OCR Text |
Show OF THE MOUNTAINEERS. IDIOMS , English Used in Parts of West Virginia. from the . Last summer some persons North were spending a month In the mountains of West Virginia In a log cabin on the mountainside. One morning, as they sat on the porch admiring the views, a little mountain' girl in short blue calico dress and bright pink unbonnet bounced round the side of the cabin. Quite Essential. Incipient. Howdy!" she said! Mammy wants Young Roxley Is learning to be a My mustache Is beginning to be to know if you-a- ll dont want a poke machinist. noticeable at lawst," said the callow nappies this mohnlng." 'Ah, very commendable; wants to youth. what?" the Northerners asked, in have a trade so that if anything hapYes, replied Pepprey, It reminds iment me of the defeated pugilist I saw at "A poke of snapples,". sissy repeat pens to his fortune he can" Nonsense I No, he simply wants that prise fight last night" ed. Then, evidently overcome with to be able to keep his automobile gounAw, how was that? she darted the. shyness, through Down and out. derbrush before the newcomers could ing." decide whether or not they wanted a It Wont Happen Again. Not That Kind of a Place. poke of snapples." Governor (at the consul's party) 1 All my threats didn't bother him at The expression got Into the systems, of the visitors, until curiosity remember your face perfectly, sir, but all," said the collector. No?" replied the merchant, said made one of them take her way to the your name for the moment has eswe could, go as far as we liked, eh?" caped my memory. little farmhouse. Well er I think the place he Stranger I am. delighted to meet I will take a poke of snapples. plqase," she said, fearing all the while you again, your excellency. My name mentioned was farther than you'd like." the mountain woman would, laugh in Is Ivan Petrovich SwerccsskiskL. her face or think her an escaped luna-ticRIGHT AT HOME. But very gravely the woman disappeared. and soon returned, handing the caller a bag of string beans. The beans, which snap in the lingers, are called snapples" , by the mountaineers;. and poke." which Is a good old word for bag that has survived from the Shakespearean English of the early English settlers. Youth's Com. panlons. , Very Old English Shire Is Rich in Memories (Special Correspondence.) Every English attire has Its literary traditions and atmospheres. There may not be a name ot unique aa there is In Warwickshire, or the Wordsworth country, or Tennysons Lincolnshire and Isle ot Wight, or Kingsley's North Devon, or the land of Lorna Doone; yet the serene radiance of a, galaxy of minor lights will not be lacking. Wiltshire has been for generations the birthplace and refuge of poets, philosophers and men of letters. 'Sir Philip Sidney wrote a portion of his Arcadia" In the beautiful grounds of Wilton house, the splendid home of the Herberts, where. Shake-- , speare and ar company ot strolling players were to follow him in entertaining royalty; and illustrations for the work are now shown on the walls, ' and privileged visitors are allowed to see his favorite tree in the garden and a lock of hair which Queen Elisabeth sent to him. Addison was born near Stonehenge; George Herbert wrote his best hymns in the rectory of Berner- ton church, near Salisbury; Crabbe's grave was dug at Trowbridge, where .he had enjoyed a Jolly old age; Coleridge sought release In the chalk downs from the bondage of opluip; Dryden, Thomson and Wordsworth were frequent visitors In the shire, and Thomas Moore found a snug retreat in a cottage near Bowood, and was buried Beckford's' splendid1 estate suffered less than he feared it would when a millionaire without sympathy for art or landscape gardening purchased It The cloth mill has disappeared from the lake; the grandiose gateway ot Inigo Jones has been restored; a new Fonthlll abbey, in the form ot a Scotch castle, has been built on high ground for Sir Michael and surrounded with beautiful lawns and sumptuous gardens, and the remnant of Fonthlll Splendena has been converted into an Italian mansion Shaw-Stewa- rt . . 4 . a small estate and a large pack of hounds near Mere; Arnold of Rugby went to school at Warminster; Dr. Priestley worked out his scientific experiments at Colne, and Sydney Smith kept the table in a roar when he stayed at the country houses. Nor should the antiquaries be forgotten. Wiltshire has bred many of them, Aubrey, Cunningham, Britton and Tanner among them, and Gen. museum on the Dorset border offers Adequate proof that primitive art has not lost Its fascinations for thought ful minds. Not even Wilton house, with Its traditions of princely patronage of art and literature, and its splendid Van Dycks and Pembroke marbles, could ever have rivalled the Fonthlll treasures and expenditures. Two millionaires, father and son, had a passion for collecting books, paintings and sculpture, and each built a palace and stocked It with works of art. Thfc elder Beckford, inheriting a vqst West India fortune, and earning the friendship of Chatham and great popularity among the London merchants, gave the most brilliant fetes which had ever been known in Wiltshire. Pitt-Rlve- Beckford's Famous Abbey. The youngeiv Beckford, whose coming of age had been celebrated with bonfires on the hills and fetes with thousands of lamps, saved a remnant of his mismanaged fortune by selling FOnthlll to a millionaire, and on the high ground behind Bath he built another tower from which he could look over the Somerset hills and the Wiltshire 'down, and see with a glass his Jamous abbey. ,1116 treasure house was emptied by a series of auction ales, and the pictures, marbles, jbronxes and porcelains were scattered. The high tower fell and destroyed the abbey with the exception of a single wing, so that the learned recluse with his telescope could no longer see his former home. A mill was constructed on the border of the lake, and the estate, with Us high wall seven miles In circuit,. was divided Into two sections. The greater part of the elder Beck-ford'- s Fonthlll Splendens had already been burned, with a series of and many works of art; and the splendid park, with Its outlying terraces of woodland, its stately gate-- . subterranean labyrinth and its costly driveways, seemed destined to ruinous neglect. Ho-gart- Race Discrimination. small French-Italla-n coasting steamer was proceeding on 'its wy. The passengers were of various nationalities - English,' American,' French, Italian and one large German. Most of the male .passengers .were gathered in the smoking room, when the steward appeared at the door and with a bow announced;. Dinner, it is A there. Among the Downs. ( The great Chatham lived near old Sarum; Lord Clarendon, born not far away, at Dinton, wrote his history near by at Hatch house beyond Font-hill- ; the earlier chronicler, William of Malmesbury, was trained in a Wilt shire monastery, and Thomas Hobbes was born among the Marlborough Sir Walter , Raleigh had downa strange adventures on Ithe southern border near Sheboitrne; the Judicious Hooker compiled his laborious work In a rectory not far from Salisbury; fished In the chalk . Isaak Walton streams; Henry Fielding ran through . with a high tower and filled with art treasures by Mrs. Morrison. Many of the Beckford drives have been retained and Improved, and the landscape setting of both houses Is most beautiful, one being approached by glades with silver firs and the other having an outlook upon a picturesque lake with a background of wooded hills. variety of scenery, magnificent cedars, firs, oaks and beeches, broad prospects and picturesque terraces. The spirit of virtuoso collecting, to which Beckford sacrificed his immense West Indian fortune, still dominates th6 park, for Fonthlll house is renowned for the Morrison collections of armor, enhmels, porcelains, marbles, paintings and laces. Many of Beckford's own treasures are In his fathers reconstructed mansion, and so rich, varied and interesting are the collections that Haxlltt'a description of the original Fonthlll abbey seems cold and prejudiced: A desert of magnificence, a glittering waste of laborious idleness, a cathedral turned into a toy shop, an Immense museum of all that is curious and costly and at the same time most worthless. In the of art and nature." The Wiltshire downs, like the chalks and clays of Dorsetshire, are Included In Mr. Hardy's Wessex and both Salisbury and Stonehenge have been described by blm in detail. Rudyard Kipling is a frequent visitor, for his father lives two miles from the Font-bil- l' estates in a comfortable gabled house on .the road to Tiabury,. More distinctively a Wiltshire man of letters than either Mr. Hardy or so casual a visitor as Rudyard Kipling is Maurice Hewlett Born in Kent and a Londoner while he was in the civil service, he bought a few years ago an dining-saloon- . . , Conveying an Impre salon. Why do you persist In your refusal to talk on publio questions?" "Because,'' answered Senator Sorghum, at the present time that la the surest way to convey an Impression that you could say something Important- it you choose. Washington Star. How It Looked. No, dear, I must refrain from kissing yon nntll yon return from the reception." '.But why?" 'Well, the last kiss I gave yon after looked like a you put on your make-u- p wet oasis in a desert of chalk." A Uniform Deficiency. Yes, the general of the Venezuelan army is going to meet the French commander and arrange the details of the . armistice. Well, what causes the delay? The general had to borrow a pair of shoes and a calico shirt - serve!" The English and American contln gent arose and started toward the .The steward, seeing that his announcement had not been Mesunderstood by all, 'continued; sieurs, cest servi! and as a portion of the passengers still remained seated; II pranzo e servito!" ; The French and Italians followed the English and Americans,' leaving Little of Old Abbey Remains. Of Beckfords own abbey a single the large German in solitary state. "Gott in himmel!" he muttered hun.wing remains, with a small tpwer and a fine hall furnished In oak, and his grily. Is it dot no Germanmans gets hermit cave lighted by openings in the somedlngs to eat on dls boat, neln?" woodland can still be entered. The Harper's Weekly. , two estates have been steadily im-- . Green Flame. proved by their wealthy owners and Give the turquoise to betrothed on can hardly bq rivaled in Wiltshire for true! Wanted to Have it Handy. Now, look here, McSosh, you don't want to go right back Into that saloon again. Surely you're not thirsty so soon? McSosh No, I ain't thirsty ri now, 61 boy but say, tha saloons a good place to be In case I do get that way. AlntlrlT De Lush Elizabeth (whose best young .man had been Invited to dinner) Do you think hla Intentions are serious, mamma? Mother I should cay so! Why, he eats as tf he already belonged to the family. Career Projected. . they wont let you say thing In congress?" said Farmer On the Ocsan Blue. When that atorm was blowing yesterday," aald tbe vivacious- - girl, I just threw up my hands In despair." "Well," returned her escort grimly, aomething got the matter' with me, too, but I didn't er er I didnt throw u my bands." Awful to Contemplate. Weary Walker Wot yer lookin o worried about, Ragsey?" Jnst read a piece Ragson Tatters-- "I In de paper dla mornln where a set-entifle gent aald; Doin nothin all de time la de hardest kind o' wor.' Gee! Suppose dat's-true!- Bothered by the Lawyers. Widow If John had only made a Corn-tcsse-L will there wouldnt be kll this diffiabout the property. culty ' Visitor Do the lawyers bother you? "No," answered the youthful states-man- . Widow Bother me? They almost Well, you Jes stand pat. One o' worry me to death. I declare I someHad To. these days, when they come around' times almost wish that John hadnt When we first got married my wife . ; . and want you to talk, dont you aay a died.1 and I quarreled for - a year about : word. Then youll get the reputation whether we should buy an automobile , of beta-- a sphinx, which la one of the Good Job. or a horse and buggy." , 'Tie the deep of the cenlth blue; most valuable things a man in poliTuner Your daughter told me to "How did yon .settle It?". But slake my heart's desire call and fix her piano." tics can have." With the liquid flame of emerald fire! We compromised on a' baby car-- ; Pater Well, what ails "Tie the glimmer of salt waves rlage. As to the Tramps. Tuner "Three strings busted," And "te shlmmeiy of yoqng leaves in 4 itia- - awfully Pater Whatll yon take to break ippin. A Helpful Wife. ' With lght and love awaking nothing the rest of 'em?" business; A man told me to Benh&m Wakes the glitter of the emerald ring! It's particularly hard mind my own business. " And the diamond's sparkling light steamers v Ach, Louis! Mra. Bcnham What reply did yon Give to fame and beauty bright! exclaimed Jolkly, I should Dont you adore German?" make? But slake my mind's desire With the rippling flame of emerald fire! think tramp steamers would he de"No. Language too decollete." Benham I told him It wasnt necesToo what? Tie the green of the storm sign gleaming lighted when there's nothing to da"-sary that yon looked out for that Those gutturals too low In the Through the gold in lowering aktes. Philadelphia Press. I Tls the couch where April lies Cleveland Leader. neck, It Probably Was. In tha Iris of tha Jonquil eyes. ; V I heard a very load noise In the Explanatory. 8hould Have Been a Year. Did you read about the girt who And the blood-re- d hall early this morning, Thomas, a ruby wine Give to dama of ancient line! ' In my new play thirty days elapse very loud, a very auaplcloua noise. hot a burglar?" But to quench 111 thought accurat, The fellow the police said bled between the third and last acta." Add to slake sweet souls athirst. What waa it" Yon hot off easy. like a hone? Yea. Cleveland I guess It was the day breaking, glimmer of the March's atari ' Leader. have a theory about that" ilng. my dear, And the shimmer of the flies' . any- " Tit-Bit- . ltr to-da- y . . ' ' wing! dragon Spring It", With life and love advancing, Flash; Fountains of eternal spring! .Pall Mall Gazette. "She shot a nightmare." Philadelphia Ledger. Compliment from the Heart. If there la one place more than another where the term lady carries mighty little weight It is over on the East Bide of Manhattan.' The qualitiea that are naturally associated with this designation In leas congested sections of the city' are recognized readily In enough, but the term Itself contempt This, at least, Is the opinion of a settlement worker who hat spent several years years on the East Side. The most sincere compliment I ever received, she says, was at a I meeting of working girls where, when I one of the audience referred to me or a lady,1 the chairman Indignantly replied: la no lady. She las yon Mrs of ua. "New .York Times. Decided. , "No," said Samson after he' had brought down the house by hla last shakedown, 1 will never give another encore to this audience thats flat' He was right; it was so very flat that not even the janitor's fragments could be recognized In the general debris. ALONG THE RIALTO, . Rebuke or Encouragement. He kissed her on the forehead. The prqud beauty drew herself up to her ful height" And then?" rie couldnt reach any highey than her lips, (tf course." Ameliorating Louisville Cour-ierJonrna-l. Circumstances. First hobo I sawed wood oncL Second hobo And you one of the His Friends Were Few. Moae" Porter was the name of a profesh! O, Clarence, how could yon? First hobo I got out of an old log witness appearing in the Wood contested election case from St, .Louie, Jail. Second hobo Forgive me, Clarence, according to tbf story toldlA- - Col. (Or misjudgin' you. Terre Haute Star. BUI Zevelly of the IndianJ territory. It Depends. What Is your nationality?! asked Don't yon think this Chairman Olmsted. Half black and half wiifie,' legislation for railroads Is rather strong?" swered Porter. Oh, I don't know. Automobiles What do you do for a lifing?" have one scent for all the miles they J jes Jog aiound St. Lows.' Were any of your friens present travel, and thats stronger than any old rectory In Broad Chalk, about when you made thlB'affidapt?" asked law can make it" eight miles from Salisbury, and as Mr. Olmsted. Her Symptoms. Deed, Mr, Committee! I aint got many from Fonthlll. It was In a diJawback Mrs. The doctor thinks a in St. frien concondition and been I's single had and I.suis, lapidated you have gout' and nervous prostraverted into a farmhouse, but it has dead auah I ain't got nqne here. tion. been a labor of love for him to restore Mr. Jawback doctor Why, the Old Tragedian Yes; I was once engaged to old Van Rocks' daughter, Force of H ibit and to beautify It and Mra. Hewlett bnt I pave her up, preferring art to wealth. That new prison warden 'they ap- hasn't seen me. has filled it with antique furniture colMrs. 'Jawback No, but be saw me. Snooks And now 111 bet you'd like a return engagement. lected up and down the English shires. pointed was not a success, was he?4' A dead failure.. - You see, his preThe little chalk stream which flows Should Be Consistent behind the bouse has been walled in vious business was against him." , In Russia. The Real Shock. How was ths.?" and bridged and a .series of Italian said her Jealous I really believe ' Don't you think the people In gea-eu- l Your excellency, we have executed lie ran a laundry, you know, and fiance, that yon permit other men to every revolutionist In- the province." gardens have been laid out with origiare very much shocked by these nal taste and fine feeling. It ia one of when he tried to run the prison he did kiss you." Well?" revelations of big profits in graft?' familiar lines." old on It his the moat characteristic of the literary "Surely yon don't object replied But the revolution still goes on." Shocked? Cf course they are;' In whst way?" homes England. .His face always the pretty girl. Tou always declared Then we must resort to more dras- that they didn't get la on the ground his He accounts when by he mangling began von were opposed to monopolies." brightens speaks of It and, tic measures." Philadelphia Bulletin. floor first." Baltimore American. with a taste for gardening as strong and then irobed all the convicts." aa Dean Hole's love of rosea, he la. Another Family Row Started. Both Entitled to the Name. Dangerous Devotion. A Hero. always happiest when he Is strolling wife I've taken Customer Hare you any extract of very Young great Bllgglns wife thinks he la the I saved that girls life once, and from one corner to another and planbeef? pains over these biscuits, dear, and greatest man In the world." ning changes which will make the she doesn't appear a bit gratef.fi." 1 suppose, benedict And Yes. The Brown or white? now, sir. Waiter That's Yes, How save life?" her did ery pretty and you , gardens a little less like prosaic EngCustomer Brown nr white? proper. Th- - r,..l - trouble Is that she She said she'd die If she had to you want to are if they'll have the land and a little more like a atony bit n effect npon me Stray Stories Walter Yes. sir. Bref tea or milk? Is pel ling T t marry- - me and I refrained from urging tYn'i so too." nf Italy.. her." |