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THE LAND OF LONG A GO.
Sometimes, when thrushes sing, or sweet
bells chime
Far off anu faint across the silent sea,
Or south winds wafts the breath of sunny
c ‘ime,
Or ringdoves coo their love by ba mg
rills.
Or the fair priestess of the dawn, star¬
eyed, eastern
Trails her white robo above tlis
■. hills; lilies blow
Down a dim way where stately
1 see the land—the Land of Long Ago.
Then memory beckons, and with trembung
feet
I tread the ways where life was once so
sweet; where
See this dear face, that sleeps mar¬
bles shine,
And that—but oeeins ’twist us roll their
brine.
“Dear ones, will you not come to me once
mere
And smile and kiss ms as in days of yore?’
“Ab, foolish heart! whan will yen learn to
know
Kona e’er return from the dead Long
Ago?’
“But give me back my joy, the dreams of
youth, Truth;
Hope’s rosy visions, or the lamp of
Roll back Time’s record from the dial-
plate
And snatch a trophy from the grasp of
Fate.”
Again I gazed with wildly streaming eyes
On the dread angel that so much denies—
Again the still voice breathed o'er fields of
snovr,
“These are the treasures of the Long Ago.”
Alas, that land! that Land of Long Ago;
No resurrection shines above its snow;
Memory may enter, but a flaming sword
Forbids with meuance stern Hope’s tender
word.
The Past is gone—the Now wa grasp full
fond,
And the To Ba looks darkly from beyond—
And still the years roll on with ceaseles;
flow
Into the silence of the Long Ago —
Oh, Land of Lang Ago!
—Mary C. Francis, in Detroit Free Pres.
JOHN'S STENOGRAPHERS
jEY LSWIS ISAACS.
kS OIIN BRANDON,
____the hero of this
^ thrilling romance,
m the time
•:rsr. at which our story
w 1 ■ opens, a man of
,-S y /■ about forty years
— robust
•M a 2 c >
' _ constitution, and
t the possessor of a
r- luxuriant blonde
beard and retiring aud bashful disposi-
tioD. lie probably, on account of this
latter infirmity, had remained a bachelor,
though arrived at years of decretion.
Mr. Brandon genius in his '
• was a way
and natural mechanic. He had invented
n number of useful articles the most uu«
table of which were the Juvenile lie*
versable Trousers, the Corpulent’s Com¬
panion and the Automatic Ventilating
Hat.
The Juvenile Reversible Trousers were
intended to equalize the wear and tear
of this necessary article of a boy’s ap¬
parel, but were not a pronounced suc-
cess. The principal reason foi the fail- 1
ure of this invention arose from the fact
that they being alike in front and rear,
the juvenile individual who donned
them never knew in which direction he
was going.
The Corpulent’s Companion, which
consisted of a device by which a stout
man could turn up the bottom of his
trouser legs without having to stoop to
perform this duty, was likewise a failure.
For though everything worked well
when the weather called for the turning
up operation, no arrangements had been
made for turning them down again.
The consequence was that a
man endowed with alder-
manic proportions had to bend his adi¬
pose anatomy to an uncomfortable angle
when he was desirous of having his pan¬
taloons resume their proper position, and
thus, like the Juvenile Reversible
Trousers, the Corpulent's Companion did
not meet with unqualified success.
“It is a long laue that no turn¬
ing,” and after many months of hard
work, deep thought and persevering in¬
dustry, the Automatic Ventilating Hat,
an invention over which Johu Brandon
had consumed many gallons of midnight
oil, was introduced to public notice, and
became the rage. It was advertised in-
teliigently and John Brandon became
famous. The Automatic Hat had a
number of miniature metallic tubes in-
serted between the hat and the lining,
the air entering at one end of the tubes
and after circulating freely through them
found egress at the other end, thus the
head of the man who was fortunate
enough to procure one of these celebrated
hats, was sure to be cool and comfort¬
able.
Mr. Brandon’s business now increased
to such an extent that he invested in a
typewriting machine and advertised for a
stenographer. the situation
The first applicant for was
% Miss Moore, but she did not hold the
position long. A short trial of her skill
proved her unfittness for it. John hired
her in the morning and discharged her
the same evening. Miss Moore’s
strength, like Samson’s, lay in her hair.
She wore bangs; otherwise she was an
ordinary evety day kind of a girl. The
lightning rapidity with which she took
down John's notes fairly staggered that
gentleman, he being a novice at dictation,
But, alas! she could not read her notes;
when she attempted to do so the Empire
Stale Express speed with which she had
ta ;j en them down now' slowed down to
tae favorite gait of a Fifth avenue stage,
the poor girl in her despair tore her
out by the handful when trying to
what she had written, and the
which once knew Miss Moore,
knew her no more.
Miss Amelia Thickly, Miss Moore's
successor, was rather short in stature,
but what she lacked in that respect she
more than made up for in width, in fact
she was nearly as broad a? she was long.
As a stenographer Miss Tnicklv gave Mr.
Brandon perfect satisfaction, but she
was terribly hard on the office chairs,
the manner in which they creaked and
groaned under her weight made John so
nervous that he grew thin, and his type
writer continued to gain in flesh, as
though trying to make up for what he
lost in avoirdupois. Five chairs had
become total wrecks under the strain
brought to bear on them, and when
the sixth, the sole survivor of
the wreck of the half dozen he had
bought, went to pieces all at once, like
“the deacon’s one hoss shay,” patience
had ceased to be a virtue, and Mr. Bran¬
don paid Miss Thickly two weeks’ sal¬
ary in advance and that young lady
is now seeking employment elsewhere.
Miss Mary Bonelv, the next occupant
of the stenographic chair in the office
of Mr. Brandon was very unlike her
predecessor in office. She was a very
angular young person, and had the ap¬
pearance of being all corners. Her el¬
bows were so sharp that when she acci¬
dentally touched John in the ribs with
one of them in passing him, he thought
somebody had stuck a pin into his anat¬
omy. Her elbows were her bane, she
seemed to have no control over them
whatever. Tim, the office boy, had
them pushed into his eyes every time
ho went near her to get the letters
to copy. The consequence was
that that young gentleman invariably
had one of his optics draped in purple
and fine linen. Mary had a little Jamb¬
like habit of meditating quite frequently
during business hours, and when, she
meditated she generally leaned her el¬
bows on her desk. Result two holes
in it and an honorable discharge. Mr.
Brandon was certainly very unfortunate.
He had had to let two good operators
go, out ol respect to his furniture.
Miss Tabitha Tinkhain made applica-
tion in writing, for the vacant position
of stenographer in John Brandon’s estab-
lishment. Ste stated that she had an
experience of many years and was sure
she could give satisfaction. If engaged
by Mr. Brandon she requested permission
to bring her own chair, salary not
being so much.’ of an object
as a comfortable position. The chair
clause of the letter captured John, and
he wrote to Miss Tinkham that he shoud
be pleased if she would report for duty
as soon as possible, arrived his
When Mr. Brandon at
office the following morning 3Iiss Tab-
itha Tinkham was there. She was seated
in a rocking chair that an expressman
had just brought in, and by her side, on
the floor, was a black cat that looked as
though some one had^attempted to elec¬
trocute it, and the' manner iu which it
elevated its spine when any one ap¬
proached would have caused a domedary
to die of envy could he have witnessed
this acrobatic
Miss Tabitha Tinkham was a maiden
ladv of uncertain age aud she wore a
polka dot dress, black mittens and an
angelic smile. Her hair was of a warm
auburn hue, slightly sprinkled with
gray, so that the little pug at the back
of her head resembled a dwarfed sugared
doughnut. In front she wore a little
ringlet at either side resembling short
fat gimblets. This lady was also the
possessor of a squaky voice and was just
a “leetle bit deaf.” Now, 3Ir. Bran¬
don had had so many trials and tribula¬
tions in all of his transactions with type¬
writers that he undoubtedly would have
retained Mies Tinkham in his service for
the remainder of her natural life, if it
had not been for three things, her deaf¬
ness, her rocking chair and her cat. I he
trouble was, that on account of the slight
impediment iu her auricular organs he
had to get pretty close to her in order
to make her understand what he wished
to have her write, and the consequence
was that the rocker mashed hi3 toes all
out of shape, and when his torture
caused hiiu to groan, the cat elevated
h C r or his back to such an enormous
height that it fairly made John’s hair
stand on end. When ho informed Mias
Tinkham that, though he respected and her
very much as a lady and a scholar,
was very sorry to part with her, her cat
and rocking chair made it necessary for
to do so, she became so very hard
’ he had invest iu
of hearing that to an
! ear trumpet before he could prevail ou
this estimable maiden lady to depart
with her furniture and pet feline in
peace. is,
What a poor, weak creature man
the conclusion of this narrative will
abundantly prove. Mr. Brandon de-
clared that “he was disgussed with
women in general, but with lady type-
writists in particular,” and though he
had suffered many disappointments, like
Bruee, of Scotlaud, he thought he
would “try, try, try again.”
Migs Maud Milton, Alias Tinkham's
successor, was such a contrast to that
ancient dame in every respect that Johu
Brandon could not help gazing at her.
He first thought she was very pretty and
ended up by considering her positively
handsome. He would lay awake nig’ ta
wondering whether the color of ner
eyes were a deep blue or of a violet
shade, and her voice he thought was the
most musical he had ever heard.
John Brandon’s correspondence at this
time must have assumed enormous pro¬
portions for he was dictating letters to
his new stenographer from morning till
night, and when Miss Milton asked him
“if she should take them home to make
type-written copies of them,” big John
Brandon blushed like an overgrown
schoolgirl. Yes, John Brandon was in
love, over head and ears in love, and the
great foolish fellow who at last had got¬
ten a stenographer to suit him. asked
her to resign her position in his office, to
become his wife.
Miss Maud Milton is now Mrs. John
Brandon, and the name of Mr. Bran-
don’s latest stenographer is John J.
Smith.—The King’s Jester,
labor-saving Inventions.
Congressman Bunting in a recent Con¬
gressional debate gave interesting in¬
formation which is thus summarized by
the Albany (N. Y.) Times-Unioi 1
“It appears that about forty years ago
the preserving of fruits and vegetables
by way of the hermetically sealed can
was an infant industry, practically an
American discovery. Cans were made
entirely by hand with the crudest kind
of tinsmith tools. Three men could
turn out over 100 cans each, or 300 per
day at a labor cost of $2.50 per 190 or
thirty cents per dozen; a boy could
carry them to the store-house on his
back in two trips. Now, by the use of
machinery, three men will turn out
100,000 better made cans in a day. The
labor cost is thereby reduced to less than
one cent per dozen. This great output
can scarcely be loaded onto two freight
cars. Twenty years ago corn was cut
from the cob by hand at a cost of ten
cent3 a bushel; two bushels in an hour
for a boy was a good average. Now, by
the means of one simple machine, a boy
will cut seventy-five bushels an hour and
do much better work. Ten years age
peas were shelled by hand and the labor
cost was from ten to fifteen cents per
gallon. Now there is a machine which,
attended by one man and two boys, will
shell as many peas as 500 women could
in a day, or 1800 bushels iu ten hours,
at a labor cost of less chan one-eighth of
a cent per gallon. Twenty-five years
ago cans were filled by hand, the cook¬
ing was done in the crudest manner, and
the capping was done by the use of the
common soldering iron. Through im¬
proved facilities and machinery, twenty
two hands out of every twenty-five have
been displaced at the filling table; four
out of every five have been displaced in
the cooking department, and twelve out
of every fourteen have been displaced at
the capping stands. These marked re¬
ductions in labor, touchingevery feature
of the business, enables the packers produce to
pay the farmer old prices for
and yet sell canned goods, such as corn
aud peas, which sold twenty-five years
ago at $G per dozen, at $1 per dozen.
Thus by labor-saving devices, the co3t of
production of canned goods has been so
reduced as to place them within the
reach of the poorest.”
Smke Worship iu Dahomey.
Snake worship takes precedence of all
forms of Dahomaa religion, and its
priests and followers are the most
numerous. The is as
an emblem of bliss and prosperity, and
the killing of one of these reptiles is
sometimes punished by death. If this
penalty is not inflicted the offender is
heavily fined and made to run through a
crowd of snake worshipers armed with
clubs and firebrands. Any child who
happens to touch, or to be touched by
one of the holy snakes must be kept one
year at the fetish temple, under the
charge of the priests, and learn the
various rite3 of snake worship, with its
accompanying (lancing and singing.
The snake temple is a circular hut,
with a conical roof made of palm
branches, containing from 200 to 300
snakes. They are ail pythons of all
sizes and ages. The joists J and pole3
supporting the roof are completely
covered with them, and looking upward
one sees nothing but a vast writhing,
undulating mass of serpents. The
ground is covered by others lying in
torpor from their last meal. All are
perfectly tame, and permit the officiat¬
ing priests to pull them about with
very little ceremony.
The ocean is very generally worshiped,
and has a chief fetish man of high rank
dedicated to its use. Sometimes the
King of Dahomey sends a richly attired
ambassador, with gorgeous umbrella, to
his good friend, the Ocean. The am¬
bassador is taken far out to sea in a
canoe and is then thrown overboard for
a feast to sharks. The honor of this
diplomatic post is not eagerly sought or
coveted by Dahomey politicians.
Where Columbus Died,
The house at Valladolid, Spain, in
which Columbus died, is now used as a
cow stable. Above the stone archway
is a time-stained medallion, bearing a
j man's head, standing out in bold relief
on the stucco. Underneath is the en-
graved inscription: “Aqui murio Colon
—Ano 150G.” (Here died Columbus,
year 1506.) Ciose to this hung a small
sign-board with the following inscrip-
| tion: milked.”—Detroit “New milk sold Free here; Press, you ms j
see it
LOCALS.
Mies Eunice McCoweD, a charming
young lady of Cullcden, is visiting her
sister, Mrs. H. F. Sanders.
O. P. Wright spent several days in the
Gate City this week.
Capt. William Rutherford, one of Cul-
loden's most prominent aud influential
citizens, was in town the latter part of
the week.
The little daughter of Mr. Wachter,
who lives near Mr. John Champion’s,
bad the misfortune to get her eye badly
injured while playing in the yard last
Tuesday. It is hoped she will not lose
her sight, as was first thought.
Mrs. R. D. Smith and Mrs. J. W.
Stroud spent last Saturday and Sunday
with the family of Dr. J. Northrop
Smith, at Hickory Grove.
We learn that Culloden has two litera¬
ry schools in session now. One has very
few pupils while the other opened this
week with Miss Mattie Wilson as teacher,
with flattering prospects for a good at¬
tendance.
Miss Julia Rutherford is visiting rela¬
tives iu Roberta.
The General Assembly met in Atlanta
last Wednesday. Very li.tle work will
be doue this week, except to get organ¬
ized and to appoint committees, elect of¬
ficers, etc. The Assembly is composed
of an unusually fine class of men, aud the
people are expecting them to do some
fine legislating.
A light rain fell last Tuesday morning,
after which the weather at once began to
feel chilly, and by night it seemed as if
winter was upon us.
It is rumored that the Rocky Mountain
Oil Co. and the United Oil Co. will
consolidate in a few days and form one
company, which will be especially an¬
tagonistic to the Standard Oil Co. The
old adage, “when thieves fall out, just
men get their dues,”applies.
Mr. R. E. Elliott, our foreman, spent
the week in Reynolds.
A Third party man, and a former leader
of it, too, was asked last Saturday if he
still belonged to that party. “How can
I when there is now no Third party to
belong to?” was his rep'y.
We learn that some of the family of
Mr. Jno. Harrison near Ceres are quite
sick.
The number of traveling salesmen
comiug to Knoxville and Roberta seem
to be increasing. This indicates better
times ahead.
Mr. W. II. Harris, of Macon, spent
Sunday with his mother in Knoxville.
The State Fair opened in Macon last
Tuesday. The people of Crawford do
not seem to be taking very much inter¬
est in it this year.
Mr. Harris ThorntoD, of Taylor cou n¬
ty was in Knoxville last Saturday.
Mr. Math Goodin was carried to the
Asylum at Milledgvil! , on last Tuesday.
The grand jury presentments which
were read at the close of court last week
were unusually favorab'e showing the
county affairs to to be in splendid shape.
We heard several prominent men re¬
mark last week that Jno. Culverhouse
was the best and most accommodating
sheriff Crawford has had in many years.
C. H. Branch, a workingman, of
Gainesville, Ga., has challanged Tom off
Watson to a joint debate and to come time
any where in the state at any
between now and Nov. 8th. Since Tom¬
mie claims to be such a friend to the
workingman it would fnot be amiss for
him to meet Mr. Branch, even though
he is not a congressman—neither will
Tommie be one after Nov. 8th.
Mrs. Mathews, wife of Rev. Joel N.
Mathews, has been iu wretched health for
some time. Some weeks ago she had
the misfortune to fall and broke several
bones. Her sufferings have been so in¬
tense that her mind has been temporarily
affected, and her husband and friends de¬
cided it would be best to carry her to the
asylum where she could get the treatment
she needs. We sincerely hope and trust
she may soon regain her former self for
it does seem that the hand of affliction is
resting sufficiently heavy on Mr. Mathews
Yet he boars it all with a meek and God¬
ly submission.
On last Friday afternoon Mr. Hugh
Bankston was driving a young mule to
his wagon hauling up corn, Mrs. Bank-
ston approached the wagon, and put a
couple of her little children in it, when
the mule becoming Heightened and be¬
gan to run and continued running for
some distance when it struck a tree with
its head, killing it instantly. One of the
children was quite seriously hurt, but the
other escaped without any serious hurt.
Mrs. Harrison, wife of President Har¬
rison, breathed her last at the White
House on last Monday morning, after a
long continued illness. Mrs. Harrison
was a noble Christian woman and one
who was an active worker in all char¬
itable and religious endeavors. She was
devoted to her husband and always tried
to advance his interest.. The sympathy
of a whole nation goes out to Pres. Har¬
rison in his bereavement.
There was a sleight of Land and magic
lantern show in the dining room of The
Harris house at Knoxville last Saturday.
It was said to be very poor. Quite a
crowd of small boys attended who amus¬
ed the crowd by their comments on the
performance, 'o. P. Wright cm tell
you about it.
With this issue Tiie Herald will be
discontinued, having sold it to the Cor¬
respondent. We ask a continuation of
the patro .agc so liberally awarded us to
our successor*. Tub Herald.
SCIENTIFIC AND INDUSTlii^
Mars is five times as bright BOw
he will be when on the far side gj
sun. otfin
The number of stars visible to Bverj?*
eyesight . ordinary night does
on an ant
much exceed 4000 for both herni-
spheres.
After considerable study a Connecticut
scientist calculates that there are 43
200,000 mosquito larvm to an acre 0 f
•swamp land.
An astronomer has figured it out that
it would take a canron-ball 3,000,000
year.;, moving at its ordinary rate
speed, to reach Alpha Centauri, the
nearest fixed star.
Dr. Koch ha3 expressed himself
strongly against excessive watering 0 f
the streets during a cholera epidemic,
on the ground that the baciii thrive ua’.
der the influence of moisture.
Corrosive sublimate, in the strength
of sixty-four grains to the gallon °o£
water, is found by the Health Depart-
ment of New York City to be the most
effective of the germ-destroying agents.
The new sub-treasury building at San
Francisco, Cal., has an electric burglar-
alarm installed between the rows of
bricks so that any interference with
either the bricks or cement will cause an
alarm to sound.
A fender for electric cars is made of
sheet iron attached directly to the
trucks, the lower plates coming within
an inch of the rails, springs of great
stiffness enabling the fender to throw
aside any object before it.
The difficulty of making an indelible
marking on ivory push buttons has been,
it is said, overcome by a London con-
cern. The process employed is called
endolithic printing, and the markings
are claimed to be indelible in aav
climate.
The Swedish Government has adopted
a new smokeless powder, which is
said to have the following advantages;.
It is easy of manufacture, produces no
flames and does not heat the rifle. It
gives the ball an initial velocity of 210(M
feet, with a pressure of 2260 atmos-1
pheres. !
Jacques Inandi, the French lightning
calculator, says that it is sound which
guides his mind in its process, agd not
the memory of or imagination how
figures look. He wa3 horn with a gift
for figures; long before he could read or
write he solved the most intricate
arithmetical problems.
£ The bones of the head of some large
prehistoric animal were taken Washington, out of the the
ground at Ruby Creek,
other week, at a depth of 250 feet. The
great mastodon, judging from the depth
at whica the bones were found, must
have lived in an early period and is at
present extinct. The shape of the head
resembles that of a cow, only it is much
larger.
The three single eyes of bees have
been a puzzle as to their use. Mr. Grim-
shaw, of England, starts the theory that
they are not eyes at all, but bull’s-eye
lanterns that emit a very feeble light to
guide the beesrin their work at night.
Such production of light is quite com¬
mon among insects, and the source of the
theory gives it some title of respect, for
Mr. Grimshaw is an able observer.
Mr. Romanes is experimenting in
breeding rats and’rabbits, with reference
to heredity. Those now bred are the re¬
sults of experiments intended to dis¬
prove what Mr. Romanes believes to be
certain errors made by some writers on
heredity. In the particular cases experi¬
mented on by him the progeny have
certainly taken cither wholly after the
father or wholly after the mother. Mr.
Romanes does show certain case3 of
commingliog, or ratber reversion, wines
are highly suggestive.
Tiie Lungs of a Plant.
One of the prettiest microscopical
studies is the examination of the lungs
of a plant. Most people do not know'
a plant has lungs, b'ut it has,and its lungs
are in its leaves. Examined through
a high-power microscope, every leaf
will show thousands upon thousands of
openings, infinitely small, of course, but
each provided with lips which, in many and
speeffes, are continually opening tiny
closing. These openings lead to
cavities in the body ol the leaf, and by
the opening and closing of the cavity
air is continually passing in and continually out, so
that the act of respiration is
going on. The sap of the plant is thus
purified, just as the blood of an auimfi
is cleared of impurities by passing
through the lungs, and the average
Bized tree will, therefore, in the cour t*
of a day, do as much breathing as *
man.—St. Louis Globe-Democrat.
Growth of the l’o try Habit.
“When I begaa writing verse,’ 1 said
Mr. Whittier once to the writer, “it was
considered a great gift to be able to
make a rhyme with any facility. Percival
anti Bryaut were the active poets then.
Now almost any one can turn a couplet
or stanza and many write poetry which
in a less voluminous time would be re¬
garded as remarkable.” Nothing cul¬ bo
emphasizes the advance iu general
ture in this country as the fact indi¬
cated by Mr. Whittier in that remark.
It is a more % difiicult thing to achieve a
reputation as a poet now than a had
ceutury ago, and there is no occasion to
grieve because we have so many “versa
writers” and m> “poets.”—Boston Jour¬
nal. *
