'%'%’<xn vac/avgv/wL/gvp,
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_ LEAR g
g .11 By EMILY ROYALL .9: ' .
AS" winter, Ned’s teachcnreceived
the following letter:
"I know that I am getting marked
absent this Vv eek and I take my pen in .
hand to tell you what's the matter.
" 'It was my birthday last Monday. I
was ten 3ea1's old. I hadn’t thought
much about it; but coming home that
day I began to feel ill used. You see,
last year I had a party; all the boys and .
girls I liked best, VV ith lots of goodies
and a fiddle. But this year not a thing
was done.
“Mother was busy rigging V 11‘ gic—
that’s my sister—to g0 and spend the
holidays with her friend Maud, in the
city; and there she and Vi rgie would
sit and stitch, stitch, da3 after day.
“So I threw myself back on the sofa,
with my hands in my pockets, and my
lips stuck out to pout a little.
‘And when mother said: ‘What is
the matter, my Son?‘ 'I asked her if she
remembered what. day of tjie month it
was, and told her that she didn’t seem
to realize the importance of the occas-
sion.
‘ And she said she did, but- couldn’t
aflord to celebrate the event more than
once in two years.
“And then Virgie put in, and said
they hadn’ t- .quite t,made up their minds
whether it w as a matter for conb 0'1‘ atula~-
tion or not—my birthday; and you
know 33 hat she menat by that. Vi rgie
is 17’, and thinks she s smart; but she
will do anything for a fellow, all the
same.
“Then mother told Vir gie she might
t13 011 the dress; and I could see no
chance for another word—they had so
much to say about the trimming, and
the draping, and the setting of it.
“So I just,D got up and thoughtI' (1 take
my new skates and celebrate all by
myself. And as I came out mother
called aftei me that there was a peach
turnover for me on the dresser, just
baked.
“It was a nice turnover, and I felt
some better; but I didn’t ask ham to
go to the river. And I started off,
skates in hand, Lear sprang over the
fence and said he would go, too.
“Perhaps you don’t'know who Lear
1s.
“You recollect the day that was so
bad we didn’t have but one session,
about a month ago. Well, I was on the
way home, but in no g1 eat hurry,
though it snowed and bloned con-
siderably—Vvhat they call a blizzard, I
suppose. First I knew there was a big
black dog trotting along behind me.
I stopped, and he came in front of me
and looked right up in my face. How
wet, and ragged, and gaunt he did look!
Something in his eyes made me think
of my lunch box; so I just tossed him
all I had left.
1’ "How he swallowed it and asked for
more! . I told him he didn’t stop long
1’ z ”/11-
till/Ill HIE/l. <_ 1:; 1 ‘
Il U?
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—.,/ '.
A BIG BLACK DOG TROTTED BEHIND
'ME.
enought between bites to have ’em take
any effect.
‘ \'V-' ell, I went on, and the dog fol—
l0VVed—because I was VV histling ,I sup-
pos< . I whistle a good deal.
“I felt uneasy, for I knew our folks
didn’t want a dog. and just w’ouldnt
have one. So 1 saw that there was
trouble ahead.
“He went clear home VVith me, sure
enough, and right up to the door. And
when I went in he stood there outside,
kind of respectful and pleading.
“ ‘Of all things!’ said mother, as she
saw him.
“ ‘Och, the dirty beast!’ said Ann.
“ ‘Oh, mother,L can t 1 haVe him for
my own? Only see, he s so hungry and
t 11d, and wants a place VV here he can
live comfortably,’
“Mother shook her head, and looked
stern.
“ ‘He’s a. valuable dog, mother; I
know he is. He s been lost ever so long,
and got gaunt and rough.’ »
“ ‘1es;I see he s in reduced cirr um-
stances. I am very sorry for hirr, I
Neddy; but I can't be bothered with a
dog. We have no earthly use for such
an animal.’ ‘
“Then Virgie came out and says:
“ ‘Wliat’s to pay now, Ned ?’
“And mother told her what was to
pay.
“ ‘Poor fellow!’ said Virgic.
“I saw She didn’t mean me, but the
dog, which made me gladder.
“Mother, dear, please let him come-in
a minute,” says she.
“And Virgie Vvhistlcd him in.
' “Just, then I heard a stamping out- 1
side. Father had cox‘ .e, and I knew it
was all up.
“‘What’s here?‘ says he, stamping l
and shaking the snow off his hat. ‘What I
animal is this?’ I
“ ‘Neddy’s dog,’ said Ben. '
“Ben’s a little shaver—only three. - l
“ ‘What do you mean, sir?’ looking at
me. ‘Haven’t I told you you couldn’t
have a dog?’
" ‘He followed me. sir,’ said 1.!
“ ‘Followed youf
. had been left at‘ full cock.
5 tion of pain from fie man.
Not without an in— l
V'Elation, I’ll waggn
along, of course?’
“ ‘1 “as kind of whistling, but not to .
him in. particulai.’
“ ,‘He 5 a splendid fellow,’ said V irgie.
”Of the noble race of Newfoundland.-
u loyal beggar’
“She was helping father off with his g
wet coat.
“ ‘We’ Ve no use for him. VI 113‘ , an an-
imal like that will eat as much as an
ox.’ .
“ ‘Oh, father, I’ll support him myself
out of my own spending money. Only
let him stay,’ said I.
“ ‘Let Neddy’s dog stay,’ said little
Ben, his lip a-quivering.
"‘Vi‘rgie had got father into his arm-
chair in the dining-room and brought
him his warm slippers. And pretty
soon she came out, and, don’t you think,
she said I might make the dog a bed of
straw in the 'woodshed, and we would
give him a square meal at dinner time.
“And Ann she kept' growling about
giving notice; but Virgie didn’t care.
“And Virgie said he looked like a de-
throned monarch wandering at the
mercy of the storm.
“Virgie leads in Shakespear e, and she
said that no would name him Lear.
He’s the one who says: ‘Blow, wind,
and crack your cheeks.’ '
“And that’s the way Lear came to be
my dog.
“\Ve went down to the riv er, as I VV as
saying, that twentieth of December,
when I was ten years old. The skating
VV asn ’t prime, and there Vv asn’t another
fellow out; but I tried to enjoy it- pretty
well. ’
“And Lear he ran up and down and
around 011‘ the bank, seeing what he
could find interesting.
“There were two men 011 the other
side, cutting and loading ice. I thought
'I would skate over toward them.
“I hadn’t got half way over when
there was a great cracking, and I was
never so scared.
“In an instant I plunged into cold
water, and went under. I tried to giab
the ice, but it broke up, and wouldn’t
hold; and I remembered every bad
thing I eVer did, and, 011, 'dear! I
thought of mother, and didn t care for
no birthday party.
“Somebody seemed to be rubbing and
bumping me awful, and then, after an
age, it seemed like, I opened my eyes,
and saw mother’s own face close to
mine, and she kissed me quite consid-
erable. I was on the old settee in the
kitchen. There were flannels and hot
water bottles all around me. They fed
me some gruel with a spoon, and I felt
nice and warm and happy; and I heard
them say that the ice men had brought
me home, but it wasn’t the ice men that
got me out. They couldn’t get to me, all
they could do.
“It was Lear, my Lear, that got me
out- ——drew me upon dry land.
“ ‘The current was swift there,’ said
one of the men, ‘and he must have been
a goner if that there (100' hadn t jumped;
after him like a flash, and tugged him .
out in no time.’
“Then mother, all of a sudden, she
run to Lear, and she hugged him
around the neck and cried.
“Virgie she followed suit.
“ ‘The blessed bastcl’ said Ann.
“Then little Ben ran up, and kissed
Lear on the forehead.
“ ‘Good dog!’ said he.
out of river.’
"And Lear he just lapped the g1 uel
Y irgie gave him, and stretched out be-
fore the fir,e and shut his c3 es, as if he .
hadn’t done anything worth speaking
of.
makiu.’ r such a fuss, he got up, Lear did,‘
and came and put his paws on the edge
of the settee, and looked me right in I
I tried to lift my hand to pat ;
the face.
his nose, but couldn’t, I was so weak, so
I just said: ‘lt s all right, old fellow——
all right,’ and settled back.
“Then mother hug ged him again, and
Virgie cried, and Ann she said:
eye with her apron; and Lear and little
Ben kissed each other, like David and
Jonathan.
, “I am all right again. I notice they
don’t call”1 1im 'Ved’ s dog so much They
say ‘our dog’ now, and father has
bought him a collar with ‘Lear’ on at
and the date of my last birthday; and
\ 1rgie says that whoever keeps a boy
must kL'ep a dog ,too, to get him out of
scrapes.
“ And that’s how I happenito be out of
the river, and so can say:
1116 in my seat next Monday,’ and I’m
going to be an awful good boy now.
“But didn’t I get well paid for the
loan of a dried- -up sandwich?
l
“Your’ 5 truly. NED. ”—Golden D113 5.
The Tables Turned.
Birds, we know, are sometimes
trained to fire 01f pistols, as well as to
perform other unusual feats, but it is
not often that a wild bird 1n the VV ocds
shoots a man with his own gun, as re-
lated in “South Amer 1c_an Sketches” by
' Robert Crawford. A pavo del monte,a
' bird of Uruguay not unlike a turkey,
had been winged by a hunter. It fell
to the ground, but was at once on its
feet and ran away. Throwing his gun
hastily aside, the hunter Started in pur-
suit, and a game of hide-and- seek en-
sued. In and out of the brushVVood
the .pavo ran, and the man followed.
In one of its doublings and turnings
the bird passed over the gun, which was
lying 011 the ground, and its foot
chanced to strike against the trigger
of the undischarged barrel, the hammer
of which, in the hurry 0f the moment,
There was
a. loud report, follpwe'd by an exclama-
The bird
. escaped, and the ,lu'ekjless hunter had
an ugly w0und in the fleshy part of his
leg to remind him for weeks afterward
of the adventure. —-Detroit F ree Press.
Scared Away.
'Mrs. Motherly
that you have never thought seriouslj
of getting married? .
George—~You understand me, Mrs
Motherly; I have always thought of it
so seriously that- I am still a bachelor.
~Somcrville Journal.
You whistled him '
‘Got Neddy
I
“ BV‘ and by.VVl1en they had stopped
‘The 1
blessid bastel’ again, and wiped her .
‘Y on VV ill see '
HEAR THE OTHER SIDE.
The Moral Aspect of Poor Road!
Amnslngly Discussed by a Ner
York Newspaper. ‘
Of late years we have been hearing
but one side of the ioads question, till
the world has come to think that there
is but one side. While only a bold man
would say that poor roads are better
said in their favor, and some sympathy
is due those despised and rural persons
that do not join in the general pean
in favor of good roads. Not that one
‘ would for a moment Oppose the pres-
ent agitation for them, any more. than
one would oppose Sunday schools.
Both are commendable; yet even as
one would not wish this VV"01ld one
large Sunday school. so one should be
moderate in one s desire for faultless
highways.
Imagine What it VVould be to haVe
roads z,eliminated from our calcula-
tions. The world would lose all those
ecstatic thrills it new experiences in
watching the clay or loam quagmires
change, drop by drop, back into the
delightful roads t11e3 can be at times.
l’eifect roads would be as dull as the
ideal social state.
In a more important way humanity
would lose. Good roads in a fe‘w short
year,s would sap the moral fiber which
man has been cultiv ating through ages.
Time may come VV hen VV e shall not need
the ethical stimulus of poor roads, but
it is far off. The Yankee gains the
sharpness and doggedness of the gran-
ite he daily drives over. The Virginian
has supeiimposed on his natural im-
petuositv, patience and endurance
from that red clay of his, which no
mere impetuosity can conquer. The
Floridian develops his character
through his calming sand; the Illi-
noisan frro .1 his bottomless black mud.
And finally if more argument be
needed—poor roads restrain the moto-
cycle to its native lair of the noisome
city, and keep it from defiling the
beautiful rural districts. ——N. Y. Com-
mercial Advertiser.
RURAL MAIL SERVICE.
Virginia Has Patented a. Unique De-
vice for the Collection and Dis-
tribution of Letters.
A good many crossroads postmas-
ters will lose their jobs when, the gov-
prnment adopts the system of deliv—
ering and collecting mail in the coun—
try, which has just been patented b3
Thomas J. CrOVVder, of Virginia. I-lis
invention forms a. valuable adjunct to
the suburban system now being devel-
oped for the relief of country residents.
It consists of a box somewhat larger
than those now used in the cities as
mail depositories, and these are to be
erected at eonV enient cente1s along the
country roads. ’1‘ wo ke3s are allotted
to each residence in the Vicinity. The
CARQIER
LEAVW"
AL .MAIL BOX.
RURA
first door comprises one entire side of
the box, and VV hen this is opened it falls
to a horizontal position and acts as a
shelf. A number of .31 12111 indiVidual
boxes are revealed, and the second key
’ furnished opens one of these. For the
sake of convenience in distributing the
mail these 111an3‘ little doors form one
large one, which 33 hen opened by the
carrier giV es access at once to all the
priVate boxes, but when he has closed
this shield the mail in each of these
_‘compaltments is secure from examina-
tion by an3 others than those holding
the keys of that particular box. _
5 A large space is reserved in the bot—
tom as a 'Vdepositor3 for mail matter
’ that is-dropped in the usual way
‘ through a slot provided. __
The patent also contemplates the
combination of the scheme with an
electrical system by Vvhich‘the box
owners may be notified at their respec-
tive homes when a‘ parcel has been
placed in the box by the carrier.
USE PRISON LABOR.
Judge Gibbons. of Chicago, Adyocater
the Employment of Convicts as
Road Builders.
The proposition to utilize prison labor
in the work of building roads is being
discussed everywhere There is .1 dis-
position manifested on the part of pub-
lic officials to employ prison labor on
this class of work, wherever it is pos-
sible. In :1 recent addiess, Judge John
Gibbons. of Illinois, said:
“The number of conVicts in Joliet
anerages.1,000 at all times, and every
one of these might be put to work 1. uk-
y-iug good roads or preparing the ma-
:terial f01 their construction. I would
"- use this labor' in bufiding a great high-
(way from Lake l\[ichig.1n to the Mis-
‘sissippi river, and f1 0111 some point
In the northern boundary of the state
Cairo or some equally advantageous
tgwn. I would utilize the labor of the
p isoncrs in the county jail and in the
elim lands covered by Lake Michigan.
an convert them into the most mag-
nif cnt park in the world, stretching
"i'oi the Indiana line on the south
:0 L. (1 beyond the city of Fvanston on
file orth. ” .
than good loads, something is to be.
h. idewell in building a sea wall to re-..
”:51..an /
WWI/film
HEARSE GE TS STUCK.
Grave Condition of Roads in an 0th-
- erwise Highly Proé‘ressiye
Illinois Community.
One of the most. hopeful signs of the-
times regarding the good roads move-
ment is that newspapers, big and lit-'
tle, in city and village, are discussing
the subject in a forceful, intell-gent,
fetching way. The somewhat funereal
picture shown here' 15 rep1oduced from
a recent copy of the Rushville (111.) .
Times, which says. .,
“Bad roads and religion do not mix
readily In fact, the first is perhaps
productive of more profanity than any
other "one thing farmers have to con--
tend with. Be that as it may, we have
the bad roads; have had them since
time immemorial, and the question is
whether we will continue to have them
STUCK‘IN THE MUD.
or rather seek some practical solution
of the question, which is of mutual' 1m-
portance to the farmer and business
man.
“011 March 16 C. H. Hammond, of the
firm of Hammond &. Stremmel, went
to Littleton to attend a funeral. Know—
ing the condition of the roads, a four-
horse team was attached to the hearse
and the front and rear axles were
chained together to keep them from
pulling apart. D. A. Coone3 drove the
teams and managed to keep the vehicle
mming all the time until within the
corporation limits on the return trip.
flew the mud was deeper, blacker and
more tenacious, and hung on the spokes
of the wheels until a huge mass had
accumulated. The weight of the mud
was so great it spread the wheels, and
as the horses continued to go forward
the strain' came on the front axle,
which sprung out of shape, allowing
the wheels to strike the bed of the
hearse, bringing it to a sudden stop.
“It was impossible to move the hearse -
with the axle sprung as it was, so the
teams were unhitched and the vehicle -
left in the road until it could be brought
to the city on sled-runners. IYhile it
was stalled in the street Mr. Hammond .
took a snapshot picture of it, of which
the cut shown herewith is a reproduc-
tion."
Surely such object lessons as this
cannot fail to arouse the good people
of any mud-locked community to the
evil that beseis lhem. And “they say”
the people of Rushville and vicinity are
now determined to have better roads.
f, .
Railway-s and Roadways.
When a railway company undertakes
to extend its tracks. or 10 put in a
switch; or do any other, work of this
sort the first thing done is to haVe
their engineer—an educated and trained
specialist—pr‘epaxe the plans, set the
stakes, and supe11nteud the job. They
never trust a booby: they do not trust
eV' on an expel ienced road. lldSICI‘, except
with expert superVision. When our
county commissioners sure charged with
the care of a road, they push the re-
sponsibilitv on to some ignorant pike
Lommissiouer. and apparentl) trust the
devil to superintend. He does usually,
nod very e {i‘eetiv ely, with the result that
no get less for our money than any
other cou nt 1' herenbouts —Dayton (0.)
Bow-.16.
. Fresh Blood as Food.
The albumen, or white, of an egg is
somewhat similar to blood in composi-
tion, and the poiiltryman will find it
very profitable to procure fresh blood
from the slaughter-houses wherever it
can be obta11ed.lt can be put in a.
with two parts corn meal and one pari’
shorts. baked into cakes, and crum-
bled for the fowls whenever it is need-
ed. Fed to hens it increases egg pro-
duction being cheaper than meat and
much more beneficial. ~Farm and Fire-
..‘-.1
coughs.
Golds,
Grippe,
whooping Cough. Asthma,
Bronchitis and Incipient
Consumption, is
. cures throat and \VVVV Kansas.
80“ \1V5 a\\ «Ewes? 258350115 1
"bag and cooked, or it may be mixed"
1? THE 9015 e‘ FANS '
.' ‘ " . COULD TALK
‘ _j theyd smgtthe praises of!
Washing Powder
. x 6 {mi it pemoves eVery par:
- tic e o nme or tease
FREE—A cake 0f and malis them met/gilt
the purest and whitest as new.) J-Try it in your
Cl ce‘rine k
y itch: v
Toilet o n and pro e it.
‘1 me .1. I. wanna: (30..
I £611 CV? rngpac kage 0f GUSTONIUI'. CONN. _
lvorl ne .. In“: or mun-r unau- Inn-o nun. —. .
WE Become-5.01.13 suurv 0N ALLEONDS‘ '-
If You want a Bond
As Executor, Trustee, Administrator, Guardian, Re
ceiver, Assignce or in Replevin, Attachment Cases
etc., As a Letter Carrier, As a Contractor, As 11
United States Official, As State, County, Town or
City Official, As an Officer of a Fraternal Society
As an employee of a Bank ,Corporation or Mercantile
establishment, -: - .-
The Fidelity 81 Deposit Company
0F MARYLAND, WILL FURNISH IT.
19‘ Don’t (live or Accept Personal Surety.
WILLIAM H. BYINeroE, Agent, .
Gazette Building, Norwalk, Conn
GET YOUR
J OB P «:INTI‘NG
_’ AT THE
AZETTE OFFICE.
GOOD WORIV, PRICES RIGHT
The sudden Epidemic of Grip has startled the coun
try. The doctors confess they 1. ave no sure Cure
for it, and this is seen to be liuc in the sudden death
“of Garcia and EX-Senalor Brice and the alarming in-
crease In the death rate.
= razilian Balm.
known where
No fatal disease 01 Grip was ever
BRAZILIAN BALM was promptly used
It kills the germs, arrests the progress of the diseaSe at
once, and takes all the evil effects out of thee system.
\
Colds. «Grip, Influenza,
' Old. Ocughs, Asthma.
Catarrh, Pleurisv, Bronchitis
1T IS A PERFECT REMEDY
\AAAAAI‘./\Ar_
For Sale by
EDWAEE r. WEED, m Street.
Norwalk Chronicler