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ISSUED SEMI-WEEKLY. ' i. M grist s sons, Pabiisher.. ( $ jMt INs?#P?t: 4" promotion of the political, gotial, Sjrieultural and (Tommcrcint .interests of ft* people. ) ~ ESTABLISHED 1855. " YORKVILLErS. C. TUESDAY,^OVEMBER"327191Q. ^To. 03. *?*A ***A **+A ***A ?*5*A US* A ! .FORTUNE ? * Novelized by Lo | From the Play o: * by Wine g Copyright 1910. by Winchell Si **+A **+A ??*A *?+A *&+A *8* CHAPTER IV. The 21st of June was a day of memorable triumph to me, a day of memorable events for Radville. Only the evening previous Will Bigelow and I had indulged in acrimonious - -? - ?~ " tho Affloo nf thp Ricelow HI ? UlilCll L III lliv VKtvv V % o House, the subject of contention being: the importance of the work to which I am devoting: my declining years?to wit, the recording of the history of Radville township. Westerly county, in Pennsylvania. Will maintaining with that obstinacy for which he is famous that nothing ever had happened, does happen, can or will happen in our community. I insisting gently, but firmly, that it knows no day unmark- | ed by important occurrence (for it would ill become me, as the only literary man in Radville, to yield a point in dispute with the proprietor of the town tavern). Besides, he was wrong, even as I was indisputably right, only E? tU THE MY8TF.BIOC8 STRANGER." he had not the grace to admit it. We ended vulgarly with a bet. Will wagering me the best five cent clear Havana in the Bigelow House sample room that nothing worth mentioning would take place in Radville before sundown of the following day. I left him, returning to my room at Miss Carpenter's (Will and I are old friends, but I refuse to eat the food he serves his guests), warmed by the prospect of certain triumph if a little appalled by the prospect of winning the stake and sympathizing a little with Will, who, for all his egregious stubbornness, has some excuse for up holding his unreasonable and ridiculous views. At 5.45 th? evening train lurched in, bearing the mysterious stranger. Tracey Tanner saw him first, having driven down to the station with his father's surrey on the off chance of picking up a quarter or so from some drummer wishing to be conveyed to the Bigelow House. Only outlanders pay money for hacks in Radville. Everybody else walks, of course. Naturally Tracey took the mysterious stranger for a drummer. He had three trunks and a heavy packing box, so Tracey's misapprehension was pardonable. Instinctively he drove him to the Bigelow House. Will now and again makes Tracey a present of a bottle of sarsaparilla or lemon pop, with the result that Tracey calls Tannehill, who runs the opposition hotel, a skinflint and never takes strangers there except on their express desire. The mysterious stranger merely asked to be driven to the best hotel. This is not like most commercial travelers, who, as a rule, know where they want to go, even in a strange town, having made inquiry in advance from their brothers of the road. Will Bigelow was dozing behind the desk, lulled by the sound of Hi Xutt's voice in the barroom as he explained to all and sundry just how he had inadvertently permitted Watty the tailor to best him at checkers that morning, otherwise the office was deserted. Tracey wakened Will by stamping heavily across the floor, and Will mechanically pushed down his spectacles and dipped a pen in ink, slewing the register round for the guest's signature. He says he knew at a glance that the mysterious stranger was no traveling mati. But this is a moot point, Tracey's memory being minutely accurate and at variance with Will's assertion. The mysterious stranger was a young man, rather severely clothed in a dark suit which excited no interest in Bigelow's understanding, although I. when I saw him later, had no difficulty in realizing that it had never been made by a tailor whose place of business was more than five doors removed from Fifth avenue. He was tallish. J>ut not really tall, and carried himself with a slight stoop which took away from his real height. Tracey says he had a way of looking at you as if he was smiling inside at some joke he'd heard a long time ago, and **+A ?**A ?$+A **+A ***A US a e ... i i HUNTER.I 8 uis Joseph Vance f the Same Name x hrl Smith ^ ^ mith unci Louis Joseph Vance. A ??#*A *?+A *?*A H?+A ?*+A %6 JI don't know hut that's a fairly apt | description 01 nis urumaij caihwiu.., He had a way, too, of nodding jerkily at you?just once?to show he recognized you or understood what you were driving at; at other times he carried his head a trifle to one side and slightly forward. He was a man you wouldn't forget, somehow, though what there was about him that was remarkable nobody seemed to know. He nodded that jerky way in answer to Will Bigelow's "G'devenin'," and without saying anything took the pen and started to register. He had to stop, however, for Tracey was pressing him so close upon the right that he couldn't get any play for his elbow, and after a minute or two he asked Tracey politely would he mind stepping round to the left, where he could see just as well. So Tracey did. Then he wrote his name in a good round hand, "Nathaniel Duncan, N. Y." "I'd like a room with a bath," he told Will, "something simple and chaste, within the means of a man in moderate circumstances." Will thought he was joking at first, but he didn't smile, so Will explained that there was a bathroom on the third floor at the end of the hall, though there wasn't much call for it. "I could give you a room next to that," he said, "but you wouldn't want it, I guess." "Why not?" asked the mysterious stranger. "Because," said Will, " 'taint near the sample room." "That doesn't make any difference. I'm on the wagon." The only sense Will could get out of that was that the young man was traveling for a buggy house and hadn't brought any samples with him. "I thought," he allowed, "as how you'd be wantin' a place to display your samples, but of course if you're in the wagon business"? "Oh," said Mr. Duncan, "I thought you meant tne sample room uvci there." He nodded toward the bar. "That's what you call the dispensaries of intoxicating liquors in this part of the country, is it not?" Will made a noise resembling an affirmative and as soon as he got his breath explained that traveling men generally wanted a sort of a show room next to theirs and that that was called a sample room too. "But I'm not a traveling man," said the mysterious stranger. "So I shall have as little use for the one as the other." "Then the room on the third floor'll do for you," said Will. "How long do you calculate on stay in'?" "That will depend," said Mr. Duncan, "a day or so, perhaps longer, until I can find comfortable and more permanent quarters." In his amazement Will jabbed the pen so hard into the potato beside the ink well that he never could get the nib out and had to buy a new one. "You don't mean to say you're thinkin' of coming here to live?" he gasped. "Yes, I do," said the young man apologetically. "I don't think you'll find me in the way. I shall be very quiet and unobtrusive. I'm a student looking for a quiet place in which to 4 $ Sa- " $?#? BAM GRAHAM. pursue my studies." "Well," said Will, "you've found it, all right. There ain't no quieter place in Pennsylvania than Radvilie, Mr. Duncan. I hope you'll like it," he said, sarcastic. "I shall endeavor to," said the young man. "And now may 1 go to my room, please? I should like to renovate my travel stained person to some extent before dinner." "You'll have time," said Will. "Dinner's at noon tomorrow. I guess you're thinkin' about supper. That's ready \-<ui norn' ()iic gentleman's things up to No. 43." I have never been able to understand how we failed to hear of it at Miss Carpenter's before 7 o'clock. That was the hour. when, having finished supper and my first evening pipe, I started down town to the Citizen office, intending to stop in at the Iligelow House on the way and confound Will with the list of the day's happenings. Main street was pretty well crowded for that hour, I remembered noticing, and most of the townsfolks were grouped together on the corners underneath the lamps, discussing sometmng ratner excitecny. i paiu no particular attention, realizing that between Caesar. Pete Willing, Roland Burnette's suit and the checker game, they had enough to talk about. So it wasn't until I walked into the Rigelow House office that I either heard or saw anything of the mysterious stranger. Will Bigelow was in his usual place behind the desk and looked. I thought, rather disgruntled. His reply to my "Howdv, Will?" sounded somewhat snappish. But he got out of his chair and moved round the end of the desk just as the young man came out of the dining room door. Then Will pulled up, and I realized that he was calling my attention to the stranger. Will grabbed my arm without saying anything and pulled me into the bar. "Hello!" I said as he went round behind and opened the cigar case. "What's up?" He took out two boxes of the finest five-centers in town and placed them before me. "Them's up," he said. "You win. Have one." It staggered me to have him give in that way. I had been looking forward to a long and diverting dispute. "I guess you've heard everything worth hearing about today's history," I said, disappointed, as I selected the least unpleasant looking ot tne cigars. "No, I haven't," he said. "I didn't have to hear anything. What earned you that smoke took place right here in this office. Here," he said, striking a match for me. I had been trying to put the cigar away so that I might dispose of it without hurting Will's feelings, but he had me, so I recklessly poked the thing into the automatic clipper and then into my mouth. "What do you mean?" I asked, puffing. "Come 'long outside," said Will, and we went out on the porch just in time to see Mr. Duncan going wearily upstairs to his room. "I mean," said Will, "him." And then he told me all about it. "But things like that don't happen everyday," he wound up defensively. "I'll go you another cigar on tomorrow." "No, you won't," I said indignantly and furtively dropped the infamous thing over the railing. CHAPTER V. The next morning I went out for a walk. I lingered a moment outside Sam Graham's old and much neglected drug store, thinking of the change that had come over it since the death of Margaret Graham, Betty's mother, for, despite its out of the way location, the shop had not always been unprofitable. While Margaret lived (my heart still ached with the memory of her name) c-om'a >mciiipQQ hnrl nrnsuered. She had been one of those women who can rise to any emergency in the interest of her loved ones. The first to realize Sam's improvidence and lack of executive ability, she had taken hold of the business with a firm hand and made it pay?while she lived. During Margaret's regime, as I say, the shop had thrived. Sam had few ill wishers in Radville. The trade came his way. Then Betty was born, and Margaret died. Most of this I have on hearsay. I left Radville shortly after their marriage and did not return until some months after Margaret's burial. By that time the shop had begun to show signs of neglect. Its stock was decimated, its trade likewise. Sam was struggling with his inventions more fiercely than ever?seeking forgetfulness, I always thought. The business was allowed to take care of itself. He had always a serene faith in his tomorrows. Now, the little shop had been far distanced by the competition of Sothern & Lee. It was twenty years behind the times, as the saying is. Small, darksome, dreary and dingy, it served chiefly as a living room for Sam, his daughter and his cronies as well as for his workshop. He had a bench and a ramshackle lathe in one corner, where you might be sure to find him futilely pottering at almost any hour. He owned the little building?or that portion of it which it were a farce to term me equity auuvc mc mui ih?h> ? and Betty kept house for him in three rooms above the store. I pushed the door open and entered. He looked up with his never failing smile of welcome and a wave of his hand. "Howdy, Homer! Come in. Well, well, I'm glad to see you. Sit down, I think that chair there by the stove will hold together under you." "What are you doing, Sam?" I asked. "Fixin' up the sody fountain. Meant to get it workin' last month, Homer, but somehow I kind of forgot." He rubbed away briskly at the single faucet which protruded above the counter, lathering it briskly with a metal polish that smelled to heaven. "Do much sody trade, Sam?" He paused, passing his worn old fingers reflectively across a chin snowy with a stubble of neglected beard. "No," he allowed thoughtfully, "not so much as we used to now that Sothern & Lee 've got this newfangled notion of puttin' ice cream in a nickel glass of sody. Most of the young folks go there now, but still I get a call now and then, and every little bit helps." He rubbed on ferociously for a moment. "Course I'd do more, likely, if I carried a bigger line of flavors." "How many do you carry?" "One," he admitted?with a sigh, "vanilly." While I filled my pipe he continued to rub very industriously. "Why don't you get more?" He flashed me one of his pale, genial smiles. "I'm thinkin' of it, Homer, soon's I get some money in?next week, mebbe. There's a man in N* York that mebbe can be int-rested in one of my inventions, Roland Barnette says. Mebbe he'd be willin' to put a little money in it, Roland says, and of course if he does I'll be able to stock up considerable." I sighed covertly for him. He rubbed, humming a tuneless rhythm to himself. "Roland's goin' to write to him about it " "What invention?" I asked, incredulous. Sam put down his bottle of polish and came round the counter, beaming. Nothing pleases him better than an opportunity to exhibit some one of his innumerable models. "I'll show you. Homer," he volunteered cheerfully, shuffling over to his workbench. He rasped a match over its surface and applied the flame to a small gas bracket fixed to the wall. A strong rush of gas extinguished the match, and he turned the flow half off before trying again. This time the vapor caught and settled to a steady brilliant flame as white as and much softer than acetylene. "There!" he said in triumhh. "What d'ye think of that, Homer?" "Why," I said, "I didn't know you had an acetylene plant." "No more have I, Homer." "But what is that, then?" I demanded. "It's my invention," he returned proudly. "I've been workin' on it two years, Homer, and only got it goin' yestiddy. It's goin' to be a great thing, I tell you." "But what is it, Sam?" "It's gas from crude petroleum, Homer. See!" he continued, indicating a tank beneath the bench which seemed to be connected with the bracket by a very simple system of piping, broken by a smaller, cylindrical tank. "Ye put the oil In there?Just crude as it comes out of the wells, Homer. It don't need reflnin', and it runs through 'I'LL SHOW VOl", HOMF.R' this and down here to this, where it's vaporized?much the same's they vaporize gasoline for autymoblie engines, ye know?and then it just naturally flows up to the bracket, and there ye are." "It's wonderful, Sam," said I, wondering if it really were. "And the best part of it is the economy, Homer. A gallon will run one jet six weeks, day in and out. And simple to install. I tell ye"? "Have you got it patented yet?" "Yes, siree! Took out patents just as soon as it struck me how simple it 'ud be?more than two years ago. Only, of course, it took time to work it out just right, specially when I had to stop now and then 'cause I needed money for materials. But it'v all rlgh,t now, Homer; it's all right r. w." "And you say Roland Barnette's writing to some one in New York about it?" "Yes; he promised he would. I explained it to Roland, and he seemed real int'rested. He's kind, very kind." I was inclined to doubt this and would probably have said something to that effect had not a shadow crossing the window brought me to my feet in consternation. But before I could do more than rise Colonel Bohun had flung open the door and stamped In. He stopped short at sight of me, and singled me out with a threatening wave of his heavy stick. "Well, sir," he snarled, "I've come for my answer. Have you sense enough in your addled pate to understand that, man? I've come for my answer!" "And may have it, whatever it may be, for all of me," I told him. His face flushed a deeper red. "Oh, it's only you, is it, Ldttlejohn? I took you for that fool Graham in this dirty dark hole. Where is he?" LTo be Continued.] TOBACCO IN THE ARCTIC. Resource of Miners When They Can Neither Chew Nor Smoke. "When the wind Is blowing thirty miles an hour and the temperature is 40 below it is some cold." said a man from Alaska. "If a man used tobacco in the ordinary way out of doors during such weather and got his lips wet through smoking a pipe or chewing he would be apt to get into trouble. First thing he knew he'd have his lips cracked, and they would be raw all winter long. "The regulars stationed at the military posts up in Alaska found that if they tied a tobacco leaf in their armpit previous to undesired duty they would become very sick and could pass the post surgeon for hospital, getting rid of detail work they wanted to avoid. "The miners up there learned something of this and found that the tobacco craving could be satisfied by binding a quantity of the leaf either in the armpit or against the solar plexus. This avoided broken and bleeding lips during the winter, and they weren't prevented from smoking indoors as well if they wanted to. It was the outdoor smoking or chewing that made all the trouble."?New York Sun. License For Hunters.?At a meeting of the Keech Island Farmers' club the following resolutions were offered by J. C. Gardner, president of the Democratic club, seconded by D. A. Atkinson, and passed by a unanimous vote: "Resolved 1. That the farmers of the state urge the general assembly to pass at its next session a hunters' license law, similar to the laws now in force in most civilized countries. and in all the states of the union, except Virginia. North and South Carolina and Georgia, for the purpose of checking the wanton destruction of birds, game and fish, now proceeding so rapidly as to threaten their total extinction, involving a loss of a valuable food supply for all our people as well as the loss of protection by birds against the insect ravages upon our crops, es timateu at jis.uoo.uuu annually in mis state, and at more than $1,000,000,000 for the United States. Resolved 2. That it shall not be lawful to hunt with a gun in South Carolina without having taken out a license, therefor that any bona fide resident of this state may obtain such a license, good for twelve months, from the county game warden on the payment of one dollar. That each non-resident he required to pay $10.2,r) for a similar license. Resolved 3. That the money derived from the payment for hunting licenses be paid into the state treasury to the credit of the game protection fund, and paid out on the order of the chief game warden.? Anderson Daily Mail. Miscellaneous grading. EIGHTH WONDER OF THE WORLD Victoria Falls In Northwest Rhodesia, An Awe-Inspiring Sight. If there is one thing more than another which characterizes the present age it Is the enormous and ever increasing facility for travel, and, availing himself of this, the globe trotter is everywhere in evidence in his search for something sensational and novel. To those possessed of the tourist craze, desirous of swerving from the beaten track and?while courting adventure and* excitement?not Indifferent to comfort en route, may I venture to tecommend a trip to the renowned Victoria Falls in Northwest Rhodesia, Justly designated the eighth wonder of the world? Their native name is olnmlfi'lnop "ttro tor iliuai-ua-i <X, 015111utg nu.tvi vi*?*v smokes," suggested by the vast volume of spray and mist arising from this phenomenal and awe-inspiring cataract on the great Zambesi river of South Africa. There is something intensely romantic in being able to leave England and in three weeks' timd find yourself where in 1855 that self-reliant explorer, Dr. Livingstone, stood gazing upon this view of overwhelming grandeur. The tree on which he cut his initials is still pointed out, and in his book, "Travels in South Africa," he remarks with becoming modesty: "This is the only instance in which I indulged in this piece of vanity." Fifty-five years have sped by and today, almost close by this self-same spot, is a large uptw-date hotel, with electric light, mod^fn sanitary arrangements and unlimited opportunity for the gratification of the most epicurean tastes. The writer having recently made an excursion to the falls, 1,640 miles to the northwest of Capetown, a few fragmentary reminiscences may be of interest to your readers and possibly had them to indulge in a like experience. ' If we assume that the traveler has arrived in Table bay by one of the Unij>n Castle company's palatial steamers, Which perform the voyage with almost clockwork regularity in a little over sixteen days, he will find awaiting him at the Capetown docks a train de luxe ready to whirl him away northward and early on the morning of the fifth day land him at the Victoria Falls station. For ease, comfort and general appointments these trains could hardly be surpassed on an English or continental railway. In the matter of eating, sleeping, attendance, the accommodation is excellent; you can procure a book from the library, ice for your wine diiu owiiui uu ?.??w viwu *v rent at pleasure. The journey itself In, certa'nly not devoid of Interest, and aifew Items may be enumerated. The rwllway, for instance, skirts the battlefields of Magersfontein, Belmont and jraspan, and two memorials, the Scandinavian and that In honor of the Highland brigade, are plainly visible from the train. Then Modder river is crossed, where was fought one of the fiercest engagements in the Boer war. Thirty-six hours from Capetown is Kimberley, the great diamond center, where *' ty years ago only some scatteied thorn trees and wandering bushmen were to be seen. It is now a substantial, thriving township, with an approximate population of 35,000. Something over 200 miles farther on is Mafeking of historic note, also a flourishing trading center. To the north of this again is a place called Crocodile Pools, adjacent to the Transvaal border, where Colonel Plnmer's relief force was held at bay by the Boers for a considerable time. At Mochudi the railway enters upon the eastern fringe of the Kalahari desert, which is traversed for about 200 miles. Palapye is in the neighborhood of the great chief Khama's capital, containing no fewer than 40,000 inhabitants, all under excellent discipline and regulations. Shortly before reaching Bulawayo the Matopos are visible In the distance, where repose the remains of Cecil Rhodes in a grave chiseled out of a granite kopje and sealed with a huge slab of the same stone. In this vicinity also are interred the bodies of Man Wilson and his party, whose memorable stand on the Shangani river is one of the thrilling episodes of the conquest of the territory. Government house in Bulawayo is a handsome edifice, built on the site of what was originally Lobengula's krail. After leaving here there is a significant change in the nature and character of the scenery. Mile after mile one passes through dense forests of ttak, mahogany, mapani and other fine timbers, affording cover for lions, tigers, elephants, giraffes and other descriptions of large game. As affording an instance of the novel experience which one may look for in this region, a few days before I passed over the line the locomotive collided with a large elephant, the former, with several trucks, being derailed. A herd of these animals happened to be standing on the rails, and the victim had three of its legs broken. Before it was dispatched thirty-six bullets were fired into it. A number of natives were on the train and they went half crazy over the carcass, cutting it up into huge lumps and roasting the meat over a fire beside the line. This is said to be the only instance on record of an engine having been derailed, ny comaing wun u ?uu animal and it is to be hoped that some one had the good fortune to take a snapshot of the occurrence. Most excellent coal is found at a place called Wankle, and the Rhodesian railways are all supplied from this mine. The run from here to the Victoria Falls station is another 70 miles, but some considerable time before reaching it the roar of the falling water, like the surf of the sea, is plainly heard, and the rain cloud locating ; its position distinctly visible. Every one is astonished at finding such a spacious, well-equipped hotel so long a distance from the confines of civilization and it need hardly be remarked that after the tedious and trying railway journey the traveler is glad indeed to avail himself of its grateful rest and comfort. The first passenger train reached here in June, 1904, and ever since there has been a continuous flow of persons from all parts of the world; indeed, it would be difficult to find a more cosmopolitan record than that furnished by the visitors' book. The food, cooking and service leave nothing to be desired and I opine that in the way of dinner menus the follow Ing is somewhat of a curiosity: "Crocodile soup, tiger, fish, crumbed leopard cutlets and tomato sauce, deviled hippopotamus heel on toast." I confess to having approached these luxuries with some misgiving, but prejudice soon vanished and a more appetizing meal I have rarely made in my life. The first impression one gets of ihe falls themselves is a seifse of utter amazement. You feel you are quite unable to drink in the majesty and splendor of the sight; the dictionary could be ransacked in vain for adjectives to describe what the eye surveys. Magnify the well-known poem anent the cataract of Lodore a thousand times and you are a long way from doing justice to the fascinating and sublime spectacle before you. As one eminent enthusiast has remarked, "you seem to have entered a universe where the phenomena are so far vaster and more majestic than those of any previous earthly experience that one's limited mundane senses iau 10 grasp them at first, and can only gradually, by extending their perception, adapt themselves to that large nature." Imagine a cataract a mile and a quarter in width, with the full force of the river Zambesi behind it, tumbling in a ceaseless, roaring, seething torrent into an abyss 400 feet below. An American facetiously remarked on one occasion, "I guess Niagara is only the sweat of these falls"?an expressive, though grotesque, tribute to their volume and character. During the flood season the clouds of rolling, powdery spray take the form of an inverted pyramid measured by the theodolite to reach a height of 3,000 feet. Generally, in the daytime a beautiful rainbow breaks up the prismatic colors with wonderful charm; while at night, when the moon is about full, a lunar rainbow steals over the scene, producing atmospheric effects which baffle description and make a picture which clings forever to the memory?the most beautiful gem of the earth's scenery. What are known as the Rain Forest and Palm Grove, adjacent to the falls, are aptly styled Nature's Cathedral, the prevailing moisture ministering to the most 1 uxuriant growth. Here may be seen beautiful tropical palms and every description of fern, from the fragile, delicate maidenhair to the sturdy tree-fern towering up some 20 to SO feet. One cream-of-tartar tree I saw measured no less than eighty-seven feet round the trunk. All around you the grass and the vegetation generally are vividly green, the fronds of the feathery palms overhead glitter with the continual rain upon mem, Nature Is adorned in her best and richest garb, and everywhere, year in and year out, is the ceaseless, insistent sound of many waters. I might go on to describe the charming and picturesque island above the falls?one of them, named Kandahar in honor of Lord Roberts's visit some little time ago, full of the most interesting vegetable growths, lovely flowers and peculiar indigenous fruits. Just as the writer landed here a crocodile sprang off the bank into its native element; away across the river a huge hippopotamus was conspicuous; while seals and other animals are to be found in abundance. What may be called the lip of the falls is subdivided by several natural features, each of which has its distinctive name. There is, for instance, in the great series of cataracts, the Leaping Water; then the great Fall, 573 yards broad (divided) from a second fall of 325 yards by a projecting rock); then the Rainbow Fall; and, finally the Eastern?all blending, more or less, in one mighty whole, thundering into the obscurity of the dark craven below. r\f tVio nnlnQOQ 1 T*Vl QntflQ. magoria possesses its peculiar charm, and even at the very edge may be seen trees and bushes which have successfully resisted the impetuous, maddened onrush of the waters. At the extreme eastern end they enter a narrow gorge called the Boiling Pot; and the canon is at this point spanned by the handsome railway bridge over 400 feet above low-water level, the highest in the world. The main parabolic arch is a 500-foot span, and the total length of bridge 650 feet. It is a triumph of engineering skill, and was carried to completion with only one accident. It is, of course, one of the main links in the crreat Oane-to-Cairo line (which. by the way, has now reached the Congo border), and was officially opened to this point on the 11th of December last with befitting eclat. Before returning the visitor should not fail to pay a visit to Livingstone, seven miles distant by rail from the falls, where will be found many features of interest. It is the seat of the government of Northwestern Rhodesia, and has several fine buildings; indeed, in the near future, as population increases and trade develops, it is destined to become an important center of the subcontinent. But I must bring my notes to a conclusion, content if I have whetted the appetite of any tourist in search of fresh fields and pastures new to exploit.?Chamber's Journal. FAMOUS SWORDS. The Monster Weapon Used at Welsh Eisteddfods. The largest sword of which there is any record is the seven foot ceremonial sword that was made for Edward III. and is now preserved in Westminster abbey. Next comes the "sword of ceremony" that is used at Welsh eisteddfods. This weapon if placed in the hands 01 a modern Godfrey de Bouillon, who, it will be recalled, with a two handed sword cleaved a Turk into halves from the shoulder to the hips, would be quite long enough for any one who wished to put it to practical use. It is six feet two inches in length. Of gorgeous swords which are not so much weapons as settings for precious stones the most valuable in English is said to be the one presented by the Egyptians to Lord Wolseley and valued at $10,000. This sum is comparatively insignificant for a bejeweled sword if the value of the sword brought over to Europe some years ago by the then shah of Persia? namely. $50,000?be taken as a standard of what a diamond hilted weapon ought to cost. Competent authorities on the subject familiar with that famous weapon of the Persian ruler are rather skeptical as to the existence of the gaekwar of Paroda's gorgeous blade, which is supposed to be worth more than twenty swords of equal beauty and value to the shah's, but it is popularly supposed that the diamonds. rubies and emeralds with which it is thickly incrusted bring up its value to about $1,000.000.?Exchange. THE GREAT BREAD CROP. Of All Known Cereals Wheat Ranks First. To obtain bread has ever been the struggle of mankind. The want of it has caused wars and the change of dynasties. Through the ages, the ever constant cry has been cheaper bread. Today, with all of our complex civilization, that demand is as potent as ever and to obtain it economically will be the greatest problem for future generations to solve. Wheat ls,*as it has been since history began, the main cereal from which bread is made. It Is the most valuable crop of the worP. ao otner crop is auapieu iu such . wide diversity of soil and climate. It is grown within the Arctic circle and over the equator. Each year the world consumes more than 3.000,000,000 bushels of this cereal. The south should produce its own bread and it will when its farmers fully realize the advantage and full value of diversified farming. Diversified farming is the only key that will unlock the chest of gold that lies hidden in every acre of our land. To diversify properly, we must grow all crops in systematic rotation. The best system of crop rotation for the south is one that contains a winter cover crop. This cover crop can be either a winter legume, such as bur clover, crimson clover or vetch, or a cereal, such as wheat, oats, barley or rye. If the soil is impoverished and in great need of improvement, one of the legumes with rye should be sown to be turned under in the spring. If, however, the land is highly improved and was well fertilized, the previous spring and summer, either oats or wheat should be planted. Wheat is not a profitable crop except when grown on rich land. The phenomenally high yields of corn that have been produced in various sections of this state during the past few years are convincing. We know that we have a great corn country, and this year South Carolina will probably produce as much as 50,000,000 bushels of corn. Where these large yields of corn were obtained, the land will be sufficiently improved for wheat. There are thousands of acres of land In this state that were planted In corn this season and highly fertilized that should be sown down In wheat this fall. Now is the time to sow; it is not too late. Wheat can be planted as late as the middle of December. The type of soil best suited to wheat is the clay loam. Before planting the land should be thoroughly prepared by plowing as deep as possible and thoroughly harrowing. Clemson College Experiment station has tested a number of varieties of wheat and the varieties that have given the best results are the Red May and the Blue Straw. Seed of these varieties can be obtained at any of the leading seed houses. Before sowing, the seed should be treated with a solution of copper sulphate to destroy the smut. This solution is made by dissolving six pounds of copper sulphate in ten or twenty gallons of water, using a wooden vessel in which to make the mixture. After the seed have been dipped for a few minutes, they should be spread out to dry before sowing. Four to six pecks of seed per acre should be sown. Wheat, like barley, should make a good growth early in the fall and unless the Hessian fly is prevalent in the neighborhood, it should be sown any time after the first of October. Wheat can, however, be sown later than other of the cereals. The seed can be sown either broadcast or harrowed in or planted with a grain drill. The latter method is the best for the seed are placed far enough below the surface to obtain sufficient moisture to cause immediate germination. Wheat is a heavy feeder on phosphorus and nitrogen, therefore it should be liberally fertilized with phosphoric acid and ammonia. At least 300 or 400 pounds of acid phosphate and 100 pounds of cotton seed meal, or its equivalent, should be applied at the time of sowing; and another application should be made the first of March, a similar amount being used. At the time the latter apla nitrate of SOda at the rate of 100 pounds per acre should be applied. Most of the clay lands of the Piedmont section of this state contain a sufficient amount of potash for wheat. Wheat when planted on the lands of the coastal plains should also be fertilized with kainit or muriate of potash. A second application of nitrate of soda of about fifty pounds should be made the middle of April. A small patch of wheat should be grown on every farm for early spring grazing and as a forage crop. Wheat makes the best hay possible if it is cut while in the dough stage. Prof. J. N. Harper, Director S. C. Experiment Station. CHINA'S HOARD. Imperial Treasure That May Provide a Navy. It is proposed to select the sons of high Manchu officers attending the Nobles' school at Pekin and send them to the naval colleges at Nanking and Tlen-Tsln for a preliminary course of study preparatory to a foreign education in the navies of the friendly powers. It is reported that the Chinese government has already arranged with the British authorities to train the cadets on board British warships and that permission has been granted by the regent to select one hundred students at once. The absence of competent native officers to train the men for the new navy ana commanu me ? a factor in the scheme ocupying the serious attention of the authorities. Students are now being educated In England. France and Germany, and a request has been made to have the number increased. Whether the naval academies of Europe and America will be as freely opened to China as they were to Japan is problematical, for there is a tendency to discontinue such courtesies. The escapade of a Chinese naval pupil on board the French training ship Borda, who decamped to Belgium with papers stolen from an officer's cabin, has served to intensify the dislike of French officers to the admission of foreign cadets to the training ships. There is a revulsion of feeling in France at least to this system, and the otlicers are complaining that after educating Japanese they are now expected to teach the Chinese. The recent incident of a Chinese military student in Japan who acquired the mobilization plans of the regiment and other information led to the summary dismissal of all Chinese students from the army. The order, it appears, was subsequently rescinded. Of course the all-important part of the scheme is to raise the funds. And as already pointed out, every cash of revenue entering Pekin has a capacious maw open to receive it. The desperate straits of the government to raise funds for the navy programme are fully disclosed by the many proposed schemes for this purpose. But the persistence of the regent and his advisers in carrying through the scheme, in spite of the apparent lack of sufficient resources, and his refusal to accept foreign financial assistance suggests another view of the situation which has not been touched. While the government is poor and in financial straits there remains the j great wealth of the imperial family I to be reckoned with. Overlooked by ltv>? tronns who ransacked the palace from eml to end. tho accumulated treasure of years lies untouched In the secret vaults over which the foreign soldiers lit their campflres. unconscious of the wealth underneath. The tribute of years to the empress dowager and former sovereigns is here hoarded and available for the country's defense. Native reports are to the effect that an investigation by the chief of the imperial household disclosed the fact that the treasure amounted to 19.000,000 taels of gold and 999,000,000 taels of silver, or roughly speaking some $1,000,000,000 gold. This amount of actual treasure Is enormous, and it may be greatly exaggerated. But there is every reason to believe that the imperial treasure must be vast, as the tribute from the provinces, gifts from officers and other perquisites of the throne have been rolling into Pekin for years. The money has not been expended on any great public improvements or buildings or diverted into any provincial reform scheme, so it Is safe to believe that it exists.?Journal of AmericanAsiatic Association. ABOLISHING THE GOSSIPS. Strenuous Measures to be Tried In Germany Against Scandalmonger. In Germany, where everything appears to be "verboten," officialdom in the person of a lone Burgomeister has at last invaded the most sacred right of women?gossip. All Germany Is looking askance at the town of Hattersheim, in Hesse, apprehensive of the widening waves of authority that would undertake to bridle the tongues of the fair. As for Hattersheim under its sudden affliction of deterrent law, it appears to be getting along very well, thank you, and is enjoying a peace and freedom from envies, jealousies and backbitings that no community has known since human records were mixed at the tower of Babel. Neighbor now greets neighbor with a peaceable "Gute' Morgen;" hus bands come home from their business with appetites destined to remain" unmarred by recitals of daily quarrels; and there has been a marked diminution in the number of alley tights that have landed their participants in the local courts. The spirit of peace abides, because the mailed fist of "verboten" has come down with a bang on all scandalmongering. The United States, in every village and city ward, produces Its own crop of retailers of gossip and maligners of their neighbors. Where the incomes are low, the more dignified move and the less dignified are liable to fight out on the spot. Where the incomes are greater and litigation appears to be a luxury not too high for the cost of living, the community is diverted with a libel suit. Whatever the climax of rows, and whatever their beginnings, he would be a hardy mayor or magistrate indeed who would dare call to account the whole community. The common law here has to meet every individual emergency, from the quelling of the familiar scold to the extremes of two pairs of black eyes. But in Germany vested authority doesn't hesitate to command peace by wholesale. On that basis, the Burgomeister of Hattershelm proceeded, and he has issued a proclamation that Is as full of observation and philosophy as it Is of authority. "Prosecutions for libel and slander," declares the stern Burgomeister. "have attained of late great proportions in a certain section of our city. Bitter enmities and litigation costs that amount to heavy financial losses are among the consequences." He remarks that the cause Is usually the same: "The men are hard at work, while the women fritter away their time In gossiping and quarreling, the children's training being neglected and the household suffering for lack of care. When the bread winner comes home and the day's events are untruthfully told to him, he must betake himself, as the protector of his angry wife, to the police or a lawyer or to the court of arbitration." On such persons, remarks the Burgomeister, the teachings are wasted which require a .woman to occupy herself at her own fireside, scorn scandalmongers and seek only to provide a comfortable home for her husband and her children. There is no true democratic happiness with them. "Therefore," concludes the Burgomeister, solemnly warning all and sundry who are offenders, "poor relief will henceforth be given in exceptional cases only where people have involved themselves in prosecution for scandal. The police, besides, have been instructed to compile a list of such persons and warn all landlords and tenants against them." Thus far no other Burgomeister in Germany has irritated Hattershelm's executive, mainly because the distinct novelty of his official course demands that German conservatism restrain the devouring rush of German authority. It may happen that, after the first silence of astonishment at his temerity, the good women of Hattershelm will dispute his right to enforce the regulations he proposes. While the power of the Burgomeister is very extensive and can, in emergency, be supplemented with all the force requisite to make It operative, the moral force represented by a community of recalcitrant housewives is something which even Germany's system of things "verboten" must pause before. And, thus far, no man who has lived has been able to check the world's flow of gossip, in which scandal invariably plays so large a part. Preachers have delivered thousands of sermons against it, and women themselves have organized to compel their friends and neighbors to utter only words of sweetness and light. But. somehow or other, envy has always managed to find its way into the councils of the most cultured, and backbiting has followed as naturally as the curl of scorn pursues the bonnet fresh from Paris. Hattersheim's Burgomeister has, however, one august ally?the kaiser ?in the general spirit of his homily, and critics of current German afTairs profess to see in the proclamation recently Issued in the obscure little town in Hesse the emulation by minor officialdom of the imperial sermons defining woman's place in the household. But even the kaiser has not had nerve to try to shut off gossip. If the Hessian town prove that scandalmongers can be abolished, the daring Burgomeister who undertook the difficult job stands a large chance of advancement.?Philadelphia North A n Thinking In Millions. In astronomical calculations it is most difficult to grasp the meaning of millions of miles, but some idea in this connection may be gathered from the statement of the time that would be consumed by an express train or the shot from a cannon to cover celestial space. Now, the distance from the earth to the sun is about 92,000,000 miles, and the light traveling from the solar luminary comes to us at the rate of 186.700 miles a second in vacuo. It traverses this distance in eight and a quarter minutes, but a railway train proceeding at sixty miles an hour would take 175 years to cover the distance of the sun. The circumference of the eclipse forming the orbit of the earth around the sun is about 577,760.000 miles in length, and the earth covers this distance In 3651 davs. traveling at the rate of 65.910 miles an hour, or 1.098 miles a minute, or nearly 1,100 times as fast as a train going at one mile a minute. It is therefore clear that a train proIfeeding at this speed would require [nearly 1.100 years to accomplish the journey around the earth's orbit.?TitBits.