Reporter and farmer. [volume] (Webster, Day County, Dakota [S.D.]) 188?-1946, 1893-10-05
A BURNT MATCH.

1SNNS +" ~ ~ ~ III
the gutter. There were Guilds of
TOBACCO. stumps OF cigars, lemon and
banana peels. bottle corks. cheese
parlngs, dirty Stops and many other
refuse fragments, all commingled in
n filthy mass. One fragment of
this common compound found in the
street L had almost forgotten TO men
ton. 1t was simply the remains Of a
burnt match. Like the other contents
OF the gutter. it had served its turn.
Having my curiosity aroused concern
ing these repulsive objects, and seeing
that the burnt match was the most
decent looking OF this molly mixture.
addressed il and begged it to give
me a history OF its disgusting sur
r%Oundings.
Said the match: You behold be-
fore you n OF the most loathsome
objects which ever meet the eye Of
man. There is nothing so low and
abominable as the filth of the gutter.
1t is the embodiment of all that is dis
gushing 10 the sight and scent OF man.
Think of it! |, who was once a clean.
trim little match. snugly housed in a
neat box with my sisters, now float
ing, half consumed, in the slime and
slop of the gutter! But let that pass
for the present.
My home originally was in the
forest | was made from the heart of
a noble pine tree which. for many and
many q year. swayed its dark green
crown in the merry breezes. and de-
family withstood the shocks Of storm.
Straight as an arrow it stood, far
above its fellows. 1t was the first to
greet the rising sun and it was the
first Of its brothers the sun saluted.
kissing the dews from his emerald
brow. The happiest days of my ex.
: istence were those in which l dwelt
within the heart Of the great pine
tree. But in an evil hour came the
woodman. He viewed the shapely
trunk of the tree and soon the glitter
tering steel of his axe sunk into it's
heart. The sound of the heavy blows
echoed far and wide through the
silent forest. They were the death
knells of the great tree. Soon the
blows ceased, when, with q mighty
crash, the magnificent monarch of the
forest fell to the earth.
The body was divided into con-
v~enient lengths and transferred. first
by oxen then by locomotive, 10 the
match-works of q great city; subdi-
vlded into millions of tiny sticks like
myself; boxed and sent out over the
world, so that now the body Of the
tree must be scattered far and wide
over the earth. Even my companions
that dwelt with me in the same box.
must now be scattered thousands of
miles from each other. After We had
been packed into thousands of little
boxes, they we're placed into larger
boxes and sent from the factory to
other cities. Many, many miles my
companions and myself travelled be-
fore we saw the light of day. This
event happened in a large city a great
many miles from here. One day l
found myself, when the cover of our
box had been removed. upon the
counter of q cigar store and was
viewing the strangeness Of my sur
roundings when in steps ayoung man.
He buys q cigar, takes up the
match at my side, strikes IL and be-
hold! a beautiful light burst forth.
which the young gentleman imme-
diately applied to his cigar. He took
some half dozen other matches from
the box, among which l was included.
and put rs in his vest pocket. | could
not see where he went. but l knew we
were going the rounds of the city, by
the conversations we overheard Fin
ally the young man took the train
leaving the city, and after q long
Journey, we arrived at this place.
After leaving the train he suddenly
grasped me from his pocket. struck
me against some hard substance. and
in an instant | was all ablaze. / saw
glasses and bottles before me. out of
which ! supposed the young man had
been drinking. My brilliant existence
was very brief. No sooner had the
gentleman lit his cigar, than he threw
me away. | found half OF my shapely
body consumed, and what renamed
was lying in a filthy condition.
Il felt very crestfallen at this sud-
den change in my career. Looking
about | found myself in company with
a dozen or more cast off cigar and o.
garette ends. and a mass of nasty
looking tobacco guilds and splttle.
The man OF the house next morning
threw filthy water over us. and
emptied us into the gutter. was la
menting my degraded and wretched
state to my filthy companions. when a
dilapidated guild Of tobacco thus adj
dressed me:
a. My friend. you have not rs good
a for complaint a. myself. Look
at me Do / look anything like q
beautiful green leaf. drinking in the
sunshine and the dews OF heaven? Yet
/ was all that once. Igrew on a great
strong stock with my brothers and
sisters, until l was plucked of by
man. How nicely they handled me!
What pains they took to sweeten me!
And when / began to pride myself on
nv elevation. and was lolled under the
n of a fine gentleman for u few
moments. what does the wretch do but
spit me out ground 10 a thousand
-.n.,t n yn,, baya pnth;n- 81