i'jmm- - in THE- ANEXCEUENT' ADVERTISING HEDITJH. Official Organ of Washington County. FIRST OF ALL THE NEWS. Circulates xlensively in the CounllM of Washington, Martin, Tyrrell snd Eiiufort Job Printing In ItsVarious Branches. l.OO A YEAR IN ADVANCE. FOR COD, FOE COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH." SINGLE COPY, 5 CENTS. VOL. IX. PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, JULY 29, 189S. NO. 45. it: V Y THE PERSIMMONS. Oh,a little persimmon grew high on a tree On a tree on a tall, tall tree! And a little boy said: "It is growing (or me. But I haven't a pole that oan reach it," said ' . he - The persimmon that grew on the tree. Oh, a little persimmon grew high on a tree On a tree on a tall, tall tree! And another boy said: 'fit is right overhead, And when I grow big I can reach it," he said The persimmon that grew on the tree. And while they were talking another boy came To the tree-to the tall, tall tree, . And he jerked his short jacket and climbed to the top, While they shouted below: "He will drop! He will drop! . ' He was fond of persimmons; he collared the i- orop Of persimmons that grew on the tree! iercy Footers A rug pathway meaudered from the kitchen door to the parlor door, with ramifications on either side to chairs and sofa and table. Square rags and round rugs and oblong, octagonal, oval rugs filled up all the chinks. There was scarcely a square inch of the car pet visible anywhere. The two or three ambrotypes and steel engravings in solemn black wal nut frames were befogged behind veils of mosquito-netting. The comfortable-looking lounge was draped in crisp, clean newspapers to protect the new covering underneath. The face of the clock on the mantel looked out coyly through its veil of netting. It was dim and cool in the big, clean pom and empty. They sat in the cchen or, on especially hot evenings, out on the porch. There was so much danger of flies in the sitting-room, and dust and sun-fading and all sorts of dreadful things, especially in dog days. - It was dog-days now. Mercy Foote was upstairs in the unfinished chamber, "resting;" but it was so hot and so close that even to rest was hard work. She never dreamed of going into one of the spot less, speckless chambers and "muss ing up" one of the white, plump beds, Mercy Foote was a very neat woman some of the neighbors openly called her "p'ison neat." About midway of the afternoon Nathan Foote came up through the orchard from the hay-field. He walked very slowley, as if it hurt him. Every ; minute or, two he mopped his bald, shiny head with his handkerchief and drew long, tierd breaths. Nathan was almost an old man a good deal older than Mercy.. He had been working hard ,all day, and every individual old muscle felt strained and sore; and how his back ached! It was a rather long way, too, . up to the house. Mercy put her lips to the window screen and called sharply to him when he came into sight round ' the corn house. "Nathan, go in through the stable," she called, "and mind you slide the door to real quick behind you! I've been out there fly-powdering. I don't want to have flies following you in. Shut it the instant!" "Yes, Mercy," Nathan said, wearily, It looked like a long, circuitous route into the house, and he was very tired. He slid into a narrow crevice in the door, rubbing his aching against the edges. Then he him self and slid back the bones braced heavy door. In the sudden transition from the hot glare outside to the dusky interior he felt dizzy and blinded, and had to sit down on a wagon-thill a minute. Then he shuffled up the steep stairs and through the "shop" and wood house to the kitchen, opening and shutting all the doors with conscien tious despatch. Mercy's voice drifted lown to him, muffled but incisive. ."Don't wash in the best wash-dish, jSTilhan. I've got it all scoured up. Vol get the old one over the tubs in the wood-house, and mind you empty the water out in the asparagus bed. I don't like to have the sink all wetr up." . ' "Yes, Mercy" . He got the old basin and filled it and set it on a chair with the soft-soap crock. Some of the drops splashed to the shining floor, and stooping with evident pain, he wiped them up care fully. ' "I declare, ".he murmured, "I don't know as I. was ever more beat out than I am this afternoon! I don't know as I was ever! I guess I've got to lie dowu a spAll." . "Nathan!" ' , ty ...tTrprcy " s thirsty, you'd better ut of the well; the Wean. I gave it v e last thing." - f water out 7 v emptied "made toil- Reconstrnction. "Did you rub 'em on the porch mat?" "Yea. I don't know as I. did all the times. I did once." A groan, muffled but clearly audible, descended to Nathan. "I can't help it!" he muttered. guess I'll go he down on the sitting- room sofa a minute. I II have to; can't stand up." . He took off his boots and paddled softly along the rug' pathway. It was so dim in there that not till he got close to the lounge did he notice the newspapers covering it. He lifted one of them off with a little determined twitch of his lips, but replaced it hastily, and padded softly back to the kitchen. He went to the door. "Mercy," he called up, "where's the last paper? where." I don't see it any- 'Goodness, Nathan Foote, shut that door! You'll let in a mess , of flies!" "Wher's the last paper, Mercy?" Nathan's diminished voice rose, patient and tired, to Mercy's ears through the closed door. ' - "It's all piled up nice, Nathan. You don't want it now.. You take the almanac over the kitchen table and read the jokes!" she called back. He got the almanac and put on his boots, Then he dragged them wearily, step by step, out to the stable. His griz zled, seamy face was drawn with ex hauston and pain. Mercy Foote came down-stairs at precisely five o'clock to get supper. Just as she stepped over the kitchen threshold the last stroke of the clock was clanging. That was her rule. Mercy was as methodical as she was neat. ' "Goodness," she exclaimed, "there's a fly! there's two flies!" She caught up one of the deftly folded news papers that she kept hidden in handy nooks and proceeded to wage war. "Nathan's so careless!" she fretted. "But I didn't think they'd find their way clear in from the stable!" She peered into .the sitting-room, and noticed that one of the papers on the lounge was awry. "Nathan's been in there yes, there's a wisp of hay on the speckled rug! Now I s'pose, I've got to go to sweeping!" It was quarter of six before supper was ready on the kitchen table. Mercy had arranged the dishes precisely, but there seemed very few of them. "It's too hot to light the fire, and 'twould muss up dreadfully the shavings and all. We'll have just a cold lunch. Nathan oughtn't to eat hearty victuals after haying and getting all heated up. "Nathan! Nathan!" she called from the porch door, which she warily opened only a crack. He was not out there. She could not find him any where. . She went all over the house, and peered from all the tightly screened windows. She put on her sunbonnet aud blew the dinner-horn. She always put on her sunbonnet when she blew the horn, nobody knew why. Mercy didn't know herself. There was a little circular hole in the upper part of the kitchen door, protected by a swinging disk of wood. It was to blow the dinner-horn through. Nathan made it for her so that she need not open the door aud run the risk of the .entrance of flies. She slid away , the wooden cover and quickly inserted the end of the horn into the hole, and blew long, resonant blasts. They echoed back to her lonesomely. The clock struck six seven. Still Nathan did not come. Mercy went out to the hay-field and all over the little farm. Her heart grew heavy with new, unacknowledged dread. Where was Nathan. "I'm beginning to get scared, "poor Mercy confessed to herself. Why was it that she kept remembering the sharp words she had said to Nathan? Why did she remember how old and tired out he had looked at dinner. Why, when she went into the dreary little porch-room, should the wooden chairs stiff and uncomfortable, remind her so insistently of their sitting out there together she and Nathan to save "mussing" the sitting-room? She could see just bow uneasily Nathan sat on the edge of his chair, without any resting place for his shirt-sleeved old arms Goodness where was Nathan? Terrible things she had read of and heard of kept recurring to her mind with dark insin uation. Could it ' be possible that weary old men with fussy, scolding wives ever ever Oh no! But where could Nathan be? Eight o'clock one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight slow, solemn, significant clangs! Mercy went out into the wood-shed into the stable anywhere, away from the sound of the clock's voice that scolded her incessantly. The hungry old horse in his stall was whinnying and pawing for his supper. Mercy stroked his nose. "I'll go get you some hay, poney," she said. She went upstairs to throw , it down to him, and there was Nathan, asleep in the hay! He lay in the pro found, relaxed slumber of utter weari ness. The yellow almauac had fallen roui his fingers and lay beside him. "he knew he was tired, and not very '1. He had been driven to take his in the barn! M-ey tiptoed back into the house, , ff! n a j , auu luigcbuug l i oiiu l iud kiwi o. She built a fire and filled the tea kettle and made many trips to the pantry, coming back with sundry dishes that Nathan liked, and crowd ing the table with them. She took a lighted lamp into the sitting-room and set it on the table. With a vigorous sweep of the arm she bundled together the newspapers on the lounge, and carried them out. "There," she said, "now I'll fetch a pillow and put a paper handy." A few minutes later she stood in the porch door and blew long, steady, penetrating calls on the horn. Nathan heard them and came in, looking guilty. "I guess I went to sleep, Mercy," he said. "I must have! I was all beat out when I came in." They sat down together to the savory little supper. The pungent, pleasant odor of steaming tea filled the room. Nathan ate with the hearty relish of a well-rested man, and Mercy watched him with delight Suddenly Nathan suspended his knife and fork and looked across at Mercy, troubled. "If there ain't two pesky flies!" he said, ruefully. Mercy's eyes were glued with dogged heroism to her plate. "Where?" she said, cheerfully. "I don't see 'em Nathan." Youth's Com panion. THE ATMOSPHERE OF LONDON. It Contains More Things Than Any Other City Dust Enough for Food. Only by degrees are the marvelous qualities of our. London atmosphere becoming known. No city in the world can boast such a peculiar aerial composition as that which the inhabi tants of the metropolis have served to them daily and nightly, without money and without price for neither the government, county council nor ves tries have yet attempted to tax the highly nutritive air which we breathe. Most people think that our atmos phere consists of practically nothing. Quite a mistake. It is both meat aud drink. A paper contributed to the "Transactions" of the British Insti tute of Preventive Medicine states that even in a suburb the dust parti cles number 20,000 per cubic centime ter in the open air, and 44,000 in a quiet room; while in the city O for tunatos nimium ! the totals per cubic centimeter were 500,000 when taken from a roof, 300,000 in a court, and about 400,000 in a room. In other words, the air of the square mile is 900 per cent, thicker than in the suburbs, which is in accord with the general experience that fogs are both more dense and more frequent over the centre than in the outskirts. But what is especially interesting is to learn that although dust is the great carrier of micro-organisms, there is only one of these articles per 38, 000,000 atoms of dust. Thus it is calculated a man could live iu the metropolis for several years and only absorb 25,000,000 microbes into his system from the air, or about the same number as he drinks in half a pint of unboiled milk. Qf course, there are other serious objections to dust; but it is something to know that there is only one microbe to many millions of motes. London Tel egraph. Pedeslrian Feats. It is true that the Greek soldier, wh( ran all the way irom Marathon to Athens to bear the news of victory and dropped dead when he had deliv ered the message, had covered oulv twentv-six miles, yet he mav have been worn with fighting when he started". On the other hand, Deerfoot, the Indian runner of the Cattaraugus res ervation, who once held the record in England and America, ran twelve miles in fifty-six minutes in London in 1861, and extraordinary stories of his long-distanca running are told. Cap tain Barclay of England walked o thousand miles in a thousand hours, and W. S. George, the world's great est amateur distance runner, followed the hounds on foot. Henry Schmel, in Jims. ih;j4. waiKea irom norms' field, 111., to Chicago, 188 miles, in ! sixty-nine hours and fifty minutes. In 1892 Schueideit, an Austrian printer, finding himself in Calcutta withoui means, walked all the way home from his native towu, Batheuow, traveling on foot for two years across India, Afghanistan, Persia, Turkev, southern Russia, Bulgaria, Roumania and Hun gary, and thence into Austria. But these insiauces, which mtghl be multiplied, are for the most par feats accomplished under special con ditions or stress of circumstances oi by picked men. In Apache land everj Indian is a runner, asking no odd3 o earth or weather, and whether it be the peaceful Pueblo, trudging to hii irrigated lands, forty miles and back or tne venoiaous L-nirscanua, tarne( io do serviee'Jor Uncle Sam, the Mai on Horseback may well regard Inn with amazepfnt. Lippincott's Maga zme. tinlv Impossible. AIvs H 'e is a novel I found ou: maid rea nr about a lord wh jri" " i tt ..: i: ... l gin. now mucinous f. As if any one dh shop girl's salary ii ';-nt; Enquirer. not kiio &;at verv sty""' v" " i RAMS IN NAVAL BATTLE. MOST FEARFUL WEAPON IN GRASP OF A SEA POWER. THE The Katahdin Is Expected to Demon strata Terrible Effectiveness When the Opportunity Comes Administering the Conp de Grace to an Enemy's Fleet. The fight in Manila bay gave no op portunity forfuse of the ram. but the nen who built the Eatahdin and those fvho advocated her . building; are not liscouraged. They hold now, as then, ;hat she is the most fearful and cer lain weapon ever placed within the jrasp of a sea power, and they expect aer to demonstrate it when occasion irises. The Eatahdin, it may be ex plained, is a ram pure and simple. Her enormous beak of steel is capa ble of crushing its way through armor shicker than any hull would float, and he depends upon it entirely for her jffensiveness. She is, of course, pro jected by plating, but she is not heavily gunned. Any buoyant thing struck by her while her thousands of tons are ripping through the water at a speed of more than twenty miles an hour tvill go to the bottom. That much leems to be fairly a certainty. Captain Mahan calculates that in Dpen sea fleet action action between Beets of approximate strength and numbers one-half of the defeated fleet will be sunk and one-half cap tured. Of those sunk he credits two thirds to the ram, one-sixth to the gun and one-sixth to the torpedo. This calculation shows the importance ittached to the ram by naval experts. Of the one-half of vessels to be cap tured the ram is credited with a third. The value of the ram exceeds that of ill the vessels' guns at the opening of the duel in the single combat which is expected to form so large a part of the naval combats of the future. Later in the action the ram becomes of less importance, and the guns are relied apon to achieve victory. It is thought to be certain that as the world grows alder and battleships more frequent fleet actions will decrease in number and single combats and "two to ones" become more common. The ram is designed specially for use in affairs of this kind. It will not be used, how ever, as was the original intention, to administer the coup de grace. Its blow will be delivered, if possible, at the beginning of the engagement. It will open the fight and not close it. The rule in modern sea v fighting is to sink or destroy the adversary. Cap ture is a secondary consideration and does not enter into the preliminary in tention. ' The force of the ram varies directly as the weight of the ship and the square of the velocity. High speed is, of course, an essential. Into ram ming vessels are placed the most powerful engines, and to them are at tached the best models of propellers. The ram itself is made as sharp as is possible consistent with massiveness and crushing strength. There is no ram now afloat incompetent under fair i conditions to tear a hole below the j water line of the strongest battleship. I Iu the shape of the vessel everything j is sacrificed to strength, speed, and, above all, handiness. To be able to get quicKiy unaer weign, to attain a j high rate of progress in a limited dis tance and to turn quickly in response to the helm are absolute necessities. It is believed that the Eatahdin meets these requirements more fully than (a,ny boat owned by foreigners. It is evident that the success of the ram in its duels will depend almost wholly upon the captain. It is not a question of markmanship or bravery, or even of high discipline. It is a question of coolness, steadiness, good judgment and skill in maneuvering. That vessel which strikes the broad aide of the other vessel head on, or area partly so, is the vessel which wins. The ram may be likened to a foil in the hand of its commauder.and he must know how to use the weapon which his countrymen have giveu him. He must know his ship. He must know what she will do at various apeads and with different helm angles what she will do while backing with headway on and while going auead with engines reversed. He must know her turning area to a foot and the exact force of her striking capac ity with a give a distance and number of screw revolutions. He must prac tice. , From her conning tower he directs her every movement, and he alone is responsible for the result. The rules for arming, driving and Stew ing a ship which is to use its ram to basY "advantage are few and simple. She should have twin sc'fews and steam or hydraulic steering gear. ihe bow and stern fire should be strong, and the bow gaus should have a wide arc. It should be possible to discharge both broadsides or either from the conning tower. There should be capacity for high spee lall through the action, The attack should be made from windward, on account of smoke from guns and funnels veiling movements. Of course the first ship to enter the turning circle of the other, bow on, obtains an immense advantage, aud it will be the duty of the commander to get this vantage if he cau. A hundred years ago it was the Auglo-Saxou maxim in sea fighting to "get the waatlier gauge and board." Most of the Euglish and American tights were won m that J way, but ocean combats between steam driven and steered armored vessel? have become much more complicated. The use of the ram in naval war fare is as old as history itself, but it had sunk into abeyance in late centu ries. Recognition of its high valua and its deadliness was forced upon the attention of the powers by the suc cess of the confederate iron clad Mer rimac in Hampton Roads. A slow, uncouth, cumbersome craft she was, but a veritable besom of destruction to the wooden ships opposed to her. The offensive power of the ram has been developed as rapidly as the de fensive power of ships, and it is likely to furnish some startling instances of its destructiveness before the year is out. EQUIPPING THE ARMY MULE. Packing Is a Science, and the Man Wh Is an Expert Can Make Money. Packers at Tampa, Fla., are engaged in sorting out .mules for use in the army and fitting the pack furniture. Most of the mules will be fitted with the Mexican aparejo, which is to be preferred to the saddle with "trees and sawbuck." It consists first of two or more thick felt blankets, folded large enough tc nearly cover the mule from shoulder to rump. Over this is placed a huge pair of leather bags united by a broad band of the same material, the cavi ties stuffed with soft hay. This is girthed to the mule by a cinch nearly a foot in width, which is draw n as tightly as possible by a strong man, pulling with both hands, and with a foot against the animal's ribs to give him a greater purchase. On each side of the spine the articles to be carried are placed and lashed by a rope about fifty feet in length, which has at one end a broad webbing belt to pass under the belly as was done with the others. Another "squeezinar" is given and the rope is crossed in dif ferent directions over the load, tight ened at every crossing, and finally fastened in a knot loosed by one pull. "Packing is a science and as such commands good wages. I have known "chief packer to be paid a salary of $150 per month on the' fron tier, and his services were worth the money paid. The duty is taught to cavalrymen as part of their drill and many of the Boldiers become very expert in it. At a pack drill of the Ninth cavalry a few days before it left Montana one company packed its mule in 1 minute and 54 seconds and others were but little slower. Thirty mules generally constitute a "train," and are managed by three men. Tney are traineoto follow a bell, worn by a horse, white preferred, as being more readily seen. They are not confined in any way except when first put intothe train j then, any straying from it is punished very se verely and Mr. Mule soon learns his place and that it is best to keep it. Each man with the train carries a diamond-shaped leather blind with leather cords attached to the 'ends and knotted together. . If a pack becomes disarranged two of the men lead the mule out of the trail, blindfold him with this blind, rearrange his load. remove the leather and allow him to rejoin his fellows. He is never struck when started, and pack mules are never misused by good packers. Where the Soldiers Come From. It was an earnest and enthusiastic company drilling in Cass park. There were not to exceed a dozen in the ranks, aud the average age was about six years. Broom handles crossed their shoulders at various angles and elevations, a few had toy pistols, and a little cha2 with an 8-inch snare drum furnished the music. "Get off that grass !" -shouted a big policeman just as a particularly diffi cult evolution was being executed. "Halt!" screamed the little curly haired captain, just in time to aveM a disgraceful stampede. "Make ready. Take aim. Fire !" and the report of three paper caps "rang out on the startled air."' Every little body was fairly rigid in its determination to fall back in good order while loading, when the police man joined in tne lauguter of a score of -other witnesses. An old gentleman, bent with years, walked over to the brave captaiu, patted him on the head aud turned with beaming face to those about him; "And yet other nations wonder where our soldiers spring from when the country needs them to tight its battles." Detroit Free Press. Murphy's Natural Mistake. Officer (to new servant) Murphy.I have left my mess boots out this niorn iiipr. I want them soled. Prirate Murphy Very good, sor. Officer (later in the day) Did you take tho'je boots, Murphy? Private Murphy (feeling in his pockets rind putting on the table 18 pence) jYefl, sor; and that's alllcculd get for tliem. The corporal who bought them saild he would have given two shilling mad it been pay day. ' (Col lapse of o ilu't i). Tit-Bits. l Kite Ou? 1 fapau for Via"y has been popular in Japan for 'vauy centurie the kites depicting the most absurd figures, ceuerallv of ged gentlemen, birds or puppy dofis. HELPS FOR HOUSEWIVES. A Novel Vegetable Slicer. A handy vegetable slicer is formed of a series of knives arranged in steps in a casing with a sliding carriage, having reversed steps, which push tha vegetables through the knives and drop them into the receptacle below. Cleaning Tea Kettle. The inside of a 'tea kettle may be kept in fairly good condition by the use of an oyster shell. Clean tha oyster shell, put it in the kettle and keep it there. The lime will fasten it self to the shell and leave the side's of the kettle comparatively clean. Each night, however, the kettle should be washed, lie oyster shell cleaned, the kettle turned upside down and the shell dried, to be used again iu " the morning. Ladies Home Journal. Packing Away Rngs. Have the rugs thoroughly cleaned. Examine them carefully to see that they are not already stung by the moth miller; fold neatly, and put a little gum camphor between each fold. Roll compactly. Take perfectly clean muslin either an old sheet or muslin purchased for the purpose cover the rugs thoroughly and sew them up. Wrap them in burlap and put away in a light place. Remember that dark, warm places are apt to increase the tendency of moth-eating. Ladies' Home Journal. Tempting Breakfast Dishes. Let every housekeeper remember the zest given to appetite in the morning, when appetite is least keen, by a bit of salt meat or fish. Bacon is such a stand-by at all times that it how per haps lacks the relish of novelty of good, broiled, sugar-cured ham or the host of excellent relish-giving salt fish dishes, as mackerel, smoked salmon, herring or cod, broiled; salt fish in cream (haddie or cod); dainty fish balls of cod or halibut, etc. Fruits also and the daintv fluffy things go to make up appeti2i lg summer break fasts., Woman's Home Companion Esthetic Gridirons. The woman who dresses a "reversi- ' ble gridiron" up in ribbons and con verts it into a paper rack to hang upon the wall has f om j artistic prece dent for the ugly "ornament'v she his created. In mediaeval days, when all workers in, metal were skillful artists in their trade and worked out by hand what is now done by machinery, all the ironwork was artistic. The grills or gridirons made in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries are beautiful, graceful pieces of workmanship, and the patterns are now used over doors as well as for cookery. New York Tribune. A Household Scrapbook. No housekeeper can afford to be without a scrapbook for the preserva tion of the thousand and one things that impress her as worth referring to a second time. Pending their final adjustment, a tempting arrangement that has proved especially satisfactory is the utilization of large envelopes, a dozen or so, niarkedwith the vari ous subjects they contain, and bound together in a linen cover, stiffened with pasteboard. The pasteboard is cut in two pieces the size of the en velopes, while the linen is wide enough to cover the sides and leave abundance of room Tor the back. Two stout silken threads piercing the low er edges of the envelopes and loosely tied hold them in place. The envel opes may be marked "Sick Diet," " The Nursery, " " Furnishings, ' "Sanitary Hints, ""Luncheons," "Entertaining," and the like, to cor respond with their several contents. Receipts. Asparagus Salad Rub three hard boiled egg yolks through a sieve. Put them in a bowl with two raw yolks, salt, pepper and a tablespoonful of prepared mustard, Btir with a wooden spoon, and 'add slowly two gills of salad oil and a little vinegar, with two tablespoonfuls finely chopped herbs parsley, tarragon, chives and shallot. This is to be poured over' the cold boiled asparagus. . Gooseberry Tapioca Pudding Soak one cupful of tapioca over night in cold water. Make a syrup of two cupfuls Qf sugar and half a. cupful of hot water. When boiling add one quart of cleaned gooseberries and cook until tender. Four the berries into an earthen dish, drain off the juice aud pour over the tapioca. Cook in a double boiler until perfectly clear, add the berries, stir well together, turn into the serving dish and set away to 1 cool. Serve very cold with sugar and cream. Strawberry Fromago Put one and a half tablespoonfuls of granulated gelatine in a small saucepan, add half cupful cold water; let stand five min uteR, then set saucepan in a pan of water over the fire and stir until the gelatine is dissolved. Mash one pint well cleaned strawberries with a silver fork, add half cupful of sugar to the gelatine and mix. Let stand till it begins to thicken. Beat half pint cream until thick, add slowly the strawberry preparation to the cream, while beating continuously; pour in a form; set in a cool place till firm. Serve with whipped sweetened cream. 1