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^ ^^^ISSUK^EMI-WEEKI^^ ^ ^ 1 ____^__ i. . GRIST'S SONS. Pabiithtn.} J .Jfantllg $twsgsi)tr: Jfar th< {promotion of th< Jolitiirat, Social. ?gri<nltni(at and ?omnt(iciat Interests of th< feojl*. ) 4.'"" o?^i.VAWCIt ? ^tablishedTS^S.^ YORKYILLE, 8. C., TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 19Q9. ISTO. 947 I THE SIR1 By ETTA \ CHAPTER XXIX. The play was nearly done. The prompter's bell ran;, the curtain rose in the last scene, and Paulette, brilliant as a comet, flashed out upon the gt&ge>. She looked like some beautiful - - - ? - spirit born of tbe dying' eciiuw m Ui? last orchestra blast. At the self-same moment, a man came sauntering down the aisle, and In this last scene of a last act took his seat in an orchestra chair, directly behind the railing. It was Ouy St. John. She saw him?she paused?she seemed to forget her part. Even under her rouge she grew colorless. There he was, dark and exultant He had, then, discovered her flight from Hazel Hall, and followed her. Horror! Horror! How she got through that terrible closing scene she never knew. He sat with his wicked eyes fixed on her till the ^ curtain dropped. Then, panting and breathless, Paulette rushed off the stage, down stairs to her dressingroom, where Megrim was waiting. "Off with these things!" she cried. "Quick! Megrim; he Is here!" f0 The old woman (lew at her with deft hands. "Who, mademoiselle? Purdleu, how wild, how terrified you look!" "He?St John! He has found me?i am lost!" "Saint above!" groaned Megrim, Jerking off Paulette's stage dree*, and speedily substituting another. 'Will ?you never hear the last of the man? Ah, that was a sad marriage! Well, well, let us hasten home. I have left the key in the door, and the chocolate boiling all into the Are, no doubt. You can see what it is to be old and forgetful, and one's own servant, mademoiselle." They hurried out with the last of the dwindling audience, Pauietle holding fast to Megrim. As they descended to the street, she cast a covert g'.ance around, but saw no one who bore an/ *"* *" ?*?? tana figure resemuiBiivc iv ? she so much dreaded. With all speed the two started for the North End tenement house. The hour was late; the streets almost deserted. Megrim seemed as ^ thoroughly alarmed as her mistress. Again and again she stopped to listen, and look back with sharp ferret eyes through the dark. But, no! the coast was clear. #? "I see nothing, mademoiselle," she said; "we are not followed Here are the stairs?hang to me?ycu will fall In the dark; and, oh! hew vile they are?how bad for mademoiselle, who has been rlc.. and great!" Guided by the old woman's bony dfc hand, Pauleite ascended, and stood upflfe on the landing outside the door. The smell of Megrim's chocolate made a pleasant aroma in the place. Megrim herself began to fumble about the lock for the key she had left, but did not And it "Sacre!" she muttered, profarely, and was searching the floor below, when Paulette, a little impatiently, too': noia of the door, and lo! it yielded to her hand, and she stepped into tho room beyond. ? A lamp burned on the table, just as Megrim had left it, on setting forth for her young mistress. A fire glowed in the little stove on which her pot of chocolate steamed. In the centre of the room, his elbow resting on the old woman's work table, his cloak thrown back, whistling softly to himself as he waited, sat Guy St. John. Megrim started back with a scrtsm. Up rose the visitor coolly. "I found the door unlocked, and so - * * * ?? ' t J 0 maxle doiu xo warn in, ?iu uc. The hot high blood surged over Paulette's pale face. "How dare you hunt me down like this?" she cried. "What do you want here?" * Megrim stared at him a little In a confused way, then backed to the door, and out upon the landing. Again those two stood alone, face to face. "I saw you at the play tonight.'" he - " said; "you saw me also, and the sight did not seem to please you. I came ahead to wait for you here. So you have left Hazel Hall, and gone back to to your old life?" "Yes," said Paulette. "Good! I now begin once more to feel on an equal footing with you. You seem to have taken quarters In a remarkably bad neighborhood, from which I infer that the general didn't provide you with much pocket money at parting. She answered not a word. He leaned his elbows on Megrim's work table ^ again, and looked at her darkly. "You are doubly angry with me now," he said, "because of the violence I offered you at Hazel Hall. Forgive me, Paulette. I was altogether beside myself that night. Of course you 4 hate me, and always will?quite natural and proper. But you mistake the errand that brings me here at this hour." Megrim's canary stirred sleepily on ] his perch over Paulette's head?chirped sleepily in his dreams. She drew up her small, lithe body. "If you have anything to say," she flfe cried, in a passion, "say it, then, and begone! Your presence, os you must know, is frightful to me." "Very flattering! How cruel?how very cruel you are!" he grum^'ed. 4 "This is all the thanks I'm to get for my trouble, I suppose?for looking you up at the play?for plodding down to this confounded den to talk with you. Paulette, I've brought you news of your mother!" She stood in the light of Megrim's lamp, her yellow hair heaving on her bosom, her slight fingers braided together, a pale amaze overspreading the anger In her face. "And what do you know of my mother?" she demanded. "She came to this city a week ago," he answered, "from that hiding-place of hers on Long Island. She is lying here at the point of death." f Paulette started convulsively. "How did you learn this?" "Through our mutual friend, Mr. MMIftRt V. PIERCE. mmmmmmmmmmtmlmL George Trent, whose acquaintance 1 made a few days ago. Your mother, according to her doctors, can be restored to life and sanity only by you. If you will fly to her this hour, this moment, you may save her; but the hrt^fpat deiRv is likelv to prove fatal." j A lamentable cry burst from her lips. She made a movement toward the door. ' Why did I not know of this before?" she cried. "Why did no one send me word? Where Is she? Oh, my poor mother!" "As nobody knew where to find you, 'twas not so easy to send you word,' scowled St. John. "If you will trust yourself to me, I will take you to her in Just a half-hour by the clock" Paulette stopped short, and looked at him. "Where is slie? Tell me that, and I will go alone," she said. "Ah, there It Is!" cried he, bitterly. "You mean to cast me off altogether. She's enormously rich, I suppose you know, and you will be sole heir. Now, If I'm to have no part In your good fortune, by heaven! she may die a thousand times over before I will put you on her track!" He set his back sullenly against the wall. "Do you call this fair treatment, Paulette? Faith, common courtesy is not so costly but what a man may demand a little from the woman, who, whether she likes It or not, is lawfully his wife." ** -s. J V/uiUnnt iinnap. fauieue siuuu wuu, iimuuik, uuv?>taln. "How did Trent know of all this?" she demanded. "He has himself seen your mother." .She glanced at Megrim's Dutch clock on the mantel. She seemed torn with feRr and hope. "Look! It is nearly midnight,' she said. "Yes." "What guarantee have I that you will carry me safely to her, or that what you have told me is true?" "None, except my word, which amounts to nothing with you. Where should I take you if not to her? WhaJ would possess me to trump up such ? story as this? Am I the villain of some three volume novel?" She looked at him steadily. "From the night I first met you at Hazel Hall." she answered, "you have seemed to me an utter scoundrel. Four years ago I knew you to be wild and dissipated, now you are something a great deal worse. Still, I will go with you, and Megrim shall attend me." "Thanks!" said St. John ironically; "such a proof of confidence I can in nowise bring myself to accept Either you go alone with me, Paulette, or not at all. I don't make myself ridiculous by carrying along that old French mummy to protect my wife against tne evil designs of her husband. What the deuce do you think? Am I going to rob or murder you, or what?" Her manner did not soften, but she began to look desperate. "Meanwhile." added St. John, "while you are dawdling: here, your mother's last chance of life may be lost." "I will gro!" cried Paulette, wildly, "I am ready. Take me to her quickly!" And she ran to the door. "Is It far away?" "I promised you should be with her In a half hour," replied St. John. "Come, then!" and his hand was on the knob when she drew suddenly back. "Hark!" she whispered: "some one Is coming up-stairs! I cannot be seen leaving this room with you at this hour of night. Hold!" A guarded step sounded for a moment on the landing, and then stopped. "Drop your veil," said St. John, impatiently, "and come along." He drew her still half-reluctant hand through his arm, pulled his hat over his brow, and the two stepped out on the threshold. As they did so, from the deep obscurity of. the landing a dark figure arose, like a guard, and barred their progress. "Stop!" commanded the voice of Arthur Gullte. Paulette snatched her hand from her companion and darted back. St. John for a moment stood as If paralyzed; then, without word or sound, made a desperate rush for the stair. Seizing him by the shoulder, Arthur Gullte dragged him back by main force, and precipitated him headlong into the room he had just left. He then turned and called to some one still hidden In the darkness without: "Come In, -"i" u'o orn nnf ton late!" At this invitation, another figure, tall, gray and soldler-llke, stepped over the threshold?the old general. One wild cry broke from Paulette, then she saw him stretch his arms toward her, and, forgetful of all things but the great, tender, remorseful love she saw in his old face, "Guardy!" she shrieked, and ran and was folded to his heart. "Now," said Arthur Guilte, standing very tall, and brown, and stern, with his back against the door, "I should be glad to know what all this means. Who is this man. Paulette, and what is he doing here?" St. John leaned sulkily against the wall, his hat pulled over his eyes, glaring from beneath Its brim at the speaker. The general took up the question. "My poor little Polly," he said, turning her white face to the light, "explain this mystery?answer Arthur? oncu-or mo?who ic hp^" "I will," she cried, dashing her hands together in a sudden frenzy. "Oh, guardy?oh. Arthur, he is my husband!" They stared at her in utter silence. Neither did St. John speak a word. "I deceived you both," she wailed: "but I thought him dead. I saw with my own eyes the notice of his death at Havana, before Arthur ever came to Hazel Hall. He came here tonight to take me to my mother, who is dying? to the woman you hate, and because of whom you hate me also." "Hush!" groaned the general. "Arthur, pray speak to her!" "I will," said Arthur, gravely; "since you have said so much, Paulette, pray go on, and present us to this husband of yours In due form. You have not yet called his name." The sullen figure against the wall started up. "Stand away from that door!" he "on/1 lof mo no a a 1 Whfl t fhp uuioi v/Uk, ntiu ivv iuv ?..? deuce do you mean by Interfering between a man and his wife? She wad married to me before she ever laid eyes on either of you." ' Paulette," repeated Arthur Gullte, as though he had not heard a word, "I ask you again, will you tell me this man's name?" "It is Guy St. John," she answered, averting her face from his with a gesture of despair. "Indeed!" said Arthur Gullte, turning toward Paulette's husband; "and where, may I ask, did you get that name?" "Where does any man get his name?" was the sullen answer; "and what is it to you, anyway?" "You tell me, then, that it Is rightfully yours?" urged Arthur, advancing slowly toward him. "Surely." "Then," shouted Arthur Gullte, "you are a false scoundrel, and have no more right to that name than I have? than I had four years ago, when, hiding under It, I married In secret the actress, little Paulette!" He looked si the girl, who stood stark and still beside the old general. "My poor child," he said, "do you not see, In spite of oil >ha nhanire that has taken nlace in me, that I am St. John?the wild, hotheaded boy you married that night in Cambridge?who deserted you, .Indeed, but only to leave a better guardian In his place?the old man who had forgiven and bon e with him through all [ bis wild youth ?" The false St John made a second rush for the door, but was seized and held fast by the general. "Come," cried Arthur, "I must know who this clever Imitation of my former voice and person Is. Throw off your disguise, or by heavens! I'll strip It from you!" There was a fierce struggle. Whoever he was, he resisted stoutly. Arthur Cuilte, far stronger In arms and muscle, pinned him against the door he could not open, and tore away by main force cloak, hat false hair and brows?all the cunning disguise, In fact, save the stain on the skin, and the lines drawn about the mouth and eyes. "Exactly as I thought Mr. Trent," " 4 ?*riitiUA o a tVtA lonrvop atrv'ifl flmQTU IIJUI VJUlltC, no vuv *u * j v. . nBd to the two, red and furious. '"now your natural voice, and you are yourself again." Witn a cry, Paulette flung herself into the arms of the old general. "Polly," he began, half in sadness, half In Joy, "my boy had his wild early years, like ail others boys, and we quarreled. I was too severe with him by half, and he left me, and went roysterlng oflt under the name of St. John, tc starve at scene-painting for secondrate theatres. I bore it a while?kept it to myself, too?Trent and Hilda Burr thought him on his travels?then set out alone to And my prodigal, and bring him home. I wrote him of my arrival in Boston?" "The letter," put in Arthur, "I received at Miss Nightingale's party." "And the next day," went on the general, "came that shooting affray, from which he fled direct to me, and confessed his marriage, his Jealousy of his child wife, and conjured me to go to her, to befriend her, but in nowise to let her know that I was kith or kin of his. Before nightfall my boy was on his way to Europe, and I was racking my brains to decide on some course to pursue with his deserted wife. You know the rest, Polly. When his wild, adventurous life had changed him beyond recognition, the thought was Arthur's to return and woo you again under another name. I saw you were wretched at times, and that till your mind was at rest regarding St John, my boy would speed ill in his wooing? hence that blundering notice of St. John's death?for, faith, he was dead and buried in good earnest! I little thought to what an account our friend Trent was to turn the lltle item." "Well," said Mr. Trent, promptly regaining his usual sang froid, "it was a bold game, I allow, but you must admit that it succeeded tolerably well. Half an hour later, my dear Arthur, I fear you would not have found your wife, neither this night nor for many a night to come." The villainous meaning In these words turned Arthur's face ghastly white. "You scoundrel!" he roared; "what did you mean to do with her?" "Since my plan had proved a failure," said Mr. Trent, beginning to arrange his disordered toilet, "the part still undeveloped I think I will keep to myself." "You shall confess," cried Arthur, through his teeth, "or leave this spot for a common jail." "Neither the one nor the other," answered Mr. Trent, airily. "You cannot resort to harsh measures, because, unfortunately for you. my dear client and your equally dear granduncle will never allow it." Arthur looked from the brazen face of the lawyer to that of the general. The ultant tone of Trent was not to be mistaken?it meant conscious pow er and .security. The old soldier's eyes fell before Arthur's. "Let him go," he said, in a trembling voice; "he speaks truly. We cannot punish him?at least, not now. Don't ask me why, but if you love me, my boy, let him go." There was such genuine distress both In his face and voice that Arthur's j hand fell Involuntarily from the lawyer's shoulder. Thus freed, Mr. Trent made the trio a mocking bow. "The best laid plans of mice and men often go wrong, you know. As I could not find Miss Rale's husband, I could think of nothing better than to personate him myself. Could I by this ruse have got possession of her?but let that pass. Arthur Guilte was the last person on the face of the earth that I suspected of being Guy St. John. Good night, my dear friends. You have foiled me, 'tis true, but my turn i3 coming. Good-night, Paulette. Heaven knows how loth I am to give you | UfWith one last look, outrageous in its mingled oasslon and fury, he opened the door to go. At the same moment Arthur Qullte snatched front the wall, against which It leaned, the general's cane, and as the lawyer stepped out upon the landing, he followed. In utter silence he seized Trent, as a terrier might a rat and laid upon him with might and main. Within stood Paulette and the gen* eral, hearing distinctly the rapid rain of blows and the sound of some solid substance rolling over and over, thumping and bumping down the narrow stair. Then the door opened again, and -Arthur appeared, a little flushed, but placid, holding the cane broken in {lis hand. He took a turn or two across the room, and finally stopped before Paulette. His face srrew soft and luminous. "Paulette," he asked, in a voice of unutterable tenderness, "do you love me?" She dropped her trembling hands in hla She seemed hardly able to believe her own senses. "I do! I do!" "The less because you see in me your old time lover, your husband, St John?" Her dark, uplifted eyes answered him. "There was something about you," she murmured, "that puzzled me from tne first?a look?a trick of manner that seemed strangely familiar, but it wore away after a time, and I thought no more of it. But?" starting back from him, "you forget I am not Paulette Rale?but?oh, the general ha* not told you. ? am sure!" "He has told me all?everything," cried Arthur. "He came in hot haste to Baltimore, and we set out in pursuit of you at once. I was confident that you had returned to your old life, and so knew well where to find you. We took secluded seats at the play tonight, and afterward, at a safe distance, followed you hera" ' And," burst out the general, "I humbly beg your pardon, Polly, for all I said to you at Hazel Hall. I was a brute?a madman! At last, I forgive your mother, for your sake, my own darling child! And now I would be glad to know where Trent caught hi* idea of St. John's appearance?let us call in an old friend, Megrim." Megrim, who all this while had been waiting at the foot of the stair, in fear and trembling, was called accordingly, and closely questioned by each of the three. She appeared greatly terrified and confused. "Ah!" she groaned, "he came here once to ask about mademoiselle?he came again to ask of her husband. He made himself up like an actor for the stage, and he gave me money and I told him what was like St. John, as I remembered him, and what was not But, mon Dieu! I knew not that he meant such mischief?oh, no!" "Put out your light. Megrim," said the general, "and maae reatiy 10 come with your mistress." And Megrim obeyed, and Arthur Gulite drew Paulette's hand through his arm, and the four went off to* gether down the stair. (To be Continued.) BELIEF IN 8P00K8. Superstition Has Always Been Strong Among All People. The belief in ghosts and in the supernatural generally has been prevalent in all ages and in all climes. The Twelve Tables of the ancient Roman law contained provisions against witchcraft and sorcery. The Eastern world has always been a prey to superstition. Science and common sense have frowned upon such beliefs in vain. When Shakespeare shows us the ghost of Hamlet's father and the witches on the blasted heath and r\f thn Pfim maKes Jtmtueiu aivuc ...v p&ny to see the spectre of the blood bolter'd Banquo sitting at the feast he is but giving us a vivid realization of the faith of his own time, not of the distant periods with which these two great tragedies deal. In fact, it may safely be inferred from several of his plays that Elizabethan and Jacobean England was reeking with belief in the preternatural. Besides, did not King James VI of Scotland himself, ere yet he had succeeded his Tudor cousin on the throne of England, pen with his own royal hand a learned treatise on demonology, in which he stoutly maintained ' the fearefull abounding at this time in this countrey of these detestable slaues of the deull, the witches or enchanters," and accuse of Sadduceeism all those who denied the existence of spirits? The stout-hearted Pilgrim Fathers and their immediate descendants, who faced wild nature and savage man with equanimity, could not, for all their Puritan training, rid themselves of the dread of the preternatural, and at the fanatical outbreak against witchcraft at Salem, Mass., in which toward the end of the seventeenth century nineteen persons were lo o nrnnf nf thplr WPird CACt UICVI, IO u )/l vvr*. w* dread of uncanny agencies. In our own day beliefs are in a mixed condition. It is a very material world we live in. We profess no longer to marvel. The wonders wrought by science are such as in an earlier age would have brought their inventor to a cruel death at the stake. We are inclined, on the whole, to be of the earth, earthy; but behind the veneer of our extreme modernity there lurk, regarding what the veil of another life conceals, those primal instincts which civilization in all its progress has signally failed to banish. Hence we have a society of Psychical Research. Hence we have Dr. Wu Ting-Fang consulting mediums. Hence too we have William T. Stead setting up In the heart of London a bureau of spooks, where for a consideration of a guinea you can enter and summon spirits, if not from the vasty deep at least from the circumambient. And what Is to be said of those mysterious visiuu ts whose appearance at Windsor Castle, at ancient country seats In I" erbyshlre and Yorkshire and in dllerent parts of Scotland have beer vouched for by the baronets and ladies of high degree, by a Lord High Chancellor of England, by King Edward VII.?most modern of monarchs?himself? Catherine of Aragon, Anne Boleyn and Queen Elizabeth, not to mention other less august personages, would seem to have again taken to walking the earth and revisiting the glimpses of the moon. It Is all very disquieting, very upsetting, to the preconceived notions of most people. But it is a subject on which no one can speak dogmatically. To assert a negative in such a matter, as in most others, is impossible. The wise man will suspend Judgment while awaiting further evidence. He, least of all, will in the present state of our information be inclined to dispute the truth of Hamlet'9 proposition that there are more things in heaven and earth than the dreamt of in our philosophy.?Washington Post. ptealtancoufi grading. WILL TIE UP COUNTY FUND8. Dispensary Board Plans to Collect Over-Judgments. Ne\v> and Courier. Columbia, November 18: At least $75,000 Id espected to be recovered by the state In tne matter of overjudgments atrainst whisky Arms by the ty in* up of the funds of the county dispensaries to bring about whicn bills were drawn up today by attorneys for the commission. It is not definitely known how the balance of the more than $200,000 in overjudgments will be secured, but one method will be suing the firms in their own state. This much was stated this morning by an attorney for the commission to the News and Cofirier correspondent. A number of the firms that deait ?- ? J' olan onM wun me aunt* uiapcuoui j ?btc av.? to the county dispensaries. About $200,000 Is the amount owed these Arms by the various county dispensary boards, and In the list Is represented about $76,000 that may be recovered from these firms against which overjudgment have been rendered by the dispensary commission. Strauss, Prlz & Co., have an overjudgment of over $12,000, and this is about the amount that Is owed this firm by county dispensaries. William Lanahan & Sons will be hit hard, if the tying up of the funds is successful throughout, because this firm is a loser to the state in the amount of $23,653.63 on the overjudgment and has about $17,000 tied up in county dispensary accounts. Other firms, from which amounts are expected to be secured by the tying up process, are: Cook & Bernhelmer, against whom an overjudgment or $36,562.63 has been rendered; Jack Cranston, from whom the state claims $1,604; Gallagher & Burton, indebted to the state by the overjudgment route in the sum of $18,000; Grabfelder, the Gerstley, Sellgman company, and a few others are also included In the list of those whose accounts will- be tied up In order to secure the overjudgments against them. Interlocked are the affairs of the state dispensary now almost a memory and the affairs of the recent born coun ty dispensary. It is a coincidence that in the closing days of the state dispensary the county dispensary should be brought to the aid of the mother system. A few days ago the News and Courier contained a story setting out that an affidavit would be required of all claimants against the county dispensary boards before the accounts would be settled. This affidavit makes deponent swear wmi nu reuaun, commissions or other Inducements were given to secure business, and that the law was lived up to In the securing of business. The full significance of the whole matter Is now explained when the accounts of the firms selling the county dispensary boards and previously dealing with the state dispensary are tied up to secure the overjudgments against these concerns. It is to be expected that this will cause quite a legal fight, and the end of the dispensary winding-up is not now In sight on this account. But, In addition to these firms, others will appeal to the courts for settlement of their claims. Commission Has Adjourned. The commission adjourned today, after going over certain details of the work, Including a discussion of attor ney's fees. It is stated that Messrs. Stevenson and Abney were paid out of the funds secured from the other sides In the taxing of the coats of tne litigation. This, of course, has reference to the fight on the Federal courts. The other attorneys' fees, It Is understood, have not been finally settled yet. w.ialrman Murray stated that these depend upon some matters not yet completely settled. The amounts recovered necessarily Involve some of the attorney fees. It was further stated that the Atlanta lawyers' fees will be based upon expense, as this was the terms under which the contract was made. Col. Felder stated today that they were "after" some of the firms, and he Is nt mairinr full recovery. uvpc&ui V/l a ..... - - - . The New York and Kentucky claim was further held up. It was not settled today as were the other claims. Members of the commission state that It will be necessary to return and consider this claim with some other minor matters to be completed yet. The New York and Kentucky claim Is over $22,000. All members of the commission and the attorneys breathed a sigh of relief today when the work was finished. "I feel younger," said Mr. McSween, who has been on the commission many a day. "It's a great burden off my shoulders." Dr. Murray, the chairman, was Vv-ry much pleased with the winding-up, so far as the commission Is concerned, Is practically ended. He has worked hard, as have the other members of the commission, and they were being congratulated tnis morning around the state house for getting the business straightened out The commissioners left upon the first trains they could catch. All went in to see the governor before departing from the city. Attorney Felder left on the afternoon train for Atlanta, Comment on Claims. The claim most discussed on the streets today is that of the Carolina Glass Co. Many friends of this local company felt that there would be no scaling off this claim, and members of the firm stoutly maintained that inasmuch as they were guilty of no wrong-doing, the full amount would be paid. The position taken by the commission is Indicated in what one of the members said today: "We found that class was sold cheaper in other states by the company than here to the dispensary." The fight in the courts on this particular claim will In all probability rest upon the contention that the claims had already been audited and ordered paid by tue commission. It is understood that this is a fact, but the commission reopened this claim along with others. In justice to all, it should be stated that at one time Attorney General Lyon recommended the payment of the claim, believing that the commission had considered all the testimony. Including the Flaccus contract feature and the legislative committee testimony. Later Attorney General Lyor. withdrew the recommendation in his office before the commission and a few other visitors. He gave his reason for this at the time mentioning the Flaccus contract and the fact that rumors had grot abroad that some pressure was brought to bear upon him here locally. Attorney General Lyon In this manner left the consideration of this claim to the commission. He stated today that he could not, of course, keep up with all the details of these various claims, but when he recommended the payment of the claim he was under the impression that all testimony and everything in connection with the claim had been considered. Manv Dersons labored under the 1m pression that the glass company claim I had practically been settled, and It was somewhat of a surprise when It was seen that the commission had wiped away the whole claim and found an overjudgment. The general opinion here was that this claim was all right, and that the only possibility of reduction was in the matter of the Flaccus contract, whlcn would have reduced the claim about $4,000. However, the commission in its findings as reported today, charges the glass company with overcharging and stifling competition. The outcome of the glass company claim will be many other appeals to the courts. The members of the Arm are prominent Columbians. No other notices of appeal have been received yet The decree is formally filed today, and It is expected that there will be many other appeals to the courts. Tne following is the decree of the commission In the Carolina Glass company claim: Carolina disss Company. In the matter of the claim of the Carolina Glass company against the state dispensary of South Carolina: The foregoing matter having come on for a hearing before this commission, and evidence having been taken for and against the claim made by said Carolina Glass company against the state dispensary, and after hearing the argument of the counsel representing said claimant and counsel representing said interest of the state: This commission, exercising Its powers under and by virtue of an act of the general assembly of the state of South Carolina, approved February, 1907, and cts amendatory thereto, And as follows: First. That the Carolina Glass company was organized during the summer' of 1902 in pursuance of an agreement, which had been made between Its promoters and certain members of the ---? * rV.rn_ ooara 01 airwium ui mc auuui viuvlina state dispensary, whereby it was intended that the said Carolina Class company should manufacture such glass as the board of directors of the state dispensary might agree to purchase, and that awards for the purchase of glass to be used by said state dispensary should be made exclusively to the Carolina Class company; and that said oulcers and promoters of the said Carolina Class company and said board of directors or some of them entered into a conspiracy to defraud the state of South Carolina by preventing and defeating all competition In the sale of glassware needed, used or purchased by tne state dispensary, and did In fact destroy all such competition. Second. That in pursuance of this understanding and agreement the said Carolina Class company bid (in September, 1902,) to furnish fifty cars of glass bottles at prices ranging about 10 per cent In excess of the prices that were then being paid by said state dispensary to Flaccus & Co., with whom the ttate dispensary then had a contract, a large part of which was still .unfilled; and notwithstanding this fact and the further fact that at the same time other bids were filed from other reputable houses at lower prices, said board of directors awarded the contract to said Carolina Glass company at those prices; that on or about December 3, 1902, the said Carolina Glass company entered into an agreement with said Flaccus & Co., under and by virtue of which the Carolina Glass company purchased the contract of said Flaccus & Co., and agreed to assume its full and complete performance, and also by the terms of said contract purchased from said Flaccus & Co., the special moulds needed to manufacture the special bottles required under the rules of the board of directors of the state dispensary and other material J nnnnanUnn with thplr mflnU uacu an wuuvv%iv?* ?. .... facture and packing:; that the board of directors of the state dispensary thereupon ratified the transfer of this contract from Flaccus & Co., to the Carolina Class company, and there was at the time the same was purchased twenty-two cars of glass still to be delivered under its terms; that thereafter said Carolina Glass company did not deliver any glass whatever to the state dispensary as being manufactured under the terms of the Flaccus contract, nor at the prices named in the Flaccus contract, but continued to manufacture glass under the award which has been made to It under its bid filed In September, 1902, until in Aiarcn, anuuiei itnaiu woo uiuuv by said board of directors of the South Carolina dispensary to said Carolina Glass company at substantially the same prices, although at that time Its own contract made In September, 1902, had not been fully executed and no part of the remaining cars of glass called for under the Flaccus contract had been manufactured or delivered, and notwithstanding the further fact that there were several bids made for the manufacture and delivery of glass under the terms and conditions Imposed by the board of directors of the state inr,n?anmtinh Intvt-r nHrAS and uioi^i.oai j ?v,. , for goods of Just as good quality, tne said bid of the Carolina Glass company being then the highest bid made for the furnishing of glass, with the exception of a bid by Flaccus & Co., which was a few cents higher than that of the Carolina Glass company, and which the commission finds was a dummy bid, not Intended to be accepted, but made In pursuance of an understanding between said Flaccus & Co., and the Carolina Glass company that the former would not compete for business with the state dispensary, but would file this bid as a blind; said Flaccus & Co., having no moulds or other facilities at that time for manufacturing any of the glass required by hnarH nf Hlrw>fr?ru nf tho atnte dls pensary. Third. That for several quarterly periods following that of March, 1903, bids were invited for glass to be furnished to the state dispensary, and other bidders filed bids besides the Carolina Glass Co., all of which were lower In price (though for goods equal In quality) than those proposed at the flame time by the Carolina Glaas company, and that some of said bids were suppressed by said board of directors, with the consent of the Carolina Glass company, so that no entry or record was made upon the books of said board of directors of the state dispensary in regard thereto, that notwithstanding this, awards in each instance were made to the Carolina Glass company and purchases made from it at tiw higher prices named in their bids. Fourth. That after December 3, 1902, and "?*? the early part of the year 1906, when, pursuant to a concurrent resolution of the state and house of representatives of the state of South Carolina, the existing contract between the state dispensary and the Carolina Glass company, as to unfilled portions thereof, were cancelled, the said Carolina Glass company, by and with the aid and assistance of the board of directors of said state dispensary, and in furtherance of the conspiracy already formed to destroy and prevent all competition in the sale of glass to said dispensary, secured and maintained a complete monopoly of all the business in that commodity that was done with said state dispensary; that after the year 1902, and during the remainder of the period above named, said Carolina Glass company, secure in the monopoly then created, raised its prices from time to time and were awarded con tracts therefor by said board of directors, said prices being at all times much above the fair market prices for the goods sold. Said board of directors oonttnulng at nearly every quarterly meeting to award new contracts to said Glass company at those exorbitant prices, whether the goods were then needed or not, and notwithstanding that said glass company had never Ailed said Flaccus contract until, at the time of the passage of the concurrent resolution by the two houses of the general assembly of South Carolina in 1906, cancelling the unAlled portions of existing contracts, there were outstanding contracts at exorbitant prices under which there remained to be Ailed orders for more than 200 cars of glass bottles of the approximate value of more than $200,000, by which action on the part of the general assembly, according to the testimony of one of the oAlcers of said glass company, the state saved more than $50,000, when comparison is mace wua w.e puvco paid for goods subsequently purchased. Fifth. That said Carolina Class company sold goods of the same quality and size and general character as that sold to the state dispensary in other states and in other parts of the state of South Carolina at prices, which making allowances for all credits property to be given to said Carolina Glass company for the different conditions under which those sales were made, averaged in prices from 20 to 25 per cent below the prices at which the same goods were being sold to the state of South Carolina; the agent of said Carolina Glass company admitting in his evidence before this commission that the purchase of the Flaccus contract was made for the purpose of getting rid of a competitor and that wherever his company sold goods in "* --? s-i ? a Competition wun omers mejr iiim mai competition by selling the goods at lower prices than the same were sold to the state of South Carolina. We, therefore, And that the contracts made between the Carolina Class company and the board of directors of the state dispensary were contrary to the laws of the state and against public policy, and for those reasons null' and void, and that the said Carolina Glass company should not, as a matter of strict law, be entitled to recover any sum of money from the state of South Carolina on account of said contracts, even If the state had no offsets against them whatsoever; but the commission further finds that It should determine the matter on equitable principles and fix the matter of liability on a "quantum merrult" basis and that "ne prices at which the Carolina Glass company sold to the state dispensary the glassware manufactured by It ranged throughout the entire period of their transactions with the state dispensary, except for the years 1906 and 1907, at about 10 per cent above tbe fair ana reasonaDie murKci price for said goods. The commission finds that the total amount of sales, after making ail proper corrections therein, made by the Carolina Class company dcring the entire period of the transactions with the state dispensary up to the time It was abolished, was $613,437. Of this amount the sum of $99,108 was for goods sold during the year 1906 and the short period during 1907 during which the dispensary was conducted, so that the total sales made bj the Carolina Glass company during the years preceding the year 1906 aggregated 514,329.90. The commissior finds that beginning early in th< year 1906, as the result of a legislative inv< stlgation made by a . committee .i.ppolited by the general assembly of :he state of South Carolina and the resolutions adopted by the general assembly relating especially to the contracts with the Carolina Glass company, hereinafter referred to, the Carolina Glass company was forced to, and did lower its bids to prices which during that yea" and the short period of 1907, during which the dispensary was operated, were substantially in accord with the fair and reasonable market nrice of the goods sold during that period; but the commission finds that during: the years preceding 1906 the overcharges made In excess of the fair and reasonable market price for the goods sold was 151,432.99, which should be and Is hereby ofTset against the claim in favor of said Carolina Glass company, to wit; Its claims for $23,013.75, which, being deducted from the | amount of said overcharges, the commission finds said Carolina Glass company to be indebted to the state of [ South Carolina In the sum of $28,419.24, whereupon Judgment Is rendered In accordance with the foregoing findings. Signed, this November 17, 1909. W. J. Murray, John McSween, A. N. Wood, Avery Patton, J. S. Brice. It is often asserted that perseverence can do all things, but the unvarnished truth about the matter is that It keeps It humping to run down a scandal that has got a good day's start I"-' A well known lawyer declared one day at a dinner that the biggest thing i he ever had done was to cross-examine a man until he did not know whether he was married or not. HENPECKED HU8BAND8. Vindictive Will* By. Whieh Th*y 8ought to Punish Their Widows. "This Is where I get my own back." You can almost Imagine the henpecked husband, who has borne for years the lash of a shrew's tongue, gleefully making this remark as with the aid of a lawyer he cuts off his wife with the proverbial shilling. What reason It was which led a Midland tradesman recently to leave his wife out of his will altogether and further stipulate that any expense she may Incur In connection with his will shall be paid out of her own pocket and not be charred azalnat his estate Is not known. "Aa for thirty yean my wife has never loet an opportunity of lashing me with her tongue," ran a codicil in the will of a Liverpool merchant of a generation ago, "and making me the butt of her vulgar wit, I bequeath to her an annuity of ?300 so long aa the lives under the same roof with her mother, whose tongue Is aa poisonous a? her own and whom she hates as cordially as she does me, and so long as mother and daughter together visit my grave on the first day of each month, and In the presence of my. solictor or his deputy, express regret for the unhappinees they have caused ma" Probably, however, the meanest will on record was that of a man who left to his wlfo the sum of one farthing, with the direction that it should be sent to her by post In an unstamped envelope, complaining that she had called him "an old pig" and other names. It was probably Jealousy, rather than affection, that Inspired the following clase In a will preserved at Somerset House: ''Having expiated the errors of a single life by the sorrows of a married one. I now make my will In the full belief that you will outlive me. mere ape wiuowb, mjr iuvo, ?uu vucio are widows. Some rejoice and some do not Those that do are a discreditable lot. The bare Idea of your Joining their ranks is so distasteful that to dampen any glee you may feel at my death 1 leave you ?10 a year Instead of the ?100 you expected." A wealthy man left not a single penny to his widow unless within the space of Ave years she married again, in which case he bequeathed to her the sum of ?1,000. "My object in making this proviso," continued the testator, "la that some other man may know from experience something of the difficulties I have found from living with her." "Dtlrlng my married life," wrote another disillusioned husband, "I have always declared that my wife was the dearest woman in the world, and I am convinced that should any one be rash enough to marry her after my death he will find her so. To deter, as far as possible, any one making sucn a ruinous experiment I leave her nothing." Vanity appears to have been the besetting sin of the wife of another testator, who left her the sum of ? 12,060, to be Increased to ?24,000 provided that after his death she wore a widow's cap, which in his lifetime she had stoutly declared she never would wear. "My widow," wrote the disingenuous husband, "would please me greatly by doing this, as I think it would suit her." The good lady, however, was as 8 harp wit ted as she was vain, for after wearing the odious cap for six months she boldly claimed the increaseu legacy. The matter was brought before a court of law and to the widow's delight Judgment was given in her favor on the ground that the testator had omitted to stipulate that the cap should be worn always. The week after this decision was given the triumphant widow was once more a wife. It Is happily seldom that the revenge of a disappointed husband takes quite such an extreme form as in the case of the man whose will ran thus: "When I remember that the only happy times I ever enjoyed were when my wife sulked with me and when I remember that my married life might for this reason be considered to have been a aofvmif ana KnnaiidO >Ha Vfll J. ClU I J i WUV, WVWWHWV w..u .. ? nearly always sulking, I am constrained to forget the repulsion the contemplation of her face Inspired me with and leave her the sum of ?60,000 on condition that she undertakes to pass two hours a day at my graveside for the ten years following1 my decease In company with her sister, whom I have reason to know she loathes worse than she does myself." DOWN IN THE "PENNYRILE." Where George Fortune, 94 Years Old, Met His Two Aged Sisters. Down In "the Green River region," In the godly town of Glasgow, In Barren county, Ky.? Auld Ayr, whom ne'er a town surpasses For honest men and bonnle lasses? Down in Barren, the very golden cream 01 an me imuu/iuc, nuwo, a native will tell you, the skies are the serenest, the waters the crystalist, the air the balmiest, the soli the richest, the meadows groaning under foliage, the pastures all that poetry and romance could Imagine, the orchards laden with fruits, the forests copious with mast, the fields as of Qoshen a fat year, and there com, wine and oil. milk and honey are In most exurberant abundance?that wine part we beg to take back; It is a dry town and a dry county?down In Barren county, Ood bless her, says a Washington Post writer, there met the other day In sweet communion, surrounded by troops of friends, old and young, a brother nearly 94, George Fortune his name, and two sisters, one Just 90 that day and the other past 88. What a history Is theirs! George Fortune was a noted man in the Kentucky of 1849. Of excellent line age, ne was Diesseu wuu a ?nuin?>ment like this: Here's a smile' for those who love me And a sigh for those who hate. He was, and Is, as generous as a Prince of the old school; and what Is Important, his mind is full of vigor and linked to a heart that takes In all mankind In its sympathies. It is when with youth that he is beet, because that heart can never grow old, and that mind has an elasticity It will not surrender except at the summons of the grim reaper that lays the King's scepter beside the shepherd's crook. His race has been long and soon It will end, and he will leave behind few, If any, who were of that Kentucky that revered Clay, admired Crittenden and loved Breckinridge. Barren county Is the queen of the "Pennyrlle," and there on the waters of Blue Spring creek is a citizen unsurpassed the world round. But It Is not the "old Bar'n." It is new regime come to remind us that the Kentucky of IPO9 Is no more the Kentucky of 1859 than tho England of Edward VII Is the England of Henry VII. What remorseless, Inexorable and Insatiate monsters are Time and his child, Chanfe!