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J. J. WORKMAN, Train. \-u.AZP5i$ - WRITING ; ; M'*v" ' '-iV^ISyg FIRE, CASTJ GLASS* SURETY BONDS and, AUTOMOIilLB INSURANCE. an AGENCY ESTABLISHED SHORTLY AFTER THE CIVIL WAR, REPRE SENTING NINETEEN OF THE STRONGEST FIRE INSURANCE COMPANIES, WITH AMERICAN ASSETS OF $284,717,806.00. In ADDITION, THE FOREIGN COMPANIES ARE BACKED BY ENORMOUS HOME OFFICE ASSETS AVAILABLE TO ALL POLICY HOLDERS. A LONG AND HONORABLE RECORD SHOWS THE INSISTENCE ALWAYS OF FAIR AND JUST TREATMENT OF THE CLAIMS OF ITS CLIENTS. BE SAFE CALL 52 . . ? i ? \ ' ' ' And let a solicitor from this old and tried agency advise you about your insurance. IF TORN FROM ^ A RACOON'S DIARY JC. A. D.) in Greenville. NevvB. kiss the marsh the sun was sink p an amber sea, each small lake ad run, took on the colors of the rt, and the tall stems of reeds and ?s were splashed with gold, ft freshening breeze whispered And ed the dry grass over the cuddling h hen and her brood. The birds caning home for the night.; t, white cranes changing to rosy as they breasted the western glow, lumbering slowly by. Big blue n. flapped lazily towards their place in the cypress tops. T An fa&l duck whizzed past, to 'drop 'for the night by it6 favorite pool. * dwellers of swamp and mirati t?lng to bed. wrd8 the east a narrow neck of *d timber, pushed straight out parent forest, and wadecT r the lagoons and the muck * swamp, a giant gum, half ^ ad lodged against a stronger **nd from Its upllfted rooti, ?Qt hollow extended up thru !?tfh of the trunk. in this gloomy retreat... an-. ?en of the swamp, was Just Jyp- He ha<l slept like the pro a" day long. Stretching . . f he rubbed first one eye Sr^hen the other, with chub W nsta. When satisfied that foaHy and truly awake; he i fh?n??r,!'e *rom ^be upper open e hollow, and crawlefc^very b / ?^ 011 th? tree that prop yl ^ Half slldln*. ^d Cambering, bear-fashlon, he * ground tail first ~ devonnnhl8 hftunches. with fore tat v y crossed over his dingy fowl ? KRZed wlstfully at the g* * they flapped or whizzed auot L I)a,n8 to locat? "El 27, " be,?t?1 mauard 1 Of sight in the rushes, reg I, SvLr m to hn 0n' He was ,n W&27** bunt! ta K ?a? VAf fea y ^or 8u?b work. ?#ns ? ,much """I from ??e hunt ^ 8 Inore advan ^ Ln T than 10 the hun fctt of dron !rd f?lk* are not in h** theyVnd*18111 ?tt l? ****' 1 ^ftlculLl! ? *, reSUnR pIaoe qneroi ,ndul&* in much ^ fln?l ervJ18. COnv*rRaUon be her* devote fh/ 18 ?-PflW*! An<* ?to ?eschlnff ? qD,ett beflan,e ?wamp d? u children the * C nu ?h<mld know ** old Eaooon knew full well, vo why*f)hould he be in aj hurry? Just to while away the time, he shuffled off in that quaint, side- j ways fashion of his, down to the mar- ! gin of the nearest water. By a single artful grab he succeed ed in -catching a lady frog, who was just tuning up to sing a soprano ac- : companlment to the thunderoifs bass of her big lover among the lily pads on the opposite side. " -<> Holding his- "kill" under the water he rubbed and rubbed, and carefuily washed it before1 breaking his fast. If water is convenient Mr. Racoon always washe^l his food. He would love to think he does this from mo tives cleanly, but we fear it is only because hc? likes what he eats wet That damp, cool frog tasted so good that he decided to stalk that bass singer over yonder among the lily pads. Qulded by the deep toned notes -he at'tength trightedthat minstrel of the night, seated on a pad, not more than three feet from thg bank. > Working himself stealthily through [' ffie tangled grass, he gained Ti point Which he felt sure was in safe striking distance. With a lunging grab at the frog, he lost his balance, and went kersloeht tall over head, fir tibie black water! When his head appeared at the surface, the lily pad was riding the little waves, but the singer of bass waa conspicuous-only by* hla absence. Provoked clear down to the tip of 'his ring streaked tail, he swung himself out and drlp'pingly ambled over to a dead log, half buried in the mud. On top of this he made a most elaborate toilet With strong, shiver-like shakes which started at his shoulder and end 'ftl with his tail, he managed to throw out most of the water. Then with widespread fingers, he combed and combed until his hair and fur were ilmost dry. A final going over with his tongue completed the Job, and he looked quite sporty and neat The bath, that he didn't mean to take had improved his appearance Immensely. Sitting on the log, pondering on the uncertainty of things that seemed so absolutely sure, a slight wavy motion Mk the grass attracted his attention. Jumping,; with all four feet on the spot and feeling carefully in the grass with a disengaged .paw, he drew out a tiny, squeak into, short tail mouse. A small morscJ^Kproved, but quite a . toothsome one, as racoons count toothsome. These occasional tidbits were lill right as far as they w**nt, but they didn't go quite far enough' to still that empty feeling within. His fitilgrown appetite kept calling for something more in the nature of a V * [ square meal. So, shambling along, he worked his way in the direction whero he remembered seeing that belated duck drop down in the grassy Now, this hunt might mean supper or no supper, so it behooved him to use all the craft and cunning handed down by centuries of dead and gone racoon ancestors, to make this venture a suc cess. So with extreme care and patience he slowly covered the ground, creep ing cautiously to every tussock or bunch of grass that might shelter a sleeping duck, but without avail. A bright idea edged its way into that small head of his ? maybe he didn't have his directions right So he am bled back to the spot where he was sitting, when he noted the duck tum ble down in the grass. Sitting erect with much squinting, 0 he verified his bearings, and went back where he had .teen hunting. He soon saw that he had been working entirely too far to the right With patience, born of a determination to spoil nothing by -undue haste he began his systemHtUr hunt all over again. While nosing around the night air brought to his nostrils the unmistakable live bird went With nerves as tense aB h&rp strlngs, he followed the beckoning odor, which led him straight to a small pool ? in the center of which, an old stump stood black above ^the^ rushes? just the kind of a" spot's tired - bird might select as a resting place. Wading slowly in he was careful to make no telltale splashes, and headed directly for the little . island of rushes. As he advanced, the water crept higher and higher ? now to his shoulders, now to his back and now he was Swimming With a grin, he thought to himself; it would have to be a mighty big fat duck to repay him for all the trouble he had taken. Just then the' dosing duck's good angel in the shape of a rough-neck terrepln, that had scram bled ashore to hunt snails and slugs, alarmed by that queer, black thing ap proaching so silently, didn't take time to crawl, but actually tumbled off in the water ! Of course a tremendous splash followed. _Now? nature has taught all wild ducks that sudden splashes in the dead of night may mean danger; and, thd safest course is to change - one's location at once. So with whirr of wings, the startled mallard threw herself straight up in the air for a few feet as to clear thcT\rushes, and whls??d away ih the larkness. It was like snatching a plate piled high with Christmas viands rom in front of 4 hungry man, this | nnlooked for and sudden loss of his t supper i Our racoon hunter K|wn1 ?'iu> pf tin* kind to wast e his tiiiH' and energy ill bemoaning his html lurk With a hope, that somtxlay, somehow, xoipe where he would meet that rough-neck terrepln face to fare, hf t u r n?*?l with out landing and Hwaiu hack to In .starting point Hy this time that empty feeling un der his drlplpg fur refused to Ih> Ik noreil. Hip|MAlO| to remember where a big persimmon grew near the edge of the swamp he lost no time In get tluK there. He fouud plenty of the frost ripened fruit on the ground, mashed into flat little pancakes by the fall. He feasted with a growing appetite until that uneasy gnawing was no longer noticed. Appetite up|>eased, hut with a resentful fading against terreplns In general, and that old rough-neck In particular, who had caus ed him to forget duck for supiter, he slouched along in the direction of his hollow tree. With his thoughts far' away, he Htumhlcd, all unseeing, on a meadow lark asleep under a hunch of grass. It was the work of an Instnat to si lince the fluttering bird with a crunch ing closer of his teeth around her yel low throat. As he finished this lucky lunch of sweet, warm flesh, he noticed the rosy glow suffusing the cast, ami the long lines of ducks, winging their way to distant feeding ground, re minded him that another day had dawned, when all well regulated roc oons should he at home and in bed. Ko lie clambered up through the long dark passage to his sleeping room where, curled up iu a fury hall, with rlngrstreaked tall for blanket, he waif soon asleep, and dreaming of tcrrepinK as big as cows, and of a breed of ducks that had no wings t Taking No Chances. One day a young Cleveland bachelor who Is always generous with his car. offered, says Iteedy's Mirror, to take downtown the old colored janitor of the apartment house in which he has lodgings. "No, sub, boss?no, suh, thank you, suh," said the ancient funtionary, with a grin. "I reckon I'll wait and go on de street cyah." "What's the matter, uncle? Are you afraid ?" ?'No, suh ? me afrhid? No, suh, I got to wait." "Uncle, have yOu ever been in an automobile?" "Nevah but oncet, and den I didn't let all ma weight down !" Dixit7* Notey Christmas. In lower latitudes. where the weath er bureau intake* even no pretense at supplying snow. mom tike New York 8iiii. Uu- (fUt)HUOl) of (MirlHtiniiH takes on a different manifestation. South of Washington ? 'lu lHtinaw has always been the day of great nolae, the day aet apart for the clangor of India, the shrilling of trumpets. ubove all else the tlrecrucker. hi the social condition* of the south before the revolution the day of noise and crash of gunjHiwder waa the 5th of Novemlttft on which day fill loyal subjects were adjured to "remember, remember lb# kuh powder treaaon and plot." The celebration of thie noisy execration of Guy I'awkcs by the loyal cavalier families of the aouth eatab llahed a winter holiday of which nolae was the predominant characteriatlc. After the abut hern colonlea had joined equal hands with the northern In the long war, gunpowder treaaon waa uo longer the theme for celebration. But aotue celebration there muat be to provide for the nolae which had be come a habit In the early wluter. In the earlier tltuea Christmas had beeu u day of sobriety out of doora, of lavlab hospitality within. What more natural, then, than to postpone the racket of gunpowder day until the next holiday In course and to give Christinas an outdoor element which it had never possessed? Different Sort* of Chriatmaa. i Each stage In our progrean from (he cradle to the grave hua Ita dlfforent Christmas. Old age forget* Itself, the ghosts which haunt ita memories. and enters luto the young creature's hap piness with u relish second only to the child's. The grandmother no longer wlsheu sleds or hoops or gingerbread' monkeys for herself, but she looks with love and wonder upon tho little beings who respoud so rudlautly to those objects of domestic manufacture. Between these generations stand tho paronts. with their own lives of bustle and responsibility and desire, their own games and gewgaws to pursue, but yet with a beginning of the change from living for themselves to living in their young.- -Norman Ilapgood In Col lier's. it was la New York, or, rather. New Amsterdam, that Santa Claus made his first American appearance In some thing Uke the garb and man ner now familiar to all of us. rrom the Netherlands the Knickerbockers brought with them the Christmas of love and sympathy in religion, of comradeship among neigh bors and of festivity in the family. . CHRISTMAS CRACKERS. Do "plant*" for umkiittf pi?||y gift* Kinw up lo < "in Intuitu UvynT And iu? "(ha ?eu-?on?' nre?tlng?" ??rt( by Hult Mm of th? i Ar? Yule ??>?? cut from liitvw drtft wood by Yuit tuj?, w anil od tuthor?T A ml would you atub u ml?U? tu? i.Kulllwt u |Mkl >" doort If Kvo liud trh-d from liolly twig* A party kowii to w??v? '? Do you Mjpp<jtfie that Adam Would huv? callad her "ChrlNtmaa lfiv?T" St. N|0hQ||? In uutpulttitfh ?h<lh:M |xjk llco and Uiw*. I>u rotfUlulluiiM un to upeed contain it Huntu cIuum'? , Wpplmott'B Aflagaalne ' CHRISTMAS DUSK. Come, little boy, to inother'H knee, The Christmas twilight trembles down With rose tint* for the wondrous tree And ro?o glow for tho enow ulad town* ' Ami nil is marvelous?but you Mofct marvelous of *11 to me. For 1 may hold you as 1 do, As Mary held him on Iter knee. And he wan sweet und ho wee fair, At are all mothers' little hoy*; Ills Hph, 1 1 1 h eiiille, his eyes, hla hair. To Mury wore her chlefest. Joys. And she would alng to him aa I 8ing while tho nun dlea In the west; I Hear your weary, sleepy vigh Aa Mary h turd hla on her breaat. And In t l.i o itfti'i- years* I think, ? ? w in n hu wan trending aerrow'a way And held the bltjer oup to drink She brooded on the happy day When he ran singing through the room And found a hundred thlnm to. do To drive awny all ohance of gloom? And was a little boy like you. So drop your toy a and let ua line Tho songs that heart and home have .bleat, For iovo Is more than anything And lifo la work and play and reat. And Mary's was the mother heart, A heart of love all fair and fine. That Into tender throbs could start For Just a little boy like ulna. . Across the years 1 reach to her And touch her wiilte and. empty hands, Down all the ages seems to itir A tncnaage that she understands; The subtle rapture that I keep Bhrtned In the very soul of me, When I may hold you here, asleep, . Aa Mary held him on her knee. -Wilbur D. Nesblt In Harper's Weekly. Before the birth of Christ the ahcient Romans Indulged nt the midwinter HeaBon in 41 festival from whieh it is sup posed that many of the pres ent day traditions sprung. Presents were given and re ceived. An expression of mu tual brotherhood was- shown in the custom of the masters and their slaves exchanging places and the former waiting upon the latter. BUYING HERE MEANS HOLIDAY MAKING I _ :-???* < ? ( j ; ??.v. .jif ? v .j " ' '? V \ j. .? Wolfe-Eichel Company "THE GROWING STORE" offers for the holidays a pretty line of Hand kerchiefs, Neckwear, Gent's Ties, Etc. Our / . ' . . - . .. ? . ; . . ... . : , . - -.-A': entire line of Ladies Coat Suits, Coats, Skirts, and Childrens Cloaks will he closed out at * very low prices-4- -you don't have to wait 'till the season is over to get bargains here. MEN'S AND BOY'S SUITS AND EXTRA PANTS AT SPECIAL HOLIDAY PRICES '? == A MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL ? ? "THE GROWING STORE" :4ritS.V