The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, October 23, 1898, Page 31

THE & AN FRANCISCO CALL, SUNDAY, OCTOBER 23, 1898 31 ) HOP-O’-MY-THUMB FIGHTS THE OGRES PART L HE true story of how little Hop- Thumb seved himself and his s broihers when they were abandoned in the forest; how he »ed with h brothers from gre, who wore Seven League ; and uow he became a rich man the King—this you d. But it must not n with such so small— his adventures re- ven if the be supr vast could corde set dc retofore strictly ories told which has no ¢ boo! the e you out learned the new 3 llect that the Ogre who I f £ 1 O % ‘ get sum turki; d fixin, with sage— bee mixin— " voat fur Gage. ~ Thum 1 his Seven League 300ts Nov childre fangs of wild of the terrible which figures of the Arabian wed that although possible that s probably the w itches who have was so Ogres, ey could ldren to least often told ds, whe irls and little that I upon. ow, when she saw the serpent she > knew that he had killed an Without hesitation she cut off t's head and tail and took way wilh her to her home in the orest. There she made a great g into it to make it hotter a tarantula, the tongue of the poison s ngs of a fierce rizzly and the cruel strous lion. she suspended a pot hich she filled to the juices of all the poison Iron F fire, droppi made of iron, brim with t weeds in world. Then she was ready to t in head and tall of the serpent gh in the alr the horribl am from this dreadful caldron arose, and forest tre:s fell down as it touched them, for the hor- ror of what the witch was about to do. And all the wild beasts qf the forest fled shrieking from the place for horror. Then Malinge sang a weird song, in which she calied upon the sun to shine no more upon that forest until from the pot should be made an army of Ogres, each one to be®the most terrible and ferocious ever seen. The sun disap- peared at her words. In its place came out the moon—blood red and so huge that it filled all the sky. nd I call upon you, O moon,” ieked the hag, “to hide in the earth Uil my Ogres be full grown.” open yawned the ocean and the moon out of sight; and it en no more in the forest for rest turned into real ironm, and ever mb was a sharpened pike upon Il beasts and birds that came im- way were mercilessly paled; nat none escaped alive. Nighe and day through the place rose dismal sounds of woe and fear and none, how- ever brave, dared to go near the forest of perpetual darkness and universal ruin—as it often named, In the darkness the steam of the iron pot continually rose and was turnea into poison dew. From every drop an Ogre was bred. Once aliye there were none to disturb the dreadful brood and they were left to grow to their full stature and ferocity unmolested. The good King grew old and died. In his place his son, the yYoung Prince Faithful reigned, with his lovely Prin. cess Merciful. They had a beautiful palace to live In, furnished with every- thing that they could desire. Their happiness was complete when a little daughter, as fair as the moon, was glven to them. The early days of this child were passed in peace and perfect bliss. - But one dreadful day the Old Witch, who had caused the Ogres to be bred, came to the palace and stood, unin- vited, before the Prince and Princess and deman of them that she should give her their little child. “My Ogres are hungry,” said the Witch. ey really want many more children; but they have told me to say that they will be satisfied for the pres- will give me your little If you refuse I will take ; every other child in your king- dom this very night. Choose what you ent if you dau this the Witch disappeared in moke, and did not reappear un_was about to set. All > Prince and Pri s had n counseling ,with their wise men. could advise them except Hop- ¢-Thumb. daughter of the Prince boldly declared Hop-o'-My- “It is better that she should e than that all the children of the kingdom should perish.” He was interrupted by the heart- breaking cries of the Princess, who could not consent to the death of her only child, her little ‘darling. But the Prince was as good as he was brave, and his sense of duty was superior to his selfishness. “It must be as Hop-0’-My-Thumb RHYME FROM 'GOTE HILL BAND IS WALIN!" HE “Gote hill” band is walin, A weepin an lamentin; The verry gotes is falin, Kause yew abroad air tentin. Kno moar the drums is beetin, Kno moar is war the rage; Ower chikins air wuth eetin— Kum hoam an’ voat fur Gage. says,” he finally ruled; “and I pray that with this dreadful loss the Witch and the Ogres may be appeased and that the kingdom may no longer be me- naced.” There was no disputing the royal edict. The Princess threw her fond arms around her little daughter, nor would she release her hold until the Witch came to claim her weeping prey for the Ogres. Then the Princess was brave and restrained her tears that the Prince might not find the parting with their child harder than he could bear. The child was carried away amid the lamentations of the entire kingdom. Only the brave and just Prince and Princess were calm when the awful separation was actually brought about. The Prince was now addressed by Hop-o0'-My-Thumb. “We could not combat the Witch when she was here,” he said, “but we shall not be helpless to fight ggainst the army of Ogres if only there are among us fifty knights brave enough to follow me. It has been told me by a good fairy that when you unselfishly gave up your child for the good of your people, O il.ustrious and - virtuous Prince, that the reign of the Witch was ended forever. We -eed dread her no more after she has crossed a stream of running water that lies between us and the Iron Forest.” “But what do you propose to do with fifty knights?" interrupted the Prince. “I will invade the Iron Forect and try PAGE i r,jl‘lwfijl (K ! . Ao 7 { 1 i Al l; a0t g sake of their beloved Prince and Prin- cess and for the general welfare. At last the Prince consented and named Hop-0’-My-Thumb as the leader of the expedition. Little Hop-o’-My-Thumb was overcome with gratitude at this mark of favor and confidence and seized the Prince’s right hand and im- printed up.x it a fervent kiss. No time Wwas wasted in starting for the Iron Forest. Hop-o’-My-Thumb led the way with sword in hand. Hardly had the knights crossed the bridge over the running stream of water which margined the forest when it fell, sinkin. with a horrivie -crash. Now the knights were in dense dark- ness and could no longer go on until Hop-0’-My-Thumb, availing himself of a secret which he had been taught by a good fairy, struck boldly upon one of the trees of iron with his sword and said in a loud voice: ‘A curse be ever upon you if you fail me now.” These were the words employed by the Witch when she turned the trees to iron and they had the same power now over the iron forest as they had when they were uttered by the Witch. For the tree sent out a shower of sparks and swayed against its neighbor, which in turn when it was struck, flashed fire. Soon thousands of trees were thrashing against each other and emit- ting s—so that the knights had an awful but sufficient light to see the Ogres. - The sound of the trees which, once in motion, could not stop, was as if a legion of giants were beating upon shields incessantly with great battle axes. Notwithstanding this, by magic the knights were able to hear the voice of Hop-o'-My-Thumb as he gave or- ders. The Ogres -vere the strangest and most terrible army t has ever been seen on earth. They were scorés and scores and each was many feet high. They had only one eye each, and that exactly in the middle of the forehead like the Cyclops of whom you have read. Their legs and arms were as thick thro.-h as trunks of stout trees. YOUR AUNTIE US IS A KUMMIN' "S| HE sirkuss is a kummin, Yule heer the band a playin, Then fun will bee a hummin, No use uv longer stayin. Kum see the Ro-do-den-din Purform upon the stage— The De-mo-krat wire bendin— Kum hoam an’ voat fur Gage. Each Ogre was armed with a huge club, studded with cruel iron spikes. Altogether this was a terrific and awe- inspiring sight and several of the brave knights, seeing only destruction ahead, turgied to go back, but Hop-0'-My- Thumb commanded them to stand. “Do not this day discredit the colors of your Prince, whose champlons you are. Do not fail to prove your own valor.” The few who would have turned back were ashamed at these words and asked to bo led at once against the Ogres. D. H W. (To be concluded next week.) THE YOUNG JOKERS. “I don’t understand things,” said ‘Willie, gazing at the elephant. “Here's this elephant that can't read growing two beautiful big paper cutters right out of his mouth.” s “Johnny, I see you have taken more cake than I said you might have.” “Yes, mother, I made believe there was ERITED BY 00 DAY ID =g 4 - WAL R 5Ry THE ESCAFE OF THE CREW. NCLE BEN'S story, telling how the crew of the schooner Nancy Bell were saved, ‘was even stranger than that concerning . the loss of the vessel. “It was hard luck to be out in a boat, so many of us, without food or provis- fons and with little reason for hope,” said Uncle Ben. ‘“One terrible tropic day we fought against maddening thirst and hunger, while the blazing sun burned us pitilessly. When night came on we were in despair. But Dan Cheever, who was as sharp-eyed as a lyvnx, just before midnight made out a low, rakish vessel, which was passing us at a distance of perhaps a mile. The moon was new, but gave enough light for ‘Dan to make sure. “‘Ahoy, aho-0-0-y!” we all yelled in chorus. “‘Who and where are you? back over the waves. “To make this part of the story short we were rescued by the crew of the schooner Dove, which. lay to until we could reach her. When we were fairly aboard we all wondered if we had not stepped ‘out of the frying-pan into the fire,” so to speak. If ever a vessel car- ried a crew upon whose faces ‘pirate’ was plainly written that was the crew. They were hard citizens, and no mis- take. They made no show of “tonceal- ment. We were called aft and there saw the captain. His name was Brod- riff. He asked no questions excepting this: “‘If you had your choice of walking the plank into the ocean to-night or be- comjng pirates which would you choose?" “] spoke for the party and said that of course we would rather be pirates. That pleased the old cutthroat, and he even remarked that we were the most businesslike people he had ever met, and he had no doubt but that with practice’ and education we would do very well. The Dove arrived next day at an island which I have never seen laid down on any chart. It was one mass of rocks, aboundin# in caves, and in these caves the pirates lived when on shore and hid their ill-gotten treas- ures. We were allowed to go where we pleased on shore, but were not al- lowed to carry pistols. As all the oth- ers were armed we knew that the pi- rates did not trust us. came LE Si's been made a kaptin, His sord’s as sharp’s a spindle; Sam is a gay lootenant, While Jaik’s a Jigadieer Brindle. Kum see us at Thanksgivin, Our valor tew assuage, With cutlass carvin dumplins— Kum hoam an’ voat fur Gage. “They found ways to make us useful. ‘We had to bring wood for the fires and were compelled to cook and to work like slaves for the pirates. But none of us grumbled. A week passed, when one day Cutthroat Brodriff sighted a sail, which he made out through his glass to be a merchant vessel. We were on the Dove in a jiffy and off in a stern ¢thase after the stranger, which we overhauled early that afternoon. The Dove carried three cannon of small size and old-fashioned make, and these were loaded and manned. “Brodriff set a signal calling upon the stranger to lay to. The request was obeyed. Brodriff put off in his boat with ten as ugly looking fellows as ever to bring back' the little girl and, suc- ceeding in that, to destroy the Ogres, who are now an army in number. If we fail we will see you no more alive.” The situation was desperate and the Prince was sorely perplexed at the idea of sending out fifty knights to almost certain death; but all the knights of the kingdom. Lurning with a desire to distinguish themselves by their valor, with loud acclalm begged to be allowed to go forth upon this service for the another little boy spending the day with me. Lady Visitor—What a pretty baby. How old is he? Mamie (aged 5)—I ain’t quite sure, mum. We've had him about a year. “‘Bobby, you must not talk when I am talking."” ‘Welf, mamma, you don’t 'spose I can walt till you've gone t’ bed.” I expect to see. In the bow of the boat was a howitzer, which was hidden from view by can- vas. It was all ready to be used, and it soon came into service in in unexpect- ed way. Brodriff and six of his fellow scoundrels went upon the deck of the supposed peaceful merchantman. Hard- ly were they there when pistol shots ng out. The merchantman was = )l;xx’;g.' a troop of soldiers from one South n port to another at,a distance where a revolution was in progress. ““The master of the merchantman knew the Dove as soon as he put eyes on her. He ordered the soldiers below, that Brodriff might be trapped, and the pirate had stepped into the trap with his eyes open. There was a hot fight on the deck of the Valparaiso, which was the name of the merchantman, but it did not last long. The pirates were so greatly outnumbered that four of the rascals jumped overboard. Brod- riff had been killed at the first fire. The men who jumped overboard found that their boat had departed. All that they could do was to swim after her. Not one escaped. Sharks caught them all “The first officer of the Dove was for sailing away and leaving the men in the boat to their fate, but- the other pirates refused to permit him to de- part until their comrades could be taken on board. Meanwhile the mer- chantman had put up her helm and was bearing down upon us. We could see that her deck was fairly alive with soldiers, but we also discovered that the Valparaiso had no cannon on board. ““The pirates were good marksmen. The fire from their old-fashioned can- non annoyed the merchantman not a Httle, but the captain was plucky and kept on. The water was still- heaving and this prevented the pirates from placing a ball below the Valparaiso’s waterline, although her hull was struck half a dozen times. “To the surprise of all the pirates the four men in the boat uncovered their howitzer and began to fire at the Dove. They were men who had been forced to be pirates and they took their chance to strike a blow for their own free- dom. The Dove’s first officer roared with rage as he ordered the wheel up. All the pirates were ready enough to g0 now. There was a chance that the Dove might escape. We saw this with regret. ‘“The pirates were so angry that they did not seem to notice that Dan Cheever and’I were talking together in a low tone. Dan had a sheath-knife in his belt. With one strong stroke he slashed the main halyards in two. The Dove was a fore and after. Down came her mainsail on the run. Sev- eral pirates rushed toward Dan. I took the chance to slash the fore halyards. The result was that the Dove so far lost her headway that the Valparaiso Soon came in rifle range and poured in a deadly flre at the men who were serving the guns, driving them off. All the time the men in the long boat were using the howitzer with great effect. “The pirates, seeing that they were beaten, thought only of revenge and rushed toward us, where we had gath- ered aft in a body. Luckily their aim was bad. Three of our men went down, wounded. The remainder were in fight- ing mood and we found that we were the equals of the pirates in a hand to hand encounter, with knives, belaying- pins, capstan bars and such. 4 was give and take freely. I was knocked down once with the butt of a pistol, but managed to pull down the man who struck me and Dan Cheever disposed of him before he could deal a second blow. To that I owe my life. Blood flowed freely on both sides. We held our own for a time. Then we were reinforced by the soldiers who swarmed into our rigging and over the side, and the fight was ended in a few minutes later. ‘“‘The soldiers had no mercy on the pi- rates. One and all were hanged before sundown—all except the four who had used the howitzer in the boat. We were taken by the merchant vessel to a port in Peru and there were landed. The American Consul heard our story and sent us home after awhile. But I think that we were entitled to believe that we hadot\\‘o close calls on one trip. Don't you?” b ‘We all agreed with Uncle Ben. The veteran of many adventures was pleased with our verdict. o, TWO LITTLE GIRL FRIENDS OW it rains, mother!” sald Cary Mason, as she glanced at her mother lying on a squalid bed of straw. The room was poor, yet scrupulously clean. “Mrs. Rogers and her little girl wijll not come to-day, I fear.” b BUMPKINS TO 'VICKTRY AND OLD GLORY- ELE hav sum nutts an’ kandi, Sum orringes an’ rasens, Sum pop karn will be handy, Tew fit the best of saysuns. Wele listen tew the stori, Now writ on histry’s page, Of viktry and Ole Glory— Kum hoam an’ voat fur Gage. “How can you expect them on such a day as this, Cary?” said Mrs. Mason in a tone of reproof. A soft knock was heard at the door and Cary flew to open fit. “Oh, Mrs. Rogers! Miss May!” cried Cary in delight. “How kind of you to come!™ “How are you to-day, Mrs. Mason?” “It is only for Cary I live.” “Do mnot fear for Cary,” said Mrs. Rogers in a low voice; ‘“she shall live with me and be May’'s sister.” Meantime, May said to Cary: “When I came in you called me Miss May. Please do not do so again. Call me May, for we are both the same age, and —wait one moment.” Before Cary could speak she was out of the room, but soon returned, tugging a large basket after her. Cary ran to her and assisted her So the old rickety table was brought out and stood in the center of the room. “I really am ashamed, May, but we haven’t any table cloth.” “Oh, don’t worry about that, Cary, for I have one in the basket.” Soon the table was set. “Now, mamma, dear, let me help you over to your chair. and then we will give you a free ride,” laughed Cary. ‘When the meal was finished Mrs. Rogers called Cary to her and said: “Cary, your mamma and I have been talking it over together, and have de- cided that you and she will move from here next Monday to —"" “Where? Oh, where?” said Cary, in an excited voice. “Patience is a virtue,” laughed Mrs. Rogers. “But I'll not try yours now. You are going to move to my house and be May's sister.” “Oh, it can’t be true that such happi- ness should be for me!” “But it is, dear,” said May, coming forward; “and I will come and see you every day until you come and make me your visit, which is to last as long as. we live.” ‘When they were gone Cary went to her mother and sald: “Dear mother, al- though it has rained all day, we have had our ray of sunshine.” : THE MOUSE THAT WENT TO SCH OOL BY FLOYD SMITH. S Willie Brown walked to school that hot summer day he kept thinking of the mouse he had in his schoolbag. Willie was very careful of his bag that morning and he laid it all alone in the corner with only two things in it—his arith- metic and the mouse. Willie worked away patiently at grammar until fifteen minutes to 11, when the teacher said, *“Class, take your arithmetics and work some-exam- ples.” Then Willie very coolly told her that his arithmetic was in his bag. The teacher told him to go and get it. He walked toward the corner slowly and picked up the bag. The strings seemed to be tied in a very hard knot and Willie patiently tugged at them. ‘“Willlam Brown,” rang out the shrill voice of the teacher; “when are you going to get your bag open?” “The strings are tied in a very hard knot,” answered Willie. “Bring it here and I will open it,” said the teacher. THE CRITICAL MOMENT WHEN This was not what Willie had ex- pected, and he reluctantly brought up the bag. % The teacher laid it on the desk be- fore her and proceeded to open It. Sev- eral times she stopped to scold the children who were watching her. At last the strings were untied and she was just going to take the book out when James Gray said: “I can't do this example.” “Bring it here,” replied the teacher, and she proceeded to explain it. Then James went to his seat. The waiting caused awful suspense to poor Willie Brown. At last, after glancing around the room, the teacher pulled the book out and there on top of it sat the mouse. As soon as it saw the teacher it jumped to the floor and ran right toward the girls’ side of the room. The teacher jumped on top of her desk, and with her clothes wrapped about her she screamed in fright. The girls, jumping up on their seats, sereamed and yelled: “0-0-0-0-0-h!" and “A mouse!™ The teacher in the next room heard the noise and came in. but as soon as she understood what had caused the confusion she ran back quickly and shut the door. Meanwhile the mouse had mysteri- ously disappeared, and no one but him- self-knew where he was. He had entered through a hole in the corner of Lizzie Young’s lunch basket, and when Inside he considered himself safe and sat down to think over the events of the past few moment “Those people must be cowards,’ thought he, “to be aurraid of a little thing like me, when one of them might easily kill me by stepping on me, but oh, I smell some cheese. 1 wonder if it was put in here for me?” So Mr. Mouse was soon nibbling at Lizzie Young's cheese and crackers. But to return to the school children. COME HOME TO RING hum sum Krissmus present, Things tew put in a stockin; Of koarse they must bee plesunt, B An’ not tew drefful shockin. But sumthin fine and furrin, Sumthin that there’s the rage, Sumthin that will surprise us— Kum hoam an’ voat fur Gage. They were all standing on top of their desks, except the boys, who were chas- ing imaginary mice about the room. One of them opened the door and said that the mouse ran out. Order wis soon restored, but occasionally some one would cry, “There he goes!™ and instantly every girl and even the teacher would be standing on their seats. - At last, at a quarter to 12, the chil- dren got their hats and lunch baskets (for they could do as they pleased dur- ing the last quarter of an hour), and began talking about that mouse. Lizzie Young, being one of the oldest, was right in the midst of the girls, and suddenly she dropped her lunch basket. The mouse ran out and cries of “I got him!” “There he goes!” and “There he isn’ went up from the boys, and the giris jumped on the desks that were near by. = In the midst of the confu- sion the bell rang for o'clock. The doors of the next room were thrown open and the mouse seeing a chance of escape rushed in and instant- ly there was a scramble for the tops of the desks. The teacher ran out of the door and shut it. - The mouse ran about for a while, creating the usual confusion, and at last went through a knothole under the house. The teachers met and told the chil- dren that there would be no more school that afternoon, as the mouse had scared them so that they could not be quiet at their lessons. The real cause of the dismissal was that the teachers themselves were afraid of the mouse. Willie Brown went fishing - with James Gray that afternoon and caught 4 nice mess of fish and returned to ¥ school the next day very happy. ‘When he went into the room he re« ceived very black looks from the two teachers. The children all went into one room and received a lecture for their conduct of the day before. Wil- lie’s teacher began with “I never was so surprised at the conduct of my boys. If they were at all brave they would have ended the trouble at once, but they were afraid to touch the mouse. If I had had a chance to catch it I would have done so, but I didn’t get the least chance. Boys, you would never do for soldiers if you had to go to war. All I have to say is that you surprised me very much by your con- duct.” The other teacher took the stand then and said: ‘“When I saw the way you boys acted yesterday I never was SO astonished in my life. I always con- sidered all boys hrave, but I will not consider them quite so brave in the fu- ture. I did not even see the mouse; but if I had I would soon have ended his career. You all ought to be pun- ished, especially the boy who brought the mouse to school.” ‘Willie Brown had never thought that such a fuss would be made over .such a little thing as a mouse. You may feel assured he never brought another one to school, but he often smiled when he saw that the mouse lived happily on THE MOUSE MADE HIS DEBUT. the crusts of bread which the children threw under the schoolhouse after they had finished their lunches, THE STORY OF THE FITCHER BY ETHEL H. WYSHAM. AM one of a set of china. In our set are four cups, four saucers, four plates, the teapot and myself. I am the milk pitcher. We belong to little Fanny Willis. We were given to Fanny on her seventh birth- day by her Aunt Alice. Fanny is now eight years old, so she has had us a year. We are made of a fine china— white inside and pink outside. On the outside of us are little white flowers with green leaves. Fanny’'s aunt sent us from New York, which is where she lives. We were made in Paris and placed in a little old china shop for sale. The keeper of the shop was a little old man with a gray beard, whom people called a wizard. When he received us he ex- amined us very closely: through his spectacles, shook his head and said we were a very pretty set, and then put us in the window for sale. A great many people passed the window and looked in at us. Some pointed us out to others and said: “Is not that a pretty set of china?” But few ever came into the shop, and those that did, seemed to be after an- tique vases and old dishes, and so we remained unsold for more than a year. One day a gentleman came into the shop and asked to see the pink china set which was in the window. The old man took us out of the window and showed us to him and the gentleman seemed to take a fancy to us, for he immediately concluded to buy us. The old man put us under his arm, carried us to the house where he lived. He then examined every piece of us closely, wrapped us up again and placed us in the bottem of his trunk under a pile of clothes. In a few days the trunk was taken on shipboard and we crossed the ocean to America. Then we were placed in a large china store in New York, of which the man who had bought us was the proprietor. ‘When we had been there about a month CALIFORNIA. HIS is orl at this ritin— I hoap yule lyke my spelin— This leter will go kitin 3 ‘ew ‘where yew air now dwellin And fitein like a banty. Ile sine rite on this page Yure ever luvin Auntie— S.—Kum voat fur Gage. a lady and a little girl came into the store. The lady was Fanny's Aunt Alice, and the little girl was her niece; but, of course, I did not know it then. So she bought us for Fanny and then she bought a blue china set for her little daughter Dalsy. The day before Fanny’s birthday her Aunt, Alice and little Daisy tcok the train to Philadelphia, which was where Fanny and her mother and father lived. They had come to stay a week, and on Fanny’s birthday we were presented to her. Fanny was delighted with us and thanked her aunt a great many times. She had a large party on her birthday and a great many handsome presents, but I believe she liked us best, because we were from Paris. So Fanny has had us a year now and she has kept us as nice as she could keep us, and I like my little owner very much. So I have told my story and it is time that I should stop, which I will do. gt “Say, pa, lemme take your cyclome- ter, won't you?” “Certainly not. What do you want it for?"” A . “Aunt Jane's got hay fever, an’ I want® to see if she can’t break th' sneezin’ record.”