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% ISSPED SElil'WEEiH.^^ I. m. OEIST ft 80SS, Publishers. } % ^arnilg gtospaper: 4or |gromoiian of thi; |oIitipI, facial, gtgricuttuirat and (Eomroet[rial Interests of thi; geopte. {TraM9i>:GlLKcoAp^KFiTicF^ANCE' ESTABLISHED 1855. YOEKVILLE, 9. C., SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 1900. NO. 70 A ROMANCI J By FEEDER] Copyright, 1900, by Frederick Redda: PROLOGUE. STAKTLING NEWS. N A certain morning in Ma; f ^ the daily papers of th ^ m United States, from Main to California, from th great lakes to the gulf, contained i momentous news dispatch. It was se forth with all the bold and vivid insisl ence of black "scare heads" and pun * gent headlines. Some time during the previous nigh part of a limited express train on on of our great western trunk lines ha< disappeared without leaving a trao behind either of coaches or passengers The occurrence was absolutely with out parallel in the annals of railroad lng, and the tragic Import of the incl dent was Intensified when it becam known that the living freight of th lost cars included a well known am popular railroad magnate and financle of national reputation with a party o friends, among the latter some wontei of wealth and social prominence. Their complete vanishment could no have been more mysterious and puz sling had coaches and passengers beei ? sunk fathoms deep In some dark am silent pool o? engulfed in a bottom leR Va* q fro nn Ttraa lft#f nnf l vauJ uu. iivv u uuvv nao ?v?m mv? ? clew. The railroad officials were ut terly at fault Nor was the myster: elucidated until several days an< nights had elapsed. Meantime the wires east and wes were kept hot. popular Interest and ex cltement running high in every city k town and village in the United Statei and even in Canada. The wildest spec ulations were rife as to the fate of th< persons concerned, all of them more o: less wide of the mark, aa the seque proved. Yet when the truth was ferreted ou It was seen that the actualities rivale< all the fiction that had been wovei around the case, which tbencefortl took rank as a veritable romance of th rail. FIRST DAY. , THE START. In the great dome roofed station o the Pennsylvania railroad at Jerse; . f City on a certain morning in May th limited train for the west stood await Lag its lading of passengers. The long line of vestibuled drawin room coaches was resplendent In fres paint as though just out of the cai shops. The burnished brass work oi gates, hand rails and steps shone Ilk gold plate, while the white capped an blue uniformed officials?brakemet tralnhands and negro porters?dignifl ed and self important, yet gravel; courteous withal, stood ready to wel come, direct or assist the fast arrlvln passengers. The conductor waltec l?* Knr?/1 4r\ y fKa rr*nn f oto tin rr auu iu uojuu, &ui iuu 51 caw ovavtu dock pointed at three minutes befor *? 10, and precisely at the hour the file would be off. The last train boat was In, and th Inevitable late traveler was even no^ struggling down the asphalt platforir The great engine backed down an was coupled on, the engineer teste the brakes to see If his "air" was a] right, the steam giant throbbed an glowed with pent up energy, and th "runner," as the engineer is called t I railway parlance, leaned out of hi 1 cab on the alert for the electric cr "All aboard!" At the other side of the station a equally Interesting scene was takin place. On one of the side tracks stoo two richly appointed coaches, one th private car Miranda and the other a ordinary Pullman sleeper and drawin room coach combined. Since 8 o'cloc relays of porters and expressmen ha been coming alongside heavy lader departing empty handed and wlpln their brows. Hundreds of pounds c Ice were stowed awuy In the long n ceptacles under the cars; hamper! crates and boxes of mineral wateri "strong waters" and delicacies wer taken aboard and disposed in myster ous recesses; from within came th musical clink of glasses and crockery while the white jacketed chef could b seen flitting about In his tiny kitche and buffet putting matters to rights. ., The last load of relishes was n celved and receipted for, the porter for the last time flicked the dust 01 the richly upholstered Interior, whe the first of those for whom these elal orate preparations were made cam strolling down the platform, at whos arrival all the train men In waiting se luted with hands to caps. A good story Is told concerning tw poor Irishmen who once upon a tlm were debating what sort of an occupj tlon each would choose if kind Prov dence should ever give them the oj tlon. After-canvassing the advantage of the various vocations in life one c them closed the discussion by saying: , "Faith, Mike, for a nice, clane, als Job let me be a bishop!" This probably summed up to Mike imaginative mind all the sunny side c life?wealth, position, authority an not overmuch work. But I have often thought that fc N pure and unadulterated bliss the pos tlon of president of a great railroa .. ,1 ' fTHE RAIL. tCK HEDDALL. II. Illustrations by I. W. Taber. left little to be desired. It certainly seemed so to the onlooker this bright y May morning. e Here was John Draper, president of e the Pacific and Atlantic railway, a self e made man, . a multimillionaire, old a enough to have eschewed the follies of t life and yet young enough to enjoy the benefits the gods send to sane mortals, i- blessed with health, strength, a good conscience and a better digestion, at t the moment of which I write literally e monarch of all he surveyed and about i to take a trip of three or four thousand e miles In his personal and private car, i! surrounded by a charming and coni genial company of his own choosing. 1- who would bask In the sunshine of his I- bounty and give him grateful thanks, e homage and credit for all the pleasure e bestowed! i So who would not be a railroad presr Ident even If the head that carries the f bondholders' woes Is sometimes una easy! With John Draper came two -ladles, t an eldei; and a much younger one, and, faithful to the old precept which gives a place to age before beauty, the former 1 shall be described first This was Mrs. s Bradley Hurst, a married sister of our a host Fair and 40 she certainly was. but not even her bitterest enemy could y have called her fat A laughing eye. a j well rounded and mature form, of medium height with a carriage and mant ner that denote the thorough mistress . of society and Its forms?this was Mrs. Bradley Hurst, the chaperon of the 3 party. By her side and between the two elder people walked a girl half her age, a# t*tKnt \fr*a FTnrat p Uie tXULl U^^JVOHC Ul Ti uuv lutoi UU.M. I must have been In her youth?not too tall, graceful, dark of hair, eyes and complexion, a Vassar alumna and now : a two years' society graduate; accomplished, handsome and wholesome?and 1 there you have sketched Miss Florence 1 Granniss, the ward of John Draper and 9 heiress to a cool million. Down the platform they strolled, laughing and chatting gayly. yet In the tender solicitude with which the railf road magnate handed the girl into the _ car might have been discovered more e than the ordinary regard supposed to .. subsist between guardian and ward. Close at the heels of this trio came g two others, both young,?botb vivacious, jj both bubbling over^wlth good humor ,. and good spirits, walch were plainly a their natural heritage and partly born e of the prospect of this novel outing, j The lady was Miss Madge Hurst, ^ daughter of Mrs. Bradley Hurst, a . piquant maiden of some 20 winters. y blond, petite, blue eyed and altogether . bewitching?at least so thought Mr. g Chester Ives, who walked at her side, ^ looking down from his five feet ten of Q masculinity at the five feet two of fern-' e Ininity under the broad brimmed r Gainsborough hat then in vogue. Chester Ives was a member of the e fourth estate, whose privilege It Is to ^ wield the weapon which is said to be i. mightier than the sword?though it is d often a mere blue pencil?and who, by d dint of patience, perseverance and peril sistence, had risen from the foot of the d Journalistic ladder to be "Wall street e man" on one of New York's great dai lies. Not yet 30. be was already books ed by his intimates for higher things, y He had known John Draper when the latter was "biding his time" in comn parative obscurity as a small merchant d V \ 6 - " ^ * n Here was John Draper, monarch of all y he surveyed. e In a southern town. Although there ie were nearly 20 years between their ages i- they were friends and confidants. Yet each held certain matters in reserve, o Draper knew that Ives loved his niece, e Chester thought he knew where the i- senior had placed his affections, but 1- the younger man did not know that y John Draper was resolved to signalize is his own happiness?should It ever come if to pass?by doing what he could to make Madge and Chester happy at the y same time. "Last of all came satan also," in 's the person of Mr. Reuben K. Filley, if protege and confidential clerk o^ John d Draper. It Is perhaps needless to say that the world knew the young man ir in the latter capacity only. Alert, keen, 1- selfish, unscrupulous, a New York boy d of uncertain parentage, though he aaSaBSfegg* ' ? ' claimed English, a product of the v' slams and the gutter, Reuben Filley cc had risen to the surface of the current le of life In the great metropolis by the di very simple method of throttling or n< pushing aside every other struggling swimmer who came In his way. "Do m others or they'll do you" was his b< cheerful motto. He attracted the notice of John Draper when the latter to first came to New York; was taken In- pr to his employ as an office boy and ultl- tr mately reached the post of private sec- he retary, a place which offered great pos- of elbilitles to a young man of bis peculiar ty proclivities and of which he lmme- lei diately proceeded to take unfair ad- pi vantage. "Looking out for No. 1" Fll- hi Plotnon nonnlo fnnd tit til ICJ vauwi IU * lUkMv* .WM?. calling a spade by its agricultural tr name would have termed it lying and stealing; but then, Fllley took care m never to be found out w Rascal though he was, he deserves to th have his pen picture like all the others ca of the party, and here It is; Height 5 al feet 8; weight 140; complexion fair; th eyes steely blue, shifting and treacher- te ous; a brownish yellow or "Cain col- he ored" beard and mustache closely trim- m med served to hide an animal jaw and or a cruel mouth; ears pointed and pecul- fa larly shaped, being so joined to the M neck as to present no lobe; in speech te garrulous, boastful and profane* th He was by nature coarse and vulgar, ju yet by contact with the world had been be licked into what passed currenJWfor fo bluff frankness and good nature, \^oe th betide the man. woman or child who pz trusted Reuben K. Filley, for treachery a was in bis heart, and self was his god. ar His arrival was hailed with an ex- 1 clamation of satisfaction by John Dra- hi per, who took from him several letters and telegrams and darted into the car. Filley was tt^ last of the guests, and with the coming of Mrs. Hurst*s maid, Annette, and of Draper's man, Henry, the personnel of the party was complete. Filley followed his employer into the car. "Mr. Draper." be said, standing be- , fore the desk where that gentleman f sat, "is it absolutely necessary that I ' go along?" "1 thought we settled all that yesterday, Reuben," was the reply. "I shall certainly need you when we get to Denver.' There will be a hundred and one things to attend to and mighty little time in which to do them. So let's hear no more about It" With this answer, * delivered in a * * * ? - - AU.A UmaaI# quiet out empoauc muuucr iuai u?wn.ed no argument, Filley was forced to ^ be content, and with a sulky ding of his'shoulders he turned away, mutter- q, lng to himself as soon as he was out of in Draper's hearing: th "The party will be smaller by one i0 several miles this side of Denver, or gr my name's not Reuben K. Filley 1" at Twas exactly three minutes of 10 ja when a switching engine pushed the m president's private car and its attend- sp ing sleeping coach out of the station bl and on to the main track. Here the ie( "limited" was halted long enough to 0r permit the necessary coupling, and th then, with a final toot, the monster m engine lay down to Its work and with g a full bead of steam went rushing and pc panting across the Hackensack mead- w ows, past Newark, Elizabeth, New ni Brunswick and Trenton, 50 miles an be hour, and so into Philadelphia. de By this time the millionaire's party th were fairly well settled in their re- ?> spective nooks and quarters. The three a ladles and the maid were assigned to w the double stateroom In the Miranda. John Draper took the other and the 8e smaller one. Between them was the or saloon, where all meals were served th and which answered for a general ren- dr dezvous and lounging place. Ives and 0f Filley and the manservant bunked In di the Pullman, with the negro porter e<] Aleck for additional company and D( sport. 1 e<J All the way between the metropolis in and the city by the Schuylkill Draper ec and Filley were busy over their corre- es spondence at what mignt De auDDea ai the business end of the saloon. Ar- cc rived at the Broad street station, the m secretary jumped to the platform and al hurried to mail several letters and dispatch divers telegrams. Rising from m his table, their host came toward the vc ladles, saying: w "Now I am free until we reach Pittsburg. Which shall It be, luncheon or ce recreation, the mind or the body?" ai For, plutocrat and man of affairs Tl though he was, his heart was young, vt and the secret of much of his health bi and success lay in the fact that when ro be chose to play nothing else was al gi lowed to interfere. aJ Mrs. Hurst looked up smilingly, but C It fell to Madge to answer, though CI John Draper happened to be regarding le his ward solicitously. ar "I move you, sir," she said, with T' grave lips, yet dancing eyes, "that the car now proceed to business and take es its pleasure afterward. I'm desperate- 8| ly hungry. Aren't you, Flo?" ^ Florence admitted In her stately way ct that "some slight refreshment would to be acceptable," and no sooner had the Vi wish been uttered than the millionaire clapped his hands?a survival of his southern training?when Aleck appeared and received the laconic order: > "Luncheon Immediately!" wi A very merry party it was which sat inj down to what Madge christened a "car . picnic." A long and narrow table was , set up in the center of the saloon. A chair at either end was occupied by Mr. Draper and Mrs. Hurst Florence In1 Granniss was seated at her guardian's right hand, with Chester next to her. Reuben Filley sat on his employer's bu left. Madge and Chester were vls-a- thi ;s at the lower end, as were, of >urse, Miss Grannlss and Reuben Flly. These positions were unchanged irlng much of this memorable Jour;y. It la a safe assertion that only one ember of the party felt any regret at ilng there. This one was Fllley. John Draper was bound for Denver attend an important meeting of the esldents of some of the greatest unk line railroads in the country; mce the presence of his secretary and his confidential man was a necessi . Yet Fllley had begged hard to be ft behind In New York on the flimsy ea of 111 health and overwork. Bat 8 employer overruled all his objects, as we have seen, saying that the Ip would do blm good. Now. as a matter of fact. It was as uch as FUley's reputation and safety ere worth to be out of New York at Is juncture. He had entered on a reer of duplicity culminating In actucrime. Unless he could be back In e metropolis considerably within the q days named as the limit of the trip > would be ruiQed and disgraced. He ust return and would, and he counted i being able to concoct some pretext. Ir or foul, for leaving the party, eanwhlle there was some intermitnt compensation to be gained from e fact that he would be able to see st how far matters had progressed 'tween his patron and Miss Qranniss, r Reuben Fllley cherished designs on e heiress, and If he "pulled off" his esent dangerous coup he would be in better position to sue for her hand id her fortune. That a high bred, high strung and gh minded maiden like Florence j lUey 1vas left to swear under Ms yellow beard and be amiable. rannlss could see anything repulsive such an alliance never occurred to e conceited and self satisfied felw. Beyond the usual conventional ' eetlngs and a few brief conversations their casual meetings in her guard- | n's bouse there had been no lnti- ; ate intercourse between them. Re j ectlng the man her mind was a, ank. On the other hand, Reuben Fll- 1 y had dwelt so long on the idea of i te day calling her his wife that the ' ought was become second only to his ! aster passion, wealth getting. Not a 1 ;sture, not a glance, not a tone which issed between the millionaire and his 1 ard escaped his vigilant and cun- I ng eye. Of one thing, however, be ?came sure, there was no definite unsrstanding between them as yet ough he shrewdly suspected that raper would try to bring matters to crisis during this trip. Well, so ould he! To this end he set out to make hlmlf entertaining and at times verged i being positively brilliant All rough the meal the most trifling inclsnts or remarks served to remind him a story or a pat iuusiruuuu, uuu uc *ew upon his varied store of checkerI experience so that he well nigh moipollzed the conversation and flatter[ himself that he was making a good lpression upon Florence. She laugh- | I at his sallies of wit. appeared inter- I ted in his highly colored adventures ' id Joined in his banter. But if he iuld have heard her confidential coment to Madge when the two were one lie would not have felt so elated. "That man leaves a bad taste in one's outh." she said. Wherein she but liced Chester's private opinion, which as that Reuben "did not ring true." The day wore on. The thrilling asnt of the Allegbanies was breasted id the summit crossed ere nightfall, lieu came the long descent to the Ohio illey, and while the party was at eakfast the next morning the train lied into Indianapolis. WThile the ennes were being changed every one lghted for a stroll. Draper and Miss ranniss led the way. then followed bester and Madge, so that Filley was ft to swear under his yellow beard id be amiable to Mrs. Bradley Hurst, be astute woman of the world saw irougb his discomfiture and took an pecial delight in detaining him at her de. so that be had no speech with lorence, and the situation was untanged when once more the limited ok up the route for St Louis over the auuuua. to be continued. \n Unpleasant Reminder.?"My fe had an unpleasant way of recalls' unpleasant things." 'Yes. What of It?" 'Why, the other night I got up and ank a collar button which had fallen to the glass of water." 'Yes." 'And now every time I lose my collar tton my wife says: "Well, Where's at one you swallowed?'" ?ttettUanaiu$ finding. on THE HEATHEN CHINEE. ?" 60( Which I wish to remark? And my language Is plainThat for ways that are dark, vo And for tricks that are vain, ra The heathen Chinee Is peculiar, Pr Which the same I would rise to explain. W( Ah Sin was his name; ra And I shall not deny foi in regard 10 me name ri What that name might imply, co But his smile it was pensive and child- n like, , As I frequent remarked to Bill Nye. Is It was August the third, no And quite soft was the skies; Which it might be inferred That Ah Sin was likewise; no Yet he played it that day upon William an And me In the way I despise. va Which we had a small game, lai And Ah Sin took a hand; dli It was eucher. The same mi He did not understand; ed But he smiled as he sat by the table, With a smile that was child-like and bland. f01 he Yet the cards they were stocked ? In a way that I grieve,. ; * Q And my feelings were shocked 4 At the state of Nye's sleeve, an Which was stuffed full of aces and Pr bowers, Be And the same with Intent'to deceive. (j0 But the hands that were played By that heathen Chinee, an And the points that he made Th Were quite frightful to see? Till at last he put down a right bower, . Which the same Nye had dealt unto ' me. ar' ... llv Then I looked up at Nye, And he gazed upon me; And he rose with a sigh, And said, "Can this be? We are ruined by Chinee cheap labor," It And he went for that heathen Chinee. In the scene that ensued I did not take a hand, But the floor it was strewed k Like the leaves on the strand, re< With the cards that Ah Sin had been pa hiding, th< In the game he did not understand." ( ot In his sleeves, which were long, wa He had twenty-four packs? at< Which was coming It strong, 8tc Yet I state but the facts; And we found on his nails, which were , taper, YY1 What's frequent In tapers?that's wax. br< Which Is why I remark, ?u And my language Is plain, That for ways that are dark, sh< And for tricks that are vain, of The heathen Chinee is peculiar, jec Which the same I am free to maintain. th< ?Bret Harte. DEWET BELOVED BY HIS MEN. de.' Wi War Correspondent Hlllegea Says That the ch. Exclusive Boer Commander Is a Second lib Stonewall Jackson. c0' New York Mall and Express. Mr. Howard C. Hillegas, war corres- * pondent and author of "Oom Paul i ': and His People," and who has Just r written another book, "Boers in War,"in,? to be published soon, the material for' which he gathered while in Pretoria ^e. with President Kruger and at the front with the Boer army, is back in New . 0 York. ifQI Mr. Hillegas, looking a trifle thinner srri and several shades darker than when ^ he left here for Africa, last year, has' returned with an abiding faith in the lnc kindness and generosity of the Boer | soldiers, and speaks in praise of the.va manner in which foreigners are treated I * in the two South African republics. Of m the remnant of the Boer army still in 8l? the field under Commanders Botha,;les riAwdt flnd Mpver. Mr. Hilleeas says ^ they are a determined lot of men, who will certainly never surrender as long as they can lift a rifle. m' Gen. Christian H. Dewet, the Free. State leader, is a second Stonewall j11 Jackson. He is pursuing tne strategy,sp< and tactics of that most elusive of generals and like the Irishman's famous flea, "is never there when you put your finger on him. "Gen. Dewet," says Mr. Hillegas, "has about 1,500 men under him. With I that insignificant force he has in the(Cig last five months captured 3,000 British, res and upward of $2,000,000 of ammunition jth< and provisions. Dewet is about 5 feetjwa eight inches in height, weighs not more P'1 than 150 pounds, has a straggly brown,wr beard and looks and dresses like an| I ordinary farmer, in the plainest of ing clothes and big, rough cowhide boots, nia He generally wears a knit cardigan in jacket by way of uniform. vil "In battle Gen. Dewet always fires ani the first shot for his men. and after on< he has fired his men may take up the sm fight, but not before. You may believe, nia then, that Dewet, like Sheridan and pic Skobeloff, never directs his men to.Th 'Go on!' but always calls to them tojvoi 'flnmp nn!' He leads the wav. The 6V( men follow and they worship him, and j be will stick to him to the last ditch. | ^ "Just before I left South Africa, IjWll saw Gen. Dewet. He said to me: "I Th shall never quit until I've got that for &a: which we are fighting or my force? sal my army?is reduced to less than 200 his men.' he ' 'One Free State or Trahsvaal sol- his dler,* Dewet declares, 'Is equal to ten hal British soldiers at any time or any hin place. While Roberts were In Bloemfon- F tein Dewet fought three battles within eyt 25 miles of that place and captured wei 1,000 British, seven cannon, and 51,000,- bill 000 worth of provisions. Often you inc could hear the roar of the cannon in he those fights in Bloemfonteln. Roberts ed repeatedly sent out columns to cut off cla and capture Dewet and his little band, wa: but the Free State general turned the wit tables on the British and cut off and ins; captured the columns. It was like tne his old story of the bear who turned around con and hunted the hunter. T "Before the war Dewet was a mem- con ber of the Free State volksrand, or con- cia: gress. His business was that of a far- an mer. He was born at Wepener, and wll lived at Kroonstad, where he had a ply place on which he raised horses and red potatoes for a living. His only previ- ma s military experience was in the war th the English in 1881, when he was e of 60 men who volunteered to mb Majuba Hill, which was held by I British. 'At the beginning of the war the lksrand elected a number of geneIs, of whom Dewet was one. Gen. Insloo, who was captured a few ;eks ago, was the commandant gene1, at the head of the Free' State rces. At the battle of Magersfontein insloo funked and ran away. He was urt-martialed by his own men and ;wet elected to succeed him. 'A peculiarity of Dewet's command that there is apparently little or military discipline about it The neral moves among his men, when t actually in battle, with the free d unconstrained intercourse of a prite in tne ranks. He talks, jokes and jighs with the soldiers in a most ununified manner for a general in com ind, but his confidence is never abus. His men know all the time that ?wet is supreme, and when the time r action arrives, follow him anywhere leads them. . 'Dewet's idea when he started co- . etting with the forces of Kitchener d Baden-Powell, was to get north of etoria and join the forces of those of itha, the Transvaal leader. This, no, ubt, he has accomplished by now. 'The ablest leaders on the Boer side e Botha, Dewet and Lucas Meyer. tey are all good men, and will worry , e British for some time to come. On s British side Roberts and French 2 about the only generals who have ed up to their reputations." MR. WU'S PERTINENT QUESTION. Waa Too Hard For Senator Hale and That Gentleman Had to Paaa. sw York Tribune. Senator Eugene Hale, of Maine, told :ently with amused chagrin, of a ssage at arms he had with Mr. Wu, ? Chinese minister. The treatment the missionaries in the far East is under consideration, and the sen)r had trotted out a number of ininces of maltreatment, and even irse, that the missionaries had met th at the hands of their Eastern ?thren. The senator then pointed t to the minister that this was hardthe way in which the missionary Duld be received, and that a liberty faith should be accorded their subits by Eastern rulers. All through s homily the Chinese minister had Inned sympathetically, but a trifle risively. . j 'Liberty of religious thought, eh?" * 11 inquired tentatively, when his ince came. "You not always give erty of religious , thought, in this intry; you sometimes persecute the sslonary in these great United , ites. I think?" ,To this, needless to 7, the junior senator from the Pine ee State interposed a vigorous deil. ' 'No, you never do such things here, verl Tou never persecute the poor ssionary! You are too high-minded. u have too much freedom of thought that." And here Wu'o derisive * tile grew diabolical. "How about i Levantine affair?" 'Levantine affair?" was the puzzled luiry. 'Yes, Levantine affair; affair at Lent. What did you do there?" tnd then -the senator suddenly reimbered the fate of a Mormon misnary at Levant, Me. The keen Cetial eye of the Chinese minister saw i look of understanding in Senator tie's eye, and he drove the nail home. What did you do with that Mormon ssionary at Levant, eh? You gave n what is called tar and feathers; is not so?" But the senator had no resnse at hand. CIGARETTES THE CAUSE. elusive Use First Made Him Blind, Then Robbed Him of Reason. rtade blind by the excessive use of ;arettes Frank Ritchie, a well-to-do ildent of Glen Cove, L. I., continued ;ir use until he became insane. He .3 taken yesterday to the state hosal at Kings Park, L. I., a mental eck. Ritchie was one of the most promlgr business men of Glen Cove. He Is irried and has six children. He lived one of the prettiest cottages In the lage, regularly attended church d was considered a good citizen. His 5 excess was cigarettes. These he oked continually. He averaged as iny as 150 a day. His friends 1mired him to stop, but he would not. e cigarettes did not affect his neris system at first, and he laughed at ?ry one who told him there would any ill effect. Lbout a year ago he was troubled . th his eyes. He was unable to read, e letters would jumble before his se. He consulted an occulist, who d cigarette smoking had affected sight. The occulist told him that must either give up cigarettes or sight. He tried to do so, but the olt had obtained such a hold upon i that he could not relinquish it. Lltchie continued to smoke and his ;s failed steadily until about two eks ago, when he became stone id. He still smoked, however, even reaslng his dally consumption. Sooi* began to act queerly. He threatenhls friends and family. Then physins were consulted. They said he 3 slowly losing his mind. Cigarettes, h the blindness, were driving him ane. He would constantly bemoan fate and curse cigarettes, but he ild not give them up. 'wo or three days ago there was a nplete breakdown, and the physios recommended that he be taken to asylum. The asylum authorities 1 not at once cut off Ritchie's supof cigarettes. It will be gradually uced, so that in time it is hoped he y regain his sanity. J