Newspaper Page Text
OFFIC
—or-
franklin county.
VOL 11. NO. 39.
(’loud nnd Sunshine.
Waiting in gloom and pain;
Weary, oh! so weary I
Steadily falls the rain,
Dark the day and dreary.
The bitterest winds arc wailing loud,
ind the funeral sky is clothed In cloud;
Will the sun ne’er shine again?
Courage! in heart and brain,
Though the day be dark’ning;
Waiting is not in vain,
If for God tliou’rt liark’ning.
The dreariest weather will change some
day,
And never a cloud but will pass away,
And the sun must shine again.
Be stiil. sad heart, nor mind,
The heart of fiery-trying,
The mystery entwined
With sorrow and with crying.
The costliest gold, by a method slow,
Must lose its dross in the hottest glow,
But it cometh forth refined.
—[Captain It. It. Carter, iu Now York
Observer.
AN EDGED TOOL
BY A At AT RANDOLPH.
“Miss Morel wanted, immediately,
in the show-room!”
Shrill and sharp and clear tho mes¬
sage came through tho speaking-tube
into tlie great room Avliero all Mrs.
Cavendish's young women were at
work—the great, baro-floored echoing
room, which Avas lighted only from a
skylight of frosted glass above.
Valencia Morel rose at ones, her
pale olive cheeks suddenly suffused
Avilh scarlet, to obey the summons.
She felt sure she Avas to be scolded for
slighting the pipings on the skirt of
old Mrs. Mickel’s bluo satin dress.
But Mrs, Cavendish, sitting at her
desk, received her graciously.
“ Miss Morel,” said she, “ on sec¬
ond thoughts, you may trim Miss
Vavasa’s moire antiquo witli laco in¬
stead of velvet. Miss Gay, the fore¬
woman, will give you all necessary
instructions.”
After a moment she added:
“My dear, you know that I seldom
interfere in the private and personal
affairs of my young women, But I
am informed that you are escorted
home every night by a gentleman who
must certainly bo above your station.
Miss Morel, I am not your guardian,
neither do I possess any authority over
yon. But I do know something of the
world, and I bid you beware 1”
Valencia Morel Avas quite silent. If
Mrs. Cavendish had for an instant
supposed that her favorite “trimmer”
was going to confide in her, slic Avas
mistaken.
Half an hour later,when tho girls all
swarmed out of Mrs.Cavendish’s work-
rooms at the sound of the 6 o'clock
bell, Valencia Morel contrived to be a
little behind the rest, so that it Avas
quite dark when she reached the cor-
lier of the street, and a quick, silent
shadoAV, Avitli the fiery end of a cigar
burning in front of it, moved up to
her side quite as a matter of course.
“Valencia!” sofily spoke the phan-
tom.
“Y^es; it’s I,” said Valencia Morel,
coquettislily pulling the blue vail a
little farther over her face. “And
Mrs. Cavendish lias somenOAV found
out that you walk homo with me evc-
nings.
“Well, what thou,” demanded the
owner of the fire-tipped cigar, in a
debonnaire and defiant sort of Avay.
“Is it a capital crime?”
“N-no; I suppose not,” said Valen¬
cia, dubiously. “But, Hector—’
“Well?”
“1 do wish I knew Avliat the end of
all tins was to be.”
Captain Hector Maurice lifted his
primrose-kidded hands deprecatingly.
“So like a woman,” said lie. “Bless
their dear little hearts, they never can
be contented to let well enough alone.”
“Well, if you must know,” inter¬
rupted tho gallant captain, “wo aro
nearer ‘the end of all this’ than you’ve
any idea of.”
“What do you mean?” Valencia
stood still, Avitli a face as white as
marble.
“I mean simply that.l’m to be mar¬
ried in three months.”
“Married!”
“Y r os, married. Why not? She is
not as pretty as you are, Valencia,”
with a sigli and a shrug; “in fact,
ahe's as old and ugly as Medusa, if yon
know avIio that classical character was;
but she’s rich, and I never avhs one of
the kind that could live on love niul
poetry. Now don’t turn crusty, Va-
lencia!” as sho involuntarily drew
back. “Yon know I’m desperately
fond cf you and all that sort of tiling,
but I must marry money or it is all up
with me! And you must iiave known
that we couldn’t go on philandering
like this forever!”
Valencia looked at him Avitli eyes
that shone dangerously.
“ Hector Maurice,” said she, “ you
have been playing Avitii me all (his
time. Beware I do not (urn out an
edged tool!”
THE ENTERPRISE. r
“ My darling, only listen to mo."
He took both her hands by main
force and ronewed his caressing pro¬
testations whilo ho walked along at
her side. Presently she turned, with
a short, harsh laugh.
“ Don’t mind mo, Hector," said sho;
“ I was a little out of temper. Jt
came so suddenly, you know. And
perhaps I was unreasonable. But I’m
all over it now. Tell me about her—
the bride."
Hector made a little gvimacc.
“Excuse me,” said he; “I shall
have quite enough of her in the fu¬
ture without rhapsod zing ou the sub¬
ject now."
“Is she pretty?”
“Was Medusa pretty?”
“Is she rich?”
“If she wasn’t do you suppose I’d
marry her?"
“Is sho young?”
“Well, she’s about tho ago of my
mother.”
“Oh, Hector! Ana what is her
name?”
“Aurora, my dear. ‘Fair goddess
of the dawn.’ ”
“But her last name, I moan?” urged
Valencia.
“That I shall not tell you,” half in
earnest. “Lest, to use your own
words, you should turn out an edged
tool.”
Valencia made him no answer; she
only compressed her lips until they
were a mere scarlet thread. And when
she came back to Mrs. Cavendish’s
workroom the next day, she was a lit¬
tle paler than usual.
“I don’t understand it,” said Mrs.
Cavendish, one day.
“Don’t understand what?” said Miss
Gay, the forewoman. i
That Miss Morel is so \ fever¬
ishly anxious to attend personally to
all tho wedding orders. I used to
send Mademoiselle Florine, but Miss
Morel has asked it, as a favor, to bo
allowed to go; and she really has an
excellent idea of stytles and trimmings,
and gives great satisfaction. But
what her fancy is I can’t tell.”
“Some girls have an absolute
mania on the subject of weddings,”
said Miss Gay, elevating her brow.
But Valencia Morel’s motive was
deeper far than any of which Mrs.
Cavendish and here forewoman could
dream. And one day her quest met
with its reward.
Mrs. Dorrance was a widow, fat j
fair and forty; and Mrs. Dorrance
contemplated a second matrimonial
alliance. And while she was giving
Mrs. Cavendish’s young woman her
opinion about the wedding dress,
Valencia’s eyes fell upon a photograph
on the mantel—Hector Maurice’s fair,
false face. Her her heart gave a great
throb_the deep crimson flamed into
her cheeks.
“So you are going to be married
again?" said she, drawing a long
breath. “But—I beg your pardon for
the remark—isn’t it running a great
risk?”
“Oh, I don’t know,”said Mrs. Dor¬
rance, laughing. “Life is fall of
risks.”
“A friend of mine is going to be
married to a widow, too,” said Valen-
cia. “And you should hear him talk
about her! But, then, to be sure,
widows differ.”
“Very much in love, eh?” said the
widow, simpering.
“Well, not exactly that,” saul Va¬
lencia. “IBs widow must bo dread¬
fully old. lie says she’s about the age
of his mother!’’
“Oh, dear me?” said Mrs.Dorranco;
“that is dreadful I”
But she was evidently interested,
and sat with tho samples of white reps
and dove-colored satin in her hand,
looking at Miss Morel.
“And plain, too,” added Valencia.
“He calls her his Medusa!”
“Hateful old thing!” said Mrs.
Dorrance, briskly. “What business
lias sho to be angling for a husband at
her time of life?”
But she’s rich,” added Valencia.
That accounts for it,” said Mrs.
Dorrance.
«<Oh, ye-,” said Miss Morel, “ that
accounts for it.”
<< you—you never heard him men¬
tion her name, did you?” said Mrs.
Dorrance, a little uneasily.
“Oil, dear.no ma’am,” said Val¬
encia. “ Did you say you would pre¬
fer the stone-gray faille, or—”
“I really don’t know why I should
feel any curiosity upon the subject,”
interrupted the widow, laughing arti-
ficially; “but if your friend’s name
isn’t a secret—”
“Oh, no secret at all,” said Valencia.
“It is Maurice—Captain Hector
Maurice.”
“Good gracious!” said the Avidow,
dropping all her samples in a glisten¬
ing shower.
“Voti don’t mean to say that you
know him, tntt’am?” said Miss Morel,
in well-feigned astonishment.
Equal Rights to all, Special Privileges to None.
CARNES VILLK, FRANKLIN CO.. GA„ Fill DAY, OCTOBER 2.1891.
“ ‘Know him!’ ” said Mrs. Dorranco,
fanning herself violently, “It’s tho
very man I am engaged to! But I
won’t marry him; no, that I never
will!”
Valencia clasped her hands theatric-
ally.
“Ohl” cried she, “what have I said?
Pleaso, please, donr madam, forget my
foolish chatter. If 1 had know—”
“If I had known!” interrupted tho
widow. “Medusa, indeed! Old enough
to bo his mother, forsooth! But ho
shall never have the handling of my
money ?”
And Mrs. Dorrance rang tho boll for
her maid, and Avent off into violent
hysterics.
No wedding outfit was made up for
this occasion at Mrs. Cavendish’s cele¬
brated establishment—and Captain
Maurice Avas at his wits’ end to know
why his plighted bride had changed
her mind so suddenly. Ho did enter-
tertain somo vague idea of a “breach-
of-promise”siiit,but wisely abandoned
it. But shame to say, he never sus¬
pected Valencia Morel, avIio still ivorks
on, pale and silent, in the dreary
rooms, and never sees him iioav.
Captain Maurice had played with
edged tools, and he had not come off
scalhless.— [New York Ledger.
A Curious House.
The reporters and other straugers
avIio were in Sing Sing at the time of
the recent electrocutions, and who
climbed the bilUeading to the prison,
noticed a queer looking house, just as
the road turned off the main street.
As seen from the top of (he hill, it ap¬
peared to be a substantial story and a
half brick house, with mansard roof
and huge AvindoAVS. A porch ran the
entire length and up to the second
story. Many people commented on
its peculiar appearance, A News
reporter Avho had occasion to go to
the telegraph office beneath the hill,
noticed that the house Avas really five
stories and a half high, but Avas built
up against tho face of the hill, so that
from the top only the upper stories
could be seen.
The peculiar feature of the house is
that (lie only entrance to it is from tho
fifth story,and tho residents walk down
insteailof up stairs, as in an ordinary
house. UTlie house or rather its oavii-
cr, PatrYk Rigney, has quite a liis-
tory. S\mc years ago AVlien he
bought tho'\luff which his house is
now built against, the people in Sing
Sing regarded him as little short of
insane. lie paid a mere song for tho
entire strip of land, a block in length,
Avliieli Avas underlaid by huge bOAvlders
and a solid rock cliff. He was at that
time earning a living by doing haul¬
ing around the city.
The old residents of the place could
not possibly see Avhat he wanted witli
Avhat had theretofore been regarded
as a piece of waste land. By the use
of dynamite and giant powder, Mr.
Rigny succeeded in getting out enough
rock, which ho sold for building pur¬
poses, to net him a handsome 6um.
Willi tills nucleus he Avas enabled to
open a profitable business, and subse¬
quently built tho house, Avliich excited
so much comment on the part of (hose
avIio saw it for the first time.— [Now
York News.
Taper Belts.
One of the largest establishments in
tliis country has for some time been
turning out paper belts that have tho
reputation of being superior in many
respects to thoso of leather; these
belts are made from pure linen stock,
ami are of any desired thickness, width,
or length, having also a driving poAver
equal to any other from an equal sur¬
face, and, Avhile it is not claimed for
them that they arc adapted to all kinds
of work, they are found to servo avc!1
as straight driving bolts of not less
than five inches in width. Where they
have been tested side by side Avith
leather belts for strength and durabil¬
ity, they are alleged to have proved
equally satisfactory, adhering closely
to the pulley, generating no electricity
whilo running, being also flexible,
and unaffected by temperature within
ordinary limits, though there is one
place in which they cannot be used,
and that i3 ay here they liavo to run in
water, or where they Avould be con¬
stantly subjected to moisture. It is
admitted that this kind of belting is
best adapted to heavy driving belts,
and for this purpose it is not only
much the cheapest material, hut when
once in position Avill run until worn
out.—[New York Sun.
The Little Darlings.
Mrs. De Mover—Sokes alive! This
i; the noisiest neighborhood I ever got
into, Just hear those children
screech.
Maid—They’re your own childcrs,
nctim.
Mrs. De Movei—Are they ? IIoav
the little darlings aro enjoying them¬
selves.—[New Y’ork Weekly.
“CHUB HEAPS.”
Peculiar Mounds Built by Fish in
the St. Lawrence River.
Nests That are Composed of
Huge Heaps of Pebbles.
It lias been our custom each after¬
noon to row out among somo of the
islands of tho thousand or more
crowd and jostle each other in the St.
Lawrence River, and then alloAV tho
boat to drift with the west wind.
Ono day avo drifted along in Avator
ten or tAvelvo feet deep, Avatching the
fishos upon tho bottom, the waving
Aveed that formed tho carpet of tho
little bay, AVlien tho proAV of the boat
almost grazed a miniature mountain
that, apparently without reason, rose
precipitously from tho bottom. It
presented so singular an appearance
tlmt avo stopped tho boat. Reaching
over I touched the summit and picked
from it a slone or jjehble, which later
I had tho curiosity to weigh. A small
steamer ran dodging in and out among
the islands on certain days in the AVOek,
passing through very narroAV passages
where the Avikl roses almost met on
either aide, and I at first assumed that
this singular heap Avas of ashes or
clinkers that had been thrown over
from the little vessel, but tho stone
which 1 brought up disproved this.
It Avas a piece of granite, worn by
tho Avater, and a slight investigation
showed that the entire pilo was made
up of stones, the whole amounting to
almost a carload and weighing, avo
estimated, over a ton—possibly two or
more.
For many yards about there was not
a pebble to be seen upon tho bottom;
the nearest deposit Avas a bench, 100
feet aAvay, and from here the stones
must have been brought and dropped
ono by one. Thoro were thousands
of them, and the more avo looked and
investigated the more extraordinary it
appeared. Certainly it could not have
been the Avork of boys, as to have ac¬
cumulated such a heap would have
exhausted tho patience of the most
energetic lover of outdoor life. We
were puzzled, and pfter measuring
the heap and finding that it Avas nearly
five feet high and seven or edglit feet
across avo drifted on, to ruu across
several others—one in deeper water
and apparently larger, Avhile another
was smaller and seemingly but half
completed.
Finally an old guide on the river
said it Avas a “chub heap”— and the
mystery avhs solved. The piles, that
must have been a tremendous piece of
work, were the results of the labors
of a fish known as the chub—more
commonly as tho “stone loter”—
Avhile those familiar Avith the fish Avill
rajneinber it as senotilus ballads, t
The stone totcr is an attractive fish
attaining a length of a foot and a half,
has Til silvery scales and bright eyes.
pile of stones is thoir Avork —tho
ih’D or home, or castle, where their
egis are deposited and where the little
sto\e toters first see the light of day.
lns^ictively the parent fish collects
stoics and drops them in tho place
selected. Probably, in the first year,
t.ic ustle does not rise above a first
story and is but the foundation
for tin vast aggregation that is to
follOAV
Aimng these foundation stones tho
eggs an doposiled, there finding pro¬
tection from the cat fishes and others
that pry upon such delicacies. As
each sui.essive senson comes around
it is doultlcss added to; several gen¬
erations >f fishes in all probability
Arorking it tho nest, collecting stones
often of .Monishing weight Avhen (lie
size of the fish is remembered, and
dropping tlim upon the growing pile
that finally lmost reaches the surface,
as we have sen. The labor and pa¬
tience involvd in this work can on!<-
be realized Alien the stone mountin'r n
is examined, mi (he fish seen sw m
miiig by it.
IIoav many ourneys to distant
points are rcqtrcd to accurnmulalc
alj those pebbles an he imagined, and
that the stone «ietio is only erected
after arduous labWan readily be Sill-
niised. Ill the V dualities avIicic tlie
dace is common, Slcral nesls or tow¬
ers are often founb,, a comparatively
restricted area, so nq in “toting” the
stones the little bnildig pave to cross
each other's nests, ancq j s no t impos¬
sible that sometimes st ai . e gjyjy
taken from eacli other’s les c 8> though
it is fair to say that such ,h ar p prac-
(ices have not been obscrvi.
Among the sunfidies, tha arR a j S()
nest builders, invaders are allonge.1
and promptly driven from ti neigh¬
borhood.—[Neiv York Heralc
Maud—I wonder why they al j
the angry sea. Webb—Perhapt p, c _
cause so many people persist in c gg .
ing it.
The Travels of n Diamond.
Twonty-lhioo years ago last
ary as a Newark (N. J.) jeweler
about to closo his store ono
night, a shabby young man
and (tiered to sell him a gold
containing a diamond stone,
ed by a circlo of smaller gems,
asked $160 for tho ring, saying it
all ho had in tho world. The man
clared he must dispose of it that
but his anxioty niado tho jeweler
fearful, and at last ho firmly
to liavo anything further to do
tho matter until tho next day.
On the morrow tho visitor
again, saying ho had pawned tho ring
for a trifling sum, as ho was forced
do so to get accommodations for tho
night, but desired tho jcAvelcr to go
with him to tho pawnbroker’s shop
and examine tho stono more closely.
The merchant did so and made a bar¬
gain for tho ring, paying the difference
between his price and tho pawn debt.
Tho jeweler asked no questions al¬
though tho fellow could probably liavo
told an interesting story about tho
stone. IIo reset tho stono in u lady’s
ring and a month later it was carried
away by an exultant lover, and it
sparkled on (ho hand of a blushing
bride in high life soon after.
Ten years lator the same jeweler
paid a half starved, shivering woman
exactly Avhat her lover had paid for
tho rii g a Aveek before her marriage,
and as she led nAvay her golden-haired
girl she felt that sho was rich with
what she avouUI have thrown aside a
decade before. Tho next purchaser
was a portly old gentleman, who gavo
the stone to his young Avife, Avhom ho
had taken from her school books to as-
sumo the management of a grand old
mansion.
It Avas just two years ago that tho
old gentleman, still halo and hearty,
entered the joAveler’s store, leading by
the hand a bright-eyed little fellow,
whom ho introduced as his son and
heir. Then ho Btated the object of
his visit, lie said the l ing reminded
him too much and too painfully of
the fair young molhor avIio never sbav
the face of her baby boy. — [Me wol lers’
AVeckly.
Results from an Invention.
Dr. Lardner, Avriting of tlio steam
engine, said: “To enumerate its
present effects Avould bo to count al¬
most every comfort and every luxury
of life. It has increased the sum of
human happiness, not only by calling
new pleasures into existence, but by
so cheapening former enjoyments as to
render them attainable by those Avho
before could never have hoped to share
them, The surface of the land and
the face of the Ava’ers aro traversed
with equal facility by its power; and
by thus stimulating and facilitating
the intercourse of nation Avith nation,
am! the commerce of people Avith peo¬
ple, it has knit together remote coun¬
tries by bonds of amity not likely to
bo broken.
“Streams of knowledge and infor¬
mation are kept flowing between dis¬
tant centers of population, thoso more
advanced diffusing civilization nnd im¬
provement among those that are more
backward. The press itself, to Avliich
mankind owes, in so large a degree,
(he rapidity of its improvement in
modern times, has had its poAver and
influence increased in a manifold ratio
by its union with tho steam engine. It
is thus tlmt literature is cheapened,
and by being cheapened, diffused; it
is thus that reason has taken the placo
of force and the pen has superseded
the sword; it is thus that war lias al¬
most ceased upon (he earth, and tlmt
(lie difference* Avliieli inevitably ariso
between people and people are for tho
most part adjusted by peaceful nego¬
tiations.”—[Scientific American.
The Color of Water.
What is the color of pure water?
Almost any person avIio lias no special
knoAvledge of (lie subject Avill reply at
once, “It lias no color.” Yet every¬
body knows, either through hearsay
or by (lie ewdence of his own eyes,
that the ocean is blue. Why the ocea;
looks bluo is a question that few avIio
have crossed it have ever sought to
solve, and there are probably many
travelers who, though they have seen
most of tho famous rivers and lakes
in the Avorld, have failed to notice tiie
remarkable difference in color Avliich
Choir waters present. Even tho ocean
is not uniform in color; in some places
its Avaters aro green or even yellowish.
— [Nature.
A Tongh Time.
“I’ll trouble you for the time,” said
the footpad to the gentleman with a
gold’watch in a dark street.
“It’s just striking one,” said tho
gentleman, hitiing the highwayman
between the eyes.
“Don’t hit with your second hand,'
said the footpad, .skipping off.—^De-
troit Free Press.
CHILDREN'S COLUMN.
A QtTEKK noV.
doesn’t like study, It ‘’weakens his
eyes,”
' But the “right sort” of book will Insure a
surprise.
bet It lie about Indians, pirates, or bears,
And he’s lost for the day to all mundane
affair*;
By sunlight or gaslight his vision is clear.
Now, isn’t that queer?
At thought of an errmul, he’s “tired as a
hound,”
Very weary of life, and of “tramping
around.”
But if there’s a hand or a circus In sight,
lie will follow It gladly from morning till
n Ight.
Tho showman will capture him, some day, I
fear,
For lie is so queer.
If there's work In ttie garden, his head
“aches to split,”
And his back ts so tame that ho “can’t dig a
bit."
But mention huso ball, and lie’s cured very
soon;
And he’ll dig for a woodchuck tho whole
afternoon.
l)o you think he “plays ’possum”? lie seems
quite sincere;
But—Isn’t ho queer?
THE GREAT HORNBILL.
Tho groat liornbill is a large bird, of
a mottled gray and brown color,
Avhose central tail feathers aro nearly
four foot in length, so that tho bird
when flying forms a perfect cross
against the sky. The bill is a formid¬
able weapon, being sharpened like a
miner’s pick, of solid hone, hard as
ivory, and weighted Avith a solid
helmet of tho same material. Those
birds inhabit Africa and Asia.—[De¬
limit Free Press.
THE MEKIIY Ol'TLAAV, BOB O’ LINCOLN.
Tho merry bobolink is ono of the
prettiest song-birds in tho country. In
Eastern Pennsylvania, along tho Delu-
Avaro, the bobolink is known as the
“rood-bird,’’ and is eagerly hunted by
sportsmen.
You must likoAviso know that the
bobolink has a third name—“rice-
bird.” That is what it is called in tho
Southern States. It is so named be¬
cause it attacks tho rico-flelds and do-
vours the grain. We of tho North
know little of the troublo it
causes by this especial appclito.
The magnitude of tho depreda¬
tions of the little bobolink can
hardly bo appreciated outside of tho
narrow belt of rice-fiolds along tho
coasts of a fow of tho Southern States.
In innumerable hosts the birds visit
the fields at the timo of planting in
spring, eating the seed-grain before
the fields are “flooded,” and then fly
back north into Pennsylvania, New
York and New England, whoro they
spend tho summer. About tho middle
of August they commence to migrate
south again, and SAVOop down upon
the rice-fields once more, just at the
timo of harvesting tho crop. AVliat
rieo escaped in tho spring now ha9 lit¬
tle hope of surviving, for as the grain
matures the birds pick it off in tho
face of the most desperate opposition.
To prevent total destruction of tho
crop during those invasions, thousands
of men and boys, called “bird-mind¬
ers,” are employed by the rice-plant¬
ers; hundreds of thousands of pounds
of gunpowder aro burned, and millions
of birds killed. Still the number of
bobolinks invading tho rice-fields each
year seems in no Avay diminished, and
tho aggregate annual loss they causo is
estimated by Dr. C. Ilarf Mcrriman,
Ornithologist of the United States
Department of Agriculture, at $2,-
000 , 000 .
BctAveen spring and late summor
when the bobolink is at tho North, he
displays none of these ruinous ways
of his. He is all beauty and music.
Sometimes lie may plunder a cornfield
slightly, but in Pennsylvania ho is not
guilty even of that slight offense. Ho
is known on the farms of tho North
only as a biul most showy in his dress
of black, Avhite and yellow feathers.
The song of the bobolink is a pecu¬
liar, rapid, jingling, indescrib¬
able medley of sounds, started
fist by one bird, quickly folloAved by
another and another, until the Avholo
flock are engaged in a grand concert.
Then, suddenly, without any apparent
reason, they all, at the same instant,
slop. These delightful choral concerts
endear them to tho farmer boys and
girls of Pennsylvania. The “mellow,
metallic chink” the birds niter has
given them a name to imitate their
song—“bob-o-link.” When the birds
mate, the male appears to lose his
vocal poAvers, and is heard to utter
only a sharp, clinking note, like that of
the female. And Avhen they settle
down to plundering a rice-field, they
seem to liavo lost all their melody,
for then they can only chirp.
Another strange thing about tho
bobolink is that he loves the darkness
of night. They only migrate, or
travel, at night. They winter in the
West Indies, where they get so fat
that the natives have given them a
fourth Nicholas. name—“the buitcrbirds.”—[St.
OFFICIAL OKGAN
—or tub—
FRANKLIN COUNTY ALLIANCE
$1.00 PER YEAR.
Questioning.
If there Is a doubt in your heart today
Tbat. stretches Its shadow across to me,
If you cannot look in my eyes and say.
“My trust Is perfect and full and free."
For the sake of a day that would work us
woe,
I pray you pity and (ell me so.
When you look Into my eyes and kiss my
face,
And hold mo close to your throbbing
heart,
Is there ever in it a hint or place
That tells you we could in the future part?
Does a doubt,os faint ns an unknown breath,
Suggest a parting that was not death?
Dear love, search so dec]) in your heart I
pray,
That Its dimmest corner shill come to
light,
Then look mo straight In tho eyes and say
The truth, as the truth seems just and
right;
If your love can change—ah, lovo docs, I
know—
t pray you pity and tell me so.
—[U. M. Manvlllo, in New York Press.
HUMOROUS.
Thoro is one crop (hat is pretty short
this season—(ho hair crop.
The tramp is always too ill to saw
wood after dinner, hut ho is up and
about.
People who aro really missed when
away nover appreciate their im¬
portance when present.
Miss Do Plain—Doctor, what is tho
secret of beauty? Family Physician
(confidentially)—Be born pretty.
Miss Ugly Girl—Tho whole affair
was so absurd that, I assure yon, I
could hardly keep my countenance.
Miss Flip—Why did you want to?
Bachelor—Fred, how do you dcllue
a love letter? Benedict—A lovo letter
is a thing that ton years afterward
you generally wish you hadn’t writ¬
ten.
Aunt (ending her story)—And three
nontenants fell in tho attack. College
Girl—And is it possible there arc peo¬
ple in the world heartless enough to
kill a lieutenant?
lie—Yes, darling, and it shall bo tho
purpose of my lifo to surround you
witli every comfort and to anticipate
and grntify your every wish. Sho—
IIow good of you, Harry l And all on
§12 a woek, too!
A soldier wroto homo for a supply
of cash. Appended to tho letter was
the following postcriptum: “I felt so
ashamed at having asked you to send
me money that 1 ran to tho postofllco
to get my letter back. Unfortunately
it had gono.”
Charlemagne’* Tnhlceloths.
Several Sliarpshurg ladies are anx¬
ious to learn how Charlemagne's table-
cloths were washed by throwing them
in tho lire. One faction argues that
each cloth was burned as soon ns it be¬
came toiled, thus rendering washing
unnecessary.
It is a fact that the tablecloths fnm
which the great ruler ate his royal
boar’s head and boiled cabbage was
cleansed by casting them into a hot
fire. They were made of asbestos.
This substance is found in the Alps,
the Pyrenees and tho Ural mountains,
in many parts of Asia and Africa, in
tho Alleghenies and Blue Itidgo, in
several Western states, in tho Andes
of South America and in the moun¬
tains of Australia.
Tho best samples come from Sar¬
dinia and Corsica, whence vvas prob¬
ably obtalnod that for the manufacture
of tho celebrated tablecloth mentioned.
Asbestos may he avovcii into textilo
fabrics, though no great proficiency
has been obtained in this art, its prin¬
cipal 'so being for fire-proof flooring
and as packing in safes, in journal
boxes and around steam pipes.
It is indestructible by heat, and for
tho entertainment of his guests Char¬
lemagne would at the conclusion of a
feast order tho tablecloth to be thrown
into tho fire, whence, to tho mystifica¬
tion of all, it would come forth
cleansed hut unconsumcd. — [Pittsburg
Commercial Gazette.
Ho Wears Well.
John Furlong presents a fresh illus¬
tration of how much the human frame
can endure. Ho is ninety years old,
lias outlived every one on Avhom h«
had any claim, and Avas recently found
on the pavement in Noav York city,
Avliere lie had lain all night literally
dying of hunger. It takes so little to
keep him alive that, according to the
testimony produced, ho hud lived for
years on something loss than the daily
equivalent of an average schoolboy’s
lunch. Yet he had lived, and ut last
accounts bade fair to live some years
longer.— [Detroit Free Press.
Inspecting the Portrait.
Maude—Well, mamma, how do yon
like it? Does it look like me?
Mamma—Humph! The face is
good enongh, but no one would ever
think that dross cost your dear papa
$3000.—[Puck.