The Valentine Democrat. (Valentine, Cherry Co., Neb.) 1896-1898, November 26, 1896, Image 6

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it Made This Speculator Think Life
Worth the Living
TO A GAY TYPEWRITER GIRL
ItBronjht Sweet Peace from Ont Lifes
a
Dizzy Whirl
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EORGE CALDWELL
Brown of Gotham
town the morn be
fore Thanksgiving
From sleep awoke so
nearly broke life
hardly seemed
worth living
Now this man Brown
had been thrown
down by Wall
streets fluctuations
To rise aaln seemed
to him then beyond
all calculations
My race Is run Im
auite undone
Brown mased as he was dressing
I never knew tnlngs quite so blue nor cred
itors so pressing
And then he took his pocketbook and count
ed up his money
The dollars four there were no more so few
were they seemed funny
It made him smile that little pile and then
his blues departed
For Brown had pluck believed m luck for
othose not chicken hearted
And to his breakfast gaily down went spec
ulator George Caldwell Brown
While he drank his coffee hot to his hand a
note was brought
And the writing on its cover made him turn
It oer and oer
When at last he broke Its seal Its contents
fairly made him reel
Made the blood rush to his head for this
was what the letter said
George Caldwell Brown Esq
Dear Boy It gives me several kinds of joy
To send a check made out to you to pay the
hundred long since due
Tou kindly loaned when 1 was broke
Most sincerely R TCHOAK
-As he picked his way down town thus
mused Speculator Brown
On the day before Thanksgiving life Is
always worth the living
Every cloud has Its silver lining somewhere
always sun Is shining
Now it really seems to me I should very
thankful be
Yesterday the sky was murky now Im sure
to have my turkey
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THE DOLLARS FOUK
But holy smoke As Im a sinner no ones
asked me out to dinner
Last Thanksgiving Id a lot of bids to feed
but this year not a soul so far re
members me
Jlnilny crickets Well well see
Thinking thus Brown stood before his six
teenth story office door
Would or would it not affright her If I
asked my young typewriter
-How to work this plan thought Brown as
he went and sat him down
And as he read his letters oer he thought
about his plans the more
And as he thought he grew perplexed until
at last she thought him vexed
To morrows Thanksgiving ventured she
A day when all it seems to me
Should eat lots of turkey and pumpkin pie
and all sorts of flxins that inouev can
buy
Thus Quickly to the girls amaze Brown
made reply in following phrase
And he went on I have a plan and you
must help me if you can
Then he told her how the borrowed money
came
-And how he sorrowed much before It came
He said The landscape blue it turned to
red
Tt filled my heart with thankfulness It drove
away my wretchedness
But he continued then I thought of other
men dead broke
J ought to see some other luckless sinners
furnished with Thanksgiving dinners
The maiden listened to his words You
want my help to buy the birds
The celery and the pumpkin pies and other
things she said her eyes
Bent on the floor Then he replied Thats
It exactly if you tried
You could not closer speak mv mind
And further if youll be so kind
-And help me at the dinner too
Ill always grateful be to you
The maidens cheek was like a peach and
as she listened to his speech
Into it crept a rosy pink so comely that It
made him think
Well I vow In all the city there Is no other
girl so pretty
So to the market forth they went on benev
olence Intent
On the way the girl observed Where
will you have the dinner served
If you have not gat another place Im cer
tain that my mother
Would be happy if you were to have It cook
ed and served by her
A very good idea my child said Spec
ulator Brown and smiled
How many guests then will there be
Have you asked them yet said she
No by gracious I forgot When we have
the dinner bought
Ill find fellows out of work and bid them
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THE DIXXER
come and feed on turk
So they planned and so they talked as to the
market place they walked
At the market place their eyes filled with
wonder and surprise
Food was there from all creation food
enough for half a nation
Where does It come from Brown pro
pounded Thus a market man ex
pounded
Should you ask me whence those turkeys
Whence those birds of rounded plumpness
-Stripped each one of ruby wattle
stripped ef all Its glorious feathers
Drawn and ready for the oven
There to bake and brown and sizzle
Till the cook with wise decision takes it
from the torrid recess
Eeady for Thanksgiving dinners
I should tell you answer I should
ZiFroni the plains of Illinois from the hills
of Pennsylvania
From the vales of Massachusetts from New
York and from New Jersey
Where the farmers feed and feed more
All the summer all the autumn
Till Thanksgiving is not far off
Then they send them to the city
That New York may not bereft be
Of the pleasures of the table
Thats enough of rhymeless rhythm send
two turkeys and send with them
Brown began stopped perplexed Turning
to the girl What next
Then the maiden skillfully filled the order
out and lie paid the bill admiringly
How Brown went out guests to invite would
be too long a story quite
But he scraped up half a dozen and him
self the maidens cousin
And her mother all sat down next day to
feast on turkeys brown
Who was there Isaiah Stout who for six
weeks had been out
Next to him contented sat Candy Maker
Israel Pratt
With his wife John Henry Stiles employed
in good times making files
Just across the groaning table sat the boot
black Billy Cable
At his right his face a grin was the news
boy Tommy Quinn
Neer was dinner bettor cooked never maid
en sweeter looked
While the guests devoured and gorged Cu
pid shackles lightly forged
Browns heart was the heart they bound as
he very quickly found
And before the meal was over Brown was a
devoted lover
When the guests bad gone away Brown ask
ed if he might longer stay
And to the maiden with a flush he told a
tale that made her blush
Wont you help me If you can with this
better sweeter plan
Dont you see a wife I need Must I with
you hopeless plead
Said the maiden Of the other plan I coun
selled with my mother
If to this one shell consent to marry you
Ill be content
Nothing more this scribbler tells listen now
to wedding bells
IrtSfs
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night before Thanksgiving the
THE was ablaze with lights The
first snow had fallen and the air
itself seemed light hearted The massive
mansions that surround Gramercy Park
were brightly lighted
In muffled silence a young man cloak
less and gloveless hurried by the iron
bars that fence in the little acre of the
rich toward his lodging place
For five years Jack Fleming had lived
alone No one knew very much about
him except that lie fas htEriitTess In
dolent genius When his father died the
fortune that might have gone to him had
endowed certain wealthy charitable in
stitutions His mother had died in his
infancy and Jack Fleming had grown up
with the servants and his books for com
panions He had never seen enough of
his father to love him In his childhood
Jack had had one friend Dora Goldth
wait She was a beautiful girl several
years his junior who livpd in the house
adjoining his fathers and every day one
or the other would climb the fence that
separated them and drop over into the
little yard for a romp Dora was proud
of her protector and playmate for even
then Jack was full of book knowledge
and Dora soon learned to love Shakspeare
and Milton as read aloud by her hero
Another great tramping place for the
little people was Gramercy Park for both
houses faced the handsome playground
and Mr Goldthwait and Jacks father
were among the favored rich who pos
sessed keys to the great iron gates that
shut ont the children of the poor who
often Uned the iron fence and peered
wistfully between the bars at the smiling
lawn within
The children were inseparable until
Jack was 15 and Dora 12 Then Jack
went to college but every holiday found
him at home again and often books went
by the board and Jack came home on the
sly to see his little sweetheart Of course
on these occasions he was smuggled into
Doras home and good ratured easy-going
Mr Goldthwait would have thought
it the basest treachery for any member
of his family to inform his next door
neighbor Jacks father that his son was
playing truant
After three years at college Jack was
hopelessly behind in his studies and his
father still ignorant of the reason called
him a blockhead One day Jack received
a tender loving letter from Dora asking
him to come home at once as her father
had just received word from England
that he had fallen heir to a large property
including a theater in one of the large
cities and the business of the latter was
in urgent need ofhis immediate attention
The family would sail for England imme
diately but Dora wanted Jack to go with
them if he could A few hours after
receiving the letter Jack stood in front
of the Goldthwait residence on Gramercy
Park It was closed No- servant an
swered the bell and Jacks heart fell like
lead Again he looked at the letter It
was dated two days before and had been
delayed in the mails A home he found
his father but in a mood in which he had
never seen him before
You young rascal he shouted as
Jack entered So you have been wasting
your time next door instead of studying
No pleading on the part of Jack could
induce the turbulent old man to tell
where the Goldthwaits had gone
Never mind thought Jack I will
hear from her soon and then
But no letter came Weeks lengthened
into months and Jack grew tall and thin
One day he went up to his college town
and an inquiry at the postoffice elicited
the fact that several letters had come up
to a month ago but they had been for
warded to Gramercy Park
That night father and son faced each
other for the last time
Where are the letters Dora wrote to
me demanded Jack as he leaned over
toward the old man who stood smiling
sarcastically in his face
I told you that if you refused to return
to college you would regret it was the
reply
Jack turned on his heel and passed out
of the house
He found it a harder struggle than he
expected His income fluctuated from
next to nothing to nothing itself He be
came first a wanderer among apartments
then among boarding houses and at last
an inhabitant of furnished rooms who
ate at cheap restaurants when he could
eat at all
He had lived a week in a rear hall bed
room on Twenty second street before he
discovered that its windows were only
separated from those of his old home and
that of Dora on Gramercy Park by the
brief New York back yards in which they
used to play together The Goldthwait
house was dark It had been ever since
the day Dora left Next to it where his
fathers mansion loomed up against the
trees beyond lights were often seen But
strangers occupied the familiar rooms
On Thanksgiving Eve just five years
since Le had left his old life behind him
Jack went to his dingy little window to
gaze at the two mansions He shivered
with cold but the blood rushed quickly to
his face when he saw the home of the girl
he still loved brightly lighted up For
an instant he stood still amazed Then
lie sat downon luVbed o think Finally
downhearted and discouraged he turned
io a great pile of manuscript and rubbish
on the floor and picking a book from the
nondescript mass he turned over the
leaves
Twelve plays out he muttered to
himself fiveof them probably lost Only
that day he had sent his best and latest
comedy to the new English actor who
had arrived the day before As soon as it
was rehearsed as he doubted not it would
be he would send the others in rotation
For months he had expected success to
come with the dawn of every new day
and to night as he threw himself on his
bed hungry and broken hearted he real
ized the mistake he had made in living in
a dream He made firm resolutions to re
form but as his fingers clinched in new
born resolve his eyes strayed across the
vrrx f again For the second time that
evening his heart stood siill Behind the
soft lace curtains of the Goldthwait man
sion shadows of people flitted to and fro
The house was inhabited again but by
strangers of course he thought
Thanksgiving Day found Jack poorer
and hungrier than he had ever been be
fore in his -life For forty eight hours he
had not tasted food but he determined to
breakfast in spite of the almost total
emptiness of his pocketbook He turned
his face toward the lower portion of the
city determined to accept whatever work
offered itself but it was a holiday and
after several hours in tramping the
quiet streets Jack turned his face home
ward As he trucged up Broadway a
clatter on the stones behind attracted his
attention and a driverless cab dashed in
to sight An elderly fman was gesticulat
ing wildly from thewindow With a
bound Jack responded In another mo
ment the runaway horse stood panting in
the roadway and Jacks sinewy hand
was on the bit
One dollar to drive me up to Del
monicos shouted the man
But your driver asked Jack
Drunk in a saloon was the response
Without another word Jack leaped up to
the cabbys seat and whipped up the
horse It was the first time he had ever
earned a dollar by manual labor and as
he clinched his teeth firmly a flush mount
ed to his cheeks
When the once familiar restaurant
came into sight Jack thought with mois
ture in his eyes of the many times he and
Dora had Inuched in the great dining
room As he reined up before it hag
gard and mud bespattered totally differ
ent from his old self he started with
amazement There standing on the side
walk was the subject of his dream not
the Dora of old with short frock and
curling hair streaming in the wind but
the beautiful woman into which the years
had changed her
For a moment Jack could hardly re
strain himself from rushing forward and
declaring his identity But a thought of
his clothes and his work made him stop
He became as anxious to hide his face as
he had been a moment before to tell his
name
Dora and her father passed into the
restaurant and Jack earned a second dol
lar by getting a new driver for his pas
sengers coupe He passed and repassed
the restaurant in an unsuccessful attempt
to get another glimpse of the woman he
loved before he even satisfied his hunger
It was dark before he went back to his
little room and stationed himself once
more at his window to gaze at the lights
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IN THE TITTLE BACK YARD
in the Goldthwait mansion He was filled
with a conflict of love and pride He had
no reason to believe that Dora had not
forgotten him but his love for her was as
strong as ever He longed to go to her
but the knowledge of his poverty and
shabbiness kept him back
The windows of the great old dining
room were bright with light and their
raised curtains gave him a clear view of
the place where he and Dora had spent
many happy Thanksgiving reunions to
gether He saw her flitting about the
table as of old putting the finishing touch
es on rne arrangement or truits and liow
ers He could see her piaigly She look
ed evenyounger and more beautiful than
she had that afternoon in her heavy street
wraps
Half an hour passed and some one else
came into the room a tall handsome
man Dora seemed to forget her house
hold duties for she hung on the mans
arm and seemed to plead with him At
last he sat down and then still another
person came in it was Mr Goldthwait
They sat by the fire with Dora between
them She was talking earnestly and
the handsome stranger seemed to be lis
tening intently Occasionally Jack could
see that Mr Goldthwat spoke Then
Dora would beam with happy smiles
Suddenly she jumped up from her seat
and a moment later when she returned
she had in her hands a fluttering man
uscript
She read it The old smile played about
her lips The gestures waved the grace
ful hands It maddened Jack He felt
that he must be near her once more must
hear her voice again
A wisteria vine ran down from his win
dow Clasping the strong dry stalk Jack
descended until he stood on the fence so
dear to his memory Softly he crept along
until lie reached the little veranda at the
rear of the Goldthwait mansion and
peering through the window he feastee
his eyes on the face of the girl he loved
Jack was overcome as he saw again all
the little details of the room which onco
had been so familiar to him He bowed
his head He pushed against the glass
of the swinging window The window
opened a trifle Jack started back fright
ened but the air was still outside and the
inmates of the room had not noticed
How he could hear Doras voice It said
Now Mr Langdon lee me read the cli
max to you before dinner is announced
Langdon was the name of the English
actor to whom Jack had sent his play and
as Doras sweet voice read on Jack real
ized that it was his own comedy she was
reading
The climax was rendered with telling
effect The two men leaned forward
with interest
Capital Capital cred Langdon
Jack was filled with intense excite
ment His hands were clinched
Do you accept it asked Dora tri
umphantly of the actor
I do was the reply It is the com
edy that I have been waiting for
I will write him to night then said
Dora The beautiful girl sank back in
her chair and went on And now I
will tell you a story that will explain
why I was so anxious o have you take
the play
Jack listened breathlessly
You see said Dora I used to have
a friend here named John Fleming When
we went abroad I wrote to him but he
did not answer my letters I lost sight
of him but I did not lose my welirmy
regard for him
A splendid fellow interrupted Mr
Goldthwait
There never was one like him said
Dora Then she went on Well when
we reached New York last week father
and I began to look him up and we found
in the first place that the reason he had
not answered my letters was because his
father who was angry at both of us had
intercepted them in the second place
that father and son were never reconciled
and that the old gentleman disinherited
Jack when he died and in the third place
that Jack had been pver since barely
making a living out of literary work and
trying to get some one to produce his
plays
We finally got track of him this morn
ing and this morning also I saw the man
uscript of this play lying on the table
where you had left it when you brought
it up from the theater The words By
John Fleming caught my attention at
once and I picked it up and read it It
HE SAT ON HIS BED AND THOUGHT
seemed to me so strange that I made up
my mind that you shouldnt send it back
without reading it so I read it to you
myself And now I shall send for Jack
to morrow and when he comes I shall
have good news for him And and good
news for Jack is is good news for
for me you see So I am very happy
There was a noise of an opening win
dow and Jack wild eyed and unkempt
but very joyful stepped in For a mo
ment they did not recognize him but
when they did
Well said Mr Langdon this climax
beats anything in your play
Yes added Mr Goldthwait and it
is doubly good because it will be followed
by a real Thanksgiving dinner New
York Press
Thanksgiving Decoration
The old question comes up again and
again as to how to devise something novel
for Thanksgiving decoration The day is
one pre eminently homely and simple in
its spirit and traditions a day set apart
for returning thanks because of the neces
sities and every day comforts of life
Nothing is so appropriate in commem
orating the occasion as embellishments
from the harvest fields In drawing
rooms nothing is more effective than In
dian corn and diminutive yellow pump
kins the corn with its long stalks and
golden ears stacked on either side of the
wide doors or grouped in corners the
small pumpkins with more ears or corn
piled at the base
Yines of cranberry crowded with the
tiny red globes can trail across mantle
shelves or twine up and down columns
while garlands of red and green peppers
all sizes and shapes and great bunches
of ripe wheat and oats are rich and beau
tiful in effect Fruits of all kinds
grapes late pears and peaches rosy ap
ples and purple plums mingled with
their own foliage are unique and highly
typical of the harvest home
For dining table ornamentation a novel
and most attractive mode is to cut from
the ordinary vegetables shapes simulating
flowers from the beet a deep red rose
from the yellow turnip a tiger lily a
white lily or chrysanthemum from the
potato with lettuce leaves for foliage
while cabbage celery cauliflower and the
dozen other kitchen garden productions
add blossoms to this original bouquet
One of these oranments serves at each
plate as a favor while a huge group
mingled with fruits forms a fine center
piece
It is a very simple matter to shape these
mock flowers a sharp knife and a lirtk
skill is all that is required They may 1
prepared the day before Thanksgiving
and kept fresh in a bowl of water
Give Me the Wishbone
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MAPS -ON POWDER HORNS
m
Maps Thronch the Wilderness I3n
Craved on Kjrly Colonial Horns
The- horns made and decora fed dur
ing the period of early French colonial
-wars from 1739 to 1745 when the
was In the New England States
are quite plain when compared with
those used in the French and Indian
war when the finest and most artistic
work was done far surpassing the rev
olutionary war productions
Te British coat of arms was a proii
dnent feature covering a large space of
the surface and making a very beauti
ful decoration In 1755 when the last
French war began one of the objects
of the British armies was to force the
French out of every post south of the
St Lawrence river and- iinall y to drive
hem from Canada The fighting
throughout this campaign took place in
Pennsylvania Maryland and New
York the interior of these States being
then a comparative wilderness and the
various routes being almost unknown
except to the fur traders This fact
caused a new feature to appear on the
horn of the soldier a map of the route
Such horns showing the routes of Gen
Braddocks and Col Bouquets expedi
tions arc quite rare while those show
ing the northern routes are numerous
the country portrayed varying greatly
in extent Many begin with the city of
New York showing its churches andr
other prominent buildings and its bar J
o nfl AlTlflTlV W1S
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ed surrounded by a istoekade amKV
crowned by a fort on a hill and its g
church steeples topped by the 11
tional weathercock Then came Sche
nectady and the numerous forts and
military posts Such maps include the
Hudson and Mohawk river regions the
country and lakes in New York and
sometimes the intervening sections of
Canada to Montreal and Quebec
These were not only handsome in ap
pearance but extremely useful to both
Hie officers and the men as the maps
showed the roads and told where sup
plies could be obtained when needed
At that time few printed maps existed
even for the use cf the higher officers
who were forced to depend on these
horns for maps of the wilderness espe
cially those showing the routes of the
fur traders from Canada to New York
and giving the various camping places
The maps also told where boats could
be obtained to make the voyage easier
and to make the land journey as short
as possible for roads were almost un
known and the trails were often very
roundabout A soldier placed the great
est value upon the implements he car
ried considering his musket or rifle
and his powderhorn his companions
during years of dangers and hardships
as his greatest friends He learned to
love and cherish them and at the close
of the war he hung them upon the wall
of his home over the great fireplace
where they were constant reminders
of his war experiences He never part
ed with them but at lifes clcse willed
them- to his descendants or to somV
dear friend St Nicholas yN
Society f
Perhaps nothing in the world receives
so much criticism just and unjust as
what we call society Every one seems
to feel privileged to throw his or her
particular stone at it and most peo
ple do it with an alacrity and an ener
gy which do not characterize all their
actions
Tartar 3Iedicine
Formerly musk was used as a medi
cine in various parts of the world out
doctors in civilized lands do not hold
musk in high repute In China it is
still thought to be a very good medi
cine but the Chinese have queer no
tions about cures and charms Abee
Muc a distinguished traveler says
that when a Tartar doctor finds him
self without his drugs and medicines
he is not in the least embarrassed
He writes the names of the needed
drugs on slips of paper and these
being rolled up in little balls are swal
lowed by the sick man To swallow
the name of a remedy or the remedy
itself say the Tartars comes to pre
cisely the same thing St Nicholas
Jackya Wisdom
Papa said Jacky would you like
to have me give you a perfectly beauti
ful Christmas present
Yes indeed
Then now is the time to double
my allowance sos Ill have the money
to buy it when Christmas comes
Harpers Bazar
Effect on Their Business
Does the bicycle hurt your busi
ness
Yes The junior and the confidential
buyer are in the hospital
And the man of affairs sighed heavily
Detroit Tribune
That which is called the sacred flame
V
Sometimes it is the wholesale denuc
ciation of the pessimist who thinks
that everything is going to ruin and
sees in society only the combined
agency of the general downfall
Sometimes it is the verdict of those
who through ignorance or fanaticism
want to break down the very prin
ciples which uphold social or political
welfare and who cnarge society with
being the author of all the wrongs
which exist in their fevered imagina
tions
Sometimes it is an honest criticism
of real evils which good people see
and lament and the blame of which
they freely and indiscriminately layX
at the door of society
And then again it is the weak la
mentation of some who conscious of
wrong in themselves hasten to escape
the responsibility by casting the blam
somewhere else The charitable-mind-
ed and the liberal minded are not
among any of these critics
of love originates in many cases in
laziness and an agreeable filaceto loaf
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