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OLI) AGE. 'A. iongloss bird, a garden without flowers, A river-bed dried up in thirsty hours. A sterile field untutored by the plow, A withered blossom on a withering bough: A flickering light that fails when needed most To warn the sailor from a treacherous coast, A thought that dies ere yet ’tis fully bom, A hope that gleams like poppies 'midst the corn; Fair idle weeds that Haunter in the sun, Fair morning hopes that fail ere day be done, Fair Life, so seeming-fair, so roldly bright, Fair Life, beloved of love, and youth’s de light: At early dawn, how fresh thy face ap pears!— The twilight secs it furrowed o’er with tears. Spring flowers are sweet, but autumn’s woods are dry. Spring birds are silent 'neath a wintry sky; Spring thoughts that wake to deeds inspire no more IWlirti the dull daylight fades along the shore; The ice-blocked stream can bear no pre cious freight, The stripped and sapless oak stands deso late, And the hill fortress that defied the foe In crumbling fragments fills the vale be low. • Yet is flicre golden beauty in decay, As autumn’s leaves outshine the leaves of May; The calm of evening with its roseate light, The starry silence of the wintry night. The stillness of repose when storms are o’er And the sea murmurs on a peaceful shore— The brooding memories of the past that make The old man young again for beauty’s sake, The hone sublime that cheers the lonely road IVhioh lends him gently to the hills of God. —London Spectator. •f ■ f • • AN HOL'R gff*, Kt| WITH A M nAllLtl!. <ESEk> By J. H. NULtL SS# In the summer of 1905 I was work ing on a'country newspaper at Car rollton, Illinois. Not having many friends, I found tho Sundays father dull, and accordingly I decided one day to take a ’drive to the Illinois River. I rose very early In the morn ing. got my horse-and buggy ready, and started for my drive. I left Carrollton about 7 a. ru. and drove along the leafy country roads, enjoying the sreneVy. Reaching the neighborhood of the river, I got out my fishing-line and started to fish,, but did not have much luck. Soon I began to feel drowsy, and accordingly made my way to a rocky cliff In the hopeg of finding some shady nook in which I could spend an hour or so In a quiet nap. 1 found no place to suit nip, hqwever, unyj I had reached the top; there, in the shade of a large oak, I lny down, and in a few mo ments was sound asleep. I do not know how long I slept, but I was awakened by some indefinable Instinct of danger. Looking up, I found myself, to my intense horror, face to face with a rattlesnake! Needless to say 1 gave a start, but before I had time to move again I came to my senses and realized that if I attempted to shift my position the deadly creature would make a spring, and if he did I should in all proba bility fall a victim to his venomous fangs, There being uo assistance within five or six miles, I decided to lie quiet, hoping that the snake would get tired of his positiou and move away to a distance, so that I could make ray escape. My calculations did not work out very well, for although I must have lain there motionless for half an hour, blinking at the reptile, he did not show any signs of leaving. On the contrary, he seemed rather inclined to investigate me, and actually moved toward me. I shall never forget the sickening horror of that moment; I thought my time had come, but de cided not to move—or was too fright paralyzed to do so, I know not which. 1 lay there with the cold sweat on my forehead, hoping that the hideous creature would just take a look at me and then disappear. But again my hopes did not materilalze, for the rattler came gliding toward me, clo ser and closer, until he was barely two feet from my face! Then, ns if uncertain what to do. he halted for fully five minutes, while I inwardly prayed for deliverance. Presently he began to move again, coming to wards me slowly. As I still lay without moving he plucked up cour age. and came within six inches of my face. Once more l felt, that all was over; but having played with life so long 1 decided to see the busi ness out to the finish, which I did not think could be long delayed. There I lay like a dead man, with one eye on the snake and the other on the sky, praying that my life might be spared and feverishly running over in my mind fruitless schemes of es cape. Meanwhile the snake grew bolder and stuck out his forked almost touching my face. MThe extremity of my peril at that mo rnent seemed to act as a tonic upon my overwrought nerves. I told my self grimly that now, If 1 darsd even to move a muscle, the startled ser pent would undoubtedly strike at me. My mental agony was intense, but J contrived to remain motionless. Near er and nearer came that awful thing —a veritable gliding death —until, with a thrill of absolute horror, I realized that he was actually licking my forehead! Such a sensation f have never experienced before, and hope I never shall again. The cold perspiration ran off my brow in streams, and the snake drank it up greedily. The agony of that moment I shall never forget. My muscles were rig’d as Iron, ar:d I do not be lieve that I could have moved them then had I tried. And all the time my head throbbed with the indescrib able feeling caused by the serpent's licking tongue—soft as the richest velvet. As I lay there, with the awful crea ture beside me, I could see his fangs as plainly as if they had been magni fied to three times their size, and I speculated dully as to how much longer I could stand the strain—how ; much longer it would be before ne j struck me. Having made an end of licking my brow, the rattler glided away for a short distance, and, hoping that he had left for good, I ventured to blink my eyes, for they were paining me so that I was almost blind. Quicker than I had winked, however, the snake was back again, licking my forehead with his tongue, while I had all my work cut out to keep from shrieking in my mental agony. Pres ently he grew languid once more. This time he would surely go for good, I thought, and I was careful not to move a muscle. My arm be ing extended, the snake glided out as far as my hand, and then, appar ently thinking that my fingers formed a pretty good pillow, He lay still, with his horrible head in my palm! He must have rested there for about ten minutes, while I, having gained some control of my senses again, began to plan how to escape without a bite. The rattler having his head directly between my forefinger and fhumb, I decided to make a, quick grab at his, neck and strangle him to death. Summoning all my resolution, I made a desperate clutch and caught him exactly as I v liad planned—right at the back .of the head. He did not move for fully half a minute, and I thought I had gained an easy victory; but my hopes soon vanished, for the snake Hecame very active, lashing his body this way and that, "and the strain on my muscles, from the grip and his weight, soon made my arm weak. Presently the creature got a coil round niy arm and began drawl ing on it, and I discovered, that if I did not decide on something very quickly to relieve my predicament l should be utterly at 'his mercy, for I could feel myself growing momentar ily weaker and weaker. Still main taining my grip with the right hand, I placed my left directly below the right, and then let go with the right in the hopes of getting my hand into my trousers poefeet to secure my knife and cut the serpent’s head off. The opportunity soon presented it self, and as I got the blade open I lost no time in finding some way of getting at his head. This was an awkward business, for I had free use of neither arm, my left hand having a firm grip on the rattler, while the right, the one that held the knife, had the rattler’s coils wound round It. Finally I decided to try and extri cate my right hand, and was ultimate ly successful. I was then able to make short work of my enemy, after wards carrying him to town as a trophy of my long ordeal. I have never heard of anyone hav ing met with such an adventure as mine, and 1 sincerely hope no one ever will; for the sickening suspense and long-drawn-out horror of that hour I spent in the rattlesnake’s com pany almost surpassed mortal endur ance. On examining him I found that my prize was three feet iour inches long, and had fourteen rattles and a button. I had these latter In my possession until six months ago, when I gave them to a friend as a keep sake.—The Wide World Magazine. Reclaiming Alkali Lands. Experiments have been conducted by the Department of Agriculture at Fresno, Cal., with a view to reclaim ing alkali lands by drainage. Opera tions are now being conducted in a large vineyard near Fresno, where alkali has come rapidly to the sur face. It is hoped that immense tracts which have long lain waste may thus be rendered fertile. There are many thousands of acres of these alkali plains in County, Cal., which are now useless, but it is believed that their drainage could be easily accomplished through the use of elec tric power for pumping purposes.— Scientific American. - The Oldest Team. Hiattville, down in Bourbon County (Kan.), boasts of a team of horses whose combined ages are sev enty-eight years.—Kansas City Jour nal Georgia Callings Curtailed Items of Interest Gathered at Random. Hines Commissioned Attorney. Judge Jaine3 K. Hines of Atlanta, has been appointed by Governor Smith as attorney to the new railroad com mission. The railroad commission bill was amended before being passed so as to Provide for a regular attorney to the railroad commission at a salary of $2,500 a year. Judge Hines’ term of office is to be four years. * * * Georgia Paid $632,440.98 Revenue. The preliminary report of the com missioner of internal revenue at Wash ington for the fiscal year ending June 30, 1907, shows that the federal gov ernment collected a total of $632,440.98 in Georgia last year for revenue pur poses. This is an increase over the collections made in the state during the fiscal year of 1906, which amount ed to $595,085.69. * * * Blind Academy Completed. The new Georgia Academy for the Blind at Macon is now in the hands of the state of Georgia, the trustees having formally accepted the building from McKenzie & Sous, contractors. The building will be re-opened for the fall term next month and over one hundred children will be. given accommodations. The institution is lo cated in Vineville, Macon’s suburb, and has splendid surroundings. * • .# Holden Succeeds Justice Cobb. Judge Horace M. Holden of the su perior courts of'the'northern judicial circuit has been appointed justice of the supreme .court to succeed Justice Andrew J. Cobb, who has resigned to take effect October 18. Colonel John N. Worley of Elberton was at the same time appointed to succeed Judge Holden, who has ‘ten dered' his 'resignation to become effect, ive October 5. The order of appointment in each case specifics that, the appointee is to •hold the office . gg.med until the next general election and until his success or is elected and qualified. Governor ’Borrows $125,D00: Governor Smith has already borrow ed to supply the casual-deficiencies in the state’s revenue $125,000- as fol lows: $50,000 fso the-fourth Na tional and pf Atlanta and $25,000 .from, .the A.meriqan Na tional Ajacon. Tha.monpy. was secured at 2 per cent.., . The state. yill. later borrow $75,000 more, or the'full limit Permitted I 'by 1 the constitution for' fhlfe purpose! 'lt Is Intended fd get tlmbalance- of’ the money fro<n‘, jthq. depositories ih Savannah, Augusta..and 'Columbus, pro vided it can W secured from them at the same rate.,,.... . Only Half of a Peach Crop. The Georgia peach crop for 1907.wi1l approximate between 1,300 and 1,500 cars, an average of 5.0 per cent less than the output of last year. These figures were given out by one of the best informed railroad traffic men of the state a few days ago, who said that the figures would come with in 100 cars of the exact shipments. The shipments last season amount ed to between 2,500 and 3,000 cars, which was a decrease from the ouput of 1905, the banner year. The majority of cars were sent out by the Southern railway, which hand led from 1,000 to 1,100 cars. * * * Anti-Dope Bill Effective. The anti-drug bill has gone Into ef fect and Georgia druggists will now refuse to sell drugs to habitues who formerly had no trouble in getting it. Dr. W. S. Elkin, Jr., of Atlanta, who Is a member of the legislative com mittee of the State Pharmaceutical As sociation, is mailing out a number of circulars to all parts of the state tell- Ins the druggists the provisions of the bill so that they would not incur any penalty for violation. The suffering of a man needing a drink the night after a spree is %aid to be mild in comparison to the tor ments of a dope fiend when his drug is taken from him. • * • Some State Fair Attractions. What promises to be a decided nov elty will be the gold stamping exhibit to be shown at the coming state fair in Atlanta by the county of Cherokee. Ben F. Perry and John O. Robertson, two well known citizens of Canton, called upon Secretary Weldon, and as sured him that this exhibit will be In STOP AT THE ZETTLER HOUSE. The best SI.OO a day house in the city. 253 FOURTH ST., MACON, G<L. Mrs. A. L. Zeltler, Proprietress. stalled by that gold-producing county. There will be a stamping mill w the gold ore will be washed and dust secured. Just as it is mined in the mountains of north eGorgia. Eecretary Weldon is in receipt of a telegram from Francis Ferrari, the well known showman, who is now or the Pike at St. Louis, asking if he ca place his seven shows on the midway In Atlanta. He will be asked to name his shows, as many of the amusement concessions have already been gold. It is known that he has a fine animal show, but the others are not known definitely. The fair will inaugurate anew sys tem for the different exhibit depart ments, when all of the machinery dis plays will be placed in the old govern ment building instead of cn the grounds under tents. The agricultura! exhibits formerly housed in the gov ernment buildings will oe installed ir the old agricultural hall. The live stock show will remain in the live stock building while the poultry show will probably be in the coliseum as formerly. * * * State Chemist Holds Until January 1, Coincident with the . announcement that an extension of, the time for the pure food law to become operative October Ist instead of August Ist, comes the statement, that State Chem ist McCandless will reiffein in office until the first of January, 1908. Dr. McCandless, it is recalled, resigned in June, his resignation to take effect. August Ist. inasmuch as he is vir tually the father of the pure food law ia Georgia, he was urged by Commis sioner Hudson to remain until that, law becomes thoroughly operative.. When the pure Tood law was to gp into effect on the first clay of August, numerous letters' were received from country merchants, stating that they were overstocked with doubtful feeds and asked for an extension'in time for the. pure food law to become dpeyative. This .extension" has befen granted by Commissioner Hudson. 1 • v Dr. - TdcCand 1 ess in his talk before' the Cotton |?eed . CfSsqqrsV tlon of Georgia at Lithia Springs fast year’ declared cotton -seed oil to be one of The best" vegetable oils on the market and has done as much, if not more, toward the furtherance c£' this T great southern 'product than any* -thing else. , The pure ’fefod "law will to it that every oil shall stand on • its own merits, and* after this law .bey comes operative' c’otfon seed oil will be sold as sucii' and not under the brand of olive oil. ‘, •Property Increases Forty Millions. “The last of the county tax digests has been received at the office! cf the comptroller general, and these bring up the total net gain for the whole state over the tax returns for 1906 to , $39,319,053. Sixteen counties show losses aggre gating $931,081, which, deducted from the gross gain in 130 counties, gave the net gain for the 146 counties $39,- 319,053 as stated. There is considerable doubt as to what sort of increase will be st cured from the corporations this year, in view of the fact that the comptroller general’s assessments are not bsing very abundantly sustained \>y the boards of arbitration. The comptroller general, in His as sessments, increased the corporation returns a total of about $60,000,000. These are being cut down in seme in stances one-haif and others two-ihirds. The final outcome will be to reduce the gain at least cne-half from this source, or making it about $30,000,- 000, which will give a total net gain for the state of $70,000,000. This will carry the total preperty valuations in the state to about $7'.0,- 000,000, the highest it has ever boen in the state’s history. The highest uP to this year was 1860, when the slaves ware property, and the aggregate re turns were $672,000,000. The Increase in 1906 over 1905, a; shown on the digests, was about $42,- 000,000, and of corporations about $8,000,000, making a total gain for last yea* - of approximately $50,000,000. Genius has a lot of trouble trying to explain itself {p the other kind of people. STATEMENT OF BROWN Issued to People of Georgia Anent His Sus pension from Railroad Commis sion by Governor. Joseph M. Brown, who was suspend ed from the railroad commission of Georgia by Governor Smith, has writ ten a card to the public in which he states that the governor took unfair advantage of him in this action be cause he knew the legislature would not sustain him. Commissioner Brown will not contest the order of the gov ernor in the court. He will let the matter go to the legislature and trust to that body for his vindication. Com miAioaer Brown’s card to the public is as follows; “To the People of Georgia: “On August 21st, the governor of Georgia issued an order purporting to suspend me from the office of rail road commissioner; and on the same date commissioned another citizen to fill the office thus declared vacant,. The legality of these acts I absolute ly deny. “This action by the governor was unquestionably promoted by spleen. I shall not undertake, however, to try this matter in the public press, but with a few words upon this subject I will ask a fair-minded public to with hold any adverse opinion until the next session of the general assembly, because I am denied until then even an opportunity to vindicate myself. “During Mr. Smith’s campaign for governor, which lasted more than fif teen months, he repeatedly stated that his first official act, should he be made governor, would be to suspend me from, office. He took the oath of office June 29, and as stated above his or der suspending me was not issued un til August 21st, almost two months, haviwg expired after his inauguration before any action w;as taken to cArry oat his oft-repeated threat. Further than thi3, the law under which he act§ requires that the suspension be ’ rgjibrted to the legislature, in order that it might say whethey or not the yqabens for- suspension are sufficient to remove the .suspended commissioner from office.' When the governor took the. oath of office" the general assem bly, was then in session, and remained in session until only three days prior to my suspension,’ anfi if the govern or had desired that investigation in this case'which the law contemplated, :I* submit ■ to> the fairness .of the peo ple of Georgia, -would'he not have act ect. shoner?; Why did he not allow me “the privilege” of a trial? Would any judge while court was in session, as ■it was so to speak, in this case, pass sentence upori'any man-without first 'giving him that right to which he is entitled under all • liw&, the right of 'trial? It would have-taken only a few days tb -have finished with this matter had the -goter-nor acted, as he so often said he would, promptly after his in auguration, or while the legislature was in session, but he does not do this. He waits until the adjournment of the general assembly, at a time when '. have no opportunity to defend my self, and in this unfair manner takes advantage of the authority which he claims is vested in him by law, be cause he well knew that I had done nothing as railroad commissioner which the law forbids, and he well knew that the legislature would net sustain him. I submit to the fair ness of the people of Georgia that this is unjust. •"Respectfully, “JOSEPH M. BROWN.” FLIRTING BARRED BY LAW. South Dakota Puts End to Love-Making £y Young People. Acting Mayor McDonald of High more, South Dakota, has approved an ordinance passed by the council pro hibiting flirting.. The ordinance pro vide that it shall he unlawful for male ana female perscifs to loiter on the steps of any church, building or door way for the purpose of eating candy cr peanuts or to loiter on the street, or business places, for tbs purpose of flirting in the meantime. TO PURCHASE THE PHILIPPINES. Jips are Alleged to Be Seeking a Loan of Fifty Million Dollars. Despite rumors to the contrary, it is believed in Berlin that Japan is trying to raise mOney with a view of the acquisition of the Philippines. German bankers have informed a representative of a pool of eight Jap anese banks trying to float $50,000,000 loan, that nothing could be done be fore Octo'cnr and not even then, should the JapaneUt-American war rumors still be in circulation.