The herald and news. [volume], February 16, 1909, Page FIVE, Image 5

About The herald and news. [volume] (Newberry S.C.) 1903-1937

Image provided by: University of South Carolina; Columbia, SC

                
INGRATITUDE.
* *
* * *** * ** ** *** ** *
Edi:tor Herald and News: In hi
seCm1il in the 'lu-ther-all Church i,f th
RedEemer Jn last Su1(1ay mInl O' a111-V
wek ago. zle Rev. .J. Iir. \hu:n-.
~president of Ned~lerry elke ini
pres enting to his atudieclle SOMe Of
the marks of the perfeet man, as con
tenplate,d by the Psalmist in the 37th
verse of the 37ith Psalm. very appro
priat-ely quoted friam Tennyson's
IdAvls ot' the KiI some Of the princi
ples of Kin- Artmur's Order of th
Round Table,
"The goodliest fellowship of famous
knights
Whereof .this world holds record.''
Knights whom King Arthur made
to lay their hands in his and swear,
' To reverence the King as if he were
Their conscience. and their conscience
as their King,
To break the healthen and uphold the
Christ,
To ride abroad redressing human
wrongs,
To spea& no slander, no, nor listen to
it,
To honor his own word as if his
God's,
To lead sweet lives in purest ehastity,
To love one maiden only, cleave to
her,
And worship her by years of noble
deeds,
UntiA they won her.
The days of knight-errantry have
passed, and an intensely practical age
is upon us, but, as Dr. Harms said,
thait kind of ehivalry which would ap-.
ply in a practical way the principles
of Ar16hur's knights to present con
ditions, is -the great need of the twen
tieth 'eentiury->'t'hat chivalry xvhich
-reeverences conseience as king, which
pholds the Christ, which goes abroad
feeding the hungry and clothing the
naked and carrying solace to souls
that are seared with sorr(,w, that
causes one to ihonor his word as if his
God's and men to lead sweet lives of
purest chastity. Lack of -these things
is ithe cause of most of the sin and
misery of the world today.
But Dr. Harms mi4ht have gone a
step further in 'his illustrations from
the Idylls of the King-to the Pass
ing of Arthut-to "that story which
the bold Sir Bedivere, first made and
laes left of all the knights, told,
when the an~ was no more than a
voice in the white winter of his age,
to those wit~h whom 'he dwelt, new
faces, other minds."
"For on their march to westward, Be
divere,
Who slowly paced amiong the slumb
ering host,
Hear} in 'his tent the manings of the
King.'
And among these -he might have
awn a lesson from this lament of
Arthur:
"And all whereon I leaned in wife
and friend
Is traitor to my peace, and all my
realm
Reels back into tihe beast and is no
more."
There is no more common sin in the!
world today 'than ingratitude, and it
is proable that it has ever been so.
To be grateful to God for his mercies
-to love God-is the greatest. lesson
ta.ught by the Scriptures, and sochr
ateried by the COhrist. And the.
Christ said tihat second to this, and
like unto it, was love of fellow-man.
The greaiter comnprehends the lesser,
nd the lesser is but a manifestation
of the greater.
It was not intended by the writezr,
however, to enter into a theological
discussion, even .if he were competent
or felt disposed :to do so. Ingratitude
is as .mu'ch a vice 'and causes ags poig
nant grief in the little ordinary, ev
ry-day affairs of life as in the 1lar
g er affairs.
Perhaps there is less of it in New
~erry than elsewhere. Perhaps there
is not. That is neither here nor there.
It is seen here, as it is seen every
where else.
Mr. Editor. you control and pub
lish The Herald.and News. Have you
ever used its columns in season and
out of season for the advancement of
the interests of one who, when the
time came when he, without even in
coveniening himself, could do you
a favor which would mean much to
you, was the acme of indifferene i
Have you ever with your whole
soul, pe-sonally and in your newspa
per, espoused the political- cause of
one who fought you to the bitter end
when ou asked something for your
self, or who-which is just as bad
did nothing when it was in his power
Have vou ev.er advocated a pu.bhe
mpprovement aigainst bitter opposi
tton. and then, when the improvement
ae found your efforts fo-rgotten,
Wt
NAILS
Oiir stock s now com
and we ask a ch nce t
ure with you in both V
and CUT Nails, Rough
Finishing.
PAIN
If Courteous Treat
and those who had opposed the im
provemen.t. but who had become eon
verts when they saw it was coming,
given whatever positions of honor or
profit it might hold in store. and
whatever mead of praise was bestow
ed for bringing it abou-t?
H'a.ve you ever seen :those who have
fought the advancement of the town
along certain lines riding in the band
wagon and loudest in tihe shouting in
the jubilee procession when the ad
anement had been made-and, too,
.he cynosure of all. eyes, "the men
who are building urp their town, who
re doing somerthing for her people,
ublic-spirited men, the men without
hom tihe town couldn't get along.''
Have you 'ever given the use of
our columns-your stoek in trade
to an entertainment "for sweet char
ty's sake,'' and then when itihe enter
ainment is pulled off, see your news
aper entirely forgotten, and t'he dis
ensers of "sweet eiharity'' so grate
ful they can't express their .thanks
o one who takes a small part in the
ntertainment?i
Have you ever given over your
whole paper to college commence
ents, and then have one of the boys
tell you, when in the press of busi
ess you happen to overlook some
mall affair aitt the college, that the
olege is not furnishing you its news,
ecause the boys don't think you give
hem a.1 fair treatment as some other
ewspapers ?
Possibly you have and possil'y you
ave not. But that is neither ~here
or there, because nobody is suppos
d to be grateful sto a newspaper
which seeks to forge ahead, and a
nwspaper man is not supposed to
ave any feelings, anyway.
Nvertheless. ingratitude is one of
the moust erying sins of the times, and
the more we rid ourselves of it the
appier will the world be.
As Dr. Harms said in his sermon
bove referred to, we need to live up
o the principles whieh King Arthur
sought to instill into 'his knights
principles taught by the Savior, wov
n into an undying story of the gold
en age of chivalry by one of the
weetest singers tihe world 'has known.
X.
AN ElARLY MARKSMAN.
John Metcalf, Pioneer, and the Flint
lock Rifle He Used.
In thie townsh'ip of Mendon in the
othern part of Massaehuse'tts thiere
was in 1770. says Army a nd Navy
Life, ai young~ man whose skill with
firearms was widely clAbrated. HeI
ivedl alone ini a one-room house made
f logs some distanice from any n.ei,wh
bor in a pleasant clearing upon the
aank of Mill Creek.
The surrounding forest, contained
an rabuandance of game, which he shot
for both food anld sport. His real liv
ing. ho.wever, was gained at the fre
u'!.t shonoting matches 'held t:hrough
nt the length and breadth of the
Stat .. And a very honorable living~
it waa then considered; for withI the
t rrors of t he Frhen elh and Indiain wair
in mind, the men. andl -the womeni.
to. of thai time held skill with wea
pons in h-igh esteem.
Ih.s s.hooting matehes rarely of
noVVANI
OOORS &
plete W, have just
o fi; I rge lo- and car
ViRE chfap as ai-.yot
and .er grading can
you anywhei e.
We have j
in better pos
T Paintis mor
ment, LOW PRICES, a
fered prizes in money. Usually, the
victor won beef, pork, lamb, pou'try
or live stoek. Sometimes, hoiwever,
household goods were the prize, and
sometimes other merehandise. But,
whatever the prize was, it could eas
ilv be turned into money; so that
Jo!hm Meteialf had an abundant larder.
a well furnish'Cd -jcabin and a supI)ply
i)f eash amply sufficient for himself.
At the ma:tehes hAld in Mendon and
the adjoining townships John Met
alf's closest compatiitor was a man
somewh.at older t'han 'himself, who
ri'.aled him also sin suing for 'the hea.rt
and :hand of the fair Many Turner,
daughter of Mendon 's only ich man.
Neither Metcalf nor Chalfin was able
to get a -deelded answer to his suit.
The fact *was, Mary found each man
had pleasing qualities not possessed
by the other, and :bot'h were equally
deira.ble 'huxsbands.
As -time avent by Chalfin 's ability as
an exper:t slhot increased, thereby re
dueing Meteclf's lead, and worse yet,
his earnings - also. -Ramor, -too,
brought trouble, for -the villa:ge gos
sips professed to know 3that Mary had
told in confidenee that perhaps the
best man would win.
So M'Eei.alf and Chalfin each strove
mightily. Each singenious conrtri
vance tihat they knew, heard of or
could invent was -tried in order to in
rease the aeeuracy of their great
flintloe-k -muskets. T!hey sifted and
resifted their power to get grains of
uniform size; accurately measured
thei cha.rges and wralped them in
separta'te pac'kages, trimmed their bul1
lets by 'hand and pa-tehied thmem with
reased( b)nekSkinl eut to a size. and
loded them with the puekers to the
fron1t. Metealf filed the f~ ront siigh-t
t: his musket t:hin,avnd eue a dleeper
not 'h in the tang screw. Chalfin
bought a new gun.
Still Metcalf's latad 'was a dangrer
ously 'small one; 1i.s friends dhaffed
him, and Mary wa:s 'as coy as usual.
Then, one dlay, he disappeared. A
caller found his house to 'be abaundon
ed. Whether or noit the fair Mary
knew his w1heraabou-ts, -she kept her
own counsel; certain it was a mystery
to all others.
About two mont:hs -after an early
unbe.am of an August morning,
tream-ing through the open shutters
of Mfetcal'f's cabiin, showed John Met
alf upon his bed. Movi.ng slowly
.along t:he wall it ch'anced upon the
p:dir.ed patch box of a rifle resting
above tw tfireplace anid instantly
lihted the room wvi myri-ad ref lee
tions. Metealf, half awake, was living
over the adventures of his long jour
mgy to Pennsylvallia, whlere, uonl v rif
les 'were then made at t-heir best.
Aronsed by th glii'mmer lhe arose and
took down his new treasure. P>alane
ing~ i.t. turning it, -appreciative of iits
rih, deep cherry color, its grace, its
tense, alert, high-bred air, thfe felt 'well
repaid for the t:ime, effort and money
spenue. His pride. :too, was touched,
for thr'uoughlouit the length anud'bread,th
of the province of Massachusetts bay
noi other to his kn'owledge had else
han a smooth h:re: 'hie aloite had a
rifle.
Thenceforth at every shoting
match he andl t he rifle were ojet
if conspicuou1s ait tention. No longer
mI. was man a da,ngromns rival Neith
YOUR
SA SlH LME
Mi
received a We carry
se. ycu as all times.
SNo bet-- best. A tr
be shown you -hai .c
anyvh re
.st received a large stoc
ition than ev r t, >serve
iey well spent and you c
d PROMPT DELIVERY
er Chalfin's musket nor any man's
fowling piece could hold a candle to
the rifle for fine shooting at the re
iula.r range of ten measuret rods. The
larder of t1he little cabin overflowed
with the .county of his harvest. In
its seeret hfidin.g place under a stone
if rhe hearth a long wolen stocking
bugzed to t'-e hurstin point with mon
ey saved. John Metcalf was famous
anid growing rich. Mendon honored
him with public offiee. Mindful of the
adage "To him who hath shall be
given,'' he once more, and boldly, ask
ed Mary for the gift of her captious
heart and dimpled hand. And as the
shot and won, so he wooed and won.
SNAKE FARMS.
Queer Australian Industry Sa.id to
Thrive Near Sydney.
Sake farmi.ng is not an attractive
oeupathion, brut it Ihais more than one
vota'iy 'in tihe Aust'railia.n common
wealth, and~ in the. mneigh.borihood of
Sydney -the industry 'has been ea'r'ied
on for several years by- an i'n'dividua'l
vho .while diselaiming all knv-lredge
af the snake ethairm'ing art, appears
to ha,ve a:n 'extensive .knoivledge of the
rept'ide.s an'd .t.heir wa.ys. In addition
to idhe sniakes, 'ln'rge numbers- o.f froa's
and eA-en toads, are carefullly reatred,
part4y as 'food for the repti:les and
p:rt:y .for seientifie pu:rposes. The
sa:~kes are eaughit in t'he bush, a
work f'requaent.ly nece.sdt:ating many
mi.le.s of amr?ndering land .long hLoLrs of
patien:t wr t.ehing~. .for t'he sinaike is a
susp1iri5 catu re,. g.ene'ra-lly more
'lr d :2t thle sig'ht of a man than
the may 'is at it. The snake hanute:r
emplJoys 'a couple of forked .stieks a's
a. mean.: of capt.ure. WiAth one the
reptdile ':s pinlned by any par.t of its
body 'to ithe ground, 'after 'w~hieh it is
fixed by the 'neek with the ot%her. Tiis
one. 'the captor av.it.h fingar and
thumb grasps .the 'he-ad ,alt the side of
t'he jaiws and thus has t.he reptil.a safe
and lharmless. The snake ils itibus dtrop
ped, t.aid first, into a .sug%r bag. All
that .is rembly inecessa.y is a steady
nev'e, a strigihbt eye and 'a fi.rm hand.
A recent visitor, wvrites 'the Sydney
correspondet of t:he Londo-n Globe.
was shown some iarg'e speim'ens of
the tiger a-nd diamond species, in
ended for the Sydney board of
*heaith, -wh~ich .is regudiarly supplied
with veninmnous snakes, from wh.ich the
p.isn used iln prepalring snake n-~
tidtes'' is obtained by "'milking."'
'Pi is (lescrubed as a most int-e:resting~
re.rforma:nee. ''Before mnilking~ time
t:he snakes e.re well fed..afterward be
coing efei'ted 'vwhen a wlass, similar
to a 'xvate gl la ss, covered 'with tihe
finest gutita percha, 'is put .into t'he
eae. Tihe i1nfrnaeted1 reptile's bite
viciousliy through the gut,ta pereha,
lea:vinr 'tiny drops of poison on the
prepared glass." This "imilking" is
invariabl'y .performed during the sum
mer mon.ths. when the erea-tures are
mont active .and fierce anid the p)oison
mofSt virulent. Numerous vicious
spe--iensare kept .in eages at the
offices of tih. Sydney health depa.rt
met it h e " milked.' an 'wh-en s4mw
Iwhalt \Vorn OU.t are ret urne&d to the
siake farm -to recuperate. After the
as ave -becme usaless for
TRADE
CEMENTi I
a lar-e stock at Hir
Ncthin.: but the Saw.
6 iwil cocvince and
u an't < ( better PricE
anyv
k of Paints of all kinds
you an 1sve you mone
an't get better prices or
Can iet Your Busines
'HERI
"milking" purposes they are sold to
taxidermists or-the Sydney Zoologieal
Gardens. There is always a good
market for new or irare specimens. as
mnuh as ?6 being paid for a single
snake. Several hundred snakes have.
been codlecited at one time on the
farm, where .they are kept in bags or
boxes,. Ve latter being covered a.t the
top witih small mesh r%vire netting. At
the bottom of eaeh reeeptaele is a lit
tle barn or straw, and occasionally a
few old rags.
When the snake farmer began 'to
keep the reptitles bhe fon'nd himself
periodicalliy attacked by a mysterious1
kind of -influenz~a or hay fever, which
he subsequently .disceovetnd 'to be du~e
o .a posion exraded from ithe bodies
of dhe snakes. In one respect the
creatures resembYle human kind-they
are great stieklers for 'caste. "The
blacksnake is considered the gentle
main of the snake fraternity, and liv'es
much 'alone, seddom iassoceiasting with
dther members of ethe tribe. . The ear
pet snake is tihe loafer of the 'reptile
wond, 'while th diamiond narke is -a
positive l'ari'kin, stealing the other
snakes' wives :and saalloiwing their
dhilren. The t:iger species is hard to
get on 'wi'tih, bei.ng vicious and deceit
tull,*ind, like ,thle tiger and eat tribe
geneiall-y. plays with .its 'prey before
devo'ang it." The question of food
is an important one. It necessita.tes
ample supplies of frogs, rats. bandi
cots. 'rabits. eggs, etc. This has
eaused frog reairi.ng to become one of
the fearilufires of 'the farm. Tihe rep
tiles tare .kept ini large bot,tomiess
eages, placed on tihe gras, with some
b:-' on1 one2 $ide and1( a small pondi
in the ceu-ter. When in t he open a bit
of bush shelfer is indispensable for
snake and frog alike.
"In ho,t wea thler, .savs tlhe snake
t;rm'r. "'when ,the frogs are sitting
in the bashes. tDhey are treated to ,a
shwer bath, an ordinary garden
s.inge 'being -used for the purpose.
Great seems 'their enjoyment, turni.ng
ron~d and round, streteh'ing out their
legs and neeks 1to 'the spray. But."
Ihe continued, "there's a fortune in
frogs .if .'we only hiad :the French se
ret of .feeding them. No matter how
Imuch water ,is about, in the dry
Iweet her .they get together in crowds,
and 'hop for miles aiway -from itheir old
ho'es. .looki-ng for fresh, marshy
places wit!h plenty of cover. Frogs
a r:v water 'in their pouchres, and
I hen .fice come aeross a suitable hol
low .in ra ,hady spot. tihey fill it and
ake a p)ond -for tlhemselve.s.'' h
venom ob'ta.ined fnom .the sn-akes is
understood to be of great value. the
q~ua).ity beting extremely limi-ted, and
rarely weighing more than a few
g'ans. I-t irarely, if everv, loses any
of its poisonous quialities. -and has to
be handled' with the grea'test eare.
The clever and faseinating come
dienne, Florence Davis, who has reg
istered four former sueeessful star
ring -tours to her erdt anid who has
surassed all her fornmer a.chievemnenlt
ths year, will make her how at the
opera house' tor the( third timelL on
Wednelisday. March 1'. im the hrand
ner comedy. "E' nder the Greenwood
Tree." bv'Henry V. Esmlond. This
[d,eliu sylvan piece received glow
IN
-OCKS
iges, Screws, Bolts,
, Tools of Every Kind
Description a n d a t
s as Low as can be had
ihere.
and all Colors, and are
Von your paints. Good
Paint anywhere.
, -ive Us a Trial.
OPERA HOUSE
EARHARDT & BAXTERV
Lessees and Managers.
Friday, Feb 19
FOR ONE NIGHT ONLY.
The Celebratecd
Herald Square Comic Opera Co.
IN THE MERRY SONG PLAY '
ATrip
ToIndia
With adistinguished cast of emiinent
light-opera stars, including Juanita Rush
and Charles Picquet, formerly of Colonial
Opera Co.; Jack 'Leslie of "Isle of Spice"
fame; Signor Martine Pache, formerly of
Emma Abbott Opera (o., and Ed Gil
more, formerly with Ward & Vokes and
"Bizzy Izzy" Co. Supported by an
|HIcomparable Be8aly Chorus.
Prices: - 25c., 5oc., 75C. and $1.oo.
Reserved Seat Sale opens Wednesday,
February 17th.
in praise from the erities iii bolh
Lj:don and New York last year, and
:his seaa.n Miss Davis has -won dven
geater~ success with it on its first
American tour. On the opening of
he~ seasoin in New Orleans, the New
Orleans item said "Miss Davis tas
soied' a distinet triumph in ad
li'htful play. Both 'Under ithe Green
wood Tree' and .its star are alike
charmin,'' ind this has been 'the con
ensus of opinion in a.11 of the cities
she has visited siince.
Garage Not There.
A certain well known banker was
preparing to take an automobile stour
in the nrin:h shore of Massaebyusetts.
His objective point being the quaint
fihing~i village of Gloucester, it oe
erredl to -him 'that it would be wvise
to find oJut .in advtance if t-hat place
afforded a garagre whr his -touring
car, couldl beC sheltered when niot in use
and repai-red when necessary.
To ithat and the banker wrote to
the postmflast.er, counteously asking for
the desired information. What was
his surprise a few days later when the
card he had inelosed in his letter of
inquiry came bacek .with this written
thereon:
"I find by our city directory tha.t
no one by the name Garage gets mail
at this office. The nearesit to it is a
farmer of the -name of Gammage, liv
ing on the Neck road.
"Postmaster.''
The banker courteously sent a sec
ond note thannking the postmaster for
hi informatin_.