THE
Enterpr:
VOL. IV.
RALEIGH, N. 0., THURSDAY, MAY 9, 1907.
NO. 2
eig
BILKINS AT THE EXPOSITION.
The Major and Bob Are Taking in the
Sights Bob Wants to Try His
Heels Against the Battleships
Buildings Still Going Up.
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
Jamestown, Va., May 8, 1907.
Me an' Betsy an' Bob air havin' the
biggest time you ever hearn ov. Hit
would take the whole United States
army an' the navy ter keep us frum
selebratin'. If Betsy wuz in site awl
the time hit mite be different, fer she
iz grate on regulatin', her husband
an' mules an' things.
I am glad ter be here. I git ter
see more sites every day than I'd see
in Martin Crick Township in five
years.
This Exposishun iz a whopper. Hit.
wuz named after Capt. James Smith,
who saved Pokyhontus' life several
hundred years ergo; or maybe hit
wuz the other way. I won't be par
tickular erbout history fer I kin
hear Bob brayin' ter git me ter cum
an' take him out o v the liberty sta
ble whar he iz confined. Bob iz
wantin' ter go down the river towards
Fort Monroe an' kick sum ov them
battleships ter peeces. He never seed
eny battleships before, not even in
Raleigh, an' he thinks they air tres
passin' on historickal ground, so ter
speek.
They air still puttin' up-lmildin's
an' gittin' things in shape. They say
that awl the folks in this country an'
Urope will be here betwixt now an'
November, includin' the Sultin' ov
Turkey an' hiz several hundred
wives, an' Senator Tillman who in
vented the dispensary az a moral in
stitushun. Betsy iz powerful interested in the
big water eround here the Jeems
River an' the Atlantick Ocean. I
hev bin tellin' her that az soon a,
hit gits a little warmer we will go in
surf bathin' down at Ocean View, or
sum ov them other places. Betsy iz
shocked ter death. I tole her we'd
wear , bathin' suits which kin be hired
fer a quarter apiece. She sez it
we'd a-brought our ole clothes erlong
awl that expense mit a bin saved. I
tole her that they wuz a few sharks
an' alligaters in the ocean an' we'mite
stand a chance ter lose our clothes,
so if we hire bathin' suits the loss
will be on the managers ov the sea
side resorts. Betsy wanted ter know
what the sharks an' alligaters would
be doin' ter us when they air tearin'
off our bathing' suits. I tole her she'd
hev ter guess at that, fer not even
the publishers ov an almanack could
flgger sich things out.
Betsy keeps on a-watchin' me mity
close. She sees so many purty gurls
erround here an' she awlways wuz
a little bit jealous. Hit iz a pity
that awl married ladies don't beleeve
their husbands air gentlemen, but
they don't seem ter be able ter rize
ter that high-water mark.
I rode Bob erround over the Ex
posishun Grounds yisterday an' we
two inspeckted things. I could tell
that Bob wuz pleezed with what he
seed fer he didn't turn hiz ears back
an' look mad. Bob can't talk, but
he hez a thousan' ways ter show
what he likes an' what he don't like.
If they ever wuz or ever will be a
mule that mite be eleckted Guvernor
ov a State, that mule iz Bob. He
would do mity near everythin' that
the other Guvernors do, even could
grant pardons an' look wize. But f
beleeve Bob iz gittin' like me sinse
we cum ter the Exposishun he hez
seen so many sites that he don't care
much fer pollyticks any more.
Me an' my friend, Major Graham
Haywood, of Raleigh, uster talk
pollyticks every time I'd go ter Ra
leigh an' when he'd cum out ter see
us. My friend Haywood iz smart
enuff ter run fer enythin', an' iz az
poplar az a man kin git, but he iz too
modest. He iz willin' ter sell hard
ware, but not willin' ter go out an
chase an offls. But he will be older
after awhile.
Yours truly,
ZEKE BILKINS.
"Boy Wanted."
People laughed when they saw the
sign again. It seemed to be always
in Mr. Peters' window. For a day or
two -sometimes only for an hour or
two it would be missing, and passers
by would wonder whether Mr. Peters
had at last found a boy to suit him;
but sooner or later it was sure to ap'
pear again.
"What sort of a boy does he want,
anyway?" one and another would
ask ; and then they would say to one
another that they supposed he was
looking for a perfect boy, and in their
opinion he would look a great while
before he found one. Not that there
were not plenty of boys- as many as
a dozen used sometimes to appear in
the course of a morning, trying for
a situation. Mr. Peters was said to
be rich and queer, and for one or
both of these reasons boys were anxi
ous to try to suit him.
"All he wants is for a fellow to
run on errands; it must be easy work
and sure pay," this was the way
they talked to one another; but Mr.
Peters wanted something more than
a boy to run errands. John Simmons
found it out, and this is the way he
did it. He had been engaged that
morning, and had been kept busy all
the forenoon at pleasant enough
work, and although he was a lazy fel
low, he rather enjoyed the place.
It was toward the middle of the af
ternoon that he was sent up to the
attic, a dark, dingy place, inhabited
by mice and cobwebs.
"You will find a long deep box
there," said Mr. Peters, "which I
want you to put In order. It stands
right in the middle of the room
you can't miss it."
John looked doleful.
"A deep, long box! I should think
it was!" he said to himself as the at
tic door closed after him. "It will
weigh a ton, I guess; and what is
there in it? Nothing in the world
but old nails and screws and pieces
of iron and broken keys and things
rubbish, the whole of it. Nothing
worth touching. And it is as dark
as a pocket up here and cold besides.
How the wind blows in through those
knot-holes! There's a mouse! If
there is anything I hate it's mice!
I'll tell you what it is, if old Peters
thinks I'm going to stay up here and
tumble over his old rusty nails he's
much mistaken. I wasn't hired for
that kind of work."
Whereupon John bounced down the
attic stairs three at a time, and as
found lounging in the show-window
an hour afterward when Mr. Peters
appeared.
"Have you put the box In order al
ready?" was the gentleman's greeting.
"I didn't find anything to put in
order; there was nothing in it but old
nails and things."
"Exactly. It was the nails and
things that I wanted put in order.
Did you do it?"
"No, sir; it was dark up there and
I didn't see anything worth doing.
Besides, I thought I was hired to run
errands."
"Oh," said Mr. Peters, "I thought
you were hired to do as you were
told."
But he smiled pleasantly enough
and at once gave John an errand to
do down town; and the boy went off
chuckling, declaring to himself that
he knew how to manage the old man;
all it needed was a little standing up
for rights.
Precisely at 6 o'clock John was
called and paid the sum promised
him for a day's work; and then, to
his dismay, was told that his services
would not be needed any more. He
asked no questions. Indeed, he had
time for none, as Mr. Peters imme
diately closed the door.
The next morning the old sign,
"Boy Wanted," appeared in its usual
place.
But before noon it was taken down
and Charles Jones was the fortunate
boy. Errands plenty of them! He
was kept busy until within an hour of
closing. Then, behold! he was sent
up to the attic to put the long box
in order. He was not afraid of a
mouse nor of the cold, but he grum
bled much over the box. Nothing in
it worthy his attention. However, he
tumbled over the things, grumbling
all the time picked out a few straight
nails, a key or two, and finally ap
peared with this message:
"Here's all there is worth keeping
in that box. The rest of the nails
are rusty, and the hooks are bent, or
something.
"Very well," said Mr. Peters, and
he sent him to the post-office.
What do you think! By the close
of the next day Charlie had been paid
and discharged, and the old sign
hung in the window.
"I've no kind of a notion why I
was discharged," grumbled Charlie to
his mother. "He said that I wouldn't
suit. It's my opinion that he doesn't
want a boy at all, and takes that way
to cheat. Mean old fellow!"
It was Crawford Mills who was
hired next. He knew neither of the
other boys, and so did his errands in
blissful ignorance of the long box un
til the second morning of his stay,
when in a leisure hour he was sent to
put it in order. The morning passed,
dinner time came, and still Crawford
had not appeared from the attic. At'
last Mr. Peters called him. "Got
through?"
"No, sir; there is ever so much
more to do."
"All right. It is dinner time now.
You may go back to it after dinner."
After dinner he went back. All
the short afternoon he was not heard
from, but just as Mr. Peters was de
ciding to call him he appeared.
"I've done my best, sir," he said,
"and down at the very bottom of the
box I found this."
"This" was a $5 gold piece.
"That's a queer place for gold,"
said Mr. Peters. its good you
found it. Well, sir, I suppose you
will be on hand to-morrow morn
tng?"
(Continued on Pago 5.)"
A RALEIGH BOX'S SUCCESS.
Left Raleigh Twenty-Five Years Ago,
Now a Construction Engineer at
Baltimore -Made Fame and For
tune. Wednesday Wm. II. Parker was
seen at the Yarboro House, where
he has been stopping with his wife,
sister and small son. He will leave
Friday for Franklinton to visit a
sister. This is the first visit Mr.
Parker has paid his native city in
twenty-five years. He is now build
ing supervisor with the firm of Mor-
jow Bros., contractors and builders,
Baltimore, Md., and is a man of
wealth. His firm has just informed
him of a contract signed since he
has been visiting a sister at Fuquay
Springs, that will cost $1,500,000
a steel sky-scraper that will be erect
ed at Baltimore. Mr. Parker recently
finished an important piece of work,
the construction of a building at Ar
cadia, S. C, for Millionaire Emerson,
of Bromo-Selzer fame, for which he
was highly complimented.
Mr. Emerson H. Parker is a son
of the late Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Parker,
of this city. Mr. Parker was a well
known brave and honest citizen, of
Raleigh, and who is well remembered
by our older citizens. He is a self
made man, and is, a member of the
North Carolina Society of Baltimore.
Mr. Parker's many friends were
glad to shake his hand after his long
absence from the city.
All About the House.
An experienced laundress recom
mends washing white silk embroid
ery in lukewarm soapsuds. After
washing, rinse in clear lukewarm wa
ter, dip in gasoline and shake dry.
To clean silver easily, dissolve
three teaspoonsfui of baking soda in
a quart of boiling water, put in the
silver, let it remain five or ten min
utes, and then rinse in hot water
and wipe it.
One woman who has ceased to find
time to use her knitting needles for
the purpose for which they were de
signed, always keeps one of two at
hand in the kitchen to test vegeta
bles, cakes, etc.
The scrapings of a jam pot (about
one tablespoonful) if heated, will,
with the addition of two teaspoon
fuls of hot water and the same lemon
juice, make excellent sauce for a
boiled pudding.
Oilcloths should never have soap
used when washing them, as the lye
will destroy the colors and finish.
They are greatly benefited and last
much longer if. a thin coat of varnish
is applied once a year.
A box of powered borax should al
ways be kept on the sink shelf. A
little added to the water in which the
dish towels are washed will help
much to keep them clean, and at the
same time keep one's hands soft and
smooth.
There are many tricks In the use
of lustre paints which the amateur
must learn if she would be successful
in the decoration of china, " chief
among them being to have the sur
face of the China absolutely free
from dust and lint, and to shake the
liquid well and often while using.
You may break, you may shatter
the Tammany ring as you will, but
the sight of the pie counter reunites
it still! Washington Herald. .