THE AN BXCELLENY , ADVEBTISING MEDIUM, Official Organ of Washington County. FIEST OF ALL THE NEWS. tfrcttlalestexUnsivaly in the Counties el Washington. Martin. 'Tyrrell and Bitot. Jot) Printing In HsVarlous Branches. l.OO A YEAR. IN ADVANCE. ' "FOR GOD, FOR COUXTRY, AND TOR TRUTH." , SINGLE COPT, 5 CENTs. VOL. IX. PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, MAY 6i 1898. . NO. 33: ... LOSS There are gains for all oar losses And a loss for every gain; There are crowns for all our crosses. And a joy for every pain. Songs and laughter, moans and sighing, Heartaches, bitterness and fears Fill the days forever flying Onward with the passing years. Every soul Its share of sorrow Is by fate destined to bear; We who laugh today tomorrow May be Btricken with despair. There are gains, and there are losses, Days of peace and days of strife, And a crown for all our crosses At the journey's end of life. r A-A A A A-A A A A AA A AAA A -A A AAAAAA PROVED. A. TtJncle Coleman, I'm going to marry Lucia Frothingham!" "Eh? What?" Uncle Coleman put down his news paper, pushed his spectacles up on his forehead and glared at his neph ew. "Going to many Lucia Frothing ham?" he cried, after gasping awhile -in sheer dismay. "You idiot!" "Thanks." was the cool reply. "I know you do not admire the lady, "but where there is a strong mutual lve " ' "Strong mutual fiddlestick!" inter rupted Unc'e Coleman, contemptuous ly, "lou may love her; sue is pretty and fascinating, but what she loves is your bank account, my boy. I inew it would be so when your Aunt Jennie 1 f i i I, .,.-, ...wl tV,A....r.l Tin .boys will be boys. Only, for good- si ess sake, wait a -year or two before rbu saddle yourself with a wife . "1 am 21, sir," (with an immense air of dignity). "And I am 64! Now, Frank, do hear reason. Lucia Frothingham is a fascinating woman, touching the thir ties, if not already over the line a finished flirt and as mercenary as she is pretty. I know her, and I tell you her affection is centred upon your Auni Jennie s legacy anu me nan mil lion in perspective at my banker's." "Uncle Coleman," cried his neph ew, hotly, "I never thought of it, much less spoke of it. "I don't suppose you ever did Haying always had an independent in come, 1 don t thina you ever counted on a dead man s shoes. But Miss Frothingham was educated in the hard school of genteel poverty, and a rich husband is the prize for which she has studied and toiled, for well, say fan vAora Si t a woa in LT111 of p Vtafrtra you were done playing with tops and marbles. " "Uncle Coleman, you are speaking -of my betrothed wife, remember." "Hem!" "years are of no consequence where there if true love. "Hem!" "And I love Lucia as she loves me. "Not a bit of it." ""Tomorrow she goes to Saratoga, and if you - can spare me I will go, too." "And the business m Hartford? ' I should advise yon to attend to all matters belonging to your aunt's es tate as soon as possible, Frank." "It may keep me in Hartford a month," said Frank, disconsolately. Coleman Burke looked with a pity ing affection at his young relative such aboy yet in many matters, though he had reached "man's estate." "A month that ' may settle your whole fortune," he said. "Remember men do not fall heir to a hundred thousand dollars more than once in a lifetime." "I suppose I must go." "It will be best. Besides," added Uncle Coleman, dryly, "it will be a good test of your lady love's eon- ancy!" '-4I ara not afraid of her forgetting ine," said Frank, loftily. "You are actually engaged?" "Certainly! I bought a diamond ring at 's yesterday and put it on her taper finger last evening." "Hem! Well, the fool-killer hasn't been here lately, that's certain. There, be off and let me finish my paper in peace. You will go to Hartford?" "Yes." But after his nephew left him, Cole man Burke let his paper lie idly upon his lap, while he fell into a fit of mus ing, often interrupted by impatient ejaculations. He was a man, as he bad said, past 60, and he had been a childless widower for 30 years, while four little graves beside that ais wife recorded the heart histo PlymJ18 if e. .r w,r ''Vived lonely , n- iis k, v1uoera. nibershijj 'rdcr-i us ed ed d L ec- AND CAIN. Oh, the gladness, oh, the sadness That combines the mighty whole . The excessive joy and madness Of the unfledged human soul ! Oh, the losses and the crosses, Hours of pleasure, years of pain, As each frail bark onward tosses, O'er life's tempest-ridden main ! Every joy has sorrow in it, Every laugh is half a sigh; , But let storms rage every minute, There'll be sunshine by and by. By and by there'll be no crosses; By and by there'll be no pain, And for all our bitter losses There will be eternal gain. -Sidney W. Mase, in Little Kock Gazette. 1 misery in store for his nephew if he married Lucia Frothingham, a flirt, ex travagant and selfish. How to save him was costing the old man torturing thought. Active opposition would only strengthen what was now but a boyish infatuation, and yet saved he must be. Suddenly a light broke over Coleman Burke's face, and he rose from his chair and went to a long mir ror in the room. The reflection was not calculated to waken vanity, yet the old man smiled, well pleased. "If I can only carry it out,it will be proof positive," he thought. Short, fat, nearly bald, with spec tacles and a cane, Coleman Burke was certainly a strong contrast to the tall, handsome fellow who had won Lncia for his promised bride, yet he said aloud: Til cut him out!" A week later all the fashionables at the C hotel, Saratoga, knew that Coleman Burke was intending to take a wife. What bird first bore the news upon the scented air no one could have told you, but there was no lack of information about the elderly bridegroom in perspective. Every body (that was anybody) knew that Coleman Burke had retired from busi ness years before.worth half a million of money, and had made fortunate in vestments since. That he was decked in fashion's latest styles, wore dia mond studs and ring, carried a switch cane, drove a fine team and occupied expensive rooms at the hotel, all could see for themselves. Very soon after he came, another fact was patent to all observers that he was very attentive to Miss Lueia Frothingham, the belle of many sea sons! Mrs. Frothingham hoped in her heart that Lucia would not be a fool and would remember how far Mr. Coleman Burke's poeketbook out weighed his nephew's; also that an old man's darling was far more apt to have every whim gratified than a young man's slave. Having delivered this maternal lecture, the widow di lated upon the expenses of the Sara toga trip and was rather marked in her emphasis upon a speedy subjuga tion of the elderly adorer. And Miss Lucia shrugged her fair, sloping shoulders, threw over them a cloud of black lace and descended to the porch, where Mr. Burke waited to escort her for a drive. His manner of wooing was certainly more business like than sentimental. Where Frank had grown eloquent over the beauty of the liquid dark eyes, his uncle di lated upon the suitability of diamonds for brunette beauty. Where Frank tenderly quoted poetry descriptive of the slender grace of the willowy fig ure, his uncle thought velvet was the most becoming-wear for slight fig ures. As they drove,thefat old gentleman asking her opinion of his horses, also obtained her description of the most suitable carriage for a lady's exclusive use. Likewise he expressed a con tempt for an India shawl folded upon a f eat near the lake as one far below the quality he would purchase to deck a lady's shoulders. Sometimes, indeed, as Lucia in formed her affectionate parent, "he was a little spooney, pressing her hand and rolling up his pale blue eyes over the rims of his spectacles, like a fat old porpoise." But, as a rule, he was simply de voted in his constant attentions. A bouquet of rare flowers in the morn ing, loilowed by a call; a drive in the afternoon, a walk in the evening or an offer of escort duty at a ball became the usual daily routine. But the el derly wooer was an energetic and per sistent one, and even Lucia, vain of her conquest, was bewildered by the rapidity of the courting. Only a fort night ago she had but a bowing ac quaintance with Mr. Burke, and now he had positively offered a parure of expensive cameos for her acceptance. "A letter from Frank! Coming to day!" mused Mr. Coleman Burke, reading an epistle handed in at his door. "Surprised to mid me away from home. Hopes I have seen his dear Lncia in a kinder light than the one I had previously had. Hem yes -well." And so Mr. Burke mused and mnt red as he donned his most exquisite lit, his most dazzling necktie and tened a bouquet in his buttonhole. .'Bless my soul, Uncle Coleman, swell you are!" then Frank was in the' room, Mwo exchanged cordial gr?et- "And Lucia?" Frank questioned; "is she well?" "She was perfectly well last evening when I took her for a drive." "You?" "Certainly. You do not suppose 1 have failed in attention to my future niece, do you?" "Yon are are always kind!" was the quick reply. "You like her better than you did?" continued Frank, almost pleadingly. "See here, Frank," the old man said, suddenly wheeling round from the glass to face hinephew. "I have a bargain to make with you. If, within one hour, I prove Lucia false, mer cenary and a traitor to her promise to you, will you give her up? Stop! H she is true, loving and faithful, I with draw my harsh words and will give her the love I always hoped to give your wife." "But how can you find out?" said the young man, astonished at his uncle's energetic proposal. "It is you who are to find out. 1 am already satisfied. You are to go to the centre window, of the small drawing room on the porch and listen to the conversation I am to have by appointment with Miss Frothing ham!" "Eavesdropping!" "Never mind that grand air of con tempt. I am to have my way for just one hour, and you can take yours afterward for a lifetime. Will you go?" "If you say so." "Go, then." Just a little later Miss Frothing ham, all smiles and white muslin, sailed into the east drawing room to greet her elderly admirer. With an air of deepest devotion he raised her hand to his lips and greeted her with a flowery compliment. "I presume," he said, in a low, ten der tone, "you are not at a loss to guess the reason why I have ventured to summon yon here, lou must have understood the meaning of my atten tions. Need I tell you how dear you have become to me? Need I speak of the love you have inspired?" "You are so kind," 6he murmured. "I am contemplating a speedy re turn to the city, and I wish to arrange for the wedding, if I can obtain any expression of your wishes. Do you object to an early clay?" "Any day will be supremely blest," she said, softly, "that makes me your wife." "My wife! Bless my soul, my nephew told me " "Oh, Mr. Burke, yon do not imag ine I have encouraged that boy?" with an accent of most magnificent scorn. "He is an amiable young fellow, and I have been kind to him. But love be tween myself and a boy of that age is siniply preposterous." "I am aware that the disparity of years " "My dear Mr. Burke, do not speak of that. To me there is a dignity and nobility about a man who has passed middle life that can never be attained without the experience of years. Be lieve me, your having a slight advan tage of me in years will but increase my respect and detract nothing from my affection. "You are only too kind. Then I mav tell Frank that you " "Why talk of Frank? Surely you may-choose a wife without your neph ew's interference." "I choose a wife! My dear young lady, what are you talking about? I have no intention of seeking a wife." , 'No intention of seeking a wife ! Have you not just made me an offer of marriage?'.' "Not at all," was the cool reply. "I was under the impression that you were engaged to . my nephew. As Frank is my nearest relative and my heir, I was anxious to win the affec tion of his promised wife. But since there is no engagement between you" "Oh, Mr. Burke, you must have mis understood me. My only fear was lest you should not sanction our love. Dear Frank has often spoken to me of your fatherly love for him. You will not repeat to Frank the conversa tion we have had? I my confusion you will forget my wild words?" "But I shall not!" The blinds parted as Frank spoke, revealing his white face and anger lighted eyes. Miss Frothingham screamed, and Uncle Coleman said, quietly: "Are you convinced?" ' "Fully! The boy, Miss Frothing ham, thanks you for showing him the follypf trusting in the love of a co quette. Yon have given me a sharp lesson. Uncle Coleman; but I thaDk you that my life has not been blighted by a woman's treachery. " The pale face vanished. Uncle Colemau,with a ceremonious bow, took his departure, while Lucia Frothing ham went into genuine hysterics on the sofa. Uncle CoIeniKii joined Frank on the porch and, lii.king Lis arm in hif nephew's, said kiudiy: , ' "Forgive me the pain I cause yoxi for the lave I War yyu.' "I thank yon," wds the reply. "You have saved me from a life 1 1 misery by showing me ;i mr euaiy woman's treachery.' I sh.i ,1 i:etr feel any eiuotioj but gratitude that youpjoved jur.! wouls. " PIGEONS FOR WARFARE. SERVICE ESTABLISHED TO ASSIST IN STRATECIC NAVAL MOVEMENTS. The Government Has Decided to Use the Homing Pigeon as a Bearer of Mel. sages From Ships at Sea-How Birds Are Trained Ingenious Pigeon Cotes The homing pigeon will play, here after, an important part in the naval affairs of this nation. Upon the en durance of this bird, its speed and ac curacy, will depend the victory or de feat of the great strategic movements at sea, and, what is scarcely of less importance, the people on shore must rely on the pigeon to bring news of the approach of the enemy's fleet, and the result of some great sea fight. There are at present, according to the Philadelphia Times, six pigeon sta tions along the coast, being situated in the principal navy yards Ports mouth, N. H.; Boston, Mass., New port, K. I., Brooklyn, N. Y., Norfolk, Va., Key West, Fla., and Mare Island, Cal. The pigeon cotes are twelve by twelve feet in size, two stories high and painted with red and white stripes to make them conspicuous from a long distance. The lower story is used for breeders only, with a large aviary at tached for their use during the warm weather; the upper story is fitted up with nesting boxes, drinking fountain, feeding hoppers and the trap, where the youngsters are given their first lesson when they are a month old, which consists of a series of drills to accustom them to passing through the bob wires in the trap in the cote. These bob wires are thick wires sus pended from a horizontal bar in the top of the trap, and serve as a grating for it, and are so arranged that when a bird has once passed the bobs with a message it cannot escape until the person in charge removes the message and lets the bird into the cote. It is extremely important in the training of pigeons for use in the navy that the birds should learn to enter the trap immediately upon their arrival with an important dispatch, pushing the wires aside, readily in order to enter the trap, the wires falling back into place immediately upon the bird's en trance. Until the bird masters this lesson it is useless as a messenger, as much valuable time would be lost in securing the message attached to the bird, unless it immediately enters the cage, where a sailor is Avaiting to re lieve it of its charge. The next series of drills are intend ed to develop the pigeons' staying powers in the air, to strengthen their wings and to enable them to fly long distances without being overcome by exhaustion. This is done by means of a white flag attached to a long pole. By fluttering this among the birds they are startled into a circling flight about the cote, which is kept up as long as the trainer sees fit. For two months the birds are drilled every morning in this manner. At the end of that time they are given their first "fly." The first journey is to a point several miles from the cote in a closed basket, where the birds are lib erated. This successfully accom plished, the distance is increased each flight. Whenever flown, a message, secured in an aluminum capsule, weighing eight grains, is attached to each bird's leg, and is secured imme diately upon its arrival at the cote. After a course of training for two months, with an averege of two flights per week up to 50 miles, they are put aboard ships in wicker baskets hold ing one dozen birds each, and liber ated at sea at a greater distance than they had been tossed previously. It is a rule that the pigeons for use in the navy must, in training, be flown constantly over water in order to ac custom them to it. The cotes are so arranged that when a pigeon returns it walks on a small treadle, thereby pressing a button which rings an elec tric bell in the library of the receiv ing ships at the respective stations, thus announcing its arrival to the per sons in charge of the cote. The fact that the government has at last been induced to make use of the pigeon as a message bearer from ships at sea is attributed to the success of the cote at Annapolis, Md. In these experimental flights the best long-distance toss was made by a pigeon which was released from the United States steamship Monongahela, when 102 miles off Cape Henry, or about 250 j miles from the home loft. The pigeon was out over night, and it had about twelve hours of daylight' from the time of its liberation till its arrival at the home loft, thus making an average of about 20 miles per hour for the 250 miles. In the swiftest flight the pi geon was liberated at Norfolk,Va.,aud arrived at the home loft three and three-quarters hours later, thus mak ing an average of 40 miles an hour for the 150 miles. The naval militia of the various states along the coast are to establish pigeon lofts to co-operate with the government lor naval delense. The navy department has decided to establish a homing pigeon service in connection with the lighthouse sta tions along the Atlantic, (Julf and Pa cific coasts, the radii of the flights to intersect one another, eo as to form a complete circuit around the coast, by which a message starting at Alaska can be transmitted by means of relays of carrier pigeons around the United States until it arrives at the northeast coast of Maine. The state of New York was the first to co-operate with the government in this work, having recently established a cote on board the United States steamship New Hampshire, at the foot of 23d street, East river, New York, where there are at present twelve pairs of breeders, presented by the navy department from the cote at the Brooklyn navy yard; also another at Buffalo, N. Y. This will cause a spirit of rivalry of flying these birds be tween the naval militia and the naval lofts in the nearest navy yard, and the naval militia will not rest until they have broken some of Uncle Sam's sea records. How to Climb Stairs. A physician who declares that but very few people know how to walk up stairs properly gives these instruc tions: Usually a person will tread on the ball of his foot in taking each step. This is very tiresome and wear ing on the muscles, as it throws the entire suspended weight of the body on the muscles of the leg and feet. You should, in walking or climbing stairs, seek for the most equal distri bution of the body's weight possible. In walking up stairs your feet should be placed squarely down on the step, heel and all, and then the work should be performed slowly and deliberately. In this way there is no strain upon any particular muscle, but each one is doing its duty in a natural manner. The man who goes up stairs with a spring, you maybe sure is no philoso pher, or, at least, his reasoning has not been directed to that subject. The doctor might have gone a little farther in the same line and protested against the habit which many persons have of bending over half double when they ascend a flight of stairs. In exertion of this kind, when the heart is natu rally excited to more rapid action, it is desirable that the lungs should have full play. But the crouching position interferes with their action, the blood is imperfectly aerated, and there is trouble right away. Give the lungs a chance to do their work everywhere and at all times. Good Housekeeping. How the Humble Cabbage Will lie Glori fied. Professor L. H. Bailey of Cornell university has been asked to go to j Finland to conduct a series of experi ments in electrical plant-growing, in conjunction with Professor Lemstrom of the University of Helsingfors. The experiments to be carried on have nothing to do with the electric light or the running of electric wires through the soil for. the purpose of forcing the growth of plants by direct current stimulation. They are to be based on some pertinent observations made by Lemstrom, of the effect of the aurora borealis on theplant growth of the North. . It is a well known fact that the plants of the North arrive at maturity at a much shorter period of time than those plants which are grow n further south. It is necessary that these plants should arrive at maturity very quickly, inasmuch as the summer season in the North is very brief, and it has always been looked upon as a wise provision of Providence that plants were enabled to accomplish their business in life in so short a space of time. Professor Lemstrom, however, casting aside the providen tial idea states that the rapid growth of plants in the far North is due directly to the light of , the aurora borealis. New York Journal. lioyal Letters in India. A letter sent to a native prince in India is a very elaborate affair. The paper is specially made for this pur pose and is sprinkled with gold leaf. Only the last few lines of the some what lengthy document contain the purport of the letter, while the re mainder is made up of the usual roundabout and complimentary phrases. It is folded in a peculiar way, with the flaps outward, and placed in a muslin bag, and this latter into one of crimson and gold tint, with a slipknot of gold thread, attached to which is a ponderous seal. The ad dress, written on a slip of parchment, is attached to the outside bag. These details are very important for polite letter-writing in India and if any of them were omitted it would be au in sult to the person addressed. San Francisco Chronicle. Keturned Kansan Wears a Pigtail. Ycnug Cameron, the son of Ncah Cameron, who has been living in China for some years and who has adopted the custom of that country, is again at home in Lawrence. Three years ago he was here, but did not like America and returned to the land of the pigtsil. He still affects the clothing of the Chinese and wears his cue like a native. He is proud of his eccentricity and enjoys the attention that his peculiar appearance elicits. Topeka State Journal. Cot f a ltaronetcy. It costs money to be created a baro net in England. Sir John Maclure, for instance, says that he spent $.350 in replying to telegrams of congratu lation vhen the announcement of his elevation was made. .VISION. She said. 'Oh, that glorious day I The deep.eep blue of the sky L The shadows that drooped and lay And the little wind's low sigh ! Said he, "What is that you say? There were only you and L" She said. "Oh, that wonderful night I The lake and the waterfall ! The moon was eo high and white, The elms were so dark by the wall 1" Said he, "Your eyes were so bright, I saw naught else at all !" Post Wheeler, in New York Press. HUMOROUS. Gladys Do you think Charley means business? May I can't tell yet; but I'm afraid he only means poetry. Hooplar Do you know anything about the origin of the American In dian? Highlow No; I've never taken any interest in race tracks. Reporter Madam Gostwok, the spiritualist, does an enormous busi ness. Publisher- That's because she's such a good advertising medi um. She It's funny, but all the time I've known Mr. Tigg he has never paid me a compliment. He That's not strange. Tigg never pays any body. She I don't like the preachers who read their sermons from manuscript. He I do. If a man writes his ser mons he is more likely to realize their length. - She I know I am not the first girl you ever loved. He Well er at least you are the first girl I ever bought more than $17 worth of pres ents for. All these schemes for taxing bach elors with a view to driving them into matrimony are wrong. More men get married now than wives can comfort ably support. Farmer I say, John,' what do you call a pineapple a fruit or a vegeta ble? Waiter A pineapple ain't nei ther, gentlemen. A pineapple is al ways a hextra. "I'm something of a mind reader," he said, as they sat on opposite sides of the room. "I think not," she re plied, as her eyes ostentatiously meas ured th distance between them. "There! Didn't I tell you Wednes day was my lucky day?" "In what way has fortune favored you?" "Why, there goes Cholly Softly, and he has passed us without seeing us." Jasper What do you think will be the last conflict before the millennium comes? Jumpuppe It will be the one in which the contest is settled what daily paper itas the largest cir culation. "Is it not a fact that enlightened, laws have had the effect of increasing the span of life?" "Hardly. Of course, murderers live longer, but, on the other hand, there are the mur dered, you see. " "My grandfather," said the shoe clerk boarder, "once knew an old man who insisted that the ghosts came and milked his cows every night." "Sort of milkin' specters, eh?" commented the Cheerful Idiot. Adelbert I cawn't say that I'm feeling nachuwal this evening; I got a beashly cold in my head, dontjer know? Geraldine Never mind,Addy. Don't gr.umble. Even if it's only a cold, it's something. Miss Thirtysmith (meaningly) An. Italian proverb says that "honest men marry soon," and Jack Swift (sol emnly) I cannot conceal it any long er; I live in deadly fear of being at any moment arrested for embezzle ment ! 1 She Onr minister will exchange pulpits next Sunday with the Rev. Mr. Talkington. He Yes? An exchange of pulpits seems to me a great deal like a horse trade. It is hard to tell which congregation is going to get the worst of it. Outshone "We've got a man in our town," said the passenger with the red clay on his boots, "who has voted at seventeen presidential ejections." "Ho!" was the scornful reply of the passenger with the faded red muffler. "We've got a man our town that's read all the messages." "Miss Wigglesworth thinks she's eligible to the Order of the Crown. She's sure she can, trace her lineage back to one of the English sover eigns." "How far has she got?" "She told me yesterday she had struck a bar sinster." "That's right. Her great-grandfather was a bar tender." , t Walking Stick as Legacies. j Walking sticks have frequently been left by will. Franklin, bequeathed his favorite stick, with a gold handle, shaped like a cap of liberty, to George Washington. The gold-headel caue used by Drs. Ratcliffe, Mead and others, whose arms are engraved upon it, was bequeathed by Baillie to th College of Physicians. Napoleon's walking stick of tortoise shell was sole in Loudon in 1823 for $1!)0. Honor de Balzac had the mementoes he re ceived from various : fair. , . adsiii-er' which consisted in part of pret ionf stone?, set in canes. Toledo Bee. Length of World's Telegraph. The total length of the world's teu graph ssystem has now reached !,90H,. 921 miles. I

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