r
'4jVV ll.OO a Year, In Advance.
"FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY AND FOR TRUTH. '
Slope Copy 5 CfenU,
V
VOL. XVI,
PLYMOUTH, N..C. FRIDAY, JAB$5 2(5, 1906.
J;
7
NO44;
fa-
3
THE SEASONS
When comes spring?
When blithest the robins pmg,
'And the violet has her hour?
Not till the heart's in flower
3a it spring.
WThen comes June?
At the time of the thrush's tune.
Of all beauties below and above?
When reddens the rose of love.
Then comes June.
T
EE TELLTALE
By WILLIAM
S HOME years ago,
Jti journey in the S
while on a
journey 111 tue soutn, 1 put
up at a boarding house In
Chestnut street, Philadel
phia. As it was the time
of anniversaries, the house
"was full, and amnns the guests were
two or three iifdividuals who have
since risen to distinction.
It. wu$ early in the winter, ami the
weallier was quite cold. Accordingly
we 'formed a half circle before the
blazing Avood fire in the evening, and
passed the time' in such desultory con
versation as generally occurs where
peoj.-ie are but slightly acquainted with
each other all save two lawyers, who
retired to their rooms upstairs to im
prove the time- in study.
As the evenings were- long, conver
sation would have dropped but for a
young girl in her seventeenth year, the
niece of our host, who introduced
conundrums. Therefore, under her
.auspices, we spent an hour or two
every evening in guessing at enigmas
and solving puzzles.
Among the company was a Scotch
man, some thirty years of age, of a
saturnine complexion, .who had board
ed at Ihe house several weeks, but who
seldom joined in the conversation that
was going on around him. He gener
ally sat with his thumbs in the arm
holes of his vest, legs extended, head
down and staring from under his black
eyebrows into the fire, so that one
seldom saw anything of his eyes ex
cept two glittering sparks, which shone
between his half-closed, eyelids as if
they reflected the fire on the hearth.
If somesecm.to try to attract atten
tion by engrossing the conversation,
il this gpntleinan appeared to aim at the
same object by maintaining a somber
silence, as If in deep thought.
I. could not perceive, however, that
this maneuvre served his .purpose, if
such it was, until young Anna L
ventured, in her girlish innocence, to
startle him from his dreams by'.call
ing him by name, and giving him a
conundrum to solve. '
He scarcely looked up, shook bis head
and gruruDled out that he never
amused himself in that manner.
"But why? I hope you don't think
there's any harm in it!" returned the
young girl, respectfully.
'There might be no harm if there
was nothing better," answered the
Scotchman, shifting his legs, and star
. ing more intently into the fire than
ever.
It was evident that the gentleman
had found "something better;" he was
watching the forestick; and when it.
burned through and fell apart, he, of
all men in the house, would be the
first to take note of that interesting
event.
Anna L was a young lady of very
attractive appearance. It was some
thing more than ordinary beauty that
caused the eyes of intelligent people
te linger upon her countenance. Her
manner; her ' voice, and every motion
was fraught with occult meaning,
which may be explained in higher
states of being, but which is beyond
the reach of human intelligence. The
power of her presence could be felt,
and the only explanation at hand is
that she held us all in some magnetic
thrall which lies outside of philosoph
ical research. All. did I say? What,
the ascetic Scotchman, too? Yes, him
most of all. -
We were shocked at his rudeness;
and yet, the story soon got about that
McFarlane was pious. He was rigidly
so, and frowned upon all amusements,
however innocent they might be re
garded by the children of this world.
His incivility was excused on' the score
of his religion! One would have
thought that he might have spoken
gently, and refused the young lady
with a sniiie; but no; it was necessary
to be crusty, to- show that he was
offended by this attempt to drag him
from his safe moorings.
Therefore it was that he spoke rough
ly almost savagely, to the young girl,
and, resolutely folding his arms, stared
into the fire with concentrated vigor
.and unswerving determination.
Such was the view taken of the af
fair by nearly everyone present; there
fore they respected his religious prej
udices; but. being at the same time
.annoyed by his incivility, but little
notice was taken of him from that
time forward, until a strange whisper
went around a report that McFarlane
and the witching Anna L were
under a marriage engagement.
Autumn's when?
When grasses rasp in the fen,
And the face of the field is wan!
When joys are faded, gone,
Autumn's then.
Winter hoar, . . t
Comes he with the storm-wTnd's roar
And all lorn Nature's ruth?
'T is winter when love and youth
Are no more.
-John Vance Cheney, in the Century.
COLLAR BUTTON
COMSTOCK.
Now, if the silent gentleman was
under a marriage engagement to the
daughter of our hostess to the peerless
Anna L , the conclusion was jumped
at that there must be some rich ore be
neath the top soil of this unprepossess
ing individual. Also, his1 harsh replies
to Anna seemed to be explained he
(lid not care to see her 'showing off
Derore otner men. It was thought
that jealousy should excuse his blunt
n ess. jo doubt that Anna understood
him. A
This reasoning was not substantially
founded on facts. At this time' Anna
scarcely realized that she was Mc
Farlanes betrothed. It had been al
most wholly an affair between the
gentleman and Anna's parents. They
had discovered that McFarlane wa
a man of cultivated mind, and- religiou
to the verger of fanaticism; therefor
they gave full credence to his stories
of real estate in Scotland, unencum
bered lands and flawless title deeds
Yes, Mr. and Mrs. L. believed that
the stranger would be able to make
their daughter happy in spite of hi
haoitual gloom and somewhat savag
zeal for morality and religion. Of
course there would be no play books,
no comic annuals, no music or dancing
in his house. But what of that? Anna
was a good girl, and she would esteem
the substantial realities of- life abov
all trifles. So judged Anna's parents
who thought themselves capable of de
ciding what was best for her. And,. in
fact, Anna yielded to her parents, and
certainly she tried to love the egotis
tical Scotchman. He believed that sh
was enchanted with him, and all the
boarders now watched his lips closely
for the pearls that should drop from
them whenever they opened. But they
did not open nor his eyes either. He
continued, evening after evening, to
peer into the fire with half-shut eyes,
his whole stock in trade appearing to
be deep reflection "thoughts to big for
utterance."
Yet no one felt disposed to laugh
there was something singular about the
man. He was evidently unhappy, and
the presence of Anna appeared to add
to his melancholy. How anyone could
be miserable when about to become
the possessor of that bewitching young
creature was a mystery.
Some imagined they had fount! a clew
to McFarlane's. sadness in the fact
that an aged uncle of the young lady
who lived in the house, but who gen
erally remained in his room above
stairs, and who was reported wealthy,
had never yet deigned to speak to the
Scotchman, though he sometimes met
him in the hall or on thq stairs. On
this account it is supposed the old gen
tleman was not favorable to the ap
proaching union. If so, it might be
deemed an unfortunate circumstance,
as he had declared his intention of
making Anna his heir.
It was about three weeks after we
had made the discovery of Anna's be
trothal, that we were gathered around
the fire, as usual, on a cold, blustering
night, when a Mr. Edwards, who was
telling us about some of his experi
ences in Europe, suddenly clapped his
hand upon a bald spot on the top of
his head. Not much notice "was taken
of that, until he took .his hand from
his scalp, looked at it, suddenly ceased
speaking, and betrayed considerable
agitation. In a moment he put up his
hand again.' and became very pale.
"Are you ill, Mr. Edwards?" demand
ed Anna, in tones of sympathy that
thrilled and enchanted every listener.
"I, really, I can't say," answered
Mr. Edwards; "can I have burst a
blood vessel?"
Anna rose instantly and left the
room, but soon returned with a doctor.
who lived opposite.. The doctor exam
ined the head of the patient, and im
mediately looked up at the ceiling. As
he did so a drop of blood fell upon his
hand.
"Who is above there?" asked the doc
tor.
"My uncle occupies the room above,"
answered Anna, trembling as she
spoke.
The doctor shook his head. Anna
ran upstairs, saying, as she went, "I'll
0 and see if uncle is well."
In a moment we heard a loud scream
overhead, and the fall of a heavy body
on- the floor.
"She has fainted!" cried the doctor,
leaving the room wUh;hasty strides,
followed by all the company. "
On entering the uncle's chamber, we
j saw the old man lying upon his bed
with his throat cut from ear to ear,
while the beautiful Anna L lay
senseless on a rug by the side of Hbe
bed, her dress soaked in the blood of
her uncle, which, indeed, covered a
great part of the floor. It was this
blood that had leaked through the
ceiling and fallen, drop by drop, upon
the head of Mr. Edwards, who. little
suspecting the truth, Imagined that it
came from one of his own veins.
"Oh! who has done this?" burst from
every toifgue except that of the doctor,
who gave orders that every door in the
house should be locked and the win
dows watched.
"There must be a general search of
the house," cried he, "as the assassin
may not yet have escaped."
McFarlane now exhibited unusual
activity, and talked loud and fast, pro
posing first one thing and then another,
but ending with an expression of sym
pathy for Anna, whose inanimate form
he took in his arms, heedless of the
blood with which her dress was sat
urated. No trace nothing even to guess at
was discovered of the perpetrator of
this atrocious murder. The investiga
tion of the coroner was thorough, but
it amounted in the result to no more
than a multitude of answers to fruit
less questions that threw no light
whatever upon the subject of the mur
der, though they exposed to public
view the most private affairs of the
whole neighborhood.
The body of the old gentleman was
consigned to the grave; the will was
opened and read, and Anna found her
self the heiress to about a hundred
thousand dollars.
McFarlane delivered her a solemn
lecture; he hoped this fortune wrould
not make her proud or incline her heart
to earthly vanities. As he turned away
from his patient listener, his eyes met
those of a tall, stern man, in a long
brown ulster, who had entered the
room softly while he was speaking.
"Is your name Alexander McFar
lane?" demanded the stranger, fixing
his hard, stony gaze upon the counte
nance of the moralist.
""Well yes it is," was the answer.
"Then you must go with me," added
the stranger.
"Yoi're an officer?"
"I am."
"What is it? I don't owe a cent in
the world!' cried the Scotchman.
The officer hurried McFarlane away,
and put'him in a prison cell.
The maid, who was accustomed to
set the long table in the sitting, room
had more than once observed a collar
button of pectiliar appearance fasten
ins the collar of McFarlane. lt was
very small, and the head had teen
so much stained as to have become
entirely yellow. In cleaning out the
room of Anna's uncle, after the mur
der, she found that collar button on the
floor, near the head of the bed; and.
since the murder, she had never seen
it on the collar of McFarlane. She had
carried it to Mr. L , and given her
history of it. This led the latter to
watch the Scotchman by stealth, and
to apply to a Scotch firm in Philadel
phia, who happened to have heard of
the man. They said that he had the
reputation of being a very sober, well-
disposed man, and a strict Christian:
but that, to their knowledge, he owned
no property in Scotland or elsewhere
This and some other circumstances led
to McFarlane's arrest."
The prisoner's conduct was as singu
lar as ever. Finding that he was sus
pected of the murder, he, immediately
gave up all for lost. He confessed that
he was poor, and said that poverty
had been his constant trouble., He
knew "that Anna's parents were not
rich, and he was constantly harrowed
by the thought that she would suffer
from want after he married her. This
had wrought so powerfully ipon his
mind that, at length, he entered the
room of the wealthy uncle, and, finding
him asleep, he drew a knife across the
old man's throat. He added that he
would have been immediately discov
ered, as there was blood on his shirt
bosom and other parts of his dress,
had not Anna fallen into the pool of
blood. By clasping her form and carry
ing it downstairs, he besmeared his
dress, and thus was able to account
for the blood on his person.
Thus the man who was too scrupu
lous to guess a conundrum was led
by all-engrossing love and anxiety for
the well-being of her whom he pas
sionately adored, to imbrue his hands
in human blood.
lie was executed in due course. His
last words on the scaffold were: "Mis
ery Avas mine from infancy, and misery
followed nve still; but, in ruining, my
soul forever, I have brought fortune
and happiness to Anna. That is
enough. I am content." New York
Weekly.
Diversion at the Zoo.
The black squirrel, tired of inaction.
had gone into its hollow wheel and
was making it whirl at a great rate.'
"You seem to be fond of revolu
tions," commented the bear.
Yes," said the squirrel, "and if
you'll read the papers you will see
that you are about to figure in one
ourself." "
Wliirr-r-r-r! Chicago Tribune.
The first solid train of canned peas
ever shipped from an American' can
ning factory went out from a canning
company's plant at Longmont, Colo.,
recently, '
HOUSEHOLD
AFFAIRS
HAMBURG' CREAM.
Grate the rind and squeeze the juice
of one lemon into one and a half cups
of sugar; beat the yolks of five eggs,
put into a pan, add the sugar aud set
it in hot water, stirring all the time;
when the eggs begin to cook add the
five whites, vhich should be already
beaten ; then remove and let cool.
USEFULNESS OF CHEESECLOTH.
Cheesecloth dusters will remove al!
dust and give- a polish to wood floors,
windows or mirrors, if given the fol
lowing treatment: After washing,
sprinkle them with kerosene and let
them dry thoroughly. They will not
be greasy, but will do much more
effectual work than the ordinary dust
cloth.
REPAIRING THE WALL PAPER.
, Wall paper that has become bruised
or torn off in small patches and can
not be matched may be repaired with
ordinary children's paints. Mix the
colors till you get as nearly as possible
the desired shade, and lightly touch
up the broken places, and at the dis
tance of a foot or two the disfigure
ment will 'be quite unnoticed.
CLEANING WOODWORK.
Careless people sometimes disfigure
woodwork by scratching matches al
most anywhere, says the Brooklyn
Citizen. To remove these marks, ap
ply lemon juice, rubbing hard-r-and
then use soap and water. Finger
marks on polished surfaces may be
taken off by rubbing with a flannel
dipped in turpentine.
CLEANING THE GILDING.
Fly marks and general griminess
may bo removed from gilding by dip
ping a small piece of cotton in gin,
and with it rubbing gently over the
soiled parts. The cotton wool should
be squeezed before being applied to
the gilding, for this must not be made
really wet, and any damp on it should
be dried by the fire as soon as the
marks have been removed.
TIMELY HINTS.
This cauliflower salad is recom
mended: Select a nice looking cauli
flower, trim and wash it. Cook it in
salted water to which has been added
a small spoonful of butter. When
tender take it out, throw it into cold
water and divide it into flowerets.
Then take them from the water and
arrange them in a salad bowl, sprink
ling them well with chopped parsely.
and serve very cold with a castor of
salad ingredients.
"rfc. rL.V. 11 lo 1 ft
Maitro D'llotel Sauce A heaping
tablespoouful of Gripping, the same of
flour, half a pint of hot water or
stock, chopped parsley, a little curry
powdc-r and the juice of one lemon.
This is for all sorts of roasts and
baked fish.
Corn Fritters Stew one can of corn,
strain off the juice and press the ker
nels through a colander. To this meat
add one-half pint cf milk, one level
teaspoonful of salt and a saltspoonful
of pepper. Add the yolks of three
eggs and one pint of pastry flour sifted
with a rounding teaspoonful of baking
powder. Mix thoroughly and fold in
the beaten whites of the eggs. Drop
by teaspoonfuls into extremely hot fat
and when sufficiently drained serve
with maple sirup.
Orange Fritters reel two oranges
and slice in thin pieces. Dip in a
batter made from one cupful of flour,
a rounding teaspoonful of butter, a
tablespoouful of sugar, a pinch of salt,
the yolk of one egg and a half cupful
of milk. Fry in hot fat and serve
with powdered sugar or the following
sauce: Beat the yolks of two eggs
with half a cupful of sugar. Add
the grated rind and juice of half a
lemon, two teaspoonfuls of vanilla,
and cook over hot water. Stir vig
orously until iir thickens and cover
with the whites of the eggs beaten
kill. Serve at or.ee.
Fried Apples and Onions These
form a novel dish, but are delicious if
eaten with strips of fried bacon. Do
not peel the apples but slice them cross
wise, having the slices a half-inch
thick. Have the onions parboiled and
cold. With a sharp knife slice these
rather thinner than the apples. Cook
slices of bacon crisp in a pan, and re
move them to a hot platter. Fry the
onions and apples side by side in the
bacon fat, unless there is too little of
this, in which case add a little butter.
When brown, put the onions and ap
ples on a hot platter and arrange strips
of 'fried bacon about the edge of the
platter. Serve very hot, and as free
from grease as possible. To attain
this end it is well to lay each one of
the fried slices on tissue paper for a
minute after taking it from the pan.
1 VrJ 1
SOUTHERN FARM fOTES.
TOPICS OF INTEREST TO THE PLANTER, STOCKMAN ANO TRUCK CP.CWER.
Poultry Interesting: and Profitable.
The first question to be decided by
the would-be poultryman is, What do
I want to make a specialty ef eggs,
market poultry, or both? The major
ity of people want to raise fowls for
both eggs and market poultry, or egg3
and broilers or roosters. If we wish
to take up the business merely for the
profitable pleasure, then several of the
more so-called fancy breeds can be
selected, but when dollars and cents
count, then I would recommend only
one breed, or at most two. Thorough
bred poultry, or first crosses, should
alone be used for the laying stock.
By first crosses I mean the progeny
from two different breeds of thorough
breds. The pullets' from this; cross
may be selected for layers, but there
the crossing should stop, for it will
only result in disaster unless the per
son making the selection perfectly
understands his business and has some
definite object in 'view. The crossing
of two similar breeds such as the
Leghorn and Minorca will produco
nothing better than the parents. If
our object is eggs, and a fair sized
body is also desired, then we can
cross a Leghorn and riymouth Rock
or Langshan. This will give us a
good sized body, a good layer, though
not quite as good as the Leghorn pure,
and a rapid grower. If we desire a
fine broiler or rooster, then we should
mate an Indian Game cock on a
Wyandotte hen and will get just what
we want. Nothing will surpass this
cross for the purpose. The main gain
in crossing two breeds, is strong,
healthy offspring, but 0:1 the whole,
we do not recommend it, for eight
persons out of ten who commence
crossing will end by making ' scrubs
out of their fowls inside of three
years.
When thoroughbreds are raised
properly they are hardy, and as we
have over a hundred varieties to
choose from, it will be seen that we
can select and breed just what we
want in its pure state without resort
in? to crosses. Of course new blood
will have to be procured about every
second year, although by judiciously
selecting the largest, earliest hatched
and strongest cockerels from a large
flock, we can fix desireable points and
yet sustain our strain. This should
never be practiced by the beginner, as
it requires somewhat of practice and
experience. It must be remembered
that the best laying breeds are not
the best market breeds, and vice
versa; therefore we should select with
our object in view.
The most poular breeds now used
especially for laying are the several
varieties of Leghorns, Minorcas, and
Plymouth Rocks. Take things very
easy and commence with a few
a nd learn how to make they lay win
ter and summer first. The rest will
follow in its natural course. Start
with thoroughbreds; if you cannot af
ford to buy a dozen buy a pair or
trio. Commence right and buy the
best, then you will not have to in a
few years go back and start all over
again, as many have hadto do who
started .with inferior or indifferent
stock.
One hundred hens will make a far
mer as much clear money during the
winter as five good cows, and it will
not take half as much to keep them as
will be required for the cows. This
does not mean that any farmer with
the required number of any kind of
old hens as generally found on most
farms will be able to do so, but if he
has agood strain of pure-bred chick
ens and gives them as much care as
he does his cows he can make the
profit above mentioned. The better,
care he gives his flock the greater will
be the returns.
Of course, I know that every poultry
lover has his or her favorite breed.
Every breed lias its own peculiar mer
its and also its defects. In no-breed,
I suppose, is combined all the good
qualities alike. But if one keeps Ply
mouth Rock. he should make it a
point to s-ell off during the fall, at the
time when they are at a good price,
all the old hens, and this may usually
be dor.e in September or October, lt
very seldom pays to keep o'.d Ply
mouth Rock hens and I suppose the
same could be said of all the larger
breeds. Old riymouth Rock hens will
lay but few eggs and instead of turn
ing the food into eggs will almost in
variably turn in into fat. This quality
makes them one of the finest market
fowls, but jf you want to keep Ply
mouth Rocks and want to keep them
for eggs you must have young hens,
say from one to two years old. These,
if properly fed and sheltered, make
splendid winter layers. Still, I con
tend that the Leghorn is by far the
best all-the-ycar-round layer. A Leg
horn under favorable conditions will
lay well when she is four, five, and
sometimes six years old. Hence the
Leghorn is a much cheaper hen, and
ta the farmer, if he depends on eggs
for his profit, is by far the better of
-. sf.
the two breeds. Yet, if you are font!
of chickens to eat, keep some Ply
mouth. Rocks for your' table at leask;
There can be no better table fowl'
than tlie Plymouth Rock. If given a
showing it is, 'either young" or old.
always nice and fat and sweet and
juicy, and the Leghorn can never
compare with, it there. CharIotteOb
sdrter. 6 access In Forcing Balbt.
Probably next in importance t
roses and chrysanthemums are tha;
bulbs which are forced for winters
and spring flowering, millions of which
are now annually imported by flor-j
ists. The bulbs, which have beenft
forced in the house, are of little use'
afterward, and it is best to procurer
new ones each year. If early flower
are desired, most of the bulbs should
be planted in September, but for m
succession they can be potted at in-
tervals up to December. The. size of;
pots should depend upon the size ofl
bulbs, or the effect which Is desired':
It Is not unusual to see a single hya
cinth or narcissus bulb growing in a; ,
pot far too small for successful de
velopment. A single hyacinth should have a
five-inch pot, while a tulip only re
quires a four-inch. Narcissus bulbs
require about the same size pot as the
hyacinth. Freesias may be placed inr
shallow boxes, three inches deep, or;
in pots, two or three inches apart.'
Hyacinths, grown in glasses, .which
are made for this purpose, are a beau
tiful ornament and are grown iwith
little trouble. Fill the glasess . with;
water, so that the base of the bulbs
will just touch it, then set away inn
cellar, which is dark and cool or a
closet, until the roots have reached tho
bottom of the glass, when they may)'
be brought to the light. They shouloll
then be kept in the light, but -not ex-j .
posed to direct raysrof the sun, andf
the temperature should be 50; dr!"t0
degrees. The soil for growing ther
bulbs should be' a light porous one,1
but rich. A good soil is composed of
one-half decomposed turfy loam (orr
soil from an old pasture is good) and
the remainder of well rooted manure
and leaf mould well mixed together...
It is not always possible for the rotted
manure to be obtained by flower grow
ers in towns or cities, so in place of,
this a mixture may be obtained of
dealers in commercial fertilizers,!
which consists of four ounces each of)
nitrate of soda, sulphate of ammonia
and sulphate of potash and one pound!5
of finely powdered bone, using an eveai
teaspoonful to each six-inch pot This
must be well sifted with the soiL'
When potting, fill the pots to the rint',
with soil, press the bulbs into it until
they are covered, then press the soil
around the sides of the pot; a goocl
watering will further settle the soil.'
Place the pots immediately in a cool?
dark place, that a strong growth of
roots may be encouraged before the
top starts. If p6ssVbJeuplace in a cool
cellar and cover with five or "six inches
of sand, or in a trench dug in the opea
ground, ana the pots placed in it, cov-'
ering them with six or eight inches of
soil. Then a sufficient covering of
leaves or co'arse manure should bei
placed over this, to keep ont frost, so
they may be removed when desired.
In six or eight weeks they should have,'
made sufficient ; root growth' to allow;
them to be brought into the- iivinj
rooms and to the light, but not direct
sunlight. Water "freely as they begin
to grow, so that the soil to the bot-i
torn of the pot may be thoroughly
moistened. If care is taken to ob
serve the above directions, one Ia;
amply repaid .with .beautiful blossoms'
throughout the whole of the dark win
ter days. E. A'. Season.
Millet Seed.
Millet grows well in the South. Be
sides being good for hens it is excel
lent feed for young chicks. Better
grow a small patch aud try the experi
ments. The following is from Com
mercial Poultry:
"Miliet seed is relished by the hens,
and unless given too freely is one of
the best egg producers. A good way.
to feed it is to throw the unthreshed
straw in the shed and let the .hens
scratch for the seed but too much,
must not be given. Vliliet is almost as
fattening as corn, but since the seetl"
is so small there is less danger front
feeding it. If corn is given to. the?
hens before being shelled they will
work over it, getting a grain at a time,
and so far apart that the danger. or
overfeeding is much less. . Cowpeaa
are highly relished-by hens,'-but, iika
millet and corn, must be fed wh care.,
All kinds of sound grain are good for
hens and if we esereie eare In feed
ing we Trill get- i'M-i-l results from k
them." ' e
Rarely i?een o far north, ,a rcsa
fiamins-o and n Esypu-m flamingo
nvero recently shot on tic; sands noar
I