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I YORKVILLE ENQUIRER. ~ j ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLY. _x ^ l. h. grist's sons. Pnbinherj f 31 JJamilg Jleirspaper: Jfor the promotion of the political, gonial, Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the people. {IER"raoL^opi.Eri cKwrfcXC'' ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, S. C., TUESDAY, JULY 3, 1906. ISTO. 53. THE K A Story of the Times Alexander BY JERE C CHAPTER VII?Continued. "Ah!" exclaimed Billings, in a tone of more surprise than he was wont to exhibit:- "ah! I had not thought of that. It is possible," he continued, af ter a pause, "inai you nave nu mr right nail on the head! Upon reflection, I am inclined to think you have. That foolish girl, to whom I paid fifty dollars for watching Miss Moncrieffe and reporting her acts, has been giving me her inferences, and calling them facts; and I, like an idiot, swallowed her story without investigation, because I wanted to believe it. Another such a blunder will woefully lessen my self-confldence, though, in this case?thank the stars, or the devil, or whatever goblin or sprite had a finger in the business?the mistake is of no great consequence. He will be quite as anxious to protect the fame of his intended wife as he would have been to hide the errors of his victims. Either will give* him food for anxious thoughts; and the best of it is that he will be so hampered by pride and dellenev in the one case, or by the con sclousness of guilt In the other, that he will take no notice of the report unless it is forced upon him so publicly as to be unavoidable. You have the trumps in your own hand. Captain Hamilton, and If you do not win the game, the fault will be yours." "There Is one view of the case which does not seem to have occurred to you, Mr. Billings, that strikes me as worthy of consideration. Is it not possible that, to win the daughter's hand, he may seek to recommend himself to the father's favor, by turning traitor to his country? Such things have happened in times not very remote from ours." "No, captain; I thought of that, and dismissed the Idea as altogether Improbable. It is possible, to be sure, that a man In love may make an infernal fool of himself in every conceivable way, and Major Burr would save us a great deal of trouble by proving himself no exception to the rule; but he will not do it. It is my habit to study attentively the character and dispositions of those who occupy to me the relations of friend or foe. Major Burr, though properly neither the one nor the other, is in my way and has not escaped my scrutiny. His heart is in the American cause. He does not adhere to it, as you and I do, because he i believes it will triumph in the end. He < is bound to it by birth, by kindred, by > education, and by association. He comes of the old Puritan stock who first settled the wilderness; and the bones of his ancestors, from generations back, are moldering beneath this soil. It is my fixed opinion that if he were suspended over the pit of hell, and you were to offer him the alternative of betraying his country or? dropping into the burning lake, he w.?uld choose the latter. I know you are thinking that, admitting this to be so, it does not negative vour sueeestion. since it would be easier to take this sudden and desperate resolve than to resist the dally and hourly pleading of the passions, when a beautiful woman is the lure. Applied to a nature like yours, the reasoning is undoubtedly correct. Major Burr is of a different stamp. In him patriotism Is stronger than love; and if the gifted beauty from whom Socrates took lessons, and of whom Pericles was first the pupil and then the slave, could again revisit the earth the eloquence which captivated the philosopher, and the charms which enraptured the warrior-states man would be wasted in the effort to win him to the side of England. I use strong language, for I wish to impress upon you my earnest conviction of the truth of what I utter. We must make our calculations upon winning the game without any assistance from him." "You are assuming more tlfan half the argument," responded Captain Hamilton. "You are taking it for granted that I intend to play out that game, whereas I have informed you that I am strongly inclined to throw up my hand and begin afresh." "I did not think you serious, particularly as I have heard from you no denial of my right to be consulted about a matter which so materially affects my interests." J uo ueny ii, anu insist inai i aione am the rightful judge of the course it becomes me to take." "You are In error. Captain Hamilton, and your position will not bear argument, if I were disposed to urge it. It would do me no good, however, and afford me no pleasure to convince you against your will. I prefer that your decision should be made according to your own sense of what is due to me and to yourself, only insisting that as I have no fancy for the game of blind man's bluff, you will not leave me to grope in the dark, but inform me distinctly what your determination is." The perfect coolness of the practiced villain, the total absence of every expression of regret, anger, or astonishment and his studied avoidance of every word that implied a threat, had a meaning for Alexander Hamilton that was perfectly terrible. Until recently, he had looked upon James Billings merely as an unscrupulous Knave, >vuo might be used when necessary, and bullied or bought into silence when his services were no longer needed. After he was too deeply committed to recede, he discovered that he was, to a great extent, in the power of a man of vast mental resources, of great wealth, (how great no one knew;) without a touch of fear, or pity, or remorse; full of ambitious schemes, as yet but dimly disclosed; prepared to commit any human crime that promoted his views, and reckless of any human suffering that might follow his acts. Knowing this man as he did; knowing that with him there was no middle ground?that he must be either an ally or an enemy; knowing, further, that in less than one hour from the date of a rupture between them, he would be plotting his destruction, as earnestly as he was now [VALS. of Aaron Burr and Hamilton. ILEMENS. scheming for his advancement and remembering how much that was biacK and damning he could reveal. Captain Hamilton, bold as he was, felt his heart sink within him, and his good resolutions took to themselves wings and flew away. Oh, it Is a bitter, bitter draught, when the haughty son of genius finds that by one misstep, one plunge into crime, a thing to which he had ascribed no more than a reptile's consequence has obtained the mastery over his actions, and whenever his better nature turns In horror from the crimes to which he Is urged, there stands the relentless demon beckoning forward with one hand, while the other points to an abyss of infamy behind! Whenever, too, his guardian angel whispers "Return?repent," its low tone is drowned by a louder voice, which says "One step more, and you are safe: one more deed of shame is all that is needed. There beyond that one deed, lie power, and wealth, and honor. Courage, and they are yours! To turn back is weakness?worse than weakness; it is self-destruction! You cannot recall the past, and you have done so much, nfiii Uiai Lilt* llllic iiiui c icquucu mu scarcely add a feather's weight tp your guilt!" And so he goes on from 'crime to crime, under the delusive Relief that each one is the last; that each one is all that Intervenes between him and the prize he is losing his soul to win. Hamilton reasoned as thousands had done before him, and fell, as they did, into a moral hell, which is robbed of none of Its tortures by the gilding of worldly success. His reply was an index to the thoughts that oppressed > him. "I have no alternative, I suppose, but to yield to your wishes, or to blow out your brains.' "And the last alternative is one tnat I trust Captain Hamilton instantly dismissed, since these same brains may be serviceably employed in the promotion of his interests." "I did dismiss it. Why or wherefore is Immaterial. My resolution is takenj to go on as we agreed at our last interview in the city. As I understand that you. have nothing particular to communicate in reference to that matter, It is best to drop the subject." "I had no idea when I broached it, that It would lead to so much conversation between us; still, I do not like lo leave anything unfinished: and I confess to some curiosity to know what pleasant vision you were indulg ing a short time since, in connection with my sudden decease." "Mr. Billings you spared me the mortification of listening to a threat from you, and I would willingly have exercised a like forbearance. If anything should sound unpleasant in what I am going to say, remeH^er that your inquiry extracted it. The vision I was indulging is one that will remain near me hereafter. The day that I resolve to break off our connection, will be the last of your life. You have the power to Injure me deeply, and whenever I suspect that you are about to use It, (and I shall suspect it the moment we quarrel.) I will slay you as certain as there is a God in heaven!" The words were hissed through his closed teeth, and the bloodless lips scarcely moved when the sound escaped them. The superhuman self-control of Billings failed him for once, and his eye quailed before the glance of fire that was fixed upon him. It irquuru a siiuus cauu IU icvuiu 1.1 v/m his confusion, and reply in his usual voice. "That is a bond between us I had not thought of. By the Lord, there are few friendships so well cemented as ours! A quarrel is death to both. Well, I do not lament the little wrangling that has brought us to so clear an understanding, and I predict that our work will be better and more harmoniously done, since it is manifest that a failure on either side will be followed by consequences so serious. We will, if you please, consider this long episode at an end. I sought you to say that I am going tonight to the city of New York, and from there I must take a journey southward. It will probably be two months or more before you see me again. In the meantime it will be best to let the little seed I have planted grow untended. Indeed, if General Howe is a soldier of as much capacity as he Is represented he will leave you no leisure to attend to private matters. At the head of his force, he ought to drive General Washington from the state of New York in two days. The Americans can make no efficient stand until he is drawn inland, beyond the reach of aid from his shipping, and is weakened by the garrisons he must leave behind. I may have occasion to write to you. and if .so, take It for granted that there is not one word of truth in the visible contents. When you are alone, hold it over a hot fire, and whatever then appears upon the third page you may rely on." "Going to the city, did you say? That is impossible; the enemy's lines extend from river to river.' "Nevertheless I must make the attempt; and I have accomplished more difficult feats before now. Take this glass," he continued, "and examine that skirt of timber to the left. I thought I detected the glitter of scarlet uniforms among the autumn leaves." Hamilton took the glass, and, after a brief survey of the ground, closed it again, saying.? "It is nothing but a post of videttes." "I know it." replied Billings; "but look again. There is a lot of officers coming this way, and there is no occasion for letting them know that our conversation has had reference to anything else than the perfection or imperfection of General Howe's dispositions. Give me the glass." Taking the instrument, he adjusted it to his eye. and ran it along the whole length of the British line. "General Howe," he said, just as the officers to whom he had alluded ap proached the spot. "General Howe < seems to like your company so well, 1 that he Is preparing to make a perma- 1 nent encampment In your neighbor- < hood. You have reason to thank your | stars that England did not send out a t more energetic commander." ] "What do you mean?" asked one of i the younger officers. "Do you think s General Howe ought to make an at- 1 tack on these fortified heights?' s "I am not a military man, and my 1 Anlnlnn io r\r\t ta munh onnalfl. t UF".,V" " ??vv Vi.v.v.vw iv x eration. General Howe, doubtless, knows his own business better than I do; but if I was at the head of yonder army of red-coats, I think these fortified heights would be mine before the rising of tomorrow's sun, and George Washington a captive or a fugitive. In my judgment General Howe Is overcautious." "You speak like a fool!' replied the officer, hotly. "An army of fifteen thousand freemen, behind these works, is more than a match for treble that number of hireling mercenaries." "I deserve the rebuke" answered Billings, with a bland smile, "for venturing an opinion on a subject of which I confess, I am ignorant. I shall not hereafter question the ability of the American army to perform miracles. Indeed, I was myself a witness to an achievement of theirs which has few recorded parallels. To my certain knowledge. on the fifteenth of this present a month, they made tne distance rrom (j New York to Harlem at an average j speed of about twelve miles to the t hour, and In such remarkable order, that not a single colonel was able to c find his regiment, and very few cap- f tains possessed a more accurate knowl- ^ edge of the whereabouts of their com- f panies. Gentlemen, I bid you good a day!" t At the conclusion of this bitter t speech, James Billings made a polite t bow, and walked deliberately away. \ "Who is he, Hamilton?" asked two or three of the astonished officers at 0 once. r "Some years ago," he replied, "I knew j him as a trader between New York and f the West Indies. Afterwards, I under- a stood that he had accumulated a for- u tune and retired from business. What a pre his present pursuits I do not know. \ 1 do know, however, that he Is a zeal- t, ous and efficient friend of the patriot 0 cause." j "I should have taken him for a sol- a dkr" answered General Lee, who was t among the group. "His voice has the g ring of tried metal, and I will stake a more than I could well afford to lose, w that It has been heard above the sound t of clashing steel before this war be- s gan." "I know him only as a merchant," e said Hamilton, "and never heard him s allude to any other service in which he t had been engaged. Your conjecture g may be correct, though I think it lm- t probable. He was too familiar with u the details of the mercantile business j not to have passed many years in ac- a quiring a knowledge of that hazardous a calling." " 0 Captain Hamilton had. In reality, no j, certain knowledge of the former occu- n pations of James Billings. He knew t enough to be assured that they had not j, been of the most reputable kind, and a this made him desirous of appearing more ignorant than he was. Not ^ knowing to what the present conversa- j| tion might lead, he hastened to change a it by abruptly inquiring, "What do you t think of our position, general? Can a we hold it?" i This question led, as he expected and j desired, to an animated discussion, in y the heat Qf which James Billings and j his biting retort were forgotten. -] t CHAPTER VIII. 11 r "Whate'er that thought, still unex- t pressed. Dwells the sad secret in his breast; v The pride his haughty brow reveals, r All other passion well conceals." r The retreat from New York was the 1 beginning of a series of disasters that t almost annihilated the American army 1< and spread among the people a feeling i of d.smay so general that the most \ hopeful trembled for the result. That t was emphatically the time "that tried c men's souls." Every messenger that c galloped through the country carried c tidings of woe. Congress fled In ter- t ror from Philadelphia. The tears of s the wife mingled with the blood of her t husband; and the wall of the orphan c rose above the unburied corpse of the a fath?r. General Washington at the i head of a miserable remnant of four f thousand men, was driven through New a Jersey, and beyond the Delaware, i Still undismayed, he kept the field t >vith his little band, and sent General t Putnam to Philadelphia, (then the 1 largest city In America.) to make such preparations for defense as the time f allowed. In the active discharge of t the numerous duties that devolved upon a him as the aid-de-camp of General > tho /love onil nichts nf Ma- I jor Burr were fully occupied. General t Washington had ordered a line of in- a tren?hments and redoubts to be thrown up f-om the Delaware to the Schuylkill. The proper performance of this service required a degree of scientific knowledge that General Putnam did not possess, and he was compelled to trust a great deal to his aid-de-camp. His confidence was not misplaced. Majir Burr was everywhere present, carrying orders, giving directions to the wortmen, and encouraging them In thei" labors. His slender frame was procf against fatigue and his buoyant spirits neither permitted despondency in 1 iniself nor in others. The difficulties to be overcome were greatly increased, from the fact that the commai d consisted almost entirely of militia. General Washington could spare no others. He had need of all the regular troops he could muster for the Ki-Miinnt ivint&r r>nmimicn he was then con-emplating, and which, beginning \ with the battle of Trenton, in three i weeks resulted in relieving Philadel- t phi* in the recapture of every post the ( enemy had taken along the Delaware, r and in the reconquest of almost the ( whole of the Jerseys. A campaign so i astonishing, that an Italian historian I dec ares it was "regarded with wonder i by all nations, as well as the Amerl- i can?." } From the gloom of despondency the i spiiits of the army and the people rose t to the highest pitch of exulting hope, i Philadelphia was no longer in lmme- ' dia'e danger; and in the new disposl- i tioi of his forces, General Washington 1 transferred General Putnam to Prince- t ton in New Jersey. At this place s Aaion Burr was born, and here his ? childhood was nursed; at this place his 'ather and his mother were buried; at this place his education had been acluired. A few years before, he had rone out from its college walls happy ind contented, with no want to oppress him, no sorrow to harass, no ivrong to madden. Happy In the possession of his books, happy In the 'rlendshlD of his associates, happier ?till in the kindness of his relatives a lfe of sunny brightness spread itself >ut before the student. He came back ;o it a boy still In appearance, but In iccomplishments a soldier of proved ibility; and in heart a worn and sor ow-8trlcken man. He stood alone between the graves of his honored mrents, and let his mind run back up n the family history. For three gen rations it had furnished the most celtbrated lawyers, clergymen, ana staTesnen of the piovlnces. His father was minent as the president of Princeton college, and still more eminent as a mlpit orator. His mother was the nost accomplished woman of her time, md the daughter of that Jonathan Edrards who is still pointed to with >ride, and whose memory is still chershed with fond affection by every genline son of New England. On both iaes, every arop or oiooa mar noweu n his veins came from a fountain of insullied purity; and in the long; rerospect there was not one act to call i blush of shame to the cheek of their lescendant. From these proud and leasing recollections, he came down o his own less enviable lot. "Not upon me," he said, "can the urse have fallen, that the sins of the tarent shall be visited upon the chllIren, even unto the third generation; or the three generations have gone by, nd each one has been marked by the ipheavings of a piety as fervent as hat of Isaiah when the Seraphim had ouched his lips with a living coal. Vhy did I not follow In their footsteps? Vhy did I not take up the weapons f the church, and do battle for the edemption of souls rather than engage n the less ennobling strife whose rults, however sweet, are mortal still; nd whose victories, however great, are insung in that eternal world in which t last the spirit finds Its resting-place? Vhat healing balsam can the world's nief triumphs pour on the riven fibers f the heart? From glory's fountain no ^etnean waters roil over Duriea nopes Jid blasted joys. The higher we climb, he more we become like the Alpine :lacier, from which the sun's beams .re thrown In frozen radiance, and hose very brightness reveate moredisinctly the gaps and rents tnat warring torms have made. "Not to earthly honors did the venrated dead beneath me look for conolation and support. Not there did he father, the grandfather, and the Teat-grandfather turn when the trials hat afflict the upright as well as the indeservlng came upon them. Their houghts turned upward in adversity, nd to them crushed affections became blessing^ even as the bruised petals, f the rose exhale a sweeter odor than is opening bloom gave out. Was it tiy fault that I accepted not the inviation? Surely it was in my nature to abor as they labored, and to worship s they worshiped! From my earliest loyhood the Bible has been to me the iook of books. Its grand conceptions, ts lofty poetry, and Its pure morality, part from the memory of its lnsplralon, clothed it In raiment of light; nd. one after another my soul drank n its beauties?from the bearded maesty of Moses to the vailed mystery of rlalachi; from the fiery eloquence of Jaul to the tearful history of John, 'here was nothing repugnant to my aste in the profession my fathers followed. No habit of Idleness to deter? 10 love of dissipation to draw me from he Christian's walks, or were there ranting warm-hearted friends to renlnd me of their useful lives, and urge ne to follow their blameless example, fet I turned from it to wander through he mazes of a labyrinth that leads I mow not where, but which I do know s infested by a poisonous malaria, In chose presence peace and happiness lave withered and died. Was the hoice mine? or was it the fulfillment if an eternal decree hung up in heaven enturies ago? or have I faJlen upon he times when the Evil One, his thouand years of bondage over, is permited to revisit the earth and lure the reatures from the service of his Creitor? Oh! much of this must remain inknown until the soul stands up be * 1 J In Ifc ure nit- in uiu i nuit-u irtui u umi ia iu> iccuser, its advocate, its fitness, and ts judge. Until that dread hour, let me >e contented with the knowledge that he road to redemption not unfrequenty runs through tears. "In the first flush of youth, life, and ortune were freely offered to my counry. Another sacrifice was demanded; ,nd even as Abraham journeyed to the nountains of Moriah with the child of lis old age, did I bear an offering a housand times more precious than his, ind cast it down upon her altars. But mlike him, there was no voice to stay n yhand?no ram entangled in the lushes, for a substitute. The duty is ulfiiled; the suffering remains. Yet o suffer well is to triumph; and, come ehat may. no tear shall roll over my heek?no murmur escape my lips." The self-promise then made was aithfully redeemed. In prosperity and idversity; at the height of power; in loverly and exile, that mighty heart vas true to Itself. True always. True ind unfaltering to the last. Up to this time his enemies had ac omplished a great deal, though not all Hey expecieu. Morally tney naa e?aually degraded him In the eyes of he commander-in-chief; but they had lot blinded him to Major Burr's miliary merits. They had strong hopes hat when the army came to be reirganized, and Washington (upon vhom congress had conferred dictatoial powers) should come to make his >fficial appointments Burr would be iverlooked. It was impossible for neaner natures to understand fully the haraeter of that illustrious man. They nade the mistake of supposing that lis private prejudices would influence lis appointments, whereas patriotism ind military capacity were his requisites, and in these his judgment was arely at fault. The very persecution o which Burr had been subjected was 11 this aspect an advantage to him. rhe eye of the general was drawn nore particularly to him, and he was ess Inclined to judge his conduct from he reports of others. Major Burr himself. knowing the prejudice against him it headquarters, anticipated no ap pointment. He judged wrongly, as others did. In July, 1777, Central Washington Inclosed him the commission of lieutenant colonel In the Continental army; an honor never before or since conferred upon a man of his age, unless General La Payette ca n be regarded as an exception. His new appointment removed him from the family of GenPPQ 1 Putnam vx? V-? nao tin fa ltorincr frlonH. ship and manly sympathy had cheered the darkest hours of his life. The parting on both sides was marked by feelings of warm and earnest regard. "Good-by, my boy," faltered out the general, wringing Buit's slender hand in his own hard anil horny grasp. "Tour colonel is one of the best of men, and purest of patriots. He Is no sdldier and only accepted the command because his refusal would have been an injury to the patriot cause. If you please him, as I know you will, he will soon turn over the regiment to your exclusive control, and I expect to hear such accounts of you as will make mp feel proud of the interest I have taken in your advancement." '"Thank you, general, for this and for ail your kindness. If you hear aught of Aaron Burr that does not give you pleasure, it will be that he has fallen in the battle's front. In the full and faithful discharge of his duty to his ccwntry." Returning the warm pressure of the friendly hand. Colonel Burr mounted hlfe horse and rode off to join his regiment. In those days a regiment consisted of an indefinite number of men, according to the success that attended its recruiting officers. Malcolm's regimjent, to which Colonel Burr was assigned, was encamped on the Ramapo, arjd contained only about three hundred effective men. Nothing was easier than foir a finished man of the world, and a born soldier like Burr, to obtain a complete ascendency over the mind of a man conscious of his own deficiencies, and sincerely desirous, on his country's aecount that the command should be confided to more competent hands. In a few weeks he became so perfectly s^usneu inai everyiniitg iiugm uc trusted to his lieutenant colonel, that he withdrew entirely from the regiment, and never once Interfered with its discipline or led it into battle while Colonel Burr" continued in the service. TV} BE CONTINUED. SENATOR BAILEY'S THREAT. Talks of the Penitentiary to a Group of Standard Oil Men. A conversation at the Waldorf-Astoria, In which Senator Bailey of Texas, participated a few evenings a#o, has created a good deal of comment among the persons Involved and those to whom they related It, and leaked out yesterday. jMr. Bailey who had made a flying trip to New York, was seated at the table at the Waldorf-Astoria with some friends, when several persons prominent In corporation affairs came up. Some of them were officials of the Standard Oil company. The flPAnflAtvtnn of Af n Do llntf'o foKlo tirorO acquainted with them, and Introduced them to the senator. They sat down and the conversation naturally turned to the recent events at Washington, the determination evident there to make things unpleasant for corporations, and in particular the passage of the rate bill, with the stringent amendments added in the senate. Mr. Bailey did not say much at this stage of the conversation. He listened to the Standard Oil men, who gradually became stronger in their expressions. They complained bitterly at the disposition evident In Washington to make things unpleasant for them, and sharnlv attacked the rallwav rate bill and the senate amendments. Presently Mr. Bailey, who had been listening patiently, struck into the conversation in an emphatic and menacing manner. "You gentlemen who run these corporations," said he "must obey the law. If you had obeyed it in the first place, you would not have this new legislation to complain of. All your properties are held by virtue of the popular respect for law, and yet you are the very men who are doing most of your acts to break down this respect for law. "Every time congress passes a law you violate It. You have violated everv law sve have eriven vou. We Kave you the inter-state commerce act; you violated that. We gave you the Sherman anti-trust law; you violated that. Then we gave you the Elkins law, and you violated that. Now we give you a new one. If you violate that we will give yoj another one that will have iron teeth." A pause ensued after this declaration of Senator Bailey's. After awhile one of the corporation officers present asked: "What do you mean, senator, by a law with iron teeth?" "I mean a law that will send every one of you to the penitentiary." After this, very iittle was said by the others present about the unfairness of congress' attitude toward corporations. The conversation, however, continued along the same subject for awhile, and presently Mr. Bailey said: "The ownership of competing corporations by the same hands cannot go on. This Pennsylvania railroad combination is one that will have to be broken up, and will be." Afterwards, in speaking of the ^ame subject to others, Senator Bailey said: "These corporation omciais wno violate the law; who break every law that congress enacts, are doing more to create anarchists and Socialists than all the propaganda that those people can put in operation from now until doom's day."?New York Times. Vbofjtables as Medicine.?Asparagus stimulates the kidneys. Water cress Is an excellent blood purifier. Parsnips possesses the same virtues as sarsaparilla. Carrots are good for those having a tendency to gout. Celery contains sulphur and helps to ward off rheumatism. Celery is a nerve tonic; onions also are a tonic for the nerves. Tomatoes are good for a torpid liver but should be avoided by gouty people. Beets are fattening and good for people who want to put on flesh; so are potatoes. Lettuce has a soothing effect on the nerves and is excellent for sufferers from insomnia. Spinach has great aperient qualities and is far better than medicine for sufferers from constipation. ittiscrUancous grading. GRAFT IN SOUTH CAROLINA. Conditions Worse Than They Have Been In Years. News and Courier: i lie aruuie prmieu ueiuw is reprinted from the Baptist Courier at the request of a gentleman who lives In the up-country and who says of the author: "Capt. Edwards Is a member of the Baptist church, a soldier of the Lost Cause with brilliant record for bravery and fidelity to duty, and a man who has few superiors in the state as a clear forceful writer. At one time he was prominently Identified with the Tillmanites and was elected superintendent of educntlon of York county." In the Infinite wisdom of our Creator, He organized the human race into families. The purpose of this order of things is not hard to comprehend. We hear him saying to Moses, when your children inquire why you celebrate the Passover feast, tell them of the mighty deliverance of the children of Israel from Egyptian bondage, and how the destroying angel slew the first born of all the Egyptians and passed over the houses of the children of Israel. And we hear him on another occasion saying "When thou art in thy house, when thou slttest down, when thou risest up, and when thou art in the way, tell it to the children." A stream never rises higher than its fountain and a pure stream cannot flow from an impure fountain. As the hnmp and fumllv la the annrpe and fountain from which spring all other organizations of both church and state, how Important Is It, then, that the homes of the people should be pure, and the children reared In the atmosphere of the Gospel of Jesus the Christ and taught in the principles of Mew Testament ethics. Just as the homes are so will be our churches. If ignorance and impiety dominate the homes of the people in any community the progress of the churches Is retarded. The character of our country, In state and national governments, is the reflex of the character of the homes of the Gospel. If this is true, and it is as true as God's word Is true, then all thoughtful Christian men and women are made to shudder and become alarmed when we read of the amount of graft, dishonesty. peculation, malfeasance in office, murder and theft of public as well as private funds. Our blessed Master said, "a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump." What kind of leaven are the people of our country leavened with, that produces drunkenness, murder, lying and stealing among both the higher and lower classes of our people? Where did the men come from who have been stealing so much of the whisky money of South Carolina's great moral institution? From the homes of the people, and many of them from so-called Christian homes? Who elected them to these positions? The South Carolina general assembly. And how did they get there and where did they come from? From the homes of the people of the state and elected by men, hundreds and thousands of whom are members of churches, claiming to be churches of the Lord Jesus Christ. Were the majority of the senators in our last general assembly reflecting the character and sentiments of the people in the homes of South Carolina? If so, God help us. "When the righteous are in authority the people relolce. but when the wicked bear rule the people mourn." In a republican government such as ours, if the wicked bear rule it is the fault of the people. If we have a corrupt government It is because the people are corrupt. We find graft and stealing In every department of our state and county governments as well as in many of our private enterprises. The men responsible for the disbursement of the money of the people of the counties of Greenville and Columbia stole it. State bonds were stolen out of the treasurer's office in Columbia. Some years ago a large amount of money was found short in the South Carolina penitentiary. - In tvvo coun ties of the state in recent years the children's money was stolen by the county superintendents of education. And In one county we find the county pension board stealing the money appropriated for the poor old worn out Confederate soldiers. Some years ago we had a reform movement In South Carolina, and the leaders of that movement claimed that our state government was "honey-combed" with rottenness. This movement was a political triumph, but the people have got nothing out of it except what we have paid dearly for in hard cash. Some people claim that the reform movement gave us Winthrop and Clemson colleges. That claim may or may not be true, but if we admit the claim there is no doubt but it also gave us the dispensary system of selling intoxicating liquor as a beverage, as a state institution. I want to ask the thoughtful, intelligent Christian men and women of South Carolina to seriously consider the history of our state for the past decade. I venture the assertion, and have no fear of successful contradiction, that I Koon ninra oh Aflf III f And II1CI C lia ? c wrcii ihwiw ? ? ? brutal murders and other crimes, more graft and stealing by public officials and men entrusted with money, than in any other decade In the history of the state. I am not a sore head, and I am not a pessimist or a chronic grumbler, but am now an old man and have lived in an eventful period in the history of this country. Experience and observation has taught me that political revolutions, and the changing of one set of political aspirants for another, has but little if any effect upon the moral uplifting of the people. Political harangues, lectures on education, and even education itself, will not avail to make the fountain pure. Virtue, honesty and sobriety must be inculcated in the homes of the people, both by precept and example. If that were done in all the homes of i the people, and the children reared , in the atmosphere of the old-time New Testament religion, we couiu get in the next generation honest Christian men to make and execute our laws. Men everywhere, and in almost every department of commerce and labor, in their mad rush 1 for money are making false impressions upon the minds of our boys and ( girls. The talk In the home at the fireside is money, at the table money, on the streets, in the shop, and in the stores, money, money, money. We | are In danger of becoming a nation of money worshippers, and the thirst and love of money Is causing the downfall of many men and bringing i suffering and sorrow to many hearts and homes. Teach a boy that money is the all important consideration in ' this world, and he will go into battle I and he will get it by fair means or j foul. | In South Carolina there are more ? 1- 1 Ik??e6nj UanHvitu mail l?U IIUIIUICU liiuuoauu and Methodists. I guess there are 1 that many or more professing Christians of other denominations. I am speaking of white people. If the 1 professing Christians among the ne- ' groes are counted it will run the | number up to three-quarters of a million. Is not that leaven enough . to leaven the whole lump, if these were what we profess to be? When Moab was to be destroyed by the , command of the Lord we hear the edict of Jehovah. "Cursed be he that doeth the Lord's work negligently," : (or another rendering deceitfully.) Are not the Christians of South Carolina doing the Lord's work negligent- i ly? The conditions of the body poll- i tic in South Carolina are bad, worse < than ever before in my day, ana 1 am much past the allotted three score and ten. And as we read the daily papers we find like conditions existing all over the United States. Righteousness cannot be legislated Into any people, neither will punishment of the criminals purify the homes of the people. We hear the cry, turn out the Republicans and give the Democrats control of the government. Amen. But that will not cure the evil disease of which we as a nation are suffering. Home piety and. Christian education is our only hope. If the Christian men fail to rid the state of this thief-producing institution known as the dispensary, then we are doing the Lord's work "negligently" and may expect the curse. Chester, S. C. PHA8E8 OF DE8ERT THIR8T. Terrible Experience of Man Lost In Waterless Wastes of the 8outhwest. Of the three types into which thirst as a pathologic condition has been grouped that of the desert is most purely the deprivation of moisture without the influence of modifying external circumstances. That form known as ordinary thirst occurs under the favorable surroundings of humid air and often protection from the sun. Sea thirst is also under the influence of air heavily charged with vapor, with plenty of water, though non-drirkable, at hand, and is modified by the presence of salts externally. In cases of desert thirst, water, even as a vapor, is entirely lacking or nearly so and the influence of external salts is a minimum. Death from thirst is a horror that has many times been described by onlookers, or, paradoxically speaking, occasionally by those who have really suffered its pangs by going through the various stages until unconsciousness Is reached but who happily though rarely, are rescued and survive. Never have the phenomena of extreme thirst been pictured more graphically than by W. J. McOee, director of the St. Louis public museum, in a paper reporting the remarkable survival of a Mexican In southwestern Arizona. This man was in the desert eight days and nights with only one day's supply of water. During that time he rode in the saddle thlrty-flve miles and walked or crept between 100 and 150 miles. For seven days he was entirely without water. As a result of the deprivation the man lost one-fourth his body weight. An extraordinary feature was the lack of totally insane delirium which so commonly is a part of the mental condition of these persons. This allowed him to follow the trail and accounts for his reaching aid, although his phenomenal physical condition was the real cause of survival. The case recorded by Dr. McGee was most unusual In that half of those dying from desert thirst perish In thirtysix hours, a quarter within forty-six or fifty hours and all others of which the history Is known by the eightieth hour. Dr. McOee discusses thirst In general and then In particular desert thirst, the phenomena of which he arranges under three stages, normal thirst, functional derangement and structural degeneration. Making up these stages are Ave phases, most of them descriptively named by survivors and well-known to those who frequent the desert, namely, the clamorous, cotton mouth phase, the shrivelled tongue the blood sweat and the living death. The first phaseIs relieved by water, or In some Instances fruit acids or similar substances may be required. Thirst In the second phase Is best relieved by water taken by quarts In small sips and thrown over the body In quantities. Persons In the third phase also require water by gallons, inside and out. but cautiously appuea. usuauy In addition a febrifuge should be given, and In some cases a heart tonic also is Indicated. Little of value may be possible for those In the fourth phase. Water may be a damage. If ohysical recovery does occur the mental condition may never clear. In the final phase there Is no alleviation but the end. Fortunately this appears often to be painless. Dr. McOee has spent a great deal of time in the deserts of the southwest and has himself gone half through the stages of desert thirst, and Is thus personally well qualified ta speak upon the subject.?American Medicine. SUPERSTITIONS OF SAILORS. Some Uncanny Phenomena That Assail the Seafaring Man. All sailors are superstitious, and the 'egends of the sea are legion, ranging from phantom ships to spectral lights suddenly gleaming from yardarms and mastheads. That many of these legends are very ancient may be proved by the fact that the sea harpies are described by Homer and Heslod, while according to Virgil they olundered .flCneas during his voyage to Italy. The beautiful sirens, too, are of classic origin. Weird, indeed, are the tales of haunting spectres, fit to send one's nerves a-shlvering after a hearty supprr, well suited to Christmas time ghost stories. There are the four Goblins of Dunter's Ness, not ghosts, but evil water spirits, who appear twice a year, only In midwinter, but bring bad luck in a very short time to the ship from which they are sighted. We must mention Adamaster, the dreaded Ghost of the Cape, that used to be seen in a halo of cloud and mist over Good Hope, and also the silent man of Wexford Harbor, the wandering soul of the Dutch skipper who lost his smack on his way to Dublin some tnree centuries ago . Ghostly apparitions are not, however, the only ones to be feared at sea. In the case of St. Elmo's fire these apparitions take the shape of spectral lights suddenly gleaming from yardarms and mastheads. It was known by ancient navigators as Castor and Pollux?the best omen if seen double, but a signal danger if seen single. Jack has a score of well known superstitions, many of which are of very long descent, such as the presence of figureheads, the blessing of ships and the "crossing of the line." And it will be remembered that the Prince and Princess of Wales both paid tribute to old Neptune while on their journey to Australia.?English Illustrated Magazine. tv it is a good deal easier to pray for men's souls than to pour balm into their wounds, not to mention that it costs less. rLA Y A MAN S KAIf I In life's drama just beginning Play a man's part In the world; Whether losing or If winning, Play a man's part in the world. Hard may press on you the deaJ In the struggle of the real. But be true to your ideal? Play a man's part In the world. Wear no tagged and slavish collar, Play a man's part in the world; . Sell not honor for the dollar, Play a man's part in the world; Be your own life's only master; Rule success and dare disaster. In both gripping good the faster? Play a man's part In the world. Of the rich, show independence. Play a man's part in the world; To the poor give helpful tendence, Play a man's part in the world. Keep your manhood as a treasure Past all price of gold to measure; In your toil or pain or pleasure, Play a man's part In the world. ?Baltimore American. DE8TR0Y THE WEAP0N8. Unwritten Law, Baaed on Suparatition, of the Reigning Housaa of Europe. For obvious reasons It Is natural that the Spanish police should be anxious to secure the bomb which did not explode when thrown at the royal couple. There was a reason behind the desire to nip in the bud the chance of further damage. There is an unwritten law in the reigning houses of Europe, says the London Evening Standard, that all relics of attempts upon royal lives, as well as the Instruments used for * treating the wounds caused in such attempts, shall be destroyed. There was a solemn assembly in Geneva of AustroHungarian officials to witness the ucmuuluuii ui me uiBirumenis wnicn caused the death of the Empress Elisabeth and of the surgical Instruments used In making the poet-mortem examination. The custom is based to a certain extent upon superstition, but more solidly upon the determination to prevent the relics from falling Into the hands of exhibitors of such traffic trifles. The custom In this matter once was to grind to pieces the weapon which had been employed. When, however, the dagger was secured with which the priest Martin Merino attempted to murder Queen Isabella of Spain, rather more than half a century ago, the blade was found to be of such finely tempered steel that It resisted every effort of file and stone. Something like a panic was caused when the news got abroad; the Spanish peasants Imagined that there must be magic In the blade. So a cabinet was specially summoned to deal with the crisis, and it was determined to submit the steel to the influence of adds. This proving sue cessful, all Implements used for like foul purposes have undergone the like treatment?knives, swords, daggers, revolvers and, presumably, bombs. thrown at the young king and queen of Spain should be hurled by a man secreted In the only house In Madrid owned by Queen Christina. This, at first sight. Is surprising. Napoleon III, In the terror which Orslnl's attempt Inspired, bid for safety by buying up the houses facing the Tuilerles, so that bombs should not be flung thence by his enemies. It Is from places whose position should guarantee their safety that danger comes. Only a miracle prevented Alexander II from being blown to atoms in his own winter palace. The Grand Duke Serge was assassinated outside the law court of St Petersburg; Gen. Bobrikoff was slain when entering the senate; M. Plehve was struck dead with his secret police all around him; the king and oueen of Servla Derished In their own palace. A blow aimed by the would-be murderer upon such an occasion as Thursday is aimed in spite of the most elaborate precautions of the police of Europe. The detective forces of all the capitals of Europe are represented at this moment at Madrid. Probably all the anarchist societies in Europe, too, are represented there. Plots are always on foot, though they may not come to anything. The police get to hear of a movement; the conspirators are warned of the discovery and abandon their plans. The authorities do not unnecessarily display their knowledge. There is danger In publicity, the anarchist is imitative, and will strive to share the fame, as it is esteemed, of the man who, discovered in a felonious enterprise, becomes for the moment a European figure. ^ Curious Instances of 8leep. It Is related of a Chinese merchant who was convicted of wife murder and sentenced to die by being deprived of sleep, that he was placed in a prison with guards changed hourly for the purpose of preventing him from sleeping. After the commencement of the eighth day his suffering was so intense that he implored the authorities to strangle, guillotine, bum Kim /Innu'ri Him cro rrnto uhnnt nilftr ter, blow up with gunpowder, or put him to death in any conceivable way. Natural sleep has been defined as mental rest produced by an appetite resulting from fatigue. But the idea that mental rest means mental inaction is hardly tenable, Inasmuch as it quite frequently happens that the solution of unsolved problems is the first thing to appear in the consciousness on awakening, and thus the mind must have been operative while asleep. It is commonly supposed that the greatest depth of sleep occurs about the end of the first hour. This, however Is not Invariably the rule, according to my own observations in the Cook county (Chicago) Insane asylum I made some years ago, when I spent two successive nights in hourly testing the depth of sleep by light, sound and touch. A majority of the ten cases I had under observation showed the greatest depth to be at about 3 a. m. More recently Drs. Sante de Sanctis and N. Neyros, at the University of Rome, tested the depth of sleep in four normal persons by pressure upon the temples. One of these showed the greatest depth of sleep in the second hour, while the others , showed the greatest depth between the first and second hours.?Harper's Weekly. -I