Newspapers / The News-Herald (Morganton, N.C.) / May 26, 1899, edition 1 / Page 3
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A POET'S DILEMMA. :, f-r a poem ; t .-'-'rn to stnrt; : ; a-- a Hoo-ier poet .-I ..a of his heart. . -: ; itiv 1 tried to work it, i.-.'iriy to avail; :r .rnrningof the partridg : .. .rhistlo of the quail.' :'.iurty how he'd take it, 1 rrfarshal all the birds . ' . ;.irlv journey fotlthward , 'Au I the fittest words! ) ; -;ty thut they were flying : ,i and over dale, : rimming of the partridga i v.hi-tie of the quail. r the lines are usels.. !'. :'A to take mv ,'un. ; ;.a-t'.-n to the Woodland . i : ; ty to be do ue. ; ',; .jui'-kly make an ending -'art I svem to fail inarming of the partridge ' Wiii.-tie of the quail. j;.:t"! J-'jomis, in Harper's think so mach of Katie StanbmVs charade party." And the shriek of sea-wind, ami the thunder of breaking billows against the solid stone foundations of Lone lighthouse was all the answer that returned itself to her piteous plaint. Nannie leaned out of the slit-like casement, her dimrdprl narrow. i ace the piled-np clouds against the w esiern horizon. j Bui of these things Nannie took I little heed, as she rowe-1 steadily to- ' ward the lighthouse the lighthouse ! whuh looked so strange without its ; usual eve of lire. I "It is not d-rk yet -not quite dark," j she kept repeating to herself. "Tiide ' may light the lantern at anv minute, i I iimmimicc mmz i LiUilMIUUOL llHIlillLi X t i HELEN FORREST CRAVES. If- ' i y Lard!" said Nannie Nairn, a;:, a -:it. "All the other girls are ,hr--:!i for Katie Stanbury's charade , : c. and I am here, all alone, like a w r-t. '!!' I little mouse, with no pleas a:i'i no prospect of any." Mi- Nuirn was rather an exceptional Vijiu person. Her boudoir was a littiv piare room of hewn stone, with u bui l'-evo window of glass, so high up that she had to e'ime on a stool to prospect, once if. Her l'Jnk "Ht ()f tutf'v mounted on the stool, was of i I green waves, with here and thr i .' a silver-m easted gull darting athv. ait the heaving surface; and her sole companion iu the circular tower of Lone lighthouse was an oM man of ity-odd, who l ead "Blair's Sermons," a'j l amused his leisure moments by working out an unlimited series of rhe.s.s problems, which were contained in a dogs-eared "Chess Manual." There he sat by the window, where the stormy red of the sunset streamed r.i hke .splashes of blood against the v. all. musing intently over the black aul white squares of the board he himself had painted on the deep whi d .u--eat. with the ocean dashing in sheets of 'foam at the foot of the light-Loii-e.iand the wind shrieking around iron railed top. i ncie: W. !!?' ' said Nannie, timidlv. II-' -poke without looking up front til'1 it'Mi'd. "Ma;,- 1 go on shore tonight?" "On shore? What do vou want to !! Mini-,' for?" he demanded petu- 'h:ii! v. "'I inr.eti't stirred out of this dis ' . il piai-e for a week!" pouted Nannie; an i Kate St an bury is to have a r':i,i ad" party tonight, and she has in- '".'e I i i.e. " 'T'sljaw!" said old Moses Nairn, wit'u one crooked linger hovering over ivorv eastie, like "Fate" personi- th'.l. "Hut Nannie. ean't I, uncle?" pleaded and red-brown curls framed quaiutlv j IIe uas moHt likely forgotten himself ; in by the jagged stoue elges, and ! over those chess problems. " looked down to where the newlv And, springing out of the boat at painted boat,secured by an ii on chain, the foot of the lighthouse steps?, she rocked to and fro in the surf. ' ; ran through the shower of salt spray "Half an hour to land." she said j tiat 11!aif them so slippery at high to herself, "and half an hour back ' title aa(b 'lening the heavily-nailed again, and an hour to stay. I could doov, hurried up the winding staircase euiov all the best of it. and b bn.-L- to the lanternroom. before uncle could possibly miss me. lie thinks, because he likes chess problems and stuffy old books, that every one else must. And he's eight-and-sixty, and I'm only eighteen : and I've mended all his stockings and ironed all his shirts, and there's noth ing on earth to do but to sit and twirl my thumbs. I will go." Softly the little rebel crept up the stone stairs almost like a moving sha dow, in the gathering dusk of the dim old tower softly she brushed gut the glistening spirals of the red-brown 1. It was but the work of a moment to light the huge lamp. The crystal re flectors grew raliant at once, and the long wlf.te banner of lidit streamed "N you can't. Michael has gone f" mv his mother tomghd," shortly :nwe e i the old man, "and he'll not he hack before morninj. " "1 could row myself easily enough," traded Nannie. "I've done it before ''. many and many a time." "1 don't choose to be left alone," v.'l Mo-es. Nannie opened wide her bright blue long, uncle. out, like maine tires, athwart the sub hv, unele.you've been left alone ' 'Jdten," she said. "Hit don't signifv," snarled i "I'm getting older now, aud I '-youl don't choose to be left 'e: t'a " V:: blow; relief, apart - 1 diould'.i't be gone i.i you leave ort' teasing me?" dv demanded the old man. t-d Nannie retreated", only to fling " f m one o: the circular stone " du .ut, where she burst into d Charlie Cotes orth is to be she sobbed, "aud that voting e-from 1 eeborough: aad I did len surge of darkening waters aud then, with a long sigh tf Nannie turned to her uncle's meut. The low tire was burning little coal stove; there was no light in the room, but by the glimmer of the led embers she could nee her uncle's figure, still bent over the black and in the hair, and put on her prettiest dress I white squares in the window-seat. He and freshest ihbons, shrouding them all with a gray serge cloak. And before old Moses Nairn had studied out the "Problem sixty two white to mate, in four moves," to his satisfaction, the little boaf was rocking far toward land, a moving did not turn at the click of the door latch. "He is asleep," thought Nannie. "He ofttn falls into such brief, heavy sleep of late, I'm afraid he is not as well as he used to be." She advauced to his side, laving her speck upon the surface of the deep, hand lightlv on his, with a smile. with his niece. Nannie, resolutely leaning to the oars. As she drew the grating keel upon the shingly beach, and flung the chain over a huge wooden bulkhead to secure it, she turned and looked back ward, where Lone lighthouse reared its slender shaft against the deep crimson of the dying sunset. "Uncle will be lighting the lantern soon," she said to herself. Aud away she tied, up the shelving shore, to the little settlement of houses which was by courtesy denominated a ' village. Katie Stanbury's house was all ablaze with cheerful lights. They welcomed her with a unanimous cry of delight, and gathered around her declaring that she had come just in time to help them out with "Othello and Dcsdemona " The lieutenant from I,ec-sborough wrote her name down for the first waltz, and Charles Cotes worth whispered to her to keep at least three dances for him. "We've borrowed Mrs. Leslie's white satin wedding dress for Des de noaa, " whispered Katie Staubury. "Come up stairs quickly and dress." The room which they had assigned to Desdemona, as a tiring chamber, was intolerably wa:m. Nannie threw open the window, and looked out to ward fhe sea. There, still outlined darkly against the sullen red of the stormy western sky. Lone lighthouse seemed to lift a warning ringer to her, its crystal eye dim and dark as that of a blind mau. She looked once again, more intently than before, and began to tremble violently. There was no light in the lantern at Lone lighthouse. And when Katie Stausbury came up to tell Desdemona that the audi ence was waiting wondering, she found the white satin dress lying in a crumple I heap on the floor, the ca idles guttering iu their sockets, and the door w ide open. "(bodness me!" she ejaculated, tragically, "what has become of Nannie?" Nannie, with a strange foreboding of evil a her heart, had flown swiftly down to the beach, heedless of the lieutenant's waltes and Charlie's dis appointment, unfastened ths 1 oat, aud was shooting out to sea with long, regular strokes. A storm was coming up. The red scowl of the sun-et had been no false prophet, as it see t ed, for the wiud muttered low, aud the distant sealine was edged with trembling white-caps, while the nearer waves breaking against the shore, made a muttfedroar, and thero wa- uirims. lurid-aUt in raising i "Uncle!" she said, slightly her voice. But the shriek which she uttered, as she snatched it back, rent the air like a dagger. For old Mi ses Nairn's hand was cold as marble, and he himbelf sat there, with his head sunk down upon hi3 breast, quite dead. All night long she sat there, tend ing the light in the lighthouse, shud dering at the trail of the storm, and the war of the waves, aud still more at the ghostly stillness in the room below. And when the morning broke, wet aud windy, and she saw herself reflected iu au opposite glass, she perceived that the one tress of hair which drooped over her right temple had turned as white as snow. By the next dav's sunshine,a richlv freighted ahip rode gallantly into port, with a half hundred passengers, w ho would have been food for fishes if Naunie Nairn had not stood valiantly to her post. But no earthly consideration could ever induce her afterwards to e iter the dreary stone walls of Lone light house; and the silver lock, shining out from among the golden curls of her hair, bears an everlasting testi mony to the uight of terror which she passed among the wiuds aud the waves, with Lea h for her only companion. And the i e v lighthouse-keeper has made a store-chamber of the apart ment where Moses Nairn died of heart disease. "I've no superstitious notions," said he; "b t all the same, I'd rather occupy some other room myself." Saturday Night. 9 ? I I 2 i. I x or 3 A ? il iii y is ! o " 1 ils llfS The Point of a Cat. A good cat -the kind yon want to have iu the house, if any will have a round, stubby, pug nose, full, fat cheeks and upper lip, a well developed lump on top of the head between the ears, betokeniug good nature. A sleepy cat that purrs a good deal is apt to be playful and good natured. By all means to be avoided is a cat with thin, sharp nose and twitching ears. It must be remembered also th.it a good mouser is not necessarily a gentle or desiiable pet. Although any good cat will catch mice if she is not overfed, quick, full, expressive eves generally betoken amusiug cat. The greatest mistake and probably the mot common one iu the care of domestic cat is overfee ling, particu larly too much meat. In the wild life a cat has exercise which euables her to digest food. In the lazy house life the same full feeding leads to stomach nl trouble Life. and to "dts." Woaua'i THE COUPER MARBLE WORKS. Established 50 Yrs. 159 163 Bank St.. - NORFOLK, k. Largest Stork In the South! Low prices quoted ou Monuments, Gravestones. Etc., In Marble or Granite, delivered at anr Southern o:nt. write for Illustrated Catalog. To. 12, it is free; and save money. Our navy is only in its infancy, but It is about as lusty an infant as can be found anywhere among the na tions, and It can be truthfully said that no navy, even the one considered the nearest full grown. Is in any way anxious to try the experiment of spanking it. Preserving Order in the Philippine. There would be no ikhmI of ; large: army t preser. e order in the Philip pine Islands. In lSol the Spaniards only htd seven battalions of infantry, two squadrons of lancers and alout I.OoO artillerymen. The latter, and the sergeants of the other troops, worr Spaniards, the others natives. This force was kept in Manila. Cavite was garrisoned by the navy, and the rural districts had a native polwo under Spanish oflicers. This army was larjre enough until the Spanish-Frenrh ex pedltion to Cochin -China caused new V.ittalions of infantry to 1h raised for Toreiirn service. Subsequently Spanish lnisgovernment and over heavy taxa tion made the natives rebellious; and then came the supjused need of more troops. What was really needed was justice, official honesty and moderst taxation.--The Independent. General Adjutant von PetrofT, con postmaster general of Russia, intro duced novel letter boxes throughout the Russian cities, and ordered the more frequent collection of letters from the boxs. The new boxes stanl on corners of streets, so that the public can reach them from sidewalks; the letter carrier ho collects the mill opens them from the street side with out even dismounting from his wbeeL All the collecting carriers hare been provided with tricycles baring a larg receptar' toe the mail matter In '-o.it of then; Poverty If no disgrace, but It U t (join used aa a teatlmooUl of ability.
The News-Herald (Morganton, N.C.)
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May 26, 1899, edition 1
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