Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1894-05-23
farmers wife. who had dropped down

eNc1tcNlent. ciio Eau Deen WITH Ine chill
dren in the house when the lightning
struck the adjoining barn and set it on
fire. When sllo flew from the house, the
rafters woro already ablaze
The women were bathing her head
with the fresh we'll water when she
opened her eye. and looked anxiously
about.
Friedel, Loirep' she cried, and with
the words pressed the sobbing children
to her breast.
'Merciful heaven! My little Tony!''
she suddenly shrieked, spginging to he1
feet. HE lies up there in his cradle
and will be burned to deathP'
Horror held the bystanders spell.
bound. 1t was heartrending to see the
poor mother i'll her despair. 1t did not
seem possible for a human being to offer
help. Already the flames were bursting
from the windows. Even Xavier had
been forced to desist from his labors
With 81. ged hair and clothing, he ap-
peared HOW in the doorway.
my babyl My babyl Save my
babyp' moanea the mother, wringing
her hands.
No one stirred Any attempt would
have been foolhardy.
'sGive lie my child or l shall die!"
she cried again and rushed herself to-
ward the scorching, fiery furnace, as if
to snatch her darling from its depths.
Just then heavy hand was laid upon
her shoulder holding her back.
Don't do that, Marie, ?" she heard a
rough voice say. 'FYou have made me
criminal; now will take my revenger
An icy chill ran through my veins at
these words. 1t was the ant hunter who
spoke.
Joseph! Good heavensl Would you
kill my child?' cried the mother and
in her desperation she clung about his
knees.
Quick as lightning the ant hunter
pushed her from him and rushed him
self into the billowing flames A cry of
horror burst from all who saw him.
The unhappy man had voluntarily gone
to his death. Any instant the rafters
might fall in, and if he were not suffo-
Gated with the smoke they would bury
him in their ruins
A few breathless horrible moments
went by Silently all eyes were fixed
upon the fire wreathed windows, when
suddenly there appeared at the top one
figure holding a black object high in
his hands
''Catch itp' sounded from above
Twenty hands were stretched into the
air and caught the cradle which the ant
hunter dropped to them.
A low whimpering issued from it.
HE Hvesp' were the joyful words
that rang from the heart Of the mother
''He lives!" fell with q hollow sound
from the window above, and the whole
house, with fearful crack and tumble
seemed to repeat the words.
The handsome farmhouse disappeared
as if by magic, and in its place charred
ruin yawned horribly.
''Joseph!" shrieked the farmer s wife,
bethinking herself of the rescuer of her
child
All was still.
''He is avengedn' said I, half aloud,
and turned away to hide my tears
Translated From the German For Ro-
nance.
A LUDICROU5 DUEL.
The Preacher Chose the Weapons and Van
q,,islied His EullyinG Opponent.
One way of combating an evil prac
tice is to make it ridiculous. 1t was by
this means that dueling was stopped i'll
q certain district Of Kentucky some 20
years ago. At that time a travelling
preacher named Bowman, strong, mus
cular man, was conducting a series OF
religious meetings in Kentucky. At one
of them q we'll known desperate charac
ter created d disturbance, and being
publicly rebuled by Bowman sent him
a challenge to fight.
The preachers first thought was to
treat the matter with silent contempt
Then he reflected that dueling was all
too common in that region, and he de-
cided to accept the challenge.
As the challenged party, Bowman
had the choice Of weapons. He selected
half bushcl Of large Irish potatoes and
stipulated that his opponent must stand
Is PAGES distant, and that only one po-
tato at time should be taken from the
measure
The desperate was furious, but Bow
man insisted upon his rights as the chal-
lenged party and threatened to denounce
the fellow as coward if he made fur
ther objections. Seeing no way out OF
the scrape, the desperate at last consent
ed
The contest took place ON the cut
skirts of the town, and almost everybody
in the place turned out to see the fun
The seconds arranged the two men in
position, by the side of each being
half bushel measure filled with good
sized potatoes.
Bowman threw the first one. 1t struck
his opponent in a central spot and fell
in pieces. A shout of delight went up
from the crowd which furried the des-
perado, and his potato flew wide of the
mark
Bowman watched his chance, and ev
cry time his oponent stopped for po-
tato another one hit him in the side,
leaving wet spot on his clothes and
then scattering on all sides. The fellow
was hit in this way five times. Then
the sixth potato struck him in the short
ribs, and he lay on the grass doubled up
with pain and groaning, Enough
The bystanders went wild with de-
light, but Mr.. Bowman looked very So
Der. The desperado was taken home
and put to bed, and there he staid for
more than a week, and when he again
appeared he was greeted with so many
jokes that life was almost a burden to
him.
That was the end of dueling in that
region Family Herald.
Universal Suffrage.
1t seems to me that universal suffrage
is the greatest uplifting and educating
force ever set at work among the masses
of men. 1t certainly gives form to many
of the problems of modern society, but
have yet to learn of any period in the
worlds history when the times were not
full of problems. In the meantime, uni
versal suffrage puts into the body poll
tic the element that feels as well as the
element that thinks A man who is all
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