McHenry Public Library District Digital Archives

McHenry Plaindealer (McHenry, IL), 7 Mar 1894, p. 6

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A1NDEALER SLYKE, Editor and Pub. TT-LIXO' THE CITY CHOIR. t o hear the city ebolr; The Hummer 11 ght still; " IbMUrd the music mount the i They sang; "He'll take the j m * ,, - n- •!" :•?' 4-iiw NATIVE AUSTRALIANS. THE PROFESSOR - ; w~' on! I'in on!" the tenor crta^, -"And looked into my face; A. • .*l|y journey home, my joumey hOWt ; .""WM bellowed by the but. is for thee--It U for the * ^ f iriekod i he soprano shrill. 43 „»ew not why they looked at im - ind yelled: "He'U take the pi»~* > ' Tfctll illlliliilH 1 i 1 ill ill 111111 Til 1 >•! ; Oh, Baavent My heart stood rattl' k _.l "tm, yen 1" i cried ; "if that i« boat, '*• powers! I'll take the pill--" -;/ |LB I, half falntirg, reached the doer, %s And paw tho stirry dome, «| Ihenrd them s<ng!ng: "When life to O'taf He'll take the pilgrim home." CHARLIE DIDOWN UP. The London express was standing In the station at Bristol. Porters were running to and fro with lug- gage, passengers were tumbling over one another in their hurry. Among the latter was a young man who was walking up and down by the train in an undecided sort of way. To a stranger he would appear to be look­ ing for a friend in the carriages. In reality, he was weighing the attrac­ tions of two different compartments against each other. The one was a smoking carriage, the other was not. Smoking, he considered, was a good and pleasant thing, especially on a long railway journey. And then he stopped in front of the door, and hesitated with his hand upon the handle. And yet in the next com­ partment, seated in the ftirther cor­ ner, was a dainty figure. And the seat oppos i te was vacant. He could just see it as he stood by the door. Charlie Blagden was young; as 1 had •aid; just young enough to be on the lookout for adventures. "Any more going on?" cried the guard; and the bell rang. The girl won. Charl.e threw away bis cigarette and stepped into the carriage just as the whistle sounded - » and the train moved out of the sta- ^ . ^ •tion. There was but one other pas- :v;;. 1 senger in the same compartment be- •ides the dainty figure in the corner, ' an elderly lady of the complexion % that comes not forth but by prayer * * and fasting. She looked as though . she belonged to societies for Prevent- j Ing things, and lived on tracts. She ; was lunching at the time on "Short I Cuts to Hell." The girl in the further j corner looked up for a moment a%! Charlie entered and drew back her j feet slightly. Charlie accepted the; : ftilent invitation and sat down oppo- : site to her. By that time her eyes L had returned to the novel she was i reading So Charlie unfolded hiij newspaper and began skimming the j news, taking care, however, to hold > it so that he could keep one eye on his opposite neighbor. Presently, as she turned a page of her book, she || glanced across and caught Charlie's eye. He thought he detected a half (71 ̂ smile as her eyes dropDed again. She was certainly good-looitiiig, with dark-brown waving hair contrasting w th a w ite smooth forehead. Her mouth was straight and firm, and in her eyes, as indeed in her whole pose, there was a look of calm assurance, which probably made her look some­ what older than she was. She looked about five-and-twenty. Charlie was a critic of woman's dress. And even if this girl had not been pretty, it would have been a pleasure to look at her dress. For she possessed the secret which is so valuable and so rarely known, of i making her dress appear part of her- { sett--as though, so to speak, it had grown cut or her, like her hair. Al­ together she was most satisfactory to look upon, Charlie did not re­ gret his wasted cigarette. But hav­ ing looked upon her for a while, he was conscious of a longing to talk with her. For some time he cast! about for an excuse for addressing her. feeling all the time that the el­ derly lady at ttje other end of the carriage was watching him, doubtless with the view oi putting the Society j for the Prevention of Young Men on j fj bis track. Suddenly an expedient; flashed across his mind. It was the 1 same which has flashed across the minds of numberless yonng men ever since railways were first invented, and was probably resorted to by our amorous ancestors in the old coach­ ing days. But to Charles it appeared a perfectly original idea. He watched forber to turn the next page of her novel, feeling sure that she would glance at him. She did. He leaned forward and said politely, "Would you like the window up?" The girl calmly turned down a pa re of her book, closed it and laid it on the seat by her side. Then she •wtldd pleasantly at Charlie and Bald, "You dun't mean it." "I beg your pardon, "said Charlie, a little startled. "I mean that if you like the window " "AO, no," interrupted the girl: **you don't mean to say would I like the window up, because it is up al­ ready: you me.n would l like to talk to vou--well I would." The elderly lady in the corner who saw very well what was going on, sni ed audibly. (Jharl e was a little astonished at (hiding the ifirl had brushed a i .e bisconventionalities so easily; but her perfect, self-possession rescued the situation from ail embar- VEassment* "It seems to me so absurd," she Mid leanine back and crossing her • bands in her iap. '-that two human beings should think it neces ary to travel a hundred miles together ' without sneaking, ;ust because they ' have never ruet before. They ought! to be thankful--it they are two nice human beings*--that they met at last." Charlie assented, blushing; he felt the girl was running away wit < hira. > "Yes. I thought we should get on well together when I saw ou at Bristol," saik he "Is otted you iu ; the carriage, you know." ^ . "And 1 don't mind confessing that hoped you would get in here, and into that bori-id smoJt ug com- flprtuieut." K "I'm, glad I did," said Charlie. \ "Now then." said the girl, "you pust tell me all about yourself-- what is vour name, where you come from, and where vouaie going tfc" If; 'tf v W I $ [I1.* ' There Is nothing more flattering to the young man, or, indeed, to the man of any age, than the interest ot a pretty woman. So by the time the train drew up at Swindon, Charlie had told her all about bis people, all about the other fellows in the bank, and bow he had a fortnight's holiday, and how he was on his way to town to pay a visit to a friend who had got married, and Jiow he was rather nervous as to ^whether he would find favor In the eyes of his friend's wife, whom he had never yet seen. At Swindon he went into the refreshment room to &et some sandwiches for his new friend. She said she would like some $oda water as well, adding, as an after-thought, that there might be the smallest drop or brandy in it "When Charley returned to the car­ riage, he found that the elderly lady had left And for the rest of the journey to town, the couple had the carriage to themselves. Not that they occupied the whole compartr ment They only occupied two seats in close proximity to eac i other. By the time the train reached Westboume Park, Charlie and the young ladv had decided that it would be a great pity not to see more of each other in the future than they bad done in the past The young lady suggested a little dinner that same evening, and Charlie, mentally determining to delay bis arrival at his host's later In the evening, ac­ cented the suggestion. The young lady, whose name, as Charlie learned, Was, for all practical purposes, Madge Eenson, had some business to do first So they settled to meet at 7 o'clock at a restaurant The train was gliding slowly into Paddington, when the girl, who was looking anxiously out of the window, drew back hurriedly. "There's some pne the platform that I don't want to see," she said. "1 shall wait till the platform is crowded and then slip over to a han­ som. " Charlie helped to gather up her wraj:s, umbrellas, and things. "Look here," she said, picking up a rather heavy dressing bag, "I wish you Would take this for me; you can give it to me when we meet this eve­ ning. It will delay me so if I take care of it mvself." Charlie took the bag and left the girl in the carriage, still looking cau­ tiously up the platform. As he stood by the luggage-van looking for his own bag, his eye happened to fall upon the address card let into the top of the dressing bag in his hand. "This might give me her real name." tnought Charlie, as he bent down to examine it "I don't be- live it is Benson." The name was Emily C Fardell. "Hullo Chariey,* said a voice at his elbow, "delighted to see you. Have you seen my wife? I expected her by this train." Charley turned and found himself face to face with Martin Fardtll, his host Now, it takes a man with pretty strong nerves to take calmly the discovery that he has unknowingly been mak­ ing violent leve to the wife of his best frind. "My dear fellow," stammered Charlie, "I--I haven't seen your wife. I don't know her, don't you know:" "Ah, of course not," replied his friend. "Well, she will probably come by the next train. There is another in about half an hour. She has been down into the country for a dance." "Look here, Martin," said Charlie, keenly alive to the necessity of get­ ting away and clearing up the situa­ tion with Mrs. Fardell at once. "I have an appointment that will keep me for an hour or two. I shan't turn up until after dinner." "All right" said Fardell;"I'll wait here for the wi e." ' Thank goodness, he didn't spot the bag," muttered Charlie, as begot into a hansom and drove off. "I must put a stop to this nonsence at once. Poor Martin--well, if ever 1 marry--" Charlie felt that he had put his foot in it A man may be as un­ scrupulous as most men; but he gen­ erally has some scruples concerning his friend's wife. Charlie was not a ; bad fellow. He was only a bit of a j fool in the ways of the world. And { as he drove along to the restaurant. I he bad the uncomfortable sensation ' of haying acted as a blackguard. He had/not long to wait His new ac­ quaintance drove up about ten min­ utes after he arrived, and Charlie hurried out to help her to alight. ; (Have you my bag?" she asked at once "Here it is," said Charlie. "And I've looked at the name on it " "Ah! you saw it wasu't Madge Benson. I told you a story, you see," said the girl They went into the dining-room and sat down together at one of the tables. "I say," said .Charlie, "I don't think we're acting quite fairly to Martin. Do you know I'm going tQ-sfcay with you?" "Oh! you are?" "Yes, and I met Martin at the sta­ tion--and he#i<dvlooking for you." "Did you tell him you had been with me?" St\e asked this with an anxietj she could not conceal. 4"Certainly not" replied Charlie, "That was right. 1 wouldn't have had him catch me for anything. Champagne--eh?" Charlie nodded in an absent sort of way, and the girl indicated her favorite brand to the waiter. "All the same," said Charlie,drum­ ming uneasily on the table with his fingers, "I don't think it's fair." "Fair! to whom?" / r Q «•.£ "To your huabahd->4ma. my friend." •Oh!" * They ateinslleSip$jror a time. "Well, aftefr, aj| •there's no barm done," said the girl, after a pause. "He'll never know " "No, he'll ne#$r know," replied Cha-lie. "But ther^ will always be that beastly (secret between us. Any­ way for the future we, must wipe out all remembrance ot" to-day, We must meet as if we had never 'toet before.*' 4 As vou will," she replied; "bat you are such * nice boy." "Anyhow, I'm not a blackguard," , Instead of looking annoyed, Char- j lie's companion appeared to be amused. he made ;tu excellent aln- ner and drank fully th.eft-quarters of a bottle of champagne. As for Char­ lie^ the discovery that Madge Benson l Was none other than Mrs. Martin Fardell had taken away his appetite. For the woman who answeis very well as an evening acquaintance does not necessarily ceme up to the stand­ ard one requires in the wife of one's best friend And Charlie's admira­ tion for the undoubted beautr of Madge Benson was quite swallowed up in disgust at the highly Improper conduct of Mra Martin Fardell. They talked but little during the rest of dinner. The lady watched Charlie with a look half of amusement and half of pity. The latter was glad when it was time to call for his bill and get away. He felt that every in­ stant he spent alone with his friend's wife was a fresh insult to his friend. ••You're going home to-night?" asked Charlie, as they stood UP to go. "Of course," answered she. "But we can't go together." "No; if you'll get me a hansom, I'll start first Don't forget my dress* ing-bag." Charlie called a cab and placed her in it, handed in the bag, and told the driver the address. She waved her hand to him as the cab drove off, and Charlie turned away with a muttered oath "Thank Heaven! that's over," he said to himself as he turned up Pic­ cadilly. "I never thought I should feel such a scoundrel as 1 have done for the last hour. How on earth did Martin get hold of a woman like that for a wife? She has no more heart than an oyster. Poor devil!" For an hour or more Charlie hung about Piccadilly, thinking over com­ monplaces to say to Martin when he arrived, and meditating on the best manner of facing the curious situa­ tion into which he had fallen. "Whatever happens," he con­ cluded, "if Martin's wife want's to make a devil of some man or other, that man shan't be Charlie Blagden." Then he called a handson and started for Martin's house at Ken­ sington. Martin Fardell met h/m in the hall. "Well, Charlie, the wife turned up all right by a later train. She'll be down in a minute ^nd I'll introduce you." "Ah -- yes -- thanks--of course," said Charlie. "It's rather unlucky," continued Martin, "but she lost her dressing- bag on the journey, ^nd it contained a lot of her jewelry. We've been telegraphing inquiries, but nothing has been heard of it" "Oh, but she bad it all right when--" then Charlie stopped. "Yes, when she started. But it's gone now." A glimmer of suspicion began to steal over Charlie's mind. Just then a lady came down stairs. "Here, Emmie," said Martin Far­ dell, "this is my old friend, Charlie Blagden." Charile shook hands in a kind of stupor. For Mrs. Martin Fardell was not in the least like his acquaint* ance of the afternoon. "I'm--I'm afraid," he stammered, ••that I have given your bag to--to--" "You have given it!" exclaimed Mrs. Fardell. "To whom?" asked Martin. "Well, l'n>d--d if I know to whom I have given it," said Charlie, forget­ ting bis manners in his mystification.. "But wheredid you find it?" asked Martin, "Oh, I--I picked it up in the train, and--" A knock was beard at the door and Martin stepped across the hall and opened it "Here is the bag, dear," said Mar­ tin, exultingly, coming back with the missing article in his hand. "A boy handed it in. He said a lady had given bim a shilling to bring it." Mrs. Fardell opened it at once to see if the jewel-case was there. It was gone In its place was a piece of paper folded. "It is addressed to you, Mr. Blag­ den," said Mrs. Farrell, picking it out Charlie took it and opened it This Is what he read: DEABCHABUK--Manv thanks for your help. I don't know how I should have got the bag through the station without you, as there are one or two people who are always on the lookout for me at Paddington. Lnder the oircumsi ancea, you will excuse my making another appointment to meet you. MADGE. "Let me see it, Charlie," said Mar- tia And then Charlie had to own upk--Modern Society. Ill A JEWISH SLUM. /allaa itetph'a Graphic Oeaeriptimt • • Feat Spot tn New Yoriu In an interesting article contrib­ uted to Harper's Weekly Julian Kalph discusses the slums of New York. Across the Bowery in Orchard, Es­ sex, and Ludlow streets, he says, is the slum of the Polish Jew. That is the foulest region on Manhatten Island, or in America. One knows before going there that "Jewtown" and "the Pig Market" cannot be worse than common. No one can darken a full-blooded Guinea negro, or brighten a bird of paradise, or cor­ rupt a bad egg. It is strange what an education in the higher grades of slumming the peoples of Europe are giving us in New York. It was not so long ago that we went to Green­ wich street and Cherry street and the Sixth Ward to see the poor Irish, and thought we were getting glimpses of squalor. Then the Chinaman came and we looked Mott street over, and thought that foul and dirty--Mott street, which is now an anteroom of .Eden compared with what came after it Then the Italians came, begin­ ning in Crosby street, and gradually building up a great colony in Mul­ berry and other streets. Ah, then, we were certain tl|at we were seeing European squalor, the debris of one of t he etlete monarchies of Europe. There could not be anything worse, we thought Well, the refugee Jews have come and we know more than we did. The "Pig Market" in Ludlow street fur­ nishes their food. If the latter is as bad as it looks it is awful. It looks to be largely rotten refuse. They say down jhere--the neighbors do--that when eggs are too tar gone to sell anywhere else they are broken up. poured into tin cans, and sold in a liquid state in this market They say, also, that spoiled chickens are taken there, split lengthwise and sidewise with a cleaver, and sold at 5 cents a section, entrails and all. These are not pretty truths, but they need to be known. The meat, the fruit, the vegetables, all look blown and sneckled and bad, whatever they may really be. Only two articles of diet seem to be in good condition. Those are the geese and the loaves of bread. Nobody, not even a baker, would believe there was in all the world so much bread as is to be seen both in the Jew and in the Italian quarters. It Is stacked up on out-of- door shelves and counters, at* coal is heaped in other parts of town. And as for the geese, they are legion. They keeD coming into Jewtown In crates by the wagonload, they stand about in crates on the pavements, they squawK in the cellars, and they squirm in front of you as the men and women lug them into the dwell­ ings. Paugh! what a filthy place is this Polish Jew district. Here again the homes are so crowded that the people remind vou of a fallen brick wall whoie pieces spread all over the ground, and can only be kept within bounds when they are fitted together and piled on high. Such is the case in all these slums. Think of there being more than 300,000 people living on a square mile, as they do in the Tenth Ward! They can get into the houses qply when they lie down at night lu the daytime they squeeze one another out into streets. Then it appears that since the streets are full the houses must be empty; hut it is not so; both 2}re jammed. The pavements are wet with an oozing, slimy substance, and in the roadways you must pick your way or go up to your shoetop1) in oily, black, fetid filth. LIFE AT WINDSOR, I88& Males and Religion. The c rcuit rider in the West Vir­ ginia mountains one day overtook a mountaineer driving a pair of mules along the road and engaged him in conversation as was his wont. "You will excuse me said the good man, but 1 am the preacher on this circuit, and I want to know the j eo- pie who live here. I ttuppo-e this is your neighborhood?" "Yes, sir; I live down here on Greasy, just beyant the forks," was the prompt response, "I don't think i saw you at church last Sunday, did I?" "No, sir; but I usually aim to get thar. Had a spell uv sickness last ween an' was laid up." "I'm glad to hear you areacburch- goer and i hope you are a member." "Well, mister," and the native's face showed some regret. "I hain't got so ier along as that yit 'Bout the best I kin do is to go to meetin' and take chances on the 1 aiance." "But why don't you become a mem­ ber?" "Caxe my business is AGIN It" "What do you do?*' "I'm a teamster." "Why, that is MO reason why you shouldn't join the church." "But 1 drive mules, mister, an' atter ten years at it I'm here to say that mule drivin' an' the Christian religion won't gee ler shucks, an' thar ain't no use tryin' to make 'em. I'm j ust ez glad to see you, though, mister, an'--wjioa, tbar, whoa," be broke in on himself as his team went into a chuckhole, and before he got on to hard ground again the preacher was convinced that the native was more than half right--Detroit Free Press. whol* g^tor? «f her day. and regulates every deta 1 herself, she knoWi where everybody is lodtfsd in the castle, settles about the rMfng or driving, and enters every particular with minute attention. About Swimming* A writer named Bobinson, la the Nineteenth Century, brings forward a quite plausible explanation of the tact that while most of the animal creation appear to swim by intuition, man is almost alone in requiring pre­ vious training to enable him to keep his head above water. He says it is merely a matter of heredity, and due to our descent from races who' were cave and rock dwellers and rock and tree cimber& Thi* theory does not necessarily imply Darwinism, or go so far as to demand the belief that man i is but a highly revised edii ion ot some anthropoid ape. He suggests that almost all mammiferous animals, when conscious of danger, use in- stictively the means given them for flight and escape, which involve precisely the motions best calculated to keep them afloat in water. The hereditary instinct of the man, how­ ever, is unfortunately, he says, to climb out of the danger. Hence, un­ less he has a natatory education, he throws his arms at once above his head, thus increasing the weight up­ on the latter, which, of course, goes then under water. Thus the struggles of the untaught human being tend to his own destruc­ tion, as is well kuown to be the case. It may be added that admitting this view, we bar ourselves from any imputation of a. batrachian element in our ancestry. Had there fort­ unately been such, we ought to have found ourselves swimming instinc­ tively, when plunged into deep waters. Nevertheless, In any case, the frog has clearly been our precep­ tor, or rather our examplar in this useful art, for man swims greatly like a frog, and by no means 1 like a duck" or ' like a fish," as so often tritely phrased. Managing Large and Small Matters. Mr. Nocash--My neghbor, Mr. Slimpurse, has built his fence six inches over the line. Lawyer--A small matter, which can be amicably arranged. Agree with him to let the fence stand where it is until necessary to rebuild, and. then have it put where it belongs. Five dollars, please. Thanks. Good- day, sir. Mr. Golde-Bullion--Good morning! My neighbor, Mr. Flatpurse, has built his fence four inches over the line. Lawyer--He has, eh? We'll fix bim. Yes, sir. That's an unmiti­ gated outrage. I'll prepare the case at once. A Iiong Fast. David S. Parseley, a farmer living at Hernwood, second district of Bal­ timore County, has a beg which had a long fast. On October 28 last when Mr. Parseley's hog came up to the pen at night, one weighing about 250 pounds was missed. Mr. Parse- ley supposed that it had been stolen. On December 12, forty-six days after­ ward, he was cutting some timber in his woods, when be found the miss­ ing hog lying under a tree which had fallen down and caught it under one of the limbs. Mr. Parseley car­ ried it home in his arms, and it is now doing well. It is supposed the hog was caught under the tree Octo­ ber 28 and that it had nothing to eat from that time until December 12.-- Baltimore Sun. In Hard Lack. Pawnbroker--I can't give you nod- dings on dat goat, nor on der bante* loons, needer. Impecunious man--They are all right; I didn't steal them. 1 pledge you my word. "You can't bledge your vord here and get a cent I vants no peesness mit you." "But why?" "My frient I dells you, I see py your face you haf no redeeming gwal- ities."--Texas biftinvs. Rather Monotonous and Very Ceremonious Existence of the Qneen. The life which the Queen leads is this: She gets up soon after 8 o'clock, breakfasts in her own room and is employed the whole morning in trans­ acting business; she reads ail the dispatches and has every matter of interest and importance in every de­ partment laid before her, says Gre- ville's Journal. At 11 or 12 Mel­ bourne comes to ner and stays an hour, more or less, according to the business he may have to transact At 2 she ride * with a large suite (and she likes to have it^numerous.) Mel­ bourne always rides on her left hand and the equerry-in-waiting generally on her right: she rides for two hours along the road and the greater part of the time at full gallop. After rid- ng she amuses herself the rest of tho afternoon with music and singing, playing, romping with children, if there are any in the castle (and she is so fond of them that she generally contrives to have some there,) or in my other way she fancies. The hour of dinner is nominally 7:30 o'clock, soon after which time the guests assemble, but she seldom appears till near 8. Tho lord-in- waiting comes into the drawing room and instructs each gentleman which lady he is to take to dinner. When the guests are ali assembled the Queen comes in. preceded by the gentlemen of her household, and fol­ lowed by the Duchess of Kent and all her ladies; she speaks to each lady, bows to the men and goes immedi­ ately into the dining-room. She gen­ erally takes the arm of the man of the highest rank, but on this occa­ sion she went in with Mr. Stephen­ son, the American Minister (though he has no rank,) which was very wjsely done. Melbourne invariably sits on her left, no matter who may be there; she remains at table the usual t»m<v but does not suffer the men to sit too long after her, and we were sum­ moned to coffee in less than a quarter of an hour. In the drawing-room she never sits down till the men make their appearance. Coffee is served to them in the adjoining room, and then they go iuto the drawing-room, when she goes round and says a tew words to each of the most trivial nature, all, however, very civil and cordial in manner and expression. When this little cere- Was Afraid to Take Any Risk. The mother's heart was filled with Joy. She gazed upon her daughter with suffused eyes. "And it is settled at last," she asked with trembling voice, "that you are to be married?" A flush mantled the cheek of the young girL "Yes," she whispered. "And did my child," the parent persisted, "breathe more freely when it was all over?" A langorous glance was fixed on vacancy. A pair of warm lips parted. "No," came the reply. "I didn't want to run any risks of breaking the lacings, even if we were engaged." . It was plain that she was gifted with a wisdom far beyond her years. Good Lemonade. For a quart I take the juice of three lemons, using the rind of one of them. 1 am careful to peel the rind ' ery thin, getting just the yel­ low outside; this I cut into pieces and put with the juice and powdered sugar, of which I use two ounces to the quart in a jug or jar with a cover. When the water is just at the tea point 1 pour it over the lemon and sugar, cover at once, and let it get cold. Try this once and you will never make it any other way. A Sensitive Creature. "Are you fond of skating?" asked the girl who was trying to te enter­ taining. "No," replied the man who kicks a tout household exf enses. "You miss a great deal of fun." "Perhaps. But when I think of how much ice is going to cost next summer skating seems like sacrilege." The Proper Color for Snow* Irate Stage Manager--What% in thun .er do you mean by making the «now out of brown paper? Assistant--Dis scene's in Chicago, ain't it?" "Yes." "Well, dat's de color of de snow in dat man's town. I seen it meselt" •m and Women Are Victims to Tabseea ui IntoaUMMtta. I or many years there has been an innual distribution of blankets and other necessaries, says Chambers' Journal. Mission stations have also been established by Government and private funds in ditferent parts of the country, where as many of the blacks as are willing to conform to the mild rules laid dpwn for the conduct of the establishments are housed, fed, and taught Their want of constraint and their instinct for a free, roaming life, however, generally weigh more heavily than does even their liktng for regular rations and a lazy life. The majority prefer to become hangers-on about the townships and stations, eking out existence by beg­ ging and doing odd jobs. Every sta­ tion and township has its little band of black lellows and their "gins," who wander about in wonder ul as­ sortments of the cast-off clothing of tt e whites, begging from every one j and not always c early distinguish-! ing between • meum" and "tuum." j "Bacca" and sixpence are what they j most favor, but nothing at all comes j> wrong. „ The men and women are alike in­ ordinately fond of tobacco and In- toxicants. This fondness tor drink j has not a little to do with their down­ fall. It is a pitiable sight to see the 1 poor creatures loating about the I hotels, begging and preying for the j maddening poison whicit they know j too well is fast destroying them. 6nce having acquired the vice of the whites their ruin is swift A few, but not many, are employed as I cattlemen, shepherds, and general helps about the stations They are also drafted into the police lorce as mounted troopers and trackers, and . have done and are doing some splen­ did service in hunting down cilm-! inals who escape to the bush. Many | are fine runners and athletes, since abandoning the old wild lifej their prowess in these respects is waning. Mission work among the blacks cannot be said to have been success- fu'. Undoubtedly good work has been done by the devoted mission­ aries who have spent their lives in trying to raise and enlighten the native tribes. The low type of intel­ lect, the shiftless, aimless life, the wandering habits, the traditional in­ stincts of the aborigines and the too often evil example set them by the rough settlers have been hard to over­ come. General Nelson's Family. In 1830 the treasury of Virginia was some what improverished, and many loyal citizens aided the state to their own personal loss. General Thomas Nelson was one of these, and his fortune was thereby so much im­ paired that his younger children ex­ perienced many privations. The author of the "Memoirs of William Nelson Pendleton, D. D.," says that want of educat on, however, they were not permitted to endure. A tutor cousin taught them English and French. Susan, afterward Mra Francis Page, became very intimate with some of the refugees from St Domingo, who fled to Yorktown in 1701. Association with them gave her fluent use of French conversa­ tion. Italian she learned from a female friend, and her acquaintance with English literature was cultivated by her brother in her youth and hei husband later. She kept up her use of French so constantly that her children and the young servants around her became familiar enough with the sound tci obey an order given in French as readily as in Englis(i. She also fre­ quently read aloud in good English any Italian or French book which struck her fancy. Losso' wealth never lessened the social distinction of the Nelsons, and Mrs. 1 age used to relate with great sprightliness some of the shifts to which she and her younger sister had been put in order to dress in a mannei suitable to their society aud her own prestige as the belle of Yorktown. On one occasion a grand ball waa to be given at the "Raleigh Tavern," in Williamburg. Neither of the young ladies had a pair of dancing slippers, and the family purse was empty. Long and anxious consulta­ tion failed to suggest any means to supply the deficiency. AfTecti^n and contrivance at last proved excellent handmaidens to necessity. "Mammy Nurse,' the white housekeeper, had a sheep killed. The skin was tanned by "Uncle Cupid," the butler; dyed black by mammy, and made into the Coveted slippers by "Uncle Paul," ; the plantation shoemaker. Mrs. Commodore Decatur and ! Miss Dolly Payne--afterward the I wife of President Madison--were among Miss Susan Nelson's intimate friends. At a season of unusual festivity Mrs I ecatur complimented her on being always so well dressed-- her wardrobe at the time being limited to two white gowns. One fo these, freshly washed and ironed was put on every day and the toilet com­ plete by either a blue or a pink sash-- said sashes having been provided by "Jim Possum " the negro fisherman, who devoted two whole days to the catching and selling of nub for the purpose of buying his "voung mlstis" her ribbons. iSt" • 1, / * •'•H' me- from mony is over the Duchess of Kent's loTnon left if I wanted it mamuia? w h i s t t a b l e i s a r r a n g e d a n d t h e n t h e f r s o n a i • » -- • • * • • • -- " " * round table is marchaled, Melbourne invariably sitting on the left band of the ^ueen and remains there with­ out moving until the evening is at an end. At about 11:30 she goes to bed, or whenever the Duchess has played her usual number of rubbers and the band has performed all the pieces on its llst for the nig&H This la the " -lip. \ < - v con- of De scalds, I ' An Kamtern Potentate. Becently occurred the installation ot Mir Mahmoud as Khan of helat, Beloochistan, India, whom tto Brit sh appointed as sui-ccssor to Mir lvhoda- had, whom they deposed. The new ruler, who is a young man, premised firm allegiance to the British Govern­ ment and sent his thanks to his royal contemporay, the Queen-Empress of India. Kelat has a population of halt a mill,on, compo-ed of various trines and races Some of the peasants dwell in mud huts, but the greater tortion of the people live in camps of j black felt tents, aeep herds of camels, builalos, cows, sheep, or goats, and ' are of migratory pastoral habits. In j the British Afghan war of 1839 and " h*40 Kelat was occupied by British This company has been endorsiwoop8' - the National Farmer's Alliance. WHEN a woman has a picture taken, For information and Insurance 8he wants to show as much of her The Source of Them. " Watts--Do you suppose these teors we see sometimes come some other world? Potts--From the wavthey blaze I should say they must come from the next world. - v A Preference. Uttle Girl--Mamma, if I dl#d Wou.d I be kept on ice. Mamma--Perhaps. Little Girl--And could I iiavfe to our nearest Local Agent or CHAS. H. FERGUSON & TACOMA lUIUOIIIC. Chicago, ' arms and neck as possible, but a i wants to sbow\his new overcoat MANY people are dis ontc Ited lie- cause they never have a good time, lllll and imagine that others da Na< Good Agents wanted in ereiy tc ^ a 800(1 tiui0. Bwmm th* Xatmt Udl* UotM at Attempt* to Bpeafc Kngllnbu A rather severe lesson in manners and hospitality was given by Sie> Macchi, Commissioner General of the Midwinter Fair for Italy, to tiki twenty or thirty stenographers wllO assembled in an ottice of the Mills Building last evening to listen to tho views of Prof Buzzoni, a teacher lof shorthand in one of the leading in­ stitutions of Italy, says the San Fran* cisco Examiner. . OM ^ Tne object of the meetinj^ w^s to take steps toward an exhibit of the different systems of stenography in this country at the coming fair, t|gp ultimate aim being tne perfecting of the system embodying the best ele­ ments of the leading system^ DQW UL vogue. " Prof. Buz oni, who spealcs vt/y lit­ tle English, began reading an ad­ dress, but was from time to time in­ terrupted by the younger female por­ tion of his audience, who were un­ able to suppress a desire to laugh outright Sig. Macchi at last asked tho speaker to desist, and calling atten­ tion to the professor's Jack of pro­ ficiency in the English language, spoke of America's boasted hospital­ ity and generosity to strangers, and so shamed his listeners that quiet was restored. But bis treatment had been too much for the teacher of stenography, who had been growing paler with anger as he proceeded and who at the conclus ion of his compatirot's words swooned outright A doctor was hastily summoned and restoratives were administered, but it was fully an hour before the patient recovered sufficiently to bo conveyed to his hotel. Much to the regret and mortifica­ tion of the few who listened" atten­ tively to the professor's address, the meet ng was adjourned indefinitely. "The outrage that has been com­ mitted to-night," said Sig. Macchi, "and the lack of manner and breeding shown would be hard to find in all of Italy, and 1 am afraid that this pro­ posed movement inaugurated bv one of my country's most prominent teachers has received a death blow, as Prof. Buzzoni is of a high-strung, nervous disposition and must feel deeply the laughter aud that greeted his efferts." - The Mammoth Cave.- Kev. Dr. Talmage says of the great Mammoth Cave in Kentucky: "Years ago, with lanterns and torches I went down in Mammoth Cave. You may walk fourteen miles and see nu sunlight It is a stupen­ dous place: In some places the roof of the cave is 100 feet high. The grottoes are filled with wierd echoes, cascades falling from invisible hight to invisible depth. Stalagmites ris­ ing from the floor of the cave; stalac­ tites descending from the roof Of tho cave, join ng each other and making pillars of the Almighty's sculpturing. 'lhere are rosettes ol* amethysts in ha Is of gypsum. As the guide car­ ries his lantern ahead of you tho shadows have an appearance super­ natural and spectral. 'Sit here,' tho guide said, and then he takes bis lantern and goes down under the rocks, and it gets darker and darker, until the night is so thick that the hand an inch from the eye is unob- servable, and then by the kindling of one o the lanterns and placing it In a cleft oi rock, there is a reflection cast on the dome of the cave, and there are stars constellations--a brill­ iant night heavens--and you would involuntarily exclaim; 'Beautiful! Beautiful!' "Then he takes the lautern down into other depths of the cavern and wanders on until he comes up from behind the rocks gradua ly, and it seems like the dawn of the morning," a d it gets brighter and brighter. The guide is a skilled ventrilo jUist and he imitates the voices of the morning, and soon the gloom is all gone, and you stand congratulating yourself over the wonderful spec­ tacle." ljike a Barrel of Cranberries. "Ignorance of things ginerally prevents us from enjoyin' a dreadful lot of happiness in this life," said. Aaron Linscott to the minister one day. He was given to this form of discourse with the clergyman, doubt­ less on the same prin Ipal that led him to talk si kness with his doctor and crops With his neighbors. "You git a ter'ble blind vjew of life an'the way things is runnin* lit yOh don't edicate yourself up to knowin' a blessin' when you see it When I see folks throwin' their blessin's away, it allers makes me think of a barr'l of cranberries." A barrel of cranberries! If the visitor felt small interest before, he certainly lacked none now. He ex­ pressed his surprise. "Yis, a barr'l of cranb'ries," said Aaron. "When I was out in the West Injies there was a man tuk keer ot me when 1 was sick, an' be wouldn't take pay, hut said I could send him somethin' off the farm; so when I got home 1 shipped him a barr'l of cranb'ries by a vessel that was goin' out from our placei. "Well, after a time a letter kern back. He writ very perlite an* seemed grateful, but he said, most unfort'nate, that the fruit looked rutty, but he bed to throw it away, fur in comin* it hed turned soiur." And then Aaron added his moral: "^That's what I call missln' the sweet­ ness of things'cause you didn't know ,ho«r to get at it" ^ He Fitted the Description. * v A Kentucky office-seeker in WaiS- : ington who had an Idea that he was a distinguished and prominent citi­ zen, when he first came, had hung around and been disappointed until he was in the last stages. Then he thought ot home and how to get there and away he went after Col. . passenger agent of Railroad. ? I "I say, Colonel," be said persnir slveiy, "1 want to go home." ^ "Why don't vou go?" " "(Sot no money. Can't you girt me a pass?" - The Colonel stiffened his spina "We give passes to nobody," he |#» pl'ed firmly. ' > The face of the despairing disap- pointee showed a faint smile of hu­ mility. "Well, Colonel," he pleaded, - give v me one; I'nyiobody," and the Colonel lent him a special for a weelT T.-Ty/. 'is? * '•"it "S i" V > . tjV: • 'Mm nCiiV- V '•>

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