Newspaper Page Text
LEWIS >1. GRIST, I*i*<?i>i*iot<>i". j gat Independent ,*:;uniltj |tnrspapcr: ior the promotion of the political. Social, Agricultural and (Commercial Jntrehi of the South. J TERMS---$2.00 A YEAH IX ADVANCE. VOL. 41. T YORKVILLE, S. C., "WEDNESDAY, MARCH 6^1893. jSTO. lO. ?^?1 CHICKi A SEQUEL TO BV (!APT. F. A. SI Copyrighted, 18JH by Auieriean Press i SYNOPSIS OF CHATTANOOGA Private Mark Muynard is sent by Gi eral Thomas from the Union camps central Teunessee scouting toward Ck tanooga and barely escapes capture Confederates through the cunning ol native girl?Souri Slack. He gets a s of citizen's clothes at Slack's, and Jak Slack, a lad of 13, goes with him to hi disguise his character. Souri gives Ml a silk handkerchief as a memento. Mark and the boy beg supper and lot ing at the house of Mrs. Fain, a South* woman married to a Northern man, w is absent in the Union lines, ("apti Fitz Hugh, C. S. A., a suitor ot Lai Fain's, drops in and suspects that I strangers may be Union spies; but Lai wards offinvestigution, ana ine irnvoi resume their journey undisturbed. Mark reaches Chattanooga, is captui and condemned as a spy. Jakey sends Souri's silk handkerch home by friendly Negroes and Souri tal a hint, hastens to Chattanooga and he! . Mark to escape jail. Mark reaches the Fains' house and protected by Laura. The remaining chapters show hi Laura decides between Captain Fit/, Hu and Mark, compelling the Confeders to shield his Yankee rival. Mark trav toward the Union lines with Mrs. Ft and Laura, is recaptured and again spat by Captain Fitz Hugh, marries his f protector, reaches the Union camp w valuable information about the enet and is rewarded for his exploit by i pointment as an officer on the staff General Thomas. CHAPTER XI. A RACE FOR LIFE. Major Burke's command was order to guard the telegraph line extendi] south from Rossville. The regime was strung out to a considerable di tancp, each troop guarding a certa portion of the line. Corporal Ratigi was placed in charge of a section twn milpft Pnttinc himself at the he] of eight men, he led them to the end his section nearest camp, and dividii them into two reliefs of four men ea< posted them at intervals of half a mi along the line under his care. At su set, not being relieved, he prepared spend the u'ght in bivouac. Selecting clump of trees under which to rest ai cutting some boughs for beds?or rath to keep the men from the damp groui ?the corporal established the relief, c duty, there. The rations were cooki and eaten, after which the guard w relieved. Tho corporal went out alwa; with the relief, posted his men ai slept between times. It was 2 o'clock in the morning wh< Ratigan started out to post the last r lief for the night. The men follow? grum and stupid, having just been wa ened out of a sound sleep and not y thoroughly aroused. The party rode the extreme end of the section, left man and turned bock, leaving a man i every half mile. Corporal Ratigan hi posted the last man half amilofrom ti bivouac and was returning when bu deuly, turning a bend in tho road iw ning through a wood, ho desctiepi dark object before him besido the ryl He drew roiu and watched and listea^d. The dark object, as ho fixod^isjszc upon it, grew into the dim oaStfcryLj vehicle, but it was too dark for ha I! see if it contained any one. The ?Tjh> rah whose mind had been fixed q ih< special duty of prinxtiug tho lua, ai nnr>A Asermiml fhnf. Ennui mift wnsfvinc to cot the wire. He put spurtJo hii horse and called oat: "Halt, there! Throw up youjhand: and surrender, or I'll shoot." / The only response was a bwMi fron a whip which came down evidBtly 01 a horse's back, and the dark Bass be fore him vanished around thf bend it the road. Tho corporal dash* on, bm before ho could get around t hi bend th( object had turoed again. He^buld heai the rattling of wheels and funds of ( horse's hoofs digging intcfho road a' a gallop. Whoever was fehind that horse must bo driving of a frightfu pace, for urgiug his own beast to hi: best ho seemed to lose ranr than gaii ground. Coming to a stmght piece o: road, he could again seelio object bo fore him, but in the dtkness it wa simply a darker spot thai its surround ings. Suddenly tho eanpf the corpora caught a sound that filla him with as tonishment It was a wo urging for ward the horse ho wy chasing. Rati gan had supposed th? whoever was try ing to escape was a Ban, yet this voic< was different fronya man's tones. I Bounded liko that c|a child or a woman Tho corporal was puzzled. Thou it sud cieniy occurred toaim tnac pernaps m was chasing BetsjBaggs. Now, tho corj*al was as couscieu tious a mail as Aero was in tho Arnr of tho Camberimd aud one of thi most gallant, mt when the suspicioi feil upon him JDce a chill that he wa after a womaj whoso presence, for thi brief period fe had been with her, ha( thrown a srango spell over liim hi ceased to n*e his horso with the sanx pressure as fcforc. In tho midst of thi chase therapad come a contest withii his own bijast between tvj# conflictiuj emotions. Jf Betsy Bagsp'werc in fron of him, i^at would fry the result if hi should catch hetf "fio must turn he: over to the military authorities, and tlx chances Hero she would bo executed fo: a spy. 0> tho other hand, supposing hi permitted her' to escape, he would hi liberating six enemy far more danger ;ous to rife army in which he scrve< than q^|iten Ketones. In short, hi ild be a > editor to liis comrades tun his oauso. , jfiss rfagga, for it was she, had pass >; ed many pickets, bad experienced man; ~ lucky escapes. She had browbeaten ofS cars arid had cozened soldiers. one uai gono throngk-a dozen places whero nan would surely have been arrested And now, after passing so many dan gers, on the very eve of success, sho Bud f^>fc-denly found herself in the most critics of all tho situations she had ever bee: placed in. Mcaiiwhilo tho long legs of Bobb; I^ee were getting over tho ground a an astonishing pace. It was not tho tri angulation of a former raeo for spoi with Corporal Ratigan, but tho quick i short jumps of a race for life. An Hobby scorned to know tho stake. Nev er in his former flights had his ears bee \ turned hack so eagerly to catch tlio loi I toues of bis mistress. Never had tlier V been so inueli feeling in that mistress \ voice. It was: "Go oil, Hobby! (loo \ old hor.-o. Get up! On, on, on! That' \ a dear boy. it's life and deatli with im \ Bobby," a continued stream of broke \ words raid sentences, all of which Bobli 1 seemed to understand and act upon as i i Vlio had been a human being. \ Trie furritivo l-.i..w that tho elms Vonld uoC hu a loutr one. Her crazy v< , bi? lo was like a totteu hoik in a stori L >*ithont sea room. To tho north \vt iu Tennesseo river, and no means ( PC rasing. Ahead W1MJ Cliickainausj Vk, but lietwceu her and it lay tl Ittered forms of the left wing of tl Li lion army. She knew tho groun I ILjiid had as good a knowledge < | liwitions of tho troops as ojio coul 1 fc of an army constantly clmugini I ipotnt from which she had starti *li:Uf a milo west of Rossvillo c tLafay.-tto road. A niile of chasin p ? htbronght her near a fork, the le .roleadln^ across C'hickaniauga crec "ityVr's bridge, tho right leading d B jecVonOv. Sho determined to tal B fro It hand road, intending, if si iotwacceed iu reaching Dyer's mil abouto'dle from the creek, to stril J a forfrme dUtanco below that she r H membdd havin,. once crossed. ' CHATTANOOGA, . . t m [ITCHEL, LATE If. S. J. " fi \ssooiation. * j Theso possibilities flashed through her mind like iuessag?over a tolegraph at_ j wire whilo thotbndtf hoofs and the by clattering of her pnrt*5r'8 swinging sail : ber wero sounding in I-er cars, nit ? d.uv..;4t heaven's sake. , | yju, uu, uuuu/ifj- . ol? go on!" irk I Would it not be wst ^or her to leave . I her horsn and buggf in tho road and take to tho wooc*? ' No. They -would ho mark the point wljer0 she had left them. iin But her pursuer not know which sid? of the roadie had thken, and ir^ there would be ? even chance that he ere would follow oqjjf' wroug side. Something must be dfllp the race could not last forever; tbrtfe11 behind seemed to ief : ho gaining, unddten the dread of comces | ing upon a CJni#0?111?' Ips ; Sho was abofM? b??g her horse to a is stand and juiitf|roin her buggy when tho clatter her?Ratigan had aw turned a sliglrfpfiod in the road?soundgh ed g0 Jond, 60|^ftr> that instead of doing so she gave a cut with the whip. iin "There's jl time now, Bobby. Wo ed must put a ^P?ter distance between us ?if ; and tho YaJ^- Get up, Bobby 1 Oh, |,y goon! WV haven't you wings'" ip- Heavens, What is that ahead? Tents, of whito and|bostly in tho gloom! And : how many* them! The whole field is covered! ' < Nearer ^mes the olatter from behind In front $asleeping regiment, brigade, fid perhaps i*whole division. It was not ig there ye^lrday. It must bo in transit nt i Oh, whyjhonld it have halted just in is- j time toJiock tho way? in | "God help me, I must take my in chances and go on." of Son<iels were pacing on their beats id about the camps. In some cases the of beats fM along the road, but not across Jg j it Right tbrongh theso chains of senti:h | nels, irtghfc into tho heart of this sleeple | ing Multitude of armed men, dashed n* i the fomau whose only weapons of deto I fefiwcero Bobby Lee and her antiquata | ed Mhicle. id 'Salt!" er ' IBo on, Dob!" id j ishot a ballet singing like a tun>fif ; inf fork i'.i ears which already sang 3d ! loid cuougli in themselves with czciteas nmt I K'Turn out tho enard!" id ..following Miss Baggs came Corporal Btfigau, to fiud tlio road iu frout of jn hjtn blocked by half a dozen men with e- f many muskets pointed right up in d, f8 face. k. 1 Ho uttered au involuntary "Thank et pod!" Ho must bo delayed; the responto ffsibility for the escapo of the fugitive would be with them. If indeed sho were ajd Miss Baggs, he would regard himself #| fortunate at the delay. 2 j "What's the matter?" asked oiio of p the men. ! "I'm chasing some one in frout I suspect a telegraph breaker." ! "All! That's it, is it? Well, go ou; ; we'vo stopped tho wrong person." The corporal regretted that tho interjViewhad boon 60 brief, tho interruption "^IFsfiort. Ho had no option but to dash on. Before tho fugitive there stood a man in tho middle of tho road with a rnusi ket leveled straight at her, or rather at I the coming mass, which he could not distinguish. Miss Baggs did not see him till she got within a dozen feet of him and heard: "Halt, or I'll fire!" Rising in her sent and concentrating all her strength in one effort, sho brought her whip down ou tho horse's back, at the same time holding him in the cen; 1 ter of the road by tho reins. Tho man was knocked in ono direction, stunned, and his musket went flying in tho other. t Ami now each ouo of tho chain 01 t sentries through which tho fair (list patch stealer's horse dragged her and 1-: her swaying buggy with a series of i lunges, hearing shots, tlio cries of l guards, the clatter of horses' hoofs, tho f rattling of wheels, and seeing something coming through tho darkness as 3 Miss Baggsapproached,shouted "Halt!" - j "Turnout tho guard!" "Who comes I ; there?" and a score of other similar ' cries, to none of which Miss Baggs paid any other attention than to fly through - ' and from them as from tho hand of - , death. A score of shots were fired at a * her along half a milo of road while sho t was running the gantlet. And now the last sentry is passed, and tho woman shoots out from between a tho rows of whito tents into a freo road ahead. The noises are left behind. But amid the confusion of distant sounds is j one which, coming with a low, contina ued rattle, strikes terror into her heart. i A familiarity with war has taught her s its calls. She hears tho beating of tho a "long roll." Tho wholo camp is arous1 ed. A legion of Yankees may soon be in a pursuit. o Corporal Ratigan was stopped by cv 0 ery sentinel who had tried to check .Miss 1 Baggs. After an explanation to each ho 1 was suffered to go on. The men who t stopped him transmitted the informaj tion at onco to the gnard tent that somo r one?doubtless on enemy?was being 2 chased. The force was a division of inr fantry, with no cavalry except a mountit ed escort to the general commanding, a Somo of these were ordered in pursuit. There was a hurried saddling of horses, 1 sprinkled with oaths at the delays enB countered, and three cavalrymen mount1 ed and dashed after Miss Baggs and her pursuer. But before they started a couple of miles had becu placed between y her and the camps. The gray of the morning was by this 3 time beginning to reveal objects with a greater distinctness. Ratigan, coming L to a rise in the ground just beyond tho [. camps, saw tho buggy about two miles [. ahead swaying like tho dark hull of a J ship rolling through tho billows of an n ocean. For a moment be hesitated between his duty as a soldier and that y quick, sharp something, bo it love, be^ witchment or a natural sympathy of [. man for weaker woman, while beads of t cold perspiration stood on his forehead. It seemed to him that if ho should do his duty ho would bo acting tho part of r. an executioner, not only that, but tho ? executioner of a woman?a woman v whoso imago had got into his heart and 0 his head and never left him a moment's ; peace since sho first throw tho spell of (l her entrancing personality about him. s It was a hard struggle, and from tho nature of tho case could not bo a long one. Duty won. He shouted to his horse, 1.;... ? ntirt y gUVU Ilili* (iui(^ wittt uuwi rjiuio ? * ? i"f dashed forward. Thero was a depression in tho ground ;o down which tho corporal plunged Then .. tho road ran along a level for awhile, u with another slight rise beyond As he IS rode down tho declivity tho fugitive ,{ was on the crest of tho second rise. She ,sl stood up and turned to catch a glance i0 behind her. She saw a horseman?she i0 was too far to recognizo tho corporal? ,1 dashing after her. Below her was n wooded space, and she noticed that 1(| which gave her a glimmer of hope. , Tho road forked. Urging her liorso on7,1 ward, she aimed to get on one of the two roads beyond tho fork wliilo her 1}, pursuer was in the hollow back of her, ft trusting that sho might escape, as she had escaped before, by forcing him to j. choose between two roads, and trusting 0 that lie might take tho wrong one. 1C Down the declivity her racer plunged j while Ratigan was galloping down the -y ono behind her. So steep was tho road n. and so swift her horse's pace that the , dancer of death by mauglinc seemed greater than death by hanging." Sho I reached tho bottom, where tho road ran level to tho fork and the wood. Hopo i urged her. It was not 100 yards to tho , point sho was so anxious to reach. Passing over a rut at the very fork of tho road that scorned her only chanco 1 for escape, tho old buggy gave a dismal groan, as much in sympathy with tho mistress it had served so well as a death rattlo, and flew into a hundred pieces. CHAPTER XII. 1 A CHANGED ENEMY. I Corporal Ratigan had been worked : up to such a fever of excitement by tho | chaso and his complicated feelings to, ward tho object of it that when ho shot ; I over tho rise in the ground that hid the fugitive from his viow his viBago was distorted from tho oxpression of good nature usually stamped upon it to one 1 ! which can oi.'y bo called demoniac. His eyes wero wild, that portion of his ' hair which extended below his forage 1 can seemed to clow with unusual red I noss, his body loaned forward liko a 1 j jockey in a race, tlio whole forming a picture of eager ferocity. In short, CorI poral Ratigan resembled an escaped lunatic chasing a flying fiend who had | ( | been torturing him. On the crest of the second rise he ! ! strained his eyes after Miss Baggs. . j Nothing appeared to deuoto her prcscnco 1 j on the landscape except a horse in liar! ness, which he dragged iu tlio dust, trotting back toward a heap of rubbish on tho road. A sudden dread took pasj session of tho corporal. It was plainly j ! evident thero had been an accident. Ho j had boon chasing a Confederate tele- j & i i i? He put the neck of a battered canteen to * her ling. 1 graph stealer that ho might turn her j over to tho military authorities of his I own army to he hanged, and now he I was suddenly plunged into terror for J fear she had been killed. Ho went on, but with a new object distinct in his mind. It was not to injuro Miss Baggs, I but to succor her. | Ho soon came to tho heap of splinters and iron which marked tho point of I collapso of Miss Baggs' buggy. Miss } Baggs was not visible. Had sho taken [ to tho wood beyond tho fork of tho road? | For a moment thero was a delightful j seuso of relief, but it was soon followed by tho animal instinct of tho savago chasing an object of prey. Stimulated by this, or a roturn of a senso of duty, or both, ho was about to rido into tho wood, when, looking down on the long grass by tho roadside, he descried tho unconscious body, tho faco apparently white in death, of tho woman ho sought. In a moment tho corporal was off his horso and on his knees besido her. Tho chase in which ho had been so eager and tho causo were both forgotten on seeing Miss Baggs lying apparently cold in g death at his feet. j "Darlin, are yo hurt?" ^ Tliero was agony in tho corporal's c voico. Ho put an arm under her head to t raise it. With the other ho grasped her 8 hands. "To tho divil's own keopin with tho a war anyway. What's it good for ox- v cept to injure innocent women and chilI dreu?" j. In that nonresistauco of unconscious- a J ness ho forgot that this woman had been ^ i engaged in what tho world condemns openly, if not secretly, as illegitimate v warfare. To hint sho was innocent, not c that ho reasoned upon her acts, but bo- j I causo a mysterious something?a breath ! from spirit land?hadmadoher more to g him than nil tho world beside. Ho laid j his head down upon her breast to listen ^ I if the heart boat; ho chafed her hands Q I and, arms; he took off his cap and fan- (1 j ned her. Still she lay limp in his arms v ! without a sign of life. ? "Darlin, darlin, como back to life, j _ Como back, if it's only long enough to , j, tell mo yo forgive mo for mo cowardly { _ chasiu yo. Oi'vo killed ye. Oi know it. s Oi wish some one would run a bayonet j, through 1110 own rotten heart." ! j A slight murmur, something liko a J ( groan, escaped her. j v "Praise God, there's life! Ifit'donly c t grow stronger! All, thank heaven, j j j tneros water!" Laying her hoad down iu tlio grass, ^ ho went to tho sido of tho road whcro r ! thero was a runnel of clear water, j _ Scooping somo of it in his two hands, he J, ' threw it iu her faco. Sho opened her eyes. Corporal Ratigan never forgot tho ^ look with which his prisoner regarded y him when sho recognized who ho was. 1 Thero wcro two expressions following .j j each other rapidly?tho first, reproach; . ^ but when tho noticed tho pain with v which it was received it melted into ono of tenderness. ^ "Ah, Rats," sho exclaimed faintly, j "how conld you do it?" He put his great hands?brown from : exposure?beforo his eyes to 6hut out ! the faco which at every glance kindled some now emotion to rack him. Now that she had come to life another terror t caino to him to administer an added ei torture. Ho knew that mounted men ' b j wero following; that they would soon I appear over the crest iust behind them; tl that his prisoner would bo taken, and condemned. . d "They're coniin I They'll bo hero iu 1 , a jiffy!" ho cried wildly. "Toll me J that yo forgivo me. Tell mo that yo c don't hato 1110 as I hato rneself." r , "For doing your duty, Rats?" s "Duty! Is it a mau's duty to run i down a woman like a hare? Don't talk d to nic of duty. If yo suffer for this, s Oi'll desert and go back to Oiroland, and a God bo praised if he'll send a storm to 1 sink tho ship and 1110 in it. Thcro's a drop in mo canteen?a drop of whisky, t Will yo tako it, darlin?I mean?I don't know what I'm talkiu about. Let c 1110 put it to yer lips. Tako a swallow, c It'll revive ye. No?" Sho appeared to 1 bo passing back to unconsciousness. t "Tako it for moi sake, sweetheart. < Only tako a good swallow, and yo'll bo 1 j righted." ( Sho opened her eyes. Evidently sho 1 had heard. There was an expression on t her face indicating that his words had ] produced that eltcot upon In r which | might ho expected in a woman who 1 hears a strong man, unconsciously and < unintentionally, declaring his love. ] "Why do you wish 1110 to live, Rats? 1 Don't let 1110 live. If you do, I'll die ] on the gibbet." 1 ' "<)h, darlin," he moaned, "don't bo 1 talkin that way. Oi'll dio ineself first ( 'j Oi'll raiso a mutiny. Oi'll"? J 1 1 I lie could not. go 011. His words 1 mucked him. lie well knew their futil- j , ity. "Take a drop, sweetheart?only a 'j drop for moi sake." I 1 1 What a change from tho day I10 had j jokingly asked her to tako an oath for | ! "moi sake!" 1 1 j "For your sake, Rats. (Jivo it to ' , me." He put the neck of a battered tin can* 1 j teen to her lips, and sho drank a little : of the liquid. It produced a beneficial 1 j change at once. A tinge of color came 5* to her cheeks, and she breathed moro easily. ' I A clattering of horses'hoofs, a clank^ | ing of sabers, mounted figures standing 1 | out against the morning sky 011 the crest j ' ' behind them, and three cavalrymen are dashing on to where nes "?liss Raggs and kneels tho corporal. "Promise me, Rats, that yon will <lo nothing foolish," sho asked pleadingly "OGod! Oi'm going to draw 1110 revolver on 'em." "Promise." "I can't." "For inoi sake, Rats." Tho faintest traco of a smile, despite her dcsperato situation, passed over her face as she imitated tho corporal's pronunciation Tho quaint humor, mingled with so many singular traits prominent in her that conldshow itself at so critical a moment, touched a responsive Irish chord in his Irish heart and brought him to terms. "For your sake, dnrlin, Oi'll do it," ho said in a despairing voico. There was scarcely timo for him to speak tho words?indeed they were vvhispored with his lips touching her ear?when the threo cavalrymen rode up to whero the two wero. "What's it all abont, corporal?" asked one of them. "I found this?this lady?lying here. Her buggy is broken. Sho is badly liurt. " Tho corporal spoke tho words haltingly, and drops of sweat 6tood out an his forehead. "Who is she?" "Well, that's to bo found out some jther timo. Ono of yo'd better ride back For an ambulance and a surgeon." "Never mind the surgeon," said j Miss Baggs faintly. "Well, bring the ambulauco anyway, "said Ratigan. "Ye can all go hack if yo like. Oi'll stay with her. She's me own prisoner." "There's no need of all going," said ;he man who had spoken. "I'll go my- j self." Ho turned and rode away, while the . jthers dismounted and throw tho reins )f their bridles over a fcnco rail. Ono ' )f thorn caught Bobby Leo, who was j :ropping tho grass nearby, occasionally I ooking up as though suspicious that something had happened. Tho men loiered abont, now and then approaching n tnl.-n n lnnlr at thn iirisoner. hut soon I urning away again, quite willing to be reo from tho responsibility which Corjoral Ratigan seemed disposed to tako lpon himself. "Rats," said Miss Baggs, who was low rapidly recovering strength and :oolncss, "it will not bo long before I hall bo separated from you. Before hen I wish to thank you for the kindicss, tho interest, even the tenderness, vith which you have treated a fallen meniy. And I wish to ask your forgive- ! less for tho deception I practiced on | ou onco when you were deputed to see no through tho lines." "What was that compared with what )i'vo done?" ho moaned. "Do you forigve me?" "Oi do. But Oi'vo nothin to for;ivo." "And, Rats,you havo unconsciously let i no know that you?you feel more kindy toward mo than"? "You've robbed mo of mo heart inirely." l "Well, I'm-both glad and sorry. It j s delightful to bo loved, but sad to hink tlu.t your very lovo must make j ou griove. Our meetings havo been ew and strange?very strange," sho idded musingly. "Who aro you, Rats? ! know you nro well born. I can see it n every word and motion." "Oi'in second sou of Sir Thomas Ratgan, Esq., of County Cavan, Oireland. it his death 1110 older brother succeeded o tho estate. So I camo to America to hift for inesolf. A year ago Oi enlisted n tho Union ranks, and here Oi am. Oi visit to (Ind mo brother was in his offin and Oi in possession of the csates, that Oi could give them all to avc your life." "No, no, Rats. You are a soldier ind an honorable man. Remomber vhat 1 have told you. You will do our duty hereafter as you liavo done it leretoforo. Your words in that respect ,ro meaningless. Your senso of honor vill always triumph over your syrninthy when that sympathy is alloyed vith dishonor. For this I have conoived for you an unbounded respect ! 'erhaps wore I not so soon to bo"? "Don't speak it, for God's sako don't ! peak it." "Well, Rats, wo will try for the irief time wo shall bo together to fix ur minds on a pleasant picture. Let ! is think of that day when the south rill bo independent, or at least when lorth and south will bo at peace. This egion, now trodden by soldiers woarug the blue and the gray, will bo given j p to those simple people who till the ! oil. Instead of the sound of shotted j uns there will he the lowing of cattle, j nstead of the singing of minie halls 1 lw.ro will 111? tho nf l>irrls_ Thnrn rill lio pence, blessed ponce. Oh, if I ould only I've to see it! Then perhaps j may take you by the hand, say to you j -But, Rats, this can never be for us. It 3 only a fancy picture I'vo drawn to elievo that terriblo suffering I see iu our face. You've aged ten years in oa iany minutes. Don't look at mo in that rendful way. I can't bear it." Tlio two cavalrymen's backs wero urned. They wero strolling toward tho roods. Ratigan put his anus about her, i nd both yielded to a long embrace. ' 'hero wevo no nioro words spoken, j Yords would have added nothing to : 'hat both felt. There was moro pain 1 nd more pleasure concentrated in the osom of each than had been there in 11 the years they had lived. CHAPTER XIII. ' 'turned over. " There was a rattling of wheels on ho soft road, and looking up Ratigan aw the messenger returning, followed y an ambulance. Driving to Miss . iaggs, who was still lying in tho grass, j be driver backed it up to her, while tho ciivalrVmen stood ready to ift the prisoner into tho vehicle. 15ut diss Baggs waved them all away cxept tho corporal, and taking his hand ose to her feet and stood for a moment upported by him. Tho effort was too ; uuchforher. Her head fell on his shoul- . ler, and for :i moment she lost con- , ciousncss. Ratigan took her off her feet, | ind lifting her into tho ambulauco laid ler on tho cushions. "Oi'll ride at tho foot," ho said to j ho others. "Ono of yo lead mo horse." ! When they camo to tho place where ach had successively emerged from the samp through which Ratigan had folowed her before daylight, they found he road lined with soldiers, whoso curiisity brought them there to seo the .voiiian who had succeeded in breaking 1 hrough a wliolo chain of guards. They i ad all heard of the exploit and crowd- j il around tho ambulance as it passed, ; nit were la fit away by the guards in at'endaiicc.who dropjied back to tho sides md rear. This prevented any further j onvorsation between Ratigan and Miss Baggs, except an occasional whisper, j but tho corporal managed to keep her band in his under a blanket, unobserved. At last the ambulauco pulled up before the headquarters of tho division whoso Kanip they had entered, and Ratigan L-rwl,lniiK- liHf*:min emisointis of tllO fact that l?u must turn his prisoner over to others, doubtless to bo dealt with summarily, for lie well know the case would naturally receive prompt attention. An officer with a captain's shoulder straps camo out from headquarters and surveyed the ambulance. He was it dapper little fellow, fat and red faced. "Who've you got there?" ho asked of Rattan. "A lady, sir." "Tho woman who ran the guards last night?" "()i captured her on tho mail below." "fl'm. The guard duty of this division is in a line condition when a woman can run a whole chain of sentinels (let her out of that." '!i?lie's badly hurt, captain." said | Ratigan, who had "stopped clown on to i tbo ground nnd saluted. "I can alight," said Miss Baggs feebly. And getting as best slio could to tho door of the ambulance Ratigan helped her out. Sho looked faint, but , stood by tho aid of the corporal's arm. "Tako her in to tho general," said the littlo captain. "Ho wnnts to see her." i As tho tent was an ordinary wall i tent, thtre was no great room in it. Miss Baggs went inside, while tho corporal stood directly outside, with his hand on tho tent pole. " "I must liavoyou searched," said tbo geueral to tho prisoner. Then lid added, ' soniowhat hesitatingly," "It's rather awkward not having a woman in camp." "I will relievo you of tho necessity," said tho prisoner, with dignity, and put : ting her baud into her pocket she drew forth a buudlo of papers, which she hauded to him. "What aro these?" asked tho surprised commander. "Copies of intercepted tolegrams." Tho general uttered an oxclamation, and taking tho papers ran them over with his eye. Ho looked up at tho woman, who, savo for tlitt jjaJJor occasioned by her fall from tho collapsed buggy, stood apparently unmoved. Thero was admiration in tho eyo of tho man who gazed at her. Ho was astonished at tho coolness with which she handed him documents that would warrant his hanging her to Two pairs of eyes met and clashed, a treo without a moment's delay, and abovo all thero was about her a diviuo cousciousuess of having douo a duty, a look of triumph under defeat, that compelled his reverence as well as his admiration. "Aro you aware," ho said, "that with thcso dispatches in your possession, and beyond our lines, you would hold this army at your mercy?" "I am." "And that captured with them on your person your lifo is forfeited?" "Certainly." There aro people who cannot brook a steady stnnd in ouo who may bo naturally expected to break down in their presence. The general was one of these. In proportion as ho admired her firmness was his desire to force her to show somo giving way. He did not aualyzo his feelings nml attribute his desiro to any such cause. Ho yielded to it without realizing that the cnuse existed. "The natural method of procedure in this case," ho said, looking nt her sternly, "is for 1110 to report your capture and the circumstances attending i? to headquarters. Word comes back to try you by 'drumhead' court martial and hang you to tomorrow morning." "Well?" "Well, that is tiio end of tho story." There was silence for a few moments wliilo they regarded each other. "It is not tho end of the story, general. Tho story of a lifo has no end. Death is but a transition. It pleases tho Great Commander to assign mo a fruitless task. It is not for mo to ask why. I am but ono of his soldiers, figluing with my brothors for my people." She had conquered. Thero was something so forcible in her words, something so truly grand in her manner, that tho man who would break her spirit desisted. Ho regarded her admiringly and was silent. "All I ask, general," sho said presently, seeing that ho did not sponk, "is that thero bo no greater delay than necessary. Now I have a strength which may bo worn away by long waiting, with death staring mo in tho faco." Still the officer did not spenk. Ho was thinking?thinking how ho could get rid or so unpleasant a duty as tno trial and execution of this splendid woman. Ho feared that should ho roport her capturo to headquarters ho would get tho samo reply as in tbo caso ho had cited. "I will not harm yon," ho said presently. "Somo ono olso must tako the responsibility of this complication of doath and a woman." "It does not matter who does tho work, so long as it must bo done. " "Perhaps not to you. It matters a great deal to mo. My hands aro clean. I don't caro to stain thorn." Whilothis conversation was going on Corporal Ratigau was listening and observing the speakers with a palpitating heart. Thero was something so cold cut in tho general's tones that tho corporal felt a repugnance at his prisoner being in his especial keoping. Ho preferred that she should bo sent to somo one olso and was relieved when ho announced his intention to shift tho responsibility. Besides tho corporal hoped that ho would himself bo intrusted with her keeping until sho should of mnin mmn H'liorn fhfl mm. mauder would bo willing to reccivo hor. "Shall Oi tako her to headquarters, general?" ho asked. "Ah, my man!" said tho general, as though awakened from a reverie, "are yon hero? I had forgotten you." "Oi can conduct her to headquarters II Ulll nwiW'H- IWllBIM. " "I ant---Uot 10 tlio liautc oi reccivjug suggestions from my brigade or regimental commanders, much less a corporal. " Ratigan saw that ho had mado a mistako and said nothing. Tho general regarded him with his shrewd eyes. It was plain to him that tho man was interested in his prisoner. "Corporal, you may go to your camp." "Yes, sir." "Orderly," called tho general to a man standing iear, "tako this woman to the ambulaire." As Miss Bagjs passed out tho eyes of tho two were fi:ed again on each other. Whilo tho gcirral did not use words ho could not rsist a last attempt with his presence, hi. masterful countenance, IIIN JULTl'lllfj I\I utuuni) ma |Hinoner. Sho me that gazo firmly, unflinchingly, til she was without tlio tent; then wit! si final glnnco of contempt she tuned and walked toward tho ambulance. The general ailed her back. "You do not eem well satisfied with my treatment <? yon," ho said in a tone in which Hero was something of sstrcasm "We sldiers must do our duty." "It is not you doing your duty, general, that fails t win my respect. It is that you hsivo nt tho manliness to do | it yourself, but just needs put it upon ! somo ono else. " I Again tho twipsiirs of eyes met and ; clashed. Tho vtory was with tho woman. The genial lowered bis to tho 1 ground. "You may go,' ho said. As soon as shovas gono ho went to a tent where there'ere writing materials and wrote a not which he sealed and addressed, (iivinit to the little captain, ho directed him tsendit, with the prisoner and tho dpatches captured 011 lur, to tho ofTlc< whoso namo was 011 tho envelope. ! To IIK C'OXTlfXK.XT WKKK. i jfif" Oranges grtr on every continent. | . i Miscellaneous pending. THIS IS A PRETTY SCHEME. . How Vorkvlllv'M Voto in to l>o MuiiipuliitrU for tlio l)h|ipiiMiiry. 1 To the Kilitur tif The Enquirer : In a recent issue of your paper, there I appeared a statement to the etl'ect ; that a petition was being circulated, i praying the town council to order an i election on the subject of establishing 1 a dispensary at this place, and, upon ! inquiry, your correspondent finds such ! to be the case. As this is a matter of vital interest to our community, we deem it our duty as a citizen of this town to give to | the public the whole scheme, and to ; lay bare the iniquity of the thing. I The friends and advocates of the dispensary propose, in the first place, to electa town council that will order an election. In the second place, they propose to have four white inen run as candidates for the position of dispen| ser; and, in the third place, to have ' four Negro men become candidates for the position of porters at a salary of ; per month. As to the first part of this proj gramme, we believe that the financial JuIalacIo /\f Alii' dp. I 11I1U IIIUI Ul lliltn.oin U4 uui Wif ! ?V mnnd that a council he elected that | will he wholly opposed to a dispell- ; I sary, for the following reasons : j First. We have recently inaugural ed a system of water works that will ; j require men of good business ability ! j to make a success of, and we doubt if 1 there he in the town a set of five men who favor a dispensary, nnd who will become candidates for intendant and wardens, who are qualified to manage the system successfully, to the end that our taxes may be lightened and j j our burdens decreased. Second. It is almost an ussured fact that we shall, in the near future, have j established in our town a cotton facto ry, and it behooves those who may be j interested in that enterprise, to use j every effort to keep the operatives I secure from the influence of whisky, j if they desire the enterprise to sue- ' ceed. It is the experience of all arts 1 and trades that men, to become skill- i ed in their departments of work, must j j be free from the evils of drink. It is | j then a logical sequence, that the more skilled the labor the more profit to the : manufacturer. Suppose you allow a j I dispensary to be established here, what i ; is the result to your enterprise ? Less | i skill in your workmen, less profit to j stockholders. Suppose you keep the ; dispensary away, what follows? More j skill, more profit. Then again, if we j have a dispensary, the earnings of i many of these operatives, instead of flowing in the legitimate channels of | ! trade, will find their way into the j j rum shop and thence to the State | ! treasurer. Is it not, then, the part of i ! sensible business men, to keep the dis- I i pensary away and keep all the earn- j ings of our people at home? We think j j so. | Furthermore, we have in our midst ! i two schools that will he injured by j J the establishment of a dispensary, not i j only in keeping pupils away, hut subI ir>i>tincr t hose here to temntations that ! I j r> 1 ! boys of unformed character are unable j to withstaud. The schools are now j attracting families to our town, which, we claim, would cease when the dispensary comes? How many families did a dispensary overdraw to a town ? Echo answers, bow many ? There are many other reasons why I we should defeat the dispensary ; but j we must reach that part of our subject we desire more especially to deal with, viz.: The exposing to public view this scheme which, we understand, is being worked in our midst. Their second plan is, "To have four j white men to become candidates for j ! dispenser." We charge this to be a j ! deep laid scheme to lmy the white vote l j of tiiis town. Why ? Because, we apI prebend that the men who will be- | j come candidates for that position are men now out of employment, and their hope is to work on the sympathies of j i the friends of these men and thereby induce citizens who are opposed to the dispensary, to vote for it iu order to I help their friend to a position lie may j ; never hold. Suppose, friends of these ! four men?you who are opposed to a 1 dispensary?that you vote for a dispell- j sary for the above mentioned reason ! anil your man is not elected. Do you | not see that you have put here an evil ! ! you are opposed to, have done your . friend no good, and have sold your j ! vote for sympathy as much so as if j . you had received $ ") for it? It will be argued, too, that we are j certain to have a dispensary, and you j Jiaii uesi cast your uuuui iu umci it> 1 have the best man elected and appoint- | ed. We trust you will be misled by no such false theory, for any man is good enough to (ill that position if he be able to read and write, and tell . i a pint of whisky from a gallon of beer. [ You must recognize the fact that it i | requires no high order of ability to run '< ; a dispensary. Don't, then, we ask, j sell your inilucnce and vote to this I scheme for sympathy, or be misled by j I false logic. The third plan. "To have four Ne- j i gro men become candidates for porter, i at $25 per month." We charge this to ; i be a plan to buy the Negro vote. ' More revolting than the other, if pos- j I sible. It will be remembered that j | some time since, a petition was eircu- ! | latcd in this place asking the legislature to amend the dispensary law and put a dispensary here without a vote ! 1 rtf llio nnnntn Tliftlp itllfirrpfl t'PllQiin I was that the white people desired the , dispensary; but that it had been de- | feated by Negroes and "blind tigers." I j Now we see the dispensary advocates ! i "- 'i <> * ? ? ? r..v ^Krwrro frtr pnr- ' ter at a salary of $25 per month. The two positions arc utterly ineonsistcnt. j They realize that the white people don't want the dispensary, and their only hope of success is in buying the Negro vote. Furthermore, we charge that they I are bidding for the Negro vote. 1st. j llecutisc there is no earthly necessity j for a porter in the dispensary, and wc 1 don't believe there is a dispensary in I tire State that has one. Pray tell us I what his duties are. To sweep out the room and dust the mould oil' of the bottles of chemically pure XXX 40 (?) year old whisky ? Ii'so, $25 per month is rather handsome pay for such work. Why pay so much when scores of boys could lie employed to do the same work for $5? Why then such a ! high salary? Simply to catch the I Negro vote. Hut they may say, he is needed j to deliver liquors. Hah ! Everybody , knows that the great majority ot per- : sons who purchase from a dispensary need tlie purchase too, badly to wait for it to he delivered. What then is the need of a porter? 2d. We charge this to he a scheme to hoy the Negro vote, j because if these men were consistent, | and meant what they said in the peti| tion above mentioned, they would have nothing to do with the Negro nnd give the place (if such an one were to lie had) to a white man or hoy. Hut they see their lirst plea of defeat by the Negro and "blind tiger" did no ! good, and their last hope now is to get the Negro on their side. To ac- ' complish this, they propose to create a i place for him in the dispensary. :Sd. We charge an attempt to buy the Negro vote, because, even if they ! were to give the place to a Negro, they would find, in the course of a month I or two, that profits did not warrant keeping a porter, and away he would go. Too late then would the Negroes realize that they had sold their votes for something that existed only in the ; minds of the schemers, nnd benefitted only one of their ruce for a sliort time at best. In the fourth place, \vc claim that the men that are now proposing to give a Negro a place in the dispensary, are the men who are now working with all their powers to frame a constitution that will disfranchise them. ; Can we not see plainly that it is not i for love for the Negro, nor interest in > him, that prompts the promoters of j I this scheme? What then is his mo- : tive? Simply to get his vote to place ' a rum shop on us. In the last place, we charge fraud ; I because why the necessity of having any such scheme at all? Can we not ; simply vote on the question of dispen- J sary or no dispensary ? Oh no ! that j | would not catch enough votes for it, j and something must he done to get ' them. Well, suppose they do get j ! thero, are they not bought? Most i ; certainly. The white votes bought for i ' sympathy, and the Negro votes bought, | I as they suppose, for a salary for one | ; man at $25 per month. Wo have felt it to be our duty to j put these facts before the public, and | I in so doing we feel no animosity to ! any man or set of men: but have onlv ' an eye single to the good of our people and this old town, and affirm our re- j sponsibility for the sentiments herein expressed. We trust that all good men, of both , colors, will oppose this scheme, nnd that all who respect themselves and ; their votes, and who love home and i friends and our young manhood, will J stand a solid phalanx against the open- j ing of a State rum shop at this place. W. W. Lewis, j HOW TO TELb TIME IS THE DARK. It Needs u Little Time and Regular Habit*. "What time is it?" "I think I can tell you without looking." He drew out his watch and held it up close to his ear and slowly turned the stem-winder, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8," j he counted, andjthen said: "that means j 72 minutes. I wound up the watch i tightly at 3 o'clock, and so the time ought to be 4.12. Let's see how near I came to it. Well, it's 4.18?I was only 6 minutes off." The other was regarding him with ! amazement. "Do you mean to say j that you can tell the time of day by ; winding your watch ?" "Not exactly, but I can come migh- j ty near it; usually within 10 minutes, ; and it's very simple, too. All you ; have to know is how long one tick iu ; winding up will run the watch. I'll i explain to you. Suppose that at 3 o'clock I wind up my watch until it is tight, as we say ; that is, until another turn of the winder would apparently break a spring. At 5 o'clock I wind my watch again and find that the wind er clicks 12 times beiore the watcli is wound up to the place where it sticks, j Then you know that 12 clicks will run I the watch 120 minutes and 1 click rep- | resents 10 minutes of time. "What good is it to know that ?" "Well, suppose you go to bed at 11 o'clock tonight, and on retiring, wind j up your watch and put it under your I pillow. During the night you wake j up and wonder what time it is. You don't want to get up and light the gas. All you have to do i9 to pull your [ watch out from under the pillow, hold it to your ear, and coupt the ticks as you wind. If you~cti )lll ITEbMdjiiii know that the watch has run* down ISO minutes since 11 o'clock, and that the time must be very near 2 o'clock. To be sure you can't tell the exact time, but you can generally get within a quarter of an hour of it." "Wouldn't the 9ame rule bold good for a clock or a watch which is wound with a key." "I dare say it would; but I never j tried it on anything except a stem- j winding watch. I know a blind man j who always tells time by winding his I watch and countiug the ticks. His | sense of touch is quite delicate, aud he j can wind up his watch three or four j times a day and then calculate within j 10 minutes of the correct time."?Chi- j eago record. A WONDERFUL SYSTEM. Tlmt by Which Uncle Sam Spot* and Catch- . e* Mall Kobber*. "The system employed by the Unit- I ed States postoflice department in tracing thefts from the mail is so per- i feet that it is utterly impossible for i anyone to rob the mail many times j without being detected," said a man j well posted in the workings of Uncle j Sam's big postal to a New York Advertiser man. "Every now and then you read of this or that person being arrested by the postoflice inspectors, but do you know the system they use to trace the theft?-' "Well, suppose you report that you sent a letter or a package to New York which never reached its destination. The first thing is to find out just what time you mailed the matter and from that the inspectors can tell what train it was sent out on. When mail matter leaves an oflice it is accompanied by the card of the one who handled it, and it is the same with each messenger on the trains. "A list is made of every man whose hands the mail passes through or would have passed through on reaching its destination and a dot is placed opposite their names. Before long another complaint will be made and the same process will be gone through. Before the mail disappeared maybe it passed through the hands of four or five of the same men as the first one, j and two dots go down ogmsile thci^_ mimw. - 'Wi? ?y?tem ift /in/jZ pretty soon, if tin* thief i3 not dCuguir tiofMrii th.it Itt'rt uiv ilrvto titinPlir Oh. I posite one or two men's names. "Detectives arc at once put to work ! shadowing the suspected men, and, ! after becoming reasonably sure of who j is the guilty one, decoy letters come in i play, and the work of gathering convicting evidence is carried on until the inevitable climax of arrrest follows. "To accomplish this work it requires a complete system of keeping tab upon each and every piece of mail matter. ! A railway messenger is allowed 30 j mistakes a month or one each day. If < he makes more lie has to explain, and ! if he makes GO oil'goes his head. "Sometimes one man does not report j another; if lie does not and no mis- j takes are reported against a railway j messenger then the men in charge of j the department begin to investigate. ; They know the man must make mis- i takes, and they thus force each man to i report another, for one who sees a mis- i tukc and does not report it is as guilty | as the one who made it." Oru Nation's Formative 1'kiii- ' on.?When Washington was inaugurated, Philadelphia, then the metropolis of the country, had about 42.00U ; people, New 5 ork but 33,000, Boston 18,000, Baltimore 13,000, and no other ! city anywhere near 10,000 even after j the lapse of a half a century, during which New York had overtaken Phil- ' adelphia, so that in 1840 it had 312- j 000, inhabitants to the latter city's I 258,000. Baltimore and New Orleans were the only other places with more i than 100,000 people, and except Boston, with 03,000, all of the few remain- ; ing cities fell short of 50,000. During ' the formative period of the new nation, j therefore, all but the merest fraction ! of its citizens lived in places of small ; population, the local affairs of which | were easily administered through town meetings or other such simple machinery. rf QUICKLY OVER. | bo In the old pioneer days of the (ireen wi Mountain State, the marriage ceremo- on ny partook of the simplicity which was de a distinguishing characteristic of life in to Vermont at that time. A native of wi the State tells a story of those early eq days, which his grandfather used to take great pleasure in relating : ho Elder Brown, a much beloved Metii- wl odist minister, was sawing wood in his i th front dooryard. The day was warm, ca and the minister's occupation was of naturally heating in its tendency, so pli Elder Brown was iu his shirt-sleeves, to just like any unministerial wood-sfiw- ca yer of his parish. tai Presently there came riding along foi the road and up to the fence a tall, ice lank, ungainly country bumpkin on hn horseback, with a fresh-faced girl on a pillion behind him, with her arms clasped about his waist. coi As they came to a halt, Elder Brown ! ric advanced to the fence and rested his na arm comfortably on the top rail. tic "You want t' get married, I cal- | "t: c'late ?" he said, addressing the smiling us pair impartially. at "Ya-ns," they replied iu unison. 00 "Well, then," proceeded Elder en "James, will you take this woman for hi; your wife ?" to "Ya-as," replied the grinning bride- tal groom. m< "And you, Hetty, will you take this el' man for your husband ?" "Ya-as," replied the bride, with un- nc faltering promptness. we "All right, then" remarked the min- do ister, reaching out his right arm and ve bestowing a hearty handshake on i 00 each of the newly-married pair, "you ab can ride on !" mi And they rode on, as happy as if the we ceremony had been much more elabo- he rate, while the elder returned to his de wood-sawing. ov ? foi Too Slippery.?Sea-captains have | sid many adventures, and the stories of -?G thn wrmHorfnl oconnp? col/1 nm lnan hv i \VC repetition. Many years ago pirates j foi cruised up and down the English chan- j tin nel, to the great peril of the merchant- ; roi men. The story is told of a Captain wt Davis, who was noted for his quick est wit as well as for his skill in naviga- he* tion, that he was returning from Ire- 93' land with a cargo consisting mainly of butter. He had not been out very long when , so a pirate was seen coming down upon 1 be him. In vain all sails were spread ; wc but every moment brought the pirate tin nearer. tin The men were at their wit's end ; Sti but the captain knew a trick or two. su: He ordered his men to take off their po boots and stockings, and directed that tin a score of butter barrels be brought on thi deck. J of In a few minutes the barrels had he been knocked to pieces, and the butter tin was thickly spread ull over the deck j ed and outside the ship. Not a rope nor j mi a spar that was not slippery. Even of without their boots and stockings the j mi sailors could scarcely keep on their : po legs. I coi On came the pirate, not dreaming j 83 how smoothly he was to be received. ! be Captain Davis assumed an air of sub- j is mission, and allowed the enemy to | Sc come alongside quietly. frc But lo! when they jumped over, frc fully armed, with pistol in one hand as and sword in the other, they slipped wc about and tumbled over each other tai on the buttered deck like so many 00i -rats. ed One fellow shot head-foremost down uti into the cabin, where lie was imme- | tal diately set upon by the boy ; auother pr< slid across the deck, and shot out into the sea by an opposite port-hole. Not one of them could stand on his sir feet, and as pirates are generally sup- tin erstitious, an idea seized them that fol the ship was possessed of the devil, m'c They hurried back into their own for vessel, cast loose, and Captain Davis wa ant cnTnlv intrt nnrt. ?t ftlA fYnPIWP ftf ! ln!r &wv ?*" " V ? | a few pounds of butter. no Cautious.?It is impossible for a ! na; clergyman to oiliciatc at a country | wli funeral to the satisfaction of the rcla- ] tives of the deceased, unless he has | jea had a long acquaintance with the j sh< family. The Orthordox clergyman of mc a New England village, recently placed Hi in a trying position, acquitted himself ed, with unusuul caution, if not with per- Sn feet success. | he; The occasion was the funeral of Mr. | he; Follet, a prominent resident of the I thi place, who had died at a ripe old age. , un He was the third husband of Mrs. j Hi Follet, a woman much younger than | Hi he. tin The Follets were regular attendants | dij of the Methodist church, but at the | wi time of Mr. Follet's death their clergy- ! gei man was away on a month's vacation, j tor in mis emergency mu muiuy umcu upon the Orthordox clergyman, who | < had lately come to the village and was Re almost a stranger. g]c A neighbor instructed him hastily as I fal to the best qualities of the deceased, i art his benevolence, piety and kindly dis* j vvii position, and gave him various points Te as to his family relations. During the 0tl funeral discourse no outsider would bci have suspected that the clergyman had CCM not been a life-long friend of the late ! On Mr. Follet. I far When became to mention the widow : Ca in his prayers, however, it was evident ' on, that his data in regard to her had be- 1 tat come somewhat confused in his mind. I far He said : j snc "And now we commend to Thy care I R0 this widowed handmaid, who has been ! bereaved again and again and again."? I the then, hesitating an instant, he added, j fai "and perhaps again." Te . Historv Corrected. ? The last . tfvords William Pitt ^re reported ha^Bmy country I how ?V C country!" But Lord Rose- j/ berry, in his recent memoir of "the j , [ Commoner," quotes an anecdote which c.! Mr. Disraeli used to tell that proves a that one man at least had a doubt '{ about the authenticity of the excla- 1 mat ion. j When Mr. Disraeli entered parlia- ^ ment, he used often to dine at the i . house of commons, where he was = generally served by a grim old waiter who was supposed to possess a secret j . treasure of political tradition. i lie young liiemoer suu^nt iu . lis confidence. One day the veneru- ! . ble domestic relented. iai "You hear many lies told as history, sir," he said, "do you know what Mr. . ^ Pitt's last words were?" j "Of course, said Mr. Disraeli, they Pn are well known : "O my country ! how j I love my country!" "Nonsense," said the old man. "I'll filv tell you what it was. Late one night w" I was called out of bed by a messenger in a postchaise, shouting to me outside [ of the window. j J)0C " 'What is it ?' I said. "I * " 'You're to get up and dress, and 0 bring some of your meat-pics down to a"( Mr. Pitt, at Putney.' ?, . "So I went ; and as we drove along, *?| lie told me that Mr. Pitt had not been at able to take any food ; hut had sud- j 8UP denly said, 'I think I could eat one of _ 1 Bellamy's mutton-pies.' And so I was J011 sent for posthaste. When we arrived >'ou Mr. Pitt was dead. Them was his last ot'' words: 'I think I could eat one of ! Bellamy's meatpics.' " lion Katino Snow andIck.?This is the in 1 lime of year when small boys are very wea much inclined to eat snow and ice. aga Perhaps it will be quite as interesting the for the small boy to know just what he makes his body do when he does Bta eat this ice. If he eats two ounces of , ing ice?and that is not very much?he has j mm to reduce this to water. said This reduces the temperature of his ' don iily, or his stomach, so much that he II require his body to use as much orgy to raise his stomach to a normal grce of temperature as he would use raise himself 194 feet high; or, he II use a rate of heat extraction ? ual to one-eighth of a horse power. Do you wonder sometimes that a y feels tireil and does not know ny ? He has, by doing a foolish ing taken strength that would have rried him through, without any sense weariness, several days' of honest ay and work ; and a boy who wants be a football player, or a boy who 11 row, jump high, or run long disnccs, will not throw away his strength the sake of eating two ounces of He will want all his energy for 3 games. Cost ok Solomon's Temple.?The st of Solomon's temple and its inte>r decorations and other parapherlia was one of the wonders of olden ues. According to Villalpandus, the alents" of gold, silver and brass ed iu its construction were valued the enormous sum of ?6,879,822,0. The worth of the jewels is genally placed at a figure equally as ?h. The vessels of gold, according Josephus, were valued at 140,000 lents, which, reduced to English aney, (as has been shown by Chaps reduction tables), was equal to >75,296,203. The vessels of silver, cording to the same authorities, atill nmr<* i/nlnnMo hoinnr apt. \vn as worth ?649,344,000. Priests' stments and robes of singers, ?2,010,0. Trumpets, ?200,000. To the ovc add the expense of building iterial, labor, etc., and we get some mderful figures. Ten thousand men wing cedars, 60,000 bearers of burns, 80,000 hewers of stone, 3,300 erseers, all of which were employed seven years, and upon whom, beles their wages, Solomon l>estowed 1,733,997. If their daily food was >rth 2 shillings each, the sum total all was ?63,877,088 during the ne of building. The material in the ugh is estimated as having been irth ?2,545,337,000. These several imates show the total cost to have en ?17,442,442,168, or $277,521,6656 in United States money. Will Sustain* 935,766,300 Perns.?Have you any idea of the numr of persons that the United States >uld sustain without overcrowding i population, or even going beyond e limit of density now shown by the lite of Rhode Island ? The last cens of the pigmy State just gives it a pulation of 800,000. The area of e State in square miles is only 1,250 ; us wo lind that there is an average 318 persons on every square mile of r territory. We can best illustrate e capacity of the whole of the Unit- * States and of the other States by iking some comparisons: The State Texas has an area of 256,780 square les, and, were it equally as densely pulated as "Little Ilhody," would mfortably sustain a population of ,523,628 inhabitants?a greater numr of persons than the whole country expected to have in the year 1900. alter people all over the whole land >m the Atlantic to the Pacific, and mi the British possessions as thickly they are now in Rhode Island, and ! would have 945,766,300 inhabits, instead of an insignificant 62,0,000. In other words, if the UnitStates could be peopled to their- . ? most sustaining capacity, we could ce care of nearly two-thirds of the jsent population of the globe. The Origin of Earrings.?It is a ange tradition among the Arabians it earrings came into use in the lowing way: When Pharaoh summed Abraham and reproached him ' his untruth (in saying that Sarah s his sister) Abraham prayed for the ig, and Allah healed the king, who w gave Abraham many rich presents, J among others an Egytian slave med Hagar. She bore him a son, 10m he called Ishmael. But Sarah was barren, and the more ,lous since the light of Mohammed jne on Ishmael's forehead. She deluded of Abraham to put away igar and her son. He was undecid, until commanded by Allah to obey rah in all things. Yet he entreated r not to cast oil' her bondmaid and r son. But this so exasperated her, it the declared she would not rest til her hands had been imbrued in igar's blood. Then Abraham pierced igar's ear quickly, and drew a riug rough it, so that Sarah was able to ) her hand in the blood of Hagar thout bringing the latter into danr. From that time it becam a cus11 among women to wear earrings. Southern Limit of the Snow ilt.?The landed surface of the be is so situated that snow never Is upon more than one-third of its ;a. In our country snow falls every nter in four-fifths of the States and rritories, and occasionally in the lers, the southern point of Florida ng the only section of the whole intry in which it was never known, the west coast snow has fallen as south as the southern boundary of lifornia. This has occurred but re since the Signal service was cs lished?in January, 1882. The therest south on the east coast that >w was ever reported was at Punta sa, Fla. (about 100 miles from Key jst,) on December 1, 1876. Along s Gulf Coast it has been known to I from Pensacola to Brownsville, xas. Origin of Italics.?Italic letters :re first used about the year 1500 Aldus Manutius, a Venetian printer. 5 observed the many incouveuieni resulting from the vast number of breviations which were then so fre ent among the printers that a book s difficult to understand ; a treatise s actually written on the art of iding a printed hook, and thus ad;ssed to the learned. By introduc; the italic letter he contrived an pedient to which these abbrevians might be entirely got rid of, and . hooks sulfer little increase in bulk. dedicated his invention to the lian States, hence the name. It i also been distinguished by the ne of the inventor and called line. The first book printed in lies was an edition of "Virgil," nted at Venice by Aldus in 1501. low to ukt Rich.?An exchange es the following sensible advice, ich our readers might try. It is tainly a quick way to become rich : oney makes money. No one is so ?r that lte cannot rake up a penny start on. Now upon the first day he month deposit a cent in a bank, I on each of the succeeding 30 days the month double your deposit, low this programme faithfully, and lie end of the month you will be rised to find that your account 1 show the sum of $5,3G8,709.12 to r credit. With that little sum, all i have to do is to retire and let the er fellows hustle." y It is claimed that the paper seslioe has been used with success Germany. It becomes rough by ir, and is therefore a security inst slipping, the chief defect of metal shoe. r "Mamma, may we play at keepa store in here?" "Yes, but you it be very, very qtiet." "Well," wise Tommy, "we'll pretend we 't advertise."