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vol. xi v;
PLYMOUTH, N. C, FRIDAY, MAY 15, 1903.
NO. 9.
LD TIME?- EffliOffTES
EARLY RISING.
I!y JOHN GOBFIIEV S.1XE.
God b!e?s the man who first invented sleep!"
So Sancho l'anza said, and so nay I;
And bless him also, that he didn't keep
His "teat discovery to himself, nor try
To make it as the lucky fellow might-
A close monopoly by patent right!
Yes b.ess tiieman who first invented sleep,"
(I really can't avoid the iteration)';
But bless the man,' with curses loud and deep,
What'cr the rascal's name, or age, or station,
'Who first invented, and went round advkini,
That artificial cut-off Early Rising!
"Rise with the lark, and with the lark to bed,"
Observes some solemn, sentimental owl;
Maxims like these are "very cheaply said;
But. ere you make yourself a fool or fowl,
Pray just inquire about his rise1 and fall.
And whether larks have any be Is at all!
The time for honest folks to be pbed
is in the morning, if I reason right;
And he who cannot keep precioushead
Upon his pillow till it's fairly light.
And no enjoy his forty morning winks,
la up to knavery; or else he drinks!
Thompson, who sung about the "Season?," said
It was a glorious thing to "rise" in season;
But then he said it lying in his bed,
At 10 o'clock a. m. the very reason
ITe wrote so charmingly. The simple fact is
His preaohing wasn't sauctioi.- d by his practice.
'Tis, doubtless, well to be sometimes awake
Awake to duty, and awake to truth
But when, alas! a r;ico review we take
Of our best deeds md days, we find, in sooth.
The hours that leave the slightest cause to weep
And those we passed in childhood or asleep!
'Tis beautiful to leave the wrld awhile
For the soft visions of the gentle night;
And, free, at last, from mortal care or guile,
To lire as only in the angels' sight,
Tn sleep's sweet rialm, so cosily shut in.
Where, at the worst, we only "dream" of sin!
So let 113 sleep, and give the Maker praise,
. I like the lad who, when his father thought
To clip his morning nap by hackneyed phrase
Of vagrant worm by early songster caught,
Cried, "Served him tight! it's not at all surprising;
The worm was punished, sir, for early rising!"
y. .-; v, -;-;- . : ; t r
At
AT WU
IN
T' OHWOOD had tramped over
San Francisco, unsuccessful
ly seeking employment from
J.- . ,.t- T T y,
been out of the hospital only a few days,
.juul wheu he paused before an evil
looking eating house on the waterfront,
he felt too spent and disheartened to
filter. Exactly twenty cents stood be
tween him and starvation. He jingled
it .mechanically and watched a dissi
pated looking cat making its toilet in
..in angle of the wall. The heaviest fog
of the season hung low over the .bay
and fell incessantly in small' rain and
mit. At last a drunken man, roaring
out the refrain of a popular coon song,
.a.s he .staggered heavily by, roused Nor
wood, and he entered, the restaurant
anu gave a len-cem oruvr. ah spuu
f apprenticeship at the County llospi
1ai, his. weakened stomach revolted at
thoyjnlity of the food; but the warmth
revived him a little, and he lingered un
til he drew the notice of the surly pro
prietor. "See here, young fellow," said that
worthy, roughly, "you'd better move
on. This ain't any Salvation Army
barrack. We don't give lodgiu' with a
ton-cent show-down."
Norwood wondered bitterly if there
Avere lower depths he, had not sounded.
ns he paid his score and struck out
aimlessly through the fog. When the
great ferry building loomed up in front
of him he was shivering again and he
entered the Sausalito waiting room. A
sign conspicuously posted assured him
ihat loafers would not be tolerated, so
lie' invested his remaining capital in a
ticket, and, fortified by this badge of
respectability, assumed a position near
a heater.
The foghorn still clamored, although
the m'.st had cleared a little. Norwood
reflected that about the middle of the
bay, when the wet decks were empty,
liQ eotliu Slip over me smv auu uui uj.
existence as easily as though ho had
never felt that life had a great deal to
offer him. In the meantime lie still
craved warmth, and he followed the
crowd into the cabin and found a cor-
A moment later two women, one
elderly, the other young, good looking
imd with an air of quiet distinction,
seated themselves opposite. From time
to lime snatchea of their conversation
reached the youn? man. The elder was
nervous at the prospect of crossing in
the fog the younger tried to reassure
her, -
When the boat started, the girl
moved to look out of the window, and
her purse, that after the careless fash
ion, of women, she held in her lap, slid
to the floor. As Norwood restored it
she looked at him keenly, evidently
struck by the contrast between his
manner and his unkempt and haggard
appearance. Ho wondered dully what
she would do if she could realize that
her well-filled purse held the price of
a human life. A momentary impulse
to tell her so and throw himself on her
generosity straggled through his mind.
Something in the level glance of the
brown eyes told him it would not be in
vain. But when pride pushes itself
into the place of the intellect, it is apt
to degenerate into obstinacy, so Nor
wood held his peace. Having made a
mess of his life, he would abide by the
consequences.
During his last night on earth a con
demned man may mercifully lose con
sciousness. Norwood must have dozed
for a moment. lie was awakened by
a shock that threw him violently for
ward on Ids knees, and seemed to lift
the boat out of the water. Flinging
out his hands to save himself, he
clutched a soft leathern object, and
still grasping it, lurched to his feet as
a white-faced deckhand ran through
the cabin crying, "There's been a col
lision! The boat's sinking!"
Instantly the wildest panic prevailed.
The veneer of civilization, more or less
thin, cracked; cowardice, brutality and
weakness appeared. Struggling men
blocked the entrances; they gashed
hands on the windows; they even piled
up against the partitions like trapped
and savage animals. Shrieking women
and children ran from side to side of
the cabin. An immense negro, jammed
half in, half out, a shattered window,
contributed the element of grotesque
ness, as he gesticulated frantically,
filling the air with alternate prayers
and curses.
With death at hand, Norwood ceased
to desire it. Springing toward an exit,
he remembered the two women and re
turned. The girl, who was trying to
raise the elderly Woman to her feet,
locked at him appealiugly. "My moth
er's heart is weak," she said hurriedly.
"The shock has brought on an attack
I can't move her."
"Just a moment,"- cried Norwood.
"Dcn't stir from here, and I'll see what
can be done."
When he gained the slippery deck he
found order coming out of chaos,
through iho nerve of tha officers and
the calmness of some of the passengers.
Boats were lowered, but only to .pick
np a few progressive spirits who in the
first panic had seized life preservers
and thrown .themselves into the water.
Lines had beon cast from one steamer
to the other, lashing them together;
and men, working like madmen or
heroes were, quickly passing the
women and children to safety over the
rail.
Norwood ran back. As the girl turned
her white face mutely toward him he
felt a glow of admiration for her self
control. "All right," he said encouragingly.
"There's no danger. Are you strong
enough to help me lift her?"
She nodded, and together they raised
the almost unconscious woman. She
was no light weight, and Norwood was
still weak, but they succeeded in half
leading, half carrying her on deck.
The doomed steamer was " rapidly
settling, and the water was running
into the cabin when 11103- left it. Nor
wood shouted to the deckhands who
were beginning to cast off the lines,
and a dozen brawny arms lifted the
women to the opposite deck.
The men followed, and almost imme
diately the boat they had left plunged,
bow first, and with a rush through the
blackness, disappeared.
As the girl had been drawn over the
rail after her mother, there was a cry
of "Why, Dorothy! Dorothy Moore!"
Instantly the two were the centre of an
excited and solieitious group, and Nor
wood went below.
He vas among the first to land when
the boat entered the slip, but he lin
gered on the outskirts of the throng
until the face be looked for appeared.
Although occupied with- her mother,
the girl's eyes more than once roved
eagerly over the crowd, and with a
quickened beating of his heart, Nor
wood felt instinctively that she
searched for him. The idea cheered
him he felt less friendless; yet he
kept out of sight until they entered a
carriage and were driven away.
The events of the past few hours had
added no brilliancy to Norwood's pros
pects; nevertheless, as he turned to
ward Market street, he no longer felt
life to be an unprofitable episode dis
turbing the blessed culm of non-existence.
He exulted in the mere fact that
his will controlled his movements
that he was not a thing for the sport
of the waves; and, squaring his shoul
ders to the wind, he thrust his hands
deeply into his shabby pockets. With
an astonished stare he drew them out
again. Dangling to one finger by a
glittering chain was a little purse of
graj' suede the kind women affect.
For a moment he looked at it in be
wilderment the memory stung him.
He had twice picked it up, once to re
store it to its rightful owner the sec
ond time to pocket it himself. In the
excitement he had forgotten it. Opened,
it revealed the unaccustomed glitter of
gold and silver, and at the sight Nor
wood realised how famished he was.
He transferred some of the silver to
a breast pocket, replaced the purse
and boarded an up-town car.
Some hours later, warmed, fed and
comforted, he sat down in a decent
room and made an inventory. The
purse contained $40 iu gold, some sil
ver and attached to a bit of ribbon, a
little silver Filipino coin. A card in
scribed with Miss Moore's name in full
and a number on California street of
fered every facility for the return of
treasure trove.
That night the young man was too
worn out for reflection, but over his
breakfast the next morning he resolved
to break a commandment and the
gold clothe himself decently, make a
fresh start in life, and in time liquidate
his indebtedness to Miss Dorothy
Moore.
Perhaps his lane had neared a turn,
for a few days afterward he secured a
smalj elerkship in a wholesale house;
but so very small was the clerkship
that several months had elapsed before
the purse assumed its former comforta
ble proportions.
In the meantime, with security
against the necessities of the hour,
youth reasserted itself, and quickened
with the never satisfied longing after
the happiness it claims as its birth
right. An illusory picture born of a
dream and shaped by fancy in which
Dorothy Moore was the central figure,
occupied much of his thoughts. lie as
sured himself that some reason was
due her for the detention of her prop
erty for so long a period, and wasted
considerable time and stationery in
attempting to give one. Without any
conscious wish to siir her imagination
or awaken her interest, his few un
signed wordj of thanks and explana
tion yet revealed more of his darkest
hour than he was aware. In them
were sufficient food for curiosity and
sympathy sworn enemies to forget ful
ness. Of his reason for retaining the
little Filipino coin he gave no hint.
A week later a chance paragraph
in a newspaper informed him that
Dorothy and her mother had gone to
New, York, and might, shortly sail for
Europe. -
ln the three years that followed, Nor
wood's success pointed the words of
the poet:
"There is a tide in the 'affairs of men
Which, taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune."
In the various turnings of his lane
he made many acquaintances and a
few friends, who occasionally drew him,
unwillingly enough, out of the routine
of business into the social pleasures
of his age and kind. So it chanced that
0110 evening, watching his opportunity
to say good night to his hostess and
escape from a crowded dance, he
looked across the shoulders of the
throng and intercepted the level glance
of a pair of b-own eyes. Norwood
promptly changed his farewell to a
petition, and five minutes later he was
saying to the owner of the eyes: "Let
me take you out of this crush. There
is a corner near that window where
air is a possibility."
"I know 3'our name well, Mr. Nor
wood," said Dorothy Moore. "Cousin
Jack has so often mentioned you in his
letters."
"Jack and I were old college friends,"
he replied, "but I had lived here two
years before I ran across him again."
"What puzzi?s me," the girl went on,
"is that your face is familiar, too. It
struck 'me when I first sawr you a few
moments ago and yet I know we have
never met before "
"Once," he said, "three years ago."
"Why, I is it possible? I didn't
know "
"That at our first meeting I was
tempted to beg from you and later on
did worse applied 3-our property to
rny own needs or. to be plain, stole
from you?" questioned Norwood.
She made a movement of astonish
ment, and her fan slid from her lap.
As the 3-oung man bent to restore it,
something in his attitude or gesture
brought recollection in a flood. Dorothy
paled, then Hushed crimson.
"It can't be true," she began, then
stopped, watching with fascinated eyes
while he took from his breast pocket
a case, and held out his hand. On the
palm lay a little' silver Filipino coin.
"And you are really that poor boy?"
she cried, impulsively. "No wonder
your face haunted me. Oh, why did
you never let us know when we owed
3'ou so much?"
Norwood's eyes roved from her eager
face to the bit of silver. "I should like
to return it to 3-0x1," he said, irrelevant
ly. "It has been a veritable mascot,
yet at times a source of sharp misery."
"Why do you say that? It sounds
dreadfully like a riddle, and I was
never good tit guessing them," said the
girl, holding out her hand for the coifi.
As her soft fingers touched Nor
wood's palm his own closed over them,
and he replied. "Because it might have
been the gift of a "
"Friend?" she supplemented denvure-lj-,
as he hesitated.
He tightened his clasp. "It could
be the gift of a lover," lie insisted.
"Oh, hush!" murmured Dorothy, ris
ing. "Some one is looking." Then she
added, "But come and see us to-morrowand
don't forget to bring the
coin." Ledger Monthlj'.
"Liwuon" l ikes It " 'ot.'
It mas' be that the quality of imagi
nation was lacking in the Boston and
Salem merchants who attempted, In
1S42, to introduce American ice into
London. One of them tried to attain
this end by demonstrating the merits
of American iced drinks. IIe hired
a hall as the story goes and trained
a number of men to mix the cool bever
ages of his native land. The members
of the Fishmongers' Association pre
sumably as fond of turtle as aldermen
themselves were the guests. The wait
ers made an imposing entry but alas!
the first sound that met the ear of the
American "promoter," expecting a
chorus of approval, was that of an
English voice calling for hot water,
and saying, "I prefer it, all ia all."
The American completes the story: "I
made a dead rush for the door, next
day settled my bills in London, took
train for Liverpool and the steamer for
Boston, and counted up a clear loss of
$1200." Atlantic Monthly.
'LIKE THIRTY CENTS."
An observant man may forget a lot
that he hoars if he only remembers all
he sees.
How a Current Slant- Fliraso Started on
Its Travel.
The origin of slang has always been
a puzzle to philologists, but once in a
while a current phrase can be traced
to its source. The colioquailism "To
feel like thirty cents" is apparently
nonsensical, but it is certainly the
most forceful expression of the day
for denoting anything' small, mean and
contemptible in one's one sight. Its
origin is thus explained by a Philadel
phia lawyer, who sometimes practices
in New York:
"There is a vagrant law in New York
tinder which a person having no visible
means of support may be placed in,
durance. It has also been decided in
that State that a person having so
small a sum as thirty cents in his pos
session has 'visible means of support.'
Now, there is no law in New Y'ork ex
cept the vagrant law under which pool
sellers and gamblers of that sort maj
be held. Shortly after the decision
just mentioned was formulated two
gamblers were captured in a raid and
taken to the Tenderloin station house.
They sent for a law3rer, who came and
had a talk with them. 'It will never
do to make any show of monej here,
he said. 'Give me your rolls.' They
handed their wads over to him, and
he gave each of them a quarter and a
nickel, with instructions to produce the
coins when he asked them to do so in
court.
"When their cases w-ere called the
lawyer got them off on the plea that
they were not vagrants, each having
the legal amount of funds in his pos
session. Just as the decision was ren
dered in favor of his clients, a messen
ger entered the court room and re
quired the lawyer's presence at the Su
preme Court. He left without seeing
his clients, and they wended their way
to the nearest saloon.
"'How do 3ou feel?' said one.
" 'I feel like thirty cents,' said the
other, 'and probably will until I get
my roll back, or what's left of it.
"And that's how that phrase was
started on its travels." New York
Mail and Express.
Whittles Fiddles.
Mercer County has a number of fine
whittlors. Some turn their skill to
cutting tip numberless pine or cedar
sticks in front of the court house on
spring and summer days, while others
employ their talent to better advan
tage. But the king of them all is a
sixteen-year-old boy at McAfee. With
an old knife that looks as though it
would scarcely cut tobacco or hot but
ter Walker Parsons turns out violins
as perfect in all details as ever a noted
maker put on the market. He takes the
wood directly from a sugar tree and
with no other tools than his knife he
has made six fiddles in the past three
months. The last one he made com
pletebox, bow and all in four and
one-half days for Dr. Powell Lapsley.
The instrument is perfect in shape and
of fine tone. Harrodsburg Herald.
Lord Alvanlcy's Advice.
A great deal of varied advice has
been given to the subalterns in the
guards as to what they might ' have
done when their senior comrades sub
jected them to indignities. From fists
to teeth, from canes to pistols, have
ranged the weapons with which they
are told the3 should wage war upon
"ragging." In the midst of so many
bellicose enjoinings, one recalls with
something like gratitude the quiet
counsel given by Lord Alvaney (the
present Earl. Russell's father) to a
young friend who came to him for ad
vice, saying, "Somebody has threat
ened to kick me what am I to do if
he comes into the room?" "Sit down,"
said Lord Alvanley curtly. London
Chronicle.
A Kat Story.
A particularly good rat story is told
in a Belgian, paper.
A gardener had planted 230 tulip
bulbs; the following day, when about
to complete the number, the man no
ticed that the bulbs had disappeared
niysteriousby. He was told that per
haps rats had been at work, and looked
for their hole.
This he found, and dug down into the
earth until a subterranean chamber
5vas disclosed, where the whole of the
250 bulbs were hidden, packed neatly
in rows one above the ether.
There was a bundle of hay and dead
leaves, also, showing that the rats had
made most elaborate preparations for
the winter season. Loudon Express.
Steps are being taken to wind tip
"Big Ben," the great clock in the Brit
ish IIous of Pariiameui. by electrical
power instead of by hand.