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About The weekly banner. (Athens, Ga.) 1891-1921 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 6, 1892)
TRADE ISSUE DAILY AND WEEKLY BANNER, DECEMBER 6, 1892. TWOWAYS OF WOOING Stoop and pick np a handful of shells from that broadjjath which you have been mistakenly regarding as a gravel walk. If you are one of the learned ones of the earth those small fnollusks may teach you that you are near the shores of the Gulf of Mexico, and, for aught that I know of such matters, may inform you that you are on the coast of the state of Mississippi. Now, if you add the pursuit of litera ture to that of science, look well around you; for here that most valuable literary raw materiali local color of the southern type, has been most lavishly poured out. Here are magnolias, oleanders and all other southern trees and shrubs. There, in that arch of confederate jasmine, two mocking birds have their habitat. They have been lighting, since daybreak with every living thing that has approached them; but you need not put that in your article. Behind you is a broad galleried, deep roofed mansion of the most approved antebellum architecture, and before you is the bluest water in the world—crede me experto who have seen the Adriatic and the Caribbean seas. Its beauty i.- marred by long dilapidated piers, but you will not complain of them when the mosquitoes swarm in from the Louisiana marshes and drive you out into the sea breeze. From where you stand you can see through the great hall of the house, quite through to where the pine forest stands out against the sky. It was not many months ago that a party of three —to me at that time a most interesting party—made that hall their assembly room and temple for their household' gods. Indeed, it was often their battle ground, for in the long leisure of sum mer days the coating of conventionality in talk wears rather thin, and behind that‘coating are often concealed the most startling beliefs in^persons of the most unimpeached respectability. At such times the sole male member of the trio was apt to begin the discussion with smooth appeals to experience, policy and knowledge of the world, which hap pened to be his particular divinities, and like other priests of Baal, he some times appealed long, loudly and in vain. It was after one of the longest and warmest of these debates that all three sat ostensibly deep in their morning’s mail. John Dunn, the lone champion of the commonplace, tore through a small pile of letters with an air .oF mysterious importance, which-he tad been early taught it was necessary to assume in or der to attain business success. As he bad Attained that great and noble desid eratum. and in no small degree, he might be fairly credited with a knowl edge of the necessary methods. One of his fair antagonists, Constance Alston, who had played a heated, enthusiastic and altogether minor part in the discus sion, had forgotten the whole matter* in a bulky letter addressed in a broad mas culine hand. Presently she looked np. “What’s to day—the day of the month I mean?” she asked. And then, without waiting for an answer: “Fifteenth, sixteenth, seven teenth. They will be here today. He writes that he will be here tomorrow— that is today of course; and he is going to bring a friend with him.” She buried herself again in the letter and emerged with further intelligence: “His friend’s name—I am not sure how to pronounce it. Alice,” she said, turning to her cons in, the last of the trio, with a mischiev ous look, “how do you pronounce B-e-a-l-ir If her object was to create either sur prise or confusion on the part of her cousin the attempt was a flat failure, for that young lady answered imperturb ably: “Bell of course. You know the name well enough. You can hardly have for gotten him since last winter.” “Was he a Johns Hopkins man—a fel low?” asked Dunn with interest. “Yes, we knew him at Baltimore,” answered Alice. “Well, he’s stopped all that,” said Dnnn, presumably referring to the pur suit of knowledge by means of fellow ships. “One of his rich relatives died this spring, and he’s pretty well fixed.” “I suppose we know all about him now,” said Alice, a trifle wearily, and rising she strolled out to the edge of the wide gallery, where she stood pensively looking out, a clear cut figure against the blaze of light from without, “That’s a graceful picture,” said Con stance warmly. “Yes, she’s a very pretty young girl,” answered Dunn indifferently. He proved the genuineness or his indifference by carrying on a very abstracted conversa tion with Constance for a few moments, and then wandering out with a careful indefiniteness to where Alice stood. To a sensitive man the manner in which he was received woqld have been equiva lent to a verbal denunciation as an un pleasant interruption, but Mr. Dunn’s many enemies attributed much of his success to his seldom making such dis coveries. Half a day later and Constance and her correspondent had resolved them selves into faint splash of cars and a murmur of voices scarcely audible from the pier where Alice was burdened with an embarrassing wealth of companion ship. The whilom learned fellow was not obtrusively apparent in a quiet young man leisurely half reclining in the bow of a small skiff of which Alice held the oars. Dunn stood upon the steps leading down to the water, look ing despondently at a dark gap between himself and the boat. “I can’t bring the boat any closer on account of these posts,” said Alice. “You can’t drown anyhow," she added scornfully. The Persians, I believe, have a saying that contempt will pierce through the shell of a tortoise. Dunn made the at tempt with the success which usually attends leaps in the dark. There was a sadden movement of the skiff, which in his cooler moments he attributed solely I ant suspicions, mainly due to a faint reminiscence of something unaccount able in that sudden slipping away of the boat from under him. . * . But a moment's reflection convinced him that it was absurd to suppose that any one should wish to be rid of his so ciety, and even in the most improbable event he felt sure that not even so young a lady as Miss Alston would resort to such an undignified, childish and alto gether improper method. The disap pearance of these disagreeable suspicions was of course aided by the sincerest re gret and sympathy, expressed in a voice which would have made the fortune of an orator or an actress. “Of couree that ends our rowing,” said Alice decidedly. “Mr. Beall can go to the house with you, and I will row out and find Constance and Mr. Alexan der.” But Dunn, now thoroughly appeased and not over anxious for unsympathetic male companionship in his rather ab surd condition, demurred emphatically. How the conclusion was reached he never exactly understood, but somehow after considerable argument and protes tation he found himself damply on his way toward the house, while Miss Al ston and Mr. Beall had departed on what seemed to him an utterly useless search for the remaining members of the party. The two rowed on in silence until the Bound of Mr. Dunn’s creaking steps had died away, then Beall broke the silence by an ineffectual offer to change his seat to the stern. . “This seat is far enough aft to balance the boat,” said Alice, with unconscious technicality. “And you may upset her moving about. We don’t want any more accidents. I am sorry Mr. Dunn fell over,” she added, after a slight pause. If she smiled her face was turned away from Beall and he could not see its ex pression. “I like him very much," she continued. So do I,” said Beall, with bitter, youthful irony. “I like his high ideals, ard bis modest truthfulness, and his culture—don’t you?” “He is my guest,” responded Alice coldly. Beall might have replied that, consid ering the recent occurrence, her ideas of hospitality were extremely recent and a trifle suspicious. But having no abso lute proof of tlie cause of that happ* accident he refrained, and simply aske<3 “He has another claim to your conside* ation, hasn’t he?” Alice disdained equivocation. “I sup pose,” she said, “you .mean to ask whether the report of my engagement to him is true.” Beall briefly assented. “And by what right?” she asked. “1 had the right once,” he said sadly. “Suppose we do not talk about what you once had,” said Alioe. “You didn’t seem to care much about it then.” This startling perversion of the facts bewildered Beall too much for any at tempt at defense. He conld only ask once more for an answer to his question. “And if I told you,” said Alice, suppose you would do as you did on a similar occasion once before—threaten to do something desperate, and then not do it. And I should bo so disappointed.” Beall took this rather aggravating re mark rather good naturedly, “No; I’ve learned something since then,” he said. “I wished to know about this simply be cause if you are not engaged to Mr, Dunn I have an important piece of news to tell you.” “I suppose you will pardon my saying that I don’t take as much interest as most persons in important pieces of news,” said Alice. “But it is due to Mr. Dunn for me to tell you that the report isn’t true.” “Then,” replied Beall, “I can tell you my news. But if you don’t mind 1 would rather not tell it to the back of your head.” So saying he calmly took possession of half of the rowing seat. “What I wished to tell you,” he contin ued, “is that I am gojpg to be married in a few months.” Alice started. “You are! And to whom?” “That’s just the difficulty,” he said contemplatively. ‘Tve arranged every thing else satisfactorily. My business affairs are all right—right enough for me to marry seven or eight girls if the law permitted. I’ve thought of every thing else. I haven’t spoken to the. dif ferent people, but I suppose there will be no trouble. The only problem is, as you suggest, about the bride. So I came over mainly to ask you to occupy that position.” Alice turned suddenly. “Mr. Beall," she said, “this is a most unpleasant form of jolc8 # M “It isn’t a Joke at all,” he answered placidly. “You laughed at my vehe mence and romance about such things once before, so I thought I would try a style you would like. But, on my honor, I never was more in earnest in my life.” Alice drew the blade of her oar slowly through the water for a moment. There was every reason in the world why she should refuse a proposal made in this cool, confident and irritating manner. So, being a woman, she answered finally, “Well, I suppose it would be a pity to break up all your arrangements.” As Beall sat late that night in Mr. Alexander’s room enjoying to the ut most the bitter end of a long black cigar, he said charitably, "Now there’s Dunn—I don’t think he’s such a bad sort of fellow after all." Alexander looked up in humorous sur prise from the valise he was packing. “Why,” he exclaimed, “you said this morning on the train that you had spent long days in wondering how. Dunn had escaped the penitentiary." “Oh, this morning,” answered BealL “To teB you the truth, old man, I wasn’t feeling very well this morning. ”—Har per’s Weekly. PROTECTING HOTBEDS. Directions for Making Straw Mats, Which Afford a Safe Covering. During cold nights in many sections the manure hotbeds will need additional protection. This is provided by our mar ket gardeners in the form of board shut- FRAME FOR MAKING STRAW MATS, ters or straw mats. The shutters are made of J^-inch stuff and of the size of the sash. The straw mats, which are preferred by many to the board shut ter#, can be made by the most unskilled person from long rye straw, tied with a tarred Btring. Here is an illustrated de scription from T. Greiner’s “How to Make the Garden Pay,” which renders their manufacture a simple thing in deed. Make a frame 7 by 4 feet, as seen in en graving, and tightly stretch four or five parallel stout tarred strings, ten to twelve inches apart, from top to bottom. Have as many balls of lighter tarred string, and fasten one end to each upright string next the bottom, leaving the balls in front of the frame. Now lay a whisk of straw, cut sides out, in the junction of the strings at the bottom, and fasten it there by twisting each of the smaller strings once around the straw and the upright string. Next put on another whisk of straw, and continue until frame is fnll and the mat finished. The whole expense connected with these handy con veniences and effective means of pro tecting early tender plants in frames is a quantity of nice, clean, bright, rye straw and some tarrod string. The labor required in making them does not count for much, as the work can be done in a “convenient outbuilding or under a shed during rainy days at leisure. In tlie course of a season a large supply of such mats may be made. They can be rolled np, stored and handled conveniently, and give the very best of protection against cold. Rye cut before the grain has formed makes the best material for mats, and the gardener in need of them will find it a good plan to have a piece of rye grown and cut at the period named for this very purpose. The Temperature of Bee Cellars. On the important matter of regulating the temperature of the bee cellar The Farmers’ Review offers this advice: As it requires a low temperature com paratively for hibernation it is necessary that from the 1st of November the cel lar be gradually cooled off. The bees will begin to sink into a torpor at 50 degs., and their sleep will become sounder as the temperature sinks to 40 degs. If a man have a good number of hives it will pay him to watch the hives closely and also his cellar. All apertures in the cellar that connect with the open air or with the house above should be under complete control so that the temperature may be regulated. A thermometer should be kept in the cellar, as the guess ing of the manipulator is a very uncer tain standard. If a gas or gasoline or some other kind of a stove be kept in the cellar a few cents spent in fuel during a cold “snap” may save many dollars’ worth of bees. After the end of Novem ber keep the temperature at 41 degs. as near as possible till the 1st of February, when the natural heat of the earth in the cellar may be allowed to raise the temperature, so that the bees will not be restricted in their operations. Of course as the spring advances the activity of the bees will increase in accordance with the increase of heat. How to Pull a Foncepost. In getting ready for winter many fences will be removed. In this work much hard labor in taking up the old posts may be saved if the following plan is used. Of this plan a correspondent who sends the accompanying sketch to The Farm, Field and Stockman says: Have a piece of plank very nearly as Jong aa the post above ground, or ’ any stick that will not sink into the ground; cut notch in one end, fasten end of ^hain Drag; Store Coffee. Customer (at soda fountain)—Have you any coffee flavor? Clerk (briskly)—Yes, sir. “Does it taste like coffee?” to his awkwardness. For aa he stood a 1 "Um—er—n-o, but it looks like coffee moment later dripping and wrathful' ~~P e ** ect picture of it, sir.”—New York the steps, he had sundry unpleas- Weekly- PULLING A FENCEPOST. on post half way to the gronnd, the other end to whiffletrees; place plank as in cut, not too far from post, paw chain over end of plank, then go ahead with team, and as post draws up back up team, let chain slip down on post, then go ahead again. I sharpen all my posts and drive them, as it idfmuch, quicker done than to dig holes; then frost is not so liable to heave them out, and every spring, if it is neces sary, a man can go along with a maul and redrive very easily. I use cedar posts and sharpen small end, as I think they do not rot so quick; then, again, if you wish to take them np they pnll easier. —A.T— HADAWAY’S OLD STAND, CLAYTON STREET, Athens, Ga., Yob Can Get BARGAINS —in’— Harness, Saddles, Bridles, Whips, Collars, Blankets, These goods are ma.ked down below regular prices and must sell. REPAIR WORK Done in best manner on short notice. Mrs. S. C. HADAWAY. The funeral Of Willis Bill, whose execution occurred at Macon Tuesday, was preached Wednesday morulDga*. 11 o’clock at Union villa. An immense concourse of colored people were present atnouuting probably to about 2 000 The dead boy is looked upon by the ne groes as a sort of m*rt\r, and feeling j continues to run high. Last Thursday night Robert Medlock, who lives n**ar Norcros* on the od McAfee plac- ,had his biro destroyed bv fire. One horse and ail his wint-r forage was destroyed. It is b Lev d that the fire was the work of an incen diarv, as th^re ha i been no fire about cbe builuit.g for some time. The loss is a total one, as he had no insurance. Sss&raa inherited scr 0Pij , \ «%psl sags- BWtrjaaagate cured him, and fffi&sl * fc* t'A,*** tha disease rea»i| BM8 ^ T n J TU The Weekly Banu^r great Democratic organ *, :?* Eighth and Ninth It’e-orthnx-.thaa^; PIANOS* AND * ORGANS FOR EVERYBODY! See Our List and Examine Our fcSiock Before Buying, PIANOS. #*■$• Subscribe for the Athkt s KNABE, IVERS & POND, BEHR BROS., KIMBALL. WHITLOCK, H1INES BROS., KIMBALL, NEWMAN BRCS., EDNA, DYER & HTJflHES, CHICAGO COTTAGE, And Otherj. And Others. We allow best prices for old instruments, sell on easiest terms and can give you c oser figures than any other Music House in Georgia Write for prices and catalogue. HASELTON&DOZIER’S Music Emporium, 117 01AYT027 ST., - - ATH.rNF.GA, WEBB it CBAWFOBD, Clayton Street, Athens, Greorgia, COTTON BUYERS*' A^D DEALERS IN FANCY AND FAMILY GROCERIES. CHAS. STERN & CO. The Oldest Clothing House in Athens, OUR STOCK OF- CLOTHING, HATS, AND GENTS FURNISHINGS Is very complete, and the prices marked down to suit the times. Give us a call before buying. . STERN & OO., - - ATUHKTS, O-EORGUA* Z. W. BETTS, The Only Exclusive Dealer in -+BD6GIES, WAGONS, CARRIAGES,-*- SURREYS, ROAD CARTS, ETC. Warehouse, Washington St., Athens, Ga. Get My Prices and I Will Sell You the Vehicles
