Newspapers / The Wilmington Messenger (Wilmington, … / June 27, 1897, edition 1 / Page 7
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WILMINGTON MESSENGER, SUNDAY, JUNE 27, 1897. 4 ' r O ' t o . THE WAY OF : The long express train sped over the rails as if it knew Its journey's end was near. The rain fell in torrents, and made -,n- i k.i- uiiij, ..usuuuuui., smiiwug uaes ui. me window panes: various persons, as they closed bags and bundles for the last time, ptoo dup in' the aisle-to receive the attentions of the porter, might be rumbling at the particular variety yffaces. of many- were travel-warn and j. ury, and the voices were fretful and iAtYirlo Inlncr Tint rf t Vila tstV j-il c? Philip Uartranft was oblivious. As he sat by his window, looking out upon the fly ing landscape, he might, from his expres sion, have been gazing into realms of the blessed. And, in fact, that was exactly what he was doing; for the brownness of earth Is changed to the colors of Paradise when seen through the medium of happy eyes. ' What a glorious world it was! How tender and fresh was -the young green grass of these eastern meadows when compared with the older growth of the western plains! What fair little towns these through which they rushed, with their air of civilization and prosperity and comfort! How joyous was even the rain as it fell upon the thirsting fields and splashed against the windows! He re- called, confusedly, a line he had once neiiiu ouug u.i viiuiun iu nit; ejiect ui some sort of blessing cominr down "like rain upon the mown grass." Kui me center ana soui oi an tne glory was the fact that he was so near home, and her; that every moment, every turn of the wheels, was bringing them nearer together, 'and that they were going to meet today; today was it possible, after .ose tnree long years ot separation, -il and waiting, of patience and reso- jkpuiiiiiB asiue ui luiiguigH: vji ima iat tnis moment, ne naa areamea a Ved times; of this moment more than any other; for, somehow, the later, ; ier moment of their meeting, when ;hould see her', face, hear her. voice, touch. -ah! take her in his arms again all this had seemed too wonderful, too full of joy that was akin to pain in its intensity, too sacred, almost, to be calm- ly thought df lefore it came. So to that part he had shut his eyes and had, in- stead, lived Uhrough again and again this last nait-naur or nis journey or eight thousand miles. "I shall sit there in the American train," he had used to dream, "Surround ed by persons who are making ordinary journeys, and who have ordinary meet ings in prospecti I shall look out at the -fields and houses and shall admire even the fences and the danger-signals at the cross-roads: and I shall be thinking 'Presently I shall see her; the waiting is 'V aver now; the hard life is lived out; T Japan and its toil ahd its aloneness are 'behind, forever.' " i Thus he had gone over jt, many a time; and now the one real time had come, and it was better even than fancy had painted it. ' What a good life it had been, after all! the toil and struggle of its earlier years, while, they had seemed unfair to him then,; had, in reality, been only what he had needed for the development -and growth of what men call character, and had formed a fitting background for the beauty and brightness "which Eleanor's subsequent coming had brought to him. Even this parting, now that it was over, f he could understand had not been without its value; for the correspondence which it had necessitated had broujght. them into closer touch and more perfect sympathy, and had given them a-rear knowledge of each other's thoughts and ideas and opin ions which their brief acquaintance, and the short, happy months of their court ship had precluded. He knew and rejoiced that in these three years his had been the harder lot of the two; it had seemed to him the one concession Fate had made the fact that she was the one who could remain in her pleasant home, surrounded by those who loved and admired her; and that for him instead of far her was decreed the lonely life across the sea among an alien peo ple: where the long days, full of incessant and exciting labor, and the solitary eve nings spent in making plans and reports, had had for their sole brightness the mo ments when he was free to see. pictures in the fire and dream drearns of a future full of the joy af work withnd for her. On flew the train. What a, wonderful thing it was that she had walked into ; his life as he had done, to glorify it by her sweetness and her love! This was always to him the most inexplicabe of miracles; not at all because she was rich and he was poor that fact had always been a matter too extraneous and second ary to appeal in any way to either of them; but simply because she was what she was a beautiful, true, womanly woman; to him, the one woman in all the worldr - , And to think hdw near he had come' to doubting her! It would never cease to be a source of self-reproach to him that he had allowed even that transient shade of questioning of her loyalty to mar the per- at that time when he had received no let- ters from her for seven long weeks no fectness ot his benei in ner. n, iiau ucch letters, when her letters were the bright spots of his existence. He wondered if any one in America "at home" could ouite. understand what such a silence lr.tant to one so wholly a stranger in a he had been. Even now. in 1 his happiness, his brow contracted Thor. he thniis-ht of how the glad ex- hlch he had uone for his mail that November1 noon-time had nhanmrt- to bitter disappointment ...i , f tWp first time in two vears and far him. ung i 4 Then had come the slow, dragging, color- gladness and love for all th0rld. jl re less davs until the next incoming mail, member how, one dark, stoiv moaning, when he assured himself he should have when an excursion to w'hie.hj bad looked two letters" instead of one; and then, the forward had to be given Uniy mother l ist intolerably long hours of waiting, said to me: 'I hope this Sdiiypeintment followed only by a second disappointment will not make you blue, En0r,' and I a letter from Ifaworth some messages smiled and said: 'Oh, no!,j to myself from his chiefs in New xprK, a numuei lars- nothing: from her a f to.- he had trone through this expe oinna rnna rr twice more, and the sicken ing anxiety and apprenension ai u uiu hioH, were unfitting: him for his work. handoned every other pos sible conjecture, he remembered how, one ed into his ' mind-the suspicion of her and her faithfulness to him; and then how, sitting alone in tne uu.u, .hih was the onlv home he .had L" " V fV,ffht it -nut with himself once i "t. . L, oho hurt conauered his love for her, but just her own sweet strong personality: for", recalling iiiau, i. , ; 6. r ., . cd his own unworthi nf ss in doubting her, and to recognize counteracted the chill that ti there must be some, adequate and each time I read a new lette IMll llltie .muj. v. : i, hoi i .,,,V "This i hut hicj -iTTTZt noo fnr her SlieilCt; wtiil 11 . uuiu " ii i vo future, aiiu iic expidliicu -r'.. c 0qtq thankful: nnno more a inrlll- OI Hie i3tv. ness and exaltation wnicn imu tu. him th nis:ht in the absoluteness of Conviction that whatever else might brinerine him misfortune or suwuw, .. ahiV of' failing: or disapp6inting him; auie OI laillUS Uli"f'' , that he mieht believe m ner uuui, tnat ne migiit iMriicY "The next day her letter ten as though there had ben no break.. etnr tn thi weeks of her silence. v, bnnwinpr her dislike of cenes and explanations, had scarcely been but . . K . iV- f tnew that . she felt rrmutuarltrusr and" understanding whlLhe did not ask her her reasons, but wa for her to choose her own good UmTlcnowlml well that that time would CFhee explanation of this whoje matter with whiSh he had been oblige to con tent himself, was that she had been ill and'hadnot'wished to alarm and trouble hiby thenews; and that was too sinceic in o...- -hA the same deception on him which he. sensitive, had made -use of during THE WORLD. rible illness of his when- he came insfnp- hor find the future forever, but one clear idea: that she mU know unless it were necessary , consequently, when the mails we thw had carried his letters short T",,? ' , Holr,c rush' and COfl i tions--but written at the cost on time, and effort antl painful, per u than Yiart vn rpnuired by anj transactions in all his life in Jap pleased him now to think now, ov with the wastingweaKnt ease,, even after hehad-ceased to live on his own account, he had himsoif nvcr nrl nvpr aerain, that co v.o must trv to tret well; tr when the langour and the heavines sn irroat that nnv eliori toeciiic measurably harder than death v6r co Vo tho Mfnrt had' been mada perhaps, because it was for ner sin been successful. He did not regret this slight cov deception: she had never known anj rf5trsort Rut he was mconsi tria that it was not in her clear, treat him like when illnpss came, in turn, to ner. tv,q ir.no- train was moving more now; it had reached the desolati kempt outskirts of the city. nei man was almost orry that he m soon part company witn me rViirthtyi nt the car wheels, wnlq kept time to his happy thoughts way across the continent. What a strange thing that he Ji the thought it a sad world, human e3d a mistake! Pain ana sorrow, any I infr thorp wptp indeed, and must thy were only the shadows that a nrpnt whpre there is a shining d these, he stood ready to take hisj re. feeling that whatever came, me ready dealt with him most gen and that no future could ever depr ,ndal- alim of tne joy that was his toaay. nf the inv that was his today.No, ne ew more serious at the thought, n death not even her death, cou! away 'the remembrance of what tl been to each other. "Even if th! the'eVid I thank God for the past her" he thought, with the reverei somehow was never iar aistam w t was in his mind. The train was in; the long, iournev was over. He could ha alize that he was actually here, ; within sis-ht of his eoal. With a smothered feeling quite foreign to ture of the usually cool, self-relia ! he s-nthered un his few belong! i was the first passenger to step i platform. - I j He must go directly to his h j his was a life that knew no near than this and make himself pre then, as early in the afternoord proprieties allowed, he would go-J to her. , ' II. He, stood alone in the large and ful roorri he had known so wel and listened to her step as s slowiv down the istairsj Therej tumult of emotions in his breal striviner for the mastery, i The t ent moment of meeting, of whic Iiil hi not evert dared dream; was at t Then she entered the roam anc wards him; and he knew, withe la'ting the knowledge, that J i was over and that a strange? x pected thing was going to happ "Philip," she said, as sne gav hand in greeting, and then inv drew back a step. "1 must .te once: I cannot let this go on. oh. I hoped that you did not e Ire; tear I have made a terrible mUlakd That I did not care?" he rerfeat the light suddenly gone out of I his "care for whom; vvnat ao . y Eleanor?" For me" she answered, la a w oice scarcely audible. He out up his nana to -SYrevway a dark cloud that obscured ej en thing before .his eyes, and tried to fixoy p4 upon ner lace, wnicn seeraeu het stationary thing in all the roon "That I did not care tor m,e Jerjd said, slowly, as if trying to u the words. 'Sit down," she entreated, in toni- finitely sweet and tender.- " aseit est.ut down. Philip, and I will explai He paid no attention to ner re steadied himself with his nana Iponhfe r'areior back of a chair. 'Whv did you hope I did no vou? ne asKea. 'Because because on, Jnin Lree years are so long, and I have she answered, brokenly. nngtil" Sometimes it. requires time f adjust- ments to new ideas. But tM poment after the erreat calamities of ou ves be known n facts ip Har ' tfards fe; the fall us. it is to us as if we rJ them always; as if they had from the beginning of time. F tranft was not conscious that he had iust heard changed hii only thing that seemed -ii.Ti. jU and strange to him was his own Jht-heurted mood of half an hour DetoreHe waited for what she would sav nexf i "I have wished to write t-ou Jbaut this," she went on; "for Wks I lhave I known it, and have triedjagain and again, to tell you; but it ;ik been too hard. I have torn up letterif ter letter in which I have attemptedo let you know, but failed to say it aS wished to say it ta you. Then l thaiitt I would simply stop writing, and yd would , un derstand, ana tor weeks l mt no wpra; j but your letters came toge just ft I same; and then I told mjelf that toge lust I the must wait until I saw youfivd tell 'you face to face; for you wereffming soon. But, oh, r did not know it?&s so much to you! '-'5 "Has it, then, never been0. much to you,-Eleanor?" it . "Yes, at nrst. un, ninp, brings tne tears to my eyes ta think jNlthose days three years ago. those Deitifui aays just before you went awaylo heavenly hrierht.-s And during: that iflt vear oi I vour absence, what a hapK.p-irl 1 was I b I I used to walk on air. kndlwas fyll of ui i aaaeu, in ju uus &n.;piieisin -i uu: x. w with my pleasant though ts! Those days were the happiest of my fe. 1 think were tne nappiesi oi myifft such happiness will never ci,e again." "But tnat reeling passea ay, can you tell me why, dear?" : T f I For her face had kindled a aS she had spoken last, and she had 3et ?o lkf the Eleanor who had belonged 1 him. p that his words came unbidden, i j "Not altogether. I have tfi andwried ta understand it, for myself nntl tell you. Some of the trouble--0 not pow how mucn originaiea in m. not I ment in the tone of your lej that something was lacking i oeginiims. ruling me nisi, - I PVer. my remembrance of o . i uiuiife'". uut. -4-n icn wriiiiiK. ouici iuvcs in, I vrair imae"e hename lesJ iai i j - - "-"""' -i ramu, aim " , 7 ul his to seem more real than my r be you as I had known you; t - j oui mwoa,,- lvl ii j and Ually widened, that Is not then I ,rn nnilorctAr,,! T hrwl v.v... . ju . ,hlft not Von hut that g:inning." Hartranft jyxssed his hai eyes again bjpri-e he spoke. "Do you K.n v why I wr did?" he asked. "It wa thought you would wish it wavs said, over and over ag could not bear the express ment; once or twice when ing aloud together you objec emotional passages and mad words of endearment and .tions of lovers. You said needed , no spoken assertlo! love of which thouehtful mei were capable, the highest U world, was not to be talkf ip(, less ms was to live enthroned in those whom it blessed. Art was with yau I seldom spq Vs- lt thevf.ry Vself P me Vh. I I might nave spoken, and you." 1 wrote wth guarded care to please V1 ut wnen yo". were with me you toia me what I wished to know in other ways, she said, quickly, like one who naa been over the ground many times; and there was no necessity 'for wards, nut when we were apart, I needed the 0dsyes, and longed for them, Philip, tnough i had always spoken as you say I v. Terhaps 1 did not know myself, wnen I made those speeches to you about loves superiority ta words; but I think treal fact was that in-reading and 'iimg thr. nitnr4esTo"f" others I never jpiiea my comments to my own case.. Our story, our love, yours a ud" mine, were entirely different from those we read about. Jt was foolish for lovers1 in boofcr. to utter the things that were put Into their mouths: but for vou to sav or tn write them to me that was quite another uiing. xou aon t Know, you never guess ed, haw I treasured up each little word you ever said to me, and how dunng that first year of your absence, I used to le peat them over and over again to myself and wonder if you meant them still. Then when, occasionally, something in the quiet letters would deeply touch me, I would torture myself with the question whether I were reading into it a meaning yu never thought of nor intended. 1 think I know all those first letters hv heart, Philip those letters I lived for the 5. 5 or receiving, and then sometimes over because they seeibed so cold." Perhaps it would be bettef," said Hart ranft, sadly, "for each one t live out his own nature, simply and sincerely, and not try to form himself on the supposed ideal of another. I have written almost as many letters which you halve never re ceived as those which came to you in due COUrSe thrOUSrh he mail . Sometimes when the day has been harder than usual' tt"u l" longing tor your help and your sympathy has amounted almost to a necessity, I have sat at my table far into ie mgnt, writing all that was in my heart for VOU: imapinintr fnr tho mnmant that you would some time read the words I was setting down, and would read them not jestingly, as youdid the lave stories, but tenderly, and with ilnswprinf sum. pathy. But those pages I never sent; it was my concession to what I supposed was your desire: at the time it nost me much, and you say it has been1 the means of my losing the only thine: in life I have ever cared for your lave. Are you sure, I think that when love is once dea'd. it never comes back to life ae-ain " she an swered e-entlv. Perh ans the fhance WOUld have come anvwav " she nrirlert understanding how his self-accusation WOUld but increase the nain she was giving. "I cannot say. Three vears are a long time, and I h ave harl so mantr things ta take my attention and thought. After that first year I gred gradually to TO nun at tne tone of the letters I received from vou. and aft er a while a little defiant. A great many people were iviuu io me ana seemed to admire me, and I used to think to mvself: 'There are some who care for me, at any rate." And men, as tne time wore on, I looked for ward to mail times less and less eagerly, and read the letters over once instead of many times. And finally it is so hard to say it, but I must tell you all I realized that I cared just as much for a ride or a concert, an opera or a lecture, a house "party af an evening with my working 6' ciuu, as i uia ior any letter or any thought of Japan; that I was interested in the conversation and pleased with the attention of different men whom I often saw oh, Philip, don't look so! I am hat worth any one s feeling; like that and that that my engagement rine meant nothing to me any more. It was all so gradual that I did not realize it for- a long time after I suppose it really came about. Then, as I say, I tried to tell you, .b or l knew 1 had been untrue and un worthy of the faith which, at least. I knew you had always put in me; for the rest, I was sure you had changed, and that you did not care very deeply." I have cared sa much, he said, heavi ly, "my thought of you has been so much a part of my existence, that I can scarce ly understand how it is possible for one to change. But my life has been very lonely; this has been its one happiness. You, on the other hand, have been sur rounded by everything to make you for get. And, after all, what has happened -bAS been but the way of the world." She took a step towards him and clasped her hands closely before her. "If I could only make. you understand, she said, in a low, tremulous voice, "how sorry I am, how this breaks my heart far more than did the selfish sorrow and self pity of that time when I was so sad! I-do not ask you to torgive me; x don't care what- you think of me; 1 should be glad to have you think in any way that would make your trouble easier to bear. It seems to me it is always a selfish thing to ask forgiveness for one's self. But I do want you to believe that be cause I, more than any one else, know haw you stand head and shoulders above all other men, I can realize to the full the sorrow of it all; and that I hate myself for the suffering I have been the means of bringing to you." Thev stood there, face to tace, in suence, for a moment, these two; generous and noble natures both; created for each other; capable of being, each to the other. courage and strength and inspiration in whatever of trouble and hardship life held in store; dimly realizing all this, yet, helpless in the presence of tacts more im mutable than Fate itself. For all things else are subject ta the human will, but not the human heart. T have nothing: to forgive," said uart ranft, taking her hand, quietly, while he spoke. "You were not to blame; I under stand. I thought, today, that death itself could not rob me of that part of my hap piness which is deepest, and I was right; tor even mis nour win leave mc wiiii uiic priceless possession the belief in a true, sweet woman. Uood-by, dearest, ana ne raised her hands to his lips. When the front door had closed behind him and he stood for an instant at the top of the flight of brown-stone steps, he noticed that the rain naa stoppeu, auu that the late afternoon sun was shining. In the morning he had been surprised to find the rain so joyous ; now he wonder ed that sunshine could be so sad. LOUIS COROLYN POMJJ. Standing by Secession The convention which passed the ordi nance of secession met in Columbia, and from here went to Charleston. It is the Jn- fcention of Wade Hampton Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, to com memorate this event by a mural tablet J and with this view tne ionowing puuuc address has been issued. "We the undersigned, as a committee from ' the Wade Hampton Chapter, Daughters of the Confederacy, are en deavoring to raisS funds for the purpose of erecting a mural tablet commemorative of the ordinance of secession and its signers. Knowing such an object will en list the interest of many throughout our state, we will be very glad if you will kindly give space in your columns, so that the renresentatives and friends ot T;hose honored men may be apprised of our undertaking, ana anowea me oppuriuimy and privilege of contributing to the same. Many of us are lineal descendants of those whose names are enrolled on that parchment and should see to it that they are not forgotten, but their names be handed down to generations yet to come in attestation that we never will be ashamed of the 'origin, progress, and even foii,.r0 of mir lost cause.' "-Columbia correspondence Charleston News and Cou rier. The Wagon That Ttrings the Ice. Welcome the wagon that brings the Ice! The hot air it divides. And the children throng the streets along And gaze at its dripping sides. "Slice slice!" Goes the crystal ice, . 'Tis the music sweet to all; And the children throng The streets along And gather the crumbs that falJL It cleaves its way through the dusty day That wagon or rude device: And the sick man turns to the light and yearns For the gleam of the welcome ice! "Slice slice!" Goes the crystal ice, "Tis the music sweet to all; And the children throng The streets along And gather the crumbs that fall. Atlanta Constitution. "BOCK OF AGES" Interesting 8ketch of the Author of the Popol&rHymn (Prom London Sunday Magazine.) : The recent proposal to celebrate the association of Augustus Montague Top lady with Trinity college, Dublin, has placed the author of "Rock of Ages" once more on the borders of the living land.' In truth, there is some need to have the name of Toplady recalled to us, for, although everybody knows his famous hymn.the man himself is all but forgotten. Yet Toplady was a notable character in the theological circles of his time. Toplady was the son of a ma jor in the army, and was born in 1740, at Farnham, in Surrey. His father was killed at the siege of Carthagena, be fore the boy was a year old, and the fu ture preacher was thus left solely to the care of his widowed mother a sister, by the way, of Bev. Mr. Bate, the rec tor of St . Paul's, Deptford. Like Charles Wesley.he was a pupil at West minster school, from which he passed in due time to Trinity college, Dublin, his mother having removed to Ireland. According to Topladys own account, his conversion was brought about when he was only sixteen by hearing a work ingman preacher named Morris, in a barn -at a place called Codymain. Having graduated B. A. in Dublin, Toplady was ordained in June,M762. He declares that he subscribed to the arti cles and liturgy five separate times from principle; that is to say, he did not believe them because he subscribed them, but suseribed them because he be lieved them. His first charge was at Blagdon, in Somersetshire, but he did not remain long- here, and in 1768 he settled don to his life work at Broad Hembury, a sequestered village in De vonshire, situated among the beautiful hills near the Black Down Range. 'He did not occupy quite the position of Goldsmith's village parson, wrho was passing rich with 40 a year, but the produce of the living certainly did not amount to more than 80. Still, he was evidently happy, and.on the whole, he exercised a successful ministry among the people to whom he had been called. An interesting description of his per son . and preaching at this time has been handed ' down by one who knew him well, He is spoken of as having "an etheral countenance, and light, immortal frame. His voice was music. His vivacity would have caught the listener's eye, and his soul-filled looks and movements would have interpreted his language had there not been such commanding solemnity "in his tones as made apathy impossible, and such sim plicity in his words that, to hear was to understand. From easy explanation he advanced to rapid and conclusive argu ments, and warmed into importunate exhortations, till conscience began to burn and feelings to take fire from his own enkindled spirit, and himself and hearers were bathed in sympathetic tears." But Toplady's labors in De vonshire were sadly interrupted by the state of his health. - The seeds of consumption were al ready in his breast; and. his doctors advising him to that course, he made a change to London in 1775, still retain ing his living at Broad Hembury. Temperance in South Carolina : (New York Tribune. The dispensary law of South Caroli na, though not entirely satisfactory to prohibitionists, is gaining ground with temperance people, and there is no lon ger any considerable public sentiment against it. The temperance, cause is promoted to ag reat degree, for by abolishing the saloon the social feature of drinking has been eliminated, and men no longer congregate in barrooms to indulge in spirituous refreshments. The attorney general of South Caroli na says of the dispensary law: "There has been a decrease of at least 50 per cent, in the number of arrests made for drunkenness and disorderly con duct. It is fair to assume, therefore, that the substitution of the state for the saloon in the sale of intoxicants ties promoted the cause of temperance. The last legislature passed a law authoriz ing any citizen to import liquor 3 for private use only, which is in line with the decision of the courts. It was one of the boldest innovations in the way of reform legislation ever attempted, and has fully met the expectations of its advocates. There is hardly a doubt that the system will stand, for it has survived the fiercest assaults of its enemies. It is costly, but the revenue derived somewhat more than pays th expenses. Of course, there is still li quor sold illegally, for there never was a prohibitory law that was not evaded in some degree. But violations of the statute are not frequent, as men take the risk of fine and imprisonment. Sev eral white men are now in the . chain gang for running 'blind tigers. Ac cording to Miss Kate Field, no state, ever evaded the prohibitory law so nearly as Kansas.. Desiring to purchase, a whiskbroom when on a lecture tour out there, Miss Field went into a drug gist's, where they were displayed in the. window, j Will you have one with or1 without?' asked the man behind .the counter. 'L do not understand your meaning,' she replied. Holding up two whiskbrooms, apparently exactly alike, he parted the wisps of one, disclosing a small flask, and with a little whirl of his thumb and finger the top of the broom .came off, like the cork out pf a bottle. Miss- Field bought the two whiskbrooms, one for ordinary use, the other to exhibit to audiences as an ar gument in her lecture. 'Does Prohibi tion Prohibit?' " I) a Maurier's Trick When Mrs Frances Hodgson Bur nett was first presented to Du Maurier, who was, in point of fact, an under sized man, she exclaimed, says the American Queen: "Oh, I am so glad that you are not six feet tall." "But why?" asked Du Maurier. 'Because for these many months," replied Mrs. Burnett, who is consider ably below medium height, "you have simply denied us the right to live; you have made us feel that a woman who is not six feet tall has not the right to exist." 1 , "Oh, that is only a trick if mine." laughed Du Maurier. "I have started again and again to make my rieroine a little woman, but before I knew it she has somehow grown beyond my won recognition." . The President' History (New York Times.) It is a little curious that President McKinley, in searching for "heroes of distinguished deeds" to use as illustra tions of the greatness to which sons of Tehnesee have risen, should fix upon Jackon, Polk, and Johnson, every one of whom was born in North Carolina. Possibly other grounds for surprise might be found in the little list, if a person looked long enough. : A Telltale Blotter He was a very shy young man, says the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In addition to tnis, he was. a very nice man and igood looking, arid with an excellent business. For some time he had 'been paying attention to a charming young woman of the south side. He called with reasonable regularity, and once In awhile took her to the theatre and ibought her flowers. But there wasn't that spontaneous fervor about his at tention which Minnie Minnie will do or any other girl likes when she also likes the man. He. didn't say much, either, but would just sit' around and look things at her that 'he.tiadn't the courage to utter, ami being a decid edly nice girl herself, Minnie couldn't help hhn along. Well, he was still tacking1 about in the offing, when one 'evening something was said about a parade which wasto take place on the down-town streets the next -day. With a spasm of inspica tion, he suggested that Minnie and her mother should come to 'his office and view the paigeant from his office win dow's. Minnie's mother was pleased to accept the invitation, and quite over come by his own temerity and its hap py 'fruition, the shy young man went home earlier than usual. When the ladies reached the office next day, they found its occupant jat his desk. He didn't hear them enter the door was open and he was scrib bling away at a lively rate. As Min nie's ' mother greeted Mm he wMrJed about in a hurry, stamimered a welcome and then hurrieklly running a blotter over what he had written, seized the sheet and crumpled it in his hand, but, of course, she had no idea what it meant. It "wasn't quite time for the parade, so the ladies sat down, Minnie taking the swivel xjha'ir at the desk and swings ing about in a girlish., way that seemed quite fascinating to ithe s'hy youth. Presently she caught sight of the -bitter 'pad, and noticed that It had taken up a fresh-sentence evidently the ohe over which the young man had showji so much confusion. Moreover, the same sentence a s"h6rt -one -toad been writ ten several times. Minnie looked at it in an assued careless manner, and then an idea struck her. -She had been read ing "Les Miserables," and remembered the Thenardier episode. Presently she arose from the chair and strolled across the room; to where a small mirror was hanging -against the wall. With . the pretense of straightening her hat, she slyly iheld the blotter before the glass. This is What she read, repeated five times: "Minnie, I love you." The poor young 'man had evidently been trying hard to get his lesson. iMinnie smiled, and, watching her op portunity, rolled up the blotter and toAk it home with her. He called that evening and Minnie introduced the "Les Miserables" Inci dent. -'Each of them . wrote sentences and blotted them and held 'them before a (hand "mirror, and the young man de clared it was quite a fascinating sport. Then Minnie suddenly produced the blotter from his office and asked Mm to decipher that. His jaw dropped as he started at the. dreadful .words, but he rallied like , a man. "Will you let the blotter speak for me?" he asked, with remarkable 'bold ness. And Minnie didn't -demur. Wants to be Popular. (Baltimore Sun.) President McKinley has been in of fice only a few days more than three months, and has broke the record of all prior presidents for a much longer pe riod Of time. He has been seen walking on the streets of Washington more fre quently than any other president, with the possible exception of Grant, in -three years. He has been met jon horseback again and again by equestrians and pe destrians to whom the sight of the pres ident binder such circumstances has heretofore been the rarest of novelties He has been to social entertainmnts outside of the cabinet circle, another in novation. He has yet to decline an invitation to participate in public ceremonies and celebrations outside of Washington, the present trip to Nashville being the third of the kind within a very short time, and the Philadelphtans have strong hopes he will go back to that city the last of the month for the great Ger man Saengerfest. There are those who say Mr. McKinley will not keep this thing up, that he will soon tire of it, conclude it does not pay and fall into the example of most of his predecessors in secluding himself from the public gaze. Perhaps he may, but he has at any rate accomplished the result of giving himself a. personal popularity seldom attaching to the executive. Almost in the first minutes of his oc cupancy of the White house, he said his ambition was to be a people's pres ident and this ambition he seems to have kept in his mind so far. The Voices of Bullets (War correspondent of The London Chronicle.) From 11:30 onward for two hours the Turks did their very best. Their fire was incessant, like "the "independent firing" which is so comforting a business just before the enjoyable . charge on a big Aldershot field day. We kept a constant watch, and fired when possible, but as we wre against the skyline, the enemy had a much better sight of us than we had of them. However, from behind our little wall we could laugh and say "Kale oral" ("Good morning to you") as the bullets howled past. By the way, the voice of a bullet varies There is the thin high whistle, to which no one pays any attention after the first half hour. There is the prolonged moan, "the cry of a lost spirit," as a novelist might say. There is the wolfish howl, which for some reason always seems to be taking one cn the flank - Instead of fairly in front: and" last of all there is the low, , ill-tempered buzz - as though the nasty thing and got out of bed the wrong side, as children say. It is far the most terrifying, especially if it suddenly stops as the bullet strikes something close at hand. It was to those bullets only that we politely wished "Good morning." Very Discreet. In the Brazilian hotels men are em ployed to do the chamber work, and they are prone to rush into the bed rooms of the guests when occasion re quires without knocking. J A prim little Yankee "schoolmarm" visiting Rio de Janeiro was much annoyed at this cus tom, and after mildly protesting sever al times without effect, she said se verely to the boy who did the work in her room: T : f 'Juan, be good enbugh to understand that I will not allow you to open the door of my room without knocking. If you do it again I shall certainly report you at the office. Why, I might be dressing!" I "No danger of that, senora," respond ed Juan,- in his best English, "before I come in I always look me through the keyhole. Argonaut. . SHOOTING FLYING-FISH A Novel Sport Carried on In Sonthern Cai. , lfornlan Waters ; ' (From Santa Catallna.) The visitors ta the island of Santa Cata llna, or he who goes out on the launches from Long Beach or San Pedro, is always entertained by the remarkable flights of flying fish, which in these waters attain a length of eighteen inches and a weight of two pounds. Alarmed by the boat or steamer, they dash out of the water by a vigorous movement of the screwlike tall and dash away in headlong flight, skim ming over the waves like birds, present ing so remarkable an appearance that the tourist who had never seen so extraor dinary a performance takes them for birds. The flying fish is not flying, but it has four very winglike fins! which serve It a similar purpose; that is. it hurls Itself out of the water by the aid of its tail, and then using the four; winglike fins as parachutes goes soaringaway, covering a distance of an eighth of a mile; when the Inertia falls the taH of the fish! drops, and the moment it strikes the water It begins a violent twisting, which sends the fish into the air again, and by repeating this the fish is enabled to cover the long dis tance. The wings or fins are not flapped the only motion being' a tremulous one Imparted to them when the tail Is twisted in the water. As the boat glides along these fish dart from the. water and go soaring away on either side, and it is then that the sportsman, sitting in the bow, has an opportunity for some novel sport. The fish moves like some quail, very law, not more than two feet frpm the surface, and are not the easy shots one might imagine. They move rapidly and' appear to rise and fall over the waves and go sweeping away In graceful curves. Sometimes four or five are in the air at ' the same time, and the good . shot can bring them down to the right and left. All that is needed to carry out- theMdea of quail shooting would be to have a dog. but there is a sea dog that flushes this attractive game, the agile tuna, previous ly described in these columns. The flying fish is its legitimate prey, and big schools come sweeping in ; from the deep sea, driving the schools of flying fish before them, chasing them into the air, six, -eigt, ten feet, giving marvelous exhibl-. tlons of lofty tumbling. At such times the flying fishes are crazed with terror, and leave the water by scores and hun dreds. They fly into boats, out upon the dry beaches, strike boatmen who happen to be in the way of their headlong flight, and present a most attractive appearance to those who have never seen a flock of ocean flyers in the air with fish six or seven, feet long pursuing in a series of leaps or jumps. Sometimes the tuna chases the flyer along just below the sur face, catching it as it drops a cloud of foam alone telling the story. Chinese Presents to the Queen Bare mention has already been made of the fact that H. E. Chang Yin-huan. the Chinese special ambassador to England for the diamond jubilee celebrations, has brought with a him a number of presents from both the Emperor and the Empress Dowager to the. queen. The Empress Dowager's presents consist of raTe porce lain and jadestone cups or vases of fine workmanship and great antiquity, some of the rare and celebrated Thibetan "joss" or incense-sticks (for burning on the altar of longevity),' and 'a pine tree (emblem of longevity) made entirely of variegated candles moulded into all sorts -of shapes and devices, but all aiming at the one motto "Longevity." The fore going are contained in six square boxes, made of valuable, beautifully polished wood. 1 In addition to the above there were also" two rectangular boxes of the same ma- . terial containing gold and silver worked: embroideries and silk and satin stuffs specially woven for their majesties use at the ' celebrated looms of Soochow and Hangcjjaw, or eight boxes In all. On the ' top of the two rectangular' boxes Is en-, graved the legend: Eternal Spring finds its home in the Kingdom of the Sea, And refulgent light surrounds the Lady of the Moon. ' i V -c ' Ort the top of the six square boxes la engraved the solitary character "Shou," of "Longevity." The gifts of the emperor bore a certain resemblarice to those re counted above. Westminster Gazette. Jubilee Swindlers. A new phase of the jubilee stands question was brought to light In the Strand yesterday,1 wlien a , sunburned gentleman stepped into a newly erected building and desiredto look at some seats which 'he said he' had just pur chased there. The owner of the win dow said there must 'be some mistake. In the course of the discussion wMch followed, it came vut that an agent had approached the visitor on board a steamer at Port Said, as he was on his way here from Australia, offering tick ets which were representedto be in great demand, and that he had bought ten for himself, family, and two friends for the sum of 250. Three Austra lians were victimized, it is said, on the same vessel, and inquiries yesterday s bowed that they are not the only peo ple Who have been tricked. A number of shrewd Americans have, it was learned at several of the prominent hotels, been Induced to part with their money by the ingenuous language and behavior of the sharpers who have toeen making Queenstown a base of opera tions. The sellers of bogus seats carry with them impressive looking plans and pictures which might easily deceive the most wary. London Telegraph, June 4 th. j He Reported at Last McClure's Magazine is told a story In of an aid whom Colonel "Dan" Ma cauley sent out before a battle in the Shenandoah Valley to ascertain the force of the enemy. This was the last Cononel Macauley saw of the officer. One day while Macauley was holding court in Indianapolis as mayor, a one- armed man. came in and said: "Colo nel, I have to report that I found the enemy in force." He was the captain who . had been sent out to reconnoitre several years before. He had -'been wounded, paptured and had a leg am putated, and was sent to his home in Massachusetts when exchanged. Pass ing through Indianapolis It occurred to him that he should report to his com manding officer. :'c Vesuvius Only Mildly Active The present activity of Vesuvius has been much exaggerated, the volcano being merely in what is known to scien tists as a condition of "mild eruption." The lava issuing from the various mouths of the Atro del Cavallo forms a torrent flowing down the steep side of the new cone formed in that portion of the mountain by recent eruptions, and has interruptd the funicular rail road. The main crater, however, shows no igns of activity, and the openings from which the lava issues are rela tively small and situated at its base. New York Tribune. , First Census In Rusla. The Nbvoe Vrmya, of Moscow, gives details of the preliminary count of tlre first census ever taken In Russia, St. Petersburg has a population of 1,250,000; Moscow Just under 1,000,000. Nineteen other towns are returned at .100,000 and the comparatively modern Lodz, the Manchester of Poland, ranks . fifth. Thirty-five towns have 50,000 Inhabi tants each. t ' - i
The Wilmington Messenger (Wilmington, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 27, 1897, edition 1
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