7S2 THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
f ox tlje I)(mrt0, 
THE STORY OF A DISTRICT SCHOOL 
A COLLEGE BOY’S DIARY. 
(Continued,) 
“Don't make no noise teacher,” whispered. 
Bill Johnson, ‘Tin gouter pay off a trick on 
Jack. Don’t say nothin’ but watch, the fun.” 
He crept carefully along to one side of the 
room. The moonlight which came streaming 
in at the window, gave him light enough for 
his purpose. I saw him carefully push away 
an old husk mat which lay on the floor. As 
he did so a light shot up from the room below. 
A hole through which a stove pipe had once 
passed was revealed. 
Bill fairly shook with suppressed laughter 
as he untied the bag. He held the mouth 
open and suddenly shook the contents through 
the hole. A sadly mixed collection of dried 
apples, oats and flour, plunged into the room 
below. Bill at once pushed the mat over the 
hole aud fairly rolled ou the floor with laugh¬ 
ter. “He set right under it,” he said, “an’ 
gut the hull charge.” 
There was a great commotion in the room 
below, A great crash was heard as though 
Jack’s chair had broken down. The red- 
haired youug womau screamed aud old 
Johnson’s voice could be Heard somewhere in 
the depths of the house shouting out some 
loud instructions. Bill Johnson crept out of 
the room aud carefully shut the door after 
him. In a short time I heard the door slam 
violently aud concluded t hat Jack had gone 
away in no very enviable frame of mind. 
I walked, down stairs the next morning just 
as breakfast was leaving the stove. Old 
Johnson sat on the wood-box shaping an axe 
-handle to suit him. 
“ Morniu’ teacher,” he said through bis false 
teeth, "Efye wan ter wash them bad dreams 
out, jest step outside an’ I’ll lay ye’ll find a 
bucket.” 
On a wooden block by the well stood a 
battered tin basin. I washed my face and 
hands and came dripping back to the house to 
find a towel, A large roller towel hung by the 
stove. I was walking towards this with my 
hands aud head held out when Mrs. Johnson 
rushed aud took it down and then proceeded 
to hunt for a clean one, leaving me standing 
there with the water trickling down my neck. 
“ Wbat's the matter,” broke m old Johnson, 
“ He amt no better’n other folks is he? There 
he stands lookin’ like a toad under a harrer. 
Take the table elotb teacher ef ye wanter hurry 
up the wimmiu folks. You sorter make me 
think of a feller 1 heard tell on onct. He went 
to a tavern to spend the night. When be 
come to wash he cud wring water outer the 
towel. He sorter spoke up about it an’ the 
lauilord he sod—“you’re a putty man ain’t 
ye ? There’s fifteen men ben ahead o’ you an’ 
you’re the fust one to complain,” 
I could not see anything very funny in this 
story, but old Johnson laughed and choked till 
he was fairly black in the face. Mrs. Johnson 
at last bi'ought a dry towel. 
The young woman’s eyes were redder than 
usual as we sat down to the table. Old John¬ 
son lost no time in trying to make her fee! as 
comfortable as possible. 
“Jack sorter took Scotch leave last night 
didn’t he t I expect I made a couple o’ sticks 
o’ wood out of it. I expect I’ll hove to gin 
teacher a vote o’ thanks for tkrowiu’ them 
things down. Only I’d sorter hate to be in 
teacher’s boots when Jack sorter ketches him 
out.” 
Here the youug woman came to my defense. 
“It wasn’t, teacher—it was BiJl Johnson— 
that’s wHo it was. You needu’t tell me.” 
Here she fell upon her main defense of throw¬ 
ing her apron over her face aud running out 
of the room. Johuuy nodded his head sturdi¬ 
ly as much as to say that he could add evi¬ 
dence in my favor whenever it should be need¬ 
ed. 
Old Johnson kept up bis comments all 
through the meal, but nobody took the trouble 
to argue with him, so he had the whole field 
to himself. After breakfast Mrs. Johnson 
and the young woman put up my “pail ’o din¬ 
ner.” 
If old Johuson’s rule concerning teachers 
held true, they must have considered me a 
very poor educator—for they selected food 
enough to foal a small army for my dinner. 
There was quite a discussion for a time as to 
whether they should pack the food into a pad 
or a basket. It; was finally decided to use the 
basket as it would hold more than the pail. A 
large cup of apple sauce was placed in the cen¬ 
tre of the basket bottom. Around this were 
firmly wedged pieces of cake. Two large 
pieces of pie formed the next layer, with the 
odd corners filled up with thick doughnuts. 
Nearly half a loaf of bread cut iuto uneven 
slices with great irregular lumps of butter 
placed between them, and several slices of 
meat filled the basket so full that it required 
most of the young woman’s strength to fit the 
cover ou. The cover was at last pushed on 
and fastened ou with a string. I did my best 
all through the packing to explain that 1 never 
could possibly eat all the food, but old John¬ 
son laughed me to scorn. 
“Needn’t tell me that,” he said. “You’ll 
eat all that au’theu come back early fer ter 
git a piece afore supper." 
Old Johnson had some original ideas about 
serving food, “When you make up a pail o’ 
dinner,” he said, “ye wanter run big slices all 
ye kin. Ye kiu eat a big slice o’ bread quiek- 
eru’ ye kiu two small ones. That’s what ye 
wanter tigger oil ’ 1 
The young woman had just fastened the 
cover to the basket when the kitchen door 
opened and Mr. Moderator Hardback walked 
solemnly in. 
“I’ve gut sum terrible bad news fer ter tell” 
he begun. “’Squire Barnes died last night— 
funeral to onct, I’m spreadin’ the news sos’t I 
can’t make no stay. Better call off school fer 
two days teacher.” He walked back to the 
door. There ho stopped as if lie remembered 
something. “An’ word come over this morn- 
iu’ that Miss. Billin’sover ter the county house 
wuz dead. Funeral tor day. Like enough 
the boy orter go.” Ho stamped out. Poor 
little Jobuuy. Sunday had come “in the mid¬ 
dle of the week” at last. 
FAMOUS TREES. 
Every tree was once small and insignificant 
and some never get to be anything else. Gib- 
el's are very beautiful aud have peculiar fea¬ 
tures. but there are few that are so wonderful 
in any way as to make them really famous.The 
largest tree in the world is the great Baobab of 
Africa. It is found south of the desert of Sa¬ 
hara. This tree seldom gets to be much taller 
than a hundred feet, but it is frequently more 
than that in circumference. The inhabitants 
of Africa build their houses among its 
branches and there have been known to be as 
many ns thirty families living in one tree at 
once. The foliage is dark green, making a 
strong contrast with its white bowers that are 
borne on stems of a yard in length. The 
fruit is a dry, white, pulpy substance enclosed 
hi a long green pod. The pulp between the 
seeds, as well as the juice from the leaves is 
used by the natives for flavoring their food. 
This tree is said to live to be of a greater age 
than any other. Some are known to have 
lived for thousands of years. When it dies it 
is from a softening of its woody structure, and 
it falls one mass of ruins. 
The Banyan tree found hi India is very won¬ 
derful because of its peculiar way of growing. 
The branches drop rooks to the ground which 
form new stocks, aud thus it goes on until one 
tree often covers a space of many hundred 
feet. 
The big trees of Mariposa, California, of the 
variety Sequoia gigantia are very famous be¬ 
cause they are the largest found in America, 
They are from three to four hundred feet in 
bight, the first two hundred feet of their 
growth being without a branch. The circum¬ 
ference of the trunk at the largest part is of¬ 
ten more than one hundred feet. 
The cedar tree, which is found in many parts 
of the world, has been known to have a trunk 
measuring 36 feet in circumference The ce¬ 
dar is noted for the durability of its wood, 
which has been known to last in a building 
for a thousand years. The cedar is often used 
as a simile because of its strength am l dura¬ 
bility. 
Among famous trees of history is the Char¬ 
ter Oak of Connecticut, so called because the 
charter of that colour was hidden in its hol¬ 
low trunk when the royal governor tried ta 
take it from the colonists. Another famous 
tree is the Elm of Kensington, under which 
William Penn made the treaty with the In¬ 
dians. Aud there is living now the famous 
Elm of Boston, under which Washington took 
command of his troops during the Revolution¬ 
ary war. cerise e, a carman. 
- - -- 
We all know what a wonderful polish there 
is upon collars and cuffs that come from a 
city laundry. Our folks at home never could 
get such a gloss. I have asked some laundry- 
men how it was done. They suy that the 
first thing necessary is to learn how to do up 
clothes. It is a regular business just like any¬ 
thing else. It can be studied out aud made 
much of, or it can be slurred over and be 
turned into common work. Most of the pol¬ 
ish used is made out of white wax and sper¬ 
maceti, two ounces of the wax and one of 
the spermucete. These are melted together 
with a goutlo heat. When the starch is made 
up in the usual way, a piece of this polish is 
put in. For a dozen pieces, a piece about as 
large as a pea is used, if any youug woman 
had the reputation of being able to do up 
collars and cuffs as well as they arc done in a 
city laundry, she could easily get work enough 
at good prices. Some people think that wash¬ 
ing is a dishonorable work. That is all non¬ 
sense. No honest work is dishonorable. 
It is pretty close to Thanksgiving. I hope 
all the turkeys will be fat, and that the mince 
pies and apples will be just right. Uncle 
Mark wishes he could come and eat dinner 
with all of you. He would have to be a pretty 
good-sized man though, in order to do justice 
to every meal, and he doesn’t believe in eat¬ 
ing too much. 
LETTERS FROM THE COUSINS. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I intended to write to 
you during the holidays but my attention was 
so much taken up 1 did not find time. The 
holidays came in the midst of t he berry time, 
atidl had all I could do to help Mamma pick 
the berries. After all the fruit was taken 
care of, I went down to oue of the islands ou 
the mighty St. Lawrence and camped one two 
weeks. I enjoyed myself very much, I was 
on the river a great part of my time. I 
learned bow to row aud would have learned 
how to swim could 1 have remained longer. 
Every day about two o’clock we started out in 
a row-boat to ride on the swells of the mail 
steamer. It was grand! Our vegetable gar¬ 
den is looking rather empty, as we have taken 
up nearly all the roots. My Sweet Peas were 
beautiful aud bloomed profusely. My time is 
very much takeu up at school, us I passed into 
he second form in July aud I am trying to 
pass into the third or highest form by Christ¬ 
mas. and then 1 will be allowed to try for a 
teacher. Papa found an apple on a tree 
called the “General Grant Crab” with a small 
apple grown into the stem of a large one. 
He sanl he never saw r an apple grown like it 
before, aud he wished me to send it to you to 
describe it to the Cousins. Papa bought it for 
a crab, but he is doubtful whether it is a crab 
or not. Please give your opinion aud what 
variety it is. I enjoy the story of the District 
School very mpeb. Your niece, 
Cornwall, Ontario. ella m. turner. 
[We cannot name the apple. It is rather a 
curious growth—a little apple growing just at 
the base of the large one. Probably two buds 
were close together. One grew and developed 
nicely and the other only half developed.— 
u. M.]_ 
Dear Uncle Mark: I would like to join 
the Y. H. C. The seeds that you sent to Papa 
were doing nieely when the frost killed them. 
I have four sisters aud two brothers. Papa 
has 18 head of cattle aud three horses. 1 
helped raise six of the cattle. Wo like the 
Rural very much. Mary is writing you a 
letter also. Good-by. w. lewis Roberts. 
Goffstown, N. H. 
Dear Uncle Mark: I should like to join 
the Y. H. C. I am nearly 14 years old and 
I guess that is one-third as old as you are. I 
have three sisters and three brothers — I am 
the oldest of all. My sister Susie ami my¬ 
self have n flower garden. We planted the 
Garden Treasures aud the hens got in aud 
scraped some of them up but the most of them 
came up and bad lovely flowers. I must close 
now. Good-by. m a ay j. Roberts. 
[You are coming pretty near to my age, yet 
you have not hit it yet.— u. m.] 
Dear Uncle Mark: I guess you think I 
am slow about letting you know how the seed 
you sent me came out. We had a dry spell of 
weather after planting that hindered their 
coming up, so we have uothiug to be proud of. 
Some came up after a long time and did bet¬ 
ter than we expected. I had two watermelons 
that weighed 17 and lft pounds apiece, but 
not thinking them large or heavy enough to 
enter for the prize, 1 did not measure them, 
and now its too late. The Midnight corn—oue 
ear measured 11 inches, oue 10>tf. The Bird 
Cantaloupes grew large, lrut began to rot 
before ripening. All our muskmalons, and 
Cantaloupes seemed to be affected in the same 
way this Season. The flower seeds were also 
affected by drought. Quite a number came 
up but were late. Had one mammoth sun¬ 
flower, but very few of the seeds filled. Had 
eight kinds phlox, and as many kinds of pe¬ 
tunias. There were five plants That grew 
like youug trees, but did not bloom. I would 
like to know the name of them. There were 
six varieties of peas. A blue and white 
flower having much the appearance of a 
petunia is also unknown to me. In the Fall it 
became lousy which much impaired its beauty 
in my mind’s eye. 
Your affectionate nephew, 
Sauk Co., Minn. E. r. childs. 
DIXON’S "Carburet of Iron” Stove Polish wat 
established lu 1827, and Is to-day. as It was then, the 
neatest und lirintm-sl lu the market; a pure plUrnbaap, 
giving off no poisonous vapors. The size Is now doub¬ 
led and cake weighs nearly half a pound, but the quali¬ 
ty and price remain the same. Ask your gooeer for 
lilxou’s big cake. 
NOV 13 
DANGEROUS DRUGS. 
How to Control Effectually all such Horrible 
Habits. 
Utoohvstcr, A\ r„ Post-Repress.] 
A gentleman who has silent the Summer 
abroad, said to our reporter, that the thing 
that impressed him most of all was the num¬ 
ber of holidays one encounters abroad and the 
little anxiety the people display in the con¬ 
duct of business affairs. “Men boast here,” 
he said, “that they work for years without a 
day off: in Europe that would he considered a 
crime.” 
Mr H. H. Warner, who was present at the 
time, said, “This is the first Summer in years 
that I have not spent on the water. Been too 
busy.” . 
“Then I suppose you have been advertising 
extensively?” 
“Not. at all. Wo have always heretofore 
closed our laboratory during July, August 
and September, but this Hummer we have 
kept it. running day mid night to supply the 
demand, which has been three times greater 
than ever before in our history at this season.” 
“How do you account lor tli is ?” - 
“The increase lius come from the universal 
recognition of the excellence of our prepar¬ 
ations. We have been nearly ten years before 
the public and the sales a re constantly increas¬ 
ing while our newspaper advertising is con¬ 
stantly dimnvishiny. Why, highly scientific 
and medical autl on ties, now publicly concede 
that our Warner’s safe cure is the only scien¬ 
tific specific for kidney and liver diseases and 
for ull the many diseases caused l>y r them. 
“Have you evidence of this?” 
“Abundance! Only a few weeks ago Dr. 
J. L. Stephens, of Lebanon, Ohio, a specialist 
for the cure of narcotic, etc,, habits, told me 
that a number of eminent scientific medical 
men had been experimenting for years, test¬ 
ing and analyzing id) known remedies for the 
kidneys and liver; for, as you may be aware, 
the excessive use of all narcotics and stimu¬ 
lants destroys those' organs, and until they can 
be restored to health the habits cannot be 
broken up I Among the invest igators were 
such men ns J, M. Hull, M.D., President of the 
State Roardof Health of Iowa, and Alexander 
Neil, M.D., Professor of Surgery in the Col 
lege of Physicians and Surgeons and Presi¬ 
dent of the Academy of Medicine at Colum¬ 
bus, who. after exhaustive inquiry, reported 
that there was no remedy known to schools 
or to scientific inquiry equal to Warner’s safe 
core!” 
••Are many persons addicted to the use of 
deadly drugs 
“Tucre are forty millions of people in the 
world who use opium alone, and there are 
many hundreds ot thousands in this country 
who are victims of morphine, opium, quinine 
and cocaine. They think they have no such 
habit about them—so many people are uncon¬ 
scious victims of these habits. They have 
pains and symptom of what they call malaria 
aud other diseases, when in reality it is the 
demand in the system for these lerrihlo drugs, 
a demand that’is caused largely hy physi¬ 
cians’ prescriptions which contain so many 
dangerous drugs, and strong spirits, aud one 
that must be answered or silenced in t he kid¬ 
neys and liver by what Dr. Stephens says is 
the only kidney and liver specific. He also 
says that moderate opium aud other drug eat¬ 
ers, if they sustain the kidney and liver vigor 
with that great remedy, can keep up these 
habits in moderation. 
“Well does uot this discovery give you a 
new revelation of the power of sate cure?” 
“No, sir: for years I have tried to convince 
the public that near!gall the diseases of the 
human system originate in some disorder of 
the kidneys or liver, aud hence 1 have logical¬ 
ly declared that if our specific were used over 
ninety per cent, of those ailments would dis¬ 
appear. The liver and kidneys seem to absorb 
these poisons from the blood and become de¬ 
prave,1 and diseased.” 
•• When these eminent authorities thus pub¬ 
licly admit that there is no remedy like ours 
to enable the kidneys aud liver to throw off 
the ( right fill effects di all deadly drugs and 
excessive use of stimulants it is an admission 
of its power as great as any one could desire; 
for if through its influence alone, the opium, 
morphine, quinine, coeaiue and liquor habits 
can be overcome, wlmt higher testimonial of 
its specific power could lie asked for?” 
“Von really believe then. Mr. Warner, that 
the majority of diseases come from kidney 
and liver complaints?” 
••I doj When you see a person moping and 
groveling about, half dead and half alive, 
year after year, you may surely put him down 
us having some kidney and liver trouble.” 
*• The other day 1 wastalkmg with Dr. Fow¬ 
ler, the eminent oculist of this city, who said 
that hall the pat.ictus who came to him for eye 
treatment were affected by advanced kidney 
disease. Now many people wonder why in 
middle life their eyesight becomes so poor. A 
thorough course of treatment with Warner’s 
hide cure is what they uecd more than a pair 
of eye glasses. The kidney poison in the blood 
always attacks the weakest part of the body; 
with some it affects the eyes\ with others the 
head\ with others the stomach or the lungs, 
or rheumatic disorder follows and neuralgia. 
tears them to pieces, or they lose the powers of 
taste, smell or become impotent in other 
functions of the body. What man would uot 
give his ull to have the vigor of youth at com¬ 
mand!” 
•• The intelligent physician know s that these 
are but symptoms: they are uot the disorder, 
and they arc symptoms uot of disease of the 
head, the eye or stomach, or of virility, neces¬ 
sarily, hut of the kidney iioison in the blood 
und they may prevail and no pain occur in 
the kidneys,” 
It is not st range tliut the enthusiasm which 
Mr. Warner dusplavs in his appreciation of 
bis own remedy, which restored lo him health 
when the doctors said ho could not live six 
months, should become infectious and that the 
entire world should pay t-ntute to its power. 
For a-s Mr. Warner says, the sales ure con¬ 
stantly increasing, while the newspaper adver¬ 
tising is constantly diminishing. This speaks 
volumes in praise of the extraordinary merits 
of his preparation. 
