Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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;fL* LONG AGO. H oo«« knew ftll IM VCW>b*t came And nested in (Mr or^trd tree* ; Par **«ry flower I had • nnino- - My friends were woodchucks, toads and 1)060 I knew where thrived In yonder glen What plants would soothe a stone-bruised toe— O, I was very learned then, But that was very long ago. I knew the spot upon the hill Where ebeckerberries could be found ; J knew the rushes near the mill Where the pickerel lay that weighed a pound! 7 knew the wood—the very tree Where lived the poaching, saucy crow, And all the woods and crows knew me— But that was very long ago. And pining for the joys of youth, 1 tread the old familiar spot. Only to learn this solemn truth t I hare forgotten, am forgot, let, here’s this youngster at my knee Knows all the things I used to know | To think 1 once was wise as he— But that was very long ago. < I know it’s folly to complain Of whatsoe'er the Fates decree; Yet were not wishes all in vain. I tell you what my wish would be» I’d wish to be a boy again, Back with the friends I used to know; For I was, Oh! so happy then— But that was very long ago. —Eugene Field. A Cat and Dog Life for Tmo. Aunts are often odiously eccentric persous. The ide*) had occurred to me even while Aunt Maria Markham was •live. After her death I was convinced of it. 8o was poor,dear Julia, though cir cumstauces (thanks to Aunt Markham) withheld her from informing me of the fact. By Aunt Maria’s will I was to have the brute of a bulldog and Julia the cat. The conditions were that with «ach quadruped the legatee was to re ceive $500 per aunuin. This sum to be paid as long as the cat aud dog re spectively enjoyed life in this terres trial sphere, and afterwards also for our respective lives (Julia’s and mine) if the said quadrupeds eventually died natural deaths. It was simply iniquitous—for sev eral reasons. To begin with, Strong, as the bull dog was called,had frightful teeth and • yet more frightful temper. I should think aunt bad paid hundreds of dol lars in huah-money to folks whose flesh and blood the brute had tasted— to sty nothing of trousers,dress skirts and hose. Sweet, as the cat was named, was •n enormous object, with enormous claws. Its temper was really not bad. Bat once aroused,Sweet yas a demon; nothing less. In aunt’s time I had seen this great tiger of a cat stroll care lessly into the yard where Strong was chained and there lay itself down to rest just three feet from the limit of Btrong'fl tether. The sight of the dog when it happened was pathetic. But it didn’t trouble Sweet. The cat lay half curled, with its green eyes on 0trong,and I would not have put odds on the bulldog if they could have had • straight set-to without any favor. ( Visitors loathed Swipet. She pos sessed a lazy, cool way of clawing qp • fellow’s legs and yawning while she hung on to the skin. 'And no lady wafl safe from her. Be tbo dress ma larial wbat it might—from cambric to ••tin—Sweet was bonud to assault it On the sly. But all this was comparatively noth- sng to the great hardship of all. In jest I bad more than once told {alia that I had told Aunt Maria that flhe (Julia) was the only person fit to take chvge of such a dear treasure as fiweet in case of sad happenings. Beally, I had done no snob thing, but -*ulia now disbelieved my solemn as severations. “I will accept An^t Markham’s charge,” she said, “but we raust never flee each other again, yon and 3. ” We were cousins, you know, and father better than engaged, I imagined. I could (previous to aunt’s demise) have conceived the collapse of the heavens, but not Julia’s repudiation of our joint future. And so she fetched Sweet and in stalled the slick demon in her dear ntudio, and I was left to console my self with that more than demon. Strong, Abe bulldog. It was under stress of this treatment "by Julia that I did a thing that now Deems to me superhuman. “Please,sir,” said my aunt’s honse- heeper, when I contemplated the dog Ah at was mine, “I don’t know how you’ll got him to your rooms, nor what you’ll do with him when you get him there. Since the poor missus’ 'death he has been something awful.” “Oh, he has,has he?” said I,staring like one fascinated at his awkward, broad chest. I walked off there and then—driven t>y rage and the thought of Julia—and came to an old curiosity shop. Here there was a complete suit of rusty ar mor, not too heavy for an athlete of my build. I arranged to borrow that -armor, put it on in aunt’s own parlor •and then with my rhinoceros hide stick walked up to the lair of the dog. Mean it may have been. I care not. For 20 minutes I smote Strong until there was no bite left in him. He bestowed many tooth marks and scratches on the armor, but that didn’t hurt me. And when the 20 minutes were past he rolled over on his ugly, great back and wagged his short tail. Then did I slip off my armor and go boldly up to the dog. It licked my hands. I bad conquered, aud I knew that Strong would thenceforward, if need were, die for me. But I hated it more than ever, for never more than at this moment did I feel like wanting a smile from my dear Julia. Thus began the miserable three Shaaths of on-*v^>*rgemeut. Julia was madly devoted to art. She wore “new” garments and “new” modes of -hair; but they all became her,thongh hideous on any other girl. With aunt’s $500 a year,she had money to scrape along on. Literature, was my rope of fortune. I had enough to keep myself in bread and cheese and the dog in bones. But a fellow requires other things than mere necessaries. I yearned for Julia. Thrice I made an effort to see her, and thrice I wrote. All in vain. I had the wretched bulldog as com pensation and nothing more. Now in the third or fourth week I began to experience the joys of being master of such a brute as Strong. He had to be kept in my own room, if yon please, because there was no yard. While I was in it was all right; he would sit watching me as humble as a dog could be. But the moment I was free of the house he would bark and rave and keep it up until I returned. Of course I got served with sum monses on behalf of the nuisance. All this time I was withont explicit intelligence of Julia. It was pudden ing. To think of this poor, dear way ward child alone, as it were (though not quite) in a great city, consuming her own pride. For I felt, you see, that she really still loved me as I loved her. And yet not one word could I get from the worthy, devoted old housekeeper who looked after her. But one evening, when many weeks had passed and I had bred a wrinkle on my brow, who should come to see me but Mrs. Qreen herself—this same good housekeeper. “’Tis no good talking, Mr. Wil loughby,” she burst forth, “and for nolwdy that lives will I see my dear Miss Julia breaking hAl precious heart —leaat of til * oat.” "Go on, Mrs. Gree^f ’ I urged, and she went on. “The times we’ve h§Fl,sir, I’d never have believed possible, and all along of that Sweet wretch. You’re ac quainted with the animal, Mr. Wil loughby, but not as she’s grown up of late. There’s an evil spirit in that beast not fit for a decent person to live with—and least of all a tender young lady like Miss Julia.” “You are extremely right, Mrs. Green,extremely,” I remarked. “Tell me more.” •‘The very last thing, sir, was the scratching of flhe “King of Scotland” from head to foot and him ready to be sent to tho academy. ‘Six weeks’ hard work and all for nothing!’ my young lady sobbed and said,a-pointing at the cat, which lay purrin’ like the evil hypocrite she is. There’s nothin’ safe from the false great object. And the milk it drinks and the dainty bits it does steal—why, it's $5 a week damage it does one way or another, if you’ll believe me, Mr. Willoughby.” “I believe every word yon say, my dear Mrs. Green,” I replied. **I.3ok at that other object.” I pointed at Strong as I spoke and made a click with my tongue. Strong obeyed that click. He stole,growling towards Mrs. Green, who jumped up, screamed and fled. But I arrested her outside and took her by the arm and whispered in her large red ear and was so glad that I could have kissed her, though she carries much hair on her upper lip and unequivocal down on her chin. “We will go in a cab,” said I at length, when I had soothed her. And on the way I convinced her that my plan was a reasonable one and that she (Mrs. Green) would be far more comfortable and opulent as house keeper to two souls than as house keeper to one soul and a demon cat. And in the street, where Julia gives consecration to the atmosphere, I first pressed a dollar into the dear creature’s palm and then set her on the pave ment. » Then back I drove to my rooms to find that Strong had, in a playful fit, reached down my collection of foreign stamps (in a $20 album) and divided it into an incalculable number of parts. But for once I did not curse the pretty creature. ’ “Good old dog,!’ I said, as I patted him on the head. And he wagged hia ugly tail and straightway proved his goodness by swallowing a British Guinea stamp of 1855 worth $5 and scraping to morsels its fellow worth $10. That night I dreamed many dreams in which Julia, Mrs. Green,‘the dog Strong and the cat Sweet were strange ly mingled. But I awoke refreshed, nevertheless, for I was full of hope. Nor fcij I any compunctions, for I felt that the happiness cf two htmau souls was better than the happiness of a coupli of demoniacal quadrupeds. In ttys morning an insurance agent called and, speaking in a high voice that stemed menacing (though of course hr as not), got mauled at the ankle. “Tht law, my friend, will give me my revsnge,” said this gentleman, when 1 had escorted him in safety downstiirs. You see,I had not wanted to insu'e my life. But it half past three I uprose and, taking Strong by the chain, led him into th« street. Thus to the studio. Here Mrs. Green received me with a pale face. “Mils Julia is not in,” she said; and I, dissembling, remarked that it was a pity. “If I might rest awhile,” I pro ceeded “Oh, certainly, sir,” replied the astnte creature. “Perhaps you would like to leave the dog in the kitchen?” The good soul opened the door. Then 1 slipped Strong’s chain,pushed him in and shut the door. Immediately afterwards I invaded Jnlia’s studio and Mrs. Green with me. We shat ourselves in and dis cussed the weather, the last cure for colds (Julia having one) and much else. We talked withont ceasing, in deed,for many minutes. But in spite of everything the riot in the kitchen reached our ears. Ter rific at times it was, with fateful lulls, followed afresh by piercing cries, now of a cat and now of a dog. I opened the door an inch and peeped in. At length, by half-past four, utter peace reigned. Mrs. Green and I looked at each other and started for the kitchen. On the landing, however, whom should we meet but Julia. “James!” she exclaimed, blushing divinely. “I—brought the dog with me,” I murmured. “I am going now. I only wanted to know that you were well. He is in the kitchen.” Her eyes brightened when I men tioned Strong. Hatred of Sweet pos sessed her—she said so afterwards. Then I opened the door, and in a moment I saw that we were saved. “Oh,Miss Julia!” cried Mrs.Green, running to the lifeless body of Sweet. ‘ ‘Strong, what have you been doing?” said I. But I expected no answer,for side by side wi^h the cat lay the life less ()»g. For many seconds we contemplated the dead warriors. Then I turned to Tears were in her eyes, Mrs. nsiderately went away, st,” I said, “thefle is nothing ween us,” and Iropened my her. hesitated for a moment, then me, and I kissed away her eath of Strong and Sweet was, afterf due legal debate, reckoned ex ceedingly natural. The quadrupeds slumber in one gravq.—St. Louis Star. MASTERFUL MRS. SLIMS. The X*atiMiM and Despatch with Which She Broke Vp a Dor Fight. The man who was doing the talking has endured a good many hard knocks while making a very successful way through the world, and, like most per sons who have survived such experi ence, has very decided opinions of his own. “I have always regarded woman as the weaker vessel,” he said, “bat want to say right here that Mrs. Slims is a very remarkable person. I don’t believe she could tell a Percheron from a Kentucky thoroughbred, yet I saw her start a balky horse the other day after twenty men and boys had been beating, kicking and cursing the poor brute for half an hoar. Theper- sniMou she used was a couple of lumps of sugar and a few kind words. “But it was just yesterday that she convinced me of her great superiority. You can gauge her knowledge of dogs from the fact that she paid $5 for a long-haired mongrel puppy, under the impression that she was buying an aristocratic png. Slims has a bull ter rier that’s a professional fighter, and Torton, who lives next door, owns a big St. Bernard. The two dogs began an argument through the fence, and the larger one simplified matters by crashing through a board into Slims’ yard. The whole neighborhood was soon engaged in an effort to part them. Strong hands tugged at tails, legs and ears. Clnbs were freely used, water was dashed upon the belligerents, and the stern orders for them to ‘break away’ could be heard blocks off. When Mrs. Slims appeared on the scene she seemed to grasp the situation in one terrified glance. She flew into the house, dashed out again, and inside of a minute bad the savage fighters slink ing away from each other.” “How did she do it?” “Bottle of ammonia. Snrest thing on earth to break up a dog tight, and it’s original with her. Why, those two terrible beasts quit like pet sheep, and the joke of it is that each dog thinks the other administered the aw ful dose. They never see each other now that they do not curl their nose as though sniffing ammonia, and trot briskly in opposite directions.’’—De troit Free Press. The skeleton of an average whale weighs about twenty-five tons. FOR BOYS AND’GIRLS. SOME GOOD STORIES FOR OUR JUNIOR READERS. Two Little OlrD and Their RobelUona Loeke—One ef the Greatest Wonders of Nature — Prices Paid for WUd Animals—Mines of Australtm. Dirge tor m Toons Girl. NDERNEATH tho sod, low lylns. Dark and drear, Sleepeth one who left, in dying. Sorrow here. Tes. they’re ever bending o’er her. Eyes that weep; Forms, that to the cold grave bore her. Vigils keep. When the summer moon Is shining Soft and fair. Friends she loved In tears are twining Chaplets there. Rest In peace, thou gentle spirit, f~ Throned above; Soul’s like thine with Qod Inherit |] Life and love! Two Ltttlo GDIs and Their Rebellions Locks. Mrs. Ruth McEnery Stuart contrib utes to the St. Nicholas a Southern sketch under the title of “An Old-Time Christmas Gift.’’ It tells of a little white girl and her slave maid, who “belonged to each other,” from the time when they were a day old. Mrs. Stuart says: f Of course, both children had their faults and their small vanities, and some of them are rather funny, as we look back at them. Mlmi’s long, flaxen hair was very straight, and she longed for curls; Yuyu’s was hopelessly curly, and ihe desire of her heart was to get It straight. And so. at bedtime. Mimi would sit on a low stool while Yuyu put the long yellow strands In curl papers, and then the little maids would change places. Yuyu would take the low seat, and Miml would divide her kinky hair into sections, rub each lock with a bit of tallow candle, and wrap It round and round with strips of cal ico until not a kink of the entire mop was allowed to have Its wilful way. When It was done, Yuyu would declare that It was all she could do to shut her eyes, and, indeed, her eyebrows did look pretty high, and she appeared very wide-awake. After this,, both children would kneel and say their prayers, and Mimi, being mistress, would get first Into her own little bed, while Yuyu tucked her In. And then Yuyu would say, “Good night, little mlstus.” Or. perhaps, she would lin ger awhile, and they would talk a lit tle, as when, one night, Mfml said: “Yuyu, I been a-thinkin’ that maybe It’s a sin for you and me to put our hair up this way.” “Which way?” asked the alert Yu yu. “Does you mean dat curls Is a sin—or straightness?” , "I was just a-thlnklng about the vainness, Yuyu. Maybe God Intended curls for you and straightness for me.” “Law, honey, Gord don’t care—des so we do our duty, and don’t tell lies.” “An’ keep the Sabbath holy—eh, Yu yu? Well, good-night, then. My head feels awful bumpy, though, whether God cares or not." And Mi- mi yawned. “Mine ain’t got no feelln’s to It—no mo’n my foots when they goes to sleep—but I likes de way it feels when it ain’t got no feelin’, ’ca’ze I knows it’s a-stretchln’. Good night. Sleep tight” And by this time, unless Mimi were too far gone, she would answer: “Don’t let the mosquitoes bite.” Price* of Wild Animals. The greatest animal mart In the world Is at Hamburg, Germany, and the following are the current market prices for animals: Female Indian elephant, six feet high, trained to do several tricks, car ries six people in saddle, $1,500; fe male elephant, five feet six inches high, no tricks, $1,300; young, fresh imported male elephant, (our to five feet high, from Burmah, $1,000; fe males, $1,100; zebras, 5 years old, per pair, $2,000, and both broken to drive single or double harness; 8 months’ old zebra, male, $450, and female, 3 months old. $350; Nubian wild ass, 6 years old, $200; wtld asses from the Russian steppes, per pair, $900; double humped camels, per pair, $500; llamas, 4 years old, per pair, $250; Axis deer from In dia, per pair, $200; Sika deer from Ja pan, per pair, $150; waterbuck antel opes, 2 years old (country not given), per pair, $750; Bengal tigers, male, 6 years old, female 3 years old, per pair, $1,750; Bengal tigers, female, 3 years old, each $750; Nubian lions, € years old, per pair, $1,500: Nubian lions, 2V& years old, per pair, $1,000; and years old, $600; female jaguars, 18 months old, each $225; pumas, 3 years old, per pair, $300; India leopards, male, $175 each: striped hyenas, each, $75; Russian wolves, each, $100; young polar bears, per pair, $450; polar bears, 18 months old, $650; and fully grown, $1,000 per pair; young Russian bea-s, $150; African and Indian porcupines, each, $40; male kangaroo, $125: beaver rats, $30 per pair; male ouracg ou- tang, 7 years old, $1,500. B«M •» Gold. About 2$,0M ousflMt or nearly £112,- 000, was tbs average Aally production of the gold vines of the world last year. That was the highest in the history of gold mining. The total out put in 1896 in all parts of the world was nearly £41,000,000, two millions more than in 1895, and more than double the output of 1890. The richest gold mine in the world is located under the thriv ing town of Ballarat, Victoria, Austra lia. It has about 25,000 inhabitants, nearly all of whom are employed in the mine. There are more than 100 miles of tunnels under the city, some of them being at the depth of 2,000 feet The entrance to the mine, which is con trolled by a corporation and is known as the Band, Barton and Albion Coun cils, is outside the city. The rock !n which the gold Is found beneath Bal larat is not rich In the yellow metal. It yields but half an ounce of standard gold to the ton, and yet the Band. Bar ton and Albion mine has yielded more than £50,000,000 of gold since It was opened 30 years ago. The work is done so systematically and so thor oughly that it is enormously profitable In spite of the low grade of the ore. The supply of paying quartz seems practically Inexhaustible, and as the vein is extensive, being spread over much territory, the mine bids fair to last for centuries. The workmen in the Band, Barton and Albion are much more comfortable than the workers in a coal mine. There are no noxious gases and no danger from explosions. Pure air is forced through various shafts, and thus Into the drivers. The tunnels are drilled far apart, so IfcEfc there will be no danger to the city above, where all is trade and bufl$» ness. Jut At Ha Pat It Modest people should have a care. If carried to an extreme, modesty is lia ble to become ridiculous, as in a case reported by the St Louis Globe-Demo crat: Years ago a member of the Indiana legislature, in a brand new suit of broadcloth and a silk hat, gold headed cane and white lawn tie, wandered up into the sanctum of the Courier-Jour nal, stood around in a listless way, looked over the papers, went down stairs and came back several times. He was asked to take a seat, which he declined elaborately, and ended by drawing his chair in a confidential way up to the “Roundabout” man’s desk. “Couldn’t you,” he said, "put in the paper that I am at the Galt House with my bride, and just fling in something about my being a prominent Indiana- ian? I don’t care anything about this sort of thing myself, but you kotow hoi the women are. I want fifty copies of the paper sent to this address.” He laid down two dollars and a half, grinned, got red in the face, said “Good morn ing,” and vanished. Next morning he read that “Mr. John Huckleberry requests us to say that he is at the Galt House with his bride; that he is a prominent member of the Indiana legislature, and that he, him self, personally, cares nothing for newspaper notoriety, but that a socie ty note would be very gratifying to Mrs. Huckleberry. He added that he wanted fifty copies of the paper for distribution to his constituents." A Wonder of Nature, Here is a picture of a very wonderful rock, which lies in a broad plain ueai Ladybrand, in the Orange Free State. It is not far from the boundary of Basutoland, near the mountain coun try. It will be seen that this rock looks very much like a man’s head. The resemblance Is, indeed, very strik ing, when one views the gigantic boulder from a distance of about 200 yards. Curiously enough, too, the pro file Is not unlike Sir Walter Scott’s. This quaint stone is conceded by all to be a wonder of nature. Its huge size may be appreciated by comparing it with the people who stand In the fore ground of the sketch. How an Ant Found It* Way. The president of the Agassiz as elation, Mr. H. H. Ballard, recen caught an ant near its hill, shut it In a box, carried it 150 feet away a set it free in the middle of a san road. What followed he thus < scribes: “It seemed at first bewild ed. Then it climbed to the top of ridge of sand, erected its body as hi as possible, waved Its antennae for m eral seconds, and then started in straight line for home.” The captain of a big Atlantic Be after many calculations, has come the conclusion that the general s of a fog in the Atlantic is about tht miles in diameter.