Newspaper Page Text
the mercury.
» nMr «d m lecond-elRH mutter at the I
“ ueruvllle Poetofflce, April *7, UN,
Hnndcrsville, Washington Comity, Chi.
FUBL1BHED BY
A. J. JERNTQA.N,
Fbopbixtob amd Publisher
put)*orlptlon»..
fl.fiO per Tear
a C- BROWN,
attorney at law,
BandenrUle, Qa.
win practice in the Btate and United State*
Court*. Office In Court-home.
Watches, Clocks
And JEWELRY
REPAIRED BT
JERXTXCAXT.
H. It. HOLLIFIELD,
Physician and Surgeon,
BandererUle, Qe.
Office next door to Mr*. Bayneh millinery
■tore on Uarrla street
0. W H WHITAKER,
DEN T I ST,
Banderavllle, Qa.
rHUMS CASH.
office nt ills Residence,on Dnrrls street.
Aoril 3J. 1880.
B. D. EVANS,
ATTORNEY AT LAW,
Banderavllle, Qa. .
April 1,1889. __
Dr. H. B. Hollifield,
ik recently graduated at the Unlver*
ally of Maryland i ”
and returned home, now
«ner» Ills professional services to the citizens
nl Handeravllle and vicinity. Ottlce wltli
Hr. M. N llolltneld,ueztdoorto|UrH.Uoyno'N
millinery store.
BUY YOUR
FROM
JERNIGAM
None geuulno without our Trade Mark,
On hand and for sale,
SPECTACLES, NO,SB GLASSES, ETC.
MUSIC, MUSIC
JERNIGAN
Bows, Strings,
Rosin Boxes, Etc.
Machine Needles,
Oil and Shuttles,
| for AT.L KINDS OB’ MACniNEB, for sale.
1 will also order parts of Machines
Unit get broken, for which new
pieces are wanted.
A. J. JEHNIGAN.
>■ K, Hines.
O. H. Roqehj
HINES & ROGERS,
[Attorneys at Law,
SANDERSVILLE, GA.,
: WHl practice In the counties of Washington,
? e reon, Johnson, Emanuel and Wilkinson,
iS®'I the U. S. Courts for the Southern Dls-
trlclof Georgia.
„„ 11 set hr agents In buying, selling ei
| re "»'>8 Real Estate.
Oct n u° u West * id * of PubUo Bquara.
THE
MERCURY.
A. J. JERNIGAN, Proprietor.
VOLUME IV
DEVOTED TO L1TEU4TUUE, AOBIPULTOKE AND GENERA), INTELLIGENCE,
BANDERSVILLE, GA„ TUESDAY. OCTOBER 28, 1888.
*1. 50 |)H' Anitnin.
NUMBER 29.
TELEGRAPH OPERATORS.
INMIIM! (il
iIAIPNKh AT Til KIR UVKUV.
HAY I.IKK.
Knjelimllon ol il.n Wlroa-Rcli.llye Catm.
ulllllen nl .Men mill Wonieii-A Celebrated
Tramp Operator.
, ‘ To „^ c< : omo an expert telegraph op
erator, said an old telegrapher to a re
porter, “it is absolutely necessary that
, necossary
:» person should enter tho business at, All
early ago. Most of the first class opera
tors went into the business nt about tho
ago of fourteen, I liavo never known a
man to become oven n fair telegrapher
who attempted to learn after twenty
years of ago. Operators generally start
in as office boys, And gradually master
every detail of tho business. A good
common school education is a necessary
qualification. Boys mostly learn in
small towns and becomo fair operators
in two or three years, although some of
them never master the mysteries of tho
dots and dashes.
BAUD WOItlt,
“As salaries are low in small towns,”
continued tho reporter’s informant, “the
newly fledged operator hies himBclf to
some largo city, where there is always a
demand for good operators. Instonil of
the £25 or £30 per month which he
could onrn at homo ho probably receives
£75 or £80, and is elated accordingly.
But working in a city liko New York is
no play, Tho best operators nro put
upon the quadruples circuits, which are
worked to all tho largo cities and in tho
slang of tho profession, nro a 'steady
roast.’ From threo to four hundred
messages a dny is considered good work.
To Bend those almost half n million dis
tinct motions of the ltnnd and wrist nro
necessary. This onuses a grout strain
on the nerves and in many eases lends to
telegrapher’s paralysis, f have known
men to ‘lose their grip’ through this
causo and becomo tumble to sond a
word. They generally manngo, how
ever, to learn to work with tlioir left
hand and overcome tho difficulty. Nu
merous physicians have studied this pe
culiar offoctupou tho nerves of operators,
but so far none of them have found a
remody.”
A STRANGE 1'‘ASCI NATION.
“Why are tliero so few gray haired
men in the business ?” asked the re
porter.
“That in because few operators adopt
tho business hb a life occupation, Most
of them intend to use it ns a mentis of
gotting something better. Very few re
main in it after reaching Ihirly-ilve years.
Many leave it, lmt gradually drift back
again to the famihnr ‘click, click.’ There
is n fascination about it which is hard
to resist. To lie able to sit dov n anil
converse with friends thousands of miles
away is vory captivating. Operators
know each other’s touch upon the key
ns accurately as n person can distinguish
different handwriting. Although all
sond by the same alphabet yet encli 1ms
a way of making it which is’distinctively
his own. Tho female operators are
mostly well educated, intelligent women,
who honor tho profession. They cannot
do tho heavy work which men perform,
but are very capable on wires where
business is somewhat lightor.”
A CONTRAST.
“There is n world of difference be
tween tho young man who works a quad
ruples instrument in a largo city and
a railroad telegraph operator. Tho
former is a well dressed person, who sits
in bis clmir and rattles off messages
without upturnt effort. But tho railroad
operator’s life is not a happy otto. In
addition to his duties as operator lionets
•s ticket agent, handles freight and
sometimes turns the switch. Ilis salary
is also less than.tlmt of bis city brother.
The wonder is that moro accidents do
not occur on roads where ono man lias
all theso duties to attend to. Thousands
of lives are daily entrusted to his caro,
and tho omission of a few clicks from
tiis brass Rounder might send scores of
travelers to a horriblo death. In small
towns tho manager of tho telegraph of-
fico is nn important personage. IIo
ranks with the lawyer and the doctor in
the esteem of his townsfolks. The ar
rival of n green operator is a source of
groat amusement m some oificos. Tho
fastest sender in the vicinity gets n
newspaper and sends tho new arrival
columns of imaginary ‘specials.’ Ficti
tious Chiueso cables resembling wnsli
checks nre given to tho novice, with
orders to 'rush it. ’
A RABA AVIS.
"If it wasn't for us plumbers you re-
Pnrtcis would go dry for your funny
items," remarked a plumber tho othei
( % to the reporter who culled to inquire
''aether it would bo cheaper to have e
111 h'8 penstock pipe soldered up,
°flmriiup i' 10 bouse, abandon the lot,
Ml move out into tho country and dig
»weil.
Yes, you follows are fnnny to every-
excepting your employers, but it’s
a serious matter to them,” retorted the
reporter.
Rut the funniest ever said obout a
Dumber 1ms never found its way into
l' 111 '!. A few years ago I was down to
" 11! f° n ®° 011 Sunday shooting, and
1 "1 u bird tho likes of which I had
l"~' l:r 80cl - before. It was a water fowl,
"' m *' 11 fowl it was ! It was all beak,
fi-M H T l I< eB ’ (wcl P^btcipuUy beak. I
In V • ^ borne, and tho next morning
0 'up to Professor Sill and asked
"bat it was.”
Goodness knows
manager compelled him to return, after
working nbimt threo weeks at White
ttlvor Junction,
His fluty at White ttiVor tUltldithn was
to wol‘k Urn Now York wire, upon wlilt-h
is relayed all tho through business for
tho mountain hotels nud plnces oh the
line of tho Passnmpsie anti Obuthll Ver
mont railroads as far as Montpelier. He
can Rend with either band and l-ccoril the
time of transmission with the hand that
may bo idle equally well. lie takes all
press reports, and a year slnt'e received
all the election returns nt the Claremont
office. It seems Very peculiar to notic
him leave bis gnmo of mnrblos And tak
ing his seat at the wiro receive by sound
the fastest sending without A break.
Levi is small, and when perched upon
bis st6td bite would little suspect him of
possessing such remarkable talent. He
will enter tho StcvenH High School, in
Claremont, In September, to pursue n
scientific Course of study.
Sunken Cities.
CURIOUS LEGENDS OP THE SUBMERGED
CITIES OP IRELAND.
There are numerous legends of sunk
en cities scattered through Ireland,
some of which are of a most romantic
origin. Thus tho space now covered by
tho Lnko of Inchlquiu is reported in
former days to have been a populous and
flourishing city; but for some dreoil-
fnl and tinnlmolved crime, tradition says,
it was burio 1 beneath tlio deep waters.
Tho “dark spirit” of its King still re
sides in ono of tho caverns which border
the lake, and once every seven years, at
midnight, ho issues forth, mounted on
bis white charger, and makes the com
plete circuit of tho lnko, a performance
which he is to continue until tbo silver
hoofs of his steed nro worn out,
when the curse will bo removed and tho
city renpponr once moro in nil its by
gone condition. The peasantry ntfirm
that oven n..w on a calm night ouo may
clearly seo the towers and spires gleam
ing through tho clear water. With tbiR
legend wo may compare ono told by
Burton in bis "History of Irolaml.”
“In Ulster is a lnko 30,000 pneos long
and 15,000 broad, out of which nrisoth
tho noble river called Bnnn. 'It is be
lieved by the inhabitants tlmt they were
formerly wicked, vicious peoplo who
lived in this place; anil there was nn old
prophecy in everyone’s mouth that
whenever a well, which was therein and
was continually covered and locked up
carefully, should bo left open, so great
a quantity of water would issuo thereout
ns would forthwith overflow the whole
adjacent country. It happened that an
old beldame, coming to fetch water,
beard her child cry, upon which, run
ning away in baste, she forgot to covet
tho spring, nud, coming back to it, tho
land was so overrun that it was past her
help; and at length she, her child, and
all tho territory was drowned, which
caused this pool, which remains to this
day.”
G'raldus Cnmbrcusis, too, noticos the
tradition ol Lough Neagh having once
been a fountain which overflowed tho
whole country, to whioh Moore thus al
ludes:
On Lough Neagh’s banks, as the fisherman
strays,
Wlion tho clear, cold eve’s declining,
He sees the round tmvors of other days
III tho wave beneath him shin ng.
—Chambers's Journal.
The Hnlf-Dlmo Novel Ility.
exclaimed Sill
1 “ e '’ er SIUv before, but from the
. Cll gfli and
I’luml
size of its bill it must bo a
Ier k'uV ”—Detroit Free Press.
The followiti
f"«i,d on^^e“ ?re " iVe - P ° eti ° P1 ™'’
Die I 1 ,,
lies
many a
V
interior of a box car on
railroad; "Counting
ls hij oeotiputiou, hunger gives nte
1911 I ft am a ®£ : work an< * I am no rela-
IIVH, 4m, Pennsylvania Ivomr, >».
THE TRAMP OPERATOR.
“A few years ago there were many
tramp’operators, but owing to tho in
crease of business they have almost dis
appeared. Perhaps the best represen
tative of that class is Hank Bogardus,
whose name is known in telegraphic
circles from the Atlantic to tho Pacific.
Never working moro than a month in 1
one place bo is constantly on the move,
ind to-day may bo in Portland, Mo.,
mil next week in Utah. Hank took
ui ,r lit report in Omaha a few years ago,
and ono night was overcome by sleep
and missed the wliolo matter, Ho awoke
about daylight and realizing the situa
tion left the celebrated message for the
manager which hns made him famous
among the boys. It was—’Cap.: I works
uo more. I resigns. Hank. ’ Ho was
next heard of in Canada. But that style
of operator has gradually died out, and
a tramp telegrapher is a rarity.
A YOUTHFUL PRODIGY.
Levi Judkins, son of George Jud
kins, operator at the Western Union
office in Claremont, N. H., began to
send and receive dispatches when lie
was seven years old, operating en
tirely by sound with tho Morse
system. In 1877, when Levi was
eight years old, ho was referred to in the
Journal of the Telegraph, of May 1, us
“probably tho youngest telegraph op
erator in the country, being a.8°®
sender and able to receive readily br
sound and writing a good hand for a boy
of his. ago.” _ ..
Mr HuntooD, tho manager at White
„!»«,&<»» for
to tho strike, to work a montU ors x
weeks as he was short of men. Hewent
there, and during- his stay at White
River Junction,- after thestoke btu
if °s„,sraSrx
desired to W* u ‘“ ^“efol'liifop-
The Rev. A. Stewnrt Walsh, D. D.,
of New York, in liis Sunday sermon,
taking as his text Hosca, viii., 7, said:—
"Tho thinking of a youth determines
his after oareer. If ho sows the wind lie
and socioty will reap tho whirlwind.
Save tho boys anil tho millennium will
come, for where tho hoys aro thore will
the girls be also. Most of our boys aro
rough, and neither Church nor State
bus as yet effectively applied any plan
for sweetening aiid softening them.
Tho trouble in the matter begins nt
homo. Tho mother is too ensy. Her
sermons aro only kisses and team. She
leaves all tho whipping to tho father.
Tho boy drifts from intimacy with the
rod-wieider and misses his course. His
educators aro company and books. Now,
boys sock tho society of their elders, and
men aro moro apt to tench vice than
morals. A hoy’s mind is hungry for
ideas. The bad book fills it with such
to any extent. Wo aro in a reading
age, and tho devil utilizes tho press as a
juggernaut to ruin youth. Cheap
literature, pandering to tho worst pns-
sions, is undermining tho character of
thousands who might otherwise become
choice citizens. Six hundred thousand
copies of trashy papers’ nro published
weekly in this country, besides which
there aro millions of “yellow covers”
floating about. Luther threw his ink
bottle at what ho supposed to bo the
devil. He missed his mork, but the
devil took tho hint and is hurling back
printer’s ink with deadly effect.
The superintendent of tho New Y’ork
Jewish Asylum says that seven-eighths of
tho youths sent to that reformatory owe
their downfall to trashy novels. Tito
evil, too, often has its source in tho
house. The worst cheap "daily” is
taken into the family, to tho exclusion
of sound literature. Few even of Chris
tian families try to have a full fresh sup
ply of reading for the family circle.
Until there is a regular crusade and ref
ormation in behalf of our boys we must
not wonder if they aro rough, tough and
reckless. As we must remember that
they deserve from us moro sympathy
than censure. Is it their fault if through
lack of fit training they who aro reser
voirs of rapidly developing powers, with
longings to load heroio lives, fall into
disorders? "Without a chart how can
they hope -to steer their way safely
through tho tempestuous billows of
lifo? Let us, then, sympathize with
them and do our best to help them.”
HEAVY LIFE INSURANCE*
Tin- hrtrftt) M oles tlmt rtre UlirritM M
Nome Hloli Mm.
NdlVci-y toilg ago the firillsh life lh=
suranfie Companies tvore callcil u; otlj
within the short space of nnot-enr, to pay
the cnormotts stiln of $0,256,000 On pol-
icifefl Oil the jiVcfl of tliree liottvilv Instiled
libhlemoll, Viz., the Duke of Newcastle,
tho Marquis of Angleson, and tho Earl
of Fife; and shortly afterword (ho same
companies paid £1,250,000 insurance on
tho lives of two noblemen) malting an
nggl-egato stbn of $?,5l)(),0()0 Insurant'll
paid on five lives. About fifteen years
fcgo the heirs of 8ir Robert Clifton re-
calved from the life insurance companies
of Great Britain £1,250,000, tlmt being
the amount of instlnmco which ho car
ried. King Umberto, of Italy, is mak
ing efforts to obtain insurance on hip own
lifo for $000,000, The Italian insurance
Companies refused to tnko the risk, nnd
application was mndo to English com
panies with no better success. King
Umberto "has comparatively impover
ished himself by paying his father'sdobts,
Dom Pedro II,, tho Emperor of Brazil,
carries a large lifo insurance in foreign
companies, Napoleon III, lmd nn in
surance of $000,000 on his life, nnd this
wns tho chief reliance of tho Empress
Eugenio after his death. One English
Earl lias his life insured for $1,000,000,
partly in American companies.
Tho largest lifo insurance written for
any American prince is that of W. K.
Anderson, tho “oil prince,” of Titusville,
Pa., who in insured for £110,000. Tho
Into James Park, Jr., of Pittsburgh, lmd
liis lifo insured for £350,000. Among
Americans insured for £800,000 or moro
nre Hamilton DisHton, of Philadelphia,
John Howe, of St. Louis, W. II, Lang
ley, of Gallcopolis, Ohio; and J. B.
Stettsou, of Philadelphia, Pa. Other
largo insurers nre Pierre Lorillaril, of
New York, £255,000; F. W. Devoo, New
York, £250,000; Cyrus W. Field, New
York, £210,000; Frank Jones, Ports
mouth, N. H., $2< l fi,000; Amos Whituej’,
Springfield, O., £200.000; B. F. Sturte-
vant, Boston, £200,000; F. B. Roberts,
New York. £200,000; E. P. Allis. Mil
waukee, £170,000; John Gibb, New Y’ork,
£170.000; Charles Pratt, Now York,
£105,000; II. B. llvde, New Y’ork. £105,-
000; E. A. Moon, New York, £151,000;
E. D. C. MeKny, New York, £1-13,000;
anil W. P. Clyde, of New Y’ork, £113,000.
J. B. Cornell, W. TI. Belknap nnd John
Sinclair, of New Y’ork, have policies of
£125,000 each; DoYVilt C. Wheeler is
insured for£110 000; Rufus Hatch, £7G,-
009; William Fullerton, £75,000; and
II. 15. Chitlin, £75,000.
The famous Col. Dwight, whose heirs
claimed $263,000 insurance on his life,
asserting that ho died nt Binghamton,
N. Y., in 1H7H, sought to obtain even a
larger amount They got about £50,-
000, and hnve lawsuits pending for tho
remainder.
Floating in Arctic Sens.
UODY SUrrOSED TO RE MAS IER rt’TNAM H
— MEMENTOS RECOVERED BY THE
NATIVES.
The following letter hns boon received
at the Navy Department from Mr. Henry
D. Wolfe, dated San Francisco, Cal.,
August 20;—
“I have tho honor to enclose a button
(United States Navy) and a coin whioh
wore handed to mo in September, 1882,
by a Cap-i Prince of Wales (Alaska)
native while I was residing at tho hoaa
of Northern Bay. The man reported to
mo that when tho ice broko up in July
or Augnst, 1882, a body clothed in deer
skins was washed ashore nt tho villago
of Kingegan, near tho Capo. At tho
samo time the hull of a whaler (I pre
sume the Sappho, lost in the spring of
1882) camo on shore, and tho natives’
attention was directed to tho stripping
if tho wreck. Being thus engaged tho
body pasBod almost unheeded, but I
gntbered from the men that a portion of
tho clothing was afterward found on
the beach to which brass buttons were
attached, one of which and tho coin en
closed my informant handed mo. Tho
morning after tho wreck come ou shore
a galo sprung up, both ship and body
disappearing.
"In January, 1883, while visiting tho
Selawig River, in the Arctic Circle, I was
told that tho body of a wliito man lmd
been seen off Point Hopo by llio natives
of the villago there, T'iglac. Some of
tho peoplo went off and tried to get it
on shore, but when it was touched with
their spears it immediately sank. It is
described as having had Chuckchio
clothing on, and as a big man, but cloth
ing all torn. I am led to promise under
the circumstances that this was Master
Putnam’s (Rodgers) body, and forward
those mementos that they may bo per
haps recognized.”
Tho mementos enclosed are an eagle
cent ooined in 1858, with a hole through
it, and a smnll brass button of naval de
vice. The relics were objects of con
siderable interest at tho Navy Depart
ment. Tho button is smnller than any
now used in tho service. Past Assist
ant Engineer A. V. Zuno,, who was a
shipmate with Master Putnam on tho
tlic Rogers, was positive that it did not
bolong to Putnam as ho was dressed en
tirely in dear-skins and wore no brass
buttons. The description of the body
corresponds with that of Master Putnam,
as he would be considered a Very large
man when compared with the natives.
tlio "
Tho body did not belong to tho Sappho,
no lives were lost in that wreck.
Mike—“It’s the Irish that does all
in via ting in these days, sure.” Jonathan
—“Irish be darned ! The Irish don t
invent any thing to speak of. Americans
invent everything.” Mike— Thin per-
liars yez can toll mo why the Irishman s
name, Pat, is always next to the date oil
nil the new invintions. Divil an Ameri
can namp PW y e ?i I’D °D°t 1 . ft )
»t all I” •
Spotted.—A letter was received a few
days ago at the office of a Boston horse-
railroad company from a man in Eng
land who wrote that his conscience
troubled him and ho wanted to confess.
He said ho was, about eight or van years
ago, a conductor on that road, and hnd
stolen sums aggregating between £200
and $300. Ho had no money to make
restitution, hut ho thought that"confes
sion would bo good for his soul. Refer
ence to the books of the company showed
that lie had been “spotted” and dis
charged for stealing.
THE BAD B0YANI) Ills PA.
Till! HOY titlfcs TO PLAY PilOOiGAI.
KClN;
I ii k I mi it at a i'nttril Cull IlD Gets Klrlu-fi
wiili LuHiti'if tiiir-uiit,
A fortune awaits the man who will
invent a penholder tlmt you can’t stick
into the mucilage bottle, and a mucilago
In us) i tlmt- TO’t into the inH^ejKU
fFrom tlic Mllwanneo Sun.|
"Hellr. g“ f back again, have you?”
said the gfroeeryllMh to tho lmd boy, as
he caino in the store looking tired, with
his cl Hies soiled, and n general appettf-
Mice of having been sleeping in freight
cars with cnttlo. “Yourpn told mo ho ex
pected you lmd riin away for good and
that you might not come bank. "Wliero
you been ?" "■
“Chlengo," said th,e boy, os ho took
out n toad stabbor knife and proceeded
to take the ulster oft n smoked herring.
“Been playing Prodigal Son in two acts.
But t imes have ehangedmince I lint young
fellow In tho Bible went off on a tear
and came linek and tho old folks killed a
young cow for him to eat, anil fell on
liis shirt collnr nnd cried down the back
of liis nook. They don’t receive prodi
gal sons tlmt way in onr ward. They
fill a prodigal son's coat tails full of boots
nnd he can't find cold veal enough In thu
bouse to make n sandwich.”
“I thought your folks were pious nml
would ho inclined to overlook anything,”
said tho groceryman, ns ho charged the
herring and crackors to tho bail boy's
father. ‘ ‘You don't mean to tell me they
went back on the teachings of tho good
book, and warmed your jnoket?”
"You have guessed it tho first lime?”
snid the boy. “This prodigal son busi
ness is nil right in tlioory, hut in prac
tice it’s n dona failure, You see, at Sun-
dfty school the lesson was about tho
prodigal son, nnd the minister told us all
about how tho boy took all tho money
ho could scrape up and went nwny to a
distant, country and painted tho towns
rod, and spent liis money like a country
man nt n circus, nnd how ho took in nil
tho sights,' and got broke, and got hun
gry nnd took a job at tho stock yards
feeding pigs, nnd ho wits so hungry ho
used to help the pig eat their rations,
and finally lie thought of liis home,
whero they hnd pie and ho went homo
expecting to bo fired out, but his pa was
tickled to see him, nml sot up a free
lunch of calf on tho half shell, and
hugged the boy and mndo him feel
bully. When wo got homo pn nnd uia
talked about tho lesson, and pn said it
was one of tho moRt touching things ho
ever heard, and tclil mo to think of it
and it would do mo good. Well, tho
moro I thought of it tho moro I felt liko
trying tho prodigal business on, and I
told my churn about- it, nnd ho said he
hadn't hnd any vnentiou nnd ho would
go off prodignling with mo if 1 would go,
and we could see the country, and lmve
a good time nnd corno buck and ho re
ceived with open arms. Well, wo got
nil our money together nnd a bmkomnn
on a freight train that goes to our church,
cause his wife sings in the choir, ho hid
us in the caboose, and wo went, to Chi
cago. Oh, my ! hut wo had a good
time. I never saw money wither the
wny it did with ns. We eat about twenty
times n day, the first two days, and then
onr appetites left us, because wo didn’t
have any more money. Tho first two
nights wo slept in a two shilling lodging
house, tho third night wo walked around
anil the fourth night we slept in tho po
lice station. When our money was
gone half tho fun was gouo. If a fellow
ciui walk around with money in his
pocket, lie feels good, even if ho don’t
want to buy anything, hut when the
money is gone, he fouls had, nnd wants
to buy lots of things. Wo waited two
days for our brukemnn, and when wo
got on his train ho put us in a cnttlo enr,
nnd it was vile. I traded my oollar-
button for a postal card, and wrote to pa
that tlio prodigal would put in an ap
pearance at 9 p. m., nnd for him to pre
pare to fall oil my neck, nnd to send
down to the meat market for a bind
quarter of fatted caif, and liavo plenty
of gravy. You wouldn’t believe it, biit
there was no carriage nt the depot, nnd
we hail to walk homo. I could have
overlooked tlmt, if tliero hnd been any
thing to eat when I got to the house,
lmt there wasn't enough for a canary
bird. Pft wns there, however, anil I was
just going to hold out my neck for pa to
get on to weep, when he grabbed it
with his hand nnd camo near twisting it
off, ami then he turned me around and
began to play the bass drum on my
dollies with his feet. I never was so
nnnoyed in all my life, honestly. It was
not the treatment I had a right to ex
pect, after they lmd told me about tho
prodigal son of ancient times. As quick
ns I could catch my breath I asked pa
what ho thought the prodigal son of the
Bible times would have thought if liis
pa lmd mauled him when lie came home,
and what kind of a Htory it would lmve
made, if it lmd told about, the old man
taking him by the neck and kicking him
all over the room instead of falling ou
his neck and weeping, and giving him a
veal p -t pie. Pa said he wasn't running
any old back number prodigal soub, and
lie thought his way was the best, and
he sent me to bed without any supper.
Tlmt settles the prodigal business with
Hennery. No more fatted calf for Hunk,
if you please,” and tho hoy got up ami
6hook the herring peelings off his lap.
“ Well, how did your chum come
out?” asked tho grocery man, with much
interest.
“ Oh, lie hasn’t come out yet. He is
in tho lockup,” said tlio hoy. “ His ma
put tho polico onto him, nnd when ho
showed up thoy rim him into tho police
station for a tramp. I think we liavo
both demonstrated tlmt this climate
does not agree with the prodigal busi
ness, nnd however much they may try
to teach us the beauties of such stories,
they do not expect- us to try and imitate
them. When I go to Chicago after this
I shall go in a parlor ear, with lunoli
enough to Inst me, and a return ticket.
I don’t understand it at all. Now I did
not do half the mean things in Chicago
that the Prodigal son of old did in tlio
far off country, and yet he got taffy
when ho got home, and I got my spine
broke. It may be all right., but they do
things different in the old country, you
know.”
“If I understand the kind of a Prodi
gal son yon are,” snid the grooery man,
as he sprinkled the floor from a wash
l.)jipip t peparatorj' <19 the eeijii-annual
sweeping ofit, “yon hnve got even with
your pa before this, for bis ontrngcous
treatment. Tlmt is, mind you, 1 don’t
suggest anything for yon to play on him,
but from Wbat I know of-you, tho nc
count is evened up before now. Am I
right?”
“ Well, 1 should rcmnfk. Any person
who thinks I cannot resent sUeli nn in-
stilt, makes a mistnke as to the sort of a
prodigal son 1 am. Wo hnd compapy nl
dinner to-dny, flhd pa is always in liis
clement when we liavo Company. lie
prides himself on his carving. Wo lmd
a roast of beef, and before it wont on
the table I tooli the steel that pa sharp
ens the carving knife oii, nnd made two
holes right through tho ronst, and then
I took a rawhide whip that pa hasted mo
with once, cut it in two, and run pieces
■if tbo rawhide in tho holes of the beef.
I’a began carving with a smile, and
asked tlio minister if ho would have liis
beef rare, or nn outside picco, Ho was
bearing gently on tbo carving knife,
when the knife struck tho rnwhido anil
it wouldn’t go any further. I’n smiled
and Hiiid I10 guessed ho had struck a
barbed wiro fence, anil lie turned the
ronst around and cut again, nndhostluok
tlio rawhide. Tho minister drummed
with his fork nud spoke to ma and said
‘ wo lmd n splendid meeting Wednesday
night,’ nnd ma said it was perfectly
gorgeous, and pn began to perspiro and
turn red in the faee, and he said somo
words that would sound better in n
brewery, nnd ho tried to gougo off somo
meat, lmt it wouldn’t come, nnd tho
minister said, ‘Brother, you seem to ho
having a monkey and a parrot time with
tlmt roust,’and that mndo pa mnd and
lie said ho could carve his own meat
without any sky pilot’s interference, and
nui said, ‘ Why, pa, you should not bo
impudent,’ anil pa said lie could whip
the butcher tlmt sold him that piece of
work ox, anil ho sent tho lieef out to
tlio kitchen and the company ato cold
liver. The girl set tho meat in tho ice
chest, and pretty soon I went down cel
lar, ’cause I didn’t liko cold liver, and
pulled out the rnwhido, anil I hnd all
tlio fatted cnlf T wanted, and I gnvo the
rest to tlmt lame dog you seo mo Imvo
hero a spell ago. Oh, a boy can get
enough to eat if ho 1ms got any origi
nality about him. I think if pn would
show a Christian spirit, and wear slip
pers when he kicks mo, I would do any
thing to make it pleasant for him, but
when a man wears out hunting boots ou
liis own dear littlo prodigal, I think the
prodignl is upt to get lmrd. Don’t
you ?’’
Tlio grocery mnn admitted tlmt per
haps tho boy was right, nnd ho raised
such a dust sweeping out tlmt tho boy
coughed, took a few peaches off tho top
of a basket, and went out whistling,
"Homo again, from a foreign shore.”
A Novelist’s Terrible Death.
Mrs. Julia F. Smith, tho authoress, of
Hartford, Conn., who was killed at her
summer residence in New Hartford luto-
ly, was driving nhout tho grounds sur
rounding her beautiful home preparatory
to taking her husband to Hartford, ns
was lior custom every morniug. Tho
groom lmd hitched up a horse which
Mrs. Smith had not previously driven.
In going around tho pnrk tho nnimal
viciously took the hit between his tooth
nnd bolted. Mrs. Smith wns unablo to
control him, and bo dashed betweon two
IrocH, ono of which tho enrringo struck
with great violence. Tho veliiclo was
wrecked anil Mrs. Smith was thrown
violently to tho ground. A boulder
happened to lie directly in tho way.
Her face encountered tho rock and wns
ho terribly larcerated tlmt, the doctor who
was summoned wns unable to speak ol
tho severity of tbo injuries with sulli-
ci- nt emphasis. Mrs. Smith’s features
were horribly mutilated. Tho. groom
was mndo aware of tho accident by hear
ing tho noise, and I10 immediately ran to
Mrs. Smith’s assistance, lmt ho wns ol
no scrvico. nt-r husband was also nt
the spot immediately afterward. He wns
nearly prostrated with grief. Mrs. Smith
died immediately after the accident. She
was about 50 years old, anil wns a re
markably intelligent woman with an in
tense love for literature. Among the
most popular of her works aro “Widow
Goldsmith’s Daughter,” “Chris find
Otho,” “ The Widower,” “ Tho Jitarricil
Hello.” nnd “ Courting anil Farming.”
At the timo “The Widow Goldsmith’s
Daughter" was published it was very
popular and wns in great demand. The
characters in this work were generally
Hartford people. Mrs. Smith lmd four
daughters. Thoso who snrvivo her ar
Fannie, Clmrlotta and Nellie, tho latter
being the wife of W. YV. Eilisworth, oi
New York. Mrs. Smith lived in Hnrt-
25 years. She resided at Chestnut and
Edward streets. Her daughters, under
her guidance, wero the organizers of the
Saturday Club, composed of young ladies
nud designed for literary pursuits and
culture.
Pawning Pension Certificates.
A pawnbroker hail a hearing before
United States Commissioner Edmunds
in Philadolphin on tbo charge of loaning
monoy on a pension certificate in viola
tion of the law. James Lafferty, a
hunchback and 11 cripple from rheuma
tism, said he was in receipt of £24 a
mouth pension, nnd was in the habit of
pawning tbo certificate frequently with
Hamburg &■ Co. Ho pawned it June 7
for £2.50; received £10 on Juno 9, and
£5 on Aug. 31, and when he drew his
money lie was lmuilod £12. This made
the interest on tho loans, aggregating
£17.50, £12.50. On several occasions
when tho pawnbroker could not accom
pany him to the pension office to draw
liis money I10 left his daughter, a girl of
15, as security, and she was released
wlion he brought back the certificate.
This fact tho witness spoke of ns if it
wore in the usual routino of business.
The daughter, Ellen Eugene Lafferty,
a bright girl, said that her father and
mother always spent the pension money
for drink, nnd she obtained no benefit
from it. She had been used os security
several times, and did not Becm to look
upon it as a hardship. Once when her
Father handed her over to Hamberg to
ho locked up until he returned, he snid:
“Now you aro in prison, you know,”
Hamberg was held in £500 bail to ftfiswer
dt UY3 next terjn of court.
THE MERCURY.
PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY
■A
NOTICE.
*VAU communication* Intended for till*
paper must be accompanied with tha full
name of the writer, not necessarily tor publi
cation, but a* a guarantee of good faith.
We are in no way responsible for tha vlawi
oroptnlon* of correspondent*.
Wlmt Is 11 Klrsf-Clnss Driver. ‘
The Springfield Republican says :—
John Splat), who began hi* career -on
llio turf 17 yenrs ago, when he was 17
years old, and hns handled many of the
best horse* in the country, including
tho fnmons Rams, is as ready and slick
a talker as he is a driver. “Yes, sir, a
good driver is as essential ns a good
horse. I don't know ns a Rood man
could do mnch with a stick of a horse,
but I lmve seen roitny a horse defeated
that would have won if it* driver hnd
known his business. Just what makes
a good driver yon can’t tell.
“You sgc, a driver has got to do
more than sit behind a horse. He Offist
look out for the shoeing, must get the
horse’s head just right, must study liis
horse, know how ho ought to be fed and
harncHsed, nud all that. There are
a hundred things besides th* mere driv
ing that ho must have bfs eye on kda’be
studying, Horses are just as different
as people. Somo are nervous, fretting
and stewing all tho time, nnd others aro
so cold f lint n cyclone wouldn’t mnkc \tm
jump. Now, yon see if a matt who was
used to driving one of the nervous kind
took hold of n lazy horse he’d like as not
break him all up.
“Thoro’s one thing a driver must have,
and that’s a eool head. He mnsn’t be nil
down when he don’t win, or wny up when
ho does, bnt just take it as it comes- and
go it again. I’ve seen mon on the track
with monoy upon theif horses who were
as worked up about it ns nn.old lady,that
bad got to lmve her tooth pulled out.
That won’t do. I don’t take any stock
in cordials to give a man the necessary
courage. A good night’s ploep is the
best thing that nny^nnn can toko before
n rare. Of courso we bet on tho ftMSifes.
That’s whftt. we nro interested in ; it is
part- of onr business, I don’t think
They
horsemen gnmblo much outside. Tbey
put in their moneVon a horse just as a
man buys a tmrrcl of flour and eVpocts
to put niore than ho -gave for it, The
public think there’s a good deal more
" tlinh there really is. I
crooked work ----- —.. -
don’t know » driver, and I’ve slept #lth
most of ’em, who would pnll his’em
ployer’s homo to win. money himself.
It wouldn’t pay. Driviugis a iirofcs-
sion now, and n mnn who lias paid £6,-
000 or $10,000 for a piece of property
hunts till he finds a good mob to take
caro ofit, nnd then pays him handsomely.
Most, owners have all the monoy tbey
want mid are anxious only that their
horses win.”
A Quaint Old Village.
A correspondent writing from York
Harbor, Mo., spenks of the village,
where tho store, the post office, the
blacksmith shop, tho two churches—
Congregational and Methodist—stand
in close proximity to a quaintly-built
200-year old jail and a cemetery equally
old, “whero tho rndo forefathers of tho
hamlet sleep." Tliero rest many whoso
dnto of birth is well back iu tho sixteen
hundreds; ono, an LL.D., graduate of
Hnrvnrd, wh jso name is found in the
original charter of the colony, granted by
William anil Maiy. We see many qnalnt
and somo absurd inscriptions grayen’ in
tho mossy slabs, all of wliich are mare
or less illegible. An infant ilend at duo
day old, 1705, has an elaborate epitaph,
setting forth the belief of tho sorrowing
parents that "this infant would rise at
tho last day, an immortal, corporeal,
spiritual body, like unto Christ and heir
of eternal life.” Another, 1785, attracts
attention from being marked by a huge
boulder, at least seven feet long, placed
direotly upon the grave; the idea irre
sistibly oonveyed to the mind of the be
holder is that it was so placed to prevent
the occupant from getting up. 'flu* is
said to l)o thp grave of a reported witch,
which did not prevent tho monrnfog
friends from putting up a slab enumer
ating the virtues of the departed— tpis
poseibly to propitiate the spirit of. tho
witch should it ever got out from undur
the boulder,
Closo by, upon a great rook, stands
the old jail. Two hundred years, they
say, has it braved tho storms of the New
England coast. An old crone occupies
a few rooms in tho building, and for a
fee of fifteen cepts for two persons shows
it to visitors. We see tho deep, dark
dungeon with double oaken door* , at
least a foot in thickness, whore without
a ray of light or any ventilation, except
when twice each day the narrow iron-
barred window was opened to pn** in
food, the murderer was confined, and
there must he often have expiated his
crime in this lifo. An iron ring in the
floor tells its own story. Above, with
the luxury of fire-places nnd -windows,
heavily barred, it is true, the debtprs
languish out the weary days. All the
doors aro of heavy oak, clumped with
iro -, nnd the bolts so massive that only
a strong man could move them. The
visitor is especially desired to notice the
great stack of ohimneys in th,e centre of
tho building.
A SEA-SIDE ROMANCE.
A man at Long Branch recently en
tered a rosturitnt and Said :
"Have you any clnin-ohowder?”
“We have,” replied the waitor.
■'Bring me a plate.”
A plate was placed before him, and he
set to work with groat gusto. After he
hnd taken about a dozon spoonfuls, he
drew a pair of oporn-glosses from his
pocket and looked intently at the ohow-
der foi* somo time.
Then ho jumped in tho air and shouted:
“Eureka!” - ,
“What’s that?” nsked the proprie
tor.
“I’ve got it?” yelled the diner.
“Got what?” asked the restaurateur.
“A clam!” C
"Great Scott 1” yelled the proprietor;
“lie’s got the clam I” ''i
And before the diner could say a Wbrd,
the proprietor picked the olam up in a
pair of gold pincers and bote ittriumph
antly to the kitohen, threw it back
into a huge boiler of- chowder,-iand
snid:
“Who dealt the chowder to that dark-
haired man over there?” n - r
"I did,” said the assistant 000k.
“Then you are discharged-for dealing
out the olam that we use fojr flgyofing
purposes,"