HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Huron News-Record, 1893-12-20, Page 3C1. 4. do. sAell
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SALLY JACKSON'S of 1 IT,
1.t . "1.I don't like the looks of the sky this
anorniu', Mary," observed old Coru J11(Ik-
'`•,son to 1115 wife its he stood in the buck
11001. of his big log fat -inhouse gazing up-
ward. Most wish Sully hadn't started
to school; of 1 ain't mistaken we're due
to hen a first-clhlss blizzard. Lardy 4
I'm sorry them Christmas exercises
wan't held a day or two suuuer. Joe'l-t
hen a lit of S.tlly's luissin' when he gets
here."
es0, stop your nonsense,Caleh," return -
his wife, wall some i(.sperity.in which,
anxietywever, a trace of anxiety was dieceeni•
ale. "Saliy's•no fool: she's been caught
Jout in brut weather Lel'ure this and
knows enough to make herself a::d the
youngsters comfortable if the worst
comes to the worst. Orte'ud think the
schoolhouse was fifty miles :cries the
prairie 'stead of oley live. D , be sensi-
ble."
Sally Jackson, their pretty 19 -year-old
daughter, taught a district school in
Lyons township, fur which the conunir8•
aioners of Mimlehaha county allowed
her the sum of 830 a month. Iter
father cultivated 640 acres of Dakota
prairie laud, and ie was his success i1'
raising corn that had earned for hien the
sobriquet of "Cord" Jackson auto;;;;
his ueiglibors. Iioth he and hie
wife were pioneer settlers in the county,
where [lily were highly respected, the
popularity of their Monte with the young
teen being greatly: cellanced by the pre-
sence of,their vivacious daughter, whose
charms few could resist.
1. But Joe Chalmers, a sturdy young set-
tler hying at tie farther end of the
county,. was gen)'aliv understood to be
-save Tames teesU4'44( eR Neat e'e admirers, his
good looks, abundance of mother wit
and gonial disposition always insuring
him a pleasant reoeptiou. Perhaps the
fact that he held 'a patent from Uncle
s -
A NEIGHBOR DROVE SALLY TO SCHOOL. •
Sam for half a section of good land. on
which a neat frame house had given
place to the original log shack, may
have added to his popularity with the
old folks, whose warm welcome when
' he called and cordial invitation to
`drop 114 often" Whop he rode away were
nevertheless quite sincere.
Joe Yearns to Know His Fate.
There was to be a real old-fashioned
New England dinner at Cori Jackson's
homestead Christmas day, and US Joe's
Claim lay thirty miles away, ncruss the
prairie trail, he had arranged with
Sally's parents to drivo•over Christmas
eve and occupy their guest chamber.
Joe had been mentally laying great
plans for the • proper spending of that
Christmas ere ever since he received, his
invitation. He wisely figured that Sally
would be kept pretty busy Christmas
day,•first in helping her mother and
later in entertaining the company, of
whom there would be several aunts arid
uncles, together with sundry nephews
and nieces. who were sure to appropriate
all Aunt Sally'» attentions.
As they would not arrive until Christ-
mas morning Joe had determined to do
his share of monopolizing the night
previous, and to a.k 5.4113 to be his wife
was the central pivot of his plans. IIe
was fully satisfied that she teas the only
girl that could make hint truly happy
for life, and uow that he had thoroughly
settled this proposition in his own mind
he was feverishly atnxions to receive
Sally's answer. That he was not in-
different to her he felt sure, but whether
she liked him well enough to be his wife
was another [natter. Joe was not a self-
satisfied young man, and realized that
women are complex creatures, often
loving where none suspect and disliking
where the exact reverse might reason-
ably be counted upon. Hence his per-
turbed feelings.
He was aware that the Christmas ex-
ercises at Sally's school were to be held
the Friday forenoon preceding. Christ.
(', 17►1\
>'
SALLY STAGGERED BACK TO THE WINDOW,
mas, and by starting early he hoped to
reach the schoolhouse in time to take
Sally home in his sleigh,. a heavy snow-
fall the day previous having spread a
thick white mantle over the frozen
ground. Like his prospective father-in-
law, he, too, had taken observations of
the weather after getting well under
way, and had mentally decided that
trouble was brewing. But a Dakotian
on route to his lady love is not to be
balked by the bitterest blizzard that ever
blew, and if Joe entertained any qualms
4
they were nuDeity 'e Recount ; certainly
not ort 1 In own...
Tete iesrletnta4. Exeroteem n; Pelmet.,
Sally usually rode to sohonl un a little
White p tty. but that tnerelng It nei!sh'
bur lied driven over i1' 1118 6,I1640 .14th
01100f hertnieltt. promisirls to call at
the iik'.ol f., rilenl on his return from
tew•ii. T114) urfallgentent :,a•1 1.01 d,.,
ttn•bcd Sells 'a trruigr:i1.ty in the ha:Meg
she had til hetuttlou tied J tw,uld be
along 1 elute the iso eisee we're finished
mid it he g!wtud uslc her to ride hone'
with flint the would --well, elle would
offer 1'o d•bjeeliuna.
The Schuoll'ehuse was in til(' o, rater of a
district that wrttd 1101 'Very thickly 64t1.1•
011. Thy people trete few f'1 numbed' ant!
the nearest farmhouse was two isles
away. 1>LI1 Sttty'e scholars had the true
Dakota contempt l'urdistaur4S,nnd n1wo
or even COUZ' 11111)' tI')InlL) 110)) 4)4) prairie
twice a day was of little 1n111111114 11' their
sturdy physiques. They were sure of u
fer warmth. Fite cok1 w1,t jtltellse. A�
pitcher of water that aloud on $:11ly'0
(leak, twenty feet froth the tire, *OR.
tolllt
and had to he thawed eat buck •(lf
the atone when one of lite Children coll.
ed for a drink.
So tierce was the draught duet the
thick chunks of wood were quiullly re.
(luted to, ashes fn the tire, and by 8
o'clock lite supply was s0 nearly ex -
'Waisted that it was evident that more
1"'14I be obtained ur all would freeze to
death.
seithotiglt the woodpile lay within
thirty feet of the selouliemee, there was
great risk in venturdue out to it. In
that fearful blizzard, where it was im-
possible to see five feet in any direction,
to neeke a false step Meant certain death
trod
this Sallywell ► ell 1.v t l
Ire Often 1
U on sae
had heard her father ;tell ,uf settlers les -
ins; their way i1' guiug 1'r111 1110 house
to the burn during the progress of a
blizzard and of being fc.uml froze„ in
the snow within fifty yard of their
'1 DON'T LIKE THE LOOX4 OF THE SKY THIS MO11u NG," OBSERVED OLD CORN JACKSON'
warm rootn on arrival, for in the l'neh
yard was a whole cord of sawed wood
brought from the river button,, which
'Sally used in the big stove w'itlioutstint-
ing. .
The exercises were partially over pr
the little schoolroom when the teacher
became aware of an atmospheric change
that caused I'er heart to heat like a
triphai'mer,for a ten year's residence in
the prairie country had made her an
adept in reading weather signs. She had
seen that queer h'ze in the sky before
and experienced that saute palpitntion in
the atmosphere which she had once lik-
ened to nature trembling at the fear of
impending disaster. The wind shrieked,
uncannily down the chimney. the win-
dows rattled in their.caseinents and the
door shook so violently that a chair had
to be propped against it to meet the re-
sistance.
Still the girl had no thought of cur-
tailing the exercls2's but rather of a,ro-
longing them, for, with a wisdom
beyond her years, site leaped to the
conclusion that the children must not be
allowed to venture out in the face of
the storm that was almost upon them.
Lighting the lamps, a process that W415
rendered necessary by the leaden skies,
she sent one of the boys outside to close
the wooden shutters and another to bring
i1' a fresh supply of wood.
Before the last recitation had been
delivered and the dozen scholars had
marched round the room with ti,ty
American 'flags upheld. singing mean-
time a patriotic air, the storm burst in
all its fury. Some of the little. girls,
alarmed at the violence of the elements,
began to whimper, and Sally. to quiet
thine, told a Clll•latmaa story, which was
having the desired effect when the chair
at the door suddenly gave weyount- the
314
SALLY FELL AN INERT MASS ON TUE
FLOOR.
latter, with a loud 1 ang, flew open,
admittinganblast, followed
icy! f )Ito ed bya
,
furiousest of fine e snow,raising the
more timid ones to shriek with fright.
Sally jumped' forward to close the door
and found it an effort which required
her entire strength. This time she
turned the key in the lock and had two
of the boys drag a b00 3)1 forward as an
additional brace. Then see returned to
the task of entertaining her scholars.
It was customary for the children to
eat their dinners at school, which ordi-
narily was not dismissed until 3 o'clock,
but on this day the exercises were to oc-
cupy the forenoon only, permitting the
pupils to return home in time for din-
ner. Consequently none. of the young.
eters had been provided with food, and
all the school could muster was a sand-
wich and two buttered biscuits which
Sally had placed in her bag expecting to
eat on the way home.
These edibles she carefully divided
among her scholars in equal proportions,
and by pretending she had reserved
some for herself let them eat without
suffering any compunctions on teacher's
account. 1t made a sorry meal for ten
or twelve hungry boys and girls, but it
was better than nothing.
The Wood Gives out.
Some of the older boys at first insisted
upon starting home, but after witness-
ing the gale that dashed past the door
when it blew open, they were glad to
join the circle with the rest around the
etove, near which all huddled together
home after the storm was ever Experi-
ences such as these crowded thickly on
tiro -girl's memory and resulted 11' any, '
thing 1)trt-t4easnpt sensations.
But Sally never marked her duty and
now bravely prepared to accomplish the
dangerous feat. Knotting together some
pieces of string used by the Loys in play-
ing "horse," she made a rope long enough
to -reach front the side window to the
woodpile. One end of this she tied to
the ut'm of the biggest boy in the roots,
then tinfastening the shutter she instruct-
ed hint to raise the window and pass the
rope out to her when she tapped on the
casement.
Sally Rattles With the Blizzard.
\`;rapping herself in her thick ulster
she pu.led the hood over her head,
cautioned the frightened children not
to stir on any account until her re-
turn and then opeuing the door plunged
forward in the snow, now almost waist
deep.
Ugh! How the cruel, icy blast hungrt-
iv leaped to inclose her in its deadly em-
brace. Fine particles of snow dashol
into her eyes and in a few seconds for
ed in a solid lump. completely blinding+
her. But the brave girl had no intention
of turuiug back. Closely hugging the
side of the building she cautiously felt
her way until she reached the further
window on which site. rapped. sharply
with a stick.
Unable to see on account of the frozen
snow glued, to her eyeballs, Sally shout-
ed to the boy to lean out and place the
loop in her hand. Slipping it over her
lett arm she then abandoned the shelter
afforded by tho building and boldly dash-
ed into the open i1) the directiou of the
woodpile.
An accurate knowledge of its location
led her straight to the fuel and, quickly
gathering an armful of the sticks. she
jerked at the line until she felt it
tighten, when, guided by it, she stag.
gered back to the window through
which she passed iter precious load,
piece by piece. Four tinges Sally made
this hazardous journey before her
strength gave way. Then, trembling
and exhausted, she crept along the
building to tile front (lour and stum-
bling inside fell an inert mass upou the.
floor.
"Teacher's dead 1 teacher's dead t"
screamed one of the little girls, w hereat
there was a general outcry which had
the effect of arousing Sally) sufficiently
-to reassure the children. Two of the
biggest boys helped her to a chair near
the stove, where, after resting a few
minutes, the frozen snow began to dis-
solve and for the first time since leaving
the building she could open her oyes.
Four, 5, 6 o'clock came and passed
without any Cessation to the raging
blizzard. • To entertain her charges
Sally had recounted every story she
knew and had invented all slims of gauzes
for their amusement, but 'ilov their
hunger asserted itself and they refused
to be pacified.
Confronted by a Problem.
To add to her distress the supply of oil
in tie lamps gave out, plunging the
roorn into utter darkness save fur a thin
glean of light that forced its way
through a crack h c
at, int doorof
e thestov
1.e.
Prior to this i
sfortune Sally bail
made
the children spread their outer wraps on
the floor around the fire, on which site
bade there lie down, then taking the
$enact elle 11ttd teetittgeJ tie fa*' 1.O pi•It'
serve itt'4' gilitr ,'es from 11,10.0,.4.61.41, tete
tinseled tip 144010iltg. wean, 1 mmo:rteoi
(rete Omit trill : bd+1.s, their .1•r. el lam
(It,tnIlIC4114 w'Inll11 CI'il rd.. 111101•16/1 141041t
11er.inlly 11)1411'. toy in the elorin melting.
%viten htilp would, attre y u1'rtve, for s 1 '
.re: 1.ed bow krI:t' t must ha.IJie :se:S t,'
of the 11a1'eute leer the bit ety of their c,.it-
Line .
1tolievutl of the necessity of eutertai -
iug her euiIoJuI'4 Sally's thoughts r eerie
ed to Jee, lied the Lir! aoitilen.t if 0e
were safe !Pili 110 8104'10. Al t. r,a;tli:lg
this problem eratisftu)wrily in ice 1'•1 u
n)) LII 141111 begets a series of luward self•
questioning ionneolitig Atte!' rhes res.. -
ed) :
Dal site like him ? Yee ; she felt sore
1't' that. liettel' than 11')•tand). Ade-. I.
`!'lutaJi u Car r 1't 1'r in,. ti. Lem;
1.r i l l a d o Li 6
Setpl,•44 ? Yee, lee 1• '[14,141 eitile'i• ('i
tilt ele IWO. 1)111 he lit h, t' ? ti.,e 1.0 •'v
Ile dhl 1)14 hu hoe net? )111'4 cl11,e,t 1,er
rtes, It t 114 r lips rest 1.11.4.4 1.4444 1.0113
lucks 1't' the sleeping chi d I1' her dale.
while it blushing sidle ...tile a,•lo4, h- r
fate. Del s, t' loVe Liu? Lu':.• ! \':.1111
54115 111111?? T.1 lea Ve hone, t'm.tler,nur!t,•t',
;ural glte hers II tl.tlrel)' and mime rt'•
ed!y to !dint. Ah! ;i.at dttl I01.,1V ; 4'.f•
C01111.1 out telt; the t41)'.ilot! w.4:, 1„0 4..4r.t
t1) /1116,4'0r.
At that 1110111011( S .11y heard) the whey
ray of It ht 1So 44(4.4 lee next 1,I.,taut 4'..,1' •
a voice fro,.. tie .tor,?, t'all,)L; 111 tie lids
tal;alee accent,, ' a..11y ! bto,3 ! let h.l''
i1', let ole f., 1'
The e_`ip.sii.i, tied l.•ul' S,) v
14,44 halo il.Ve hint 411,. '1 1' 4•
1.1 1.4)11.111 ‘4 ;la eU14 d. Sale l..:e.V 1,4 -the
}Lal leap of her pet e•, the earIl m; '•4
In r 1.(4,144, the 4'1144'Uuriu, "1 I, r '''11111-•
'.:eatg to the man a I,l:de 11' 1.4 rd e !,•'.tett
tl•:,;shewu11W 4% ill u, (Ir )o al4,; tun,
at:ye-here lie hoc!.,,ne,l—t1' the 141.1 1'l
the tt(ale if necessary.
l'!a:•i11g the sl. ep;ue child mi t''.' floor
el t' telt her wit' 1.4 4ru •!u .v. 131 .di
d•\t nilidle will (414,:,.4 i1' 1..h: a.• .as of
Ler lover.
't), Joe, d:'ar J. e,' sere si 1,1.. �1, "l'
'o el:I 1 you ca4•0, 1 knew V.4)4 1;ould.”
,' •'...t his re-
s;> 11:c',:s it.' ,:r, .' ter 1,..., u:.. :. au.L
kJs.e.l : el• uptul'.,u,l hp., 'ihom yeti d 1
Jere 11)e?"
"Better than life," elm whispered ez
she led leis snow) figure to'.,a0•d 1144'
:eve; "but Soil must be ne.11•k' 1'r.•z,:;.'
"1 was pretty C 41[1, that's :e f:tel," re
1 11144 l Joe, "out out now, 1 hey: 1'or-
toll everything els: but yon."
F .ittul:tte'V for tho sclu" Ilna':u(l the
ro1•44 was 1.1.11''.;, 0)' 1h' C!lit,l.ea, 1.41444)
of 1,010111 hall aw•1ti:(114.41 (114;1t' Ilav,l
icit4(1.11(1 a queer story 4111 01. 31iss Salle 1 e-
:, hugged d.y a 1'i;; lean in '1 buff do
overcoat w'oslr)tlg green );01;elee.
they saw nofniug and, Sally w•as tu" over-
j,'ved to thick of repressing her lover's
ardor.
1'i.., first transports over, Joe told Ids
stork'. The . Itzz 41(1 had ca)lgilt hint just
as he leached, 1110 Ilellr0xt faru,'rtou'e,
two miles from the school. lame he w;c..
colupu}dd to remain 11)1 that lie ril,ee
afternoon :1'11 evening in :n1 H$1,1.,uy of
doubt and te:1',1vf1hie 114''' 111114.1' of Sally,
y.'t utterly unable to render her any 414
sistauee: At the stem:c•ion of 11 brim!: in
0.e gide he had thrown a blanket over
Il is horrse. placed a i askt't 1'r 4Iruvi:ions
in his sleigh. furnished 1.n 1.l•) f:i•nter's
thoughtful wife, anti tlisregltt•dlrt(4 all
w;tt'n lugs et1h rI e,l :t'r'uss tho pr.4ir14' to
the sehoul111.use, tg1 ich he reached matt•
Iv owing t0 14.e saoaelty of the horse he
throve.
Newer R'"s ,t 1i1p11er CII, -l,0,,, w.
Th0st1/111 SV:03 .,flit r.r;;ieg, our. th"
w•itrett was over. 111' nitlni.oit the SInis
were mit. the :lir was sI it i.'.!. the tet),•
"MY DARLING, MY DARLING," WAS HIS
RESPONSE.
youngest girl in her arms she sat in her
swivel chair and in her sweet contralto
voice soothed them with simple melodios
until the tired, hungry young ones for-
got their sorrows in sleep.
Brave little woman 1 A dozen lives
depending on her fortitude and good,.
Farmer Bloggs (who 184 been out
C'ln•istmasing)—Ifi'•l 0,-144' roe, genii•'•
matt; but titter ain't 10 private font;lat11
across thio field, so nmet ask ynu (Itis) t
conte in by the way yon went out.
4)4ratw'e had risen and only the deep,
bhlluwy snow retained to telll of toe
battle of the elements. But lona; before
that hour Sally had arouse,,• all the
children and supplied 01044 with 11
geeeruu-t portion of the g,•ol thin'a
brought by her lever. Tiler:: was plenty
for everybody, and, by the light of Joe's
lantern Sally and the youngsters hal
such u feast that shortly 11.ed0 4111 feel
very happy.
With the abatement of the storm the
parents of the children began to arrive
•1',d by 1 ,.'cluck in the morning the last
load had, driven a•vay, a fervent "(1 el
Liras you. bliss Sully, and a r-ry Merry
Christmas," coming trier the depths of
each heart as the grateful pat•elus realiz-
ed how much they owed to the brave
little school teacher.
And Sally? Was it not a merry.
happy Christmas fer her ? A'1. Joe lifted'
her into Iiia sleigh and tit:lied the big,
white wolf -rube around her 8181 leaded)
forward and whispete4: "U, Joe. dear,
I tun so, so happy 1"
And the New England dinner was a
success after tilt, despite the anxious
hours passed by chi (turn Jet:I:eon and
his wife. As for Joe, he was the life of
the party. lie let the youngsters hug
and kiss Aunt Salty all they pleased
tvitllout suffering one pang of jealousy.
But crew little while he slipped "1't in
the hall when Sally 8114) absent anti
oracle even by sundry hugs 11(1,4 hisses
that brought the girl hack Into the pat••
for with burning cheeks and frowzly
hair. •
Really, I believe there never was a
happier Christmas day than the one suc-
cee,liug that big blizzard in Dakota.
It Wass Bonntlfnl.
"Beautiful," answered the fair Pitts-
burg girt when asked whether the
World's Fair was attractive, "Beuutifu1
Well, I should just say it is. The huibl-
ings look as if they were carved out of
601iei ice c:sam."—Chicago Record.
A Slander.
Mrs.Mnggs—TIiat horrid Mrs. Frills
tll.1 Mrs. Noxdour that 1 was a regular
1':d cat. What do you thine of that ? Mr.
hluggs—I think she never saw you in
the .ante room with a mouse.—New York
V,.el,ly.
soma pt,atl *'t d t) 'ty 01. tit lt'tt's T4otter,
I414U 1 Me net,
Your totter d true
:r'o 1•14 b) Ohr(r'wuan.1•ttel,
A ld oat 1 Heir to et s -teen,
ttereee tlt0 team Albite saint,
Mr restive reindeer prancing In
My great 141g tn1 1) te.I'441(;4)),
Their not 111.13(0,ei»g Christmas clentes
14'rmn deter belle du gay.
Igo the do11 with geteen hair,
Aid clothes that bu:toa Nat,
An 1 real shoos and stockings, too,
And good etroug arn>s-L0 lad).,
Iler "uurbulator" and her rose
of silk cud ribbons hit:c,
And now 1 hope, my 111410 dear,
31)' proems !'ill pleasd you.
I love Elia merry Christman -time,
And always moo. because
1 am the little children's friend,
Your loving
SANT.[ CI 0'3.
4.. 4.1.)rle.t,tgee.. »;1111Ac1,
Caper Sauce.
I never thorotiehly understood whose
fault it was. but I will relate how it oc-
curred, and you can jnd_e for yourself.
Little Bloggs, o44 the strength of an
unexpected rise in screw, had invited all
the family. of witch I'm one, to dinner
on Christmas Day, and a very merry
party were we all the morning ; fn fact,
so merry that Tint 8 iters, :firs, Bloggs'
nephew, had to retire to the spare bed-
room and sleep it otr.
As Bloggs had mentiot•' 11 more tlh!in
once during the morni.• the dinner
was to consist of roast 1 " f and boiled
mutton, :tad just as it was beiug sawed
up, 116•s. Bloggs exclaimed, "Olt, there
uow t If I haven't ween and forgotten
to putlete capers in the caper sauce.
"Never mind, my dear," replied little
Bloggs ; "P11 do that, where are they ?"
"In a bottle, on the top shelf of the
cupboard," was the answer, and Bleggs
proceeded to make himself useful, by
choping the capers, and mixing thein
with the melted butter.
Dinner was served, and it was such a
noble looking leg of mutton, that most
of us started on that, because it doesn't
keep warns so well as beef clues. you
know, but we hadn't gone very far, when
somebody said "ugh." Then somebody
else called out each." Nobbs—he'll Mrs.
• Bloggs' rich uncle—says, "What's the
platter with these capers?"
Then 1Irs, Bloggs tasted tltem,and she
went as white ns rho t)tl,lecloth.
"Bloggse," said she, and there wax a dis-
tinct quaver in her voice," go and fetch
me the bottle you got these—capers
,from."
Bloggs did, as he W410 told, and when
he came back, Mrs. Bloggs gave one
look and said, "It's bCrou;;enl'x Patent
Pills," and then went off into (hysterics.
I needn't sur we didn't eat much after
that, but though there's been luta of row
over it. I've never heard who was really
to blame for that Caper Sauce.
On the Absurdity of Christmas.
Christmas is rot. Whet on earth do
people want to go beastly long journeys
in cold weather for?. and w by should a
fellow have to put himself fat) active
training On dyspepsia and stuff himself
with goose and roast beef and turkey?
And then that fearful intlese..tible plum
pudding, and those nightmare invitieg
mince pies—dreadful, As for the
amount of alcohol in various forms that
people imbibe, 'injuring their own
health drinking other people's—down-
right degrading. Consider, too, the
childish extravagances you indulge in at
Christmas parties, right down puerile. I
call it. Fancy playing at forfeits, pull-
ing crackers, dressing up in colored
paper cape
and things. Then everybodyboor
u w
has to s1. whether he can 1'r not,and
g, n 1
you tire yourself' out dancing with a
lot (f silly girls. and slake an idiot
of yourself kissing them under the
mistletoe. I m really very glad tl:e Jolli-
tokes haven't asked 100 clown this year.
I shall have a cosy, quiet day to myself,
and if the servants are out. and the
landlady has gone to her mother's, like
the other stuplds Christmassing, 1 don't
care. 1 shall really enjoy myself in a
sensible, rational manner ; and as fee -
Hallo !
erHallo! a telegram? "Letter mis-
carried. Do cone down to -night, if
possible. Maud here; also nil boys nn
girls. Do not disappoint.—Jo;.t.lroKE."
Wh0000p t Hooray t Where's my
Gladstone? Where's my dress suit, toy
shirts, my boots, my everything? IIip•
hip -hooray ! Won't I have a good old
time down there with the Jollito';es,
their boys and the girls. And, Maud
Right away from this -dreary, dingy den.
Good old Jollifohes 1 Won't I wird into
the roast goose and turkey, and won't I
lam into the flzz. Wh000p! No time
like Christmas, after all 1
A Big mistake,
Wandering Willie—I wish't I was
down in Louisiana. Here's an article
says dey lynched a white man las' week.
Tired Tommie—Lynched a white man!
What fer?
Wandering Willie—Lookin' fer• sotrk
when lie otter bin killin' niggers."
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A Chrlstnues (Rose.
It was Christmas Eve. \Ve had all
been sitting round the fire at Uncle
Chortles, (spinning glw-tt yarns till *ye
all felt our flesh creep. It was awfully
jolly. Tiers'; [something very nice in
listening to a hiood-curdling yarn about
l;ris:y s1elton 111(1,134, griluin4 skulls
with eyeballs of fire, and forms dressed
i1' 4)1110ud gliding noisle•4)sly past,hollow
groans, and doors that open and shut
myeteriously without being touched,
when there are a lot of you together in
front of a nice tire, and plenty of spirits
of the hest mortal brands about. Quite
a differeut feeling to that which comes
over you if you've got to walk home
nloug a lonely road, where the trees
take all manner of shapes and the'.viud
tlnon4441 their breeches makes all rnan-
er of noises, and, if your wan lien
through or close by a churchyard. you
try not to think of the yarns the fellows
have been spiunine, and you wish you
hadn't said such high :10d 4)14 11ty things
about ghosts being all humbug and
"Totn0*y rot," and that you didn't be-
lieve in them. You feel kind'of inclin-
ed to apologize to ghosts in general
and a deal more reel:.ctful towards
them. Well, we sat it out until it began
to be v ery late, and we mu d hear the
r.a3 sca:uping along the wainscots of
the old house. Uncle ::.:'l Auntie had
gone up to bed an Tour Leforo, so had
all the girls, but we chappies appreciat-
ed Uncle Charlie': cigars and whisky too
well to leave then[ in a ihurry. At last
Cousin B.11 rose to go. Ile hesitated.
We all l:niched. "Bill doesn't like go-
ing along ti o ('011 idols of this old house
by himself," said 1. Bill looked rather
savage, then got his candle and marched
off by- himself, saying, anyway he
hasn't the funk in tlw crowd. We told
a l'ew more ghost storied, and got
creepier than ever, and then ti 'brilliant
idea struck me. "Bill's very cock-a-
huop," said I ; "let's give 111)0 a sense-
tion—let's get a lot of sheets -out of that
big press in the still•rouin and march
lllto Bill's room, saying we're a company
of ghosts come to keep up Christmas
With hint."
After a deal of argument the boys
caught un to it, and 1 and Jack B.tmble-
by tools off our boots and went avid got
the sheets. Somehow, nobody se0tned
to care about going alone for there. We
draped them beautifully over ourselves,
rind marched .along the corridor all in
the dark. in our stockinged feet, doing
our best !101 to burst out laterldi _, 4.t
last we reached the st,irease leading to
the corridor, where Biles 1.0 (nl WW:14
Suddenly we halted, stare by ;1 queer
shuffling 11oic0, then a sound. like green-
ing.. It [vas pitch dark, end w•e felt our
hearts brut a bit, and t 4 1 to Dur horr•'t
we saw a gllovtly form with a fitee like
sulphurous fire gliding toward' 1114,
groaning fearfully, and with uplifted
arms. I g:Eve a yell acrd fee
back on Jack Buntbleln-, who
gave another yell, and. shouting
and booting, end shrieking bine murder.
we 1 0th rushed headlong down the
stairs, to where the rest of the fellows
awaited us. Of course, the clatter
roused uncle and auntie ; also, tale girls
and the servants, who rushed out of
their rooms with candles, adding their
shouts and shrieks to the din, and when
we separated and picked our.elt•es up,
and knew where we were, there was that
Wretched Bill at the top of the stairs
shrieking with laughter, rolling up his
sheet and rubbing the match phos-
phorus off his face. Don't you call that
a silly trick of Bill to play? Might have
given someone a serious frigllt,
A Corsican's Swimming Exploit,
Tho Paris correspondent of the Lon.
don Telegraph relates a story which
quite puts Leander's exploit in the shade.
•Donzelln, the chief lighthouse keepei
at Bonifacio, in Corsica, who ihas just
wasof theheroes of 1 war
one the
of 1870. While Marshal Bazaine was
shut up in Metz, the Corsican swam
down the Moselle with sealed instruc-
tions for him one night. Donzolla had
to run the gauntlet of the German out-
posts, and notwithstanding the darkness
he was pursued and frequently fired at.
He managed, however, to dodge the bul-
lets by keeping his head as much as pos-
sible under water, only coming up to the
surface every now and then like.the por-
poise in order to have a "blow." After
having handed over the dill. itches to
Bazaine lie returned to his camp by the
Same dangerous river route.
Tho 41 nglc of (' pn(tud Interest.
The Ilur g:eo :!er of ?.Iittenw4!le, a
town in the Mart; of Bradeuburg, has
found 500' ol.l 1' ts,rds hearing tho dates
of the years 1.,;•2 incl 13.40. the first be-
ing a etatrul•h:t , f mono} 5 chef by the
city of Ie tett to the town 4,f Mitten.
wattle, and tnea'•c'und of fund) allvy.nced
by that town to We then reigning Ix ince,
the Elector Jenctlinl of llr.ldeuburg. It
is reckoned that, talc Me compound in-
terest into account, the debts would at
present represent a suns of 8300 milliards
of [narks, and it is stated teat the Bur-
gomaster inteuds putting forward
claims on behalf of • the town. The un-
animous opinion is, however, that Jul
would be non -suited after this lapse of
time, even if the debts could be legally
proved.
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