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i / 8 m / AHst smmsmm&m rn DOUGLASYIIiLE, GEORGIA, TUESDAY, MARCH 1, 1887. NUMBER4. Kf^Cliurch Directory. U jHETWHDniST^—DOUGhASyiLhE- Pi rut third and fifth Sundays. * 8 ALT SPRINGS—Second Sunday and Sat- Nfesfqre.' S MIlVWAY—.Fourth Sunday and Saturday before. (iOR> iE. BONNERj Pastor. ’ jp ApTIHT—-IXK'G LAS. VI lLE-- First and fourth Sundays.. _ W. J. SPEARS. Pastor. MASONI uglasville' Lodge No. 289' F. & A. ^te'on Saturday at 4 P. M. before the first d third Sundays in each month. J. C. iflgfit, W. M., J. Li Perkins, Secretary jihston, Ga. Professional Cards. J. M. McLARTY, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Douglasville, Georgia. practice In all 'thecoii rts, erai. bbth state OoWeetions a-»peoiallty. • ROBERT A. MASSEY, ATTORNEY at law - Douglasville, Georgia; •••*••• (Office in trout, room, Uorsett’s building). Will practiceffnywbere., ; WMiT. ROBERTS, ATTORNEY AT LAW, Dpuglaeyille, Georgia.. Will practice in all the Courts. ■ All' legal ! 'business'wiltKfeeeive prompt attention. Office- in Court House W. A. James, ATTORNEY aj law, i v ■■ I Federal. O 'flee jjtsudoor to prlii tin Georgia. u courts. State and oil Court Aouse Square, next j office* ! f JOHN M. EDGE, ^ATTORNEY AT LAW, ^ DOUGL VSVILLE, GA. Will practice i ft all the courts, andj>romgt- ly attend to care. all business entrusted to his [E&> ~ fAt'r’y at Law, DOUGLASVILLE, GA. [Will practice' ffi the Courts of Douslas, atheil. OarrdlW’aulding, Cobb, Pulton adloining «o,” ies. Prompt attention "given to all busi rtes^ B. G. GRIGGS, ATTORNEY AT Ij V DouglEsville, Georgia. fcii Ae inj^^he<S0W- r ts, Jk, ~ -s-. State and KJOHN V. EDGE, TDRNEY AT LAW, Douglasville, Georgia. --THE-- rWEEKLY STAR. mOUGLAS COUNTY’S SPFIGIAL ORGAN. liroulates In —" pJF J ~ % )ouglas, ‘ Carroll, Fulton, Paulding, Cobb, AND OTHERS, The Best ldverising medium Georgia. buBSCaiBE AT ONCE. ONLY 1.0s. Mt. W. M. DURHAM, Office 551-2 Peachtree, St. .tlanta, Gra. ie Treatment of Chronic Disea ses a Specialty. irCOCHRAN. -WITH- lEEK & WILSON, 1 Whoifesiile and He tail Grocers, |V. Mitchell St., Atlanta, Ga. Phe Old Reliable ‘TONAL HOTEL, ■AJJTA, ga ''-quarters for Douglas grounding counties.; Be stop there while in the |j. UD. SLOAN, Pro. OUR FIRST MEETINt (founded on fact.) I stood upon the platform of a rail road station, watching the white smoke as it curled up in the dense volumes from the engine that was slowly mov ing off. Nearly were the romantic peaks of Alleghany Mountains, and the smoke as it lost itself between the ^presented a beautiful contrast to' the dark green foliage of the pine trees that clothed their rugged sides. Here in this valley my father had spent his boyhood. I had heard .him describe these scenes so ofteh that no wonder I mused to gaze upon their beauties. I had finished my education was a young: man of leishre arid for-, tune, and had started out to see some thing of the world, fere I settled down intoa staid farmer. I had anold uncle whom I had never seen, living about ten miles from this station. I had failed to notify him of my contempla ted visit, so I had to look around to gfet a conveyance to his hoUse. While at college I had .formed the acquaintance ofa young man—Ned Hampton—who lived in sight of my uncle’-s*, I had conceived a great friendship for him, and it was partly to-visit him, and re new our friendship that made ■ me ■ so anxious to pay this visit. I could only see one or twO'houses, one of; them, a small, store house, Into this I went. What was my. surprise to find only a young lady-in it? She was standing with her back to' me. I had time to notice the. elegance of her attire, and felt at a glance that she was a lady of refinement and education, r She held a guitar in her hand, and was playing a fashionable waltz. She was so completely absorbed in her performance, that she failed to hear my light step as I entered. How, if there was any one passion of my soul £hat, like Aaron’s rod, swallowed up all the rest, 1 ’: it was my passion for music. I stood entranced. I had never before listened "to such ecstatic strains. Her whole soul was absorbed in her perfor-' manee. I saw a violin lying near me on the counter. Instinctively I reach ed forthmyhaftdand took it up. I, held it close to my ^earpTcrlffUtglrtiy passed my fingers over the strains. It wait in perfect trine. Without a word of apology, I commenced , paying the accompanyment to the ,ai? she was playing. She instantly turned around and I beheld one of the. most beautiful L Bgb-Uyjhat iiii hM^eyc r been i# fate to m«et with! Ae possessed black curly hair, clear brunette* complexion, and eyes sm*Il, but, 'oh! hovNWpreasive;Ptf 1 bewitching smile wreathed itself ar’ud her pouting lips. As she heard the first notes of the violin she gave me one scrutinizing glance. Mercy! I never had any one to read and under stand my character so thoroughly in one moment in my life. She seemed to be satisfied that I was a gentleman and her equal. She had not missed a note while this was going on. Satisfied as to myself she tossed her pretty ringlets, and then swept her hand gracefully over the strings, and played on as though there was nothing singular in our perform ance. As soon as she finished the waltz she dashed off the “Dutch Pol ka.” I played a low accompanyment. Each of us felt that we were evenly matched. As for myself, I had been told too often of my talent for music not to be conscious of its possession; but I had never until now met with a lady whose skill m performance could rival mine. After she finished playing the ‘Duch Polka, I was ungallant enough not to' wait for her to lead off, but instantly began playing “The Mocking-bird,” with variations. I wanted to test her ability to the utmost. Again she tossed her pretty ringlets back, and with a flourish she commen ced playing the accompanyment. My soul was intoxicated. I almost forgot our being strangers, and felt like ap plauding her for her faultless touch. Up to this time \Ve bad not spoken a word, thoUgh our eyes, in the mean time, had revealed volumes. I now heard a gentleman enter the door. My back was to him. Above the din of our music 1 heard him say: “Well, sis, have you not become tir ed waiting for my return ? That fellow detained me in business longer than I expected he would. Where’s broth er, that he’s not in the store ? He knbws hie clerk is absent to-day, and he ought to come out of the back room and quit his eternal book-keeping for once.” In spite of the pettish tone of the voice arid our loud music, I had recog nized my college friend’s voice. I turned and gazed full in his face. As I did so, he gave one glad shout and rushed to me, and almost clasped me in hi» arms. I threw down the violin, and pressed his extended hand. After Ned and myself had conversed awhile he said: “How in thunder came you and sis ter Celia to be playing together? Who introduced you to each other? I sup pose you must have had an introduc tion, or else you would not have been pl&ying together so amicably as you were when I came in,” I said: “If this is the young lady with whom I used to correspond”— (ah! I well remember those little billetfdaux, so sweetly scented, that used to come hid away in the folds of her brother’s letters)—“I do not think any formal introduction isneceessary.” Here I noticed Miss Celia blush. In the midst of her confusion, she said: r “I admit that we did parry on our little flirtation by letter too far. I as sure you sir, if I had known at that time that you and I Would ever have met in the future, I would have been more guarded in my expressions.” I laughingly said: ‘‘We have met, and quite unexpectedly, and our meet ing has been quite a romai.-t'.c one. Don’t you think so, Ned !” :Ned answered: “Look here, my dear fellow!—J will be candid with you —when I entered here a few moments ago and: found a Stranger, as i supposed, playing duets with my sister, I felt like taking a cowhide to him.” I playfully said to Miss Celia: “What if I had been a stranger, and he had attempted it—(’twould have been a dangerous experiment, though, for I’m the most powerful of the two)—would you have felt sorry lor the wondering musician, and would you have felt like taking his part ?” Miss Celia failed to answer me, and turning to Ned, said :, “Brother, it is time we were going home.” : Ned said to me: “Come, Walter, you’ve got to go home with us.” •/ j I answered: “I came in here for the purpose of hiring a conveyance to take jne to my uncle’s; but from the looks of the place, I don’t think I’ll be apt to find any.” I Ned laughed and said: “If it were possible, you shouldn’t avail yourself of it. I shan’t give up the dearest, friend I have on earth to An old uncle Who is a stranger to you. So jump up here in my rockaway. I’ll soon laud you safely at my father’s, who will be rejoiced to meet with one Whom hei’s heard me speak of so often. ” ? ” I I could not resist his pleadings. Soon We were rolling over the smooth 'dirt road that led to his father’s home. Miss Celia'and myself became thor oughly acquainted during that memo- fable drive. When we arrived there.it Was nearly dark. Supper was waiting. {Although desperately in love by this time, I did ample justice to the rich viands set before us. After supper, we found ourselves in the parlor, L soon noticed a rich,elaborately carved piano sitting near us, wUich was heavily la- ■den^WTfnsneets of music, IsaW Nrid’s old, college violin placed near, and ban tered Miss .Celia for another duet. . She cheerfully consented. ; We spent Several hours in such ex-, quieite enjoyment as is seldom experi enced hv-mortala-here h^ow.C Ned de^ dared tprPhejComd not get a word out of me about Aid ripl lege days, and at last almost carried me off by fhrodflp- hjs room to get a quierichat,; I foundf* could hies, f ^r my heart was with Miss Celia!: : The next morning, I visited my old uncle, He scolded me for failing to come on immediately to his house the ■evening before. I made all the excus es for my delinquency that I could. My stay in the neighborliood was pro longed week after week. When my uncle found out how matters were,and the fact that Celia had consented to marry me, he clapped his hands to gether, and said: | “Now, my boy, that’s just the thing. It suits me. You shall be my heirjyou ana your bride shall come, here and live. My house is too large for an old bachelor to look after.” Since those old days Celia and myself have played many a duet together, and, strange to say, we have never become tired of playing them. I some times think the secret of the cause is, that she is such a good and true wife, (hat I am more a lover than I was the first night of my acquaintance with her. Rlieimialism anNenralgia ur ea in 2 Days. The Indiana Chemical Co. have dis covered a compound which acts with truly marvelous rapidity in the cureot Rheumatism and Neuralgia. We guarantee it to cure any and every case of acute Inflamatory Rheumatism and Neuralgia in 2 DAYS, and to give im mediate relief in chronic cases'and ef fect a speedy cure. On receipt of 30 cents, in two cent stamps, We will send to any address the prescription for this wonderful compound, which can be filled by your home druggist at small cost. We take this means of giving ;our dischv ery to the public insteadaef putting it out as a patent medicine, it being much less expensive: !Pe will gladly refund money if satisfaction is not given. Tiik Indiana Chemical Co., CraWfordsville, Ind. Last spring Judge Lynch presided at the hanging of a man out west and now the poor culpri t who dangled in the air in the presence of an enraged mob is sentenced to be executed the second time. He nad not been hanging but about ten minutes when the sheriff came up and cut the rope, and by med ical aid and close nursing was brought back to life. It seems that suffering two deaths for one crime is a little hard. G. B. Stewart,” of Atlanta, was in Griffin Friday and completed the pur chase of the old “Methodist Parson age” lot, on the eorner of Poplar and Sixth streets. It was purchased of H. H. Chambers, of Barnesville, for the sum of $1,500. Mr, Stewart will erect tw^ houses upon the site for renting purposes, but will move down and re side in the ci ty before long.| The lot is one-half acre in size and will be very much improved by the new buildings. Mr. Stewarts example will be followed by other capitalists. The carpenters of Carrollton arever- y busy-now. A lafg£ amount of work in different parts of the city is being done. Washington Gossip. | Senator Hale’s Naval bill passed the Senate Friday. The bill appropriate $10,000,000 for the construction of arm ored vessels for coast defense; $1,200,000 for light draught gunboats; $000,000 for torpedo boats; $600,000 for torpedoes and torpedo appliances, and $3,000,000 for armament of the vessels mehtioii- ed. The appropriations are to be avail able during five years from Match 4th, 1887. This bill and ! Mr. Cameron’s bill for the construction of ten ste|l cruisers now go to the House ‘for action. A short time ago, a bill was intro duced in the House,’ '*to appropriate $10,000 for a special distribution of seed in, the drought stricken district: Of Texas. The bill was promptly pass! fd by the House, and the Senate afters Considering it for a Short time, ahtj., passed it by a large majority. The bill having passed both Houses, was sent to the President for his signature! CHRISTIAN MINISTERS Their Responsibility for the Liquor Traffic. The liquor traffic; in its demand for sanction and protection, finds some of its most effective allies among the cler gy, and & partial or non-committal at titude ofteh furnishes the most direct encouragement for this wicked and dia bolical business. These, with the large monied inter ests involved, together with the per- ifrfj verted appetites and prejudices of the people, present formidable harries to success, that demand and will require the combination of all the moral and Christian elements in the community before we can hope to demolish this fortress of vice and corruption. Ministers of the church occupy an important and commaading position in relation to this great question. Their dictum, aided by their opportunities, acts with a force and authority that wield a profound and powerful influ- Remarkable as it may seem-the on mittds of the P eo P le - lt “ was immediately vetoed, and the Pres* because of the moral cowardice and ident explains his action in a Wtences^P&thetic delinquency of Christian “The people support tlie government- f 'Uniaters in neglecting their duty as but the government does not support their brothers’keeper, that the Prohi- the people.” There is cousiderabi#j bition movement of today is not an all originality in this rather euphoniaiua^ orb i«g and active agency in the an- aiphorism. People who are 0 n the| Ilihilat K> n P f tHs S reat eurse of our verge of starvation, however, want] l an( b somewhat more nourishing than origi-jt "Phe woe, the misery, the crime and nality. I interviewed a gentleman a | P a uperism that have flooded the coun day or two ago, who lately returned) try through our toleration of this ter- from the drought-stricken region. He j fiWe curse, come like the rumbling of informed me that the condition of the j a distant earthqkake, to startle our be- people in Several hoimties, conspicuous xP um bed consciences with the awful among which were Parker and Palo 'Charge, “thy brother’s blood crieth un Pinto, was in many cases heartrend ing suffering to the action of the railroact companies in raising the rate of freight on all articles shipped to this portion of Texas. Said he: “When it was re ported that the peopkr iff northern Texas were destitute, many charitable persons sent contributions of food and clothing. Those gifts came frpm every section oif the United "States. The railroad people very generously volun. teered to transport all articie^jsent; to: the sufferers, free of charge. : Now,' just as soon as the £ merchants to me from the ground He attributed a great deal of TH - E RESPONSiBiLiTy fob the LIQUOR TBAFFIC RESTS. ministers of heard of this, th'ey ^et^R work to swin : die the railroads. ' Tht'i* sent their] goods marked “for the -sufferers,” j which was a delicate specimen of ijawy^ dh'ee&'ft*t the who unques tionably .were “the-; sufferers.” Of Courg|f?tlie'i»ilr«ad. peopfe discovered; ( $3 to $4 per hundred and not being mill ionaires (for millionaires, of course; do not contribute) they were compelled to limit their donations. This is just how the matter stands, and you may depend upon it, that unless Congress does something for these poor people', they are doomed to starvation.” It is not at all probable that the "bill will be passed over the President’s veto, as its discussion would require too much time. Commissioner Coleman, of the Agricultural department, indorses the President’s suggestion that Senators and Members turn their vegetable seed over to the department' for the benefit of the sufferers. He says there are 1,228,000 .packages Of vegetable seed subject to their orders, and their dis tribution would do great good. * # - The House committee on war claims has agreed to report favorably the bill introduced by Mr. Springer looking to the relief of Congress from the large mass of private relief bills that are - an nually brought before Congress. The bill provides that hereafter all private claims, demands, or applications for any bounty or relief ot any kind in volving the investigation of facts shall be presented by petition only, „ setting forth the facts upon which such claim is based or relief sought and providing that Congress shall only consider such claims, &c. f for the purpose of referring them to the court of claims or to some other judicial tribunal. A section of the bill mades it incumbent on (the court of claims to promptly consider all matters so referred and presented to it, and requires it to send to Congress on the first day of its meeting- a full and complete statement of the findings of the fact in each case investigated, stating what amount, if anything, is due the claimants. During the exam ination of the claims by- tire court Con gress is forbidden to consider a hill in reference to their allowances. * * * A strange case of abscut-niindness came tb light yesterday in the office of the recorder of deeds. In july, 1884, a gentleman lmd a deed made of record, also a deed of trust, Frederick Doug lass at the time being recorder. Sub sequently a deed of release was secured, and yesterday the papers were return ed for further record. In examining the deed it was dated as of reeord July 16,1884,and on the hack signed, “JameS G. Blaine, recorder of deeds,” in the handwriting of Douglass,ishowing that the late recorder was at that time ab sorbed in mind about thq Blaine boom to such an extent as to Write that'ge 11 '' tleman’s name where the recorder’s should have appeared. - J" * r LIC ' The Roekmart Slate assents that “there is within a radius of fe/e miles of its town more iron ore (of Iqually as fine quality) than within theouuhe ter ritory around Anniston, AlJf‘which has attracted the attention cm he out side world,” I As has been said, the the Christian Church are especially responsible for the active conscience of the people on all moral questions^ They, of all others, reflect and control the moral sentiments of the communi ty, and they ought to see and realize what God and humanity require at ihcir hands on this all-important ipatter. The Church should lead on this, as well as all other moral issues— ijiot wait to be led; arid certainly there js no other question now before the Vorld that more strongly demands our Ifonseerated influence and effort, that ..is so intimately connected with our Amoral responsibility, and the welfare %f the Church as the rum-traffic. We keep our duty on this matter h)ut of religion, any more than we can jKppiijave religion without the exercise of ‘■' i< ^t^Qnscience.^ It is our heartjess in- cFi fiorenc ATiTtrtrr *reii?T5u?i u.oiid> in the matter of using the ballot, that inakes'the rum-seller so defiant; for it is not so much the want of knowledge as it is the want of moral courage on the part of our ministers, that the peo ple are not more decided in their con victions, and it is this want of moral stamina that gives the rum-seller the greatest encouragemen t for his nefari ous business. This together with a license as a legal sanction,which serves to justify this murderous policy of sel ling slow poison, has been the great barrier the success of temperance; these facts are becoming more .and more apparent every day. An intelli gent conviction on this subject, in the midst of ministers and church num bers, promises extraordinary results as the outcome of the grand uprising of the people to demolish the saloon by 'the only remedy—the ballot, and this just now is a matter of the most ab sorbing interest. THE SACREDNESS OF OUR VOTE. , The political vote, by which we ex press our choice of rulers, is especially now a personal, moral, and Christian duty, that is paramount to all others. The vote, or ballot, is ours by reason of our sovereign capacity, and becomes the representative of our conscience. Therefore, the ballot should be regard* ed as our most sacred privilege’ to be used as an expression of our convic tions on all moral questions. , 'The unwillingness to use the ballot for the annihilation of the liquor trafic as is*ofRen due to indolent selfishness, to a moral cowardice The oft-repeat ed pretext, that our Christianity does not require us to engage m politics, simply because that we are not to carry our religion into our every day lives. Norispartisanship is a term that often* expresses a state of moral obliquity and the most dastardly cowardice, and this is the meanest kind of selfish apathy: as expressed in the Bible language, “I would thou Wert cold or hot; so, then because thou art lukewarm, and neith er cold nor hot, I will spue the out of my mouth.” ; THE NON-PARTISAN DELUSION. The term non-partisan is frequently] used to justify a careless use of our ‘thinking faculties on moral questions. Thus, non-partisanship generally ex presses a neglect of ’opportunities, a lazy exerci je of religious conviction!!: and a wicked shirking of personal rear ponsibility, in the place of an active fulfillment of well-known duties; and this is especially true when it is applied to our obligation to vote the liquor trafic out: of existence. It is some times used under the deceptive guise ot religion, as “non partisan Gospel Temperance;” but non-partisanship is not a good cloak for hypocrisy; the liquor-seller and his apologists, and week-kneed Churchmembers who have vicious appetites, are accustomed to resort to this term of “non-partisan” when they want to Apologize for, and cover up the horrors that are caused by rum. selling; but it is oftener used to justify a wicked apathy. Non-par tisan duplicity is a very insidious ene my to all religiious convictions, and itscloVen foot is not therefore, always apparent to those who live the truth; and as a political dodggA and to un til! uking minds on the temperance question, 4t is most successfully used as a partisan delusion. ■THE RESULT OF NON-PARTISAN NON SENSE. Our negligence to perform our polit ical duties cannot be set aside by :de ejeptive pfiititude withoutcincuriug the charge of great moral delinquency, especially just now when our chureh, our homes, and all that, we hold dear are threatened with an avalanche of crime and debauchery, and the whole, eonntry is in the throes of a moral earthpnake, caused by the selfish cu-, pidity of rum-sellers, and their sympa thizers, who now have control of all of the offices, from the lowest to the high est including nearly all the departments of our governments; and all this sub serviency: to the liquor interest is brought about through our wicked negligence, and partly by our conni vance. Our selfish indifference arid inactivi ty on this question is inexcusable; our wicked neglect of political duties must he overcome, and an active and heroic endeavor made to atone for past neg ligence by a determined and vigilant use o 1 all the political opportunities We possess, as the most efficient means tb annihilate this monster curse of our land. This conscientious use of the ballot for the extermination of alcohoL ic poison should and must beeoine the acme of orir ambition and Christian duty. OUR VOTE IS OUR CONSCINCE. J Christianity is an individual affair, especially when deciding moral ques-' tions by and through our political op portunities. It is at the ballot-box that we illustrate most effectively our practical Christianity. Politics may, have an odor of a secular character, and we may delude ourselves with the selfish conviction that we are not to be held responsible for our personal vote as a part of our religious obligations; but when we know the awful curse the liquor traffic is to our country and our -Christianity, we cannot screen ourselves behind our old party, and pretend to hold it responsible for our delinquency in this emergency. In our government, every man is a sover eign, and our vote is an expression of our conscience; and when we use this method to express our choice of rulers i we are bound by the mqst solemn ob- ^anaqnsqir©--«w& ? 4e.-r -oufcjyhpmesA our country] mid to orir religion,>that thj# 1 duty shall be performed with the most sacred regard to their best interest. To put a stop to the crime, paupc r- ism and misery eaused by the rum traffic, is a thousand times more im portant than the slight gratification that may be seeured by the indul gence of a vicious appetite or the grat ification of our preconceived ideas or old party prejudices. We are, therefore, both morally and religiously bound to expres out senti ments and convictions by our vote in favor of the destruation of this awful, traffic, even if we have to utter an in dividual protect; and this vote, and all the influence that we can bring to bear is imperative. However small may be the minority, it must he on the right side to have an approving eon- scienceorbe entitled to the “Well done, good and faithful servant.” THE RESULT OF THE BALLOT;" The use of the ballot as an express ion of public opinion is the most effec tive agency to bring about this moral revolution, and this is sure to come; the signs of the times are fall of en couragement. The ballot must be re cognized as the reaper and mower by which we are to secure this grand har vest for God and humanity. And the fiat of the people will soon be that “the saloon must go.” Will the Church should realize its opportunity to lead the people in this grand movement for prohibition of this'Fterible curse The clergy of this country are, there fore, under a special obligation to com bine their influence and use their op portune ties to enforce on the minds of their people the necessity for immedi ate effort; they should inspire them with enthusiasm, and an active faith, in a grand, moral, heroic effort to banish the sale of this poison from the community by the only possible means by which this can be accomy plished; that is, through a political combination of the people, in which case the whole business of rumselling could be annihilatedyn a comparative ly short time. Brit we must have no halfway meas: ures, and no compromises with the enemy. On the part of the church this combination should he aggressively prompt to be effective. As there are now not less than 16,000,000 church members in this eonntry, and more than one fourth of these are voters, how quickly could they crush this enemy ot religion, this monster of vice and immorali ty, if the ministers of the Christian Church would impress on their people their political duty on this issue, with all their active in telligence and Christian zeal! What a glori ous work for the Christian church,! And what a hallelujah of praise and thanksgiv ing would go up all over the land for the deliverance of the people from this terrible incubus on their Christian civilization! And this can be brought about just ..as soon as soon as ministers realize and do their duty on this momentus question. To those who stand on the walls of Zion, “Watchmen, teil Us of the night.” May we not look for the Watchmen, who tell of the “Dawn.” The records of eternity alone will reveal how well; we have fulfilled our part in bringing about the grand revolution that seems so sure to come in the near future. But, “How long, oh Lord ? How long ?” An Engineer’s Story. Locomotives Wblch Seem to Yhiuk—-Mow a Collision Was Averted. “I will tell you about One of the most curious freaks of an engine that .ever oecured in my experience with them. I offer no explanation, for I never have been able to solve it half satisfactorily to riiyself, and will there fore leave you to draw your own eon - elusions. It was about sixteen years ago when I first commenced to run a passenger train. The night was dark ‘ and stormy, in the 1 middle of Decem ber. I was: ordered for the midnight express, and somehow from the very start everything seemed to go wrong. Even the fireman appeared to act and work differently from usual. Well, to make matters worse, we were detained an hour at the depot*, and then the con- . ductor came and told me that the Su perintendent was on the train and bound for the other end of the road. : “Now, tight here I want to say that I have always had the reputation of being one oi the most careful and best engineers on the road, together with being able to make the nest time. This was the first time the Superintendant Bad ever been on my train, and, of course, I was anxious to sustain my good reputation. But the fates were against me—an hour late, the night dark and stormy, and our regular run ning time between forty and fifty riffles : an hour. Well, we pulled out Of the station with my miud made up tjo reach our destination on time if the wheels would stay under her. As soon ris we were out of the city limits I ripened on all the steam she had and let her go. But she didn't seem to Move at half her usual speed, and then she didn’t make steam well, eith er. I began to be impatient, and scol ded the fireman for not doing good Work with his fire. He seemed to try his best, but it was no go. She would riot make a steam well, in spite of 4iis exertions. Then the pumps began to he troublesome. One of them stopped Vorking altogether, and the other be came more unreliable every minute. It began to dawn upon me that making up time was out of the question. “You may imagine my feelings, for it seemed to me as if my whole reputa tion was staked on this trip. I profess, to know my business pretty well and can get speed out of an. engine if any man can, and my heart was down be low zero when we began to drop be hind our regular running time. But it was no use. Everything was again«t jne. I was mad clear through. i‘Wh® ive fefSstatiqri D we- were one hour and. ton minutes late; knd thfe conductor had justtnade a re mark that nettled me quite a little. Ji had asked him if there were any orders. at station D . He answered: : “ ‘None, except to try to get thejreia time for dinney,’which was pure sar casm, for if we made our running time we would be there in time for break fast, my heart was clear down- in my boots, and when I shut off the Steam going into station B——— I found the water so low in the boiler that something had to be done for the pumps before we could leave the sta tion, as there was then a heavy grade to climb for several miles, I informed the conductor that we would be delay- rid fifteen or twenty minutes, with the | work Of taking down one of the pumps, jand then proceeded with the work. - | “We were just about ready to start again when I heard the sharp whistle . |of an engine, and looking up I saw a 1 [train approaching from the very direc- [tiori in which we:'were going. When the train pulled into the station we found that the telegraph operator at station D — had neglected to give ns meeting orders for this train. Had it not been for the pumps^v?^ would have dashed on to what would ^proba bly have been one of the most collisions in the history of railroads. “Now comes the remarkable part of the story. From the time we left sta tion B both pumps worked like a charm—bear in mind that I had found nothing whatever the matter with .the pUmp that I had taken down, as there was apparently no reason for it not working—and the old engine seemed to daft' along with twice her usual speed. Gradually she began to pick up the time again, and in the next fifty miles we had made up fifteen minutes which was lightning speed in those days. There was just nineteen min utes to make the last twenty miles in, and I need not say that we pulled our destination on time. “Here, indeed, was an instance of a cranky engine saving a collision that would' probably have resulted in a great loss of human life and property. Railroading is full of just such experi ences, arid I have had many of them which might interest you, but I do not recall any of them just now. “Speaking of the peculiarities of en gineers it is not best for me to say much, for I am a queer sort of a fellow myself. But there is one engineer running on this road now who thinks his engine can feel, for when she dosnt run fast enough to please him he beats her with a hammer.” I have two more organs to sell at remarkably low prices. Call at once if you want one.. ^ *u. O. Pbavy.