Newspaper Page Text
Fannin County Gazjtt . R ®*
MINERAL BLUFF, GA.
The famous Cherokee strip “comes
high/’ but some of the Western cat¬
tle growers think tncy must have it
and have bid $35,000,000 for it.
It has been conservatively estimated
(hat the lumber cat in the Pacific
Northwest this year will be over 2,-
000,000,000 feet, valued at $25,500,-
000 .
A Union Club man calmiy mado the
'statement the oilier cay, alleges the
New York Tribune, that the Union
Clnb’s membership represented a to¬
tal wealth of $700,000,000.
f The “Duellist Doctor” of Heidel¬
berg University, Germany, has just
been entertained at a “comnsers” of
old oorps-stadents. lie has acted as
surgeon to tho fighting students for
forty yea s, and attended 14,000 duels,
of which only two proved fatal.
In Franco at present there nro
2,000,000 household* in which there
has been no child; 2,500,000 in which
there was one child; 2,800,000, two
children; 1,500,000, three; about
1,000,000, four; 650,000, five; SaO,-
000, six, and 200 , 000 , seven or more.
One by one do our fond illusions
vanish, moans the Chicago Herald.
Dr. Hall, a New England lecturer,
states that the average expense of a
Spanish grandee is about $3 per week,
board and washing included. Who
will sigh for a castle in Spain after
this? asks the llerald.
The celebrated $2 silver certificate
of 1886 is again being put into circula¬
tion in New York City, and the paners
of that city arc cautioning merchants
of that city to be on their guard
against it. It is one of tho cleverest
imitations of the genuine bill known,
and at first sight would deceive any
but au export.
The assertion frequently made that
Hie publicdBjoain i in jwit Nebraska^ by’# 1 *’ is ex-
i lliii n i F land
• *• -
•
^artnjfuit reports 11,^26,581 acres of
,vacant govtvinncnt Mud in the State.
In other words there are 140,332 fa' ins
of 80 acres each, or 70,102 farms of
160 acres, which settlers can secure
for a song.
French criminals are quick to take
advantage of any new application of
science or any current fad. If the
story about robberies on the Lyons
mail be correct theso highwaymen
arc using hypnotism to aid them in se¬
curing booty. This is a promising
suggestion for the sensational novel
ists and opens up exciting plots.
An exchange is authority for. tho
statement that in Detroit, Mich., there
has been an exhaustive examination
going on for somo time as to the purity
of milk supplied to that city, and Dr.
Coventry, who has conducted tiie ex¬
amination, reports that 75 per cent, of
the milk received was found to bo
adulterated, nnd sav3 that if the milk
peddlers continue to sell inferior milk,
prosecution will be made at once.
! The Chin so arc io have a currency.
On the seacoast, whore they havo had
to deal with foreigners, they havo
u,ed Mexic o! dollars and small Japan¬
ese coins, in ihe interior bars of sil¬
ver were tho medium of exchange.
When a purchase was made it was paid
for with a slice of tho metal cut off
with a hammer nnd chisel. AU this is
to end. The government has ordered
that the silver mm', be coined and used
in that form only under severe penal¬
ties.
The Chattanooga (Tenn.) Evening
News advocates local bank* of issue,
and says: “The national banks are of
no use J > die farmer as things arc.
They not want tho farmers as cu«-
tom , and tho farmer has too much
*eu/ r to try to borrow money from
without gilt-edge securities. As
s'friu.comc of all this the farmer pays
Of il'ious interest for money borrowed
On an iron-clad mortgage, and the
varmcr’s suhstunco and slender earn-
logs are inexorably swept away.”
The Spider Weft.
r Through the long night
The builder bullded and the structure grew;
With skilful art from spray to spray he
drew
HU slender thread, while biddea from the
sight,
And on an ancient pattern huilded there
HU castle in the air.
And still bethought
Of the new home ami what shonld bo there-
in,
Of the dear friends that he would shortly
win
To dwell there, and of all that should be
brought
Of beauty, to make delicate and fall
Uls castle in the air. 4t
When the morn rose
His work was done; woven from stem to
stem.
Lighted by chandelier of pearl and gem,
And shimmering with a thousand rainbow
glows;
And then be mounted by a silver stair
UU castle in the air:
When a sptlng breeze
Passed by, and brushed him rudely to the
ground,
Just as his foot had reached the topmost
round.
Snatch'd off his web from the syringa trees,
And left the builder seeking everywhere
His castle in the air.
A BA0 OF DIAMONDS.
lie lmd screwed his courage to the
sticking point. After all, Wiiat good
to the old man was that bag of gems?
What good except to count over, mark
their twinkling facets, gloat over their
value, and laugh at those who might
covet them, Palsied fingers would
shako ns the strings of tho chamois
skin treasury were rapturously untied,
and n moment’* life and energy flash
into pinched cheek and faded cvc, as
every evening tho revelation of untold
wealth woke in a withered heart it*
only surviving passion, But what
good to the world or to the man was
that brief minute of ecstasy? Was it
not paid for a liumlredf Id by nights
of fear and forebodings of robbery
that made life a perpetual horror?
How often had Paul heard Ids uncle
wake from his montide nap with a
dreami ig cry: “My diamonds, my
diamonds, is that you Paul? 1 thought
it was a roi.ber.”
Ills thoughts were to come true to¬
night. Paul tried to persuade him¬
self that the treasures ho had set his
on belonged to him as much
V,| l>co*Aa f*t lyrBfcw'in
I p?ize of the fi'iuer.
I oaiiie another thought, His
W1I poverty t ami hi* great love, llis
uncle's ward was as poor ns himself;
poor, proud and beautiful, Such
flowers only grow in hard and soli-
tarv places; in the nipping air, and
uncrowdcd evon by tho obtrusivciicss
of love. Straight, slender, full-lined
as a rose, with a big soul beaming in
her face and eyes, with meek, silent
ways, and bearing unflinchingly tho
blows of an old man's brutal tongue,
this girl had presented to the poet's
mind the image of power, of profound
passion, of untiring constancy such as
had enchanted him and transformed
his life.
She had been first shy to him then
wistfully tender, as if she pitied him.
It was in the arbor at the foot of the
garden, where he was seated now, be¬
hind the hedge of cl pped yew, that
she had nestled closo in his arms, ami
they had known the Hist moment of
happiness in their deserted lives.
“Wo mu*t be patient, Paul.”
Patient, did .-lie say? They had been
so long enough. }iis plans were ripe
now, and lie was watching the light in
bis uncle’s window. The old man
would sleep well, ho had taken care
of that, to-night. If he awoke? Well,
that too, was provided for. Ohl men
arc not hard to smother. The night,
dark and damp, suited dark thoughts.
And She sting of long oppression, the
blind feeling after revenge for \ ears
of cruel -light* and insults, had Ion;;
engendered such thoughts. And now
came a vision of au earthly heaven,
the hope of n new life beyond the seas.
“Yes, 1 will fly with you any time
yon ask,” the grid had said resolutely.
“We shall be happy, rich or poor.”
No! not poor, lie would provide
against that.
The lights in tho windows of the
mansion are gone out. Even the win¬
dows on the ground floor, which open
on to the piazza, arc dark. That i*
iiis uncle’s room. Paul rises from his
6cat. The dripping jasmiue.spray that
strikes hi* cheek as lie leaves the little
sununer-hotisc makes hi* heart slop for
a moment, lie fears even tho faint
crunch of his footstep: u the gravel,
There is a dog baying (he distance,
as if conscious that thL is are about,
11a steals past (ho bij pear tree at
the corner of the piazza, and tramp¬
ling in the soft mould of the flower
garden, where her jonquils and tulips
grow, lie creeps breathlessly to the
back porch. The outer door is quickly
opened. lie thrusts out bis hand to
find the knob of the house door and
taking a latch-key from his vest
pocket,.iio opens it loo. At the end
of the hall is Isis uncle’s room. The
house is silent. But 'tark! did ho
hear a footfall? It mu') bs a heavy
footfall that is heard on the thick car¬
pet and steady floor of oak. lie had
never before explored this old ram¬
bling dwelling in darkless, It was
ahvnys to him a sad ami dreary place;
a place of faded hangings, old-
fashioned and tasteless bric-a-brac,
paintings insipid in their tarnished
frames, and books that echoed the
fancy and opinion of^dead yesterday’s* genera¬
tion—flavorless us news.
lie lias readied his undo’s door.
There he produces a dark lantern from
under his cloak. Drawing up the
slide for a moment he flashes the cone
of light over tho hall and up the stair¬
case. It lights up for a moment
oaken wainscoting, crowded hat-rack,
tho antlers overhead, and the stRtue
of Cupid, pallid ghost, and then
falls on the stalrcaselpAs it does so
lie snaps down the s Be and ail is dark
again. i
Yes, nil is dark ;fid quiet. There
is no witness to hi itne.
What would she os think if she
saw him cowering and crouching at
his uncle’s door? The nought of her
rises like a phantom h ns mind, she
is all in white, yet cairn, resolute and
beautiful—an angel iu contrast with
the Inferno of his own troubled
thoughts, and yct v_ ?ni eepens his reso-
lution. llo is tho martyr seeing the
martyr’s crown, the soldier with the
reward of his valor befovu his eyes.
In her purity, her strength, her peace,
it seem* to him TSTwould find an cs-
capo even from the Jorturo and shame
of his guilty mind. He would bathe
himscif in her presence as in a flood of
cleansing water, a second baptism.
Her smile, her trustfulness, the music
of her voice xvouh] be a heaven in
wide! in] rest, anil
guiltiness. JU’-
lie turns (he handle of the door
quietly, gradually, and enters. A del¬
icate scent a* from the folds of silken
garments strikes his senses. But ho
does not hear a tingle rustle from hi*
uncle's bed. The old mau sleeps
indeed.
Then lie draws up tho slide of his
lantern.
So violently, with such trembling
agitation does ho close it again, the
instant after, that the whole thing
falls clattering to the ground, and
Paul turns and rushes through the
room.
What has lie seen to overcome him
so?
A woman, tail and supple as a
Greek, stern-eyed asUlytemnestraand
twenty times as fair, with black hair
and marble arms, eyes of fringed
violet—how often had he doted on
them! How often had ho felt his
heart swell with pity, with admira¬
tion, witli unspeakable love, as the
soft voice tremulously rcmoaitralcd
with him.
“We must be patient, Paul.”
And now this saint of his life, this
virgin flower of women, this one who
was lo be the salt and salvo to his sod,
wounded, outraged and rebellious
heart—:hero she stands, her right
hand under the pi'low of the uncon¬
scious sleeper, her left armed to strike
b in down, if lie awake!
Paul parsed sb aiihiiv into the gar¬
den again. He went with bound*
across the parterre, fiercely trampling
the flowers and border*; cursing
mcinwhilc, in bis heart, with hitter
rage and execration the angel, for¬
sooth! who was thief and murderess.
Then lie laughed a wdd trembling
laugh such as only grief that borders
on frenzy finds utterance in.
That night :-s he sat till dawn under
the moaning poplars, and over and
ovo again repeated to hi* mind tho
hideous incidents that lie half believed
to be a dream, love turned to hate, ef.
fuel to ashes, a* a flower to the blood-
rad poison.
“It was for love of me,” he mur¬
mured “for love of inc—ah I th..t is
the blow that cuts the deepest; tor
why? that love of hors is loathsome
to me.”
“That was forty years ago,” said
Miss Perry,” and it seems only yester¬
day.”
She looked from the gay area of the
Casino at Narragansett, out over the
blue, dimp.ing sea, where a yacht wa 8
just coming to anchor.
The wriukled old general who di¬
rected the taste of the wealthy New
York spinster in the fitting of her art
gallery wiped a tear from his glass eye.
It was a telling gesture, though the
tear was not a tear of sensibility.
“But how did you find out that it
was he?” he inquired, softiy.
“Hand me that fan and I will tell
you. I had come down stairs, hear¬
ing a noise and thinking of burglars.
I was brave in those days, and seized
a heavy pair of scissors, which I car¬
ried daggerwise. I went to my un.
cle’s room, felt under his pillow and
was relieved to find the bag of dia¬
monds safe. Then there was a mo¬
mentary flash of light, a clatter of a
lantern dropped in darkness, and the
sound of receding footsteps. I never
saw Paul again to this day. The lan¬
tern was identified as his. I felt re¬
lieved at his flight at the moment.
But, General, you and I are old peo¬
ple, and for my part 1 can love only
once, and you must not speak to me
again as you have done today.”—[The
Epoch.
Mexican Method of Threshing.
Between donkeys and men is divi¬
ded also the work of bringing to mar¬
ket fodder from the threshing-floors.
The Mexican method of threshing—
save on a few great haciendas, where
American machinery is used—is of the
Scriptural sort; the grain in the car is
laid on the threshing-floor, and horses
and cal tie or goats arc,driven over it;
after which tho straw is removed and
the' grain is winnowed from the chad
by throwing both together by the*
shovelful into the air when a brisk
wind is blowing. The straw thus ob¬
tained, being softened and broken into
short lengths, is eaten by asses and
even by horses with relish—indeed, a
serious objection on the part of Mexi¬
can farmers to American threshing
machines is that the threshed straw
remuius Unbroken and bard. *
klder Tr.ylr i< 1 baled to briiig it netting to market b cords, the
LiLa f
and as tho bales are large anil are
packed solidly they make a load that
no one but a professional burden-
bearer couhl carry far. This whole
process is very like that pursued in
the south of France, where the grain
is threshed on a threshing-floor by
dragging it over a heavy wooden
roller, and i* winnowed by throwing
it against the wind, and where the
bruised straw is brought to the barns
baled iu sheets; but in France the
bales nro loaded on wagon*, not on the
backs of men.—[Harper’s "Weekly.
Impressed the Governor as a Janitor.
The Rev. Myron W. Reed, tho well-
known clergyman of Denver, Col.,
(ells an amusing incident of his mili¬
tary career. During the war his regi¬
ment got into Nashville one morning
nnd the following morning ho was
tohl to go and relieve the guard at tho
Capitol. JJe took up his company, and
was told the first business was to put
the prisoners to work to clean out the
place, lie set them to work with
mops, pails and brooms, ami just as
they were fairly at work a person
came up to him and wanted to know
what he w is doing, making such a
noise. “Here, I don’t want anything
of that,” said Mr. Reed; “just get
your broom and help these men.”
“D > you know who I nin?” “No, I
don’t know,” and lie told him again
io get his broom and pail and fall in
quick. Then he introduced himself-
Aiulrew Johnson, Military Governor
of Tennessee. And Mr. Reed excused
him.— fNew York Tribune.
Minister* Are Like Cats.
A prominent clergyman gives this
description of tho life of a mini-ter:
"My experiences with churches
make me think that ministers are like
cets. When you go to a new place
first everybody says:
“‘Como pussy! come pussy 1 nice
pussy,’ and you eome.
Then they begin to rub vonr fur and
say:
•Poor pussy !poorpn«»y!’and then
they say, ‘Scat! » I! —[New York
Tribune.
The Stinger Song.
Love, the thief, chanced on a day
Near the bees to linger,
When a naughty one, they say.
Stung him on the finger.
Oh, the wound, it hurt him sot
How be blew and shook it I
How he stomped and danced with woe,
Then to mother took it.
Spreading all his fingers he
Sobbed to Aphrodite;
“Mother, little Is the bee.
But its sting is mighty >*
Then the Queen of Passion smiled.
And sbe answered merely:
“Yon are small yourself, my ehiU,
But you wound severely.
—[From the Greek of Theocritus.
IIUM0B0US.
The road-bed rails at the locomotive
for running over it.
People crossed in love are apt to be
very cross afterwards.
As they parted—“A lass,” sighed
he. “Ah, men,” wept slie.
Visitor (admiring the new baby)—
She has her mamma’s chin. Father—
Indeed she hasn’t, yet.
In order to stand up under misfor¬
tune it frequently becomes necessary
to stand up one’s friends.
It is easier to manage a switch than
a train. This is a fashion note or a
railway item, just as you please.
Teacher—Wliat if absolutely neces¬
sary to enable a man to get along well
in tills wicked world? Johuny—A
rattling good pair of legs.
Bulger—Miss Banger plays like
sixly, doesn’t she? Kroger—Well,
she’s not fur out of ti e way. lhat
passage is marked “forte.”
The watchmaker is doomed to per-
pclnal apprenticeship. Even when he
pretends to be in business for himself
he is really “serving his time.”
Faker—Simkins has given up prose
and is going to devoto himself to
poetry hereafter. Wagstcr—That is
to say lie is going from bml to verse.
Unprejudiced sympathy is always
with the under dog in tho fight. In
a cat fight sympathy for the under cat
is misplaced. The under animal is in
scratching position and has the best
of it.
Mrs. Mater—Have yon seen > Mr.
Pater’s |ou since lie got home P'om
IT ■ Daughter 1 —Yes, ma; Wim
1 him last\niglit. lias lie iuip-eved
much? Awfullyri He’s got a
taclie.
Jenkins—Say, von know that coflee
I got of you the other day. Grocer—
I guess I ought to. “Well, my wife
can’t get it to settle.” “Then it has
kind o’ dropped into the ways of the
family.” *
“I say. Bobby,” whispered Feath-
erly, “did your sisier say that she
hoped my trip would do me good?”
“Yes, she told mo last night that if
Mr. Feathcrly went West she Loped
he would go for good.”
Tommy—IIow much will yon charge
me for a bicycle for this afternoon,
Mr. Wheeler? Proprietor—Fifty,
cents for the first hour; twenty-five
cents an hour after that. Tommy—
Well, I think I will come around here
an hour later.
Snivel}’—I’ve been talking ‘ with
your wife, and I’m surprised at her
mental power. She has a great
mind. Snodgrass—She must have.
She has given me a piece of It every
day for ten years and 6ecms to have
plenty left. ■
Mother—Ella, you have been play.
* n s» l * le afternoon with those toy
soldiers. Thai’s not a proper amuse.
nicnt for a big girl like you. L'augh-
* el ’ mamma, I am plat ing with,
the soldiers. I picked out tho officers
and played with them.
Tre<? nesting, conducting
The eng , neer8 the snr-
vey of the Bunn Ji railway lines havo
adopted a novel method for removing
the gigantic forest trees obstructing
the projected route through tiio jun.
gles of tho Irrawaddi River. In¬
stead of felling tho tree by tho slowj
process of axe-work, they blast it out
of the way by mcams of dynamite
cartridges.
Their method consists in first firing
a rifle-ball into the trunk of the tree,
penetrating the green wood to a depth
of 6ix or seven inches. Into that
aperture they then insert an explosive
cartridge, attach a burning fuse and
step aside; the result will splinter ami
overthrow a tree six feet iu diameter.