! ALMOST A MISTAKE I
• — !
• By CLARA INEZ DEACON. £
They were going to have a new
weather man at
Point Hope. The
one that had been
In charge for a
couple of years
was addicted to
the habit of occa
sional sprees, and
when they hap
pened his predic
tions of the
weather to come
for the next three
days were terrify
ing.
Point Hope was
a village of 1,000
inhabitants, and
was inclined to be
social. The weath
er man, whether
married or not, was expected to taae
a hand in the social game.
Meanwhile the head of the weather
bureau was talking to Burt Hudson,
who "was to fill the place.
“Young man, you have done well at
your other stations, and I'm hoping
for the same or better at Point Hope.
And remember, always consider your
dignity.”
“I certainly shall do the best I can,”
was the reply.
In due time Mr. Hudson arrived at
Point Hope. The population turned
out to meet him. He was himself
until within ten miles of the town,
and then he became somebody else.
He put on the mantle of dignity as
advised by his chief. How it worked
was told in the comments of the peo
ple when they came to compare notes.
“I told him I’d like to play check
ers with him,” said Uncle Riley,
“and he glared like a January bliz
zard.”
! “When he came in I was for shak
ing hands with him and asking about
his family,” said the landlord of the
inn, “but he sorter drawed away as
If I was second class. I don’t believe
he’ll eat prune sass once a week.”
Two of the most interesting people
in Point Hope were the Widow Wel
come and her daughter Marian. It
was said of them that they had the
nicest house and the most money,
and no one disputed that the daugh
ter was the handsomest and best
educated young lady among them.
Two weeks ^ver Mr. Ht*€ton‘s ar
rival he was being discussed by
mother and daughter. A young man
had escorted Marian and another girl
to the signal etation and introduced
them. They were received with alto
gether too much courtesy and dignity
to please them.
“He is a gentleman, mother,” said
the daughter, “but he freezes one. I
don’t believe the governor puts on
the dignity that Mr. Hudson does.”
“Well, dear, he may be quiet and
undemonstrative among strangers,
but let us hope be will thaw out as
he gets acquainted.”
A gathering took place and Mr.
Hudson was there. He thawed out
considerably, but not enough to es
cape censure. The majority said that
his attitude belonged in a New York
drawing room. Miss Marian met him
with a smile, but at the look of dig
nity on his face she froze up and was
like an icicle the rest of the evening
The mother was the only one of the
party who read the young man truly
After the guests had gone she said to
her daughter:
“I think I can read Mr. Hudson
aright.”
“Then you can read a rock!” was
the sulky reply.
"He Is acting a part In being so
stiff and formal.”
"I shan’t put myself out to enter
tain such a polar bear!”
“You see ii he doesn’t begin to
thaw out soon. If he is acting a part,
as I believe he is, he can’t hold to
It many weeks. You’ll see a change
in him when he calls and finds us
alone.”
i When Mr. Hudson had held the
station six months all the people
agreed that he had thawed out at
least one-half. This, they contended,
was doing pretty well, but it was not
enough to satisfy Miss Marian, who
said to her mother:
“When Mr. Hudson shows that he
is human as other men, maybe I
shall begin to like him.”
Queerly enough, there was evidence
of it next day. He appeared at the
house and challenged her to ride with
him on his new tandem bicycle. She
accepted at once, and they had a five
mile spin, to her delight. It was re
peated in a few daye, and they had
been out half a dozen times, when
the sudden, terrific and awful change
she had hoped for took place.
They were trying to get home be
fore a thundershower, when the bi
cycle ran over a hog on the highway
and the riders were sent flying Into
the bushes. Marian was not much
hurt. As she tried to gather her wits
she heard some one exclaiming. As
she sat up she recognized Mr. Hud
son’s voice. Ae she dragged herself to
her feet and hung to the bushes she
saw him “belting” the hog with a club,
' and heard him say:
“- your eyes, take that!” And
also: "Lie In the road, will you, you
nuisance?” And likewise:
“Uncle Sam and his old weather
tcan go to Texas! I’m through with
|this dignity nonsense!”
j And when the girl reached home
I she said to her mother: “I shall be
! engaged to Mr. Hudson within four
weeks!”
TAKE AN EFFICIENT SHAVE
Usual Method Is Full of Lost Motions
and Wasted Time—Many Need
less Flourishes.
One of the most fantastic persons in
the world is the public official who, be
fore he can write a postal order or a
tax receipt, has to make preliminary
curls of penmanship in the air. Ob
served by the scientific eye, we are
much more fantastic ourselves. If our
effective motions could be registered
on a visual target, our record would be
found to resemble that of savages who
use ammunition without a sight on
their guns. If we think that the or
dinary soldiers’ marksmanship is
wasteful, we may well look to our
selves. Our life is peppered with mo
tions that fly wide and wild. It begins
on awaking. We ought to utilize that
gesture for polishing our shoes. We
Bhould rub our eyes on Sunday for the
rest of the week. But it is in processes
like shaving that scientific manage
ment is really needed. Men flatter
themselves that they shave with the
minimum of gesture. They believe
that they complete the operation un
der five minutes. But, excusing their
inaccuracy, do they know that under
the inspection of the scientific mana
ger their performance would look as
jagged as their razor blade under the
miscroscope? The day will probably
arrive when a superman will shave
with one superb motion, as delightful
to the soul as the uncoiling of an
orange skin in one long unbroken peel.
Recreation.
It is to be feared that the recreation
for children, so much talked about
these days, will, if not closely watched,
interfere with their education, says
Columbus Journal. It is well to do a
little thinking in this direction, seeing
that youth has its own way of pro
viding for rec^^on and does not de
pend upon the new methn^
ing it to tun and activity9 ■' "ltl'
It is good for a boy to rig nn
methods of amusement. Cateft"
_owa
boys and girls with assorts nf6^ to
to amuse them does them mor*063
frhnn srnnA Tm.M 4-1
than good. Turn them loose T harDl
liberty, let them enjoy thems!i theni
! they will bestrongirWSSS^
In these days of pleasure and l0'11,
ment it would be better for tJ^
jit it were restrained a little ^
than encouraged. Making a w?
pendent upon others for fun Ji, *
to make him dependent for his
In afterlife. Education without m
nllura ^ 8eU*
reliance is a failure.
Rarest Violins in World -I
The rares1 Wollns i„ tte WOT)a
those which were made by GuarneH
del Gesu, only about forty of them h
Ing known to exist. One of these to
struments was purchased by Ysav0,
$30,000. Two famous Stradivari in
struments, which were used by Sar
sate during his great concert tours
were sold. One of these, the Boissier’
is in a museum at Madrid. It is vai!
ued at $50,000. The other is in a
museum in Paris. There are only 29
Stradivarius cellos in the world. Of
the 300 Stradivarius violins that were
made more than 200 have been bought
and sold by one dealer.
Driving Screws by Compressed Air, I
A leading American automobile man
ufacturer has found it advantageous to
install a compressed air device for
driving wood screws and machine
screws and nuts. The compressed air
engine can be fitted with any attach
ment best suited for the work at hand.
It is reported that a saving of 75
per cent in labor cost over the usual
manual operation has been effected
ty the installation.
Early Training.
* “Never telephone to your fiance at
his office during business hours," ad
vises an adviser of girls. “A busy
man has no time to talk to you over
the telephone.” Oh, why not let Ger
aldine break him in early if she’s go
ing to marry him?—Louisville Courier
Journal.
Bare Chance.
“Suppose Shakespeare were living
today. Could he sell one of his plays
to a Broadway manager?” ‘‘He might,”
replied the Indiana man, “if he could
persuade one of our other literary ce
lebrities to write him a letter of in
troduction.”—Birmingham Age-Herald.
ITALY’S TOURIST TRADE GONE
Nation Is Called Upon to Provide for
Loss of Receipts From
Hotel Patrons.
The tourist trade as a source of
national income and as a substitute for
taxation is of enormous value to Italy,
says the Nuova Antologia, Rome. In
deed, as a means of settling interna
tional obligations, it is almost indis
pensable for our land. Hence, nothing
could be more unreasonable than to
let the hotel business become demor
alized, as upon it will rest the task of
reviving the tourist trade.
This led us to propose a year ago
that payment of the rental charge of
hotels should be postponed, a proposal
that was only adopted in part, pay
ment for half of these rentals being
adjourned until the end of the war,
interest at the rate of 6 per cent a
year to be charged in the meanwhile.
Now, however, in view of the pro
longation of the war, it becomes nec
essary to make similar provisions for
til© remaining half of the rent. If
we are unwilling to allow the manager
of a hotel to pay his entire rent in
promissory notes or other instruments
of credit, a special fund should be es
tablished, if necessary, with state aid.
to finance that half of the rent hotel
keepers are now required to pay while
the war lasts.
Always Featured.
No hotel fire would be complete
without the thinly clad guests—Indi
anapolis News.
Monopoly.
“That man prides himself on being
a conversationalist.” “Yes,” replied
Miss Cayenne. “He’s never so happy
as when he makes a string of people
miss their trains while he monopo*
lizes the bureau of information.”
Great Atmosphere.
Everyone can enter into the atmos*
phere of greatness, and gain its vision.
It is simply a question of believing
the best things, and in our power to
attain them.—Hamilton W. Mabie.
“Poverty Street or Quality Hill”
December, 1916, brings us to
the close of a memorable year in
American history—a year full of
sensations, record-breaking
events, commercial opportunities
and spectacular prosperity.
Santa Claus in all his glory has
never witnessed a Yule-tide as
resplendent as the Christmas of
1916 promises to be. Yet beyond
the horizon of a prosperous sky
is plainly visible the struggling
masses of a less fortunate class—
a class to whom prosperity, ex
pressed in terms of prohibitive
prices on the necessities of life,
reverses its meaning.
What suggestion could more
appropriately express the Christ
mas spirit than a little tighten
ing up on the gifts we bestow on
those that need them not
and distributing a portion of
your gratuities on “Poverty
Street/' where ten cents will
purchase more happiness than
ten dollars squandered on “Qual
ity Hill?”—Ex
i
METHODIST CHURCH
Our service Sunday will be as
far as possible a Christmas one.
Our music and all will be along
this line. The morning subject
is: “Unto us a child is born, un
to us a son is given.” “Our eve
ning subject is: “The Prince of
Peace.” Every body is cordially
invited to these services. Any
church with out a present pastor
is very cordially invited to wor
ship with us any length of time.
We long to help every body. If
I should be needed for anything
please call on me to serve. We
are here to help and serve our
people. A hearty welcome
awaits you at our church.
F. A. Lark. Pastor.
For Sale: One big bone P°*
land-China registered male hog.
Cholera immune.
L. J. Dilliard.
Mr. Norman Stark who attends
Hendrix college has arrived to
spend Xmas with his mother.
Mrs. Lena Stark, at DeVieW.