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About Harrison press-journal. (Harrison, Nebraska) 1899-1905 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 1, 1903)
9 r .-:-r Old JVtaid's Secret. rt ITTLE Miss Sophie was an old Ju maid, which means that she had passed 35 without either a serious courtship, an offer of marriage or the least Indication that ihe would ever experience either. Once, Indeed, when ihe w& -unite a child oaiy 114 there had been a young man, a very pious, well-mannered young clergyman, who but that seemed like a dream to Miss Sophie now. She might have doubted whether lie ever lived If he had not given her that little old Book of Com mon Prayer and the faded daguerreo type of himself in that little folding case In the corner of the "what not." He had been her one "possibility," re mote always, but now quite out of the question since be had married his cousin to plea so his father, and was now a fat bishop as well as the father of a large family. For four years now Miss Sophie had been "mothering" the two children of her dead sister. Uutl! Mattle grew old enough and strong enough to go to work Aunt Sophie had been hard put to It to make ends meet In the little household. She had sewed and mend ed, milked her own cow, tended her own chickens, cooked, scoured, and aved to keep Mattle and the boy, Har ry, decently at school. She had even found time to do some plain sewing for tho neighbors, and It was agreed on all Bides that Aunt Sophie hadn't "a lazy bone In her body." Matlle's wages as a "machine girl" In the but ton factory helped wonderfully In the Mm n SLI'POSM HE SHOULD.' mall household, but It made the old maid's beart bleed to see her set off for the shop every morning, and poor Harry, who was 10, looked very dis consolate loitering away to school without his sister. Mr. Klngsland, the button manufac turer, had leen very kind to Miss So phie and to Mattle. In fact, he had "made a place" for the child, and had gono out of his way to advance her la the works, with a corresponding In crease of pay. Hut he was a practical business man for all that, and the hours were long, the work bard and the the wages not ovur much. In little towns like Belleville everybody knows -everybody, and Mr. Klngsland had special reasons for knowing Aunt So phie. Her brother had worked In the factory, and It seemed quite fair and natural that he should bo kind to the orphans. But this kind of Interest hardly explained his first visit to the old maid's house, nor the repeated at tentions which he sliowed them. He was forever asking her advice about the treatment of the girls at work In bis factory, and Sunday seldom passed without a visit, long or short, from Mr. Klngsland. He was pleased to take tea with them, onco or twice, and he showed a fatherly regard for Mattle, such an amused friendship for little Harry, such a frank and generous desire to be kind to everyone, that little Miss So phie came to regard him as something less than a wealthy patron, something more than a mere acquaintance. There was no nonsense about him, and his presence in the house, though a cause of restraint at llrwt for both Mattle and ler brother, came to seem so natural that the cheerful little housekeeper al ways laid his plate for Sunday supper, and tho girl and her brother always dressed In their finest and smiled their sweetest when they knew he was com ing. Sometimes when the children were not present he would sit In tho ver anda with Miss Sophie and tell her old torles of his struggles for an educa tion and a living -au tinroniantlc story full of the prim realities of a poor boy's hopes and disappointments. lie bad never married, He had been too buy with Ihe harsher affair of lifo. "1 don't know that anyone would nave me,"' he would laugh. "I'm (50 years old, a plain old bear; now, don't you llillik so, Miss Sophie?" And she would reply with some trite old sophistry, as "Handsome Is as handsome does," or "Never too late to mend." Hut when he was gone, a lonesome giant trudging away to his furnlshi! room In tho hotel, she would It alone for hours after the children were gone t b"d and wonder If his visits. If his confidential manner and talk. If his extraordinary Interest In her nnd the little ones "meant any thing." And if so? "Suppose.' he would say, looking Into her little mirror nt her own round, cheerful, wholesome race, "supiHme he should' WbntV Ask you to marry liim. What would you say?" And she wohld suillu fl little doubt fully. n lt" Mionk her head, an J, put ting out the light, lay down to think It ail over. There was nothing partic ularly romantic about Miss Sophie. She was a demure, modest little soul, but, being a woman, she could not avoid pondering such a denouement for this persistent TTTendsbTp "of a man whom everybody admired and respect ed. It was in such terms that she thought of him. He was no hero In her eyes, for the little old maid didn't "go In" for heroes. She fancied that he would make a gentle, considerate, "safe" husband for any woman, and "He's like a father to the children already," she caught herself paying one night. And after that she thought of Klngsland In a new light. What an advantage It would be for Mattle and Harry to have a guardian, a protec tor, a father like that? Mattie, poor child, was not fitted for such bard work. The opportunities for a girl, or even for a boy, were so small In the small town. Then they were such pretty, imaginative, amiable children. She, Aunt Sophie, had already deter mined to devote her life to them. Why not complete her devotion to them by "marrying Klngsland?" Her reflections always came back to that. At last one night he called a little later than usual, while Mattio and Harry were at the concert. Miss So phie noticed that he was "dressed up," and she felt the fever of curiosity and fear come into her plump cheeks and bright eyes. She had let him Into the little parlor, and was about to light the lamp, but he stopped her with: "Don't mind the light, Miss Sophie. I Just want to say a few things. 1 feel more collected, easier. In the dark." The scared little spinster wondered If she might faint, but sat down in the far corner with a queer little sigh. He went on, speaking rapidly and very plianly: "I am thluklug of getting married, Miss Sophie. That Is, within the next year or so. Meanwhile I want to do something for you the children. I'd like to send Mattle to some good schooL No, no! She needn't know anything about it. And Harry I want Harry to keep on at school and take a course of manual training. It can be a secret between us between you and me. Will you agree to help me do this, Soph Miss Sophie?" "Oh. yes, Mr. Klngsland. It Is kind, so kind of you, but, but how are we to repay it will cost so much." "Never mind that now," he said. "I want Mattle for my wife " "Mattie!" she whispered, choking down a sob, wondering at her own composure. "Yes, Miss Sophie, Mattle. I haven't said a word to her. I mean to give her a little more education without her knowing, and then, if she will have me what's the matter, Miss Sophie?" For the poor little woman was weep ing. Hut she calmed herself directly and said: "But if she won't have you then?" "Oh, I'll think no less of her and and we'll keep this secret between us, Miss Sophie." Chicago Record-Herald. OVErt A WATERFALL. Author Made an Awful Trip, tut lame Out Alive. The author of "Twenty Years In the Near East" relates the story of a singu lar adventure which befell him while he was fishing In one of the rivers of Montenegro. The stpry recalls at once all those foolish and usually fatal at tempts to go over Niagara Falls In a barrel. The writer had followed up the stream for a mile or so when he came to a waterfall a- me forty or fifty feet In height. Seeking a place to cross, he went above the fall and decided to make the venture on some smooth, moss-grown stones a few feet above the fail. , The stream, he says, was twenty feet wide, perhaps, and I started cautiously, feeling my way along with the water Just over my toes. I was midway of the stream when a pebble shifted, my foot slipped, nnd the next moment I was down and plunging over the fall. 1 had not time to save myxelf or think more than that this was the end of life for me. I struck u stone with my foot and turned a complete somersault In the air, and then I knew nothing. After a while I recovered consciousness, and was amazed to llnd myself alive. I was lame In every Joint, but found myself able to walk and move my arms. I dis covered this much, and then I fainted. This happened two or three times, and each time the water revived me. Two peasant wometi enme along, and with their assistance I managed to get back to the hotel, where It was found that two of my ribs were broken, a wrist badly sprained, one arm splinter ed and my thigh terribly bruised. My watch. In n heavy, double hunting-case, was smashed to atoms, even the Jewels In the holes being punched out. Why I whs not killed outright by such a fall will always remain a mys tery. Cons ilcreil n llnrd. "Docs your Bachelors' Suicide Club offer do alternatives when It conies a man's turn to Utke his own life?" "Well a he ciiu get married." Philadelphia Bulletin. It la our opinion that a woman looks ridiculous nt nil times when she Is hurrying, except win u she Is hurry 'ng to get dinner. NAVAL DISCIPLINE. Laxity a DltitiouitiiiiK Characteris tic on Morocco's Maoof- War. The Sultan of Morocco is the posses sor of only one man-of-war, and the dis cipline aboard that vessel Is so lax as to be humorous to those who have vis ited the ship. Frances Macnab de scribes In her "Hide In Morocco" a visit to the Morocco navy. In the ubsence of the captain, she was received by the chief engineer aud another officer, prob ably a marine. They were both Ger mans, and entered thoroughly into the .lsurnor.of.iuO situation, The chief engineer had five Germans under him, and between them they kept the engine In an apparently high Btate of efficiency; but the crew, who were all Moors, changed every third day. They knew nothing at all about ships, nor would they learn. The pay Is excellent. They are three days on hoard and three days on shore, and they get their food on board and three pounds a month. Such a berth Is considered a suitable reward for any friend or relation of the Sultan. However much these "sailors" may differ among themselves, on one point they are agreed nothing will Induce them to obey an order. If they are or dered to do a tiling they dispute the or der Immediately, and argue that it would be much better not to do it. This spirit of disobedience Is no fault of theirs. Measures to enforce disci pline are forbidden by the Sultan; but the German officers can hale the crew before the governor of the town. When this Is resorted to the governor asks who the prisoner is. "Oh, he's the uncle of the Sultan's wife," la the reply; or, "He is the cousin of the Sultan's uncle." "Well, let the poor fellow go," says the pasha. "You shouldn't give him so much to do." And there the matter ends. On one occasion a little light occupa tion was found for one of the crew, to ivlilch. It was thought, he would not object. He was to hold the office of lamp-trimmer to the ship; but he did It so badly. In fact ro seldom made any attempt at touching the lamps at all, that the officer remonstrated. "Who are you, to tall; to me?" In quired the Moor. "Don't you know that I am the Sultan's cousin?" This dis posed effectually of further lamp-trlm-mlug. "It Is your work to clean the deck, and therefore you must do It," said the German officer to one of these Moorish seamen. "Why should I do It?" asked the Moor. "You are a German, and you come here for work. Do It yourself. I do not come here to work. I am the cousin of the Grand Vizier." HER OLDEST FRI-ND. Agci Woman Charmingly Telia of a Great Joke on Herself. The writer known as "Mrs. Grant of Laggan" was, at the beginning of the nineteenth century, one of the idols of literary society, both In London and Edinburgh. She died in 1834, In her eighty-fourth year, a dear old lady who made no pretensions to being younger than she was. She had a sweet spirit and a delightful sense of humor, never more charmingly Illustrated than in her, uccouut of her last appearance at a large public gathering at a flower-show in a public hall. I had no bonnet, she says, but a very respectable cap; and as I walked in, from my sedan chair I was surprised to see another lady with exactly such crutches and precisely such a shawl as my own. I looked with much Interest at my fellow cripple, and this Interest she seemed to reciprocate. She took her place lu another nave equally large and splendid, hut so open that I had a full view of It. Amid all ihe flush of bloom before me I often withdrew my attention to regard this, withered flower with still Increasing interest, the more so that every time I turned to look her eyes met mine, and at length, I thought, with a familiar expression. At last I remarked It to those about me, and said I thought she would like to be Introduced to me when the show was over. Her figure was as ample as my own, but I comforted my self with the reflection that I had a better face, hers being almost ugly. I rose nt length, and so did she, but I saw her no more. There was no such room and no lady. Large folding doors of looking-glass and my own figure had deceived me. This could scarcely have happened had I been familiar with my own coun tenance, but I have actually not looked In a mirror for more than two years. H'lijhf IHfl'ereiioc. Tom Edison was at -nc time a tramp Ing telegrapher. After he had attaint d success as an Inventor be on one oc casion called upon a friend of his who was a doctor and expressed consider able feeling because he had not re ceived tin invitation to attend a ban quet In honor of visiting physicians. "But," faltered the doctor, "this Is a banquet for medical men, and you certainly do not claim to be a member of that organization?" "Well," unswered Mr. Edison, seri ously, "I myself was a dispatcher at one lime." "Ah, V understand now," said the doctor, catching the humor of his vis itor, "but these men are patchers." Detroit Free Press. Cou'a of Mail lor KiiKllolnncri. The London Tailor and Cutter makes the extraordinary statement that there are some men who always include a coat of mall In their wardrobe nnd some of the west end tailoring estab lishments iminufncPjre them regularly for their customers. What do you do with the tin cans at our hotrM? FRONTIER RIDERS. THEY PUT DOWN SMUGGLING AND SMUGGLERS. Pursuit of Lawbreakers Often At tended with Great Hanger Mexico and the United Htatea Unite to 1'un iah 8mulera and Cattle 1 hievea. Opportunity has much to do with smuggling. There Is no doubt that ihotisands"Tj"fpeopro' "who would ordi narily resent with deepest Indignation the Insinuation that they are thieves, are nothing more nor less when it comes to dealings with Uncle Sam. It has been Mid tint the traveler return ing from Kurope who declares every- MIXKA.N tnUW'H AT TIA JUA.NA. thing dutiable which he has in his possession, either in his trunks or on his person, la the exception rather than the rule. There seems to be a sort of fascination In smuggling which tempts people wtien everything else falls. It has Just enough of danger about It to lend It zest and, If It is successful, to give the occasional ALONG THIS smuggler something to boast about amoug his friends for many moons. Yet the smuggler Is no less a swindler than the person who forges the name of another, and Ib no less a thief than the man who breaks Into your house at night The United States statutes defines smuggling as Intent to defraud, and fixes severe penalties. The smug gler may be assessed a fine of $.",000, or imprisoned not more than two years, or both; the goods lie tries to enter may bo confiscated; the vessel they are brought In, If they come by water, may be seized and sold. If It lIOIlUEri CUSTOM HOI HE. can be proven that the owner or cap lain knows of or is party to the offense; any conveyance lu which goods are fraudulently brought In by land may be seized, unless It Is a common carrier nnd It can be proven that Its owner or operator knew nothing of the offense; tin' masters or owners of vessels may lie lined If they hinder or obstruct the customs officers in any way In the search for suspected goods. Customs officers are clothed with very large powers. They may board and search without warrant any vessel ly ing In port, and may search all trunks, boxes, baggage, papers, envelopes, all eoncyanees and means of transport, "lores, warehouses and other buildings In which there Is any reason to believe dutiable property Is stored. They may even Inspect the bcoks mid accounts of merchants who are under suspicion of receiving smuggled goods. The pro ceeds of the property discovered, enn? deiiiiied and sold, go part to the govern ment and part to the principal customs illlcers of the district, and part to the lifoitner. If he happens to be n person mtsldu the government service, The southwestern nnd northwestern orders of the Uulted States are good l"ld for tho professional smuggler. I 'i "Hi Ilia north Chlnsiiien are helped V , ,: . . i ' Into the United States, in addition to many articles of Canadian mauufaC' ture, besides large amounts of opium. From the south many Mexican products are smuggled in, with such Jewels as opals and pearls. It Is to the men who, with the rustlers, that run huge droves of cattle across the border, Infest the Mexican frontier, that this article re lates. A Double Patrol. Along the boundary line between the United States California and the Cal Ifornia of Mexico rides day and night a double patrol, the one In the employ of the United States and the other in the pay of the Mexican government. These riders are picturesque, Individ ually and severally, hardy, skilled in horsemanship, marvelous in the accu racy of their marksmanship, experts with the lasso, iuured to hardship and danger, fearless and often reckless in their daring, a claws unto themselves a class interesting to meet and study. The duties of these riders are to pro tect their respective governments from imposition at the hands of that class of unscrupulous men known as smugglers, and to prevent cattle thieves from run ning their ill-gotten plunder across the border. From the coast to the Colorado desert, along the boundary line between the two nations, the country is rough in the extreme and very arid. It is a region sparsely settled, and some of the tough est characters of both nations hover ii the locality for the double purpose of breaking the laws of the country and of thwarting the officers who may un dertnke their arrest by dodging across the line, one way or another. It Is this lawless element with which the border riders have to do. Some of MEXICAN BOKDEK. these lawbreakers are tame persons, too cowardly to make trouble for the riders If caught In their petty smug gling of cigars, curios, small articles of manufacture and the like, but those who play for big stakes and engage in the smuggling of Jewels and costly goods in large quantities, braving se vere penalties, and the "rustlers," as the cattle thieves are termed these men are dangerous customers, and the riders take their lives In their hands when they Interfere with their under takings. The seats of customs for the two countries at the coast end of the line are at TIa Junna. There are two TIa .luanas. The American town, if town it may be called, Is at the terminal of tho National City and Otay railway. Just ut the boundary line. The Mexican Tin Juana Is a couple of miles away. This latter town consists of the Mexi can custom house, a long, low, one story wooden building, containing an office about sixteen feet square, fur nished with a table, a desk, two or three chairs and a gun rack with a iloz en stand of arms therein, a consultation room or private office, and a long hack room with bunks for the accommoda tion of the riders when off duty; then there Is the little one-story shack which serves as the home of the customs ulli cor who is none other than Lieutenant Governor Tcrrazax, of Lower Califor nia; there are the old adobe church, built nearly lot) years ago by the Jesuit priests, three or four little stores aim shops and half a dozen dwellings this Is the Mexican TIa Juana. The Amer ican town of t lint name is even smaller, the little box used as a custom house, one or two dwellings and the depot of the narrow gauge railroad being all the buildings the town boasts. Bight here let me say that the Lieu tenant Governor of Lower California Is an Important personage In the eyes of the people and lu his own. Before he will consent to talk with you through tin Interpreter, If you do n it speak Span ish you must remove your hat, be the meeting Indoors or out. It Is an homage which his exalted position entitles hlui to, according to the custom of his coun try, and he does not Intend that the of fice shall lose prestige during his In cumbency, The riders have some strange experi ences and not a few thrilling ones. Not long ngo n Mexican rider was passing through lonely canyon In the night time. Suddenly, without a single warn ing to Indicate the presence of an en emy, there dropped over his shoulders a cord, which was swiftly drawn tight,' and then he found himself flying through the air. ne had been lassoed, in the midst of darkness almost equal! to that of the tomb. He dropped toj the earth with a thud that paralyzed his senses for a moment, and when hj regained them he was bound hand and,) foot. lieside him stood his horse he) could tell by Its breathing and an occa-J sional neigh, but there was no sign of i the presence ot any other living being.-. The man lay there a time which' seemed like eternity, but which prob ably was not over two or three hours;, then he felt a hand laid upon him, a knife severed his bonds, there was a swift rustle as of some one hasteningj away, aud he was again alone. He arose and walked about a bit to take, the stiffness from his body, and theaj he mounted his horse and rode back to the end of his beat and notified the rider on the other beat of what had happened. Word was thus passed from beat to, beat till it reached headquarters, and' at daylight a posse was on hand to in vestigate. They found the trail, a' couple of miles further on, of a drove of cattle where they had crossed the bor-, der. Later there came one with a story of having been robbed of his stock. Ef forts were made to trace the cattle and the thieves, but they were never dis covered. Word came to the American custom house one day that certain parties were making heavy purchases of Mexican opals, and that the presumption waa that they were for export to the United; States. A very careful description of, the parties making the purchase waa appended to the report and the officers began watching for the appearance of the persons described. 1 One day individuals answering per-j fectly to the description entered the custom house and stated that theyi wished to pay duty on certain purchases' which they had made. They presented a quantity of opals and the duty wa appraised and duly paid. So far so good, but the amount of gems presented for; inspection was less than one-teiith of the purchase which had been reported,! When asked if those were all the gem' or dutiable goods they possessed they replied that It was. ( "We will have to search you and your, effects," said the customs officer, and. he proceeded to do so, but nothing fur ther was found. He was puzzled and unsatisfied, but there was nothing to do but to pass the parties. That night thai explanation was forthcoming. Threa Mexicans whose reputations for law-! less daring were widespread undertook! to put through the bulk of the jewels.; Notwithstanding their shrewdness and' experience in that line of work they! chanced to run Into two of the riders that night When halted they replied1 with their guns. One of the riders went! down with a bullet through his lung. IIIb companion, however, was good oa the gun play, and he soon put two of. the Mexicans hors du combat, and the! third, under his aim, threw up his hands and surrendered. The opals were found in their possession and were confiscated by the government. The duty on the lot would have amounted to nearly 5,000. Despite all precautions a great many goods get over the line duty free. Fancy articles, Mexican drawn work, and the like, made extensively south of the bor der, have a way of appearing mysteri ously In the shops of .the American towns. Living Is Cheaper Abroad. What charm, one asks onself in won. der, makes people remain for lon years wandering flresideless from Cairo to Cornhill? It cannot be tha climate, for our own is ouite an vnmi Historical associations, we are assured. compensate many of those people for the absence of kith and kin. Experi ence, however, has taueht me thnt thn majority of them are as splendidly ln- (lillerent to his orv and art inn fnr the matter of that, unless It Is annlle to the decoration of the human form- US they are to the Itosetta Stone. The families that one finds residing iu Italy, for Instance, long since aban doned such foolishness as slghseelug, writes Eliot Gregory In the Century. That useless fatigue is left to tie new comers; the habitues I have met no more dream of visiting the Vatican gal leries or of reading In the library of Iiorenzo the Magnificent than they do of settling down seriously to study Italian. One hears, especially In the less ex pensive little cities, some twnddl about culture; but you may take my word for It In nine cases out of tea t lie "etil attraction of the place lies in the fact that a victoria can be had for $,i0 a month and a good cook for one-tenth that sum. A Cultinj Iletort. ' A richly deserved retort was that made by a Sioux girl at the Hampton 'nstltution not long since. A silly vis itor to tho school went up to the magnificent red skinned belle and said: "Are you civilized?" The Sioux raised her bend slowly from her work sho win fashioning a breadboard nt the moment nnd replied: "No; arc you?" I'lun for N il oi'l T.'ieMcr. A ltrcslau Journal announces that Gerliart IloiMptiianri has a plan for building n national theater n la Ital reitth nt Schrlelicrliau, lu the Glnnt Mountains, where every summer nlKiut fifteen or twenty performances of er tnnn plays could be given. The avernge man gets very good cooking until he becomes so rich that his wife can afford to hire the cooking done. Homo men would Just aboot aa soon receive a whipping as an vatic.
