TH K
...
VOL IV.
RALEIGH, N. C, THURSDAY, MAY 16, 1907.
NO. 3
Enterpnseo
LETTER FROM BILKINS.
Still at t lie ExpositionMrs. Bilkins
Hears News About Pickpockets
and Their Work, and it Causes
Nervousness-, But the. Major' is Not
Alarmed He Adopts ' Diplomacy
and Wins Out. .
Correspondence of the Enterprise.
Jamestown, Va., May 15th.
Betsy hez bin exsited purty nigh
ter death. She hez bin hearin' that
they wuz pickpockets here at the Ex
posishun an' that they air liable ter
git awl the money peeple hev ; if they
don't watch keerfully. After, we
'.went ter our boardin' house, last nite
ari': i had put Bob up at the Liberty
stable, me an' Betsy went up ter our
room on the seckbnd floor an' she
locked the door an' stopped up the
keyhole with paper. Then she tole
me whut she hed hearn sum ov the
ladies sayin' erbout the pickpockets,
an that they were powerfully erfrade
that they would' steal awl their jew
elry an' money. Betsy" wuz tremblin'
like a leaf in a spring breeze, an' af
ter she got sorter out ov breth a
talkin', she 'lowed that we had better
git ready an' go home. After-she hed
talked that way fer erbout an' hour,
an' I hed sit thar smokin' my pipe,
which wuz filled with Martin Creek
Township terbacker, which iz gude
' enuff ter maker a feller feel brave,
she- wanted. ter know what I. thought
erbout hit, an' ov course every man
iz expeckted ter agree with hiz wife,
especially when sed wife iz exsited.
But they be times when I refuse ter
agree with my wife an' adopt diplom
acy. I .seed that the time hed cum
ter try once more -or else spile our
trip ter the Exposishun. ;
"My dear," sez I, "we air here ter
see this Exposishun, an' we orter
: stay till we do see hit, fer; hit co3t
lots ov money ter cum down here, an
you air too brave a woman an' hev
bin too -industerous an' lovin a wife
ter miss seein' awl these grate sites
jist becase two or three pickpockets
frum sum ov the big cities happened
ter drop down here fer a little reck
reashun. Now, I will show" you jist
what hez awlways bin the truble with
you wimin. You air awl jist az sweet
an' purty az a patch ov rose bushes
In full bloom, an you hev sense enuff
ter bust the biler ov a steam engin.
But you air jist like thousands ov
other women an' sum men you
wear yourself out lookin fer troubles
that never cum. If the pickpockets
wuz ter git awl our money hit : would
not break us, we'd still hev Bob an'
the other mule left; awlso the farm,
the cows, hogs, chickens, an' other
things, too. We wouldn't be broke.
Then, ergin, we kin purvent that by
a little derplomasy. We kin take
what little money we hev an' put hit
in the bottom ov our shoes an awl
the pickpockets frum here ter New
York couldn't git hit without our
findin' hit out. Now, quit worryin'.
We air here, an' we air goin' ter stajr
here till" we see this Exposishun if we
' don't meet with sum exident that we
can't foresee. If a pickpocket'kin git
my money out ov my shoes without
me findin hit out, he iz welcome ter
hit, an then I'll sign a contrack ter
go home and sell the farm an the
stock an' everythin, an then cum
back down here with the money awl
: In my pocket an I'll take the plck--'
-pockets off ter one side an' tell thera
whut I hev done, an' show them
which pocket the money iz in."
Betsy seemed ter git sorter passi
fied after I talked, that 'way, an' she
sed -hit will be awl rite jist so I'd
manage ter save enuff money out ov
the wreck ter buy her a new lawn
dress afore we leave the Exposishun.
Yours fer displomasy,
ZEKE BILKINS.
Building Repaired and Enlarged.
John W. Evans' Sons, corner Mor
gan and Blount Streets, have recent
ly improved and enlarged the build
ing in which they conduct a shop for
the repair of carriages, buggies, etc.,
and manufacture delivery wagons.
They are bright and industrious
young men, and do fine work. Ten
good mechanics are employed in the
factory, and nothing but honest work
is turned out.
Unanswered.
An old beggar in the Far East sat
in the sunshine by a gateway. The
day was warm, his position com
fortable, and he fell asleep as he
sat there, never noticing when a
kindly disposed passer-by dropped a
coin in his outstretched hand. An
other pedestrian, less generous and
with no scruples of honesty, soon dis
covered the ungrasped gift. Glibly
assuring himself that the old man
could not well lose what he never
knew he had, the newcomer deftly
transferred the money to his own
palm, and went his way. A little
later the beggar awoke, glanced to
wards the setting sun, and with a
sigh for the luckless day that had
brought him nothing, wended wearily
homeward.
Is it not in such a fashion that we
do much of our asking at heaven's
gate? Day by day, we offer our pe
titions; we want things for which we
ask, indeed, but we scarce expect
their coming. The outstretched hands
have become a matter of custom; we
do not notice how often they are
filled, nor how swiftly and In what
strange ways the answers often come.
The grasping of many a petition
comes easily within our reach, but
we fail in our listlessness to recognize
or grasp , it. We murmur, "The
heavens are dumb." Forward.
Mysteries of Planting.
The devices adopted by nature for
securing the planting and distribu
tion of seeds, are very interesting.
Some seeds have wings, so that they
may be carried away as far as possi
ble in falling from the parent plant.
Others, like those of the milkweed
and dandelion, may be said to be pro
vided with balloons, inasmuch as
they are made so light by feathery
appendages that they are readily
drawn up to great heights by warm
currents of air. Astronomers used
to mistake the floating seeds of the
milkweed for meteors until a noted
star gazer set his telescope at a near
focus and was thus enabled to ex
amine the floating vegetable germs
that passed across the field of view.
Certain burrs are seed vessels tnt
are provided with tiny hooks - In or
der that they may catch in the fur qf
animals and be carried off. Selectee;.
Honey in the mouth, music to the
ear a cordial to the heart. Bernard.
How the Children Saved Hamburg.
Hamburg was beseiged. Wolff,
the merchant, returned slowly to his
house one morning. Along with oth
er business men he had been helping
to defend the walls against the ene
my, and so constant had been the
fighting that he had worn his armor
night and day for a week. He
thought bitterly that all his fighting
was useless, for on the morrow want
of food would force them to open
the gates. As he passed through his
garden he noticed that his cherry
trees were covered with luscious
fruit, the very sight of which was
refreshing. A. thought struck him!
He knew how much the enemy were
suffering from thirst. What would
they not give for the fruit that hung
unheeded on his trees? - Might he
not by means of his cherries secure
safety for his city? His decision was
soon made. There was no time to
lose. He gathered together three
hundred of the small children of the
city, all dressed in white, and loaded
them with fruit from his orchard.
Then the gates were thrown open
and they set out on their strange
errand. When the leader of the en
emy saw the city gates open and the
band of white-robed children passing
out, many of the children nearly hid
den by the branches which they car
ried, he thought it was sO me trick
by which the people were trying to
deceive him in order to attack his
forces. As the children came near
er, he remembered his cruel vow,
and was about to give orders for
them to be put to death. But, when
he saw the little ones close at hand,
so pale and thin from want of food,
he thought of his own babies at home
and the tears came to his eyes. Then,
as his thirsty, wounded soldiers tast
ed the cool, juicy fruit from the chil
dren's hands, a cheer went up from
the camp; and the general knew
that he was conquered, not by force
of arms, but by the power of love
and pity. When the little ones went
home they were accompanied by wag
ons of food for the starving people,
and the next day a treaty of peace
was signed. For' many years, as the
day came around on which the beau
tiful deed was done, It was kept as a
holiday, and called "the feast of
cherries."
Throngs of children . .marched
through the streets, each one carry
ing a cherry-tree branch ; but they
ate the fruit themselves in memory
of their little fore-runners who saved
Hamburg. Phrenological Journal, :
Stonewall."
A remarkable feature, of "The Ap
peal to Arms," by James Kendall
Hosmer, Ph. P., LL. D. a brilliantly
written history of the earlier half of
the Civil War is the presentation of
pen pictures of leading generals and
statesmen. The famous "Stonewall'
Jackson is presented as follows: 1
" 'The truth is, old Jack's crazy
exclaimed one. of tils soldiers. 'I of
ten meet him out in the woods, ges
ticulating wildly and talking to hlm,'
self, oblivious of anybody near.' At.
such times he. was known to be at
prayer. His biographer, Dabney, a
Presbyterian minister who became
his chief of staff, who was with him
constantly and sympathized with him
fully, narrates that ' he : interpreted
literally the scriptural injunction to
pray without ceasing. He never ate
or drank without uttering a prayer;
nor, indeed, could he mail a letter or
break the seal of one just received or
perform any act without a petition.
"When riding, he was constantly at
prayer, and might be seen to throw
his hands aloft and move his lips in
ejaculations. After victories his
bivouacs became camp-meetings, lu
which officers and soldiers caught
the enthusiasm of the General.
Though he did not scruple to fight on
Sunday, feeling that . it . was the
Lord's service, yet for all ordinary
actions he was rigidly Sabbatarian: a
letter received on. Saturday night
must remain opened until Monday;
nor would he mail a letter if he
thought it must "be conveyed on Sun
day. "Convinced that the Lord was on
his side and ever present with him,
full of fanatical energy, with a con
stitution of iron, with eye and judg
ment quick and sure, he was an en
emy to be dreaded. His spirit was
that of the Puritan, or of an ancient
judge of Israel, a Jephthah, or a
Joshua."
"Pa's Prayers.
"A great many people are spending
their breath praying when they ought
to be materializing their prayers. Are
you one of them? It is useless to
pray down blessings upon your pas
tor, or the poor and the needy, when
your granaries and larders are fairly
bursting with them. The following
may be a timely hint:
Sickness came one year to the
poorly-paid pastor of a country
church. It was winter, and the pas
tor was in financial straits. A num
ber of his flock decided to meet at
his' house and offer prayers for the
sick one and for material blessings
upon the pastor's household. There
was a loud knock at the door. When
the door was opened a stout farmer
boy was seen, wrapped up comforta
bly. "What do you want, boy?" asked
one of the elders. .
"Pa couldn't come, so I've brought
his prayers," replied the boy.
"Brought pa's prayers? What do
you mean?"
"Yes, brought pa's prayers, and
they're out in the wagon. Just help
me an' we'll get 'em in."
Investigation disclosed the fact
that: "pa's prayers" consisted of po
tatoes, flour, bacon, oat meal, tur
nips, apples, warm clothing, and a lot
of jellies for the sick ones. The
prayer meeting adjourned at short
notice. Gospel Banner.
My Bible.
My Bible is all the dearer to me,
not only because it has pillowed the
dying heads of my father and moth
er, but because it has been the sure
guide of a hundred generations be
fore them. When the boastful in
novators offer me a new system of
belief I say to them: "The old is
better." Twenty centuries of experi
ence shared by such intellects as
Augustine, Luther, Pascal, Calvin,
Newton, Chalmers, Edwards, Wesley,
and Spurgeon are not to, be shaken
by the assaults of men who often con
tradict each other while contradict
ing God's truth.