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cm OR TOWH LIFE?
Tommy Wilkins Tries Both and
Prefers Stringville.
A TALE OF TRUE CONDITIONS
flow a Youth From a Bmall Town In
vaded Chicago With Tall Notiona.
Thing* Not What They Seem From
Distance That Lends Enchantment.
Tills la Jimt the simple little story of
the going up and the coming down of
Tommy Wilkins. No inntter where he
lives. You have known youths exact
ly like Tommy. You will recognlie In
Tommy some old acquaintance.
Tommy Wilkins lived in a small
town until he was lured away. Vi
sions of vast wealth and the blowing
In thereof lured him. The small town
had no amusements such ns horse rac
lng, pool selling places, hlg league
baseball games, not even a hockey
club; but, after all, It had Its com
pensations. There was the lively lit
tle main street, with the general stores,
the printing office, the bakery and oth
er places of business. Then there were
the quiet residential streets, bordered
with trees that almost overlapped their
leaves In summer time, with pretty
green lawns all around the houses.
The residences themselves were com
fortable and cozy, with lots and lots
of fresh air circulating around and
through them and plenty and plenty
of God's unadulterated light pouring
In through the windows. In front
were jjorcbes with rustic chairs.
In one of these cozy cottages dwelt
Tommy Wilkins with his parents and
two younger brothers and a sister.
Sister was a little older than Tommy,
who was Just twenty and feeling Im
portant enough for forty. Sister was
engaged to the head clerk In l>e How
& Brown's general store, who earned
S2O a week.
"Chuck him, sis," said Tommy Wil
kins. "You Just wait übout a year, and
I’ll And you a mun to fall in love with
who’ll l>e worth your while. I’m going
to Chicago to live, I am. I'm tired of
clerking In Hart's grocery store for $0
per, and I'm going where the big op
portunities are.” *
Sister laughed softly.
"11l about a year, Tommy,” said sla
ter In a sisterly way, "you eau come
back here and board with Ned and me.
We won’t charge you a cent till you
get your old Job back or something else
to do.”
. "Huh!" ejaculated Tommy Wilkins,
who made off next day for Chicago.
Tommy did butter in Chicago right
from the start. He got a job in a dry
goods store at sl2 a week. Of course
his $9 at home wasn’t the worst In the
world, for his parents had boarded him
free. In Chicago, of course, It cost
him $7.50 a week for board—a tiny hall
bedroom at the top of the house, rear,
without heat and practically without
light and air by reason of the amazing
closeuess of similar buildings. Dut
then Tommy had $4.50 left over--to
pay car fare, buy stamlup lunches at
the football rush hash joluts, purchase
clothes with which to shine In society,
buy theater tickets, play the races and
—but, come to think of It, no use to
mention baseball, for Tommy never
had time to attend a game.
Then, again. Tommy really needed no
money for fine clothes, because he had
no use for flue clothes. He knew no
body In the city except his landludy,
who smiled upon him Just once a week
for $7.50 per smile. True, he did
kuow, so to speak, the lady across the
table, who worked In De Smith’s de
partment store as "head suleslady” at
sll a week, but Tommy didn’t like the
I>e Smith pereou. She had spoken to
him Just once. She had said across the
table:
"Whore are you from, Mr. Mllkins?"
"Wilkins," correctetl Tommy; “Wil
kins. I'm from Strlugvllle."
“What are you doing In the city?"
"Clerking at Solomon & Isaacs',"
replied Tommy, swelling with manly
pride.
“Huh! You'd bettor go back to
Strlngvillo," commented Miss De
Smith, scooping up the final stewed
prune from her dinner dessert.
“Go back to Strlngvillo," Tommy
mentally echoed as he climbed the
three ttlghts of stairs to his cell on
the top tier. "Well, anyhow, I did get
something to cut there that didn't gtvo
me the feeling of being stuflfed full of
baled hay. And I wore pretty good
clothes there, with fair prospects of
getting u new suit when I needed one,
and I had friends there—yes, friends!
There's 2,000,000 people in this burg,
but not u single, solitary one of 'em
cares a red copper for Tommy Wil
kins."
Tommy had been in Chicago eight
mouths aud had saved SB, the price of
a ticket to Strtngvllle, when que Sat
urday right after paying his board be
received a letter from sister some
thing like this;
Dear Tommy--If you think Ned Is good
for me. we U he married. aest
Wednesday noon In the Methodist church.
Bring some of your high life friends down
and attend the wedding, won't ycu? And
Ned says, if you will accept, he’ll get you
a Job in the store at gl2 a week, and we
won’t charge you but $3 for board.
The only reason Tommy Wilkins
didn't wire his acceptance was that he
needed all of his cash on hand to buy
the railroad ticket When he got back
to Stringville be remarked confiden
tially to sister:
"There Is high life In Chicago, sis,
but It’s so plagued high that It Is not
visible to the naked eye of 999 out of
1,000 young fellows who go up there
to fly high. Stringville life looks love
ly to me.”
A Lost Bank Note.
A friend of mine, writes u Scottish
correspondent, recently saw a piece ot
paper lying on the street. He picked
It tip. It was a one pound note. Some
men might have pocketed It, with a
smile of satisfaction. My friend, how
ever, honestly handed It over to the
police. A short time afterward he dis
covered that he himself had lost a
pound. lie thought over the matter
and remembered that before finding
the note he had been standing on the
edge of the pavement for some time
It slowly dawned upon him that the
pound he had found was his own and
that he had drawn ft from his pocket
unconsciously. He went back prompt
ly to the police station and explained
the circumstance. The officer la charge
only shook his head and smiled in
credulously. “Very clever.” he said,
"but—eh—it will scarcely do.” If my
friend cared to call back at the end of
six months, he wus Informed, he would
get the pound if In the Interval It had
not been claimed. During this time
of waiting he Is inclined to meditate
ns to whether honesty is always the
best policy.—lxmdon P. T. O.
In Case of Accident.
Don't bluster. Be tactful. If there
are dangerous germs present, ask them
to withdraw. If they demur, ask them
where they were brought up.with gen
tle Irony.
Be careful to render first aid to the
injured. A great deal of unnecessary
suffering has been caused by persons
hastily rendering third or even fourth
aid where first aid was Indicated.
In case of drowning select a best
method of resuscitation. There are
4,(539 best methods in all. Have them
about you in the form of loose news
paper clippings and run them over
briefly before acting.
Keep cool. Stop every little while
and take your temperature.
If the coroner arrives while you are
at work, Immediately desist It Is dis
courteous to save life in his presence.
Take accurate notes of the street and
number. Reviving patients almost al
ways ask where they are.
If possible, Induce death to super
vene rather than to take place merely
or even to ensue. It gives the family
a sense of dignity.—Buck.
The Frank Critic.
"When Sir John Millais was engaged
in painting his ’Chill October’ among
the rushes ou the banks of the Tay,
near Perth,” said an English artist, “a
railway porter from the station ut Kiu
fauns used to carry the cauvas back
and forth for him.
**The porter was a quaint chap. His
services were called for man# days iu
requisition. lie became quite friendly
with Sir John and seemed to take a
hearty Interest In the progress of the
painting.
“Well, ’Chill October* was eventually
finished nud sold a little while after
ward for u thousand pounds. This fact
somehow reached the porter’s ears. He
met Sir John’s brother-in-law at Kin
fauns oue day and said excitedly:
“ 'Mon, is’t true that Sir John’s sold
Ppleture and got a thoosand pooud
for’t?”
“ 'Yes, certainly,’ was the reply.
*“A thoosaud poond!’ repeated the
porter. ‘Why, mon, I wadna gl’en half
a croon for’t.’ ”
Rotundity of Earth.
Wo are assured by competent au
thority that Thales of Miletus taught
that the earth was of a globular form
so early as 040 B. C. Pythagoras dem
oustratod from the varying altitudes
of the stars that the earth must be
round. Aristarchus of Samos main
tained that the earth turned on Its
own axis and revolved about the sun,
which doctrine was held by his con
temporaries as so absurd and revolting
that the philosopher nearly lost his life
B. C. 280. The wisdom of the an
cients was, of course, lost sight of in
the darkness of the “middle ages," and
It took Galilei and Copernicus to re
store the old knowledge to the world.—
New York American.
Murder In Qermany.
Germany distinguishes between two
kinds of murder—one, premeditated
and Intentional, is punishable by death;
the second. Intentional homicide with
out deliberation. Is punishable by penal
servitude for from five to fifteen years.
Dueling In Germany Is a mtsdemeano
of a special kind. Who kills his oppo
nent In n duel is not charged with
murder or manslaughter, but with
dueling, the punishment for which Is
detention In a fortress for fifteen years.
—London Chronicle,
Getting His Money’s Worth.
A New Hampshire man tells of a
tight fisted man of affairs In a town
of that state who until recently had
never been observed to take an Inter
est In church matters. Suddenly, how
ever, he became a regular attendant
at divine service, greatly to the aston
ishment of his fellow townsmen.
"What do you think of the case of
old Ketchum?” said one of the busi
ness men of the place to a friend. "Is
it true that be has got religion?”
"Well, hardly,” replied the other.
“The fact Is It's entirely a matter of
business with him. I am In a position
to know that about a year ago he
loaned the pastor SSO, which the latter
was unable to pay. So there remained
nothing for Ketchum but to take it out
In pew rent.”
Struck Out.
Dr. C., who always employs two
servants, man and wife, was talking
to a patient one day about a couple
he had Just discharged because the
man drank.
He remarked: “It Is so strange, but it
Is always the way with a man and
wife. If one is good, the other is no
good.”
The patient asked him, "How Is it
with you and Mrs. C.?"—Philadelphia
ledger.
Home Life of Genius.
The Actor (before breakfast)—Where
are the papers, my dear? His Wife
(an actress, absentmindedly)—C-curse
yon! They are far beyond your reach,
thank heaven! And I’ll die a thousand
deaths before you can wr-r-r-r-ring the
secret from—oh —er—Jack, I mean, the
boy forgot to leave them this morning!
—Puck.
A Roason.
“Pa,” asked Mr. Ilenpeck’s little boy.
“why did Patrick Henry say. ‘Give me
liberty or give me death?’”
"He may have been out five minutes
after the curfew rang the night be
fore.”—Chicago Record-Herald.
The Highest Applause.
You would compliment a coxcomb
doiug a good act, but you would not
praise an angel. The silence that ac
cepts merit as the most natural thing
In the world Is the highest applause.—
Emerson.
Experience is the extract of suffer
ing.—A. Helps.
READ THE FAMOUS STORY OF
“The Merry Widow”
Which will be published in The Progress, begin
ning with the issue of
JUNE 18TH
This will be published in serial form —five
or six columns each week.
It is short and will be entrancingly interesting. If
you are not a reader of
THE PROGRESS
subscribe now and get the first copy. Remember, it
begins June 18.
“HEAT THE IRON
NOT THE HOUSE"
“THE IRON THAT IRONS”
LADIES
who have been looking for a
labor-saving iron appliance
will find in this a perfect Self-
Heating Iron that does away
with the smoke, soot, ashes,
and the constant walking
from ironing board to stove
or fireplace —an iron that
maintains just the right
amount of heat for the work
and allows the heat to be in
stantly increased or decreased
This will do the work in half
the time of the old flat iron
way, and cost you about one
cent for each family ironing.
A trial-will prove that it is
even better than we claim.
Bs independant of the wash
women and save money for
yourself. Buy this iron of
C. A. EVANS, Jackson, Ga.