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O^i/% O c onLUi ^uccTKirrc tfu io* I Just at night fair a rough-looking man was walking past ‘Chestnut Woods,’ when he fancied he saw some one gliding stealthily through the underbrush, as though seeking to avoid observation. He stopped and looted more closely, but there was not so much as the rustle of a leaf to betray the presence of another. He turned into a narrow foot path ; and at that moment a boy sprung up from behind a clump of bushes. •Is that you, Cray?’ he exclaimed. ‘What on earth are you here for at this time of day, and what have you got in your bag?* ‘I have been gathering chestnuts.’ ‘But I thought chestnuts were all gone?’ • ‘They be. They were most gone when I began to pick; but Airs. Oliver said I might have what was left, and so I have been in the woods pvery day this week, and I have got every one there was.’ ‘All right; but what made you skulk so?’ ‘Because—because —I was afraid somebody would see me and tell lather. If they should, he’d sell them for rum. You won’t tell, will you, Mr. Weston?’ - ‘Not a word, Cray. You need not be afraid of me getting you into trouble. What have you done with your chestnuts?’ ‘Mother’s hid them somewhere, anc when Mr. Walters comes along she’s going to buy me some shoes/ So that’s it. Jbeil, you need the shoes, and if you don’t have quite enough, tell Walters I’ll make it up. lie’ll trust me if I do get drunk once in a while/ Oh, Mr. Ifeaton V I wish you didn’t. You d be so good if you didn’t; and perhaps father would be good if he didn't drink rum.’ ‘He ought to be with such a boy as you be. If my Jimmie and his moth¬ er had lived, 1 should be different from what I am now.’ And as lie said this Mr. Weston brushed the tears from nis eyes. You won’t meet your father to night. He’s got some money to spend before he’ll come home; so hurry along tc your mother and good luck to both of you/ The speaker was one qf those men who are usually describe^ as good- hearted, kind, and generous. He had a true ’l ankee genius for the Yankee trade of tinkering and wherever he in ght go w.<8 reasonably sure of be n . welcomed as the very person whose presence was most desired. He might have been rich, and yet he was poor, living in a bit of a house on the farther edge of the wood. A week passed when he saw Cray Thornton’s father enter the misera¬ ble groggery, which by compliment was called the grocery store. He quickened his steps, and rushed in just in time to see the bag of chest¬ nuts carried by Mr. Thornton poured in a half-bushel measure. ‘Hold on there!’ he exclaimed; ‘them chestnuts are stolen property, akd I can prove it. I’ve done some mean things in the way of drinking, but I never got so bad as to steal chestnuts from a boy! Thornton Stole them from Cray. I know he did. And if there ain’t enough here to see fair play, it's a pity. Cray han't got a pair of shoes to his feet and he picked them up one by one after everybody else got through. Thornton, you are a brute if you sell them for liquor. I never abused my boy, and if he had lived he shouldn’t have gone bare footed such weather as this. If you’ve got human feel¬ ings, you will stop drinking and take care of your family. ‘You’re a fine fellow tq preach, I'll quit drinking whenever you do/ ‘Take your oath on that?’ •Yes/ ‘Then here goes—111 never touch another drop of liquor while I live. So help me God. \\ ith his right hand uplifted, Mr. Western regarded his companion with a fixed look, until the latter, as if moved by a sudden impulse, raised his own hand and repeated the very words I have transcribed —‘^p help me God. Til take back Cray’s chestnuts,' said the father. Mr. Thornton left the store, fol- lowed by his friend. They were both silent. It was no time for talking ; but from that dav dav there there was was plcr.tr in two hmnep v here had been TOCCOA NEWS By Edw SCHAEFER- r VOL, II. poverty, and happiness where bad been fear and wretchedness. Cray Thornton’s chestnuts were the ransom of two souls from the thral- dom of a drunkard’s appetite. A KIND WORD. ‘A Krss from my Mother madkAie a Painter.’ 1 Said the veteran artist, Benjamin West, after he had won fame and hung his pictures in royal academies. When she looked at his first boyish sketch she praised it; if she had been a silly or sulky parent, she might have said: ‘Foolish child, don’t waste your time on such daubs,’ and so have quenched the first spark of his ambition. Commendation is a prodigious power in training children. One sentence of honest praise be¬ stowed at the right time is worth a whole volley of scolding. Everybody likes to be praised. When the tough of the struggle comes, a hearty word puts new mettle into the blood, and carries us over the crisis. Hll my readers may recall the incident of the gallant fireman who ascended the ladder to rescue the child, who was in the upper window of the burning building. When the flames burst into his face he faltered. ‘Give him a cheer !’ shouted a sagacious person in the crowd. A tremendous huzza arose from the whole multitude, and through the flame and smoke he went on until the child was reached and rescued. There is many a boy who Las been stunned or soured or spoiled by harsh di .couragenients. There is many a grown man, also, to whom a hearty, ‘well done’ would have carried him through the piooh and saved him from failure. The sun understands how to raise plants and open flowers at this season of the year; he just smiles on them and kisses them with his warm rays, and they begin to grow and unfold. That master human nature, Napoleon, knew the value of an approving word, a promo¬ tion, or a medal of honor. One ot his dying veterans on the battlefield, as lie received the grand cross of the ‘Legion of Honor from the Emperor’s own hands, said, ‘Now I die satisfied/ — Rev. Theodore L. Culyer. THE RAILROAD WAR. The Richmond And Danville Rail¬ road Out of the Pool—Wiiat Does it Mean? Atlanta Constitution. About a month ago the Richmond and Danville railroad company gave notice cf an intention to withdraw from the Southern railway and steam- ship association, and as the time has about expired it may now be said that the Richmond and Danville is out of the pool. The cause of this has not been made public but it is presumed that the road considers itself able to ‘tote its own skillet’ and has made up its mind tq do se. Tne road has instructed its agents to maintain the rates of the pool, and it is said that an understanding has bcen had with Mr. Powers to the effect that rates will not be cut. At the same time there is considerable apprehension that a railroad war is imminent. The pool men in this country do not hanker after railroad wars and consequent ruinous rates, and would dislike to see this import- ant line begin a war on the pool. It is even hinted that rates are already being cut in some quarters in the shape of rebates, but there is no positive information on this subject. The belief is that the railroads are standing on a mine which at any j time is likely to gooff, and when it does the lightning is going to strike somewhere. It is believed that the Richmond and Danville has been preparing for this independent sclied- I i ule ule for lor a a long long time time and ana • ■ it it is is ■ no no new new ' idea with the, management, of the Devoted to News, Politics. Agriculture aud General progiess. TOCCOA, GA., JUNE 24, 1882. road. If the road cuts, the general belief is that it will be on western produce. The Richmond and Dan ville has an ally in the Chesapeake and Ohio road from Louisville down to Richmond. It may be that the managers of the long haul on west¬ ern'produce propose to cut rates against the short haul. It cannot be guessed what the real scheme is. It is certainly to be desired that what¬ ever is done the building of the Georgia Pacific will not be hindered, The rate committee of the pool will meet in New York on the 22d, and it may be that the whole thing will be straightened up in a satisfactory manner Any day may s’art the ball rolling, or it even may not roll at all. THE NEW SILK INDUSTRY. The greatest incentive to engage in sil k culture is the knowledge that there is a home market for $15,000,- 000 worth of floss, which American manufacturers are obliged to import from foreign lands The other con- sideration is, that silk culture furn¬ ishes women aild children in the rural districts, with a congenial occupation that docs not require constant attention, and so will not interfere with household duties. In view of these facts the YV omen s Silk Culture Association of Fhiladel- phia was organized two years ago, for the purpose of calling the atten¬ tion of the women of the country to the opportunity given them to estab¬ lish a new industry, both suitable and profitable : and also to give the necessary instructions to all desiring to engage in silk culture. The success of this pioneer associa¬ tion is remarkable; there has been aroused a wide spread interest in the cultivation of cocoons, that must go on increasing until the aim ol the association is fulfilled. This fact was most forcibly pre¬ sented at the last exhibition of the association, at which the display cocoons was very fine and interesting. The chief feature of the exhibition was the display of specimen cocoons by the twenty-six contestants for the Strawbridge & Clothier premiums. The first one of which, by the way, was carried off by Mrs. Rebecca Taylor, (mother of the late Bayard Taylor] who is over 82 years of age, and a sufferer from The association announces that through the liberality of Messrs. Strawbridge <$• Clothier the well known dry goods merchants of Philadelphia, it is again enabled to offer to the silk-eulturists the sum of five hundred dollars in ten premiums, as follows: first premium, $100; second premium, $75 ; third premium. $65; fourth premium, $6 : .); fifth pre¬ mium, $50; sixth premium, $45; seventh premium, $40 ; eighth pre¬ mium, $30; ninth premium, $25; tenth premium, $10. For these pre¬ miums any resident of the United States may cosiest-. From the ten largest amounts of cocoons, one pound will be taken, without selee- tion, and the test of reeling applied; the quantity and quality will be the conditions fqr premium. Application for competition must be endorsed and the amount of this year's cocoons raised by the culturist, testified to by some responsible ^person. Stock must be sent not later than December 1,1882. Anyone with sufficient land to grow a few mulberry trees can add the rearing of silk worms to the daily care and find it a source of pleasure and profit. The work Occupies but a small portion of the vear, and a child C an attend to the daily gathering leaves and feed the worms. If a supply of mulberry leaves cannot be had, an osage orange hedge will answer every purpose. The osage i orange orange leaf leai is is admirable aamirauie food ioou for ior the me silk worms, from which they splendid silk. A very interesting event of nation- al interest, connected with this subject of silk culture, has just curred in Philadelphia. The Wo- men’s Silk Culture Association se- lected silk from twenty six families living in fourteen states ; had it spun on a ‘Ytmkee’ reel, made it into a web of twenty-eight thousand threads of silk, knd woven as a brocade on a Jacquard loom, requiring three thousand six hundred needles to form the original and striking de¬ sign. This is the first brocade ever woven in America of American silk ; and probably the heaviest in texture ot any brocade ever woven. It is known as the Garfield dress, as it is the intention of the association to present this magnificent fabric to Mrs. James A. Garfield. PINING ROOM. Etiquette at the Table of State During a Bn Dinner. In this Democratic age few people are aware of the grandeur to be seen in the home of the chief ruler of the nation. The state dining room is the room in which the President enter¬ tains at table the distinguished guests. No matter whom it may be he is entertaining, the President is always served first. lie sits at the centre of one side of the long table, his wife, if he be married, directly opposite him. It sometimes happens that the Secretary of State will be seated in the chair usually assigned to the President’s wife. After the President has been serve 1, Wl ,: te House etiquette requires that the lady sitting next the President on the right, and then the lady on his left, be served before any others. Then the President s wife is waited upon, afterward the gentlemen immediately on her right and left in the order named. Then t <e other guests follow. IP he never the table is set for a dinner the la~ge brass plateau which extends for 13 feet along the table, which was imported from France during the Administra¬ tion of President Monroe, is filled with fruits, flpwers and French candies. In the centre, directly in front of the President, is placed a full rigged Acral ship, which was sent, to President Garfield at the time the last inauguration by a Boston florist. The flowers are renewed from the White House conservatory. When the chandeliers and candelabra are lighted, and other effects pro¬ duced to heighten the scene, the spectator is apt to think of the regal festivities of some other land than free America. MARRIED BLISS. ‘You ought to get married, Bill,* said Spuddles to a young friend of his as the two were leaning over the front gate of the Spuddles cottage, talking about old times/ ‘Don't know,’ said the doubting William, ‘it strikes me that a single life beats your married bliss out of sight*’ ‘There’s just where you are off, old boy,' said Spuddles, ‘You know I used to be one of the gayest of our gang, but now. since I’ve tried mar- ried life a year. J'm twice as happy’, I have a cozy home, a nice little wife, and one of the sweetest of children, and when my day's work is done I come home and all is peace and harmony. No Bill, the old life has no charms for me now/ Just then the door opened and Mrs. Spuddles’ head protruded. ‘Mr. Spuddles, run right up town and get another bottle of that cough syrup for the baby—he’s just cough- ing up his very toe-nails—and come past the store and bring down a ham of meat, and some butter, and eggs, and coffee -we’re clear out—and some lard, and another sack of i TERMS—$1 50 A TEAR. NO. and don’t forget the can of peaches you promised me a week ago. We must have some potatoes, too, and if you see any vegetables get some. Heavens alive ! do you think I can be penned up here day after day with a squalling brat, and nothing to cat in the house? And don’t forget those new towels sometime this week, and be sure to wait till I’m entirely barefooted before you get those new shoes—you know I can‘t go after them while Johnny’s get this cough— and ’ But Spuddles was flying up the street at a gait that would have charmed an admirer of fast stock so we suppose he did not hear his wife when she raised her voice to the highest pitch and fairly screamed : ‘Come by old Tubbingers and see if Sally can wash for me this week.’ The door closed with a slam, and the happy wife muttered ; ‘It seems that that man won’t do anything I want him to any more. As soon as I begin to tell him what I want he starts otf, and now III lay a dollar he is not back for four hours. Hanging around the saloons I reckon, like the balance of the men. WORSE TH~N THE PRODIGAL In an alley off Hastings street, just back of a tumbledown rookery, a member of the sanitary police squad found a man lying under a wagon and inquired if he was ill. The man pointed to the old h use, cautioned the officer to speak low, and replied ; ‘I’m the husband of the woman you see hanging out clothes over there.’ ‘And why are you hiding here?’ ‘I’ve been off on a spree for a whole week/ ‘Ah ! I see. It is the return of the prodigal.’ ‘Wuss than that, sir. The prodi¬ gal had no wife and he didn’t steal the rent money to get drunk on. Oh, I’ll catch it. sir, if you don’t inter¬ cede for' me.’ ‘But what can I do?’ ‘You slip around to the front of the house and say that you have news for her. Watch her face and see how she takes it. Then tell her it is about me. Watch and see if she gets white around the mouth, Tell her that you have news that I was drowned at the ferry clock. Watch her tears at this point. If I can get her all broken down and overcome 111 bust in on her and get her for¬ giveness before ahe gets over wiping her eyes and pulling her nose. Go on, now, and 111 owe you a debt of gratitude all my life. I think Mary will melt under your soft words.’ The officer slipped around and told the wife that her husband was hiding in the alley, and then took a position where he could see what followed. He had hardly secured it when the man came down the alley on a gal lop, followed at a short distance by the wife, armed with a hoe-handle. There were no words spoken, but the man simply threw up clouds of dust with his heels as he put on the steam, and as he passed the offiem he some- what curtly observed ; ‘Ah! but you ain’t worth shucks at the melting business’/ — Free Press. THE PLEASURE OF MEMORY. Arkansas Gazette. Uncle Ike was one day riding a mule and had a little negro boy* behind him. Tell you what, Ung Ike, ’possum mighty good thing, said the boy. ‘Yas, ’tie/ said Uncle Ike, as the mule struck a brisk ‘Specially when you got lots ’o gravy wid him/ Uncle Ike was silent, seemed restless. ‘An’when you got some roasted ’taters to sop in de gravy,’ said the boy. Uncle Ike used his switch with nervous energy, and the mule increased his speed to a gallop. ‘Yes, Ung Ike, when de ‘possum right brown an’ de gravy drenin’ out an’-’ ‘You shet your mouf. you little fool! You’ll make die mule run off an f kul us boaf. BE WAS WAITED FOR. A Chicago mau who lives on the top fiat, came wandering home and found he had forgotten his night key. Howling through the tube to his flat he demanded in what he assumed to be a disguised tone : ‘la Mrs - Jone9 thcre? ’ ‘Yes/ she replied. •Is Mr. Jones there? 1 asked the husband. ‘It isn’t time for him yet,’ replied Mrs, Jones. ‘He doesn’t generally come home till daylight.’ ‘The devil he don’t!’ muttered Jones. T say,’ he continued aloud ‘can’t I come up and wait for him?’ ‘Not to night; some other night. There’s some one here now who has been waiting for him since dark 1’ ‘Great Scott!’ muttered Jones, glancing at his watch, ‘and it is now 4 o’clock. Look here \ l don’t care anything about Jones I want to see ihe man who is waiting !' ‘That’s just the way I feel about it,’ replied Mrs. Jones, sweetly, *A 7 ow go away like a good man, and don’t disturb me !’ Then Jones began to hammer on the door and howl, until one of the neighbors came down and hauled him. in by the collar. ‘Where’s that man?’ he demanded of his wife. ‘Where’s that man who was waiting for me?’ ‘What man?’ asked Mrs. Jones, * rubbing her eyes and looking up innocently. ‘I said there was some one waiting for you, and it’s me, and if you think I am not enough, you want to stand around there just a tew minutes longer by the watch !’ Jones blessed God that it was not so. and rent his garments fiom his system, and landed himself into bed, saying : ‘The wise man hath a froward tongue, but Jones goes no moro unto the walking match without his night key. m-* REV. WHANGDOODLE BAXTER INSULTED, The Rev. Whangdoodle Baxter, an Austin colored clergyman, wished to hint to Uncle Nace, who is his near neighbor, that a gift of a cord of fire¬ wood would be very gratefully accepted. Uncle Nuce by the way does not like Whangdoodle much. Finally, says Whangdoodle, insinua¬ tingly, ‘Uncle Nace, I’se gwine ter be powerful hard up for firewood dis winter. Can’t yer give me a load?’ Uncle Nacc looked all around as if he was afraid of being overheard, and then he said— ‘Parson, is you werry pertickler whar de wood ccmes from?’ Parson Whangdoodle supposed this to mean that Uncle Naca was going to give him some stolen wood, so he replied: ‘Uncle Nace, as long as I gets de wood, I don’t keer much where it comes from/ ‘Der» Parson yon don’t keer whose wood you burns up/ •Hit's all de same ter me, Uncle Nace/ ‘Well, I am gwine,’ said Nace. ‘War is yc gwine?’ ‘Ter lock up my wood shed.’— Texas Siftings. A YOUNG VIRGINIAN INSULT- ED. Lyncbburg News. A goed‘story is told—and it has advantage c.f being true—about DeYoung J son of one of our citizens who is attending one of the state colleges. While on the cars recently the young gentleman got up and gave his scat to two gentlemen whom he did not know, but who were looking for a scat together. When the boy moved out one of the gentlemen praised him for his courtesyq and said to him that one of these days he might be <v b-.»ator use l *y a on ®- The young gentleman raised himself up in his seat and said half seriously and half jocosely : ‘I hope you don’t mean to insult me by comparing me to Billy JJahone.’ The youth did not undeistaud the laugh that rang 1 through the car as he said this, but he learned afterward that the com- panion of the gentleman who ad* dressed him was none other than Afahone himself. Ever since the occurrence the friends of the young Lynchburger, who thus bearded the readjuster boss, call him general*