Newspapers / The Pamlico Enterprise (Stonewall, … / Feb. 29, 1884, edition 1 / Page 1
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- v VOL. II. NO. 37. STONE WAIX, PAMLICO CO., N. C, FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 29. 1884. 01.50 a Year. 4 CONTRASTS. ; I. BIythe wind that sing along the lea, "White clouds in airy fleeces curl'd, Fresh reaches ol a sapphire sea, A sound of laughter thro' the world. A pair of lovers in a lane, A coy coquetting with a rins. A gleam of sun. A scud of rain. , A day in Spring. II. Hough blasts that roar across the wold, Chill mists on mountain-summits spread, Black branches nake 1 to the cold. The river frozen in its bed. A gTay head cither side the fire, Dim eyes that watch each splinter, A snowy roof. A snowy spire. , A day in Winter. Ad ft, Loui.ns Martin, in Magazine. crackling I . I Longhian s I THE -HAG CAEPET. "Wc can't afford it.' said grandma. rcngnet !y. "Why. .1 carpet at sixty j would "come to how much, cents a Tom?" "Wouldn't it depend somewhat upon the numl r of yards, grandma?" sugges trd Tom. who was putting on his great coat in the hall. "Well. say rive breadths of a yard w ide, rath rive yards long," raid grauduia, in a ru.-ine? tone. "A carpet of five twenty-rive yard-, at yard fifteen dollars" promptly. yards square sixty cents per announced Tom, tiraaftii: lookcu up at him admiring 1 Iv through her classes. "It's a good thing to have a head for figures. As for me, I never could put two and two together. But we'll have to give up that carpet. I'm afraid, though it's a creat bargain. Mrs. Ilackctt gave full thirtv dollars for it, and had it onlv one vear. shut un in her parlor where it was "scarcely trod upon. I'd like to -get 11 lor jonu s wuc s room but we've too many other uses for money just now." "What a pity!" s.iid Lizzie, who was sitting on the window-sill, dangling one peat little boot just above the floor. "The room will look so bare and comfortless without a carpet ; and John is so anx ious to have everything nice for Alice." "Wouldn't the parlor eaqxt do?" in quired Tom, demurely. "I heard you say it was getting too shabby for the companv room." "No, it wouldn't do at all." answered Lizzie, sharply. "How would the parlor look with a bare floor at - Thanksgiving and Christmas'" "And Sunday evenings," said I, in dignantly. "Oh," said .Tom. brushing his hat, 4'1 had forgotten that. No.' certainly.. Young Mr. Smith mighn't. find it com fortable; nor the doctor, either: They might be afraid of catching cold, and go "away. earl v." - - 'ii think I hear the stage, Tom," said .Lizzie, leaning a flushed face from the open window. Tom kissed us all around, and went out with his valise to meet the stage, lie was drummer to the biggest manu facturing firm in the little town, and was always coming and going. - He would be back in six weeks iu time to meet John and his wife, on their arrival at the old homestead. John was making a good match, and he and hi3 wife were to stay with us all winter, while his own house was build ing, about a mile distant, and we were all anxious to have everything nice for Alice. Liz -and I, waving Tom a last adieu from the porch, returned to the sitting room. Cousin Armenia had laid aside her knitting, and seated in a low chair in front of grandma, was leaning forward and talking, with that keen light in her gray eyes which always bespoke some new idea or inspiration. "You see, Aunt Dorothy, 'twould be sheer extravagance to givt fifteen dollars for a carpet for a bed-room.. Now, when I was a girl, I made two splendid rag carpets f and though it's twenty years ago, I've not forgotten how to do it. Suppose I jest set to work and make one for John's wife's room?" "A rag-carpet ?" said Lizzie disdain fully. " Yes, child, a rag.carpot. If 'twas called by some high-sounding came, I suppose folk3 would like it better. If Alice is the right sort, she won't turn up her nose at a rag-carpet, 'specially if it's new and bright. A rag-carpet can be made to look handsome; and, anyways, it's better than none." "But where will you find the ma terial 2" "Oh, I'll be. bound to find rags enough? There's plenty of old clothes hanging in the garret, and the rag-chest and scrap-bag are full: and the neighbors won't begrudge me what oid scraps they have no use for." Grandma looked doubtful, and Lizzie a little scornful ; but Couein Armenia seemed ouitc elated over her idea. And being one of those active and determined ; sprits who lose no time in carrying out a ! plan as soon a3 it is conceived, we were not surnnsed to hnd her. next day, al ready set to work upon her prooscd carpet. First she visited the attic, and over hauled the big rag-chest, and examined all the half-worrTand cast-off clothing hanging about. Then she went over the whole house, and ransacked every box and closet for anything that could be ap propriated to her work. The next few days were spent in wash ing and freshening up the various arti cles, and in ripping and tearing them into shreds, which were then rolled into great balls, according to their color. All the rag-carpcts that I had seen were woven in a mixed medley of colors, without order or arrangement; but Cousin Armenia showed herself possessed of an artist's eye and an aesthetic soul. "The browns and gmys.and all the other neuter tints," she said, winding her strips about an old ironing-board in the attic to illustrate her pattern, "are to make up the 'ground-co'or. Then come red and blue stripes; ljccausc, you see, one always has most of those two colors; and in the middle of each a narrow stripe of green and yellow, . which are skeerce colors to get. I'd like a little purple; but that's what you hardly ever come cross." "If you could get the purple," X said, you would nave all the colors of the rainbowj and one would call your carpet the Iris-pattern." She appeared struck with this idea. "To be sure, there's my old purple merino, which I'd had an idea of making over for:a Sunday-school dress for little Kitty Leary. But I dare say a new calico would do as well. Calico is only six or tight cents a yard ; andj any way, charity ought to begin at home." That evening she came down covered with dust and bits of thread, just in time tc tidy herself for supper. Deacon Ilutchings had come in to see grandpa on some little business matter and at tabic grandma apologized for th, absence of hot-cakes, on plea of cousin Amenia'a pre-occupation with her carpet. "A rag-carpet, eh?" said the deacon., with interest. Well, mv mother used to b ".great, hand on rag carpets; but sence her day they seem pretty nigh, to ha, died m,t tQ mc :immen.ain-t as kecrful and saving nowadays as they I used to' be. Now, if I ever get married," j he added, with his dry smile, "I'll expect j Mrs. Deacon Ilutchings to make a rag carpet the first thing a'most." "Then don t ask Susie or me, please, deacon'' said Lizzie, archly; .?'for we both hate rag carpets they're se ugly." "You won't think so whcnj'ou've seen mine, '"j said Cousin Armenia, with a con fident nod; "and anyways it'll save fif teen dollars out o' nothing, and that's a consideration." The deacon looked approvingly at the woman! who could make fifteen dollars out of f nothing. He was a good man, generally liked and respected ; but bore the character of being rather "closer" than there was any necessity for, seeing that he was well off, and with no family to support for the deacon was a bache lor. I When Cousin Armenia had used up all her "material," she discovered to her dis may that at least one-third more was re quired. So she went ngain over the house, 'collecting evervthing before re- Mected that could be made available. Colored hose and corsets-were pressed into service bits formerly considered too small J were carefully collected and stitched together. The very rag-bag it self, when emptied, was seized upon; and even grandma's old red flannel dust ing rag did not escape. The rag carpet bceafne a standing joke with us. "There's a pair of leather shoestrings for your carpet, Armeny," grandpa would observe, drily, "and some raveled rope ends in the barn, if you're a mind to I r em."J . But Cousin Armenia's be "put down by sarcasm, it had been dismaved soul was not "to any more than by difficulties, and about the The carpet progressed. same time Lizzie and I began to discover various ariicles of our clothing missing, which upon rigid investigation were, found reduced to strips in Cousin Arme nia's ) carpet-rag balls. Among other things were the green lining of a cash mere J skirt green being one of the "skeerce" colors ; a Turkey-red curtain, which was to have been mended and done duty in Tom's room, and a pair of grand pa's "trowscrs," which, though not yet condemned to the attic, Cousin Armenia had pronounced entirely too shabby for further wear, and so utilized in her om nivorous carpet. Grandpa said little, but, a3 grandma informed . us in confidence, became very particular in putting away his clothes, and instead of leaving his coat hanging behind the entry door or over a chair at. night, always carefully deposited it be hind his bed or under his pillow. One day the deacon "happened in" when Cousin Armenia was piecing to gether a quantity of very small scraps wTherewith to eke out her carpet. "You make pretty close work of them lectle rag-tags, Miss Armeny," he re marked, in his slow way. "Yes; I make a p'intof never throwin away anything that can be put tc a use," she returned,' complacently. "But I'm dreadful scrimped for rags enough to fin ish off my carpet in time. Mebbe, dea con,? you haven't any old vest or suck that? you'd be glad to get rid of, eh?" The deacon said he'd look, and next, day he sent over some well-worn silk neckties and pocket-handkerchiefs, for which certainly no other use could have been found, save that which he himself suggested, of "putting 'em on a pole to scare the crows with." We laughed at the idea of a silk -a--pet but Cousin Armenia, without word, carefully incorporated them in her work. After this she canvassed -the village, importuning her friends for ' 'old clothes, " and the tailors and dressmakers for "sel veges." . And so in time, to the relief of every body concerned, a sufficient quantity of "material" had been provided, and the carpet was sent to le woven at a neigh boring farm-house. ' Meantime, we had been busied in other preparations for John and his bride and when these were all completed, nothing remained save to put down Cousin Arme nia's new carpet. Lizzie and I rode with her to the farm house to get it, and on seeing it, had to acknowledge that it was as near pretty as a rag carpet could be. Still it was ugly for how can a rag-carpet be made to look anything but coarse and com mon ? We spent that night at a friend's in the country; and next morning returning home," Cousin Armenia triumphantly or dered her carpet to be carried up to "John's wife's room." Lizzie and I followed. I opened the door, and stopped short at sight of a pretty, bright-colored, three-ply carpet lying in the middle of the floor. Why, it's 3Irs. Hackett's carpet '."Liz zie; exclaimed; "the very one that we wanted to buy when she broke up house keeping.". !Yes," said grandma, a little dubious ly,' coming up behind us, "it seems that Tom, when he heard how much we want ed it, that day that he went away, stopped at the Bradley's and told Alf to get it for him, and Alf never thought of doing any thing but keeping it until Tom came back, as he did yesterday, just after you left. Here he is now," as Tom came bounding up stairs, three steps at a time Lizzie and I sprang to meet him, but Cousin Armenia received his CTeeting i with the air of a deeply-injured and in dignant person. S"X don't 6cc the use of having two car pets in one room," she presently remarked,! coldly. 'And Tom had to explain how he had. not had time to make up. his mind about the purchase of the carpet, until he had. aetually driven off in the stage-coach, when, stopping at the ilradley's he had arranged with Alfred tc get it for him, but forgot to say that it must be sent to grandpa's. And as for Cousin Armenia's carpet, he was innocent of" its -existence, nothing ever having ; been said to him about it. . "Well," said Cousin Armenia, "I've had all my labor and pains for nothing. The idea," she added, indignantly "the idea of spending fifteen dollars on a bed room carpet, when one just as serviceable could be had for nothing !" and she-looked proudly at her work. ; "For nothing, Cousin Armenia?" in quired Tom. " For skeercely anything. The weav ing did cost about four dollars ; but that don't count." -"And the gested Tom. thread for the woof?" wig- Well, that might be a few dollars more," she admitted. And a rather uneasy light came into her eyes. She left the room abruptly. Then Lizzie said : "And the good clothing destroyed, and the time spent on preparing those rags, and the hiring of the wagon to go for the carpet what do these amount to?" . . "To say nothing of the new dress that must be bought for Kitty Leary, and the ' new curtain for Tom 8 room, I added. ' Why, altogether, theee two carpets must "have cost about the same, and Cousin Armenia has made nothing by her economical idea." Grandpa was standing behind us. hii hands in his pockets, and a very knowing look in his eyes. "Mebbe you're a leetle mistaken, Susie," he said, drily. "My own idee is that Armeny's made more on that rag carpet than she'd a notion of, and a good deal more than it's worth. It's likely the best investment she's ever made." " And meantime," said grandma, "we will put Tom's carpet in the parlor, and Armeny's in this room. 15he"s done what she thought best, and it wouldn't do to hurt her feelings." That evening Tom slyly called me to look at Cousin Armenia, who, with a kitchen-knife in her hand, was pruning away at the rose-bushes in the garden, while the deacon, seated cross-legged on the fence, was deliberately and carefully whittling a stick. "Why, she will ruin the bushes!" I exclaimed. "See how she is chopping them to pieces. What can she be think ing of?" "What were you thinking of, Susie," said Tom, solemnly, "that time in the parlor when the doctor was saying some thing in a low tone and j-ou were de liberately picking your gloves to pieces?" And then a light flashed upon me, and I ran out to tell Lizzie that I had found out what grandpa had meant by Cousin Armenia's "investment." And Lizzie laughed and said, "How . ridiculous!" And then in the same breath. "Why, how nice it will be, Susie. I am so glad!" Next day John and his wife came, and we were all delighted with Alice. Her father had money, and she had been brought up in a more dainty style of living than we were accustomed to, which made us rather anxious about her being pleased with things. One ' day, when she had been about a week with us, grandma inquired of John if Alice were perfectly satisfied, or if there was anything that he would like to have done for her? "Only one thing, grandma," he re plied, cheerfully. "She's delighted. and perfectly satisfied and happy; but, you see, she has some fancies which you would think whimsical. The carpet in her room " "I knew it !" exclaimed Lizzie, flush ing. "That horrid rag-carpet !" John laughcd. " It isn't its being a rag-carpet that she objects to, Liz; but she has a preju dice against any sort of a carpet in a sleeping-room. She thinks it unhealthy and, you know, many physicians hold that opinion. A little strip by the bed side and before the hearth is all that she requires. ' "I'll see to it to-day," siid grandma. Ana then she looked up at us and laughed a little. "Poor Armenia's carpet seems un- lucky," she said. "Oh, she'll find a use for it," said grandpa, quietly. " We must make her a present of it, Dorothy, and she'll find the right place for it before long." Grandpa, was Lonjr before John ana Alice movca into their new house, Cousin Armenia's bright rag carpet was reposing upon Deacon Ilutch ings' parlor floor, with the deacon's silk handkerchiefs gleaming conspicuously in the center, while Cousin Armenia herself moved about, making his home pleasant and cheerful for him. " Saving is making," said the deacon; "and a woman who can" make fifteen dol lars out of nothing, is worth" some thing." Nor do I think that his hinted to him what that cost. vsan Arclur Weiss, wife has .ever carpet really Hair and Fright. When a singlehair is examined through a microscope a- number of dark otreaks and spots are scattered over it. They are composed partly of air-cells, but princi pally of pigment. The differences in color of the hair in different persons, and its variations in color in the same person at different periods of life, are mainly to be attributed to the varying tint and quan tity of this pigment. Sudden fear or in tense grief has turned a person's hair gray in a single night. This change of color is not due to the disappearance of the pig ment of the hair, which takes place slow ly, but upon the sudden development in the interior of the hair of a number of air-bubbles, which hide and destroy the effect of the pigment. A Sudden Gust. In the manuscript records of the town of Georgetown, Mass., appears this entry : "1640, July 5. There arose a sudden gust at N. W. So violent for half an hour as it blew down multitudes of trees. It lifted up the meeting-house at Newbury, the people being in it. It darkened the air with dust, yet, through God's mercy, it did no hurt, but only killed one Indian with the fall of a tree. It was straight between Lynn and Hampton." HUMOROUS SKETCHES. He Took tbe Hint. ' They were sitting alone iuthe parlor when she sweetly remarked : ; . "George, dear, can you tell me why it is that the course of true love never runs smoothly?" "It does run smoothly, darling," said George, passionately. "What could be smoother" than the course of our true love?" ' " . "And love is blind, is it not?" . she went on - "Yes, love is said to be blind," replied George, wondering what she was try ing to get at. j . "Well, I can tell you why true love never runs smoothly," and she looked at the lapel of his coat as though she would like to go to sleep there. "Love is blind, and instead of h;:'pbg the blind it is considered the proper thing to pull down the blind." George acted upon this hint and pulled down the blind. Philadelphia Call. AiteiutiM VyiI In Search of Pies 1 Come in here, come in here, " said the late Artemus Ward, one day, in Bos ton, to the companion walking with him. " Come in here; we will have some fun." It was a Boston pie bakery which they entered a place where pies were a spe cialty where pics and nothing . but pies were sold, wholesale and retail, all the livelong day. Ward approached the counter behind which the proprietor of the establishment was standing, and asked, in his bland, insinuating voice: " Have you any pies ?" "Pies'." replied the astounded prietor. " Yes, pies." "Pies!" repeated the man, still dumbfounded. " Of course pics. Have you pies?" "Pies!" tjasped the shopman pro- more any once more, gazing at Ward as if he thought him an escaped lunatic. " Oh, well, if you haven't got "any pies I'll inquire somewhere else; come on, Jack," and he marched his friend out of the shop again before the salesman could recover his wits. The Way it is IT one. The New York Ecening Pod narrates a laughable incident of Lord Coleridge's visit to thi3 country. The chief justice was entertained at dinner one evening by a local magnate of a Western New York city. The caterer furnished the refresh ments and the china on which they were served, which, by the way, was a new and beaut i ful hand-painted set. Dur ing the course of the dinner it is related that Lord Coleridge said to hid charming hostess: " You will excuse the comment, but I really must compliment you on the ex quisite beauty of your china. ". My lady calmly appropriated the com pliment, and gracefully replied: "Thank you, my lord. It is. used for the first time in. your lordship's honor." Then the dinner moved on to a suc cessful close. Judge of his lordship's surprise when, at a breakfast given next morning by a -legal luminary, he was confronted by the same beautiful set of china. But his surprise was augmented when, on the following day, the banquet in his .honor, given at a rival city, ninety miles away, was graced with the hand painted china used for the first time in his lordship's honor. Topnoadjr. Mr. Topnoody, sat at the 6upper table Tuesday evening as his wife cleared away the things, and after a moment's silence he remarked: "My dear, do you know what day the day after to-morrow will be?" 'Of course I do; it's Thursday." "I don't mean that, my dear. Do you know what anniversary it will be?" "I don't recall.". "Why, my de r, don't you know that it is the anniversary of our marriage? On that day, thirty-tivc years ago, we were made man and wife, and " "And -Psfe had a grudge against that preacher ejrer since," interrupted Mrs. Topnoody. "And," he continued, not noticing it, "since that day, hand in hand, We have gone along the pathway of life, gathering its thorns and its flowers, bearing one an other's burdens and sharing one another's happiness. Whatever of sorrow we may have had, my dear, has been lightened by dividing it between us, and whatever ol joy, has been doubled by a mutual pos session." "That sounds like you had been read ing a novel, Topnoody." "No, dear, it is merely the outgrowth of a pleasant retrospection. Do you know, my dear, it seems to me but yes terday since I saw the orange blossoms in your hair, and heard the music of the mystic words which .joined two hearts and two lives in a unity blessed of heaven. Has time sped on winged feet for you, my dear ?"' "Not hardly, Topnoody." "But, my dear, how long have the joy ous moments seemed to you ?" , "Well, Topnoody, I haven't figured it out quite as fine as hours and moments, but taking it in a lump, I should say it had seemed about four thousand years. I might thro 'v off an hoar or two on an exact calculation, but not more than that, Topnoody." Mr. Topnoody didn't ask for an exact calculation. Merchant- Traveler. Coe on Crutches. Mr. Jabed Gazely, traveling salesman for the well known liquor house of Gum cane & Racket, now wears a pair of crutches, not for ornament, particularly, but mainly for use. Several days ago Gazely, while en route for a rural seat of trade, fell iu with a lot of young fellows, representing many trades and profes sions. They exchanged cards, flasks and compliments, old jokes and wearisome stories. When Gazely arrived at the small town where he was to transact business, if possible, he proceeded at once to the- house whose wants in the whisky line he had ever supplied, but, upon entering the store, he saw that a change in proprietorship had taken lace. The proprietor came forward. "Good-morning, sir." : "Good morning. I sec that this place has changed ownership. I used to do considerable business with yourpiede cessor, and I hope to merit your confi dence." "Your name?'' Gazely handed him a card, not his own commercial pasteboard, but unfortunately the name and two-line advertisement of a young undertaker he had met on the train, The merchant looked at the card for a moment and said : "I am thankful to say, sir," that I need nothing in your line." "But you soon will, I hope," replied Gazely. . The merchant knit his brows, dropped a stitch, picked it up and proceeded to knit a while longer. "I hope I may not soon need your ser vices, sir. I don't know why you say that my predecessor ever had any dealings with you, for he is a young man" "I know he's a .young man," said Gazely, looking sharply at the merchant, "but what difference does that make? He kept his cellar well stocked with my goods, but that's neither here nor there. I've gpt the best in, the market, and just now we are selling at strikingly low figures. You'll never have a chance to do better and I advise you to lay in a stock at once. Now, for your own indi vidual use, I can do the nice thing by you." - . "Do you take m? for a fool !" "Certainly not. I'm only advising you to buy in time. " Such reasonable figures will net be open to you many days longer. , I can fix you up in nice style, so that when your friends and neighbors come in " "You heartless scoundrel!" exclaimed the merchant, wheeling Gazely around and kicking him from the door. . The fall injured the young man, hence the crutches. - The mistake, has been dis covered and both parties, younr Gazely in particular, are sorry that such a lu dicrous misunderstanding should have occurred. ArTcansaw Traveler. A White Elephant. A writer in the London Telegraph says of Barnum's white elephant, purchased in Siam and destined for exhibition in the United States: "The elephant is not white, but of a very disagreeable, lep rous looking shade of flesh color. This is probably the first time one of these albinos has ever gone out of Asia, and the chances; are that it would not have done so even now if the present sovereign of Burmah had not been a lunatic. iOng Theebaw is as mad as any hatter ever was, and a ruffian as well. All that he had done yet in the way- of extravagant execution of his autocratic power is as nothing com pared to the sale of a white elephant. Hitherto it had been death to remove one from the kingdom, or even to con ceal the fact of the existence of such an animal; for to do so was sacrilege in the worst degr.ee. But to sell a white ele phant ! There is no language fn Asia to express the infamy of such a transaction, bince me wmre eiepnam is ine sacrea emblem and abode of Burman divinity. It is addressed as ' Lord of Lords.' Priests prostrate themselves as it passes by. All the honors of worship are paid to it. A noble of high rank has to be its chamberlain. Its retinue is fit for a prince of the blood royal. Not that such albinos are very rare; in India, for in stance, where it is not sacred, elephants patched with pink are by no means un common. "But from time immemorial, when the old court of Ava was a great power in Asia, it has been one of the emblems of kingly rank, a symbol of a divinely-given sovereignty, the incarnation of the favors of heaven, nay, incarnate divinity itself. Sickness among the sacred animals was ominous of coming evil ; their demeanor and gestures afforded auguries, auspicious or sinister. They were the oraclec ol Burmah, and, more than this, the Palla dia too. Y'et for the sake of dollars King Theebaw has sold a white elephant. He has plenty more, it is true and elephants arc expensive pets to keep but in all its history did Egypt ever descend to strik ing a bargain over a god, or Rome and Greece part, for cash or other considera tion, with anything that it revered? That the elephant will like it is hardly proba ble, since it is one thing to be a sacred animal, fed upon all delicacies of the sea son, and with nothing to do but march on great occasions in a procession, and quite another to become the property ol a showman. These natural curiosities are proverbially delicate in constitution, and for all that the new possessor knows his majesty may have sold him one. that was already in ill health. King Theebaw is quite unscrupulous enough for any enormity even getting the best of an American speculator. The Gondolas of Venice. In the years gone past, when doges lived in the ducal palace and Venetian might was felt in wars as well as in the world of commerce, thegondolas were brilliant with the wealth of decoration lavished oh them ; and to-day, robbed as they are of all their finery and having a uniform blackness, they are the treasured carriers of the people. They fill the Grand Canal as thickly as wagons do Broadway; they swing gracefully around sharp corners, dart up narrow but still watery ways, plunge under bridges and are rowed over the lagoon and across to neighboring islands. And these strange boats, gilding up streets of water, these curious carriages without horses that meet you at ypur doorsteps, that are hired to go on errands with, that are so corn- fortable, so easily managed, so fleet,, so snent, so wen rowea, constitute one great charm of Venice. No other city has them; no other ever will. They are purely local; as much a part of the city as the churches are, or as the ducal palace is. They meet you on arrival at the station and carry you to your hotel, and they never leave you. By their aid you see the city. Lazily settled back in their embrace you behold the sunsets from near San Giorgio Maggiore, or see the tall Campanile rising beyond the water out of St. Mark's square. They carry you to the Lido and to Delia Salute, and under the Rialto. Seated, in them and noiselessly darting here and there and everywhere, one needs not the presence of Gothic columns and Byzantine archi tecture and the time-stained works of the old masters to tell him that he is in an ancient city and in one that has the rich est art and the most novel features of any in Europe. Venice is an unnatural re ality; it is aff existing curiosity that seems as though it must have been forced up out of the sea upon which it rests, instead of having been built where it is because ks founders had nothing but submerged sand-bars to build upon. 1 m - j POPULAR SCIENCE. .: Wood wool is now used for dressing wounds in surgery. It is very absorbent, as delicate as cotton and very cheap; it will absorb twelve times its weight of water, being sponge-likc'in this particu lar. t . . A French meteorologist has in the ex posed court of his house two bars of iron planted in the earth, to each of which is fixed a conductor of coated wire, ter minating in a telephonic receiver. His practice is to consult the apparatus twice or thrice every day, and it never fails, through its indications of earth currents, to give notice of the approach of a storm twelve to fifteen hours ahead. Professor Putnam, of Hartford, lectur ing upon his own explorations of the Turner altar mounds of Ohio, said - that amoncr the 200,000 specimens found were 60me showing Mhow large a space the mound-builders .and" theif tra'ding-dllicj covered on this continent. There were grizzly bears teeth that must have come from the Rocky mountains, alligators' teeth from the South, and pearls from the seashore. Thousands of pearls were found in one altar, all drilled for string ing. The vaccination of animals, according to the plan suggested by the eminent French savant, M. Pasteur, in order to protect them against rinderpest and other diseases, has been tried in British Burmah with great success. Some calves, elephants, sheep, and a pig were inocu lated with M. Pasteur's lymph, and, though they suffered in no way from the experiment, the calves in particular seemed to have been so far proof from further infection that they escaped scot free when placed several times among herds severely affected with rinderpest. Those who have never seen the much falked-of dynamite explosive will be in terested to know that it looks very much like mo'st brown sugar. Nitro-glyceiint, which is formed by the action of nitric acid upon glycerine, at a low tempera ture, is the active agent in dynamite, but is mixed with some absorbent substance to render it safer- to handle than tbt liquid glycerine. The ,absorbent mate rial thus used is a silicious earth a fine white powder composed of the remains of infusoria, and resembling powdered chalk; this takes up two or three times its weight of the nitro-glycerine, without becoming pasty, and the Ingredients are easily mixeel, leaden vessels and wooden spoons being used to . avoid dangerous friction. When flame is applied to this mass it burns with a strong flame, with out any explosion : but when ignited by a detonating fuse, or even by. a sudden blow, its explosive force is tremendous. Han Always the Same Animal. George Ticknor Curtis says in the Man hattan Magazine. The most splendid specimen of the Caucasian race that the civilized world can show to-day has no more organs, bones, muscles, arteries, veins, or nerves than those which are found in the lowest-savage. He makes a different use of them, and that use has changed their development, and to some extent has modified stature, physical, in tellectual and moral, and many other at tributes; as climate and habits of life have modified complexion, the diseases to which the humau frame is liable, and many other peculiarities. , But if we take historic man, we find that iu a'l the physical features of his animal construc tion that constitutes him a species he has been essentially the same animal in all states of civilization or barbarism. And unless we boldly assume that the prehistoric man was an animal born with a coat of hair all over his body, and that clothing was resorted to as the hair in successive generations disappeared, we can have no 1 very strong reason for be lieving that the human body has been at any time an essentially different struc ture from what it is now, Even in re gard to longevity br power of continued life, if. we set aside the exceptional cases of what is related of the patriarchs in the biblical records, we do not find that the average duration of human life has been much greater or much lcs3 than the threescore and ten or the fourscore years that are said to have been the divinely appointed term. As to what may have been the average duration of life among prehistoric men, we are altogether in the dark. The Story of a Big Factory. "You see that large factory? It covers the entire block. Half a million of money wouldn't buy it. Well, it was built by a little piece of cord not more than six inches long." Here the speaker paused and scrutinized the reporter's countenance for indications of incredu lity', not to say astonishment. But the narrator was talking to a man who, since the introduction of -the telephone, has made it a point of principle to be ready for anything and to believe all that he hears. The speaker added : ' 1 Eight years ago there lived on the west side, in the third story of a cheap tenement,, down near the North river, a poor mechanic, who was' kept poor be cause' he ""had a passion for inventing; it amounted to a passion. He didn't drink and didn't travel with the politicians, and all who knew his family wondered why they should be 60 poor. Time passed on, and still the man was poor. But at last he perfected- an invention the simplest thing on earth and with his patent in his hand he went down town one day, and called for the head of a house whose check was current for five figures anywhere in 'the street.' The inventor offered to sell two-thirds of his patent for $20,000 if the house would bind itself to put $100,000 into factories for producing the little thing that he had invented. The firm signed papers in less than an hour from the time of hearing the proposal, and in another hour the inventor had converted the firm's check for $20,000 in greenbacks. Lots were bought, and a factory was erected. The business speedily grew to gigantic proportions, and at length the firm ac quired all the rest of the block, and covered it with brick and mortar, and now the inventor is able'to associate with the millionaires. The little glove fast ener a piece of cord about six inches long and a dozen little metal" hooks or buttons is the thing that was invented. New York Sun. . . ' Indiana has "3,737 church ralued at $12,535,000. She (ninisters $1,037,337. edifices, pays her SISTER GRACES. A friend and neighbor b lid to ma : 'Of grace3 named, there are but three Faith, Hope, and blessed Charity." 'Throe mor j." I said, "there should bo, f rien 1 ; Three more to blesj U3 to thq end: May heaven to u? thii trio senl. "And If to listen youH aro'3, m tell their pivcious names to thoe: Love, Patience, and sweet Courtesy.'- Lore should with Faith go han 1 in hand And Patience wait at Hope's command, While Courtesy equipped should staid At Charity's wide open door, Anl a3 her ministration? pour Upon the pe)ple, go before. Yes; Courtesy should always leal Prepare the rough soil for the seed, Ani bear tha cruse of oil in need. Whan dwjliinT on fair Charity, We think, my neighbor, youll aj'rets Too little of sweet Courte3j. It is of life a batter part The ray to warm a troubled heart, jThe precious balm to heal the smart. It will the sternest soul beguile; Where dwelt a frowa 'twill plant a smile, Its influence sp2eding many a mile. Then hail, all hail, our grace3 three ! Send forth their prais3 o'er laad and sea Love, Patience, and swejt Courtesy! Mrsi M. A. Kidder, in Baldwin's Month!' PUNGENT PARAGRAPHS . A grate industry Raking the fire. A maiden effort Tryinj to catch a husband. A reporter describing a wedding, said : "It was all over in a very few minutes."' Gracious! Sounds like a hanging. Progress. There is a difference botwesn the lips of a young man and the lips of a young lady but somc;tiuie3 it is a mighty smill one. Detroit Poxt. Bonanza Flood's daughter will b3 worth $35,030,000. There is a flood, which taken at the tied lead3 on to fortune. Oil City Blizzard. "I Say No," is the title of Wilkie Col lins' new story. Every gentleman should carry a copy in his pocket during leap year. It will save wear and tear of vocal organs. Burlington Free Press. "Why don't you. come and ki33 me, Johnny?" said an ancient maiden aunt to her youthful nephew. " Because," said Johnnr, hanging lib head, "I'm afraid of powder." Kentucky State Jo'r nal. "Yes," said a Philadelphia woman, "my husband coul.1 afford to buy mc a sealskin dolrnm, but I won't wear one. I can't be.ir the smell of fish, and as seals live in the sa they must smell fishy." : Philadelphia Bulletin. "Everything went off very smoothly, " said one, concerning a wedding. "It ou;ht to," mid the gro m, who was present, "it was run on casters." It ap peal's that the happy couple were pre sented with thirteen pickle -eaters. Hat unlay Nigh t. Three skeletons of Guiteau are on ex hibition throughout thy ountry, viz., his skeleton when I13 was a boy, his skeleton before he shot Gariield, and his skeleton when he Was hanged. Behold the victories that modern science achieves ! fj-jmertU'.c Journal. A magazine writer asks: "How shall we utilize the Indiana!" This is a dilli cult question to answer, but pjrhaps tin best plan would be to petrify them, and sell them .for cigar-ptore signs. This idea is worthy of consideration, anyhow. Norristown Herald. "Are .you fond of dates?" askc I he, as ho passed the fruit to his betrothed. "Very much so," replied 6he, and then she coyly added: "I know of a sweeter date than this." "What dnte is that?" queried he. "The date of our marriage !'' softly responded the gentle one. Nw York Commercial. Some genius has won his way to great popularity with the universal choir by inventing a rubber peanut; thus pitting the vocalists of the organ loft in posses sion of an exotic which they could never before eat between hymns, because of the crackling quality of tha overskirt. Yonkers Gazette. A news item says that King Kalakaua, of the Sandwich Islands, is in pecuniary trouble. HisroAn has not been paid for, and he cannot borrow money, it is probable he will either sell chromos of his crown or get up an art loan ex hibition to raise the .necessary funds. NorrUtown Herald, The Boston Transcript asserts that : "The Spaniards have a religious rever ence for the banana, believing it to be the fruit of which Adam partook. In our own land we have seen many men pros trate themselves, before it." It is not an unusual thing to hear our citizens swear by it. Statesman "What time does the 2:30 train start?" demanded an excited female, waving her valise at a bashful young clerk on one of our business streets the other afternoon. And the roung man was so embarrassed that he blushed up to his eyes and meekly stammered : "Three twenty, ma'am." Burlington Free Press. The high-school girl's brother Jim told her a now conundrum yesterday. It is this: "What is tho difference between shooting' a man and killing a hog ?" The answer was: "One is assaulting with in tent to kill, and the other is killing with intent to salt." When she met Amy the propounded the conundrum to her, but Amy gave it up. "Well, I'll tell you," oaid Mildred; "one is assaulting with in tent to deprive of life, and the other is killing with intent to preserve in brine." And Amy failed to see the point. Oil City Derrick. A BOSTON BELLE'S GRIEK. Claude's arm entwined her slender wa'st; The ssephyrs fanned her golden hair; She looked like sculpture! marble chaste, Sublimely f orir.eJ, e'herial, fair. Her little fairy hand he pressed, And gazed into her bright blue 03 e; She nestled softly on his breast, Then dropped her heal ani heave! a t.:h. "My precious Belle" crie! Claude, in gri i ; "Tell what ttu secret sadness means: "Speak, angel ! What can give relief f She sweetly murmured "Pork and rans." Oil City Blizmrd. V
The Pamlico Enterprise (Stonewall, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
Feb. 29, 1884, edition 1
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