Funding for the digitization of this title was provided by R.J. Taylor, Jr. Foundation.
About The Advocate-Democrat. (Crawfordville, Ga.) 1893-current | View Entire Issue (June 11, 1897)
ROCK ON ELMWOOD HILL. An Irish-American Romance, Written for This Paper. BY WILLIAM -J. FLORENCE. riUPTF.n I. A mr or ikei.am. IS AvrrniOA. The town of Elmwood used to be A fanning suburb of New York City. Now Its boundaries are obliterated, and It is a section of the city lying between Cen tral Park and the Klverslde Drive, and nearly built up with fine residences, j Between the time of these two condi- | tlons it had a period of occupation by small gardeners and others, who lived In the humbler kind of homes, some ol which were more huts on the rocks, The grading of the streets left some oi ! these structures at a conspicuous eleva tion, and the artists of the magazines and other Illustrated periodicals were fond of sketching these picture*^, views. The poorer shanties were occu ru«,i 1 hv Vm umiiAr. i.ut the next uradi 'l etter if rind „round rent howevei j I. BuT'L might be rime to the owners of thf aint In the ex- ! “ . of the cltv’s building oft llmltl „|L. by means of a city inane* I 4 ^ ta w ,. r< , hW( .„t out or ex ■ . The enrlv moon or an August cvonlnt was shining on Flwood Hill and wa. faver.it.lv lu-htinu it l «f m. P a ua a "ru*i;'ao‘.mf a remarkabh Ireland. On the shelving rock stood two cabins, composed of a rnlscellane- i ous collection of materials, yet formed : Into a rude semblance „f cottages, > Vlnec covered some of the lack of archi tccture, and the moon was not severs in expoftinu tho pointAof ugllnesa. tack They loaned against each other, to back ! as though for mutual support, each being conscious of Its own structural , frailty. A pig-sty was closo by, and b pen for goats, while small patches of garden had been made of tho soil which covered a portion of the stone. I p the ledge a stairway led, by means of an lntersporsion of rook-hown snd board built stops, from tho street to the cab Ins. Up this ascent climbed a detailed poi ce man in uniform. Ho had been to serve notices of ejectment to the In habitants of Khanty Town, a« the neigh borhood was commonly called, and his day’s task had reached into the evening, ending with this visit to the homes of tho O'Kourkos and the lioggs. of The oo easlon was, Indeed, like that an evio tion in Ireland. There had been plenty hellm of warning, howover, and when. 1 O'Kaurke, smoking In front of hts door, saw the officer approaching, hp knew The the errand bsfote it was delivered. visitor simply handed a paper to him, and delivered a similar oue into the ad Pf«n>‘ses of th« Iron-bowed Begga. 0 Rourke . put on a pair of spoclac os, shielded the flame of amatoh with his palm, and by the flickering light slowly read the formal notice. A. ito r h n :’d oZ UughtL^oolfn hlsnatWe learning which 8 ti'i'/no ^raetb-af valut t vaKue” , drcame < r t . U an “lnvJntor'of wHdly in a city where adaptability is tho first element uf id personal success. Instead of making, realizing simple his plans for iho support of hhnsolf and wife, h© gfivo his thoughts to nlruoat if not i’h“T.'l“d iK'°»Z: burn <d Ireland In Its close-cropped oltorts to be curly; his face boro tho open goed-humor of his race; In a peas ant costume, Instead of tho clothes of a Now Yorker, he would lave looked like a veritable “broth /'the or a box "- l.ut his tongue had 1 - brogue of his native land, for he had i nilgnued in chihlliood lamuy /ml .dim- I mini, rtcriHui U 1181 K, a. i, n imiii o imi h what'lie^liought'of't'hat U " " "" thought "I think it is time we quit tho shanty and the rock, anyhow," $U! "a- the spirited reply. “I'm earning a week as a lawyer's clerk, and in a yeur I’ll bo a lawyer myself. If you can somehow bring in as much, father, wo can afford to live in bolter quarter*." thing The one lacking to com¬ plete the Irish-American scene agree nblv wiift a pretty colleen, niul sfio came into it from tho residence of the Wide-open gray e\ es, with dark lushes*, had Nora Begg, ami the clear whit of her checks was freckled like the stipple of an engraved face, Bhe ciued younger by two or three years than Donnell, who was *20, and like him she had been brought across the ocean too early in lifo to leave the brogue of Ireland on her tongue. A *t girl, and a neatly dressed or his X« "J York colleen of Llntwo os r dwellers there had a ud Pc udl been, and eh loser yet 0 the rts become. When she w ’i told t the. eviction was a '■■ertaiiity ml thereupon Donnell ask 1 her to alk ^ ith him, she blushed a little, but S' arm, and it was evident that their conversation 3< .>uM relate !o th© >u of a futur Even the abstracted Phelan Kourke vaguely understood that, as he watched them \n hit Phelim O’Rourke was still meditating upon the document, his neighbor, Micky Begg, ligragged up the stairway. Micky was a sad exam pie ot intemperance, and he had just returned from the-bonren* of old I’etc Motilathery. As the bottle was passed around very free y alter old I’ete was jut under tne ground, Micky was full to the back teeth To show his sobriety he ca v'V. O’Rourke to see him jump from the three-legged stool* which stood by the doorstep, to the bottom of the waehtub. He put himself in posi tion and said: "See me lep, and then say if I’m dhrunk. Hurroo!" “Are you cornin’in, Micky?" came In a woman's feeble voice from within, for lessly poor Mrs. Jiegg was a helplessly, hope bedridden invalid. "Dlvil a step till O’Kourke sees mo lep from the tub to the stool. I can Iod like. a goat, me darlin!” And giving a spring i 5l the aiv Micky camedown with athud, nearly crushing a goat that was com fortably sleeping near the cabin door. “A nice example you are, Micky,” sa 2 O’I'ourke, solemnly, “to come from 10 funeral as drunk as a priest." piper. Get up, Micky, here comes the 8 uj o enough, Father Hariloy, who was returning from old McGlathcry’s funer *1. came along. Mloky had picked him "P. brushed the mud from his clothes, and put himself on the etool before the Father came up "How are you, Phelim? said the priest. “And the children? Well, I hope, God bless them!” “Ye*. Father they are weU and can cat as well as any ehildeT on the -*"• Micky, Father. I iJH Hewantslio you ng ■ To-morrow morning he_ hasi to P bright and airly, for we re go ng to « evicted. Look at him as drun as Her.* “Yes.” said the priest. “I watched him at th© funeral. The death of old McGlathery should be a warning to him. That sinner did not draw a sober breath f or many mouths. Do you hear me, Micky.'” said the priest, shaking up his stupid Don parishioner to buy him. Father? t you want replied Micky, He fat as butter ^ s as He s thinking of selling the p g, said O’Rourke apologetically. It s got to bo made a riddance of, and he s drunk enough to fancy he’s back in Ire land—bound for affair with the porker. see “Liston, how that Micky, toper said Motilathery the priest. died, Jou didye not? What can you expect Think to gain by this constant inebriety? of McGlathcry’s end, my man!* “He’ll roast like pipe clay, replied Micky, In a maudlin manner, his eyes no w half opened, and(tears running down his cheeks. And, ho continued, “if it v ., n ' t for toe black snot aW on hit belly d bring ntore’n I’m “oh, you are Incorrigible, Mloky, said the priest, as he roared with laugh ter at his parishioner’s answers. A Bhout 0 f laughter was heard as three protty, bright-faoed children came ap tho hillside, and, with hands filled W ith wild flowers, eamo running toward ^ priegti who roeeived them with a kiss for one, an embrace for another and Wgh'l.^toTTd/uu'Bho Taughcd with yolmgator/'aml ark ,hu8 had BoUin stoy/d till home da/kL by sr ^ ’ f “Weil, darlings I’m gla.l to see ye this blessed summer evening. You are til as pretty as the flowers and reflect peat cre ^ lt on >' our lovmg mother, who takes such good caro of >ou. FXr- i!, m IrS!"I» 't'h. (or a general assembling of tho chil Iren, who run toward the good man, »nd, climbing around Ids legs with »houts of welcome, hug and kiss him in ioken of their love and veneration. The rocks of Elmwood presented ‘ tho same characteristics ^„t to 3'k to Mr, Begg on a matter of business. • .. . . sober enough to listen to what I have to say, Lady Maud Ten.mom, from the big house //«-,-i.ton at Kilrona, where you came from, a letter She was verv fond of vour Nora before you emigrated Kho has lost her own daughter since then and she writes that she constantly ,hints i,,. r dead net’s v foster-sister, v . 1 ,' Yes, father, , . „ said ,, Micky, now per feetly sober from h.s snort nam Hof ladyship was always fond of Nora, and Nora seemed quite taken wid her oo bhe woman. ls “ tr “ u! e ' KO ', ' I, ' n ii. 1 h'.f./ i fui stone over the corpse of ould Cardan in Kilrona Abbey, at her owe expense, the dariin'. and ain't she loved bv tho poor people from on© end o! Tx>eh Dermid to the other. God 1 bless her!” “Listen to me, Micky, if you’re sobei enough to comprehend, Maud writes that she will adopt N« ra as hei own daughter, if si ’ta dew a ml legal it's roieas tonr t ^ r «v “Yes. ver reverence, It’s the mothei that decides. “Is she able to P l e co .ud try The prie; ?nterei Z j tui t lie b d-ri £3 awoke on her S he wa with an in urabie malady, w 1 aau been caused 1 t»y a street railway aeci lent a yeai ofore and which was sure to result in her death at no distant day. ; He gave her a priestly bit sssing and then and delivered his erran -very gently considerately, for he knew that no true mother could at once tolerate the sug* of giving away her daught r. When had at length real the letter to her ami she fully comprehended it, she cried: “Oh. I couldn't do it. Father, 1 i \.» t I. wou-d kill ; © "-It Is a pity it isn’t Dolf that some body wants." the priest exclaimed,-and lot the daughter that 1 b a comfort to .. ' “Pont , say one word . if ., ye plaze, i igainst me boy May be he isn t what le will ought around to be, but in time. I am in hopes he ! come ; “Well, I hope so and the priest in lulged In the frtnkness of advice p0 “' anon to his profession in dealing with ;he poor and ignorant of their parishes, •but he’ll hare to mend m deal to be some a good boj. I see him too much with the toughs and the gangs But :here, don t cry, Oonah We ll try to reform Dolf; and as to Nora, think the matter ever. Remember, she will re selva a good education and become a jrand lady. Won t that be a sac lion Jo you, f °r you know that you aave^t long to remain wl.h fc . hmk it over.^Oonah. Father Hanley emerged from the cab in to find Phelim O’Rourke and Micky Begg engaged in a dialogue in which the talk is all being done by Phelim. That learned and erratic man was dis coursing upon a subject which, so he was telling, he had elucidated in a speech on the previous evening before the Kosjjolc Klub. That was a body which met in the back room of a saloon, and was composed of a dor.en all bul irrational theorists, each one of whom conserved oflthe to listen to the whimsical! ties rest for the sake ol bainj heard , ( patiently when , ,. his own tnm • came. | they were so thoroughly at va riance tvlth all established things thal they would*’: even spell the name ol their club in accordance with the die tlonary, and at times they took to adopting long resolutions directing how the affairs of the universo ought to be conducted. oddest Phelim O’Rourke was about the of them all The address that he had delivered, and about which he was talking to the befuddled Micky, he had forwarded as a theory which, even to hia comnanions, seemed singular in tieed. It had kept them so interested that they had neglected the convivial function of the club. Their bee. glasses,had been empty for a quarter o! a n hour before he finished, but upon hi? conclusion the mugs were quickly filled. and the overtopping foam ran down their sides to the table. “Here Is to tho nope,” said one, “thal Mr. O’Rourke’s theory may never bs tested on O’Rourke’s self." That wai drank wIth noisy laughter, so O'Rourk* confessed in his account to his neigh bo r. And yet he declared that he had Im p P r0Bged bis fellow-members im me n86 l r . “You ve brains enough and to spare, Phelim.” said the priest, after listening to en0 ug| 1 of the concluding narrative to understand that O’Rourke was full of some new, strange and impracticable doctrine of his own invention. “Why don’t you use your education sensibly, ^ y OUr gon Donnell does? He’ll be a B uceess!ul lawyer one day, for he’s wh^lPKaddUng strenglfaMte his head by good work, phi.V-.oLieal yam with youu * rubbish.’' White the priest was speaking Doll Begg came up the stairway, gave to th« priest a none too respectful “good-even lng," and slouched Into his humble home. He was not an ill-looking fel low, but his manner betrayed bad hab its and a reckless disposition. The three men conversed a few minutes about the ^utory- Hwasto^fe'ebto ^yLrried'into he^c/bin to find out ^ e^e^ ctoLd it and°cxhaust!on ®«88. k agad/st the wall wlth his b ao X\L folded hard one leg LowUngbrows crossed stiff!v 0 toerandhi 8 lowered over hla eyes that only half ,, AvUliobt was visible Has the boy been doing anything to yo “i. Tint, (H.oma/ exetatmod sh/’ll “Ask . m „« * t 0 * 1 You the truth, „ lh an nd I I w won n’t t. " Did he strike you. the priest asked, ^^“XTwow“ “HeXnU t ' strtoe me,” she respond d. “He tried to rob me. He know my hundred dollars had been drawn from the savings bank, that Iliad it here under my pillow. It s part av what the railroad folks gave me fer the accident and now we've got to use it fer the hirin’of a place to live in. YVhen he thought I was fast as ape he comes in on tiptoe, and feels fer it. But I was aw*ke, and I screamed with ad me might, which wasn’t much. Im sorry to tell it av him, but, suio, the priest ou ght to know it. And 1 had to call fer ^ f er he’d have stolen me money.” pria8 t patted the woman s hand, and said soothingly: "Never mind it— ,,e ver mind it. But turning to the young man he addressed hin. wi h bit ter emphasis: Dolf, I knew you were a brut-. How it came to be so I don't know, for your dying mother here is a good woman, and your father’s one fault is the drink. I have known of vour striking your poor, helpless mother, and tout is bcitofeweious and cowardly. ^a V L/nolvouLtoalthev"y {fr«r^‘»r y =x You’ll come to some lad end if you don’t reform yourself. ” Dolf said nothing, but sullenly un folded his arms, uncrossed hts legs, picked /ablm up his hat and slouched out oi the He stamped down the stairs to the street, and bent his steps tow ard the groggery. where his gang onsrre gated, bound to get drunk if whisky could be obtained without money. Micky Begg was sober by this time, and hi* customary affection for his wife manifested itself in the exclamation: “I'll thrash the devil out of him—that a what I’ll do.” “Don’t do that," Oonah said. “Lave him to Father Hanley. May be he’ll be sorry when I'm dead, and do better. She closed her eyes and was silent lot a minute: then she said, with a sad -TV ® smile- cere’s pleasant news. Any- 1 0 w, it's pleasant to me. The doctor was here. He said I wouldn t live j longer than six months at the most, Vhere Micky don’t be sorry. Af I thougl me‘sufferings—me days and nigh , , {ul j dreadful pain—was despair, ?,° f f j ^certain e I'd be in he doctor about it. He wit-bin months * says poss jt>ility of your re. no ^O’Rourke ‘ Inquired, '° r J Phelim with a singular 1 manifestation man of iqter .. eBt -you're got to ue here, and do . . and wait for de no thing but suffer, whispered ■'Hush, man,” the priest speak It to * It * B the truth, but don t tier." and the neighbor bade , the . The pr iest departed. Beggs goo d-night, and ® chaiteB H II. mi k * witch. . _ At daylight next *?° r ?T?® the stockyard attne rver , , B started for side underneath Washington ti g »»• driving the pig before him. He * of Irish patriotism, for was he nor most taking a pig to me lalr - - wasn’t the proceeds to go to pay ground rent of his doomed camn, d o the eviction of the family, ana tne em olition of the structure. Micky iign his pipe, and as he trudgea aiong m road would whistle a bar or two or soma j reel or jig between the wnms oi n a "dudheen," while his mind was uu with Lady Maud's request to bring up Nora as her own. Why not. have tnougni Mlckv “Heaven knows we as : much aB wo can do to bring up the little | wanB "ore aP ?or d if one was gone there'd be the rest:” and then, as il “ as hamed Trhe of this selfish view of the at muttered: "No; give av . av mo own flesh and blood? No; bet ter starve foorst." And then the idea \ ora becoming a flne lady and riding llf her carriage, while people would take Micky’/brain. their hats to her, took Lade? possession ol “Why not, Sure, she’s as pretty as Lord Lorton s daugh ter, and maybe I’d get a chance to be a gatekeeper or xoadmaster on the estate. Begorra, Nora can go! Well all be rich of these days ” one the “G’long there, ye divil, as pig tugged at the rope around his necK. and | “ natural disposition inherent fn to „ MickVs 0 the wrong way, he darted be tween legs, upsetting him. The rope slipped from his neck, the pig Btarte d back the road he had oome. Micky ^ith picked himself up and i an in pur* gult many a wild and wicked oath. “Bad luck to ye as a racer; but I’ll pay ve off for this when I catch ye," said Mlckv as he ran for dear 'Ife after the Lhjch When he captured the pig he did after a Ion" chaso, put’the he struck upon a new idea. "I’ll _ around his waist” said he “and wav’" Worra ^ ’ I can drive 1dm either fhe stockvard was reached in an h our and Micky sought a purchase!, b al/gleplg ut no one He/aw seemed inclined to buy pent a themin the cL-foadsXm b y the thousand but they andkbere had come by nnhodt to* West Was without to huv one lone poorLlicky pig. Noon pa38e d giving an opportunity P to dispose of his charge, “Come here, aviok," said he, address j a lltt i 0 ragged boy. “Hould this darlin’while I go to take a bite. I’m hungry and must eat, or I’ll drop with the waitin’ " And giving tho pig in charg0 of the bo y, Micky skipped off to 11 ^ebeen, where he disposed two oT whisky tu the space of half an old friend of his, one boU /tF" !. li SS me »’ f ^ No A w " d CLftook" ^nt • 1 / p t/m af ?asse ., reafit ,, and and down down weni two two more more K glasses. & By fusing another T glassy | 0 ”' nr fr“'3rlnk Ill drink m no toot-e U 11 I sell the p g b L , :,'! 1 1 l i. Z d i fl, /tov' A who v, by this time had got tired of hi» , charge, and was talking the to a woll-to^do , looking man; “here's man as owns ^ you want to buv him?” asked Micky, addressing the man, who was an • overseer. Ho laughed at the proposal first, but he seeing that Micky was in earnest listened to it. A bargain was struck and the pig transferred to the custody o{ the new proprietor, while Micky turned to the shebeen to spend the “luck penny " with his old friend, Tommy Kane. Drink after drink wa-now tin order oI the day, until Micky had spent a dollar of tho money he had received , or t | ie pi s , and was' so drunk he could hardly stand. Tommy had dropped in a , !al . k corner of the shebeen and gone fast aslot . p . j t wag quite dark when Micky stnrte 1 homeward, and with much difficulty he picked his way through toe park skirt (ng ?, the Hudson and towaid In- cabin, (r 3 mile8 away . Micky wa- not lady so drunk as to forget the letter from yjaud and h r desire to adopt little Nora, and a* he staggered from one side to th--other lie would hie ough out “Me ' . wiII bo f {0 fne : led y. and me, her.foyt her, will be a genriemin, a d T at at the foo-of 1 ith ..tr ■ Ibis was a T «• which Llmw oou ti ad tion ; ,1 , wa ^Lwqh.ora-e w'as ■ ni. ■• - ■ for the ,v had • • . a * r ' ^ , ... straw for man or de-.d. bo.in, t an effort to steady his puce, and wrapping his long coat around his legs, he boidl> plodded more than on. a quarter He had of a mile not fro-ceded before the whisky began to die within him, and he felt ini; elled to sit down on a roct£ by *' St/anqe” if from music was heard, as afar- so soft and distinct that the faint cat s*un-i cams to Micky’s bewildem ear-. Nearer anr nearer it came: now a trifle louder, sow dyin; away in th* distance. Suddenly the gra“s at Micky r tiny feet be class a me J lighted dewdrops from each_ Wade of grass, while hundreds of little figures, little men and women dressed m span gled green, danced and leaped About, keeping time to the fairy music. These tiny creatures were not larger than pins, yet were perfect in form and fea lures. They were a merry set, and clapped their hands with glee, as they laushed and shouted In the moonlight. Presently from their midst came one, a queer-looking old fellow, with a large red nose and the most comical of faces. “ His little eyes had a merry twinkle, and ough he * aB no bigger than Micky's little ‘anions, finger, he pushed aside his com who seemed to hold him in est eem, for they ceased their dancing dan 8 and shouting at his approach, t respec tfullv to him as be climbed up Micky’s leg and took a seat on his shoulder. -Oh, bedad, but this is a quare party I’ve got into," said Micky, as he glanced at the little old man on his shoulder. “How are you, me darlin',” chattered ^e old man, while the myriads of tiny creatures at his feet peeped from thefr [ter behind stalks, blades of grass , rainB 0 f sa nd, as if intent on Micky’s reply “Would you like a drink of whisky darlin’?" ' a^ain queried the lepra , ’ f or the 0 id fellow was none -j would indeed,” said Micky. “My out h i s as dry as a lime burner’s heel.” “fome Come alon" f‘om’Micky’s then ” said the old man j i shoulder to his knee ana wicn another anuuier jump iumn to iu the me ground. He led the bewilderea Insh man across the road to a cabin, well lighted and warm, in strong contrast to the dark pathway. Thousands of little fairies, each with h.s httle lamp lighted up, were m front of him. “Across the road. By the powers, I m afraid I’ll step on some of yer friends here and crush a few thousand of them wid me leet. old Jbey *^ermmd them, { sa^the ’ man J th door ” w „ -^ n ifion , the moment Micky “^ , binthe^invguardianstiewawaY POml)a reached the door of then a I- ^shinin/^UkJ^myriadJ 8 of to?’ flies M j ckv and v-ia entered the cabin Across at back stood a little arranged bar or drinking B tand on which r/dorl were bottles pt v a riou with a bound the 0 i.i fairy jumped upon the counter, and dancinK a tattoo with his heels sum mone da fearfully wrinkled old lady with p0 [ nted c hin and weazened face. r-jQ BE gontlsued.I Beware the Daphne Berry. The common daphne grown in flower gardens is one of the most deadly poisons known to the botanist. Three or four of the berries will kill a man as quickly as strychnine, and one has been known to kill a child in half an hour. CROPS IN TEXAS DESTROYED. » Corn and Cotton In a Large Section Ruin¬ ed by a Hail Storm. A telegram from Temple, Tex., says: One of the hardest hail storms ever seen in this section of the country vis¬ ited here Sunday afternoon. The hail covered the ground till it looked like snow, and were the largest ever seen. There was but little wind and but few window glasses were broken. Corn and cotton crops, so far as can be learned, near Temple were buried in tho ground and entirely ruined, Nev er before was such a disastrous series of hail storms known in this section, this making the fourth one within a week. It will be necessary to plant , and corn is entirely de STATISTICS OF LY’NCHINGS. There Were i 4 < and of These Ten Occur, red in the North. Th “ Kew York World prints ?be the stat ic80 f lynching, in United States since January 1. 1896. It is shown that there were 141 persons lynched in 1890. Of these lynchinga i':U occurred in the south aud ten in the north, dglity-six were negroes and . “ v ® ? whites The if, World’s t !i list ior lb.) n i shows that there have been forty-seven persons lynched so be- far this year, ihe usual proportion tween whites aud blacks is maintained, GEORGIA SUICIDE. Henry Ingraham, of Columbus, Found Dead in a Savannah Hotel. H.'-nrv ‘ Ingraham, of Ingraham Bros., i eading wboiesale grocers of Oolum , u -», committed ,. , suicide • • , • n a room at . the J uiaski House, naxunuab. lie was 53 years old and was well known in business circles throughout the state. He 1-i t a note bidding his wife good-bye, but giving no explanation ofthe deed, and none has been discov "1 A Beautiful Widow Commands. News has been received at Tacoma, Wash., via Hong Kong that the beau¬ tiful widow of Dr. Rizal is now com ending a company of Philippines j^Iand rebels, armed with rifles, mak fa t headquarters at Naic, Cavite o * province. Getting Dangerous A special dispatch from Naples says that Mount Yesnvius is in eruption. An area 0 f 2,000 yards long by 500 %vlde j s c , jV ered with lava and it is , 0 us to approach w ithin 400 yards of the principal crater.
