University of South Carolina Libraries
LONG AGO. . came I one* knew all tfce feQt'bat < And oeated in.Mr orM^rd tr For every flower I had a name - My friends were woodcbuoks, toads and bees, ■ 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 ebeekerkerries could be found ; I knew the rushes near the mill Where the pickerel lay that weighed a pound! I 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, I tread the old familiar spot. Only to learn this solemn truth i I hare forgotten, am forgot. Yet, here's this youngster at my knee Knows all the things I used to know { To think I 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 s 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. —Eu Eugene Field. r tA A Aj R Oat and Dog Life for Tuto. jqjr qp i r ^|r wgp-qy wgr-wy ji Aunts are often odiously eccentric persons. The ide*> had occurred to me even while Aunt Maria Markham was •live. After her death I was convinced *>t it. Ho was {M>or,dear Julia, though cir- eumstauces (thanks to Aunt Markham) withheld her from informing me of the fact. i By Aunt Maria’s will I was to have the brute of a bulldog and Julia the «at. The conditious were that with each quadruped the legatee was to re ceive $600 per annum. This sum to t>e 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- oral reasons. To begin with, Strong, as the bull dog was called,had frightful teeth and • yet more frightful temper. I should thiuk aunt had paid hundreds of dol lars in hush-money to folks whose flesh aud blood the brute had tasted— to say nothing of trousers,dress skirts •nd hose. Sweet, as the cat was named, was an enormous object, with enormous claws. Its temper was really uot bad. But once aroused,Hweet was a demon; nothing less. In aunt’s time I had ween 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 Strong’s tether. The sight of the d When it happened was pathetic. B it didn’t trouble Sweet. The cat la. half curled, with its green eyes o Strong ,and I would not have pnt odds an the bulldog if thaf could have had a straight set-to without any favc Visitors loafhdu Sweet: She po«- •ensed a lazy, cool way of clawing up a fellow’s legs and yawning while sh hung on to the skin. And no lad was safe from her. Be the dress hsrial what it might—from cambri aatin—Sweet was bound to assault it •n the sly. But all this was comparatively noth ing to the great hardship of all. In jest I had more than once told iniia that I had told Aunt Marin that •he (Jalia) was the only person fit to lake charge of such a dear treasure as Bwcet in case of sad happenings. Keally, I had done no such thing, but ■frulia now disbelieved my solemn as- nverations. “I will accept Au^t Markham’s charge,” she said, “bat we cjust never •ee each other again, yon and 1” We were cousins, yon know, and lather 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 wtndio, and I was left to console iny- aelf with that morethan demon,Strong, the bulldog. It was understress of this treatment by Julia that I did a thing that now seems to me superhuman. “Please,sir,” said my aunt’s house- lineper, when I contemplated the dog '•that 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,staving like one fascinated at his awkward, broad chest. I walked off there and then—driven by rage aud the thought of Julia —and «ame 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. Menu it may have been. I care not. For 20 minutes I smote Strong tintil 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 bands. I had conquered, aud I knew Chat Strong would thenceforward. If need were, die for me. But I *haUd 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 ^wnths of ou* , J ^\acgemeut. three Julia was madly devoted to art. She wore “new” garments and “new” modes of hair; but they all became her,though hideous on any other girl. With aunt’s$500a year,she had monej’ to scrape along on. Literature was my rope at 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, 1 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 you 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 snm- monses on behalf of the nuisance. All this time I was without explicit intelligence of Julia. It was madden ing. To think of this poor, dear way ward child alone, as it were (though uot 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. Green herself—this same good housekeeper. “’Tis no good talking, Mr. Wil loughby,” she burst forth, “and for nobody that lives will I see my dear JuliaAmaking her previous heart t offbeat.” >x. > # “Go on, Mrs. Green,” I urged, a^d she went on. • “The times we’ve had,sir, I’d never have believed possible, and all along of that Sweet wretch. You’re ac quainted with the animal, Mr. Wil loughby, bnt not as she’s grown up of late. There’s au 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 aro extremely right, Mrs. Green,extremely,” I remarked. “Tell me more.” “The very last thing, sir, was the scratching of the “King of Scotland” from head to foot and him ready to be sent to the 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 you say, my dear Mrs. Green,” I replied. 'fr_9ok 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 aud whispered in her large red oar 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. Ancl iu the street, where Julia gives consecration to the atmosphere,! first pressed a dollar into the dear creature’s palm and thou set her on the pave ment. Then back I drove to my rooms to find that Htroftg 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 his ugly tail aud straightway proved his goodness by t swallowing a British Guiuea 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. “Miss Jul and I, dissent Nor had I any compunctions, for I felt that the happiness of two human souls was better than the happiness of 4 couple of demoniacal quadrupeds. In the morning an insurance agent called and, speaking in a high voice that seemed • menacing (though of coarse was not), got mauled at the ankle. “The law, my friend, will give me my revenge,” said this gentleman, when I had escorted him in safety downstairs. Mou see,I had not wanted to insure my ife. But at half past three I uprose and, taking Stron i by the chain, led him into the strec t. Thus to t he studio. Here Mrs. Green received me with a pale face. a is not in,” she said; ling, remarked that it was a pity. “If I mi, ceeded. “Oh, cerl airily, sir,” replied the astute creattfire. “Perhaps you would the dog in the kitchen?” soul opened the door. Then I slipj ed Strong’s chain, pushed him in anti, I hat the door. Immediaf ply afterwards I invaded Julia’s studflo and Mrs. Green with ut ourselves in aud dis- eather, the last cure for having one) and much ked without ceasing, in- ,ny minutes. ite of everything the riot en reached our ears. Ter- it was, with fateful lulls, esh by piercing cries, now now of a dog. I opened inch and peeped in. , by half-past four, utter ed. Mrs. Green and I ach other and started for FOR BOYS AND'GIRLS. SOME GOOD STORIES FOR OUR JUNIOR READERS. Two Little Girls and Their Rebellions Locks—One of the Greatest Wonders of Motor* — Price# Paid for Wild ale—Mines of Australia. rest awhile,” I pro- like tp leave The good Dirge for a Young Girl. NDERNEATH the sod, low lying. Dark and drear. Sleepeth one who left. In dying. Borrow hero. Yes, 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. me. ' We s cussed the colds (Julii else. We deed,for m But in a in the kite! rifle at tim followed al of a cat an the door a: At lengt peace rei looked at the kitche On the should we “James divinely. “I—bn murmure only want well. H Her ey tioned St sessed he Then moment “Oh, running “Stroi said I. side by less dog. For m the dead 1 Julia. Green c H Rest In peace, thou gentle spirit. Throned above; Soul's like thine with God inherit Life and love! ^ I landing, however, whom Imeet but Jnlia. ” she exclaimed, blushing ght the dog with me,” I “I am going now. I d to know that you were is in the kitchen.” brightened when I men- >ng. Hatred of Sweet pos- —she said so afterwards, opeoed the door, and in a saw that we were saved, as Julia!” cried Mrs. Green, > the lifeless body of Sweet. ', what have you been doing?” ut I expected no answer,for ide with the cat lay the life- arms i . She came to tears. The after di ceedingH The grave.- ny seconds we contemplated warriors. Then I turned to .ears were in her e^fes, Mrs. nsiderstely went sway, est,’’ I said, “there is nothing Os,” and I jopened my esitated for a moment, then me, and I kissed away her iath of Strong and Sweet was, e legal debate, reckoned ex- ‘ natural. fuadrupeds slumber •it. Louis Star. in one TERFUL MRS. SLIMS. iets and Despatch with Which e Broke I7p a Dog Fight, fm who was doing the talking red a good many bard knocks t king a very successful way the world, and, like most per- * have survived such experi- very decided opinions of his have always regarded woman aker vessel,” he said, “but ay right here that Mrs. Slims remarkable person. I don’t jfie could tell a Percheron from a K r entucky thoroughbred, yet I The Neat £] The m has endu while ms through sons wh( enoe, hat own. as the w< want to ( is a very believe Rebellions saw her day after Uart a balky horse the other twenty men and boys had been bea Bing, kicking and cursing the poor brm sursion s of sugar “But i convince! You can ; from the long-hair impressic aristocrat ' rier that Torton, vf big St. B< an arguin the large) crashing yard. TI soon engs Strong hr| ears. Cl was dsshi the stern away’ co Mrs. Slii seemed terrified house, da a minute ing away “How “BottU on earth 1 it’s origii two terril and the j thinks th ful dose, now that as though briskly in troit Free The ski weighs ab e for half an hour. Theper- he used was a couple of lumps ind a few kind words. ; was just yesterday that she l me of her great superiority, jauge her knowledge of dogs fact that she paid $5 for a ad mongrel puppy, under the I n that she was buying an ic pug. Slims has a bull ter- < a professional fighter, and -ho lives next door, owns a Bernard. The two dogs began ent through the fence, and • one simplified matters by throagh a board into Slims’ le whole neighborhood was iged in an effort to part them, mds tugged at tails, legs and bs were freely used, water d upon the belligerents, and orders for them to ‘break Id be heard blocks off. When appeared on the scene she grasp the situation in one lance. She flew into the shed out again, and inside of had the savage fighters slink- from each other. ” lid she do it?” of ammonia. Sorest thing o break up a dog fight, and lal with her. Why, those le beasts quit like pet sheep, ke of it is that each dog Two Little Girls and Their Locke. 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: Of course, both children had their faults and their small vanities, and some of them are rather funny, aa we look back at them. Mimi’s long, flaxen hair was very straight, and she longed for curls; Yuyu’s was hopelessly curly, and the desire of her heart was to get it straight. And so, at bedtime, Miml 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 Miml, being jnistress would get first Into her own little bed, while Yuyu tucked her in. /And then Yuyu would say. "Good night, little mistus.” Or, perhaps, she would lin ger awhile, and they would talk a lit tle, as when, one night,' Miml said; “Yuyu, I been a-thinkin’ that rilaybe 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-thinking about the vainness, Yuyu. Maybe God intended curls tor 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-stretchin’. Good night. Sleep tight.” And by this time, unless Miml were too far gone, she would answer; “Don’t let the mosquitoes bite." BaM aa Gal*. About 28,0M oumm* or nearly £112,- 000, was th« sverag* daily production of the gold Brines 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 cerporation and is known as the Band, Barton and Albion Coun cils, Is outside the city. The rock In 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 coal mine. There are no noxious a gases and no danger from explosions. Pure air is forced through varlou* shafts, and thus Into the drivers. The tunnels are drilled far apart, so GMfc there will be no danger to the rity above, where all is trade and ness. Joet A* He Pat It. Modest people should have a care. It carried to an extreme, modesty la 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 know how 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 Nat are. Hers Is a picture of a very wonderful rock, which lies in a broad plain near Prices of Wild Animal*. 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, 31,500; fe male elephant, five feet six inches high, no tricks, 31,300; young, fresh imported male elephant, four to five feet high, from Burmah, 31.000; fe males, 31,100; zebras, 5 years old, per pair, 32,000, and both broken to drive single or double harness; 8 months’ old zebra, male, 3450, and female, 3 months old, 3350; Nubian wild ass, 6 years old, 3200; wild asses from the Russian steppes, per pair, 3900; double humped camels, per pair, 3500; llamas, 4 years old, per pair, 3250; Axis deer from In dia, per pair, 3200; Sika deer from Ja pan, per pair, 3150; waterbuck antel opes, 2 years old (country not %iven), per pair, 3750; Bengal tigers, male, 6 years old, female 3 years old, per pair, 31,750; Bengal tigers, female, 3 years old, each 3750; Nubian lions, 6 years old, per pair, 31.^00; Nubian lions, 2% years old, per pair, 31.000; and 114 years old, 3600; female jaguars, 18 i months old, each 3225; pumas, 3 years I old, per pair, 3300; India leopards. Ladybrand, In the Orange Free State. It is not far from the boundary of Basutoland, near the mountain cona- 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. _ male, 3175 each; striped hyenas, each, other administered the aw- 375; Russian wolves, each, 3100; young They never see each other polar bears, per pair, 3450; polar bears, hey do not curl their nose 18 months old, 3650; and fully grown, sniflSng ammonia, and trot 31.000 per pair; young Russian bea -s, opposite directions.”—De- 3150; African and Indian porcupines, Press. deton of an average out twenty-five tons. whale each, 340; male kangaroo, 3125: beaver rats, 330 per pair; male ourang ou- tang, 7 years old, 31.500. How an Ant Fonnd IU Way. The president of the Agassiz asuo- ciation, Mr. H. H. Ballard, recently caught an ant near its hill, shut it up in a box, carried it 150 feet away and set It free in the middle of a sandy road. What followed he thus de scribes: "It seemed at first bewilder ed. Then it climbed to the top of a ridge of sand, erected its body as high as possible, waved Us antennae for sev eral seconds, and then started in a straight line for home.” The captain of a big Atlantic liner, after many calculations, has come to the conclusion that the general size of a fog in the Atlantic is about thirty miles In diameter.