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The North Platte semi-weekly tribune. (North Platte, Neb.) 1895-1922, April 12, 1912, Image 2


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Grandma's Colic
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(Copyright, 1912, by Axoclated Literary I'reu.)
7 3
'Jlino, for its origin Is lost In mists ot nntluUy.
"Babylon is n heap in the desert and Tyro ft rulr
on tho shore," hut Damascus still remains, ltoino
Iiiih boon called tho Eternnl City, but Damascus
is twlco ns old as Rome Its hiBtofy runs back
to tho beginning of tho world nnd bids fair to go
on to its end.
It has lived through all those long centurion
nnd no historian tins yet had the opportunity to
wrlto its dccllno and fnll. This is romnrKablo
when it Is reinombored that not loss than twolvo
times it has boon pillaged and burned, yet it has
always arisen with now beauty rrom its ashes.
It lias boon ruled by Syrians, Persians, Grooks,
Romans nnd Turks nnd it has lived and llourlshod
uudor them nil,
Dnmnscus Is now and lias always been a rich
and prosperous city. It was so in lllblo times,
isalah writes of tho "riches or Damascus" and
tho traveler today may seo long trains of camels
laden with nil kinds of morchandiso, leaving
Damascus going down to Egypt or out to Bolrout,
whero they nro shipped to other shores. Us
bazars aro tho moBt famous in tho world. Thcso
bazara aro a series ot shops for tho salo ot ar
ticles and in somo cases for tho mnnutneturo ot
them. Each bazar is dovoted to a particular class
of goodB. Thoy aro famous lor t'inir treasures of
nllk, carpets, saddlos, silver and gold ornamonts,
fllippors, aword blados, raro woods and almost
everything required In tho goncrnl llfo of tho
cast. Pooplo ot many racos, men nnd women in
nil picturesque costumes, strings ot camels,
donkeys, with crndlo saddles, Arabian Horses, dig
through tho strcots. Then Damuscus Is destined
to play an important part in tho history of tho
east. It is tho center of a network of railroads.
It already boasts of throo railroad stations and
when tho Bagdad lino has advanced to tho Eu
phrates, as it Is expected to do early this year,
Damascus will bo In railroad communication with
Constantinople and Europe, as well ns with Pales
tine, Arabia and oventunlly Persia. Then Damas
cus was tho first city in tho niblo lands to have
electric trams and electric light.
It ia certainly ono of tho most beautiful cities
in its situation. Imnglno a magnillcent plain, well
watered, and fortilo In tho midst of a dosort, cov
ering an area of moro than 30 miles in clrcum
forcuco, Biirroundod on nearly nil sides by high
hills Imnglno this vast plain In a high stato or
cultivation, ono vast garden, of fruit trees of nl
most overy species, holds of grain, nenrly ovory
variety of ilowors and tho ever preaont murmur ot
running wnters. Situated about tho middle of this
plain and burled in this forest of grass, grain
nnd trees nnd sparkling streams, a city of 160,001)
poople, with its hundrods of whlto minarets, gild
ed domes and crowned bazaara, that is Damascus,
beautiful Indeed for situation.
It undoubtedly owes Its beauty, vitality and
wenlth to tho Ulvor Abann, which rises in tho
Lobanons somo twenty mllos nway. Beroro it
rcachea Damascus It is divided into six artlllcial
channels, through the heart ot tho city. Pipos aro
lod from It to every part, bo thnt ovory mosquo
nnd houso nnd court has Its fountain and every
where you go nmld groves or gardens or public
resorts or retired nooks, you may seo nnd hear
tho murmur of tho swiftly llowlng and sparkling
Btrcams and this abundance of clear, cold water
is ono of tho c'hnrinB of tho city. This is the
river of which Naaman spoko with such pride,
whon ho said: "Aro not tho Abann and Pharpar
rivers of Damascus bolter than all tho waters of
Israel?" and ho was right so tar as beauty and
usefulness aro concerned.
Damascus is mentioned many times in tho
Blblo, both in tho Old and tho New Testament.
In the latter it comes before us In connection
with tho conversion of St. Paul. Tradition has
localized every event connected with the apostlo.
Outside, on tho Damascus road, live miles from
tho city, Is pointed out tho place whero St. Paul
had tho vision which so changed tho courso of his
llfo. Thoro la tho gato still standing whero ho
entered tho Roman road Into tho city. This"
street is today tho most principal, being about a
mile long, beginning nt ono end of tho city and
running right acrosB it from east to west. Damas
cus is a city ot mosques, baths and fountains.
Climb on to tho roof of any dwelling and you are
In a sea of tall minarets, while all around you
aro rows of what looks liko saucers turned up
side down. Thcso aro tho Arab baths. There are
250 mosques in tho city, tho most Important bo
lng tho great Mosquo, great In sizo and great
reputation. Tho ground upon which lt stands has
a groat history. On this spot stood the churcn
whlchiwns erected by Constantino, dedicated to
John tho Baptist. Then, when the city toll into
tho hands of tho Turks, they converted it into a
mosque, obliterating everything that had a traco
of Christianity. Thoy closed the door by which
the Christians entored nnd closed up other build'
ings in front ot it.
Somo few years ago, howover, tho Great
Mosquo, to tho wholo regret of tho, civilized world,
was burned down in a single dny. Strange to
say, tho old door escaped tho lire and no ono was
moro surprised thnn tho mosloms to read over
its portal the'so words from tho Psalms: "Thy
kingdom O Christ Is n kingdom of all ages nnd
thy dominion onduroth throughout all genera
tions." Tho mosquo was robullt, but tho mosloms, be
ing superstitious, fonred to tamper with tho old
door and its sacred inscription and so loft it and
It can bo soon to this day, a reminder that Mo
hnmmednn rulo has not always boon supremo In
tho Mother City of tho World.
Grandma Burbanks had a little
grandson, six years old, and that lit
tle grandson nnd 5 cents worth of
(raw peanuts brought about a caso of
tho colic, u thunder-storm, a misun
derstanding, n case of love and a vory
happy marriage. When nil was over
tho old lady thought she had done
very well for a woman of her age.
It was the grandson that bought
,tho raw peanuts nnd brought them
homo to dlvldo them with grandma.
Sho couldn't havo eaten n peck, for
,thore were not that many to begin
on, but at eight o'clock in tho eve
ning, as sho was tucked away in her
bed, tho pains began. Mr. and Mrs.
Burbanks were away for tho night;
Hnrry, tho son, twenty-three years
old, was in town and not expected
out until the midnight train; tho
grandson wns asleep, and the houso
was in charge of Miss Dorothy, aged
There aro various remedies for
colic Thoro nro hot drinks, mustard
'plasters and whisky with pepper in
it, nnd It may bo cured in ten min
utes or everything may bo found use
less. After Miss Dorothy had worked
away for half an hour sho decided
that the doctor must bo sent lor.
' "Is that Dr. Holmes?" sho asked
when sho telephoned in to tho vil
lage, three miles away.
"The doctor Is out and not expect
ed back until after midnight," was
tho reply.
Dr. Wincheil was tried. Ho was
also out. Tho druggist thought ho
could put up something lor that colic,
but ho had no boy to send. Grandma
groaned out with every breath that
that breath was tho last sho expected
to draw In this world. Tho girl must
Id 1 1 JjfjT
I Midshipmen Now and Then
Something moro than a hundred
years ngo tho midshipman was, in
deed, tho "mldahlpmlto" that ho was
popularly called, for ho was but a
mite ot a lad, usually rccolving hla
appointment before ho reached his
tenia. Admirals Farragut and Por
ter wero midshipmen, alloat nnd In
pitched battles, at twolvo years ot
uge, and Goldborough wns appointed
whon only Boven years old. Nown
days, howover, tho midshipman 1b
qulto a difforont porson. Ho cannot
enter tho naval ncadomy undor fif
teen, and Is thareforo, whon on a
regular cruising ship, nfter complet
ing his four yenrB academic courso,
usually a wcll-dovelopod man, phys
ically mature and nthlotlc, nnd with a
trained mind. Ho Is far bettor equip
ped mentally than tho lloutouants
nnd many of tho captains or oven
neventy yeartj ago.
Tho old-tlmo middles wero mcro
Bchool boys. All tho warships or any
fiizo carried in tholr regular complo
meats a schoolmaster, whoso duty It
was to glvo tho Inds as llhorai an
education no possible in tho odd po
rlods botwoon strictly professional
duties. This rating of schoolmastor
was abolished, In fact, only? about
twenty, years ngo; but nftor tho es
tablishment of tho nnvnl academy, In
1841, iheso olllcluls dovoted their en
ergies to tho sailor apprentices only,
tho enlisted boys of tho forocastlo.
Even these now obtain tholr educa
tion on shore
Thoro Is a tradition that tho thrco
brass buttons tho midshipman woara
on tho sleovo ot his full dress coat
during Ids fonr years at Annnpolis
originated a century or moro ngo,
when tholr prosenco was needed to
discourage tho youngsters from brush
ing tholr nosos with their bIcovcs.
This la probably a base slander, mod
ern roscarch Indicating that tho but
tons nro rollcs ot tho days whon
thoro wns a cuff-Map on tho sloovo.
At all events, tho oxtromo youth or
tho mldahlpmlto used to bo his most
conspicuous characteristic. Instead
of tho full-sized regulation olIlcor'B
sword thnt ho now carries, ho woro a
llttlo stralght-bladod dirk about a
foot long. Ho wns to n largo extont
a messenger for carrying orders
nbout tho ship, but ho nlso took
chargo or boajs and commnndod mou,
desplto his youth. Ho wns frequout
ly placed In chargo or a prlzo cap
lured In war, taking her Into port,
and not Infrequently suppressing
mutinloa among tho prlsonors on
board. Farragut waB a prlzo-mastor
at tho ago ot twolvo, and got his prlzo
safely la.
Tho tltlo "m!dflh!pmau, is an auc-
lout ono. Ho Is nbovo tho seamen
and tho petty olllcors forward, and bo
low tho commissioned olllcors in the
wardroom aft honco "mldslilp-mnn."
Thoro was formerly a higher grado
called passod midshipman, but this
was abolished boforo tho Civil war.
Thon. about forty years ago, tho grade
was restored, but called mldshlpmnn,
tho former midshipman being desig
nated as a cadot-mldshlpmnn. In 1JJ82
tho tltlo ot tho latter was changed
to naval cadet, which It still remains,
and tho midshipmen woro merged
with tho ensigns, Accordingly, tho
tlmo-houorcd tltlo of midshipman no
longer exists officially In tho United
Stntes navy.
Whllo olllcially a naval cadet, that
young officer Is still regarded, and
ofton referred to vorbally, as a mld
shlpmnn, for ho is tho snmo crenturo
as of old, as far as his duties go. But
by tho sldo of his oarllor prototypo
tho twentieth century "middy" 1b n
savant. Trigonometry was ubout ns
high up in mathematics as tho old
timor over wont. Tho twentieth cen
tury lad goeB far beyond. Ho goes
through analytical goomotry of throo
In Ono Ton of Coal.
From ono ton ot ordinary gas coal
may bo produced 1,500 pounds of
coko, 20 gallons of ammonia water
and 1-10 pound of coal tar. By dis
tillation tho coal tar will yield G9.U
pounds of pitch, 17 pounds of creosoto,
11 pounds of heavy oils, 9.5 pounds
of naphtha yoilow, 6.3 pounds ot
naphthaline, 4.75 pounds nnphthol,
2.25 pounds nlaznrln. 2.4 pounds sol
vent naphtha, 1.5 pounds phenol, 1.2
dimensions, differential and Integral
calculus, applied mechanics.
Gunnery a hundred years ago was
llttlo moro than loading, aiming and
firing at short ranges. It now in
volves metallurgy, theory ot tho com
bustion of powder gases, stress and
strain, mechanical engineering, manu
facture and preservation of complex
explosives, nnd other abstruse sub
jects, In all of which tho midshipman
of tho presont day must bo proficient.
Midshipmen wero conspicuous in all
our enrly wars, notably thoso with
tho Uarbary Statos, with the West
Indian pirates and with tho British
In 1812. Thoy woro equnlly conspic
uous during our conlllcts with the
Spanish and Filipinos. Midshipmen,
.inval cadots, had chargo of tho ex
tremely hazardous picket duty In the
Santiago blockade closo under tho
Spanish batteries, and often undor
muskotry llro from shore. Cadet
Powell ran his open launch right into
tho harbor of Santiago, nfter tho
Morrimac, remained all night undor
the mennclng guns of tho Inner bat
teries, and steamed out again under
tholr fire In tho morning.
pounds aurlne, 1.1 pounds benzine, 1.1
pounds nnallno, 0.77 of a pound
toluidlno, 0.4G of a pound anthracite
and 0.9 of n pound toluene. From tho
latter is obtained tho substance known
as saccharin, which Is 230 timea as
sweet as tho best cano sugar, ono
part of It giving a vory sweet tasto
to 1,000 parts ot water.
It n ton of conl bo used In this way
thoro is a blggor profit In it than If It
bo sold for burning In a range-
Grandma Was Having a Hard Time
of It.
harness tho pony and drive to tho vil
lage for the remedy. Grandma might
die during hor absence, but sho prom
ised to live if she possibly could. As
she was dear, the houso would have
to be locked up.
Miss Dorothy was so rattled that
sho didn't notice the thunderstorm
coming up until sho had driven a mile
or moro. Then n Hnsh and a reverbera
tion and a fow drops showed hor that
sho was In for a time. Flvo minutes
later and the pony refused to faco
the storm. When held up to it ho
wheoled nnd started for homo on a
gallop, and did not pauso until ho had
brought up undor a shed. Tho girl
ran for tho house to discover that she
was locked out. A spring-lock nnd
her mislaid key had dono It. She
tried window after window In vain.
It wns no use to call to a deaf woman
In her bed upstairs, or hope to awakon
the boy whoso peanuts had brought
tho trouble about. Tho girl was cow
oring on tho veranda, dodging the
flashes and scolding herself and all
others, whon tho lightning showed
her tho figure of a man with a bag in
his hand coming up tho walk. Ho
looked long and lank, nnd ho dripped
gallons of wator.
Tho strangor was after shelter. Ho
did not ring tho bell, but got what
shelter the veranda afforded and did
not even look nround him. Miss Dor
othy wns touSfoet nway, and belloved
tho stranger a tramp until he mut
tered: "Well, of all tho blank fools In
this Btato you take tho cako!"
Ho had tho volco of a gentleman,
and ho swore liko a gentleman. A
real gentleman's swearing Is not
swearing. It Is only for emphnsls.
Instead of being shocked, Miss Dor
othy waited to hear:
"No hurry to stnrt out tonight, and
yet you were blank fool enough to
think It would bo n romantic walk!
Well, you've got tho romanco or It!
Soaked from hoad to hool and moro
Miss Dorothy liked tho volco. Sho
liked to ronllzo that sho wasn't the
only fool to Btnrt out In tho face or
tho storm Sho liked It whon the
stranger gave himself a snake like a
colllo dog after a uwlm, and mum
bled: "Cnll yourself a doctor and yet run
the risks of such an exposure! Soro
throat, cold in the head and backache
to pay for this. Say, Doc, it would
servo you blank right if somo of tho
people Insldo fired a chargo of bird
shot at you and drove you olf. Lands,
but bow It docs pour!''
Miss Dorothy had heard the man
call himself a doctor, and her thoughts
leaped to poor old grandma. Sho
knew tho doctors she had telephoned
for, and this was nelthor of them.
Tho caso demanded n little boldness
on her part, however, and she nd
vnnced a stop or two and asked:
"Did I understand you to say you
wero a doctor?"
After a Jump aside and an exclama
tion of "Good Lord!" tho man re
plied: "I can't mnko out who you are, but
I am a doctor, driven to shelter by
tho storm. If I trespass I am ready
to go."
"No, no. I had started to tho vil
lago nfter medicine for my grand
mother when tho storm drove mo
back. Sho is suffering 'with the colic,
and I should call this an act of Provi
dence If wo could only get Into tho
"Locked out, eh? I am a now doc
tor Just about to set up practice in
the villago, anil 1 havo a bag of rem
edies with mo. Let's see what sort of
a burglar I am. Perhaps ono ot my
keys will open tho door."
Ono of them did, and as soon as ho
could throw off some of his outer gar
ments he was at tho bedsldo of his
patient. Grandma was having a hard
time of It. Indeed, It was hours bo
foro she was easier, and tho two
worked over her now and then, and
now and then had opportunity to talk.
A doctor with his first patient, and n
girl with a grandmother suffering trom
to many raw peanuts, don't havo to
stand on Ice-cold formality.
When Harry reached the houso
from tho midnight train he almost
made up his mind that they wero
qulto chummy. Ho didn't do any criti
clzlng, however. He loved his grand
mother, was happy her llfo had been
saved, and ho wasn't tho kind of
brother to offer his advico simply be
cause ho had a sister. Tho only thing
ho did say was alter breakfast, and
that was partly to himself:
"Tho ways of Provldenco nro past
finding out. Thoso peanuts and that
thunderstorm may bring me a brothor-ln-Iaw."
"You need somo ono to get you
home earlier," was tho reply; and
matters rested there.
Grandma heard all about tho storm
and tho providential appearance of
Dr. Burnett, and when ho called tho
next afternoon to seo If sho had fully
recovered sho was very grateful. Mr.
and Mrs. Burbanks wero In tho room
with the patient and doctor, but that
did not prevent tho old lady from say
ing to her son:
"James, I thought surely my tlmo
had come, and there was only ono
thing that I worried about. You know
what I havo often said to you?"
"I don't recall It at this minute,"
was the reply.
"Why, that wo ought to havo a doc
tor In tho family. Wo can't get ono
through Harry, but wo can through
Dorothy. I wish you would hnvo a
talk with her today."
Just what tho son and hlB wll'o
thought, and just how the blushing
girl got out of tho room without fall
ing over tho rugs Is not recorded, but
this much tho historian knows tho
doctor bent forward at just tho right
instant to feel grandma's pulso and to
warn her that at her ago a person
shouldn't swnllow too many wooden
toothpicks nor eat too many raw tur
nips just boforo going to bed. Ho
didn't look over-red nor over-pale
when ho left the house, half an hour
Dr. Burnett became popular In tho
vlllnge. In driving out that way ho
always had time to mako a call at the
Burbanks' mansion, and after a bit It
rathor looked as If Miss Dorothy ex
pected him about onco In so often, but
It was months and months beforo
grandmother's mind wns put at rest.
After saying that sho oxpected tho
next attack of colic to carry her off
sho said:
"That is, unless wo have a doctor In
tho family."
"Ho he asked mo today If tho fam
ily would tako him In!" was tho whis
pered reply from behind her chair.
"And you said tho family would
and wo will and oh, dear mo, 1 al
most wish I had tho colic again and
was hearing the angols strumming on
their harps!"
Echoes From the Woods.
"Woodmnn," said tho man who
quotes pootry but lamely, "withhold
tho ax with which you aro about to
lay low this sturdy oak, thoroby pre
serving a valuable asset to posterity
and sparing yourself greater fatigue
than the object striven for Justifies."
"I seo," replied tho woodman; "you
aro a man of scientific Ideas and seek
to omploy tho energy of conservation
to tho conservation of energy."
Power of Two Word3.
"I will," Is a projectile that hits
tho mark; a power that movea moun
tains. Henry Wood.

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