Show J I VISITS WITH I i Ltw6MIJV i Lightning = alIK simple life Is 7 not BO simple 7 when a forked streak of lightning light-ning plays promiscuously pro-miscuously about your domicile I I I cracking ominously I V ominous-ly In your ears blinding your I blinking eyes and vowing to get I you next time or I bust a tugl I dont really know that lightning wears a tug but inasmuch as we speak of harnessing it occasionally I presume tho expression Is legitimate Anyhow I sat on my front porch for an hour and watched the storm phenomenon First there were low mutterings In the west and across tho lake between the trees niggerheads and froth clouds arose In unison The thunder increased in-creased and the western sky was torn by chain lightning almost perpendicular perpendic-ular In effect After a while the lightning light-ning increased the rain fell In torrents tor-rents and the wind blew As I watched I saw another storm approaching from the southeast When they met I knew there would bo a clash worth witnessing witness-ing When they did meet I forgot all about tho phenomenon Crash after crash rent the sky and then came a smashing clap of thunder preceded by the lightnings stroke There was a rending noise and every chandelier In the house rattled The electric lights winked ominously and my wife came running down stairs to tell mo tho house had been struck Wo looked for fire while the hall battered and the wind blewbut there was no lire and after the storm we found the roof was uninjured Next morning Mike the gardener dls covered the lightnings mark A huge elm was struck 30 feet from tho ground and a slab completely ripped from the trunk The flying bolt missed the house by such a narrow chance that It prompted Mike to remark If yes think that was cluss yez oughta bin with mo wanct It was ralnln cats and dogs and Ol crawled under a box carr and sat there smekln me pipe I did All to wanct there was a turrlble crash Th light nln struck th rail b garry runned along th steel and clipped mo pipe outen me mouth as slick as yez piecase breakln ut In three pieces But It never hurted me a tall a tall Now what d yez think o that I remained undemonstrative An an continued Michael taking ta-king a hard brace an th suspenders on me waz all tared off me pants buttons but-tons waz melted right where they sthood an b HUrry mo shirt was turned wrong side out I coughed slightly An me here Mike paused stunned at his inability to impress mean me-an th slit In th back ye know was on me breast an th tails ta king a sly glance at me from tho corner cor-ner of one eye was clean up around me neck while th anrnis but Ol was standln on mo head though as he caught me grinning That was a bud storm Mike I commented dryly Urn yls coincided Mike suspiciously sus-piciously as I continued to smoke my pipe in silence < > 0e Calling I can hear tile plovnr piping Over all the city din I can see the turtle sunnliiK Ere ho slips and splatters In And tho mea owlark Is calling Where the simile Is still mid deep In tho land of U wiiyoffyonder Whom the world Is half asleep And the river babbles babbles On Its way across the land Where the hook of plenty glistens In the sturdy glen ncrs hand And tho harvest fields an golden Far as human eye can see With the bluedomed sky above me And the cattle on the lea And the lord who rules the acres From a cottage on the crest Is n stalwart knight of labor Horn and nurtured of the West Ab his creed Is pure and simple Just the honest creed of toll With tho health and humble blessings That aro garnered of the soil Oh tho river drowns the cable And tho clash of cogging wheels And the nectar of the woodland Through the fetid ozone steals To tho heart that longs for freedom And tho feet that fret at stones Calling calling to the country Where tho limpid water drones Ah It calls me softly softly As a mother croons her song Calls me always and forever Calls me softly calls mo lone Oh ye great unwieldy city With your cold and molllnc mart You have won my blood and sinew But the country has my heart I 00 No Utopia Yet There will never be an absolute Utopia In this country until a young bachelor can buy a lair of variegated socks on Saturday night and secure with them a truthful warrantee that the big toe on tho forward foot will not break through tho end thereof bo fore tho following Sundnv nvnnin 00 Smoke Up Ve editor wishes to return his felt heart thanks to Mr Caleb our Bruce one of lour IcadliiK grocers for three butter pounds kindly 8 of sent to his house sene oil hnd been Nero thereby spilled over the butter preventing Its sale but worrying wo tire along with It aglno ourselves und trying to lin a lump Jlanner Hometown Pa WL r 4 |