University of South Carolina Libraries
t J * / T THE LEDGER: GAFFNEY,*6. C., JULY 2, 1896. r ' TOUCH ME. Wfccro art than Rone, my svroctf I call thw, Had and slow. Why 1h tho time ixiudo long for as to moatt Warning I go. Tov.h me, and I shall know. I ask tho leaves, tho flowers, Whence their new grace and glee; Who tendoth them against tho wind, the show ers, Gnidcth the bee; Touch me, and I shall see. • *»•••• Touch me, and I shall know That sea and land and air Bring ever my lost love to me, and so, Live like a prayer, Certain thou wilt bo there. —E. J. Mills in New York Tribune. AN ODD EXPEDIENCE. If there are those inclined to doubt tho probability of tho following story, told to me aa ,the trmh by ay eminent and trustworthy gentleman of San Fran cisco, they have yet to learn and com prehend some of tho most vital things of life. Ho said to me: “A few summers ago my family left town to spend some weeks in the coun try. I gave the servants a vacation and arranged to stay alone at my house. For a change I had a bod placed in the draw ing room, which was in tho front of tho bouse on the lower floor. On ono side of this room was tho vestibule, into which the outer door opened, and on the other an exterior passage, which opened upon the street through a gate, and which ran back alongside tiie house in tho rear of the premises. It was paved with boards, some of which had worn slightly loose. The gate was closed with an ordinary lift latch. “We had lived in tho house a number of years, but I had never slept in that room before. The front of tho room was taken up by a bay window, which was furnished on the inside with ordinary slat blinds. My bed was placed at the opposite end of the room against the sliding doors. <. r ! “I had arranged to take my meals down town. On the first evening of my solitary occupancy I returned to the honse shortly after dinner and read in my improvised bedroom until 10 o'clock. Then I pulled down ono of the uj per sashes of tho window, closed tho blinds and went to bed. “Ordinarily I would fall quickly asleep on retiring, but the novelty of my position and perhaps some business anx ieties kept me awake for an hour or two. This worried me and made mo licrvons. Thestilluess of the night came on, but still I remained awake. It was while I was lying in this state that I heard tho latch cjf the'pate opening into tho side passage cffutionsly raised, then some one step cautiously within, leaving the gate open, and then footfalls pro ceeding stealthily toward the rear of the house, causing a loose board here and there to squeak. , “I listened with the most eagbr .aid strained alertness, for my immediate conclusion was that a burglar, perhaps ^having observed the departure of the lily and assumed that tho house had "been temporarily deserted, had come to plunder tho place. I heard him try and then abandon the securely barred door opening from the rear porch upon tho passage. “A lattice extended from the lower r«r porch to the ujipcr. Without mov ing, I heard the intruder slowly but nimbly scalo the lattice and step upon tho floor of tho upper porch. A hall door and a bedchamber window both opened upon this porch, and I was curious to »oto which the burglar w’ould attack and began to wonder if they had been locked. . “He chose the window. I heard the sash' lock snap nuder tho pressure of his odld fcbiKcl. After a pause he stepped dn- to the room and. proceeded to ransack it. It'was my wife’s Toom, and although I knew that she had provided elsewhere for the safe core of her furs and other more valuable clothes, I reflected that there must have been loft n number of things which a burglar might think worthy of attention. I heard him strip a blanket from the bed, spread it upon the floor and proceed to pile upon it the plunder which he found in trunks, chif foniers, closets and (lie like. Then ho stepped to tho open door into the pas sage and stood listening for a moment. “These occurrences had a surprising effect upon my nerves. Tho door be tween my temporary bedroom r*ud tho vestibule was open for "entilation, and I realized that I was almost in physical touch with tho man who would not hesitate to kill mo should that prove nec essary to his safety. I knew that sooner or later he would descend the stuirp, at the foot of which was tho open door of my loom. It would not have been difll- cult for mo to waylay him and make an effort to cripplo or kill him in the dark ness with one of a dozeu of tho conven ient articles which I remembered were in tho room, including a heavy poker, some bronze statuettes, chairs, stools and the like. Ordinarily, as you are aware, I am not a timid man, but I tell you now that an unaccountable foar assailed mo •ml held me prisoner. It requires a good deal of candor to make that admission, but it is necessary to a complete under standing of this remarkable experience. “After standing in a listening atti tude a moment tho burglar slowly and cautiously descended the stairs, and, as 1 expected, left my room alone and pro ceeded to the dining room. I knew that tho solid silverware hud been scut away for safe keeping, and so I was not snr- prised when tho burglar, after handling the plated ware which ho found aud making it tinkle softly and gently, loft it, made an unprofitable search of ether rooms qud returned to the foot of the stairs. This brought him again to my door. Ho paused on the threshold, lis tened in silence a moment and Then started up stairs. In that moment I suf ferud such a reasonless agony of terror os cannot bo i explained uu .ordinary grounds. I held my breath until I was nearly su" 1 oca ted, and when tho man .turned to i'iqvei wysculd ty the marrow. “He rcimrcinh^l the stains, tied up his bundle, passed through the window and closed it, dropped the parcel over the rail, clambered down the lattice and went away as ho hud come, shutting the gate behind him. “I felt intensely relieved when he bad gone, and a reaction set in that composed my nerves for slumber. Drowsiness was already approaching when I was startled by the soft click ing of tho gate latch. It was very un likely that tho same burglar had return ed and would have been extraordinary if another had dome. And yet try as hard ns I might to reason out some oth er possibility there came the stealthy footsteps of a thief on the boards of tho outer passage. I studied this step so in tently aud analytically that I was cer tain the intruder was not the same as the first. Then I began to wonder what he would do. “I was not surprised to hear him try tho door of tho lower porch and find it strongly barred within, nor greatly to hear him climb tho lattice as the other had done. I was curious to know wheth er he would attack the door or tho win dow after he lauded on the porch. I5y a singular coincidence ho chose tho win dow. I heard him try it and imagined that he started upon discovering that the Jatch had been broken. It was evi dent that upon entering the room ho was surprised aud confused to see its disorder. But he drew a sheet from the bod, spread it ou the floor and proceed ed to ransack tho room. Evidently his bewilderment increased, and he must have been discouraged to find eo little worth taking. “He was not long in completing tho looting of the room, and thou he went to tho door and stood a moment in tho passage, listening intently. After that he began carefully to descend the stairs. His conduct thenceforward was exactly a repetition of his predecessor’s. Ho passed my door, tinkled the plated sil verware in the dining room, left it alone, returned to tho vestibule, stood a moment listening at my open door, cau tiously retraced his steps up stairs, passed through the window, closed it, dropped his parcel to tho ground, clam bered down the lattice and passed out, closing tho gate behind him. “It may be supposed that tho coin cidences amazed me beyond measure. This, more than anything else, seemed to unnerve me all the more. All this time I realized I bad been acting the part of a coward. Merely to have light ed the gas in my room would have clear ed tho house of the second burglar, but I had not the courage to do that. “My alarm and nervousness became so great that I arose from bed and was just about to strike n match with which to light tho gas in tho chandelier when. I heard the gate latch click for thp third time. My match romaiuciJjwrSitruck, and I listened with a fascinated iutontuess to this last invasion. In all particulars it was identical with the second, down to point when the burglar descended the stairs aud passed my open door ou his way to the dining room. To light tho gas then would have been to place the man in a corner and compel him to fight. I realized not only that it is tak ing one’s life in one’s hands to cut off a burglar’s retreat before attacking him (as a knowledge of a chance of escape diverts his attention from the necessity for self defense and rouders him easier to overcome), but that I was now in a condition in which I lacked both the courago aud the strength to make the at- tempt. “The position which I now occupied in tho room woe half way between the bed and the window. As I was so much nearer the window than before, I could hear sounds from without with much more distinctness. While I stood there listening fb the third burglar tinkle the plated ware I was startled to hear the gate latch click again and the footfall of a fourth' burglar on- the board paved passage. As he was climbing the lattice a fifth burglar entered the gate, then a sixth, then others, until burglars in on endless procession were entering my premises aud rifling my house on one common and unvarying plan. “It is useless to say that an intelli gent man should not have entertained such un idea for a moment. We know that I might have reasoned that perhaps there had been only one, or, at most, two, burglars after all, and that the fright which they gave me caused me to conjure up the others from a fear de ranged imagination. It might be profit able to indulge in a great many other speculations on this subject, but the truth remains that I could not reason at all “In simple desperation,perhaps moved by a sort of fascination, I crept to the window in order to observe with idle curiosity the procession of burglars en tering the gate. I turned the slats of a lower blind and looked out. Not a soul visible, and yet burglars were still pour ing through the gate I “The explanation came like a shock ing revelation. The wind was playing with some loose blind slats immediately above my head as I stood there, and out of that slight and varying sound my imagination had constructed the phan tasy from beginning to end. No burglar at all had invaded my house. 1 amused and teased myself for some time after ward by compelling my attention to leave the rattling slats at intervals and fill my house with burglars.”—Ban Francisco Call. Th« Moral Lost. “You know,” said tho lady who with sincere ardor desires only the best for tho human race, “that a dog will not touch whisky?” Colonel Kyahter passed his hand over his brow in a troubled way, and said: “Madam, do yon mean to tell me that anybody was evah guilty of such outrageous extravagance as to oflah whisky to a dog?”—Washington Star. A Blfn. “I am sure I do not feel a day older then I did when I came out,” said Misa Sevcuseasous, “and I didn't think I looked any older. But of lute I have no ticed that the young men who are hav ing trouble with tbotr sweethearts all seem to drift to me to tell their eor- lows.”—Cincinnati Knqnlxer. WHITE f... . -. Agnlnrt tho world I rlosr my hrnrt, And half In pride nnd half in fear I say to lovo nnd lust: “liepartl None on tom here." A jtypsy witch hnn glided in. Hhe takeH her scat lienido my Are. Her eyes are innocent at sin, Mine of desire. She holds mo with an unknown spoil; Hho foIdH mo in her heart's embrace If thin be lovo, I cannot tell. 1 watch her face. ,'rr nomber eyes aro happier Than r-v joy that o’er had voice. Blnco 1 Sfl happiness to her, I, to<i rejoi e. And I hnvo closed tho door again. Aguiu.'t tho world I close my heart. 1 hold her with my spell; in vain Would she depart. I hold her with a surer spell. Beyond her magic and above. If hers Ire love. I cannot tell, But mine is lovo. —Arthur Symons. FIDDLING JIMMY. He was long, lank and lean, light Inircd, with pale blue eyes, the product of tho Missouri bottoms, where things sprout up with such amazing quickness nnd then mature with so much delibera tion. When he dropped from a train at Dodge City, ho had an old fashioned curpctsuck in one hand and under bis other arm was a fiddle in a faded brown bag. Ho looked about him somewhat in wonderment at the river aud the rol ling, treeless country merging into the sky far away to the south aud then again at the long, crowded street on the other side. He looked but for a mo ment, however, and then proceeded straight to the office of thaSouthwest cm Stage company. His inquiry there was short aud to tho point. “Have ye got airy job a feller kin do?” This was years ago, when Dodge was tho end of the overland cattle drive and fully entitled to its reputation of a wild aud woolly town. To tho south for a few miles was a sprinkle of settlers and beyond that all was lonesomo and in hospitable. Tho Southwestern company always had vacancies. Along the many routes were certain relay stations, some of which were sure to be in need of keep ers. There was one line in particular, running down to Tnscosa, on the South Canadian, in Texas, a stretcJwyt'^oO miles, and jojt.*-litile dver^half way was. srsfaiion, No. 18, where a man 'Was needed at once. The pay was $40 a month. The duties were simply to watch half a dozen mnles and have a team ready for the weekly bnckboard that performed all tho transportation, tho freight being usually two of Uncle Sam’s mail sacks. The company sup plied a gnu and ammunition, flour, cof fee, salt and groceries. Truly it seemed a bonanza to onr knight of the violin. There was no haggling over terms, and Jim Cnseuberry, fiddle and carpet bag were duly dispatched the very next morning to the field of his new labors. And Jim was duly dubbed Fiddling Jimmy by clerk, driver aud all who came in contact with him. Jimmy had been Auly informed that ho would find things “sorter” lonesome out at No. 18, but had responded that he didn’t “keer a darn” for being by him self. TJ)e fiddle was plenty pf company so his grpb came regular. Now, there pertain things about No. )$ (bat hat) beep discreetly over looked iq the tolling. was 35 miles from the stations pq either side and consisted of a square hole dug qt the top of a steep bank overlooking a water hole iu one of those p)aips preeks where such holes occur at long intervals, the remainder being simply a grass grown depression. The hole was roofed with cottonwood poles, upon which dirt had been thrown—a dngont pore end sim ple. There were a rude fireplace aud 4 hole for a chimney. This was Jimmy’s residence. There was a stockade up on the flat for tho mnles, and with this you have tho station complete. No man who knew the country could ho induced to take No. 13 for love or money, so tho company had to depend upon the ignorant and the transient. The country was full of rustlers and cow thieves. Occasional gangs of In dians from the nation used to slip along there, bent on any deviltry that came handy. When No. 13 was occupied, it was a shining mark for sach gentry. The lust occupant had been found, not a fortnight before, lying ont ou the fiat with u bullet in the back of his head. The man before him had bad a 30 mile rido for life and a month iu bed from a leg broken by a winchester bnllet. Ou each occasion No. 13 Had been gntted and tho mnles run off. Bat in blirafol ignorance Jimmy took possession of his new home. The bnckboard rattled away, the driver looking back, sympathetic bnt noncom mittal. For some weeks all was qniet and peaceful. It was the pleasant season of the early autumn. Jimmy pnt a line in tho water hole and had fish whenever bo wanted. Twioehe shot antelope com ing down to drink and reveled in fresh meat. He shot everything of any size that had wings and feathers, aud being unversed as to what was good or bad to eat cooked and tasted all Some he ate, aud some ho threw away. The buck- boards came by with prompt regularity, dumping off a sack of flour or meal, and the report came weekly to headquarters that the “feller with'the fiddle out on Lost creek hadn’t been pestered yet. ” Tho “feller” put iu his days watching bis stock, fishing, hunting, cooking and eating, aud when the chill of the even ing came after supper ho would throw a little wood ou his fire, draw op a soap box seat and play ou the fiddle until he was sleepy enough to roll up iu his blankets ou the clay floor aud sleep the sleep of the man perfect iu health aud conscience. But one evening when the shadows had falleu ou all tite valleys and tho upland, when there was but • lighter shade over the west to show where tho sun had bidden its daily farewell, there came slinking np Lost creek Crawling Wolf and seven of his dirty, ill smelling brethren, foul birds of the night, ready for anything, from petty larceny up to mnrder, provided tho situation allowed crime without danger to the criminal. They had a herd of stolen ponies cor ralled some miles below aud were com ing up to see what No. 13 might afford in the way of diversion. In single file they flitted along noiselessly as shadows, now and then stopping, heads up, to listen, as is tho wont of beasts of prey. Suddenly Wolf stopped shorter and more suddenly than usual, giving vent to a startled grunt. All stopped, rigid as statues, to listen. A faint wind rus tled for a moment, died down, and then from afar came an unwonted sound in tho wilderness. It was tho sound of Jimmy’s fiddle. Cautiously the Indians crept closer and closer, stopping now and thru to listen, until they reached tho foot of the bank at the water hole. Just above them shone the light from the dngout en trance. Tho noise of tho tortured fiddle was loud and clear, and at times Jim my’s voice was uplifted iu old hymns and camp meeting songs reminiscent of other days hack in Missouri. Quiet, but swift as crawling snakes, tho intruders swept up the incline of tho clay bank. A moment later they swarmed iu ou the musician. Jimmy was sitting at tho side of his fireplace, and his winchester was near tho door. Thus he was cut off from his only weapon. When thoso Indians came in, filling up the little dngout, I doubt if iu all the world there was a more surprised aud frightened being than the keeper of No. 13. The music stepped. The hand that wielded the bow dropped as if para lyzed. Jimmy stared at the appari tions, while old Wolf smiled hypocritic ally and grunted “How 1” Somewhat reassured by this apparent sociability, Jimmy managed to gasp oot, “Howdy do?” Tho sons of the desert deliberately sat down on tho bare floor, and old Wolf onco more grunted out: “Flay fiddle more. Wo like.” Jimmy played something at once, and of courso after awhile wound up with a flourish, as all performers do, aud stopped. Tho somber audience gave no sign of approval or dislike. They sat jyirXewVVy still, except tjwrt "ttetr'iittlo eyes glit- Uji^dramTsTiono in the firelight like dia monds. But when Jimmy stopped Wolf grunted again: “More. ” Jimmy played more and kept on in response to tho request after each cessa tion. Finally he lowered tho bow and protested: “I’d liko to bo obliging, but I’m get ting too tired. ” Wolf simply loosened a winchester from tho fold.; of a dirty blanket, cock ed it aud presented it at the protestor’s body, grnnting again: “Play more. Much heap. Damn quick. ” There was an immediate revival of musical activity. Aud so they kept the frightened fid dler to bis work. Ho played his whole repertory over and over again, the audi ence never caring for the repetition. The night wore on. Far over tho flats came the answering howls of the melan choly coyotes, quavering aud dying away iu a long drawn uoto of utter loue- 3oineuess, but the sound of tbe fiddle never ceased. A late moon rose aud plowly climbed toward tbe zenith. Tho jjig dipper iu the northern sky dropped flown and around the polar star as though time were not the essenco of tho performance. Still the sound of tho constant fiddlo vibrated in the chill air. At last over in tho cast came a faint streak of light, and then all creation grew dim and gray. And with the first jight Crawling Wolf stood up and shook jiimsclf. His brethren did likewise. T)my took Jimmy’s rifle and everything portable ou tho promises, never allow ing him to oease for a moment, then quietly filed ont and disappeared in the morning mists. About 10 o'clock next morning the keeper of station No. 13, over cn tho Beaver, happening to look up, saw something coming very rapidly over the bills from tho southwest. Tho some thing soon resolved itself into a man on tho back of seme creature. As it came closer it was apparent*that tho creature was a mule running for dear life, while tho man was using both hands and feet with great energy. Tho mule stopped, all blown and wet, in front of tho sta tion, and tho man fell off iu a dead faint. He had a broken fiddle how in ono baud and in tbe other a ruined fid dle, tho body part beaten to a frazzle and the strings flying all about in a perfect maze of tangles. Aud tho very next driver to arrive at Dodge City announced to the powers at tho stage office: “Fiddlin Jimmy’s done quit. Philadelphia Times. A Ilnaaian Artel. An artel is an association of persons who agree to throw in their lot together aud stand by each other for better or for worse. If tbe artel is “productive,” the members work together and divide equally what money they earn; if it is “consumptive,” they share equally in j the expense incurred. Tbe most marked characteristic of these associations is tho perfect equality which prevails among their members. No matter what may be a man’s personal gifts or deficiencies, from the moment be outers an artel ho is simply on a par with his comrades. He must bear the same burdens as they do, aud ho receives the same rewards. In his turn he will bo the artelman, or chief of bis artel; iu his turn, too, he will l»e its hewer of wood and drawer of water. As the former he will be neither richer nor poorer than us the lat ter, for tlr.. only emolument attached to the office of urtehuau is shoe money— that is, a small sum granted as a com pensation for tbe shoes worn oat while tramping about transacting ufllciul busi ness.—Chambers’ Journal. A Golden Opportunity. Grasped by a Young Married Woman of Shelbyvillc, 111., t. ’ & Just in the Nick of Time. % (r .V 'Mi, frrs •Yvn* a ‘ . O V ..'V/v % ’VO m .{(■ it. 2 ;, /v • '""k v) ry Y MRS. V/AICEFIELD, Women, like men, are &{vided Into two classes; one that is prompt tQ act nnd the other dilatory The former clasa carries off the trophies In bus* Incss, love and, JJ r nr j YTmlo tho latter bears tho burden of disappointment alwpys; The good woman whose portrait appears aboye had arrived fit a condition physically, where prompt action was ncceasary. The drafts upon her reserve force had been too great end physical bankruptcy was imminent. It was impogsiblo for her to sleep, and if women cannot sleep they have reached the beginning of the end. 1'irs, Wakefield had growq worse under tho doctor’s care and hope was fast departing, wheu she was recommended to try Dr, Miles’ Restorative Nervine. She acted* promptly on tho recom mendation and received the reward of her prompt action, iq renewed health. ^ Womcq frequently suffer for XnOIi -iiri and cvcq years without complain ing or making their sufferings known, jind the result is liable to be a sudden collapse. As soon as the first evidence of weak rervea is felt Dr. Miles’ Nervine Is indicated and may bo relied upon to give quick and lasting relief. One bottle taken in time often effects a euro and tho first bottle is guaran teed to benefit or money will Iw refunded, by the druggist of whom it was bought. “New and Startling Fact-V aa Important health phanfphlct, mailed free on application. Dead lira. Wakefield s statement; ‘ Shelbyvillc, III., March 23,1G35. “I was In very poor health and my rymptoms gradually developed Into nervous prostration. I suffered greatly from nervous headaches, mid at times was unable to attend to the slightest household duty. Bleep at night was im possible, as 1 had epells of nervousness whoa I bad to get up ami walk the lloor. The least noise would startle me, in fart my nerves were in a ter rible condition. I was recommended to try Dr. Miles’ Restorative Nervine and purchased six bottles of the remedy. Tho first bot'ic did me so much good that I took the second, and I can safely say it is a 1 is recommended to be. My appetite is much better; t he nervousness has uisappeared; I can enjoy a good night’s rest and I have g deed health to such an extent that I would consider it folly to look for a better remedy. T have also used Dr. Miles’ Pain Pills, and they have given me much relief. 1 found them a ^wre cure for sick headache.” Mrs. S. Wakefield. Sold by all Druggists. Book on H«art and Nerves, Free by Dr. Miles Medical Co.,Elkhart,Ind. Dr. Miles’ Nervine Re l5h. t ^ 1^2 S-.J V : * tj7.T y/i -V dm toi rf>. T ■- i I I Sny ihe main thing’lo do is to keep the s'-emneh, liver a^.d bowels in Ibrder if yon want to live- long ;.nd keep well. Good physicians say the same thing, tco. The icniedy cMlcd RIPANS TABDLES a simple digestive while not mysterious or miraculous in its euiaiivc realities, ij formul.i prescribed by the best physicians for i!i-outers of the ans. Just little tablets, easy to t;.ho, t:isy to I uv ci d quick to net. If ir trouble is Dyspepsia, Biliousness. I 'iz/.intjts, ! I« adai hr, Constipation, auburn, and the like, no need of calling a physician, Kipans Tubules organs, your Heartburn. contain exactly what he would tell you to take. ONE TABlilf GIVES RELIEF. PEKMAXENT CURE FOIXOW9 A FUJI TRIAL. XO UNCERTAINTY ABOUT IT. 3 X^or ^ The