1 ,.s 'Ct'iui'.l'i
1
. 1 I
$1.00 a Year, In Advaace.
"FOR GOD, FOR COUNTRY, AND FOR TRUTH."
Single Copy, 5 Cent.
VOL. X VI.
PLYMOUTH, N, C, FRIDAY, MAY 5, 1905.
N . .7
-A
BILLY AND I.
They say they are going to shoot you. Old Billy, but don't you fret,
Por the fellow who dares to meddle with you must reckon with'me, you bet;
You're a poor old horse, Old Billy, and you aren't worth much, it is true,
But you've been a faithful friend to me, and I'll see you safely through.
Shoot Old Billy? I guess not, though you may be old arid gray.
By the self same stretch of mercy they'll be shooting me some day;
I haven't much love for the fellows who follow' the shooting plan;
If they had more pity for horses and dogs they'd have more love for a man.
That's right, Old Billy, I like it your muzzle againnt my face;
we've had rattling times together, and once we won the race
Ho yon remember it, Billy, the dude that we downed that day?
And the way he swore that an old farm horse should show his trotter the way!
"Well, Billy, we're both great1 sinners, for we've both grown old, you know;
And we ve only a little further down the road to go:
V11 fard a1onS together till the Master calls us home
To the happy Home Land stables and our feet forget to roam.
They tell us that horses have no sou's, and they all declare it true; -That
shows how little they know, Old Boy, and it proves they don't know you;
Y ell. well, 'tis a mighty question, and quite beyond my ken .
But the inore I know of horses the less I brag about men.
You've been a good horse, Old Fellow, steady and brave and true;
l ou have given us faithful service done all that a horse could do;
Vou have earned your keep; you sh.iil have it; so live as long as you can
For justice is justice, and right is right, whether it's a horse or a man.
; . . - Boston Transcript.
f- John's Mother-in?Law.
EseS BY HELENA DIXON. aJ
I'C) Sblii
liii liji Ii-ivo n linmp- with 11s f.-ir-
vio. Widowed, ami with no
child but you. she iialur-
JjJ ally and rightly wishes .to
i-uiiic iu on. Aval only think how nice
it will bo for us all to have here. No
more lonely hours for you while I am
cooped up in that gloomy workshop of
mine upstairs." ;
So spoke John Royalton as he rose
from the breakfast table 'and caught,
up his enubby-fnecd boy, adding, as lie
perch ou his little two-year-old on his
shoulder: . '
"Ami my little curly-head wants a
grandmamma's experienced eye x upon
him to eut sbort his mischievous
pranks?. Don't you, Master Chatter
box V
And away the little fellow was borne
to the little room which John had
called his ''workshop."- Technically
speaking it -was a studio, for Royalton
was a painter, and the domestic little
wife was left alone to write a letter in
viting her widowed mother to her
home. -1
"llow like the dear old times ii will
seem to have mother with me,' mur
mured' Mrs. Royalton, as she folded
and sealed her letter. "A woman wants
some one to talk to beside such a dig
nified, methodical person as dear; John,
and I declare I don't see any one else
in an age except, now and then ..when
some sour-visaged old maid or simper
in.tr miss comes to have her portrait
painted." ; ,
The Saturday -following the posting
of Mrs. Royalton's letter brought the
"expected guest to the Royalton cottage.
Mrs. Perring was a very nervous; Very
lively and very eccentric old lady, .who
made it her boast that she was never
idle a minute between daylight and
bedtime.
When she became settled with the
Royaltons she applied herself assidu
ously to "putting things to rights.''
Every drawer, every chest, every cup
board, was ransacked and the contents
of each arranged iu accordance -with
the Old lady's ideas of order, liven
John's desk was rummaged, and every
letter and paper peered into, just to
find out in what particular niche one
ought to be put.
Iu about a fortnight Mrs. Terring
had the satisfaction of thinking that
she had got things 'about the house in
'good running order."
"There's only that outlandish' paint
shop Upstairs John's study-o, I believe
Carrie falls it but what's had a thor
ough ventilating, and the very first day
John's away from home I'll make a
new place?f that."
Fortune smiled on Mrs. Perring's
plans. John and Carrie and little Ed
die were away, and the little old lady
prepared herself for the onslaught.
She donned her poorest dress, tied a
napkin over -her head to keep off the
dust, rolled her sleeves above ter
.scrawny elbows and went to work.
All day long the furniture in the art
ist's room Hew vigorously around.
Many articles denounced as "worthless
rubbish" were hurled through the win
dow into the back yard, while others
that "might come in play for some
thing, some day," were stowed away
In the garret. A portrait, on which the
paint was yet wet, was energetically
dusted with a coarse towel; paints were
mixed incongruously and brushes put
through a scouring process till the old
lady's back ached with the exercise,
and her nose became the medium by
which copious streams of perspiration
were conducted from her face.
When everything in the room was
considered "done," Mrs. Perring made
a dash for an adjoining closet, but she
found the door securely locked. For a
moment the worthy lady was in a
quandary- How was she to straighten
i,;ngs in the closet? Dp it she must
and would, and very quickly Mrs. Per
ring bethought herself of a buuch of
keys which happily she had brought
with her. The keys were produced,
and in triumph Mrs. rerring unlocked
the door. ; - ' ; .
Seizing her broohi sheTushed into the
closet. She came out shortly, however,
and closed the door after her with, a
jerk and a bahg-f t '--i
John Rojval ton's, 'mother-in-law had
made a discovery! -cV
Collecting her utensils she left the
studio and went below iu grim, and
dignified silence. She sat quietly knit
ting in the pleasant sitting room when
John and Carrie returned. The steel
needles flew out and in very spitefully.
The cold, gray eyes looked directly
down over the elongated nose, and
were never once raised, not even to
greet little Eddie.
When bedtime came the old lady rose
in solemn silence and retired.
The next morning when John re
paired as usual to his studio he uttered
vehement sentences not at all in praise
of his wife's mother. ..
' While he was engaged in undoing so
far as lay in his power the mischief she
had unconsciously wrought, Mrs. Per
ring was closeted with Carrie. The
young wife's face was colorless, and
her eyes were wild with an'ger and in
dignation as she listened to her moth
er's words.
"It's a beautiful face the handsom
est picture of a real person I ever saw.
Croat, dark eyes, that seem to look you
through, hair as black as night and
hanging in ringlets all about her face
and neck. The skin is just like alabas
ter, so white and clear, and the lips
look like ripe cherries for all the
world."
Cafrie sank back in a fainting condi
tion, and her mother caught her in her
arms.
"Oh, my poor lamb! that I'suJuld see
you treated in this shameful manner.
And John so dignified and proper
seeming. The hypocrite! But I've mis
trusted that his loving ways were all
put on ever since I cleaned his desk
and found scraps of poetry about love
and such like nonsense."
"Mother, don't; you will kill me by
your suspicions. I can't believe it.
John cares for no one but me. He is
too noble, too "
"Take my keys, then, and go satisfy
yourself. Go look at. the siren's por
trait in the closet.. It isn' finished yet,
I could see that, and I -wish .how I'd
had presence of mind enough .to give it
two or three extra touches' with the
brush myself. No wonder you found
his room locked so many times of late,
and had, to wait your artist's pleasure
before you could enter. And that old
woman in the alpaca hood that we've
noticed going upstairs so many times
of late isn't an old woman at all. I've
made up my mind about her. She's
the original of that portrait, and no
mistake. See, there she goes up the
steps now! Mighty careful she is, too,
not to show her face. There did you
ever seen an old woman with such, feet
and ankles? She's the woman!"
When the unknown, .woman had de
parted, and the tinconsciout John was
quietly eating his dinner, Carrie left
the table under some pretext, and with
the rusty key in her hand she ascend
ed the stairs and entered the studio
closet and stood before the painted
painted form of a woman before whom
her own charms sank into Insignifi
cance. What was this beautiful creature to
her husband. '
Carrie's heart lay like a lump of lead
in her bosom as she turned away and
sought her mother.
Shortly after John returned to his la
bors, the two women the elder, filled
with virtuous indignation, the younger
too utterly wretched even for tears
left the house, taking little Eddie with
them.
Silently the poor wife 'followed her
mother in quest of some quiet retreat
wherein to pass the night. On the
morrow Mrs. Perring had resolved on
taking her charges into the country.
This was Carrie's birthday, and al
ways heretofore, during the few years
of their wedded life, John had remem
bered the.day with a suitable gift, but
to-day he seemed to have forgotten not
only the present, but even that it was
her birthday. ' '
'Toor thing!" murmured Mrs. Per
ring, philosophically, as, in a lonely
voom, Carrie clasped her lxy to her
bosom and wept passionately over her
wrong. " " ;
"Poor thing! it's hard for her to beat
at first. She loved him altogether bet
ter than; he deserved, even were he
true to her. It's best she should see
him no more. Let her have her cry out
and then she will be calm and a differ
ent woman entirely; strong to resent
the insult and injury which that wretch
has heaped upon her."
When the gloomy-night .was curtain
ing the earth in darkness. Carrie
begged piteously to be -permitted to
look upon her old home once more. She
would not enter the house she might
never again do that but she could
gaze a moment into the dear, familiar
room. John might be in the pleasant
sitting room as pf old. She had left a
note for him, and she longed to know
how he bore the separation; whether
he was rejoiced or sorry, that she was
gone.
"It's all nonsense," said Mrs. Per-
ring, angrily, "but if you're determined
to go I shall go along to keep you from
rushing right into the villain's arms."
A cheerful light shone out from the
uncurtained windows of the Royalton
cottage as the two women stealthily
approached near enough to gain a view
of the interior of the room, where
John, with bowed head, was walking
to and fro oyer the carpet.
Carrie could not catch the expression
of his face, but she saw that ever and
anon he turned his gaze upon a paint-'
ing on the wall one which had never
before hung there.
The young wife's face turned ghast
ly pale as, peeping close to the window
she saw that the painting, was the one
she had seen in the studio closet.
Carrie was ready to faint, still she
would not, could not, leave the-window.
At length John paused before the
portrait and spoke aloud.
Carrie heard his words and stood
still a moment to gather in their mean
ing, then, heedless of her mother's re
monstrance, she rushed with Eddie
into the house.
Mrs. Perring, who had not heard a
word of what had transformed Carrie
from a breathing statue into her old
joyous self, was too thoroughly pro
voked at what she considered' her
daughter's lack of spirit and' self-respect
to follow her immediately. When,
however, she' did so, she - found hus
band and wife the former with one
arm supporting Eddie and the other en
circling Carrie's waist standing be
fore the painting which, through Mrs.
Perring's romantic suspicions, had
wrought so much, though happily not
irreparable, mischief.
A few words neatly written and
pasted under the portrait which, af
ter all, was not a portrait, but purely
the work of the artist's imagination
convinced Mrs. Terring that she was
altogether wrong in her surmises, and
that, after all, the woman in the al
paca hood might be as venerable as
her appearance indicated.
"A Birthday Gift to My Wife."
These were the words whl-?h Mrs.
Terring read, and then she managed to
slip unobserved from the room, and
ever thereafter John Royalton's mother-in-law
was a model one. New York
Weekly.
The method employed by the captains
of Nile boats to keep the natives away
on landing is to turn the hose on them.
CHARACTER BUILDING.
How to Make Life a Glorious Tliiug In
tead of a Drudgery.
What is It we all have in common, no
matter what our environments? Life,
that glorious opportunity to be,1 to do,
and to grow, is ours. Life, with all
its possibilities, the greatness of which
we have not dreamed, is actually Slip
ping by without our cognizance, be
cause we are so occupied with the
things Which we think make us un
happy, and which have grown to tre
mendous proportions, magnified by our
vision.
What matter it if others are rich or
famous, so long as we have the one
great chance in life which overshadows
all these things, and is the only thing
which will stand the test of time?
In a few years death will claim the
rich and they must depart, leaving that
for "which they have labored all be
hind. But the character goes on for
ever. Happiness being a condition of the
rcdnd, yours is the power to place hap
piness there by creating this condition,
which you can do solely by your
thoughts. ,
Thoughts which cause unrest or
worry, you must cast out. This is not
easy for those who have been accus
tomed to allow themselves to be con
stantly, annoyed by these things.
Remember, first, to place character
above all else, for there is nothing to
he compared with it. , And determine
that, no matter what else you have in
life, this you will acquire. This deter
mination will alter your frame of mind,
and, when firmly fixed, will change the
appearance of conditions and surround
ings. .
All thoughts which are not character
builders you must banish, and you
must view everything in this light.
This cannot be done .at once, and is
only achieved after many trials.
Always.-see what -you have to be
thankful for when depressed or un
happy. This mental inventory will
make lighter any ; load. Don't worry
about anything, . for it' docs no good,
and only lessens your opportunity for
helping yourself.
If 3'ou are character building there
Is nothing that can come to you which
cannot be used as a step onward, if
looked at in the right light, and any
thing which will place you a step for
ward cannot bring harm.;
Always look on the bright side of
everything, for there is always a bright
side to everything if we will but see it.
Cast out all thoughts of anger or
rage, and never allow yourself to lose
your temper.
School yourself in conquering foar of
all descriptions. To him who builds
character there is nothing to foar.
And just in proportion as you obtain
this mental balance you will find hap
piness everywhere, and life will 'be
come a glorious thing, instead of a
drudgery. New York Weekly.
ltttce Suicide In New Hampshire, s
The entire Legislature of New Hamp
shire, including the Governor's Council,
comprises .41S men. A vast majority
of these men are native born, more
than two-thirds of them being descend
ed from a long line of New England
ancestors. Of these 41S men the State
has a right to expect at least S3l chil
dren, being two apiece. The actual
number, however, according to the
Manchester Union, is G84, or a little
more than a child and a half for each
man. Of the 'whole number 355 are
married, 275 are fathers. SO are child
less, and 03 are unmarried or widowed.
Of the 275 fathers '94 have one child
each, 73 have two, forty-seven have
three, 25 have four, 18 have five, 0 have
six, 5 have seven, 2 have eight, 3 have
nine, and 2 have ten each. Of the
fathers of six children or more each,
nearly two-thirds are of foreign birth,
chiefly, French-Canadian. If these foreign-born
representatives, therefore,
svere eliminated from the list, the show
ing would be still less favorable.
American Cr Lead the "World.
In the closing months of 1004 it be
came manifest that American cars
were being improved so much that the
imported articles no longer would be
worth the difference iu price, and some
of the new models offered for 1005
promised to be in every way equal to
the products from abroad. The Euro
pean makers had five years of experi
ence before the Americans began to
build, but the Americans began a cou
ple of years ago to copy and profit by
that experience, and now they have
about overtaken their mentors and are
ready to outstrip them. Considering
these things, the day of faith in Amer
ican automobiles may be said to have
iawned. Country Life in Americau.
THE TWINS.'
We're twins an' my name's Lucy Brown
An' her name's Lulu; I'm called "Lou,"
An' everybody in 'is town
'Ey call my sister 'at name, too. ' '
An' folks, ey come to see us here, f,
An' we ist have th' mostes' fun
'Cause ever'body say: "Oh dear!
W'y, 'is one is th' nuther one!"
My papa sometimes look at me,
An' say, "Well, Lulu, how you grow!"
An' nen I laugh, an' nen, w'y, he
Say goodness sakes! he'll never know
Which one is which. An' nen I say
No one can tell us twins apart
'Cause we're together anyway.
An' nen he holler, "Bless your heart!"
My mamma never gets us mixed:
She always knows my twin ( -m me.
An' papa say she's got us fixea-
Our clo'es, or hair, so's she can see.
But mamma hugs us bofe up tight
An' kisses us, an' pats our curls,
An' says a mower's always wite
An' always knows her preshus girls.
But nuther folks 'ey ist can't tell
An' oncet when Lulu chimb a tree
An' couldn't hold, w'y, when she fell
Th' doctor thought 'at she was me.
Nen we all laugh, an' he ist say
It's all in how th' notions strike,
'At bofe o' us looks ist one way,
But 'at I look th' most alike! 4
Wilbur D. Nesbit, in Haner's Magane.
"How is your boy Alfred succeeding
at college?" "I'm afraid we'll find out
pretty soon that he's been running into
debt! He's writing to us once a week .
now." Chicago Tribune.
. .Bobby Shaftoe'a gone to air,
Silver side-combs in his hair;
Sec him sailing way up there?
. Pretty Bobbv Shaftoe!
. Puck
Henderson "Let's see, they call th'e
man' that runs an automobile a chauf
feur, don't they?" Uncle Joseph
"Well, down our way they call him
worse names than that." Boston Tran
script. ; ' '
"You're wasting a lot of time and
money trying to capture that widow."
"Why? Don't you think she'll marry
me?" "Sure; she told me the night she
met ' you that she was going to."
Houston Post.
"Why have you engaged in such a
disreputable business?" we asked. The
thief hung his head. "An extravagant
family," he faltered, "has not permitted
me to accumulate enough to make the
business respectable."
Brown "What did your wife say last
night when you began to explain why,
you didn't get home earlier?" Green
"She said my originality compared
favorably with the jokes in an al
manac." Chicago News. ;;
Life ain't no dream, my honey,
But dis is onderstood;
' You can't buy love wid money
But money's mighty good!
Atlanta Constitution.
nilda "Well, there's one thing I can
say. I never made a cloak of my re
ligion." Bertha "No, dear, there's not
enough of it for that! Might be enough,
perhaps, to make you a pocket hand
kerchief." Boston; Transcript.
Teacher "Yes, 'revive' means to
'come to.' Now, can you give a sen
tence, Tommy, containing that word?"
Tommy "Yes, ma'am. If two apples
cost five cents, what will four revive?"
Catholic Standard and Times.
"You enjoy a classical composition
more after you have heard it a few
time." "I don't know," answered Mr.
Cumrox, "whether I enjoy it .or
whether I get used to it and don't no
tice it so much." Washington Star.
Mrs. Binks "I must got a thermom
eter, .lohna likes to see what it regis
ters every morning." Mrs. Jinks "This
is a good time to get one, dear. They're
much lower than they were three
months ago." Cincinnati Commercial
Tribune. ""...
"Say, ma," queried little Dolly,
"what is a miser?" "A . miser, my.
dear," answered the diplomatic moth
er, as she glanced across the table at
her husband, "is a man who thinks
his wife's hat should not cost any;
more than his own." Chicago News.
The Newer Japan.
Pierre Lotl thinks, as do many of us
when we revisit the scene of our early,
loves, that Japan has deteriorated.
War, 'even in 1000, he saw to be inevi
table, but this saddens him less than
the substitution of American bars for
the picturesque tea houses and the
general spread of drunkenness among,
the lower orders. Formerly, he says,
If you saw a drunken man in Nagasaki
he was sure to be a European; but now
the sailors as well as the civilians of
Nippon are often to be found boozing
and quarreliug In cabarets. Pall Mall
Gazette.
: f l
1 ; 1
i ll I
' f J
..I
-i
i
t i
T
J
1
i
r