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> ; 1 LL-UIJ^^_Li ???? ?II I I ,|||| .ti nil ^ ^ ^ ^ I8SHKD SBIII-WEEKL^^ ' . i. k grists sons pubii?her?. } % Jfamitg Jleurspaper: J(or the gromotion of the political, Social. Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the feopie. {TKR"t-i'i2i?!liopifnvE!ceot?l!'CK' established 1855. YO RK VILT.K, S.C., T UKSPA Y, DECEM BE I { 18. 1i)Q(i. ~ XO. 101. A Romance of the . s My W. GIL> CHAPTER Vin. "There shall be Joy for this. Shall w< not laugh? Laugh merrily for conquest, when 1 takes The wolfdog from our throats, ant v yields us his." Travis, the faithful coadjutor oftht Tory Huck, was on his march lntc the swamp oeiore aayugm. as Humphries had anticipated, he took the path, if so it might be called, on which the ambuscade had been laid for him ft He might not have done so, had he /dreamed for an Instant of the existence in this quarter of such a body ol men as that now preparing to receive him. Looking on his object, however simply as the arrest of Frampton. and the scouring of the swamp of such stragglers besides as might have beer led for shelter Into its recesses, he adopted the route which was obviously most accessible, and most likely, theres fore, to be resorted to by the merely skulking discontent. The half military eye, looking out for an enemy lr any respect equal in strength, would have either studiously avoided th? ridge over which Travis now presumed to ride, or would have adopted some ^ better precautions than he had troubled himself to take. It was naturally a strong defile, well calculated for an easy defence, as only a small force could ** possibly be of use upon it. But twe persons could ride abreast In the prescribed direction, and then only with great difficulty and by slow movement; for little gullies and fissures continually intersected the path, which was circuitous and winding, and, if not always covered with water and swamp, quite as difficult to overcome, from its luxuriant growth of umbrage. Though an old traveler in sucn fastnesses, these obstructions were In no sort pleasant to the leader of the British party, who, being a notorious grumbler, accompanied every step which he took with a grunting sort of commentary by way of disapprobation. "Now, may the devil take these gullies, that go as deep when you get into them as If they were made for him. This Is a day's chase, and the next time Huck wants a hunt, he shall enjoy It himself. I like not this service. It's little less than a disparagement ol the profession, and speaks not well for . an old soldier." The leader spoke with feeling, and no little emphasis, as his steed scrambled up the bank from the slough In which his legs had been almost fastened, the slimy ooze of which, left by the now-receding tide, rendered the effect to release himself a matter of greater difficulty than usual. The grumbling continued, even after he had gained the tussock. "Thou a soldier!" cried one who rode up behind him, and who spoke In terms of familiarity indicating close companionship?"thou a soldier, Travis, indeed; What should make thee a soldier?" "Am I not. Clough?" was the reply. "And wherefore dost thou grumble, then?" * "Wherefore? Because, being a soldier, I am sent upon any but a soldier's service. A dog might do this duty?a dog that you had well beaten." * "And what better service, Travis couldst thou have to keep thee from grumbling? Art thou, now, not a sorry bear with a sore head, that kindness cannot coax, and crossing onl> can keep civil! Send thee on whal service Huck may, it is all the same; f, thou wilt grumble at the toil, ever when it likes thee best. What wouldsl thou have?what would please thee?' "By Saint Jupiter, but he might ask at least! He might give a man his choice," responded the other, gruffly "It's but a small favor I ask to be suffered to choose for myself whether 1 shall work for my master on hill 01 in hole?with a free bit. or hand t< hand, close struggle with a hungrj alligator In his wallow." "And thou wouldst choose the verj service he now puts thee to. What! do we not all know thee better thar Huck? He sees thou art the best mar for the swamp; that thy scent Is keer with the bloodhound, thine eye like th< hawk's, and thou art quick for fight a! the major's bull-pup. It is because h< knows thou art fond of this sort o venture that he puts thee upon it and what thou grumblest at, therefore it will be out of thine own wisdom t< M show, even if thou wert really dlscon tented with the duty, which I believt not." "It's a dog's life only, this scentinj I swamps for the carrion they had bet ter keep?wearing out good legs ant horses, and making soldiers do the dut; of a hungry dog. Rot it. but I'll re slst after this! Let them send other that are younger, and like it better I'll give it up?I'll do no more of it." "Say so to Huck. and lose commani of the scouts?the best game thot hast ever piayeu ai, u me uns6?6' wagons speak true," was the reply "What! shalt thou grumble to di what thou art best fitted for? Wha wouldst thou be after?what othe sen-Ice would please thee?" "Thou mayst see me In a charge yet Sergeant Clough." replied Travis boastfully, "provided thou hast bloo< enough to stop until it's over. Whei thou hast seen this, thou wilt ask m no child's questions. What! becaus I am good at the swamp, am I there fore worth nothing on the highway It were a sorry soldier that could no take clear track and bush and boi alike, when the case calls for it, and d good service In all. But thou shall * see, some day, and grow wiser." "Well, thou dost promise largely like an old debtor; but, to my mine thou art Just now where thou shoulds be?in the swamps; for, truth to speal thou lovest them?thou lovest th wallow and the slough?the thick ooz which the alligator loves, and the dr fern-bank where he makes his nest thou lovest the terrapin because o his home, not less than of the goo American Revolution IORE HIMMH soup which he gives us; and the ugly 5 moccasin, and the toad, and the frog ?the brown lizard and the green?the 1 swamp spider, with its ropy house j and bagging black body?al lthese are favorites with thee because thy spirit j craves for thee a home like that which f they abide In." "It is a goodly place, with all that j company thou speakest of the air Is ( pleasant to the sense, and the noises? there Is no music like the concert the 5 frogs make for one at sunset." "Said I not? Why, man. thou quarf relest with kindness, when thou rav, est at Huck for sending thee to the swamp. Thou wert feverish and imj patient this morning until thou wert ( fairly In It, with its mud and water t plashing around thee; and now thou , are here, with the trees crowding upon r us so thickly that the sun looks not under them once In the whole year, thou , creepest like a terrapin upon thy Journey, as if thou didst greatly fear thou f wouldst too quickly get through It. A I barren fear, this, for we see but the ( beginning; the bog deepens, and the days grows darker as we go. Thou art slow, Travis." "Saint Jupiter, Master Clough, , wouldst thou lead? Thou art a bet( ter swamp sucker than Ned Travis, I and he born, as I may say, in a bush ( and cradled in a bog:, and his first breeches, like mother Eve's petticoat, ( made out of bulrushes! Go to, friend, and be modest!" "Ay, when thou art wise, and can ( go without counsel. Once more, Travis, but I do think thy snail's pace were better mended." "Teach Goose Creek, would you? Talk not so loudly, Sergeant Clough of running through the Cypress, or the | gray squirrel will look down and laugh. He's up betimes this morning, and | knows more of a long leap through a ( broad swamp like this of the Ashley than comes to thy wisdom. Speak before him with becoming reverence, for he watches thee from the pinetop above thee." The sergeant, who was an Englishman, looked upward with due slmplic! ity, and received in his face the dismembered and decayed branch which the playful animal threw down, as he , leaped away from the tree they were \ passing. "Now, d?n the rebel! That were a hanging matter for one of Washington's cavalry." "Ay, could you catch him!" replied Travis, with a laugh at the discomfiture of his companion, and busied , hlpiself in freeing his face from the ' dust of the decayed branch. , "See what thou gettest for thy stu, pidlty. Think yon gray-Jacket knew not all you were saying? He did; not a word escaped him; and, believe it or not, his tribe have quite as much understanding as we, though, to be sure, they have not the same tongue to make it known. It's a God's truth, now, that squirrel has been outstanding sentinel for his company. Just as ours watches for us, and look where they go, all around us, and in the same direction! See to yon pine, how full of them! It bends and shakes, big as it is, as they ( leap off to the next tree. They- are all off; just as the sentinel grave them notice. Every now and then, as we drew nigh, he barked away?bark af' ter bark?'bow-wow,' though thou never heard'st a syllable, all the time as good as saying; 'Now they come? nigher, nlgher, nigher!'?and when he , thought it time to move, he tumbled the dry branch Into your open mouth, and made off with his last signals." t "Pshaw! what nonsense you talk!" | "Nonsense! Saint Jupiter, but it's true as turpentine! There's no truth, ' if that be not. Why, man, I go farther; I do believe, in my conscience, that they understand arithmetic and j navigation. Don't you think he told his fellows how many we were, and what route over the water we were going to take? You see they have taken a different direction altogether." "You think I swallow your fool's r t stories?" said Clough. "Quite as easy to swallow, and better food than the branch the squirrel threw thee; but if thou believe not. I 1 care not. Rot thee, for an infidel, i having as little belief as brains! i Thou art worse than Turk or Hebrew, i and should have no water from me ' wert thou famishing." ; " 1 nou cansi scare ueiiy iv ucit, i, was the reply, as the squad, one after j the other, struggled through a quag mire that spread across the path. e "Nor would I here: I am charitable; take thy fill of what is before thee. r But hold up. men; we are on the broad - track. This tussock runs for a huni dred yards, widening to a fork; and V I've a mind that you shall go through - the worst part of it. Sergeant Clough. s that you may get more wisdom in \ swamp sucking. Close up, men?close up!" .1 They passed over the broad path in j a few moments, until they reached a e point from which ran out anothei route, clearly indicated upon the sky a by an opening through the trees, which t let in. for the first time after theii r entrance, the unobstructed sunlight. "To the right now, men?to the right! It's the worst track but carries i, us soonest to the heart of the swamp, ' ? cu-Jm. a una we can pusn n nun tvnuuui a? a mlns: the waters are going down, and e it will nut be so bad, after all." e "Is it worse, Travis, than what w? - have passed?" Inquired Clough, rathei ? anxiously. t "Worse!" exclaimed Travis, turning g shortly upon the speaker, with a sneer: o "Saint Jupiter! said I not you should t, learn swamp sucking? You'll drinP before you come out. But the water's r, fresh." 1, "Fresh, here In the swamp?" it "Ah. fresh enough?fresh from th< i, sea. unless the tide's gone clean down e But on! do not fear; it looks worst e than it tastes. On. and follow mt y close!" ; They dashed after theli leader as h< if gave the word, but their progress wa; d much slower than before. t In the mean while, let us turn 01 eyes upon the party In waiting f< them. Following the suggestions ofh lieutenant, Humphries, Major Singh ton had disposed of his men at coi venient distances for mutual suppo along the more accessible ridge whlc the party of Travis had originally pui sued. The design had been a goc one; for it was not to be supposed thi one who had shown himself so carefi In selecting the least obstructed rout would willingly leave It, In preferent for another, so indirect and difficult < passage as that upon which Trav had now turned his horse. The arr huscade had been wen laid, and mui have been successful, but for this cli cumstance. Major Singleton hlmsel being in advance, was the first to pei ceive this change of movement, whic taking place Just when his anxietU were most aroused, was productive ( an exaggerated degree of dlsappoinl ment. He cried out to Humphries, wh lurked in a low bush on the opposlt bank and saw not so readily,? "They leave the trace, Humphries they have turned off to the right?w are foiled!" The lieutenapt rose from his recum bent position, and saw the truth of hi commander's suggestion. To effect change of ambuscade at this momer was hopeless; and there remained bv one mode, and that was, to persuad them to return to the path from whic they departed. At first, the lleutenar thought to throw himself immediatel in their way: and, being: well knowi and looked upon as loyal by all th dragoons, he believed that he migt lure them back by misrepresentation of one kind or another. Thlc though he abandoned, however, as he stl desired to keep himself from preser detection, which he could not hopi should any of them escape to tell th story. "There Is but one way, major," h exclaimed, while smearing his vlsag with the mud around him, and leapin boldly forth on foot upon the broa path?"there is but one way, sir; kee your men fast, while I make mysel visible to Travis. I will run upon th bank, and make them hear me. The will follow the tussock, and, by th time I am in cover, you will have ther between you. The rest of the work I yours." He waited not for an answer, but th next Instant was seen by Singleto coursing along the tussock towards th route taken by Travis. When upo the highest point, and perceptible t them, he broke a dried stick, with sharp, snapping sound, which reache the quick ear of the leader. Travl turned Instantly, and ordered a halt. "Hold up, men?hold up a moment See you nothing to the left?" All eyes were turned in the require direction, but they failed to dlstln guish any object in particular, othe than belonging to the region. "Look, Clough, your eyes are young er than mine?look to the left, beyon the big water oak, close by the blaster pine?the very highest point of th tussock we just left." "I see, I see!" cried one of th troopers? "it's a man." "Now I have it! You are risrht. Wil kins?it's a man?a stout fellow, an must be Frampton," cried Clough; "th very dog we seek." "No, 'tis not the man we seek," wa the reply of Travis, who had bee watching intently. "This is a shori stout man, not of more inches thai myself; Frampton, though stout, i tall. But he is our game, be he wh he may. All are outlaws here, an rebels for the rope. Here, Corpora Dricks, have your string in readiness we shall doubtless need a cast of you office, and the noose should be free to service. Ride close, and be ready. Ha he scents?he sees us! He is on th wing, and we must be quick and cau tlous. After him, Clough, to the leftright, Wilkins! Get upon the tussocl and. If he keeps it, you have hirr Ride, boys! To the left, Clough?t the left. He can't reach the pom and we are sure of him!" Half of the troops dashed after th suspicious person, who was our ac qualntance Humphries; the othe half, slowly returning, re-entered th old trail, and kept their way toward the flying object and the pursuit. Th lieutenant found no difficulty in mis leading nis pursuers, naving uw drawn them back to their origine route. They urged the chase hotly af ter him, but he knew his course, an was cool and confident. Doubling con tinually through bog and throug brier?now behind this, now unde that clump of foliage or brush?h contrived to boggle them contlnuall in perpetual intricacies, each more dif ftcult than the other, until he not onl led them into the very thick of the am buscading party, still maintaining hi original lead upon them, but he scat tered them so far asunder, that mutut assistance became impossible. It was then that, gathering htmse! up for breath along the edge of a banl he coolly wiped the moisture from hi brow, looking from side to side, as h heard the splashing in the water c the rustling in the brush of his bewil dered pursuers. He, meanwhile, fair ly concealed from their sight by thick cluster of laurels that rose ov of the bay before him, conceiving til time to have arrived for action, ga\ the shrill whistle with which his me were familiar. The pursuers heard reverberate all around them from 1 dozen echoes of the swamp; they ga\ hack, and there was a pause in th chase, as if by common consent. Tii sound had something supernatural an 1 chilling in it: and the instinct of eacl but a moment before so hot upon tt heels of the outlaw, was now to regal ( his starting place, and recover his st 1 curity with his breath. 1 But retreat was not so easy, an prudence counselled too late. The ' made the effort, however; but to sut ceed was denied them. The word i ! command reached their ears in anoti er voice than that of their own leade and in the next instance came tt ' sharp cracking reports of the rifletwo, three, four. ' Travis went down at the first sho : they beheld his fall distinctly, as i ! stood upon the highest point of ti ridge, which was visible for a hundn yards round. For a moment more, ti ! enemy remained invisible, but Maj< Singleton now gave his orders shril } and coolly: ? "Steady, men?in file, open ordertrot!" i And then came the rush of tl 3 charge, and the stragglers beheld tl Hashing sabres dealing with the fe jr troopers who- held the broad ridge of >r the tussock. The Tories fought well; is but the surprise was too sudden, and s- too little prepared for, and they fought l- at disadvantage. Still, as. they rert membered the unsparing character of ;h their own warfare, and were conscious r- of innumerable outrages, such as had >d driven Frampton to outlawry, they it stood their ground bravely enough, ul Parrying the first stroke of their ase, sallants, who had every advantage, ;e they dashed aside from the path, and 3f strove to escape by plunging in every Is direction through the swamp. But i- with the loss of the ridge, which Sln3t gleton with his few troopers now tra - versed In all directions, they lost all f, chance of extrication. They flounder* ed from slough to slough, while, dish mounting and on foot, the Whigs pur:s sued them. The cry for quarter on >f all hands ended the combat, and the - survivors were drawn forth to become 10 prisoners. They threw down their :e arms, generally, and were spared; one who resisted was cut down by Davis, i! who had shown himself a true man in e close contest; and one strove to escape by turning back upon his path, i- and plunging on through the swamp is in an opposite direction to that taken a by the rest; but there was an eye upit on him, quickened by hate, and a deadit' ly hostility which nothing could blind !e ?a footstep which he could not evade, h The fugitive was the sanguinary it corporal of Tuck?a wretch who aly ways carried the cord at his saddlei, bow for sudden executions, and enjoye ed nothing so well as its employment it His pursuer was the maniac Framp,s ton. That fierce man had singled out it this one antagonist, and throughout the 11 brief struggle, In which he bore an acit tive part, had never once withdrawn s, his glance from him. But for this, the e wretch might have escaped; and even then, had no guilt or fear paralyzed e his energy or Judgment, his chances e might have been good; but he held g too long to his horse, and lost that d time, in trying to urge him along the p track he had taken, which, on foot, he If might have pursued much more effece tually. The animal became entangled y In some water vines, and before he e could get him free, or even get from n his back, the pursuer was plunging s Into the swamp, with drawn sword waving overhead, and but a few paces e from him. Leaping from his steed, n which he left struggling, the fugitive e made for the opposite bank, and reachn ed It before Frampton had yet got o through the slough. But even this ada vantage did not serve him long, d Though brave enough, the corporal s seemed at that moment to lack much of his wonted firmness. Probably he ! knew the pursuer, had heard his story, and dreaded his vengeance. It d was not improbable, Indeed, that he - himself had been one of those conr cerned In the assault upon Frampton's wife. If so, the flight of the one and - the concentrated pursuit of the other d were both natural enough. Guilt Is d apt to despair, and to sink into lmbee cillty, In Its own consciousness of crime, and In the presence of the true( e avenger. Still, for a moment, there was a show of spirit. He wheeled, - and confronted the pursuer with a d word of defiance; but the moment afe ter. he turned again in flight. He ran over the tussock upon which both of s them now stood, and, bounding through n a pond that lay In his way, made off t, for a close cover of cypress that gre"to n at a little distance. a Via tra In that rnver his safetV o would most probably be certain, as he d would then have gained on Frampton, il and had long since been out of reach ; of the rest. But if the one ran with r the speed of fear, madness gave wings r to the other. The fuguttve looked over ! his shoulder once as he flew, and he e could see in the eye of his pursuer that - there was no pity, nothing but death; - and utterly vain must be his cry for t. quarter. Perhaps he felt this convici. lion only from a due consciousness of o what he deserved from his own atro1, cities. The thought increased his speed; but, though capable and elastic e enough, he could not escape the man - who rushed behind him. Defying wood, r water, and every obstruction, the fierce e wretch pressed close upon the fugitive, s The corporal felt the splashing of the e water from his adversary's feet; he knew that the next moment must be e followed by the whirl of the sabre; and il he sank motionless to the ground. The blow went clean over him; but though d it carried Frampton beyond him, yet - he did not fall. The maniac soon reh covered, and confronted the corporal, r who now found it impossible to fly: e his hope was In fight only. But what y was his lifted weapon against that of his opponent, wielded by his superior y strength, made terrible by madness! - The sword was dashed aside?dashed is down in the heavy sweeping stroke with which the other prefaced the contl llict. "Mercy! Mercy!" cried the corporal. If as he saw that it was all over. A t, howl like that of the wolf was the only is response, and the weapon bit through >e the bone as the arm was unavalllngly ?r thrown up to resist it. The stricken I- member hung only by the skin and a - part of the coat-sleeve. The steel was a already In the air? it "Mercy, Frampton! have mercy?" le The speech was silence, as, crushing e through bone and brain, the thick n sword dug its way down into the very It eyes of the pleader. The avenger a knelt upon the senseless body, as It re lay at his feet, and poured forth above le it a strain of impious thanksgiving to le Heaven for so much granted and gainid ed of the desired vengeance. His- wild, h, wolfish laugh, at intervals while he le prayed, taught the rest of the party in where to look for him. To be Continued. . ,1 tii' A year and a hair ago the municipality of Orbe, in the Canton of Vaud, Switzerland, placed artificial nests in the trees throughout the district In order to protect and preserve insectr eating birds In the locality. The ie branches of the trees were studded ? with sharp nails to prevent access to the nests by the birds' enemies. Blackbirds and thrushes were the first to ie show their appreciation of the facillie ties provided, and their example was soon followed by other members of the ie feathered tribe. The artificial nes{s 3r are closely imitated from the originals, 'y and a Swiss naturalist conducts the Industry, which is in the hands of women. ie 13T Have you ever noticed that some ie days you seem to walk up hill all w day ? iUisrrllaurous grading. LAND: OF LONG DISTANCES. Vastnaas jof South Africa Appalls th< T rave lor. It Is fashionable to allude to a railway Jouriey In South Africa In tones of thinly felled scorn and contempt, tc condemn It as tiresome, complain of 11 as uninta-estlng. There Is space?almost nrtrfrpn mpd nf snare. And that is all, slys the Pall Mall Gazette. Through the east the traveler live# In the past. He feels, if he has any imagination at all, that for the moment he has become part of an ancient civilization which still survives the train and the telegraph, he moves through cities with a story In every stone; each mile brings new pictures of the might and wealth which fill the most enchanting pages in the book of history. In America you cross a land of the future. The cities are marvels of inventive genius; even away in the country there Is an echo of the hum of restless enterprise, the murmur of a people confident they are hurrying on to realize a fereat destiny. But acjfoss the great plateau of South Afjica you seem to live always In the present. It becomes a dominating Idea. You cannot picture a past save like the present, or Imagine a future differing from today. The veldt is, and i< looks as if it will always be as It Is. <The slender thread of steel which crosses its Illimitable space, the little totfns set down at such great distances from one another, play no part in the scene. They are there, it is true; but they look fortuitous, out of place. Trains clang across the Karoo, and pane up the hillsides from Natal; but the veldt ignores them, it does not adapt itself to them. The slow-moving ox wagon alone fits in the picture; the mall j train, with its searchlight piercing the darkness and peace of the night, is and always will be, a thing apparent. It always seems to me that there is something curious, almost uncanny, about the great spaces of SouthAfrica?something you do not find in other great lands. The haste of modern life Clashes with the spirit of the veldt. There is a silent protest against t^ie Intruder. The country calls disease and drought to its aid to prevent its freedom being shackled by the bonds ofjclvtllzatlon and the handcuffs of progress. The spare destroys speed. As you hurry northward or eastward from London p a mile a minute express the close-set villages fly past, increasing the impression of haste; but let the same engine pull the train northward from the cape into the heart of Africa ana its speea win seem iu skli-hcu. Steam cannot eat up the distance of such a continent, and there are no contrasts, on near landmarks, by which to measure the onward rush. Yet sdch a Journey, mpnotonous as It Is, brings scenes which give it a fascination all its own. No one can paint In words or on canvas the beauty if a South African morning just after sunrise. Your carriage stands still at some wayside station, with Its solitary one-story house and inevitable dwarfed tree. Away, as far as the eye can see, stretches the thin grassland. The landscape holds nothing to attract save its space; but the sunshine is something England never knows, the air is like a draught of champagne, the marvelous clearness and freshness? which no other land can equal?give new life. No breeze yet swirls the dust across the plain. Ail the world is still, as though lost in silent worship of the loveliness of the moment. A few sleepy Kaffirs, wrapped close in blankets which display a rainbow of color, gaze with languid eyes at the panting monster. The white man and his ways are familiar today in the heart of the Dark Continent. Yet there are men living who remember the time when the coast tribes believed that white men were a production of the sea, which they traversed in large shells, their food being the tusks of elephants, which they would take from the beuch if laid there for them, placing beads in their stead, which they obtained from the bottom of the sea. History has been made quickly in South Africa. A shrill whistle, and on again into space. All day you clatter forward?a little uncertainly at times. There are mysterious wayside halts in the wil lerness, wnen you seem iu nave iU? out of the world and been side-tracked far from the haunts of men; there are waitings at tiny sidings from which not a habitation Is visible, and where the only possible traffic appears to be i wild buck or an occasional stray bullock. The land is empty. The swarms of natives you expected to see are absent: the country looks deserted. Space ?only space. Now and then there glides into the picture a town with a name known to history, the site of a siege, the field of a battle. The Impression it leaves Is simply one of In sig^mncanue. u ui uumi v iu?>u wuiu look imposing upon such a plan. All day the train tolls onward, growing weary at times as though disheartened at the miles which still stretch ahead. A few herds of goats or cattle: a shy figure in the distance, which makes you think of the harried Bushman o rthe wild Vaal pens; now and then a hivelike krall away under the shade of some trees. But no incident. no break?never was there such monotony. Yet you can not conjure up a different picture. Even in Imagination you cannot transform the veldt. It was thus when the shelter of the coast settlements come into the unknown. It is thus today. It will be thus in a decade?perhaps in a century. Sunset is as wonderful, as the dawn. The still, cloudless sky darkens rapIdly as the sun sinks below the rim of the plain. A solitary opje becomes purple, then black, a fitting haunt for some robber chief, the terror of whose name has desolated the countryside. The last glorious glow, which no painter could reproduce, dies away, and a chill breeze sighs through the dry grass. The train puffs wearily on in the blackness of the night; ever forward with the searchlight before the funnel, like a huge eye sweeping the land to find a human being. In the middle of the night there happens a curious thing. The country becomes peopled. There is a grinding stop. A few lights flicker, hoarsed voices shout unintelligible orders, there arises a banging and a clattering .sufficient to wake the Seven Sleepers. What happens?how it happens?why It happens?no man knows. It is an ; eccentricity of a South African rail- I way. The livelong day slips by with a silence which almost forces one to , shout to break the stillness, but at i night these mysterious noises arise, i , Men emerge from nowhere, and talk I , loudly of nothing beside the waiting i . train: figures with hammers beat upon i the wheels or hol5 consultations in . stentorian tones over grease boxes; a popular song is roared under the windows of sleepers; even a whole troop i train of terribly wideawake soldiers has been met on a particularly dark night. But these things never happen in daytime. There are people in this wide land after all; but they only spring i up at night. WAIFS BECOME GOVERNORS. Meet and Talk Over Day* When They Were Street Boy* In New York. Street waifs in New York in 1867? shaking hands ae ex-governors in 1906, nearly fifty years afterward. This is the story of both John G. Brady of 27 State street, Boston, and Andrew F. Burke, Kansas City representative of the Great Western Oil company. The y two met at the Midland hotel this 1 morning, says the Kansas City Star, 1 and talked of days on Randall's Island, the New York home of waifs. John G. Brady Is the. ex-governor of J Alaska. Andrew F. Burke, along In the early '90s. was governor of North Dakota. Both were on Randall's Island two years?1857 and 1859, charges of the city. Both were shipped to the west In 1859, to be given to farmers who wanted husky boys to work their lands. Both not only gained an education and wealth but became men of influence, and each occupied a governor's chair. "There's not much to tell about those days on Randall's Island," Gov. Brady said. "Andy Burke and I were friends there. I was simply a little 'mlck' picked up off the streets. They didn't put me In the criminal home? although the reason, I guess. Is that they didn't catch me In all the things I did down around the end of Broadway. Just those little things that kids do. you know, were what we were up to. Andy and I got some schooling there?got some tannings, too. Got everything we had coming, I guess. We weren't bad boys, though. "Along in August, 1859, the superintendent read us a letter from little Martin Terrell, one of the Island's boys who had been sent to Delphi, Ind. Martin told about the .apples, the chickens, the green corn and the horses he had to ride and drive. "I got to thinking about all those things. I was a strong boy, and strong boys have strong stomachs. Don't know whether Andy Burke heard that letter or not, but It made me decide to go to that land where all the good* things grew. When the train started west, Andy was on It too. He went to a farmer at Noblesvllle, Ind. I went to one at Tipton. "Then the hard days came. I went to work deadening trees?swinging an f ??- >h? 1 axe. II was svtuuip icliiu iuiu work was hard. But that land, clear- * ed now, Is the garden spot of Indiana. " Andy Burke worked hard on the farm n where he was sent. "When the war broke out Burke r Joined the army as a drummer boy 9 and served throughout the war. He 9 saved the money he earned, and at Its close went to Asbury college. Then he left the school and got In business. 9 He eventually drifted to North Dakota. I don't know all the history of his r battles there. He grew to be known, 9 he gained friends and Influence, and the whole country knows when he was chosen governor. "And me?" continued Gov. Brady. "Well, I remained on the farm In In- ' diana until 1867. Then I became a ^ genuine Hoosler schoolmaster. It seems laughable now, when I look back * to the days when I attempted teaching school. My first Job was near Sharpes- v vllle. I taught that school, then got 9 better ones. "I had studied during my Idle hours on the farm and had gone to school 1 when I could. I grew Interested In J mining and went to Alaska. With my own hands I hewed out a cabin. I worked with a pick until my hands were cracked and bruised. I lived v there twenty-eight years and finally struck It. Then I was appointed Alaska's governor. "It's no use to tell all I've gone through. I've worked hard In my days. f t ' ? -1. - Di.-lro aauaral HmAB ^ I Utivc accu IIUJ uuinc oc*viu. dnce we were shipped west from a Randall's Island. It's a satisfaction to ' know, however, that two street waifs ^ with not a thing In the world, with 1 tardly n friend In the world, with ev- ' ery obstacle to battle, have at least " made some success In the world. r There's no use for any boy to say he has- no chance. The opportunity Is ' before him every day. The obstacles r he has to overcome are not too great. ^ There Is room and work and a place for them all." ^ a The Farmer Grows Wiser. t "You can't fool the farmer any more c on merchandise for his farm," said the 0 proprietor of an agricultural store as t he wrote down a large order for a c certain fertilizer. "Time was when d you could sell a farmer anything In E the way of fertilizer and no questions i asked. It was a fat time for the man- s ufacturers of fertilizers, but that time I is all past. Now the man who tills t the soil must know all about what the d market offers for enriching crops. He a insists that he be given the formula c of every fertilizer on the market, and he knows whether too much phosphorus, potash, etc., predominates. He knows what his soil needs most; he i understands that certain crops de- v mand a certain sort of enrichment of ? the earth and that other crops necessl- ,, tate an entirely different sort of an b enrichment. In the old days he'd dump c anything on his land and trust to luck j that things would grow all right; same f way with tools. He won't buy a farming implement until he has some ac- j. tual knowledge of Its worth. It's all t because of the agricultural colleges which spread agricultural information j gratis Into the country towns, so that a farmer can hardly help learning a thing or two."?New York Press. tsr Tommy?What are you crying c about? Jimmy?Why, every time Uncle Ned sees my baby brother he says: "What a bouncing baby!" and this morning I let him drop to see him bounce.?Somervllle Journal. I FRANCE'S CHURCH TROUBLE. n w Explanation of the laauea Between Government and Rome. fi Washington, Dec. 14.?There la b< much In the trouble In France between church and state that the pub- tl lie does not understand, although the matter has been under discussion for el several years. The law divorcing g' church and state, which went Into ef- w feet on December 11, was passed December 9, 1905. Preceding this, bi church and state were united under st the concordat, the charter of which ol nstrument will be explained present- ;g< ly. In old France the king was the ti head of both the state and church, nit In ecclesiastical matters he was Ja mbject to the pope. In England much hi he same conditions existed until the si :lme of Henry VIII, who, when he vas refused a divorce from his wife, rl eft the church. tl: The state is about to seize the property of the church In France, but it gi nust be understood that the state has P' lad something of a title to it since n< ;he French revolution. ci Nature of Concordat. of A concordat is a compact dealing ? vith ecclesiastical affairs between the p) x>pe as head of the Catholic church ind the temporal ruler of a state. flc Concordats commonly relate to things ^ vhlch are neither purely spiritual nor 8| jurely temporal, but mixed matters, n regard to which the action of the w :wo powers can with difficulty be di?loclated. It is a settled doctrine of y< he Catholic canonists that the pope ai lever absolutely cedes purely spiritu- el il powers. The king sometimes nomnated a bishop, but the bishop could lot be instituted without the sanction q >f the pope. It is argued by friends of the pres ;nt disruption that the church propirty In France could not belong to the {o >ope, because no title was ever vest- ^ id In him, and could not belong to the ^ :hurch at large, because, In law, the hurch Is not a person or corporation. lg The new law provides that bishops ^ n France, In their various JurisdlcIons, shall have religious corporations y? ormed to which the churches and the )n ihurch property shall be turned over, o be held under the laws of France, ind not under the sovereignty of the g >ope. In May, some of the French ilshops at a meeting held to consider ^ he situation, advised the pope to 8r omply with the requirements of the aw, but In his view the law Is too Irastlc and Interferes with his spirit- y( lal rights. It seems from the ac- b, ounts that the state exercises almost hi lunreme control over the French blsh- jj, >ps, clergy and religious st^rvlces. 0( Seizure of the Churches. 0( The state officials, It is said, even m lave something to do with the vestnents worn by ecclesiastics. At all p ivents, the law explicitly requires ceraln regulations to be followed In the a( ormatlon of religious corporations, tr ind If the religious corporations are tot so formed, the church property In he various cities and communes In ^ran^e In which the property Is situ- j,i ited Is to be turned over to the state. ?] rhls transfer has. In fact, been In' pro- ^ rress all this week. After the church- to s are seized they may be used as the- ai itres. stables, courthouses, or for any f>"ular purpose whatever, to t;atn- jj, dies this Is a source of much grief, as pi iome, If not all the churches are conlecrated. and In all the secriflce of 8t he mass has been many times offered 0j ?the supreme act of Catholic wor- tI( hip. The churches are declared to e worth >40.000.000, and there are w nany convents, monasteries and ja chools. tr Forced to Leave France. ar Some of the features of the new law jj re such that the religious orders ?, ould not comply with them, and the h| nembers have been leaving France g( or some time. It has been a great ^ itrdshlp for the monks, nuns, Chris- jn Ian Brothers, and the teaching or- A, lers generally to give up the home to a rhlch they were accustomed and to ^ ro out Into the world, especially to w trange countries. Some of the nuns ar lave come to the United States, and here Is at least one order situated lear Baltimore. They have found ^ rlends here, and manage to support t hemselves by certalra kinds of work. re ind even by cultivation of the land. The old people among the men and romen of the religious orders In jt Vance, felt the rigor of the expulsion rery much. Will Leave France. Cardinal Richard Is among those rho will leave France, or at least gC ibandon his residence. He is eightylx years old. and In his long career las seen the overthrow of the royaly and of the empire. He was born n Xantes In 1819. and Is a descendant a f an ancient and noble family. He pr ecelved the red hat In 1889. Some of the terms used In the dis >atches from France may puzzle eaders. A "schismatic church" la |y me that belongs to the Catholic faith, tj( iut refuses to recognize the papal au- Cfi horlty. "The holy see" Is the see of (n tome, which was the see of Peter, j, nd the Bishop of Rome has Jurlsdlc- jy Ion over all the others. "Parochial m lergy" are those of a parish; a "syn- tQ d" Is a council or assembly of divines sjs o take action upon theological or ecleslastlcal matters; a "nuncio" Is a pj llplomatic representative of the peo- qi tie. The apostolic delegate to the t> Jnlted States Is not a nuncio, but In th ome respects his authority Is similar. W( le has no diplomatic standing here, pi tut In ecclesiastical affairs his Juris- th llctlon Is of the ancient legatlne char- T1 icter. The establishment of the nun- A) lo is called the "nunciature." New Ways to Use Fruits. Fruit, one would think, could not be co mproved. But a clever housekeeper rho has made a study of the subject ays otherwise. She declares that riany a dish In which fruit figures can ie bettered 100 per cent by the Judl- pf lous admixture of some other fruit. lere are the combinations she has m ound worth making; Blackberries and blueberries make a w letter pie than either singly. Use the th ilueberries In the larger quantity. With very sweet blueberries, lemon ulce and rind or a little rhubarb is 154 Iso welcome addition. Combine quinces with sweet apples. ,n Fresh figs or dried figs make a de- vt icicus preserve?better yet with a bit m if orange added. ^ Tomato preserve is improved by the 'n iddttion of sliced oranges. m Tarts of orange marmalade are im>roved with a sprinkling of frosted al- sa londs?chopped almonds coated with 'hlte of egg and sugar. Pears combined with pineapple?onefth as much pineapple as pear?will e liked. Jelly of apples and pears will have le Dear flavor and the apple firmness. Though the season has gone by for trawberrles and raspberries, her sugestlons In regard to these fruits are orth keeping for another season. Strawberry Jam mixed with gooseerrles Is ever so much nicer than :rawberry Jam, plain. To five quarts f strawberries add two quarts of ooseberrles, either green or Just irnlng red. . *When making gooseberry Jelly or im the vanilla bean will be found to elp along the deliciousness of the relit. Gooseberries, currents and raspberfes In equal parts jnake a most appezing Jam. Try combining elderberries with reen grapes, gooseberries, or crab apes for jelly, sauce or pie. Tou will ot be disappointed with the result Either for roly-poly or Jam, black jrrants are Improved by the addition ' red currants. Ripe red currants, with ripe goose?rries, make another good mixture for reserves and pies. Black raspberries, if stewed with >me red, juicy cherries, make a good Luce. Stew gently, so as to keep the bit whole, if possible, as it is more ghtly. Peach Jam with grated pineapple, 111 please you. And lastly, though dried fruit is not ipecially appealing at this season. If >y must use It, evaporated peaches id apricots are more appetizing than ther alone. WHERE THE GOLD 18. rest Britain's Lack of the Precious Metal?A Comparison With Other Countries. It is a surprising fact that, though ?r the past fifteen or twenty years le production of gold throughout le world has been steadily rising, the nlted Kingdom at the present time bare of gold. Not in a literal sense, >r there is always a handsome nount of coin and bullion In the lults of the Bank of England, but comparison with other and perhaps ore fortunate countries. The English stock of gold at the ank of England wojb ?24,000,000 at ie close of the year 1880, in the days ' small gold production and much nailer business. It was only ?28,)0,000 at the close of 1905, though e have seen that the gold producon had trebled In the Interval, and lslness had probably doubled. The ighest point reached was In 1896, at ie end of which year It stood at ?46,>0,000. - It is today about ?29,000,)0?a dangerously small sum for odern times. Where England has stood still, ranee, Germany, Russia, Austria, aly and the United States have all lvanced. In most of these coyntries ade has been developing far faster tan in England, and gold goes where ade Is most active. In Prance, the ock of gold In the Bank of France is risen from ?24,000,000 In 1880 to 115,000,000 In 1905. It has thus sen more than quadrupled, and even day it Is ?112,000,000. France has i ample supply, but her bank auloritles are careful not to part with teir gold when they can possibly event it. Germany maintained in 1880 a ock of only ?9,600,000 in the vaults ' the Reichsbank of Berlin, in addion of course, to the military war lest of coined gold at Spendau, on hlch the nation can fall back as a st reserve In the hour of war. She ebled this amount between 1880 id 1905, for In the latter year the jure was ?29,000,000 while It is 16,000,000 today. Where England is stood still, Germany ha* got the >ld. Her ally, Austria, Is another eat holder of gold, and has recently creaaed her holdings markedly. The ustro-Hungarian bank in 1880 had supply of only ?6,600,000, which by ie skill of its financial authorities as expanded to ?46,000,000 in 1906, id which has been as high as ?49.10,000 in 1904. In Italy and Russia, though the tures are not available, the same atntlon has been shown to the gold serve. Russia had at the end of >06 an amount of ?74,000,000. or ;arly. three times the British one. aly had at the end of the same year supply of ?26,000,000 in gold, which the present year has been raised ?28,000,000. In the United States e treasury at the end of 1906 had ild of the value of ?38,000,000 in i vaults, against an amount of ?24,>0,000 In 1880. Thus France, Germany, Austria, ussla and the United States all keep larger stock of gold than does lm ovident England. All, or most of em, have Increased their stock to irrespond with the growth in the Id production. Italy, with infinitesmaller requirements and obliga)ns than the United Kingdom, has rtalnly quintupled her stock of gold the last twenty-five years, while ngland rests content with practicalthe same quantity of the precious etal as in the past and trusts to luck bring her through any serious crl i. It Is not as though the British Emre did not produce gold In Immense lant.ties. The mines of the Rand, (fore the Radicals got to work upon em were turning out ?20,000,000 orth annually; the Australian outit last year was ?17,104,000, and e Canadian production ?2,886,000. le United States stood next to South frlca, with a production of ?17,268,10 worth.?London Dally Mall. Too Busy to Work.?The way to immand a good price Is to never leapen one's stock in trade. At least at is the principle adopted by an hlo Justice of the peace. This gen;man, says a writer In the Philadellla Ledger, has missed his calling. Iven his opportunity, he would soon ake a name among the humorists. An attorney In a neighboring city rote mm to inquire aooui a juofmeni at had been entered against a client e inclosed a stamp for reply. Several iy8 later he received a postal card ;arlng this message: "Your inquiry received. I beg to form you that my time Is mighty iluable Just now. Corn cutting Is ost nigh here, politics is sizzling and te bass fishing is fine. If you would close a dollar bill it might stimulate e some. I paid J2 onct to a lawyer r answering a question, and all he tid was 'No.'"