Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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t?- mrnrnm??? G/jgggSBB5BKRSBBBBBBBBnBUBtB9RKUBBBBEBBHBGBBB^SSBBi H B S " Bgggg B BB . - . . . . 5 BB , , g BB 3 El-.., - g S -' fHB B BB ? r?f^drf-JgjL_i?JgL^^w^ . ^. VOL. XLVI. WINNSBORO, S. G.. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1889. N0 20 I TALMAGE AT JOPPA. He Preaches a Sermon on "Tin Birthplace of Sewing Societies." The Work of Dorcas and.the Charities mt the Xeedle?What the Woman Did for th^ Poor and Their Sorrow at Her Death. Tiev. T. De Witt Talmage, D. D., preached at Jappa recently to a company of Christian people of various denominations on "The Birthplace of Sewing Societies." He took for his text A'-ts ix. S9: "And all the widows stood by bim weeping, and showing the coats' a:!'l garments which Porcas made while she was with theijaJi-iie preacher said: Cbristians_&f-Joppa! Impressed as I am with your mosque, the first I ever saw, and stirred as I am with the fact ih.-it your harbor once floated the great rafts of Lebanon cedar from which the ?icwples at Jerusalem were builded, Solomon's oxen drawing the logs through this very town on the way to Jerusalem, nothing can make me forget thit this \ Joppa was the birthplace of the setving society that has blessed the poor o.t all succeeding ages in all lands. The dis| astors to your town when Judas MacIk cabaeus set it on fire, and Napoleon had fi v<> hundred prisoners massacred in your n neighborhood, can not make me forget H t'.-ut; one of the most magnificent chariH t ios of the centuries was started in this Jr s 'p.port by Dorcas, a woman with her ji?f die embroidering her name ineffaceaM.v into the bernficertoe of tlie woirld. I see her sitting in yon der home. In the doorway, and around a bout the bufldinjr, and in t'ae room where she sits, are t':* pale faces of the poor. She listens r- 'aeir piaint, sue pities tneir woe, sue . :ukes garments for them, she adjusts the manufactured articles to suit th? bent form of this invalid woman, and to the cripple that comes crawling on his hands and knees. She gives a coat to this one, she gives sandals to that one. With the gifts she mingles prayers and tr-ars and Christian encouragement. Then she goes out to be greeted on the street cornei-s by those whom she has blf-ssed, and all through the street the cry is heard: "Dorcas is coming!" The ?sick look up gratefully in her face is sr?e puts her hand on the burning brow, and tie lost and tSe abandoned start up with hope as they hear her gentle voice, as though an angel had addressed them; * and as she goes out the lane, eyes half put out with sin think they see a halo of lip-ht about her brow, and a trail of eiorv in her nathwav. That nisrht a h?*tl? paid shipwright climbs the hill and reaches home, and sees his little boy well clad, and says: "Where did these clothes come from?" And they tell him: "Dorcas has been here." In another place a woman is trimming a lamp: Dorcas bought the oil. In another place a family that had not been at table for many a week are gathered now, for Dorcas has brought bread. K;it there is a sudden pause "in thai woman's ministry. They say: "Where is Dorcas? Wh^T"t?* haven't seen her for Tnya?K~a day. Where is DorcaS?** And^n? f these poor people goes up "--vCLaiuf -knocks at the door and finds the mystery solved. All through the haunts of wretchedness the news comes, "Dorcas is sick!" No bulletin flashing from the palace gate, telling the stages of a king's disease, is more anxiously awaited -for than the news from this sick benefactress. Alas! for Joppa! there is wailing. wailing. That voice which has ut J~ i ~ J . :>v guccnui vsurua is iiubu.ru, <j that hand which has made so many gar- ii ments for the poor is cold and still; the stir which had poured light into the midnight of wretchedness is dimmed by tho blinding mist that go up from the ^ river of death. In every God forsaken place in this town; wherever there is a sick child and no balm; wherever there is hunger and no bread; wherever there is guilt and no commiseration; wherever there is a broken heart and no comfort, there are despairing looks and streaming eyes, and frantic gesticulation as they cry: "Dorcas is dead!" They send for the Apostle Peter, who happens to bo in the suburbs of that place, stopping with a tanner by the name of Simon. Peter urges his way through the crowd around the door, and stands in the presence of the dead. "What expostulation and grief all about him! Here stand some oi ? ne poor people, wno snow tn8 garments which this poor woman had made for them. Their grief can not he appeased. The Apostle Peter wants to perform a miracle. He will not do it amidst the excited crowd, so he kindly orders the whole room to be clear^pF The door is shut against the popu]$^T The apostle stands now with thread. I), it is a serious moment, ypa^know, whoiyjjou are alone with a lifelesshody! ^^fl?ps|stie gets down_on~his knees and ^^firays, and then he comes to the lifeless '* form of this one all ready for the sepulcher, and in the strength of Him who is the resurrection he exclaims: "Tabitha, arise!" There is a stir in the fountains I o? life: the hoart flutters; the nerves - thrill: the cheek flushes; tho eye opens; [ she sits up! A We see in this subject Dorcas the disH ciplc: Dorcas the benefactress; Dorcas' m the lamented: Dorcas the resurrected. I If I had not seen that word disciple in my text, I would have known this woman was a Christian. Such music as that never came from a heart which i? not chorded and strung by Divine graca. 1U* fore 1 show you the needlework of this woman, I want to show you her regenerated heart, the source of a pure l:f and of all Christian charities. I v. i >h that the wives and mothers and daughters and sisters of all the earth wcuid imitate Dorcas in her discipleship. Jlefore you cross the threshold of the l ] -pital, before you enter upon the . _ tations and trials of to-morrow, I ? ::::! ? you. in the name of God, and by turmoil and tumult of the judgment oh women I that you attend to the ) -st. last and greatest duty of your life i - : a seeking for God and being at i -o with Him. "When the trumpet sound, there will be an uproar, jiud :: wreck of mountain and continent, : .1 no human arm can help you. Amidst ri ;ing of the dead, and amidst the I?? ?i j 4.i^ xji. y\jix\*xzk ckixu. UUIJ.UOU V--lw I.. c; leaping thunders of the fiyiaf heavens, calm and placid Trill be rrerj womanis heart -who hath put her trust in Christ; calm, notwithstanding all th? t;:rr u It, as though the fire in the heaver, s were only the gildingof an autumnal st:nset. as though the peal of tho trumpet were only the harmony of an t o-.-hostra, as though the awful voices of I . sVv were but a group of friends )>>: : : through a gateway at eventide, witii 1::tighter, and shouting, "Dorcas, t <Vsviple.*' Would God that every >;:i-v r.nJ every Martha would this day si: ilorn at the feet of Jesus. Kurthi .-. we see Dorcas the benefactress. History has told the story of the crown; tne epic poet fias sung1 or tne sword; the pastoral poet, with his verses full of the redolence of clover tops, and a rustle with the silk of the corn, has sung the praises of the plow. I tell you the praises of the needle. From the fig leaf robe prepared in the garden of Eden to the last stitch taken on the garment for the poor, the needle has wrought wonders of kindness, generosity, and benefaction. It adorned the girdle of the high priest; it fashioned the curtains in the ancient tabernacle; it cushioned the-chariots of King Solomon; it provided the robes of Queen Elizabeth; and in high places and in low places, by the fire of the pioneer s back log and under the flash of the chandelier, every where, A! /v+V/V^ A U Uwo V/XVOUVU JUOrXV^VLXL^OO, J.U UaO ^i.LaV/U^U the gospel, it has overcome hosts of penury and want with the war cry of "Stitch, stitch, stitch!" The operatives have found a livelihood by it, and through it the mansions of the employer have been constructed. Amidst the greatest triumphs in all ages and lands, I set down the conquest of the needle. I admit its crimes; I admit its cruelties. It has had more martyrs than the fire; it has punctured the eye; it has pierced the side; it has struck weakness into the lungs; it has sent madness into the brain; it has filled the potter's fie d: it has pitched whole armies of the suffering into crime and wretchedness and woe. But now that I am talking of Dorcas and her ministries to the poor, I shall speak only of the charities of the needle. This woman was a representative of all Ijjiose women who make garments for the destitute, who knit socks for the barefooted, who prepare bandages for the lacerated, who fix up boxes of clothing for missionaries, who go into the asylums of the suffering and destitute bearing that gospel which is sight for fcbft blind, and bearino-'for tbfi deaf, and which makos the lame man leap like a hart,-and brings the dead to lifty immortal health bounding in their pilses. What a contrast between the pr^tical benevolence of this woman and-*, great deal of charity of this day! This woman did not spend her time idly planning how the poor of your city of Joppa were to be relieved; she took her needle and relieved them. She was not like those persons who sympathize with imaginary sorrows, and go out in the street and laugh at the boy who has upset his basketof cold victuals, or like that charity which makes a rousing speech on the benevolent platforms, and goes out to kick the beggar from' the step, erying: "Hush your miserable howling." The sufferers of the world want not so much theory as practice'; not so much tears as dollars; not so much kind wishes as ? Af CA TlA 110V1 o C xua > vo vx uicau, xivu ov uiuuu oiuiito m-o sho&s; nc-t so much "God bless yous!" as jackets and frocks. I will put one earnest Christian man, hard working, against -five thousand mere theorists on the subject of charity. There are a errca.t many who have fine ideas abou?_?ktri'ch architecture -who never^jf' "their life helped to build a church. There are men who can give you ..the history of Buddhism and Mohammedanism who never sent a farthing foy'their evangelization. There are wome^d. who talk beautifully about J&9 spf&ring of the world who never had tue courage, like Dorcas, to take the needle and assault it. I am glad that there is not a pasre of fck? TTvxid1? w iiien is not & r6c~ ord of female benevolence. God says to all lands and people, Come now and hear the widow's mite rattle down into the poor box. The Princess of Conti sold all her jewels that she miprht help the fam ine stricken. Queen Blanche, the wife of Louis VJLII., of France, hearing that there were some persons unjustly incar seratea in tne prison, went; out amidst the rabble and.-took a stick and struck the door as a signal that they might all strike it, and down went the prison door and out came the prisoners. Queen Maud, the wife of Henry I., went down amidst the poor and washed their sores and administered to them cordials. Mrs. Retson, at Matagorda, appeared on the battlefield while the missiles of death were flying around, and cared for the wounded. Is "there a man or woman who has ever heard of the civil 'war in America who has-notheard of the women ?f the Sanitary and Christian Commis?ions, or the fact that, before the smoke had gone up from Gettysburg and South Mountain, the women of the North met th? women of the South on the battlefield, forgetting all their animosities while they bound up the wounded, and closed the eyes of the slain? Dorcas the benefactress. I come now to speak of Dorcas the lamented. JWhen death struck .down that goo^- wOman, oh, how much sorrow there fas in this town of Joppa! I suppose there were women here of larger fortunes; women, perhaps, with handsomer faces, but there was no grief at their departure like this at the death of Dorcas. There was not more turmoil and upturning in the Mediterranean Sea, dashing against the wharves of this seaport, than there were surgings to and fro of gTief because Dorcas was dead. There are a great many wjio go out of life and are unmissed. There may bo a very large funeral; there may be a great many carriages and a plumed hearse; there may be high sounding eulogiums; the bell may toll at the cemetery gate; there may be a very fine marble shaft reared over the resting place; but the mholerthing may bo a falsehood and a sham. The' church of God has lost nothing, the world has lost nothing-. It is only a nuisance abated, it is only a grumbler ceasing to find fault; it is only an idler stoppt A yawning; it is only a dissipated fashionable parted from his wine cellar; while on the other hand no useful Christian leaves this world without being missed. The church of God Cries out like the prophet: "How}, 8fe> tree, for the cedar has fallen." Widowhood comes and shows the garment* which the departed had made. Orphan* are lifted up to look into the calm face of the sleeping benefactress. Reclaimed vz.grancy comes and kisses the cold brow of her who charmed it away from sin, ard all through the streets of Joppa there is mourning?mourning because Dorcas is dead. When Josephine of France was carried out to her grave, there were a great momr mon and wnmpn of TtOmr) and pride and position that -went out after her, hut I am most- aiTected hy the story of history that on that day there were ten thousand of the poor of France who followed her^oflin, weeping and wailing Tin til the air rang again, because when they lost Josephine, they lost their last earthly friend. 0, who wuld not rather have such obsequies than all the tears -i -ry "fTl O 1 Q r>"h TTTTTl <3 til it 0 ci c CVCi u\/ uxvv4 ii-i. vuv amvm* that have been exhumed from ancient cities. There may be no mass for the dead; there may he no costly sarcophagus; there may he no elaborate mausoleum; but in the damp cellars of tho city, and through the lonely huts of the mountain glen, there will be mourning, I mourning, mourning, b ecause Dorcas is deacl. "JJl^ssed aje tie dead who die in y the Lord; they rest irom tnelr labor#, and their works do follow them." I speak to you of Dorcas the resurrected. The apostle came to where she was and said: "Arise," and she sat up. In what a "short compass the great writer put that?"She sat up!" 0, what a tii*? there must have been around this town when the apostle brought her out among her old friends! How the tears of joy must have started! What clapping of hands there must have been! What ?.* * ? TT71_ _ X. T V X f 3 i-L - . >> is'd.i? la.ug'jjueri ouuuu x? ?_ < through that lane! Shout it down that dark alley! Let all Joppa hear it! Dorcas is resurrected! You and I have seen the same thing many a time; not a dead body resuscitated, but the deceased coming up agai* after death in the good accomplished. If a man labors up to fifty years of age, serving God, and then dies, we are apt to think that his earthly work is done. No. His influence on earth will con? tinuo till the. world ceases. Services rendered for Christ never stop. A Christian woman toils for the upbuilding of a church through many anxieties, through many self denials, with prayers and tears, and then she dies. It is fifteen years siDce she went away. Now the spirit of God descends upon that church; hundreds of soul a stand up and confess the faith of Christ. Has that ? . v - vurisuaii woman, wug weuuawaj nj-iioca years ago, nothing to do with these things? I see the. flowering out of her noble heart. I hear the echo of her footsteps in all the songs over sins forgiven, in all the prosperity of the church. The good that seemed to be buried lias come up again. Dorcas is resurrected. After awhile all these womanly friends of Christ will put down their' needa.o forever. After -making garments for others, some one will make a garment for them; the last robe w? ever wear?the i robe for the grave. You will have heard the lastory of pain. You will have witnessed the last orphanage. You will have come in worn out from your last round of mercy. I it not know where you will sleep, no* what your epitaph will be; but thera will be a lamp burning at that tomb, and an angel of God guarding it, and through all the night no rude footstep win disturb the dust. Sleep on, sieep i on! Soft bed, pleasant shadows, undi?- j turbed repose! Sleep on! Asleep in Jesus! Blessed sleep! From which. none ever wake to weep. Then one day there will be a sky ronding-, and a whirl of wheels, and th? flash of. a pageant; armies marching, chains clanking, banners waving, thunders booming; and that Chr^tian woman will arise from the dust, and she will b? suddenly surrounded?surrounded by the wanderers of the street whom sh? reclaimed,"surrounded by the wounded souls to whom she had administered! Daughter of God, so strangely surrounded, what means this? It means that reward has come, that the victory is won, that the crown, is ready, that the banquet is spread. Shout it through all the crumbling earth.. Sing it through all the flying heavens. Dorcas is resurrected. In 1855, when some of the soldiers came back from the Crimean war to London, the Queen of England distributed among them beautiful medals, called Crimean medals. Galleries -wore ""ereetgtTTor the two houses of Parliament and the royal family to sit in. There was a great audience to witness the distribution of the medals. A*Colonel who had lost both feet in the battle of Inker-S man, was pulled in on a wheel chair.; others came in limping on their crutches. 'Then the Queen of England arose before them in the name of her government, ?nd uttered words of commendation to the officers and men, and distributed these medals, inscribed with the four great battle-fields, Alma, Balaklava, Inkerman and Sebastopol. As the Queen gave these to the wounded men and the woun d officers, the bands of music ^struck up the national air, and tho people wftb streaming eyes joined in the song: ' God save our gracious queen! Long live our noble queen! God save the queen! i And then they shouted "Huzza! za!" O. it was a nroud dav for those re I turned warriors! But a brighter, better ; and gladder day will come when Christ shair gather those who have toiled In ! his service, good soldiers of Jesus Christ, t He shall rise before them, and in the hpresenceof all the glorified of Heaven ' lie will say: "Well done, good and ; faithful servant!" and then He will disi tribute the medals of eternal victory, not inscribed with works of righteous-, ness which we have done, but with those four great battle-fields, dear to S^rth and dear to Heaven, Bethlehem! Nazareth! Gethsemano! Calvary! ?If people will not be honest in their actions they will grow to be dishonest in their speech. The character that is one of deceit and falsehood will show Itself in words.?United Presbyterian. ? m ? ? ?Education is an ornament in proi perity ana a reiuge in adversity.?AnsTn making boxes three workes can do the work of thirteen. Are We Going to Make It. The cotton crop of the State, as r?- j turned by the.State Department of Agri- . curare for 1888, -was 558,642 bales. ( The report for this year puts the crop at 030,000. This would indicate some ] 72,000 bales in excess of last year. We ] fcur this-estimate will not be realized. A | ?rcat deal of the late cotton still hangs in ;he field without opening. How much <>f t!:is fruit will came to cotton it is im- ( possible to say. We bear in many directions complaints about cotton not open- ; ing- It may be that these bolls may j nerer.come to cotton. - i All things considered, we do not look | to see the cotton crop of this State for the pn-.H-ut year exceed that of the last by tsvti- than 5 per cent., amounting to j 27.432, which would make the crop of 'he year some 586,000, instead of 630,- , 000. as previously estimated. And yet, if the bolls that are now in the field come t > cotton, the estimate of the State depa-: ment might prove rather lower than ?h vt- the fact. Our experience teache311 us, however, that many of these bolls are 1 chilled beyond all hope of redemption. This has been a very peculiar year for the cotton crop. There have been so many interrupting incidents occurring to a partially late, but exceedingly promising, crop at one time, that it is not singular that the correspondents should be somewhat confused in their estimates. Under these circumstances the federal . bureau has declined to make any estimate of the possible crop. We are glad our State department has given us its best judgment with all the facts it could gather. It will not be discreditabl? to our department should its estimate not be reached. At the time of the estimate nobody could foresee the nipping frost nor yet the strange fact that apparently good fruit hangs on in the fields without opening.?Columbia Register. JEFFERSON DAVIS. INTERESTING REMINISCENSE3 BY AN INTIMATE FRIEND. Some IntereKiinz Dentil:* of His Home Life?The Beauty of Beanvoir?A Most Remarkable Man. Atlanta Constitution. Oo the way to the Southern Forestry Congress in February, 1S87, I found I had a day's leisure, and it occurred to me to accept an often repeated invitation +<-> wioif Mr Tiatric nf Roflncnir MifiS . a railroad station about half way between Mobile and New Orleans. It chanced that I bad been on the committee which escorted him to Montgomery in 18G1,. and our relations becnme somewhat intimate during the war, continuing without interruption to tbis time. In the afternoon thy train left me at the little depot, which is also the local post^fiice?the ex-Preside&t beiog the chief patron. A young Englishman in the service of Mr. Davis politely guided me over the devious country road to the family residence, half a mile distant. THE BUILDINGS AT BEAUVOIE form quite a group, having been built at considerable cost for a luxurious Southern home. Situated on a bij>h bluff of rohirp e*nri ahnnt >1 hundred vards from " W*VV - ? ? ? J ? ~ J ? the Mexican gulf, blown over by the salt sea breeze, it must be a healthy place. The soil seems incapable of producing anything but the superb live oaks, magnolias and pines, which shade ; the grounds of^ aoout fifty acres. Ail the buildings are of wooeJ-one-story, and slate covered?the principal one is quite capacious, containing probably ten rooms, with lofty ceilings and all handsomely frescoed. A very wide hall runs through the center and a broad varanda surround? the whole. On either side, some fifty yards distant, are cottages of similar design, in one of which is Mr. Davis's office and reference library, his j daughter's studio (Miss Davis is a fine i artist) and a sleeping room. The other cottage is an "overflow" guest chamber buildings; a cluster of outhouses huddle in the rear. All the houses are painted -white and show pleasantly under the eYergreen foliage. Soon after sending in my card THE VENERABLE EX-PRESIDENT greeted me with hearty eordiality, and it was gratifying to notice that this re; markable man still retained the dignified bearing, high courtesy and gentle manner of the "old south." That this man, now about eight, conspicious in the Black Hawk, Seminole and Mexican wars, secretary of war under Pierce, United States senator from Mississippi; for two term*, president of the confederate States during the greatest conflict of -J -s : z? . J modern nine, siaie prisoner in a usuip case mate of Fortess Monroe for two years, could, during all the stress which must have pressed upon him, still retain his erect carriage, wonderful memory and accurate knowledge of current events is beyond my comprehension. Drawing some restful chairs to the parlor windows, through which came the soft gulf breeze, I had the happiness of a free conversation with, I think, the greatest man I ever kDew. Many tender m-mories of personal ioterest were re-w called and many historic points discussed. With the exception of John C. Calhoun, Mr. Davis is THE MOST INTERESTING TALKER I ever met. I suppose he ia the only man living who knows, and remembers ac curately the inner history of the confederacy. In speaking of the Blackhawk, Seminole and Mexican wars, he related many interesting incidents, and mentioned the singular fact that all the commands in the Mexican war were from the south, as Scott of Virginia, Taylor of Louisiana, Worth of North Carolina, Briggs of Georgia, Pillow of Tennessee, Quitman of Mississippi, besides Bragg, Davis, Butler and others who held subordinate positions. Quitman, however, was born in the north. I asked him who he thought was the; greatest confederate commander. After some thought be said General Lee. .Explaining that Albert Sidney Johnson wa3 undoubtedly the equal of Lee, but having fallen eariy in the war, be had no opportunity to demonstrate bis great capabilities. After these two he men tioned StODewall Jackson, J. E. Johnston, Gordon, Longstrest, Stewart, the Lees, the Hills and many others. I asked him whom he considered the greatest union general. He answered un-. hesitatingly?McClellan. Said he was ; an intense union man and he respected him as such, but that he fell under un-: just suspicion at Washington?for political reasons?and confusion ensued. When secretary of war, Mr. Davis had sent McClellan to survey the bay of Samana, in St. Domingo, with the hope of securing a harbor and coaling Btation in the West Indies for the United States navy. His map and report are now on file in Washington. The work was so well done that he detailed him to visit St. Petersburg to report upon the military establishments of Russia. In twelve months he submitted exhaustive reports and also translated a technical work, which is "now in the war office at Washington. HE SPOKE EiKDLY and appreciatively of many northern generals, saying General Grant was a a;ood man and a great general, who came to the front when the confederacy wat exhausted, he also spoke in the most kindly way of President Lincoln who, if his.life had been spared, would have been of great service to the soutS and the whole country. Mr. Davis inquired if I was in Rich oaona aunng tne beven a ays' Dattief Yes I was a member of the Southern Baptist convention, and remembered hearing the guns, and while we expected the federal army any day, there was no bitterness manifested, but special prayers were offered for the enemy and for the protection of the homes and people of t the south. I aiked Mr, Davis if he remembered Dur conversation about a plan for the. GRADUAL EMANCIPATION OF THE NEGROES. Yes, he recollected every detail. He cordially approved of it, and showed the difference between hi^-plaa and mine (this was in the autumn of 1SG4) and requested me to ride.dowc to Drury's bluff and confer with General Lee. I did so, and found that General Lee heartily approved of the plans. Owing to the danger of riding fourteen miles back to Richmond in the dark General Lee compelled me to sleep in his tent?a very embarrassing position for me?because he would make me sleep on his cot while he slept id his blankets on the ground. | The matter was submitted to congress j in a special message, and the scheme was defeated, chiefly through Hon. R M. T. Hunter, of Virginia, on the ground that the withdrawal of so maoy able-bodied ! 'ivts (40,000 at first) woo were to be j freed upon joioing the army would i probably leave the menjp the field with- j ut provisions. ' that Captain Hurry Jackson offered to I raise a regiment of negroes in Georgia to fight for tbeir freedom. I spoke of my | I embarassment in accepting Genera i -Lee's hoi-pitalitv. He said Lee was ! right, as it would have been hazzardou to return to Richmond after dark, and : mentioned two armus'Dg instances of his : being arested while inspecting the ; lines near Richmond. The ex-president remembered my GOIXG TIinOUGII TUE BLOCKADE i to England and France, partly at his : instance to meet the confederate commis: sinners, recalled our conversation in his< i library just before I left, and was -very | mnch interested in my account of a long I interview with the late Lord Derby and - otner memoers 01 parnment, id wuicu i ; Lord Derby assured me that if he had j been in power the confederacy would j have been recognized soon after the seven i dajs battle before Richmond. (Palmarj stoQ was then prime minister.) After I parliament opened I went with Mr. Mason j to Paris and met Mr. Slidell and Mr. i Mason, and explained the plan for gradj ualjemancipation- The three commis| sioq^ra agreed that if our plan could j have been carried out the confederacy | would have at once been recognized. I i mentioned this simply to show the fore! thought of Mr. Davis. All this seemed to interest Mr. Davis, ! because I never reported after my return ! in 1865. The confederacy was in ruins, j the president in a case mate at Fortress I Monroe and nearly all my property desj troyed. Our conversation lasted until | about 11 p. m., when Mr. Davis insisted ! upon escorting me to the cottage where I | was to sleep. A fierce storm swept over | the gulf that night, and the thunder of I the waves on the beech recalled to my excited imagination the bombardment of Atlanta iu 'G4, with a comfused idea of Long Branch and Biaritz on the bay of Biscay. By a fortunate chance the 'DAUGHTER OF THE CONFEDERACY" (Varina Anna Davis?"Miss Winnie'') returned from her triumphal visit in the north during the night, bringing two of her friends with her. I had seen Miss Davis but once, when she was an infant in the autumn of '64, and found it difficult to realize that this tall, handsome, highly accomplished young woman was the, little child I bad seen in Richmond. I cfo not remember having met a finer or more charming young woman that Varina A. Davis, (named for her ' mother.) j During my stay at Beauvoir I could j but notice that among all classes Mr. and i Mrs. and Miss Davis were universally beloved and respected, which, of course, i was only natural, as a more gentle, high ! bred and benevolent family I never knew. T orroTT O PflMlK XJcVl ipVl I *4 U- UUqUL & TT ?J I* UJLVAJVUU V/MVWMW > wtvwj 'at this writing, promises to develop iDto a fine plant in ourL. P.Grant park. THE BEAUTIES OF BEACY0ER. I think Beauvoir is "one of the most charming and restful places in the world ?to visitors.. I can, however, easily imagln that it may become monotonous to the household during the winter month?, when the friends and families from the city who have cottages on the gulf return home in the autumn, ancl only casual friends, and an endless procession of strangers?curiosity people?call at the plactj and overrun the grounds and the residence, occasionally claiming hospitality which the slender-esources of Beauvoir can hardly meet. Beauvoir house is an interesting historical locality. Ship island is directly to the south, about five miles from the shore; It was on the landward side that i de Bienville assembled his fleet when he 3 took command of the French possessions ] and founded Bilosie?once the branch 1 seat of government, five miles east of < Beauvoir. At this island Packingham 1 gat'neredh is ships before hia disastrous < campaign against New Orleans. Again 1 it was it this point that the fleet of Gen- ] eral Butler rendezvoused before he occupied New Orleans, It is now a quar- i antine station for Mobile and New Or- i leans. That this extraordinary man, after a life of unprecedented vicisitude, often of j seyere hardship, carrying on his person ^ an incurable wound received at Buena t Vista, and the marks of the manacles at < Fortress Monroe, should have lived so r long and retained such wonderful vitality, passes my comprehension, but this, ' from my more recent ^association with the family, I attribute largely to the lov- | ing and judicious care of one of the noblest of women?Mrs. Yarina Howell j uavis. i can recan dui iew women who have been so affectionafe and sensible as the lady bountiful of Beauvoir, ilRS. JEFFERSON DAVIS. Mrs. Davis is of Welch [extraction?ap Howell, a grand daughter of Governor Howell of ISfew Jersey, who was a fast friend of Washington. She was born in Yicksburg about 1S26 the daughter of a large planter in the famous, Yazoo bottoms, Married Mr. Davis forty-three years ago, they settled the now celebrated Brierfield plantation?a large island in the Mississippi river at Davis Bend, below Yicksburg. The place was so called because of the luxuriant tangle of briers which the rich soil produced. There they build a beautiful home and planted the magnificent live ( oaks which are now the pride of the s neighborhood. Mr. Davis had previous- r ly married a daughter of ex-President Zachary Taylor. During my visit we ] again reviewed our plans of '03 for the jj gradual emancipation of the negro. I do i not know what the future hitorian may r say, for the history of the confederacy ( is yet to be written, but I do konw that Mr. Davis, General Lee, and many other prominent people of the south, favored it, and that a bill was introduced- in the } confederate congress to that effect. ] Mr. Davis kindly, in describing t THE BATTLE OF BUENA VISTA, t t said that when they moved out to meet the enemy, they were uncertain about his | numbers or position. General Taylor bad about 1.200 men, andthey soon ascertain- 1 ed that they were opposed by 8,000 of c the flower of the Mexican army, com- I manded by Santa Anna in person! The . situation was perilous. Colonel Davis \ obtained thi! consent of General Taylor, to lead his Mississippi rifles through a ra vine, thus flanking the enemy's position, ( which led to the confusion and rout which finally ensued. He said there wa3 no ill ^ feeling between him and General Taylor ^ about his first marriage. He married ( with the general's consent, although the latter could not be present. He mention- 2 ed the kindness of ex-President Pierce, ^ who visited him during his confinement ( in the fort, and wbe generously offered j him a home for life when released. He , had a high regard for Mr. Pierce; said he j was a very able man, and that bis was j the only administration in the history of ( the country during which there was no r change in the cabinet. j This unstudied memorandum about } friends whom I love is written to pre- < serve recollections which even in time ( may become dim in my memory. , Sidxet Root. , t ? A STARTLING DISCOVERY. | Tbe Body of a Dead Man Found in a Barrel at Winston. Winston (N. C.) Sentinel. j Last Saturday night, about the soli emn hour of 12, a belated negro 'possum hunter passed near the bridge of the Wilkesboro extension railroad in North Winston. What was his horror when he saw, by the dim light of a bull's-eye lantern, four men digging with spades what seemed to him a grave. He stayed | not on the order of his going, but went i quickly at a 2:40 gait. 'r,L- ?L ?^Kio n fl/rrA I Lie LIOAO uiuiuiu^ IUIO uvjjiv, vvuulike, went with some friends to tt?e spot. They dug; they foutJ; what? It was a kerosene barrel, and it. it were the remains of a dead man. The report soonspread, and the mystery promised to develop into a second Maxwell-Preller horror. Black negroes got three shades lighter, and their lips quivered and their eyes bulged as they told their terrible tale. But by Sunday night the mystery was solved. The body was that of the negro murderer, Bill Houston, who was hanged in Winston on July 18, 1888. After the body bad been partially <JEssected by physicians, they had it buried. Some days ago a young medical student, who wished the skeleton, supposiog all the flesh decayed, went to dig him up, and it was this that ga?e the 'possum hunter the shivers. The body, however, was almost as firm as it was when buried. It was placed close to a branch, and the overflows had covered the body deep with sand. This sand bad preserved the body, and when the medical student found it In this condition he interred it again, to be found by the 'pos sum hunter in the morninf. The authorities took the body and bad it properly interred. It is a remarkable coincidence that Bill Houston was caught by Policeman Meroney hiding in a thicket only a few feet from where his body was afterwards buried. Yanderbilt'a North Carolina Falace. The Asheville (N. C.) Citizen publishes ail interesting interview with Mr. J. Gall, Jr., the superintendent of the improvements on the splendid estate recently purchased near that city by Mr. W. K. Yanderbilt, of New York. The palace to be erected will be 300 feet long, and the superstructure will be of Indiana limestone, which is of a beautiful fawn color. The foundations will be made oi the stone taken out of Mr. Vanderbilt's own quarries. Also the material for the walls of the esplanade or plateau, on which the house will be built, will be obtained from the same quarries. These walls will be forty feet high in some places, and the esplanade will | extend some five or six hundred feet ! in either direction, presenting the point of the diamond shaped plateau to the French Broad. The palace, which is to be built on this plateau, will not be begun until next spring. Then excavations are to be begun and the foundations laid. Two towers have already been erected on the site 1 of the house. These are just the height of the first story of the build* ing, and by means of these can be seen what the view will be from the house itself, and the grading can be done accordingly. All the forests which have been cut down will be re? j 3tored. The trees which will be planted will be evergreens of various kinds, ' mostly white pines. Xhe idea is to afford a pleasant winter view. It is . intended ultimately to have a nursery, from which can be supplied the trees , needed on the estate. The laying of i: the foundation for three stables for sattle has been commenced. Tney trill be arranged according to the lat- : sst sanitary ideas, and the water wil ' De led to them by pipes. She cattll fvill be stall fed- Altogether, Mr Vanderbilt's palace and its surroundngs promise to surpass anything ever seen in the South. The Elections by the Legislature. At this session of the General Assembly there will be several electioos, the j irst in importance being that of judgea i .0 succeed Judge Pressley in the First i Circuit and Judge Aldrich in the Second. * a . -n 1 ? Lne mantle 01 juage jrressiey win iu an jrobability fall on the worthy shoulders )f General James F- Izlar, as there ap- i jears to be no opposition whatever to his ! ilection. For the Second Circuit judgeship, ( jowever, there is to be an active and iveiy contest. Judge Maher, of Bam- : yell county; James Aldrich, of Aiken, ind General J. W. Moore, of Hampton, ill strong and popular men, are in the ield, and each of them has a good fol- j owiner. The next important fight will be for I ilailrrad Commissioners. The present joard, viz: Governor Bonham, Colonel ' 3. P. Duncan and E. P. Jervey, Esq., j ire all candidates for re-election, having is their opponents J. W. Smith, of < Charleston, at present master mechanic j )f the South Carolina railroad; W. A. 1 3oyle, of Charleston; R. N. Gentry, of ( Barnwell; R. "Mays Cleveland, of Greenrille; N. B. Dial, of Laurens, and D. H. J Salley, of Aiken. < For Commissioner of Agriculture, Colonel A. P. Butler, the present able 1 tnd popular inCumbent, seems to have ( io opposition. ] Two new members of the Penitentiary 3oard are to be chosen in the place of '< tlessra. Sarratt and Sanders; whose terms ' lave expired, but no names have been 5 nontmn?/1 Go T7o*- f r\r tViocf* rinei frinn s 1 UVU klVUCU uy J vw 4V? vuvww Columbia Register. ' Indignant Veterans. ' The War Veterans' Association of king's County have sent President ] lairison a long letter, detailing that hey are very much dissatisfied witji 1 he action in reference to standing by he old war veterans in matters of ap jointment and reinstatements to < ormer positions from -which they were ] emoved. They say: "JNo war veteran >f Brooklyn has been appointed to any ] >osition of prominence in New York. J democrats are kept in the best places { n the navy yard,, while more skiHed ( Republicans walk the street idle; so it s in the custom house and appraiser's I lepartment. There are four Demo- * :ratic assistant appraisers, inexperienced men, appointed by Cleveland < rom Brooklyn, still kept in office, * vhile expert war veterans?men who 5 lid noble service for yonr election?are ? ret unrecognized. Our comrade, Harry i. Phillips, now being persecuted by ] he interior department, is especially < lear to every veteran in King's County. 1 '.{the administration keeps on in the ;ame direction for an other year we will 1 lot have a Republican in Congress 1 lext vear. nor another legislative officer elected from King's County. < rhe general indignation is rising to a < eaiful height./It is now time for a 1 aew deal and ffcr some respect to be i shown to the fank and file, the workers, who cari# the elections, and the war veterans, who carry help and are billing to wcfrk" '"id. ' . THE STATE LEGISLATURE. I HIGH LICENSE AND LOW SAL| ARIES. A Batch ol Bills?A Cbnntre in * Usury Law. The motto of the present Legislature seems to be high license and low salaries. The House has passed to third reading a bill to charge a State J license of $500 for each barroom. There is now a county license of $100 and a United States license of $25?This will either leave a vers small license for for the cities and towns or else it will break the barrooms. Jj^The bill for the regulation of marrages passed the House on Saturday and was ordered engrossed. The economists are in control. The bill for the reduction of official salaries went through the House by a vote of 56 to 38. The following is the vote whereby the House passed to its third reading the bill to reduce the salaries of public officers: Yeas?Arnold, Austell, Iiean> Bowsii, Broyles, Bryd, Cleveland, Cobb, Cooper, Connor, Davis, Dukes, John Gary Evans, W. D. Evans, Fowler, Pox, Eagene B. Gary, Glenn. Gold, Harden, John R. Harrison, Howard, Hunter, Irby, Jackson, Jenkins, B, J. Johnson, J.. M. Johnston, Lancaster, Miller, Morrison, Moseley. McDanial, McKissick, Peurifoy, A, C. Sanders, A: N. Sanders, Shaw, Smith, Stanland, Stepp, Strom, Tindal, Thompson, Turner, Yandiver, Wallace, Waller, Watson, Wharton, Whitmire, Wilborn, Williams, Yela dell and Zimmerman?56. Jzjz?The Speaker, Adams, AlTV 1_1 -r> - i T> d. T>..i uriou, x>auucy, x?jEs.w;r, xwnet, i>oa.uwright, Brawley, Britton. Canon, Cappelman, Causey, Cbilds, Dantzler, Ficken, F. C. Fishburne, W, J. Fishbnrne, Guess, Haskell, Hazard, Heyward, Hughes, Jenny, Lee, Maher. Meares, Moses, McCrady, McHugh, McKinstry, Nettles, O'Brien. Plowden. Raysor, Seegers, Tupper, Washington and Wilson?38. The bill provides the following sala? ries: Governor $3,000, mow |3,500; secretary of State $1,850, now $2,100; State treasurer $2,100, no change; comptroller general $2,100, no change, superintendent of education $1,850, now $2,100; commissioner of agriculture $1,850, now $2,100; adjutant general $1,200, now $1,500; attorney general $1,850. now $2,100; assistant attorney general $1,200, now $1,500; State librarian $500, now $600; superintendent of the penitentiary $1,850, now $2,100; physician of the penitentiary $1,200; now $1,500; Governor's private secretary $1,200,. now $1,500; Governor's messenger $350; keeper of State House grounds $300 now $500; chief clerks of secretaryjof State, comptroller general, commissioner of Agriculture. superintendent of penitentiary, each $1,200, now $1,500; three clerks of State treasurer each $1,500 no change, bookkeeper comptroller rvAnAi?ol CjI OAA utATTf ^v_<iavjLxivyy WCIA. vi pension department, superintendent of education and adjutant and inspector general $1,000, now $1,200. The salaries of employees are similarly reduced. . The saving proposed to be effected is about $6,000. Its fate in the senate remains in doubt. The two elements for and against retrenchment are very evenly divided in the Senate. The House passed, after an animated debate a usury bill making the rate of interest 1 per cent except on contract when interest shall not evceed 8 per cent. The first bill which passed, both houses was one which provided that co railroad should change its rates or schedule without publishing a notice of same at least three days before such changes. Other bills introduced are the. following: By Mr. Nettles, to provide a more efficient system of working the public roads. By Mr. Watson, to repeal the coneoaled weapons law. * By Mr. McHugh. to provide for the administration of the estates of insolvent debtors. By Mr. Gary Evins, to exempt from taxation all rtronertv of comranies en gaged in the manufacture of cotton bagging from fibres grown within the State. By Mr. J. D. Harrison, to impose a tax on dogs. Taxes them $1 each and gives the money to the schools. By. Mr. Edens, to prevent the sale of pistols, pistol cartridges, dirks, daggers, slingshots and metal knuckles without a license from the Clerk of Court. By Mr. Raysor, reducing the privilege tax on fertilizers from twenty-five ;ents to ten cents a ton. By. Mr. Zimmerman, joint resolution proposing an amendment to the Constitution abolishing the homestead law. By. Mr. Hazard, to regulate the taxation of building and loan associations [It provides that those association shall not be required to return for taxation their capital stock or securities, but that the shares of stockhollers shall be taxable in the hands of the holders. By Mr. Raysor, to amend the law relating to violation of contracts. By Mr. Tupper, of Charleston, a bill to prohibit children under 14 years of ige in manufactories. The presidents )f thirteen cotton mills in all sections )f the State were present. Speeches ivere made by Messrs. Barnwell, of Charleston; Roddy, of Rock Hill; Con* 7erse, of Spartanburg; Smythe and ETamrnett. of Greenville, and Barrett. }f Langley. Mr. Tupper requested the committee to hold the bill till the mill )peratives could be heard from. The probability is that the bill -will be un'avorably "reported. Mr: Haskell, to provide for the relemption of that part of the State debt . mown as the BrowD consol bonds and >tocks, by the issue of other bonds and stocks. By Mr. Dantzler, amending the Act providing for the establishment of Separate school districts in the cities, ;owns and villages of the State. By Mr. Evans, to amend the law as :o fees of physicians and surgeons testifying as experts in criminal cases. By Mr. Buchanan, to amend the Code of Procedure so as to allow the question of fraud or no fraud to be der termined by a judge in cases of arrest andbail. By Mr. Edens, to prohibit trusts and punish persons connected therewith. By Mr. Thompson, concurrent resolution requiring the comptroller gen era! to extend the time for tos collec' tioii of taxes until February 1,1890. THE FAEMEBS' CATJCUiS. " The final caucus of the farmers' movement members of the Legislature was he^d in Agricultural Hail at 5 o'clock Thursday afternoon, and the last touches were put to the plan of the bill which is to establish the Clemsoc College, absorb the agricultural department and reduce the scope of the University. The preparation of the bill was entrusted io Representative W. C. Benet, of Abbeville. The" bill has since been introduced in the House. The title of the bill is; *'A bill to provide lor building and maintaining the Clemson Agricultural College of South Carolina." Section 1 provides that one-half of the agricultural land scrip, fund heretofore vested in the board of trustee# of the University of South Carolina be vested in the board of trustees of the Clemson Agricultural College. This half amounts to $5,700. Section 2 provides that an annual grant of the $15,000, commonly known as the Hatch bill fond, be vested in the board of trustees of the Clemson Agricultural College. This money now goes to the three experiment stations. Section 3 provides" that all moneys _ collected by the sinking fund commit*'' tee in addition to money now on hand, ' collected during the fiscal year ending October 31,1885, be disposed of in the ~ ^ same manner. This money is, bylaw, devoted now to the reduction of the / State debtSection 4 provides that three-fifths of the privilege tax on fertilizers, in addition to the amount now in the hands of the agricultural department, shall go to the Clemson College. The privilege tax yielded last year $33,000, and the amount now on hand is $23,304.98. This money is by law devoted to the maintenance of the agricultural department, the expenses of making fertilizer analyses, the supervision of the phosphate interests and the collection of royalty, the aid of the State r air, ana ocner use purposes. Section 5 provides for the control ' and disposition by the trustees of the Clemson College of three agricultural experiment stations established under the Hatch bill, the retention of the Darlington station and the sale of the the station properties at Columbia and Spartanburg, the proceeds going to th'3 Clemson College. Section 6 provides for the furnishing by the penitentiary board of a force of convicts, not to exceed fifty at one time, to assist in erecting the Clemson College buildings. STUCK TO HKTPOST AND DIED; Destruction or a Newspaper Offic? at Minneapolis? A Telesrraph Operator's Last Message on the Wi.rr?. |?<a&-^|| ^ The Minneapolis TribunS'office was burned the other night, and from ten to twenty people lost their lives. Shortly after 11 o'clock portion of the wall on Fourth street fell and a number of persons are believed to have been buried underneath. Five men, mere or less injured, have been taken into a drug store in the vicinity of the fire, and three others have just been carried into a restaurant near by. ' Th e Tribune building is on the northeast corner of First avenue and Fourth streets There were nearly one hundred persons employed on the seventh floor, where the fire broke out. Among the killed was Mr- James F. Igoe, the Associated Press telegraph operator, who was on the seventh floor. On this floor was situated many of the Tribune stall, editors, reporters and compositors. The only body yet identified is that of John Olsen, a merchant, who had J gone to the. composing rooms to see " f . about "position" for an "ad." He / jumped from the top ffoor and was killed instantly, his body being shock- > ingly mangled. Seven bodies have hftfin alrfi^v nnt. Knf. nn tonrtk nam.es are yet known. The Pioneer Press (Minneapolis) fores were on the sixth ficcr, and some leare are enter ijained regarding their safety. How 3ver? the meat cf the less of life seems to have been in another part of th? building. The fire .started in a law office on the third stoiy of the building, about 10.30. The elevator man noticed the smell of smoke and called the attention of some of the persons around the buidling to it. The cry of fire was raised, and several persons went down stairs irom the seventh story to investigate and then returned. Before long the smoke be* gan to fill the narrow stairway, the only one in the building, and every. body began to make leisurely preparations to depart. No immediate danger was feared, and the only exits from vthe building, which were supposed to be fireproof, were a narrow staircase wide enough for two persons to come down abreast, the elevator, and a single fire-escape at _ the nprth end of the structure. Several / persons had made their escape in the / meantime, but in less than ten minutes the flames sought the elevator shaft,' which, acting as a mammoth flue, conveyed the flames to the top story, and ' * soon the editorial rooms on the same siide of Ihe buildine where the fire originated, were a "seething mass of flames. In a few minutes the fire reached the other side, where the com? posing room was situated. A general alarm was turned in and all the engines in the city Responded to the call. The imprisoned printers fathered at the windows in the south end and shrieked wildly and despairingly for aid. "Hurry the ladders!" was the awful cry. "Hufry the ladders, for God's sake*" shrieked the men with all the vehe- ' mence they could muster. The vast crowd witnessing the awful sight shouted back words of encouragement. The leng ladders seemed tp move up at a snail's pace, but waa finally rested in position, and the terrified men began to descend, the flames making steady encroachments upon the corner into which Mav Tift/? driven. Tiie life nets were brought into use, and some were saved in this way. The sparks were flying in all directions, and adjoining buildings, occupied by the Ideal Restaurant, Steam & Van Winkle's saloon, and McCrystle's tailor store, were destroyed. The Tribune building was eight years Id, a seven-story brick structure, valued at ?200,000. Milton Pickett, in charge of the Minneapolis office of the Pioneer Press, ia 0nr?w/N0f A M OUJjyjJWOt'U WV 1VOU W. E. Mylee, the agent of the Associated Pressj was among the killed 1 ?? * In the manufacture of carriages it V used to take one man thirty-five days ^ to make & carriage] It can now be xmade in twelve days.