McHenry Public Library District Digital Archives

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 30 Oct 1878, p. 3

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- f t - . . . . r ; J. VAN SX.TKC, twtnrlfc NMMwr. %• \ ] T ILLINOIS > >McHENRY. I TBfffSLL0G BESirAtfGEpS. BEPOKTBI> BT TTKDTHFPL JAMBS. 'WALTZ in, waltz in, ye little kids, and round my knee, .And drop them books and first po(-hoolm, »wd of Jinny Y Aerce auk fort Mi itgf «njvistiai> t| deceive a simpl* But&fbty^^hoolyerdtrifliif by lAbbwt ye4 like to bear fOfa "Spellia' Bee" at Angel's that we organ- "? •« _ lied last year. |j'. 'ffjlt weru't made up of settle Hd#-of pcetty kids % --like yon, 3«t gents ess bed their reg'lar growth, and some Menough for two. IThere woz Lanky Jim of Sutter's Fork, and Bil- •oB Of Infringe, ilBob," who 4^»And "PistolBob," by way of - •'Itfflon start, yon little kit£? you think theee axe not * pretty names, each had a man behind it, end--my name is ;<k. Truthful James.* '.Thar was Poker Diok from Whisky Flat and Smith of Shooter's Bend, * .And Brown of Calaveras--which I want no bet­ ter friend, ,... 'ThrefcjFmgewd Jack-ares, s^y, Jtea«Hfrree i », V' fingers- -ym have five. •'-•"'•.^Clapp'Cttt off two-it's sing'tar too, that Claw ain't now alive. / * 'Twasvery wrong, indeed, my dean, »"d Ctapp was much to blame: . Likewise was Jack, in after years, forshootin' of that same. The night* was kinder lengthenin' oat, the rains had jest began. When all the camp came no to Pete's to hare their usual fun; •But we all sot kinder sad like around the bar­ room stove Till Smitu got up, permiskies-like, and thk re- ..mark ne hove; , " That's a, new game downfall Fr»c», thet ex far ez 1 Kin gee, " " Beats eucher, poker and van-toon, they the . .'Spellin Bee,"V ., Then Brown of Calaveras simply hitched his chair and spake; . 4* Poker is good cnougb for me," and Lanky Jim sea, '"Shake." ' ' -And Boh allowed Is© wanrt proud, bat he "'must say right thar . . , That the man who tackled eflcfier hed his edu­ cation squar." This brought up Lenny Fairchild, the school­ master, who Raid, fie knew the game and he would give instruc­ tions on that. head. f\ T ^ #3' Ftwinstaiictfi take some simple ^or̂ ," ses he. ** like separate,1 ' wtw can sjpell itr* Dog my skin, ef thar •swas una in eight. i set the boys all wild at once. The chairs wfw put in row, And at the head was Lanky Jim, and at the foot was Joe, And high upon the bar itself the sohoolmaater " WHS raised. And the bar-keep put his glasses down, and sat r \ The first wora out was " parallel," aad fceven let it be,* \ v. -*• > • Till Joe waltzed in his double "1" betwixt the "a"and"e"; For, since he drilled them Mexicans in San Ja­ cinto's fight, Thar wara't no primoar man got up (ban Pistol Joe that night- Till ' rhythm" came! He tried to smile, then said, •" they had him there," And Lanky Jim, with one long stride got ap and took his chair. . Olittle kids! my pretty kids, 'twas touchin' to ... survey 1 These bearded J men. with weppings on, like schoolboy* at their play. They'd laugh with glee, and shout to see each other lead the van. And Bob sat up as monitor with a cue for a rat­ tan. Till the chair gave out " incinerate," and Blown said he'd be durned If any such blamed word as thai in school was ever learned. When " phthisis" came they all sprang Op, and vowed the man who rung Another blamed Greek word on them be taken out and hung. As thsy sat down again 1 saw in Bilaon's eye a hash, And Brown of Calaveras Was a-twistm* his mus­ tache, And when at last Brown slipped on " gneiss" and Bilson took his chair, He dropped some casual words about some folks who dyed their hair. And then the Chair grew very white, and the Chair said he'd adjourn, .But Poker Dick remarked that he would wait . and get his turn; .Then with a tremblin' voice and hand, and with a wanderiu' eye. ' The Ohair next offered " eider-duck," and Dick began with "i," And Bilson stuiled- tiien Bilson shrieked 1 Just how the light began I never knowed, for 1 iilson dropped aid Dick he Moved up one. Then certain gents arose and said " they'd busi­ ness aown in camp," And " ez the road was rather dark, and e* the night was damp, They'd" here got tip Three-Fingered Jack and locked the door and yelled; " Nonotone mother's son goes out till that thar w o r d i s s p e l l e d ! " • . . . But while the words wen on his lips, he groaned and wink in pain. And sank with Webster'ott his chest and Worce­ ster on his brain. ^>SkSri?lged;f>,Mr ^ Wais huntiu up authorities thet no one else . could see; And Brown got down behind the stove alio win' he " was cold." Till it upsotand and down his legs the cinders freely rolled. And several gents called " Order!" till in his simple way v-v s wore that day » knife y f f lion in a peaceful sort of Xlft <3e iiiL, daj - triwes and.#. [ou've got your eddn way; And bear in mind thar may be sharps as slings their spellin' square. But likewise slings their bowie-knives without a thought or care-- You wants to know the rest, my dears? Thet's all! In me you see The only gentthat lived to tell about that Spellin' , "Bfev ^ v v a jBe c«aie<£and passed, that truthful nAn; 4he f~". clj|]<reenWent th#ir way • " 1 With downcast heads and downcast hearts--but not to sport or play. J-c" ITor when at eve the lamps were lit, aad supper- less to t>ed -Each child war, sent, with tasks'" undone and lea- &o maflfiuight know the awtul woe that thrilled their youthful frames. As they dreamed of Angel's Spelling Bee and thought of Truthful James. --Bret 11arte, in November Scribner. "WHAT 18 IT WasTgefaerally supposed that Sam was what is called " deficient." As to his own family, they were sure of it; at •all events, they treated him as if he were so. Not that they were unkind to him; oQ j&e contrary, they were all very fond of 44 poor old Sam;" but it «eemed to be taken for granted that whatever he said was not worth noticing, aibd that almost everything he did was to be made funof more or less. He was, in fact, the family butt, though the shafts weref as » raies so tipped with good, nature as not to hurt his feelings. ' >'•' * -r Of cou*ie ̂1iie#e V§re patent reasons for all this. To begin with, there, was something manifestly pe- «uliai (^ backward in his mental de­ velopment. He never could learn like other boys, and all masters had shaken their headb at him. Then there was a heavy comicality in his face and an Awkwardness in liis gait, together with .•* stunted growth, afl of \vhich betok­ ened an abnormal condkon of Mature, and furnished some excuse ID his brothers sis tors for regarding Mm as an oddity in their midst. At the fcftitit* time it wits yet more cxeusablc in Sam himself, and far more accounta­ ble, that, being thus accustomed from his childhood (and he waa upw about nineteen), to be treated as if he were little better than a fool,' he settled dowi more and more to being one. Hardly ever did he attempt to say or do any* thing in serious earnest, since almost 6ver«%i«g.he*tid or said was treated sis Thlve mk 4 coliee^lioii lb §iis. Mothers always know best how to deal with the weak in the flock, and Sam's mother never laughed at him, and never despaired of him. "What is to become of Sam?" his father would say, " he'll never earn his own living;" and his mother would quietly answer. " Wait a bit, my dear; there is more in him, perhaps, than we think, but it wants to be drawn out, and I doubt if we are acting wisely in laughing at him as we do." She said " we, good soul, but that was only her discreet way of putting it. Now, Sam had a sister, Marv, of whom h® was especially Wd. "Per­ haps it was because she was the sister nearest to him in age, but it was mors likely because she paced a little more confidence in him than the others did; it wasn't much, but it was more than he got from any of the rest. He would do anything for Mary, and when a cer­ tain Mr. St. Leger in the neighborhood took a fancy to her it was amusing to see how Sam resented the engagement. This Mr. St. Leger had lately come inr to the neighborhood, no one knew where from; but he had plenty of money and very agreeable manners, and was a general favorite with the Frere family. Sam, however, never liked him from the first, and when at length he became Mary Frere's accepted suitor, Sam's aversion to him became intense. It must be owned that Mr. St Leger took no pains to win him over to a more friendly state of mind. He had fallen at once into the habit of making light of the poor fellow, which, as we have seen, was the family custom, and, when he saw how Sam shrank from him, had certainly gone out of his way to poke fun at him. It was an amusement and quite in accordance with the general practice.. The day was- fixed for the wedding, and the Sunday had arrived when, in deference to Mary's particular wish, though very much against Mr. St. Leg­ er' s inclination, the banns were to be published in church. The Freres were all in their place, a great sqware pew in front of the pul­ pit. The names were read out in due course. Mary whs recovering from the electric shock of hearing them; the vil­ lagers were interchanging glances, some even cautiously rising a little to peep into the square pew. when a voice was heard all'over the church, saying in the most emphatic way, "I forbid the banns." Surprise was on every face, but it quickly gave way to a sense of the lu­ dicrous as Sam was seen standing up in the middle of the pew. looking the clergyman steadily in the face, as much as to say, " Ihere now; get over that if you can!" The clergyman was so amused that he had to rush on with the service to prevent an unseemly display, while Sam's kindred in the square pew were in every attitude of painfully restrained amusement. And there he stood, unabashed and defiant, until his father plucked him by the arm and made him sit down. But none of them for one moment thought it was anything more than a very unaccounta­ ble freak of " poor old Sam's." No sooner was the service over than he was assailed on all sides for an ex­ planation. Two only were serious about it--his father and Mary. " What is the meaning of this, sir?" said his father, sternly: " what could have pos­ sessed you to make yourself so ridicu­ lous?" • " He has got a wife already," replied Sam, doggedly. " Who hasP" was the general excla­ mation. ? "St Leger." " Who told you soP" "Tom Tyler!" Tom Tyler was the village letter-carrier. " There was a shout of laughter at this piece of information. " When did Tom Tyler tell you this?" - " • * Yesterday. He brought a letter for Mrs. jSt. Leger." r r r Another shout of laughter greeted this; but Mary looked very grave, while her father said that, of course, the letter was for St. Leger's mother, of whom he had more than once spoken. So Sam was sharply rebuked for listening to Tom Tyler's idle tales, and ordered to hold his tongue. ^•You'll have St. Leger try his horse- Vhip across your shoulders, if you don t mind," cried his eldest brother, and they all laughed again; but Sam wis very unlike himself, and did not join in the laugh, but maintained a grave composure they had never noticed in him before. Nor was it a laughing matter some­ where else. The news of that morn­ ing's interruption flew apace, with vari­ ous additions and amendments. Thus improved upon, they reached the" ears of Mr. St Leger, who lived but a few miles off, andT they created a profound sensation, so much so that instead of spending the afternoon with the Freres, as expected, he took himself off, and was never seen by them again. It was discovered that Tom Tyler's version had been correct after all. Good rid­ dance for Marv' Frere; but a heart trifled with and #ronged can never quite recover itself. For a time Sam was almost rever­ ently treated at home They felt the force of his simple explanation, why he had chosen such a singular way of ut­ tering his suspicions, mat it was " be­ cause they would only have laughed at him if he had told them," and were a little ashamed of themselves. But the old habit revived after awhile, as old habits, both family and personal, so easily do, and Sam's brains were held as cheap as ever, except by Mary, who was drawn to him more than ever, and by his mother, who never ceased to ponder in her heart, as only mothers do, the meaning of that display of firm intelligence ana almost fierce affection " I'll tell you what it means,", ^aid her brother to Mrs. Frere one day, when she was talking to him about it- he was a lawyer in London, old John Quicksctt, o£ hm, who could tee a thing as shrewdly as most people --"it means this, that Sam has got a heart and a head, but his head is more out of the way than usual, and can only be got at through his heart, like an old-fashioned bed-room that can only be reached by going through an­ other. Look here, sister, I like amass­ ing!} that story of the banns--it's grand. Not that there was anything clever in what he did, just the reverse, it might have been a most stupid mis­ take; but this is what takes my fancy so, the firmness of purpose, a far high­ er quality of mind than mere clever­ ness, that could make the poor fellow face everything he did for the sake of the sister he loved. There must be something in one who could run the gauntlet like that, when his heart was once fairly unlocked; and I think I have the key." "I always thought M*," erfed Mrs. Frere, greatly delighted. " Well, let me try. I'll run away with Sam, and make a lawyer of him. What do you say?" The grinning was epidemic round the table after it was known that Sam was to be a lawyer. His brothers and sisters could hardly look at first with­ out smiling; it did seem so droll, so alfck surdly contrary to every notion they entertained of him. Had* he sat before them in full naval costume as Admiral of the Channel Fleet, it would hardly have struck them as being more un­ looked-for and preposterous. Uncle John's presence saved Sam from col­ lective bantering, though the old law­ yer was too wise to make any fuss about the matter; but when Sam was alone with his brothers and sisters, he had a hâ d time of it, though all was, as usual, in perfect good humor. At first Sam had, of course, to go through the usual drudgery of a lawyer s office, in which, if it be possible for anyone to shine, he certainly did not. His blunders were awful, and provoked the wrath or ridicule, as the case may be, of his fellow clerks, who were all well-seasoned and somewhat ancient men. But his uncle never found fault with him. The most he said when some frantic bungle was brought to his notice, was, " Sam, do this over again; you know you can do it a great deal better than that." And, sure enough, it was done better the second time. In short, his uncle began with and, in spite of every discouragement, persevered in the plan of trusting him. And by degrees he found that the more he trusted him the better he did, and the more he treated him as if there were something in him the more he got out of him. Hau Sam nothing in him to begin with, the plan could not have answered; but this was just what his Uuuic bclioTcd, uaSSclj' uhut there '.VSS something in him, but that it had been systematically laughed down and sat upon from superficial considerations, and that it could only be brought out by a total change of external influence and treatment. And now his powers began to show themselves ana to ex­ pand, just as a shrub, that has/ been stunted and blackened from want of room and uncongenial soil begins to throw out vigorous shoots when trans­ planted to ground that suits it, and where it has space to grow. "Sam," said Mr. Quicksett, one day, "weshall all of us be away the whole afternoon, and must leave you in charge of the office. If that fellow Choker should come, mind, you're not to let him see anything." As the fates would have it, Choker did come. Perhaps Mr. Quicksett knew he was coming. Possibly Mr. Choker, who was a sharp and not very scrupulous professional opponent of his, had made himself aware of the unprotected state of the office in Gray's Inn, and he brought with him a man that looked every inch a prize fighter. " Is Mr. Quicksett in--No? Well, it's of no consequence. I merely called to see as a matter of form one or two documents in Smith vs. Jones." "Then I must trouble you to call again when Mr. Quicksett is in." ' "Quite right, young man," said Choker, approvingly; '* that's the right thing to say in ordinary cases; but, you see, this is not an ordinary case. " We've got an order of the Court to inspect these documents." "Where is it?" said Sam, bluntly. "You've got it with you, haven't you?" said Choker, carelessly, turning to his companion. The young athlete fumbled in his pockets and declared, with great apparent vexation, that he must have forgotten to bring it. " I don't believe you've got it to bring," said Sam. * "We'll have no nonsense, sir," cried Choker, in a passion; " at your peril refuse to show us what we want to see," and the two men advanced on Sam in a threatening way. But, little as he was, he never budged an inch. " I tell you what it is," he said, with all the coolness imaginable, " if you two don't leave the office this minute, I'll send for a Constable." There was no need to attempt that difficult operation. They were only trying it on, and with an affectation of injured innocence Mr. Choker and his satellite withdrew. On another occasion, after Sam had been some mouths in the office, his uncle came out of his room one day, ahd bade him go down at once to Judges' Chambers and look after some case that was to come on there. It is a thing that requires you to have your wits about you, to do that, foryou come face to face with a shrewd Judge, who cannot tolerate a fool. The old clerks in Mr. Quicksett's office appeared par­ alyzed with astonishment at such an order; and one of them ventured, when partially recovered, to suggest a mis­ take on Mr. Quieksett's part. "It's rather a difficult case, air, if you re­ member," he urged. " All right, Mustay," was the cheeiy reply; "I know what I aim about. The best way to learn to swim is to be pitched neck-and-heels into deep water." The suspense was great .among the ancients while Sam was away; but he came back in due time, and reported that the case had come on before the Judge, and that his Lordship had made an order in their client's favor. " J he ask you any questions?" inqui Mustay. "Oh, yes! and I answe them," said Sam: but- he did not iiuu, tor he did not know it, nor wi be mentioned in the memoir of _ learned Judge when it comes out, till accustomed as his Lordship was ready answers, it had actually crost his mind for a moment that the font little lawyer's clerk would make a i ital witness--he was so ready and i neither more nor less than was want Whether a good witness would a] ways make a good lawyer we need nc decide; but it is certain, that, in coui of time, Sam made a very good one deed. His was one of those not \ common cases where supposed " del ciency" is superficial only, and wher a far more grave deficiency is to found in those who, by constantly laughing at it, run the risk of makii, it a real life-long imbecility, Sam" relatives never laughed at him after the first visit he paid though they often laughed for his drollery was inea * never married, but kept house for him, a great deal happi have been anywi Magazine. A Itw Telei THE public hs wondrous very the past year troduction phones, and the ment were feasor SomJ plan by a trip bett Liverpool lie would on ished. It enough to say covered a way1 sit in their own' sermons, concerts in churches or halls but a brief time would have been regar dulity; to-day it simply < mark, " I thought they'd get thing like that. A device which makes such mission feasible has been int by Mr. Henry Bentley, the well-kn ̂ Philadelphia electrician, who brought into notice the celebrated son telephone. To an Inquirer repot er Mr. Bentley kindly exhibited and] explained his invention yesterday, one of the instruments being in practical] operation in his office. Standing nearl a small, contrivance, which is not large I enough to attract casual notice, onel hears the hum of conversation, the I strain of a grand organ, and then a I voice easily distinguishable as that of a I favorite singer, followed by the perform- J mance of an orchestra and then by ap-1 Slause, all quite audible, but with a istant sort of effect, and he need scarcely be told, if he has ever been [ there, that he is listening to what is going on in the Permanent Exhibition, though standing in an office at Third I and Chestnut streets. " The distinguishing feature of the I invention," saia Mr. Bentley, "is that which enables me to use the Leclanche or the carbon battery on the carbonj button transmitter of the Edison tele-] Reporter--Do you secure an increase of power by your device? Mr. Bentley--Oh, yes. Great as the power of the telephone now is, this in vention increases it 50 per cent, over what can be obtained by the use of any other battery. Mr. Bentley explained that hereto­ fore it was found impossible to utilize the Leclanche or carbon batteries, as they were exhausted quickly w hen in use. His invention consists of a simple but ingenious mechanical arrangement by which the battery is automatically opened and closed on the inductive coil when the instrument is used. Many of the new instruments are now being made, and arrangements are in prog­ ress to test their pewer. Transmitters will be probably placed in front of a lecturer at the Academy of Music dur­ ing some of the Star Course entertain­ ments, and wires carried to German- town, Chestnut Hill, Frankford, Cam­ den and other distant points, at which, Mr. Bentley has no doubt, the speaker will be plainly heard by those stationed there, without the audience at the Academy being aware of any change in the manner of the lecturer. He thinks, with the telephone thus per­ fected, its usefulness will cause its in­ troduction to be very extensive. . Mr. Bentley said that it would be practicable to place a transmitter in front of a clergyman, and to so locate it in the pulpit that the apparatus would be scarcely, if at all, visible to the congregation, »nd that the sermon preached from that pulpit could be dis­ tinctly heard in as many different houses miles distant as wires were run to and from it. In this way confirmed invalids could enjoy a pleasure never before placed within the reach of that class. " It was through a desire to gratify an invalid," said Mr. Bentley, "That one of the most wonderful feats ever accomplished in telegraphy was recently performed. Prof Henry, shortly before his death, expressed a great desire to hear the telephone." Prof. Barker, of the University, took downa couple of telephones which I selected, and they were set up in Prof. Henry's room, in the Smithsonian Institute. The wires were run over the switchboards in the Western Union offices at Washington, Baltimore and Philadelphia, and, notwithstanding the multiplicity of telegraph wires between those points (the connection for the telephones having to be run with the cables under the Bush, Gunpowder and Susquehanna Rivers),! held a conversa­ tion for half an hour with the late Prof. Henry, he being in his room and I think confined to his bed at the time in the Smithsonian Institute, and I here at Third and Chestnut streetfa."--Phil- adeiphiu Inquirer. --Two thousand people in Memphis, whose recovery was thought certain, paid with their lives for their folly in going about too soon aad over-taxing mind and body. --The greatest strike twelve o'clock. of the day-- and do not lie on the sur­ face to be picked up by anyone. When such young men are ready to marry, they seek for modest, unobtrusive young ladies, who are busy with books and home duties, who dress in quiet taste, and are neither in gait nor man­ ners inclined to mannishness. Such girls are fitted for noble wives, who will help their husbands upward, give them higher aspirations, and be sources of joy and pyide all their days. If the royal fashions were more in vogue, we think it would be well for the young women here, as well as for those Olive Logan describes in England: The North British Daily Mail contains the fol­ lowing suggestive fashion item: l> One of the musical features ot the week was the perform­ ance of the heart-stirring music of Mendels­ sohn' * Elijah1 in Westminster Abbey, at the festival in aid of the Clergy Orphan Asylum. Her Moyiil Highness the Prino«aa of Wales sat near the Dean aad Chapter, just below the lect­ ern. The Princess, who was accompanied by her eldest daughter, the Princess Victoria, a pretty, fair-haired girl of eleven, was the most simply dressed lady in the abbey. Her dress was of black cashmere, and drawn close over her shoul­ ders. She wore a fichu of the same material, trimmed with black feathers. The little Princess was dressed as simply as her mother, in a dress and jacket of light shade, between drab and gray, and a straw hat tximmed with blue field flowers, if the fashions set by our royal family in the clothing of their children were more generally followed, perhaps the growing 'girl of the period' would be more healthful, cheerful, and wise." If less time and thought were spent on your " nobby" hats, dear girls, and more on the heads that wear them; if your faces shone with intelligence, so that you could dispense with the brass buttons; if your manners were cultiva­ ted, and quiet, and ladylike, making a simple, tasteful dress far more becom­ ing than those you call "stunning," and if your voices were low and sweet, you would assuredly be more attractive than you are now. Ask mother and grandmother if these little secrets I am telling you are not true, and then prove me yourselves.--Chici&Qj^nclard. trflfUB ft 130W1 of goitt oir a m is used to hold the feather! Among novelties in ribbons is ribbon with polka dots of velvet, is handsome in beige or in old shades for trimming black velvet nets. New watered ribbons are shaded from the palest tint to ths est of a single color; the wrong side such ribbons is of satin. To wear with linen collars are linen cravats edged with linen laee The linen is plaited like a fan parti open, and the lace is new feathery terns of torchon. New neckties axe satin, with mossy fio the surface like the pile of velvet. Harper's Bator, --Burglars entered the residene* circus clown, who was summering Potts town, this State, and carried some silver spoons and clothing rummaging through the house, came upon the down's jokes, which had in pickle in the cellar, and immediately took off their hats prooeoded rith their work with covered heads, thus showing that glars have as much respect tor ttfi flnvhfidY i i (jil Qitii

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