The Camden chronicle. (Camden, S.C.) 1888-1981, January 30, 1914, Image 3
Adelia York's
Pride
One Good Deed De
serves Another
By CLARISSA MACK1E
Adella York looked very despairingly
around her Immaculately clean tint)
quite bare pantry. Cooking utensils
were arranged In orderly neatness, and
the everyday china w?h whining on ft#
particular shelf, but of provisions there
were none to mention.
The bread box wuh empty aw well an
the cake I h>x and the cooky can. The
tea canister held only a du**t of tea on
the bottom, and the coffee Jar had been
empty for two weeks.
This was the day that Adeliu had
held out against for weeks. Little by
little her store of ready money had
dwindled until at last there remained
only 15 cents In her little beaded purse.
Adella was proud, and she was now
poor, since she had received a letter
from New York saying that the rail
road stock whose dividends provided
her modest incomo was quite worth
less now. Without the semiannual
dividend, which was duo now, Adella
was penniless. She owned the little
house where she lived, for she had In
herited it from Aunt Itebecca York,
whom she had nursed through an lrrl
tabloand eccentric old ago and whose
death did not bring to light half of the
securities which her will had named as
Adelia's portion.
' I must go to Mr. Brown and see If
I cannot get a loan on the house,"
sighed Adella as she closed the pantry
door and sank weakly Into a rocklni;
chair.
To her dismay, the office door was
locked and a card on the door said that
Mr. Brown had gone to Albany on
business and would return two days
later...
Adella smiled bitterly as she turned
j away. Mr. Brown had been her last
L hope, lie was the principal business
man of the little village, and to none
j other would she have confided the des
perate condition of her affairs. Fool
ish she might have been, absurdly
proud she undoubtedly was, but the
j- Y?orks were all \that way, and Adella
f was a York to the very marrow of her
r delicate bon^s.
t She Stepped slowly up the brick
paved street toward her little home,
now and then pausing to give greeting
to some friend or neighbor.
Miss Cherry Downs popped her head
, out of the door and urged her to come
pin and stay for supper.
L* ,>'I rn n" a'?ne, Adella." she insisted.
r"I'm going to have some warmed over
succotash and a peach shortcake. 1
feel too mean for anything eating it
lalone."
Adella flushed warmly, but she shook
her head. "I'm sorry. Cherry, but I
put some biscuits to raise, and I must
get home at once. Thank you Just the
same, she ended, hurrying away,
r- Adella hastened home, conscience
stricken at the untruth she had spoken
about the biscuit. Her pride was at
the bottom of it all, she told herself
remorsefully as she entered the house.
Her mouth had watered at Cherry's
Invitation to supper, but pride' had
risen like a wall before her.
"I wasn't too proud to tell a lie." She
lashed her conscience with this thought.
She felt faint and cold and almost ill
from lack of food. The hens had sud
denly ceased to/lay, and she was glad
of it She had revolted against eggs,
but they had kept up her strength.
Adelja went out to the back porch to
r bring In her bread and tea which the
grocery man must have delivered by
I this time. There were some cahs of
fruit in the cellar left over from last
[ Winter. She decided that she would
l have a cup of tea and some bread and
| beach plum Jam for her supper.
| On the wooden bench on the back
porch was a big basket, and It was
generously heaped with packages and
' parcels of groceries.
Adella gusped. The new man had
made a mistake. He had left some
. body else's order, and her miserable
pittance of bread and tea had gone
elsewhere.
She lugged the basket into the kltch
tn fniJ?Cked the door Then Adella
j Tork did a strange thing. She put all
| Packages away In her pantry and
rbid the basket in the cellar. When
[ she panted up the stairs once more she
looked into the pantry and made in
ventory of the provisions. There were
flour and sugar and butter and baking
powder, tea and coffee and crackers
and rice and cereal, Jars and cans of
dried beef and codfish, and wrapped In
| ? separate paper was a fine porter
house steak.
Adella stood with locked fingers and
compressed lips. These things belong
ed to her neighbor. Mrs. Mason. The
Masons were generous livers. What
would Mrs. Mason think of her? What
would any one think of her?
Adelia's pride forbade her giving in
: to her pleading conscience. She step
ped1 briskly around, her red lips closed
' Ik * ,lne resistance, preparing
. the evening meal. When she sat down
| to it she ate heartily, eating the Juicy
meat and drinking the fragrant coffee
I until her hunger was appeased.
w*8 until she had washed the
dishes and put them away and sat
down with folded hands thpt Adella
^actually realised the enormity of her
offense.
"Tbo next morning she arose very
<*nd without eating a morsel she
[? ' * .
went to tho china cupboard In the din
ing room and took down Aunt Kebec
cu'w hrltannla teapot This teapot was
Adelia's moat cherished lieirlooin and
had belonged to her grandmother l?e
fore Aunt ItelMcptt poasossed l(.
Mr*. Mason had admired the teapot
more than once and luid hinted that if
Adella ever desired to sell It she would
kike to havu an opportunity to become
It*. owner.
"It will hurt me more than anything
fixe to give this up," said Adella to
fcoraelf aa she wiped oft the ahinlng
treasure, "hut I guess that pride of
mine will have to pay for it. I shall
give it to Annie Mitaon rh'ht now In
exchange for those things, i^rd 1 shan't
accept anything more than the value
of that f?M?d. I've often Keen grand
mother pour ten from It. hut Aunt Ito
hecca never uaed It that I remember.
It'a othl how she naked for It the day
before She died and Weld to aleep with
It in her hands, I'oor Aunt Kebeeca!
She waa ao eccentric. Hut she i.nean't
well, I'm auro." ,
Wrapping the brltaunla teapot in her
little red ahawl. 'Adella went through
the orchard to the little gate in the
fence that opened Into Mrs. Mason's
vegetable garden.
Annie Mason waa on her knees pull
lug beets. Her rosy faeo grew rosier
when she aaw Adella standing there,
pale and ill looking.
"What Is it. Adella?" she asked
quickly. "Is anything the matter?"
She ast hark on her heels, and shook
tho earth from a monster l>eet root.
Adelia's . voice trembled with emo
tion.
"I've got to site you alone. Annie,"
sho said hurriedly. "It's very lm|H>r
tant."
Mrs. Ma Hon arose with difficulty for
she was very stout. and with n trou
> ed I expression on her comely face she
led the way to the house and into the
sitting room.
Ihore ain't a soul to home this
wiT* ' TI,ey vo a" ?one PIT. Adella.
Vliat on earth's the matter?" 8he
dropped Into n chair and waved Adella
Into another.
Adella unwrapped the shawl and set
the hritannla teapot on the table be
fore she spoke.
Annie Mason. I've got a confession !
to make,* she said In a low, shamed I
tone. "I've been short of money ever
since the railroad went to smash and
they stopped dividends. I WUs too
proud to borrow money on the house
to get in debt, and I've been hun
gry? ^ust plain hungry. So yesterday
when I got home I found a big basket
of groceries on the back porch and
an<I? 1 was so hungry I kept them!"
ohe paused tragically.
"Well?" gasped Mrs. Mason.
"Well, they're yours, Annie Mason
I in sure they are. All I had ordered
was a loaf of bread and 10 cents'
worth of tea. and I've kept your pro
visions. and to pay you back for them
and to punish myself for being so wick
edly proud I've brought over the brl
tannia teapot. It's for you!" Adella
sank back In her chair, and her lips
were very white.
Mrs. Mason said not a word then
but she Hew around and brought a pil
low for Adelia's head and a little glass
of blackberry wine. When the color
j ame into Adelia's cheeks Annie Mason
leaned over her frail neighbor and
?poke Impressively.
"Now. don't you dare say a word,
Adella. till I'm through. I want you
to know that I haven't forgotten how
you helped me when the children had
the measles last winter and all the
kind and neighborly things you've done
since we've been here. And somehow
knew that you was having some tem
porary trouble, and yesterday morning
when I was giving my grocery order X
said to the new man, ?My neighbor,)
Miss York, forgot to tell you all she I
wanted this morning, and you can)
Just add these things to her order.'
And then 1 made up a list, and those
you found on the porch were your
own, Adella York. I won't hear a
word against It! What', the use of
having neighbors if they can't help
each other out? 'Neighbor' means to be
near to, and the time to be near to In
when we're in trouble. Don't you dare
cry, Adella York!"
Mrs. Mason was crying herself as
she spoke, and after she and Adella
had mingled their tears and had grown
? little calmer the older woman aug
gested that they drink a cup of tea !
made in the brltannia teapot.
Adelia dried her eyes and sm|led,
ana Annie Mason went to the kitchen
sink to wash out the teapot.
"The spout's all stopped up. Ade
lla, she called. "Just bring me that
knitting needle off the table, will you?"
"I declare, it's stuffed with paper!"
she exclaimed as she pried with the nee
dle. What the land!" She drew forth
the needle and .with it a wet and
crumpled roll of paper.
Adelia opened It carefully. "Aunt
Uebecca must have put something in
it," she said In a dared tone as she
flattened out the engraved certificates
of stock.
+i VJ! ^ lt s thOB? missing secun
S5 .. ? Ann*? Mason excitedly.
your Aun* Rebecca would be
likely to do that. Didn't you tell me
* had the teapot In her room the
day before she died?"
Adella nodded. Her eyes were heavy
with tears. "it's all so wonderful.
Annie. I mean my awful pride and
yielding to temptation to take
your provisions, not knowing you had
Riven them to me, and then mj p,,n
Kivln* you the tea
Pot and finding the eeeuritiea. But
there, on. thInj. , mor(, ^
J, wut?r;r Ann,e M"?n" ?h? enrt
chZSr' """" Mr* M"?"
m Jn,!_^?er*Undln* wh*' 'aelthbor'
SETES? 'n"r *' ~h <*?"'??? -
FREAKS OF THE TIDE.
Th. Caldron of th? Spotted boas and
tho Amazon Rivar Upr?.
T?> tie* ordinary lay mind the tide*
along oui ii re most pti/.xlJuK lit*
know# that ( li?? tide* rise and full
twice iii t wi'ii I y four hotti's uiul that
this depend* hi aoine inyxtcriOiis wu,\
upon l lu- moon. Hut if in Ii in I ru \ ?>!>- '
In,? nee# ii ?|io( alouu ilu* where
there Is HO till*' be in lit ?l lOHX to l| i *
count for It.
To lu? exact. there Is only one o'ean
in tho world where tin* tides follow t ! i<
moon Willi {VKUl(irlty, and tills Is i h?'
great Antarctic basin. And the reason
1h that there Is the only pla?e ii kw?h>|>
of wator in to he found tlliit Ik entirely
uninterrupted hy land The enorinojis
waves caused hy tile moon's attrac
t!on course round the world south of
t ape Horn and the <"ape of (iood
Hope, with absolutely nothing to broa k
them. Herein our northern hemisphere
grout iiiasHCs of land interrupt the
tidal waves and, eoinhined with the
shallowness of the inland seas, capse.
them to perforin antics which seem
most atrange
The depth of the water has much to
do with the tidal irregularities. Out in
the open occulta, where the tide Is
abnormal about fathoms? the
speed of the waves Is amazing- When
the depth decreases to Ave fathoms
the tide cannot travel more than fif
teen miles an hour In Knglund. for
example, which Is surrounded by nar
row, land broken seas, the result Is
that they get some of the most dan
gerous tidal races and currents to be
found. The most formidable of these
1h the whirlpool- between the islands
of Jura and Scarba. on the west coast
of Scotland. Tills la known aa the
"Caldron of the Spotted Seas."
There the current runs at times at'
tho rate of more than twelve miles an
hour, and the force of a heavy tidal
current rushing up to the wide '.lout li
ed river forms what i? called a "bore."
A most striking example of this tidal
feature Is often seen on the Amazon,
when a moving wall of water, reach
ing from bank to bank and to a height
of more than twenty feet, will rush in
land. ? Now York Sun.
PATHWAY TO DISASTER.
Overconfidence Has Been the Ruin of
Many a Good Man. /.
When the skillful general wishes to
capture a fort he often tries to find a
place that the garrison, sure of Its
strength, has left unguarded. So Wolfe
planned, and so Quebec fell.
Many of those accidentally drowned
are good swimmers, afraid of nothing
in the 'water.
Many a trainer, before a grent Inter
cojlogiate football match, has said that
Ids team would surely win? if the
coaches could cure the players of over
confldenco. OverconHdence is the sure
forerunner of disaster.
Every boy has seen some wretched
drunkard, with ids blear eyes and bro
ken gait, his rags nnd filth, shamelessly
and pitifully pleading for a few pen
nies with whlcty to buy a drink. No
one can look on that sight, common
as It is, without a shudder. Yet there
was a time when every such pitiful be
ing was free from the desire for drink.
For a time he took his glass in moder
ation. until suddenly a hidden inherit
ance from some ancestor, hitherto un
suspected, awoke in him and drove
him headlong. No one knows whether
that taint is in his blood. Yet every
where men are saying, "Oh, I shall
never be a drunkard! I can take care
of myself!"
So It was that good swimmers
thought as they swam to a point be
yond their strength. , Bo It w? s that
the poor wretch thought In the days
when he drank? before It was too late.
?Youth's Companion.
Music and Melody.
"Music." says Leoncavallo, author of
"I Pagllacd," "Is melody and melody
?lone. Compositions live and become
Immortal because of their melody, and
they die for lack of it The melody of
Wagner and Strauss la 'obscured/ but
the obscuration la a detect and not a
virtue. Verdi Is great because of his
melody, and all mualcal greatness Is
to be measured by Its melody and by
nothing else."
Puaillstie English.
The teacher waa Instructing the class
In the rudiments of the IBnglish lan
guage.
"John," she said, "make a sentence
using tbe word 'Indisposition.' "
John, who was evidently of a pugi
listic turn of mind, assumed an aggres
sive pose and announced:
"When yous wants to fight you
stands In dls position."? Youth's Com
panion.
A Man of Brains.
"1 aay, Reginald. I've forgotten my
tardcase."
"Nevah mind, deah boy. I'll lend
you aome of mine."
"But ? ah?the ryimes would be differ
ent. doncherknow." .
"So they would! What a head you
have got, Algy!"? London Opinion.
Soientifio Dieoevery.
*'You know, of course, that billions
of germs can gather on the abarp edge
of a rasor."
"1 begin to understand," said young
Mrs. Torklns. "The idea of stropping
a rasor Is to subdue the germs by cor
poral punishment"? Wsshington Star.
Must Be Attractive.
"They say ehe's pretty."
"Let me tell you. When ahe gets on
a street csr the advertising la a total
loss."? Pittsburgh P<&t
Worry has killed many a great man,
but It never made a man great
TO MR. BUSINESS MAN
IS there anything about your business which
if other people knew would induce them to
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that calls for the use of printer's ink. Of
course we will admit that a number of people
already know these facts about you, but sup
pose more knew them! Couldn't you serve
more people without adding much, if anything,
to your expense? If you say "Yes," we say
that condition calls for printer's ink. It's our
job to help a business man stretch himself ?
multiply himself ? to help him carry his message
to those who should have it. This means the
use of printer's ink. We hereby offer you our
services, our experience in printing, our facil
ities for printing, our ides as to good printing,
and if you will give us a chance to serve you,
we'll make your business bigger. No miracle
about this? <-just the sensible application of printer's ink.
Can't We Serve You ?
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