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The Old Rail Fence.
Let others in their songs rehearse
The beauties they may see,
build a monument in verse,
So that it fitting be. 1
B«|t 1 will raise my voice to sing
A tact without pretence,
That much despised, old-fashioned thing,
The homely old rail fence.
"What would our dreams of childhood be
Without its zigzag path?
And there what flowers we used to see
Before the aftermath 1
The fields are there; like grass ablaze
The firewood flaunts from thence.
But almost gone from out our gaze
We find the old rail fence.
The rapid march of progress has
Erased the landmarks of old;
It is today a thing that was,
A story that is told.
The pruning knife of Time has ca
With energy intense,
With other childhood reiics, out
The honored old rail fence.
It was the squirrel’s safe retreat
The chipmunk’s chattering oft
Hade us advance with hurrying feet
Whepe he was perched aloft.
There Nature stored her wealth away.
And oft we carried thence
A thousand jewels in a day.
Found by the old rail fence.
Arbutus, mullein, golden rod,
Felt its protecting care,
And though with hands full home we trod,
We had a world to spare. v
Life gives, I know, so much today
The past to recompense,
But with sweet memories laid away,
I keep the old rail fence.
—[America.
CAUGHT NAPPING.
In a populous city in the west of
England lately lived a Jew named Solo
mon Isaac. Ho had for many years car
ried on the combined business of a
pawnbroker and jeweler. At the time
Df which wo writo he was in decidedly
easy circumstances, and having entered
upon the declining years of life, he had
transferred to his son the active man
agement of his business, and had re
solved to take things comfortably. In
appearance, Solomon boro but little
resemblance to the conventional Hebrew
money-lender. His features, a 3 a
whole, clearly denoted his extraction,
but his nose lacked the significant
Jjpok, and his form was portly, while
his habitual cheerfulness evinced that
■W
he was neither remarkably avaricious
nor malevolent.
In the afternoon of a summer day,
not many years since, Solomon was
seated at his desk in that part of his es
tablishment which was known as “the
office.” His son was away for the day.
The heat was oppressive, and to an at
tentive observer it must have appeared
that Solomon—like Homer—occasional
ly sodded. Solomon was disturbed in
bis nap by the entrance of a stranger.
Ho was a tall, middle-aged man, show
ily dressed and self-possessed. After
explaining that unexpected calls had
been made upon his purse, he begged
that Solomon would accommodate him
Until the morning with a loan of ten
pounds, and he proffered as security a
Valuable-looking diamond ring. Solo
mon tested the gold and scrutinized
the stones, and, feeling satisfied of the
sufficient valuo of the ring, conceded
the desired advance; whereupon, with
a profusion of thanks, the stranger—
who had given the name of Wilkins
took his departure.
In the morning the son resumed his
duties in the business. He also tested
the ring, and, to the amazement of his
father, pronounced the stones to be
paste, and the value of the ring to be a
fifth of tho sum for which it had been
pledged. Solomon again examined the
stones, and was obliged to concur in
his son’s opinion. He was extremely
mortified at having proved such an easy
dupe; and felt highly indignant that
an attempt should have been made to
swindle him, who had grown old in the
trade, and whose acuteness in business
was a matter of common notoriety.
It was not very long, however be
fore Solomon regained his usual com
posure of mind, and when, a little later
in the day, a second stranger entered
the shop, Solomon stepped forward
with alacrity to servo him The new
arrival may bo appropriately described
as an “elderly gentleman of respectable
appearance,” and he made known to
Solomon his desire to purchase “a trifle
for a present.” As he had previously
inspected, from tho outside, the con
tents of the shop window, Solomon at
once placed before him for selection a
considerable quantity of other jewelry.
The fancy of tho gentleman, oddly
enough, at last taken by some
rather rings. A nice ring, he
thought, would answer his purposo ad
mirably; but ho was remarkably fastidi
ous. None of the rings which ho looked
at would exactly suit, and it seemed to
be impossible to please him, when
the son fetched from the office
and deposited in his father’s hands the
ring pledged by Mr. Wilkins on the
previous day. It was strange that it
had not occurrod to Solomon to offer
this ring. Both he and his son, by an
easy process of reasoning, had arrived
at tho conclusion that Mr. Wilkins
woul 1 be un.ikely to relievo them of it,
and they had therefore determined to
sell it. On beholding this ring, the
eyes of the gentleman sparkled, ne
fitted it on his fingsr, extolled ita
beauty, and gazed on it approvingly;
yet ha aeemod unable to come to a de
cision. With the ring in his hand, he
entered, apparently, into an abtruse
mental calculation, and finally gave
back the ring with a show of
great reluctance, and an ex
pression of regret that, unless his
judgment deceivod him, tho price must
be more than ho could afford. Solomon
generously inquired what he would give
for it, and the gentleman, after some
further hesitation, diffidently suggested
five pounds. With this offer Solomon
promptly closed; and the gentleman
left apparently quite satisfied with his
purchase.
As soon as he was fairly out of hear
ing Solomon and his son exulted over
their good fortune. The son, in a ban
tering tone, took tho credit to himself
for having introduced tho * ring;
but Solomon, while appreciating his
son's astuteness, was not to he deprived
of the credit of having, as ho said, mado
the best of a bad bargain.
The day, however, had yet another
surprise in store. Tho innocent raillery
in which Solomon and his son had in
dulged had hardly subsided when Mr.
Wilkins again appeared upon the scene.
With a smile of recognition, he ad
vanced towards Solomon, and inform
ing him that, according to promise, ho
, had come to return the loan with which
he had been favored on tho previous
day, deposited tho amount with his
ticket on the counter, and politely asked
for his ring. Solomon and his son were
stupefied, and for some seconds gazed
in confusion at each other. The silence
was effectually broken by Solomon,
who, addressing Mr. Wilkins, ex
plained that having detected that the
stones were spurious, they had assumed
—and too hastily, as it now appeared—
that he would not rotura to redeem tho
ring, and it had, therefore, been sold.
At this intelligence the rage of Mr.
Wilkins was intense. It was evident,
he said, that they were incompetent to
judge of the value of the ring, which
was, at least, three times as great as
the paltry sum which they had lent him.
For what had they sold it? Five pounds?
Ridiculous 1 They knew that they had
no right to sell property re
ceived in pledge except at the time and
in the manner authorized by law; and
had they possessed the right to sell his
ring, how could they justify their ac
cepting even five pounds for it, seeing
that they did not believe the diamonds
to bo genuine? In answer to those per
tinent inquiries Solomon could only
tender an humble apology for his mis
take. But this, as was to be expected,
was hardly sufficient, and threatening
to consult his legal adviser, Mr. Wil
kins strode towards the door.
Solomon could not disguise from him
self that it would bo extremely awic
ward to have his character for fair deal
ing successfully impeached in a court of
justice. He had also, as ho knewj di
rectly violated the law in two respects
—first, in selling within the year al
lowed for redemption; and sec mdly, in
selling privately instead of by public
auction. As he reflected upon his posi
tion, his mind filled with alarm, a fact
which Mr. Wilkins di<*. not fail to per
ceive, Solomon tnc.efore besought him
not to create unpleasantness, and ex
pressed his readiness to make every
atonement for the consequences of his
error. This conciliatory attitude on
the part of Solomon seemed to soften the
resentment of Mr. Wilkins. The
ring, he said, was a souvenir,
and ho prized it highly on
that account. But he had no desire
to take undue advantage of Solomon’s
mistake, and would be satisfied witk
the money value of the ring, which, at
the lowest estimate, he put at £3O. It
was painful to Solomon to accede to
these terms, but it was clear to him that
ho had no alternative. He was also
wise enough to perceivo that, while
some part of his conduct would receive
the censure of many, the other part
would provoke tho laughter of all. Ho
therefore doled out the £3O, which Mr.
Wilkins leisurely gathered up, and,
bidding both Solomon and his son a
friendly adieu, left the shop with the
air of one who felt that ho was a bene
factor to his race.
On the following day Solomon
chanced to be at the local railway sta
tion ; and had there lingered in his
mind the slightest doubt that he had
been cruelly victimized, it would have
been rudely dispelled when, at one of
the windows of a train slowly steaming
away he d 'seried the jubilant faces of
both Mr. Wilkins and the elderly gen
tleman, the purchaser of tho ring. Solo
mon’s emotion at tho sight, and hi a
utter helplessness, must be left to tho
imagination of the reader.—[Chamber’s
Journal.
Fatherly Forethought
He: “I must break off my engage
ment, Violet.”
She: “Why should you do that?”
“He: ‘ Well, your father has failed;
how can ho support a son-in-law in the
style in which I have lived I’’
“She; “'Why, you goose, he failed
on purpose to meet the extra expense 1”
[Bazar.
BLACK HILLS.
The Treasure House of the In
dian’s Spirit.
Fabulous Wealth Was Dug
From Its Gulches.
The Territory of Dlkota is nearly an
oblong square, about three times the
area of Now York State, and contain
ing in round numbers about 180,000
square miles. Tho general surface con
sists of vast, grassy plains covoring
thick sedimentary deposits.
In the southwest corner of Dakota is
the Black Hills region, with an area
of 3200 square miles.
The name Black Hills comes from tho
fact that from whichever side the region
is approached over slightly undulating
plains of a greenish yollow or reddish
brown, tho hills loom up in the horizon
dark or almost black with the somber
green of the evergreen timber clothing
their tops.
The Black Hills are peculiar in so
much as they ara younger or more re
cent than the plains, and have
been pushed up by volcanic force
through the vast area of level strata
which forms tho surface elsewhere.
It is evident that at one time tho
whole Black Hills region, in tho form
of a loaf-like elevation, was several
thousand feet higher than it is now,
and was an isolated island in the midst
of a shallow inland sea, the upheaval
carrying with it, without much dis
turbance, all the sedimentary forma
tions peculiar to the upper Missouri re
gion. Since which vast eroding agen
cies, aqueous and glacial, have cut and
carved down the surface of the loaf to
its present condition, and the geologic
sequence in this chapter of the Book of
Nature cau here be read with the ut
most facility and ease.
The highest altitude where the gran
ites abound, Harney Peak, is 8200 feet,
while the average elevation of the hill
region may be stated at 6000 feet, this
above the sea; but above the plains sur
rounding tho hills from 2500 to 4500
feet.
While the plains themselves are ab
solutely treeless,the hilltops and peaks,
as stated before, aro covered with tim
ber, principally a species of pine.
The scenery of tho Black Hills is ex
tremely varied and interesting. The
foot hills rise gently from the plains,
clothed with ediblo grasses to their
summits, and as one drives slowly up
the draws or canyons into the higher
regions, these become deeper and
darker, waters come tumbling down
more rapidly, the ascent more abrupt,
the peak sharper, the tanyon walls
more precipitous and dark, the ridges
of which seem cut sharp and clear out
of a sky of deepest blue, while tho air
you breathe Beems cool and bracing as
if richer in oxygen than that of the
open plains. .
The temperature in tho Black Hills
seldom rises above 90 degrees or sinks
below minus 20. The so-called chinook
or warm winds of tho Pacific Slope af-*
feet this region so that snow seldom re
mains long.
A curious fact is noted that since the
settlement of tho region the annual rain
fall has gradually increased. In the
Black Hills in the past six years it has
increased from fourteen to twenty-six
inches annually.
To the Indian the Black Hills was a
region of mystery, tho abode of the
Great Spirit, his treasure houte. In its
parks be herded the buffalo. From the
red sand-stone cliffs flowed his great
medicine water and Herein did he ex
pect to find his final resting place and
home when driven from the plains by
the white man.
Little nuggets of gold shown by
chiefs to the early brave missionaries,
members of the Society of Jesus, who
long years ago penetrated alono into
tho country, became magnified by time
into legends of barrels of the yellow
metal filling the gulches. Within twenty
years this stimulated adventurous pros
pectors into penetrating the region
while it was still Indian country spe
cially reserved by tho government.
Hardy follows whoso endurance and
suffering no pen or tonguo could ade
quately picture were the pioneer 8
in that work of geld mining
which our recent history has
made so familiar. Thousands of these
meD, came, prospected, staked out
claims in gulches and hillsides. Some
few made money but many more con
sumed their substance, wearied, heart
sick with waiting, died or walked
away.
There is abundance of mineral wealth
in the Black Hills, the principal deposit
being that of gold, the placer or sur
face deposits of which have been large
ly exhausted, but the gold bearing rook
exists in enormous quantities.—[Detroit
Free Press.
Good, But Not Right.
He—Why am I like a pin?
She—Because if you should get lost it
wouldn’t be worth whilo to spend time
looking for you, and because two hun
dred of you put up in a bundle wouldn’t
be worth ten cents.
Antiquity of tlie Union.
It is not to be supposed, declares tho
New York Independent, that so em
phatic a vcgotable as tho onion would
be without a history. It was formerly
a custom in Bohemia, and may be still,
for anything I know to the contrary, to
hang onions on tho walls of tho rooms
of houses. Tho people did this, think -
ing that the onions would draw to them
selves the diseases that might other
wise attack tho persons living in tho
house. Garlic was honored by the Bo
hemians, too, for on the evening of aU
festival days, the people gave some
garlic to the house dog, tho cock and
tho gander. The Bohemians said that
garlic would make all three of theso
animals very brave.
Egypt was tho land where tho onion
was in its glory. There was it religious
ly respected because it was thought to
bo made like the world. Tho oarth, in
tho vivid imagination of tho Egyptian,
was a tunicated bulb, of which layer af
ter layor could be p3elod off after tho
manner in which a person takes off coat
after coat of an onion. Onions were
forbidden to the Egyptian priests al
though the Egyptian laborers ate large
quantities of this vegetable. Herodo
tus says that in his time there was an
inscription on the great pyramil, stat
ing that 1600 talents had beon paid for
tho onions, radishes and garli£ that tho
workmen had eaten, while they were
erecting the structure. One would
think such an inscription rather an
original ornament to a building in theso
days.
A Hollander's Way of Wooing.
It is told that in one of the outlying
provinces of Holland, when October
comes in, the lads and lasses gather in
bands upon its first Sunday and go
through the villago staring hard at
each other. The next Sunday, known
as decision day, theyoung fellows go up
and speak to the girls of their choice,
and see how they speed. Upon the
third Sunday, or day of purchase, the
swain must snatch a handkerchief from
his love, and if she submits gracefully
ho knowrthat the outworks at least are
won. The handkerchiefs aro given
back upon the fourth, or Sunday of
possession, and then or never is the girl
at liberty to turn her wooer adrift with
out scandal. Upon the next Sunday
the lover calls upon his fair one at home,
and is asked to stay to tea, at which if
a crust of gingerbread be offered him
by the parents, he knows his case is
hopeless, while if he gets a bit of
crumb he at once takes heart of grace,
and goes again and again, till he be
comes a child of the house.
A Prince’s Fine Feathers.
The greatest trouble that tho Prince
of Wales has to contend against at
present is that he has tokeepon squeez
ing himself into new and untried uni'
forms all the time. He has just been
forced by circumstances to add to bis
wardrobe the gorgeous trappings of tho
Austrian Hussars. This is computed to
be bis eightieth uniform. He finds the
uniform business expensive, as they cost
up to $750 each, and may bo worn per
haps only once. Tho uniform of the
Hussars is singularly unbecoming to
a stout man. It consists of a gold
frogged tunic, tight rod breeches, Hes
sian boots and a white shako. His
Royal Highness looks in it something
like the usual comic opera villian.—■
[New York World.
Entombed iu An Old Tunnel.
H.. B. Melic, late Superintendent of
the Sin Geronimo mine, in Sonora,
Mexico, has met with a tragic death.
While preparing to pay off the em
ployes the building in which his office
was located suddenly sunk into tho
earth and disappeared. It seems that
the office stood on ground ju3t above an
old tunnel that had been driven into
the bill many yeats ago, by the Jesuit
priests, but it was generally supposed
that there was not the slightest danger
of it caving. After several hours’ hard
work the body of tho superintendent
was removed from the debris several
hundred feet below the surface of the
earth.—[Times-Democrat.
Stole a Canal Boat.
One of the queerest hauls of tho cur
rent crook season was made by a Cin
cinnati thief, and comprised a canal
boat with its contents, mules, harness,
towline, etc. Finding the ownership
of his property slightly troublesome,
how.ver, the thief sold the boat for
$65, traded the mules for a horse and
S2O “boot” and then skipped out. Ho
turned up in II imilton, Ohio, the other
night and was captured in bed with his
clothing on, after making a desperalo
dash for freedom.—[Chicago Herald.
An Unexplored American River.
It may seem singular to many that
there should be a large river in the
United States practically unexplored,
yet the Trinity, in Texas, seems to be
such a stream. A party of explorers is
on its way down that river from its
hevi and estimate the length of the
river at 1200 to 1400 miles. The party
has traveled for 14 days at a stretch
through dark and lonesome forests
where no human being, beast or bird
was seen. — [New York Telegram.
A COLD CAPITAL.
Iceland’s Diminutive Metropolis
in the Far North.
Unmetropolitan Scenes * and
Customs in an Arctic City.
Rsykjavik, Icoland, poor little me
tropolis of two thousand inhabitants,
has, nevertheless, its sights and sounds.
Its houses, with but few exceptions of
wood, consist usually of a single story,
but in isolated instances rise to the dig
nity of twa Through the town runs a
wide and tolerably straight street, on
which live several of the dignitaries of
the island, tho Bishop, the Governor,
the Chief-Justice and other mem
bers of the government. Upon
one side, surrounded by wooden
palings, is the public s quare,
in the centre of which stands a bronze
statue of Thorwaldson, presented by the
Danish government to tho native coun
try of the sculptor. At the farther end
Is the little cathedral, which contains a
marblo font by the artist himself.
Around tho different sides of the square
are grouped the new parliament house,
the postoffice, and a school for girls,
which draws its pupils from all parts of
the country. One of the most imposing
buildings of the capital is the jail, and
two of the most awe-inspiring of her
citizens are tho policemen, who in turn
patrol tho streets in felt hemlets and
uniform. It was not discovered, how
ever, that they ever arrested anybody,
because nobody ever so far forgot him
self as to warrant arrest. The jail con
sequently is always empty, a fact that
can be but imperfectly understood when
one sees its manifest superiority to all
other dwellings. One of tho policemen
exercises in addition to his function of
guardian of the public weal, that of
librarian of the Icelandic Literary So
ciety, which was established as long
ago as 1816, and has published many
works. He is also an author, and has
written at least one valuable book.
The streets of Reykjavik are unpaved,
but at certain corners, wide apart,stand
lamp-posts, whereon burn kerosene
lamps to light the belated citizen to his
door. One of the most characteristic
of street sights is the long lines of
ponies that almost continually come and
go, bringing loads of dried fish, and
carrying back the necessaries of life;
and almost all of life’s necessary de
mands in Iceland must be sup
plied from without. Even tho
wood with which the houses are
framed comes from Norway, and
must be taken into the interior on the
backs of horses. A frequent sight is a
procession of ponies, each with a board
on cither side, fastened at one end to
tho pack saddle, while the other end is
left to trail and bump along the uneven
road. On pleasant mornings another
kind of procession is often seen. It i 3
composed of women and girls, each
with a wooden tub, and all going to the
warm springs to do the household wash
ing. The water can be had at all tempera
tures, from boiling hot, where it bub
bles up out of the earth, to tepid,
farther down the little stream from the
overflow. Dipping up a tubful of hot
water, tho washerwoman puts her wash
ing to soak, and then selects a con
venient place upon the bank near tho
water’s edge, where she kneels and rubs
and wrings piece by piece.—[Atlantic
Monthly.
The Gem of the Cactus Family.
The daintiest of the Cactus family is
the dolicato Coral Plant, variously mis
named Finger Cactus, Needle Cactus,
Cone Cactus, etc. Its averago hkght is
three feet. From a central stem its
branches radiate in every direction and
again ramify indefinitely, until a beau
tiful structure is reared—a veritable
coral plant. A delicate star blossom
and tiny wax-like fruit complete tho
picture. Each articulate is of the same
length and appearance—a symmetrical
joint or finger, two inches or less in
length, half an inch through or less,
armed with delicate sharp barbs. Some
times a pink specimen is met with,
which certainly adds to its beauty. Tho
writer, however, is unable to say what
conditions produce this transitory color,
although several experiments have been
made.
Tho Indian name for the Coral is
chee-yah. From it they obtain a small,
flax-like seed, a few grains of which
dropped in a glass of water will, in one
to three minutes, convert the whole into
a thick, glutenou3 mass. This fluid has
a pleasant taste and rare medicinal
properties. Under a simple treatment,
mucilage may be produced from the
seeds.
Sheridan's hwords.
General Sheridan loft SSOOO worth of
swords, but the sword which he carried
all through the war, on which the
names oi his battles were engraved and
which was the ceremonial sword that
lay upon his bier all through the
obsequi s, was purchased by him at the
beginning of the war for $3, from an
other soldier who had bought it at an
auction in Chicago for the same amount
of mouty.
THE
PEOPLE’S PARTY,
■— - « «
PROTECTIVE,
PROGRESSIVE,
PROSPEROUS.
OUR PLATFORM!
We Pledge Onrsetoes in Favor of
PROTECTION
OF OUR CUSTOMERS
From Overcharge and
Misrepresentations.
4
• 1
FREE TRADE
FOR EVERY ONE,
With the Merchant who
does most for his
Customers.
PROHIBITION
Of Monopolistic Rings,
Inflated values and op
pressive high prices.
Buy as you vote, intelligently. As candi
dates for your patronage, we invite
an examination of our business
record in support of our
claim for fail dealing.
We promise for
the future
The Best in Quality,
The Most in Quantity,
And the Lowest Pricet
i
TO ALL CUSTOMERS, without dis
tinction of age or class, and behind
our promise stands our enor
mous stock of
BARGAINS,
which are being crowded upon us by our
NEW YORK BUYER.
Never have we been in condition to offer
our patrons such advantages as
at this time. Our
MILLINERY DEPARTMENT
has no equal. Our Stock the Largest,
Assortment the Best, and Prices thd
Lowest. Our stock of
DRESS GOODS
Below the Lowest. Our
Fancy Goods Department
will save you a handsome profit.
STAPLE GOODS DEPARTMENT
stands at the head for a money saver to
our customers.
OUR SEWING MACHINE DEPARTMENT
includes all the
LEADING MACHINES
IN THE COUNTRY.
Starting in price at $5 and up.
In this department we
Buy,Sell, Exchangeand
Repair
ANY AND ALL KINDS.
Remember that FOUR DAYS in each
week we give away different articles to
our customers. Some days we give to
every 10th purchaser and some days to
every sth, and some days tQ.all.
Our patrons are well aware that we
give
BETTER VALUE FOR
THE MONEY,
Than any other house in
CHATTANOOGA!
Come along, and we will
PROVE TO YOU
That you can Save money by making
your Purchases of us.
H. H. SOUDER-