Si.oo a ear, in Advance.
FOR GOP, FOR COUNTRY, 'AND FOR TRUTH.'
Single Copy, 5 Ccat5.
VOL. XIV.
PLYMOUTH, N. C FRIDAY. APRIL 24, 1903.
NO. 6.
OLD T1MRTAVQ
; LONGING.
is y ,t a m i:s 11 vbs
"Of all Uic myriad .moods of mind,
Tk't through the soul came throngins,
which was o'er so dear, so kind,
So beautiful ns longing?
The things we Ions fr that we arc
l'or otic tttinscetidenfc moment.
Before the proven t poor and bare
Can make its sneering comment. .
Stiif. through our paltry tir and strife
Glows down the wished ideal.
'And longing molds in day what liia
"Cai'vcs in the marble real.
1 To- let the new life in, we kno.
Oeire must ope the portal;
Perhaps the longing to he so
Helps make the soul immortal.
THE
HERMIT OF THE
FLATS. ' .
IIEUE he lived amid the term
ing humanity of the great and
populous city, "with the noise,
and bustle of traffic and hum
-01 human voices always intz'.mg
through his solitude, yet always alone
and lonely, a hermit of the Hats. The
men of his acquaintance spoke to him
-or nodded cheerily across the res
taurant tables, but. lie -was conscious
-of divergent interests-, so he never
encouraged their friendly advance!?,
hut -went his own way in moody
silence. Of "women be never thought
vku'e the death of bis hopes seven
years before, when the girl of his choice
had rejected him for a luckier man.
Gradually his solitude hardened him,
arid, the hardening process crept into
bis stories, which took a pessimistic
larn. The editors complained because
'bis otherwise strong, virile work, was
ton sombre; others said it lacked natur
alness and humanity, but Avhutever the
fault was, Ilaswell began to realize
4 hut something was seriously amiss.
"Go out among the people; and get
freshened up," said his friend Boynton,
who had always liked Ilaswell's style
of work, "and let yourself live. Then
write what you have learned from
ihem.'V
But Ilaswell declined to take his ad
j"viee, saying that the vulgar horde re
nclh;d Jiim, and he preferred 1o write in
?hJs own way or not at all, so his stories
grew less and less successful, and Has
kell's temper soured proportionately.
It was a bitter midwinter night. The
Icy wind whistled shrilly through the
alleys and filtered in between the
chinks of Ilaswell's windows, rattling
1i; casements unpleasantly. Ilaswell
-was out of temper with his work and
Hhe exacting editors, avIio had returned
-a batelj of his stories without so much
s a rejection slip. lie rose, plugged
iho casements, and drew his machine
closer to" the glowing hearth, and be
gan to revise the rejected copy, when
a timid knock at bis door interrupted
Jris thoughts. '
A gust of chilly
tbe open vestibule
hack the hall door,
once of a stranger
air rushed up from
below as he threw
revealing the prcs-
with an awkwardly
wrapped parcel in
bis arm. A thin
fall of snow hid the tiireadbareness of
J5s ..ill-fitting coat, and the drooping
rim of Ills battered hat obscured his
face, which was very young and dark
-and unnaturally thin.
"What do you want here?'' Ilaswell
idemanded sharply.
"Do Mr. Severn no live here?" asked
a very soft, childlike voice.
"No, he doesn't," Ilaswell answered
brusquely. "There are no Italians in
this -apartment house. You had better
get out before you're put out."
"He told my friend be live here," ihe
1oy said, apologetically. "He have
promised to let ine play for hint. I
need work very bad. Mister."
"Oh, I dare say! Home begging game,
of course. Well, yon won't, make any
llimg here, I can tell you." Then for
the first time he saw the violin under
ibe .boy's ragged arm. "Do you. play
that . thing V" he asked curiously,
"'You're not more than a child!"
"I am sixteen. Mister." the soft, ap
pealing voice answered.
"Well, you're man's not here." Ilas
well retorted briefly, closing the door
and going back to his cheerful hearth.
But that last glimpse of the pathetic
ittlo face made him uncomfortable,
i "!c oprned the door once more, ar.d
RITES I
nr. r, low e ex,
- Longing is God's fresh heavenward will.
With our poor earthward striving;
We quench it that we may be still
Content with merely living.
But. would we learn that hearjsjull scope
Which we are hourly tvrongiYig,
Our lives must climb from hope'to hope
And realize our longing.
Ah, let us hope that to our praise
" Good God not only reckons.
The moments when we tread Hi way?,
But when the spirit beckons.
That seme slight good is also wrought
Beyond self-satisfaction.
When we are simply good in thought
Ilowe'er we fail in action.
leaning over the banisters, called down
to him: "Come up," he said rather
grudgingly, "I may be able to help you
find your friend."
The boy pattered softly up the steps.
Once Within the brightly lighted room
his poverty and weariness became pain
fully apparent; his trousers and coat
were frayed and ragged, and his big.
loose shoes were full of gaping holes,
ilaswell took the old violin from his
numb grasp and bade him throw off
his coat, which lie did fumbiugly, for
his bands were stiff and blue with
cold. His trousers were wet to the
knees, and the melting snow oozed
steadily from the broken toes of his
shoes. HaSAveii stared at bis sad
figure helplessly.
"Where do you live?" he demanded
abruptly.
"In Greenwich
"Down town. I
street, Mister.'
presume. Must you
go home to-night':"
The boy shrugged his shoulders with
a. gently depreciating smile. "Nobody
don't care if I don't," he answered.
"Then you had better stay here, l'ott
can sleep on the couch, yonder, when
you're all cleaned up. You are wring
ing wet and cold as ice. Tell you what.
I'll run a lubful of warm water, and
you can take your bath while I hunt up
some dry things. After that you can
tell nie about yourself."
. When the strange little figure
emerged from the bathroom arrayed in
Ilaswell's spacious pajamas, with his
black, silken 'thatch washed and curl
ing crisply all around his pale face,
Ilaswell noticed that his delicate, re
fined beauty was quite extraordinary
and altogether irreconcilable with his
rags and misery. Ilaswell poured out
the coffee ho had steeped over his
alcohol lamp, and set before his guest
a plate of crackers and cheese which
he bade hinnoat, -while he finished -his
work, but although the host made a
creditable feint of writing, he did not
for an instant take his eyes from the
beautiful, pallid face which the mel
low firelight threw into sharp relief.
Why did that stranger child interest
him so overwhelmingly ? he asked him
self grimly; was it because of the pos
sible story it held, or had he touched
the glossed-over springs of human
sympathy which had laiu dormant so
long under the stolid indifference that
cloaked the hermit of the flats?
It was a pathetic little story that the
lad had to tell, and he told it in falter
ing English, with now and then a word
of his Servian mother tongue to offset
its pathos: of his immigrant father, a
musician in .the old con u try, -who had
been obliged to taice work in a factory
to avert starvation, whose death oc
curred shortly after through :n explo
sion of the factory works; of the subse
quent wanderings' in a strange city.
His only friends had lately been en
gaged to travel wllh a concert band,
and he was "trying to find a couutry
man who had promised him an insig
nificant part with his wandering band.
He was quite alone in the world, with
out kindred or friends or money. His
only hope was to obtain work enough
to pay his return passage to Servia.
Ilaswell asked many questions, but the
lad's story never deviated except to
add some pathetie detail which showed
how much toil and privation his young
life had known.
"I used to take a great deal of pleas
ure in music." said Ilaswell, when the
child had finished his story and drawn
I
A
his chair closer to the blazing hearth.
"Suppose you play something for me
if you are warm enough to handle your
violin. I want' to know what you can
do."
Uhuel tucked hU old violin under his
chin and tightened the slack strings,
then he dried his how carefully and
began to play, very softly and deli
cately, a weird little melody unlike
anything Haswell had ever heard, more
sad, more beautiful, and infinitely
sweeter. There was a lack- of tech
nique and detinitoness in his touch
which -would -bar a successful hearing
with the coldly critical public, but to
Ilaswell. whose soul was stirred to its
inmost depths by the spirit of pure
melody, it seemed inexpressibly lovely.
It brought new pictures to his mind,
of unsuspected beauty, of lives shad
owed by want and poverty, toilers in
the dark whom such as he, to whom
much had been given, should minister
comfort and cheer. Ho seated himself
before his desk and began to write,
without conscious effort or weariness,
the story that the child's music in
spired. The boy played on unceasing
ly, glancing now and then at the hand
hurrying across the paper, until at
last Ilaswell lifted his head and smiled.
"You are tired, I'm sure," he rtiid in
a voice of singular gentleness. "Put
away your violin and go to hod in my
room, yonder; I want to finish my
work hjre beside the fire."
. . a
A week later, when Ilaswell look his
story down to P.oynton's 'office, the lat
ter glanced it over skeptically, read a
few lines of the last page, then began
at the start and went through it. word
for word, with eager attention. When
he had finished be looked up at Ilas
well with a queer,' unaccustomed smile.
"If you can do a thing like that once."
he said, "you can do it again. That's
the sort of stuff we want. I'll give
you .$50 for every story of that kind
you send me."
Ilaswell went back to his hermit flat
in an exultant frame of mind. He
found his little guest crouching before
the fire with his curly head bowed
over the violin. "lihuel," he began ab
ruptly, "you have given me 'a great
deal of pleasure with your "music, and
to show you I appreciate the kindness
I. have decided to send you home. A
week from to-day you shall have your
passage ticket."
The boy looked up with a start, and
his face grew, if possible, paler. He
rose, laid down his violin, and took a
step toward his benefactor, then
paused and looked at him with glow
ing eyes.
"Are you very glad?" Haswell asked,
smiling whimsically.
"Yes, Mister, an' no, too. I love my
country but I haf no relative; "
"Perhaps you would rather have the
money?" Ilaswell suggested rather
coldly.
IMiuel shook his head. Suddenly he
put out one thin hand and touched
Ilaswell's shoulder with an appealing
gesture that thrilled the older man
strangely. "Mister, I radcr .stay wid
you," he faltered. "If you let me, I
jus' love to stay."
"Stay with me!" Ilaswell echoed in
adequately. Then he laughed and
caught the thin little baud in his big
Avarm grasp.
"I really believe we'd hit it off tine,
little lad' he said gayly. "I'm not
quite suited with this hermit life, upon
my word I'm not. Suppose we try
doubling up for a time? -When -you
grow tired, you can say so, you know."
"No. Mister." the boy contradicted
eagerly, "I never grow tired. I love
to stay always!"
"Stay, then," said Ilaswell. --
And he did. New York Times..
Kxonevated.-
The judgment that was pronounced
on the manuscript which a playwright
had in his possession during the time
of King William III. could be applied
with equal propriety to the works of
sonic modern writers which find pre
sentation on the stage. Having been
arrested and brought before the Earl
of Nottingham on the charge of own
ing treasonable papers, he denied at
great length all knowledge of the, af
fair, sayiug that he was a poet and
that the, papers in question were only
a roughly sketched play. The Earl,
however, examined them carefully,
and finally, having settled the thing in
his own mind, -turned to the prisoner
and said:
"I have-heard your statement and
road your manuscript, and as I fail to
seo any traces of a plot" In either, you
may go." Philadelphia Ledger.
It is 101 years since the first census
wa3 taken in England.
FINE CASCADES IN JAPAN.
Rome of the Most Uewitcliing; Waterfall
of the World Exit There.
There is an almost countless number
of waterfalls jn the domain of tbo
Mikado. Nature was lavish in bestow
ing them on the country, and wherever;
there chanced to be a deficiency the
natives supplied it promptly by arti
ficial means. Indeed, no State, largo
or small, is complete without its water
fall. Every little garden has' a fall
or two of its own and it. would not
be considered a garden at all without
it There are many very beautiful
ones in various parts of the country,
and they are all of them shrines visited
by thousands of pilgrims every year.
They do not pray to them as to a statue
of Buddha, but they first paste up a
little paper prayer on a convenient
rock and then sit down in rapt atten
tion and gaze at the falling waters for
hours, taking an occasional cup of tea
at a little tea house, -which always
stands close at hand. The Japs are
great at making pilgrimages, anyway.
When a map. has reached the age of
forty-five he is supposed to have raised
a family which will in the future take
care of him. About the first thing he
does on retiring is to start on a series
of pilgrimages. Sometimes he joins a
band of fellow-pilgrims, or if compara
tively wealthy he takes his wife and a
minor child and makes the pilgrimages
by himself. These pilgrim bauds can
always be seen moving about the coun
try. They carry little banners with
the name of their city and district
marked on them, and when they have
received good entertainment at a tea
house or hotel they hang one of their
banners up in a conspicuous place as a
testimonial. Often a band of pilgrims
will travel from one end of the coun
try to the other, visiting every temple
and waterfall in the land. -Chicago
Chronicle.
Hound-Heart People Most Content.
"Do you know," said a man to a
Journal reporter, "that of the men
who have left Spartanburg and settled
in other places nearly every one was
an oblong-headed man?" This state
ment may seem strange, but it is true
that it is the oblong-headed people
who are generally not content to take
things as they happen and make the
most of their position in a philosophi
cal spirit. This condition is not pe
culiar to Spartanburg. It is the ease
everywhere. 1 recall many years ago
that I was told that the oblong-headed
people were .more restless than the
round-headed, and some cause was ad
vanced for it which I do not now re
member. I doubted the story, but
since then I have given attention to
the matter, and in most cases, of de
parture from the several communities
in which I have resided from time to
time I have found that it is the oblong-headed
people who change their
places of vocation. I am oblong-headed
myself, and I have lived in New
York, Jacksonville, Greenville and now
I am in Spartanburg. In every one of
these, cities -friends and acquaintances
with the round heads have remained
in the communities, seemingly satis
fied or rather averse to moving, while
my oblong-beaded friends have pulled
out and settled elsewhere, affirming
tiie rule which I heard when I was
a yomg "mail." Spartanburg (S. C..
Jpurnal.
Oil-Time Journalism.
, Herbert Asquith paid a pivity com
pliment to the press at the. London
Newspaper Society's dinner in regard
to its rapid collection of news. Nowa
days the editorial task is winnowing
rather than gathering. It was other
wise in the eighteenth century, when
file Leicester Journal, for instance,
had to send all its copy by coach o
London for printing, so that its news
was at least a week laic avIicji it ap
peared. It Mas sometimes later. For
i;t one dry season the editor was re
duced to printiug'the Bible as a serial
and had reached the tenth chapter of
Exodus before any. news more recent
than the Pentateuch had reached the
oil ice.
Useful mnl Int erestins;.
The readers of newspapers have rea
son to feel much gratified by the im
provement which has taken place in
the business and art of advertising.
More and more "the advertising col
umns' of a paper of high class have
become both useful and interesting.
Its advertising Is now an important
feature of the chronicles of the day, a
valuable directory, which is tending to
grow still more attractive as reading.
New York Stiu.
Many a life hajt been wrecked by
disregarding tkcifinger signals.
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS.
There once Was a creature whose long
busby tail
Was tiail up with a pink ribbon Low,
Mow, was it a whale?
Or was it a snail?
O was it a crockery crow?
There once was a tree who was making at
speech 51
To a Jacly who wore a white sash.
Now, wa3 it a beech?
Or was it a peach?
Or was it a gold-headed ash?
There once was a bird who wrote with m
pen
And ate up a whole lot of hay.
Now, was it a wren?
Or was it a hen?
Or was it a gingerbread jay?
There once was a fruit who was ignorant
very. '
Because it would not go to school.
Now, was it a cherry?
Or was it a berry?
Or was it a Gooseberry Fool?
Carolyn Wells.in Puck. ;
Auntie "Are you getting any marks
at school, Freddie?" Freddie "Yes,
aunty on'y I can't show 'cm to you."
Tit-B'-ts.
Mrs. Ilenpecque "Married men live
Iorer than single men." Ilenpecque
"Yes, and it serves them right." De
troit Free Press.
First Boarder "This hash must be
a review of the week." Second Board
er "No, it isn't. It's a review of re
views." Chaparral.
The Doctor "Ar you sure you nevec
buried any one alive?" The Undertak
er "Well, none of-yptir patients, at
least." Chicago News.
The world's work aye, it must be done '
By many men. But scores - J
Of us ne'er reach such dignity,
And merely do its chores.
Puck.
Merchant (to new hoy) "Has the
bookkeeper told you what to do in the
afternoon?" Youth "Yes, sir; I am to
wake him up when I see you coming."
Piek-Me-Up.
"Name the world's greatest com
poser," said the musical instructor.
"Chloroform," promptly replied the
young man wiio had studied medicine.
Chicago News.
Uncle John "Why. my girl, you've
grown like a cucumber vine! What
progress are you making toward matri
mony?" Clara" Well, uncle. I'm on
the fifth lap." Tit-Bits.
"I guess we would be amused if we
could see ourselves as others see tis."
"But think how amused others would
be if they could see us as we see our
selves." Philadelphia Press.
Forgiving and forgetting might
: Be practiced oft in debt,.
Were lenders Avilling to forgive
As borrowers to forget.
The Smart Set.
Mrs. Mann "Hannah, didn't I heat
something break in your room this
morning?" Hannah "It was only one
of your china vases, inarm. I suppose
301; thought it was something that be
longed to me." -Boston Transcript.
"Will your employer be in after din
ner?" inquired the visitor of the office
boy., "Nope," was the laconic reply.
"What makes you think so?" was the
net query. "Coz," 'replied the boy as
he prepared to dodge, "that's what he
went out after.' Judge.
"In your vermiform appendix," the
surgejLui toht him after the operation
! was over. "Ave fouml, strange to say, a
j small brass tack." "That proves I was
I right," feebly answered the sick man,
"when I said it was something I had
eaten in mim c pio." Chicago Tribune.
"What is'your name?" inquired the
justice. "Pete Smith," responded ihe
vagrant. "What occupation?" contin
ued th? court. "Oil, nothing much at
present; just circulatin' round." "Ue
vired from circulation for thirty days."
pronounced t he court dryly. "The
Green Bag.
A Town Without Graveyard.
According to the Oklahoman. Ahcr
:s probably the only town in the Terri
tory of its s'.v.e and age that has no
graveyard. Asher is a year old and has
a population of over .1000 people, and.
the place is built up with substantial'
business blocks ar.d modern residences,
but has no burial place. The few peo
ple that have died in the section have
been buried at oiher points. Owing to
its high location, line drainage ami
abundance of artesian water. Asher i
said to be one of if not the lieabb;cst
locations in Ike Territories. A local
doctor recently made the remark that
if it had not hecn 1 he 'obstetrical cases
at this point. Ahcr, ho would l!:na
th'rved to d'-ath.
J