Before It Is Too Late.
If you have a gray-haired mother
In the old home far away,
Sit down and write the letter
You put off day by day.
-Don't wait until her tired steps
Reach heaven's pearly gate
But show her that you think of her
Before it is too late.
If you've a tender message
Or a loving word t, say,
Don't wait till you forget it
But whisper it today.
Who knows what bi ter memories
May haunt you ifyou wait'.
So make your loved ones happy
Before it is too late.
We live but in the present,
The future is unknown
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is all our own
The chance that fortune lends to us
May vanish while we wait,
So spend your life's rich treasure
Before it is too late.
The tender words unspoken,
The letter never s nt.
The long forgotten messages.
The wealth of love unspent.
For these some heatrs are breaking,
For these some loved o; es wait
So show them that you care for them
Before it is too late.
TALN&QE'S SEROfiN.
Dr. Talmage Pleads With Those Given
to Quick Anger.
A delicate and difficult duty is by
Dr. Talmage in this discourse urged
upon all, and especially upon those
given to quick temper; text, Ephesians
iv, 26, "Be ye angry and sin not."
Equipose of temper, kindness, pati
ence, forbearance, are extolled by most
of the radiant pens of inspiration, but
my text contains that which at first
sight is startling. A certain kind of
anger is approved-aye, we are ecm
manded to indulge in it. The most of
us have no need to cultivate high tem
per, and how often we say things and
do things under affronted impulse
which we are sorry for when perhaps it
is too late to make effective apology!
Why, then, should the apostle Paul
dip his pen in the ink horn and trace
upon parchment, afterward to be printed
upon paper for all ages, the injunction,
"Be ye angry and sin not?"
My text commends a wholesome in
dignation. It discriminates between
the offense and the offender, the sin
and the sinner, the crime and the crim
inal.
To illustrate: Alcoholism has ruined
more fortunes, blasted more homes, de
stroyed more son!, than any evil that
I think of. It pours a river of poison
and fire through the nations. Millions
have died because of it, and millions
are dying now, and others will die.
Intemperance is an old sin. The great
Cyrus, writing.to the Lacedemonians
of himself, boasted of many of his
qualities, among others, that he could
drink and bear more wine than his dis
tinguished brother. Louis X and Al
exander the Great died drunk. The
parliament of Edinburgh in 1661 is
called in history "the drunken parlia
ment." Hugh Miller, first stonemason
and afterward a world renowned geolo
gist, writes of the drinking habits of his
day, saying: "When the foundation
was laid, they drank. When the walls
were leveled f or laying the joists, they
drank. When the building was fin
ished, they drank. When an appren
tice joined, they drank." In the eigh
teenth century the giver of an enter
tainment boasted that none of the
guests went away 8ober. Noah, the
first ship eaptain, was wrecked-not in
the ark, for that was safely landed
but he was wrecked with strong drink.
Every man or woman rightly construet
ed will blush with in~dignation at the
national and international and hemi
spheric and planetary curse. It is good
to be aroused against it. You come
out of that condition a better man o- a
better woman. Be ye angry at thai
abomination, and the more anger the
more exaltation to character. But
that aroused feeling becom'es sinful
when it extends to the victim of this
great evil. Drunkenness you are to
hate with a vivid hatred; but the drunk
ard you are to pity, to help to extri
Just take into consideration thai
there are men and women who onee
were as upright as yourself who have
been prostrated by alcoholism. Per
haps it came of a physician's prescrip
tion for the relief of pain, a recurrence
of the pain calling for a continuance of
the remedy; perhaps the grandfather
was an inebriate and the temptation to
inebriety, leaping over a generation,
has swooped on this unfortunate; per
haps it was under an attempt to drown
trouble that the benumbing and narco
tie liquid was so'ught after; perhaps it
was a very gradual chaining of the man
with the beverage which was thought
to be a servant, when one day it an
nounced itself master. Be humble now,
and admit that there is a strong prob
ability that under the same circum
stances you yourself might have been
captured. The two appropriate emo
tions for you to allow are indignation
at the intoxicant which enthralled and
sympathy for the vcetim. Try to get
the sufferer out of his present environ
ment; recommend any hygienic relief
that you know of and, above all, im
plore the divine rescue for the struggle
in which so many of the noblest and
grandest have been worsted. Do not
give yourself up to too many philippics
about what the man ought to have been
and ought to have done. While vour
cheek flashes with wrath at the foe that
haa brought the ruin, let your eye be
moistenee, with tears of pity for the
sufferer. In that way you will have
fulfilled the injunction of the text,
".2~Be ye angry and sin not."
hThere is another evil the abhorrence
of which you are all called to, and it
is on the increase-the gambling prac
tice. Recent developments show that
much of this devastation is being
wrought in ladies' parlors. It is an
evil which sometimes is as polite and
gracious as it is harmful. Indeed,
there never were so many people try
ing to get money without earning it,
But it is a haggard transgression that
comes down to us from the past, blight
ing all its way.
I have seen in the archives of the
nation in this national capital a large
book in which one of the early presi
dents of the United States kept an ao
count in his own handwriting of gains
and losses at playing cards-on One
page the gains and on the other the
losses, and there are many pages. Ii
other days many of national reputation
went from the halls of c )ngress and
the senate chamber to spend the night
in naotoriou3 gambling saloons. One
of the ablest men of the centuries,
Charles Fox, got ready for his speeeb
against '-The Petition of the Clergy'
by spending 22 hours at the gaming
table. Irving's life of Oliver Goldsmith
says that the great poet lost ?30, al.
his earnings, in a short tour to see the
world. Gibbon, the author of "The
Decline and Fall of the Roman Er
pire," camne to his own decline and
fall tho-g gamin pratices and m a
But let me confess at this crisis of my
sermon that there is not sa injunction in
tho Bible more difoni to obey than the
words 01 the text. W~hile it applauds a
wholesome ind nation,it warms acainst
sinfulanger. Acd therc is in all the
realm of p s.ion nothing mre destrae
tive than indiscriminate hate. First of ci
all, it frenzies the nervous gangli. Those of
people who easily fiare up on little th
provocation go into high dudgeon, take
umbrage without reason, snap you up
quick, have ruined their nerves, and W
there is only one tiing worse to ruin, go
that is the brain, and we say of one that tic
is given to frequent ebuilitions of temper to
that he is an unbalanced man. A busi
ness man of our acquaintance said: "I a
cannot afford to get mad. It hurts me th
so." And if sinful anger damages the til
body how much more it rives the dispo- mi
sition. There are thousands of men en
clerks in stores who would been men- ac
bers of great busincss firms, and under- pe
mechanics who wo&d have been boss m
carpenter., and attorneys who would er
'tave been leading advocates, and W
preachers to.congregations who a:e stare- ac
ing ?tiem to death who might have had hi
appreciative surroundings, who have nc
bean kept back ani kept dawn by un- an
governable tempar-. The outbreak lat- it:
ed only a little while, but it impeded a sn
lifetime. co
Surpassing all other characters in the de
world's biography stands Jesn3 Christ, ki
wrathful against sin, mercitul to the se
sinner. Witness his behavior toward at
the robed ruffians who demanded cpi- cis
tal punishment for an offending wo- to
man-denunciation for their sinful o.
hypocrisy, pardon for her sweet peni- re
tene. He did not speak of Herod as w<
3 "his majesty" or "his royal highnezs," br
but dared to compare him to a cunning tit
fox, saying, "Go ye and toll that fox." ch
Bat, alert to the cry of s.uffeaing, he rig
finds ten lepers, and to how many of ea
the ten awful invalids did he give con M
valeseence and health? Ten. Rebuk- ri
ing Pharismism in the most compressed ag
sentence in all the vocabulary of ana- ro
thema-"Ye serpents, ye generation fo
of vipers, how can ye escape the dam- at
nation of hell?'-yet looking upon w;
Peter with such tenderness that no at
word was spoken-and not a word was to
needed, for the look spoke louder than m
l words. "And the Lord looked upon ci
Peter, and went out and wept bitterly. h(
On what a look it must have been to si
break down the swarthy fisherman bi
apcstle! It was such a hart look, such al
a loving look, such a forgiving look! nc
Was there in any other being since ti:
l time began such a combination of wrath gi
against wrong and compassion for the th
wrongdoor? "Lion of Judah's tribe!" cii
t Hear that! "Lamb of God who taketh t1
away the sins of the world!" Hear al
that! - c
Defying the mightiest government of er
the world, the Reman government, yet ar
rubbing his hand just below the fore- he
head of the blind mand until the optic di
nerve of him who was born sightless is th
created, and the sunlight has two new m
paths; to tread. Best illustration the yc
world ever saw of anger without sin- pE
anger against the abominations which to
have mauled and blasted the earth from en
its deepest cavern to its highest cliff, ki
but so much pity for the sinning and tl
suffering nations that he allowed them ai
to transfix him upon two pieces of wood he
nailed across each other on a day that i
Iwas dark as the night; the window of in
heaven shut because the immortals at
could not bear to look down upon the c
Sassassination of the loveliest being gr
rthat ever walked the shore of the lakes Xe
or, without pillow or blanket, slept on t
the meuntains. Iil
Like him, let us hate iniquity with ci
complete hatred; but, like him, may we
help those who are overthrown and be ti
willing to suffer for their restoration. in
Then, although at the opening of this is
discourse our text may have seemed to w
command us to do an impossible thing. h<
awe will at the close of this sermon, with re
ra prayer to God for help, be more rigid af
and determined than ever before ti
against that which is wrong, while at d
3the same time we shall feel so kindly ta
toward all the erring and work so hard E
tfor their rescue that we will rnel z , that at
we have scale the Alpine, the H imala- ti
1yan, height of my text. which enjins, -a
t'Ba ye angry and sin not." y
What M[other Taught Me, g
A clergyman, who is stationed at one hi
ofhou largest insane asylums, relates
tefollowing ineid at: One Sabbath ~
as I was leaving the hall in which I had 'I
as usual preached to a large number of
these uni-ertueates, f.or wham I awass O
felt a decp compasuion, knowing tat
most of them are incapacle of appre
ciating the words I speak, one cf the
men, with a friendly grin on his expres
sionless face, stopped me at the door P<
and said in a whisper, ' I can pray to>." W
The words surprised me, for this poor ar
felilow was regarded as a perfect idtot. fl
He had forgotten everything: his nam, h
his age-about none of these he could ai
give the least information. So I asd d
somswhat doubtfally, "What can you a
pray?" He naswered proudly, ."What h
myoth-:r taught me." "And what did G
oth tacti you?' I further asked. 01
He folded his hands and dev -udy ct
began: i
"L ord J'esus, who dost love me, Xe
0 apread Toy wings above me,
And shield ma from alarm:" tr
IH: recited the whole stanza without gi
mistake. Then the vague staring ex
pression returned into his face, and he g
-was again the same unfortunate imnbe- ni
cile that ha had always been. He had W
forgotten all-he could not recili a sin- y
gle occurrence of his whole life, only
"what mother taught him" to pray had et
not been erased from his poor mind. at
O3, that all mothers would know and el
consider what power God has pui into ha
their words! c.
Hanged Him to a Tree.
Robert White, a negro, was lynched tr
Tuesday near Tallahasse, E lmore coun- ol
ty Ala., Robert White and brother, at
Winston, were tenants on the :!arm of a d
Mr. Goodwin and their chickens annoy- a]
ed a truck farmer named Thomas. The ga
latter killed all the fowls belonging to a
the Whites. Monday night the two c
negroes attacked Thomas and fired w
several shots at him, but doing no di
dmg.Thomas returned the fire ai
and aiightly wounded Winston White, w,
Robert White was arrested and while 0a
on the way to Watumpka a mob took te
him from the officers and hanged him to w
a tree-.h
STHE Charlotte Observer says a~
that the gold rniners who have H
been operating a hydraulic plant h
D
in the Cataw ba river have made
the discovery that the black
sand in the bed of the river - is a
rich with gold. An assay of a of
quantity of this sand rccently a
made, shows a yield of $:35u per pc
Iton. This is an extraordinary in
ric'a yield, and if all the sand in ~
the company's workings holds a
up to it, the result will be a ~
veritable bonanza.
Weather conditions have been fa- w
vorable for farming operations and a
much' effective work is being done to a th
very backward crop. Stubble lands si
are being seeded down in peas and a w
genuine effort to make hay will be gen- it
letter in l7 t; sid: "I have undone
is no purpose to con
e: I ra c T;u my abominaole madness
and :olly. i. have neverlost so much
in fl; days as I bave tonight, and I
am in debt to the house for the whole.'
There is-another sin that we are often
times called to be angry with, and that
is fraud. We all like honesty, and
when it is sacrificed we are vehement in
denunciation. We hope that the detee
tives will soon come upon the tracks of
the abs onding bank cffiial, of the
burglar who blew up the Safe, of the
clerk who sk:ilfuliy cbangcd the figures
in the account bock, of the falsifier who
secured the loan on valueless property,
of the agent who because of his per
centaze wronzfuliy admits a man to the
betest of a life insurance policy when
his heart is ready to stop and who comes
from an ancestry characteristicaliy short
lived.
):e art of fraud told of in big head
lines in tLe morning papers rightfully
arouses the nation's wrath. It is the
interest of every good man and good
woman who reads of the crime to have
it exposed and punished. Let it go un:
ecathod, aLd you put a premium o
fraud, yea depress public morals, yo.
induo those who are on the fence be
tween right and wrorg to get down or
the wrong side, and you put the busi
ness of the we rld on a down grade. Th<
constabulary and penitentiary must de
their work. But while the mereiles
and the godless cry: ' Good for him
I am glad he is within the prisol
doors!" be it s our work to find out if tha
man is worth saving and what were th<
causes of his moral overthrow. Per
haps he started in business life under f
tricky firm, who gave him wrong notion;
of business integrity; perhaps there waf
a eonbination of cireumstances almos1
unparalled for temptation; perhaps
there were alleviations; pe-haps he was
born wrong and never got over it; per
haps he did not realize what he was do
ing, and if you are a merciful man yet
will think of other perhaps which
though they may not excuse, will ex
tenuate. Perhaps he has already re
pent and is washed in the blood of th;
Lamb and is as sure of heaven as yot
are. What an opportunity you have nos
for obeying my text. You were angra
at the misdemeaor, but you are hopefa
for the recavery of the recalcitrant
Blessed all prison reformers! Blessei
are those governors and presidents wh<
are glad when they have a chance t<
pardon! Blessed the forgiving father
wI o welcomes home the prodigal
Blessed the dying thief whom the Lori
took with him to glory; saying. "Thi
day shalt thou be with me in paridise!
There is another evil that we ough
to abhor, while we try to help the vie
tim, and that is infidelity. It snatches
the life preserver from the man aflom
and affords not so much as a spar or i
plank as substitue. It would extin
guish the only light that has ever bees
kindled for the troubled and the lost
Lit the spirit of infidelity take hold o
a neighborhood, and in that town th
marriage relation is a farce, and goot
morals give place to all styles o
immorals. Let it take possession o:
this earth, an: there would be no vir
tue left in all the world's circumference
All the sins rebuked in the Ten Corn
mandmnents would be dominant. Th
torch that shall kindle the confiagratioi
of the earth in its last catastrophe wil
not do as much damsge as wou'd infi
delity and agnostieism if they got th
chance. Be angry with such theorie
of unbelief and hatred of God. ~Neve
laugh at the witticisms of those wh
would belittle the Bible with their ;j ecu
larity. Qiote to them the four lines o
Whittier:
And weary seekers of the best
We come back laden with our quest
To find that all the sages said
Is in the book cur motners read.
Have a lightning in you eye and:
fiish in your oneek and a frown on you
brow for a dastardy that would blot on
the sun and moon and stars of Chris
tianity and leave all things ia an arcti
night, the cold equa' to the darkness
You ao well to be angry, but how abou
those who have been flung of sceptic
ism, and that is more millions than yo1
will ever know of until the j adgmen
day reveals everything. Ah, here coma
your opportunity for gentleness; kind
ness and sympathy. The probabilit:
is that if you had been plied with th
Eame infinenees as this unbeliever ther,
would not be a Bible in all your hons
from cellar to atti. Perhaps he was il
some important transaction swindled b;
a member of the church whose takin|
of the sacrament was a sacrilege. Per
haps he read agnos tic books and hear.
agnostic lectures and mingled in agnos
tic circ es until he has been befogge<
and needs your Christian help mor
than any one that you know of. De
not get into any labored argument
about the truth of Christianity. Hi
may beat you at that. He has a whole
artillery of weapons ready to open fire
Remember that no one was ever re
formed for this life or saved for the lif<
to come by an argument, but in hum
blest and gentlest way, your voie<
sbdued, ask him a few questions. Ad
him if he had a Christian parentage
and if he says yes ask him whether th
old folks died happy. Ask him if h
has ever heardi of any one going out o
this life in raptures of infidelity an
agnosticism. Ask him if it is not
somewhat remarkable fact that th
Bible, after so many years, sticks to
gether and that there are more copie
of it in existence than ever before. As]
him if he knows of any better civiliza
tion than Christian civilization an<
whether he thinks the teachings o
Confucius of Christ are preferable. As]
him if he thinks it would be a fair thin,
in the Creator of all things to put 1.
this world the human race and giv,
them no direct communication for thei:
guidance and, if they did wrong, te]
them of no way of recovery. I think i
a famous infidel of our time, instead a
being taken away instantaneously, ha4
died in his bed after weeks and month
of illness he would have revoked hi
teapings and lef t for his beloved famil,
consolations which they could not fin<
in obsequies at which not one word o
Holy Scripture was read, or at Fres]
Pond crematory, where no Christia:
benediction was pronounced. I do no
positively say that in a prolonged ill
ness there would have been a retrac
tion, but I think there would.
Thre renowned infidel, Mr, Baker, af
ter spending his long life in leeturin,
against Christianity in all our cities an<
in publishing large and elaborate book
in depreciation of the Scriptures, in th'
losing years of his life wrote to me tha
he had changed and that he woaild lik<
to stand in my pulpit and undo the evi
that he had wrought for the most of hi
lfetime. I wrote him in congratulatioi
for his soul's saks that he had tu-nst
back from infidielity, but that Ithough
he could not undo the work of a lifetimi
and that he had talked so long on tha
wrong side I did not think he could di
anything by talking on the right side
The mercy of Gad is so great that wan;
of the mighticat arntagonists of our reli
gion haye in their last days been brough
to repentance and eteroal life. Let th
thunder of yo:Lr wholesome indignatioe
be followed by the kindly rain of pit
,a love "Be yaoe a nr adsn non.
ARP ON SUICIDES
ye Chopping Wood is a Sure Cure
Diseases Other Matters.
The increasing prevalence of sui
lee indicates an unhealthy condition
mind and body and I have thought
at if the man would quit thinking
out his iroubAs and go to chopping
od or digging in the garden, or even
hunting and get up a good circula
>n he would feel better and conclude
live on a while longer. The body
cots the mind and when the blood in
e veins gets thick and sluggish and
e secretion become stagnant, the
ind gets diseased and morbid, the
lotions are out of tune and the man
tually believes he would find rest and
sc: in death. It is strange that a:ny
in of education or refinement would
tertain sela an unreasonable hope.
hat did the schoolteacher of Dothan
complish by killing Dr. McNeil and
mself? Where is the sehcol:eacher
w? When two enemies fight a duel
d both are killed, how do their spir
emeet in the other world? Do they
ake hands or renew the fight, for, of
urse, they are not in heaven? What
es the young man aocomplish by
iiing his sweetheart and then him
ix? Are they not then forever separ
ed? What does anybody gain by sui
e? As Hamlet says: "Is it not better
bear the ills we have than fly to
hers that we know not of?' Why not
n away from yoursell? Ran to the
yods-keep on running-jump the
anohes, swim she rivers, get wet, get
:ed-work in the garden, dig, hoe,
:op wood, mount a horse and ride fu
usly-anything to divert the dis
sed mind from its train of thought.
y good old father was afflicted with
teumatism and when he felt the acute,
onizing pains caming on he would
use up and limp away nnd make
r the farm, and would walk faster
d faster as the pains increased, and
yld actually mke them ashamed
td they woula leave him for a day or
ro. To keep the mind in a good, nor
al conditon the body must be exer
sed. Sedentary occupation are not
,althy for men, and even woman
ould fly around the house with a
'oom or wash the windows occasion,
ly, or dig among the f )wers. It wili
>t do for them to sit and sew all the
e. 1 am sorry fo: these unmaried
ris who have to r'n the machine all
.e day long and get no healthy exer
se except for the ankle bones. When
ey get married and the babies come
ong they are pretty safe, for little
jidren give a mother division
tough. A mother with a babe in her
ms never thinks of suicide. Even if
,r husband is cruel to her or is a
unkard, she will live on and on for
e sake of the child. We note that
ost of the suicides occur am ng the
ung men and are caused from intem
;rance or disappointed love or failure
make money fast, or being caught in
a'jezzlement (alias stealing) O.hello
led himself because he. found out
at he had wrongfully killed his wife,
d Sbu-kespeare says "he was great or
~art." I reckon he was, considering
at he was a Moor and did not believe
a heareafter. It was the best thing
~d the most heroic thing that he
uld do. It was -the very intensity of
'ef and repentanca and has no paral
I in modern suicides, for most all of
Lem are selfish or revengeful. It was
e the Harikiri of Saul, or of the an
ent generals when defeated in battle.
The most alarming feature aboaut
eee su-cides of our young men is the
dication that they are not believers
the Christian religon. Noe sane man
ill take his own life if he believes in
~avan and hell and a future state of
wards and punishments. He will be
raid to. The infinence of modern fie
on on the youthful mind has much to
>with it, for a great deal of it is
inted with atheism and infidelity.
van some of the stancard writer3,
oeb as Hume and Disraeli had left
Lir had impression. The latter threw
dark shadow over life and says thar
>uth is a blunder, manhood a strug
e and old age a regret.
Is it not far better to take a more
ypeful view of life and say like the
ot, Horace Smith:
'he World is very lovely'! Oh, my Gcd.
I thank thee that 1 live."
r, to sy like Longfellow
'Life is real-life is earnest,
And the grave is not its goal."
It is easy to diagnose a poet's temn
ram~nt of a philosopher's by his
rtings-some are, gloomy and some
'a bright and oheeriul. I was rmi
ting about there young men who
ve just graduated a; my alama mater
d the other home cilleges, and won
~ring how many of them would prove
success in life and twenty years
ance exclaim with the poet, "On, my
4d, I thank Thee that I live." Fifty.
tn years ago I was at Athens, in the
ass of' 47 and of the forty-two then
ing there are now but half a dozen
t. Many of them lived and died and
ada no signs. Some of them saw
ouble and some made good citizens
od husbands and fathers; and just
history re peats itself all along the
nerations. it grieved me that I could
> attend the centennial and commune
Wth the alumni and re jsice with the
>ng and feel lonely with the old.
Then there is old college and new eol
;e, and the chapel and the campus
1d the two halls that are still un
iangd. I wonder how many bays
ve occupied the old room that Bris
se and 1 lived in for two long years
saw it in the picture and felt like it
is still my room. The ailanthus
ses (by a misnomer called the tree
heaven) grew close to our windows
td extenaer heir nauseating odors to
irmitory waere we slapt, and the boys
I along the line complained, but the
culty said it would soon pass away,
d the trees were imported from
ina, the Celestial Empire, and they
ane called the trees of heaven. Se one
ark night the boys (not 1) got axes
ad girdled them and they died and
nt to heaven in China, where they
me from. For some months I roomed
new college, and so did our tutor,
Li was cross and never smiled, for
was an old bachelor-peace to his
hs. He wouldent let me nor Chess
award play on the flute after study
urs at night, nor let Ben Moseley nor
ek Farmer play on the fiddle. Said it
noyed him, and so some of the boys
at i) got some o'd cannon balls from
e armory and away in the dead hour
night, when deep sleep falleth upon
man or a tutor, they rolled a six
>under along the long hall 200 feet
ht by his door, which was about
idway. When it got to the other end
other boy slipped out and rolled it
tk again, and the rolling and rumb
>g was kept up for a time until there
ppened j ast what they thought
>uld happen. The tutor had opened
crack in his door, and when he heard
, ball coming for the fifth time he
ip~ cue suddenly and stopped it
ith his it and picked it up and took
in his ron. That w just what the
boys (not 1) wanted, for they had
another one in the ire geitiog =lot. In
due time they took it in tho shovel and
sent it slowely down the ally. and it
stopped rot far from his door. Q2ickly
he stepped out and the light frum his
room showed him the ball. He seized
it with his right band and straightway
dropped it and used some language
that was unbecoming, and retreated to
his room. The next day his hand was
tied up in a wbite handkerchief, which
was a kind of flag of truce, for he was
much more considerate to as and seem
ed to like music. I never perpetrat:d
much mischief while in college, but I
was an apt scholar to look on and en
joy all the fun. Chess Howard was an
expert, and could play ball better than
anybody, especially a hot cannon ball.
Chess came to see us some time ago
and after while asked me and my wife
to give them some music. And so she
seated herself at the piano and I took
my flete and asked what he would like.
And he said play that good old piece
that we used to call "Sillie Baxrer"
when we went serending in Aeas.
So we played it, and before we were
aware cf it Chess had slipped his own
flute out of his pocket ard was toothing
ae behind me Sallia was our col
legg sweetheart, but we dident get her,
for a Bird flew there and she followed
him off to Baltimore and is living there
yet. But we never thought of suicide.
Bat I forbear. It is sweet and it's Ead
to recall the memories of '45, '46 and
'47, and I would have felt lost and
lonely in Athens. It was college then.
It is a great university now, and many
ch:nges have come over it, and we old
veterans have to keep up with the pro
cession whether we like the modern
methods or nor. They have got inter
collegiate baseball in the curriculum
now and I reckon it is to keep the boys
rom committing suicide. It diverts
heir mix ds from the strain of trig
onometry and calculus and conic sec
tions. Progress is the order of the day
in colleges as in everything else. Oe
hundred and fifty years ago old Dr.
Johnson said to Boswell, "In our great
schools there is less flagging than for
merly. Consequently, less is learned
there. So what the boys get at one end
and they loss at the other." Now there
is no flogging anywhere, and the teach
ers and professors are thankful if they
escape it from the boys. Bll Arp.
CONDITION OF CEOPS.
Weekly Weather and Crop Report
of Director Bauer.
The following is the weekly bulletin
of the condition of the weather and
the crops issued Wednesday by Director
Baner of the South Carolina section of
the United States weather bureau's cli
mate and crop service:
The week ending Monday. July 1,
averaged slightly warmer than usual
with a maximum temperature of 102
at Batesburg on the 25:h, and a min
imum of 60 at Cheraw on the 27th.
The temperature was generally favor
able for the growth and development of
field crops, and there was about the
normal amount of sunshine, High
winds caused some damage to corn on
the 25th.
There were numerous, scattered
showers throughout the week, genera'l;
light, but heavy in places, witha amax
imam rainfall of 2.0 inches in Packens
county. Cultivation made fair progress
where the rainfall was light, but muchI
land remains too wet to cultivate, and
many fields continue to be grassy, al.
though much grass was killed during
the week. There are complaints of the
ground becoming very hard as it dries.
Damage by hail occurred in Abobevillo,
B zmberg, Barnwell, Newberry and
Saluda counties, and light hail was re
ported from a few other points. There
?re numerous reports of corn and cotton
fields being abandoned on account of
their foul condition and the cost and
difficulty of cleaning them.
There was a general improvement in
the condition of cotton, greatest on
red lands that could be worked, and in
the sea island section, while on sandy
lands the plants continue to die to
some extent, ar-d generally ara not
thriving. Cotton is unusually small
for the season, but has begun to bloom
in places, although yet it is fruiting
sparsely. The general condition of cot
ton continues to be unpromising. On
lowlying lands is decideily off color.
The condition of corn varies greatly,
although generally poor over the east
ern hatf of the State, where it is be
ing laid by. Upland corn looks well
over the wostern counties, but in bot
toms it was almost entirely destroyed
and is now being replanted to some
extent Planting stubble lands in corn
is also underway.
Over the greater portion of the to
bacco regions the plants are backwatn
and small, but in Kershaw county to.
bacco is doing well. Cutting and cur
ing made slow progress in Fiorence
county, and has not been begun in
other sections. Rice is generally thriv
ing. Wheat ind oats are being
threshed, and many correspondents re
port the yields the best in years. Oats
were greatly damaed by rain after cut
ting, but the d emage to wheat was
elight.
Minor crops are generally ia a thriv
ing condition, but peaches and plume
are rotting extensively as they ripen.
Apples continue to drop. Pastuares and
gardens, with somns exceptions, arc
flne. O2 the whole, there is a marked
improvement in the crop prospects,
but they are still reported discurag
ing. _________
Englandl's New Warships.
A special from London says: In the
house of commons Friday, Arnold Fors
ter, the secretary of the admiralty, an
nounced that the year's shipbuilding
progress included three battleships of a
new improved class, six cruisers of the
Monmouth class and ten improved tor
pedo boat destroyers. The battleships
will be of 16,500 tons and 20 feet longer
than those of the Formidable class.
Their indicated horse power will be 18,
000 and their speed 18 1 2 knots. The
armor of the new battleships will be a
belt eight to nine inches thick. A pe
culiar feature of the new ships will be
six inch guns not mounted in separate
casements but enclosed in a battery
with seven inch armor. Ihe ship's ar
mament will consist of for forward fire,
two 12 inch guns, two 9 2-in ah guns
and two 6 inch guns. Aft fire, of the
same suns of the Formidable character.
It is thought these ships will ecmpare
favoraby with any thing buildinog by any
Euopean povor. The new ships will
be named the King Edward, the Domin
ion an d t be Common wealth. to comemo
rate the great support to king and conn
try by the two krear branches of the
kindred race. The cruisers will be of
a speed of 23 knots. Their armament
wil be heavicr than the Monmouth's.
It is believed that the cruisers which
are about to be built will. be equal to
anything likely to be brought against
them. The torpedo boat destroyers
will be of stronger construction. All
the new ships will be fittcd with wire
less telegraphy as will also all the other
British warships as they come in for
TepaiLs.
TAFTTAKES CHARGE
Judge Taft Installed as Civil Gov
ernor of Philippines.
PRESIDENT'S MESSAGE.
Governor Taft Hopes Filipinos
Will Soon b t Olsd They are
Not Free. Gen. Chaff e
Relieves M'Arthur.
Civil government in the Philippine:
was auspiciously inaugurated Thursday,
Commisioncr Taft was escorted b3
Gen. MacArthur and Gen. Chaffee
from the palace to a great temporar3
tribune on the opposite side of thi
Plaza Piacio. S anding on a projectini
centre of the tribune, Mr. Taft took th<
oath o cflae as civil governor of th<
Philippine islands. The oath was ad
ministercd by Cbicf Justice Arnello
Gov. Taft was then intrcdaced by Gen
MacArthur, the gun of Fort Santiag<
being fired by way of a salute.
A feature of the inaugural address o
Gov. Taft was the announcement tha
on Sept. 1, 1901, the commission woul<
be increased by the appointment o
three native members, Dr. Wardo De
tavera, Benito Legarda and Jose Luz2
riaga. Before the lit of September
departments will be instituted as fol
low, the heads being members of th
United States Philippine commission
Interior-Worcester.
Commerce and Police-Wright.
Jastice and Finance-Ide.
Public Instruction-Moses.
Of the 27 provinces organized, Gov
Taft said the insurrection still exist
in five. This will cause the continu
ance of the military government ii
those sections. Sixteen additiona
provincee are reported without insur
rection, but as yet they have not bees
organized. Four provinces are no
ready for civil government. Gov. Taf
said that with the concentration o
troops in large garrisons it would b
necessary for the people to assist th,
police in the preservation of order
Fleet launches will be procured, h
said, which will facilitate communica
tion among the provinces, as well a
aid the postal and revenue depart
ments.
In connection with educational of
forts, Gov. Taft said that adults shoul<
be educated by an obs rvation c
American methodh. He said that ther
was a reasonable hope that congres
would provide a tariff, suitable to as
sist in the development of the Phi)
ippines and not a mere application c
the Uaited State; tai if
According to Gov. Taft there is a
unexpended balance in the insula
treasury of $3,700,000 ard annual it
come of $10,000,000.
The governor said that any possibl
friction between civil and military out
ordinates should be discouraged. Tb
patriotism of the leading Filipinos wa
com mended. In conclusion Civil Go'
ernor Taft reiterated a h->pe expresse
by the president that in the future tI
inhabitants would be grateful for ti
American: Philippine victories and ta
they would be indissolubly linked i
ties of affeedon with the comno
country. . '
The reading of President McKinley
message of congratulation was enthus
aetically cheered. The entire frontc
the tribune, a bloek long, was decoral
ed with fibgs and several hundred o1
ficers with their families and friend
were a ated therein. Gen. MacArthui
Civil Governor Taft and Military Goa
ernor Chaff e occupied the centre, wit
the other fenerals on their right. Re;
Admiral Kempff and his staff were o
their left. The United States oommit
sionrs and the justices of the suprem
court were immediately in the rear wit
the foreign consuls. The mass of tlh
people stood in the park opposite. Th
Filipino leader3 were there, but ther
were more Americans than Filipinc
present.
The president's message is as fo
lows:
"Taft, Manila:
"Upon the assumption of your no
duties as civil governor of the Phi
ippines, I have great pleasure in en
ing congratulations to you and yet
assoaiate commissioners and my thank
for the good work already secon
plished. I extend to you my full coni
dence and best wishes for still greate
success in the large responsibilitie
now devolved upon you, and the assul
anee not only for myself but for m
countrymzen of good will for the peep]
of the islands and the hope that the:
participation in the government whic
it is our purpoce to develop amon
them may lead to their highest ad
vanoement, happiness and prosperity
"(Signed) William McKilnley."
The transfer of the military author
ity to Gen. Cheff.:e was carried out i:
the presence of the generals, in Gen
MacArthur's cffi:e. Thiere was no foi
mality. Gen. MacArthur presented th
new comrmande: to the generals an
rcmarked:
"I bepruath to yen all my troubles.
All the high civil and army officer
accompanied Gen. MacArthur to th
river front, where he formally embark
cd. Gen. Chaff ce then returned to th,
palace and received the public.
Four Negroes Hanged.
At Vernon, Fia., four negroes wer<
hanged Friday morning for murder. Tb:
names of the negroes were: Bsltor
Hamilton, John Simmons, Jim Harri
son and Will Williams. Williams
H arrison and Hamilton had been con
victed of killing a helpless negro an
almost killing his wife. It was adduc
ed in the evidence that the three hai
warned their victim. Jeff iDavis, t<
leave a certain turpentine camp. Davii
obeyed instructions at once but wai
forced to return on account of lack o.
transportation of his household goods,
He came back on Oat. 2 last and wa;
at once spotted by his enemies who sur
rounded him inihis heme, and station
ing themselves behind convenient tree;
proceeded to riddle the cabin with rifli
balls. Davis was told to put his gur
outside, which he did and was soor
afterwards dragged from his house and
shot to death while in his wife's arms
Daring the trial Hamilton on cross exam
ination confessed, saying: "I'm guilty
before God I am guilty, and I ought t<
be hung until dead." By his confes
sion also the others were convicted,
John Simmons had killed anothe negro.
The town of Vernon is without railroad
connection and long rides of 16 mile:
were made by all classes of people. Al
least 2 500 were present. The four me
groes were made to ascend the gallowl
at one tim2 at 10:55 a. in., and afte:
short statements from each, who claim
ed to be on the road to heaven. Th<
trap was sprung and the four wer<
plunged into spae, remaining suspend
ed for 50 minutes. Only one neck wai
broken, and the others having die;
from strangulation.
NEIGHBORS.
When Farmer Never-mind-It found
The winter had fulfilled its span,
He hustled out, and hurried 'round,
And hired his neighbor's extra man;
And through the spring till almost May
He frittered half his time away.
He let his broken fences lie
Just where the winds had thrown them
last;
As for the weeds, he wondered why
They got ahead of him so fast;
But, when a weed began to show,
He let it go, and let it grow.
When Farmer Perseverance sowed
His valley-gardens, rich and wide,
He mended fences, weeded, hed,
With all a sturdy toiler's pride;
And, all the growing season through,
He said he found enough to do.
And when upon his well-kept farm i
A blight would satisfy its greed,
He made amends for every harm,
And kept ahead of every weed;
And, if the weather fouled or cleared,
He persevered. and persevered.
-Frank Walcott Hutt, in Farm Journal.
------w w wwwwtr. .".- -.?
HER PUNISHMENT
By Henri DeForge.
(Copyright, 1901 by Authors Syndicate.)
OU will never be a success, my
friend."
Martha Dubreuil said this in a tone
half railing and half jesting.
Pierre raised his head without an
swering and twitched nervously the
page blackened by ink. It was the
twentieth time at least that his wife
had made such remarks, and what
was worse, he realized sorrowfully
that she spoke the truth.
Once he had written a book of which
he had been proud, a novel launched
timidly by a publisher who made him
pay the cost of publication. That was
an hour of ambitious dreams, long
since dissipated by the grim reality.
"I will amount to something in the
world," he had said resolutely. And
he believed it as did those who ad
mired him-which is to say his mother,
his sister and some of his friends who
read the book. Martha, his wife, was
not one of these admirers.- She told
him frankly again and again: "You
will amount to nothing."
He had no answer to make to Mar
tha's sneers, and he suffered keenly in
recalling the lucky days when they
walked together as lovers along paths
9 bordered by flowers and they made
vows to each other and kissed. "You
will be a great man, my darling," she
had said then.
Pierre believed that he had been
faithless in not keeping his promise of
9 greatness made four years before.
8 She had brought him her youth and
beauty, and he ought to have given her
in exchange the literary fame she had
expected, and have earned a fortune
for her by his pen. But now she had
a abandoned those cherished dreams of
r reflected glory.
The poor fellow recalled the happy
days that had preceded theirmarriage,
e and the delights of their companion
ship during their-honeymoon. And he
e answered to her taunt:
8 "So much the worse, my dear. But
-we love each other, and that is enough."
dHe would not have cared for the plaud'
0 Its of the crowd if he had had the love
e of Miartha. But she broke into laugh
t ter that froze his feeble smile.
1l "Oh, yes, indeed. That's well
12 enough. One can't live on love. It is all
very well to say so in the novels you
S write-or count on writing-butin real
-life things are different."
if When summer came they went to
- the seashore, Pierre securing an ap
-pointmnent as the resort correspondent
S of a newspaper. When he told her that
, they were going, she said: "Ah, you
-. are a nice husband, after all." And she
i smiled, but the smile was given as in
r alms.
n At the seashore she was soon the
- belle of the place, and people forgot
e about her husband, the reporter, who
i remained in the shade. Some men were
e with her much of the time, and gossip
e linked her name with that of a wealthy
e idler.. Pierre ventured to speak of it.
g "What of it?" she asked. "The man
amuses me with his compliments. You
. know that I am an honest woman.
But I need amusement."
Dubreuil's sufferings were intense.
SThe thought of that imbecile who
was ever at Martha's side bruised his
Lheart. He wanted to strangle him in
the crowded ballroom; and longed
rfor a duel. But the man was influ
ential and a litterateur of renown.
A duel between them would have
been grotesque and useless.
The count deigned to interest him
self a little in Pierre.
"Let us write a piece, my young
friend," said he, "and I will give you
rrecommendations. A man has talent,
when he has the sense to win a wife
gas pretty as yours."
"Ys Pierre, why haven't you some
thing on hand?" said his wife.
One evening when he was in the
little room, he seated himself at his
work table, while his wife, who had
danced too much, slept peacefully.
He rested his head on his hands and
Sthought sadly: "Yes, Martha's love
f or me has passed."
White paper w'as in front of him.
It was one of those silent nights that
*tempt a writer, a night of stars and
silence.
"I will try to work," he mused.
Feverishly he took up his pen. He
wrote of things and thoughts such
as he had in his heart, speaking of
the happy past and the chagrin of the
present, of charming memories and
3the painful reality. All night he
worked upon his work of life and
emotion.
"Up already, Pierre?" exclaimed
Martha when she opened her pretty
eyes in the morning. "At what are
Iyou working, my early bird?"
"W~hat difference does it make?"
said he, coldly. "You know well that
I am capable of nothing.".
Express Train Robbed.
According to advices to Chief of Polie
O'connor, at St. Paul, Minn., train No.
4 on the Great Northern leaving Seattle
Sunday evening, was held up near Wag
ner, Mont., about 1 o'clock Wednesday
afternoon by a gang of outlaws. The
Great Northern Erprea safe was blown
open and $40,000 is said to have been
secured. __________
Died of Charbon.
A special from Vickeburg, Miss.,
Friday, reports the death of another
human victim of charbon, a negro liv
ing near Rosedale, Miss. It is added
that fully 1,000 animals have died of
the disease in Bolivar county alone.
THE Sumter Watchman and
Southiron says the cotton seed
oil trusts will surely meet with
the same fate that befell the cot
ton bagging trust when it un
dertook to squeeze the farm
ers. The farmers have abundant
use at home for all the cotton
seed that they can produce and
need not sell them to the trust
unless the price is high .enough
So each evening while Martha ale
Pierre worked. He arose stealt
like a robber to write without aro
Ing suspicion. He felt that it was
his last chance to write something
worth while.
Several days later Pierre and his
wife went back to the city. He was
loath to leave, but Martha was hap
py in anticipation of new triumphs.
Her devoted count had promised to
open new, and yet more fashionble,
houses to her.
"We will push your husband," he
said, in a protecting tone.
"Work, Pierre," added Martha.
"The indorsement of the count is val
uable. Don't throw away the chance."
Pierre Dubreuil did not answer.
Nowadays he appeared to be indif
ferent to all that went on around him.
One day at the end of a melan
eholy dinner tete-a-tete with Martha
he said:
"By the way, the Gymnase will pre
sent a play of mine in a few weeks.
The newspapers made the announde
ment this morning."
"What!" exclaimed his wife, curi
ously. 'iou have said nothing of it
to me!"
"What was the use? I have always
bad such bad luck with my work that,
I have not mentioned this one even to
you."
Martha was satisfied and the
thought of a play by her husband
pleased her vanity. She liked to im
agine herself in a box on the opening
night.
She kissed her husband on both
cheeks.
"Are you content?" he asked, anx
iously.
"Yes indeed, my husband," she
answered.
When the time approached for the
representation Martha was happy."
For the newspapers contained many
advance notices and most of them
spoke of the play as excellent.
The play presented .at the Gymnase
was not a comedy, but a drama of
great depth and emotional strength
representing a drama of the strong
est human emotions. The blase pub-.r
lic was delighted. It was a triumph
with few precedents in the enthusi
asms it aroused. It was a master's::.
work that people said would place -
the author among the rank of the
world's foremost dramatists.
Martha, charmingly dressed in
mauve, was in a box with a crowd;"
of friends, among who was the per
sistent count. From the first worTs
of the play she was surprised. .e
story acted on the stage was fai
to her. It seemed as if she had had :
the same experiences in the days of
her courtship. She clapped her litl
bands in applause, proud to listen to
the clever words and charmed to see
the dead days revived. She sought to
glance in the eyes of her husband hid
den behind a curtain of the box.
In the second act the action grew
quicker. A crisis came between the
man and wife.. The words they spoke
were those that had passed between
Martha and Pierre. Evidently he had
put his own experience into the play.
It was interesting, but what would
come next? Martha had been so in
different to Pierre that she could noti
guess.
The third act was admirable. In
the drama the suffering of her lims
band was analyzed with a master's
hand, cruel in his resignation, 4or
ture and tenderness. The role of- the
woman was studied with a psycholo
gy delicate and mocking. It was -
masterpiece.
Martha listened with beating heart.
Each phrase spoken by the comedi
ans was for her like the stab of a
dagger. Was it possible that she had -
made Pierre suffer like that?- For by
this time she knew that her true -his- -
tory was being~ told on the stage. - -
"Bravo," shouted the count, who did
not understand the real meaning of
the play. "My friend, your husband,
Is a clever fellow, and we will make
something of him."
But Martha did not answer. -She
stified her emotion.
- "Take my arm," said the count-at
the end.
"Not to-day," she answered. "I
shall be proud to go on the arm of my
husband."
Pierre followed her with diffiulty,
making a passage through the admir -
ing crowd. When in the street s
friends crowded to congratulate them.
They wished to give them a supper.
When the supper had ended and-the
reached home in that house where
Pierre had experienced so much hap
piness and grief, Martha fell on her
knees before him and broke into tears.
Thirteen Not a Hoodoo.
"Well, Miss Bingham isn't super
stitious."
The remark was made during the
performance of "The Climbers" by a -
man with a statistical turn of mind.
"Here's little old No. 13 all over
the place. There are 13 letters in the
names of Amelia Bingham, Frank
Worthing, Madge Carr Cook, Ysobel
Haskins, Florence Lloyd and Joseph
Physioc, the scenic artist. You find
t again in the names of some of the
characters: Freddy Trotter, played
by Ferdinand Gottschald; Julia
Goodesby, by Clara Bloodgood, and
Jessica Hunter, by Maude Monroe."
"I can climax that," remarked a
bystander. "Clyde Fitch read 'The
Climbers' to Miss Bingham on a Fri
day; contracts were signed on the
following Friday, and it 'was first
read to the company on the thir
teenth of the month."
"How do you know?" testily in
quired the first speaker, annoyed that
anyone else should have taken away
the glory of- his discovery.
"I happen to be Mr. Fitch."-N. Y. -
Telegram._________
-An Arizona Procession.
Plioenix, Ariz., recently had a proces.
sion in which groups of cowboys were
followed by groups of Indians, city of
cials and Chinese.
Coiuldn't Be Done.
Ostensible Head of the Family.
Maria, there was a book agent around
to-day who wanted to sell me a wor
on etiquette and good behavior.
Teaches it in six lessons. I told him
I'd ask you if you thought we wanted
Real Head-It's a humbug,.Tohn. It
esn't be taught in six lessons. I'veI
been trying to teach it to you for 1(j
years, and haven't succeeded yet
Chicago Tribune.
Achievement's Instability.
*Fame is not an honest mountaj" .
We can conquer for all tig;.
*No; It is a moving hillside
Slipping backward as w' climb.
-Dletroit Free Press.
THE Atlanta Journg saya
mark Hanna's Ohio RepuutAcan
don't want ballot boxes stuffed
because if it becomes popular
there will no longer be any ne
cessity to "fry the fat" out of
the trusts, for whose benefit the
pnpne are etaxed.