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About The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 28, 1902)
VJ 4 i I i r ya - - The Bow of Orange Ribbon A ROMANCE OF NEW YOKK j By AMELIA E BARR Author of Friend OlivW I Thou and the Other OnoEto Copyright 1886 by Dodd Mead and Company CHAPTER I Continued On a lounge an elegantly dressed woman was sitting reading a novel La child she cried come here and Uivo me a kiss So you wear that Bweet fancicd suit again Is that the Dutch stylo then child It must ho extremely charming La hero comes Jlichard Ho is going to ask you to take a sail on the river and I shall lend you my new green parasol I do helleve It is the only one in the coun try I came to sit with you and work with my worsteds Perhaps my moth ermight not like me to go on the Tiver with any one But Katherine had no time to de fend herself for with his cavalry cap In his hand and a low how Capt Hyde entered the room In a few k minutes afterward she was going f down the terrace steps with him and he was looking into her face with shin ing eyes and whispering the common est words in such an enchanting man ner that it seemed to her as if her feet scarcely touched the low white steps And she was some sort of glorified Katherine Van Heemskirk who never never never could he unhappy again They did not go on the river Capt Hyde did not want a third party near in any capacity The lower steps were shaded by great water beeches and the turf under them was green and warm A sweeter hour a lovelier maid man could never hope to find and Capt Hyde was not one to neglect his opportunity Let us stay here my beloved he whispered I have something sweet to tell you Upon mine honor I can keep my secret no longer The innocent child Who could blame her for listening to it at first with a little fear and a little reluct ance but gradually resigning her whole heart to the charm of his soft syllables and his fervent manner un til she gave him the promise he begged for love that was to be for liim alone love for him alone among all the sons of men What an enchanted afternoon it was how all too quickly it fled away one golden moment after another In a few minutes Joanna and the elder came in He had called for her on his way home for he liked the society of the young and beautiful and there were many hours in which he thought Joanna fairer than her sister Then tea was served in a pretty parlor with Turkish walls and colored win dows which being open into the gar den framed lovely living pictures of blossoming trees Every one was eat ing and drinking laughing and talk ing so Katheriues unusual silence was unnoticed except by the elder who indeed saw and heard everything and who knew what he did not see and hear by that kind of prescience to which wise and observant years at tain Joanna was talking to Neil Semple in the recess of a window but Neils face was white with suppressed anger and though he seemed to be listening to her his eyes full of passion were fixed upon Hyde Perhaps the young soldier was conscious of it for he oc casionally addressed some trivial re mark to him as if to prevent Neil losing sight of the advantages he had over him The vera air o this room is gun powdery thought the elder and ane or the other will be flinging a spark o passion into it and then the deil will be to pay Ill een tak the lasses hame myseF and Ill speak to Joris for his daughter as good now as any other time Then he said in his blandest tones Joanna my dearie youll hae to tell Neil the rest o your tale the morn and Katherine put awa now that bit o busy idleness and don your hoods and mantles baith o you Im going to ta you hame and I dinna want to get my deathe wi the river mist Pra sir said Hyde consider me at your service I have occasion to go into town at once and will do your duty to the young ladies with infinite pleasure Much obliged captain vera much obliged but it taks an auld wise headed wise hearted man like mysel to walk safely atween two bonnie lasses While he was speaking Neil left the room He was glad to escape from a position which he felt to be both pain ful and humiliating He was in a measure Capt Hydes host and sub ject to traditions regarding the du ties of that character any display of anger would be derogatory to him and yet how difficult was restraint So his fathers interference was a welcome one and he was reconciled to his own disappointment when looking back he say the old gentleman slowly taking the road to Van Heems kirks with the pretty girls in their quilted red hoods one on each side of him The elder was very polite to his charges but he noticed that Kather ine was silent and disappointed and that she lingered in her own room after her arrival at home Her subse quent pretty cheerfulness her delight In her lilies her confiding claims upon hr fathers love nothing in these things deceived him He saw beneath all the fluttering young heart trem bling and yet happy In the new sweet uyiaa M44fW44HMH444 rttWttWHtt4MZi i feeling never felt before which had come to it that afternoon But ho thought most girls had to have this initiative it prepared the way for a soberer and more lasting affection In the end Katherine would perceive how imprudent how impos sible a marriage with Capt Hyde must be and her heart would turn back to Neil who had been her lover from boyhood Yet he reflected it would be well to have the matter under stood and to give it that possibility which is best attained on a money basis So while he and the Van Heems kirks discussed the matter a little reluctantly he thought on their part Katherine talked with Joanna of the Gordons Joanna had not a suspicion of the joy and danger that had come to the dear little one at her side She was laughing softly with her even while the fearful father stood at the closed door and lifted up his tender soul in that pathetic petition Ach mijn kind mijn kind mijn liefste kind Almighty- God preserve thee from all sin and sorrow CHAPTER il Oranje Boven Well well to day goes to its fore fathers like all the rest and as for what comes after it everything is in the love and counsel of the Almighty One This was Joris Van Heemskirks last thought ere he fell asleep that night after Elder Semples cautious disclo sure and proposition In his calm methodical domestic life it had been an eventful day We say the words often and unreflectingly seldom paus ing to consider that such days are the results which months years per chance cdnturies have made possible Thus a long course of reckless living and reckless gambling and the conse quent urgent need of ready money had made Capt Hyde turn his thoughts to the pretty daughter of the rich Dutch merchant She is a homespun little thing laughed the colonels fashionable wife and quite unfit to go among people of our condition But she adores you Dick and she will be passably happy with a house to manage and a visit from you when you can spare the time It was in this mood that Katherine and her probable fortune had been dis cussed and thus she was but one of the events springing from lives an terior to her own and very different from it Also in her fathers case the mo tives influencing his decision stretched backward through many generations None the less was their influence po tent to move him In fact he forgot entirely to reflect how a marriage be tween his child and Capt Hyde would be regarded at that day his first thoughts had been precisely such thoughts as would have occurred to a Van Heemskirk living two hundred years before him Joris age was not an age inclined to analysis and he was still less in clined to it from a personal stand point For he was a man of few but positive ideas yet these ideas having once commended themselves to his faith or his intelligence were em braced with all his soul Semples communication regarding Capt Hyde and his daughter had aroused in him certain feelings and led him to cer tain decisions He went to sleep sat isfied with their propriety and justice He awoke in precisely the same mood Then he dressed and went into his garden It was customary for Kath erine to join him there and he fre quently turned as he went down the path to see if she were coming But this morning she did not come He walked alone to his lily bed but his face brightened when he heard her calling him to breakfast and very soon he saw her leaning over the half doer shading her eyes with both hands the better to watch his ap proach Lysbet was already in her place so was Joanna and also Bram Joris and Bram discussed the business of the day Katherine was full of her visit to Semple house the preceding evening Dinorah was no restraint The slaves Joris owned like those of Abraham were born or brought up in his own household And yet this morning- Joris waited until Lysbet dismissed her handmaid before he said the words he had de termined to speak ere he began the work of the day Then he put down his cup with an emphasis which made all eyes turn to him and said Katryntje my daughter call not to day nor call not any day until I tell you different at Madame Sem ples The people who go and come there I like them not They will be no good to you Lysbet what say you in this matter What you say I say Joris The father is to be obeyed When he will not the children can not Katherine had drawn her chair close to her fathers and taken his big hand between her own and was stroking and petting it then as she answered she leaned her head upon his breast Father I like to see the English lady and she is teaching me the new stitch Schoone Lammetje There are ODDEST OF ALL FADS nfliwgiiiiwwtninnyiinjiwi i many other things far better for thee to learn In these things the best of all good teachers is thy mother I can do these things also father The lady loves me and will be unhappy not to see me Then let her come here and sea thee That will be the proper thing Why not Always honor thyself as well as others That is the Dutch way that is the right way Mind what I tell thee His voice had gradually grown sterner and he gently withdrew his hand from her clasp and rose as a man pressed with affairs When he had left the room Lysbet Instantly began to order the wants of the house Katherine still sat at the table her eyes were cast down and she was arranging without a con sciousness of doing so her bread crumbs upon her Delft plate Roused from her revery she comprehended in a moment how decisive her fathers orders were intended to be Yet In this matter she was so deeply inter ested that she Instinctively made an appeal against them Mother my mother shall I not go once more to see Madam Gordon So kind she has been to me She will say I am ungrateful that I am rude and know not good manners Yes mother I may go once A young girl does not like to be thought ungrateful and rude More than that Katherine a young girl should not like to disobey a good father You make me to feel ished and sorry Here is the key of the best parlor go now and wash carefully the fine china ware So Lysbet turned and left the room She did not notice the rebellious looU en her daughters face the lowering brows the resentment in the glance that followed her the lips firmly set to the mental purpose To see her lover at all risks that was the pur pose but how best to accomplish it was not clear to her She lifted the key given her and went to the parlor It was a large low room with wainscoted walls and a big tiled fireplace nearly filling it The blinds were closed but there was enough light to reveal its quaint and almost foreign character The oval tables were full of curious bits of china dainty oriental wicker work ex quisite shells on lacquered trays won derfully wrought workboxes and fans and amulets As she moved about among the strange carven toys and beautiful ornaments she couold think only of him of his stately manner and dark handsome face She re called every word he said to her as they sat under the water beeches More vividly still she recalled the ten der light in his eyes the lingering clasp of his hand his low persuasive voice and that nameless charm of fashion and culture which perhaps im pressed her more than any other thing Among the articles she had to dust was a square Indian box with drawers It had always been called the writing box and it was partly filled with pa per and other materials for letter writing She stood before the open lid thoughtfully and a sudden over whelming desire to send some mes sage of apology to Mrs Gordon came into her heart She could write pretty well and she had seen her mother and Joanna fold and seal letters and al though she was totally inexperienced in the matter she determined to make the effort All difficulties were overcome one by one and the following note in trusted to the care of Diedrich Becker the old man who worked in the garden and milked the cows To Mistress Col Gordon Honored Madam My father for bids that I come to see you He thinks you should upon my mother call That you will judge me to be rude and un grateful I fear very much But that is not true I am happy indeed I think all the day of you Your obedient servant Katherine Van Heemskirk To be continued Lovers of the Day Seek to Have Their Pictures on Sweethearts Shoes It is said that the fashionable girl of the present day carries the picture of the young man she most loves in her shoe and the secret of her heart may therefore be learned by looking at her feet There is nothing occult about it Hypnotism mental telepa thy and things of that sort are not concerned If the girl is up to date all you have to do is to look at her feet for there you will see the pic ture of the happy man She wears it in the buckle of her slipper so that the best time to learn the truth is when she is at a dance At a function of the kind in Wissahic kon recently a half dozen of the girls had their sweethearts at their feet which according to amatory tradition is right and proper When the miniature fad originated the modish girls were pleased to wear the counterfeit presentments of their courtiers at their necks Then they moved to the belt buckle but it is the prerogative of a woman to change her mind and man is once more lowered Already the new fancy is gaining supporters and many slipper minia tures are being made with the por traits of matinee idols This is for the accommodation of those girls who have not yet succeeded in finding a man to admire at close range Navigation of St Lawrence The St Lawrence river is frozen four months of the year and its navi gation is so difficult that an average of one steamer a month is wrecked ia ito waters vj nm - 4 i 7 gtfg2S S2 A r JwMZ7er2 ffW tell- fial f w 1 Mi 2 MWqf y fl J 3v Z ls r osrwg smsp Hymn For Thanksgiving O thou to whom a nation brings Tie gift of grateful prayer and praise The source whence every biasing springs Who guidest all our earthly ways Enlarge the scope of our desires Malic firmer our fraternal tics ifay all souls scc our counsel fires Tiw world partalie our charities Grant Mighty One to us the skill To conquer every giant wrong The power to do thy gracious will The soul of love the breath of song The peace that moveth sld by side With honor mercy justice faith WWi human hopes and rights to bide In league wlUi life in fata of death Pat W7io dared Vic evil powers of hate The harpy ignorance that drexo The rich warm blood of hearts elate With gentle instincts firm and true Oh bid our lives repeat Uie strain Tlicy learned of freedom in its morn As shells Uutt murmur of the main Forever to Uie ocean born From man to ttice from floiccr to star From where white daisies kiss the sod We hall Vie golden links afar That binds us to our Father God Give us more UghtP Vic truth to sing From clilll Alaska to Vie sands Where cacti scarlet banners fling To all Vie dark and stricken lands ffyrf2J New Englands Dey Natures Bountiful FeaLst Delight for Eye and PaleLte The spirit of Thanksgiving day can never have the significance in the child of other States that it has for the child of New Eneland What with the memory of that first feast of venison and turk ev and numnkin with tJ flHHrftl I J traditions of brick ovens and steaming puddings and pies and apples galore with tho meeting house sermon for young and old with the sledding party and nut crackings When the gray haired New England er sees round his board vJilfflfiiW VlLCyV The old broken ties of affections restored SJ is it a marvel that Thanksgiving is traced nowhere else than to the earlv Yankee colonies And however much the celebration has spread to other localities especially to the Western Reserve it is difficult to interpret its full meaninc to the uninitiated The nrnof of the nuddinu is the eating in this case especially and good digestion often must wait on appetite in the proving Still in all sections of the country the day will be more or less observed after the fashion of the Puritan forefathers John will come home from college Charles from the office in the city and Daniel from the far West where he has gained a fortune The old bachelor uncle noted attorney will be at the homestead and there will grace the great white cloth table on that day all the children and grandchildren winsome maidens and hearty youths Thus will Thanksgiving day pass in the country life of America It is difficult indeed to interpret the meaning of it to the city bred man and woman girl and boy unlearned in its supremest joys But withal Instead of tho days observance being confined to New England its spirit will spread to all the corners of the States and to tho islands of the far away seas where dear ones look homeward It will be a grand day and people will be grateful for the privilege of living in such a goodly land The features of the day itself the children and tho profound tran quility of peace will tend to make the occasion one of sweetness and enjoyment for boys and girls of to day and of yesterday rv iiXVLf With the coming of Thanksgiving undoubtedly the most festive day C 4 MMcJj of the whole year to Americans ones mind turns to the well laden table For days and even months man looks forward with a great degree of pleasure v 1 ti fflP to the festal season He whets his annetite and in many instances his wits in anticipa tion of a bountiful and toothsome feast and mayhap an after dinner speech Whether he is XVJW 1 the owner of several blocks of valuable real estate or is simply the gamin of the city wander ing about yelling Poiper his appetite is generally satisfied with a good feast before the sun gilds the evening sky of Thanksgiving day J This season will be no exception Fowl and game and fish will weigh down the table of the wealthy and indigent Turkey of course will be the staple article of the day but there will be a plentiful supply of other tame and wild fowl Rabbits and gray black and fox squirrels are plentiful They are of excellent quality too for this has been a good season for them Besides the fine crops from which the little animals of the forest had the chance to store a large supply for autumn and winter there was an abundant crop of shellbarke than which no other food is so relished by the nimble bushy tail Many a burrow has its granary well stocked while Its householder has wan dered into the range of Nimrods aim There will be luxuries in every home The rich will have such a feast as at no other time in the year with the most delicate of good things the poor will consider turkey or even duck or chicken or oysters a feast fit for a king If perchance one should be missed in the feasting of the day he will be a mark of envy for many another who has eaten too much and is paying the penalty in thesuffering and misery inflicted upon him by his rebellious inner machinery KO While scarcely a turkey will be complete without the oyster filling there is many an extra oyster feast Thanksgiving day It is not unusual j yy m indeed to find persons and families who will make an oyster dinner or supper le principal feast of the day Scanning the records of early Thanksgiving days in the 3 colonies when game was to be had for stepping outside the cabin and when monster oysters found a prominent place in the feast one report mentions oysters six inches long and rich beyond measure looking over these records is it any wonder that the ovster is a part of the v - feast of to day Fruits will deck the table of many a home Apples ruddy and golden and yellow grapes purple while and red oranges with the possible exception of the Florida variety which is still somewhat green and unattractive and a half dozen other kinds of fruit will delight the eye and palate And there will be pumpkin sauce and pie for what would Thanksgiving be without the fruit of the field Squash will form a substitute in some places but it will be pumpkin anyway The nut is another Thanksgiving necessary From the time when the little Puritan lad ran out and gathered a supply of nuts from the bounty of the forest and at the Thanksgiving time sat before the big fire munching tho luscious kernels until the present autumn when the boys came in from the woodland no Thanksgiving time has been complete without nuts of some kind English walnuts filberts almonds butternuts will find a place on tho tables of the better-to-do while there will hardly a street waif pass the day without a taste of some kind of the forest fruit mkm 3ba fe j i Hold to Old Tiine Tradition Sril CjZ A peculiar instance of the sectionalism of later times and of the traditions held from the old homeland is patent particularly in the history of Thanksgiving as a national institu tion The colonists who had come to Virginia were of a different temperament from those of the New England clime Old customs and old loves of the Church of England were dear to their hearts Chimes of the great abbeys greeted Christmas for them as the day of all days and they were fain to keep up the traditions of their ancestors While the New Englander sat in church and listened to a devout sermon and the singing of pealms aui later partook of the great feast after the harvest time observing Thanksgiving day the Virginian held especially to the old English custom of observing Christmas than which no occasion is dearer to the English heart Homes and churches were decorated with cedar ii hanging with its blueberries with pine needles and with mistletoe and the Christmas festival was celebrated with as much heartiness as the New Englander observed his festival earlier in the season Gov Johnson of Virginia sec apart a day for Thanksgiving but when Gov Wise who succeeded him was requested to do so he declined because he was unauthorized to interfere in religious matters The same measure in the celebration of the two days hold with New England and the South to day while each observe both days each retains the distinctive features of his forefathers While the New Englander on Thanks giving day sits before a feast of turkey and Indian pudding and pumpkins and maize the latter an emblem of peace and plenty from the aborigines the Virginian delights himself in the feast of boars head and plum pudding and the drinking at the Christmas time