2
m,
HOME-COMING OF
PRIVATE WILLIAMS.
I _
Having unlocked the church
floor, the girl brushed her shoes on
»he porch ma i; t hen, pushing aside
the heavy red curtain, walked up
* the aisle to the lectern.
Looking at the half sheet of
writing paper in her left hand she
turned over t he pages of the heavy
Bible, putting in the ribbon mark
er at the Lirst and second lesson
for the morrow's service. Slip
ping another half sheet of writing
paper into her father’s prayer
book on the reading desk, she as
cended the pulpit.
She rested the basket, which she
carried on her left arm, on the pul
pit edge and took up her father s
sermon case.
A man’s hushed voice crept
through the shrouded afternoon
gloom.
“May 1 come in?”
The girl started, and faced
hastily toward the porch. Her
arm tipped the basket over and a
simple wreath of white flowers
fell to the cold aisle pavement.
Before the girl could speak a man
stepped from the darkened porch,
walked quickly up the aisle, and.
picking up tin* wreath, handed it
to her.
He stood looking linenuy ai un
girl without speaking.
“Father does not leave the
church open,” said t he girl; “blit if
von want to examine it you can al
ways get the key from Mr. .John
son. the bell ringer. He keeps the
village newspaper shop. But 1
shall be here for another 20 min
utes or so. if that will lx* long
enough,” she added.
“Thank you,” said the man.
The girl noticed that as he
turned to walk away a look of
blank despair passed over his face.
Leaving her father’s sermon in
the pulpit the girl turned to come
down. She looked to see what the
man was doing. He was standing
in the center aisle looking at her,
biit turned away immediately he
caught her eye.
Having arranged some flowers
on the altar, the girl picked up her
basket, now empty save for the
church key and the single wreath
of white flowers, and walked down
towards the western end. Sud
denly she turned to the left. The
sun was throwing a shaft of light
through the western window, illu
minating the features of the cru
cified t'hrist pictured on it. The
beam of sunlight flashed onto a
small brass tablet on the pillar.
The man was standing staring at
the tablet. The girl stopped; the
man did not hear her. He was
clutching the back of the pew to
support himself. His rusty slouch
hat had fallen to the ground, and
the girl saw that his hair and
beard were seamed with iron gray.
lYet he looked rather as one who
had seen great sorrow than one
who had seen many years.
The girl tapped with her heel on
the aisle to arouse him. He
started.
“I beg your pardon,’’ lie half
whispered, then, after a pause, “if
you would read out that inscrip
tion you would be doing me a great
favor. My eyesight is bad and the
sunlight dazzles me.”
He spoke as if frightened of his
own voice.
The girl stepped up closer to the
tablet, and, standing so that the
fading beams of light struck it,
read in a hushed voice:
In Loving Memory
of
HENRY JOHN WILLIAMS,
Private in the Royal Last Af
rican Regiment.
Horn in this Parish, April 9, 18(50.
Lost during the British retreat.
from Poomassie, Aug. 14, 1897.
1 beheld, and lo! a great multi
tude which no man could number,
of till nations and kindreds, and
people and tongues, stood before
the throne, and before the lamb,
clothed with white robes and
palms in their hands. — Revela
tions 7:9.
Below the tablet was a glass
faced case containing a newspaper
cutting. The girl read on as one
who knows what she reads by
heart:
The Times, August 28, 1897.
BRITISH DISASTER ATCOOM
ASS IE.
(From Our Own Correspondent.)
4,I have already sent you news
of the defeat and retreat of the
British force sent to recaptuiv
Coomassie.
“I have just heard of one or
those heroic acts which brighten
-veil the worst reverses of the
Brit ish army.
‘‘When at noon, on August 14, it
was discovered that the Royal
East African regiment had been
ambushed the retreat was sound
'd. The regiment had to cross an
jpen space of some 900 yards,
swept by the enemy’s fire. Most of
the troops had reached cover on
the farther side, when Lieut. An
derson—foremost in tin* assault
and last to turn his back on the
enemy—appeared.
“The hidden natives immediate
ly rained down a storm of bullets,
and Lieut. Anderson fell. Some of
the Ashantees rushed out from
cover, but Private Williams was
before them, hashing out, seem
ingly from the enemy's midst, and
hotly pursued by the yelling
Ashantees. he lifted his lieuten
ant on his back and ran swiftly
across the zone of lire. Thus was
Lieut. Anderson saved.
“In the evening Col. Dorian, in
command of the British force, sent
for Private Williams. He was sit
ting alone talking to himself. His
fellows said he would speak to no
one. Col. Dorian praised his brav
ery, and told him he would be rec
ommended for the Victoria cross.
“‘Not that 1* cried Private Wil
liams. ‘Shoot me. I used Lieut.
Anderson as a guard for my own
body.’
“Guessing that the excitement
and strain had been too great, the
Colonel ordered Williams to see
the doctor. He was sent to his
tent, and given a sleeping draught.
During the night the men in the
same tent heard some one moving,
hut seeing it was only Private \\ il
liams turned over and went to
sleep again. When reveille sound
ed Private Williams had disap
peared.
‘‘As the jungle was full of native
snipers watching for stragglers.
Private Williams must have been
killed.
“Thus did he give his life for his
officer.”
As the girl finished reading a
great hush fell over the empty
church, and the last touch of light
from the sinking sun lit the
Christ’s face into a look of yearn
ing pity.
A deep sob shook tin* man's
body, and lie turned away his face.
The silence grew deejier.
The girl lifted t he simple wreath
of white flowers from the basket,
and, kissing it, hung it on the tab
let.
As she moved the man turned
tow ards her, but seeing her action
turned away again. Then, leaning
against the pillar for support, he
whispered :
“I loved a girl, and enlisted
thinking to win a commission atad
fame. I served in Africa. During
one of our fights w ith the natives
I saved a man’s life as Private Wil
liams did. He accused himself of
wanting to save his own skin.
That was my reason. They want
ed to give me the Victoria cross,
but 1 bolted.”
His voice grew huskier.
“After many years I came back
to England. Days and nights in
the African jungle had stolen my
youth. By chance I •:'•>! a man who
had been my chum :•: -hoot and in
after life. I talked with him for
more than an hour. The conver
sation veered round to the doings
in our native village. He told nte
1 was a hero, and lauded my ac
t ions before my eyes. ‘I am proud
to have been his friend,’ he said,
not know ing to whom ho spoke.
“I went down to my native vil
lage. My father and mother were
lead, but the girl I loved was still
there. She had not married. I
heard how in her eyes I was a hero,
how she had refused all offers of
marriage for my sake. 1 met her
one day attd she did not know me.
She looked for me among the
saints. I dared not tell her, yet I
was ruining her life.”
The inan stopped speaking. The
sun had set and a great gloom
tilled the ehurch. lie leaned down
and touched the girl’s arm lightly.
“Tellme,”he whispered; “should
I have told her all?”
There were tears in the girl's
eyes.
“It would have broken her
heart,” she said.
Tin* man turned away with a
groan. He moved as if staggering
under a great burden. The girl
touched his arm.
“You have acted like a hero,”
she said, simply.
The man picked up the girl’s bas
ket, and they moved toward the
ehurch door. When they came to
the curtain the man held it aside,
and as the girl passed through a
great sob broke from him.
He took the church key fr< s the
basket and locked the door
There were some crumpled little
white flowers from the wreath of
Private Williams lying in t he bas
ket. He picked them up.
“May I keep these?” he said, as
he gave tin* basket to the girl.
The girl answered: “Yes.”
They stood irresolute for a mo
ment.
“(lood-bv,” said the man, and
turned towards the little wicket
gate which cuts the churchyard off
from the London road.
Before he had "one three yards
he felt a light touch on his arm.
He turned. The girl was standing
beside him.
“Your way is very lonely,” she
said. “Will you remember that in
a little country vicarage a girl who
has known sorrow prays for you?”
“(Jod will thank you,” said the
man, and stumbled forward.
As he turned to close the little
wicket gate he sobbed:
“I could not tell her, it would
break her heart.”
He looked up. The girl was go
ing in the opposite direction.—Se
lected.
WHERE THE BIG BILLS ARE
Used Only in the East in Large Real
Estate Transactions and Pay
ment of Duties.
The ordinary citizen, even
though he may be a man of more
than ordinary means, seldom sees
a f 1(10bill, while $1,000 bills are al
most an unknown article. ^ et, ac
cording to t he paying teller of one
of the largest banks in the city,
says the Omaha News, these same
$100 and even $1,000 bills are rath
er common. This teller estimates
that he handles from $10,000 to
$15,000 a day in large bills on an
average. By large bills, he ex
plained, he meant those of a de
nomination of $50 and up.
But if these bills abound in
quantity, the use to which they are
put has a very narrow field, and is
confined to only a few definite pur
poses in Omaha. Chief among
these special purposes is the large
real estate deal.
It is a trick of the real estate
i ian to make a man an offer for a
j ;.•(■(* of property and then follow
it up by flourishing the price in
$T ■» or $1,000 bills. It is said that
sevral of Omaha’s best known
re;d estate men use this very plan.
An agent will come to the bank
at: ! draw his check for the amount
he wants. “Give it to mein him
dr ds,” he will say, or, if the deal is
a l arge one, he calls for thousands.
\\ hen he has made his trade, the
seder is. of course, no better off
than if he had been given a certi
fied check, but there is something
nbc-.it the sight of real money that
oftent imes consummates a trade.
Perhaps the charm fails to work
and the agent brings the money
back to the bank and deposits it
until he wants to draw a “Hash
roll” on some other unsuspecting
victim.
“Another use for these large
bills is to pay duties. The duties
■I the Omaha custom house some
imos run as high as $0,000 a day,
aid the teller. “The government
’oesn’t take any chances, you can
•it that down. When one does
lsiness with Pncle Sam he finds
at the old gentleman is from
isconsiu and wants it in his
hand. The real hard cash, actual
legal tender, must be depositee.
Not only that, but in big:bills. It 9
big denominations the govern
inent wa,nts. The reason for this
large bill demand by the govern
rnent is that the money has to he
transferred, and it is just as well
to make it in large bills at once,
so it can be shipped readily.
“The very large bills, such as
|5,000 and $10,000, are extremely
scarce. I doubt if there are any in
Dmaha. Certainly I don’t know of
*ny. They are used only in the
east, where money is handled in a
much larger bulk than it is out this
way. There they come in handy
and are useful in transfers from
bank to sub-treasury and the like.
Friends Contribute.
A singular custom prevails
among the Tartars or Kurds. If
a man loses his cattle or other
property, he pours a little brown
sugar into a piece of colored
cloth, ties it up, and carries one
such parcel to each of his friends
and acquaintances. In return he
is presented, according to circum
stances, with a cow, a sheep, or a
sum of money.
DATE PALMS IN AMERICA.
Saiton Basin in California Is Better
Adapted for Their Culture
Than the Sahara.
The attempt to cultivate in Cal
ifornia and Arizona the Algerian
date palm seems to have been
fairly successful. One of these
days, perhaps, all the dates which
can be consumed in this country
will be raised here. Walter T.
Swingler declares, in a bulletin of
the department of agriculture,
that the soil in the most arid re
gions of the United States is par
ticularly suitable to thy growth of
the trees about which ne talks.
According to a summary of this
document made by Science, "the
most intense heat, the most exces
sive dryness of the air, the ab
sence of all rainfall for months at
a time during the growing season,
and even the hot, dry winds that
blow in desert regions, are not
drawbacks, as in almost all other
cultures, but positive advantages
to the date palm, enabling it to
mature fruit of the highest excel
lence.” Nor docs alkali injure the
soil. The author shows that the
Saiton basin in California “is not
only the most promising region in
the United States, or in North
America, for the culture of the
best sort of dates, but that it is
actually better adapted for this
profitable culture than those parts
of the Sahara desert where the
best exported dates are pro
duced.” It is shown to be prob
able that this single region is ca
pable of producing dates enough
to supply the demand for lhe
whole country. Other regions in
California, Nevada. Arizona, New
Mexico and Texas are discussed,
the conclusion being that in all
these states date palms of certain
varieties may be grown with
profit.
From the bulletin it appears
that there are three principal
types of dates cultivated by the
Arabs—viz., “soft dates.” which
are very sugary and inclnde the
sorts with which we are familiar;
“sour dates.” which contain a
much lower pereentage of sugar,
not enough, in fact, to preserve
them: "dry dates,” which ar.e not
at all soft or sticky when rijie,
and which may he utored and kept
indefinitely. None of the last are
to be found in the American mar
kets. and scarcely any of the sec
ond type. Of the “soft dates,” the
variety which bears the name of
“Deglet Noor” is the most famous
It is very late in maturing, but
vields a fruit of great excellence.
We are assured that this variety
can be grown in the Saiton Ihisin,
< 'alifornia.
Good Way.
ISriclr*- (ieorge, dear, when we
reach our destination let us try to
avoid giving 1 li<* impression that
we are newly married.
tleorge—All right, Maud; you
can carry this suit-case. — New
Y orker.
TAKE
WINE®'
CARDUI
AT HOM»
Are you a sufferer?
Has your doctor been unsuc
cessful?
Wouldn’t you prefer to treat
yourself—AT HOME?
Nearly 1,500,000 women have
bought Wine of Cardui from
their druggists and have cured
themselves at home, of such
troubles as periodical, bearing
down and ovarian pains, leucor
rhoea, barrenness, nervousness,
dizziness, nausea and despond
ency, caused by female weakness.
These are ' not easy cases.
Wine of Cardui cures when the
doctor can't. , .
Wine of Cardui does not irri
tate the organs. There is no pain
in the treatment. It is a soothing
tonic of healing herbs, free from
strong and drastic drugs. It is
successful because it cures in a
natural way.
Wine of Cardui can be bought
from your druggist at $1.00 a
bottle and you can begin this
treatment today. W ill you try it?
In c*se» requiring si<eeial direction^
address, giving symptoms, The Ladies
Advisory I*>pt.- The Chattanooga
Medicine Co., Chattanooga, Tenn.
It iVteans:
uality guaranteed
nsurpasscd fit
bsolute satisfaction
eading styles
nestimable worth
estifying values
ear affer year brings cheer
millions of homes afar ?nd near,
Big and liffie folks sing the praise
Of lAr Shoes so wonderfully made
*
ST. LOUIS.
We sell 5 'M' Stes
Men end Women looking for their
Money’s worth, buy them.
Fred. D. Whiting.
GEORGE F. CROSSER,
Notary Public, and
Dealer In Real Estate.
All kinds of blank deeds, trust nr
warranty, kept on band, prepared and
acknowledgments attested. Deposi
tions taken. Pension work a specialty,
fejr Office in Post Office Building.
J. C. LEWIS,^
Contractor and Builder,
Plans, Specifications and Estimate*
Cheerfully Furnished.
Job work of all kinds neatly and
promptly done. Satisfaction guaran
teed. Saw filing a specialty.
Shop South of Journal Office.
J. W. HODGES,
Physician mid Surgeon,
OtHoe at Sturdivant's Drug Store.
Residence Phone No. fit.
calls answered promptly.
V. L. Rascoe
Rhone No. 10
L. G. R««
Rhone No. 24
PASCOE & POE
Physicians and Surgeons
Office in Raney Building, on South
Front Street. Phone No, 17.
Office hours 8to 12 a. m., and 1 to 5 p. m.