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About Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Neb.) 1900-1930 | View Entire Issue (July 2, 1903)
OUTSIDE YLIUYIXJDY for ten around knew that Eurt Thatcher anil Minnie Davis were engaged. She was the daugh'or of a farmer , and he wns a clerk In a village store , and buth had ninny friends and ac quaintances. The course of true love wag running along as smoothly as a pair of bob sleighs in winter time when a wind mill agent came alou and sold Farmer Davis a mill. This agent wag a middle-aged man with golden whisker. * and a great deal of cheek , and as he had to direct thn setting up of the mill he was at the farmhouse for a couple of weeks. His 'attention was earlj' attracted to Min nie , and he posed f r an old bachelor and uttered more words of praise and .flattery In ten minutes than she had ever heard in a mouth before. The knowledge that she was en gaged , together with a sight of the young man who was to lead her to the hymeneal altar , animated the agent with a spirit of deviltry , and he 'sung..the praises of Minnie Davis till Burt Thatcher's jealousy was aroused and he was ready for a quarrel. When once a young man lets his best girl understand that he is Jealous of her she feels it her bounden duty to make him as uncomfortable as she can for a few weeks. Young Thatcher might as well have been Jealous of Minnie's grandfather ns of the windmill man with his golden whiskers , but when he heard that the . " W tf..JIc ' il - > H ! & 2&i m < & 5rcf * B "YOU WANT TO PICK A QUARREL ! " two sang hymns and played checkers together , in addition to gathering har vest apples and reading Shakspeare on the front veranda after dinner , the green-eyed monster demanded a row. One was forthcoming. One evening the clerk drove up to Farmer Davis' with his Jaw "sot , " and five minutes later he was saying to the girl of his heart : "False creature , how dare you look Into my eyes after the way you have carried on with that yallar-whiskered old hollyhock ! " "His whiskers are not yellow , but golden , " corrected Minnie , "and he's hardly more than a young man yet. " "Ha ! It must be a case of love at first sight , with the whiskers thrown in " "I say his whiskers are golden. " "They are yallar ! " "You want to pick a quarrel ! " "You want to marry him ! " Thence on It was easy for the young man. All he had to do was to call Minnie a heartless girl , a flirt and a coquette , and add that he was glad he had found her out before it was too late. * ' Her feelings were hurt , her indigna tion aroused , and she suggested that he had better look around and find some one to suit him better. Of course he drove away with flaming face and surging heart , and of course It wasn't a week before everybody heard of the ( row and had something to say about It. When he had fulfilled his mission , which was to put up the best wind mills on earth and tell every farmer's daughter that she was the sweetest and handsomest girl in the country , the windmill man took his pay and .drove on , and his golden whiskers were hardly reme'mbered fifteen min utes after his departure. Among the people who were sur prised that he did not ask for Minnie'- * hand before leaving the neighborhood was Burt Thatcher. He was not only surprised , but mollified. He was not only mollified , but found himself won dering If he couldn't make it up with the girl and be restored to fayo'r. Like many another man , he didn't appre ciate a good thing until he had lost it. The more Burt thought of those whiskers the more he was inclined to believe that the color was golden , in stead of "yallar , " but how was he to let Minnie understand his change of feelings ? He must gently crawfish the next time she visited the store to "trade , " and if she showed a yielding disposition the chasm would be bridged. This decision arrived at , he had only to wait , and for a week before she called , in company with her mother , he had It all mapped out as to how he would receive her. His calculations received a bad setback , however. "Mr. Thatcher , we want to look at some of your best tablecloths , " an nounced the girl , as she looked him straight in the eyes , and his heart went down like a lump of lead , and he saw those golden whiskers floating hi the air about him. During the hour she was in the store Minnie remarked that it waa a back- : KSC'S ! ' ward summer ; that the huckleberry crop was very poor ; that rain was bad ly needed ; that she couldn't under stand why shovels were down and ta blecloths were up , and the uncomfort able young man could recollect four teen different occasions when she lugged in the name of "Mr. Thatcher. " He was so put out over events that he sold a GO-cent hoe to old Mr. John- sen for 28 cents , and astonished Aunt Mary Phillips by asking her 60 cents a yard for 7-cent calico. As a matter of fact , Minnie Intended to dd her share toward "making up" when the proper time came , but she wanted to punish the young man first. Four weeks after the buying of the tablecloths , and without the young couple having spoken together since , Farmer Davis and wife set out one day for a ten-mile drive to Cassville , intending to come back before dark. While they were returning they met with an accident , and it came about that Minnie found herself alone in the house when night fell. She didn't begin to get nervous until about 9 o'clock , but then a call from a tramp frightened her into locking all the doors and imagining all sorts of things. The tramp had taken a cold bite and left , but knowing { hat she was alone he would doubtless hang about and break into the house. Farmer Davis had a shotgun , and that shotgun was kept loaded with bird shot to kill owls and chicken hawks. When Minnie was worked up to such a nervous pitch that she im agined every gust of wind to be the muffled footsteps of a tramp she got down the * gun and resolved to perish like a true heroine. Five minutes after this resolve was taken some one knocked on the front door. It was the tramp , of course. Two minutes later he was at the kitchen door. Then he was heard muttering and grumbling and getting a drink of water at the well. With her heart in her mouth and the shotgun ready to fall from her trembling hands , the girl waited. The tramp whistled and then sat down on the doorstep. But only for a moment. Then he arose and seemed to move along to a kitchen window. His game was to raise the sash or smash the glass , and , shutting her eyes and trusting that her grave would be kept green , Minnie pointed the gun somewhere or other and pulled the trigger. There was a flash , a roar and a yell. Scared as she was , she detected some thing familiar in the tones of the yell , and when her name was shouted she opened the door to admit Burt Thatch er. He had not only heard of the ac cident that detained her parents , but had made use of it to drive out to the farmhouse and tell the girl how sorry he was for making a chump of him self. self.He He was not at the window when the shot was fired , but walking away from it. Most of the charge went wild , but about a dozen of the little pellets pep pered his shoulders and quickened his longing to kiss and make up. Minnie opened the door to speak his name and fall into his arms , and most of the shot had worked out and the marriage day been set when the old folks reached home , and the mother elevated her hands and rolled up her eyes as she exclaimed : "For the land sakes , but how things do come about in this 'ere world of ours ! " Boston Globe. Too Previous. A story of Doctor Sewell , for many years warden of New College , Oxford , comes from Public Opinion. When Doctor Sewell was seriously 111 , about a year ago , the fellows of the college , and , indeed , all his friends , despaired of his life. The senior fellow at the time , wishIng - Ing to have all things in order , wrote to the home secretary for leave to bury the warden in the college chapel. Before the next college meeting the warden had recovered. He presided at the meeting , and with no little en joyment read out the home office's let ter permitting his own burial. "It gives me great pleasure , " said he , "to congratulate the senior fellow on Liis admirable promptitude and energy. [ cannot , however , truthfully say that [ regret that both were wasted. " Something "XVronjj. "Well , " said Jolkley , as he conclud- ; d one of his best stories , "I haven't loticed you laughing to any great ex- : ent. " "Really , now , " said the Britisher , 'why should I lawf ? " "Why , that was a joke I just told rou. " "Oh ! come ; I say , how could it be a eke if It does not make one lawf ? " Catholic Times. A Sermon on Money. "No , 'my son , " said the Billville par- : nt , "money doesn't bring happiness ; t only pays house rent and the' grocery ) ill and makes the bailiff and the bill : ollector respect us six days In- the ; veek , while the parson gives us the mlleluia smile on Sunday. " Atlantic Constitution. When some people pay a compliment , : hey look as if they were having a : ooth drawn. Fever is as ornery as prize fighters : [ t won't break clean. TINY CLUBHOUSE FOR BOY * . T ds of Pasadena Have a Home Fitted Up With Ererythlnr 'or Bora. What is likely the smallest clut house in the world stands near the public highway in the ornate grounds which surround one of Pasadena'a handsome homes on Congress street This one-story , ne-room edifice was built years ago 1 club accommoda tions of a small coterie of boys , young scions of what were then designated as "the best families" boys who are now grown up and the very name ol the club has passed into oblivion. Nobody actually knew what tools place In this clubhouse , which was built in the West Side suburbs , but it pleased those having the exclusive pos session of it to so shroud their meets with mystery that the most grewsome tales of orgies went abroad , over which' imaginative and uneasy elders shook their heads dismally , while those who knew only laughed and drew pret ty accurate conclusions from their own boyhood days , that nothing more ex citing than imitation high jink's went on there. Be that as it may , those boys have grown up In grace and wisdom , says the Los Angeles Times , and the club house was abandoned and was recent ly purchased by its present owner , Dr. A. A. Wright , who had it moved into his private grounds and presented it to his grandson , Irving Ben ton , who lives with him. Although now personal property , it Is the gathering place of the Junior Athletic Club , and is fitted up in a manner so exactly like the room of a "grown-up" as to throw any boy or girl who sees it into spasms of delight. The house is painted dark green , with white trimmings ; its sash windows dews give It a modern , fashionable ef fect , and the outside chimney of red brick adds a real house finish , which captivates. The ceiling is plenty high enough for an ordinarily tall man to walk inside if he is prepared to feel like a giant after getting there ; the miniature fire place , baby andirons , low chairs just right for short legs toy tables , and everything on the dwarf plan are ad mirably proportioned. The place is complete. It Is lighted by electricity , has an electric bell and telephone , while all the interior decorations indi cate a boy's bent. Golf clubs , rackets , guns and fishing rods adorn the walls. Book shelves hold boys' books , the ta ble is littered with boys' literature. The lockers hold collections of birds' eggs , butterflys , shells and beetles ; drawers , stamp collections and a collec tion of campaign buttons ornament a velvet panel on the wall. It is here of an evening the Junior Athletic Club , whose members are be tween 12 and 16 years of age , meet to discuss club matters , cub finances and arrange the very successful and only ocasional dances they give for their girl friends at the Valley Hunt Club. This clubhouse is the center of all the boy life in the neighborhood , and has a charm In its harmonious com pleteness which is as fascinating to those who retain an accurate'memory of their own childish dreams and long Ings as to any of the young fry who revel in its use. METHOD OF TESTING EGGS. How the Housewife May Find "VYhethei They Arc Fresh or Not. A. decade or two ago somebody thought he had made a wonderful dis covery for testing the freshness of eggs. The old method had been to drop them in water. If they sank they were good ; if they bobbed about un certainly they had better be buried than broken. It was the same test used for witches centuries ago , and al most as decisive. Then the "candling" process came into existence and it was convincing. The careful housewife may do it her self if she wishes before she pays her egg bill , says the Philadelphia Ledger. Clasp your hand tightly about an egg and hold it against a brilliant light , electricity , gas , a kerosene lamp or even the flame of a caudle , provided it shines directly through the egg. You may find a full , clear ball , rosy red and clean shelled. That is a perfectly fresh igg. An egg which is eatable and ivholesome enough may have the clear ness and roslness of the first one , but it one end you will find a vacuum ; evaporation has set in and a portion of the white has gone. An egg a trifle older will have more racuum and you can see the yolk shift xbout with the movement of the hand , rhis may be classed as a cooking egg , "resh after a fashion , only it should be jroken carefully , if you wish to sep- mite the yolk from the wliite. Then 3iie goes down the list to eggs where : he yolk is a dark spot stuck to the shell or wrhere the whole egg is opaque is leather. Thir ? is the variety tanners buy for ; heir business at a few cents a dozen , it was found recently that "candling" jggs was a process old in the seven- : eenth century. There is proof posi- : ive in a quaint old painting , "Proving 3ggs , " which hangs to-day in the Dres- len gallery. It was painted by God- Tied Schalcken , who was born in 1643 md die.d in 1706. The buxom Dutch lousewife holding an egg against the jlow of an ancient oil lamp "candled" ler eggs exactly as is done in 1903. In i cold-storage warehouse or in a relia- ) le market every egg is candled and ieparated into the various lots a house- vlfe knows as western , eastern , north ern , local or "strictly fresh laid. " The > rices on the row of baskets range rom a difference of 5 to 25 cents. The 'purely fresh laid" eggs may have > een in cold storage five months , the thers no longer , only there were-con- Litions in their early care which pre- 'ented their keeping so well. , THE UNITED STATES AREA--3,552,9I9 Sq. Miles POPULATION-85,000,000 \VEALTH--S98,000,000-,000 By Candice A. Bramble. - - - - - - -o- - < < r7ACK and Nellie Foster and their _ . ! I three young .neighbors , the Blakes , vSi/ were holding a consultation beneath the great elm tree which stood just upon the line between the two dooryards. "I tell you , I call it a shame that we can't go' in to the city , as we always have before ! " said Jack Foster , discontent edly. edly."Well "Well , you know we can't , so what's the use of scolding all the time about it , Jack ? " replied his sister Nellie. "Of course father isn't to blame for being sick , and I suppose your father is almost as sorry as we that his business calls him away just now , " said Gladys Blake in her gentle voice. "But on the Fourth of July , " inter rupted her brother Tom , impetuously , "it's too bad for anything. It wouldn't be quite so mean if we had a few fire works to let off at night ; but here we are , almost dead-broke , with hardly enough money between ns to buy a de- oont supply of firecrackers , let alone any thing else. " "Well , never mind , " answered Jack , good naturedly. "Firecrackers will make a dreadful lot of noise if they're prop erly handled , and what fun to be had from noise is bound to be ours next ThursdayEh , Tom ! " and he gave hi friend a poke which tumbled him over upon his back in the grass , where he chuckled a delighted "You bet it is , old chap ! " "Oh. but we've forgotten all about poor old Mr. Norris ! " cried Gladys , remorse fully. "We can't go to shooting off crack ers and making a whole lot of noise , be cause , you know , it will hurt his head and make him ever so much worse. We can't , indeed. " "Well , I like that ! " shouted Tom , as he glared wrathfully at the big brick house just across the way. "What is Fourth of July for if people are not to make any noise ? and , besides , what do we care if we do hurt his old head ? I'm sure he was never so careful about hurt ing our feelings. " "Yes , " chimed in Nellie , "he's a dread ful mean , cross-patchy old thing , Gladys you know yourself he is and I don't care if his head does ache a little , and I don't think you ought to , either , as many times he has set his horrid dog on our cats , and you know he never will let us step inside his yard , even to look for a ball or anything. " "Yes , " chimed in little 3-year old Rob bie , gravely , "an' he said if I peeked through the fence any more to see the peacocks he'd turn out an' spank me ; an' 1 don't like him , too. " "Oh , Robbie ! " returned } Gladys , with n reproachful look. "It's a shame for you to say so. Only just think , poor Mr. Norris hasn't any little boys and girls to be good to him , or any one to love him , and he's old and lame and sick , and it's no wonder he's cross. I'm sure we would be if we had half his troubles to fret us. " "Well , then , Miss , " Tom said , his tone a little less wrathful than before , for he , as well as little Robbie , had been im pressed by his sister's remonstrance , "if we're not to fire off crackers , and are to" go walking around on our tiptoes all day long , so's not to make any noise , per haps you'll tell us what we can do next Thursday , if it wouldn't trouble you too much. " "Yes , I will , " returned Gladys bright ly , quite unruffled by Tom's sarcasm , "let's take our dinner and go over on the island and stay all day long. Then we'll be so far away that our noise won't trouble Mr. Norris , and I'm sure we'll have lots more fun than we could at home. " The children all realized the truth of this statement , but Tom felt that he must not yield the point too easily , and so objected. "But how do you know mother will let us go ? " "Oh , nonsense , Tom ! " cut in Jack , briskly. "Of course she will , and what's more , Gladys is right , and you know it , so don't raise any more objections. " So it was settled , and from that mo ment preparations for a very delightful day upon the island went steadily on. The boya erected a fort and fortifications for the bloodless battles which were to be waged with firecrackers and popguns , and the girls busied themselves making ready the banquet , which was to be an elaborate affair , while little Robbie im partially gave his aid to every one , help ing and hindering as only an active small boy can. At last the morning dawned , bright and beautiful as a Fourth of July should be , and every one was so busy that no one noticed when Robbie stole out into the yard and stood looking wistfully across the road. "Poor old man ! " he said , softly , "I'm sorry he isn't got any little boys an' girls to love him , an' I fink I'll take him some posies an' two booful firecrackers to make him a good Forf o' July. I don't fink he'll be cross to me. " A few moments later Mr. Norris , fret- tting upon his softly cushioned couch in the dim library of his great , lonely home , was surprised to hear the tap , tap of tiny "EAGERLY GATHERED ABOUT THE LIT- hoot heels in the hall , and then to see Robbie's face smiling upon him from the doorway. "I bringed you some flowers , " he said , softly , "and two nice firecrackers , too. I couldn't spare any more , 'cause we hasu'tjgot very many. I'm awful sorry you's sick , an' we're all going away off to shoot our firecrackers , so the bangs won't make your head be worse. Good- by. " So strangely and silently had Robbie come , and so abruptly had he departed , that Mr. Norris would have thought it all a dream had he not had tangible evi dence of its truth in the bunch of gaudy flowers and the two brilliant firecrackers which Robbie had left upon the stand 'at his side. By 12 o'clock the merry little company on the island was ready for something to eat , and gathered eagerly about the little feast spread out upon the ground. "Oh , Robbie ! " cried Gladys in a dis mayed tone , in the very midst of the banquet , "what have you done ? You careless boy to step in our beautiful lemon pie ! " Sure enough , to their great dismay the children discovered that Robbie had suc ceeded in planting one dusty little foot right in the very center of the tempting pie which was considered the crowning dainty of the spread. "Never mind , " answered Robbie , gravely , inspecting his foot with inter est. "I don't fink it will hurt my shoe very much. I guess it will all wipe off. " Robbie was so solemn and so utterly unconscious of the mischief he had done that the children all burst into laughter , and in the midst of the merriment Mr. Norris' good-natured coachman appear ed before them with an immense baaket upon his arm. "There , " he said , setting it down with a thump in their midst , "Mr. Norris sends this , with his compliments , to Mas ter Robbie , and he hopes you'll enjoy it ; and I'm to tell yon that if yon'll come over on the lawn to-night there's be a few fireworks which perhaps you'll like f to see , " and with a kindly nod at his delighted and astounded hearer ? , Hiram was gone. "What does it mean ? Somebody pinch me , so I'll be quite sure it's not all a dream ! " gasped Nellie , after a moment of breathless silence. "No , it isn't a dream , because here's the basket , and do let's see what is in it " returned Jack- seizing the , , - heavy bas ket and eagerly tearing away the paper covering. l If I should try , I could not tell you all the goodies which that basket contain ed. Nor could I describe the beauty and brilliancy of the fireworks upon the lawn that evening. But every one of the chil dren declared , when tired and happy they separated for the night , that Mr. Norris was a most delightful person and that this Fourth of July had been by far the best they ever yet had known. Detroit Free Press. The eating of snakes , lizards , scor pions , centipedes , tarantulas and other reptilHS is now prohibited by statute ha Kansas , f BOY'S DREAM OF AN IDEAL FOURTH. I * * * " * , * "dh * * , * * * % ,