davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
THE STATUE OF WASHINGTON IN Raj
EIGH.

The following articleIwhich we clip
from the Boston Youths Companion
will be of interest to those who have
seen the statue of Washington in
Capitol Square, Raleigh:
/ In Statuary Hall in the National
Capitol, where each State has the
privilege of placing the likenesses of
two of her distinguished sons, stands
one statue of painted plaster. All
the rest are either of marble or of
bronze. Smaller in size than the
others, the appearance of this statue
is thus in many respects peculiar.
This is a reproduction of the famous
Houdon statue of Washington which
was completed in 1888. The original
stands in the State Capitol of Vir-
ginia at Richmond. Five bronze
copies of it, which were made with
great care nearly fifty years ago,
have been scatter ed one is in the
Capitol of South Carolina, another
as Raleigh, a third in Lexington,
Virginia, a fourth in Lafayette Park,
st. Louis, and the fifth in the art
museum of Cincinnati. As the tax
ing of these copies caused some slight
discoloration of the original, the
State of Virginia has decided to per.
NIT no more, and the molds from
which these were made have unfor-
tunately been destroyed.
It is to be regretted that the Uni
ted States government obtained
nothing better than a plaster copy,
since this statue is regarded rs one
of extraordinary excellence. Hou-
don, the artist who made it, was
selected for the commission by JEFF
ferson, then in France, and at the
instance of the State of Virginia.
He came to this country in 1885.
Crossing the ocean with Benjamin
Franklin, he visited Mount Vernon,
where every facility was afforded
for his study. His work, whether
seen in the original or in any of the
copies, mas been greatly admired.
It thus happens that of all the
statues in the hall, that which is
poorest in material and smallest in
size is nevertheless the richest in
history.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
AUNT ENNIE' LETTER.

Mrs. Loula G. BIS letter tells US
of a nuisance that exists in every
community. There Is no place so
secluded that the prying eyes of a
tattler will not penetrate it, and if
the tattler sees nothing on which to
build a plausible theory for vexation
of the oftentimes innocent subject,
why, she sets to workto manufacture
material, being careful to weave into
the wool certain insignificant inoi.
dents, brightly dyed, &C as TO make
credible her entire story. You see
that 1 use the feminine pronoun /;
I do so ~advisedly, for there r COM
paratively few men who tattle +; they
are otherwise employed and have
little time for trivalities. l really
believe that most of the trouble in
the world is caused by the unem-
ployed, and a woman who likes to
talk and who has nothing else to do,
will find or invent some theme. A
woman who sits for days and days
with folded hands, apparently be.
lieving that the earth and all the
inhabitants thereof we're made es,
pecially to serve her own sweet will,
is a dangerous person. How true it
is that an idle brain in the workshop
of the Evil OneI Find something to
do that is worth while, for if you
do not bestir yourself, you may re-
alize sooner than you now think that
you have entertained envy, jealousy
and malice, three of the most artful
of the emissaries of Satan, and
three that find oongenial companion
ship in the company of the idle.
Where are your letters competing
for the book to be given when a
sufficient number of articles on
"The South of Other Days" are re-
ceived? / have heard of several
who intend to compete but have
not yet done so. Let us hear from
you. AUNT JENNIE.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
FROM JENNIE ACTON.

DEAR AUNT JENNIE Good morn
ing to you all! May 1 come in and
have a chat with you, since there is
no danger now of my getting that
tucker? The truth of it is that I
never use one, as I do all kinds of
fancy tuoking by merely creasing
the goods and going ahead with my
eyes for a guide besides, that sub
jeot was too much for me. Never
try to talk about things shat you
know nothing about and I think
that to try TO write a letter that
sounds all right one must be per-
feotly natural, 80 that subject would
not suit me.
The vines that will shade our porch
are growing nicely and the honey
suckle will soon be in bloom. Then
| will be happy, for the odor of
honeysuokle is better than any tonic
for me. It drives away care and
makes me happy as a bird. I wonder
why 16 always au0C66Q me 60a6
way. Then there are some flowers
that 1 do not like, because their
ode depresses me.
have not been to a picnic yet,
but have had several at home. The
INCEST picnics at all are those near
a good we'll, nicely kept. 1 am afraid
of just any kind of water, in fact
they tell me that I am a 'scrank"
on the subject Of water. Well, I
l may me, but it takes cranks to
turn some things and, if I could, I
don't promise anybody that I would
not turn several things to water.
A leaking bucket and a rusty chain
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
TATTLERS.

DEAR AUNT JENNIE Shame be
upon a Chatterer whose letters are
so far apart-but then when We con-
slider the attention that a bouncing
baby boy demands, we may be excused.
! promise to do better in the future.
I will give a few Thoughts on gossip
ing or tattling, tale telling. l DO
think a tattler is a person who GER
tainly is not needed in any commu'
nifty. Tattlers can create more diff.
oulties and cause more unpleasant
feeling between neighbors and
friends in a given length of time
than any other persons in the world
A tattler is a person wholly unloyaI
to any one, to church or country
But a downright advertised tattlsr
is not the worst form after all, from
the fact that people know them, or
at least find them out, but those
sneak-easy kind are the ones who do
the most mischief. They are snakes
in the grass and almost past
finding out. They will slip all around
and around but, finally bite you at
an easy place but a fatal spot. OH
for the time when we shall be freed
from this-elass of people,
Well, Aunt Jennie, as I believe
you were the first to suggest the real
name of the Chatterers I would sug'
gest that you give yours first.
MRS. LoULA G. B.
Cabarrus Co., N. G.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
OPPORTUNITIES FOR OUR POOR BOYS.

In the art of bowling and soraping to
glggling girls, adopts in the intrica-
cies of a village dance or a city card
party-you don t know how grateful
you ought TO be that you have COWS
to feed and fences to build and wheat
TO SOW!
The American boy-what glorious
possibilities lie before him And the
poorer, the more awk ward, the or een
or, the gawkier he is, the better the
chance, for the less likely he will be
to be enticed into the company of the
fippant foam of "sassiety."
If he will only keep his purpose
clear before him, to do his very best
to Garry in his heart the lessons of
truth and duty he learned from a
country mother, to resist the allure
ments of the tempter and keep his
rudder true, he will find his path up
ward, safe and clear
In Great Britain the royalty are
found in magnificent houses and they
wear warm soft clothes and issue
their commands TO underlings who
do their bidding in America the roy
atty live in log houses or cabins with
d back shed away off from the big
road. They wear cotton pantaloons
supported by one suspender, and a
homespun shirt. If you want to see
them, look at the men of affairs all
over North Carolina to-day!
But every boy must carve out his
own fortune If he cannot work and
wait and suffer, he need not expect
TO win.
Heaven is not reached at a single
bound,
But we build the ladder by which
we rise
From the lowly earth to the vaulted
skies,
And we mount TO the summit round
by round
We rise by the things beneath our
feet,
By what we have mastered of greed
or gain,
By the pride deposed and the passion
slain,
And the vanquished ills that we
hourly meet"
charity and Children.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
UNINJURED HONOR.
Journal

Many stories are told of the witty
retorts made by a New England
judge who died a few years ago, and
among them is n which proves that
his wit did not desert him under the
most trying circumstances
One day, as he started down the
steps which led from the courthouse
in a town where he had been hearing
an important case, he slipped, lost
his footing, and fell, with many
thumps and bumps, to the sidewalk
One of the influential men of the
place who was passing hurried up to
the judge as the latter slowly rose
to his teet.
81 trust your honor is not seriously
hurt?" he said, in anxious inquiry.
"My honor is not at all hurt" re
turned the Judge, ruefully, "but my
elbo VS. and knees are, 1 can assure
you l'-Exohange.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
Our Social Chat.
= EDITED By AUNT TENNTE. RALEIqH, n.

AS CONTRIBUTORS to this department of
The Progressive Farmer, we have some Of the
most W~1de-awake and progressive young ladies
and young men and sOnNeO OF the most entertain
ing writers among the older people OF this ana
other States, the ages Of the members ranging
from sixteen to more thon sixty.
YOU ARE REQUESTED to join by sending
as q letter on some subject of general interest,
and writing thereafter as often as possible.
WHEN WRITING, give full name and post
office address for Aunt Jennie's
II you do not wish your real name to appear
in print, give name by which you wish TO be
known as q Chatterer.
TWO WEEKS OR MORE must, as q rule,
elapse between the time q letter is written and
the date of its publication.
all letters to Aunt Jennie, care OF
The Progressive Farmer. Raleigh. N. @.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13

Who are filling the places once &C.
cupied by Senators Vance and Ran
som. Their sons? No, the sons of
poor men are there. Two boys who
had to battle their own way through
the world who knew more about
mauling rails than they did about
going through the mazes of the Ger
man" or playing the polished gentle
nan at a high tea or a low tea, at a
swell club or a card party.
Who is your Governor to-day,
boys? A man who in his youth plowed
in a new ground, and hsuled wood TO
town to exchange for meat and bread
for the folks at home Would he be
where he is if he had been reared in
the lap of luxury, or even in the
scented atmosphere where dudes are
supposed to thrive? Well hardly.
Who occupy all the prominent
places in all the departments of life?
Cast your eye over the list that you
know and see if you can lay your
finger upon n who was softly
reared. Oh, it is mighty nice to have
a plenty of everything to say to a
servant do this and he doeth it, to
go and he goeth, TO stay and he
stayeth but it has its penalty, and
that is to stay at the bottom of the
panel and see the bottom rail slowly
mounting to the top.
There are exceptions, but the rule
is that the men who move things are
they who went barefooted when they
were boys and who learned to break
yearlings and manage mules. 1t is
easy enough TO see the reason for it.
A fellow who over powers Il steer or
gets the better of a young mule has
received his first practical lesson in
the management of men.
Oh, you boys who long to be ooun.
ter jumpers, and cigar cite smokers
and silly dudes; who aspire to be
young lions in society, past masters
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13

are a lot of trouble, but-ws1 -,
hush as I am not given to ser1.
izing.
want to tell you all that if
had gourds in the garden last wv
or the year before, don't My
squash in there this year unless
intend TO make soap gourds of tbos wv
for they certainly will not d. =
eat. l tried it once and who. "
gathered the first ones and No.,
nice brown fritters, I reioioed ~
think how all would enjoy tbor,
But when I saw them tasted 80,
found that the faster almost beI,anas
that I had tried TO poison the wbo,a
family, I was Inundated and Anal,
not forget it. Don't do it.
JENNIE ACTON
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
THE

Thet night, I tell ye, she looked some!
She seemed to We got a new soul,
For she felt sartin. sure he'd come,
Down to her very shoe sole.
She heered a foot, an knowed it tn,
A. raspin' on the scraper-
All ways TO once her feelin's flew
Like sparks in burnt up paper.
He kin o. Filtered on the mat,
Some doubt1e o the sekle,
His heart KEEP goin' pity-pat,
But hern went pity Zekle.
An yit she gin her cheer a jerk
Ez though she wished him furder,
An on her apples KEEP TO work,
Parin' away like murder.
"You want to see my pa, I s'pose ?"
"Wal-no-I come dasignin' -
''To see my ma She's sprinklin'
clo'es
Agin to morrer's i'nin'."
To say why gals acts so or so,
Or don't, 'ould be presumin';
Mebby TO mean yes an say no
Comes material TO women.
He stood a spell on one foot fust,
Then stood a spell on t'other,
An on which one he felt the wust
He couldn't ha' told ye, nuther.
Says he, "I'd better call again.;
Says she, ''Think likely, Mister;
Thet last word pricked him like a pin,
An'-wal, he up an kist her.
When ma bimeby upon EN- slips.
Hubby sot pale ez ashesj
All kin O. smily roun' the lips
An teary roun' the lashes.
For she was jes' the quiet kind
Whose nRturs never vary,
Like streams that keep a summer
mind
Snowhid in Jenooary.
The blood clost roun' her heart felt
glued
Too tight for al ~expressin',
Tell mother see how meters stood.
And gin EN- both her blessin'.
Then her red come back like the tide
Down TO the Bay O. Fundy,
An all / know is they was Dried
In meetin' come mex Sunday.
james Russell LOWeU.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
A MIXED RECIPE,

DEAR AUNT JENNIE Here il =.
mixed recipe I am going to writ
A fashionable young lady visited .
cooking school where her attention
was equally divided between a nam
dress worn by ar acquaintance, and
the directions for making a cake
Upon returning home she undertook
to write down the recipe for he,
mother and the old lady was pars,
lyzed when she read the FOLLOWING,
Take two pounds of -four, tbrss
rows of plating down the front. tho
whites Of two eggs, out bias, a mint
of milk ruffed around the neck, bsp
pound of ourrants with seven ward,
of head trimming, grated lemon Deal.
ing with Spanish lace fohu. ss,
we'll and add a semiftting pslssm
with visite sleeves, butter the Dan,
with Brazilian topaz necklace and
garnish with icing and pasementsn
Bake in a moderately hot oven until
the skirt is tucked from the waist
down on either side and finish with
large satin rosettes.
Her mother said she wouldnT eat
such a cake, and she thought these
new tangled ideas ought to be
trOwned down. j. A. G.
Martin Co., N. G.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
HOW TO FORM THE READING HABIT.

In order to organize odd minutes
into fruitful hours one must have a
consistent scheme and keep the means
of carrying it out within reach. Too
many people read the books which
come in their way instead of putting
themselves in the way of getting the
right books. They buy and borrow
without thought or plan because
they do not understand that reading
ought to be a u as we'll as a
recreation. Decide in advance what
books you will read, and do not take
up with those which drift in your
direction. Do not burden yourself
with a scheme so extensive that it
disoourages you do not, at the start,
plan courses of reading so vast that
you are weighed down with their
magnitude. Begin in a quiet and
easy way by planning to read con
seoutively a few books in some field
which interests you.-Hamilton W.
Mabie, in the May Ladies' Home
Journal.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
HEAT IN THE PHILIPPINES
Cabarrus Co., N. G.

To improve the condition of one OF
the camps General Macarthur had
some ground plowed and a tropiosl
garden started. Among the men se'
TO work in this humane undertaking
was a soldier of Irish extraction,
temporarily under punishment for
consuming undue quantities Of vino
Husbandry was an unaooustomed
pursuit to this soldier, and his efforts
TO guide the mules and hold the pillow
in the furrow resulted in zigzag anu
s~erpentine rows.
General Macarthur went out tO
inspect the work. .
"See here" said he to the soldier,
"what do you mean by that kind o.
business ?" pointing to the CRAZY
burrows.
81 plowed 'em straight, your
honor" the soldier replied, "but 'n0
sun must have warped 'em. "-eat0i
day Evening Post.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13

God makes seoh nights, all white an
still
Fur z you can look or listen;
Moonshine an snow on field an hill,
All silence an all glisten.
Zekle orep' up quite unbeknown
An peeked in thru the winder,'
An there soS Hubby all alone,
III no one nigh TO bender.
A fireplace filled the rooms one side,
With half a cord o. wood in
There warn't no stoves (tell comfort
died)
To bake ye to a puddin'.
The walnut logs shot spsrkles out
Towards the p~ootiest, bless her
An leetle flames danced all about
The chiny on the dresser.
Agin the chimbley orook-neoks hung,
An in amongst 'em rusted
The ole Queens arm that Gran Their
Young
Fetched back from Concord busted.
The very room, COZ she was in,
Seemed warm from floor TO ceilin',
An she looked full ez rosy agin
Ez the apples she was peelin',
Twas kin O. kingdom-oome to look
On sech a blessed %oretur,
A dogrose blushin' TO a brook
Amt modester nor sweeter.
He was six foot O. man, A /,
Clean grit an human natur';
None couldn't quicker pitch a ton,
Nor dror a furrer straighter,
He'd sparkedit with full twenty gels,
He'd squirrel EN-, danced EN-,
druv 'em,
Fust this one, an then thet, by spells,
All is, he couldn't love EN-.
But long o. her his veins 'ould run
All crinkly like curled maple,
The side she breshed felt full o'sun
Ez a south slope in Apil.
She thought no vice he'd seoh a
swing
Ez hisn in the choir;
My | when he made Ole Hundred ring
She knOWed the Lord was higher.
An she'd blush ~soarlit, right in
prayer,
When her new meetin'. bunnet
Felt somehow thru its crown a pair
o. blue eyes sot upon it.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
The BEST SHE COULD DO.

''There is only one reason" he
said, "why I have never asked you
TO be my wife"
"What is that2" she asked.
81 have always been half afraid
you might refuse"
"Well," she whispered, after a
long silence, 81 should think you'd
have curiosity enough to want to
find out whether your suspicion was
we'll founded or not."-Reoord Her
aid.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13

were kept busy preparing supper for
the corn huskers. The numerous
slaves worked and sang in cheerful
anticipation.
Now messengers are sent ont to in
vite the owners and slaves at neigh
boring plantations, and the house
and kitchen present a scene of fever
ish activity. The warm, gentle
October sun is low in the west, and
the barn, house and kitchen are
wrapped in golden, hazy light.
Mine host is in the parlor entertain
ing a few visitors from a distance
and the mistress is experimenting
the cooks. Master Tom, her young
est son, and Bose, Aunt James
youngest, are alternately engaged in
playing and devouring bits of cook
les.
Now, it is getting late the mes
sengers have returned, and the last
load of corn has been hauled. Be-
fore the barn door lie the piles of it
piles fifty feet long and as high as
the head of it's owner. Now the sun
has set. The western sky is gorgeous
with red, blue and yellow light. The
only sounds that break the stiffness
are the merry laughter of the slaves
in their cabins, the barking of a
dozen we'll kept dogs (for mine
host, I must tell you, keeps a pack for
fox hunting) and the faint rumble of
a wagon on the dusty road. No
there's another sound-what is itP
Soft, low and melodious, it floats
on the vesper breezes, like the voice
of some far-sway ohoir-irst loud,
then low, rising and falling like the
ebbing and flowing of the tide.
Master Tom pauses a moment TO
listen and a merry smile overspreads
his face.
"They are coming" he shouts.
"WhoP"
"Why, Parson Green's slaves.
There-that's Uncle NedAthe one
that's singing so loud"
Louder and louder sound the songs !;
higher and higher rises the full
noon above yon dark pine forest.
But hush the merry song makers
have reached the lane and their
melodies ring out loud and clear on
the crisp night air as the plantation
slaves join in the merry chorus. But
here comes another troop of sing
ers. Both bands meet before the
barn and Uncle Ned is chosen leader.
The barn gate opens and both bands
march in.
Now begins the corn-shucking
proper. A few words of explanation
are given and every man springs to
his place. With wonderful rapidity
the newly husked oars fly to their
places. Uncle Ned marches up and
down the corn pile-or mounts a
neighboring housetop, and leads in
the song-making. This continues
for awhile, then the songs cease, but
the merriment does not. Champion
shuckers race with one another
youngsters play pranks, and nearly
all tell jokes and anecdotes. Again
the songs begin. Hours pass and
Is announced.
Now let US follow the procession
to yon brilliantly lighted kitchen.
will not some one complete this
sketch? It is tantalizing to have to
stop right at the kitchen door, when
we know there are so many good
things within Ed.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
CARELESS TOM.
A CORN SHOCKING "BEFo' DE W.

A CORN SHOCKING ''BEFO' DE wAH."
Mid-autumn is the oorn-husking
season, and it's coming is eagerly
awaited by owners, servants and
neig hbors. At these merry gather.
ings, rich and poor, white and black,
alike meet to work, laugh and sing.
A pleasant occasion it always is, and
no one from the grizzled old farmer
who has past his three SCORE and ten
down to the mischievous young
~piokanniny "jes' seb'n var ole" goes
away without joining in the general
merriment.
But the Southern corn husking in
slavery days was an incomparably
grander and more picturesque OCCUR
renee. There the wealth, generosity
and hospitality of the Southern plan
ters we're seen to the best advantage.
Imagine yourself carried back to
those dreamy days when the crack
of the whip as the driver sat on his
four-horse wagon and the resound-
ing bugie of the approaching stage
coach had not given place to the
wild foot of the modern locomotive.
Then, our Sunny Southland was dot
ted ove with great plantations. The
hospitable owners of these vast
estates lived In spacious dwellings,
built nea the centre of the farm
and shaded by giant oaks.
The oorn-husking offered splendid
opportunities for the display of the
planters hospitality and generosity.
And these opportunities we're not
neglected. All day long the pictu-
rescue old aunties of the plantation
polite old colored women with their
best calico dresses on and flaming
handkerchiefs tied over their heads,
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
OLD N IN THE SOUTH.

DEAR AUNT JENNIE Il am very
mucn interested in the proposed
series of articles on old times in the
South. While not very old myself,
1 have listened attentively to the
r~eoolleotions of my father and others
who did live through the days that
are so unlike these And so, looking
through some old papers last week,
I found an incomplete sketch of an
ante bellum corn husking. It was
written five years ago, and as my
style has changed considerably since
then, l do not think 1t we'll to at
tempt to complete the description
If you think it worth publishing as
it is, you may use it.
CARELESS TOM.
The progressive farmer. [volume] (Winston, N.C.) 1886-1904, 1902-05-13
The Home Circle.
N ON

Is true freedom but TO break
Fetters for our own dear sake
And, with leathern hearts, forget
That we owe mankind a debt
No! true freedom is to share
All the chains our brothers wear,
And, with heart and hand, TO be
Earnest TO make others freel
They are slaves who fear TO speak
For the fallen and the weak
They are slaves who will not choose
Hatred, SOOTHING and abuse,
Rather than in silence shrink
From the truth they needs must think;
They are slaves who dare not be
In the right with two or three.
--TnnnpS r.