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lewis m. grist, proprietor, j Sin Jiulopnutynt (Jamil} llntJHpapcr: Joq the promotion of th^ Jjolitiqal, ^ocjal, ^cultural and (Commercial Jntcnmts of tlti; ^outh. |terms---$2.oo a year in advance. >; VOL. 3a YOBKYILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MAY 11, 1892. ; NO. 19. rjp^N' CHAPTER I. I)r. Royal tens huddled against the window. They all noticed him, even in the flurry of settling into their places, adjusting hand lnggage and attending to the requirements of children. The conductor brought him in with great care, as one would handle fragile china, and settled him in a seat on the left hand j side. A brakeman followed with hand j . lnggage, and the two men bestirred themselves to make their charge comfortable, lowering the blind to keep the sun from his eyes, folding a railway rug Mr?* his bn?AR and nnloekine and turn log the seat in front in case he should wish to pnt up his legs. When the conductor and his satellite j had betaken themselves to their various vocations in other parts of the train, the invalid turned his face to the window j and his fellow passengers took note of ! him. His height was medium, but 1 seemed greater by reason of pallor and emaciation, his eyes had circles under them, and the droop of his figure indicated physical weakness. Evidently a man just out of a serious illness and hardly yet in a condition to traveL At least such was the dictum of the lady on the opposite side, given with emphasis | to a girl on the same seat "I wonder his people allow him to go abont alone," she commented. "It seems positively brut&L He can hardly hold himself upright, and I'm sure the : very look of him will keep me racked with anxiety ait long as I sit here. He may give up the ghost at any moment" , The girl glanced across. "Perhaps he , hasn't any people," she suggested, "or is on his way to idiem." Then she added ' sympathetically: "Poor man! he does seem dreadfully ifl. I wonder who he can be?" So did the elder lady?so much, in fact that being of decided character and prone to get that which she wanted, were it only information about her fellow creatures, she put questions to the 1 conductor the instant he returned to her vicinity. The facts elicited were few, but they served to cteepeucrher interest and at the same time to divert her thoughts into a more personal channel. The sick man was a Dr. Royal, and on his way to his people somewhere in the mountains of Virginia. He had been badly damaged in a New York railway accident several weeks before, and, although he had escaped with life and limb, it would probably be many months before he would be his own man again. So much the conductor disclosed, in a burst of unofficial confidence which he was made keenly to regret by having to combat womanly fears and prognostications, and also to pledge the honor of a railroad man that no accidents of any size or description had ever occurred in j the past, or would be likely to occur in the future, to auy train under his ad- > ministration. Meanwhile Dr. Royal sat quietly in his place, with his knees well covered and his traveling bag beside him. At intervals he would glance at his watch and administer to himself medicines from ?Ail- Vl-V nmo. DObUBB WUIUU uo uuun^iuaucu ntvu elated but steady fingers. From time to time the conductor would come to him with offers of rvice, but he appeared averse to giving trouble or making a stir in any way, and, on the whole, kept himself so quiet that the interest of the other passengers waned, although each newcomer would treat him to a b.are of sympathetic or stolid curiosity, according to each individual nature. And so the day wore on, eventless, into afternoon. . "Gibson's Landing!" The brakeman dashed open the door ; of the rear car and sent his voice along 1 the aisle. Nobody evinced other than passing interest, and it was apparent that the information concerned nobody present The door closed with a bang, and the brakeman stepped back to the platform of the forward car. The engine gave a premonitory toot-toot, the train rolled forward a little way and then came to a standstill. The invalid lifted himself and leaned on the window frame. Away in front he could see the dingy red round of the water tank, and so satisfy himself as to the cause of the delay. He let his eyes wander listlessly here and there over the prospect spread out before him. It presented the rather poverty stricken aspect of the hill country in December? a stretch of hills in the background, clothed with forest for the most part, but diversified by cliffs and the jutting forth of granite bowlders. At one point, nearly opposite the sick man's window, ; a red clay road circled and Bidled down the hillside to the river at its foot?its objective point, apparently, a small ferry house upon the bank. The embankment on which the track lay was lifted above the low grounds, so that the view was unobstructed to the river, the landing, and the hills beyond. On the low grounds the corn stalks stood in straggling rows, upright or inclined at various angles according to the wind's good pleasure, and the furrows, surcharged with overplus of moisture, showed long slushy puddles half hidden, half revealed by tangles of cockle burrs, Spanish needles and frostbitten pnmpkin and bean vines. Dr. Royal looked about with dissatisfied recognition in his glance. Six years had made no appreciable change iu the aspect of Upper Virginia, he thought. The soil was as good?witness the crop of weeds?the system of cultivation as Inadequate, and the general look of things as peacefully thriftless as ever. Had he- been gifted with eyes in the bock of his head and a focus through the opposite window his opinion would have been fully borne out by the dilapidation of the buildings near the station, the stretch of broomsedge and sassafras covered land around, and the joyous improvidence of a couple of negro boys who, with apples to sell and a trainfnl of possible customers at hand, suffered themselves to be seduced into inatteution to business by a dog fight. Debarred from this additional evidence, there was still enough within the sick man's range of vision to produce a feeling of discouragement which, in a well man, fresh from different conditions, might have developed into exasperation. "Even the roads are as bad as ever," he mused, glancing along the track which led across the low grounds to the broad opening on the willow fringed bank of the river. In an instant his attention was ar ules Twelve fifKLELMND it bv American Press Association.] ! rested by a boat nearing the bank?a long, unwieldy, flat bottomed affair, presumably the ferryboat?guided and propelled by a couple of negroes with long poles. In the end of the boat nearest the shore sat a man on horseback. His reins were gathered up, his body bent slightly forward, and his knees clamped the sides of his horse. Even from a distance there was an alertness, an eager precipitation, perceptible in his air and attitude. "That fellow wants to make the train, '' quoth the passenger occupying the seat just behind Dr. RoyaL "He can't, though?without wings. They must bo about through watering. Great Scott! what a jump! Standing jump, too. I'll bet a hat that's a fox hunter." "He'll get left!" "No, he won't!" "Here he comes?pelting!" "There goes the engine?confound itF These and other comments flew about the car, and every neck was craned for a better view. As the boat n eared the bank the horse man had lifted his steed, touched him with the whip, and cleared the remain- j ing feet of water at a bound. The horse staggered and slipped, his hind legs : splashing into the water, but recovered himself with the vigor and address of ar. animal used to rough scrambling, and. j laying back his ears and stretching his limbs, raced forward toward the sta- j tion and the train. Excitement thrilled through the car. All the windows on the side next the river were open, and heads : were thrust out with the faces set in one direction. . Exclamations, conjectures, ; contradictions and offers of bets passed ! freely; the passengers on the eventless } side stood in the aisle and bent forward, striving to peer over the shoulders of their more fortunate companions. Fifty yards?thirty?fifteen?one more effort, and he would make it! In their eagerness the men hung far out of the windows and prepared to cheer. The engine was getting up steamvibrating and twitching; the conductor, ! unwitting of the excitement, waved his hand to the engineer; the cars were in ! motion?he had been left behind! he had' missed it, after all! By no means. There he stood on the rear platform, swaying with the motion j of the train and gazing back to where his horse stood, like a statue," in the middle of the track. How had he managed j it? Everybody questioned everybody . else, and a man who stood with his face flattened against the glass of the end door supplied the information that it had been "a regular circus." As the train moved the horse had bounded on the track close behind it, the rider had thrown himself from the ? jju v.*. Trr.-4V. 1 DOUIUU) Wttuguii uig imuvuau, uuu, a swerve aDd spring worthy of his quadmmanous ancestors, had landed himself on the step of the platform. It had been a reckless thing to do, rash and foolhardy; but the success of the feat ftpspeared to modify lie ilftk tn me minds of the spectators and leave room for nothing but admiration of its agility. That is, everybody applauded except the inquisitive lady whose imagination had been set working along accident lines earlier in the day, who observed with asperity that "men might consider that sort of thing fine and spirited, but it was not It was idiotic foolishness, and its legitimate reward should be a cell and a straight jacket" The horse, satisfied with his inspection of the retreating train, whinnied loudly, kicked up his heels as one who exults in past prowess, and trotted down 1 the embankment toward the stalk field, oblivious alike of duty and the alluring calls and whistles of the negro advancing toward him from the ferry. The j train rounded a bend, and the gentleman on the platform turned and tried the handle of the car door. It was locked, as the passengers had discovered to their annoyance quite early in the action, and by the time the conductor came along and opened it matters had relapsed into a normal condition in the car, and the newcomer was allowed to find himself a seat without other comment than curious glances. He was a muscular, broad shouldered man, with a clean shaven face, bluegray eyes, a brown' mustache and close cut hair. His clothes were trim and set to his figure, hia linen was above reproach and his hat the regulation struct- j ure with which fashion had crowned the j male populace; but there was that about him, whether in the capable look of the hand and forearm, the alert glance and decisive movements, or all taken together, which caused the beholder, involuntarily. to strip from him civilized accessories, invest his sturdy frame with flannel and corduroy, clap a pistol in the J rear pocket of his trousers, a horse be- i tween his knees, and set him on a prairie with a lariat on the saddle peak, a storm growling along the horizon, and an unrtdy bunch of cattle close at hand. The man's whole atmosphere suggested action and ability to cope with physical farces. The place he selected was directly behind that occupied by Dr. Royal, and he Blipped out of his overcoat and threw it i across the back of the seat with the gesture of a man who considers the garment a superfluity. As he settled himself he 1 opened his window, letting a rush of I cold air into the car. For half an hour the monotony was unbroken save by the usual trivialities of travel. Then the newcomer bent forward and scrutinized the man in front of | him intently, muttered an exclamation that sounded like "the devil!" rose and came swiftly round to the adjoining seat, i Dr. Royal was huddled against the window with his head dropped forward on his breast, apparently asleep, but when the stranger lifted him gently into a more comfortable position and turned his face to the light its pallor was ghastly and the eyes had a semi-conscious expression of pain. "Has anybody got a pillow??and another rug?" The young man raised his voice and looked about him, reaching over at the same time for his own over- i coat. With instant helpfulness both articles were supplied, a woman depriving her sleeping child of its pillow. The tide of sympathetic interest set toward the sick man once more, and even the lady opposite rose superior to the natural exultation of a prophetess whom the event has justified, and tendered her shawl and a tiny silver flask with no thought 6ave for the sufferer's relief. The conductor hurried forward followed by a brakeman with some bits of board, procured in the baggage car, which they laid across the seats and heaped with rugs and overcoats, improvising as comfortable a resting place as circumstances would permit. The train was a local, and had no sleeper attached. The conductor seemed troubled, and repeated the story he had given earlier in the day. "The fellow has no business traveling," he averred impatiently. "He's been badly smashed up, and is only just out of the hospital. Ho seems in the devil of a hurry to get where he's going to. A brother Miison handed him over to mo this morning, with orders to look after him and help him all I could. He seems to need taking care of, if ever a man did." "Is he a Mason?" questioned a by, stander, then added, superfluously, "How do.vou know he is?" "How do you know I'm a man?" w^s the sharp counter query. The passenger stared. "The signs point that way, don't ! they?" pursued the conductor, elabor; ating from sheer vexation with the i 'other's inconsequence. "Well, I'tn a I Mason myself, and that gentleman was . given into my charge by a Mason, as I ! ?aid before, and he's got the badge of ! the order pinned on his breast. That's as good evidence as a beard and trousers, [reckon. It passed, anyway." There was a 6mile at tho questioner's ; expense. The young man bending over ' the invalid moved his coat aside and j glanced at the badge on his breast. He I had been working away with profesj sional skill and promptitude, and his j instant- assumption of authority and j responsibility, as well as his evident ; ability to cope with the situation, sng: gested in the minds of the other passen; gers a surmise that he was practicing within his own bailiwick even before au abrupt announcement changed coni jecture into certainty. "We all thought," the lady across the aisle commenced, then paused, smiliug. "That I was a ranchmau? Everybody makes that mistake, madam. I come from out there, and doubtless have a look of the plains, so it's very natural. Ranching isn't my trade, however. I'm Dr. Hart Royal." The sick man's eyes opened; his mind was torpid, but struggled to perform its functions. His lips moved and he muttered slowly; "That is my name, sir. Who wants me?" Dr. Royal No. 2 was bending forward with his fingers on the sufferer's wrist, his ear inclined for the feeble words. He straightened himself, a trifle puzzled; then his expression changed to oue of half quizzical amusement. He had known very ill men before to acknowledge their own names; even in a semi-conscious condition a name is a mentul anchor. The sick man's traveling bag stood open near at hand, and in it was a silver brandy flask. Royal turned it so as to read the name engraved on the side, then his hand went to his pocket for his own flask. They differed in size and in other trifling particulars, but both flasks were labeled with the same name?John Hart Royal. It was a queer coincidence. Dr. Royal felt it so, and regarded his namesake with a whimsical sense of confused identity. He wondered whether they could resemble each other. The other man lay with his white face and closed eyes thrown vividly out by the dull red background of the 6eat. Beyond the facts that both men were of medium height and had brown hair and mustaches and blue-gray eyes, there was no resem blance whatever. Even in health the face on the pillow must have differed materially in cast and expression from the one bending over it. It was older, and there were in it lines of thought and care which neither life nor experience had traced upon the other. Dr. Royal No. 2 leaned back in his corner and let his thoughts run somewhat in this wise: "A queer sort of happening, this?a fellow with mys full name and profession besides, my double, in short, and cast on my hands in this overwhelming fashion. I'll be hanged if I can make it out! Out yonder Td cut loose from him as quick as lightning?pass him on to the next lodge. A double would have to be the right sort of mascot to make it pay to tie to him out there. Bat here in Virginia"? He paused, the association of ideas producing a new thought "Good Lord! suppose it should be! A similarity of names is no more a sign of kinship than a. p&pAr nnllar iaa. olgu , shirt; but its safe to presuppose an indication in both cases. When that fellow polls together I'm going to ask him who his grandfather was. If-he's Virginia born he'll have plenty, and trot 'em out on small provocation. Royals are, or used to be, as plentiful as cockle burrs hereaway. My father?God rest him!? claimed to be one of a large family. It's "comical, though!?my almost breaking my neck to catch this train for the apparent purpose of playing good Samaritan to a kinsman in a tight place." His ruminations were interrupted by a mountaineer in the next seat. The man had come in at the last station, and was slowly taking stock of his surroundings. He slouched forward, with both arms on the back of Dr. Royal's seat, and glanced curiously at the sick man. "Pretty bad off, your friend thar, I reckon," he suggested cheerfully. "My stranger, you mean. Yes, he's a bit shaky. He's been overtaxing his strength, but he'll be better presently"? with professional mendacity in the presence of the patient. "Some of you keep an eye on him, will you? I must speak to the conductor." He addressed nobody in particular, and his glance swept the car, but he knew he could depend on his fellow passengers to attend to liis request. The young lady opposite turned an interested, sympathetic face in his direction at once, and the elder one assumed an alert attitude and held herself ready for emergencies. Dr. Royal went forward into the smoking car. He had assumed control of the case with constitutional impetuosity, and now set about ordering it in accordance with his own judgment. The important?nay, the imperative?step, to his mind, was the removal of bis patient, as speedily as might be, from the jolting discomfort of the train to some place where rest and quiet might be obtained. He questioned the conductor as to the capabilities of their next station, and learned, to his satisfaction, that twenty minutes would put them in Matoacca, a good sized town among the mountains. When, however, he announced his determination to remove the sick man to a hotel and stop over with him until his people could be summoned,the official demurred and suggested that the patient himself should be consulted. "What for?" demanded Royal. "Every mile he travels is another nail in his coffin. He's bound to know that as well as I do. Didn't you say he had been smashed up? I don't know the extent of the damage yet, but I guess it's considerable; and he lias lessened his chances by this journey. That fellow shall be undressed, overhauled and put to bed before.two hours have passed, as sure as " my name is Hart Royal. That's all there ia oVu-mt if TTa'll Viavn a +.nnf?b fitrht for his life anyhow, and a losing fight, without some help." The conductor caught at the name. "Royal," he repeated; "that's the name on his traps. He was put under my care special, you know. Are you kin to one another?" "God knows!" Royal replied, with a sinile. "It isn't at all unlikely, if his people should be native Virginians. Mine came from hereaway, and we have the same name all through, which don't seem natural for mere coincidence. I'll look after him a bit on the chance that it may be so. Blood's said to be j thicker than water." j The man still hesitated. "He was in the devil of a swivet to get on," he objected. "It looks sort o' mean ' to balk him, without giving him a show." Royal struck iu imperiously : "Something a damned sight more serious than delay is going to happen if he isn't | balked. I ought to know what I'm i balking about, I reckon. I've been at j the trade long enough to diagnose a case." Then he added more pacifically: j "I know what's on your mind. I heard what you said to the fellow in the other car, and saw the man's badge, too. It's all right. This affair is as much my business as 'tis yours, and on the same ground?more, perhaps, if ho joined the lodge iu Philadelphia. Most 'meds' do." Then followed certain communications between the men which resulted in the I complete withdrawal of the official protest. ; "All right, sir," he assented cordially. : "You are the best judge, of course, and, | as you say, it's as much your business j as 'tis mine. You understand why I was obliged to hold back at first. The | poor fellow seemed so set on gettin' on. ' and I'd been charged to help him." Royal nodded. "He's too used up to be set on anything now," he remarked. I And then he went back into the other car. CHAPTER U. "/ know that I'm to be married before, twelve o'clock to-morrow." To precipitate one's self into the lives of other people, while in itself a simple matter, not infrequently involves conse! quences sufficiently complex to form a j puzzle, the disentanglement of which will constitute a life work. It may fall { naturally into the order of things to board a train like an acrobat, and, when there, to assume control and direction of any stranger whose mental or bodily condition may appeal to.human or professional sympathies; but when the life thus touched turns, octopus like, and clamps one with insistent and coercive arms and j threatens to incorporate one with its own organism, the universally admitted fact I of human interdependence loses some of 1 its beauty, and most people prefer to | treat it as a simple abstraction. Should an exception prove the above rule, it is dubbed "a survival" or "a bit | of knight errantry," and the perpetrator l is regarded as an anomaly, and imposed | npon as though he were a fool. The change from the train to a hotel bedroom was made as speedily and deftly as possible, and the sick man stood it, on the whole, better than his self constituted protector had dared to hope. That j his namesake possessed unusual strength of will Dr. Royal had been quick to recog! nize, and his sympathies were touched by the gallant endeavor the poor fellow made to second every outside effort for his relief. "By George!" he inwardly commented, with the unconscious egotism which leads us to appropriate likeness in aught ; that seems to us admirable, "the fellow has good grit. He must be kin to me after all." In taking upon himself such arbitrary direction of a stranger's affairs Dr. Royal j established his position, both to himsel j and to his patient, by setting forth, in addition to the professional bond be- I tween them, the brotherhood engendered | by common membership of a sacred or- | der. Either fact furnished, to his mind, j both a reason and an excnse for conduct j which, he smilingly admitted, might strike a superficial observer as uncom- j monly like officiousness. i "It's fortunate that I'm occasionally justified by professional and other considerations," he pursued, as he made his patient comfortable, "for I'm a born intermeddler. Other men are satisfied wiSi nnlrinfr n. fitijrAr nr t.wn intn Tipitrli OI boring pasties. I grab the dish." I "A good thing for the original dish; holder too, sometimes," the patient responded, weak enough to feel the relier of divided responsibility. 'Tve a lonesome sort of conviction that my pasty will turn out a sodden failure without pretty vigorous stirring from an outside spoon. The fact is, I'm in an uncom- I monly deep hole, and shall be thunkful for a friendly hand to pull me out. You must not let me interfere with your own ; plans, however. It seems I've got to rest temporarily or else eternally; but that's no reason you should be inconvenienced." "That's all right," Royal declared. : "Don't vex your mind on my score. I'm holiday making, and my time is at my own disposal. There's nothing to prevent my stopping over a week if I want to. Then I don't mind telling you that I'm interested in your case?would like to watch it a bit, in short. Force of | habit, you see; there's nothing like it, I eh, doctor? You know how it is yourj self." He talked cheerily, kind words overlying a kind intention, and both earryi ing soothing to the Bick man, as he ; meant that they should. The rules of | the order enjoined assistance in cases I like the present, and he was, moreover, in a mood for being helpful, or, as ho , might have dubbed it, officious. Since the partial examination to which he had subjected the patient his interest and sympathy had deepened. The outlook was more serious than he had supposed ?was so serious, in fact, that all thought of continuation of the journey must bo ! put aside. As he talked, Dr. Royal ! turned over in his mind the advisability I of summoning the sick man's friends j without loss of time, and only awaited I an opening to request the necessary information concerning them casually, as | it were. A clear coal fire burned in the grate, night was drawing in, and outside it was cold and dark. The names uaneeu up and down, violet where the fuel was i only half ignited, and pale yellow down in the hollows where the heat was greatest; shadows played on the walls and l the sick man's bed, for there was no light in the room save that given by the fire. The face on the pillow was well i nigh invisible, save when the flames ! flared up, when it would start out, distinct and prominent, the eyes wide open and watchful. "Doctor, will you make a light?" ) Royal Btarted. He had thought tho i patient asleep. As ho complied with the request he remarked, quite carelessly: "By the way, friend, won't your peo| pie be expecting you? It may bother them, not understanding about the delay, you know. Women always put 1 themselves in a fret. If you'll give xno the address before you go to sleep I'll wire for you." The answer was irrelevant: "What timo is it?" Dr. Royal gave tho desired information. "Half-past G," the sick man repeated. 1 "And the train leaves at 4:30 a. in. Nearly eight hours to rest and pull myself together. No; it won't be worth while to I tflePTjmh. thank vou. They couldn't J o?r--? get it in time to make new arrangements. There's no telegraph office at their station, ami a message would go past and have to bo sent back by mail. It would reach them too late to do any good. I'll just rest a bit and go on by that 4:30 train. It's the only way." He spoke slowly, as one who figures out a situation. Royal faced round to the bed. "Are you awaro of your condition?" : he demanded gravely. "Perfectly," the other replied. "I've watched the case from the beginning." It seemed hideous, this turning of one's science upon one's self; but neither man appeared to find it so. The one doctor made the statement and the other rei ceived it quite as a matter of course. "You know, then," Royal proceeded, speaking plainly because of the urgency of the case, "just what your chance is worth, even with all the help you can ! get from rest and quiet. To continue this journey will be suicide." The eyes on the pillow met his resolutely, and the jaw squared itself. "I know that I'm to l>e married before 13 o'clock to-morrow, and that I've got to be on hand, dead or alive." j Here was an unlooked for complication. Royal's brows swept together in i perplexity. It was an awkward situaI tion, ho was willing to uduiit; but with I him the professional instinct was doinJ innnt. "It can't be done," he announced decidedly. "Your life won't he worth an instant's purchase if you quit that bed. j It's an ugly tangle, but it won't help matters to invite death in to untie it. Delay may mean an hour or two of anxiety and mortification for the lady, ; but it means a deuced deal more for you. I And it would be a poor sort of woman who wouldn't gladly submit to the one j for the sake of the other. In short, tho i case is in my hands, and I don't choose : to have it wrecked. Give me the ad| dress and I'll telegraph at once. I'll j write, too, if that will make your mind j easier. Anything else is out of the ques| tion. I'm going to give you an opiate ' now, and you must compose yourself and go to sleep." The sick man smiled, but his expression lost none of its resolution. It amused him to hear the tone taken with him which he himself was prone to take with his own patients; it was like an unexpected glimpse of his own reflection. As for bis chances, he could .estimate their worth far more accurately, than could his mon1 itor; his opf>ortuhity for observation had ! been greater, and, as ho had stated, bo | had followed the case from the begin! ning. To bis mind the question involved was less one of choice between life and ; death than an estimate of endurance | under diverse conditions and of hours ere death should come. His pain had been lessening for several hours, and a ; torpor was gradually stealing over his j lower limbs, whose significance was unI mistakable. His brain was clear and abnormally active, and he involuntarily ; trusted to his strength of will to clinch ; his grasp on life until his purpose should be accomplished. Like most forceful | men he.cut his margins close, and some! times neglected to make sufficient allow! ance for nature. He waved the opiate aside. "I don't intend to sleep yet," he dej clared. "Propmeupatrifle, please, and I give me something to fight this cursed weakness. You look a fellow to be trust; ed, aside from the order, and I want you to help instead of hindering me. My marriage before 12 o'clock to-morrow isn't simply a cuestion of anxiety or mortification tor, woman, though that would bo bad enough. It's a question of food, raiment, ho]>e, joy?all the things which would go make life full and, in a measure, satisf ying, as set against the devil's grind of poverty and dependence, and for a woman physically incapacitated for holding her own in the scramble." Royal put the rejected opiate aside and did as the patient requested. Then he drew a chair to the bedside and composed himself to listen. There would be no rest for the bruised body, he knew, until the mind should be at liberty to rest also. He must get the load, whatever it might be, transferred to his own shoulders, or the case would be beyond his skill. It must be done quietly, too, for excitement might bring on internal hemorrhage, of which there was imminent danger. "Take it easy," he said gently. "I'm going to help you. Put what you've got to say in as few words as possible and then leave the matter to me. You've overtaxed your strength already, but there isn't any hurry now. We've got eight hours before that train goes. But first I want to suggest something. Wouldn't a will set the matter right for the young lady?" The patient shook his head. "Not mine," he answered. "I'm worth nothing outside of my profession. It's a worse tangle than you think. Listen. Thifl io Knar *1 " Divested of all superfluity of detail, for which there was neither time nor strength, the facts of the case were these: Some fifty years before there had been a quarrel in one branch of the Royal family over the disposition of certain property vested in northern securities. The family consisted of two brothers and a sister, and the prcperuy belonged to a maiden aunt who made her home with them. The aunt's affections had seemed pretty equally divided between nephews and niece, and without overt declaration to that effect on her part, the family feeling had been that the young people would share and share alike in the property. When, therefore, on the old lady's death it had been discovered that the entire estate had been willed to the niece without reservation, the nephews not unnaturally suspected, and what is more, being men of choleric temper, proclaimed aloud that there had been undue influence. It Is true that, while the men ciisporteu themselves according to their pleusure, | the woman had nursed and tended her relative with loving care and patience. But this did not strike the brothers as affording sufficient reason for the will being made so unequivocally in their sister's favor, since anxiety and care and household pains and troubles fell natui rally within a woman'B province. Per| haps they recognized the family foible, too, and the fact that to those who love I dominion the possession of wealth is apt j to secure it. They forbore from suit to break the will, first because the family lawyer assured them that they had not a leg to stand on, and furthermore because their very souls abhorred a public scandal. They made evident their senso of wrong dn forcible and intemperate language, giving their sister to understand that they were distinctly disappointed in her, and then leaving her to her conl science. For many years family relations were somewhat strained, and then the war broke out and all smaller fires were ex! tinguished in the national conflagration. | Miss Royal, by that time a woman past I her first youth, and saddened by a dead , romance, retired to a lonely plantation i fn the mountains of Virginia, where she led an isolated life, filled only with old books, old influences and old imaginings. Such neighbors of her own caste as were 1 accessible were people with views iis primitive and experience but little larger i than her own. Her life and envirou ment interplayed to foster conceptions ! of duty and of moral obligation such as to the world at largo would be untenable, and, as time went on, her views became more and more unpractical, I conservative and romantic. She was a ' woman of sturdy will and domineering spirit, and, while kind of heart by naeiM nrnnn to let that kindness flow only along channels of her own making. Her northern property, 6afely invested and well cared" for, suffered no change by the ch&nces of war, and gave her, in her owu eyes and those of other people. ; a fictitious but readily admitted value. Whether her conscience smote her about the money or not, the family feeling, so strong in the south, throve in spite of wrong and insult, and when the war brought troubles and financial straits to the brothers the sister rallied to them, helping them through many a tight place, and only stipulating that she i should have her own way in regard to time and method. Her influence in her family increased in ratio proportionate to her ability to play Providence to them, j and playing Providence?ordering the i procession for other people in accordance with her own idoiis of that which I would bo best?was, as has been stated, the role for which the self willed lady I considered herself peculiarly adapted. When one brother died, leaving behind him .1 motherless and only daughter of tender years, Miss Royal adopted his child f.nd brought her up as her own. She also displayed vivid interest in the son of her other brother, not only because he was a lad of parts and promise, but also because ho had been called "John Hart," after a beloved first cousin whose unl imely death had caused her to pass mate less through life. She had the boy with lier continually, and charged herself with his education and establishment in a profession. That the idea of a nuirriagD between the cousins should : develop in her mind was only to bo expecbsd. Consanguinity was not considj ered an ob jection to marriage in the Vir ' guiia or tier aay, ana sne Had contempluted such a union for herself. This i nephew and niece formed her strongert I emotional outlet, and she was not will, ing to let their lives diverge from hers ; or from each other's. She wanted to j blend her past with their future so that, : in some occult way, they might live out the life she had pictured for herself ere John Hart had passed into the infinite. 1 Her motive was the highest of which j she was capable. She yearned for happiness for them, and it never occurred to her that it; could be secured in better ' ways than those of her own devising. Her idiosyncrasy is not remarkable, i Human love in its manifestations is apt ; to be compelling and coercive. Matters went smoothly, for the boy's choice of a profession fell in with her wishes for him. There had always been physicians in the Royal family?some finda Thft IflVA ftf hpjlltnff ' might be said to ran in the blood. At one-and-twenty John Royal returned from Philadelphia with his diploma in his pocket, and farther fulfilled i his destiny by falling in love with his , cousin Phyllis, then a girl of 16. A boy; and-girl marriage was no part of Miss Royal's#plan for the young people. She wanted John to become a distinguished | surgeon, and as his whole heart, or i rather mind, was set on his profession, she yielded raadily to his wish for a few ; years in the Vienna and Paris hospitals, j An engagement between the cousins was ! sanctioned, and the understanding was tha t the marriage should take place as soon as, in her aunt's opinion, Phyllis should be old enough. Of the reasons for six years' delay of his marriage, and of his residence during that time abroad, John Royal did not speak; they were not germane to the j matter in hand. His wish was to present the main facts of the case and to ; force upon his listener the necessity for immediate action. At the end of the six years news had | come of his aunt's sudden death, and with it a letter from her executor in! forming him of the terms of her will. These were a little singular, and more j than a little arbitrary, which, however, wan in accordance with the character of the testatrix. The property, of considi erable value and duly enumerated, with j the exception of a small legacy or two, | was left absolutely to John Hart Royal j and Phyllis Royal as a marriage gift, pro; vided their marriage to each other should i take place between the hours of 11 and 13 o'clock on Dec. 28,18?. In the event ol i the marrume not taking place on the day 1 and during the hour appointed, ther i were restrictions laid upon the property which would prove a serious annoyance to the legatees; and in the further event of the marriage not taking place at all, the entire property was to be converted into money and divided, share and share j alike, among her kindred of Royal blood j | from the first to the third degree, Phyllis , 1 and John to have an equal portion with | 1 dying bed, in Matoacca, snouiu nt mo apjxrinted liour on the following day marry his cousin, on tho other side of j the mountains, by proxy. the rest, but not a stiver more on oenair of nearer kinship. The story was given in short sentences, , with rests between to spare the patient's | strength. The energetic brain of the [ listener grasped the situation in its en, tirety, and his sympathies were more ! than ever aroused. To him it appeared a terribly mean advantage to take of the power which the possession of wealth : confers. His first restive impulse was to say, "Let the money go to the devil, ' and marry the young lady to suit your! self;" but a glance at the face before him sent back the words unspoken. A ! well man, hale and strong, could afford ! to assert his independence, to take his v x i?x. uu ? own hands. But when a man lay dying ; the case was different; he must do that , which he could, not that which he j would, to secure the future of the woman thrown so absolutely upon his honor j and protection. Royal's pity for the pair grew apace, and he felt that there was Hot much he would stick at to circumvent the misery entailed by that "iniquitous will." as he styled it in his thought. "Are there many kindred?" he queried, forgetful that his own name might entitle : ! him to a position as residuary legatee. ! " Legions of 'em," John Royal respond- j I ed irritably. "My aunt had forty-five I first; cousins, and the bulk of them of Roy- i : al blood. I've heard her say so scores of times. In the second count, God and the ' ! census taker alone know what the tally j 1 may be. 'Tisn't worth while oven to I wonder about the third. It's a good prop- ! erty, but the sands of Egypt wouldn't i divide up handsomely among the Royal i clan." After a moment he went on: "I feel ; ! like the veriest scoundrel that ever drew breath! But for her determination to j bring about this marriage my aunt i would have left her money to Phyllis. I The only thing I can do for her now is to marry her before 12 o'clock to-morrow, ' and God only knows how it's to be man- j That fiirsed accident!" His eves i I /ere filled with yearning pain. The doctor smiled cheerily and looked j j athis watch. "Don't fret," he said; "it's ! bad for you. The marriage is the main > thing, and we can secure that. I'll take that 4:30 train and go after the young lady, and you can be married ^it once, j The conditions, whatever they may be, i ! must be put up with. It's a case of half , a loaf or no bread. By the way, what j are the conditions?" He rose as he put j the question. "That neither Phyllis nor myself shall touch one cent of the money for ten j years, dating from midday to-morrow." i "The devil!" "You may well exclaim!"?speaking fast and bitterly. "The marriage before 12 o'clock to-morrow would leave mv poor girl comfortable and cared for; after 12, as good as a pauper. And she's helpless?helpless"? His voice broke ! and ho turned his head away. Royal felt something hot and stinging rush into his own eyes; his heart ached ; for the pain lie could not mitigate, i The head on the pillow turned again; j the eyes sought Royal's appealingly, co! ercively: "Man, have you no help for me? Haven't you science or skill enough to put vitality into this miserable carcass sufficient to enable me to drag it a few : miles further? Can't you do anything ; for me?" The senso of impotence was strong upon liira; his voice was hoarse and feeble, his eyes showed that ho ! knew beforehand what the answer must be. Royal put out his hand to him pitifully, but shook his head: "My poor follow, God himself couldn't help you that way. Stop a minute and let me think. There ought to be a way out of it?there must bo a way out of it, if only I were smart enough to see it. Don't fret, please. It exhausts vitality and does no good. Try to rest." The closing phrases were born of professional instinct and delivered mcchau1 ically. His mind was busy with the problem ho had set himself to solve. He was a man quick to trust his own judgment and to form new plans. Emphatically a man of action, prompt in conception, prompt also and untiring in execution, Dr. Royal's mind worked | habitually along positive lines. To rush at a difficulty and carry it by assault was tho method which most recommended itself to him, and the active, practical life of tho frontier had fostered his nat. ural proclivities. There was little of the "shivering and shaking on the bank" so i condemned of tho English wit about Hart Royal. To "jump in and scramble through" as well as he could might be reckoned his rule of conduct. Tho plan ho elaborated within the next half hour might, as a legal measure, bo open to question, but it possessed tho merit of tangibility and could be put into immediate execution. It was, in brief, that John Royal, flat on his back on that which might well bo his "i don't know liow the law stands," the originator of the scheme admitted, "and there isn't time to look it up. I never heard of a marriage by proxy outBide of a novel, to be sure; but if a man can marry by telephone I don't see why he can't be married by proxy. To me it looks as though it would give a fighting chance for immediate possession of the money. Yci can have the marriage recelebrated if the lady should prefer it She will join you at once, of course." The sick man caught at the plan. His own knowledge of the laws of the commonwealth in regard to marriage was nebulous, but to him also the scheme proposed seemed to offer a fighting chance, and even that appeared of priceless value. His eagerness was pitiful, his insistence almost aggressive. The poor fellow, drifting into the shadow of the inevitable, yet holding back with terrible earnestness, with yearning tenderness, not for his own sake, bat for that of the woman left to his care, the pathos of it dimmed Royal's gray eyes more than once, and acted as a spur to his helpfol, sympathetic nature. There was no question in the mind of either man as to who should be the representative. The bond of the order had done away with all strangeness or sense of obligation between them, even before the recognition of the deeper, human brotherhood had come. Royal made the necessary arrangements for the care of the sick man during his absence, and also provided himself with the wedding ring which he found in his namesake's pocket. The license would be waiting at the other end of the line, John Royal said; he had written about it from the hospital to the gentleman in whose family his cousin had lived since their annt's death. In the urgent need of haste it occurred to neither man that Dr. Royal, being a stranger, should have some sort of credentials, or that it might be necessary for a proxy to have a written power of representation, as it were, from his principal Nor did the thought that the similarity of name might cause a complication suggest itself. The sick man was unaware of the coincidence, and the mind of the other was filled with weightier matters. There was little time foi detail [to bk continued next w^ek.-] pisccllancous Reading. NATIONAL HOLIDAYS. The institution of national holidays, in commemoration of great events in which the whole people have figured, is, almost without exception, a thing of quite recent times, and belongs in a peculiar sense to republican, or at least popular, governments. Formerly, though holidays might he numerous, they liad almost invariably a religious significance. They were saints' days' or church celebrations, of some kind. This is still true in most of the monarchical countries of the old world. Even in England almost the only holiday having a national, as distinguished from an ecclesiastial, significance, is the birthday of the Queen. The greatest civic events connected with the history of the English people ?events which have made a profound impression upon the history of the world?are not commemorated by the regular public observance of their anniversaries?unless we except the decaying celebration of Guy Faux's Day. The rnited States was one of the first nations to set the example of fU'P-ul iuur pmhlie linlixlavK which had a direct reference to the people's aenievements in their own behalf. The observance of the Fourth of July dates from its first anniversary, and has never been interrupted since the establishment of the republic. The French nation, with some vicisitiules and monarchical interruptions, has followed our example by making the 14th of July, the anniversary of the destruction of the Bastile by the people, a public holiday. The American people, extending the same idea, have now three national holidays : Thanksgiving day, which commemorates a deliverance of the early^olonists from famine and their preservation from various perils, Washington's birthday and Memorial day. In Boston and its neighborhood the 17th of June, the anniversary of the battle of Bunker Hill, is regularly and enthusiastically observed by cessation of labor and public rejoicings. Of recent years the celebration of the day has been slowly extending through 4,-~ ?r tio r?itv and it is I- III" *JII > 11 UHO vr* V V J ? hoped by some that the observance may finally become national. Mexico celeberate on tlie 5th of May, the anniversary of* a great victory over the invading French army, and most of the other American republics observe the anniversaries of important events in their own history. The Italians make a holiday of the 21st of September, the anniversary of the entrance of the Italian army into Home. In Canada, the 1st day of July, which is the anniversary of the promulgation of the confederation of the provinces, is celebrated, and called J)ominon,day. But it was reserved for the new Hepublic of Brazil to institute the most extensive and remarkable scries of national holidays ever known. The provisional government of that country has issued a decree which declares that, ' inasmuch as the republican system is founded ui>oii a profound sentiment of universal brother" ' ?" *** IiS?s emit itiKMi t run lint Iiuutl, *111*4 i*r? till.? be properly developed without a system of public festivals destined to commemorate the continuity and solidarity ofull the generations of man," it lias seen lit to institute a series of holidays which will commemorate the points of union between the history of Brazil and that of all peoples. The government, consequently, establishes nine national holidays. The 1st of January is to he devoted to the commemoration of universal brotherhood, the 21st of April to the events which were the precursors of Brazilian independence, and the Jtrd of May to the discovery of Brazil. The Bfth of May also becomes a holiday, and is to "commemorate the brotherhood of all Brazilians." The 14th of June "commemorates the republic and the liberty and independence of the American peoples." The 7th of September is to honor the independence of Brazil, the 12th of Octo| her the discovery of America, the 2d j of November the memory of the dead, and the loth of November the glory ot the country of Brazil in general. A (TKKU'S PARADOX. Which is the heavier, a pound ol feathers or a pound of lead ? This was a favorite question with "school committeemen" of the olden time, and the first rash answer used almost always to be "A pound of lead!" Then from the older pupils would come the reply. "Both alike." If this question were asked today, our oldtime querist might receive a decided surmise. For the pound of feathers could easily l>c proved to lie the heavier. A simple experiment is all tin evidence needed. With any accurate scales weigh out a pound of lead, using ordinary shol for convenience, l'our the shot inti one of the pans of a balance. For the feathers a light muslin ha;, will he needed, and care must he taker that feathers and hag together do no weigh more than a pound. When tin hag of feathers is put into the othei pan of the balance the beam will, aftei a few oscillations, conic to rest exacth level. So far the verdict, '"Both alike,' ^ seems to he proved. But place the ha! ance upon the receiver of an air pump, with lead and feathers undisturbed. Cover the whole with the glass bell jar and exhaust the air. Slowly the feathers sink and the lead "kicks the beam." The pound of feathers is heavier than the pound of lead! The truth is that what we called a "pound", was not such in fact. For the atmosphere buoys up everything within it in proportion to the bulk of the object, and the feathers being of greater bulk than the lead, are supported by the air to a considerably greater extent than the lead. Removed from this supporting medium their true weight is made evident. Charles Reade propounds a similar question. In one of his novels a Jewish trader is made to ask : "Which is the heavier, a pound of feathers or a pound of gold?" After awhile he explains, to the satisfaction of his audience of miners, that the feathers are the heavier. Gold, he says, is weighed by troy weight, while feathers are weighed by avoirdupois; and as the twelve ounces in a pound of troy contain but 5,760 grains, while the avoirdupois pound contains 7,000 grains, the pound of feathers is, of course, 1,240 grains heavier than the pound of gold! MAKING FIREWORKS. There are in the United States today eight large factories in which fireworks | are made. Six of these recently form- j ed a fireworks trust, the object being, as in all such associations, to regulate i and adhere to a fixed scale of prices, Aside from these eight concerns there are a dozen smaller ones, and from all combined we must expect not only the supply for July 4 next, but also the enormous supply for the political gath- | 1 erings of presidential year. A rough estimate at the present time indicates that at least %2,000,000 will go up in smoke in '92 in the States alone, says the New York Recorder. To supply the enormous quantity of fireworks, probably less than 1,000 ! persons are employed. This is the season of the year when all the pre 1 liminary work is done, the most im- j portant of which is the making of j "cases," i. e., the paper tubes for Roman j candles, rockets, etc. The more deli! cate work is done in the spring, when | the days are lengthened and the air is ! dry. It is a notable fact that "cases" j ; are never filled on damp days, the rea- i I son for which is obvious. Down at Parkville, near Coney Is- j ! land, is a piece of land isolated from any dwellings, and on it are about j J thirty frail, wooden sheds. They look | like dolls' houses at a distance, and i when close at hand one is amazed to i ; discover that they are of the flimsiest | ! character. This is the plant of one of j ' the largest fireworks firms in the j world, a firm that is not a member of the trust and which yearly entertains j thousands of persons at itsbigamphiI theatre at Manhattan Beach. It does ; not require much questioning to learn the reason which prompts the erection j of such cheap buildings. At some distance from the sheds was ! a low, solid structure with a heavy oaken door. This was the magazine i in which the powder is stored while ; awaiting requisitions from the sheds. | One of the latter, much larger than its neighbors, was the first visited. It is called "the wet rolling shed." Half a dozen men were at work within, each assisted by a boy, who pastes the sheets t of damn paper for tha-.experienced .. journeymen to rou. He can roll a gross of cases a day. As fast as he completes a bundle it is strung up to dry. Ordinarily this would be a long process^but it is quickened by the heat from a big stove. These "cases" vary in diameter from half an inch to two inches, and they are made | for all kinds of fireworks, principally, i though, for rockets and Roman cau: dies. Some of the former are massive j | affairs, and while they are made for the ! I general trade their cost precludes the j | use of them except for extraordinary 1 occasions. In the dry rolling shed girls are em- I i ployed. The work is light and clean ! and practically unattended by any risk, j i as the loading of the cases is conduct- | j ed in a distant part of the grounds. j I The "cases" they make are mainly for ! , the large set pieces. The paper is ! thin and is rolled upon delicate steel ; rods." The girls are clever and attrac! tive and seem to be thoroughly happy ! 5n their mif.nf.thfi.wav workshops. j In another shed the paper bombs are j made. This work requires much pa! tience and delicacy. The worker lias a sphere in front of him and over this ' lie pastes bits of paper until he has 1 half the sphere made. Then it is put away to dry, and while this process is going on he forms the other half, j When botli sides are thoroughly dry , i they are joined together and addition- I : al strips of paper and glue complete I the bomb, with the exception of a small hole, which is left open for the reception of the charge. The work of filling shells is in the j hands of a few men. They labor at a bench, and a certain amount of powder is poured into the small opening by means of a funnel. A rammer packs it tightly, and when finished the time fuse is inserted. Then the opening is hermetically sealed and the bomb is ready for use. Passing from one shed to another we saw at a short distance a substantial building. In it is stored the powdered charcoal, of which tons arc used every year in the manufacture of fireworks of the cheaper grades. Saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal are the ingredients used in squibs and crackers. Colored fireworks are for the most part made of chlorate of potash, shellac and mineral salts. The next building visited was the one in which the large rockets are | charged. On all sides there were the mute evidences of perfect cleanliness. The lloor had a polish like that of I highly rubbed marble. The benches were free of dust, the windows clean and the walls glistened like the lloor. Firecrackers, from the ordinary squib you can hold in your hand to the great giant crackers, are made in the spring when the weather is dry and warm. If they were made at this time the paper would absorb the moisture and the crackers would be worthless. Set pieces are usually made on the scene of their explosion. The fuses luirnrnlinml lillf lisidc K' - , -- from this the actual completion of the piece is not perfected until the day of the celebration. Skilled workmen are employed in this branch of the work and they can complete their ' labors 011 the field as well as in the i workshops. Hkr Voi ni; Wkkk Savkd.?A herd of 5,001) beeves were toiling over the ' lonely trail from New Mexico to KanI sas. says a correspondent, leaving he> hind them, across the grassy plains and valleys, a swath as bare as if it had 1 heen swept by the fiery breath of a si; monm. Suddenly the leader of the herd, a huge steer, started hack in terror, gave vent to a snort of warning, and moving t- to the right, passed on. Those immct diately in his rear turned to right or i left, and their example was followed by each long horned pilgrim as he [ reached the dreaded spot, i When the herd had passed, a wide, t trampled track lay behind ; but near ? the middle of this dusty space stood a r luxuriant island of grass three feet in r diameter. A herdsman rode tip to the spot and dismounted, expecting to find a rattle' snake, a creature of which cattle, as - well as horses, have an instinctive I and well-founded dread. Instead of a serpent, however, the grass tuft contained only a harmless killdee plover, covering her nest, whi le her wings were kept in violent and constant motion. Seen indistinctly through the grass, she had evidently been mistaken by the steer for a rattlesnake. She did not take flight even at the ' cowboy, but valiantly pecked at his boot as he gently pushed her to one side to find that the nest contained four unfledged killdees. ^ Oddities About Hobses.?In that portion of Genesis which tells the story of Joseph, the famine, etc., we find the first historical allusion to the horse, and further on in Holy Writ we read of the horses of the great wise Solomon, which numbered 40,000? that is, if the 40,000 stalls for horses are to be taken as a criterion. Prior to 1066 the horses of England were never shod, William the Conqueror being the person who is given the credit of introducing horeshoeing into the British Isles. The high State official and the rich people of Egypt have a peculiar aversion to riding the hone, their favorite , mount being a species of white ass, which is held as being a semi-sacred animal. Fine specimens of these snow < u ? 1J wmte creatures are seiaom soia ior what would be less than $1,000 in United States currency. The Tartars have a species of hairless horses, which all haye beautifully striped white-and-brown hoofs and "glass eyes." Pliny the Elder mentions a breed of horses, "from a land far to the north of Lybia," which was distinguished on account of a woolly mane which extended from between the ears to the root of the tail! Henry VIII. put a stop to the raising of inferior horses in England by having all slaughtered that were under 13 hands high at the age of 5 years. In Japan the man of "quality" never forces his steed out of a walk If the errand is one which demands speed the rider dismounts, tie the fore legs of his animal together and strikes off at a brisk gallop on foot. Growth of Cities.?One of our exchanges concludes, after studying the census, that probably no one who has not obtained information on the subject could make a reasonable guess at the number of places in the United States containing 1,000 or more inhabitants. The guesses by the uninformed are usually from 10,000 to 15,000, but the United States census discloses only 3,715. Moreover, there are only 2,552 that have a population exceeding 1,500. At the other end of the line the returns are no less remarkable, for there are only seven cities with a population exceeding 400,000. There is . abundant nnm in thoso nitipq And 1 uum ,ML fe.v,nv.. ... towns, but the places with 1,000 or more population already contain 41 per cent, of the total population of the United States. The larger cities, it appears from the returns, are growiug more rapidly than the country at large. Thus in 1880 there were 286 places having 8,000 inhabitants or more, the combined population of such places being 22 per cent, of the whole. In 1890 there were 448 such places, containing 29 percent, of the whole population?Scientific American. School Blunders.?A teacher iu a public school gave out a list of words -tf juuL. nil! in. apnlencPH,, Among them was the word^enasmT A little girl looked in the dictionary, and not being quite satisfied, inquired if "chasm" meant "gap." The teacher absently replied, "Yes," but was astonished when she presented her paper with this sentence: "When I am sleepy I always chasm." But this is hardly equal to another teacher's experience in a little district school some years ago. She gave out words for analysis. "Bank-note" was one of them, aud the teacher's astonishment may be imagined when one young lady brought the following unique analysis: "Bank-note is a compound, primitive word, composed of 'bank' and 'note.' 'Bank' is a simple word, meaning the side of a stream; 'note,'to set down. 'Bank-note,' to set down by the side of a stream." J?" The late Bishop Doane, of New Jersey, was strongly opposed to prohibition, and his sideboard was lined with brandy, wine, etc. On one occasion the Rev. Mr. Perkins, of the Sons of Temperance, dined with the bishop, who, pouring out a glass of wine, desired him to drink with him. "Can't do it, bishop. 'Wine is a mocker.' " "Take aglass of brandy, then." "No. 'Strong drink is raging.'" By this time the bishop, becoming excited, remarked to Mr. Perkins: "You'll pass the decanter to the gentleman next to you." "No, bishop, I can't do that. 'Woe unto him that putteth the bottle to his neighbor's lips.' "?Philadelphia Press. Why He Did Not Go.?Some people do not have very religious reasons ! for not doing things, but their reasons nnfnrnl mwl instructive. We clip from an exchange this: "A friend who kept a meat market was once importuned to go and see the circus. He declined the invitation, as he was not interested in such performances. Bei ing urged to go, and asked what his objection was, he said : 'If I should go ; I should see so many folks there who are owing me for meat that I should ! not take any comfort seeing the peri formanee.'" BkiP A corporation has been organized under the laws of Kentucky to purchase lands to erect hotels on, in all cities of 15,000 and upwards of inhab; itauts in the United States, the capital stock to be $75,000,000, divided into 750,000 shares of $100 each. To he j eligible to become a stockholder in this | syndicate it must be shown conclusively that the applicant has been a eom! mercial traveler for a poriod of not less than two years, which fact entitles i him to buy ten shares of stock of the syndicate. tc&" Whether Texas plants more or less cotton this year than last, it seems j certain that she will make a great deal more of bread and meat. Farm! ers there seem to be rapidly taking up the sound notion that it will be good economy to make cotton the money crop and to subsist upon the products j of their own farms. When this becomes i the rule throughout the South, it will j be the richest agriculural region in the world. Haf The record for quick time in i love, courtship and marriage was broken in Fairfield, la., by an old gentleman from Keokuk county, who came, met an old lady, fell in love with her, proposed, was accepted, procured a license and was married to her all inside of thirty minutes from the time he first laid eyes on her? Correspondence of Chicago Herald. Ragpipes are generally ascribed to Scotland, where they have been in use for a long time, but it was an instrument upon which the ancient Creeks and Romans played. Nero is said to have performed upon it. and an old piece of (Jrccian sculpture represents a player on the bagpipe dressed in the fashion that is known today as the highland costume. pdF Roth men and women have their failings. With men it is the big head ; , witli women the big hat.