davidaulloa/AmericanStories huggingface dataset:
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26
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A Surprising Legacy
By GEORGE T. PARDY
z Copyright, BY W. G. chapman.)

the said Alfred Hamilton having by
his patient industry contributed more
than any other relative to the forming
Of this collection"
It was a severe blow to Mrs. Ham
ilton and the lovers. Their visions
OF snug little house in the suburbs
to take the place Of their present
lodgings had vanished into thin air.
Gone also was Alfred's hope Of an
early marriage with Kate. Working
and waiting must still be their por.
ton.
One by one the guests departed, and
as Alfred and his mother were taking
their leave Of the lawyer, that gentle
man thrust huge volume into the
young fellows hands. You had bet
ter take your legacy with you" he
said, smiling.
Alfred looked with disgust at the
thick, ponderous book, bound in leath.
er, and garnished with strong, brass
clasps.
Il suppose l must take IT," he said,
and tucked it under his arm. On
reaching home he flung It into closet
where his mother kept various odds
and ends of furniture. Alfred and
Kate remained faithful to each other,
and at least had the pleasure of spend.
Ing their evenings together. On one
OF these occasions Kate exclaimed:
Bring your legacy out, ALI, and let
US look at it. We have recovered from
our disappointment enough now to
be able to view it calmly"
Alfred laughed, and having dived
into the dark corners Of the closet,
produced the ponderous volume, which
had Knocked their bright expectations.
IF you only knew the time / wasted
on that thing" he said, regarding the
book venomously, you wouldn't blame
me If was to throw 1t in the fire."
Put 1t on the table and let me look
through 1t, for you know II is new
to me-" said Kate. Slowly she turned
the thick, heavy leaves; there were
newspaper clippings, and nothing but
clippings on each side of the page.
Suddenly the girl exclaimed. See
here, ALI, these two leaves are
gummed together, and so are these.
Why, the leaves in the middle Of the
book seem to be all gummed to
gether!"
With her slender fingers she deity
separated leaf from leaf. Between the
first and second the onlookers per.
ceived something that brought forth a
universal cry Of surprise. II was q
500 bill, carefully placed in the cen.
ter. The third and fourth pages we're
opened with a similar result, and all
through the following leaves were dis.
covered bills of a like denomination,
until the total sum came to $4,000.
And to think that 1t was reserved
for Kate to find our fortune!" cried
Alfred, exultingly, as soon as they had
recovered from their establishment 81
guess we1l move into that little house
In the suburbs without much further
delay, won't we, dearie?"
"As soon as ever you please, ALI"
said the girl, as he stopped and kissed
her.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26

cry home. II the children Of every we'll
TODD family would take It upon thNm-
selves to ask their mother for a basket
Of well-prepared and wholesome food
to carry to some poor family-where
otherwise there might be no Thanks.
giving cheer-the day would indeed
be one deserving Of the name given
1t. And on the same day they might
carry to some poor sick person a bou.
quet Of flowers and a nice warm gar.
ment or pair Of slippers. Any little
deed Of kindness to the unfortunate
will enrich your own pleasures for
the day and make you feel more de-
serving of the plenty that has fallen
to your lot.
Remember the poor, the unhappy,
the sick, is a good motto for every
child to pin over his dresser mirror a
few days before Thanksgiving. And
when the day arrives he'll find such
Joy in the knowledge that he is max.
ing some one soul the happier by his
kindness. Just try it, boys and girls.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26
An lncendiary Lover,

A blaze was discovered in a VII.
liamsburg letter box and the contents,
about 50 letters, were charred before
the fire was extinguished. 1t is the
opinion of the police that a young
man wrote a.proposal of marriage to
his girl and then got cold feet and set
the boxful Of letters on fire to destroy
his own. 1t was George AIDE who wrote
this caution to young men, Tell 'em
anything you want, but don't write
letters. Boston Globe.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26

When Rev. Arthur Hamilton passed
over to the great majority Mrs. Ham.
lton and her only son forsook the
little New England village that had
been their home for many happy years,
and went to New York. The widows
principal reason for selecting the me-
ropolis as the scene Of their future
fortunes was that Alexander Hamil-
ton, her husbands brother, dwelt
therein, and she hoped to benefit by
his advice and assistance.
Alex Hamilton was a rich old bach
efor, full Of whims and caprices, and
one Of whose great hobbies was that
OF collecting interesting extracts from
the current newspapers. No visitor
was so welcome as he who would
draw from his pocket strips Of news.
papers bearing on the favorite topic
Tor the time being. Their eccentric
relative received the widow and her
son pleasantly enough, but In rather
matter-Of-fact way. He advised them
to look for inexpensive lodgings, said
that Alfred must try to find something
to do In the city, requested the lad to
pay him weekly visit, and stated that
he would be expected to bring with
him any contributions cut from the
daily papers which he thought would
be Of interest to his uncle.
Many weeks passed. The mother
and son would have been lonesome,
cruelty so, had they not met a friend,
q former resident of their own New
England village, who with his daugh-
ter Kate was almost their neigh5or
once more, having lodgings in an 40.
jacent street. Alfred applied, but un-
successfully, for every situation ad-
vertised in the papers for which he
thought himself suited. 1t was Pc
Rod Of bitter disappointment and
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26
School Dolnn Good Wnrk

Miss Tsuda's English school for
girls in Tokyo is said to be doing a
pioneer work of much Importance in
Japan. She is really laying the foun.
dation for higher education among
Japanese women. The enrolment for
several years has been about $50 pu.
pills.
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26
The Story
of the


n 1920 the Puritans dis
covered New England,
and the next year, when
they were going to have
their first Thanksgiving
dinner, they discovered the
turkey" wrote a small
boy in his Thanksgiving
composition. Thus he set
tied, to his own sstisfac-
ton at least, a long-dis-
puted question - when
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26

Are you sad, or are you jolly.
DO you blame yourself for folly.
When there's nothing but the wishbone
left?
Are you full. or can you eat
(After gobbling turkey meat
All the satisfying things that make
Thanksgiving day complete,
When there's nothing but the wishbone
leftf
Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1909-11-26

Twas celebrated m fhose days5TA--
With onel Thought and with oae thought only.
To give % CD MS need of praise
For 6SHShtDk DER his people lonely.
That hetsSS8 given to them his sra9eCf'
And Saked She earth to yield is dover.
That thy 4shYElye. and keep ne pace
y WHb}At9q2Sh e9d1jna5s Sepd pow9eN w. ~
N1E1 4, G1SsSISls7Tt4kAG :
"a SG 9Sss}sSz AZ { sB BdSSsR} ss ~
ThSy9nly gss6hs7S9d prsgaaSRe h 81 ~
Foo6 IgsRA4a SIZES were were dafk and Muky
And toNeN EHXaaHRas 1chosegfodH " =
sic sem the RNq4naRp Thanksgiving turkey =
IVA NV w. Nv ~
The tulS9SAew tAroleHY sriesYe0SFay;I
And on Crisp bohghs Of oar1&gss, rested:
Or sought 'nsSAg leavsst where 2aSaS&S gay[9ks91x
The foodD4TBfeRl NatSfgy hsd4l AMi sSstgHEiSG
And doughty Standish,H(E " 4aen >GHheSdXNXI>s.
Zen ElderNBre@sterS. qSGtStb RsS9g (AnorII
Basged turkeys tHS1he frost o2SSgNJSEEEzz
AS hunger sSuM them H. th@ RGHaI5l[S
9>'E US G NHEe;
AS the years r0aed Oh nGs sssSh9g bay
In the Plymouth &Rg8 dense WoSdedI
Became the typicaghof4aJ ~ u A,Uik.
Mong the Pigfb3ss ge9eted, andde hoGdedyR>
And from those saTGQbdGI tmesS;,N S
The seed2t fR5SFS8a 4 @aa gppkaseW =
Has spread 4Ifhafh syin fff@an5SSS =
Is eive9RhearzSsSs 5af (aa8a asaases =
Thanksgiving bsxIs~assnNheaTEtss SsGaS Sssemes
Give thanks fon oil eassSXarieSS Blessings,
And the wahderer 4Ehstes l1sseFo&Ss%~
Returns fSF Olden days daFessheS&
And kngTs;casaka ffIeaES tbgSpd/ta rf6S-house,
And Aeargzthes turkeys sgaSb1 .a6d -eobbie.-
That joy44s, hiss thoGgh5 cl1Sthea in blouse,
Ang6 s&@| door he scar9Y can hobble.
NN31G 3YS
ThanhssNng2 BaY theEdal Of days,
When CahS%ho haye NeAEngland training
Know that amid eSA9eRbeBrays
>The ChristAKe sbtRt eer-fs reigning
And hearts to- itEsssSsdtme CONTENT
From worldly Sorrows Ger are turning,
While sinfl souls. TO earth-fe lent
Fam for the heavenly rest are yearntns.
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07
SIMPSONS PLUCK.
An Inventors Weary but Successful
Fiuht Aqainst Great Odds.

Charles Goodyear Is not the only in.
ventor who might turn his face to the
wall to die saying Of the tardy recog-
milton of his efforts ~ die happy
others can get rich"
Goodyear's efforts to introduce the
use of vulcaniZed rubber were no more
tragic than the stories of dozen other
inventors. There was a man named
Simpson In Missouri who discovered
that gutta percha was nonconductor
of electricity He borrowed money of
one Amos Kendall to make his appli.
cation for n patent. 1t was rejected
over and over, rich companies fighting
his claim. But he had "sand;" he
never weakened 1t was just after
the civil war that he made his last
fight. He had no money-not dollar
but he started from st. Louis for
Washington afoot.
He would not beg. but made his way
half across the continent by saving
wood hoeing corn or doing any work
that came TO hand In one place he
robbed scarecrow of pair Of pants
and hat, leaving his own more rag.
ged garments in their place. In Pitts
burg he had to work as truck driver
till he could earn enough to repair his
shoes and take him on his way And
all the time he believed stubbornly in
himself and in his invention His own
words were:
"When | came over the tops of the
Alleghenics | saw the sun rising, and
/ knelt down and thanked God for my
life and asked him to let me get my
patent He promised me on the spot,
and never had moments doubt
after that"
Arriving in Washington, he got a
living as a day laborer on the stone
foundation Of the patent office, and
from that vantage ground he fought
his claim through the Office and the
courts and got his ratent. The West
ern Union Telegraph company gave
him 100000 down for the privilege Of
using it.-Exchange.
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07
HE oBEYED ORDERS.
A Young Recruits Rapid Rise to Title
and Power,


One day Il young recruit was stand.
ing guard before the door of the en-.
trance to Peter the Greats private
chambers in the palace of st Peters
burg. He had received orders to ad.
nit no one
AS he was passing slowly up and
down before the door Prince Menschi
kon. the favorite minister of the car
approached and attempted to enter
He was stopped by the recruit.
The prince, who had the fullest lib
erty of calling upon his master at any
time, sought to push the guard and
pass him. Yet the young man would
not move, but ordered his highness
to stand back.
"You idiot!'' shouted the prince,
Don't you know me? You'll be pun
ished for this!''
The recruit smiled and said:
"Very well. your highness, but my
orders are peremptory to let nobody
pass"
The prince, exasperated at the fA-
lows impudence, struck him blow
in the face with his riding whip.
''Strike away, your highness," said
the soldier, "but l cannot let you go
In"
Peter. in the room, hearing the noise
outside, opened the door and inquired
what 1t meant, and the prince told
him.
The czar appeared amused. but said
nothing at the time.
In the evening. however, he sent for
the prince and the soldier. AS they
both appeared Peter gave his own
cane to the soldier, saying:
"That man struck you in the morn
ing. Now you must return the blow to
that fellow with my stick"
The prince was amazed. Your mai.
esty," he said, this common soldier
is to strike me3'
II make him a captain" said Peter
"But I'm an officer of your males.
tvs household" objected the prince.
II make him a colonel of my life
guards and an officer Of the house
hold" said Peter again.
MY rank, your majesty knows. is
that Of general" again protested Men
schikoff.
"Then make him a general. so that
the beating you get may come from q
man Of your rank"
The prince got sound thrashing IN
the presence of the czar, and the re
crult. who was next day commissioned
general with title. was the founder
of a powerful family whose descend
ants are still high in the imperial serv
ice of Russia
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07
Kissino the Book.

"Kissing the book" Is rather late
development of the mere touching OF
the gospels with the fingers. which
dates from the sixth century. 1t Is
likely that The kiss was originally In
tended not to increase the sOlemnity OF
the OATH but to signify reverence and
affection for the book. The kiss ap-
pears to have come into fashion to
ward the end of the sixteenth century
and would seem, from what George
Fox says of 1t. to have been Protes-
tant innovation. According to him,
the unreformed method was simply to
hold the gospels with three fingers
above the book. typifying the Trinity,
and two fingers below, typifying the
twofold destruction of body and soul
that an oath taker invoked upon him
self If he swore falsely.
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07


and despair of Miss Leafy Beans
heart. Her own had gone long ago,
and she was now reduced to Il tooth
less underjaw. while an i'll fitting plate
Of obviously false teeth adorned the
upper one.
"Cold out, Ellen?" asked old Mrs.
Brown from across the table.
"Yes," replied Mrs. Drake, Its
dreadful cold Looks like SNOW"
Been buying valentnes?' continued
Mrs. Brown, with snickering laugh
that was echoed down the table in
diminishing cachinnations.
Some" returned Mrs. Drake spirit
edly. 81 always buy valentines. be
lieve in 'em.'
Believe in 'em! Valentines are only
for young folks a-courtin' and such"
jeered Mrs. Brown.
valentines mean love-" continued
Ellen Drake soberly, "and old folks
want love just as much as young ones
do-and sight more, I'm thinking. 1t
don't make no difference II you're
hundred years old, If you get valen-
tine with hearts and posies on 1t and
doves and flowers and a pretty verse
to It It warns you all up, not quite the
same as when you was sixteen. but al
mostr' She uttered a mellow laugh
that warmed more than one of the fee
Bile. discontented old women gathered
there.
"That's So" assented Miss Piper IN
her shril treble. 81 remember my
first valentine And so each one told
a story about some valentine she had
received In the old days-some mes
sage of love that came so readily
and all unsought In the golden old
days. And as they told their stories
withered cheeks reddened, faded eyes
frightened and fretful voices took on
softer cadences until, when they rose,
there was a warmer unanimity of feel
ing among them, and when they part
ed for the night they strayed off in
groups Of twos and threes, still telling
of the old days, the golden old days,
when love was everything. when love
was king.
All save Miss Leafy She had main
tained a stony silence during the ten
der "reminiscences that had arisen like
q cloud Of incense about her, cloud
that lowered about, but did not encom-
pass her. She withdrew herself from
1t, Just az she withdrew from their
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07
THE WORD ALPHABET"
It Comes Through the Greeks and He
brews From Phoenicia.


When we speak Of our B C's as
our "alphabet" we are using word
hoary with age, that, as far back as
we can trace It, came from the eastern
shore of the Mediterranean sea, thou
sands of years before the Hebrews
went up there and took possession Of
the land of Canaan Back of the peo-
pie who occupied that land before the
events of Exodus were written we are
not able to trace the word, for we
have not sufficient knowledge of them
or of their genealogical history before
we find them In Canaan.
1t has been only within recent years
that we have been able to know that
the word "nlphabet" came to us from
the Phocnicians Before that we sup
posed that II came to us from the He
brews, through the Greek. As we say
"A C" the Greeks say alpha beta"
(the first two letters of their alphabet).
which whom 1t reached MS became "nl-
phabet" This we supposed had come
to the Greeks from the Hebrews, who
called their first two letters 'alph" and
"beth." but since then we have found
that both the Greeks and the Hebrews
got the word alphabet" from the same
source. which was the Phoenicians.
The people of Phoenlcia had the
same letters. "alph" and beth" which
have suffered but little change In
sound dcwn to our A and B. Alph
meant simp'y an OK. the sign of 1t
being Il conventional oX's head. with
the lower part Of the face turned
slightly to its right, and beth meant n
house. which was pictured Sy the rude
outline of primitive dwelling. which
had superfuous line added to dis
tingtir II from other characters very
like II. as we place tail on Q to
distinguish 1t from an o. So the first
two letters of our r C's were orig
inally an OK and house and gave
the name of all of the twenty-six let
ters which we call our alphabet.
New York Herald.
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07

ralcable relation would have resulted
III much happiness TO both Of thepi
1t is true that Ellen Drake strove for
this, but after nwhle she tired of re-
peated rebuffs, and 50 day after day
the women would sit on opposi sides
Of the pleasant room in perfect silence
Sometimes one or the other would
have visitors or they would meet IN
the living room downstairs, but there
was generally silence between item,
or, at best, veiled hostility.
Because Ellen Drake dressed trs,c-
fully from the remnants Of Il once
we'll stocked wardrobe Leafy Bean hnd
nurtured bitter jealousy which cul-
minated in the purchase of the hid
eous valentine. And now Leafy was
thinking how, the first thing in the
morning, Ellen would receive the val
rntine. Perhaps she would not toss
her head and flaunt her finery In the
face Of
Just then the door opened, and Ellen
Drake came in. She drew rocking
chair close to the stove and sat there
for a few moments In silence: then,
with a visible effort, she said In a con
ciliatory tone:
"Leafy Bean"
"Wellr said Miss Bean sourly.
81 got valentine today" pursued
Ellen, with some hesitation.
Miss Leafy swallowed hard. al
readyr' she uttered; then she bit her
lip in vexation.
? "Well." continued Mrs. Drake slow
ly, "it's this way, Leafy: It's not reg
ular valentine. 1t was a letter from
lawyer saying that my fourth cousin,
old Abe Harmon. had died out west
somewhere and left me $500. So l call
1t valentine" she ended, with quiet
laugh.
Miss Leafy snorted bitterly. "You
can buy lots of clothes with $780," she
said, with firm emphasis.
"Oh, l amt quite so dressy as that,
Leafy," laughed Mrs Drake good ma
turedly. "What l want to say is that
I've got an idea"- She hesitated
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07

SO'NNh uoycs phN
remembered bitterly that she had al
ways been small and lean and homely.
She never had valentine. She never
had lover. She never had married.
She had cared for her parents, who
had lived to ripe old age, and when
they died she had sold the place and
with the proceeds had purchased life
long comfort in the home. That had
been her life-always lonely, with a
heart hungering for love and kindness,
which, when offered, she could not rec
ognize, but fought off with shy suspi-
cion
When Ellen Drake arrived and was
assigned to share room with Miss
Leafy the newcomer had sought by
every art known to her genial little
soul to win Miss Leafy's regard. Per-
haps she might have done so had not
an unfortunate thing happened. Mrs,
Drake In unpacking her garments dis
played to Miss Beans admiring eyes
a black lace shawl. "Its real lace"
said Ellen simply. 1T belonged to my
grandmother"
Leafy Bean bit her lip and looked
with covetous eyes upon the real lace
shawl She fingered its filmy texture.
and then she said carelessly:
1--WE got one just like that, only
mines white. I'd show it to you, only
it's in the bottom Of my trunk. III
get 1t out some day. Mines real lace
too" Ff
"Td admire to see It," said Ellen
Drake heartily. and Leafy had crept
away to bed with resentful heart
and very guilty conscience, for Leafy
Bean never had u lace shawl in her
life. = ~ 81
All the year that followed Ellen
brakes arrival at the home Leafy
Bean had maintained frigid demean-
or toward that lady. This was harder
to understand. because the women oc-
cupied the same apartment and a more
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07

ohH DUN EAoh hu affording
ONE CRITICALLY each occupant
two windows and the use of the door.
A rug placed in the center of each
diagonal space, small iron beds, dress
ers, comfortable rockers and tables
formed the furniture, while large
coal stove in the center of the room
radiated warmth and cheer to every
corner.
Miss Leafy removed her bonnet and
cape and hung them, together with
the mink muff, within her tiny closet.
Then she seated herself at the table
and drew out the comic valentine she
had just purchased. She adjusted her
spectacles again and looked long and
curiousiy at the picture. She did not
smile or otherwise exhibit any evi-
deace of amusement. There was the
light Of an indomitable purpose in her
eyes and in the set of her thin lips.
The picture portrayed hideous wo-
man, with mincing gait wearing an
enormous bonnet, from which hung
multitudes of varicolored feathers and
ribbons. Her dress was trimmed with
buttons, buckles, fringes, bows and
streamers, while about her shoulders
was draped lace shawl. She held
tiny parasol above her bedizened head.
Beneath were lines of doggerel verse:
Hold up your head. you think you're so
finel
You are nothing but clothes; you haven't
q mind
Your silks are but cotton; your hat is
+ sham;
You're smiling deceiver abroad in the
Miss Leafy nodded her head approx
ingly. "That's Ellen Drake to the
life," she said slowly. "She thinks
she's fine. and she expects every one
else to think the same. She's a smil-
ing deceiver, for she pretends to be
pleasant to every one, and she treats
me like the dirt beneath her feet.
A-pretending that shawl is real lace!
How comes 1t that Ellen Drake can
wear lace shawls any more'n / can?
I'll stick to 1t that mine is real lace
too. amt going to take no back
seat for Ellen Drake If her pa was a
schoolteacherw
Here Miss Leafy ended her soliloquy.
and, folding her hideous valentine to
at q long envelope, she inclosed 1t and
sealed the flap. Then with a scratchy
pen dipped in rusty brown ink she
printed the letters of Ellen Drake's
name.
"Therew she ended triumphantly.
''I'll just drop that in the Aetter box
1t the corner 30 she'll get 1t the first
thing in the morning. After she learns
The star. (Reynoldsville, Pa.) 1892-1946, 1909-04-07
Odd Cures For Rheumatism.

Cures for rheumatism are almost as
old as the complaint itself. In the
midland counties Of England it was
formerly considered that the right
forefoot Of a hare, worn constantly In
the pocket. was an amulet against
rheumatism, while the Dutch peas
antry still cherish belief In the pres
ervative virtues of borrowed or
stolen potato. Stranger than these.
however, was the remedy discovered
by servant girl at the village of
Stanton, In the Cotswolds, who con-
trived to be confirmed three times. In
the belief that confirmation was an
unfailing cure for rheumatism.