THE BUBAL HEW-YORKEB. 
FEB 0 
THE DRUM LAKE EASTER SERVICE. 
A story of the Michigan Pine Woods. 
BY HERBERT W. COLLINGWOOD. 
Copyrighted, by the Rural New-Yorker. 
(ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.) 
I T was some little time before the minister 
re appeared. Jmi and Ben became quite 
impatient, for it was getting late At last the 
little man re-entered the room with his violin 
under his arm. He did not possess a case for 
this valuable instrument, and so he had 
wrapped a number of garments about it. He 
looked more like a man in search of a laun¬ 
dress than a violin soloist. 
“Wall, Parson,” announced Jim, “ ef yer 
reddy, why we be,” and he opened the door 
at once. 
With his melancholy hat dropping even 
more dismally than before over his face, aud 
his long coat beating an indignant protest 
against his legs, the Rev. Mr. Grayling fol¬ 
lowed his conductor. 
Cobb’s store was located in the one “bus¬ 
iness block” of Drum Lake. Time had been 
when Cobb could have stated witn some 
degree of truthfulness, that his stock of goods 
was “the largest and most complete ever 
brought into Northern Michigan.” But now 
the great stock of goods, like the greater part 
of the occupation of its owner, was entirely 
gone. 
A few dry-looking articles looked down 
from the great shelves, as if inviting the 
customer to purchase, and yet well aware of 
the fact that no man in his right mind would 
do so. The sugar barrel had lost its business 
grip on two of its hoops in utter hopelessness. 
Tne rusty scales had long since given up all 
thought of doing justice to the customer, and 
drooped down at one side as if weary of life. 
As the advantage of this droop was with 
Cobb, he had never tried to remedy it. 
The profits from Mr. Cobb’s legitimate mer¬ 
cantile business would hardly have supported 
him in elegant style, so he had been forced to 
add several branches to his business, that he 
would have laughed at years before. He had 
even found it necessary to give a series of 
social assemblies during each winter in order 
to eke out his expenses. He had fitted up two 
rooms at the back of his store for the purpose, 
and twice each month did he issue his invita. 
tions to the citizens of Drum Lake and vicin¬ 
ity, to dance and be merry. 
It was into one of these rare occasions that 
the poor, unwilling minister was brought. 
His new friends led him through the vacant 
store, past tne miserable scales and the hope¬ 
less sugar barrel, and looked in with him at 
the company gathered in Cobb’s back room. 
The merry-makers had danced to the music 
of Bill Gammon’s voice until the musician, 
anxious to keep himself in trim for his con¬ 
test with Jeff Brice, declared “ that the sound 
rasped agin his throat.” 
At the time of the minister’s arrival, the 
floor was held by one Snooks, who had held 
the position of “ boss fool ” until Mr. Grayling 
came to try and “ build up St. Paul’s Church.” 
There were some who still claimed that 
Snooks had never been fairly driven from his 
position, 
The Drum Lakers believed in monopoly to 
a certain extent. There should be,according to 
their philosophy,but one “boss'’ and one “fool” 
in every community. Both of these impor¬ 
tant positions should be filled by some one, but 
it needed either a most decided superiority or a 
great outburst of popular feeling to bring 
about a change. Perhaps the Drum Lake 
idea of civil service reform may be of some 
interest to the public 
Here it is in substance: So long as a man 
shows himself to be a fool, keep him in office, 
but if it is discovered that he knows more 
than some one else in the community, kick 
him out at once. 
As the Rev. Mr. Grayling looked into the 
room, Mr. Snooks was in the very act of de¬ 
livering a recitation. It was nothing from 
Shakespeare or any of the more dramatic 
auihors, but that touching lit le gem, 
“ Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star.” One only 
needed to glance at the poor fellow to see how 
he came to fill the position of a fool. The 
half-opened mouth and vacant.eye, told of a 
vacant, half-opened mind. The great, burly 
lellow stood by the stove throwing his long 
arms about, and moving his head in a frantic 
attempt to imitate the twinkling of a star. 
The audience sat about on the board seats 
shouting wilh laughter at the performance. 
Poor Snooks took all this for applause, and 
Redoubled his efforts to please. No wonder 
the minister drew back at the sight. 1 think 
he would have gone to Mrs. McKelvev’s had 
not Jim pushed him into the room. Once in¬ 
side there was no escape, for Ben Stone placed 
himself in the door as a barricade. 
There was a lull in the storm of applause as 
the minister made his forced entrance. 
Snooks took his seat, and the whole company 
sat looking at the reverend visitor at a loss to 
know how to receive him. 
The little man did present a ludicrous ap¬ 
pearance, with his head thrust forward in his 
odd way, the old hat on his head, the long 
coat creeping behind bis legs for protection, 
and the shapeless bundle under his arm. He 
was enough, as Bil IGammon afterwards said, 
to “ make a cat laugh.” 
Jeff Price who was to sing later in the even¬ 
ing, stood leaning against the wall. He had 
never met the Rev. Mr. Grayling, aDd knew 
nothing of his clerical digmty; he simply knew 
that before him stood the most melancholy 
specimen of humanity he had ever seen. 
“ Wall,” he remarked “ what bone-yard’s 
ben opened ter day ?” 
Mr. Grayling showed by his manner that he 
did not understand. 
“ What bone-yard hez ben opened?” roared 
Jeff, thinking the little man must be deaf. 
The minister studied the question carefully, 
but “ bone-yard” was too much for him. 
“ I fear, sir, that I fail to comprehend your 
exact meaning.” This was too hot a volley 
for Jeff, and he edged away from the speaker 
as if fearful that the next well-rounded 
sentence would injure him severely. 
Jim Foster who had been holding a whisper¬ 
ed consultation with his friends, now came to 
the rescue. “Parson,” he said, “we’re 
ready fer ye; jest stand out an’ I’ll introduce 
ye’ roun’.” 
Much against his will, the Parson came for¬ 
ward. Tnen Mr. Foster, with his great hand 
laid patronizingly on the shoulder of the 
minister, began his introduction. 
“ Gentlemen and ”—noticing the few females 
at one side—“ ladies, this is the new Parson. 
He’s go’nter preach termorrer down ter Bill 
McKelvey’s. Ye all wanter come, fer its 
go’nter be a big show. Kin anything git 
out Nazzereth is his idee. He wanted ter 
kinder git acquainted round, so I invited him 
up ter see how things was. He kin jerk a bow 
all round Hank Jacobs, an’ now he’ll play 
ye a couple of tunes. Pile in, Parson, an’ show 
em how,” and Jim came to the end of his 
oration w r hispering, as an aside to the minis¬ 
ter, “How’s thetfer a send-off, eh Parson?” 
The poor, little minister was like a child in 
the hands of his conductor. He took the 
chair that Jim brought him, and, laying his 
hat on the floor, began to unwrap his violin. 
Jim rubbed his hands together in great glee 
at the success of his experiment. He whisper¬ 
ed his instructions to the rest, and about half 
the company at once left the room, and, under 
the supervision of Cobb, arranged themselves 
for a dance. J im took his place in the set 
nearest the door, so that he might encourage 
the minister if necessary. 
Mr. Grayling was very deliberate in his 
movements. One by one, the garments were 
pulled away, and at last the beloved fiddle 
came into view. An ordinary musician 
would have said that time enough had been 
spent already in tuning; but Mr. Grayling was 
evidently no ordinary musician. In utter ignor¬ 
ance of the fact that the company stood wait¬ 
ing for him, he placed the fiddle under his chin, 
and began the most elaborate system of tuning 
to w hich Drum Lake had ever listened. As 
Bill Gammon afterwards described it, “ it 
wuz jest saw, saw, saw with that bow agin 
them strings tell yer teeth ’peared ter be 
grittin’ agin each other.” 
The dancers stood in silence for awhile, but 
at last some ot them began to grow impa¬ 
tient. “Wake up an’ pay fer yer lodgins!’ 
Git a-goin’! Set ’em afire!” and such advisa- 
tory phrases came to the little man’s ears. 
Jim Foster did his best to keep order. “ He’s 
go’nter take his time so he kin do a clean job 
an’ make lots o' chips,” he explained. 
At last, just as the last scrap of patience 
was being torn in pieces, the minister rose 
with his fiddle in position. Turning his back 
to the company, and swaying his body to and 
fro in time with the music, he began, not the 
lively tune that the company expected, but 
the slow beautiful music of “The Bridge.” 
At the first sound of the music, Jim Foster 
called, “Honnors to yer pardners!” and Him¬ 
self began a most elaborate bow to Jake 
Hogan who was acting as his “ lady.” It was 
a most elaborate bow, yet somehow it failed 
to combine with the music. It ran so far 
ahead of the slow, wailing melody, that it in¬ 
stinctively stopped to wait for the music to 
catch up. Not being willing to take any unfair 
advantage, Jim found himself in a most un¬ 
dignified position, with his head thrust for¬ 
ward, and his back bent at an unpleasant 
angle. 
The rest of the company were in much the 
same predicament. Each couple stood with 
heads pointed at each other, not unlike two 
warlike roosters about to spring. The dan¬ 
cers straightened themselves in wonder, and 
looked at the musician. Who could possibly 
dance to such music as that? Why a lame 
man would have ample time to go through all 
the figures and take a rest before the music 
could ever catch him. 
Jim Foster was ready with his excuse, 
“ It’s all right, boys, he’s jest playin’ a sorter 
overchewer like. He’ll come out of it all right, 
only give him time.” 
Some of the dancers kept their places on the 
floor, but most of them went back to the seats 
to wait till the “overchewer” was completed. 
(TO BE CONTINUED.) 
Pi.srcUamw 
INFANTILE 
Skin &• Scalp 
DISEASES 
-.••cured by.V- 
Cirri c\j fv\ 
Ffc/v\^di^s. 
F OR CLEANSING, PURIFYING. AND BEAUTIFY 
ins: the skin of children and infants and curing 
torturing, disfiguring, itching, scaly and pimply 
dlseaes of * *h' skin, c calp and blood, with loss of 
hair, from infancy to old age, the Cuticcra Remediks 
are infa'lible. 
Cuticura the great Skin Cure, and Cuticura Soap, 
an exquisite Skin Beaut Ifler.externallv, and Cuticcra 
Resolvent, the new Blood Purifier, internally, cure 
every form of skin and blood disease, from pimples to 
scrofula. 
Sold everywhere. Price, Cuticcra, 50c.; Soap. 25c. 
Rfsolvent. si. Prepared by the Potter Drug asd 
Chemical Co.. Boston. Mass. 
Send for “ How to Cure Skin Diseases.” 
|y Babv’s Skin and C calp preserved and beauti- 
{ 3 ?- ' fled by Ccticura Soap. 
Kidney vains. Backache and weakness cured 
by cuticcra anti-Pain Plaster, an instanta¬ 
neous pain-subduing plaster. 25c. 
FLINT GLASS 
MILK 
BOTTLES 
Manufactured by 
W.H. Hamilton 
& Co. 
PITTSBURGH, PA. 
IN FOUR SIZES: 
% & 1 Pint, Quart & % Gallon 
WRITE FOR PRICES. 
MINNESOTA, 
The best wheat and dairy region in the w^rld. Pure 
air, pure water and virgin soil. Entire freedom 
fjom all malarial diseases or cattle plagues. Room 
for 10,000 progressive and intelligen teastern farmers. 
Send for maps, pamphlets and lists of land. Money 
loaned on Real Estate Securities. 
CHARLES J. WRIGHT, 
□F WUGrUS FAIjLS. 
JH A COMBER’S CORN & BEAN PLANTER 
Best aud Cheapest on earth. Send for Circulars. 
S. M. MACOMBER, Adams, Grand Isle Co., Vt. 
_ .i I A. C Stoddard, N. Brookfield, Mass. 
Gen 1 Agents, ^ r oluss Bros. & Co., Chicago, Ill. 
T HE Farmers’ Accountant will save you money. 
A complete end simple system of book-keeping 
for 25 cts. Farm for business. This is the only way. 
Arthur S. Cork. Publisher, 170 Front St.. New York. 
00 IT IT ONCE! SS 
Send, vour address on a Postal Card 
to tlie Press Company, Limited 
Phlla., Penn., and get a Sample 
Copy Free. 
IMPROVED EXCELSIOR INCUBATOR 
. 1 i I ■ -i Simple, Perfeet sad Self-Ragalstlng. Hun. 
*iefflIs§JJdmis in successful operation. Guaranteed 
to hatch larger percentage of fertile eggs 
I D Circu-| I) i e88 cost than any other hatcher. Sena < 
I *" I 6c for 111 us Cato. 6KO. 1L STAHL, Qnlnej.Ul. 
!iPU TOCCO OF LEADING KINDS, trom 
.flun intLO Nntilrul TennCHBee Seed; gen¬ 
ii Nursery stock for sale. Currants, Grapes, Etc. 
. ■ . . « ■ . an TLf .« I a. .mm X T » , mm A m 2 m a A 1 n 1 If 1 . si 11 ft 
LIGHTNING WELL-SINKING 
MACHINE MAKER8. 
Well-linking and prospecting tools tent 
on trial. 520 feet has been sunk in l 
hours. Instructions for beginners. At 
Encyclopdia of aUO Enaravir»s of well 
and prospectors tools, pumps, 
d and steam engines. A trea¬ 
tise on gas and oil. Book 
free, mailing ebargei 
¥ i cts. each, 
he American 
WellWorks. 
AURORA, ILLS., 
U. S. A. 
PECPI Cfifi nvee Are the BEST. 
• CbflLCOw If ICO duuinbauwiRi. 
150,000 FARMERS HAVE USED 
AND APPROVED THE 
“ACME” 
Agents 
Wanted 
The Best 
Selling Too 1 
on Earth. 
PULVERIZING HARROW, CLOI) 
CRUSHER AN1) REVELER. 
Steel Crusher and Leveler. Double Gangs of 
Adjustable Reversible Coulters. Lumps Crushed, 
Soil Cut, Lifted and Turned in one operation. No 
Spike or Spring Teeth to pull up Rubbish. No 
Wearing Journals. Practically Indestructible. 
Sizes 3 to 12 ft. wide. With and Without Sulky. 
I Deliver Free at Convenient Dis¬ 
tributing Depots West and South. 
g— sa ■ Don’t Buy a Base Imitation %r Inferior Tool. 
pi\ | 1"% Order a Genuine Double Gang Acme on 
| » trial, to be Returned at my Expense If not 
La ■ ■ Satisfactory. No Pay Asked in Advance. 
Illustrated Pamphlet FREE. © 
DUANE H. NASH y Sole Manufacturer, 
j®* Mention This Papek. 
eLANE&BODLEYCO. 
CINCINNATI, OHIO. 
MANUFACTURERS OF 
SAW MILLS 
AND ENGINES 
NOW IS THE TIME TO BUY. Send 
for Circulars. An experience of THIRTY 
YEARS permits us to offer the BEST 
BACKS OF CARDS FREE. One Pact 
I May 1 CU limin' Cards, One Hold 
Pto the Light Cards, One I’sck Escort Carla, One Psrk Flirtation Card*, all free if 
you Mad 2 cents for Bamplo Book of Visiting Eagle Card Works, Cadis, 0. 
PATENTS 
THOMAS P. SIMPSON, Washington 
D. C. No atty s fee until patent oh 
talned. Write for Inventor's Guide 
PERFECTION MOLE TRAP.-I. A. Baker, of Mag¬ 
nolia, Ark., writes that he has caught 19 Moles 
bee last August. Please send me 20 more traps for 
v neighbors. It does Its work conmlete. Send for 
j ui. B uuv _ m iJ V' THUVC’D 
nttrin EIDUO and HOMES. Prices. $100 to 
UnLA y rBHInw M30.000. Delightful climate 
fine soil; close to Baltimore; salt water luxur'es abun¬ 
dant MKI VIN & MANCHA,Annapolis. Md„ 
or 10 Light St.,Baltimore. Write for price-list. Map lie. 
I SELL and DCftl C«TITF W. S. HOTCHKIN 
I EXCHANGE nCBL LO I • I L. Binghamton, N.Y. 
300 Exchanges sent free. Mention tnis paper. 
GO SO 0til stamp*fo?paruBuy ff HOlIie. 
lars. E. C. EINDSEY & CO., NorlolU, Va. 
THE WEEKLY 
COURIER-JOURNAL 
—AND THK— 
R. N.-Y. 
The character of the Courier-Journal 
under the editorial management of Henry 
Watterson is thoroughly known. 
Both papers will be sent to any address, one 
year, for only 
ADDRESS 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER 
34 Park Row, N. Y. • . 
