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Article AMOUNTIN' TO SUNTHIN'. Page 1 of 1 Article AMOUNTIN' TO SUNTHIN'. Page 1 of 1 Ad Untitled Page 1 of 1
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Amountin' To Sunthin'.
AMOUNTIN' TO SUNTHIN' .
A QUEER MASONIC STORY . —BY CHARLOTTE WHITCOMB . "TAN—ET ! Jan—et ! Jan—et MoKay !! For the land ' s sake el wheie is the girl ? Here , Phil ! you go hunt up Janet , and . tell her I want her ! She acts like all possessed lately ! I can't got a chore ont of her !" Phil , a handsome boy of twelve or thereabouts , pretended to be at
a loss where to look , bat no sooner had the impatient woman left the room than he cleared the back stairs three steps at a bound , and waa in the dim-lit , cobwebbed , "shed-chamber" where he descried , in the farthest corner , seated on the floor beside an open chest , the truant Janet . So absorbed was she in reading , she was not aware of Phil ' s presence until he reaohed her aide and uttered a loud " Boo 1 " when
she jumped with a frightened soream to her feet . Ah ha , Scotohie ! so thia ia where you are ! 0 bnt you'll oatoh it ! Aunt Rhody ' s after you , with a sharp stiok , too . She wants yon to wash the dishes , an' fix the ' taters , an' sweep np , an * no end o' things , so you'd better hustle ; Bat say , what ' cher Teadin ' . " „ 0 , Phil . ' such a book I You'll like it , though , no end better ' n ' The Holy War ! ' "
" I sh'l'd say so or I won't like it at all ! But what ' a it about ? " 0 , it ' s all about ' nishiashnns , that means being tossed in a blanket , and signing your for ' ad with blood , and aettin' on hot gridirons , and everything , Phil ! Bat you . look at the pict ' era and when I ' m through down stairs , I'll read it all over to you ! 0 it ' a
splendid ! ' and with a happy sigh the little girl resigned the book to Phil and sped down to her mistress . "Phil saw that the book waa a thin volume , shabbily bound in board , covered with coarse , pale blue paper , bearing in plain black type the title : " The True Seoreta of Freemasonry . " On a fly leaf was written in an old fashioned hand :
Steal not this book for fear of shame , For here yon see the owner's name , NEHEMIAH NTB . His Book . 1840 . Turning the pages he saw piotnres indeed—coarse prints of the most startling character . Candidates submitting to the ordeal of * ' nishiashun " with the accessories of the angry goat , the delusive
pole , the scorching gridiron , & c , and other ill-starred men receiving puniahment for proving recreant and dialoyal . "My ! " exclaimed the boy , "bat she ' s a case to find things ! Now , I never saw anything in this old box bnt' The Culprit Fay' and ' Childe Harold ' s Pilgrimage' and such stuff ; but she found ' Gulliver ' s Travels' and 1 Robinson Crusoe , ' and now this , the best of all !"
Meanwhile , little Janet meekl y received a lecture for shirking , and proceeded with the tasks of "fixin' 'taters , " and " sweeping up , " and held herself obedient to her mistress' requirements until dinner was over and the work out of the way , she waa told to "take her knittin' and try and amount to sunthin' !" "You know Janet , " said Phil ' s aunt , "you ' re nothin' under the
sun bnt a bound-girl from the ' sylnm , here with me to learn to work an' earn your own livin ' , an' that ' s what you want to 'tend to I Bh'l'd eay . " " Now there ' s Philip Strong , my nephew—with him it ' a differentnot that I approve of hia beiu' shiftless—fur from it ; but he ' s got a home an' plenty while he ' s a boy , an' a handsome property , comin '
he 8 of age . Bnt he ' s lazier ' n Time in the primer , an' if brother Tom don ' t hev a stent gottin' him to mow a swath in life , I'll miss my guess !" "I don ' t think Phil ' s lazy ! " said Janet . "He can run faster and jump higher ' n any hand on the farm !"
Can ! Well said ! If I ever ! How much does mnnin' an ' jumpin' connt ? The most cavortin' hosses are powerful poor critters to pull in harness ! But Phil ' s nothin' to you or me . He's his father ' s look out , an' so as I said you just spry aronnd an' try an ' amount to sunthin' !"
Janet dutifully took her knitting , a huge blue woollen sook , and repaired to tbe garret where she was soon knitting as fast as her fingers could fly , and at the same time reading alond to Phil of the "' nishiashunsand things" from the "True Secrets of Freemasonry . " When she paused for breath , Phil exclaimed , " My , but I wish I was a Mason !"
0 Phil , don't be one ! " responded Janet , " How'd you like to be rolled down hill in a bar'l , and have men jabbin' your bare head and feet with pike poles , and then be sawed np into little bits and boiled in tar and tbrowed over Niagara Falls ?" " 0 you silly ! It ' s only traitors that get that , an' it serves 'em "ght ! J never'd tell !" " Well , when you join , Phil , do think of that and other possibilities . "
' It ' s only for once , Scotchie , and anvbody even a girl , ought to stand that for once . " " Yes , I suppose you could have salve on , and be bandafcod and get over it , " responded the girl dubiously . " I'll do all I can for yon , Phil , and you liked mo to fix your foot when you had the stonebraise , didn ' t you ? 1 wonder if I shall be here then ?"
, _ " ^ ® > you'll bo here . I ' m going to have you live along o ' me Taint likely you'll ever be married . " " Your aunt Rhody says , I'm too mortal humbly . ' Ia that why f never'U get married , Phil ? " said Janet , wistfully . " W ' y no , lots of powerful humbly women are married . Yon can see em to meetin' any Sunday , an' you wouldn ' t be so bad if yonr hair
wa ' n't so red , and you didn ' t have such big freckles on your cheeks . Mebb y some feller might come along ' ut likes freckles , " flaid Phil , encouragingly . "I don ' t think I'd like any feller'nt liked freckles , " said Janet , unreasonabl y . ' Well , then , yon live along o' me and take care o' the children . *¦ m going to have lots of ' em . You shall pick out slivers , 'tend to all
Amountin' To Sunthin'.
the stone-bruises and read out lond to my wife an I . An I say , Sootchie , yon shall hev good dresses an' no such old trolliok as that yoa ' ve got on now , " said Master Phil , gallantly . " Who shall yon marry , Phil ? " asked Janet .
" 0 , I shall have to look her up . The' aint nobody 'round here , but I calo'Iate she'll have long shinin' curls , an * smooth pink oheeks —but don ' t you worry , I'll take care of you ! See here , I'll write it in this book , " and getting a pen aud ink he laboriously penned aa follows :
"I solemuly swear on the Holy Bible , and before high Heaven , " ( thia was copied from the "True Secrets " ) "to hev Scotohie , otherwise Janet MoKay , live always in my family to keer for the children an' do things , an' read ont lond . So mote it be . " " Now it must be signed in blood , " said the embryo Mason . " 0 no , let me get some beet juice—it looks inst like blood , " and
Janet ran away to forestall Phil ' s savage intent—bnt when she returned the boy had succeeded in coaxing , by the aid of a pin , a drop of blood to tho surface of his finger and appended in sanguinary letters the name " Philip Strong " and the emblems of a skull and cross bones to his dooument . That night when little Janet went to her bedroom , instead of being
happy over the prospect of reaping the rewards of genius in Phil's " fam' bly , " she seated herself before her small mirror and selecting the largest and brownest freokle on her young oheek , she rnbbed it with the fuzzy side of a mullein leaf until it smarted but finding it had neither faded nor grown smaller , she went tearfully to bed , wondering why she coald not have been blessed with " long shining
cnrls and smooth pink oheeks . " " Fifiteen years later , in Ootober , in Chicago , Dr . Philip Strong had spent the day in a hospital , whither he had been summoned to attend several viotims of a railway acoident . It had been an unusually hard week . Day and night his servioes had been in demand , and he had had more surgical cases in this one week than in any other month
during his entire practice . Old Mrs . Ray had sustained a bad injury to the spine ; be had been called to a mangled bad of a ohild , the victim of the stupidity of a drunken drayman ; the rector of St . Salpioe had fallen from his bioyole while out for a spin and broken his collar bone ; there was a crushed cable-car conduotor ; seven ohildren had been hurt by a falling wall , and so it had been day after day . " Thia
mnst be the end for a while , he thought as he drove homeward over the beautiful boulevard . "I hope I may have this evening to myself and a good night ' s rest , for I feel decidedly fagged , " and he drew rein at Lincoln Park to admire the white caps on Lake Michigan and the play of the grey waters upon the shore under the spur of the wind , and then hastened oityward .
Life meant success and , to a degree , self-satisfaction to Dr . Strong . In love with his profession he had achieved by it , though not yet thirty years old , a name and a fame so well and favourably known that he needed no introduction to tbe profession in Chicago , or to the better class of its citizens . Ho waa a bachelor , but lived in his own lnxurionsly appointed home , and might have had , thanks to hia fine
presence and pleasing address , an even greater social than professional success . But he preferred the companionship of books , the friendship of a few men of his profession , a lake shore drive after his own brisk trotters , or a row on tho lake , to the moat brilliant society gathering , much to the chagrin of certain belles and social leadera who would oertainly have lionised him if he had given them half a chanoe .
As he drew rem at his own door he was met by his man saying " Mrr . Goldbnry wants you at once , sir , at all costs . She has sent her carriage with orders that it must not return without you , sir . A member of her family has met with an accident . " "Of course , another accident ; just my luck ! " exclaimed the Doctor . I suppose I must go ; but Jim , remember , I am out of town to every other call to-night ! " and as he seated himself in Mrs . Goldbury ' s carriage Poe ' s lines occurred to him :
" Child of some unhappy master Whom unmercifnl disaster Follows fast and follows faster . —" ( To bo continued . )
We tender to our good Brother Cama , Past Grand Treasurer , our deep sympathy with him in the loss he has sustained by the death of hia beloved wife . The deceased lady took an interest in all Masonic functions , and was a
prominent figure at our Festivals and Prize Gatherings . By her decease the poor in the district wherein she resided have lost a kind and sympathetic friend . Many will have cause to regret he death .
On another page we publish a letter from the Hon . Secretaries appointed to secure tbe election of our good friend Bro . Georgo Everett , as Grand Treasurer for 1891 . From it we gather that tho promises of support given amount to over 1400 . We have before expressed
ourselves as to the desirability of avoiding a contested election , and we trnst Bro . Everett will bo returned on this occasion without opposition . He has gallantly bided his time , let us hope the time for his return has arrived .
Ad01102
GOSSIP ABOUT FREEMASONRY ; its History and Traditions . A Paper read by Bro . S . VALt . ii . Tri . vE , P . M . and Z . No . 9 , to tho Brethren of the Albion Lodge of Instruction , 2 nd November 1889 . Free by post from W . W . MOBCUH , Belyiderc Works , Ilormos Hill , Pcntonvil * .
Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software.
Amountin' To Sunthin'.
AMOUNTIN' TO SUNTHIN' .
A QUEER MASONIC STORY . —BY CHARLOTTE WHITCOMB . "TAN—ET ! Jan—et ! Jan—et MoKay !! For the land ' s sake el wheie is the girl ? Here , Phil ! you go hunt up Janet , and . tell her I want her ! She acts like all possessed lately ! I can't got a chore ont of her !" Phil , a handsome boy of twelve or thereabouts , pretended to be at
a loss where to look , bat no sooner had the impatient woman left the room than he cleared the back stairs three steps at a bound , and waa in the dim-lit , cobwebbed , "shed-chamber" where he descried , in the farthest corner , seated on the floor beside an open chest , the truant Janet . So absorbed was she in reading , she was not aware of Phil ' s presence until he reaohed her aide and uttered a loud " Boo 1 " when
she jumped with a frightened soream to her feet . Ah ha , Scotohie ! so thia ia where you are ! 0 bnt you'll oatoh it ! Aunt Rhody ' s after you , with a sharp stiok , too . She wants yon to wash the dishes , an' fix the ' taters , an' sweep np , an * no end o' things , so you'd better hustle ; Bat say , what ' cher Teadin ' . " „ 0 , Phil . ' such a book I You'll like it , though , no end better ' n ' The Holy War ! ' "
" I sh'l'd say so or I won't like it at all ! But what ' a it about ? " 0 , it ' s all about ' nishiashnns , that means being tossed in a blanket , and signing your for ' ad with blood , and aettin' on hot gridirons , and everything , Phil ! Bat you . look at the pict ' era and when I ' m through down stairs , I'll read it all over to you ! 0 it ' a
splendid ! ' and with a happy sigh the little girl resigned the book to Phil and sped down to her mistress . "Phil saw that the book waa a thin volume , shabbily bound in board , covered with coarse , pale blue paper , bearing in plain black type the title : " The True Seoreta of Freemasonry . " On a fly leaf was written in an old fashioned hand :
Steal not this book for fear of shame , For here yon see the owner's name , NEHEMIAH NTB . His Book . 1840 . Turning the pages he saw piotnres indeed—coarse prints of the most startling character . Candidates submitting to the ordeal of * ' nishiashun " with the accessories of the angry goat , the delusive
pole , the scorching gridiron , & c , and other ill-starred men receiving puniahment for proving recreant and dialoyal . "My ! " exclaimed the boy , "bat she ' s a case to find things ! Now , I never saw anything in this old box bnt' The Culprit Fay' and ' Childe Harold ' s Pilgrimage' and such stuff ; but she found ' Gulliver ' s Travels' and 1 Robinson Crusoe , ' and now this , the best of all !"
Meanwhile , little Janet meekl y received a lecture for shirking , and proceeded with the tasks of "fixin' 'taters , " and " sweeping up , " and held herself obedient to her mistress' requirements until dinner was over and the work out of the way , she waa told to "take her knittin' and try and amount to sunthin' !" "You know Janet , " said Phil ' s aunt , "you ' re nothin' under the
sun bnt a bound-girl from the ' sylnm , here with me to learn to work an' earn your own livin ' , an' that ' s what you want to 'tend to I Bh'l'd eay . " " Now there ' s Philip Strong , my nephew—with him it ' a differentnot that I approve of hia beiu' shiftless—fur from it ; but he ' s got a home an' plenty while he ' s a boy , an' a handsome property , comin '
he 8 of age . Bnt he ' s lazier ' n Time in the primer , an' if brother Tom don ' t hev a stent gottin' him to mow a swath in life , I'll miss my guess !" "I don ' t think Phil ' s lazy ! " said Janet . "He can run faster and jump higher ' n any hand on the farm !"
Can ! Well said ! If I ever ! How much does mnnin' an ' jumpin' connt ? The most cavortin' hosses are powerful poor critters to pull in harness ! But Phil ' s nothin' to you or me . He's his father ' s look out , an' so as I said you just spry aronnd an' try an ' amount to sunthin' !"
Janet dutifully took her knitting , a huge blue woollen sook , and repaired to tbe garret where she was soon knitting as fast as her fingers could fly , and at the same time reading alond to Phil of the "' nishiashunsand things" from the "True Secrets of Freemasonry . " When she paused for breath , Phil exclaimed , " My , but I wish I was a Mason !"
0 Phil , don't be one ! " responded Janet , " How'd you like to be rolled down hill in a bar'l , and have men jabbin' your bare head and feet with pike poles , and then be sawed np into little bits and boiled in tar and tbrowed over Niagara Falls ?" " 0 you silly ! It ' s only traitors that get that , an' it serves 'em "ght ! J never'd tell !" " Well , when you join , Phil , do think of that and other possibilities . "
' It ' s only for once , Scotchie , and anvbody even a girl , ought to stand that for once . " " Yes , I suppose you could have salve on , and be bandafcod and get over it , " responded the girl dubiously . " I'll do all I can for yon , Phil , and you liked mo to fix your foot when you had the stonebraise , didn ' t you ? 1 wonder if I shall be here then ?"
, _ " ^ ® > you'll bo here . I ' m going to have you live along o ' me Taint likely you'll ever be married . " " Your aunt Rhody says , I'm too mortal humbly . ' Ia that why f never'U get married , Phil ? " said Janet , wistfully . " W ' y no , lots of powerful humbly women are married . Yon can see em to meetin' any Sunday , an' you wouldn ' t be so bad if yonr hair
wa ' n't so red , and you didn ' t have such big freckles on your cheeks . Mebb y some feller might come along ' ut likes freckles , " flaid Phil , encouragingly . "I don ' t think I'd like any feller'nt liked freckles , " said Janet , unreasonabl y . ' Well , then , yon live along o' me and take care o' the children . *¦ m going to have lots of ' em . You shall pick out slivers , 'tend to all
Amountin' To Sunthin'.
the stone-bruises and read out lond to my wife an I . An I say , Sootchie , yon shall hev good dresses an' no such old trolliok as that yoa ' ve got on now , " said Master Phil , gallantly . " Who shall yon marry , Phil ? " asked Janet .
" 0 , I shall have to look her up . The' aint nobody 'round here , but I calo'Iate she'll have long shinin' curls , an * smooth pink oheeks —but don ' t you worry , I'll take care of you ! See here , I'll write it in this book , " and getting a pen aud ink he laboriously penned aa follows :
"I solemuly swear on the Holy Bible , and before high Heaven , " ( thia was copied from the "True Secrets " ) "to hev Scotohie , otherwise Janet MoKay , live always in my family to keer for the children an' do things , an' read ont lond . So mote it be . " " Now it must be signed in blood , " said the embryo Mason . " 0 no , let me get some beet juice—it looks inst like blood , " and
Janet ran away to forestall Phil ' s savage intent—bnt when she returned the boy had succeeded in coaxing , by the aid of a pin , a drop of blood to tho surface of his finger and appended in sanguinary letters the name " Philip Strong " and the emblems of a skull and cross bones to his dooument . That night when little Janet went to her bedroom , instead of being
happy over the prospect of reaping the rewards of genius in Phil's " fam' bly , " she seated herself before her small mirror and selecting the largest and brownest freokle on her young oheek , she rnbbed it with the fuzzy side of a mullein leaf until it smarted but finding it had neither faded nor grown smaller , she went tearfully to bed , wondering why she coald not have been blessed with " long shining
cnrls and smooth pink oheeks . " " Fifiteen years later , in Ootober , in Chicago , Dr . Philip Strong had spent the day in a hospital , whither he had been summoned to attend several viotims of a railway acoident . It had been an unusually hard week . Day and night his servioes had been in demand , and he had had more surgical cases in this one week than in any other month
during his entire practice . Old Mrs . Ray had sustained a bad injury to the spine ; be had been called to a mangled bad of a ohild , the victim of the stupidity of a drunken drayman ; the rector of St . Salpioe had fallen from his bioyole while out for a spin and broken his collar bone ; there was a crushed cable-car conduotor ; seven ohildren had been hurt by a falling wall , and so it had been day after day . " Thia
mnst be the end for a while , he thought as he drove homeward over the beautiful boulevard . "I hope I may have this evening to myself and a good night ' s rest , for I feel decidedly fagged , " and he drew rein at Lincoln Park to admire the white caps on Lake Michigan and the play of the grey waters upon the shore under the spur of the wind , and then hastened oityward .
Life meant success and , to a degree , self-satisfaction to Dr . Strong . In love with his profession he had achieved by it , though not yet thirty years old , a name and a fame so well and favourably known that he needed no introduction to tbe profession in Chicago , or to the better class of its citizens . Ho waa a bachelor , but lived in his own lnxurionsly appointed home , and might have had , thanks to hia fine
presence and pleasing address , an even greater social than professional success . But he preferred the companionship of books , the friendship of a few men of his profession , a lake shore drive after his own brisk trotters , or a row on tho lake , to the moat brilliant society gathering , much to the chagrin of certain belles and social leadera who would oertainly have lionised him if he had given them half a chanoe .
As he drew rem at his own door he was met by his man saying " Mrr . Goldbnry wants you at once , sir , at all costs . She has sent her carriage with orders that it must not return without you , sir . A member of her family has met with an accident . " "Of course , another accident ; just my luck ! " exclaimed the Doctor . I suppose I must go ; but Jim , remember , I am out of town to every other call to-night ! " and as he seated himself in Mrs . Goldbury ' s carriage Poe ' s lines occurred to him :
" Child of some unhappy master Whom unmercifnl disaster Follows fast and follows faster . —" ( To bo continued . )
We tender to our good Brother Cama , Past Grand Treasurer , our deep sympathy with him in the loss he has sustained by the death of hia beloved wife . The deceased lady took an interest in all Masonic functions , and was a
prominent figure at our Festivals and Prize Gatherings . By her decease the poor in the district wherein she resided have lost a kind and sympathetic friend . Many will have cause to regret he death .
On another page we publish a letter from the Hon . Secretaries appointed to secure tbe election of our good friend Bro . Georgo Everett , as Grand Treasurer for 1891 . From it we gather that tho promises of support given amount to over 1400 . We have before expressed
ourselves as to the desirability of avoiding a contested election , and we trnst Bro . Everett will bo returned on this occasion without opposition . He has gallantly bided his time , let us hope the time for his return has arrived .
Ad01102
GOSSIP ABOUT FREEMASONRY ; its History and Traditions . A Paper read by Bro . S . VALt . ii . Tri . vE , P . M . and Z . No . 9 , to tho Brethren of the Albion Lodge of Instruction , 2 nd November 1889 . Free by post from W . W . MOBCUH , Belyiderc Works , Ilormos Hill , Pcntonvil * .