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About Schley County news. (Ellaville, Ga.) 1889-1939 | View Entire Issue (March 16, 1899)
THE HONEYSUCKLE. “The clover," said the humming-bird, “Was fashioned for the bee ; But ne’er a ilowor, as I have heard, Was over made for me." A parsing zephyr paused, and stirred Some moonlit drops of dew To earth; and for the humming-bird The honeysuckle grew. —Harper’s Weekly. I i JIMMIE’S BY LESTER AMBITION. L. LOCKWOOD. >*»«»»»♦♦♦< ____________________ “Hello, Jim! What’s up now?” “Chicken coop—that is, it will be when I manage to get a few more nails in.” Ham Simmins vaulted the low fence, and, standing with his bauds in his pockets, watched Jim a few moments, Theu he gave an amused whistle. “I say, Jim, there’s nothing like having conveuieuces to work with. Now, if I were to build a chickeu coop I should be silly enough to u-e new wire eightpeunies and a steel-tipped hammer; but I daresay I’m quite b^ hind the times,and that assorted sizes of bent and rusty nails and a slippery stone to drive them in with are the latest improved implements—a sort of renaissance in carpentry, eh?” “Not exactly, ” replied Jim, laugh iug, “but it gives you a chauce to air that French pronunciation that you had to stay for after school for last night. So the e’s some good comes from my impoverished resources; after all, that was the phrase I struck on yesterday.” “Don’t Miss Lamb put us through the definitions and pronunciations for all they are worth, though? Father says if this thing keeps up he’ll have to buy a new dictionary before the year Is out-such , wear on it,you , know But to resume the original theme, what are you going to put in your coop when it is done? That is also Miss Lambs doing. You see, she knows all about my poultry craze-knows I m saving up to go into the chicken business, I mean and yesterday she showed me a chance to begin. The folks where she boards are regular ? chicken cranks, you , know—fine ^ stock, , incubators, . , , and , all that. Well, yesterday she heard Mrs. Jansen says that she had a hen so determined to set that she couldn’t break her up, and that she’d sell her very cheap to get rid of her. So Miss Lamb told her about me, and she offered to sell ine the hen and a set ting of fifteen eggs—all good stock, too, mind you—for $1. Don’t you call that a lay-out now?” “’Tis, for a facC And you happen ©d to have the dollar?” “Yes; I’ve saved up $1.15, and if I can get the coop done I’m going after school tonight for-the hen.” “Aud I suppose you will buy a bicycle an ith the proceeds? But that doesn’t explain Avhy you are using rusty nails and a stone hammer.” “Why, you see,our hammer is lost, as usual. Some of the children are always getting away Avith it, and I can ’t afford to spend my extra 15 cents on nails. That has to go for chicken feed, and I don’t know when I’ll have a chauce to earn any more. So I’m draAving these nails out of the boxes on the kindling pile. They are really mine, you know’. I Avorked for them at Mr. Lake’s grocery last vacation.” “Going into business on a strictly " cash basis, eh?” “Yes, sir-ee! That’s my ticket, every time.” “Been reading the life of Rockefel ler and all those penuiless-boy mil lionaires, I suppose?” Jim flushed. * » Well, that’s the sturdily, Avayto begin, auy hoAv,” lie said, wrenching at a stubborn nail Avith the cold chisel; “but I do Avish they Avouldu’t ahvays lose the hammer.” I * Why don’t you Avait, till it turns up?’ “Too much risk. l r ou must ’make hay Avhile the sun shines,’ you know —in other Avoids, set hens while they’re in the notion.” t . Going into the poultry business with one hen is too sIoav for me. I’m going to Klondike as soon as school is out,and Avhen I strike it rich in mines you II be puttering away Avith au old chicking hen and a half-dozen scraivny C f] U8 ’ All right, • , „ responded _ _ Jim, t cheerily. “It may be sIoav, but ‘a bird in the hand is Avortli tivo in the bush. » »» “Which, being translated, means *a hen in the coop is Avortli tAvo mines in the ground,’ I suppose?” “That’s about the size of it. But I say, Sam, before you start for Klon dike won’t yon please hand me that stone lying at your feet—-the smooth one that looks like a petrified potato? This loose granite chips off so.” “It does look like a potato—tbe white elephant variety,” said Sam, tossing the stone to Jim. “Thank 501 ' m Ibls • Wl11 -n malce , a psrsttssziz , , liia band over to examine the scratch the broken surface of the stone caught his eye. He gave a loud whistle. ! “Look here, Sam. Stop your laugh ing and see what is inside your white elephant potato.” in “speci With that keen interest mens” which is the natural birthright of every Rocky Mountain boy. S n stepped eagerlv forward. “Geode?” “Not much? Nothing so common as that. I never saw anything like it.” t * What do you reckon it is?” Jim shook his head, turning the stone from side to side and letting the sunlight play over its surface and re veal its delicate beauty, for in the heart of the common brown stone lay a circular ribbed hollow lined with mother-of-pearl and in one side of this polished nest wasa cluster impression of crystals. ‘‘It must be the of a fossil shell,” said Sam,eying it intent ly. “Why, yes—of course.” And Jim stooped to pick up the other half of the stone. “Yes, here it is. Did you ever see anything so perfect? Some spiral thing that seems to go way down into the stone. Just look at the coloring, will you? Rainbow tints, every one! And—see?—here is the hole where that little bunch of crystals was broken out, and the inside of the shell, or animals—whichever it is—is lined with crystals as far dow n as you can see.” “Jim, you’re in luck. You can sell it at the museum, and for a good price, too.” * I No, I shall give it to Miss Lamb for her cabinet. I owe her something for her starting me in business.” “I do belie'e Jim, you’d give away your head if it was not well fastened on your shoulders. But come, there’s the first bell and we must hurry.” Miss Lamb’s admiration of the fossil Wflg al , tbat he coukl have Paired. “j; cannot tell you what it is,” she Bai( j “ bn t I am sure it is something ft too rare for J von to give away, f bt to bave a considerable money va ue i cannot accept £ it from you tfl j bave aacartaiQ d its worth.” „ AU ri ht t ken,” 8aid J{ wink . ing ° at g a m. “You can sell it if you wi sh , and allabove 85 that it brings you may give to , me for my chicken , 1 ° ' e » * “It’s a bargain,” said Miss Lamb, laughing, and the $5 shall go to the Children’s Fiesh-Air fund.” The following Saturday Miss Lamb took the specimen to Professor Black, an eminent geologist, turrilite! he exclaimed, ex citedly. . Where did you find it? ’ Miss Lauil) told llim tbe st ory. “Well, well, well! Now, I might 8° ou breaking open stones with my geologist’s hammer till tlie end of time aud – et nothing for my pains, while tlns unlettered boy, by a chance blow ~ wh Y» thls is veall y tUe fiuest 8 P eci - nun of its kind that I ever saw! Such a perfect fracture—the Avhole thing so complete! See how perfectly the two pieces fit together—not a fragment S 011e - “There you are. Just a common stone again. You can scarcely see the crack. Why, Miss Lamb, if I had that in my cabinet I Avould not take $100 for it.” “Will you give that for it?” “Do you mean to say it is for sale?” “Yes, the finder is a poor boy and would* make excelleut use of the money. He is going into the chicken business, aud that sum Avould give him a good start-buildings aud all. I tell you, professor, Jim Jones has | ; real pluck and principle.” “I judge so from the novel Avay in ; which he Avas using this rare stone,” giving it affectionate, professional little taps. “Yes,I will give you $100 for it aud thank you very much besides.” The professor Avrote his check, gave | it to Miss Lamb and locked the tur rilite in his choicest cabinet. Of course Jim could hardly believe his good luck, but you may be sure he Avas quite reconciled to it. By the time his modest chic en house Avas finished aud a dozen glossy black Laugshans strutted proudly in their grassy run the old Brahma Avas off with ten healthy chicks and Avas given the most comfortable quarters and the choicest food that the yard afforded, Miss Lamb and Sam Simmins Avere | invited on a special Saturday to in spent the neAv buildings and stock. They both smiled Avhen they saAv a neat arch over the gateAvay upon < Avhich Avas painted: Tt’KIULITE CHICKEN RANCH, JAMES CONN, Proprietor. “Did you drive these nails with stones?” queried Sam. “No, indeed,” laughed Jim, shak ing a new steel-faced hammer peril ously near Sam’s nose, “but I shall never be sorry that I drove the first ones so ” ,, p , , of a move on me he will beat me get ting a bicycle yet.” good, “Struck it rich-that’s pretty Sam. Yes, it was literally a rich strike, that of the turrilite on the rusty nail. -Chicago Record, EUROPE’S HERMIT SOVEREIGN. 1’rlnce of I.ivchtennleln Has Been In visible for Forty Years. Hidden away iu the exquisitely picturesque ancl magnificent castle of Eisgrub, in Moravia, and an old world ruler has just celebrated iu solitude the fortieth anniversary *of his acces sion to the throne. He is not insane. On the contrary,he is one of the most intellectually brilliant as well as the i UO st kind-hearted of European sover e igns. Yet during these forty years he has been practically invisible to the world. No one "save his only brother and his confidential secretaries aU( j servants know even what he looks like, and his subjects, like the rest of the people ou the coutiuent, can only form conjectures as to, the nature of his appearauce. This hermit ruler ii the reigning prince of Liechtenstein, au independ eut sovereign, who, theoretically, is still iu a state of war against Prussia. For, when, iu I860, the various sover eign states of Germany Avere called upon to array themselves either on the side of Austria or of Prussia, the Prince of Liechtenstein east in his lot with Austria, boldly declared against Prussia, and put ou a war footing his army of about 300 men. After the conclusion of the cam paign Prussia concluded peace with the various states that had taken part in the conflict. But somehow or other the principality of Liechten stein was overlooked or forgotten by Bismarck, and as if his attention had been drawn to the matter it would have resulted iu a demaud for indemni ties, the prince naturally forebore to call the attention of Prussia to the neglect. No peace having been con cluded, therefore, between the two countries, they are theoretically still in a state of war. Few people are aware of the reasou for this mysterious seclusion of the Prince of Liechtenstein, who, in spite of the smallness of his dominions, is one of the very wealthiest rulers of the world. The fact of the matter is that he is afflicted with an intestinal ailment of such a character as to debar him from the society of his fellow creatures, and to render his isolation necessary. He entertains large parties of guests at his various castles during the slioot iug season, and likewise in his palace at Vienna during the carnival Aveek. But Avhile his guests are never per mitted to want for anything, and are simply overwhelmed Avith delicate at tentions, they never set eyes on their host throughout the entire time they are underneath his roof, and if they have anything to.cominunicate to him they must do so by letter. It is a very sad life, and yet that it has not rendered the prince a misan thrope is shown by his boundless charity and philanthropy and by the number of his scientific studies and works Avliich have Avon for him the honorary membership of the Imperial Academy of Science of Austria. He is close upon sixty years of age now. His next heir is his brother,Francis, noAV Austrian ambassador to St. Petersburg, and Avho Avill succeed not only to his vast estates, but likeAvise to his sovereignty of Liechtenstein and to his dukedom of Troppau. New Form of Telephone- Service. M. Mongeot, under secretary of state for posts and telegraphs in Frauce, has matured apian for the ex tension of the telephone service. This plan -contemplates the notification of any person, Avhether renting a tele phone or not, that some one Avishes to talk Avith him at a given public tele phone booth. Within a radius of tAventy-five kilometres the charge a vi 11 be five cents, and must be paid by the sender of the message. The charge will be increased for any distance over twenty-five kilometers/ but Avill in no case exceed ten cents. The message will be a regular form, somew’hat as follows: “You are notified that Mr. X., living at-. requests that you will come to the telephone booth No. at o’clock.” Each message Avill be numbered in the order of its re ceipt, and the number will entitle the recipient to the use of the booth at the time specified.—Paris letter to the Electrical World. Commodore Nartori and Dewey. The late Commodore Sartori, says the Philadelphia Becord, Avas a Avarm friend of Admiral DeAvey. Before the great battle of Manila Admiral DeAvey wrote a letter to the aged commodore, giving in detail his impression of the task that Avould be expected of him if war was declared. When the news ° f battle Avas received the eomnio d ® r ®» de8 P lte ll13 a ge, romped about tbe boUse h ke ? 8clloolb °y> aad called tliat be eveijbody llftd , P redlcted near to the bear total witness defeat ° ° ^P aulsb “eet as soon as Dewey made , a start. After the battle the the victorious admiral Avrote another ROMANCE OF A DOLLAR. WHY THE SILVER COINAGE OF 1804 IS SO VALUED BY NUMISMATISTS. In the Opinion of Ftxpert* There Are Only Three flemiino Silver Dollars Coined in 1804 in Existence—Mystery of a Counterfeit—Interesting; Holiition. It may be interesting to know, Avvitea William E. Curtis, that James W. EllsAvorth, receutly of Chicago but now living iu NeAv Yoi k, once ex changed 1025 gold dollars for a single silver dollar. It was theu Avorth about 79 cents;* it is uoav Avorth about 45 cents, and he thereby furnished an object lesson in finauce. He Avanted that particular dollar, not for the sil ver that was in it, but for the inscrip tion on its face, and he got. 79 cents Avorth of silver and $1024.21 Avortli of inscription. The moral and the logic are obvious. The fact that this par ticular dollar bore the date 1804 gave it great value just as the inscription on the ordinary disk of silver makes it Avorth $1. The records of tlie mint shoiv that in 1804 there Avere coined 19,570 sil ver dollars, 78,259 half dollars and 1084 quarters. Every oue of the half dollars has absolutely disappeared but there are a good many of the quarters in the bauds of the numis matists. They can be bought for $2 each, but, so far as the opiuiou of ex perts go, there are only three genuine silver dollars coined iu 1804 in exist ence. Oue of them belongs to the city of Omaha, having been presented by the late Byron Bee J, Avho paid $750 for it at auction. The second belongs to J. C. Randall of Phila-' delphia, Avho paid $570 for it iu 1888. Mr. EllsAvorth bought his from the Sterns collection of Salem, Mass., and paid for it, as I have said, $1025. There are a number of other coins bearing the date of 1804, but their genuineness is doubted. Only re ceutly a bartender named Billy Sey mour at Chateau, Montana, offered an 1804 dollar for sale for $2000. He does not kuoAV its history, but claims to have taken it over the bar for drinks. Mr. B. H. Collins of Wash ingtou City, who is one of the highest authorities on coins, and was con nected Avith the treasury for many years, tells me that some years ago there Avas an epidemic of 1804 dollars among barkeepers throughout the country. It was ascertained that they Avere very skilfully manufactured by a man named Kennedy of Loweli, Mass. He took dollars bearing the date of 1800, Avhich are comparatively numer ous, removed the secoud cypher, cov ered the face Avith Avax, etched a figure 4 in the proper place, and by the use of a galvanic battery attached a 4 iu silver to the coin, Avhich endured all the tests known to numismatists. He sold them through the agency of men looking like tramps, avIio claimed to have inherited fortuues and Avasted them iu dissipation, Avith the excep tion of oue valuable coiu, which was Avortli thousands of dollars. They found saloon keepers the most cred ulous customers. Mr. Collins does not believe any of the dollars bearing date 1804 Avere coined in that year. Mr. Preston, for many years director of the mint, Avho is also an authority ou such subjects, believes the records are correct and that the 19,570 were coined, as the books show. His theory is that they Avere all sent to Central America and that a few of them drifted back to this country. There is, however, a more interesting explanation of the mystery. In 1804 the United States Avas at Avar Avith Algiers, and the frig ate Philadelphia ran aground in the harbor of Tripoli and Avas captured by the Algerians. Stephen Decatur, then a lieutenant in the navy, Avith a boat’s creAv Avent into the harbor of Tripoli oue night and blew up the Philadelphia very much as Hobson sunk the Merrimac, Lord Nelson pronounced it “the most daring act of the age.” It is a popular theory that the entire coinage of the year 1804 Avas sent to the paymasters of the fleet and that most of the money Avas on board the Philadelphia when she Avas captured and probably de stroyed. A portion of the money may have been disbursed in paying the sailors and in the purchase of sup plies, but this is generally assumed to explain the disappearance of the dol lars au I half dollars coined in 1804. Iu 1858 all of the dies in the mint were destroyed, Before this was done a number of impressions called “re-strikes” Avere made from each as relics and for tlie purpose of securing an exchange Avith other mints and col lectors. It was hoped by this means to obtain a complete collection of the United States coinage. But tlie “re-strikes,” in order to distinguish them from the original corns, Avere not milled, that is, the edges Avere left smooth. In 1805 321 silver dollars were coined, aud then the mint Avas shut down until 1840, but the coins of 1805 are to be found iu every important collection. AVIiere Henson Totter*. Husband—What! Another hundred dollargowu? Didn’t I tell you that you must keep Avithin your alloAV auce? l#ss Wife (triumphantly)—You said un in case of absolute necessity I THE POK-WAH TREE. Its Nauftmting Fruit In Con*i<lnre<l * Delicacy by Chinamen. There Avas an expression of siq reme contentment on the face of the China man as he sat under a trte in Bush nell park the other afternoon picking up fruit,that had fallen from it, re lates the Hartford (Conn.) Times. His loose blouse and Avide pantul oons flapped in the Avind, and his pigtail described circles, triangles, all manner of lines and various other geometrical forms as it yielded to the fitful gusts of wind. It Avas chilly enough, and Officer Strickland, as he'looked at the industrious Chinaman,did not feel his heav’y blue overcoat a bit uncomfort able. But the Chinaman did not ream to mind the wind in the least. His teeth might chatter, his nose might take on a buish tint, and his fingers might suffer from numbness, but he continued his Avork with unremitting industry and kept his happy look un clouded by anything that Avas even suggestive of unhappiness. It was evi dent he Avas engaged in a task that he liked. The fruit had a very offensive odor, and the Chinaman handled it in a nauseating manner. He had a fair sized basket into which he thrt-Ar the stones of the fruit, having the soft substance Avhich covered it on the turf. His hands Avere besmeared Avith the substance. In reply to the questions of Officer Strickland, the Chinaman said the tree Avhich yielded the fruit was called the pok-Avah tree in China. The fruit is considered a delicacy in the celestial kingdom, and even Li Hung Chaug— the statesman tbat can look Avise and ask embarrassing questions of a per sonal nature —considers himself in luck when his chef serves him Avith a dish of the fruit. The outer substance, Avhich is nauseating to the stomach of anyone but a Chinaman, is made into Chinese catsup that ahvays occupies a position of honor at the mandarin’s table Avhen birds’ nests, sharks’ fins aud other appetizing dishes are served. The meat of the stones has a medicinal property of high value. The China man Avhom Officer Strickland called “Charley,” a name that seems a favor ite one in the nomenclature of China men, stated that in China the stones of tk© fruits are cooked just as Ave cook chestnuts and that after they are boiled they are opened and the meat taken out. A lady passed through the park later in the afternoon. Seeing the China man picking up the fruit, she Avas cu rious to see what it seemed like. She took one of the plums—if the sweet, lucious fruit of the American orchard is not degraded by applying its name to the disgusting thing of Chinese lineage that resembles it—and broke it open. The stench from it Avas so strong that she dropped it immediate ly. She Avore gloves Avhich she was obliged to discard in order to free her self from the offensive odor. There are three of these trees in Bushnell park, but only one yields fruit. Officer Strickland calls them Chinese plum trees. When Fisli Are Marketable. Scientists claim that fresh-Avater and salt-Avater fish are one as Avhoiesome as the other, aud in general, fish from clear, cold, deep Avater are regarded as preferable to those from shalloAv or Avarm Avater. Some fish, for in stance shad, are at their best during the spaAvning season, Avhile others should not be eaten during this period. The mode of capture has much to do Avith the market value of fish. Those caught by the giils aud allowed to die iu the Avater by slow degrees, as in the case Avhere gill nets are used, undergo decomposition very readily and are dangerous for food. Fish that are killed immediately after catching remain firm and bear ship ment better. Extended investigations, including the conditions affecting the groAvth and food value of oysters, their parasites and diseases, have been car ried on by the NeAv Jersey experi ment stations. These investigations, have shown that oysters rapidly deter iorate Avhen removed from the Avater, through the fermentative action of bacteria; and that oysters in spawn deteriorate more rapidly than at any other season aud should not be eaten during such period. — Washington Star. The T.ongovity of Jews. Professor Ripley has stated iu the Popular Science Monthly that if one hundred Jewish infants and a hun dred American infants, born, say in Massachusetts, begin life the same day, half of the Americans av i 11 have died Avithin forty-seven years, Avhile the first half of the Jews av i 11 not be gone before the end of seventy-one years. So Lombroso says that of 1000 Jews 217 die before the age of seven, Avhile of 1000 Christians 453 die be fore that age. Tlie Sultan’s Hobbies. The estimated value of the Sultan’s jeAvels is $40,000,000. If his majesty has any hobby at all it may be said to be tbe purchasing of jewels and Avit nessiug private theatricals. No pro fessional of note, be he actor, singer or conjuror, passes through Constan tinople Avitliout an invitation from the sultan. He ahvays pays for these performances in Bank of England notes.
