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^ ~ l. m. grist's sons, publishers. J % dfamitg gemspaper: |for the promotion of the fotiticat, ?oeiat, Agricultural and (Commercial .Interests of the people. !TEs?nolecllrV wve centoVAM ^ ? established 18557 ~ YORKVILLE, S. CTTUESIJAY, JULY ai, 19087 NX). 58. 4? / * /T8 75 . @35 + \j?sJa>? t ByETTA ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ^ ? CHAPTER X. At the Cape. How was he to drive the miserable WF affair from his memory. Hume went home to his lodging's that night pondering this vexing question, and there he found another letter from Jack Harold, urging him anew to try a week at Cape Desolation. The night was intensely hot The great city lay panting under a breath^ less sky. Life therein had become a burden. Hume closed his medical books, put out his lamp, and went to bed. "I'll go." he said, recklessly. "At any cost, I'll get this wretched affair "41 out of my head?otherwise it will end in a case of dementia. Since the air of Cape Desolation can restore a man after an attack of typhoid, it may also be able to minister to a mind diseased." The next day he locked the door of his poor lodging room, and started for ^ the cape. A lumbering old stage carried him from the railway terminus over a long, bleak, barren road, to the door of Berry's grocery, it That ancient building still stood as on the night when it was first introduced to the reader's notice?its weather-worn front damp with the spray of the hungry sea, its interior the favorite gathering place of all the gossips on the cape. As Hume scrambled down from the top of the stage, a small, fair young man in glasses disengaged himself from the group of sunburnt fishermen who >, were lounging around Berry's door, and rushed upon the new arrival with a whoop of welcome. "So you have really come, old man!" he cried. "I felt sure you would never be able to resist my eloquent pleading. * Why. bless me! how rattled, and generally used up. you look! Too much midnight old. It Is plain that I did not coax you from your books any too soon." ^ The two gathered up the few traps which Hume had brought, and started m on down the village street. "Let me look at you, Jack." said TT " ?>" mnrvl vnn DTP VftStlV I n unic. run injr j vw w. ? w Improved. Twenty pounds heavier than when you arrived here, eh?" "Forty, man! Air Is charged with ozone!" He threw back his shoulders, Nfr"' and inhaled a long, deep breath. "Didn't I- write you about the fishing and shooting, and the abnormally pretty girls? Now, whatever was the row with the aunt? You've had one. I noticed something wrong the moment you got down from the stage. The old dame has cast you out Pouf! Her aristocratic soul could not forgive the 1 gaucheries of a raw student, maybe, or you did not salaam enough before her, or"? "Nothing of the kind." interrupted Hume, feeling strangely reluctant to ^ mention the truth even to his dear familiar friend. "She asked me to do something; I refused; a rupture was the consequence." "So! And you've just escaped inneriting the Elllcott millions. I don't know whether to pity or congratulate you. Unlimited wealth might have spoiled you. you know. Go in now, and make your own fortune, Hume. \You have the right stuff in you. Meanwhile here we are at Widow Pole's door, and the worthy soul Is more than half expecting you." ^ Up a walk of beach stones he led the m way to a tidy cottage. As the two 'W crossed the threshold an appetizing; odor of fried fish and baked potatoes gave them cheerful greeting. This fare, combined with flaky biscuits and irreproachable coffee, was served to the friends in a clean low-ceiled room lighted by oil lamps. Outside, the wind was blowing in a way calculated to sweep a feeble man off his feet, and the surf roared ceaselessly. At Cape Desolation the Atlantic was not the plaything of a summer day, but a ravening and terrible power. Supper over, the two young men retired to their own quarters to smoke the pipe of peace together, and talk f between the whiffs. "Bless me!" said Hume, with sudden recollection, "I have been in your company a full hour, Jack, and you have not yet mentioned the sailor girl?that dangerous combination of beauty and heroism. Are you very hard hit, my boy?" The blood rushed into Harold's smooth, inoffensive face?he sighed, like a furnace. "Yes, Hume, I may as well confess WF it?I'm quite done for." "And do you mean to assume family cares at once?" asked Hume, mocklngly, "or will your ardor permit you to wait till you are clear of the medical PP school, and can hang out your shingle in proper fashion?" "Oh, bless you," answered Jack, with a rueful grin. "I never spoke a word of love to Miss Hillyer in my life. She keeps a fellow always at arm's length. She's beautiful and gracious, yet deucedly forbidding, too. So I let concealment. like a worm in the bud, feed on my cheek. Tomorrow I'll take you to % Caleb's cottage, and you shall behold the sailor girl, with your own eyes." "All right,' said numei iliiu me mrlble case which you mentioned in your letter?where shall I find that?" "At Caleb's, also." ? * Presently the conversation took another, and?to Hume?very uncomfortable turn. Harold's pipe went out, and as he was lighting it anew he remarked: "When you come to think of it, the death of your cousin, Lepel Ellicott, was a dismal affair." "Rather." "I wonder if that statuesque creature. Miss Fassel, has ever really forgiven the poor beggar?" "Who knows?who cares?" answered Hume. "At any rate, she doesn't go in for a broken heart and an early decline." 4 "Humbug!" Through a cloud of curling smoke Harold beamed cheerfully on his friend. "Let me see; all the society journals V 4* 4* 4* 4*4*4*4*4*4* 4s 4*4* & J W. PIERCE. J f4*f4*fasi4,f4#f8,f,#?a^44*?s9fi*^ call Miss Fassel a gTeat beauty?do they not?" "I never read that sort of twaddle," replied Hume, with grim disdain. "They do. She is praised without stint. Now, to me she has a frosty effect, like December moonlight?it chills a fellow to look at her. Still, some men go down, like ripe grain, before that kind of women. There is always a fascination about the unattainable." Hume answered not a word. By and by Jack put down his pipe. "Now that the aunt has cast you out of her favor, dear boy, who will have her money? Has she any more nephews in the background?" "NO; undoubtedly she will distribute her fortune to public charities. Let ui get to bed, Jack?we have talked enough." Hume's room adjoined his friend's. Long after the two separated he heard Jack moving about, singing at the top or his lungs various love songs, indicative of a disturbed state of mind. There was one in particular which he repeated again and again. Hume listened : "'Escape me? Never? Beloved! While I am I, and you are you. So long as the world contains us both? Me the loving, and you the loath, While the one eludes, must the other pursue." "Poor fellow!" muttered Hume; "he has taken the disease in its worst form." And then he composed himself on his pillow, and in the midst of the amorous clamor fell asleep. CHAPTER XI An Accident. "Halloo!" Through a wet blanket of fog, Hume's voice was blown back to his own ears in a depressing echo. "Halloo yourself!" replied Jack Harold, at a distance. "I say. Jack, how long is this sort of thing to continue?" shouted Hume. "Where the deuce are your birds?" "Blessed if I know!" replied Jack, dejectedly, as he appeared on the rocks beside his friend; "there's not a feather fluttering anywhere. And now a man cannot see the length of his own nose in this vapor. We may as well give it up and go home." For hours the two men had been tramping about the cliffs and the wastes of sand and poverty grass, searching for sea fowl, and finding none. The winged tribe had forsaken their favorite haunts today. Moreover a iiugiiiy lug w?? inning ^uiicuij wn everything. Only a round, blurred speck of yellow light, moving westward through the sky. marked the declining sun. "Come on." said Harold; "this Is the way back to the village;" and he drew his friend into a narrow path?a genuine sheep track, winding along the cliffs. "By Jove! you should walk here of a dark night, when the wind is on a lark! You couldn't hear your own voice then, even if it was pitched to a shriek. Thousands of miles of'whitecaps thundering in on these cliffs, tearing and gullying a track into their brown sides"? "And what would a sane man be doing here of dark nights?" interrupted Hume, in disgust. "You don't mean to insinuate. Jack, that you go philandering about a place like this at any unholy hour?" "This, sir," replied Jack, calmly, "is the nearest path to Hillyer's Cove. I often go there to spend an evening with old Caleb, and it sometimes happens that the wind is blowing great guns. Observe in what strange shapes the few cape trees grow, and you can get some idea of its force!?and the ? , ? . ,? sea is a tremendous dui invisiuie presence. Look sharp. Hume, and keep your gun ready. We may meet birds on the cliffs." Even as he spoke both men heard a soft swish, as of tried wings moving near in the fog. Hume raised his fowling piece, just as the white glancing breast of a bird took shape and color a few misty yards ahead. Bang! went the weapon. A human voice answered it. "oh!" That small, frightened cry struck to Hume's heart like a knife. He dropped his gun. "Greet God!" he cried; "it was not a bird, but a woman!" As he burst upon her, out of the fog, she was standing in the cliff path holding to one arm. in a dazed way. and he saw a thin stream of blood making its way through the sleeve of her jacket down over the fingers of the supporting hand. Harold, following on the heels of his friend, uttered a shout of horrified recognition. "Bess!?Miss Hillyer! Heaven above! are you hurt?" "Do not be frightened." she answered. calmly. "I dare say it is nothing." "I saw that wing in your hat." said Hume, in an agony of shame and re morse, "and mistook you- for a bird. Could anything have been more idiotic? I'll never touch a fowling piece again?at-least, in a fog! Lend a hand, Harold. Is there any house on these devilish cliffs? I mean, can we get Miss Hillver under shelter? I ought to bo shot myself, and in dead earnest, too, for making such a monstrous blunder." Mi ss Hillyer smiled. She alone had retained her composure. The faces of the two men were pale with apprehension?her own. blight, dark, beautiful, had not changed a whit. "Don't reproach yourself." she said to Hume. "Your mistake was pardonable?in this mist. Of course the gull's breast in my hat made the mischief. Fortunately for me. your aim was bad." With a profesional hand Hume had already drawn the jacket from her arm. ripped up her dress sleeve, and stanched the flowing blood. To his unspeakable relief he found that the bone was uninjured, and the wound, after all. but a scratch. "Present me in due form, Jack," he said to Harold; "and if you happen to have any brandy in your pocket, a few drops will not come amiss." "Here it is!" cried Jack, promptly producing a tiny flask. "Take a pull at it, Miss Hillyer?it will revive your courage; though, to be sure, there is small need of that. In this blundering fellow you see Nigel Hume, a friend of mine, and a new arrival on Cape Desolation. You can trust your arm to his care, for he is well up in surgery, though he knows nothing about birds." Miss Hillyer declined the brandy, and calmly arranged her jacket, preparatory to moving on. "I was returning from an errand at Berry's grocery," she said to Harold, "and I seemed to hear a voice?your voice, somewhere in the fog"? "My voice!" he interrupted, eagerly. "How good of you to recognize it!" "Oh, I did not feel quite certain," she explained, "because the crows often make a great noise over these wastes, and confuse one in regard to sounds." Hume grinned wickedly as his friend's face fell. "Had I called aloud you." concluded Miss Hillyer, "I might have saved all this bother. Good-by"? "No. no!" protested Jack: "pray allow us to walk home with you. Miss Hillyer. Hume must dress your arm properly, you know, and we could never think of leaving you to make the rest of your way, wounded and alone." "As you like." said Bess Hillyer. indifferently: and the three started for the cove. The sailor girl, serene as a May morning. declined all aid from her male escort on the way, and behaved very much as though nothing had happened. It was plain that the young person who had suffered shipwreck in the South Seas, and brought her father's vessel safely into port, with fever and other horrors aboard, was equal to being shot by a strange man, and preserving her equanimity through the ordeal. Two years had brought few changes to Cfcleb Hillyer's cottage. The fish flakes were still there?the little garden patch, set with hollyhocks and camomile?the weather-worn porch, and the long, sharp seine boats on the beach. As the trio went up the cobble-stone walk, in the fast-falling darkness. Hume stumbled against some object crouched on the step of the porch?a man. with a needle and mesh block and a heap of torn nets flung down at his side. He was rv>t working, however, but stooping forward in an attitude of distress, his head grasped in both hands. Hume recoiled. "Beg pardon." he said, politely: but the man returned no answer. Without being able to take in the details of his appearance. Hume was conscious that he stood in the presence of something uncanny?repulsive. Like lightning. Bess Hillyer turned and laid her sound hand on the bowed shoulder. "Andy," she said, and her voice was like a caress, "put by the nets now? night Is falling?it Is time for you to come in and rest your^aor head." Still the man answered nothing?only sat as before, with both hands clinched in his hair. A look of unspeakable pain and pity swept Miss Hillyer's handsome face. She hesitated an instant. then opened the door of the cottage, and ushered her two companions into Caleb Hillyer's living room No lamp had been lighted there, but the merry driftwood fire which always glowed on the hearth, both in the chilly summer and the intensely cold winter, was now blazing its brightest. Flung down on a mat before it, Hume saw a young girl, in a simple blue flannel gown, with dimpled hands dropped listlessly on her lap, and large, lovely eyes fixed on the red flame. "Rose," said Bess Hillyer. soothingl\* "rU-m't hp frie-htened. dear?I am not seriously hurt." The girl on the mat started to her feet?turning on Hume and his friend a small oval face, with a tinge of seashell pink in either cheek, and long, slumberous eyes shining through exquisite lashes. "Oh! what has happened. Bess?" she cried, running toward her cousin. "Oh! oh! Somebody has wounded you!" "Yes," confessed Hume, remorsefully. "by a stupid blunder I shot Miss Hillyer out on the cliffs. I assure you, I feel liko a murderer." Rose began to scream hysterically. "Hush, dear," pleaded Bess; "it is nothing. You must not blame Mr. Hume. He aimed at the gull's breast in my hat. Be a good giil, and bring some bandages and a basin of water? he is waiting to dress the hurt." But Rose sank into the nearest chair, and fell to crying like a terrified child. "I'll call Martha Bray," volunteered Harold, who was quite at home In the house. From some neighboring room a serving woman, answering to the above name, came to Hume's assistance. No sooner had the young fellow set about dressing Miss Hillyer's wound than Rose hushed her sobs and began to watch him through long, dense lashes. Suddenly she broke into a storm of reproaches. "You dreadful man, how could you hurt Bess like that??our dear, darling Bess! I hate you for it! Perhaps you did it purposely. Take him away. Mr. Harold. Who is he??why did you bring him here? As I look at him, I feel as though some one was walking on my grave!" "Good Heaven! Miss Rose, how absurdly you talk!" said Harold. "Accidents will happen, you know, especially in a fog. He is my friend, and both of us are heartbroken over the affair. Xoiv hold up. child. You will only complicate matters by fainting. I am so upset that I have forgotten how to bring you to. and Hume can't help nie." The binding of the wound was a trilling task, for the bullet had simply grazed Miss Hillyer's line, soft flesh. Hume put the arm carefully in a sling, assuring her that she would suffer little from it. Rose, as he supposed, was some petted, irresponsible child, and he paid small heed to her incivility. "You must not mind my cousin." said Bess. "She does not mean to be rude." "I deserve all her reproaches, and more," ho answered, in a tone that seemed to melt the little vixen, for straightway an April change swept her enchanting face?she ran to Hume, and held out a rose-leaf hand. "Indeed. I have been rude!" she said, penitently. "Pardon me. Mr. Hume? I was too frightened to choose my words. I do not hate you, and it was very good of Mr. Harold to bring you to the cove. We have few visitors"? with a sigh?"and the place is horribly lonely." "Thank you," said Hume, holding the soft, nestling hand a moment longer than was absolutely necessary. "As you all came bursting in upon me just now, what do you think I was doing here before the fire?" she asked. "Waiting for the fairy godmother, like another Cinderella." "Wrong. I was wishing myself stone dead." "No!" "Oh, I often do it?every day, in fact." "But consider," said Hume, "it is very unpleasant to be dead." Her charming face put on a pathetic look. "Is it? Are you quite sure? Some of us find life unpleasant, too." Bess, the handsome brunette, beckoned to her cousin. "Andy is still out on the porch," Hume heard her say, in a low tone, m J V?? Wn n a a# Klu Kn onnllo f A_ emu lie nan uuc ui mo uau opvuo wnight. Will you not go. dear, and call him In?" "No," replied Rose, frowning, and shaking her curly head. "Then I must," sadly. "Pray, let me go," said Harold, who was always on the watch to serve his goddess. "You can do nothing with him," re- I piled Bess Hillyer; "he pays no heed to strangers." She vanished through the door. The two men moved to follow her. "Promise, Mr. Harold, that you will bring your friend again," said Rose, with a smile in her soft eyes, "and let me atone for my unklndness." "Certainly," cried Jack; "of course he must watch the progress of his hapless victim toward recovery; remorse will be the 'spirit In his feet' forcing him to this house at all hours. As for me, since Mr. Hume has become so dangerous, I must, in common decency, constitute myself his close attendant." Tho two friends stepped out into the porch. A stiff breeze was now springing up, shattering the fog. Beyond the fish flakes and the boats the sea emerged, dark and turbulent, from the veil of vapor. Westward, a dull, coppery afterglow palpitated low down in the sky. Or. the step the strange net mender was still croucning, wun tsess oeruuug above him, talking softly, pleadingly. 'In the name of all that's curious, what creature is that?" whispered Kume. "The case which I mentioned in my letter," Harold replied, in a low voice. "Ah! Does he belong to the Hillyer household?" "Well?yes," was the reply. "His name is Andy Gaff." "What, may I ask, makes Andy Gaff so uncommonly queer?" "That's the very thing I would be glad to know myself," answered Harold, In an aggrieved tone. "It seems simply impossible. Hume, to discover any facts relating to him. The Hillyers preserve a strict silence on the subject, and I have not found a single person on Cape Desolation, not even the Widow Pole, who could be Induced, by love or money, to te:l me anything about the poor wretch. Over at Berry's grocery the old fishermen will talk from morning till night of everything upon the earth, or in tho waters under the earth, but once name Andy Gaff to them, and they are all struck suddenly dumb. One thing I do know, however: Miss Hillyer?Bess?is the man's guardian angel, devoted to him ?watchful always for his safety and comfort. I fancy that life would go hard with him at the cottage but for j he.'." "He Is probably demented," said Hume. "Why did you call the case terrible?" They were making their way past an old fishhouse that stood up like a gray ghost in the dusk, its weather-beaten clapboards flecked with yellow lichen. Harold's face grew pretematurally grave. "Because of the relations which the poor wretch sustains to? Look here Hume: you saw the little girl Rose tonight?" jerking one hand In the direction of the cottage. "She's a born beau| ty, eh?" "Well, rather," "And not a day past eighteen?poor child! In the excitement of our entrance into the cottage, you were not properly introduced to Rose. How it came about God only knows. I haven't yet been able to clear up the mystery ?but that young beauty is Andy Gaff's wife?tied to him forever, like life to death. The man is not a lunatic, Hume, but something even worse?a mumbling idiot!" To be Continued. DIRT THAT'S GOLD. Value of Property In London Compared With New York. A four-line cable dispatch in the Sunday World said: "The city of London proper covers one square mile, and the capitalized value of the property within its norders represents $l,2.r>0.000.000, which, it is claimed, establishes it as the richest area in the world." A comparison between London and New York values is difficult owing to the difference between lease-holders in the one city and freeholds in the other. But it may be questioned whether a square mile of lower New York has not passed in valuation even the financial centre of the world. Making a deduction for its narrow streets and its public buildings, the portion of London's 6 88 "city" acres actually occupied by private property may be 4 1 7 acres, averaging $3,000,000 an acre, nearly $70 a square foot. For a small "key" plot in lower New York, not on Broadway or Wall street, a price as high as $28,000,000 an acre has been paid. For a plot of considerable size in the best part of Wall street $20,000,000 an acre would eagerly be offered, but no such plot has been sold in a generation, nnrl mmp is on the market. The so called sale of the old custom house was so scandalous and exceptional, as to form no criterion. As high as $11.000,000 an acre was paid even before the recent real estate advances for part of the Flatiron site, on Madison square. A square mile of lower New York, bounded, say, on the north by Beach, Walker and Canal streets and on the east by a line drawn from the Bowery to Fulton Market, would contain the most remarkable group of business buildings in the world. It would crowd old London very close in the matter of capitalized value and might, perhaps, surpass it.?New York World. iUiscfll,infou.s it'i-adiiui. HISTORY OF SMYRNA. Interesting Data Covering a Period of Seventy-Five Years. The following Is the Interesting sketch of Smyrna church that was read by Rev. J. L. Oates In connection with the dedicatory exercises last Saturday afternoon: About the year 1832, William McGill, Esq., removed from Crowder's Creek, in '.he northern part of York county, S. C., where he and his wife were members of Bethany church, to King's Creek, in the western part of the same county. Not far from the same time, three brothers by the name of Black, removed from the neighborhood of Diamond Hill, in Abbeville county, S. C., to the country between King's Creek and Buffalo in the extreme western part of York county. These men were sons of Joseph Black who was a member of, and a ruling elder in Diamond Hill Associate Reformed church. These men and Mr. McGili, finding a likeness in their church preferences, agreed to join together in an effort to secure preaching for themselves and families, and to this end Invited the Rev. Thomas Ketchen of the A. R. church to visit them and preach for them and baptize the children of one of their number, Hon. James A. Black. Mr. Ketchen appears to have compiled with this request promptly, for we find that in 1834 he preached at the house of Mr. McGili. This was the beginning of the movement which resulted in the organization of Smyrna church. Soon after this it was discovered that a number of families belonging to Sharon con huBk^ :- ^ THE NEW SM| gregation, hut living between Clark's? Fork and King's Creek and therefore I at a considerable distance from their? church, were desirous of co-operating? with Mr. McGill and the Black's in se- I curing Associate Reformed preaching I at some point convenient to them all. I Thomas Whitesides, Major Whltesldes, I Robert Whitesides, Thomas Faulkner, I Robert Nealands, Josiah Henry, and I John Brown were the heads of these I latter families. The result of this mu- I tual desire was that in 1834 a stand I was erected somewhere on the dividing H ridge between Clark's Fork and King's H Creek, under which services were held H for a few times. But men like these I ^ o ehaii were not sattsnea wun a ui uan ?w., and the next year, 1835 a small but comfortable church was erected on the site occupied by the present building'; the land necessary for this purpose being donated by a generous Presbyterian. John Darwin. From the build- | ing of this church until 1843, preaching was supplied at irregular intervals by various ministers of the Associate Reformed church. In the mean time, about I840, it was found necessary to enlarge the church building. This was done by putting an addition of 12 or 14 feet to one end of the house. In the summer of 1843, the congregation was formally organized by the Rev. R. C. Grler, there being probably forty-eight members enrolled. The elders elected and ordained at that time were Robert Whitesides, Thomas Faulkner. Thomas McGill, and Oapt. John F. Oates. There is no record now of the communicants of that date, but it is of interest to know that of the children then living of those who took part in that solemn rite, the following four are alive today: R. W. Whitesides, Alexander McGill, Mrs. Martha White and Mrs. V,r. M. Kennedy. In the summer of 1843. Smyrna united with Sharon and Olivet congre* " t>TJ A gation in extending a can iu nc.i,. Ross; Smyrna asking for one-third of his time. This call was presented to him at a meeting of the First Presbytery at Hopewell, Chester county, and was accepted. He was installed over the charge at Sharon on the first Wednesday in December, 1843. This pastoral relation continued until April, 1S52, when it was dissolved by request of the pastor. In lSf>4, Smyrna united with Sardls, a small congregation in Union county, S. C., and extended a call to Rev. J. R. Castles. This call was moderated by Rev, R. A. Ross, and was presented to Mr. Castles at a meeting of the First presbytery at Steele Creek, N. C., March 8. 1854, and was accepted. He was installed sometime during the same year, Drs. Ross and Boyce officiating. Smyrna took one-half of his time. During his pastorate, the congregation showed their zeal by discarding the old church, and in its stead erecting a large and well furnished building, one which is said to have compared favorably with any wooden building in the country. Mr. Castles served this charge faithfully until his health so far failed him that he was no longer able to preach. On this account, in the fall of 1862 he resigned. In 1863 this congregation presented a call to Rev. Monroe Oates, asking for onehalf of his time, this call was accepted, and he was installed sometime in the year 1863, but the records fail to give any information as to those who took part in the service. In 1868 Mr. Oates demitted this charge in order to go to Arkansas, where in Pope county lie soon became pastor of New Pisgah,? a congregation very largely composed of members who had removed from Smyrna and Bethany, S. C., and Pisgah, N. C. For about three years following the pastorate of Mr. Oates, the Smyrna -pulpit was occasionally filled by supplies. In the spring of 1871, a second call was presented to Dr. R. A. Ross, for one-half of his time. This call being accepted, he was installed in May of the same year by Revs. E. E. Boyce and Robert Lathan. In 1873, the church building erected during the pastorate of Mr. Castle3 was burned by an Incendiary, but with old time zeal, the congregation with some outside 1 1 ? ?... AfAAlfl/1 o nnfhor thnf ho. cicucu anutiivi, t.iuw ing the building that was torn down last year to make way for the present one. Dr. Ross continued pastor of this congregation until 1890, when with great reluctance in his own heart and grief in the hearts of his people, he resigned on acount of the infirmities of age. Again came a short period of supplies, until 1891. In this year, Smyrna and her daughter, Hickory Grove, extended a call to Rev. J. P. Knox, and this call was accepted. Mr. Knox was installed at Smyrna, December 3, 1891. Dr. R. A. Ross preaching the sermon, Rev. R. M. Stevenson addressing the pastor, and Rev. J. C. Galloway addressing the people. This pastorate continued until May 21, 1899, when Mr, Knox demitted the charge which for seven and one-half years he had served faithfully and successfully, in order to take up work in Columbia. Anotlfer short season of supplies, and then in 1900 a call, made out for the present' Btfur^SBirSlA fl JsMBk YRNA ASSOCIATE REFORM i pastor, was accepted by him and on March 14, 190<1, he was installed at Smyrna, over the joint charge of Smyrna and Hickory Grove, Revs. R. M. Stevenson and J. S. Grier having charge of the installation. Looking back over the seventy-five years that have elapsed since the first nucleus of this congregation was formed, we find the following supplies, pastors and officers have served them: from 1834 until 1843, Revs. Thomas Ketchen, Eleazer Harris, James Walker, John Pressly, David Pressly, Joseph McCreary, T. C. Martin, R. C. Grier, J. H. Boyce and R. A. Ross, were the supplies. From 1843 until 1852, Rev. R. A. Ross was pastor. From 1854 until 1862, Rev. J. R. Castles was pastor. From 1863 until 1868, Rev. Monroe Gates was pastor. From 1868 until 1871, Revs. Robert Lathan and R A. Ross were the supplies. From 1871. until 1890, T>r. R. A. Ross was again pastor. During a few months after Dr. Ross' demission other pastors preached a day or two at a time, among them Dr. R. Lathan and Revs. R. M. Stevenson and T. R Stewart. From 1891 until 1899, Rev. J. P. Knox was pastor, and since 1900, the present incumbent has been pastor. The following elders have been ordained at the times mentioned: Robert Whitesides, Thomas Faulkner. Thomas McGill and Capt. John F. Gates in 1843; J. D. Wylle, J. L. Wylle and Calvin Whisonant, about I860; near this timej Thomas Whitesides was received as an j elder from Sharon, and Dr. H. C. Castles from Catholic in Chester county: Moses White and R M. McAlister in 1 s72; R. M. Patrick was received as an elder from Sardis in Union county, in 1872; John B. Whitesides, R. M; Plaxco and W. M. McGill in 1876; J. A. McGill. James EI. Castles. W. M. Whitesides, and J. W. Quinn in 1889; and A. J. McGill and Robert Whisonant in 1906. In 1873, J. M. Whitesides, R. G. Whitesides, William White and W. J. McGill elected deacons, and R. W. Whitesides and J. D. Whitesides in 1890; and J. N. Quinn in 1895. T. G. Wylie was clerk of session from 1859 until 1873: L. M. McAlister from 1873 until 1875; W. M. McGill from 1875 until 1897: and J. W. Quinn from 1897 until the present time. J. N. McGill. H. T. Castles. B. F. White and A. J. McGill have served as treasurers, the last named still holding' this office. The following are the officers of the church at the present time: Pastor?Rev. J. L. Gates. Elders?R. M. Plaxco, W. M. Whitesides. J. A. McGill. J. W. Quinn, James E. Castles. A. J. McGill and Robert Whisonant. Deacons? W. J. McGill. R. W. Whitesides, J. N. Quinn and J. I). Whitesides. Clerk of session?J. W. Quinn. Superintendent of Sabbath school? J. D. Whitesides. In 1907 it was decided that the house of worship erected in 1873 did not meet modern demands and was not worthy of the present abilities of the congregation. Therefore in the early part of the ear, at a congregational meeting the unanimous decision was expressed that a new building should be erected. Tlie following building committee was appointed and given full power to raise money, adopt plans and enter into contract for the erection of a suitable house of worship: J. D. Whitesides, J. W. Quinn, R. T. Castles, W. J. McGill, J. F. Faulkner and A. J. McGill. This committee asked the pastor to become one of their number and act as chairman. The congregation responded to the efforts of this committee so liberally that in August, 1907, the contract was let to Mr. W. L\ Wallace of Yorkville, and in January, 1908, the congregation worshiped in the new building, and today we have met and formally given it to God. There were trials and sacrifices, but the people had a mind to work, and God was good. Thn trinlu nro fnrcntten the sacrifices have already been richly repaid; and in this hour of our joy and this day of our 'blessings, with our lips and also with our hearts we will sing, "All people that on earth do dwell Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice. Him serve with mirth, His praise forth tell. Come ye before Him and rejoice." REV. J. L. OATES, Pastor of Hickory Grove and Smyrna Churches. The subject of the photograph reproduced herewith Is Rev. J. L. Oates, one of the best known and most highly esteemed citizens of York county. Mr. Oates was born in Gaston county. N. C.. in 1873. His parents took him to Catawba township in 1880, and he grew to manhood as a member of the Neely's Creek congregation. He was educated In the common schools of the Neely's Creek neighborhood, and at Erskine college and seminary, and was licensed to preach in 1897. ^ ^ '^l ";V flg wafl ED CHURCH. After having held charges at Bartow, Fla., and in Lancaster county, Mr. Oates was called to the pastorate of the Hickory Grove and Smyrna congregations in 1900, and has been living at Hickory Grove since that time. Though still a young man, and a very modest and retiring young -man at that. Mr. Oates has establish ed a reputation as a model pastor and as a preacher of unusual ability and power, and has grown in the love and esteem of his people to such an extent that he has come to be recognized as one of the strongest members of the First Associate Reformed presbytery. Inquiry among the people of western York, whether that inquiry be REV. J. L. OATES. merely casual or thorough, will develop that everybody, regardless of denominational affiliation, knows Mr. Oates, and that nine individuals out of ten will lay claim on him as a special persona! friend. Without the slightest compromise of the sacred dignity of his high calling, he has a wonderful faculty for making himself at ease in the presence of whatever company and of putting whatever company at ease in his presence. Several times during the past few years, Mr. Oates lias had intimations if not positive assurances, that he could have some of the strongest and wealthiest charges in his denomination by the mere acceptance: but up to this time he has not been able to see that his duty demands, a change. As matters now stand, he thinks and his people think that he is located permanently, and if this be true, the large scope of country that lias already enjoyed so much good through him is to be congratulated on having in store still great greater benefits for the future. .t"-' We deceive ourselves oftener than we are deceived by others. X3' Speaking before thinking is like shooting with your eyes shut. X" The picture on the box is no sign of the quality of the cigar. S-;' It is usually the tnan who seeks to do others that gets stung. Every bunco game rests on this principle. SENATOR CHRISTEN8EN'8 WORK. "An Observer" Praises His Achievements and Urges His Re-election. To the Editor of The State: In a recent Issue the Yorkvllle Enquirer has touched upon a subject of vital importance to South Carolina and every citizen therein. It is a warning to the people of the state and especially of Beaufort county of the possibility of the defeat of Senator Neils Chrlstensen, Jr., who stands for reelection. Doubtless The Enquirer is a little over apprehensive of such an outcome; nevertheless, the people should realize the importance of retaining Chrlstensen in the important seat which he has so manfully and capably filled for the past four years. Few people of the state are really familiar with the work of the young representative from Beaufort while occupying the seat In the senate and the Important place on the dispensary Investigating committee. Everything that he has touched has revealed to the public a desire In him to be of service to his fellows and to his state. Without fear or malice the Intrepid young politician plunged beneath all existing coverings of the nefarious, graft-breeding institution in which the commonwealth had been writhing for ten years and unearthed those crimes and defalcations which startled every honest Carolinian and caused those malicious, dare-devil malefactors to squirm and wriggle under the disgrace of criminal exposure and groan In the hands of law and Justice. With the one purpose of investigating first and uppermost In his mind, Chrlstensen proceeded without regard for the rank or position of his adversaries; he was no respecter of persons. During the entire Investigation he quailed under no difficulties that confronted him and there were many seemingly impossible barriers which a man of less courage and affability could never have surmounted. Cool, deliberate, earnest and determined, the fearless senator would face the most derisive, profane reprobate with a plea for testimony, when In more than one Instance he was met with angry outbursts of Insulting epithets from his would-be witness. Did Phrlofnncon Iaqa Vila torn nor o nH rnanrf to violence where he received such rebuffs? Never: on every such occasion he met the distorted, angry face of his assailant with a frank, mocking smile that conquered more effectively than would have the prison cell or the club. The cowardice of the angry aggressor revealed to him was the most powerful weapon that the senator ever resorted to. Christensen's high sense of honor and irreproachable character make the boldness and Intrepidity of his actions unusually Intense. Mr. T. W. Kllngenberg, one of the foremost detectives of the country and a man of wide reputation and experience, said that Nells Chrlstensen, Jr., is the most remarkable man with whom he has ever come In contact; that his ability to approach men and carry his point Is phenomenal. Kllngenberg was perhaps more Intimately associated with Mr. Chrlstensen than was any other man during these moments that demanded the utmost courage and calmness, and he is doubtless more capable of judging the sterling qualities of the young senator than any one else. When Senator Blease's bill was j w r _ M am a a# a passeu mr. ifurnneii nns one ui uic first men to be appointed on the investigating committee. After the full committee was selected the body was at a loss as to how to proceed. Mr. Christensen came to the rescue with the suggestion that the members be divided into several subcommittees to investigate the different branches of the dispensary. Christensen chose Mr. Lyon as his coworker. Lyon has made a most unusual record in forcing the grafters out of power. Still, he, better than any one else, knows that the courageous energy of Neils Christensen, Jr., was the rock that supported the committee and made possible the ultimate success achieved. In procuring testimony Mr. Christensen availed himself of every advantage in sight, making exhaustive researches for nil data that had accumulated during the rotten administration of the dispensary. With this zealous and aggressive comrade, Mr. Lyon, the most persistent efforts were made to give this band of thieves their ! just deserts. In order that the proceedings of the' committee should be (expedited, Mr. Christensen had soarranged all the affidavits, records and data that they could be immediately referred to, and he occupied throughout the sessions of the committee a J seat beside Mr. Lyon, where he laid before him these records and many were the times that he came to the rescue of Mr. Lyon with some valuable suggestion or advice. One need only read the testimony brought out by these two men to ascertain the value of their services. No greater crime was ever unearthed, as the testimony will show; truly they have been too numerous for the peotho ctoto tn (innaldpr other than F'<= "? ? - as one great crime, yet few officials that have been in any way connected with the vast organization have escaped without the word "corruption" imprinted upon a once clean record. Xo one need fear that Christensen is not making every effort to retain his seat in the senate; he will get almost unanimous support from the town of Beaufort. One has only, to spend a few hours in his office to learn of the confidence that the people of Beaufort have In his sound judgment and conservative ideas. His friends are too numerous and his clean record too well established in his own county for one to regard his defeat as by any means evident. Yet the friends of the heroic senator should guard against the "silent tread of political yeggmen." South Carolina cannot afford to lose so able a son, nor can Beaufort contend that she can produce a more loyal and earnest representative. While Senator Christensen has for several years been active in state politics he is even now in his 20's, and has already rendered the state one of the greatest services that any man could have rendered. He deserves the praise of the state and the loyal support of every voter in his home county. A more vigorous, determined and able man sits not among the lawmakers of the state. An Observer. Wedgefleld, S. C.. July 14, 1908.