University of South Carolina Libraries
I8SPEP SKMI-WKEKL^ l. m. oeist's SONS, PubUshew.} % ^Kitj Jleicsgapeii: Jfor th$ jpromotion ajf the folificat, Social, ^t|ri?ultui;al and Commercial Interests of % feopl^. 1 1uamaLwnm*\ximU' ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE^S.C.,T LJESDAY. FEBRUARY 23, 1910' NO. 16. fTfe (2A cum /& CHARLES j with illustration: OF SCENES IN THE CHAPTER VII. Several sober men closed around the boy, and after disarming him, led him away grumbling and muttering, while Wile McCager made apologies to "Jimmy's just a peevish child," he I explained. "A drop or two of licker makes his skittish. I hopes ye'l! look over hit." Jimmy's outbreak was interesting to Lescott chiefly as an indication of what might follow. Unwilling to introduce discord by his presence, and involve Samson in quarrels on his account. he suggested riding back to Misery, but the boy's face clouded at the suggestion. "Ef they kain't be civil ter my friends," he said, shortly, "they've got ter account ter me. You stay right hyar, and I'll stay close to you. I done come hyar today ter tell 'em that they mustn't meddle in my business." A short while later, wiie juc^agci invited Samson to come out to the mill, and the boy nodded to Lescott an invitation to accompany him. The mill, dating back to pioneer days, sat by its race with its shaft now idle. It looked to Lescott, as he approached, like a sciap of landscape torn from some medieval picture, and the men about its door seemed medieval, too; bearded and gaunt, hardthewed and sullen. All of them who stood waiting were men of middle age, or beyond. A number were gray-haired, but they were all of cadet branches. Many of them, like Wile McCager himself, did not bear the name of South and Samson was the eldest son of the eldest son. "Samson," began old Wile McCager, clearing his throat and taking up his duty as spokesman, "we're all your kinfolks here, an' we aimed ter ask ye about this here report they yer 'lowin' ter leave the mountings?" "What of l>it " countered the boy. "Hit looks mighty like the war's a-goin* ter be on ag'in pretty soon. Air ye a-goin' ter quit, or air ye a-goin' ter stick? Thet's what we wants ter know." "I didn't make this here truce, an* I hain't a-goin' ter bust hit," said the boy, quietly. "When the war commences, 111 be hyar. Ef I hain't hyar in the meantime, hit hain't nobody's business. I hain't accountable ter no man bui pup, an" I reckon, whar he is. he knows whether I'm a-goin' ter keep my word." There was a moment's silence, then Wile McCager put another question: "Ef ye're plumb sot on gettin' larnin why don't ye get hit right hyar in these mountings?" Samson laughed derisively. "Who'll I git hit from?" he caustically inquired. "Ef the mountain won't come to Mahomet, Mahomet's got ter go ter the mountain, I reckon." Caleb Wiley rose unsteadily to his feet, his shaggy beard trembling with wrath and his voice quavering with senile indignation "Have ye done got too damned good fer yore kinfolks, Samson South?" he shrilly demanded. "Hav ye done been follerin' atter this here puny witchdoctor twell ye can't keep a civil tongue in yer head fer yore elders? I'm in favor of runnin' this here furriner outen the country with tar an' foothopo r>n him Furthermore. I'm in favor of cleanin' out the Hollmans. I was jest a-sayin' ter Bill?" "Never mind what ye war jest a-sayin'," interrupted the boy, Hushing redly to the cheekbones, but controlling his voice. "Ye've done said enough a'ready. Ye're a right old man, Caleb, an' I reckon thet gives ye some license ter shoot off yore face, but of any of them no-'count, shifless boys of yores wants ter back up what ye says, I'm ready ter go out thar an' make 'em eat hit. I hain't a-goin' ter answer no more questions." There was a commotion of argument, until "Black Dave" Jasper, a saturine giant, whose hair was no blacker than his expression, rose, and a semblance of quiet greeted him as he spoke. "Samson, mebby ye've got a right ter take the studs this a-way, an' ter refuse ter unswer our questions, but we've got a right ter say who kin stay in this hyar country. Ef ye 'lows ter quit us, I reckon we kin quit you? and. if we quits ye, ye hain't nothln' more ter us than no other boy thet's gettin' too high fer his breeches. This furriner is a visitor here today, an' we don't "low ter hurt him?but he's got ter go. We don't want him round hyar no longer." He turned to Lescott. "We're a-givin' ye fair warnin", stranger. Ye hain't our breed. Atter this, ye stays on Misery at yore own Rev. J. L. Oates, Pastor of the Associate Reformed Church of Yorkville, and one of the speakers at the exercises in connection with the opening of Bethany church. LL?Ttfie RtANDS NEVILLE BUCIC o 5 FRCVA PHOTOGRAPHS PLAY OT3S&?8?>&?r risk?an' hit's a-goin' ter be plumb I risky. That thar's final." "This man." blazed the boy, before I Lescott could speak, "is a-visitin' me I an' Unc' Spicer. When ye wants him I ?> nn onmp tiD thar an' git him. Every | damned man of ye kin come. I hain't a-sayin' how many of ye'll go back. He was 'lowin' that he'd leave hyar termorrer mornin,' but atter this I'm a-tellin' ye he hain't a-goin' ter do hit. He's a-goin' ter stay es long es he likes' an' nobody hain't a-goin' ter run him off. Samson took his stand before the painter, and swept the group with his eyes. "An' what's more," he added, "I'll tell ye another thing. I hadn't made up my mind ter leave the mountings, but ye've done settled hit fer me. I'm a-goin'.** There was a low murmur of anger, and a voice cried out from the rear: "Let him go. We hain't got no use fer damn cowards." "Whoever said thet's a liar!" shouted the boy. Lescott, standing at his side, felt that the situation was more than parlous. But, before the storm could break, some one rushed in, and whispered to Wile McCager a message that caused him to raise both hands above his head, and thunder for attention. "Men," he roared, "listen ter me! , This here hain't no time fer squablin' amongst ourselves. We're all Souths. Tamrack South has done gone ter Hixon, an' got inter trouble. He's locked up in the Jailhouse." 1 "We're all hyar," screamed old Ca- 1 leb's high, broken voice. "Let's go an' J take him out." j Samsons anger had died. He turned, 1 hoirj a whisnered conversation ] with McCager, and, at its end, the host of the day announced briefly: "Samson's got somethin' ter say ter ye. So long as he's willin' ter stand by us, I reckon we're willin' ter listen ter Henry South's Boy." "I hain't got no use for Tam'rack Spicer," said the boy, succinctly, "but I don't 'low ter let him lay in no jailhouse unlessen he's got a right ter be thar. What's he charged with?" But no one knew that. A man supposedly close to the Hollmans, but in reality an informer for the Souths, had seen him led into the jailyard by a posse of a half-dozen men, and had seen the iron-barred doors close on him. That was all, except that the Hollman forces were gathering in Hixon, and, if the Souths went there en masse, a pitched battle must be the inevitable result. The first step was to gain accurate information and an answer to one vital question. Was Tamarack held as a feud victim, or was his arrest legitimate? How to learn that was the problem. To send 1 a body of men was to invite bloodshed. To send a single inquirer was to de- . liver him over to the enemy. "Air you men willin' ter take my word about Tamarack " inquired Samson. There was a clamorous assent, i and the boy turned to Lescott. "I wants ye ter take Sally home with , ye. Ye'd better start right away, afore she heers any of this talk. Hit would fret her. Tell her I've had ter go 'cross . ther country a piece, ter see a sick man. Don't tell her whar I'm a-goin'." He turned to the others. "I reckon I've got your promise thet Mr. Lescott hain't a-goin' ter be bothered afore I gits back?" Wile McCager promptly gave the assurance. "I gives ye my hand on hit." I ..^,,,1 Urn Achorrv lnafin' round , jest beyond ther ridge, as I rid over , hyar," volunteered the man who had brought the message. I "Go slow now Samson. Don't be no blame fool," dissuaded Wile McCager. "Hixon's plumb full of them Hollmans' an" they're likely ter be full of licker, hit's Saturday. Hit's apt ter be shore death fer ye ter try ter ride through Main street?ef ye gits thet fer. Ye dassent do that. "I dast do anything!" asserted the boy, with a Hash of sudden anger. "Some liar 'lowed awhile ago thet I was a coward. All right, mebby I be. Unc' Wile, keep the boys hyar tell ye hears from me?an' keep 'em sober." He turned and made his way to the fence where his mule stood hitched. When Samson crossed the ridge and entered the Hollman country, Jim Asberry, watching from a hilltop point of vantage, rose and mounted the horse that stood hitched behind a nearby screen of rhododendron bushes and vminir oprhirs. Sometimes, he rode just one bend of the road in Samson's rear. Sometimes, he took short cuts, and watched his enemy pass. Hut always he held him under a vigilant eye. Finally, he reached a wayside store where a local telephone gave communication with Hollman's Mammouth Department store. "Jedge," he informed, "Samson South's done left the party et ther mill, an' he's a-ridin* towards town. Shall I git him?" "Is he comin' by hissclf?" inquired the storekeeper. "Yes." "Well, jest let him come on. We can tend ter him hyar, ef necessary." So Jim withheld his hand, and merely shadowed, sending bulletins, from time to time. (To be continued.) THE SOUTH'S MULES Purchases by Southern Farmers This Season Have Been Few. Instead of buying between 75,000 and 100.000 mules and as many or more horses, the cotton states of the south have sold probably more than 125.000 of these animals the past season to dealers filling British, French, Italian and Greek contracts, says the Kansas City dispatch. Less than 1,000 mules have been moved from Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska and Kentucky to the south since last fall. All of this, according to leading mule dealers of the country, indicates a tendency on the part of the south to restrict cotton planting. Old dealers in Missouri say they cannot recall a year when so few I mules and horses were purchased by i the south as in the season now closing. Only in the last few weeks, following the development of buoyancy in the New York and other cotton markets, did the south even begin to inquire about buying mules. The recent sharp advances have brought a little trade, but the aggregate sales have not i been equal to one day's fair business 1 in horses and mules with the cotton states in the winter of 1913-14. Without doubt, the few mules which have been moving to the south lately are probably going to planters who sold aged animals to the dealers handling British orders. The British buyers have been showing preference for old mules because the mortality among them is lower than among young mules in the trip across the Atlantic. Fort Worth, Nashville, Mempms ana Oklahoma City are among the points In the south which have been making sales to British and other European army buyers. A year ago these mar/r ^ ioii^ \ MV : \ Ezf . HBB^ 0jp ^ II Rev. W. P. Grier l Sixth Pastor of Bethany Church, now | filling the pulpit occupied by his ( grandfather, Rev. Dr. R. C. Grier, the , third Pastor. ( tets were busy buying horses and ] nules in Missouri and other middle ] western states for distribution to ] planters. At St. Louis, which sells the ( south as many as 50,000 mules each ( fall and winter season, fewer cotton ( nules have been handled than in the nemory of the oldest dealers there. Both horse and mule dealers at St. Louis are filling European orders for lorses and they are making such :remendous profits that it probably would be almost impossible for the south to buy mules if it desired the inimals. All of the available barns it St. Louis are crowded with war lorses, and new barns are being erected to handle this vast business, [n Kansas City, bam room is also at i premium. At one of the concentration posts near here, farmers are receiving }25 a year an acre for the rent >f land on which to hold horses and nules awaiting shipment to Europe. In the winter of 1913-14, the south sought a record number of mules and torses. Even after these purchases, lowever, it was not supplied adequatey with work stock and Missouri dealers believe that, even if planters wished, they could hardly put In as much and to cotton this year as in 1914. Missouri mule dealers are usually in constant communication with the - nr soum, as more man 10 pci wh ui their trade is normally with the cotton states. FEBRUARY. Some Facts Pertaining to the Month Which Has Only Twenty-eight Days. Written for The Yorkville Enquirer. February, the second month of the year, gets its name from the Latin word Februa. The month was introduced into the Roman calendar by the Consul Numa, in the year 452 B. C. The feast of Februa or the festival of expiation and lustration, was held on the fifteenth day of this month and was one of the most notable occasions In the Roman year. The month is the shortest in the year, and as the old and familiar dog- ; gerel has it?"has only twenty-eight in nine; until leap year gives it twenty- J nine." The historical importance of i this month of few days is great, since ; more men who have been great factors j in the progress of the world have been | born in February than in any other < month. 1 Many of the world's most famous ( battles have been fought in the month ] which precedes the opening of spring, j and numerous other events of world- ( wide importance in history have oc curred in February. J Three presidents of the United States J were born in February?William Hen- , ry Harrison, Feb. 9; Abraham Lincoln, i Feb. 12, and George Washington, Ken < 22; and the birthday of at least one ' crowned head of Europe comes in Feb- ( ruary. The first ship to sail from the United 1 States to China, left New York, Feb- J ruary 22. 1784. The great rock of Gibraltar, which i has since been converted into the ' greatest fortress in world, was taken j from the Spaniards by the English in i February. 1 The present Italian monarchy was J organized in February, 1861, by the so- ( lection of Victor Emanuel I, as king. I William, Prince of Orange, was also ' declared king of England in February, ( 1869. i It was in February, 1773, that the 1 state of Georgia was iirst settled by General James Oglethorpe and a company of men who having labored for many years under the burden of debt in England, were anxious to find a haven in America, whose territory was far from thickly settled at that time. It was in February, 1773, that the famous "Stamp Act," which met such , determined opposition among the i American colonists, was repealed by 1 the British government. The stamp act provided that all legal documents, including bonds, deeds, notes receip.s <tc., must be written on stamped paper sold by the revenue department of the British government at tixed rates. The law was put in force in America, but met with such determined opposition that tva* was only averted by its repeal. The tea tax which followed and oilier acts of the British government levied upon a people who having no repr< sentation in the making of laws, re fused to submit to taxation and the Revolutionary war was the result. Henry W'adsworth I,on<;fellow. recognized as America's greatest i?oet, and one of the greatest literary men of th<* world was born in February, ISO!*, other great literary people born in February were John Raskin Margaret K. Fangster. James Russell Lowell William Carl (Jrimm. Mary Lyon. Thomas A. Fdison, the greatest of American inventors, celebrated his (ikth birthday on February 11. STORY OF BETHANY CHURCH Record of Usefulness Extending Over One Hundred and Nineteen Years. SIX PASTORS AND* FOUR CHURCHES. Hrmhi tix/ Parlv Pioneer* Under v' a-"'--? ?/ ? / an Arbor in the Woods, the Congr?gation Grows in Strength and Usefulness, Throwing Off Numerous Offshoots, and Finally, in its Old Age, Erects Handsome Modern House. The most complete sketch of Bethany Associate Reformed church that has been written up to this time, was prepared by Rev. R. M. Stevenson for use on the occasion of the Twentieth anniversary of his pastorate in May, 1907. The opening of the handsome new church building last Sunday upon the same grounds where the congregation first came into existence, is an appropriate occasion for the reproduction of the sketch which, in part, is as follows: It may not be generally known that Bethany was organized from Beersheba Presbyterian church, and owes its origin to the introduction of hymns into that church. Up until about 1793, ill the Presbyterians In the vicinity jl iviiife a iuuumaiu w ui amppLu iu gether, and the principal churches were Beersheba in this county, and Long Creek in North Carolina. Somewhere about the date given, a change was introduced in the manual of praise jsed in the churches, which led to the withdrawal of a respectable minority, who regarded the introduction of lymns an innovation to which they :ould not conscientiously submit. The Associate Reformed presbytery of the Tarolinas was their only hope for ireachers, and Andrew Ferguson and Tohn Miller were sent to that body o petition for supplies. There is a radition that Mr. Newman McElwee was to have been baptized on the day he rupture took place. The names of hose who, with their families, wlthIrew and formed the nucleus of the lew organization, are as follows: William McElwee, Sr., who was an ?lder in Beersheba, and his sons, William and John McElwee, William flenry, Alexander Henry, James Henry, Tames Crawford, William Crawford, Ysncis Rea, James Dunn and Joseph Carroll. These, with other families in >ther communities in the same conlition, petitioned for the services of j HH2BH Handsome New B Mr. William Dixon, a licentiate of the \ssociate Reformed church, and for iighteen months or more their worshiping place was near Sparrow's Springs, not far from the pinnacle of King's Mountain. The people worshipng at this house and those worshipng at Sharon and Carmel united and called Mr. Dixon, and he was ordain?d and installed at Sharon, June 1st, 1795. This mountain house was the :ommon place of worship for A. R. Presbyterians in Gaston county, N. C., is well as for those in this part of Fork county, and about the time the )ld house was abandoned, Bethany ind Pisgah were organized under the jastoral care of Mr. Dixon. It is :hought that Bethany became a preachng place in 1796, and tradition says :hat the first time the Sacrament of .he Lord's Supper was observed here, L4? Lxa l . . trffifl It W'tlS 111 111C VYUUUO, AAA UIC lUVIilv leading up from the spring west of the King's Mountain road. The first elders who served this congregation were William McElwee, Sr., who, as already said, had been an elder in the jther church; Samuel Lessly, James Crawford, Sr., and Alexander Henry. These were installed and Bethany organized in 1797. The first house of worship was of logs and stood about where the front gate of the cemetery Is. I may say in passing that the building we worship in today is the third house the congregation has occupied. In March, 1796, Mr. Dixon moved into the bounds of Bethany from Cedar Springs in Abbeville county, and settled on what we know as the Christopher McCarter place, across the branch southeast of the McCarter house. Bethany enjoyed the services of this earnest preacher and laborious pastor about thirty-three years, until the infirmities of age compelled his resignation, which took place March 26, 1828. He died December 30, 1831, and was buried in our cemetery. I have been told that the first burial In our cemetery was that of a child f Mr. Dixon. The second pastor was Rev. Joseph Banks, a native of the state of New Vork, and a licentiate of the Associate church. It should have been dated that early in Mr. Dixon's pastorate, he and Rev. Peter McMullen withdrew from the Associate Reformed THE OLD CHURC Frame Building which gives, way to I church and organized the Associate Presbytery of the Carolinas. Mr. McMullen had trouble with his presbytery, and Mr. Dixon being a friend and sympathizer, went with him into the Associate body, and for forty years these churches continued in that connection. The call to Mr. Banks was extended March 20, 1830, from a charge embracing Nob Creek in Cleveland county, N. C., Pisgah in Gaston county, N. C., Bethany in York county, S. C., and Sardis in Union county, S. C. Notice how much territory was embraced in that call, four churches each in a separate county. Mr. Banks was granted until the first of the next January to give his answer, when he signified his acceptance, but his ordination was further delayed by sickness, and tooK place on ucioDer loin, ibsi. He was a pastor only two years, his labors being brought to a close by the action of his synod on the subject of slavery. He returned to the north in the early fall of 1833, and served as pastor in Ohio, then as chaplain of the western penitentiary of Pennsylvania, then for eight years as a foreign missionary, and died at Mercer, Pa., of consumption on April 8, 1859. The third pastor of Bethany and Pisgah was Rev. R. C. Grler, D. D., who was ordained and installed in June, 1841. This pastorate continued seven years, when he resigned to accept the presidency of Erskine college. Dr. Grier lived on the Forbs place now owned by Dr. E. W. Pressly, and there his son and successor as president of the college, the late Dr. W. M. Grier, was born February 11th, 1843. He also built and occupied for a few years before going to Due West the present house on the Jenkins* place near Clover. Dr. Grier was an able preacher and a faithful pastor and was greatly beloved by his people. Next came Rev. E. E. Boyce, D. D., who was installed over Pisgah and Bethany June 28th, 1849, and continued until September 7, 1885, nearly thirty-seven years. Dr. Boyce lived between the two churches on Crowd er's Creek, on a place adjoining the farm of Mr. William Lessly, for the greater part of his time, but a few years during the latter part of his pastorate at King's Mountain. It is useless to say anything to the older part of the audience about this great and good man. The esteem in which he was held is shown by the number of persons who bear his name, the frequency with which his opinion is still quoted and the fact that his portrait hangs over our pulpit. He has been described as "a Nathaniel in gentleness, a John in loveliness and a Moses in meekness." There are eight churches now of our faith in the territory in which he labored and these churches are served by five ministers. This brings us to the present pastorate, the fifth in the one hundred ,Vy3 BETHANY A. R. P. CHURCH. uilding recently completed at a cost of and ten years of Bethany's history. From the time Dr. Boyce resigned this branch of his charge it was supplied by various members of the presbytery until the fall of 1886, when a petition was sent to the presbytery for the moderation of a call, accompanied by the request that the present pastor supply them until the next meeting with a view to settlement. I did my first preaching at Bethany during a communion meeting embracing the fourth Sabbath of August, 1886. A call was placed in my hands by the presbytery in session at Smyrna, April 5th, 1887. It was for three-fourths of the time and promised a salary of $450 and a parsonage. It was accepted and the installation took place on the 13th of the following May. Dr. Ross preached, propounded the con-1 stitutional questions and delivered the charge to the pastor, and Dr. Boyce charged the people. The text of Dr. Ross' sermon was I Tim., iv, 16, "Take heed unto thyself and unto the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee." In reviewing the work of the twenty years it will perhaps be better to arrange what I shall have to say under appropriate heads. 1. I shall speak first of the officers of the congregation. When I came, the elders were as follows: William McGill, William Oates, M. C. Lowrance, W. S. Plaxco, W. D. Lessly and W. S. Love. The impression these el- | dc-rs made on me wnen 1 nrsi mei them was that they were a Godly set of men, and I had no occasion to change this opinion when I became better acquainted with them. Messrs. McGill, Oates, Lowrance and Plaxco were old men, and Messrs. Lessly and Love represented the younger element of the congregation. It is sad to think that Mr. Lessly is the only one of the six who is with us now. Mr. Ix>ve is in the Sharon congregation, while the others have finished their work and entered upon their reward. "Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth; yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors; and their works do follow them." Mr. Oates died in 1888, Mr. Plaxco in 1890. Mr. Lowrance in 1891 and Mr. McGill in 1898. The deacons r- - , -v 7 / . p / > H AT BETHANY. he handsome new brick edifice. were Major T. P. Whitesides, John E. Love, R. N. McElwee, J. L. McGill and L. A. McGill. Of this number, Mr. Love fell on sleep in 1888 and Major Whitesides in 1904. An election of officers was held in October, 1887, when the following brethren were Inducted into office: W. F. Smith, Zimri Carroll, A. C. Stroup, J. B. Plaxco, R. N. McElwee and Rev. J. H. Douglass, elders, and W. M. Faulkner and E. B. Faulkner, deacons. Mr. Douglass was a minister, had been regularly ordained by Bethel Presbyterian presbytery and served as pastor for several years in its bounds. His health was not good, and he gave up the active work of the ministry and engaged in farming and teaching. He was dismissed to the Associate Reformed church in 1883, but never connected with any of our presbyteries. When elected elder, he was simply installed, and not ordained with the others. He was clerk "Cgiw niiw ??*-w 0 county jail upon a charge of car- of breaking, took French leave Saturday j0 afternoon, and as yet no word of his of whereabouts has been received. The q; negro has the appearance of being a w consumptive, and Sheriff Thomas had Ve allowed him the freedom of the Jail pj yard, with shackles on. The sheriff th has offered a reward of $15.00 for his a capture One more gallant Con- ed federate veteran and good citizen of ar Cherokee county, departed this life Cc and went to his eternal rest when Mr. b< C. P. Huggin breathed his last, Wed- Hi nesday evening about 11.15 n'olock, at a his home on Victoria avenue. He had s< been in declining health for several fa months, and it was known that the he end was near. His wife and nine of children were with him at his bedside ha when death came. Mr. Huggin was si< seventy-one years of age. He is sur- tii vived by his wife, who, before mar- ci riage, was Miss Elvira LeMaster, trl daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Rafe Le- ag Master, and eleven children His th left leg crushed so badly that it haul Si to be amputated below the knee was ar the result of Walter Smith, a negro, St being run over by a freight train Just w< before noon Friday. The accident so happened about a mile north of the & freight depot. Smith was a member da of one of the gangs of workmen who ar are engaged in constructing the lap- th sidings being placed north of the city, to and the injury was the result of his ev attempt to swing the train Mr. co W. H. Hester of Rutherfordton, N. C., ch father of Mr. U. G. Hester, and broth- F. er of Mr. Thomas Hester, both of this T1 city, died at his home Tuesday, at the go age of sixty-eight years. The funeral wl and burial took place Wednesday, sit Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Hester and Mr. Pe and Mrs. U. G. Hester attended the ye of our session, was active in Sabbath school work and taught a class of elders in the Confession of Faith. Of these officers Mr. Smith left us in 1893 and is now an active worker in the United Presbyterian church of Fowler, Fresno county, California; Mr Carroll was one of the charter members of the A. R. P." church in Clover and is its senior elder; Mr. Plaxco moved to Yorkville A. R. P. Church In 1900; Mr. Douglass died in 1903, and Mr. E. B. Faulkner in 1896. What changes a few years make! Only three of these brethren are with us today. Another election was held November 18th, 1899, and resulted as follows: For elders, W. M. Faulkner, J. L. McGill, L. A. McGill, E. W. Pursley and W. H. Sparrow. For deacons, N. A. Howell, T. H. Lessly, L. B. McGill, J. H. Quinn and R. N. Whltesides. The installation took place December 3rd, 1899. Of these Mr. Lessly was given a certificate to Hickory Grove in 1902, and has since died, and Mr. J. L. McGill died last year. Mr. E. M. Faris, an elder in Ramah, was received by certificate May 13th, 1904, and elected an elder here. Our bench of elders and board of deacons as consituted at present consist of the following brethren: Elders, M. P. Fails, W. M. Faulkner, W. D. Lessly, R. N. McElwee, L. A. McGill, E. W. Pursley, W. H. Sparrow and A. C. Stroup. Deacons, N. A. Howell, L. B. McGill. J. H. Qulnn and R. N. Whltesides. HIGH LIFE YEARS AGO Items From the Diary of a Queen of England. Elizabeth Woodville, who became Lady John Gray, wife of Sir John Grey, and after his death the queen of Edward IV, of England, kept a diary when she was a girl, and the recMy St about 312,000. ords of one day from that diary give a glimpse of the life of the children of the "upper class" in that faraway time, before Columbus discovered America and before printing or i silk manufacture were known in England. On Monday morning Elizabeth arose at 4 o'clock and helped Catherine milk the cows, because Rachel, the milkmaid, had scalded her hand the night before. At 7 o'clock she went to walk "with the lady my mother" in the courtyard. Afterwards she fed twenty-five men and women and severely chided Roger, a youth in the home, probably her brother, because of his ill temper. At 8 o'clock she went to the barn with her maid, Dorothy, ana caugni Thump, her pony, herself. She then rode "a matter of ten miles" without : saddle or bridle. At 10 o'clock she went to dinner and there met John Grey, a most comely youth." And then she says: "But what is that to me? A virtuous maid should be entirely under the directions of her parents. John ate but little and stole a great many tender glances at me. He said women could never be handsome in his eyes who were not good tempered. I hope my temper is not intolerable; nobody finds fault with it but Roger, and he is the most disorderly youth in our house. John Grey likes white teeth; my teeth are a pretty good color. I (hink my hair is as black as jet, though 1 say it: and John Grey, if I mistake not, is of the same opinion." At 11 o'clock the company arose from the table and went walking in the field. John Grey helped Elizabeth over the stile and twice squeezed her hand "with much vehemence"; but she did not object, because he was a perfect gentleman, was dutiful to his parents, and never missed church on Sabbath. At 3 o'clock poor Farmer Rabinson's house burned down by accident. John Grey proposed a subscription for the relief of the farmer and started it off with twenty pounds. Elizabeth says she never saw John look so comely as at that moment, when he was helping the poor unfortunate farmer. At 4 o'clock Elizabeth went to prayers. At 6 o'clock she fed the hogs and poultry. In after years, when Elizabeth became 'Jueen of England and the wife of the dissolute Edward IV, she probably found her greatest pleasure and comfort in reading over the annals of her girlhood days, when she rode her pony bare-back, fed the chickens and . 1 .i.knn |ilgB? <iimi ?till l(i |iiuyc:ia, <11111 wiicii John Orey lifted her over the stile, , admired her pretty white teeth and jet-black hair, and vehemently " soueesed her hand "twice."?Ex- ^ change, 'a * * c >X& The real optimist has no illusions. C He sees things as they are and makes c the best of them. e TOLD BY LOCAL EXCHANGES : re ni News Happenings In Neighboring fh Communities. *| CONDENSED FOR QUICK READING S a W Dealing Mainly With Local Affaire ot Cherokee, Cleveland, Qaaton, Lan- te caater and Cheater. hi Gaffney Ledger, Feb. 19: The sinking fund commission of Cherokee county has paid the treasurer of Unipn county approximately $12,000 in settlement of the account due for cc bonded Indebtedness assumed for the Spartanburg and Asheville railway. a< This is the last payment due the v< counties from which Cherokee was B formed. York and Spartanburg were in paid several years ago Mrs. C. M H. Sims died at her home in the Wilkensville section of the county, Saturday, following an illness of three or weeks. She was 37 years of age, and b< is survived by her husband and eight " * . ? 1 -i_ ?<?1? m.. hi cnuuren, iwo uoys anu hia guia. me 2. re cc b< re re te st th e<3 M n? or tl( ar er er cl ex m hi th ly ch ay cl y< c< in et Pi ar Rev. Dr. R. M. Stevenson, vi Who was Pastor of Bethany Church for twenty-five years, and who is now editor of the Associate Reformed Presbyterian, the official organ of f the Synod. oj remains were buried Sunday at Mt. h< Joy Baptist church in Union county, fo Mrs. Sims was a daughter of Mr. and Mrs. W. H. Sanders of Union county. She was an active member of Mesopo- m tamia Methodist church. A large clrcle of friends and relatives sympa- ie thize with the bereaved family pi Dule Eubanks, alias Frank Sims, a Ci ",n? holne- held at the nr services. vii * se King's Mountain Herald, Feb. 18: W R. A. Hicks, whose death by shooting M: at Monroe, La., was announced in the Mi Herald last week, it develops, was an killed by his partner in the painting re business, and room mate, E. Stroup. vii The two men ate dinner about 1 fao'clock, it seems, and started out of hunting with shot guns. Here the ea story stops so far as details go. Hicks te< was killed while on the hunt. Wheth- T? er purposely or accidentally, or how Mi discovered or disclosed, we know not. he The load entered a little to the left ch of the center of the back of his neck ed tearing off his left ear and a goodly Cc portion of that side of his face and ?u head. Stroup was remanded to Jail. Rev. J. R. Miller, who was re- ed cently elected pastor of the Patterson Ei Grove Baptist church, filled his appointment there Sunday afternoon. inl Dr. W. O. Ruddock is installing is a wireless receiving station. It will hr be located over the building from the 8h First National bank to the Patterson Be rrr-n?c*ri, otnrp His nrime object is to ha get the time of day from Washington, while a competent receiver can get baseball and other news. He will get *a' the correct time at 12 o'clock each Ju lay and at ten each night Leslie tn McGinnins left Saturday for Lynch- al) burg, Va., where he spent the night de with relatives and went on to Wash- P? ington Monday to assume the duties of cjl lis office to which appointment we Fr referred last week. He states that his ?* first work will be either in the north- of ?rn or New England states The do rreamery meeting of the Progressive nu issociation on last Thursday night, r?' was well attended. Mr. Stanley 2ombs of the division of dairying of the state department of agriculture, was present and gave a very enter- I taining and educating exposition of an ;he creamery business. rie ola Chester Reporter, Feb. 18: Fort As Lawn will have a second election for ntendant and four wardens next Tuesday, the election on the 9th, inst., laving resulted in a tie. There are :wo tickets in the field, one being leaded by Mayor W. L. Abernathy. whose friends are warmly advocating lim for re-election, while Mr. J. G. Zfousar is the candidate for mayor on he other ticket. Running with May>r Abernathy for warden are Messrs L L. Gooch. T. R. Kell. M. D., W. B. j ilcFadden and G. W. McKeown, while J he candidates for warden on the M ?ousar tickets are Messrs. E. J. Wil- M >urn, D. Ferguson, E. Christopher and 7. T. Holder Dr. Robert E. Abell fl| eft yesterday evening for Baltimore, H Philadelphia and New York, where he H vill visit the factories and sales I ooms for hospital supplies. Dr. J. ?. Johnson will join him Tuesday and issist in purchasing the equipment or the Chester sanatorium, which will 1 e complete and up-to-date in every " espect Mr. Jarvis Frazer was hrown from a horse at the S. A. L. lepot yesterday morning, while agisting with the unloading of a car of Ive stock, and was severely shaken ip. though no bones were broken direful study of the statutes bearing in the commission form of governnent for cities the size of Chester by dessrs. J. C. McLure, city attorney, nd J. B. Westbrook. member of ouncil, brings the fact to light that Eld ,'hester will be unable to adopt the v ommission government this spring, c ven if the majority of the voters F ere so inclined, as the requirements 1th regard to opening the books of iglstration and ordering the two scessary elections at such and such date thereafter demand more time tan is available before the regular ection in May. Considerable enthuasm has been engendered on behalf ' the commission government, and lere is little doubt that the proposed lange would carry, If the voters ere allowed to express their preferice. The requirements, however, ake it impossible to adopt the sysm this spring, and the voters will tve to get ready for the old pro amme of mayor and four aldermen. ....Mr. Arthur Braslngton of Lockirt. who has a position with the rillard & Boggs Construction Co., the >ncern that is building the big power un at Lockhart, met with a thrilling Iventure Tuesday evening, that came ?ry near costing him his life. Mr. rasington was out in a motor boat the stream, when the gasoline beime exhausted, and despite his efrts, his vessel was swept over the im, a drop of sixteen feet. He struck 1 rocks in the stream, and after ?ing carried down several yards by e rapid current, was lodged upon a lge boulder, where he remained until 10 o'clock in the morning, when a scuing party lound him, numb with >ld and black and blue from being taten against the rocks. At first his covery was despaired of, but later ports said that he was improving. ....Mr. T. La. Eberhardt stated yesrday that a handsome new drug ore, one of the most up-to-date in is section of the state, will be open[ in his building on the corner of oln on/1 WvHo at rani a within thP ixt sixty days. Mr. Eberhsurdt went i to say that the names of the par?s Interested in the new enterprise e not for publication just at presit, but will be given out at the proptime We have not been inined in recent years to agree with :-Senator John L. McLaurln on any matters of politics; but we ive always been disposed to believe at Mr. McLaurln Is an exceptionalable man and that given a fair iance with his cotton warehouse stem, which has been the matter of sse and studious study with him for tars, he can bring about results. ?rtain of Mr. McLaurin's opponents the general assembly seem, howrer, to be resolved upon his comete elimination from public life, id lose no chance to attack him most olently and bitterly. It strikes us i manifestly unfair to discontinue ly institution that has been given ich scant opportunity to make >od; and we are glad that the marity of the general assembly has en fit to give Mr. McLaurln further iportunity to prove that the ware>use system will do what he claims r it # * ? Gastonia Gazette, Feb. 19: His lmerous friends in Oastonla and 'er the county will be surprised to am that Mr. W. Darius Beam, pro ietor of the Beam Printery of this ty, was married Wednesday afterion at 2.30 o'clock at the parsonage the First Baptist church in Chartte, by Rev. Dr. W. M. Vines, pastor that church, his bride being Miss ladys Beam. The ceremony was Itnessed only by two or three of the sry close friends of the contracting irties and has been kept secret by e young couple....Mr. Larke Stowe, native of this county, who has residl for the past thirty years in Pleasit View, Ky., spent yesterday in impany with Mr. W. S. Hanks of dmont, as guests of Engineer Lee anks of the Southern. Mr. Stowe is son of the late CoL Jasper Stows of )uth Point township, and has a large mily connection in the county. He is paid his native county a number visits since he left it but they ive always been brief. The occann of his visit to this section at this ne was the Laymen's convention at larlotte this week. His many lends were delighted to see him rain. Mr. Stowe is connected with e coal mining business The >encer mountain quarries, which e being operated by the Carolina one company, resumed work last sek. It is learned from a reliable urce that the ballasting of the P. N. track will be resumed in a few ,y a wiin siuiic num 11110 hum a j , id will probably be kept up until e entire line from Charlotte to Gasnla is ballasted A special angellstic meeting which has been nducted at the West Airline M. E. urch for the past ten days, by Rev. C. West, came to a close last night, le attendance and Interest were >od throughout the entire meeting, tiich resulted in about 60 converts Mi88 Mary L. Wilson of ipperell, Mass., arrived in the city sterday morning to spend some time siting relatives here and in other ctions of the county among her ilson connections. She is now with r. and Mrs. J. White Ware on West ain avenue, and will later visit Col. id Mrs. R. N. Wilson and other latives. This is Miss Wilson's first sit to Gaston in thirty years. Her ther, William Wilson, was an uncle Col. R. N. Wilson of this city. In rly life he went west as a school Etcher among the Indians in Indian >rritory. While there he married a assachusetcs lady and they went to r native state to live. When the iril war came on, Mr. Wilson returnto his native county, joined the mfederate army and fought throughit the four years of war. At the nclusion of the struggle, he returnto his family and home in New lgland. He died within a year or o after the close of the war, leav? only one child, Miss Wilson, who now here. Col. Wilson is her only st cousin on the Wilson side and e is his only full cousin The 88emer City Mercantile Co., perps the largest general mercantile lflhllahm?nt In Rpmpmcr fMtv. fail Tuesday, making an assignment in vor of their creditors and naming dge A. C. Jones of Gastonia, as istees. The apparent assets total out 112,000 with about $11,000 inbtedness. This concern was a corration, the incorporators and prin>al stockholders being Mr. B. L. oneberger and Mr. John H. Wllkins Bessemer City, and Dr. S. A. Wilklns Dallas. The company had been ing business in Bessemer City for a mber of years and had a large patiage. A considerable portion of i assets is in outstanding accounts, is understood. * * Lancaster News, Feb. 19: An exlination of applicants for rural carr for the route leading from Osce l, was held on the 13th, instant, by sistant Postmaster F. W. Hunter (Continued on Page Four.) J. S. Brice, Esq., ler in the Yorkville A. R. P. Church, yho delivered the closing address in onnection with the exercises at lethany last Sunday.