McCook weekly tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 188?-1886, March 06, 1884, Image 2
GENTLE WOBUS. Why not let our words be gentle ? Harsh words rudely Jar On the feelings of another , . And to kindly greet each other - . * Would be bettor far. \ j _ In the plainest words of converse Music sweet is heard ; If in tenderness they're spoken ; But the melody is broken By an angry word. It would show a strength of spirit ' To let no hard word Fall petulently from ourtongue , And strike the notes to music strung , Making rude discord. Wo would find it just as easy , , In kind tones to speak ; Hasty , cruel words are grievous , And too sadly , truly prove us Pitifully weak. Oft a little word , soft spoken,1 Palling on the ear , Throws a passing ray of gladness O'er the heart darkened with sadness , And dispels the tear. Gentle words they cost so little , And such power hold To impart to others pleasure , "Why not greater make their measure Many thousand fold ? It will make our own hearts richer , If we will but give .Lavishly to our fellow-man , Gentle words when'er we can , While on earth we live. We are lowly , sinful creatures , Sadly prone to err ; Yet , If we've blindly gone astray , And can make amends to-day , Let us not defer. If one kindred heart we've wounded , By a word unkind , Oh , let us now forgiveness ask , And make it our most willing task The sad wound to bind. There may be less * sweet than bitter In the.cup of life ; There may bo more thorns than flowers , Tot , If unbroken love be ours , We can bear the strife. [ Detroit Free Press. i i i A RAY OP 'Quiet , Bess ! steady , Fan ! " . Jack Trevor gathered the reins more tightly in his grasp , " and touched the horses with the long circling lash of his whip. "Five minutes more will accomplish the distance if we can maintain this present rate of speed , " he remarked to Ms companion who had taken out his watch and was anxiously consulting its crystal face. "And will the place afford shelter or our party ? " "Shelter ? " Jack gave a low whistle , 4'Why you could quarter an army in * he old barracks and have room to pare. " "Five minutes seems but a short pe riod , " said Laura Decker , glancing ruefully at her crisp muslin gown with its dainty garnishing of creamy lace and blue ribbons ; "but the floods will be upon us in earnest before the exnira- tion of that time. " "Farewell , my love , " murmured her cousin Kettie , pathetically , furling her sunshade under whose run of soft pink silk her bright eyes were wont to peer" out beseechingly. "You cost me a pretty sum at Schaeffer's , but the ele ments will have mercy'upon you , my beauty. " "And my mauve sateen , " wailed stately Miss. Johnson , surveying the said , miraculously fashioned garment with actual tears , that she did not dare let fall on her delicately tinted cheeks , for cogent reasons that she fondly im agined was known only to herself. -"Are you afraid , Miss Beckwith ? " Xawyer Hunter leaned over and was looking into the-girl's face , thinkng what a strong one it was , with its de cided mouth and darkly- fringed grey eyes. "Afraid ? No. Why should I be ? " She spoke a little impatiently and let her gaze wander back to the great masses of black clouds that lay piled above the horizon-like ebon mountains , the lurid lightning flashing fitfully above their ragged peaks. A sudden peal of thunder startled.the horses into a mad gallop , and brought an hysterical scream to the lips of Miss Johnson. "Oh ? " cried little Kettie Trevor , un der her breath , her face growing very stiil and white , and her sunshade slip ping unheeded to the yellow straw that had carpeted the bottom of the roomy -old vehicle. ' "Don't shiver so , child. " It was Margaret Beckwith who spoke" , and she turned to the little limp figure , she quickly divested herself of her long wrap , and hid crisp muslin , dainty ribbons bens , and all in its voluminous gray folds. "But you will take cold yourself , " remonstrated Lawyer Hunter. "I am not a tender plant , " she re.- sponded , laughingly , touching with one sum hand the dart blue of her cloth dress. "I do not attend picnics clad in o-ossamer attire when " "Eureka ! at last ! " It was Jack Trevor's big hearty voice that rang out , and a moment after he drew up the foaming horses with a tri umphant flourish of whip and reins. "Now , ladies ! " Ned Johnson seized Rettie Trevor in his arms , and sprung up the crumbling steps of the porch. His stately sister ascended with more haste than grace , and just as Lawyer Hunter handedMiss Beckwith up and followed himself laden with books and shawls , the patter of great drops sounded on the roof , and in a moment the outside world was a mist of driving rain and .rushing wind , .be fore which the preat tree's bent like sap- plingsj and the flowers laid their broket heads on the drenched earth , and looked up with pitiful tear-wet faces to the an gry sky that an hour before had been Blue and smiling as an infant's eyes. "Open , ye inhospitable doors , " spouted the irrepressible Jack , striking the panels with such force that the crazy latch gave way and the entire party surged into the wide , musty hall , from which opened a large , dark par lor , sparsely furnished with dingy cur tains and a few moth-eaten couches and chairs. "Ugh ! it's damp and musty , " cried little Rettie Trevortip-tilting her dain ty nose in disgust. "And haunted , too , " concluded her brother Jack , looking at her with sol emn eyes. "Haunted ! " Rettie would have screamed , but her particular cavalier was examining the dismal prospect from of the ' windows one many diamonu-pane'd dews , and she wisely concluded that it would be a waste of breath. Tell us the story , Jack. " A dozen voices chimed in the re quest , and nothing loth , Jack seated himself on the edge ofa faded chintz sofa , and began in a deep , sepulchural tone , that accorded well with the shadows and general mustiness of the place : "You may not credit the facts , my friends , but considerably less than hail a century ago these rooms , now so' si lent and deserted , were filled with a gay company , and jest and dance made the hours fly merrily enough. The owner of the old mansion had brought to its roof a bride , a bonny young thing , according to tradition , and a year after -an heir appeared to com plete their felicity. Au went merry as a marriage bell till the poor young mother discovered that her liege lord was given over to an insatiable love for strong stimulants. Unfortunately , the shock broke her heart , and one fine day she died. " "And what became of the otkers ? " "That is as far as my information , derived piecemeal from the aged father of our landlord , extends , " concluded Jack. "I only know that the father finished his days in disgrace , and died alone and solitary in this old house , which is haunted , the superstitious neighbors aver , by his restless ghost. " Ned Johnso i had managed to entice the fickle Rettie to a seat in the window that overlooked the tangled , neglected garden. The others were conversing ia'pairs , and Mark Hunter stood alone and unheeded in the doorway , a heavy shadow on his face. Meg Beckwith" , looking up from the book whose con tents she was carelessly scanning , saw the shadows , and a sudden look of piti ful intelligence crossed her own. "Mr. Hunter Mark , " she whisper ed , crossing the room unnoticed , and laying one nand on his arm , "I see it all now. Oh , why did you come here ? " "How could I foresee this visit ? " he responded , his low tone penetrating no farther than her attentive ear. "Re member that when , we left our pretty picnic ground in Herman's Glade we Bxpected to return immediately to the hotel , and not to this abode of dismal memories , whither the storm has driven us. " ' Ladies , " said Mark suddenly , in his usual everyday voice , "there must be some quaint old chambers above , to svhich yon long dusky staircase leads. Who feels in a mood for exploration ? " . "Not" ! , " answered Rettie , happy in the company of her cavalier. "Nor I , " repeated Miss Johnson , bhinking of dust , spiders , and her mauve sateen , all in one. The others were engrossed in Jack rrevor's nonsense , and Meg , gather ing her blue skirts'closely about her , swept them a half-mocking , half-dis dainful courtesy from the doorway. "I am going to lay the ghost , " she announced , and a moment after stood jreathless on the broad landing above , ler arm closely clasped around Mark's is she looked beyond , half affrighted' at the gloom and dreary silence of the jlace. Hastening her footsteps a little , he ed her into a large low-ceiled room , jarely furnished , like the parlor * below , and opening a wooden shutter , let in .he cold grey of the afternoon's waning igbt. Meg's face was in the shadow , jut the few rays that straggled through ; he dusty panes fell full upon his coun tenance , and a faint flush colored her cheeks as slie noted the eager expres sion that rested on it. Without speaking he drew a letter from his pocket , and held it toward aer. She glanced at the address , ejac ulated the one word , "Phillip , " and without opening it put the missive aside with a firm hand. "Nay , " he said , and his strong lip quivered under its covering of dark hair. "Now that you know all , be merciful. "Here in this house which his father darkened with the dreary shadow of sin and under which shadow he passed a portion of his miserable childhood , let tne plead for him. "Was it so much his fault that he gave way tothe miserable vice inherit- 3d from his wretched parent ? Remem ber , he , had no mother to guard his young footsteps and turn him from sin. "Once he shocked your pure woman hood , but God knows he repented the deed in sackcloth , and as far as lies hi ihe strength of weak man he has striven to overcome his depraved habit. He is a changed lad. Your influence , he avers , co.uld wean him still farther from destruction , and you love each other. " i It was well that he did not see the blaze of indignation in Meg's eyes , or he would never have finished his vehe ment speech. { d "Mark Hunter,1' she answered , calm ly and coldly , for she would have diet sooner than betray the tremor tha shook her frame , "you cannot deceive me. Have I not seen do I not know how yon stood by your cousin , day after day , warning , advising , counsel ing , never impatient , very weary , till you won him back to virtue ? Ho does not live in his own strength , he exists in yours. As far as thq world goes , you nave achieved a noble action. If you did for my sake I cannot thank you. ' Mark drew his hands across his brow "Your words sound strangely , " he said , with a dreary pathos in his voice "I did not expect thanks , but" with a second quiver of the moustache lip , that manlike he strove desperately to hide but " Al the sight all the passion in Meg's strong nature was aroused. "Because a woman was kind to weak lad , who unstable nature ap pealed so irresistably to her strong one , was it necessary that the purest emo tions of her heart must go out to him also ? Why should he have all wealth , position , friends , and mercy ? " Mark's rugged features grew sudden ly stern. "Stop ! " he commanded. "Tell me one thing. Do you love Philip ? " Meg gave a little gasp at the abrupt ness of the question ; then her lips took on the old decided'curve. "I could love no one who proved himself less than a man , " she respond ed , and there was-honesty , at least , in her voice. "Margaret , " Mark Hunter leaned forward in the gray light with a halJ awed look on his face "my chilhood was a hard , unlovely one , for I was not born to wealth , as was my cousin Phil ip. I have educated myself by my own efforts , and have won a position in the world ; but the battle I'waged has left many a scar on heart and brain. An swer me one question honestly , even if the answer add to the burden my life has already sustained. Could you would you " Shy Mark , he was stammering and stuttering like a guilty schoolboy ; but Meg , with a smile that sparkled in the very depth of her eyes-put-her slim hand hi his , and repeated simply : "I both could and would. " | A sudden ray of sunlight shone out over the drenched earth , and in a trice dripping boughs and rain-laden trasses were sparkling diamond-like in its glo rious radiance. "Mr. Hunter ! Meg ! " It was Rettie who called from the regions below , and the truants came down the dusky old staircase much more slowly than they had ascended. A second raj from the tiny window fell athwart them like a blessed omen of approaching weal. "Poor ! " Mark said PLilip , strug gling between a sense of his own hap piness and compassion for his consul's disappointment. "But not poor Mark , " echoed Meg , softly , thinking how noble his plain face looked in the golden glow. "Where have you been ? " questioned curious Jack , as he stood by the horses heads , while the party surged out to take their places with laugh and jest ; "Whathave you two been doing all this time ? " "We have laid the ghost , " answered Mark , gravely "the ghost of doubt and misunderstanding that has cast its shadow over so many lives. I pray Heaven it may never walk again ! " "Eh ? " said uncomprehending Jack , wondering at the strangeness of the reply. But even after lie and Meg were lappy man and wife Mark never ex plained how his life , hitherto so dark , lad at last been illumined by a ray of sunlight. A Question in Arithmetic. Detroit Free Press. "What are you doing ? " asked one of the spectators. "Why I have drawed § 600 from the jank and we are counting it over to see if it's all right. " "And isn't it ? " "No. I counted fust and made. $610. Then the old woman counted and made 5590. Then I counted and made $620 , and now she's handled the pile and there's § 585. " "And I am right , " said the woman. "I dent believe it ! " he replied. "You never went to skule a day in your life , and what do you know about counting ? " "And when did you go to skule ? ' , she hotly demanded' , "if thar's § 600 in that pile I'll eat every dollar oJ it ! " "I'll count it for you , " said one of the spectators , and in about five min utes he announced that the sum was an even $600. A second was asked to count it , and ae made the total the same. "That's all right , "said the old man as he stuffed the 'Vsvad" into his over coat pocket and rose up. "I dent know about that ! " added the wife. "S'spose we git home and find we are $20 short ? " 'You come along ! " he commanded. "Dont you see that we have both of us made a show of pur ignorance ? I'm a thinking of runnin' for the legislator' , and you are boss of two sewin' socie ties , and here we've went and let on that we don't know 'nuff to count up a drove of Jiogs and make tails tally with the heads. " Whatever.yonr situation in life may > e , lay down your plans of conduct for the day. The half hours will glide smoothly on without crossing or jesting - ing one another. A man's wisdom is his best friend , folly his worst enemy. Man must become wise by his own sxperience. THE FATAL GLASS. There's danger in the glass. Beware lest it enslaves ; They who have drained it find , alas ! Too often early graves. It sparkles to allure , With Its rich , ruby light. There is no an tidote or cure , Only Its course to fight. It changes men to brutes ; Makes women bow their heads , Fills homes . with anguish , want , dis putes' , And takes from children bread. Then ' * dash the glass away And from the * serpent flee , Drink pure , cold water day by day. And * , walk God's footstool free. ROSA BONHEUR'S CAREER. How Energy and Devotion Have Made One of the Greatest Painters. From Paris letter in Uavannah News. Rosa Bonheur is now in her sixty- second year , and still continues , when health permits , to give her services , as she has done for years , gratuitously to the school of design for girls , but it is her sister that practically conducts that school now. Mile. Rosalie Bonheur , that her schoolmates baptised "Rosa" for shortness , is rich , as she could ever name her own price for her paintings , and the .purchasers , almost wholly English and American , bespeak them years in advance , as they did Dela- rocho's. Her life was a hard struggle in its youth-time. A native of Bor deaux , she came to Paris with her father when nine years of age , but he had to send her and her two brothers and sister to a boarding school in order to leave him free to gain a livelihood as an-artist designer. A fellow-student once told me that Rosa was one of the "jolliest girls in the schools ; " was unequalled in romps and ready wit ; that she had a habit of squatting in a corner and designing her classmates with a rapidity and surety of touch that Cham only could match. It was this precocious talent for de signing that decided her father to bring her home and educate her himself. She became not only his favorite pupil , but also his housekeeper. But what energy she had in her teens. She went alone , during several years , to cattle markets and central slaughter houses , to study groups of animals. In order to avoid tne curiosity of drovers , butch ers and the peculiar frequenters of the above places , she adopted masculine toilets , and in later years forgot to re appear in her old clothes. This motive was comprehensible ; not a vagary or eccentricity , as.in the case of George Sand. ' Rosa was eighteen years of age when she exhibited her first picture at the sa lon of 1840. These are two small paint ings rabbits nibbling carrots and tur nips. Her sister , Mnie. Peyrol , is the possessor of the pictures and treasures them as an heirloom. Rosa's second mef was the death of her teacher and father in 1849.Love for him and for art closed her heart for any third affec tion , save that of her family. When dying he begged Rosa to bring him the last picture she had painted , Labourage Livernais. She did so , sobbing , to his bedside. He took her two bauds in his and , endeavoring to smile , died. In 1853 appeared her Celebrated "Horse Fair , " and in 1855 , "Haymak ing in Auvergne , " and in the Luxem- 3ourg museum. It-was the Empress Eugenie that not only insisted on Rosa being decorated Avith the Legion of Elonor rarely conferred on the fair sex but , having succeeded , pinned ; ; he red ribbon herself on the artist's jreast. * Origin of the Postoffice. ; SnglUh Illustrated Journal. The postoffice is an example of the mode in which things change while names remain. It was originally the office which arranged the posts or ilaces at which , on the great roads , clays of horses and men could be ob tained for the rapid forwarding of gov ernment dispatches. There was a chief joatmaster of England many years be- : ore" any system of conveyance of pri vate letters by the crown was estab- ished. Such letters were conveyed either by carriers , who used the same lorses throughout their whole journey , or by relays of horses maintained by private individuals , that is , by private jost. The scheme of carrying the cor respondence of the public by means of crown messengers originate d in con- > nection with foreign trade. A post- office for lettsrs to foreign parts was es tablished "for the benefit of the English merchants " hi the reign of James I. , jut the extension of the system to in- and letters was left to the.succeeding . , reign. Charles I.by proclamation issue' ' n 1636 , may be said to have founded the present postoffice. By this procla mation he commanded "his postmaster of England for foreign parts to settle a running post or two , to run night and day between Edinburgh and London , to go thither and come back again in six days , and to take with them all such etters as shall be directed to any post- own hi or near that road. " Neighbor- ng towns , such as Lincoln and Hull , were to be linked on to this main route , and posts on similar principles were di rected to be established on other great lighways , such as those to Chester and lolyhead , to Exeter and Plymouth. So ar no monopoly was claimed , but two S ( ears later a second proclamation for- > ade the carriage of letters by any ft 1 messengers except those of the king's postmaster-general , and thus the pres ent system was inaugurated. The" monopoly thus claimed , though no doubt uevised by the king to enhance the royal power and to bring money into the exchequer , was adopted by Cromwell and his parliament , one main advantage in their eyes being that the carriage of correspondence by the gov ernment would afford "the best means to discover and prevent any dangerous and wicked designs against the com monwealth. " The opportunity of an extensive violation of letters , espec ially if they proceeded from suspected royalists , was no doubt an attractive bait ; and it is rather amusing to see how the tables were thus turned on the monarchial party , by means of one of the sovereign's own acts of aggression. However , from one motive or another , royalists and parliamentarians agreed in the establishment of a state post , and the institution has come down without a break from the days of Charles I. to our own. The Champion Liar. PouRhkecpsIo Eagle. There was a panic in front of the stove. The dog while fast asleep had changed his position , rolling over on the cat , and the latter having dabbed him on the nose , the canine jumped in his fright and upset a half-gallon can of molasses , just as the store door opened and in walked the champion liar of the ' town. "Hello ! " said-the boy on the herring box. "Jake , I'll bee yer he ain t in here two minits before you'll hear tne biggest lie as ever was told. " Tne champiion liar stamped the snow from his cowhide boots , removed his tippet , ran his nose along his arm , and setting his hat on the back of his head saluted the group about the stove with "Cussed cold out , hain't it ? " Then there was silence for a moment , and he continued "Been skatin' ' ' , ; 'tain'tvery good , but the darndest thing happened down by the Dan Skammer ye ever heerd. " Each "sitter" around the stove hunched each other , and there was a chorus of "What was it ? " "B'gosh , it beats everything , " was the newcomer's response. "Yer all know Nubbins , the bark peeler , don't yer ? " There was a general nodding of heads and " " and the "hunching , newcomer continued : "Well , say , he's gone and gone and done it , and don't you forgit it. I tell you , say , that there feller was skatin' right along as nice as could be when he dropped into an air hole , b'gosh , right off the Skammer. Well , say , the tide was runnin' ebb strong , an' you know what an ebb tide is off there , don't yer ? Well , say , Nubbins went down with the current under the ice , an' 'I know'd he was gone , so did everybody. We all gin nim up , but do yo'a know he's down to the storehouse now dryin' his close ? " Grand chorus of "Oh , here get out ! " "Come off ! " "Wat yer givin' us ! " etc. etc."Yes "Yes , sir , b'gosh , he's there sure. Why , that there feller went down with the tide under the ice for a mile an' a tialf till he come to 'nother air hole , svhere he riz , an' ketchin on the edge of the ice , pulled himself up an' skated back. Now , that there old Nubbins " "You git out o' here , " put in the store keeper. "Nubbins died a year igo last April , an'you was one 01 the jarriers. " There was a snickering in the group ibout the stove , and as some one said , 'it's dinner time , " the store was quick- y vacated. < + ( . * ? The Omaha Indian Lands. WASHINGTON , D. C. , February 9 , L884. I am in receipt of numerous let- i ers of inquiry regarding the sale of the ands of the Omaha Indian reservation , is the matter is one of general interest t transmit the following copy of a let- er just received from the general land jffiue. Respectfully yours , CAARLES F. MANDERSON. DEPART3IENT OF THE INTERIOR , ' GENERAL LAND OFFICE , 1 WASHINGTON , D. C. , Feb. 2,1884. ) Ion. Charles F. Manderson , United States Senate : SIR I have the honor to acknowl- idge the receipt by reference from the lonorable commissioner of Indian af- airs of your letter of the 20th ult. , rel- itive to the Omaha Indian lands in Ne- > raska. In reply I have to state th'at he exact date when that portion of the eservation which was authorized to be old , under the provisions of the act of August 7,1882 , will be opened to seltle- nent , has not yet been fixed. Under late of November 20,1883 , the honora- le secretary of the interior directed his office to prepare the form of proc- amation provided for by the above- uentioned act , and to submit the same or department action , on or about the Lrsl of April next. These lands will be so'dto actual set- lers only at the appraised valuation , ind on the following terms as to pay- aents , viz : "One-third of the price of aid land to become due and payable me year from the date of entry , one- bird in two years , and one-third in hree years from said date , with inter- st at the rate of five per centum per nnum. Settlement must be made on these mds before a person is qualified , under ae law , to make an entry of the same. Very respectfully , L. HARRISON , Acting Commissioner. Eccentricity is often used as high- Dunding title for a fool. Luck is first lieutenant in the corn- any of Captain Success.