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$1.00 a Year, In Advance. " FOR GOl, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH." Single Copy, 3 Cent. '
VOL. XIII. PLYMOUTH, N. C., FRIDAY, FEBRUARY fi; 1903. " NO. 47.
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OW
2DESTRU CTION OF SENNACHERIB'S HOST.
3Tke Awyrian came down like the wolf on And Uicre lay the steed vrith his nostril all
the fold, wide,
.JAaa bit .cohorts were gleaming in purple But through it there rolled not the breath
- i 1 , ; . of luscide; y
Jtqd.lae; sheen of their spears was like And the. foam of his gasping lay white on
atara on the aea, the turf,
Ylea 1 the blue waves roll nightly on deep And cold aa the spray of the rock beating
,V Cahlce. surf.
tae leaves of the forest when summer And there lay the rider, distorted and
I Jp-jk V Breen, pale,
3lt aost with their banners at sunset With the dew on his brow and the rust on
were seen; his mail;
the leaves of the forest when autumn And the tents were all silent, the banners
had blown, alone,
'Tint hos on tbe morrow lay withered and The lances uplifted, the trumpet un
irewh. blown.
IKar tie angel of death spread his wings on And the widows of Ashur are loud in their
te blast, wail.
Ami breathed in the face of the foe as he And the idols are broke in the temple of
aaa'd; Baal;
Aua the eyea of the eleepers wax'd deadly And the might of the Gentile, unsmote by
aa9 chill the sword.
JAmi. their hearts but once heaved and Hath melted like snow in the glance of the
forever grew still. Lord!
. Lord Byron.
t: c
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4
A GAME
t
WITH
LIVING CHESSMEN
3y - :
By George Ethelbert' Walsh.
rTlHIS happened before you
invo war a
1
Harry asserted, stretching
himself in the easy chair.
"It Tras when I was quite a youngster
myself. I didn't have as easy a time
w"t It then as boys of to-day. I had to
xrrn my living when I was thirteen,
and before I was sixteen I had been
around the world twice. I wasn't a
abin passenger, either, but simply
3i cabin boy, which means an all
around overworked and much-abused
Iwy.
"Whea I was nearly sixteen we had
n -wreck on one of the islands in the
Indian Ocean, and we were all washed
ashore. There were sixteen of us in
Jbe crew, including, one young fellow
ytho was considered half an idiot, but j
:w& always " made plenty of fun for
the j men in the fo-castle. When we
picked : ourselves up on the beach we j
found we had jumped from the frying
ysxtx into the fire. There stood several j
Jfcimdred yellow cutthroats armed to
teeth with sticks, knives and
anrords. At first they acted as if they
intended to kill us, but their chief came
alarara ttud ordered us to be earried
- Mjeraj i prison.
' We were thankful for that, but the
' prikoa was such a dirty place that
ve nearly died in it. I think we would
an bare been executed if it had. not
llen f or Strander, the one we called
the alf-idiot, who had in some way
attracted the chiefs attention. Before
- jre tmew it he was actually serving as
ort jester and entertainer to his
Majesty. He was a good musician and
. M sood player of all games, lie was
: particularly an expert at chess.
"Now, as it happened, his Majesty
-"was also an expert chess player. This
came, you know;, is an Oriental one,
audi it was played in the Far East
. ; Jeng ief ore- America was discovered.
WcTU this chief had learned to play it
somewhere, and he was passionately
fond of it. Strander could give him
lint8 on the game, however, every
time, bat lie was wise enough never
to "beat lhe old" chief. He would give
. Mm the hardest game he could, but
always at 4 he very end he would make
- a move which would let the chief win.
;"Thi8 so pleased the chief that he spent
' nearly every afternoon playing chess
with Strander. Then he grew so boast
ful of his skill that he challenged
-strander td play for any -wish he liked.
If Tie woo. the wish would be granted.
" Then, your Majesty, Strander said,
" we will play for the lives of .the men.
If 1 win they are to come forth from
Sbe prison and be given their liberty.
Slot If ;yoa win -'.
--'Ah, ha r shouted the chief. 'Tou
feave Mid It. If you lose they shall be
, xectrted at once.'
Stranfier turned a little pale and de
taorrefl, but the chief Insisted upon
fie compact. 'I shall save your life,'
tae chief added, if you lose, for I want
yoa to play chess with, but your friends
: srast all die.' ,
iatHf Twin do I go free with the
mn,vcobrv
The chief scowled and thought a
1 gwant, and then he 'said: 4Ye?. you
t ' ;
It
FAVORITE S
may go with them, too,
not win.'
But you will
"So the great game of chess was
planned, and the chief, to make it more
impressive, called a holiday for it.
More than that, he decided that it
should be a game with human players.
In the public square he ordered a big
chess board to be laid off, with black
and white places for the players to
stand oil. Then around this square he
had seats erected for his courtiers and
favorites. Next he caused a sort of
chair of state to be erected on one
side, overlooking the whole scene, and
another opposite for Strander. In
these chairs the two players were to
sit while they played their strange
game of chess.
"We were all led forth from our vile
prison one day and conducted to the
square, where a crowd was assembled. j
Wc had no idea of the important game,
nor of the responsibility placed upon
Strander shoulders. We took our
places on the white squares, while
the chic ordered some of his dusky
warriors to take positions on the black
squares.
"We were all arranged then for ac
tual playing. It was a rather pictur
esque sight from th? chief's high point
of view, but the horrible import of the
whole performance gradually dawned
upon us, and we had no eyes for the
beauty or picturesqueness of the scene.
We watched Strander with pale faces,
while that individual returned our gaze
stonily and coolly. He was playing for
a terrible stake, and fifteen lives de
pended upon the skill of his moves.
The chief was no mean player, al
though ordinarily Strander could
easily have beaten him, but the anxiety
of his position seemed to tell severely
on him. He played apparently with
reckless haste, making blunders that
brought, forth harsh laughs from the
chief and wild shouts from the spec
tators. One by one Strander's pawns
were captured, and removed from the
board. Then one of his castles fol
lowed, and next a knight. His king
was also nearly cornered, so that for a
time it looked as if he was caught.
The old chief had the word 'check al
ready ' framed on his lips when
Strander seemed to pull himself to
gether with an effort, and by a dex
terous move extricated his king from
its perilous position.
"Tim game then proceeded more
slowly. Strander studied the dusky
warriors of his opponent as they stood
in their positions on the queer chess
board. He moved the few remaining
fellows of his crew with slowness and
precision. ' I had been selected as a
knight, and I found myself time and
again brought into such close proxim
ity to. the chief's knight that I feared
for my freedom. But in some strange
way 8trahder always brought me out
of the dangerous position, and by far
sighted planning gave me a chance to
capture some of the pawns of the
enemy.
"My-; greatest triumph came when I
captured iu. a double play : the chief's
bishop and castle. Nothing could have
uiA&a me feel happier at that rooinect.
eiQioiQieieKgeteeQto
I
and I could see the chief scowl with
anger and determination. The loss of
these men made the battle more equal,
and the chief grew nervous and rest
less. His fingers played feverishly
with I1I3 long tunic, and his mustache j
was twisted and twirled several times
between each play. His warriors also
lost their cheerful manners and no
longer shouted when he made a move.
"But Strander was like - a : sphinx.
He was sober and serious, and his eyes
were glued upon the players before
him. I thought he often looked at me
with a queer expression, and even
when he was watching his opponent's
play a gleam from the corner of his
eyes appeared to take me in. Was he,
after all, merely playing with the king
to give him the impression that it was
a hard-fought game? I began to be
lieve that he was only fooling with
his antagonist, and that the game was.
well within hand. The suspicion was
further confirmed by the way he eyed
me. I felt certain that he had selected
me for some sharp work, and that he
was planning a grand coup which
would end the game. I grew more
confident at this and breathed easier.
"But following this came a series of
mishaps or mistakes which raised the
hopes of the bloodthirsty warriors
around. Four pawns, a castle, and a
bishop were swept in rapid succession
from the chess board. I fairly gasped
In surprise at this, coming eo soon
after my confidence In Strander's
strategy. The shouts of approval
which rent the air made me feel faint
and dizzy. I looked around. There
were barely half a dozen of my crew
left on the board. The others bad all
been captured. The game was surely
lost, and our lives would pay the pen
alty. "The old chief, In his glee, made two
rapid moves to corner Stander's king
and queen. Strander appeared fright
ened and demoralized. Then he quiet
ly made a few moves, and, In a voice
that seemed plaintively modest and
frightened, he said:
" 'Your Majesty is checked!'
"The chief uttered a sort of growl
and moved his king to one side.
Strander followed up his advantage,
and called 'check' again! In some mys
terious way Strander had arranged his
few remaining men so that they
seemed suddenly to close In upon the
chief's cornered king. In vain the old
man studied, the puzzle, and tried to
plan a way of escape: It was a trap
so neatly laid and sprung that it took
somq time fpr-the spectators to realize
it. An intense hush fell upon the au
dience. The chief's face worked spas
modically. He was facing defeat, but
It was hard to acknowledge it. -It was
the first time that any one had de
feated him at his favorite game. How
would he accept the defeat? Even be
fore the game was declared finished
every one of us was questioning in our
mind whether the old man's promise
would be redeemed. Even Strander
was in doubt, and we could see the
working of hig face.
"The, chief bowed his head and
shaded his eyes. Three times he looked
up at the sky and blinked his eyes.
Then he glanced coldly at his opponent
seated opposite. A wave of his hand
summoned one of his warriors to him.
Stretching forth his arm, he shouted:
" 'Take them away from me! I never
want to see his face again! Away with
him! Away with him!'
"Was this our sentence? Did it mean
immediate execution? That question
also puzzled i the old warrior, for he
asked something in an undertone.
" 'No, no!' shouted the chief; 'I gave
my word. They shall be free. Take
them away and give them their free
dom. But never let me see his face
again!"
"Strander. had mortally offended him
in defeating him at chess, but he had
also saved our lives. The old chief
was bowed with grief and mortifica
tion when they led us away. Ah ex
pression of pity entered Strander's
face, and for a moment it seemed as
if he would face the danger of speak
ing to the chief and asking his par
don. . But he thought better of it and
walked away with us. We were con
ducted to the coast and placed ia boats
which carried us to the mainland.
There we met a ship in time which
carried us home.
"It seemed like a miraculous escape,
but after all it was due entirely to
Strander's skill. He had the old chief
beaten from the beginning, but he had
played carefully with him to keep him
from losing his temper. He was afraid
even then that he would not keep his
promise; but, sometimes a savage has
as good a sense of honor as a civilized
man, and certainly one who could play
such a game of chess ought to. Don't
you think so, boys?" New York Times.
i QUAINT LONDON LECACtES.
Precious Worthies of Times Past Ht
Had Their Charities Continue.
Some curious glimpses into the life
of old London are afforded by the re
ports made to the Charity Commission
on the endowed charities in the Coun
ty of London, a few of which have just
been !ssiied.,as parliamentary papers.
For Instance, in the reports dealing
with the city parishes, wo have an
estimate of the value set on sermons
by city men in olden times. That
estimate varied from 5 shillings to
1 10s. One Thomas Brightwell left a
bequest for a sermon to be "preached
on the 5th of November every time it
fell on a Sunday, the minister to get
13s. 4d., the clerk 3s. 4d., and the sex
ton la. 4d. But David Gittin had a
more modest Idea of the value of "a
sermon in the same parish. He re
quired two sermons for '10 shillings,
one to be preached on the second Sun
day in Advent, and the other on the
second Sunday in Lent. The reader
got 2 shillings, the churchwarden 2s.
Sd., and the poor sexton 4 pence for
each occasion. John Ireland thought
13s. 4d. enough for two sermons.
In 16G0 John Winn left a curious
bequest to the parish of St. Berinet,
Paul's Wharf. A pound was set apart
for an annual sermon, the text to be
taken from the 5th chapter of St.
John and the 27th verse. He also left
.enough to buy " twelve penny loaves
for' twelve poor people of the parish
who attended a sermon every Friday
in the parish church. But he expected
more for his pound than the. annual
sermon, for before or after the sermon
the minister- had to spend an hour ex
amining or instructing the poor people
in the Christian doctrine.
The most generous donor of the
preacher was James Wood, who
thought a sermon in St. Nlcholas-Cole-Abbey
was worth 1 10s. every alter
nate year. In 1G25 he bequeathed to
the Company of Bowyers a sum to
enable them, among other things, to
repair to the parish church named,
after they had sworn in their wardens
and master every second year, there
to hear a sermon and pay the parson
1 10s.. and the clerk and sexton Is.
Gd. each. In the parish of St. Michael
Bassishaw on.- Edward Heylin in the
eighteenth century left money, the in
terest on which was to be applied to
purchasing two sixpenny loaves each
Sunday for two poor men or -women
who should attend divine service.
London Daily News.
Gold-Dusted Sydney.
Gold is to be found in most things.
as we know now even in sea water-
but some experiments recently made
in Sydney under the auspices of the
local Royal Society yielded curious
results in this connection. Dust col
lected from the roof of the Sydney-
Observatory was found to contain co
balt, nickel and gold, while at the uni
versity buildings a couple of miles
further away froni the sea gold was
also discovered in the dust. The Ob
servatory is within a stone's throw of
Sydney harbor, with the wharves all
around It. and probably the nickel and
cobalt are to be traced to the. ship
ments of rough ore brought over from
New Caledonia from time to time. But
the gold is everywhere, and it was
shown to be present in dust collected
promiscuously at such unlikely places
as Moruya, Meniudie and other towns
far removed from the "yellow belt."
Possibly, through the agency of some
future invention, this common dust
may be made to pay for the working,
and tliis woxild be a helpful new asset
for Australia, for there is plenty of It.
London Chronicle.
Uncle Sam's Business Methods.
The Postoffice Department of the
United States was considered a good
deal of an institution before the Ciyll
War. In 1852 its receipts were $6,900,.
000. In 18G2 they were $8,200,000.
Last year they were $121,800,000. The
receipts of the department have trebled
since 1882. They have increased $50,
000,000 In ten years, and in the same
time the annual deficit has fallen from
$6,000,000 to $2,000,000. . These are big
figures on a big subject. If the abuses
in the postal business can be reformed,
no difficulty will be - experienced in
making receipts and expenditures bal
ance. Congress should deal promptly
with postal affairs. ' They touch the
welfare of the people at many im
portant points. St. Loui3 Globe-Democrat.
Tired of Thensselve.
It is incorrect to say that one Is tired
of life. People expressing themselves
that way mean they are tired of. them
selves. New York News.
TrVf STONE IN THE ROADV
Up hill wi!h heavy load
A farmer's wheela went zodnd;
A sfone was in the road.
At which the farmer frewRe'i,
At once, with snap aitd crack,
The shaft gave vrf and dropped;
The wagon staggered back,
But struck tn stone and stopped
That stone, gowned on at first.
Now held the wagon fast:
The stone the farmer cursed
Reclaimed his load at last. ,
'Tis thus through life, I wis:. .. ,
The evils often bless, "
And hindrance oftn is
A rock of sure success.
John Edward Everett, in Ram's Horn
ls he a well informed man?'
should say so. Why, his wife tell
him everything." Town Topics:
Little Clarence 'Pa, how jnany ;
senses have we?" Mr. Calipers "Six,
my son five senses and a nonsense."
Puck. ,
Struggling Author "I am told yo
gave that book of mine a awful roast.
Literary Editor "I did. I threw it In
the fire." Chicago Tribune.
"Where the wife is the better half,
what is the husband?" "Perhaps be i
what is meant by the submerged
tenth!" Detroit Journal.
Miss Sere "Did I tell you what I had
intended .to do on my thirtieth birth
day?" Miss .Tere "No, but I suppose
you did it." Philadelphia Press.
She "My. mind, I'd have you -understand.
Is on 'something higher than
dress." He "Oh, is" Ml On your hat.
I suppose?" Philadelphia Bulletin.
He sent his boy to coi)ge.
And now he cries, Alack!
He spent ten thousand dt liars,
And got a quarter back '
-Puck.
The Artist's Wife "And did he say
anything complimentary about your
picture?" The Artist-"Yes; he sald
he thought I had sold it." Yonkers
Statesman.
"The Shotsbys must be wealthy te
give away so much to charity." "They
are. Shotsby got a corner not long ago
in one of the necessaries of life."
Town Topics.
A girl seldom marries her brother's friead.
Or even her cirl friend's brother.
Their temperaments would never blend;
They know too much of each other.
' Philadelphia Press.
Mrs. Ilighblower "Elsie, you never
speak outside of the quarrels betvreen
your papa and myself, do you?" Elsfe
"Oh, no, mamma. But whenever ja
are pleasant to each other I always
mention it." Life.
Worthless nusband "Going to Iav
me, are you, Moll? Didn't yoa lake
me for better or worse?" Long Suf
fering Wife "Yes. but you are abso
lutely the worst. I didn't take yon for
that." Chicago Tribune.
First Heiress "Why did you !Ot
Miss Plumleigh so the other day
Secopd Heiress "Oh, she's impossible.
Not in our sphere at all. She's never
been sought by a European syndicate."
Chicago Record-Herald.
"Oh, yes," replied the bright and
scientific young mother; "I always glvi?
Clifford twenty-five cents when I spa'jfc
him. The b.est authorities are quite
agreed that punishing a child for noth
ing tends to confuse his ethical no
tions." Puck.
"nave you -weighed anchor yet?"
demanded the new commodore of the
yacht club. "Aye, aye, sir." answered
the petty officer, touching his hat.
"Then why," : thundered the commo
dore, "don't you announce the weight?"
Chicago Tribune.
"What are you two fumbling about?'
asked the suspicious chaperon, as she
suddenly entered the room. Th
bright young girl looked meaningly at
the brave but' modest effort on the
young man's upper lip. "That was hot
a fumble at all. aunty, dear," she sali,
in her soft, sweet tones; "that -was ,
just a touchdown." Baltimore Amer
ican. . - - '
A Query
Are executed murderers entitled t
b called martyrs because they have
died for their convictions? New York
Times.
A woman may think she admlres.the
L hero of a novel, but It is doubtful it
she would tolerate his perfection ia.
real life.