TH B
o
eron
VOL. II.
RALEIGH, N. C, THURSDAY, NOVMEBER 16, 1905.
NO. 31
R
K nf
J i JL -LL
se0
LETTER FROfl BILKINS.
The Major Takes Up a Painful Sub
jectTells How a Dentist Hade $9
in Double-Quick Time An Amus
ing Experience Proves that He
Lives Near Willow Springs.
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
I hod an amuzin' espeeriense with
a tooth dockter the other day. But
the dentist wuz amuzed a gude deel
more than I wuz before hit wuz awl
over. Dentists think they air purty
popular an' that they hey a pull with
awl ov the best peeple in the country,
which is true in a gude meny cases.
But I never did run after them
like sum peeple, an' that will cum az
nigh hurtiii' a dentist's feelins' az
enything a feller kin do ter 'em. But
I hev notised that if you do eny tiling
ter hurt a dentists' feelins', he will
git back at you if hit takes ten
years. A dentist kin give a feller
twelve months' pain jist while he iz
extrackting one tooth by the painless
method.
The best way ter do a tooth car
penter iz ter tell him ter do hiz best
ter kill you an' then memmerize a
little Christian Science an' imagine
that he iz killin' you. After hit iz
awl over you will feel releeved ter
know thet dyin' iz not half az bad az
sum peeple think. Several years ergo
I got a tooth carpenter ter build a
bridge an' stop up sum holes in my
teeth. He charged me $9.00, and wuz
only two hours an' ten minits on the
job, a gude deal ov the time bein'
spent in makin' out an' itemized bill,
which he presented while I wuz still
in the chair.
Dentists beleev in labor savin' ma
sheenery an' use a steam drill. If
they can't find eny holes in your
teeth they can soon drill a few. But
I hey never heard ov one doin' that,
unless business iz dull.
The dentist wKi;d $9.00 worth ov
wurk in my mouth in two hours didn't
hurt me eny wurse than I've bin
hurt by gittin' a graduate ov a barber
skule ter shave me. But the dentist
charged $8.90 more than the barber.
Yet the dentist may be liberal in
church matters, or there may be other
extenuative sircumstances.
Az I sed before, T hadn't, bin ter
call on a dentist fer a long time till
the other day. He wuz perlitc, but
dignified. I guessed that he wuz glad
ter see me. He 'lowed he could fix
me up awl rite in three shakes if I'd
wate till he'd repair hiz ingine. T
reckon the proper name ov that wot 1
be "the ingine ov destruckshun." Af
ter gittin' the ingin fixed up he pull
ed my mouth open an' gazed eround
awhile. Direckly he sed: "Why that
tooth hez a hole in hit az big az the
mammoth cave." Then he begun ter
punch an' probe eround in the cave
with sum little iron rods an' things.
I though he hed punched a hole
through the top ov my hed an' that
would let my hair fall in my mouth.
But after I cum ter myself I re
membered that most ov my hair hed
bin jarred out by my brain bein' so
active, an' that they wuz no danger.
After punchin' an' poundin' eround
fer awhile the dentist 'lowed that I
orter had that tooth filled long ergo ;
sed he could see the nerve, an' that
he'd hev ter treet the tooth an' Mil
the nerve before hit-would be fit tor
fill.
"Awl rite," sez I, "go ahead an'
treet the topth as pf ten az you want
to, but you wanter treet me at the
same time. You may treet the tooth
an' kill the nerve, but I wanter keep
the balance ov my nerve. When vou
fill that tooth I'll git full, too."
He sez: "You air jokin', major,
you never take enything, do you ?"
I tole him no, that I quit several
years before the Watt's law wuz past;
but the legislature wuz so strong
headed that hit past the law eny
way. '::
In due time the nerve in my tooth
wuz killed, an' hit wuz filled. I am
still due the dentist fer the job. It
I get over the pain he gave me I
will pay him; otherwize, I will not.
I wuz talk in' with the editur ov the
Enterprise the other day. He 'lowed
that he had bin down ter Willow
Springs an' that the nabors awl sed I
didn't live thar, or if I did, they
didn't know me. I will explane. In
order ter hold az meny offices az
possible, I hev several different
names. But my home iz on "Terrible
Creek," and hit iz not far f rum Wil
low Springs. I know John Rowland,
J. II. Dupree, W. B. Temple, E. A.
Howard, S. S. Puckett an' awl them
old timers eround Willow Springs;
awlso Dr. Smith, who cured John
Rowland ov the rheumatiz erway
back in 1840 by dancin' the cakewalk.
John Rowland got ter laffin' an'
when he quit hiz rheumatiz was gone.
If they want further affidavits, I kin
make em.
Az ever, :-
. ZEKE BILKINS.
Rules for Table Etiquette.
One cannot give "infallible rules"
for etiquette at the table. Peculiari
ties of custom vary in different lo
calities and among different classes.
A safe rule is to carefully observe
the actions of people who are ac
knowledged leaders in good society,
and supplement this observation by
closely studying some authorized
book on the subject Most rules of
etiquette are the outgrowth of the
small courtesies of life due to the
convenience and comfort of our asso
ciates, and the desire to please both
the eye and the ear in our social in
tercourse. Some rules, however, are
quite arbitrary, and these will be
found fully set forth in any good
work on the subject.
The first course served is soup ;
following the soup comes fish, which
is eaten with a fork held in the right
hand. Entrees follow the fish, which
are served in covered dishes. Roast
meats follow, with which are served
vegetables, gravies, etc. Bread ac
companies every course, and is us
ually part of the desert. Cheese
comes with the dessert, is crumbled
and eaten with a fork. Pies, pud
dings, cakes, ices fruits, etc., come
under the heading of dessert. If
one does not practice the little po
litenesses observed in society, at the
home table, the lack of them will
"show through," no matter how much
we wish to appear "well bred" in
company.
There never was a day that did not
bring its own opportunity for doing
good that never could have been don?
before and never can be again. Wil
liam Burleigh.
Economy is of itself a great revenueCicero,
Alfred, the Knight.
"Come, Alfred, will you please help
me with the dishes now?" said Mrs.
Morris one evening.
Alfred hesitated. He was always
so ready and willing to help her that
his mother stopped with her hands
full of dishes and looked at him in
surprise. "What is the matter, Al
fred? Don't you feel well?"
"O, yes, mother, I feel all right,"
answered Alfred, slowly, rising from
his chair and following his mother
into the kitchen. "It isn't such hard
work, mother; I really don't mind
doing them a bit. The reason I
didn't want to is because" and the
boy stopped again.
Alfred hung his head and the red
slowly mounted into his face as he
replied, "I'll tell you all about it,
mother. You remember last night
George Nevius came here and wanted
me to go round to his house with
him, and I told him I couldn't?"
"Yes," said his mother. "Didn't
he like that?"
"Well, not much; it made him sort
of mad, and I suppose he saw me
drop the towel. Anyway, he told the
other fellows that I couldn't get out
nights with the boys because I had
to stay home and help my mother
do the housework."
Mrs. Morris sighed; then as she
hung the shining dishpan in its place
and set away the clean dishes, she
said : "I am very sorry, dear, that
you have to help me. If your father
had lived it would have been so dif
ferent. I wonder if the boys ever
heard of the knight who washed
dishes and did other kinds of house
work ?"
"I don't know about the other boys,
mother," replied Alfred, who dearly
loved to hear his mother tell a story,
"but I know I never did."
"It was long ago when King Ar
thur ruled the land. There were
many enemies of the country to be
driven out, and many wild beasts to
be killed. So from every part of Ar
thur's kingdom young men came to
help him and to join his Round
Table. Among those who heard of
the good king and wanted to go to
help him was a youth named Gareth.
But he was the youngest son and his
parents were anxious that he should
stay with them. Whenever he talked
of joining the Round Table, his
mother tried to persuade him to stay
with her. But at last he had begged
her so many times that she did give
her consent. She said he could go
on one condition only. The prince
was to go to Arthur's hall in dis
guise and hire himself to work in
the kitchen for his board. No one
was to know his name, and he was
to serve a year and a day. I suppose
the mother thought her son would
never go in that way. But he was
braver than she knew, and soon jour
neyed to Camelot, the city of the
king. He came to Arthur's court,
and the king must have been sur
prised when he did not ask for a
horse or for a spear, but for permis
sion to work for his board a year
and a day in the kitchen. There he
found much to bear. The work was
'hard and the chief servant was often
cross and disagreable to him, making
him work harder than' the others,
draw- the water, cut the wood, and
do the heavieest tasks of any. It
must have been difficult to be al
ways patient, but Gareth remember
ed that even in the kitchen he was
serving the king. After a little while
his mother felt sorry because of the
hard promise she had exacted from
her son, and sent him arms and told
him he need stay no longer among
the servants."
"Well, he must have been glad of
that," said Alfred. "What did he do
next?"
"A maiden came to King Arthur
asking him to send someone to help
her sister, who was shut in her castle
and watched by four terrible knights.
The very worst of them all was con
tinually begging her to marry him :
but she did riot want to, and yet did
not know how to escape. The maid
en thought Launcelot, the bravest
knight and the king's dearest friend,
would be the one to go. so she was
very angry when she found it was
Gareth. She taunting him and call
ing him 'kitchen knave,' all the way.
She even refused to eat at the same
table with him. But Gareth always
answered her courteously, and to her
surprise, one after another the four
frightful knights fell before the
sword." -
""Good P exclaimed Alfred. "What
did the girl say then?"
"She was mush ashamed of all she
had said; pitied and loved, and at
last married Gareth. Sir Launcelot
praised him for conquering the
fierce knights, and praised him, too,
because when he was tormented
about his kitchen work he 'answered
graciously.' Every time my "boy
helps me so willingly I am remind
ed of the brave knight and feel like
calling him Sir Gareth. I am sure
my boy will never forget his knight
hood when he has harder battles to
fight."
fight." Margaret P. Boyle, in Great
Thoughts.
Chinese Treatment of Animals.
They never punish ; hence a mule
that in the hands of a foreigner
would be useless or dangerous to
those about it becomes in the posses
sion of a Chinaman as a lamb. We
never beheld a runaway, a jibing, or
a vicious mule or pony in a China
m an's employment, out found the
same rattling, cheerful pace main
tained over heavy or light roads, by
means of a tur-r or cluck-k, the beast
turning to the right or left, and
stopping with but a hint from the
reins. This treatment is extended to
all the animals they press into the
service. Often have I admired the
tact exhibited in fretting a large
drove of sheep through narrow,
crowded streets and alleys, by merely
having a little boy lead one of the
quietest of the flock in front; the
others steadily followed. Cattle,
pigs, and birds are equally well cared
for. '
We met in Paris in 18G9 Mr. Bur
lingame. who was then our minis
ter to China. We asked him whether
a society for the prevention of cruel
ty to animals ought not to be form
ed in China. His reply was that
there was no such thing in China as
cruelty to animals; the Chinese were
about the kindest people in the world
in their treatment of them. George
T. Angell in Our Dumb Animals.
Mr. Geo. W. Watts, who gave $30,
000 to build the Watts Hospital at
Durham, has given $10,000 to build
an additon to the hospital.