Big Timber Pioneer 1898

              AN OLD MAID'S SONG.
HE boarders used
to look across the
boarding house table at the Old
Maid with a keen,
psychological sort
of interest.
"Wh?j should she
look so happy?"
the elder, who was
something of a
belle would demand. "She can't have any adiuir-
-ers."
"Why should she look so happy?"
the younger, who spoke of Art and
Missions with capitals in her voice,
would ask. "She can't regard being
secretary to that lawyer as a noble
calling."
And the wives of the boarding-
house used also to puzzle over the Old
Maid's joyousness, "for she has no
nusband," they said, "and at her age
•can hardly hope to get one."   .
But I never marveled at the gentle
spinster's radiant face after we had
heard the Singer, not because hearing his voice was enough to provide
his hearers with a fund of inner joy
for the remainder of their days, but
because of the song he sang.
Now, the Old Maid had lived so long
:in the boarding-house on the square
that it had become second nature for
her to choose the less tarnished spoons
in the holder and to avoid instinctively the top slices of bread on the bread
plate. She was familiar with all varieties of boarding-house servants.
and she knew that all alike despised
her as "the fourth floor front." She
knew by heart the landlady's stories
of pressing present need and of past
affluence. She had nothing to learn
in the matter of substituted gas iets.
and her feet were trained to skip the
torn spots in the stair carpet. Altogether there was nothing in the Old
Maid's position in her boarding-house
to acc3unt for her serenity.
Down-town the Old Maid was a stenographer in a law office, where pret-
tiness was at a discount as a hindrance
•to unremitting toil. She did not realize that her chief attraction to her
employers was the lack of distracting
'features and complexion. Long as she
had lived in the sordid but educating
boarding-house, she had not learned
everything that was to be learned
about motives, and she believed that
her fathei''s old friendship with the
lawyer had much to do with her position.
Before the remote day when the Old
Maid first came to the law office and
the boarding-house she had lived in
the country. Even yet when the
spring rains came down and drenched
the grim pavements she had a swift,
fleeting sense of late snows melting
by the rim of the brooks and of timid
flowers pushing through the soft earth.
And whenever there was the fresh
•odor of new-growing grass, and new-
sprouting leaves in the city parks her
mind turned toward peaceful, pastoral
ways, and her eyes were filled with
•visions of billowy, blossoming trees.
of plowmen moving across upland
fields, of the waking up of life and
industry. In short, the Old Maid was
a poet, although the crude little expressions of her emotions never met
the keen eyes of critics or even the
kindly eyes of her friends.
Well, once upon a time the Singer
came to the boading-housre on the
square. He was young and his audiences—they were largely feminine—
declared that nowhere else was there
a singer who carroled out songs and
sobbed out ballads so movingly.
Whether or not he was peerless is a
question, but at any rate he had made
a great success, and people wondered
that he should come to the dingy
abode of the boarders and the Old
Maid. Some said that it was because
he had lived there in the days before
'he was known to fashion, and some
whispered knowingly that the lady to
•whom the Singer sang lived over the
•way in the stone house with the balconies at the window and the guarding lions at the door. Be that as it
may, it is a fact that when the Singer
came to the city for his series of con-
'Certs and recitals he sanctified the
abode of the Old Maid with his presence for a whole week. And the Old
Maid wa3 agitated mysteriously by
his preser.ca, though it is doubtful if
he even saw her shabby little figure.
One night she crept down the stairway when the house was still and
slipped a paper beneath the Singer's
•door sill. The paper bore a set of
verses written, in the fine hand of a
woman who was educated a quarter
of a century ago, and a little note that
read:
"If you should sometimes find this
worthy to sing I would be the happiest
woman on earth."
Now, the Singer felt a brutal indifference about all happiness save   his
own, which had been sorely tried that
night by the lady of his songs.   So he
merely muttered:  "Confound imbecile
-women!" Then he looked at the verses
-•and then he went gloomily to bed. But
through the night, as he reflected upon
his blighted hopea and the hardness of
'his fate,.-some of the Old Maid's lines
sang tberaaelvea ^through his mind:
I'll see thee in each flower that grows;
Thou art not lost while lives the rose.
Not lost while lives the rose,
the foolish refrain insisted.
In the morning the silly rhymes
would not be banished. He found himself humming them to an air, and by
and by—so weak was he,' owing to the
cruel lady—he srt down at the piano
and played the air softly.
It was the same week that he gave
his great concert at the hall up-town.
With indifferent generosity he offered
the landlady tickets to be distributed
and so It happened that the Old Maid
and I went together.
The Old Maid was very pink and
very tremulous, and, not being'in her
confidence, I could not understand her
state. After all there was nothing in
a successful singer of 33 to excite a
spinster stenographer of 50.
The Singer had sung grand opera
arias and the music from masses. He
had sung Scotch ballads and German
love songs. But he could not sing
enough to satisfy his audience. After
each properly numbered selection he
was recalled again and again. Finally
he came out and said:
"I wish I could tell y«?u the author
of the words I am going to sing. They
were sent to me anonymously in manuscript, and I have no means of giving
credit to whom it is due."
The Old Maid's figure quivered. She
breathed sobbingly and drew closer
to me, and I wondered if she were going crazy.
Then the Singer sang the simple
verses. They may have been very bad
as verses, but as a song they were a
success. The audience listened intently, the women looking up, as women look when lowered eyelids would
let the tears brim over. And when the
last verse rang out, plaintively and
proudly:
And though thou hast banished me,
I touch thee in each nodding flower;
I see thee, dear one, every hour,
In sky, or star, or sea.
All beauty holds some hint of thee,
And so then canst not banish me,
Thou canst not banish me,
the hall forgot to applaud for fully
three seconds, when it caught its
breath and surreptitiously wiped its
eyes. That is, all but the Old Maid.
She wept quite openly, turning her radiant, tear-stained face toward me.
"It's mine! It's mine!" she half sobbed.   "O, it's mine and I am so happy!"
And then she told me the whole
story. But neither prayers nor entreaties could prevail upon her to let
me tell her secret.   And the boarders
"IT'S MINE!   IT'S MINE."
still wonder why it is that a colorless
little lady like the Old Maid sometimes
wears a look of pride.
ALL OXEN  LOOKED ALIKE.
Reason Why a Lawyor Couldn't Tell One
Animal  from Another.
From the New Orleans Times-Democrat: An ambitious young lawyer
paid his first visit to a country court
holding its session not far from New
Orleans not long since. He went to
represent a big railroad in a suit
brought by a countryman to recover
the value of an ox, which departed
this life In a vain attempt to hold
up the limited mall. The question before the court was one of identification, and the countryman had testified that he knew the ox by its color
and the flesh marks. The young city
lawyer rose and with dignity said: "If
your honor please, there can be no
question that this witness has sworn
falsely when he testified that an ox
can be recognized by his color. I was
a stenographer before I became a lawyer, and for two days, your honor
(drawing out his notebook). I have taken a detailed description of every ox
that passed the hotel, and I am prepared to swear as an expert that 'all
oxen look alike to me.' "
"You are trifling with the dignity
of this court, sir," sternly said the
judge, "and I will fine "
"Hold on, judge." said the clerk:
"there hain't, bpen out one yoke of oxen in this town in a week. Old man
Henley's bpen a-haulin* wood, and the
lawyer's been counting the same oxen
over and over."
"Judgment for plaintifT." sa'd th*
Judge, and the city lawyer, glad to escape the wrath of his honor, took his
departure, a sadder but wiser man.
A  Ileal   Calamity.
Gus—Pity Choily is so awfully deformed, dor.echerknow?
Bertie—Pcor fellow! What's the
matter with k!m?
Gus—W5.y--.iw—his neck's so doo-
cldly short thai he always has to wear
turn-down t-Lar.;.--Pick-Me-Uc
FOR BOYS ANITGIRLS.
SOME GOOD STORIES FOR OUR
JUNIOR    READERS.
The Little Hen and Women of Japan—
That Country la a Paradise for Youth
How They Pm« the Time—"Dare to
Do Right, Dare to Be True."
The   Chestnut-Tree.
a^ BRIGHT, bright day
<*Sf c5*xll •     and a wind-swept
^WjK-j\ '  hl11'
ot Jftf^BBBj •   And   white   clouds
/t//E£Sk        floating   far   and
fflfi<*&\   II Ah!   this is the time
™*£Z$w <ili    to run with a wul*
To7eCB/]s tS»   And    frolic    under
the chestnut tree!
'There's the graceful
birch,     with    its
swaying head.
And     leaves     that
quiver in everv breeze;
There's the brilliant'maple, with branche3
red,
And the ash, dressed   out   all eyes to
please.
The oak is sturdy, the elm all grace,
And    the    dogwood  strings   its  scarlet
beads,
But of all the trees in the wildwood place
There   is   only - one that the schoolboy
heeds.
So. give us a day on the wind-swept hill,
With white clouds floating far and free.
And then you'll see us run with a will
For a frolic under the chestnut tree!
-Annie I. Willis.
Japanese   Children.
A French magazine lately published an article on Japan that would almost make the reader think that country a children's paradise. American
boys and girls will like to read a few
paragraphs translated into their own
language.   The writer says:
"Truly Japan is a children's paradise! Nowhere are there more of
them; nowhere are they better
loved. The sweetest religious sentiment of Japan is filial love, and
parents who love their children
passionately are amply recompensed
for this affection by the care
and respect with which they are surrounded later in life, when they have
reached old age.
"It is a charming spectacle to see
the children in Yokohama, when they
go, at the beginning of springtime, to
look for shells at low tide. They come
in groups from all parts of the etty,
carrying with them baskets and boxes
hanging from their backs. Having
disrobed, they run joyously over the
beach, prattling and crying out with
glee, devoting all their energies to
the search, while j^ie heads of sleeping babies are balanced funnily on the
hips of older brothers or sisters.
"Two days in the year are exclusively devoted to children. At Tokyo, Kio-
ta, Yokohama, and in all the cities of
Japan there is a day when the shops
are full of toys, little models of persons or things, or even figures of the
entire Japanese court in miniature.
This is on the great holiday for little girls. At this time, large and small
are dressed, in garments of all colors
and affect the most extraordinary headdresses. The mothers are very proud
of these toilets.
"The corresponding boys' holiday
falls on May 5. Then they are seen
scattered everywhere about the country. At each house is raised a bamboo mast from which hang, blown
about by the wind, strings of paper
fishes. These represent carp, and are
symbols of energy and constancy. For
as the carp can ascend streams against
the strongest currents, just so a studious child can, in following the difficult current of life, acquire fortune and
renown. There are as many of these
paper fishes at each house as there
are children in it, so that at some
houses as many as a dozen fish may
be counted on the masts.
"Japanese children love also the
sport of kite-flying. They make kites
with strips of bamboo on which is
fastened the paper of very tough texture, common in Japan. Some kites
are of huge size and can be raised
manv hundred yards. Veritable swarms
of them may often be seen flying about
villages. The children attach to them
little devices that under the influence
of the wind give out a most curious
musica' humming sound.
"The Japanese child is neither rough
nor brrlal. He is full of life and spirits, nothing more. He spends his
money for fruit and candy like other
children, and takes his pleasure in a
move rational way than the American
child, being both less strong and less
combative. Wickedness seems unknown to him.
"The coolie child, with his brown
face and bare legs, is always interesting. How many things he can carry
on his back! * * * Under his big
straw hat you often see a fine'y formed face, but it. is almost always sp.rt.
with the resigned expression common
to children who suffer.
"But the child that attracts the most
attention is the child of the sampan
(boats). Each sampan is generally
navigated with the aid of two heavy
sweeps, managed by two children, of
whom 'he youngest is often not morn
than eight or ten years old. Under
the- eyes of parent or patron, the young
boatmen give proof of incomparable
address and agility. They live on
board  the  boat,  eating and  sleeping
tnere, and so are trained to be excellent sailors for the Japanese navy.
"Foreign firms also employ'in their
offices a certain number of Japanese
children as clerks or errand-boys. *
* * It is said that all little Japanese,
especially these messenger boys, have
a special talent for whistling. They
even whistle European tunes!
"In Japan people love children so
much that when they have none of
their own, they adopt one, and if a
Japanese thinks he is too poor to support his child, he hastens to get it
adopted by some rich family, which
he always succeeds in doing."—Selected.
"Dare to do Right, Dare to   Be   True."
Dear Boys and Girls: Did any of
you ever visit a food fair? Yes, a few
of you have. Is it not a fine plac'e and
in some parts very tempting to the appetites? As the world grows wiser—
is it growing wiser?—people are thinking more about good bodies. A soul
can not grow as large as it otherwise
would, perhaps, when the body is unhealthy. So when we see the food prepared to make people grow strong and
healthy, we are very glad. The cereals, like wheat and oats, have many
feet of space in the great hall of the
food fair, and a visitor sees it cooked
and can taste it, and if he thinks it is
good, he will want a little sample
package which is given away to carry
home. Then there are griddle cakes
offered and tiny cups of chocolate, so
nice that one wishes the cups were
bigger. I like to see the vegetables
and fruit and tall stalks of corn and
wheat. I like, too, to go and see the
butter churned and the cheeses made
and the bread baked. You would be interested in the machines for grinding
coffee, churning butter and making ice
cream. Then there are nice milk wagons for carrying milk very gently
and all kinds of refrigerators and
stoves.
There is one place that always has
a crowd around it and that is the cider
mill. It made me feel very sorry to see
the children and grown people all
drinking, but when I inquired about it
I found that it was not cider, but apple juice, for the apples were put in
and the mill ground out the juice. You
know it does not begin to ferment for
several hours, so that it had no alcohol in it, but I did not think the white
ribbon that I had on would like to see
me drinking anything that was even
called cider, so I passed along. It is
safer to go a good way off from anything that might have snakes in it,
dont you think so?
When poor people have good food
they will not have to take so much
strong drink. I hope you may all visit
a fair like this one in Boston sometime.—Aunt Mary in Union Signal,
Children's Department.
Ithoda, a   Temperance Girl.
Rhoda's mother died and left seven
children, she being the youngest. Her
mother's sister took her and brought
her up as her own. At the age of two
years, Rhoda had the scarlet fever and
when she recovered she was nearly
blind. A bandage was worn over
the eyes, or else she carried her right
arm over them, until the shoulder
blade grew out of shape. Doctors were
called in but they said at thirteen years
of age she would be stone-blind and
there was no help. In spite of this,
Rhoda learned to read and write.
Building blocks and ABC books were
gotten for her; in fact, she lacked nothing to make her happy. As she grew
older glasses were fitted, but to no
avail, for she had nearly lost the sight
of her right eye. When she was eight
years old she commenced to go to
school, and, under difficulties, kept
along with her class, and at thirteen
her health and left eye grew stronger.
Her education is now nearly completed. The Lord has been good to
her through these years and by His
help she will fight King Alcohol while
he gives her the power to do it.—Deborah S. Bass.
They Don't Speak.
Mrs. Murray Hill is a very homely
woman. Her husband is absent from
the city, and her dearest friend, Mrs.
Manhattan tteaeh, called. Mrs. Hill
said
"The last thing my husband did bo-
fore he went away was to give me a
kiss."
"IFm! I should think that would be
the very last thing he would want to
do."
And now they don't speak, for some
reason.—New York World.
Not Portable Enoucli.
"I have been thinking—"
Thus mused Gen. Weyler. and no one
sucincd well enough acquainted with
him lo dispute his assertion.
"That if I had that overland route
through Alaska down here in Cuba—"
And he looked daggers so forcibly
that, bystanders could observe the
Trademark on the handle.
"I'd make a groat old troeha out of
it."—Truth.
A CbnnKc of Heart.
Ho—I think I shall have to preach a
bicycle sermon to-morrow, advising all
my parisioners to ride a wheel.
She—Why. Joseph, it Is only three
weeks ago since you denounced the
wheel most thoroughly.
He—Yes; but remember, my dear,
that was while I was learning to rlclo.
—Harper's Bnscnr.
Free frtw Catarrh
Surprised at the Wonderful Curative
Power of Hood's Sarsaparllla.
"I hate taken Hood's Sarsaparllla for
catarrh and bronchial trouble and have
' been surprised at its wonderful curative
piopertios. I am now entirely free from
both these complaints, and heartily recommend Hood's Sarsaparllla for catarrh."
A. G. Saman, Clark Mills, Wisconsin.
Hood's Sarsaparilla
Is the best—in fact the One True Blood Purifier
Hood's Pills act easily, effectively.  26c.
DIk Steel Casting.
There has recently been cast by the
Bethlehem Iron Foundry a nickel-steel
ingot weighing 222,300 pounds, said to
be the .largest ingot ever cast in this
country. It is sixteen loot seven inches long, seventy-four inches in diameter, and from it will bo made a sixteen-
inch gun for coast defense.
ANDREW  SCIIOCII   GROCERY  CO.
It wul pay >ou to buy your goods from
us.   Givo us a trial order.
Goniton Apples, ?1.7."» to $2.50 per bbl.
Ben Davis Apples, fly to $.1 per bbl.
1 box Schoch's Best Soap (100 bars).
*2.75.
5-lb. Cady Uncolored Japan Tea, $125.
5-lb. Cady Gun Powder Tea, $1.25.
7 lbs. Golden Rio Coffee. $1.
4  lbs.  Palmer House  Mocha and Java
Coffee, *1.
5-lb. Can Highest Quality,Cream Tartar
Baklmg Powder,  $1-50.        *
Sauer  Kraut,   per bbl.   ?4;   per %-bbl.,
$2.25.
New Evaporated Apples, per lb.. Se.
Jonathan Cider, per bbl., $5; per %-bbl.,
S3.
New Holland  Herring:  (Crown   Brand),
per keg. SI.
Send for price Hut and estimate •»
your ChriMtmaa order.
Corner 7th  and   Broadway.   St.   Paul.
JtiMt Ijlke it Man.
Husband—Here's a pretty little thing
I bought at the church fair lor you.
They charged me $5 for it.
Wife—Why, you silly thing. I made
that for the, fair myself! AVill you
never learn sense?"—lioxbury Gazette.
A 111sr Regular Array..
The mightiest host of this sort is the
army of invalids whose bowels, livers and
stomachs have been regulated by Hostet-
ter's Stomach Bitters. A regular habit of
body Is brought about through using the
bitters, not by violently agitating and
griping the Intestines, but by reinforcing
their energy and causing a flow of bile
into tho proper channel. Malaria, la
grippe, dyspepsia and a tendency to inactivity of the kidneys are corrected by
the Bitters.
Wanted a. Warmer Job.
"I see that you are going to leave the
police force at the end of the month,
Tim."
"Yes, sir.lt's bad slcepin' out in winter."
flown   ThUl
We offer One Hundred Dollars reward
for any case of Cutarrh that cannot be
cured by Hall's Catarrh Cure.
F. J. CHENEY 6 CO., Toledo, O.
We, the undersigned, have known F.
J. Cheney for the last 15 years, and believ*
him perfectly honorable In all business
transactions and financially able to carry
out any obligations made by their firm.
West & Truax. Wholesale Druggists,
Toledo, O.; Waldlng, Klnnan & Marvin,
Wholesale DrugglBU, Toledo, O.
Hall's Catarrh Cure Is taken internally,
acting directly upon the blood and mucous surfaces of the system. Testimonials sent free. Price 75c per bottle. Sold
by all druggists.
Hall's Family Pills are the best.
Incontrovertible Proof.
Husband—Why do you tell it all
around that Mrs. ruflly does her own
baking?   You know nothing about it.
Wife—I do, too. Every one in the
family has dyspepsia.
Don't Tobacco Spit an* Smoke Your Life Away.
To quit tobacco easily and forever, bo magnetic, full of life, nerve aud vigor, take No-To-
Bac, the wonder-worker, that makes weak men
strong. All druggists, 50c. or $1. Cure guaranteed. Booklet and sample free. Address
Sterling  Remedy Co.,  Chicago or Now York.
A Frewli Supply.
"Have you the inspiration of the muses to-day?" asked the caller of the
attic poet.
"No; but I've sent out for a quart."
Wanted—The Philadelphia Mutual Aid Association of St. Paul. Minn., pays from ?20 to
8100 per month for accident. $40 per month for-
sickness and $100 at death. Cost, $1 and $1.M>
per month. Reliable agents wanted. Salary or
commission.
IiOMt In tlie Sculllc.
"What in the world ever became of
Watter's left ear?"
"They couldn't tell, exactly. He was
center rush In the Tearems, yon
know."
WANTED—A few private scholars In Account
Keeping and Business Forms; complete course.
$10. by correspondence. Address, with 2c stamp.
W. 13. Brink, 777 Pascal nve., St. Paul, Minn.
The man who Indulges in mud-throwing always oils his own hands.
Smoke Sledge Cigarettes, 20 for- 5 cts.
Tt's easy enough to talk liko a philosopher, but it is hard to act like one.
Awarded
Highest Honors—World's FaUy
Gold Medal, Midwinter Fair.
CREAM
BAKING
P0WMR
A Pare drape Cream tf Tartar Powder.
40 YEARS THE STANDARD.