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$100 a Yfr, In Advance.
FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH
Single Copy, $ Cent.
7
VOL. X III.
PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, 3K
1903
NO. U.
T fulTInn
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1 1 hi it in i'i
11 1 III 1 8 i 1 S I a
V
mmRYM?
....
OLD TIME-
AUF WIEDERSEHEN r
By Jtmei Itasaell Lowell.
The. name of this, poem is German, and means the game as the French "Au rcvoir"
iiui x see pu again;, a parting phrase nevoid or ttje solemnity of the iJnglisn wora
lareweu, .ami not quite equivalent to
quite eauivalent to the
"good -bye.'
H is pronounced approximately
Vtt,e gte was reacnC(l at last,.
Half hid in lilacs down the lane;
Fhe pushe'd it wide, and, as she past,
A wistful look -she backward cast, k
- ' And said "Auf wiedersehen!" . -
, The lamps clear gleam flits up the stair;
.' I linger in delicious pain
; Ah, in that.chamber, whose rich air
:r 'inbreathe in thought I .scarcely dare,' :
llunks she "Auf .wiedersehen!"
Sweet piece of bashfm maiden artt
The English words had seemed too fain,
But these-rthey drew us heart to heart,
Yet held-us tenderly apart;
She said ''Auf wiedersehen!" .
IN THE TRACK
Dy Albert
. rr -rry-r-r
1AM what many people would call
,.V "crank"-' -'about the shit water.
Ampus the pleasantest hours of my
life are those 1 pass alone in my
little towboat on Loug Island Sound.
Nothing gives me greater delight than
to paddle out a mile or so from
shore, and there lie on, my oars dream
lug, marking the play of sun and wind
on the water, and watching the vessels
.and steamers glide by.,'
In July and August, 1S0S, I passed
-a few weeks in a Connecticut shore
' town not many : miles east of New
Haven. "To this city- my skiff had been
sent down by steamer from New York,
and I had rowed her from New Haven
harbor to the mooring in a cove near
my boarding place. The joy of that
afternoon in the free air and sunlight
can be appreciated only by a man who,
like myself, had been, poring over
ledger columns in a back office for
eight hours a day for ten months. A
crescent of big blisters adorned each
of my palms at the end of the trip,
but my nerves were tranquil and I
-slept like a log that night. -"
The next day. the thermometer regis
tered between ninety and 100 degrees,
and up to 1 o'clock in the afternoon it
was too' warm to do anything but
-drowse in a, hammock under the 'apple
trees behind the house. I got an early
upper, aiyl just before sunset pulled
out into the sound. Soon I was beyond
the tree-tops set up to mark the boun
daries of the oyster beds.
The water was unruffled. East and
'west down either shore to the horizon
moved a long, broken procession of
tugs and steamers, staining the cloud
less sky with their black smoke. The
few sailing craft in sight were motion
less, lhelr sails " hanging idly in Ihe
.still air. f .
Farther and farther out I paddled,
the soft dip of the oars sounding, pleas
antly in my oars. The ' sun dropped
below the horizon ; the red of the west
darkened and disappeared and it was
night, with myriads of stars reflected
on the glossy blackness of the sound.
Lamp began to sparkle along the
-shore, while masthead lanterns and
red and green running lights told the
position of moving steamers whose
Jmlls had become invisible in the
.gloom. . .
I stopped rowing and established
myself comfortably on my back in the
bottom of the boat, pillowing my head
on the bow. The cool darkness, the
salty fragrance of the ocean air, the
gentle motion "of my skiff, and the dis
tant sound of bells and whistles from
"pas'sihg steamers and the land all in
duced a peaceful drowsiness, Avhich
soon lapsed gradually and impercepti
bly into a dreamless sleep.
I must have been unconscious for
two or three hours when the rocking
of the boat awoke me. Cramped and
stiff from my slumber in the night
air on the uncushioned boards, I start
ed up to find myself enveloped by a
thick mist, which covered the sound
like a blanket. It was not very deep,
for the stars shone faintly through It,
but ail other objects were cut off from
my view. -There was no wind, but an
ocean swell, Tolling in from the east,
was ctirring up quite a sea.
Although without a watch, I knew
that it must be well on toward mid
aililit. It dawned on me that I had
FAVORITES
once, and sometimes even now. solemn
"Owf vee-der-sain."
With hand on latch, a vision white
Lingered reluctant, and again
Half doubting if she did aright,
Soft as: the dews that fell that night,'
She said "Auf wiedersehen!"
Th thirteen years; once more I press
The turf that silences the lane;
I hear the rustle of her dress.
I smell the. lilacs, and ah, yes,
I hear "Auf wiedersehen!"
OF THE TOW.
W. Tolman.
---t
been and still was in a very danger
ous position, not. because I expected
any trouble in finding the land, but
because I was in the track of tugs and
steamers. I shivered at the thought of
the peril to which-1 had been exposed
while asleep. Beneath that shroud of
mist my skiff was invisible to a look
out, and might have been crushed
like an egg shell by some steamer's
prow without a soul on board being
the wiser for it. .
Shipping my oars, I listened to the
whistles speaking to one; another
through the fog. The general course of
all the vessels was east and west. If,
without endangering myself, I could
approach a tow of barges near enough
to see which way they were heading,
I could then determine the quarters
of the compass; for if the boats were
loaded -I knew that they would be
going east.; if light, then west, on
their way back to New York.
Oo-oo-ooh! Oo-oo-ooh! The increas
ing loudness of a whistle. to my left
told that a tug was swiftly approach
ing. Lying on my oars, I waited, pre
pared to row forward quickly or back
water, as might be necessary. Nearer
and nearer came the tooting, and I
could hear the rush of water beneath
the unseen prow, and the puff, puff of
steam. Suddenly, twenty feet away,
appeared a black stem, nosing rapidly
through the fog. ' It was a little top
close for comfort. As" the tug swept
by(I caught a glimpse of a tow-rope
dragging over the stern, and judged
from her size that she probably had
two coal-laden barges behind her. I
could hear the voices of the men
on board growing fainter in the dis
tance. '
Another black phantom passed; it
was the first barge, loaded low 'in the
water; after her at an Interval came
another: As they were loaded I knew
that they were heading cast, and
that the shore therefore lay in front
of me. I settled myself on the thwart
and braced my feet for the row in.
So interested had I been in my cal
culations that I had barely noticed a
confusion of whistles that occurred
shortly tafter the passage of the tow.
Hence I was altogether unprepared,
after my third stroke, to hear another
boat approaching through the fog from
the opposite direction. I backed water
vigorously, just in time to escape, be
ing run down by a tug that was mak
ing the water fly as she dashed west
ward. I caught the splash of a rope, and
waited.. Soon came the huge bulk of
an empty barge, rising higb above the
water. It passed so near that I backed
another stroke to be out of the way of
the one which I felt sure was follow
ing it. Soon I heard another tow-rope
whipping the surface, and a second
barge the size of the first swept by.
I listened for several seconds, but hear
ing no further sound, I bent to my
oars again, feeling sure that there
were no more barges.
I had gone perhaps thirty feet when
something struck the bottom of my
skiff. A large cable t rose squarely
beneath - the boat, snapping it into
the air. As ray- boat dropped back
it fell stern first and capsized, throw
ing - me out. When I went under I
lost my grip of the oars, and on coming
to the surface again I moved my hands
1 frantically about In the hope of find-
1U liiClU.
Two or three inches above the water
my lingers encountered something
round and wet, and closed about It like
a vise: Itwas the cable which had
capsized me. A third barge had been
towing tafter the other two, and its
hawser had proved the cause of the
disaster.
Higher and higher it rose, lifting
me above, water until I was only waist
deep. The waves rippled against my
body as I was dragged along. I caught
a last glimpse of my oars and water
logged boat drifting away in the fog.
Then they were swallowed up and I
was left clinging to the sodden rope.
I did not dare let go of it to attempt
to regain my skiff. Indeed, so con
fused was I that the idea did not enter
my head until the chance was gone.
The hawser began to sink again.
Lower and lower it fell until I was
submerged to the neck. Deeper it
went, and deeper still. I had no choice
but to let go, unless I wished to be
dragged under. I released my hold
and was left struggling in the waves,
paddling to keep afloat.
Should I abandon the cable and
strike out for shore? I was not a
strong swimmer, and the land was a
mile or two distant. To start for it in
that fog would be suicide, as I should
soon lose all sense of direction and
circle aimlessly about .until I sank.
My only salvation was tokeep near
the rope, so that I might grasp it when
it rose. Once let me lose that, and I
should drown or be run down by
some passing boat.
Up came the hawser again with a
snap, catching me violently across the
chest. Regaining my hold with diffi
culty, I was lifted up, up, until only
my legs dragged in the water. Then
down I sank again, till the rope passed
below ray reach in a line of phosphor
escent bubbles. This could not last
forever. If, after the cable had sunk,
the barges should makei turn and' pull
it from beneath me, so that I could not
regain my hold when it rose, my posi
tion would be serious indeed. Every
time I let go those twisted strands my
life hung in the balance.
v. I saw that the only thing for me to
do was to make my way at once to one
of the barges before my strength be
came exhausted. The boat behind was
of course the easier to reach, for she
approached nie a little every time I
let go the rope.
Splash to the right! Splash to the
left! The hawser was rising again.
Once more it lifted me into the air.
Before it sank I had worked, myself
some feet toward the barge. After it
was gone I paddled in the same direction.-.
Again and again I did this.
An' easterly wind was rising and the
water was growing rougher. The fog
still clung to the surface. Far up and
down the sound the whistles blew con
tinually, some faint and distant, others
louder and nearer. My fingers were
numb from clutching the coarse
strands.
At last. I knew that I was drawing
near the barge. . The cable no longer
sank beneath my reach. I could hear
the rush of water before the prow.
And now the rope was above the sur
face altogether. High in the air above
me a blunt stein loomed through the
mist. It was the barge at last, with
the cable rising at a sharp angle and
disappearing over its bow.
Wearied by my efforts I felt that 1
could never climb that steep slope
without help. I shouted, but my voice
could not b;e heard above the rushing
foam. Despairing at last of attracting
the. attention of anyone on board, I
saw that my only chance was to as
cend the hawser. 1 was fairly strong
in the arms, and had it not been for my
previous struggles the feat would have
been an easy one. in my present state,
it seemed a tremendous task; but I
had no' choice in tile matter. My life
hung on my power to lift myself hand
over hand. If I let go, the barge would
ride over me like a marine car of
Juggernaut, drowning me at once. I
began the ascent.
The rope tightened, lifting me so that
my toes barely touched the water.
Again it grow loose, and I was sub
merged to the waist.. I was now fairly
in the spume in front of the boat.
Inch by inch I drew nearer. Once
more the hawser tightened, and I hung
suspended over the surge boiling be
fore the prow. It slackened, and I
was thrown against the stem.
This continual motion was my worst
trouble. Had the rope been perfectly
still I could have climbed much more
easily; but it was a dead lift, and
every inch cost me unfold agony. Over
and over again I gave up all hope of
being saveS. Then I would resolutely
put out of my mind the thought of the
entire distance, and focus my whole
attention on the handhold immediately
before me. When by a heart-breakimj
effort I had gained that, I fixed my
aim on the next, and so on. Thus little
by little I progressed, crawling upward
with snaildike slowness.
At .last-1 was almost up to the
"chocks" through which the hawser
ran; but my strength was utterly ex
hausted, and I knew that I could never
clamber on board. With one supreme
effort I raised myself so that my head
came for an. instant above the bul
warks, and looked into the eyes of a
deck-hand who was not more than
three feet away.
The consternation and terror on the
man's face would have been ludicrous
under any other circumstances. - For
a moment we remained staring at each
other. I was too weak to speak, and
lie was too frightened. Then I began
to slip back, still clinging desperately
to the hawser.
The end of a boathook reached cau
tiously out over the bow and moved
down toward me. It caught the back
of my shirt and I did not mind that it
pierced through and drew blood. In
deed, I did not know it, for at that in
stant my fingers relaxed their hold, and
I lost consciousness. I afterward
learned that my preserver would have
been unable to get me on board but for
the opportune assistance of another
bargeman.
I spent the greater part of the next
day in a bunk on hoard the barge at a
coal dock in Hobokeu. But the follow
ing morning found me little the worse
for my adventure, and I went back
to Connecticut that forenoon for the
remainder of my vacation. Youth's
Companion.
Insurance Against Surgical Operations.
In England people of moderate
means are beginning to 'insure them
selves against surgical operations. The
plan is that subscribers who pay.an
annual fee shall be entitled either to
free admittance to a hospital or nurs
ing at home and a free operation or to
a fixed sum paid down to defray the
cost of an operation if one becomes
necessary. In England, as here, the
cost of surgical repairs to the human
bod' has become oppressively great
to persons who just manage to pay
their way. People who are obviously
poor get a great deal of excellent sur
gical and medical treatment in hos
pitals and elsewhere for nothing, but
for the next class above them a seri
ous illness especially if it involves
an operation is almost ruinous."' It
would seem as if the time was near
when societies for insurance against
specialists might be profitably organ
ized in the larger American cities.
The specialist has come to be a very
important inded. an indispensable
institution, especially to families- in
which there are children. The office
of the family doctor has now become
simplified to the task of coming in
and telling the patient which specialist
to go to. It is not that specialists
charge too much, for their honorable
services are above price. It is that
landlord, butcher, baker, grocer, milk
man, coalman, dentist, and trained
nurse do not leave you money enough
to pay them appropriately. To sub
scribe a considerable sum annually
and have all the repairs and desirable
improvements made in ic's family
without further disbursement would
be a comparatively simple way out of
a troublesome predicament. Harpers
Weekly.
Novel Method of KUHnc Hawks.
A farmer who lives in Northern
Louisiana has gijown weary of pep
poring gray hawks with blue whistler
buckshot. It takes too much time.
He sat down and thought long, and
finally evolved a method that i)- .
credit to Yankee ingenuity. Everyone
knows thatWiawks perch only on dead
trees. This Louisiana farmer made a
strong pole some 50 feet in length by
nailing some scantling together. To
one end of the pole he tied a scythe
blade, with its razor edge turned down.
He set the pole up about 500 feet from
his barnyard. An hour had hardly
passed when a black hawk alighted
on the scythe, grasped it with its ta
lons, but released its hold with a sud
denness that gave ample proof of an
injury sustained. The bird glanced
down and attacked the scythe vicious
ly. It was cut again and again, but
never. relented, maddened probably by
its own blood, as most hawks are.
After a short struggle the bird fell
to the ground, with its bond split
open. This Louisiana farmer has
killed many hawks in the same man
1
There was once a gawky, great giant
giraffe,
Who was such a goose he made every on
. laugh.
lie went to New York on a flying machine.
Which turned the menagerie envious green
He called on the zebras and monkeys and
deer,
He saw the rhinoceri, lions and steer; '
He visited leopards, the tiger and lynx,
He lunched with the wild cat then called
net a minx;
He dined with the elephant, supped with
he puma,
Which put him into a delightful good bu-
nior, . '
He was well entertained by the camel and
jaguar, x .
And frequently laughed as he said "What 1
a wag you are."
He paid such attention to little Miss Ante
lope, bue nad softly to whisper, "indeed, sir, L
can't elope!" "
TTa Tin w Hinnt 4- n A. . V-i r 1 ,1 ft r . 1 T f
potamus,
But came out in a hurry, exclaiming, "Ob,
what a muss!"
He "dropped in" on the porcupine count
ing her bills,
And when he went out he stole six of her
:ti
When he finally left in his flying machine.
No happier animals ever were seen.
They said if he would hold his head up so
high, t
They expected he'd lose it some day in the
sky
They found him stiff-necked and uncom
monly proud,
And they hoped he'd stay at home and not
. mix with their crowd.
New York Mail and Express. ;
Jaggles "Has your wife's doctor
much influence over her?" Waggles
"I should say so! He cured her of aa
imaginary disease." Judge.
"This," explained the superintendent
of the hospital for infants, "is the colic
ward." "Ah," mused the visitor.
"Cramped quarters, eh?" Judge.
The right to freely
Air their views ' :. . -Some
claim. It's really
"Wind" they use.
Philadelphia Tress.
"Who is that aristocratic person over
there?" "That! Why, that's the
lucky fellow who invented the worm
less chestnut." Cleveland Tlaln
Dealer.
"I wonder how Venice de Milo came
to lose her arms?" "Broke 'em off,
probably, trying to button her shirt
waist up the back." Philadelphia
Press. .
Mother "Willie, I hope you never do
anything so wicked as to tie tin cans
to dogs tails." Willie "No'm. I never
do nothin' but hold the dog." Detroit
Free Press.
Youngblood "My rich uncle prom-,
ised to do the right thing by me in fcia
will." Criticus "That's too bad. He
really ought to leave you something."
Chicago News., !.
"Let me show you our great 'North
American electric fan." "You. ought
to call it 'South American.' " "Why
so?" "It makes so many revolutions."
Chicago News.
Bashful Lover "I leave here to-morrow.
How long shall you remain. Miss
Ethel?" Up-to-date Girl "Remain
Miss Ethel? I leave that to you."
Town and Country.
First Small Boy "Did you throw
any old shoes after your sister when
she got married?" Second Small Boy
"Not much! .1 threw all my mother's
slippers." Philadelphia Record.
The meanest words .t
That mortals know ..fen
' Are simply these,
"I told vou so."
Philadelphia Record.
The Pink Spook "What made you
act so outrageously yesterday?" The
Black Ghost "It wasn't my fanit.
They ran out of gasoline and tried
feeding me with alcohol." Brooklyn
Life.
"Say, old man, can't you take din
ner with me to-night? I have a couple
of millionaires on hand." "My dear
boy, I would rather take a basket of
food down to the Sub-Treasury and eat
it alone." Life. , i,
The Home of the Banana.
Nature seems to have made Jamaica
the home of the banana, butf it re
mained for American enterprise to turn
the fruit to gold. It is estimated that
9,000,000 .bunches of bananas were
shipped from this island last year. At
an average of thirty-five cents a bunch,
tills would yield S;;.10,000. It is also,
stated that ahov.t St.S.jO.000 is paid out
annually in wa;ies by. fvtik companies.
This would briiirf a totfci of $5,000,000, -to
Ihe teiaml in one year as a direct re
suit of the ft uit trade.
A VISITING GIRAFFE.