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ODD W
Tales of Clergymen o
Couples They Hav
St, Loui:
Hymen's altnrs are set Up in
strange places and many are the curi
ous things that happen at his shrines.
Countless are the romances that
lead to marriage. But if courtship?
love?has taken protean form, so lias
marriage.
The only reason why wo do not
hear so much of unique marriages as
we do of odd love affairs is that senti
ment clusters around the little chap
with the how and arrows.
Comedy, tragedy, bathos and pathos,
all that is unique, much that is com
tnonplacc, are to be found in the mar
riages I '-rforuied by the average clergy
man, who has grown old in the ser
vice of the church. The following
reminiscences are by well-known
miuisters, who were firm in insist
ing that their names be not made pub
lic!
M AHM ACE Nut A t'AILUHE.
That a minister must be on his
guard just the same as other mortals
is the lesson conveyed by the experi
ence of one popular clergyman, whose
church is crowded with representative
businefcs men. Moreover, Doctor
-is a business man himself and
is an official in a well-known mercan
tile agency. For this reason he is
supposed to be a little more shrewd
than the average man of the cloth.
This is tho story of a unique wedding
at which ho officiated:
"One evening the butler entered
my study," said the clergyman. "He
wore a broad grin and carried a card
in his hand.
" 'The gentleman says they arc
very aDxious to see you,' said the
butler.
" 'Whom do you mean by 'they'? I
asked, rather sharply. 'You know I
never receive callers on Saturday.'
" 'It's o gentleman and a lady, and
they say they have to catch a train,
tffir.'
"I sent the servant out, telling him
to tell the persons I could not see
them. Presently the butler returned,
trying to suppress another grin. He
handed me a card, on whioh wes writ
ten in a masculine hand:
" 'Dear Sir?We want to bo mar
ried and aro here only for the even
ing from Philadelphia. Please, please
marry us.'
"Well, I did not wish to be dis
turbed, but when a man wants to be
married real bad tho best thing to do
is to marry him and get through with
it as quickly as possible. So I put
aside the manuscript of my sermon
for the following day and told the
butler to usher the pair into the
study.
"The man was a large, fine-looking
ohap, with a well-to-do-air, and of the
incisive oity bred type. From the
manner in which he related the facts
relative to the ceremony 1 felt ho
was telling the truth. After the
ceremony had been performed he call
ed me aoide and said in an embarrassed
way:
" 'Doctor. I oame over here just for
a day's ontingi and only brought mon
ey "enough for the usual necessary
V expenses. I want to show you that
- I appreciate your kindness in per
j forming this marriage, and I shall
j have to ask you to each a oheok for
i me, if yon will.'
"This was rather a strange proce
I dure, but the man showed me several
; letters?or, rather, envelopes?ad
! dressed to the name he gave. They
bore ?b return card the names of men
f well known to me in business. I hap
pened to have the money he asked for.
The check was drawn for $150.
" 'Just let me have $100 on that,
Doctor,' said the man. 'I intend that
you shall have $50 as your fee, if that
is satisfactory.'
"I replied that $50 was perfectly
satisfactory, and the pair left with
my $100. That half hour oost me
just that Bum, for tho oheok came
back marked 'N. G.' "
LUCKY THIRTEEN.
"I once officiated at a hoodoo mar
riage," said another minister. "One
evening ? was summoned into the
reception-room of my home and was
confronted by a man who had the
designation of 4sporty' written all
over him, from the top of his shining
hat to the tips of his patent leathers
and white spats. With him was a
much bediamonded blonde person, of
the vaudeville type. Twirling hie
cane between tho fingers of1 one,hand,
lie pushed his hat to an angle of 45
degrees on the baok of his head,
and, tippiDg forward on his. toes, he
began:
" 'Doc, we want to git married,'
"I did not relish his familiarity,
and in cold, ioy tones, asked him why
ne selected me. .
Without the slightest warning he
agave me a resounding slap do the ahonl
der that almost upset me.
EDDINGS.
f the Quaint and Queer
3 United in "Wedlock.
i Republic.
" 'Aw, uoujc on, Doc,' he bawled,
cheerfully, 'help a feller out. This
giltin' married aia't no dead easy
snap. Can't you fix it up quick and
make it as slick as when you pump a
feller about hia religious scruples?
I ain't no saint?don't belong to no
church, ain't got no pew in any Jew
syoagoguo-or Science theatres. I'd a
?lern Bight rather be married in the
courthouse only fur one reason, an'
this is it?I've got a notion in my
he.nl that I wanted to bo married on the
thirteenth day of the month because
thirteen is my lucky number. We've
been waitin' for the thirteenth of each
month, hopin* to git married on Fri
day, the thirteenth, so wc thought we
would try to git you because you was
the only preacher on Thirteenth street.
That's how it was. Aw, it's up to
you hoc, all right.'
"Who could resist such an argu
meut as that? No matter how free
from superstition a man may be, the
novelty of such a plea would convince
him. So i married them. After the
ceremony the bridegroom took out a
huge roll of bills and bellowed:
" 'Now, Doc, what's the racket?'
"I knew what he meant, but I
didn't want to let him know I was
so conversant with slang. So I re
plied:
" 'I did not quite catch you mean
ing. 13c kind enough to state clearly
what you mean.'
" 'Aw, what's tho toll. Vou know
what 1 mean well enough, old boy,'
ho answerer1.
"'Well,' I replied, 'if you wish to
know what the fee is, I must tell you
there is none. That rests with you.
Some perdons I have married gave
tne $10, some $2;"), some ?">0 and a
few $100, but not many the last-named
sum.'
" 'I'll ??n you a littlo better,' he
said, handing mo a bill all crump
led up. 'If that don't fix the busi
ness, drop mo a lino and I'll scod you
its twin.'
"After they left I unfolded tho bill
and found it to be $500?the quickest
money I ever made. It was a strange
coincidence, but it ncourred to me
that afternoon that I had been or
dained minister just thirteen years to
a day."
death red weddinq.
"One marriage that I performed
tsught me more dearly than anything
lever knew what it meant to a wo
man to bear the name of the man she
loves," said a priest. "Among the
parishioners was a pair I was greatly
attached to. The young man was a
handsome, dashing boy and when the
war with Spain wsb over he went to
the Philippines to fcerve in the srmy
there. His sweetheart was to have
married him before he left, but she
fell desperately ill and the wedding
was postponed until bis return.
Neither, I fanoy, bad any idea of what
that might mean. She grow worse
and her malady developed into con
sumption. The disease became rapid
and wasting. Time after time her
family and her physician thought she
oould not survive another day.
" 'I shall not die before he oomes
back/ she insisted. 'I could not die
unless I were his wife.'
"That almost frenzied decision was
the only spark of vitality left in her
frail body. I tried to get her to
think of the hereafter, bat she would
put me aside with the ory to have
him oome home. He did oome, but
after a year and a half. She begged
me to marry them.
" 'I cannot die until we are mar
ried,' she pleaded. 'His name must
be on my tombstone. Please do it.
I have waited so long.'
"Her lover waB only too willing,
and he overoamo my objections. I
married them. Sb? wns Ving in bed
with tho pallor of death already on
ber emaciated face. As I pronounced
them man and wife she sank back
with a faint gasp of joy. She whis
pered:
" 'Thank God I have lived to see
this?_day and hear myself called his
wife.'
"This was tho end, and when I saw
tho wonderful smile on her thin,
wasted face I could hardly regret what
I had dens." '
, army{chaplain'b adventure.
"The moat unusual, and certainly
* the most exciting wedding at which I
i ever officiated?or intended to officiate
) ?failed to occur," said a chaplain in
the United S?tes Navy. "The ship
to whioh I was attached at the time
, was then off Maracaibo, In that
' fever-infested town was a wealthy
V?n?zolan with a beatttifu) daughter,
i The girl was.in love with a/hand
some Spaniard, who, judging from
what I wasVtold of him, was about as
'. ' ' ' :
dissipated a rake as the law! of ? a
Dana ever produced.
"The lather was unalterably op
posed to bis romance, aud wauled his
daughter to wed a young American
CoohuI. The Auicricau was willing to
many the girl. Perhaps it was as
much owing to the old Venezuelan's
dollars as anything else. II?- had
been promised a partnership in the
biggest business in mild coffee
that there was in Venczula. But the
girl was equally Grm. She would have
her Spaniard or no one.
"I knew something of the case.
Certainly 1 had listened to all its
phases?even the tears and entreaties
of the girl, The old mau asked me
if I would marry his daughter to the
Auierieau, and I consented. The
girl hysterically informed me that I
never should.
"Well, the night of the wedding
arrived. The guests were gathering,
and it was about time for the core
in my. (louses in Maracaibo are open
? about as they are in Japan. There
camo a tap on the open easement and
a low call to the girl. 1 caw her star:
to the window, and beyond her 1
caught a glimpse of the sinister faoe
of the .Spaniard. The girl s father
f jllowed her and tried to draw her
away. There was a struggle aud then
three shots rang out. The father fell
tirst. Then the girl sank to the floor,
shot through the heart. The murder
er then killed himself so we had funer
als instead of weddings."
Supplanting th* Negro.
The introduction of the white do
mestic in the service ofonoof the
prominent hotels of Memphis is an
other straw in the wind pointing to
the banishment of the negro from the
cities of the South.
Southern steamboat men commenced
this battle of color in the South
when they attempted to substitute the
white rouster for the negro. That
they have thus far failed is only an
incident. The attempt is a significant
feature.
Following this first skirmish be
tween the races came the formation
of the Housekeepers' club, for the ex
press purpose of bringing the battle
into the homos of the Southern peo
ple Now the line of war is extend
ed to the places of public entertain
ment.
That the white domestics are being
cheerfully, nay, enthusiastically, wel
comed is shown in a certain rivalry
between two hotels in this vicinity
as to which was first to discard the
negro and bring on the white girl.
A hotel of West Point, Miss., tele
graphs: "The guests were agreeable
surprised by the appearanoe of a full
eorps of German dining room girls, <
who arrived here twelve hours in ad
vance of the change made by the Mem
phis hotel. West point congratulates
Memphis on being a olose second in
this movement,"
It is understood that the House
keepers' club is endeavoring to make
arrangements with the Memphis hotel
manager to establish a bureau of im
migration so equipped that it can pro
vide a white person to take the place
of every negro domestic in the oity.
It is declared that this bureau meets
with the eager approval of housekeep
ers, who have been and are now kept
in mental anxiety and physical dis
tress because of the inoapaoity and in
stability of the negro domestic.
Not satisfied with the formidable at
taok upon the industrial and domestic*
intrenohments of the negro, the white
race have, like Hannibal, carried the
war to Home. They have thrown
sharpshooters into the plantations and
are thus disputing the negro's useful
ness in those strongholds heretofore
deemed impregnable to white attack.
Thus, all along the line the battle
is on. The negro must nvW hght for
his very existence. Those imperfec
tions whioh opened the way for the !
white invasion will doubtless cause him
i soon to. flee the cities for the planta
I tions, where his virtues are stronger
and his failing of less personal incon
venience.
Inoapaoity, irresponsibility, insta
bility?and the chiefest of these is
! instability?are the imperfections that
I have preoipitated the fight. Looking
! upon the negro as of greatly inferior
race, the Southern whitos are inclined
to exouse inoapaoity 1 in him. A mis
taken spirit of generosity encourages
irresponsibility, but the instability
1 pinches the employer both in pocket
and in personal, comfort. It also
! strikes a blow at his pride and teats
off a pinnacle in the tempio of happi
ness devoted to his women. Ho can
not forgive this oharaoLeristio in the
negro, and it will prove the negro's
downfall.
The South ohided the negro over
duties half-performed; it has shown a
disposition to laughingly toss a dollar
to the lazy and the trifling; but when
ever it faces the instability of the
race, it grows serious. There is no
disposition among them to wia a por
manenoy in any. occupation, no ambi
tion to settle themselves firmly amid
their surroundings. No personal com
forts can win them; no personal kind
ness retain them. On the oontrary,
they look upon consideration as a
weakness, and instead of returning
gratitude for favors, ara m cru :!.-n
apt to meet tin m with injury.
White domestics may* import fail
iugs that the Southern housekeeper;*
now experietico to a minimum degree,
Buch as a curtain "uppishucss" and
possible impertinence, but the white
race is umcuablc to kindness and con
sideration, and the white race has
well-defined ambitions whic\ serve as
so many anchors upon which rcliaoco
may be placed. They will win an
easy victory in the Southern home,
for there the negro has been weighed
in the scale of patience and is found
wanting. ?Memphis Scimitar.
Little Water During the Year.
Washington, Doc. .'{0.?The break
ing a d'-y or two ago of the prolonged
drought that has Boriously alfcctcdthe
nio.^t of the country brings attention
to the fact that the present calcudar
year, now about to close, was remark
able for its scarcity of rain in most of
the world. All ?urope suffered dur
ing the crop season the past summer
beeause there was no rail. As far
back as Juuc the lack of nui mal rain
fall in Germany had become a calamity
not only to agriculture but to indus
tries of many kinds, especially thocc
dependent upon inland water trans
portation. In northern New York
this fall t?hd winter the drying up of
water courses has caused the loss of
cattle, the dairy industry has suffered
immensely, and some times cattle
were driven many miles twice a day
for water. In Germany, however, as
well as in other countries of Europe
the drought was so severe that naviga
tion was suspended in many rivers and
business bad to atop in numerous fac
tories dependent cn this kind of ship
ment. The drought was unbroken
throughout June, July and a largo
part of Augast, and but for the copi
ous rains the last of August, pastur
age for cattlo would have been ontirely
destroyed. There was a heavy falling
off in the yield of all kinds of crops.
The dairying industry was fearfully
crippled and sustained great losses,
fruits were cut short in yield and tht ra
was an almost total suspension of
building operations through laok of
water to transport building material of
all kinds.
The food supply of the Fatherland
was greatly out short for the present
season, aud it will be necessary to in
crease the importations.
The drought in the summer was to
bad in Austria, Bavaria, and "?stein
Switzerland that the government pro
hibited the export of feed for cattle,
and all clover, hay, oats, etc., are to
be kept in the oountry.
The drought in Europe was broken
in the last of August and then seemed
io have moved toward this country,
where it began about this time. The
cotton aud other principal crops had
been laid by and were not hurt. On
the other hand the splendid dry season
was a boon to the farmers in giving
them opportunity to harvest their i
crops and put them away in good shape.
In the South the farmers rejoiced in
the best cotton pioking season they !
ever had. The constant good weather
there permitted regular work in the
fields and made up for a deficiency in
labor.
There was little rain in many por
tions of the oountry from the last of
August until the last of December, a
period of four monthe.*
It baa been fsar~d Is Ge?Ki5sy and ;
Europe that the &??ruuy of food sup
plies, with a consequent inorease in
the pri?e, will inorease the cost cf
labor and restrict the ability of man
ufacturers to produce cheaply goods
that are to supply domestic demands ;
and maintain supremacy in fore?gn
markets. German labor rccoiveo com
psratively poor wages anyhow, and
an inorease would be desirable. * The,
wages of adult male laborers in that
oountry vary from 23 8 cents per day
in sonio parts of th? province of HHeaU
to 83 3 cents a day in Bremen. For
unskilled labor in the priseips! cities
of Germany the pri?es range as fol
io ws: Berlin 69 cents, Hamburg 71.4
con to, , Bremen 83.3 cen ,s, Hanover
64 3 cents, Cologne 59.5 cents, BroE
laa 57.1 cents, Frankfort 73.8 cents,
Dresden 66 6 cents, Munich 71.4 cents,
Stuttgart 71.4 cents, Leipzig 71.4
cents, Nuremberg S7 cents. The low
est wages are in the purest agricultu
ral districts in the eastern provinocs
adjoining Russia and the highest
wages big paid io , the German seaport
towns and industrial centers.?Speoial
to Greobviile News. .
, -?- ^ ? mm-. ; <
? The Peaohtree rosidonoe of J.
K. Orr, one of Atlarta's wealthiest
merchants, was entered in broad day
light and robbed of between $3,000
and $4,000 worth jewelry. T'ie
robbery was perpetrated in the up
stairs living rooms while the members
of the family were down stairs, and
was the clever work of a stylish
dressed young white man. The affair
is a mystery, the robber completely
baffled all efforts of the police to
locate him.
? In unions and onion? there is
strength.
? Although paper money is'soft, it
is hard to get.
? Keep one eye on your enemies
and two on your friends.
-*- Ouly infiKperienced met? ?aughat
Fcasickoess and ?oveaicsuess. .'
a iitixit Alka Stony.
Private John Alleu, the Mississip
pi congressman, was uiakitig a strong
effort to secure the removal of a Ke
publicau )io?tmuHter and the appoint
ment of a Democrat during one of the
administrations of Mr. Uievclaod. He
had made two futile calls at the White
House and the third time the presi
dent said rather bluntly:
"Mr. Allen, the civil service rules
seem to apply iu this case and it is !
useless for you to keep insisting on
the removal of thin postmaster."
.Allen was silent for a moment and
then ho said:
"Mr. Pcesideut, I don't want to take
up your time by recalling that in your
campaign 1 left my beloved ?State and
Stumped for you iu New York, nor do
I jare to estimate to what extent the
twenty-se veu speeches I uado up
there were responsible for the 1,100
majority by which you carried the
State and won your election.
' Neither do L wish to recall my ex
hibition of joy on that election night?
an exhibition which resulted iu my
wife's not speaking to me for a weuk.
Hut, Mr. President, 1 just want to tell
you a little story before I go.
'Down iu my district a xVirly
wealthy farmer died and his bin began
oquabblinc over the estate. The man's
son aired mo as his attorney and tho
case dragged through the courts.
"One day the eon came ioto'my of
fice mid a.-ked me if be couldn't ex
I pect a settlement soon, as bis money
I was nearly gone.
'* 'It's no use, Jim,' I said, 'you
can't hurry the supreme court of the
great State of Mississippi/ ;
"The young fellow sat for ? minute
or two with his head resting in. his
hands and then he got up to go.
" 'Mr. Allen,' he said, 'do you,
know, sometimes 1 wish father hain't
died.' "
Allen didn't g? t that postnustership
for his man, but he got a better polit
THE TALE?
We have been furnishing our cus
tomers with?
HIGH GRADE PIANOS
For many yearn. and bav? satisfied
every one who nwule a purchase here.
When we sell you a Piano wo guar
antee it to be as lepresented, and
stand behind our guarantee, v.ith
I your money back if any misrepresen
tation is made,
SPECIAL CHRISTMA8 PRICES.
THE
Ai REED
Music Souse
?,?I
AHDERaON,
?
II
we want all interested in
MACHINERY
TO HAVE OUR NAME BBfORB TMSU
during 1?ob
Write us statins What hind of
Machinery you us? or will
Install, and w? will mall ?rou
Free of All Cost
a handsome and useful
docket diary and atlas e
OR A LAMOK
COMMEBCSAS. C*h?NDAR
CHbbes Machinery Company,
columbia, s. C.
A STOCK OP MOnfiB WWSS HAY
PRESSES TO ?tS OLCSSO OUT AT
special prices
WELL BALAHGEB.
Your accounts cannot welf get in * ten
glo If yon* money lai deposited wlih and
aU payment* m*"i*tttrooghtbe
It teour
uain'oas?
AndorfloB, S> <X
luesa to, teke oare of yo*
iking part of it?and
>y thav oome? /t?aa' ?a
buaim
, do U Wife
per^nce.
The Btnk'a past history is a guarant
I f?D^poaluio??ny amount received.
TatarMt paid on deposits. /Good bot
..ers an? go>i depubxw.ww?tj^u?
Rydale's Tonic
& new, scientific remedy for tho
Blood and Nerves
It purifies tiie blood by eliminating the waste
nutter and other impurities and by destroying
tho germs or microbes that infest the blood. It
builds up the blood by restoring add multiply
ing tho red corpuscles, nuking tho blood rich
and red. It restores and stimulates tho nerves,
causing a full free flow of nerve force through
out the entire anrvs r-ysten.. ?t ni*.ftlily cures
unstrung nerves^ nervousness, nervous pro%
tration, and all diseases cf tho nervous system.
a zeal core for
RYDALE'S TONIC Is a specific for all : - *
of Malaria, It acts on a ne w principle, it kills
the nJcrobes 'Jut produce Malaria. The cause
being removed, the disease quickly disappears.
RYDALE'S TONIC is guaranteed to cure the.
most obstinate cases o&Malaria) Fever, Chills
and Fever, Ague, etc. We authorize all dealers :
handling our remedies to refund the* purchase,
price for every bottle of RYDALE'S TOXIC?
that does not give sotief action.
RADICAL REMEDY COMPANY,
HICKORY. N. C
FOR SALE BY EVANS PHARMACY.
Gar Load
Studebalier Wagons just arrived.
Car of Kentucky, Old Hickory and Tennessee Wagons to
arrive.
Also, three cars of Buggies, Carriages, Surreys and pleas
ure Vehicles generally.
Call and see us.
FEETWELL-HANKS CO.
We have just received a Fresh lot of
For Fall Planting.
Come to us for all of your
ORR, GRAY & CO.,
Prescription Druggists.
D. S. VANDTVBR.
J. J. MAJOR.
E. P. VANDIVER,
VANDIVER BROS. & MAJOR,
-DEALERS IN
BUGGIES, WAGONS AND HARNESS.
We have a splendid line of BUGGIES and HARNESS cheap, ante
want to sell yon. '
We have some good WAGONS cheap.
AT.CTi
|A PEW PINE HAY RAKES,
At Special Price.
COME TO SEE US.
Yours truly,
VANDIVER BROS. & MAJOR.
ONE CAR OF HOG FEED.
Have ju?t received one Car Load of HOG FEED
(Shorts) at very dose pHses. Ccnic befc-rs they are
all gone. Now w the time for thifowing-^
Around your premises to prevent s baue of fever or
* some other disease, that will cost you ve^y much more
than the price of a barrel of Lime ($1.00.) We have ;
a fresh shipment ia slock, and will be glad to send you
1 eomo. If you contemplate building a bam or any
? other.buUdm&aeetw.bVo^
: - (SEMENT and LIME,
As we ee?? tti? verynest qualities only. ,v ;t
/p& e*a' a aa'skMm'?^" '
A. C. STRICKLAND,
Office Over Farmer? and Merchants
SFEcf Ali attetit?on^lveh to the higher
claesesof Denui work. Cro woe, Bridgea
snd Porcelain Inlays, such as are donoin
th? larger eitles.
AH kluds of -Plates made. Gold Pill,
ingw ?a artt?chil tc?th any time after
Plates are made.
Oxygon Gae. and Local Anaesthetics*
sjiyes isr ibs P^?nl?53 Bs txaction of teeth.
Bidding a?a,dia^ased ?rnmstrflfited.
: xSr> AU calls to the >n? neais
bfTowes Xor; the Palgleas 3E&ttn?? tlon o*
Teeth p.vomntly attended to by a cunxpe
tant asalotant.
\'A man thinks U ?a wW the matter of life
baur&nce roggetta itself?but drcunmar^
o?s of ;l*te bmy$;?**&t?n ttfc togs by s
thp?ad when war, tUod, homeaft? and fise
?idden?y ?wr?a?sas you, aod th? obly way
'?^tf&fc&Ste you is to in- :
<ui? in a ac?>d Cbmuany like?
. I^jP^aiid i?&'?s aboat Ii
