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Jr (fjj
$1.00 a Year, in Advance.
" FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH."
Single Copy, 5 Cent.
VOL. X VI.
PLYMOUTH, N, C, FKIDAY, APJRIL 14, 1905.
NO.L
.1
THE MOUNTAIN
4
i.
Bare ytTt ever heard, my laddies, of that
wondrous mountain-peak
On which we all would like to live, -which
even children geek?
It has reared its lofty summit ever since
the world began.
iYou will know it when I name it 'tis the
Mountain of the Can. . .
It lies beyond the valley where so many
people dwell
(The Valley of the Can't, it's called. We
all know that place well);
'And the pathway is so rugged leading up
the mountain side .
That few there are who reach the top to
dwell there satisfied,
II. ...
One maystart out some fine morning when
the sun. is shining bright,
Saying. 'Tooh! That path is easy. I will
reach the top by night.",
But by noon the storm-clouds gather, and
a mist obscures the way.
And he stumbles over bowlders and fal
ters in dismay. , ,
He is weary and discouraged; he begins to
puff and pant;
So. he turns, his footsteps backward to-
J ; ward the Valley of the Can't. '
Here lie iio.?ts again the neighbors whom
ho thought, to leave behind;
'And honpcforth dwells among them, with
he lame and halt and blind.
Now, my laddie, where will you d
" la. the Valley of the Can't or on t
S9
i)y WILLIAM
' 1CS4 T strikes me," began, Hilly
jf h llouc-k, judicially squinting
IO J; o.liis left eye, "that it is
$ about time . that herd of
i j53f shinin'. lights fronj. Sar'vis
Point "was learniu' how to
behave in public." '
- This sentiment -was received with
emphatic approval. Several even volunteered-
to shed their blood if neces
sary, to help-teach that much needed
lesson.
"Don't get too violent, now, boys;
they may come out wonderful when
they learn some. If about twenty of
you will jine in and toiler directions,
we'll help make men of 'em." 10
When Billy proposed a plan there
were always plenty of volunteers to
carry it out.
The "shinin' lights" referred to were
six young men from Sarvis Point who
had been making life burdensome for'
Buckeye llidge for three months., it
had begun when these young men cre
ated a disturbance at a school exhibi
tion and were arrested mid fined 20
apiece and costs. After that they orig
inated n more lawful plan for creating
disturbance.
It had worked very satisfactorily.
When there was, a public meeting they
simply waited until it was well started
and then one, with his spurs dangling,
would slowly Walk in and take a seat.
In a few minutes another would come
in and then another and another until
all six were seated. When the meeting
was half over, one went out. A few
minutes would elapse and then another
and another, until the six were out
and the meeting spoiled.
Their special delight was to disturb
the Methodist preacher, for the Justice
of the Teace belonged to that church.
The minister, was a meek, sweet-spir-r
ited little man who suffered long and
never upbraided; but it always spoiled
his' sfcrmon when they came, and they
4id not often miss. x
When Billy explained his plan for a
school of instruction on public be
havior, some of the timid ones advised
against it. .
"Let's have them arrested for dis
turbing the peace," suggested one.
"Aiu't any law again' a man comin'
Sn and goin out when he 'pleases,"
.snapped a friend of the Billy idea.
"Maybe," suggested a weak-eyed
class leader, "they will get some good
out of the meeting. We should not
keep the vilest sinner from the house
of the Lord."
"Well, now, I aiu't overly strong on
religion," said Billy, "but it strikes me
the circuit rider at Buckeye Bridge has
i a right to do his talking without any
interference from Sarvis Point. . 1 ain't
objectin'. to "these sinners goin' to the
house of the Lord. It's on them leav
;in'.it too soon. Educate 'em.. A little
; information on manners won't keep out
the grace, and maybe It will act
quicker." ,
Billy prevailed, as he always did, and
the school of instruction was set for
the following Sunday evening.
It was a beautiful night and the little
Church was crowded. Buckeye Bridge
BsL ! S
ssRHnn
AND THE VALLEY.
' III.
But sometimes a man more venturesome
and plucky than the rest
Will climb through rocks and bramble till
he stands upon the crest.
Here he pauses, filled with wonder as he
gazes far and wide
At the -beauty of the buildings, at the
wealth on every side.
For behold! the grandest .castles raise their
turrets to the sky:
Noblest bridges span the waters that go
swiftly tumbling by.
Sweetest flowers fill the gardens of each
stately palace home;
And Happiness and Honor dwell beneath
each gilded dome.
.
IV.
Here dwell artists, poets, statesmen men
, of letters and renown,
Who by honest toil and patience have
achieved a victor's crown.
Here they live and learn and study, and in
daily knowledge grow," ' '
While their brethren in the valley pay
them homage from below;
Pay them homage yet forgetting that
should they, too, persevere.
They might some day reach the summit
with them men whom they revere.
Forgetting that each lesson learned, each
slight accomplishment, ,.
Brings them on just one step farther up
the mountain s steep ascent.
well when you grow to be a man ,
he Mountain of the Can?
Gertrude Morton, in St. Nicholas. ,
II. HAMBY.
thought a great deal of its church, and
when."preaehin' day" was lino, saint
and sinner flocked together in crowds.
5 The songs and prayers were over,
the preacher read his text and began
to outline his sermon. The audience
was strictly attentive. A heavy step
sounded in the vestibule, the familiar
clink, clink of a loose spur, and a tall
young man stalked down the aisle and
took a seat near the front.
The minister -was slightly annoyed,
for, of course, no one could listen Avhile
his attention was being spurred away
from the subject.' There was the sound
of heavy feet, stamp, stamp, stamp,
and the clink, clink, clink of a spur.
Another robust citizen of Sarvis Point
came dowoi the aisle and took a seat
near the front. ,
Once more the preacher rallied. With
a supremo effort he got the attention
of the congregation. The sound of feet
again, again the clink, clinkety clink
of spurs. By the time the third was
finally seated the minister "was so dis
tracted he gave out a hj'mn and sat
down to try to collect his thoughts.
No one came in during the singing,
but as soon as the minister renewed his
attack on the text, another Pointer
came dangling his spurred feet down
the aisle; a little later another, and
finally thet sixth.
Fifteen minutes of the time had been
wasted. The minister hurled himself
nervously at the subject and began to
grow eloquent with earnestness. Just
as he reached the height of his theme,
the tall young man near the front
shuffled his feet, rose slowly, picked up
his hat and coat, crowded by those In
the end of the seat and started leisurely
down the aisle, his spurs clinkety clink.
As he neared the door two men rose
and quietly stepped in front of him.
One. of them it was Billy said in an ,
undertone:
"Supposin' we go back to our seats
and hear, the rest of the sermon."
There was a craning of necks, the
preacher paused, and a tingle of excite
ment touched the crowd. The other
five Pointers sprang up and hurried
down the" aisle menacingly. Their
faces indicated a determination to de
molish the obstruction at the door on
quick time. 1 ;
Four men on each side rose up quietly
and closed In, a solid line across the
door. , Four rose up on each side of the
aisle, and four came down the aisle
after the Pointers.
The audience, after it caught its
breath, was ready to break into a
panic, j
"Parson," said Billy in a reassuring
tone, "you'll excuse me for sayin' a
word. All you people just keep your
seats, perfectly quiet, there ain't goin
to be a bit of trouble. Now, parson,
give out a hymn, and all of you sing
good and loud."
"I'll be hanged if' there won't be
trouble mighty quick if you don't clear
that door," said the leader of the Point
ers, starting forward.
Billy stepped" squarely In front of
him. - '
Doa't get excited now, boys," he
said, mildly. "You ain't goin' out that
door and it'll be better not to make a
fuss, and I wouldn't use any cusb
words there's women and children
here."
The audience had caught its cue and
was singing with nervous loudness.
The Pointers drew close together. They
looked ugly. Their hands were at their
hip pockets; several revolvers were
half drawn. At a nod from Biily the
twelve men drew - around in a close
circle. They were picked men, cool
headed, but obstinate enough to light
to the death to enforce their order.
"Boys," said Billy, still speaking in
an everi tone, "go back and sit down
in the front seat and stay till you are
told to leave. It'll be better to listen
to the preacher now than to have him
preachin' over you to-morrow when
you can't hear."
The rowdies glanced around the cir
cle and knew these men were not
bluffing, nor were they to be bluffed.
They parleyed a minute among them
selves. '
"We don't have to go back," said the
leader.
"Maybe not," said Billy; "then I'm
afraid we'll have to carry you."
The circle drew a little closer, alert,
ready.
The rowdies turned about sullenly
and walked back to the front seat.
Four citizens sat down in the ends of
the seat beside them, eight in the seat
behind..
The services proceeded with the best
of order. :
When the congregation arose to be
dismissed, Billy leaned forward and
said:
"Just stay where you are, boys, till
all the crowd's gone."
Directly all were gono but the Point
ers and their guards. There was a few
minutes' pause.
"Jimmy," said Billy to onep of the
younger men, "give us a little poetry.
It has a powerful refinin' influence."
Jimmy went to the front and recited
"Curfew Must Not Ring To-njfeht," and
at calls for more gave the "Sailor Boy"
and "Bingen on the Rhine."
The Pointers stirred in their seats
and one of them swore under his
breath.
. "Quiet," commanded one of the
guards.
. "Now, Dick," said -Billy, "read us a
chapter on Etiket."
Dick produced a nine hundred page
compendium of universal knowledge
and read twenty pages on how to dress,
how to care for the nair and nails, how
to danced how tp carry on couversation
and how to act in public. He read
slowly and it was 11.10 when fee fin
ished. The whisky was dying out in
the Pointers and they began to feel
sleepy and mean.
"Say," said the leader, in an an at
tempt to be friendly, "ain't that about
enough V"
"Dick," said Billy, "1 see he ain't
caught the points in the last chapter.
Read it again."
There was no further interruption.
"Tom," said Billy, "these fellers
missed the lesson to-night. They need
a little Scripture, seein' it is Sunday.
Supposin' you read us a Chronicle or
two." It was quarter past midnight
when be finished.
The Pointers were weary, fearfully
weary. They were sleepy, too, and
fifteen miles from their beds. They
looked around appealingly, but there
was no encouragement.
"Now," -said Billy, 'these young men
need a little history knowledge. Alf,
you may read the Declaration of Inde
pendence." It was finished at 1.30.
The bench was very hard. One of
the weary Pointers twisted in his seat.
Another dozed, but a terrific jab in
the ribs from the elbow of one of the
guards brought him back with a grunt.
"Give us the Constitution," called
Billy.
It was half-past 2 when the last sec
tion was read.
"That'll do, Alf," said Billy. ' We'll
save Washington's Farewell speech till
the boys come agin. Guess we might
adjourn."
To date, the Sarvis Point "shinin'
lights" are in the dark as to the con
tents of Washington's Farewell Ad
dress. The Criterion.
The final spike in the railroad from
Canton to Sarnshul was driven the
other day. But before it had been
do wn ' twenty-four hours it was stolen
by the Chinese.
A city firm received no fewer than
998 applications in response to an ad
vertisement for a clerk. The salary
I offered was thirty shillings ($7.50) a
vjeels. London Dally News,
Ills Little Dose of Spice.
Ko one noticed how it began, but trie
elderly little man was disputing with
the six-footer for a position at the "L"
car door.
"There's plenty of room over there,"
said the giant. "You needn't be crowd
ing me.".
"I won't budge an inch," came the
retort.
. "I'll show you if you won't," said the
other angrily. "I'll teach you a thing
or two." "
And at every word he elbowed him
j violently away. The little man was
like a feather before him and he real
ized it. He allowed himself to be hus
tled along without offering the slight
est resistance. Only a crimson glow
flooded his gray-bearded cheeks.
A third man sprang angrily in front
of the enraged bully and growled into
his face:
"You ought to be ashamed of your
self, sir; yes, heartily ashamed of
yourself, a big, heavy man like you!"
The man addressed looked sheepishly
down and said nothing. But the little
elderly man calmly remarked to his
ally:
"Don't pay any attentio'n to it. sir;
we need a little variety in life." New.
York Press.
Scrambled. .
A salesman in a department store
who possesses considerable wit entered
a restaurant in the central section of
the city the other day, and finding the
waiter to have boon a recent arrival at
the place, told him he wanted two
fried eggs.
"I want one egg fried on one side,
and the other egg fried on the other
side, and I want them quick," the
salesman added.
"Would you .kindly write that on a
piece of paper?" said the waiter.
"I haven't got time. Be quick, I tell
you." ; ' '-' ' "
"One fried egg fried on- both sides
and the other fried egg on the other
side," muttured the waiter as he was
leaving the table.
In a few minutes the salesman heard
much commotion in the kitchen. There
were loud words and they were punc
tuated with sounds which seemed like
blows.
Presently the waiter appeared very
much excited, and, rushing up to the
salesman, exclaimed:
'Say, I had a terrible fight wid the
cook about those eggs and j-ou'll have
to take them scrambled." Philadel
phia Press.
f Looking Up.
Not many years ago there lived in a
small town in Vermont a worthy Dea
con Barker, who had managed to put
by a tidy sum, the proceeds of the busi
ness done at bis notion store. N
Now, Deacon Barker thought pretty'
well of himself, and as he progressed
towards the realization of his ideal,
which was to become the richest man.
in the town, it was observed by the
majority of his neighbors that his self
esteem increased in direct ratio to his
wealth. So that in time the worthy
Barker actually deemed himself the
most important personage in the vicin
ityalmost, in fact, its patron saint.
One day a man from a place near by
was visiting the. deacon. Said he:
"Deacon, it certainly seems that your
townsmen hold you in high esteem."
The deacon smiled complacently. "I
guess that's right;" replied he. "The
people hereabouts do kinder look up to
me, friend. And I well, I look up to
GodI"-Harper's Weekly.
They Are Everywhere.
"While I am not what you would
call a widely traveled man," observed
the deacon, '! have noted that every
town has Its liar, its sponger, its smart
Alec, its blatherskite, its richest man,
a few. pretty girls, its weather prophet,
its neighborhood feud, a considerable
number of 'lunatics, its woman w"ho
tattles, Its justice of the peace, its man
who knows it all, its boy who carries
on in church, its meddlesome old
women, .its widower who is too gay
for his age, Its girl who goes to Ibe
postotHce every time the mail comes
In, its legion of bright raen who know
how the editor should run his paper, its
woman who thinks she could cut a
dash in society if she were only East,'
and its man who laughs at Lis own
jokes." New York Tress.
" During last year sixty-six of the mu-J
nicipal bodies in the. British isles
which supply electricity showed a de
ficit totaling 7G,201.
In Lapland the crime which is pun
ished most severely, next to- murder, is
the marrying of a girl against the ex
press wish of her parents.
SCIENCE NOTES.
A German physicist, Herr LlebenoWf
puts forth the theory that there, is ra
dium enough in the crust of the globe
to account for all the earth's internal
heat.
What Is claimed to be the longest
overland wireless message ever sent
was dispatched - a few days ago from
Kansas City to Cleveland, a distance
of 725 miljs.
Ocean bner3 do not commonly both
er with casting "oil on troubled wat
ers" inorder to calm the waves. But
the captain of the Hamburg-American
liner Pretoria testifies that on his re
cent trip to New York city the scheme
of letting oil trickle slowly down the
bows of the vessel kept the 'waves'
from breaking and greatly decreased
the effects of the storm. It took only
six gallons of oil a day.
Robert Chambers of Scotland is the
Inventor of an' unsihkable life-saving
raft for passenger ships. It is built
of wood and is 20 feet long, 6 feet
broad and 22 inches deep, being divid
ed into 32 air-tight compartments. It
will carry 40 to 50 passengers; and
life lines round the edge will support
as many as can hang ou. The raft
has been severely tested, and been ap
proved by the British authorities. '
The completion last May of the de
termination of the difference of longi-'
tude between San Francisco and Ma
nila, by means of the new Pacific
cables, finishes the "longitude girdle"
of the earth. In other, words, the
whole globe has now been circled with .
electric time signals, by, means of
which the exact longitudes of impor
tant points round its entire circum-,
ference are known. The accuracy of
the work is so great that the distance
between the observatory in Green
wich, England, and in the dome of the
cathedral in Manila, measuring across
the Atlantic ocean, the American con
tinent and the ' Pacific ocean, is
known within a possible error of about
60 feet. '
Museums of language will be of
great Importance to the future histor
ian. The idea was suggested in Vi
enna six years ago, but has only re
cently taken shape, although it ha3
already resulted in a collection of four
hundred phonograph records on dura
ble metal. The purpose is to record
the languages of Europe, and eventu
ally of the world, the music of the
different countries and speeches of
notable personages. The collection
now embraces the Slavic, Servian,
Modern Greek, Portuguese and Bra
zilian languages, with songs and dia
lects of natives of India and of Ara
bians and Bedouins. An 4xpediti6n
under Dr. Poech has penetrated New
Guinea to reproduce the speech of the
Papuans. 1
Russian Ministers' Salaries.
The salary attached to the fost o
minister oi the interior iu ituatiia is .
the same as that received by all the v
other Russian ministers namely 18,
000 roubles a year a rouble being 44
cents but a further sum of 200,000 .
roubles Is annually put at the disposal , -of
the minister of the interior, of
which he is not called on to render
any account. This is in addition to
the ordinary secret service money, the
amount of which is practically unlim
ited. Another minister who receives
an addition to his salary is the min
ister of finance, who Is paid a percent
age, sometimes amounting to 50,000
roubles a year, on all unpaid taxes .
and debts to the Crown which he may
suceed in recovering during his term
of office. It is noteworthy that even
i!f a minister should hold his ' portfolio .
only for a few months his salary is
paid to him for life. Waverley Maga- .
zine. '
All the five planetary satellites dis
covered since 1846 have been found
hv Americans. They include Hiperion.
the seventh satellite oi Saturn ; Diemos
and Phoebus, the little moons of Mara
and Phoebe, the ninth moon of Saturn.
DATE BISCUITS.
Make a milk sponge and set to rise.;
A.dd two tablespoonfuls or sugar and
two of molasses, '.three cups of sliced,
dates and oough entire wheat flour
to make a r&tber stiff dough. Set to
risa again, theft turn into pans and
bake1 tor tfxree-quarters o an hour.
Set he I Irrultt ashie for twelve hours,
er thv .a bk4 cutting. .