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COLUMBUS, N; C THURSDAY, MARCH 28, 1907.
VOL XII.
NO. 48.
fiy FROMTHE RUSSISJfJ of JORoL!m
&&9kfxT is still dark. The ilittle
A ' village on the hore trt
the ow-flowmS stream,
5 w lies Mdden in theainadow
'yey of the pine forest, under
' the fitarwr .spring Might.
A Slight mist rises slowly frerm -the
earth, which has jest awakened (from
Its winter sleeD. end it malaee the
shadow f the forest sharper anrif'Far, far under him lie saw the anany
BllaUUW (Dl LUC IUIC31 ouoi ra g
darker, axd covers the surface -wf the 3
j
stream With a silver shimmer
SttH-
ness, a brooding quiet, reigns veri,
all. Most of the inhabitants are still fl
sleeplaig. The shape of the poor little
cottages te hardly distinguishable.; i
only here and there fe the faint giim-(
mer of a light. Now tmd then a door
opens and rone hears for a moment
the baric trt ?a watchf uS dog, and then
the same peaceful stHlness. At In
tervals the figure off a wanderer
emerges from the darik rim of the j
forest, a rider., a peasant's cart wtth
creaking wheeils they are all people 1
)f the village listening to the church
there to begin worthily .the coming
festival.
In the midst of the vrllage, on a
solitary MT1, stands the church; the
windows are blight, and the tower,
gray with age, rises high into the
traist. The mtfHtering stairs creak;
the old bellrlnger is mounting them
with feeble steps, and after a little
time a new star appears above, his
light the lantern In the bellringer's
hand.
ft is hard work for the old man to
limh those steep steps; the aged
limbs refuse their office; his eyes are
dim; old age has done its work on
him. It is time for the aged man to
go ts rest; but death does not come.
He has seen children and grandchil
dren go; for how many, old and
young, has he tolled the bell. Death
seems to have forgotten him and life
Is hard.
Often has he rung the Easter peal;
he knows no longer how many times
he has awaited the appointed hour
up here la the tower. And now it is
to be done again, if God wills. With
heavy step the old man reaches the
railing of the tower and leans on
it.
Around, la the shadows, he sees
dimly the graves in the cemetery;
their black crosses seeming like
watchers of their dead. Here and
there groups of birches, still leafless,
wave their slender silvery branches
in the wind. The reviving odor of
the young buds on the trees, and the
peace of the cemetery rise up like a
breath of spring to the lonely figure
on the tower.
What will this new year bring
him? Will he salute next Easter
with the joyful music of the bells, or
will he be sleeping over there in that
distant corner, and will a black cross
adorn the little mound? As God
will! He is ready. But now he must
announce the coming great day. "To
God be honor and thanksgiving;" his
lips murmur the words; he raises his
eyes to the starry heavens and crosses
himself with simple piety.
"Wassili!" an old, trembling voice
calls from below.
He looks down from his post,
strains his eyes, but can see noth
ing. "What do you want? Here I am'
he cries, as he bends over the rail.
"Can you not see me?"
"No. is it not time to ring the
bells? What do vou think?"
Both look up to the sky. Thou
sands of stars shine down on them;
high in the heaven rides the "Bear."
Wassili reflects. "No, not yet; I
know when."
He knows well; he needs no clock;
God's stars tell him when the time
has come.
Heaven and earth, the white cloud
that moves slowly across the face
of the sky, the dark forest that moves
and murmurs below, the ripple of the
invisible stream all he knws ad
loves; a wehole IBfo Is bound up with
them. .Things ;hmg forgotten Anise
in his memory ; how he came ttp !hee
:for the first time With his father
;dear Gotf! ihow long ago tht was.
cand yet it tseems so short he -seems
himself a ilittle blue-eyed boy with
(fair, curlhgg hair tossed by the vwinfl.
LAn Easter Qrectind fsom Br'er fc&btrit
Drawn hr H. Toraisi.
"Who Said flEaster Eggs?"
1 1 -- - " " m mm a n ' 1 1 1 "
little people and the cottages seemed
so .tiny, and the fairest so far off, and
the plain so large. And the father
laughed and said: 'Tet it is so near,"
as he pointed to tiie village below.
Such is life. As long as we are
young ft seems endless. Now it lies
before as if it had Just happened,
from birth almost to the grave that
he has chosen for himself over yon
der. Weil! thank God! it is time to
rest. He has passed uprightly
through a hard life; the damp earth
COME UNTO ME.
By H.
is his mother; soon, if God will, he
will rest in her bosom.
But now it is time. Once more
Wassili looks up to the stars, bares
his head, crosses himself and seizes
the ropes.
Now, through the air resound a
sharp stroke, a second, a third, a
fourth, one after another, rising and
falfing, now sharp, now soft, in a
tuneful peal.
The bells are silent, the service
has begun. In former years Wassili
would descend the stairs and place
himself in a corner near the door to lis
ten and pray; but now the weight of
years is heavy on him, and he re
mains above. To-day his limbs seem
unusually heavy; he sits down on a
bench, and as the sound of the bells
dies away, he sinks into thought.
Of what? He hardly knows. The
belfry is but scantily ligtted by his
lantern; the bells themselves are but
dimly seen in the gloom. From be
neath, in the church, one can hear
faintly the singing of the congrega
tion, while the wind plays with the
bell ropes. The old man's head sinks
on his breast as broken visions of
the past float through his mind.
"They are singing," he says, and
then he sees himself in the church.
From the altar come the voices of
vlncine children and the loud votce
if the old priest.. Father Oregor, dead J
Song, long ago. Hundreds ol peas
ants raise and fcow their heads and
make the sign of the cross, all well-
known faces, all dead now. There
to his stem-faced father, an4 beside
him the elder brother, sealously
.-grossing himself and often sighing;
and there he himself stands, young,
gay and strong, full of unconscious
.hope, and ambition of happiness, and
joy, and the fature. And where is
if his hanninees? The old man's
thoughts flame rp suddenly, like the I
iflame of an exwirlntr fire, illumine I
every nook and corner of a past life.
Measureless t0L sorrow aad care
where is that expected, hoped-for
happiness? Seraowful fate furrowed
that young face, bowed the straight,
strong back, an taught Mm to sigh
like the elder brother.
And there, to tthe left, among the
'women of the viiSage. she stands with
head devoutly beat In prayer. She
was a faithful, Jwring wife to him.
God rest her soul! And she, too, had
had many troubles to bear; care and
soil and woman's bard lot bad aged
iter very early. The eyes that In
youth had been so bright end clear
gnew dim, and the ezpresstsc of fear
and anxiety at the unexpected strokes
(Of fate took the place of the earlier
pride and 'confidence of the young
wift). And her happiness, where was
It? A son. had been left them, the
joy and pride of their age but he,
too., bad been led away by the lies of
mien.
And there stands the rich village
usurer and bows himself to the earth,
and kisses it nSnnsIv. And miikpn thp
sign of the cross, that by hypocritical
worship he may dry the tears of
wronged orphans and widows, and
so he lies to his God as to men.
Wassili's heart grows hot and even
the holy pictures look down in anger
on human misery and human lies. All
this is behind him, so far behind him.
Now his only world is this old bell
tower, hlg up, where the wind howls
and plays with the beli-ropes. "God
will judge, vengeance is His," whis-
DIETRICH.
pers the old man, and heavy tears
oll down his withered cheeks.
"Wassili! Are you asleep?" some
one cries from below.
"Who calls me?" asks the old man,
and started from his bench. "Dear
God! have I really been asleep?
Never has this shame come upon
me." - 4
" Quickly, with practiced hand, he
seizes the rope and gives a look be
low, where, like ants upon their heap,
the people are moving about busily.
The solemn procession is setting out,
with the crosses and icons in front,
to march round the church, while to
Wassili in his tower rises the joyful
cry, "Christ is arisen from the dead!"
The words come with healing to the
overfull heart of the old sexton. The
tapers seem to burn more brightly,
the peasants to sing more heartily.
He rings, and the newly-arisen wind
seizes the tones, and, with wide
spreading wings, carries them up
ward and the echoes, far and wide,
repeat the solemn music of the bells.
.. ' - '-:.':.; . ' --SB
Never has tt old man rung the
Lols so wonderfully. It seems as 11
some of his enyjtion has communi
cated itself tofthe cold metal and
inspired them ta sing in joy and hap
Btaess, to laugh nd to weep; the liv
ing tones .rise J heaven, up to the
krilltant stars, -hich appear to shine
ven more brighly, as the tones'peal
out again and aain, resounding from
earth to heaveaigin love, and joy, land
peace, and heavln and earth re-echo
"Christ 1b arleeEl"
Even the eBd felfry itself seems to
snare in the aoy f mankind, and the
w,IVl which tahsSthe cheeks of the old
ma sings jeyouMy "Christ is arisen."
The old haaartft orgets Its sorrow, a
life of care and foil. Wassili has for
gotten that his lfe, his hopes of nap.
piness have bain nothing but an
empty drea; tlat he is alone in the
world, old and feble. He hears tht
sounds which sing and weep rise
through tlfe gloomy space up to the
starry heavens, nd sink down to the
j poor earth. H sees himself sur
rounded try hhsfehildren and grand
children; neaT the happy voices,
voices of young and old uniting in a
chorus, aad Binding to him of that
hope, and 5oy, nd happiness which
liis long, weary fe has never offered
bim. The old jman pulls the bell
ropes, tears rolllown his cheeks and
his heart beats past in his visionary
Before the chsurch the people are
standing togethe and talking; never
has the old sextgn rung the bells so
wonderfully. S
Suddenly the 1 big bell gives one
mighty stroke ad stops; the small
bells, confused. eid their play with a
sharp discord. tfen a few vibrations
and silence. g
Step reverentljp the old bellringer
has rung his lat peal. Translated
f&r the Springfield Republican.
Where East erlilles Come From
Few people wh6ysee the multitudes
of lilies that will ;lbe used on Sunday
In the adornment mt churches will re
alize what has bee the labor of bring
ing these lovely floers from the places
where they were ggown. or even what
care has been neeegsary to force them
into bloom for thif ime of year. Amer
ica uses for all ids of decoration,
but especially for faster, ten times as
many lilies or floors as any other
country. A floristlhas been heard to
say that this is n an Imported fad.
but an original oil. The lilies that
are peculiarly Eter lilies are in
bloom In their natifre soli in Bermuda
at this time of yeajf, and yet there, in
the land of'flowersjan American wom
an was astonished li few years ago to
find that no flowerf were placed upon
the altars of the churches on Easter,
although the worshipers could look out
tnrough open doors jynd windows to
whole fields whiteith lilies.
Rabbit and
ire Cousins.
The Egyptians called the hare
"un,"
which had two meanings, "open" and
"period." Now thei&ioon was the open
eye of the night, hence the hare be- (
came tue type of piodic occurrences.
As an opener it ws associated with
the opening of the jew Year, and also
with the opening of i new life in youth.
Hence it Is obvioug the hare should
have become associated with the East
er egg. 1
In this country tbjhare is almost un
known, but its "second cousin," the
rabbit, abounds. Te negroes have a
superstition regarding the little animal
that is rather apt. :They believe that
the left hind foot a rabbit that Is
killed in a graveyard, in the dark of
the moon, possesses rare talismanic
virtues. Mrs. M. L;Bean.
Life.
The Easte Parade.
m
FOREST
Sweep Through Forests Along
Southwest Virginia
MUCH PROPERTY IS DESTROYED
Patrick Comity, Va., Being Swept
and Already Much Property Loss
Has Resultd--Conflagraticn, Which
Started Near Stuart, is Under No
Control Whatever in Spite of Ef
forts to Cut Down Timber and Con
fine It to Certain Limits.
Danville, Va., Special. A tremen
dous forest fire is sweeping the
county of Patrick and heavy damage
to property has already resulted and
the lives of many are endangered.
The fire started Friday night, it
appears, near Stuart, the county seat
of Patrick, and the terminus of the
Danville & Western Railroad, and
has been raging ever since. Latest re
ports are that the conflagration is
under no control whatever, though a
large number of citizens and farm
ers engaged in an effort to cut down
trees and confine the blaze to cer
tain limits.
From Stuart the fire has spread
southeast in the direction of Danville.
Sunday night it had reached Critz, a
distance of about 15 or 20 miles from
where it originated. The width of
the conflagration is about six miles.
About 30 farm houses have already
been burned and the occupants bare
ly escaped with their lives. At Pat
rick Springs, an aid established sum
mer resort, four cottages located sev
eral hundred yards from the main
hotel were burned. The main hotel
is located in a valley with woods on
both sides. It is in an open space
and wao saved only by this euclosmc-.
The j.iint;s i;re located about two
miles frjm ShufT, the railroad station,
and several auies beyond Crit.. As
yet no Jives have been repose 1 losv,
but there have been many . thrilling,,
escapes.' The valuable dwelling hous
es of W. N. Martin, a prominent
citizen, was destroyed together with
its contents. The occupants fled for
their lives and hp eflort was made to
save any! hinj.'.
The scene of the origin of the fire
was on the plantation of the Stuart
Orchard Company, which had many
acres cf apples and peach trees. All
of the fruit trees of this concern,
which is the largest of its kind in
this section of the State, have been
burned.
Patrick county is a mountainous
cciTnl'y located about 60 miles south
west of Danville and is famous for
its timber lands, and as a fine fruit
growing section. Apples grown in
the county are shipped to all parts
of the world.
The fire is confined mostly to Bull
and No Business mountains. The
first named mountain .was burned sev
eral years ago. No Business moun
tain is a great timber land and the
loss in this respect will be heavy.
In the area of about 15 by six miles
already swept only a few farm houses
located in the valleys escaped destruc
tion. The Danville & Western, a branch
line of the Southern, is the only rail
way that runs through Patrick coun
ty. No damage is reported to have
been done to railroad property.
It is impossible to get any com
munication to any of the points along
the scene of the fire. The first news
was brought here by the crew and
passengers of a train arriving here
in the afternoon. No trains run on
the Danville & Western Saturday and
Sunday, hence the telegraph offices
are closed. The fires on the burning
mountains illuminated this section
for miles around, the blaze being
clearly seen by these on the train.
By Wire and Cable.
E. C. Fosburgh, of Norfolk, was
elected presient of the North Carolina
Pine Association.
John C. Blair, Assistant United
States District Attorney for the
Western district of Virginia, died at
Wytheville.
The Seventh District Educational
Conference is in session at Wood
stock. A student of the Univerity of Vir
ginia who was accused of cheating
was acquitted at a public trial, five
of the university's alumni sitting as
a court.
District Attorney Jerome submit
ted affidavits of alienists who con
sider Thaw insane, and asked f6r the
appointment of a lunacy commission.
Brig.-Gen. Theodore J. Wint of the
United States Army, died in Phila
delphia. Floods have isolated four States in
the Northwest, tied up railroads in
California and cut a gap SO miles
wide in a Utah railroad.
opposl wm H
Attorneys For Thaw Deny His
Being Insane at Present ;
SHARP FIGHT ON JEROME'S MOVE
This With One From Thaw's Mother
Supplement Unanimous Opinion of."
Defense Attorneys in Begard to
District Attorney's Suggestion
Looking to Appointment of Lunacy
Commission.
New York, Special. The attor
neys for Harry K. Thaw filed answer,
to the suggestion made by District:
Attorney Jerome to Justice Fitzger
ald that Thaw is mentally incapable
of understanding the nature of tha
proceedings against him and is a sub
ject for a commission in lunacy
rather than for a jury which hoid&
only the power of liberty or death..
Supplementing their own unanimous
opinion, that Thaw does understand
the nature of the proeeedings against
him and daily advises intelligently
with rhis counsel, the lawyers have
filed affidavits from the medical ex
perts employed by the defense aifl a
farther affidavit by Mrs. William
Thaw, the mother of the defendant.
Mrs. Thaw, however, does not address
hereself to the question immediately
at issue. She takes advantage of tho
opportunity, she declares, to state
that in the direct line of descent for
four generation there has been no
.taint of insanity or epilepsy in the
prisoner's family. She resents th'i
"malicious misrepresentation and
gross exaggeration" on the subject.
The Drincipal affidavit made in
Thaw '8 behalf is signed Delphin M.
Delmas attaches to his personal state
ment a score or more of letters and
notes he has received from Thaw
during the progress of the trial.
These writings of the defendant Mr.
Delmas declares, clearly indicate .hi
grasp of the proceedings and have
contained from time to time-valuable
suggestions as to the course of tha
,dei'clise.','
Turnpike Co. in Receivers' Hands.
Norfolk, Special. The Consolidat
ed Turnpice Company, owning a large
majority of the county toll roads and
bridges in Norfolk county, under a
suit brought by Arthur Depue, of New
York, holding $120,000 of the com
pany's $180,000 bond issue, has been
placed in the hands of H. L. Page,
receiver. The remainder of the com
pany's bonds are held principally in
New York. The paralleling of the
company's toll roads hy trolly lir?:;,
thus reducing toll collection ; the high
cost of improvement material ami
high labor are assigned as the causes
of the failure. .
i
Kept the Lamp Burning.
Norfolk, Special. Striken with pa
ralysis and scarcely able to move
Captain Fimerson, keeper of the
White Shoals lighthouse in the James
river stuck to his post until relief
came. Although striken early in the
night he kept the light burning. His
feeble cries for help could not be
heard. He hung out a distress sig
nal when daylight came. That was
seen in the afternoon by a party of
excursiry'sts from Smithfield. He
taould not leave the lighthouse until
relief came. Captain Fimerson '3
home is in Portsmouth. It is believed
that he will recover.
Shot in Drunken Bow.
Clifton, Special. Bud Cupples and
Lute Brooks became involved in .1
drunken row at Cerro Gordo Satur
day and Cupples shot Brooks just be
low the hearf with a ,42-caliber Der
ringer. At last reports little hope
was held out for the recovery of
Brooks.
Timber Land Deal.
Dickson, Special. A deal was con
sumated by which George Eleazer, a
lumberman of this vicinity, gets pos
session of a large tract of timber in
the Fifth Civil District, known as the
Hall lands. The timber is very valu
able and will at once be manufactur
ed into merchantable lumber.
Negroes Suspected of Murder.
Norfolk, Special. Charged with
being implicated in the probable mur
der of Charles F. Ferguson, the New
soms postmaster and business man,
whose body, with pockets picked, was
found in a lane here early Sunday
morning, Thomas Tynes and Lea
Johnson, two negroes, have been ar
rested. The prisoners were seen com
ing from the lane and on their per
sons keys and eyeglassas supposed to
have been the property of the deil
man were found.
IS
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