Newspapers / The Dispatch (Franklinton, N.C.) / Jan. 5, 1888, edition 1 / Page 1
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TELL BOTH SIDES, AND TAI^E THE CONSEQUENCES. YCXL. 1. FRANKLINTON, N. C., THTTRSDAY, JAN. 5.1888. NO. 25. IS PUBLISHED WEEKLY BY ED . W. MORRIS, EDITOR AVD PROPRIETOR. SUBSCEIPTIOK PRICE $1.00 PER YEAR II ADYAICE. • _ . IJ^All advertisements must be banded in by Tuesday evening or they will be left over until next issue. WILLIE’S DREAM OF CHRISTMAS. BY SUE L. JAMES. ’Twas Chrietmas-eve night; the fire burned low In the widow’s home of poverty and woe, No ray of sweet life from holidays sent, No rest for her forai now weary and bent. Around the fireside three little pnes L sat-^ . No carpet beneath them, not even a mat; j They shivered with cold and hungered for bread; The poor dear little ones had not been fed. “Mother,” said Wiljie, with tears in his eyes, “You said dear Jesus would hear in the skies, And answer our prayers; last night you said so,” And Willie’s sweet face expressed its deep woe. ^‘Yoti said that if Annie and Bobbie and me Would pray land tell Jesus what to send us all three, Tu heaven he’d hear us, land Santa Claus send With goodies to eat, where hunger had been. “But, mother, I’ve waited his coming ! all da;, And now it's so dark he can’t find the , way; • I’m hungry and eold, dear mother so cold; I wish yesterday my last matches T,d sold. “Then gifts for Bobbie and Annie I’d buy, And for my own self a good warm mince-pie; Ajnd for you I'd get some sweet cake and tea, , WouldtT’t that “'have been nice, dear mother, front me?” While he' was talking, dear Willie’s eyes closed; Through dreamland’s quaint scenes he went as he dozed; Hq saw a great church lit up, and a tree, And the motto above, “Jesus loves me.” He saw bright children, like angels in white, Moving around it with fairy steps light. Singing sweet songs about Jesus and ' love, Singing, thought Willie, like angels above, “Pear Jesus,” he murmured, “will you take me, Mother, apd Annie, and Bobbie to see Those beautiful dolls, and wagons and guns? * ! And please, dear Jesus, do give me two drums. • J ■ “For Bobbie and me who tired have grown; { For Annie, dear Jesus, all for her own, Givefthat pretty doll on left of the tree; And a shawl for my mother, please give me! “Dear Jesus,” he whispered in tones so low— And the large tear-drops began now to flow— “ihn hungry; O give me something, I pray; * Ifve had to eat not a morsel to-day.” Just then a Arm step was bpaad on the stair: The poor tired mother arose from her chair, Opened the door to learn who it might be, When, lo, a manly stranger she did see! Willie moaned softly, and the word “Jesus” fell Upon the quick ear—the stranger knew well. Glancing at three lettle forms on the floor, lie breathed a prayer for blessings on the four, ’Twas Willie’s uncle from over the sea, Who’d come his sister and children to see; He was godly and rich—loved to do good; His tears fell fast us over them he stood, Willie had spoken his dream out aloud; His mother heard with tender heart throb— Had echoed his prayer at the throne of grace; » Now’t was answered in her dear brother’s face. Willie lay sick when at his bright dream’s end Came the gifts he had prayed dear Jesus to send. He coulden’t arise from his pallet next ^7, . But patiently moaning lie quietly lay. . “Mother,” he said, at an interval rare, “For uly drum and toys I don’t think 1^11 cnr6* Give them to Annie and Bobbie for me, And tell them to have a nice Christmas ' tree. “Now, mother, good-by; I’m going to ' sleep, # j And if I ne’er wake up again, don t weep; There’ll be Christmas in heaven for ~ Willie, you see, Dear Jesus just tolc me he’d give me a tree,” [Frew the Visitor. “KEEP YOUR PROMISE.” Commodore Vandabilt, as most people know, did not take very kindly to removing from Staten Island to New York City, when his affairs be gan to prosper but was compelled to no so in order to, be near his busi ness. He bought a house just in the outskirts of the city where he thought he could be sure of comparative quiet. He tound a comfortable place close by a graveyard, with Dot many houses about him and settled down. The first night he spent in the new place was a terrible revelation to him. Instead of the absolutely quiet sur* roundings ot‘ his island home, he had an atmosphere vocal with the yells of what seemed a thousand oats.. The neighborhood must have been, he was convinced, a favorite resort for all the . cats .in the city* T':ey ren dezvoused in the graveyard, and flocked on his back fence, and perched on ids shed ropf and ckferwouled madly all night long. Ho slept scarcely five m mites at a time*. “The next night it was repeated, arid the lu xe. Instead f gening used to if the commodore was getting muiy a'nd more nervous and slept less and less. The wear and tear began to tell on him.; Vanderbilt had bis boots blacked every morning uy a lad who had sta tioned his box not far away, making an arrangement with the boy is or der to get the shine reasonably cheap. One morning he sat down in the boy’s chair with such a weary air and with so haggard a look oo his face that the boy asked sympathet ically— “Wot’s de matter, customer?” The commodore for want of a bet ter confident, opened his heart to the bootblack and told him the harrow ing tale of the cats. “Wot’11 yer give me, boss,” said the boy, “if I’ll clean out all de cats for you?” “What’ll 1 give you? Why, I’ll give you a dollar apiece for every cat you kill irwray yard,” said the com modore. “All right, customer,” said the bootblack, “I’ll be there to-night.” That night the commodore slept as he had not slept since he left S'aten Island. He woke in the morning with the deMgbtful sense of having slept only about fifteen min utes, and yet knowing that he had slept soundly all night. When be went out he found his bootblack sit ting on the front step. “How’d you sleep, boss?” asked the boy ‘“Splendidly, young man, splen didly.” “Hear anv cats?” “Not a cat. How much do I owe yon?” “Come round in the back yard an’ we’ll see,” said the boy. * They went around to the back yard. There were two rough-Ipoking youngsters sitting on the fence, and on trie ground was a pile of dead cats that made the commodore turn pale. “For heaven’s sake, how many cats have you there?” he gasped. “Well t’row ’em over in another pile, bo*s,” said the bootblack, “an’ you kin score ’em up.” The 1 oys began to toss the cats over deliberately, and the commodore Counted ot.il he had got up to fifty. Then fee called out— “Hold on! That’ll do. See here; I’ll give yon three fellows just five dollars apiece. That’s big pay for a nigut,s work.” “Can’t do it boss,” said the boot black, “I’ve made de arrangement wid dese gentlemen here, an’ de un understanding is a dollar apiece for de cats,” “Well, I won’t give you but five dollars each all around/’ said the commodore. He pulled out the money and shook it in tbeir facxss, bnfc the boys refused to take it. Finally they withdrew in silence, le&ving the eora modore, aroused and ill-natured, with his cats. They formed a resolve to get even with him,” and made theii plans accordingly. That night the commodore had not been asleep very long before he was roused by the most unearthly cater wauling that he had ever heard in his life. He woke with the impression that there was a stack of cats on the foot of his bed. Then lie fancied there were at least on the window sill of his room. But presently he became eware that they were some -omewhere in the yard near bis win dow He could stand it no longer, and seized a loaded pistol that was in a bureau drawer and blazed away, one, two, three shots, at what seemed to be the centre of the disturbance in j the yard, Then he heard a cry and | groan of angmsu from some human being, lie dressed partially and! went out into the yard, and found j tnere, writhing .u pui.., the pelice* | man on the beat, with a ball from | tjie commodore's revolver in his leg. | He aiso Sound a large gunny-bag in ! which was a wriggling, plunging mass of cats, iit of them Howling now with a fury redubled by the episode of tiie sbootiug. The policeman was able to explain that he had s&en what seemed to be a wild auirnai of extra ordinary proportions, which made a noise like a hundred cats, plunging around on the .commodore’s lawn, and had come over to investigate; and no sooner had he discovered j that the object was a big gunny-bag full of cats, and had prepared to re lease the animals, than the commo dore had opened fire on him from the window, with disastrous effect. The [oliceman sued Vanderbilt for damages, and tue commodore had to pay him a thousand dollars to settle— a fact which became quite generally known. As to the cats, he knew where thfey came from, but the pecu liar and uuhoisbed nature of the transaction with the boys prevented him from mentioning it. or from breaking his former contract with the bootblack, who continued to shine his bouts as of yore, ihe day after the commodore had settled with the policeman the boy looked up from his box and remarked; “Sleep well, last night, boss?” The commodore only grunted in response. •‘Any cats, now-a-days?” The commodore jumped up from the on air, “Se here!” he exclaimed; “how many cats did you kill that night?” “Kinety-three, boss,” The commodore pulled out his checkbook and hastily drew a check. “Here’s a check for $100,” said he, “and now don’t you ever say cats to me again in your life, nor talk about this thing to anybody else, or I’ll break every bone in your body.” “Agreed, boss,” said the boy as he pocketed the check. This story recalls another that is somewhat like it with a different flavor and local color, however, and quite as authentic. It 'happened down on the cape in a time now well j gone by, when benjamin C— was ' a prominent rnaa down there,! wealthy, and foremost in a good j many business enterprises. Old Mr. j C— was thrifty, like most of the i Cape people with a high regard for j the almighty dollar. He had a lively, ■ frevkie-faeeJ grand son,as angiie as a; squirrel, who was named for him,! benjamin C. D—, since a man of a ; good deal of prominence on his own accouut, and who lived With him. The old gentleman's barn, as a good many other oid places have done, be came terr.biy invested with rats. The' oid gentleman was so greatly an noyed that he offered tbe boy fifty cents apiece for all tbe rats he would catch and show to him, alive on the ■■ .• r -«> ■ : premises, a precaution to prevent sharp practice on the part of the youth. After two or three days lit> tie Benjamin came to old Benjamin to step out into the barn. He did sc and was conducted to a big disused molasses barrel that stood in the middle of the barn floor and asked to look into it. And there on the bot tom, was a writhing mass of rats, tftfee of four deep, struggling vainly t > get out of the barrel. ‘•My gorry P* exclaimed the old gentleman. “Where’d you, get all these rats?’’ “Caught ’em here in the barn, gran’sir.” “Hmw many be they?” “Eighty. That’s just $40, gran’ sir ” “Forty dollars! Whv, I ain’t goin’ to pay you all that money,” “Ain’t yon? didn’t you agree to, gran’sir?” . “Well, de's, but I hadn’t no idea when I did that you’d catch such a tarnation lot.” The boy looked up. There was a rope dangling down from the beam above, that was used to help in climbing up to the hayloft. Benny pulled himself up hand over hand on this rope until he hung suspended over the barrel. “Ain’t you goin’ to give me that $40 you agreed to, gran’sir?” said the boy. “Never!” said the oil man, look ing into the barrel with its squirm ing mass of rats. ‘•Well, then, here goes!” said the boy. With a li rely kick of his foot he upset the barrel in the direction of his grandfi ther. The multitude of rats pouted out around the old man’s feet. He leaped wildly up and down in terror, and sprang through the mass to a ladder that stood near. Then be ran up the ladder with an agility that he had not equalled for fifty years. And the rats resumed possession of the premises. Hoe fabuI® docent that venerable men of wealth had best keep their honest engagements with small boys, even if the small boys turn out to be much smarter than the venerable gentleman took them to ba, and greatly exceed expectations in their performances.—Boston Transcript. A “Lucky Piece.” T.wo ladies met on Woodward avenue. As they stopped to speak one of them dropped her poeke*book, and the money m it rolled out on the sidewalk. “Too bad,” said the other as she assisted her friend to restore tne con tents; ' it's such bad luck to drop money unless it belongs to some one else.” “I don’t mind,” answered the owner of the poenetbook, “because you see I carry a lucky piece.” This habit of carrying a piece o( money for luck has become some thing more than a superstition since it is a practice common among all classes. “I wouldn’t take a hundred dol lars for that sixpence,” said a staid business man recently. “I found it in my mother’s purse when she died, and 1 have always kept it as a sbuye. Dir.” He did not say that it brought him lack or that he had an/ Superstition connected with it, but he uncon sciously valued it as a chatm. There is a piece of bone that is taken fro.m a fish. called a sheep’s head which shows plamiy the im print of the letter “L.” Theatrical people value this very highly a9 a lucky piece. The Scotch have a fashion of band.ng b«ck a trifling bit of c iu when a payment is made. This is called a lucky penny, and is always carefully treasured. It is almost impossible to And a pocketbook that does not have some trifling charm In it to bring luck to its owner. It may be a coin, a stone, a chicken’s wish-bone, a child’s first tooth or a smooth sixpence, bat it ie expected to accomplish some or all of these missions: Keep otf disease; avert the evil eye; protect the per son carrying it from bodily barm; bring prosperity in business, love, courtship and marriage; thwart the evil designs of enemies; insure a safe journey and perform many other apparent miracles.—Detroit Free Press, “Start her up,. Jimmy.” As the averland express was snort ing through Alameda, California, on *ts way to New York, the engineer suddenly whistled down brakes, the conducton frantically shouted and jerked the signai line, and with many a jar and squeak the long line of cars was brought to a step. The cause of tbis “sudden fetch up” was a faf old lady with a red face and a green parasol, who had piaoted herself squarely in front of the engine, .and making the most frantic signals for it to pause, “What’s the matter? Anything on the track?” said the engineer, ex citedly. “Nothing but me,” said the old lady. “Has there been a smash u ? Is there a draw-bridge open?” “Don’t poke fun at me, young man; I want to see the proprietor,” “The what?” “Tne man who runs this thing— the captain—or whatever you call him.” “What do you want with the con ductor?” “None of your business. I want to see the head mao, the boss, and to onct.” “Well, ma’am,” said that func tionary. running up, watch in hand, “what’s up? What can I do for you?” “Yon go through to Chisago, don’t you?” “Why, of course. What of it?” “Know my son Bill—Bill Sktnd erson—there?” “No. For heaven’s sake get off the track, you old—” “Don’t sass me, you red-nosed gorilla, or I’ll inform on you. Deary me. I thought everybody knew my Bill—prominent man there-—runs the biggest fruit stand in town, and— bands off! you rascal. Don’t dare to touch me. I’ll move when I’m good and ready.” “Well, hurry up. What do you want?” “0, I thought yotfd change your tune. Well, I wish you’d stop over a day or two at Chicago and look up Bill, and tell him that little Maria Jane’s janders have kinder worked round into fits, and there’s more hopes. She’s sorter—” “Start her up, Jimmy!” yelled the furious conductor; and if the old lady hadn’t hustled up her skirts and jumped heiself, she would have had a first-class case of damages against the company. After that she stood apo pletic with rage, shaking her parasol at the disappearing traiu. and an nouncing her detertnination to go right ©ver and “see Governor Stand ard the very minute the dishes aie washed.—Elect Series* The United States heads the world in the matter of loeoibraotive engines, with a horse power of 7,500,000. Then came England, with 7,000,000f Germany with 4.500,000. France with 3,000.000 and Austria with 1,000,000. The horsepower of the steam engines of the world represents the work of 1. 000,000,000 men. or more than double tue manpower of the whole working population. This means that steam has trebbled man’s working powers. RATES OF ADVERTISING. 1 square 1 time,..;...,. ...$1.00 “ 1 month,.„ $.00 “ 3 months,. 4.00 , " 6 months,... 6,00 . “ 12 months,. 10.00 Contracts for larger spaees can be made at greatly reduced rates by applyiug to the Soliciting Agent. Local notices to regular advertisers one cent a .ord, To those not regular advertisers ten cents a line $®“Send for sample copies. FUN. Clipped from Rxcbengee. The fly is'generally acknowledged to be an aspirant for tbe crown. To make a long story short—send1 f * it to the editor of a newspaper. A Burlington boy, who got into tbe preserve closet Saturday, is very sick. He couldn't stand the jar. Nasby says that “nothing pulls & man down like whisy.” We have also been told that nothing “elevates” a man like whisky. “They tell me yon are an artist.” * “Only a painter.” “Ah, indeed I May I ask what is your specialty?*' Certainly, I paint the town red.” “We don’t care for the rain ” . said one'Baltimore girl to’an other as she raised an ^umbrella; we’re neither sugar nor salt.” ••No,” replied the other,” but we’re lasses.” “lour bill has been running along time,” insinuatingly remarked the butcher to Slopay the other morning. “That’s bad ” remarked Slopay, sym pathetically. “Why don’t you let it walk?” |- • / _ - < * , _ ^ ; t ! “Why dp you drink so much?” said a clergsman to a hopeless drunk* ard. “To drown my troubles,” “And do you succeed in drowning them?” ‘‘No, hang ’em S they can swim.’’ , “How ean I leave thee?” he war bled under his best girl’s wjndow. “Come, young man,” spoke up the policeman on that beat, who bad been attracted by tbe noise, k “tbe McGinty family’s gone ont of town, for two weeks.” y. “Wose dearfTell me—ah—did yon make a memowandom of the—ah— we mark I made to you when I was here befoab?” “No Cnarley, I don’t.” “That’s dweadful, ’cause, don’t yer know. I cawn’t weccollect myself whether I pwoposed to you orClawa.” A lady teacher o£ music in On tario county inser'ed her professional card in one of the county newspa pers. It was seen by an old loTer in Chicago, who at once banted her up, explained bis obsence of a quarter of a century and married her. It paya to advertise. • Little Brother (whose sister is playing cards with a gentleman)-~ “Mr. Smiller, does Minnie play cards well?” Mr. Smiller—“Yes, very well indeed.” Little Brother—“Tbeo you bad better look out. Mamma said that if she played her cards well, she wouldn’t catch you.” “How man£ birthdays do you think I have hadf ’ one person was heard to say to another in the horse car. “Oli, abant forty-seven.” hazarded person addresssed, “Only one birth day? The rest have been anniver saries,” was the explanation, and" the car suddenly stopped. “You seem to be enjoying your* self, Bobby,” remarked one of the guests at a dinner party. > ; “Yes,” asserted Bobby, with his month full, lam making the most of it, ’cause aftea ps an* ma give a big dinner i'ks this, it’s always cp&J; pickin’ for tl«? ^ext thirty days.” ^ “There is one thing I can’t under stand,” be began when bis wife inter* rupted him “Only one thing, mf dear?” she said in amazement, and he fired his- paper across the room and exchanged slippers for boots. Mrq. Crimsonbeak—“Vua so tired that I abouln like to retire andju^ sleep for the rest of my life,”*, Hr. Crimsonbeak—“VV eli, that's just what you will do foi sleep is just that thing,” ‘‘Just what thing?” “The rest of your life,” r * V .; ,
The Dispatch (Franklinton, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Jan. 5, 1888, edition 1
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