The Florence daily times. [volume] (Florence, S.C.) 1894-1925, February 12, 1898, Image 2
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.