to have it—that is, the
married ones aud the widows. Then they
would vote out whisky aud we men would
vote out snuff and op um and go to raisiug a
better stock of children. 1 here is a power of
trouble iu tue world we don’t know anything
about, E^ery few days 1 get a letter from
some poor woman in distress aud that makes
me w.ati I Was rich, for then 1 cauld help ’em
Here is oue now from Mrs. Georgia Pace of
Nicholson, J >ckson county, whose son went
off to fiud work a f w weeks ago. and she
can’t hear of him any mor . Sue says he
was a good boy, and sober, and honest, and
she is a lone widow without money,turn don’t
kn iw who to apply to to find her son. VVell, i
know the poor creature’s heart is yearning
“f <r tuat boy.'hnd'if he is tbe boy she th-nk
tie is he ought to write to her,but I am afraid
he ain’t. His name is E O. x’act. And here
is auotber letter from ihe widow of an iffi -er
in our army who was hilled in battle. Bhe
has two daughters dependent on h*r and nas
neen trying to educate them for teach
er.->, but her health failed, and a fire come
along aud burned up her furniture, and if
she could only borrow fifty dollars she
could pull through. Well, I know her to be
a goon woman and a true one, but you see I
havent got tbe fifty dollars and that’s wbat
worries me. W ish I was Beney or Vander
bilt or Jay Gould for about twelve months
and nobtidy Knew ie. 1 would jaso like to go
around Sorter incog and find out lhe hard
cases and sad cases and pr z i ’em out of the
imre, wouldn’t you ! The prospect iu gener
al through our part of tbe state is tolerable
gloomy, i can tell you. There are people all
aiouiid me who are bound to suffer in< 011 ve-
uience, for it’s very inconvenient to be with-
ut something to live 011 in tbe dead of win-
sr. Our people haven’t made on an average
enough corn to la-t ’em till Cariscmas, aud
they won’t make more than half a crop ot
c tcon, if that. The merchants cair e t ’em
last year aud lost, and so bad to help ’em th s
year and lost more, and how they are going
to squeeze along tnl the next crop I don’t
know. They will have to sell their stock for
they can’t feed it. Gram is bound r.o be high
for the western crop is poor. East Tennessee
had rain a plenty aud is in a good fix, but
middle Tennessee is about burnt up. Tbe
drought extends all through Mis ouri and
corn keeps going up higher and higher. Our
people won’t save any bay and mighty little
loduer, and the western crop is not much
better. It’s bad, very bad, and I’ve been
thinking that may be tbe legislature bad bet
ter recousider and put off some things for an
other year. 1 hope they will help tbe school
at Dabionega, but may be a hundred thou
sand dollars will be enough to run the new
capital until we make another crop. I hope
t e farmers down the c >untry have ma •
enongh potatoes and goo’bers to pui.
the children through. We have made no po
a’oes up here but our folks can dig iron ore
and mai.-ganeese and woi k 011 Mr. C lie’s rail
road and pull through somehow. We are not
going to perish to death nor give up the ship
Mrs Arp has got a little money hid away to
take her and the children to the exposition.
She says she is going to put up at tbe
Markham and stay a week aud give recep
tions to all her old friends an 1 have a good
time generally. She talks about letting me
stay at home to sow wheat and look after
the chickens, but 1 reckon sne will let me go
when the time comes, i hope so.
Bill Aep.
PENCIL AMD SCISSORS.
OLD COUNTRY HOME.
Dear country home! Can I forget
The least of thy sweet trifles?
The window vines which clamber yet.
Whose b’oom the bee still rifles?
The roadside blackberries growing ripe.
And in the woods the Indian pipe?
Hsppy the man who til's the field.
Content with rustic labor:
Earth does to him her iullness yield,
H p what may to his neighbor
Well days sound nights-oh. can there be
A life more rational and free?
De-r country life of child and man!
For both the best, the strongest.
That wiih the earliest race began
and has outlived the longest.
Their cities perished long ago:
Who the first farmers were we do not know.
The chief defence in the Fisk-Stokes case
was that Fisk was the victim of the doctors.
Shall Guitteau’s lawyers have a similar de
fence!
Tbe promised sketch descriptive of the At
lanta Exposition is not given this week, as
the engravings to illus'rate it were not
ready. It will appear in a future issue of the
paper; also an article calling upon the ladies
of the S iuth to send contributions of art
work, home decorative work, etc.
A wild eyed stranger suddenly appeared
on ’change in Peoria the other day, and toss
ing his coat ou th^ fl tor, spat on his hands
and fiercely ex daimed, “Gents, I'm after
the duck that was out to Ceutral Park with
my wife last Sunday!” And twenty-three
married men and eight or nine of the boys
suddenly dived under the tables and shouted
“don’t shoot!”
The old story that Vice Piesident Arthur
is not a native of the United States, but was
born in Canada, and is, therefore, ineligible
as president, is being revived. If he cannot
lawfully be president he could not be lawfully
vice-president. The entire question should
have been thoroughly settled long ago. The
law is very explicit in requiring presidents
and vice-pre=i lents to be native born citizens.
Joe E enmett, the actor, has brought from
Europe a new instrument that he will here
after introduce in his plays. It is called a
pianists, and is only four feet high. It is
placed in front of a grand piano, the princi
pal kevs of which are covered with small
hammers that extend trom the back of the
pianista. A heavy perforated paper placed
in the left side passes .under the centre board,
and as a crank is turned, tbe perforations
work small levers, which in turn work tbe
hammers and the grand piano is made to
play.
“ Abclish flirtation at our summer resorts,”
exclaims tbe indignant Kingston Freeman,
“and to-morrow the saints from Ocean Grove
and Chautauqua and the sinners from C >ney
Island, Saratoga and the Catskills would fly
home as from the breath of a pestilence.
Expunge that usage from our social statute
book, an 1 the wnole fabric of society would
be subverted and anarchy would ensue.
Strike down that priceless privilege of every
free born man and woman, and the fairest
blossom of pleasure is withered and life is not
worth Hying. ”
Here is an admirable cbaracterzition made
by accident. At a recent examination
in a girl's school the question was put so a
class of little ones; “Who made the laws of
our Government!” “Congress,” was the
ready reply. “How is Congress divided!"
was the next question. A little girl in the
class raised h-r hand, indicating that she
could answerit. “Well,” said the examiner,
“Miss Sailie, what do you say the division
is?” Instantly with an air of confidence as
well as triumph, the answer came, “Civil.z-
ed, half civilized and savage.”
Some of the sharp Texas pens which help
to make tbe Household piquant, should turn
their points upon the writer of “A Texas
Picnic,” which is going the rounds of the
Northern papers, There the Texts girl is
characterized as an habitual snuff-dipper, and
the Texas men as a set of “roughs.” “A ma
jority of the women had a baby or a snuff
box, more freqnently both, and nine tenths
of the men were whittling and chewing
tobacco, and endeavoring to catch glimpses
of the girls’ feet, by any mean*. After chat
ring merrily for a few minutes, the girls
dipping furiously all the while, the genllemen
went in search of lemonade or some sort of
C' mpound made popular by that name. The
girls took a moutnf ui of i', and, rinsing their
mouths with it, spit it out, drank tbe rest,
and with it, I suppose, a goodly portion of
the snuff. Af-er the lemonade had teen
disposed of, the Rangers disappeared again,
and presently returned with very large
s'riped white and red sticks of candy, which
the young ladies, who had resumed their
dipping, devoured, snuff and aU. Soon din-
n r was announced, and a real good abun
dant dinner, too; but in ten minutes, without
the least exaggeration, nothing was left of it
but a few crumbs, a perfect grab-game
having been played. It really appeared to
me that every one had been starving himself
for a week in order to be enabled te contain
the greatest possible quantity.”
The “Turf and Farm” announces the arri
val in New York of Mrs Robinson—whose
professional name is Miss Williams. She has
come over to ride at Minneapolis, Chicago
and R c 1 ester, a series of twenty-mile races
aganst Bella Cook, of California, for the
Championship of the world, and it is the
1 Turf's ’ opinion that she will acquit herself
well. Tuesday she tried an A-i.erican bred
horse in Central Park- Those who saw her
on the bridle path admired the manner in
which she handled ber steed. Her seat was
an easy one, and she looked like a woman
who could stand any amount of fatigue.
Oa the eleventh of August President Gar
field wrote the first—we believe the only let
ter he has written since he was shot. It was
to no high offiaialjat home, no crowned head
abroad, it was to his anxious old mother at
Hiram, O., and was as follows:
Dear Mother—Don’t be disturbed by
eonflic ing reports about my condition. It is
tiue I am still weak and on my back, but I
am gaining every day and need only time
and patience to bring me through. /
Give my love to all the relatives ani
friends, and especially to sisters Hitty and
Mary, Your loving son.
James A. Garfield.
The Arkansas State Fair begins on Monday
October 17th, and lasts one week. Oa one
day a grand Inter-State Military contest will
come off, for which prizes aggregating $1500
have been offered by the proprietors of the
Arkansas Gazette, and other enterprising cit
izens, viz: $1,000 for the best drilled company,
$300 for tho second best, and $200 for tbe
third best. The grounds are beautiful, and
the occasion bids fair to be one of interest.
Everybody is invited ani a great crowd is
expected.
For rules and regulations respecting tbe
drill and any other matters, address R. V.
Teakle, Secretary, Little Rock, Arkansas.
Mr. H. D. Nichols—a valued friend of this
paper, now residing in Winsboro, Texas, but
hailing from the old “Red Hills of Georgia,’*
writes that he cherishes a filial feeling for the
mother State, and a deep interest in her wel
fare and progress. As a token of this ad
vancement be hails the news of tbe approach
ing Cotton Exposition and apropos of this
great fair, he gives this interesting item of
information that the fiist bale of cotton ever
sold in Atlanta—then Marthasville—was car-
r ed there by Mr. John M. Bailey now living
in Winsboro, Texas. He also repeats and
confirms the assertion that tbe first man who
ran an engine into the great Railroad City
that would be—was Mr. M. J. Perm, new a
venerable and prosperous farmer living near
Qujtman, Georgia.