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ESTABLISHED 1865. NEWBERRY, S. C., WEDNESDAY, MARCH 14,1894. PRICE $1.50 A YEAR COUNTLESS FERCELE. The Famous and Notorious Adventures of a South CaroUna Beauty-Once Belie of the Palmetto State-She Begins Her Notorious Career by Proving - a Traitoress to the Southern Cause-Her Adventures and Tragic Death. [Atlanta Constitution.) "The Countess Percele has lost her head." Such is tho news that comes from far-off Japan. The Countess often before happened with this misfortune. figuratively speaking, and notably, at the great court of the white Czar of all the Russians, but at the court of the wily little Mikado, she fell a victim, like Mary, the beautiful but unfortu nate Scottish queen, to malice and jealousy, and lost her head at the hands of the axman, her marvelous beauty and indiscretion being the au thor of her ruin. "And who was the Countess Percele?" Who this distant princess that we of the South should be interested in her aid ending? At one time the State of South Carolina would have listened - with bated breath to catch one word of this famous beauty. She was of the South, and a South Carolinian. She was born in Newberry District in 1843, and was ranked by common consent 'the most beautiful and accomplished lady in the State. Her father was a .Mr. Burton, who died while Mary, the :subject of this sketch, was yet a child. Her mother married a Mr. Boozer. who :adopted her, and gave her his name and fortune.. For some cause, gossip has its domestic trouble, Boozer com mitted suicide. The widow then mar ried a Mr. Feaster and took up their abode in the aristocratic city of Co lumbia. Feaster being a man of wealth and having no children of his own, lavished his money upon the stepdaughter, giv ing her all the education and accom plishments that wealth could bestow. She grew in grace and loveliness, as she merged into womanhood, and be came one of the most beautiful and fascinating young ladies in the whole State, and her personal charms were eurpassed, if such was possible, by her brilliancy, her wit and charming man uers. In fact she was said to be a per fect model of grace, beauty and loveli uess. Her rare accomplishments and - dazzling beauty, to say nothing of her wealth and social standing, made her without dispute the social queen of Columbia, and her hand was often sought in marriage by sons -of .the wealthy planters of upper tendom. But to all such overtures she turned a deaf ear, and remained "unfettered and fancy free." The war came on and the young swains deserted the ball room and scenes of poetic gayety for the more real and prosaic battlefield. With war came ruin, devastation and upheavels in socie.y. Paradoxical as it may seem, this light-hearted, bril - lant blue blooded Southern bell and her mother took sides with the Union A batch of yankee prisoners were im prisoned in Columbia during the pro gress of the war and her interest in their welfare and her zeal for the cause -she had espoused caused her to be so cially ostracised and kept continually under military surveillance. She ef fected the escape of a young officer from Ohio and kept him concealed in her own hoOse till the city was evacu ated by the Confederates. When GeneralOrd,eommander of the infamous ninth corps entered Colum bia, theofficer emerged from the place of his long concealment, and lost no time in proclaiming it to the army the name of his fairbenefactor. Genera! Ord hastened to the presence of this beauti ful and bewitching little Southern trai anm~~id hearizigffm her own lips the ~~ her Kizay acts of kindness to, endlbred friendship for theUnio'n soldie jiring their incarceration in -Coluz4,da, and the danger that beset her in-consequence, prevailed upon her to accompany him North, promising to aid her in every manner that lay with in his power, a promise he faithfully kept. 'The finest carriage that could be found in the city with a magnificent span of horses were taken from the rightful owner and placed at the dis posal of the mother and daughter, and in this, surrounded by a regiment of cavalry, as an escort, this erratic, tal ented, beautiful, once idolized but now scorned enigma, left the land of her -.birth, the home of friends and kindred and began her grand triumphal march in the van of the army, the despoilers of the country, the fot s of her people. It was in the line of duty of the writer, as commander of a company of scoats' for General Johnston to often be near her and witness the grand ovation given her by the officers and men of~ Sherman's army, and be can truthfully -say her equipage and retinue was of oriental splendor, and she gracefully performed the roll of a veritable Cleopatra, such was the magnificence of her display, the tribate and homage paid to her beauty and the romance of her career. On reaching Was.a.ngton a bill was rushed through congress giving her $l,000 for thbe service rendered union prisoners and the losses she sustained in so doing. At the capital shbe soon be came the social lion and the best and most exclusive society felt honored in admitting this wealthy and aristocratic Southern beauty to their homes. Here she formed the acquaintance of, and married James Beecher, a wealthy Newf Yorker with far- 'mere money then brains, who became so infatuated wigh her charms that he made her a b#idlal present of a check for $100,000. Now she was fully launched in jthe mnfal swim and did honor, to ther position in the extravagance of her display. Beecher grew jealous of her notoriety, or she of her common-place husband, and a divorce was the result. Being now free, young, rich and beautiful, she entered "fields green and pastures new." She took as a com panion the notorious Cora Pearl, and away these congenial spirits winged their flight to the gay cities of Europe to bring to their feet, counts, lords and princes of the blood. Armed with letters of credit for vast sums, and endorsements from Stanton and Seward, they found no difficulty in gaining recognition to the best of society, and admittance to royal favor. Courtesies and priceless gifts. showered upon them. At St. Peter aurg, the Archduke, a cousin of the reigning Czar, fell a victim to her wiles and a slave to her enchanting beauty; and in a moment of blind infatuation, made her a present of his grandmother's jewels, said to be worth a prince's ran som. At a giand court ball at the winter palace, to which she had been invited at the instance of this noble man, she had the audacity and iinpru dence to adorn herself with these heir looms of the royal family. She could not, however, escape the eagle eye of old Alexander, and this escapade came near costing her her life and the Arch duke his estates. As soon as the truth was known the Czar ordered her out of his dominions with an imperative order never to return on pain of death, an order which it was best to obey. The Archduke was banished from his court and remained under royal displeasure until the death of the Czar. The beautiful young adventurers now made their way to Paris and by their very boldness gained admission to the palace of Napoleon. Count Percele, Ambassador to Japan, was the next victim to fall under the spell of her daring. They were married in the church of the royal family in Paris with great ceremony and splendor, receiving magnificent gifts, some from the hands of the Empress Eugene her- j self. She shortly afterwards sailed with I her husband to the land of the little t Japs. Here she created the same ex- c citement and stir as elsewhere. For a s time things west well. Theideas of pro- i priety in the polished little Frenchman c were not so exacting as at Washing ton or St. Petersburg. At last the prime minister of the\Mikado became entang- t led in the meshes of the dangerous t beouty and soon was completely in her t toils.- The eounteshad passed the c meridian of her power, the zenith of e her glory was passed, her star was in i the decline. She was at the age now for r reflection, and her aim should have i been to retain the honorable and titled t name which she now possessed. But she seemed impelled irresistibly for- c ward to meet that danger and ruin s that she knew would sooner or later e overtake her, without the powers to] forsake the paths in which they lay. s The count deserted her, returned to Paris and procured a divorce. The 2 countess married the prime minister of Japan, but onward and rapidly she 1 sped to the end. For some r, al or ( imaginary indiscretion her hrisband 1 caused her to bethrown into prison, and g obtained from the Mikado a death 1 warrant, and away in foreign lands, i friendless and alone, Mary Boozer, a Countess Percele, p'aid the penalty of a wayward and wicked life by being t brought.to the block.. D. A. DICKERT. e Thre Queer Epitaphs. LSt. Louis Republic.]) Addison, the great English writer whose biographers say he was "a man a of exquisite taste and refinement," andt whose society,.possessed an "indescriba ble charm," is said to have ordered the a following lines inscribed upon his wife's tombstone: t - Here lies my wife, 1 .Herelet her lie; She'sriow at rest And so amI. Another tombs' one in the same cem-t etery bears this inscription:f Here lies our Mary Ann at rest, I Pillowed now on Abraham's breast; I lit's rather nice for Mary Ann, I But somewhat rough on A braham. s A Mormon, whose three wives were blown to atoms in a powder explosion, ~ inscribed the following lines upon a board set up at the single grave in which the remains of all three were buried: Stranger, pause and shed a tear, For Mary Ann lies buried here; Mixed in some mysterious manner, With Nancy Jane and probably Han ner. Taking N4o Risks. [From the Chicago Record.] Elaice-Would you ever get over it a and forget me, George, if I should re fuse you? George-You 'oet I would. Elaine-Well, then, I'm yours. .. Tennyson on Spring. . We have the word of Alfred Tenny son for it that in the eprilg the young man's fancies lightly turn to thoughts( of love. It is singular that the great laureate omitted to mention the fact that it is in the spring that a consider able portion of the human race turn to I taking Hood's Sarsaparilla. Probably nothing but the difficulty of finding a good rhyme for that invaluable remA:y deterred him. Certain ii is that the old-time domestic remedies are genei ally discarded in favor of the standard I blood purifier, Hood's Sarsaparilla,f which has attained the greatest popu larity all over the country as the favor ite Spring Medicine. It purifies the I blood and gives nerve, mental, bodily 1 nd digestive srength. CHILDS, THE GENEROUS, Stories About Philadelphia's Great News psper Man-He did not Make his For tune by Squeezing other People, but by Helping them-His Philo sophy in Regard to Tramps. George William Childs, the late aditor of the Philadelphia Public Led Zer, was one of the most remarkable men of this or any period. He is re narkable first for his great success in )usiness, but he is much more remark ible for tL" manner in which be has imployed the means growing out of ]is success, writes T. C. Crawford in he New York Wor'", some time pre rious to the death of the famous editor md philanthropist. He is of that rare ype that prosperity Improves instead 1 f injuring.. Most people make their noney and their success in life through 1 i studied selfishness. To make the >rdinary fortune the interests of a great nany people have to le sacrificed. Mr. Childs has made his fortune in io such way. He has apparently con lucted business upon principles entire y opposite to those which govern the >rdinary transactions of life. From the irst he has been generous. He has ilways been ready to extend a helping land to those about him and he has lever sought a triumph at the expense >f his individual associates. He is so xceptional a man in every one of his nethods of_ doing business that it is ertain no one resembling him can be und in any of the cities of the world. Business friends never go to Mr. hilds to obtain a loan without succeed ng. He never yet received any interest in such loans. Notwithstanding the act that he has loaned money right nd left to any one who has any sort f a claim upon him, yet he has rarely ost anything by such liberality. His I >usiness judgment of men is nearly j afallible. tUICK TO DISCERN BUSINESS ABILITY. A remarkable instance of his good udgment was shown several years ago, vhen a certain business man came to 'hiladelphia to establish himself. This ,usiness man had a moderate amount f capital. He launched out in a liberal t tyle of advertising. This and his dar ng methods of business led a number 3 if Philadelphia people to think that he vould not last long. Mr Childs thought t veil of him, and as he is always ready D encourage new,ventures he offered I his merchant an unlimited credit in is advertising columns. As the rule f the Ledger office is eash down for verything in the way of advertise- i nents this exception in favor of a new an, who was at best experimenting , n establishing himself, was very re arkable. The new merchant availed himself f this offer. His bills for advertising t oon became very large. The cashier f the Ledger office became nervous. Te went to Mr. Childs Several times ndsid: "Do you know this man owes us 30,000?" Mr. Childs said: "Never mind." he bill became $40,000, and yet Mr. bilds made no sign of withrawing; is favor. The bill reached the sum of ~ 60,000 before the merchant came near fr. Childs to say one word about pay ag. One morning he walked in and aid:E "Mr. Childs you have been very kind o me. Your credit has done much to aintain confidence in my ability to I ucceed. People have said if Mr. Childs ~ an trust him we all can. The result ~ 3 that I am now upon my feet, and -~ an settle my bill to-day If you will ake $40,000 of it in trade dollars.n" Mr. Childs accepted the offer, and old them afterward as bullion. He hus recovered the full amount of his lebt and thereby gained a very loyal j ,nd devoted business friend. Tiiis nerehant whom he thus favored ist o-day one of the most prosperous nerchants in Philadelphia. HE REFORMS A DRUNKARD. The morning after the announce tent was made that he had bought he paper the city editor of that then ailing sheet called upon Mr. Childs ' or the purpose of finding out whether ~ ie would be retained in his place or I rot. He came into Mr. Childs's book tore and said to him: I "I understand that you have bought he Public Ledger." This city editor, whose name was ~olemian, then continued: "You and I are old friends. We ome from the same town, Baltimore, I nd there is no reason why we should I ot get on." "To be frank with you," said Mr. r bilds in response to this, "I had made p my mind that you were the very I rt man thbat I ehould discharge." I "Why?" stammered Coleman in die iay. "Because," said Mr. Childs, "you ,re a drunkard, and I will not have a Irunkard in my employ." "What if I should reform?" said jolemamn. Mr. Childs very quickly replhed: 'Then I will retain you and double 'our salary." Poor Coleman had never had such n incentive to reform as this. Hei aught the proposition. He did eform, and it is through the efforts of his reclaimed city editor that the ':ge reformatory for inebriates was stablished in Philadelphia. Mr. Cole nan remained with Mr. Childs until a hort time ago when he was retired :pon fuli pay. Those who work: ionstly and faithfully for him willj eceive more than their stipulatedI alaries. Mr. Childs always gives to lis men every encouragement to make em successful. He watches their emanna1 habits. If he fi nds thearen not inclined to save, he tempts them to become economical by making good investments for them where they must save in order to carry on these invest ments. All of the Ledger employees f who have families, as a rule, live in houses of their own, bought and paid for by Mr. Childs, who in return for this has only received back the princi pal advanced. He insures the lives of ( sll the principal men of his paper and pays the premiums himself. A CASE OF MISTAKEN GENEROSITY. Some few years ago the son of the ormner proprietor of the Public Ledger ame to Mr. Childs and asked him to 2 ielp him start a new paper in Phila elphia. The youno man said that his 'ather had been forced to sell out his >aper ata great loss. Mr. Childs had taped a great fortune from the pur- 3 ;hase of that property. He thought, herefore, that it was his duty to help im now. Mr. Childs promptly j equiesced in this request. He took iold of young Swain, and, through his 3 ndividual influence, secured for him Ldmission to the Associated Press. He ant him machinery from his office and >ermitted him to go through and C xamine his system of books and lent im one or two of his chief men to get t inder way. He had made preparations also to nake a handsome editorial announce ent of the new paper, and to do y verything that he could to help it long. He was warned, however, by . owe of his men that young Swain could simply take advantage of his indness, and that any attempt to be I lecently civil to him, would simply esult in an injury to himself. Mr. :hilds would not believe this. One of his head man, who had been ielping young Swain to gdt out the I aper, went up the morning of the ublication to further assist and advise. le found the doors of the new office losed and an order that nobody from he Ledger office should be admitted. S That morning there appeared an xact duplicate of the Public Ledger a style, type, make-up, size of the laper and, even the title, with the xception of one word. It was called T he Pdblic Record instesd of the Pub ic Ledger. Its price was one cent. A t was a direct blow at the very nan who had done everything o -nake such a paper possible. Vithout the Associated Press this F per could not have stood for a ay. Mr. Childs picked up an issue of T bis paper that very morning, think ug that-it was his own. Mr. Swain A atended for a time to call his paper he True Ledger, but compromised by 8 ailing it the Public Record. It never succeeded very well, how- A ver, until Mr. Singerly, the million ire, got hold of it. Swain was forced sell. Mr. Singerly the minute he T ot hold of the paper changed its entire haracter. He ceased the imitation of be Public Ledger. Through hisA kilful management the paper is to ay one of the most successful and S >rosperous in Philadelphia. HOW TEAMPS ARE TREATED. Tramps are among his callers. Some (the most hardened drunkards of IL "biladelphia go to Mr. Childs for noney. He says to them very briskly O rhen they come: "Never ,mind any xcses or special story. You needn't ke the trouble to tell me a lie. You A rant some money for drinks. Weil, iere it is. Go and drink yourself to Leath just as fast as you can. I shall ,Iways be ready to help you in thar,, ~ ecause you are beyond' reformation. A hopeless drunkard can't get out of his world any too soon." A FAMOUS FEATURE OF THE LEDGER. T1 His paper is famous for his marriage *nd death notices. It is said~ that ini shiladelphia no one is legally married. inless the notice has been printed in he Ledger. -In the same way it ould be impossible to administer A pon the estate of any Philadelphian hose death notice had not appeared ~ n that journal Early in the manage nent of his newspaper Mr. Childs bad iis city editor join every one of the ocieties of Philadelphia. He paid the ~ ipenses of his initiation fees to the ighst degree of all the various lodges. - In those days it was customary for ese societies when any one of their nembers died to send out a circular -otice of the same to the other mem ers of the society. The city editor oon persuaded the various societies of b hich he was a member to substitute o hese circulars by the publication of all hese notices in the Ledger. Then Mr. hilds would send copies of this paper p eady for mailing to .he various mew- si era of the families of the deceased and heir friends, and in this way he built p an enormous circulation. Two Days I Chicago Daily Tribune.]a "Last Wednesday," observed Rivers, v ho was reading the speech of the a senator from Maine on the Hawaiian 3 lestion, "seemis to have been Frye t~ iay. "But Thursday," remarked Banks, oring over the record of the House o rote on Bland's bill for coiniDga vacum, 'was a sadder day."e i< Hood's and Only Hood's. Are you weak and weary, overworked ei ad tired? Hood's Sarsaparilla is just rbe- medicine you need to purify and r< 1icken your blood and to give you ti ,ppetite and strength. If you decide to I ake Hood's Sarsaparilla do not be o nd eed to buy any other. Any effort ti to substitute another remedy is proof a f the merit of Hood's.o HooD's PILLS are the best after-din aer Pills, assist digestion, cure head che. Try a box. The City of the Dead. Water being only three feet below the arth's surface on the coast ofLouisiana, he dead are buried in vaults. The eauty of this custom suggested the ollowing lines. They were written by a former New erry lady now resident in New Or eans, but whose parents reside in our own. We will be glad to have other oems from her pen. )n the bank of The Father of Waters, I stood on a calm autumn day, ind the sun glimmered bright on its bosom And the crescent stretching away. tound about me there lay a great city; Wandering and winding and vast, Ls the shape of the river had whis pered To the builders as it passed. Lnd this was the city of Orleans A city of story and song, Vhere nation with nation has strug gled For the right to conquer the wrong. L illustrious city of heroes, A city most dear to our hearts, Vhere monuments and scars mark the daring Of brave ones who did well thy parts. ! honored and beautiful city, With their murmuring currents of life, Vhere, oh, where are the many dead thousands Who served thee years past in their strife? ot buried in earth and in darkness, With heavy sod over their breasts, ,nd the dark, chilling rains of the winter Thy last and thy only bequests. ut, behold! thou hast built them a city Glittering, and fair and grand, ,nd erected them temples of marble Statues carved by a master's band. n quaint groves of whispering orange, Thou hast laid them away to rest; ,nd upon the arched roofs of their houses, The song birds have builded their nests. o, as soon as the summer approaches, And the land is made warm and fair, " [any cheerful, melodeous warblers [ake melody throughout the air. here are monuments raised here to heroes, And statues and fond words of praise .nd tears for the memory of loved ones Who fell In those sad, far-off days. or, at the great gate of the city, Where all those who enter must see, he figure of Joseph E. Johnston Points boldly out over the lea. .t the foot of the mound of his statue, In garments all tattered and old. tands a life-like appealing sad image The corporal calling the roll. b! but where are the hearkening voices Who should answer the call made to day? hey have given their lives for their country This green mound contains but their clay. nd yonder is a small Grecian. temple, Majestic, exquisitely fair, pported on seven smooth pillars, Admitting the free light and air. There a beautiful, crowned sculptured seraph, In garments of unsullied white, Swriting the names of beloved ones In the great book of life and light. h! spirits of you who have left us, Look down from your high homes above, nd see how we cherish your memo With honor, with tears, and with .love. ide by side in this wonderful city Lie the bodies of friends and foes, nd all nations and creeds are for gotten In the mutual sharing of woes. he dark angel Death leaves sad traces That truly cannot be effaced ut our grief for the lost ones is less enned By the beauty in which they are placed. .nd so fair and serene is this acre, ,o grand are these palaces rare, o commingled is beauty with sad ness, So far is removed chilling fear. .nd so pore is the glistening marble, So sweet are the skies ove!head, hat it seems to us not a lone gr ave yard, But a City meet for the Dead. NEW ORLEANS. A Financial Circle. [ Atlanta Constitution.] In the discussion of the United States mking bill in congress, some time in 1835, :1830, John Randolph, of Roanoke, who as opposed to the passage of the bill, hich was intended to establish a United tates bank, said that he had discovered erpetual motion, and that it was very ple, being the fact that "Paper makes money, Money makes banks, Banks make poverty, Poverty makes rags, Bags make paper, Paper makes money, Money makes banks," ad so on for ever and ever. Something Unusual, Sa medicine, is Dr. Pierce's Golden [edical Discovery. And, because of aat, there's something unusual in the ~ay of selling it. WVhere every other edicine of its kind only promises, this garant.eed. If it ever fails to benefit e cure, yout have your money back. It's the only guaranteed remedy for very disease caused by a disordered ver or impure blood. Dyspepsia, Bil >usness, the most stubborn Skin, cap and Scrofulous affections, even onsumption (or Lung-scrofula) in its irlier stages, are all cured by it. It purifies and enriches the blood, uses every organ into healthful ac on, and restores strength and viger. n building up both flesh and strength t pale, puny, Scrofulous children, or invigorate and brace up the system fter "Grippe," pneumonia, fevers, and ther prostrating acute diseases, noth ag can equal the "Discovery." Catarrh is positively cured by Dr. ae's Remedy. ALL DEADHEADS. Arp Was Unaware of the Cause of His Large Audience-A Collection Taken Up at the Er d-Bill suspecta That the Drummers Pat Up a Job on Him --Down Among the Phosphate Mines. I am still perusing ibe inland towns and find content and prosperity and good people wherever I go. Now there is Inverness that is only two years old that is the county seat of Citrus County and has only tbree or four hundred people, and is yet in the woods, but it has a good trade and a look of pros perity. The lakes near by are loveiy, and the phosphate plants give every thing a lively appearance. There is one right close up to the village-the Covebend-that belongs to Mr. Jack son, that is, perhaps, making more money for its eost than any in Florida. The outlay for the plant and the land ;, only $4,000, and its products are fif teen tons of rock per day at a cost of $1.50 a ton loaded on the cars. He gets $5.50 per ton f. o. h.-that is business. Sixty dollars a day net profit! He has no salaried officials, no bosses, and has built no houses for laborers, but seems to boss everything himself. If the pockets give out, he can pick up and move with little loss or delay. The Hamburg plant, a mile or two away, is an immense concern with unlimited capital. All of their products go across the water, and are made into fertilizers and sold in Germany at $75 a ton. They have now on hand 3,000 tons ready for shipment. The plant with all its machinery and outbuildings cost $150,000, and yet they cannot tell how soon the deposit will give out. In fact, it did give out on one side the day I was there, and left a clean wall of iticky sand that was worthless. Never tbeless there are several extensive pits near by that still hold out, and the company has no fears of exhausting the deposits for years. The overseer told me that their greatest provocation was the uncertainty of negro labor. All along the line of this road from Pemberton toArcher are to be seen phos phate plants or turnouts that lead to them; and the wages of the laborers are rreely spent and give life and activity to the little towns. Most of the plants are foreign or northern capital and whether they make money or not, the wages are spent. The magnitude of this business grows on you as you trav el. England, Germany, France and Scotland are heavy purchasers, and are feeding their millions from crops fer tilized with Florida phosphates. To my great pleasure I found Mr. md Mrs. Vance on the train going from rampa to Suwanee sulpher springs The Senator was languishing in the leeper upon pillows wherewith to rest is rheumatic limbs, for he had been a great sufferer of late and said be had ound no relief from the doctors. Then be quoted Scripture with a sad smile. 'And Asa was diseased in his feet and sought not the L ord but physicians and he slept with his fathers." We -ecalled the pleasant evening spent' tome years ago at Judge Ashe's house in Wadesboro, and when I remarked bhat I had many a time repeated the good stories he and Judge Ashe told that night, smiled and said, "Major, I hope you treated me better than Sen ator Vest does. When I tell him a good story he tells it again and if the crowd enjoys it heartily he gives no quotation marks, but if it falls.fiat he is sure to say I got that from Vance." His good wife is a merry hearted wo man and is yet beautiful in feature and bright in conversation. It seems like her very presence would cure rheu mnatism-at least a man ought to be willing to have it with such a comfor ter around. It was with great reluc tance that I bade them goodby at Duinel len. From there I departed for Crystal river. When about five n:iles away cur car became uncoupled and the train with eight freight cars went on and we felt as helpless as a painted ship upon a painted ocean. At the next station the engineer missed us and came back, and so it was quite late when we reached the little town that had invited me to come and talk. Af ter a hurried supper on the best oysters I bare found in Florida, I went to the church and found it quite full of good people awaiting me. Taking a side seat in front I was introduced to a number of pleasant gentlemen-some of t hem from Georgia, of course. I felt flattered that so many people had turned out 'to hear me, for it is a little hamlet. Directly an old gentleman, who seemed to be mast'er of ceremonies, came to me and with great dignity and kindliness of manner said, "Maior, would it be at all improper for us to take up a little eollection to remnuner ate you for your traveling expenses. We have conferred about it and think you ought to have that much if it is agreea ble to you." My photograph ought to have been taken right then. I turned my face toward the door to see if it was possible that there was no doorkeeper. There was none and more people kept walk ng in just like they were coming to church. I looked at my venerable friend and said: "Have none of these people paid anything?" "'Well, no," said he. "We didn't know that you charged anything, but we thought we ought to take up a little collection," and so the hats were passed around and some few put in quarters. Many more put in dimes. Still more dropped in nickles and two put in coppers and the rest put in nothing. I've got the coppers yet as a memento of the lost cause. I did not look in the hats until after the lecture and I tried my best to be calm and erene, for it was all done in kindness and good will. Indeed, they seemed t to fear that I might not like it if they F offered me anything. One man tokt me t that the report was out that I was c lecturing for The Atlanta Constitution ix and another man thought that it was a r kind of missionary work. You see my v custom is to let the inviters fix the . admission fee according to custom, for t in most small towns the ruling price a for a show is 25 cents; while in larger f places it is 50 cents, and their pleasure i: is my pleasure-that is except dimes y and nickcls and coppers' a But they gauged it pretty well and r left me four dollars after defrsying my p railroad expenses, and I was thankful e for getting my hat back, but the next a time I lecture without a doorkeeper p will be some time during the millen- c nium. I wouldnt tell this joke on t myself if it had not already got out is and is being right smartly exaggerated o by the drummers. There were two c drummers there and my opinion is a they coppered on me. I rather oua- E pect them of getting up that report ii that I was lecturing for The Atlanta p Constitution. Mr. Beckham travels for a John Daniel's drug store in Atlanta t and John Daniel is the cleverest man p in Atlanta. il But if you wiQh to get out of Florida e and to feel like you are back at home t among the bills, go to Brooksville. p There is a rectangle of ten by twenty t, miles in Hernando County that is a n mistake. Dame nature just humped v herself when she threw up this region c and made it into hill and valley and s adorned it with hard wood trees, such as n live oak and poplar and sweet gum and tupelo and big magnolias and Florida mahogany. When at Brooksville you can plant your feet upon the solid ground without fear ofsinking into its bosom. You are away up in the sky i and you can look upon a beautiful ( panorama. The orange groves fleck 0 the hills, and from this point are a shipped annually near 400,000 boxes- A about one-tenth of the crop of the h State. There are beautiful valleys s between the hills. I crossed one that was half a mile wide and five times as long, where there were large flocks of S sheep grazing and where they keep fat Y all winter. As a farming and stock G country, I have seen nothing like it in Florida. There is a railroad to Brooks- so ville, but I traveled overland twelve p miles from Fitzgerald and journeyed I away fourteen miles to Lenard, a a station on the Orange Belt. I like that. u I like to see the country at my leisure .i and stop when I please and look g around. When you get tired of piney woods and sand go to Brooksville. I o journeyed with a Clear Water friend k who lives in both places and has b interests in both and is an honest a man and was born and raised in this F region, If anybody wishes to know all F about either place let him write to S. a A. Jeflords, Brooksville. ' BILL ARP, '] A CITY BUILT ON MU'D. Chicago's Tottertng Buildings and What They signify. CHICAGO, March 4.-The undeniable insecurity and decrepitude of many of F the large buildings of this city is a sub- ~ ject which is beginning to agitate and alarm builders and business men. The Post Office and Custom House has a been settling upon its soft clay founda tion for years, and is now generally ~ spoken of as "the ruin." This is not alone because the city wants a new a building, but because the structure is absolutely unsafe. Its floors are uneven, its walls are crumbling, and the drain age pipes are so broken and disconnect ed as to fill the building frequently with noxious gases. If this were the only case of the kind ' in the city it might be laid to the door - of the Government Architect. But here is the Board of Trade building, wnose j 325-foot granite tower is the pharos of a the lake mariners, leaning badly to one side and threatening to fall over and destroy the entire building. The walls C on both sides of the tower are cracked C by its settling and the string courses are badly out of level. It has been de cided to take down the tower as soon, as possible and finish it at a level with the roof of the main building. Only a few days ago the ceiling fell in of Judge Stein's court room in the County building, the east wing of the great granite -City Hall. The court s escaped annihilation under the 2.5,000 - pounds of debris only because it was not in session. All the adjacent walls , and ceilings are disfigured with mean dering cracks, and it has been decided to take down'all of the ceilings in that part of the building and to replace x them with lighter material. A month ago, owing to some sudden movement ~ of the walls, the stone jamb of one oft the windows was dislocated, and a fragment weighing 100 pounds scaled off, fortunately lodging on the broad watershed below it instead of falling to the pavement, as did a fragment re-i cently from the Board of Trade tower. The County building has a solid con crete foundation upon piles, the piles . being driven as close together as they could stand, and the building was sup posed to be good for ages to come. When such accidents are happening to these comparatively solid and sub stantial structures, architects as tenants are asking what is to be the fate of the tall sky scrapers which form Chicago's pride. The settlement of the Auditor ium tower and of the great Masonic I building have exceeded the architects' calculations; and some fear that the fate of the former will be similar toi that of the Board of Trade, the weight being more than twenty times as Igreat. The foundation of the Chicago struc ures is peculiar. The foundations >ractically float in mud. Beneath the en or twelve feet of sand is hard pan lay, eight or ten feet in depth, and inder this is clay saturated with water, iot a quicksand, but a soft mass into vhich an iron rod will sink to bn un :nown depth. Builders adopt two me hods, pile foundation, with concrete, nd iron bars cros-e4 in cob house ishion and filled with concrete, mak ag a sort of raft upon the clay upon rhich the structure is supported. It is sserted by some that additional load nerely increases the depth of the hard an by driving out the water; but other ngineers main tain that this is an error, nd that when once the bard pan is enetrated or broken the settlement is ontinuous. It is a fact well known to be builders of sky-scrapers that there a constant and uneven motion going n throughout the whole structure, alled by some molecular vibration, to n extent which can be measured with La -ked eye. Girders will move an 3ch or more, and then -me back Into lace. The causes of this movement re as yet entirely unknown, as are beir extent and duration.. Another eril which menaces this class of build 3g is oxidation. The steel frames are nclosed in fire proofing and beyond be reach of examination or the ap lication of preservative3. The disia ?gration may be slow, - but the day iust come, so say good authoritiee, rhen the great buildings must sue umb to rust and ruin, unless theyare ooner toppled over by un-equalsettle ient into the mud. Mr. Hewitt's Speech Down Soath." ATLANTA, March 4.-To-day I met i a Southern train Judge Lee of reorgia, a most charming gentleman r the ante-war school. The Judge , - as reading Mayor Hewitt's speech. ss he lhe finished the last word he anded the Constitution to Dr. Shelly, Lying: "Doe, jes read what that old Yinkee, .be Hewitt, sez about us! -Sez we oth'ners hain't brains! 'Why, Doe, re've got brains 'nough to captureth overnment." "Yes," said the Doctor, "we bad : :nse enough to vote ourselves Into ower, while Abe Hewitt's Yanke ' lemocrats voted themselves ont.:1 render if it occurs to thoseYankeef p there that we South'ners are ontop. ist now-that we are running Con ress?" :"And -that weare the-uation3o-dty* rntinued the Judge, "while the'Ya* ees are only a colony. Why,- our rainy Southern Statesmen have made low tariff for Massachusetts and lennsylvania, put -it through te [ouse, and what Yankee has dared to . top us? Amos Cummings kicked. but re Southerners whipped the rest In.'_ _ 'hen we've got it through the Senate, - yo, and only Col. Brie,,. German, till, and one sugar rete Ie from.. louisiana have dared ,to ask a ques-' on. I tell you brains tell, and.cor outhern men are~running all over the ankees. We've got about15,00,000 eople out of the 65.000,000, but we-are iling the ship. We know how- to ianage, we do." "You get big representation in. Con ress, Judge," I suggested. - "Why, yes, and Hewitt's Yankee. ave it us. It was Yankee votes that owed 30,000 Southern votes to miake Congressman in Mtississippi and 1uisiana, while- it takes 125,000 votes [ewitt's district. Why, we've got onea istrict -in Georgia where 2s,000 smart outhern white men make a Congress- Z ian. The fact is, our Southern states en have got brains enough to run the ' outh and~ whili in enough Yankees acapture the North and -run that, - o. A be Hewitt talking about brains' Vhy, the old Yankee has got corns en is brains and chilblains on his heart, "All out for Athens!" interrupted the 1 onductor, and I had to miss the end f the sentence. EtI PEEKINS. Familiar Phrases. It does not signify much whom one 2arries, as one is sure to find the next oning it was someone elsa.-Samuel togers. Put your trust in God, but be sure to ee that your powder is dry.-Oliver iromwell. --- Life would be quite tolerable if it were ot for its amusement.-Sir George 1 can drive a cosch and six through very act of Parliament.-Danial O'Coni tell. I dislike monkeys; they always remind ae of poor relations.-Henry LuttreL A gi-eat unrecognized incapacity.-Bis aark. Spoken of Napoleon III. Doctrine is nothig but the skin of ruth set up and stuffed.-Beecher. When in Rome do as the Romans do. -St. Ambrose to St. Augustine. Good Americans, when they die, go to ?aris.-Thomas G. Appleton. wot Whatever is worth doing at allswoh toing well.-Chesterfiel. Call no man happy nntil his atdh. solon, spoken to Croesus. - Straws show which way the wind blows. - -John Selden. The English are a nation of' shopkeep rs -Napoleon. Nothing is certain but death and taxes. -Franklin. The sick man of Enrope.-Nicholas I if Russia. I will die in the last ditch.-Wi-am of )range. Save me from my friends.-Marshs1l lilars. hArchitecture is petrified music.-Geo-i% Where there's life, there's hope.-Cice In peace prepare for war.-Wahing. New brooms sweep clean.-aordEldon. A tempest in a teapot.-Montesquieu. We are in the same boat.-CemmI. Corporations have no souls.-Cohe. The nseakale Turk.-arlyvia