Newspaper Page Text
Mt MILLION P??1S. Pf By w. w1emysm REI1>. * chaptebTxv continued. "Yes." If aid gravely. "i took possession of the bcok you msntio:u i did- not know that it w?s yours; i imagined that it be I longed t-i Fiinter. It is not in my possession now. Bcl'ki, the detective whom i em ployed to (1 recover Gregson, took it to Lon don with him yeyterdoy, and I received this message from him to-day." i hanxVl to Branksome the telegram which announced that the secret of the cipher hod been discovered. He glanced at it, and as he did so i fancied that a slight pallor passed over his face. But he returned the paper to me with a steady hand, and it was In a voice which showed no traces even of the emotion he l:ad displayed when he responded to my appeal on behalf of Daisy that he said: aIt is curious that they should think, they have dkoo .-ered, my cipher. The very fact that they talk of the contents of the book as important, tells me that they ore utterly Wrong. But I most not detain yoa longer, Mr. Fentoi* I promise yon that you shall hear from me wi thin the next twenty-four hoars.1* In another moment he. had sileatly quitted the room. The "aewspspor train.*' as it Is eallod. reaches York from London, shortly before ten -la tho rooming. It "brought With it Blelski, who had telegraphed to apprise ibj of hi* cooiing, and whoa I accordingly awaited on tho platform. The detective looked somewhat haggard and excited when ho greeted me. "Mr. Harding here*" he said. MI am glad of it i want yen both. i have something vary important to lay before yen." We hurried to my room, where Harding awaited ua Breakfast was on the table; but Blelski seemed little disposed to eat or drink until he made his great communication te us. The instant tie waiter had left the room be addressed ua "Gentlemen, it. is all right Tho young lady is as innocent as a dove, and in forty elgbt hours she'll be as free as we are. You wore right Mr. Jenton, m your guess at the ' way it was done; and now i can prove it" What was it that made the little detective, with his shrewd, keen face, stop suddenly in the middle of what was evidently meant to be a long harangue? It was simply tho sudden springing to bis feet of Harding, whose hands the next moment held mine, and were violently shaking them, while, with a Voice curiously unlike his usual ono, he gasped out: "Old fellow?eo glad?God bless you!" And It But I shall not weary the reader with any analysis of my emotions. It was a dark December morning; ah, how unlike that bright summer weather in which Daisy and i had first met and learned to lovo each other 1 But when these words fell from the detective's lips, the summer sun shone out again, and the birds sang in my hoart, and the very heavens seemed to be opened abovo me. "I dont wonder at your being upset, gen tlemen. I feel obit queer myself; but you must really compose yourselve* and listen to what I have to tell you. I never had such a story to tell befora Lor bles-i met I'll nover believe ha clever mon again. Every oao of them is alike. They play their game so beautifully that you think there can be no catching 'em; and then, lo and behold I you find that all the time they have been playing your gome, too, and in the way that you least of all expected." Having delivered himself of this exordium, Blelski took from his pocket a small parcel, from 'which hs'duly extracted the little memorandum book I hod found at Great Lortou HalL "This book, gsntlemen, is neither more nor less than the diary of Francis Branksome, Esquire, M. D.. for nearly the whole of tho present year. And in it Dr. Branksome has set down, all as plain as a pikestaff, tho whole history of his own proceedings during that time, and of the crimes which he bos committed, including the murder of Mr. Hauleverer, and the plan by which the sus picion of that murder was to be thrown up on Miss Standiffe." a cry of horror broke from the hps of Hording. For my part, i sat spellbound and siler.t "I never saw anything in my life before to compare with this, gentlemen," continued the detective, shaking his head emphatically. "I have tieen a many queer things in my time; but sevei* anything like this. Here's a clever man, on educated man, a man who t-Mnlr? that he can take in everybody around him, and that we ore all nothing more than chessmaa to be moved about by him at his pleasure?aye, and a man who does move people about just as he pleases for year after year; and yet this clever man is such a fool that he thinks he can put his secrete into writing, and prevent anybody discovering 'em, simply because be mixes up two sys temt of short hand, and makes one of his own out of 'em, In whioh to keep hfa diary." Blelski looked round as though to ask our opinion on the subject "i remember," said Harding, "a case of a murderer in Paris who was convicted through a diary* in which he left a record of all his crimes." "Do you Indeed, sir? Well, all i can say is that it is the first time Pve come across such a cose. But now, gentlemen, I must tell you what the diary says. It took me and my mole all day yesterday and down to three o'clock this morning to translate it; and we shouldn't have got done with it yet if it hadn't been that luckily this clever Dr. Branksome had chosen for his cipher two systems, both of which my friend happened to know." Thereupon Blelski produced a large botch of manuscript, and he began to turn over the poges, most of which i saw wore covered with his handwriting. "My friend deciphered, and I wrote down as he read It," he explained to us. "I am not going to trouble you with tho early part of tho story, though there is plenty that I shall have to deal with afterwards. I'll keep straight to what concerns this case. Here is tho first extract after ho has seen you, Mr. Fenton: 'Arrived Scarborough six a. m. Wont ashore at eight, aud joined the bos3 and Daisy at Grand hotel The old man very well; appears to have got over the attack of bronchitis. Looks as if ho might live twenty years yot Ead the usual business talk with him, and settled everything satisfactorily. No suspicion of Fosdyke's gama' Fos dyke's game," said the detective, breaking off suddenly, "was to transfer an immense number of Mauleverer's bonds into portable and transferable securities. The rogues were determined, whether the man lived or died, to dip their hands into his pockets. ?Found to my disgust that Daisy has made the acquaintance of a young man named Fenton. I 6vspected something from her manner of speaking of him. It seems that he protected her from that brute Grogson at York railway station, and she repays him by falling ia love with him. I made an opportunity of observing them both closely. There Is no doubt that ho is fond of her, and I find that he has got an influence over her which I must destroy as speedily as possible. j A commonplace, Inoffensive young man, but! In my way, and therefore to be got out of it'" This extract affords a fair sample of the pirfect franlmess with which Branksome had committod his thoughts to paper. There was not the faintest attempt in the diary at DOtf-decaptlon. If bo told"a fie, he Barf bo I straight out; if be committed any crime, i trivial or great, it was described with cynical I plainness oC speech. If the whole of that ; extra ?rdinary volume were to bo published ' it would bo one of the most interesting psy- : cbological revelations ever given to the 1 world. But It most suffice for my purpose here to give but a brief .-.erics of extracts from the ' diary. The entry referring to my visit to j tbo hall was as fellows: "September.20. ?This morning I procured 1 I from London my old medicine ohost. Found a i I good supply of strychnia. Ascertained that , the boss bad got a new box of pills from Carrick yesterday. Have been busy experi menting all the morning, making up pow ders in imitaiion of Carrick's. Fenton came I on a visit just berore dinner hour?more des perately In .ovo than ever. After dinner ho ; and Daisy went into the garden together, ?ad I set Flinter to watch them. He was ; the witness of a very pretty love scene? [ Daisy and her young gentleman billing and Cpoing in the most approved style. When I got ttw boss away from bis guest at night ] < told him the whale story In my own fasalo? i and let him know that I bal ascertained: quite enough to prove that Fenton was a ?camp, probably in leaguo with Gregson. I' had a little difficulty with him at first Ho ' seemed to have taken rather a liking to the : lad But when I told him that he had bo?n j speaking contemptuously of him (Maul everer) to Daisy, and speculating upon the chance of his dying soon, and leaving them in possession of his Wealth, hia temper j changed, und ho be cacao furiously angry, and told me that Teuton must be got out of the hot.*?> immediately after breakfast to-morrow morning. Flinter, I find, has grave Buspi- | cions that Fen ton knows something, and in sists upon his being removed from the spot at the moment the grand coup is struck.* Then oame other entries describing my; departure from the hall, and the way in ? ' which Branksome succeeded in inflaming the mind of the doomed Mauleveror against | both me and Daisr. Finally came the story of the execution n? the vile plot itself. "October 7.?i" ?v was sont off to Little; Lorten with strict orders to procure enough strychnia to poison all the rate In the hall I Brought back a big parcel of the stuff, and 1 seemed quite frightened at having it in her possession. Am keeping up the estrange ment between her and the boss. Went into the latter's room to-night after he bad gone to bed, and suggested that be did not look welL Propose J he should have one ot bii j powders. He assented to this, ant I duly ? administered i: to him. On taking the | powder from the box in the dressing room, j I Slipped in my own powder of strychnia. I saw that the powders were taken hi regu lar order, so placed mine near the bottom ol. the box. It will como duo, i calculate, in a fortnight { "October 8.?Left ball this morning foi Scarborough and the yacht Fosdyke went with me, having evaded the old man's request that he would complete his new will at, once. Query: That will is not vory likely to be executed now, is It? Took an affection ate leave of th i old gentle\nan, end felt1 really sorry to think I should see him nc j more. On getting to Scarborough, found I* was a stormy d iy. Fi inter had carried out my orders about Fenton, nud the latter wai safe on board in the yacht's 'kitty.'" This particular boolc ended at this point There were no furthor entries after that re-; I lating to my abduction. "Now, gentlemen, you see it all," said Biels!::, when he had finished the reading. ' "We have to do with the greatest scoundrel 1 the Lord ever sent upon this earth. But wi have got him tight" He pulled out hit watch. "By thin time, Mr. Fenton, oui friend, Dr. Francis Branksoma, ought to bi j safe in the hands of the Scotland Yard de tective whom 1 brought down from London, but whom I did not think it absolutely necessary to introduoe to you in the station two hour* ago." "You have got a warrant against him!" "Of course we havp. When we had found as much as was necessary cut of this book, I rushed off to Scotland Yard, and left that part of tho business m their hands. It will bo all right provided Branksome has not got ahmt" "I am afraid he has got a hint," I said feeling more than a little guilty. "Eh, what do yon say, Mr. Pentc-nf* cried the detective, wheeling round upon me and eyeing me sharply, I told him the whole story of Brnnksome's visit to me, and of how ha had even toon tht telegram which Blelskt himself had di? patchod. Bitterly did I now upbraid my self for my folly. I saw how tho villain, by that momontary assumption of emotion, bad once more overmatched me, and bad won I from mo the secret he came to learn. The detective wasted no time in any re proaches. He snatched up his hat and rushed from the room. When he was gone, Harding and I discussed the posdble results of Branksome's escape. Anxious ns we were that he should be brought to justice, out chief thought was for Daisy; and we cared I little what became of the villain now that ! her life and honor were secure, i In little more than half an hour poor Biel ski returned, with chagrin written in unmis takable characters upon his face. "Just what I expected," bo cried; "tht rogue has boon too sharp for us, after all: but, thank God, he has not gone until tht young lady has been as good as cleared" He throw a tologram upon the table. It was from tho chief constable at Bear borough, in answer to one from Bielskl, an nouncing that tho Golden Hawk bad sailed that morning, destination unknown, carry ing with her Dr. Branksomo and Benjamin Flinter. _ CHAPTER XVIL DR. BRANKSOME'S LAST. Early on t'uo day following that on which Bielski had informed us of his extraordinary discovery, my good friend Harding found himself at Whitehall, in tho room of the P'.rmanent under secretary of tho homo de partment Belnioro was with him, and they had ?ilready drawn up a brief statement ol the facts which ha I been discovered with regard to tue murder of Mr. Mauleverer and tho actual pos t ion of Daisy. One by ono Mr. Belmoro p-uced these facts before tho great official, and showed, not merely how the strong evidence which had been brought against my darling at tho trial had boon neutralized by subsequent discoveries, but how there was now positive testimony? testimony of an extraordinary kind, indeed, but still testimony which was conclusive? with regard to the actual criminal and his real accomplices, for whoso arrest warrants had been issued. The under secretary listened with patience I and attention, and then armed with the docu* meats which they handed to him, he went to tho apartment of the secretary of state. A few minutes later they stood in tho presence of the minister himself. "1 have been deeply interested in thL case, Mr. Belmore, and vory much troubled by it It was so difficult to believe that a young girl could have been guilty of u erime of this sort And yet tho evidenco was ap parently complete, and unfortunately I have too much reason to know that we can nuver trus! absolutely to antecedent improbabili ties in cases of this kind." "But now, sir, I think you will admit that tho ovidenco is clear as far as it goes, and that it establishes the innocence of this young lady." "I must see the judge first in the matter." repli-jil the minister, cautiously. "Ant may 1 venture to ask," interposed H.irdin?, "that you will act as soon ns you pnssib.y can, sir? I need not point out to' ynu ;h* cruel position of this young lady at! the present moment, or of those to whom she ! is dear." "My dear sir, I shall act at once; In such a case delay would bo inexcusable. But you mutt forgive me if 1 withhold my own j opinion until I have ascertained that of the ! judg?." Half an hour later I received the telegram for which I was waiting with breathless im patience at York. Alas! it did not announce, as I had hojwd might be the case, the im mediate dischargo of my darling. Patience! patience 1 But a. nightfall the glad sews come. "Secretary of state will odri.? queen to grant free pardon. Formalities can be completed to-morrow. 1 And the next day I was at the castle by daybreak, waiting to bo admitted to the governor's room. I was too soon, of course. Even when officialism eat* vita unwonted speed, it cannot outstrip the impatience of - lover. It was now the 18th of December. In a week longer Christmas would be with as. Twelve days had elapsed since I bad heard the shameful doom pronounced upon my beautiful darling?the woman whom t had chosen out of' all the world as worthiest and best, aye, and who had chosen me, all unworthy as I was?to keep that tender heart of hers?the purest and truest that ever beat in. a human bosom. Oaly twelve dxr^s tUnoo that awful seen* when. Daisy and < had seemed to stand to gether within the very jaws of death! I could not believe it Half of my entire life appeared to have been expended in the | varied emotions through which I had passed since Ahea The officials of the prison were j long, loag in coming. I walked to and fro impatiently. I declare this waiting now! was harder even than had been that waiting for the verdict when my darling's fate J hung in tho balance. I recalled all the history of those eventful four months which had passed sines I first saw her in her peer- j less beauty, and the full flush of health and strength, in the railway station of this very j city; and while I rejoioed more than ever at the blessing which had been bestowed upon me in her love, my heart oriod out to heaven for pardon for all those errors which ' in my recklessness and blindness I had committed, and from which she had suffered. Ah, if it could but have come over again, how differently I should have acted, and with what loving caro I should have shielded her even against that infernal net work of lies ?. iiich bad be6n woven so cun uingly about her I So I thought, as I looked bsck upon it all; and so, possibly, it might have boon if that strange drama could have Leen re-enaoted. But who can toll? Even now, when I fully recognize the blunders of which I was guilty, the folly, the t.lindness, the stubbornness 1 displayed in my dealings with Maulovorer and his friends, I some timos ask myself whether my blunders may aot have been moro usoful than my pru dence would have been. But what is that sound? The door opens, and I turn to greet tho governor with the longed-for nows. No; the govornor is not thoro. It is my darling herself who stands beforo me, pale as a statue of marble, worn and wasted by llto strahl of an agony which might have brought even a strong man to the grave, but with ail toe light of life and love shining upon mo from her star-lit eyes. We \tterr at Scarborough boo days later We were at Scarborough two days later, staying onoe more in the Grand hoteL The great house was practically empty now, and Daisy and Mrs. Cawthorne might, if they pleased, have had their choice of any of the rooms In the building. I bad induced Hard ing to como with us to the place where I had first met him. It was not merely that I needed to consult him on a hundred matters that concerned tho interests both of Daisy and myself. Iu that fierce ordeal through which my darling and I had passed I had learned to lore this true and tried friend as I had lored few men before. It was on this second day of our stay in tho hot*! that I received the following letter from the arch villain who had bo nearly by his crimos marred the lives of both Daisy and myself. The lotter had been posted at Scarborough on the very day on which the Golden Hawk sailed for its unknown port But strange te say, it bad been directed to me, not at York, whore tho doctor know that I was staying, but at Great Lorton Hull, from which place it had readied mo, after somo delay, at Scarborough. "Golden Hawk, ) Oft 8cAHBOaouGH, Doa 10. ( "Dear Mr. Fenton: I promised to lot you hear from mo within twenty-four hours, and I mean to prove myself a man of my word. 1 said that when you did hear of mo again I should probably causo you to think loss hardly of mo, and I still trust that It may be so. "You aro a young man who is not wholly lacking in discrimination, though in your impulsiveness you make somo vory great mistakes. You aro probably now cursing what. you may regard as the blundor you mado last night when you revealed to mo tho telegram from that detective with tho for eign name on the subject of my diary. Pray console yourself. Evea from your?and Daisy's?point of view, you did not blundor there, as I shall soon prove to you. "Every man, groat or small, has some weakness. Mine has beeu a vory simplo one. I havo had no confederate all through my lifo; even Flintor, and one or two moro in Australia who havo been permitted to understani something of my schemos, have never really been in my confidence. I am a sociable being, as you know. I could con fide iu nobody elso; I made a confidant of myself. Don't suppose that I did not know there ~c? a risk In doing it, even with tho cipher I hau adopted I was well awaro of that fo?*t But there must bo an e lemon t of ris& in all things human, and the chances were certainly a thousand to ono against any harm happoning to me through tho in dulgence of this little foiblo. Now, of course, aU yonr petty moralists, from your detective upward, wilt preach thoir little sermon about tho blindness with which Providence afflicts all criminals, and will prove entirely to their own satisfaction that, if I am a great villain, I am a still greater fcoL I deny It I am no fool; and even aftor the losBon I have new had, I should not hesitato once moro to repeat?of course, under different conditions?the indiscretion which has cost me so dear now. "Mv door sir. let rue remove any difficulty that may now lie in your way. ft I had not heard from you of the discovery of my cipher, and if, instead of writing this lotter comfortably to you on board our beautiful yacht, I had been in jail just now on the charge of murder, I should have been com pelled in self-defonee to put you and all your friends to an amount of trouble that I think would have far outweighed the object you were seeking to attain. Moreover, I should in all probability have baffled the whole of you. But your appeal to me lost night, coupled with the fact that I shall certainly not now be permitted to gather the fruit for which I have waited so long, has caused mo to come to a conclusion of which I think you ought to hear with gratitude. 1 do not mean to fight I am leaving you forever; but I shall do what I can in departing to ?mooth your way, and to leave yon and Daisy to think not unkindly of me. ul acknowledge, therefore, in the most formal manner, that the story sot forth in my diary is literally true. I murdered Mr. Mauleveror in tho manner therein da jtstthod?by substituting a powder ef strych nia for one of bromide of potassium. I had no accomplice in my crime save Benjamin Flinter. Daisy is absolutely innocent; and, though Fosdyke may bare had his suspi cions,-be knew nothing. Fosdyke, my dear Mr. .Fenton, is a very commonplace sort of rogue. I shall do nothing so absurd as to attempt to justify or palliate my conduct to yon, I have my owt justification, and I assure you it is altogether satisfactory to myself. ' My digestion is excellent; I sleep perfectly; and I know no more of a re proaching consclenco than of a disordered stomach. There is one point on which, by the way, I should not like either yon or Daisy to lie under any misapprehension. Though it was necessary, in case of need, to place Daisy under suspicion of being the real murderer of Mr. Maulevorer, there was not tho slight est intention of putting her life in jeopardy. That was your doing, my dear Mr. Fenton, and you remember the hot indignation which Flintor?who always bad a sneaking kindne?s for the dear girl?showed when he heard of what I must say was your inex cusable rashness at Trondhjom. We wanted to oreate evidence against her, not that we might fling her into the dock to take her chanco before a jury, but In order that we might have somo means of counteracting the influence which unfortunately you seemed to have obtained over her, and of keeping both her and you in our power. But then, the best laid schemes,'etc lam no mouse, however, ovon though on this occasion my plans havo 'gone agloy.' "Daisy Is the daughter of a gentleman, a man of birth, refinement and education, a clergyman of the Church of England, who died at Melbourne in 18?. I know nothing of her family history, save that her name is Sheldon; but you may depend upon it that she is, in every sense of the word, a lady. ""And now. nothing remains but that I should say, 'Bloss you, my children,' and lot the curtain be rung down upon the play I Ton will have Mauleverer's millions upon which to enjoy yourselves?minus the com paratively trivial sum which my necessities have compelled me to appropriate; you will have youth, beauty, good conscionco, etc, etc. Really, my dear Fenton, I envy you. Pray, whon you are happy, bear In mind the fact that you owe your wife to me, "And now, farewell! This Is tho last tlmo you will ever hear of your sincere but un repentant Francis Branksoue." This extraordinary lotter, which left tho man's character almost as much of an enigma to me as it had ever been, did some thing to clear away any remaining mystery connected with the tragedy; and it con firmed my darling in tho intention which she had formed that under no circumstances would she touch the money of the man who had taken her as his child, and loved and benefited her, under the influence, of the fraudulent delusion impressed upon him by Bnmksomc, Legally, she was full mistress of all Mauleverer's wealth?the amount of which we soon found had been greatly exaggerated. She made use of her powers over It to transfer the wholo sum to trustees for tho exocution of the purposes which Mauleveror had named in the will he never signed. And so, though I married the heiress of the millionaire, I got a penniless bride. But, strange to Bay, I havo never regretted that faet; ner, I verily believe, would Daisy hor self exchange her present lot for that which she enjoyed when men crowded round her eager to pay court to her as the inheritor of the rich man's wealth. The brightness of our honeymoon, whiob came very soon after those tragic days of which I have written in these pages, has nover quite died out Nay, it renews itself from year to year; and we are fain to acknowledge that we are happier now becnuso of the sorrows through which wo have passed together. Mr. Fosdyke, the clever attorney, had been too clovor for once. Ho knew nothing of tho plot to murder Maulevorer?of that the au thorities were fully satisfied; but he hod for gotten certain elementary rules of his own profession in his dealings with the rich man's property, and so one day he was struck off the rolls, and consigned for the remalndor of his lifo to poverty and ignominy. Wh.it became of Dr. Branksome and hia accomplice, Flinter, is a secret which time has never revealed. The last word that ever reached me from them was tho letter which the reader has now before him; tho lost that was ever seen of thorn was on that gray December morning when the Golden Hawk slipped out of Scarborough bay liko a shadow, nsver more to como within mortal ken. Various are the rumors that I have heard regarding this arch villain whoso dupe I was along with so many others. Some spoke of him as loading a life of sybaritic self-indulgence in an isle of tho JEgean; others doscribed him as being a prominent leader in a revolution in the newest of the Central American ropublics, whllo there was ono story?to which I myself attached more weight than I did to the rest?which spoke of the sinking of a large schooner yacht, namo unknown, in tho English chan nel, by a homeward bound P. & 0. steamer, during a denso fog, somo four-and-twenty hours after the Golden Hawk loft Scar borough. That a yacht was lost, with all bands, at that time, and that the (Jolden Hawk has nover moro been heard of, are facts admitted by everybody. But whether it was tho vessel which carriod the bin-laden soul of Francis Branksome that went down so suddenly in the cold waters of tho channel is one of those mysteries which will nover be revealed until the sea gives up hor dead. the end. Womon and Umbrellas. I am a firm bei.ever ;.u woman suffrage. Women preachers edify me, womon lecturers delight me, womon doctors thrill mo, women telephone clerks onchant mo, and women barbers aro to mo a sourco of flfteoc-ceut joy. Woman's rights should bo ro.spec:ed. In tho pulpit and in tights, before tho bar and behind it, woman mutt havo hor place. Against one thing, however, in the name of humanity and eyeballs, I must protest?tho i ight of women to carry umbrellas. To tho maniac who never goes out iu u rain storm (except when it may bo raining in London tvnd dry here) this may seem absurd; it may even be the unhappy uause of illumining the face of some drum-brained pessimist with a smile; but sensible democrats will agree with me. On c rainy day a woman with an urn braHft is a terror; on a drizsry night aha is a fiend incarnate. This innocent and useful contrivance, once placed in the grasp of a vornan, becomes a hideous and deadly weapon. In every well appointed rain storm you may observe that saeolian combination?a woman with an umbrella. Unmindful of aught but her Sunday bonnet, she rushes madly along with the rain protector berore her face. She knows not, neither does she care, who or what is before her; but is, alas! too well aware that undisputed mon opoly of tho sidewalk is hers. Presently the victim appears. He is a misguided mor tal, laboring under the delusion that he has rights on tho streets?women or no women. Harmlessly, aye, aimlessly perchance, ho comes along. He perceives the woman's ap proach but does not leap in the gutter, or plunge wildly in a friendly doorway. They meet Wo need not further discuss this painful scene. It is enough for us to know that the victim takes a free ambulance ride and finds his left optic demolished and his nose out of place.?Life WILLIAM RAVENEL, President. oiDio Plosjlate Cornau, CHARLESTON, IS, G. Established 1870. BlfsrJi Grade Fertilizers. SOLUBLE GUANO, (highly ammoniated.) DISSOLVED BONE. ACID PHOSPHATE. ASH ELEMENT. FLOATS. GERMAN KAIN1T. HIGH GRADE RICE FERTILIZERS. All orders promptly filled. R. M. MEANS, Treasurer. Oct 14-8m_ H. Spahl', Watctaabr aai Jeweller, Under Times and Democrat Office, Keeps on hand n fine Stock of Gold and Silver Watches, Clocks, Jewelry, Silverware, Spectacles, Gold and Silver Headed Canes, &c. Also. Musical Lnstruments, such as Violins, Accordions, Banjos and Guitars, And all other goods in this line. 23TA largo assortment of 18 carat Plain Gold Rings always in stock. 2^"Good warranted, and prices low. removalT I have removed to Dr. J. G, Wannamaker's old stand next door to Messrs. Vose & Sallcy, where I am ready to sell you anything in the way of Lamps, CROCKERY, TIN AND glassware at the lowest possible prices. I have also added to my stock a lino line of CIGARS AND CANDIES. Country Merchants will do well lo call on me for Tinware, Candy and Cigais which I pro prose to sell them at wholesale as cheap as they can buy it for in Charleston or elsewhere. J. SORENTRUE. Jan 21-lyr_ welch & eason. We are still at the OLD STAND and if you want to help us Now is the Time. An order now is worth twice as much to us as it will be at any other time, Si:\I> FOR PRICE I.I.ST and mail us your orders and we will treat yuu well. Welch & Eason, FAMILY GROCERS. 185 and 187 Meeting and 11 Market Streets. Warehouse l'U Hayue Street, Sept. :io-3mo. Charte ton, S. C. PIANOS AI\'I> ORGANS. I WANT EVERYBODY TO KNOW that 1 represent seven leading PIANO AND ORGAN FACTORIES and will sell at Manufacturer's LOWEST CASH OR INSTALLMENT FIGURES. I am prepared to givo special induce ments to long time purchasers. Any Instrument sent on fifteen days trial. I will positively save every purchaser from ?10 to?30. 1). IL MARCUANT, ORANGEBURG, S. C. At G. II. Cornelson's store. April 22-lyr._ "MOORE COUNTY GRIT" The best Millstone lathi World for Table Meal. Samples "f meal lent on application. Send for prices on Portable Corn MilU. Upper and bailor Runners and inll steaes. We are apnti for Enoiaes, Hollers, Saw "?Ulis. Cotton Gins, Planer?, Shafting, PuUoj?, tc. a" for' Roller-Mtll Ontflts which ?ar. .Wsoen* for the miller in every barrel of flour ho makes. Writ* statin* what jon want and Unas Ton wish to MWM. Giro references. Address. North Carolina IrliU ?toae Co., Pariswood, Maor? Co., N. C. ?e. OTT?S ALTERATIVE PILLS, SAFE, ST73E AHB XELIASLE TOB TUE ArTECTWX CffEE OF AU AFF2CT10273 0? TEE DISORDERED AND TORPID LIVER, DERANGED STOMACH AND IMPURE BLOOD, Such as Biliousness, Chills and Fever, Liver ComplaiDt, Jaundice Sick and Nervous Headache, Indigestion, Constipa tion Heartburn, Sour Stomach, Loss of Appe tite, Eruptions, Skin Diseases Diarrhoea, etc. OTTS ALTERATIVE PILLS is no patent preparation, or experimental humbug, but are compounded after a formula of an emi nent Southern physician of 30 years' expe rience. They have been used and tested in his practice and vicinity for years, and the demand has so increased that at present it becomes necessary to manufacture them regularly for the trade, which has only been done for the past six month, and upon their merits alone, unassisted by advertising; their sale is unprecedented and astonishing. Get a box and try them. For sale by D. J. G. WANNAMAKER. Sept 30-lyr._Orangeburg, S. C. T. DeChiavette. SIGN OF THE WATCH. NORTH SIDE RUSSELL STREET. The undersigned calls the attention of the citizens of Orangeburg and elsewhere throughout the State to his fiust class assortment of WATCHES. CLOCKS, KVEEY ABTIBLE IN THE JEWELRY LINE, EYE CLASSES, &c., &c., which he Is prepared to sell at the lowest market pricks ' His stock on hand Is VARIED AND CHOICE, AND CANNOT BE SUR PASSED. REPAIRING WATCHES, CLOCKS AND JEWELRY he makes a specialty, and gnarantees perfect satisfaction in every case. Customers are solicited to give hfs articles and work a fair trial before going elsewhere. T. DeCHIAVETTE, Oct 7- Watchmaker and Jeweler. Z. M. WOLFE, (AT SCHIFFLEY'S OLD STAND.) I>ealci* in CHOICE FAMILY GROCERIES and the BEST WINES LIQUORS. Pure N. C. Distilled CORN WHISKEY a specialty, ?1.75 per gallon. Pure RYE WHISKEY, ?1,75 per gallon. Fine old BAKER RYE WHISKEY, ?4.00 per gallon. XXXX GIBSON WHISKEY, ?3.75 per gallon. also FINE SEGARS AND TOBACCO IN STOCK. As I expect to change business on first of January, will sell cheaper than any house in the City. Don't mistake the place, but call at the Northwest corner of Railroad Avenue and Russell Street, right at Railroad Sign. Sept 23-3mos* Sherili' Sale. State of South Carolina, County of Orange burg?Court of Common Pleas. By virtue of a certain execution issued out of said Court, and to be directed, I will sell in front of the Court House, on Mon day, the 6th of December next, during the legal hours, all the right, title and interest of W. C. Rives, in and to the followiug de scribed real estate. To wit: ALL THAT CERTAIN TRACT OF LAND, containing fifty five acres, more or less, and known as Tract No. 1, of Home Tract. ALSO LOT NO. 3 of Swamp Tract, con taining one hundred and sixty-four acres, more or less. The same being that portion of the estate lands of the late Wm. T. Rives, allotted to W. C. Fives as his share of said estate (See plat attached to judg ment roll In case of B. H. Moss, Adminis trator, vs. W. C. Rives, et al.) Levied on as the property of W. C. Rives at the suit of Geo. 11. Cornelson, et al. Terms?Cash, and purchaser to pay for papers, and If terms are not compiled with will be resold at risk of former pur chaser. A. M. SALLEY, Nov 18-3_Sheriff O. C. Sale of Real Estate. HPHE UNDERSIGNED WILL X sell at public auction on the salesday in December next, in front of the Court House, the following described real estate, for the purpose of paying off the debts of Joab W. Moseley, deceased. To wit: ALL THAT LOT OR PARCEL OF LAND, with five small buildings thereon, situate, lying ~nd being in the City of Orangeburg, containing four acres, more or less, and bounded by lands now or former ly of Samuel Dibble. George Boliver, Es tate lands of W. A. J. Sistrunk and lands of the South Carolina Railway Company. Terms?One-half cash. Credit portion to be secured by bond and mortgage of the premises, time twelve months; purchaser or purchasers to pay for papers and recoid ing. The above described property will be sold at private sale if desired by parties wishing to purchase same. Good titles will be given. JULIA D. MOSELEY, Nov 18-_Qualified Executrix. Tlic State of South Carolina, ORANGEBURG COUNTY. BY ijenj. P. izlar, esq., PROU.yte judge. WHEREAS, L. H. Wannamaker, C. C. P. has made suit to me to grant him Letters of Administration of the derelict es tate and effects of Sam'l Farrison, deceased : These are therefore to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and Creditors of the said Sam'l Farrison, deceased, that they be and appear before me, in the Court of Probate, to be held at Orangeburg Court house, on the 31st day of December next, after publication hereof, at 11 o'clock ill the forenoon, to shew cause, if any they have, why the said Administration should not be granted. Given under my hand, this 22nd day of November, Anno Domini, is?6. BENJ. P. IZLAR, Nov 25-15 Judge Ot Probate. The Slate of South Carolina. ORANGEBURG COUNTY. UY ltKNJ. P. IZLAR, KSO.., PRORATE JUDGE. "ITl/llEKEAS, Lawton II. Wannamaker, V\ C. C. P. has made suit to me to grant him Letters of Administration of the dere lict Estate and effects of Margaret Ann Gar ick : THESE ARE THEREFORE to cite and admonish all and singular the kindred and Creditors of the said Margaret Ann Garick, deceased, that they be and appear before me, in the Court of Probate, to be bold at Orangeburg Court House on the 31st day of December next, after publication hereof, at ll o'clock in the forenoon, to shew cause, it any they have, why the said Administration should not be granted. Given under my hand, this 23rd day of November, Anno Domini 1S8<>. benj. P. izlar, Nov 25-6_Probate Judge O. C. Notice* 4 LL PERSONS HAVING CLAIMS J\. against the Estate of Mrs. E. M. Wolfe will present them duly attested and all indebted to the same will como forward and make payment to i Nov 25-4 MRS. T. C. KEITT.