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About The Norfolk weekly news-journal. (Norfolk, Neb.) 1900-19?? | View Entire Issue (Jan. 9, 1903)
8 I'll iRFOLU KY 9 , 1903 rAPTAIN FYFE OF THE SIXTH | ± By j. M. LYA'LL CowlgM. 1901 , When the Indians of the United StntcB begin the ghost dnncc , the nrmy propar < s for nn outbreak. In Indln . when n new prophet comes down from the Himalaya mountains and begins to tlr up the people orders arc Issued to suppress htm at once. lie Is cither cap- turcd by the military and banished from the province or arrested by the civil authorities and Immured In a dun geon until forgotten. The English In India arc arbitrary and autocratic. They realize that they are living over a Tolcano which may spout flame and death any hour. They move quickly nnd strike hard. The coming of a prophet means pop ular excitement , plots and conspiracies , rekindling of the flames of hatred , dan ger to the English rule. Strong hands must bo laid on the holy man at once. Perhaps there will bo resistance , and a Bcoro of natives will bo killed , and the resistance may even grow Into an In cipient rebellion , but the English put It down , bury the dead and give out noth ing for publication. To rule India without gloves of steel would bo to lose her In a year. When the Prophet Ilajmahal came down to the province of Debar from bis mountain retreat , In which he claimed to have slept and dreamed for twenty years , Intense excitement fol lowed In his track. lie headed straight for Moorshodabad , on the Ganges , to visit the ruins of an ancient temple and the tombs of his long dead nnco'- tors , but ho was headed off sixty miles to the north of that place. A lleuten- nnt In the Sixth rifles had been detailed iwlth half the troop on this special duty. While It Is true that most of the so- called prophets and holy men wauder- ing about India are fakirs of the worst eort , who stir up excitement and sedi tion for the money there Is In It , It is also true that a few of them are earnest and conscientious and should be dealt with harshly only after argu ment has been exhausted. The lieu tenant found the Prophet Uajmuhtu to be a venerable and distinguished lookIng - Ing man. Ills age must have been eighty years or more , and yet he was sturdy and upright and had a voice like a clarion. He was a fluent speak er , full of argument , reason and lip- peal , and he was lighting a flame of zeal In every village he passed through. Ho utterly refused any cash contribu tions , lived on what the dogs would hardly eat and addressed the people . without fear of consequence1 ? . Ho had dreamed of emancipation and a new ruler. It was sedition straight from the shoulder , and In less than a month ho could set the whole province In rebellion. When the lieutenant came face to face with the prophet , ho resolved to try reason and argument. The ofllcer could but yield respect and did not de sire to sec him dragged around the country , disgraced and degraded. Rajmahal was for defiance at first , and he had enough adherents In his train to have eaten the troops- ten times over , but after nn Interview lasting for hours he recognized the force of English logic and announced that he would return to his mountain lair. lair.Tho The prophet was as good as his word , but his return was slow. This was .caused solely by the crowds blocking his way and exhorting him to defy the government. He had not yet made fifty miles on the backward track when Captain Fyfo came on iwith the rest of the troop. The lieu tenant was relieved from duty under a cloud , and orders were issued to push the old man out of the province at the point ot the saber. Captain Pyfo overtook him , pronounced him a fakir , nn Impostof and a charlatan , and , wishing to make the degradation com plete , pulled him by the beard and Bpat on his raiment This scene took place In the open air In sight of 3,000 people and the full company , of soldiers. The act mortally offended every law of caste and re llglon , nnd Instead of raising shouts of indignation the natives simply groaned In horror. It was the handsome , 'con temptuous Captain Fyfe , clad in full uniform , v > ho stepped forward and Kathercd the long white beard'In his clutch. It was a wan faced , mis shapen and cringing native who fell back before the uplifted hand of the prophet. Captain Fyfe had disappear ed off the face of the earth whllo the eyes of all that vast crowd were full upon him. Three thousand people look ed upon the strange scene , and 100 of them were English soldiers. A hundred different men swore to It , and It was talked over wherever-two Englishmen met In India. lint the press dared not refer to It for fear of encouraging the natives. The second lieutenant , now In charge of the troop , rode through that crowd n score of times , hut his captain was not to bo found. He beat up the coun try around , ho coaxed and threatened but the Prophet Hujmahal strode on with his face to the mountains , ant bis followers were dumb. The troops had to turn back. No wooiier had the report leached the colonel at Gyal than the second ofllcer was put undo arrest. At his trial every man in tin. command testified to the facts as above related. It was against common sense to bcllo\o the story , but could they saj that a hundred men hud conspired U lie ? They had to accept their test ! mony and clear the officer , and the only hlng left was to poohpooh It and for- ) hl the soldiers to talk. What had become of the native who nid stepped Into Captain Fyfp's boots , is It were , no one could say , Ho had Irawn back and mingled with tha crowd and then disappeared. Weeks and months went by. Then one day a strange Hindoo was seen mnglng about the cantonment. His face was like tha.t of n monkey rather hau of a man , and hip misshapen legs gave him a qucor gait. A soldier went 'orward with a stick to drlvo him away , but the Idler protested , weeping , and after speaking In a strange jargon 10 foiccd out the words : * "Take me take mo to the colonell" Ambling and clucking and chatter- ng , ho was passed to the colonel. Now nnd then a native came In with re ports worth heeding , and this "thing" was supposed to be the bearer of some such news. Standing before the colo- uol , he stuttered and stammered and jiggled like a fool. What few wofds 10 did utter no one could understand , riio colonel lost patience and spoke to ilin sharply , and the "thing" groveled at his feet. "Try your cano on him , " said the colonel to a captain who had been drawn thither by curiosity. "That will make him speak , " replied the captain as ho brought the cano down over the chatterer's shoulders. So It did. Ho sprang up , screamed out like a wild beast two or three .Imos , and then , holding out his hands n appeal , ho cried distinctly : "Colonel , don't you know me ? I am Captain Fyfo ! " "God In heaven ! " gasped the colonel , springing to his feet. "I ami I am ! I tell you , I am Cap tain Fyfo , and I want to como back hero ! " Horror struck , the officers looked In- : o his hideous face and at his deformed limbs , and no man could speak. "I tell you , I am Captain Fyfel" screamed the "thing , " "but you won't lcllcvo it you don't want me. I will go back ! " And as the group continued to stare and wondci and feel their blood run chill ho ran out of the room , fled across the grounds with growls and cackles , and before n move was made to pre vent he was out of sight behind some buildings. The closest search was made , but in vain. For months and months watch was kept for him , but ho never returned. Natnrc Study That Failed. A certain clever teacher in a public school once congratulated herself on having given her geography class a vivid Idea of Islands by cutting out pieces of brown paper nnd pinning them on the wall. "That's all very well , " said the master of the school , speaking from a longer experience of the youthful mind , "but those children will go out Into life with n fixed idea that an Island Is a piece of brown pa per pinned on the wall. " The New York Post says that two little "fresh air" girls were noticed on the morning after their arrival gazing at the land scape with evident disapproval. "What's the matter , children ? " asked their hostess. "Why are you disap pointed with the country ? " "Why , there's no grass here , " said one , pulling a blade and biting the end of It. The lady could only stare. "What Is your idea of grass ? " she asked at last. Little by little the truth catne out. To begin with , grass , they thought , was about the height of a man. "If this were taller , would It bo like grass ? " asked the lady. "Oh. no ! " "How Is It different T "Why , grass is black , " said one child. "Black and white , " added the other. Then the explanation became ap parent. They had drawn their Ideas of vegetation from the black and white prints of newspapers and books. Linen In Maple Wood. Nobody seems to know what cause it is which produces those delicate and beautiful lines in maple known an blrdseye. Some people think they come from the hundreds of little branches which shoot out' over the ( trunk of the tree as soon as a clearing Is made around It. Expert tlmbermen say that Is not the case. The only way to tell a blrdseye maple tree is to cut It. There are no outward signs by which one can judge. The Railroad Gazette tells a story of the late George M. Pullman. Many years ago he was offered a mahogany log for $3,000 , to be cut Into veneers. It was supposed to be a very fine piece of wood , but this could only be determined by cut ting It. He declined the offer , but agreed to take the log cut Into veneers for what it was worth. The owner had it sawed and was paid $7,000 for his veneers. Any one who can dis cover the secret of determining the interior - , terior nature of wood from the outside will have a fortune. \ Unhappy rrrlucenNei. The figures the old maids presented to the astonished court when they re turned to take their places at Ver sailles may be seen today In the portraits traits by Natter | , which adorn the walls of the palace where they lived their futile , often mischievous lives. The very names Louis Jovially fas tened upon these melancholy dames 11- lumlnato the scene and the attributes of the royal maidens. Loque , Cache , Gralllc and Chlffo were the cndearlni : titles by which the fond father ad dressed his daughters. The terms arc not quite translatable , but they signify Hog , Piggy , Sloppy , Tatters. None possessed n single trait of beauty , none had Intellectual resources above the ordinary scullion mold save the elder , Mine. Adelaide , who had Just enough ability to make misery In court and camp. Their existence was a constant mortification of the flesh. Era. A Story Worth Telling We never tire of telling the story of U need a Biscuit. We do not believe that lovers of good , whole some food ever tire reading it. U need a Biscuit are the result of two ideas. That soda crackers could be made better than they had ever been made before. That it was pos sible to convey them to the home fresh , crisp and clean. The importance of the soda cracker as an article of daily consumption , made this worthy of extraordinary effort. True , many people laughed at the idea of so much thought time labor capital , being devoted to a soda cracker. But the greatest industries of the greatest country in the world have been developed from smaller things than a soda cracker , and so v it seemed worth while to make the best soda cracker that could be made and to place it on the table as good as it had been made. To do the first required the selec tion of the best materials , of the best equipment , the highest skill. To do the second upset all traditions. The oldest bakers said there was no way to keep a soda cracker good. She Tleimdlatcd the Charge. At the men's service in a Yorkshire parish the vicar tried to convey the lesson - son that the truest heroes and heroines are those vrho do noble deeds In the secret corner of the homo , where none can see or applaud. "Eow of you seem to think , " he con cluded , "that your wives staying at homo uncomplainingly to mind the chil dren and prepare the meals are heroines , and yet their touching devo tion to duty proves them to be so. " , It certainly hadn't struck one old farmer in this way before , and as soon as ho got homo ho promptly told his wife that the vicar had called her a heroine. "Whatever does that mean ? " asked the good lady. "Oh , It means a woman who stays In t' house Instead of goln' art to show hersen , " explained the farmer vaguely. "Then I'm not a heroine , an' I'll thang t' vicar to mind what bo's say- In' , " snapped the wife. "I go to his church as much as t' other women do , an * ho must be blind if ho can't sco me. Why , I'd five different colors In t' bonnet I wore last Sunday ! " London Answers. Mark Twain' * Flr f Earning ; * . Mark Twain was once asked by a friend if ho remembered the first money he had ever earned. "Yes , " answered Mr. Clemens , puffIng - Ing meditatively on his cigar , "I have a distinct recollection of it When I was a youngster , I attended school at a place where the use of the birch rod was not nn unusual event It was against the rules to mark the desks In any manner , the penalty being a fine of $5 or public chastisement "Happening to violate the rule on one occasion , I was offered the alter native. I told my father , and , as he seemed to think it would bo too bad for mo to bo publicly punished , ho gave mo the ? 5. At that period of my existence $5 was a large sum , whllo a whipping was of little consequence , and so" hero Mr. Clemens reflective ly knocked the ashes from his cigar "well , " ho finally added , "that was how I earned my first $5. " Imitator * , Llttlo Ethel Mamma , Mrs. Next door's children are playln' house In their garden. Mayn't wo play house In ours ? w Mamma Certainly. Llttlo Ethcl-That'll bo lovely. Then wo can qunrrel ovojj the back fence just like real neighbors. Him Coumo Clear. "Say , " whispered the conductor to the motormun , "that fat slob with the Jag saya If I want his nickel I'll have to whip him to get It Whut'll I do ? " "None but the bravo deserve the fare , " replied that worthy as ho put on full speed In an effort to run over a dog. Houston Post. That no one expected it any way. That people were satisfied to eat them stale , as they had been in the habit of doing. And so it fell to the lot of younger minds to do this unheard of thing to keep a soda cracker good until eaten. T The result was the creation of the In-er-seal Package with red and white seal. An invention that kept out the air , moisture , dust germs , that first retained the natural flavor of the bis cuit , keeping it crisp and fresh until it reached the table , and so Uneeda ' Biscuit , became a reality. The little thing that seemed hardly worth while became a great thing that seemed hardly possible. ' To-day over 300,000,000 packages have been consumed by the thought ful people of this country and the de mand is ever increasing. That is the story of Uneeda Biscuit * Some day we will tell it over again for the benefit of those who are still "satisfied" with the stale and broken crackers that come in a paper bag , when they can get Uneeda Biscuit whole , fresh , and clean. NATIONAL BISCUIT COMPANY BEARDS AND GLASSES , Ornament * That Are Rarely ; Found Upon Hotel Walters. "Ever see a waiter wearing glasses ? " demanded the Inquisitor. No one could remember , although Just why a waiter should not bo seen with glasses as well as any other man was not apparent "It's Just like the wearing of beards , " went on the inquisitor. "Tho proprie tors of our important hotels , restau rants and cafes will not permit either beards or glasses to bo worn by their waiters. It is possible that In some old fashioned family or commercial { hotel the servitors may bo found with their noses straddled by optical helps , but you won't find 'em along Broad way. "Now , this Is a fact worthy of note because In every other calling in life the number of persons wearing glasses Is on the Increase , and oven In our schools a considerable percentage of very small children will be found wearing glasses , and while , as I say , hotel , restaurant and cafe proprietors arc opposed to the glasses , still I have seldom found a waiter whose eyes In dicated that he was in the slightest need of them. "You may argue 'that restaurant waiters are generally young men. Graut you that Instantly , but all the ( same thousands of men of similar ago have to wear them In almost every other occupation. "Tho majority of thosr > servitors commence In boyhood , and the demand of their vocation causes no strain on the eyesight Consequently that may account In a measure for the absence of any necessity for the use of specs. Moreover , the steam from hot vlanda would render thorn useless probably. " New York Tolpgrnm No Surlonx Urittt liiiuU. Bridget was engaged to be married to a young plumber , Ti'rence Dolnu by name , and when , tVto weeks before the day set for the wedding , she fell down the ccltiir stairs she was in the depths of woe. "I've broke out one o' my front teeth , " she walled to her mistress , "mid my teeth has been my best beauty , ma'am ! Manny's the time Terence has had mo show 'cm to his friends nnd remarked how fine they were ! Oh , whut'll I do ? Whut'll I do ? " "Tell Terence all about It when he comes tonight , and I'm sure he'll say bo's only glad you were not more se verely Injured , " said her mistress , but Bridget shook her head and refused to bo comforted. " 'Twould bo better for mo If I'd broke some of my bones , " she said gloomily , "and inaybo all of 'cm. " That evening after Terence had conic and gone Bridget appeared before her mistress , the gloom gone nnd her face set in a broad smile. "I towld him all about It , " she said gayly , "and lie says to mo , 'Wliars a tooth more or less when It comes to cookln' ? ' he says curelesslike and pass ed on to Cassldy's wnkc as if 'twas no matter at all ! " A Fl h Story. "Talk about fish and things of the sea ! " said ho who claimed to bo a sea faring man. " 'Twos In the year well , It was a good whllo ago and wo were floating somewhere around well , one of the oceans. One day we were head ing sou * by sou'west , latitude I forget exactly which when a ripple in the water suggested the presence of a shark. You can always tell a shark by Its ripple. He's got one of his own. Wo never landed a good specimen , and when ho showed his head I could well tell he was a ten footer. I always was quick and precise. A knife in mo mouth , a jump , and I landed headfore most between the shark's jaws , Quick as a flash I turned around. With me knife I cut holes through his sides for my legs and arms to pass through and swam back to the ship. Well , he was a fine morsel , that fish was , and we lived on him for weeks. Is It true ? Well" and he displayed a splinter from the handle of the knife. Harper's Monthly. The IlnclMR : Camel. The ordinary camel , which will never hurry under any circumstances , has been transformed In southern Algeria Into nn anlpial so different in size , tem per and appearance that It may almost be looked upon as u different race. This Is the racing camel , prized for its speed. The result of many generations of careful breeding , which has been en couraged by valuable prizes , It can be depended upon for nine or ten miles an hour , which It can keep up for sixteen or seventeen hours , almost without n stop. Its value is five or ten times that of the beast of burden. The camel races are popular sport and arc made exciting by the evident Interest of the creatures themselves In winning. What lie Had Read. An unlettered Celt's application to the Philadelphia court of naturaliza tion resulted In the following dialogue ; Judge Have you read the Declara tion of Independence ? Applicant No , sir. Judge Have you read the constltu tlon of the United States ? Applicant No , sir. Judge Have you read the history of the United States ? Applicant No , sir. Judges-No ? Well , what have you road ? Applicant Ol have red hair on mo head , your honor. _ , A New Salt In I'ro iieot. "All my best gowns were destroyed' In that railway wreck. " "And didn't the company' give you any redrcbs ? " New York Press. The Word "Cafe. " It Is really difficult to understand how the word "cafe , " a French term , has come Into such general use in this country and how It happens that It is BO grossly misapplied. The term means coffee , or n place where coffee is sold , and what relation there Is be tween a coffee shop and a place where liquors arc sold we are at a loss to know. It Is not improbable that the Idea comes from combinations of bar rooms and restaurants , in the latter of which of course coffee Is sold , but to our mind nothing seems more absurd or more emphatically marks the mod ern disposition to follow blind custom than sticking up on the window where only beer , liquor nnd wines arc sold the word "coffee , " nnd that In a for eign language. Were it not that an ago of misnomer gives recognition to this anomaly we would Just as soon the'word "meat" or "bread" signalized places where liquors arc sold. Either would have as much sense and logical application as "cafe. " Exchange. TVo Need of ArslKtnnce. The father of the family had stepped Into a bookstore to buy a birthday present for his fourteen-year-old son. "What kind of book would you like ? " asked the salesman to whom ho bad confided his purpose. "Something that would be useful for the boy , " was his reply. "Well , here Is a very good ono on Self Help. ' " "Self help ! " exclaimed the father. "Ben don't need anything of that kind. You'd ought to see him at the dinner table ! " lie FeeU It. "Docs a draft give you cold chills down your back ? " asked the philoso pher. "It does , " replied the wise guy , "when my bank account Is overdrawn. " Cin cinnati Commercial Tribune. Bobby'n Comment. Little Bobby was inspecting the new baby for the first time , and his dictum was as follows : "I s'pose It's nice enough , what tber Is of it , but I'm sorry it ain't n parrot" Tit-Bits. Unfair. "Don't you sometimes feel that wealth Is unfairly distributed ? " asked the social reformer. " 1 do , " answered Senator Sorghum. "Many Is the dollar I have given away In a campaign that didn't do me a cent's worth of good. " Washington Star. A * Other * See Him. "Ah , he'll never be able to fill his fa ther's shoes. " "No. But he thinks his hat would come down over the old man's ears all right. " Chicago Record-Herald. r * <