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About The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 1899)
' t IaMENTOFTHE v)6ld m;mi U '"f '. ii'K ' wnjmn $P Jv A ffV Tr.Ak i n &WL- Vsjrv.xixV lias LAH! iriy tlmo nearly coino: I'm wcnkand weary, nnil colli and numb, And and und Hour, and cross and irlum. And tho world looks dark ami drear; I'm short ot breath, no 1 liant und wheeze, And shiver and Blmlco, und eouli utiu Hni'CKu; . , My Urn lis creak mournfully I" the nrcozc- Kor 1 am llio poor Old Year. Twolvo months njjo I was yotitiB und fulr; I ruled tho world wllh a rcf;ul nlr, And every ono welcomed me, hero und there, Without a frown or a tear. Tho hoys and nlrln hurrahed for hip. And I wbh as lumpy as happy could ho; Tho world nround was fair to boo For I was tliu glad Now Yoar. Tho morry thrush and tho hold cuckqo flavo mo a sonf? and a woleomo truo; Tho whlto puccoon and tho vlolot hluo i'eopod slyly Into my faco; Tho tulip Kavo hor rich porruino, Tho larkspur waved hor azuro plume, Tho red roso oponed her velvet bloom, My royal court to Kruco. Tho brooklet burst Its ley bond, Tho fern uncoiled hor nreonest frond, Tho daisy waved hor yellow wand, To rIvo mo welcome meet; And summer hrouRht her clawing days, Hor boarded wheat and i;oldon mulzu; Tho wild bet; hummed a eoni; of prutae, Ana sipped tho clover's sweot. Thon autumn poured her ruddy wlno, And shook tho cluster from tho vino, And dropped tho noodles from tho pine, To scatter In my path; Tho milk-weed burst her silky pod, Tho partrldKo piped from tho turfy sod, And uuocii-of-tlio-inendow and ROldon-rod, Uloomod i;ay in tho aftermath. Hut now, alas! my tlmo has come: I'm weak and weary, and cold and numb, And sour and sad, and cross and Klum, And tho world Is dark and drear; No hlosboms spring as I push along. No warblor sings mo a welcome song; Hut tho bolts ring out a merry ding-dong To welcome another year. Helen Whltnoy Clark, in Qoldon Days. tJ'2&&2. tett&GZg&&s. rt,2--Z? mwmm "We'd bettor Have tlu1 Bltting-cooin wood until after breakfast," counseled Darn, "nnil just hne n fife In tlu- cook stove till then, liml cut In Hie Ijltejien." "Sure." snld I, "that'll be a lark." In spite of Hie dismal outlook we. hnd 11 cheerful II round a cozy kitchen when Aunt Liiurn eniiic down, and then while she begun to prepare breakfast Dora and 1 did ourselves up like Laplanders and plunged out into the blizzard to feed and milk the cows, after which we braved the winter's blast long enough to transport my treasure Mump to the house, which wo did partly by lugging and partly by rolling it over and over. llreakfast was ready when we got it safely under coer, and notwithstand ing our impending doom, we fell upon tho ham and fried potatoes and pan cakes, and enjoyed our meal Immensely. "(ilrls," mid auntie, when the Inst potato and the last crimpy brown bat-ter-ciiku had vanished, "I don't wnnt to dampen your spirits, but there Isn't a chip left, and how we're going to cook dinner I don't see." "Nctt,"sald Dora (who was just three montliH older than I), "we'll cook dinner by the fireplace." "Dora," I Fiild, "you're gifted. That's what wu will, and imagine we're our own great-grandmothers and great aunts how lovely!" "Well, you'll hnvo to help, miss, and I doubt if you think It ko lovely before you get through," returned Dora. "You'll be baked a beautiful brown." We took an inventory of our stores to tee what there was we could sook by the fireplace. "There's a spnrerlb, for one thing," announced Dora, "We'll hang It up by a string In front of the lire." "Potatoes we can boil by hanging the kettle on the hook and chain,' baid Aunt Laura, "And the sweet potatoes wc can roast in 1 lie ashes," 1 added. "And bake corn in a skillet in the hot coals." Mulshed Dora. n scrap of wood nor a chip In. the Wood box. Jlcllnquishing a wild ideo of chopping up a parlor chair or two to innku a Mrc of, I scooted back o the sitting-room chilled to the bone. Dora, putting as bold a face upon the situation us possible, was bringing in dishes from the dining-room und setting the table right under the eyes of the minister, who was chatting away its' serenely as if he hadn't driven us all frunt'c by his ill-timed call. Aunt Laura had levied on her cellar goodies and produced preserved (tilnccs, apple jelly, pickled poaches and chow-chow, so tho dinner wasn't so frightful. The Only thing, I wns ashamed of was the corn cakes; they were so big and clumsy, and Doru hnd crumbled the edges in turning them. Hut that good man seemed to think wo had a banquet, nnd even tho corn cakes didn't go begging so far as he was concerned. We all made merry over our prcdlc nment as we told him how It hap pened, and he joked about It, too, but shook his head a little, and said it oughtn't to go on thut way. lie pro ceeded upon liis errand soon after din ner, and we went about our work with what spirits we might. It wasn't more than two hours after lie left that Uncle Jink, n dilapidated old colored man, appeared with n yoke of steers, which he left in the lane while ho came plodding through the snow to the house. "Ileerd y'all was out o' wood," he grinned, "so I 'lowed I'd come an' snake up a few logs 'n' split fer de M'placo 'n' whack up some fer do cook'n' stove." "It's very kind of you, Indeed," said Aunt Laura, "for wc nre in great need of wood only I'm afraid I can't pay you for it to-day, Uncle " "Dass all right dass all right," In terrupted Uncle Jink; "don't y'all boddah 'bout dat dass nil right," and he scuffed nway, leaving us a little "Goody," said I, "that's a fine enough l mystified, for it was not quite like dinner for a blizardy day like this. Of course, nobody'll come." Hut somebody did come, as they usu ally do when you think they won't; and who of all persons but I!ev. Cyrus Melton! Dora fairly squirmed when Aunt Laura brought him right Into the sitting-room, for, of course, ehe couldn't take him an vwliere else, unless I she wanted to freeze him. So in he x$Z4mv YKSH3 W -lfflffMffllffr w i)lMEi t iij rriirr f w !! -rL immn '"&& Mti .Jbs4Sw came, smiling placidly, nnd there wns the rib cocking in front of the fire with Uncle Jink to be so indifferent about compensation for his good deeds. "Of course Mr. Melton went and told him to come, and either paid him or agreed to if we didn't," expounded Dora, and looked ns if she were ready to fall in a heap. "It was very good of him if he did," said Aunt Laura. "flood yes; but who wants to be an object of charity," groaned Dora, "cs- Ipccially " I WKKF. always getting out of wood at Maple Knoll. It was the big fireplace in the S sitting-room that a(e up all the fuel wu could get. 1 never saw such an Insatiable monster. Yet we couldn't mnku it) our minds to close it up and put up a stove instead, because of Its radiant cheerfulness. How Jolly it was, just when the first touch of a winter's twilight stole on, to pile fresh hickory logs on the old andirons and watch the llames dash up the chimney's throat and light the whole room with a mellow crimson flame. Hut the wood! Of course, we three women couldn't very well go out and chop and haul it, ami our funds did not always warrant hiring large quanti ties laid in, besides which the neigh boring help wc culd get was not very dependable on at all times. Maple Knoll was a lovely place, but didn't bring In much revenue, worked, us we wero obliged to have it done, by any Tom, Dick or Harry wc could pick up; ami the old house was picturesque but leaky 113 a sieve. Still, wo man aged very well about everything else, but for fuel we were obliged to depend on getting a load hauled now and then when some neighbor had the time and inclination to undertake it. December though it was, we hud had n streak of regular furllnti-sunimcry weather a mild atmosphere inter woven with soft smokiness. Our stow wood had run out, and the neighbors had all been too busy hauling eordwood to attend to our needs. Our chip yard was in good condition, however, and we had been levying on It for cookhlg purposes, using what little wood we had for the Mreplace, as "We didn't need much, and hnd gone jogging along in n'n easy, grasshoppery way, as If the pleasant weather were going to fast alj winter. Wc woke up the morning of December 30 to ,Mnd the world nearly lost Tn a most beautiful blizzard of whirling : hnnw. Not .only was the out ward world n- white desolation, but there-were lit tle. drifts all over the inside of the house. "Dora," I shouted, bouncing out "of bed and landing with one foot In n now bank, "how many chips did we bring ih last, night?" . "About enough to cook breakfast . wth," Dora answered, with the calln- lies of despair, as she shook a little pulV of r.uow out of her Mine. I hopped out . if my drift and rushed to the window. "Meantime, 'let's i'' down' mid make a .fire and gurajjood warm-iTp if w otto perifajraiicrwaru. TIIEKU WAS DOHA WITH IIKllPACE LIKE A HOLLYHOCK. a skillet set under to catch the gravy, and there was Dora with her face like a hollyhock, turning a great hurcakc In another skillet, anil I here was 1 prodding in the ashes with a long fori; to dig out the sweet potatoes!' Not that it mattered much about me; but sonic folks were beginning to observe that Uev. Cyrus was ;i trille more attentive to Dora than the fact of her being ono of his Mock warranted, and I knew that in her eyes he was about as near a state of perfection as a mortal man' needed to be. lie was just" riding out, he o plained, to see olil Mrs. llankins, who' was sick, and hud Ijeen delayed a lit tle, by the bliznnl mid be'en.on the ,roud. quite nwhile; .'ho had brought, a bag of oats for his- horse, jind had Ooluo up through the side, lane and taken Hie liberty to put' the animal in our burn to eat his oats, wink; he himself ran In to sec how wc all fared this inclement 'day, etc.,- etc. I 'slid he'll said. "Oh, well, 1 don't suppose preach about it next Sunday," I consolingly; but Dora "wouldn't cheer up very much. Still, it was very com fortable to have plenty of wood, and 1 felt grateful to the good man for instigating Uncle Jink to come to our assistance. Of all the 1105 days of that year the three hundred and sKty-fith'was the most dismal at Maple Knoll. It opened with a drizzling, soaking rain, much more depressing than the blizzard from which ifevoluted: the-'kind that dampens' jour spirits jit spite .of- all tht; philosophy yob. can bring to bear against It. .The sky was a diHinal'grny waste without a slit -of 'light. Aunt Laura had a racking neuralgia in her face.. Dora had been dreaming about charity and wood nil njght. . As -for me, 1 had a -little trouble of my own whiuh popped up just now more Tig gi'csshely than. ever. 1 ncveu had but one lover (I nccr wanted but one), u.u um' h;..is wins, i.iscum sing anq i and he-was a poor -young man who riitfiieu to ute .parior witn n very tor-, )0a B,u. t the frozen Alaskan re lorn hope of finding a. stray stick orKi011H with tllc. avowed ' intention of two left mer there, making a tire . miikln-' his fortune and cmulm- wn- and getting hint into the parlor while !to shmv it wUh ,IK. rebuilt! the old wc- finished tho dinner. .The. hopo died as I poked my head Into tho arc'tic des olation of our best room. It was. on the east side, wjtoro the' spiteful wind had been battering nt It all night, searching out a hundred crevices about windows and door to jiurl the fine! powdery snow through. There were, drifts, varying in size, on the pi- unji, on tno chairs, and it dainty white ' since, 1 hnd hoard .W....1....I .... ..II il 1 ...1. ' .1. . - jiMiiiviiiix mi iHi-r mo carpui, which couldn't helll belli house into a stately mansion and tnko care of Aunt Laura and Dora, which was quite -proper; for. you t-ee, f had been gathered into the family when 1 was left a small orphan, in Uncle Jojin's time, and he and Aunt Laura had not made an atom of difference between Uoni and me in their love and care. Hut now it liatl been so lohc trom ! rank I nfrniil liii l3nl the wind' had pulled in under tlu; door, frozen to death or been bitrled in a. ion couki iiiiriy leeutnn gnle wiilsk-1 miow slide, And .this dreadful rainy .," 'I'tju't your ears. There wasu'tj day 1 eouIuVt ever, have t'u &uthf;u tiori of going or sending to town for the mall, it there should possibly bo any news. Dora and I had an unwritten law that the more downcast wc felt tho jollier wc should force ourselves to be. To-day 1 think we degenerated Into silliness In our efforts to be cheer ful. Hut a lot of smaller troubles followed ench other so persistently such ns the refusal of the cook stovo to draw, the falling of the light bread in consequence, a slip In the mud On Dora's part, etc., etc. that when, to enp the cllmnx that evening, our be loved fireplace smoked sulkily nnd re lentlessly, we felt thnt wc might as well wind up the year by going to bed nt eight o'clock. When wc were nil snuggled down nnd the lights were out I eould have cried just out of low spirits, but I wouldn't. I knew Hod could sec far ther ahead than wc eould, and I put everything into His hands and went to sleep. I slept so soundly that I was greet ed the next morning by a savory, sagey scent of frying sausages com ing up the little back stairs before I fairly got back from the slumber world. Dora was down in the kitchen singing "Lightly How" over the bis cuits, and looking as fresh as a peach, with her rosy cheeks and clear gray eye. And the stove was drawing beaiitirully. And Aunt Laura came down without a speck of neuralgia and feeling as spry as a girl, to finish brenkfast, while Dora and I went forth to do the milking. And behold! tho sopping rain had turned into a love ly, soft snow in the night; not a bliz zardy snow like the one before tho rain, that blew in everywhere, but a gentle, fine, thick powder. It hnd stopped falling now, and the nlr felt crispy and bracing. Tho sun wasn't shining yet, but U'cre was a mellow look in the sky, as if it meant to pop out any minute. New Year's calling wns not much in vogue in our rural district; still, it was Aunt Laura's way to make a red-letter day of the opening one of the year, and always to be prepared for any stray caller who might chance tonppear. She had a cheerful fire in the parlor, a plen tiful supply of coffee and cake on hand, and we nil put on our pretty house dresses and prepared to be happj' whether anyone came or not. At half past nine a pleasant melody of sleigh bells jingled along, and the cutest little cutter stopped nt our gate, and here came Kcv. Cyrus Melton smil ing up the walk. Wc were mighty thankful for the contrast between this call and his last one; but such is the perversity of man. I imagined ho looked a little disappointed at not be ing ushered into the cooking regions again. Still, he smiled very good-naturedly, with those jolly brown c,es of his, as he fished something out of his pocket and handed it to me. "Mias Nettie," he said, "1 felt it in my bones thnt you couldn't get any mail up here on the hill all yesterday, and I dropped in nt tho post otlice as 1 came by this morning, and found you this." Maybe 1 didn't know what it was, even before 1 saw the handwriting on it, nnd perhaps 1 didn't fly to get it and scamper out to the big Mreplace and curl down beside it on 11 little wooden stool to read my letter al! alone. Frank ' hadn't made a fortune, lie wrote me, ' nnd he didn't know as we could have a big mansion' built, but he had dug ' enough gold to repair the old house and make us all comfortable, and he was on , his wny homo that blessed minute to metamorphose Maple Knoll into tho finest little farm in the county, take eareof aunt and Domain (incidentally) marry mo. When I got back to earth again Mr. Melton had taken Dora on" in his sleigh for a ride, so auntie and I had a little jollification of our own, and 1 forgot all about lunch time. Tt didn't matter, though, for when the sleighing couple came back they didn't seem to know much of anything. .1 fell on Dpra in the hall and told all about Frank's letter, and she hugged me black in tho face mid said she was tremendously pleased, but he woul.dn't have to take care of her, because that was going to bo attended to by lle,v. Cyrus, who was the dearest man in thoworld, but oraxy as a loon, because ho confessed that he had fallen more iii love with her. than ever tho day he .came mid-foetid her baking hoecake. In. the fireplace. . . Wo. celebrated that -night by having Jho biggest tiro of the season in the old fireplace, which behaved ' splendidly, and we sat up till 11.U kind, of hours, Aunt 1iufn. Horn nnd "I, with tio light but the mellow crimson nnd gpld bril liance -of. that big old black cavern, roasting 'nuts and- red npplos, talking about the new paths opening- before us, and telliirg each other how grateful and thankful we ought to be' for this happy opening day of the new year. llatiio Whitney, in Fanji nnd Fireside. A in-lent .t ron o 111 y. When Nineveh and l'nbyUin were in tho splendor of their might men in China wore predicting- eclipses, malc-i Ing catalogues and giving names to the stars. . JSut Nineveh and llabylon wore mere mounds of rubbish when China wns great, and to this date tho civilization and life of tho empire la" the wonder of'tjie work. i i o All Cone. Mahy a Christinas present is now a DWIGHT L. MOODY DEAD. "T Krntigcllftt IVIiom 1'iinie Hpchiiip World Wldn I'iimch A wny nt Knit Northllelil, Miihk. At Kiiiiniift City I.unt, East North Mold, Mass.,Dcc. 23. Dwlght L. Moody, tho famous cran gclist, died at noon yesterday. Tho cause of death was a gon cal breaking down duo to overwork. Mr. Moody's heart had been weak for 11 long tlmo nnd exertions put forth in connect ion with meetings in the vcst last month brought on u col lapse frpm which ho failed to rally. Tho evangelist broke down in Kau nas City, where ho was holding serv ices, about u month ago, und tho seriousness of his condition was so UDparent to the physicians who worn called to attend him that they forced him to abandon his tour and return to his home with nil possible speed. Mr. Moody first knew nt eight o'clock Thursday evening that he could not recover. Ho was satisfied that this was so, and when the knowledge came to him his words were: "Tho world is receding and heaven open ing." Hnnkfiy Orrutly AITnotnri. New ork, Deo. S.'k Ira D. Sankey. who for 27 years was associated with Mr. Moody, was greatly affected nt tho news: of his death. To a reporter last night Mr. Sankey told of his work with Mr. Moody from the time they first met, of their tour through En gland in 1ST.), and of their preaching and singing in tho United States. 'You may say," said Mr. Sankey, "that in the death of Mr. Moody, the world has lost ono of the greatest and noblest men of tho ago. I have labored with him (or tho last 27 years, traveling with him by land and sea, and a nobler, braver nnd wiser, soul I never kn-w. I can apply Prof. Henry Drumnioiid's remark of :i friend: 'D. L. M"ody was the great est human I ever mot.'" THE PROTEST NOT UPHELD. Secretary I lay .Suyn Tlmt Itnth ltrltlitli und lloitm .Muy rurrlumi Sniiilln In ttio United Stutiiri. Vi'nshington, Dec. 23. President Krugor's government has formally protested to Secretary Hay against I lie sale of munitions of war by Amer ican manufacturers and merchants to the Hritisli government Thirt protest was designed to prevent rho Hritisli government from obtaining much needed war supplies, but it has proved of no avail. Secretary Hay tins sent a reply to the Door govern ment, reiterating tho neutrality of the United States in tho present war, and declaring that American citizens in trading with both belligerents vio late no neutrality obligation. Tho authorities have information show ing that the Door government has purchased supplies in the United States, but the Hritisli government, appreciating the right of Americans to sell to both belligerents, lias sub mitted no complaint. friizv Mini Willi 11 llpvoUor. Chicago, Dee. 2'.. A madman armed with a revolver held undisputed pos session of the sidewalk at Twelfth and Wood streets for hair nn hour and wns only overcome and subdicd after ho had made two attempts at murder and fired point blank into 11 crowd of passing working girls. Jul ius Nunzelt. 00 years old, was the of fmder. lie tluew his cn r.-.to the street and tore his hair, uttering im precations on all who passed. ritKHlng of 1111 Olil Collet,-"'-Quincy, 111., Deo. 23 After a -10-yoars' existent-.;, marked with strug gles against formidable obstacles, Chaddock college, Of this city, will cease to exist as a college with tho close of the present collegiate yo-iv. The trustees say that tho college can not bo maintained without an endow ment, and there is no immediate pros pect for such support. The college and grounds- belong to tho Methodist I'piscopal church. Ailmlrer ir NIoiipwiiII liii'lmnn Api)'iit"I. rondon, Dec. 2.f. Tlie Dnily News sees immense significance in the fact that Lord Hoberts has appointed on his statV Lieut. Col. Henderson, author of .a. life of Hon. Stonewall Jackson, tlu;' confederate lenjrter, nhd.n man who has closely studied the history of tho American civil war, especially as-ho has' not served under' Lord Kobei'ts before and 'is but little knowii. to him personally. . . Ailojitlnu Amrf li-iin WnVK- Washington, Dee. 23. According to official advices, a bifnd oT counterfeit-" ers has started- operations -hi Cuba, but' to w'hat extent is not disclosed. The olllcials of tho government sue-, cccdcd in locating their plant 'nnd managed to secure a set of plates in tended for tho .nrintlno- of United States otu-ivncy of the (enominntions J of $5, !?l() and 20. ' I Soimi Doubt IVUtirul Authority. I . Washington, Dec. 23.-Tltb regula tion of t lie trusts under llot'h federal niuT state authority will bo reeom- montieii 111 tlio report of the iiuiustri:usv'ii eop'nniss'.on which probably will go y " to congress this season. There is not - entire ngTeement in the commission" thing of the pust-L. A. Y. HulJetln'. ns to ! powVr of the federal govern- I meni to reach the trusts. L&'