4l fi _ '
It Is better to collect your thoughts
than to borrow other people’s.
Bother flmyi Sweet rtwitofi for Children.
Successfully used by Mother Gray, nurso
lu the Children's Home in New York, cure
Constipation, Feverishness, Bad Stomach,
Teething Disorders, more and regulate the
Bowelsaud Destroy Worms. Over30.000 tea- ■
tlmonials At all Druggists 36c. Sample
FREE. Address A. S. Olmsted, LeRoy.N. Y. ,
Some men are so easy going that j
after awhile they cease to go at all.
Miss Alice Bailey, of
Atlanta, Ga., escaped the sur
geon’s knife, by using Lydia E.
Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound.
“ Deab Mrs. Pixkiiam: — I wish to
express my gratitude for the restored
health and happiness Lydia E. Pink
ham’s Vegetable Compound has
brought into my life.
“ I had suffered for three years with
terrible pains at the time of menstrua
tion. and did not know what the trouble
was until the doctor pronounced it in
flammation of the ovaries, and
proposed an operation.
“ I felt so weak an 1 sick that I felt
sure that I ooukl not survive the ordeal,
and so I told him that I would not un
dergo it. The following week I read
an advertisement in the paper of your
Vegetable Compound in such an emer
gency, and so I decided to try it. Great
was my joy to Arid that I actually im
proved after taking two bottles, so I
kept taking it f or ten weeks, and at the
end of that time I was cured. I had
gained eighteen pounds and waa in
excellent health, and am now.
“ You surely deserve great success,
and you have my very be t wishes.” —
Miss' Alice Bailey. 50 North Boule
vard, Atlanta, Ga. —£5000 forfeit If original
of above letter proving genuineness cannot be pro
duced.
All sick women would bo wise
if they would take Lydia E. Pink
linm’s Vegetable Compound ami
bo well.
i :
'•/ I
Millions of U.M.C. Shot Shells I
are sold each year. They are ■
made in the largest cartridge I
factory in the world. 0
TkeUNIQN METALLIC CARTRIDGE GO. I
BRIDQtPORT, COMM. 1
Your demitr I
j tells llu m. Catalog tent I
AxiSm —"—‘I
Klpan* Tabula* are the best djn
popala medicine ever made. A
| hundred mtlll.ma or them have
| been sold In tbe United Htatea In
s single gear. Constipation, heart
burn, sick headache, amines*, bad
breath, sore throat, and every til*
nesa arising (rout a disordered
stomach are relieved or cured by Rtpam Tubule*.
One will jeusrally give relief within twenty min
utes. The llve-ceut package la enougb for ordinary
•session*. All druggist* sell them.
When Anaworlng Advertisement*
Kindly Mention This P*Dtr.
The Rev. Ekai Kawaguchi.
The Rev. Kkai Kakaguch'-, whose
narrative of personal adventure In
Tibet. "The Latest News from Lhasa,"
wdi be one of the more important ar
ticles in the January Century, is a
priest of the Zen Beet of Buddhists,
now thirty- eight years of age. He
was born in Sakai, near Osaka, stud
ied at the Temple of the Five Hun
dred Kakan in Tokio, and prosecuted
his Sankrit studies under the Rev.
Bunyu Nanjio of the Imperial Univer
sity. He entered the priesthood at
the age of twenty-five and was attach
ed to the Obkau Temple at Uji. After
seven years in holy orders he started
on his journey to Tibet, his sole ob
ject, as he explains in his narrative,
to complete his studies of Buddhism.
He declares also his intention of re
visiting Nepal during 1904, to secure
more collections of BuSdhist scrip
tures in Sanskrit a.‘d also the Tibetan
edition of the Tripitaka.
The man who would retain his
friends should not fail to remember
that there are a great many things
ho should forget.
$36.00 per M. Lewis' "Single Bindor,”
straight 5e cigar, costs more than other
breads, but this price gives the dealers fair
profit — and the smoker a better cigar.
Lewis’ Factory, Peoria, 111.
It takes a lot of cold cash to melt
a marble heart.
When you attempt to strike a
match in the dark the head is always
on the other end.
Superior quality and extra quantity
must win. Thi3 is why Defiance
Starch is taking the place of all
others.
A Remarkable Family Likeness.
A curious example of family like
ness has been noticed at Amsterdam,
where an interpreter persisted in rec
ognizing an English guest who arriv
ed at a certain hotel. It seemeu, how
ever, impossible that the Englishman
could bo known to the native. The
latter shortly afterward accompanied
the visitor to the state museum,
where Pineman's picture of the battle
of Waterloo ia shown and there he
perceived the cause of his mistake.
General Lord Uxbridge, who is repre
sented in the painting, was exactly
like the English gentleman who final
ly proved to be his lordship's grand
con.
State Farmer’s Mutual Insurance
Co., of S. Omaha, Nebr., is one of the
most successful farm insurance com
panies in the West. Organized 1895,
has J20.000.000 insurance in force. Is
sues a perpetual policy that doc3 not
expire just before a fire. Annual meet
ing Jan. 12, 1904. We want live Agts.
B. R. STOUFFEK, Sec'y.
T. B. HOLMAN, Pres.
Mary Johnston's Pirates in England
Among all the novelists who have
written of pirate ships and their
bloodthirsty commanders, it remains
for a young American novelist. Miss
Mary Johnston, to be singled out by
the London Sphere, in its latest Issue,
tor mention in connection with a
double-page pirate picture. “Among
recent novelists,” says the Sphere,
"Miss Mary Johnston has drawn some
very vivid pictures of life on a pirate
ve3sel," and forthwith reproduces an
extra from “To Have and to Hold,"
which, by the way, was published in
England by the title “By Order of the
Company.”
To Cure a Cold in One day.
Take Laxative Bromo Quinine Tablets. All
druggists refund money if it fails to cure. 25c.
It's the worker who succeeds in life
—not the fellow who is worked.
Yes. Alonzo, by all means marry a
girl who can swim; she will realize
the importance of keeping her mouth
shut.
Perfectly simple and simply perfect
Is dyeing with PUTNAM FADLESS
DYES.
The people who are always looking
for bargains seldom get rich as quick
ly as those who offer them.
Take care of your enemies, and
your friends will take care of them
selves.
DO YOCU CLOTHES LOOK YELLOW*
If so, use Red Cross Bail Blue, it will n-uko
them white as snow. 2 os. package 5 cents
The claims to wisdom of owl3 and
a multitude of men rest upon their
looks and nothing more.
To the housewife who has not yet
become acquainted with the new
things of everyday use in the market
and who is reasonably satisfied with
the old. we would suggest that a trial
of Defiance Cold Water Starch he
made at once. Not alone because i*
13 guaranteed by the manufacturers
to be superior to any other brand,
but because each 10c package con
tains 16 ozs., while all the other kinds
contain but 12 ozs. It Is safe to say
that the lady who once uses Defiance
Starch, will use no other. Quality
and quantity must win.
A Sign of O'd London.
One of the signs pictured in .Tulian
King Colford's “The Signs of Old Lon
don" In the January St. Nicholas has
peculiar interest for all Americans.
What is called “The Crown and Three
Sugar Loaves” was the sign of the his
toric house which exported to America
the celebrated chests of tea that went
into Boston Harbor in December, 177?.,
the first over act of rebellion in the
Revolution. White the contest gave
America her independence and set
aside the rule of George III., it did not
overthrow the business of the oldest
tea house iu Great Britain. The busi
ness is carried on today in the same
old place as in Revolutionary times.
Its sign—the sign of "The Crown and
Three Sugar Loaves”—has survived
the tress of age and storm and fire.
The Great Fire of London swept
within half a block of the shop, but
the old sign Itself reigns today.
I- j
As does the child come into life—
So cometh the bright New Year,
'Tis born a simple untold birth
With joy, good will, and cheer.
The Old Year sighs—ne'er bids adieu
As he turns his last worn page,
His work Is done—His life is o'er—
Alas, one year of age.
How many hearts are sad. forlorn—
How many prayers are said—
“May the New Year take from us our
grief
To give us joy instead."
We know not what the young babe holds
For us—we cannot see.
We only greet with open arms—
The Youngster—19'3.
—Jewett Clarke.
SHUCKEY
CHRISTMAS was
never celebrated
to any great ex
tent in the south
back in the good
old days ‘befor
de wah.” New
Year’s day took
its place among
the masters, and
the prolonged,
rollicking “co'n
shuckin’ ” sup
plied the slaves
of Kentucky and
Missouri espe
cially with all
me joimy
desired. It was an Institution peculiar
to the South, peculiar not in being con
fined to those sections, but peculiar in
the manner in which it was con
ducted. For husking bees have been
known in New England since the
mind of man remembers and Indian
corn has been gathered.
When a "co'n shuckin’ ” was decided
upon notices were sent out to the
slaves of ail adjoining plantations stat
ing that on a certain night Judge S.
or Squire It. would give a corn shuck
ing of so many thousand bushels, and
that all colored people, male and fe- 1
male, were invited to attend. Great j
preparations were made by “ole j
massa” and “ole missus” for this j
event, for, while he expected a good
night's work in the shape of wagon
loads of yellow corn, pleasure was to
be the main part of the program.
Supper was always provided on a
large scale, and generally consisted of
two or three roasted pigs, turkeys,
chickens, with side dishes of vegeta
bles in equal proportion. Bushels of
sweet potatoes were baked, boiled and
fried, and hundreds of rich golden
pumpkin pies were turned out of the
ovens, done to a mouth-watering
brown.
A band of musicians was engaged,
for no "co'n shucsin’ ” would be com
plete without it. On those nights
negroes worked not happily save to
the twangling of the banjo and wail
ing of the fiddle.
A corn shucking always lasted three
nights continuously on one plantation,
and then the negroes moved on to the
next, where three more were devoted
to the corn of the owner, and so on
until all the maize of the neighbor
hood had been husked.
About twilight the darkles began to
arrive from all over the country. The j
"boys” clad in their suits of jeans, !
with that pride of the darky’s tieart, j
his “long-tailed, claw-hammer blue.” |
Every negro who made pretensions to '
being “anybody" possessed one—in
more or less conditions of wear.
The female portion of the gathering
was coquettishly dressed in linsey 1
woolsey frocks, with their heads tied
up In flaming red bandanna handker
chiefs—the tedder the better—and
with a white handkerchief crossed
upon their breasts.
They came in groups, and each par
ty of huskers from a neighboring plan
tation was announced long before it
arrived by the well-known tunes pre
valent in those days floating down the
road and over the fields as the happy
boys and women hastened to the gath
ering. A favorite tune was this:
Yes, wa'i gwlne to de shuckin'.
Yes. ws's *wlne to de slackin',
Wes gwlne to de shuckin’ of de eo'n.
An' we'll be dar In de mo'nln',
An' we'll be dar In de mo'nln'.
We ll be dar In de mo'nln', shuah as yo's
bo'n.
As soon as the darkles were all as
sembled the oldest slave present went
to "ole massa” and begged a piece of
silver money. This was always ex
ye^'d, and a plantation owner would
/ soon have thought of having a
•'..luckin'” without corn as to be un
prepared to produce the bit of silver
on the first evening.
Taking thia piece of silver, the an
cient darky scturned to the field and
there performed a ceremony, the exact
meaning of which has not come down
to us. Whetting his jack knite upon
the silver, he solemnly pronounced an
invocation for a bountiful crop of corn
the following year. And it is doubtful
if the "ole massa” would have been
any more willing to allow the husking
to proceed without this kindly prayer
than would his white-haired servitor,
who by its means thus once a year
stood in the attitude of high priest to
the family he served.
After the preliminary prayer the ”12
wise men” were chosen, and their
first duty was to select two of the
brawniest negroes in the company,
who, when called out, with much pride
at their distinction, indulged In a good
humored contest of strength, which
was known as “rasslln’ fo’ de Capt'in.”
The victor became the master of cere
monies and upon him devolved the
duty of seeing that no one shirked in
work or entertainment.
The matter of the Captaincy being
decided, the 12 wise men chose four
big fellows, who formed a "pack sad
dle” by crossing their hands, the Cap
tain was elevated upon n and carried
half a dozen times around the heaps
of corn while the darkles sang this
melody or something akin to it:
When our day's nm done
Don't we darkles hab a time;
When our day's am done
Don't we darkles cut a shine?
f
Dark to our cabin we will go,
Hack in tlic early mo'n:
Put we'll be here m de eb'nin’
To do de shuckin’ of de co'n.
Thun the corn shucking proper be
gan. Stacks of fuel had been placed
at intervals of a few yards near the
corn, and after they had oeen lighted,
under the supervision of the “12 wise
men,” the fun began. As the corn was
husked it was thrown into piles and
would be hauled away In the morning.
Twelve workers were selected for
each heap of unhusked corn, and, as
back in New England, the “red ear”
was eagerly sought for, but with a dif
ferent purpose. When a man got it
he shied it at a big nigger's head, and
if he hit the mark tuo unfortunate dar
ky would not “marry for 10 years.” If
by shrewd dodging he missed it his
happiness would be crowned within
the year. If a dusky belle secured a
red ear she had the option of choosing
a sweetheart from any of the darkies
around the corn pile.
When 12 o’clock struck all hands
dropped their work and uurried to the
grove which always surrounded the
old plantation home. On such occa
sions it was always decorated with
lights, perhaps not equal to a carni
val. but still rendering It very pic
turesque. Reverlry and abandon fol
lowed to the enlivening darky melo
dies upon the fiddle, the banjo, the
hones, the “massa and missus.“ by
their presence, keeping the gaiety
within bounds. But* this did not hin
•der the music from being wafted on
the air across the fields a.ul through
the woods to neighboring plantations.
After supper a chaplain was se
lected, who solemnly pronounced a
parting benediction upon “ole massa
and missus." And while wending their
homeward way some such strains as
these came floating back to the now
silent home:
Down in dat co'n fiel*.
Heah dat mo'nful soon*:
Dem darkiiv, ain a-weepln’,
Fo' massa's in de col' col1 groun’.
The Day for Resolutions.
The first day of the new year. What
an hour for resolutions; what a mo
ment for prayer! If you have sins in
your bosom, cast them behind you
now. In the last year God has blessed
us; blessed us all. On some his angels
waited, robed in white, and brought
new joys; here a wife to bind men
closer yet to Providence; and here a
child, a new Messiah, sent to tell of
innocence and heaven. To some his
angels came clad In dark livery, veil
ing a joyful countenance with unpro
pitious wings, and bore away child,
father, sister, wife or friend. Still
they were angels of good Providence,
all God’s own; and he who looks
aright finds they also brought a bless
ing, but concealed and left it, though
they spoke no word of joy. One day
our weeping brother shall find that
gift and wear it as a diamond on his
breast.—Exchange.
LTLL knee-deep lies the
winter snow.
And the winter
winds are weari
ly sighing:
Toll ye the church
bell sad and slow.
And tread softly and
speak low.
For the old year lies
WI'lWrTO’H a-dylng.
Old year, you must not die;
You came to us so readily.
Old year, you shall not die.
He lieth still; he doth not move;
Ho will not see the dawn of day.
He hath no other life above.
He gave me a friend and a true true
love, ,
And the Now-year will take ’em away.
Old year, you must not go;
So long as you have been with us.
Such joy as you have seen with us,
Old year, you shall not go.
He frothed his bumpers to the brim;
A Jollier year we shall not see.
But, though his eyes are waxing dim,
And though his foes speak ill of him,
He was a friend to me.
Old year, you shall not die;
We did so laugh and cry with you,
I've half a mind to die with you.
Old year. If you must die.
He was full of joke and jest.
Hut ill Ills merry quips are o'er.
To see him die, across the waste
Ills son and heir doth ride post-haste.
Hut he'll he dead before.
Every one for his own.
The night is starry and cold, my friend.
And the New-year, blithe and bold, my
friend.
Comes up to take his own.
How hard he breathes! over the snow
I heard just now the crowing cock.
The shadows flicker to and fro;
The cricket chirps; the light burns low;
'Tis nearly twelve o'clock.
Shake hands, before you die.
Old year,*we'H dearly rue for you;
What is it we can do for you?
Speak out before you die.
IIis face is growing sharp and thin.
Alack! our friend is gone.
Close up his eyes; tie up his chin;
Step from the corpse, and let him in
That standeth there alone,
And waiteth at the door.
There's a new foot on the floor, my
friend,
And a new face at the door, my friend.
A new face at the door.
Some New Year's Lore.
New Year's Day has been celebrat
ed ceremoniously ever since the days
of the classic Romans. January is
named for the old Roman god, who
was supposed to have two faces—
one that looked forward and the other
that looked back. The face that looked
back looked at the receding years,
while the other looked at the new one
just begun.
Many old proverbs exist regarding
this season of the year. Among them
are:
"If the grass grows in January
It grows the worse for all the year.”
"A January spring is worth nothing.”
“Under water dearth, under snow
bread.”
“March in January, January in
March.”
"If January calends be summerly gay
'Twill be January weather till calends
of May."
Sitting up till midnight to see the
new year in is the custom of many
countries. Good resolutions were reg
istered most solemnly at this hour
among the people of olden times, who
observed this custom most strictly.
After the serious moment had passed
tnere was a great shaking of hands
and drinking healths of the favorite
old beverage called wassail. Wassail
was a strong drink of many spices,
several kinds of wines, fruits and
eggs.
First Exchange of Gifts.
One of the most prominent customs
of New Year's anil one concerning
which history has much to say is that
oi giving many and costly presents.
As a gift giving festival it seems to
have outrivaled Christmas in the old
times. For a long time in England it
was customary to give gloves or
glove money on new Year’s day. The
uniformity of this scheme seems
strange. But in those days gloves
were rather expensive and had to be
made entirely by hand. They were
also quite a necessary part of one's
apparel. Hence the general custom.
_'• '
There Is more Catarrh In thla section of the country
than all other diseases put together, and uut'i i\.i
last few years was supposed to he Incurable. For $
great many year* dwton pronounced It a local dis
ease and prescribed local remedies, and by constant •
falling to cure with local treatment, pronounce.I .t
Incurable. Science has nro\ en catarrh to be a c in
stitutional d sense aud therefore requires cocstUu
j’1lo“»l treatment. Hull's Catarrh Cure, manufactured
by r J. Cheney A Co.. Toledo, Ohio, Is theouly con
stitutional cure on the market. It Is ta'^en Internally
in doses from id drop* to a teaspoooful. It acta di
rect.y on the blood and mucous surfaces of the
system. They offer one hundred dollars for any ca*o
It rails to cure. Send for circulars and testimonials.
u . K- *• CHENEY A CO.. Toledo. O.
Hold by Druggists 75c.
Hall's Family IMIla arc the best.
Where Bananas Come From.
Of the $1,036,172 worth of bananas
which came into New York city
within the last year. 2.802.000 bunches
were from the British West Indies, ^
1.152.000 bunches from Costa Rica.
877.000 from Colombia and 355 from
Cuba. They pay no duty.
Mrs. Winslow'* »oor?n»ig ISyrnp.
For children leethlug. »oflcu» Hid gum*. reduce* *».
Camumilcu, all*y» p&m. cure* wiixt colic. in. » boiti*.
A big heart, usually goes with a big
body, but a big head rarely does.
Real Glass House Now Built.
Glass houses of a very substantial
kind can now be built. Silesian glass
makers are turning out glass bricks
for all sorts of building purposes.
A Rare Good Thing.
“Am using ALLEN'S FOOT-EASE, ami
can truly say 1 would not have been without
it so long, had I known the relief it would
give my aching feet. I think it a rare good
thing for anyone having sore or tired feet
Mrs. Matilda Holtwert, Providence. It I.’’
Sold by oil Druggists, 25e. Ask to-day.
Greenland Is Thawing Out.
The Ice in Greenland 13 mel'i-.g
more rapidly than it is formed. Con
parisons of the descriptions of the
Jaccbshaven glaelor shows that its
edge has reached eight miles since
1850, and it has lost twenty Ij thirty
feet in depth.
No (hromos Oi cheap premium®,
hut a belter quality and one-third
more of Defiance Starch for tlio same
price cf othi r starches. y
The world suspects that a man is in
love before he knows it himself.
Otto cf the curious things about a
man who wants to borrow money
from you today la his eager deter
mination to repay it tomorrow.
A Texas preacher says that sm >
newspaper men’s only chance cf ga
ting into heaven is on a press tic t . i
Clear white ctota<-s arc a si^n that tl i
housekeeper :-es lied Cross Bali BIuu
Large ~ oz. package, 5 cents.
Oldest Librarian in England.
Dolucana Lothrop Bingham, who
has had charge ot the public library
at Manchester-By-tIn-Sea for more
than twenty years, has just colctrat
ed his 83ih birthday. lie is said to
1)0 the oldest librarian in New Eng
land.
Ido notbellovn lUro’s ("ere tor consumption
has an equal tor coughs and colds.—John J»'
Dotes, Trinity Spring’s, lad., Feb. .0. UKjO.
It is easy to induce a friend to
laugh at your jokes, but he doesn't
always do It in a satisfactory man
ner.
Good Things to Sell.
James Stillman, president of the Na
tional City bank of New York, is a
man of few words, but he makes those
few count. A famous tip that he is
said to have given a friend two
months ago has leaked out in Wall
street. The friend in question wrote
to him. askinjj him for advice concern
ing the market. He had §500,00 and
wanted to make it a million. Hera is
the reply of Mr. Stillman, written in
lead pencil on a sheet of paper I:
“Palo ponies, steam yachts and New
port villas are the best short sales l:i
the world.”
After having traveled hundreds cf
miles to wed Charles F. Bateman, a
railroad yardmaster of Butte, Mont..
Edna Armstrong, 24 years old. organ
ist of the O’Bryanville Methodist
church, in a Cincinnati suburb, has re
turned to her parents’ home. She dis
covered the true state of her feeling!
soon after she boarded a train with
har admirer, and she burst into tear:
before the city limits of Cincinnati
were passed. But. she kept on travel
ing, though she cried all the way to
Chicago, where she and Bateman
were to wed. Then Detroit was de
cided upon as the scene of their wed
ding. "But. when we got there.” says
Miss Armstrong, “Charlie was so d: .
couraged at the way I had acted that
lie bought me a ticket and sent n:a
back home.’
Mr. Grover's Case.
Frcderika, la., Dec. 28.—Mr. A. f!.
Grover Is now 74 years of age. For tb ?
Inst 30 years lio has suffered a great
deal of sickness and, although he is i
lemperate man and never used spir
its of any kind, his kidneys had trou
bled him very much. He said:
"I was told 1 had Diabetes and my
symptoms corresponded exactly to
those of a young man who died of Dir
netes in this neighborhood. My fort
and limbs were bloated quite a little.
“I heard of Dodd's Kidney Pills an !
at last determined to try them. I took
in all ten boxes before 1 was well ar.d
now I can truthfully say that I am all
right. The bloating is gone from my
feet and legs. 1 have gained eight
pounds in weight and can sleep well at
night and every symptom of my trou
ble Is gone.
"it is some tim" now since I was
cured ami I have not the slightest
return of any symptom of the old
trouble."
Perlraps the time will come when
the intelligence of the people wtil
make politics unpcoatable.
In order to be popular forget to say
a good deal.
