University of South Carolina Libraries
CSS ? r r ww *-rcxm-vr.-ar?r UNFAILING FRIENDS A SERMON FULL Or THE BREATH Or THE FIELDS. Showing How the Atcachrner-r of Siajsz Tor ? -- ' ' -J..!- TO Ruth Wrh fail oj ljujius ? the Church oT Gcocl la All Ages. Washington, April li>.?'The sermon of Dr. Talmage "which we sent out today could not have been prepare! by any one not born in the country, it is full of the breath of the fields. The text is Rata ii, ' !, "And she went and came and gleaned in the field after the reapers, and her hap was to light on a part of the field belonging unto Boaz, who was of the kindred of Elhnelech." The time that Iluth and Naomi arrive at Bethlehem is harvest time, it was the custom when a "heaf fell from a load in the barv--* ^-'-3 ? ~ .A m Either it CSC nciu AUI" LU\; iCciuwiJ ^ up. That was to be left for the poor who might happen to come along that war. 1f there were handfuls of grain scattered across the field after the main harvest had been reaped, instead of raking it. as farmers do now, it was by the custom of the land left in its place, so that the poor coming along that way might glean it and get their broad. But you say. "What is the use of all these harvest fields to Ruth and Naomi-.' Naomi is too old and feeble to go out and toil in thy sun, and can you expect that Ruth, the young and the beautiful, should ran her cheeks and blister her hands in the harvest field?" Boaz owns a large farm, and lie goes out to see the reapers gather in the grain. Coming there right behind the swarthy, sun browned reapers, he beholds a beautiful woman gleaning?a woman more fit to bend to a ha'-p or sit upon a'throne than to stoop among the c^ao^oa that was an eventful day! It was lore at first sight. Boaz forms an attachment for the womanly gleaner?an attachment full of undying interest to the church of God in all ages, while Kuth: with an ephah, or nearly a bushel of barley, goes home to Naomi to tell her the successes and adventures of the day. That Ruth who left her native land of Moab in darkness and traveled, through an undying ;.ftect:on for her mother-in-law, is in the harvest field of Boaz, is aSanced to one of the best families in Judah and becomes in aftertime the ancestress of Jesus Christ, the Lord of glory. ^ dawn V/Ul, Wl ?0 Uiti IV ?v- - w . so bright a morning? I learn, in the first place, from this subjec; how trouble develops character. It-was bereavement, poverty and exile that developed, illustrated and announced to all ages the sublimity of Ruth's character. Tiiat is a very unfortunate man who has no trouble. It was sorrow that made John Banyan the better dreamer, and Dr. Young the better poet, and 0'Cop~?':! the better orator, and Bishop Hall thv, better preachcr. and Ilavethe hetrer soldier, and Kitto the better encyclopedist, and Ruth the better daughter-in-law. I once asked an aged man in regard to his pastor, who vras a very brilliant man, "Why is it that your pastor, so very brilliant, seems to have so little heart aad tenderness in his sermons?" ''Weil," he replied '-the reason is that our pastor has never had any trouble. When misfortune comes upon hitn, his style "will be different." After awhile the Lord took a child out of -hat pastor's house, and, though the preacher was just -.-no nil K-irmr'h. Ui.UiIAUl, <J.S nv O.O vwviv, V?.? , the tenderness of his discourse ! The fact is that trouble is a great educator. You sec sometimes a musician sit down at an instrument, and his execution is cold and formal and unfeeling. The reason is that all his life he has been prospered. But let misfortune or bereavement come to that man. and he sits down at the instrument, and you discover the pathos in the first sweep of the keys. Misfortune and trials are great educators. A young doctor comes into a sickroom where there is a dying child. Perhaps he is very rough in his prescription, aad very rough in his manner, and rough in the feeling of the pulse, and rough in his answer to the ? mother's anxious question. Cut years roll on, ana there has been one dead in his own house, and now he conies into the sickroom, and -with tearful eye he looks at the dying child, and he says, "Oh, how this reminds me of my Charlie!" Trouble, the great educator. Sorrow?I see its touch in the grandest painting; I hear its tremor in :ke sweetest song; I feel its power in the might lest. argument. Grecian mythology said that the fountain of Hippocrene "was struck out by the foot of the winged horse Pegasus. I" have often noticed in life that the brightest and most beautiful fountains of Christian comfort and spiritual life have been struck tut by the iron shod hoof of disaster ana calamity. I I see Daniel's courage best by the Sash of Nebuchadnezzar's furnace. I see Paul's process best -when I nnd him on the foundering ship under the glare of the lightning in the breakers of Melita. God crowns his children amid the howling of wild beasts and the chopping of blood splashed guilltine and the crackling Sres of martyrdom. It took the persecutions of Marcus Aurelius to develop Polycarp and Justin Martyr. It took all the hostilities against the Scotch Convenanters and the fury rvrT.nrf? PKwIkww fn develor> James Ren wick and Andrew Melville and Hugh McKail, the glorious martyrs on Scotch history. It took the stormy sea, and the December blast, and the desolate New England coast, and the War-whoop or savages, to show forth j the prowess of the pilgrim fathers? When amid the sterms they sang. And the stars heard, and the sea, And the sounding aisles of the dim wood Rang io the anthems of the ;ree. It took all our past national distresses and it takes all our present national sorrows to lift our nation on that high career vnere i it will march long after the foreign aristocra- j cies that have mocked and tyrannies that i have jeered shall be swept down under the omnipotent wrath, of God*, -who hates despotism, and vrho, by the strength of his own red right arm', will make all men free. And so it is individually, and in the family, and in the church, and in the world, thai, through darKness and storm and trouble, men women, chnrches nations, are developed. Again, i see la my test tiie oeauty or unfaltering friendship, I suppose there wer^ plenty of friends for Naomi while she was in prosperity, but of all her acquaintances how many were willing to trudge o?' with her toward Judah when she had to make that lonely journey? One, the heroine of my text. One, absolutely one. I suppose when Naomi's husband was living, and they had plenty of money, anJ ail things went well, they had a great many callers, but I suppose that after her husband died, and her property went, and she got old aud poor, she was not troubled very much with callers. All me j birds that sung in the bower Tfhilc the sun i shone have gone to their nests, now the night I has fallen. Oh, these beautiful snowflowers that J spread out their color in the morning hour! But they aro always asleep when the sun j is going down! Job had plenty of friends j when he was therichest man in Uz, but when j his propeny -went and the trials came, then i there were none so much that pestered as! Vl?r\na-/ trio TVti q tm ;?>n 1 and Zophar the >vaamathitc. . Life often seems to be a mere game. where the successful player pulls down all the other men into his own lap! Let. suspicion ariso about a man's character, and he becomes like a bank ia a panic, and all the imputations rush on him and break down in a day that character which in due time w>~>uld have had strength to defend itself. There are raputa- j tions that have been half a century in build-1 ing which go do""n under one push, as avast j temple is consumed by the touch of a sulphur- j ous match. A hog can uproot a century plant. In this world, so full of heartlessness and hypocrisy, how thrilling it is to !;nd some friend as faithful in days of adversity as in days of prosperity! David had such a friend in Iluslici; the Jews had such a friend iu Mordecai, who sever forgot their cause; Paul had such a friend iu l?ne.siphorus. who visited him iu jail: Christ had such iu the Marys, vho adhered to him ou the cross, Naomi hai such a one in lluth, Tv'no cried out: "Ertreite me not to leave thee or to return from following after thee, for whither thou goose I will go. and whither thou lodges? 1 will lodge. Thy people shall be my people, and thy vod my God. \vhero thou dies; will I die, and there will 1 be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, it' aught I but death part thee and me.'' ! Ajraia. I learn from this subject that path: ? w? ?"V., in h;iril_s]nn rind darkness often j c?me out in places of joy. When Ruth started ; I'roin Moab toward Jerusalem, to go along j u her mother-in law. I suppose the people said: "(Jh, what a foolish creature 10 go away from her father's Louse, to go off with a poor old woman toward the land of Judah! They won't live to get across the 'lesert. They will be drowned in the sea or the jackals of the wilderness will destroy them." li was a very dark morning when Ruth started o?F with Naomi, but behold her in my text in 'ne harvest iVid of iioaz, to be aflianced 10 one o: the lords of the land and become one of the grandmothers of Jesus Christ, the Lord of giory. Aud so it often is that a path which often stum very darkly ends very brightly. ) When you started out for heaven, oh. how : dark was the hour of conviction! How Sinai ! thundered. and devils tormented, and the darkness thickened! All the sins of your life pounced upon you, and it was the darkest hour you ever saw when yeu first found out your sins. After awhile you went into the harvest field of Hod's mercy. You began to glean in the tields of divine promise, and you had more sheaves than you could carry, as the voice of Ood addressed you, saying, ".D'essed is the man whose trangres*ions :ire forgiven and whose sins are covered." A very dark starting in conviction, a very bright endiog in the pardon and the hope and the triumph of the gospel. So very often in our worldly business or in our spiritual career we start off on a very dark path. We must go. The llesh may shrink back, but there is a voice within, or a voice from above, saying. '-You must go." and we have tv drink the gall, and we have to carry the cross, and we have to traverse the desert, and we are pounded and Hailed of misrepresentation and abuse, and we have to urge our way through 10,000 obstacles that have been slain by our own right arm. We have to ford the river, we have to climb the mountain, we have to storm tiie ensue: bui, blessed be God, the day of rest, and r ward will come. On the tiptop of the cap1ured battlements we will shout the victory, if not in this world, then in that world where there is no gall to drink, no burdens to carry. no battles to fight. How <lo I know it? Knew it; 1 know it because God says so, They shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall the sun light on them, nor any heat, for the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall lead them to living fountains of water, and God shali wipe all tears from their eyes." It was very hard for Xoah to endure the scoffing of the people in his day, while he was trying to build the ark, and was every morning quizzed, about his old boat that would never be of any practical use. But when the deluge came and the tops of the mountains disappeared like the backs of sea monsters, and the elements, lashed up in fury, clapped their hands over a drowned world, then Xoah in the ark rejoiced in his - f ft+AtTK in * ^ A A#* fW? i 1 V U o 11 uuit Aii a&imj ui iiio jLo-^ai-ij ? and looked out. on the wreck of a ruined earth. Christ, hounded of persecutors, denied a pillow, worse maltreated than the thieves on cither side of the cross, human hate smacking its lips in satisfaction after it had been draining his last drop of blood, the sheeted dead bursting from the sepulchres at his crucifixion. Tell me, 0 Gethsemane and Golgotha, were there ever darker times than those? Like the booming of the midnight sea against the rock, the surges of Christ's oT?rri^<V> r?r*or orrfnrwf fko Afp-rrMfT co be echoed back by all the thrones of heaven and all the dungeons of hell. But the day of reward comes for Christ. All the ; pomp and dominion of this world are to be | hr.ug or; his throne, crowned heads are to I bow befciv him on "whose head are many I crowns, and all the celestial worship i3 to come up at his feet, like the humming of the forest,'like the rushing of the waters, like the thundering of the seas, while all heaven, rising on their thrones, beat time with their scepters, ' Halleluiah,-for the Lord God omninotent reisrncth." That song of love, now low and far, Ere long shall swell from star to star: That light, the breaking day which lips j The golden spired Apocalypse. Again, I learn from my subject that events which seem to be most insignificant may be J momentous. Can you imagine anything i more unimportant than the coming of a poor I woman from Moab to Judah? Can you im} agine anything more trivial than the fact i that this Kuth iust happened to alisht?as I they say?just happened to alight on that i field of iioaz'.' Yet ali ages, all generations, j have an interest in the fact that she vras to j j become an ancestress of the Lord Jesus i Christ, and all nations and kingdoms must i look at that one little incident with a thrill of unspeakable and eternal satisfaction. So ] it is in your history and in mine, events that I you thought of no importance at all have j been of very great moment. That casual con- j | not think of it again for a long while. But I how it changed all the phases of your life! It seemed to be of no importance that Jubal invented rude instruments of music, calling them harp and organ, but they were the introduction of all the world's minstrelsy, and as you hear the vibration of a stringed instrument, even after the fingers have been taken away from it, so all music now of lute and drum and cornet is only the long continued strains of Jubal's harp and Juual's organ. It seemed to be a matter of very little importance that Jubal Cain learned the i?oc nf* s*r\r\r\c*y irnr nnr fhot r?nrltVo!n j dry of ancient days has its echo in the rat- j j tie of Birmingham machinery and ihe roar | | and bang of factories on the Merrimac. It seemed tu be a matter of no importance j that Luther found a Bible in a monastery, j but as he opened that Bible aui the brass I bound lids fell back they jarred everything, and the rustling of the wormed leaves was the sound of the wings of the angel of the reformation. It seemed to be a matter of no ! importance that a woman whose name has J been forgotten dropped a tract in the way of j a bad man by the name cf Richard Raster. { lie picked up the tract and read it, and it. | was the means of his salvation. In after i days that man wrote a book called "The j Call to the Unconverted," that was the I means of bringing a multitude to God,among j others Philip Doddridge wrote a book called I "The Rise and Progress of Religion," which J has brought thousands ana tens oi thousands' into the kingdom of God. and among others the great Wilberforce. 'Wilberforce wrote a book called "A Practical View of Christianity,'' which was the means of bringing a great multitude to Christ, among others Legh Richmond. Legh .Richmond wrote a tract called '-The Dairyman's Daughter." which has been the means of salvation of un converted multitudes. And that tide of influences started from the fact that one Chris tian woman dropped a Christian tract in the way of Richard Baxter, the tide of influence rolling on through Richard Baxter, through Philip Dodddridge, through the great Wilberforcc, through Legh ilichirond, on, on, on, forever, forever. t>o the insignificant of this world seem, after all, to be most momentous. Again. I see in my subject an illustration of the beauty of female industry. Behold Ruth toiling in the harvest field under the hot sun, oral noon taking plain bread with i:ie reapers, ur eauug iue parcueu corn which Uoaz handed to her. The customs of society, cf course, have changed, and without the hardships and exposure to which iluti; was subjected every intelligent woman will Mad something to do. I know there is a sickly sentimentality on this subject. In some families there are persons of no practical service to the household or community, and though there are so many woes ail around about, them in the wor-d, they spend their time languishing over a cew patter or bursting into tears at midnight over the story of some lover who s.^ct. himself. They would not deign to look, at Ruth carrying back tLe barley on her way home to her mother-in-law, Naomi. All this fastidiousness may sceiu to do very well while they are under the shelter of their father's house; but when the sharp winter of misfortune comes, what of these butterriies'.' Persons under indulgent parentage may get upon themselves habits of indolence, but when they come out into practical life their soul will recoii with disgusi. and chagrin. Xaev will feci iu tueir hearts what the poet s? severely satirized when he said: Folks are so awkward, things so impolite, They're elegautiy painted from morning until night. Through the gate o:" indolence how many men and women have marched, useless on | earth, to a destroyed eternity. Spinola said j to Sir Horace Xcre. "Of what did jour broth ! cr die?" ' Of having nothing to do," vrn.s j the answer. Ah!" said Spinolu. "that's enough to kill any general of us." Oh. can i it he possible iu this -world, where there is so i much su tiering to be alleviated, so much darkness to be enlightened and so many burdens to be carried, that there is any person who cannot find anything to do? Mme. de Stael did a world of work in her time, and one day. while she was seated amid instruments of music; all of which she had mastered, ar.u amid manuscript books which she had written, some one said to her. Ilow do you find time '.o attend to all these ' 1! 1 w.l - j tQlllgs.' rui'ucu, --iucsv ;isv j not the things 1 am proud of. My chief | boast is ia the fac-r that I have 17 trades, by j j any one of which I could make a livelihood j | if necessary.'' And if in secular spheres j there is so much to he done, in spiritual j work how vast the field! IIow many living! all around abou". us without one word of! comfort! We want more Abigails, more j j Hannahs, more llebeccas. more M.-irys, more ' | Deborahs consecrated?body, mind, soul?to j j the Lord who bought them. j Once more I learn from my subject t he j I value of gleaning;. Ruth going into that harvest field might, i have said: "TIktc is a straw, and there is j a straw, but. what is a straw? 1 can't get) any barley for myself or my mother-in-law j out of these straws '* Not so said beautiful i Ruth. She gathered two straws, and she j put them together, and more straws, until she got enough to make sheaf. Putting that j down, she went and gathered more straws j until 9he had mother sheaf, and another. | and another, and another, and then she I brought them altogether, and she thrashed j them out, and she had an ephah of barly, j nigh a bushel. Oh, that we might all be I gleanersl j Elihu liurritt learned many things while ; ioxling in a blacksmith's shop. Abercrom-j I bie, the world renowned philosopher, was a philosopher in Scotland, and he got his philosophy, or the chief part of it, while as a physician he was waiting for the door of the sickroom to open. Yet how many there are in this day who say they are so busy they have time for mental or spiritual improvements. The great duties of life cross the field like strong reapers and carry all | the hours, and there is only here and there ! j a fragment left that is not worth I gleaning. Ah, my friends, you could go i into the busiest day and busiest week of your j life-and liad golden opportunities which, j gathered, might: at last make a whole sheaf j for the Lord's garner. It is the stray opportunities and i he stray privileges which, ! taken up and hound together and beaten | out. will a last fill you with much joy. There are a few moments left worth the | gleaning. Nov.*, Ruth, to the field! May j each one have ;i measure full and running J over! Oh, you gleaners, to the field! And I if there be in your household an aged one or J | a sick relative that is not strong enough to j I come forth and toil in this iie'.d, then lei I j Ruth take home to feeble Naomi this sheaf | !of gleaning: "lie that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, shall doubt-1 j less come again with rejoicing, bringing hif j sheaves "with hirn." May the Lord God so J Ruth and Naomi be our portion forever." TVhat are "Farmers Institutes?" The following answer of President Craighead of Clem son College to the question'"What are Farmers' Institutes?" should be of considerable inter j j est to our re aders: "Our object is to bring the practical results of science j within reach of the people. We are aiming to give to the farmer the ad-1 vantage of expert knowledge, especv I 1 ially in those departments of science | which are closely related to agriculj ture. We wish to bring to his aid the j work o? the chemist, the geologist, j the botanist, the veterinary surgeon? | in short, of the vast army of workers j in all lands who a^e toiling to subdite j the earih and to make it minister w j human needs and comforts. What | the farmer needs?as we' all need?is j I knowledge. Better methods of culti- ! j vating and improving the soil, the j ! best and most imnroved form of imDie-! j ments, the kind of feriilizer bestadapted to each variety of soil, the best I breeds of domestic animals, the cultivation of farm crops, the results of experii men is with new varieties of fruits and \ | vegetables?these are subjects in -which | all intelligent farmers are interested. Our institutes are perfectly imformal. We hope both to give and to receive information. "We invite inquiry. We pass around the "question box," aiid thus give every man an opportunity to find out just what is of special interest to him. At every institute we i gather information that proves to be | | valuable at succeeding institutes ! Thus in time we hope to so systemize J I our work as to malrs e2ch man's special i i knowledge the property of all. The institutes has a still higher purpose, j It brings the people together. It awakens the powers of investigation. It ought in time raise up an army of j investigators. It does something to i relieve the dull monotoBy, which LklKJi. C LJUO.U. aw^UL JlO i C\L aJLJL life distasteful to the rising generation. It can be made an immense factor in the life of the Southern farmer." jtlan Elopes With His Niece. A special tc the Greenville News from Williarnston says: A case that has excited the indignation as well as the sympathy of our town was brought to notice a few days ago when it wa< ascertained that Mrs. K. A. Bass and her four little helpless children, the youngest an infant of sis months, had ! been deserted by the husband and fa- j ther, who had eloped with his own niece and gone to parts unknown. Bass moved to Wiliiamston with his family about four months ago (from no one knows where) claiming to be a veterinary surgeon, but proved to be a failure in that line, -de then purchased a graphophone, mortgaged his wife's household goods for the payment of it, boarded the train with a i girl named Emma Lyerbv, his own sisters daughter, of Statesville, N. C., and left his wife and children without a single penny or anything on which to subsist. When the facts of the case rr\<jAc* Ir-nritrrr. ATTRftCC OTf? tVlA little children were actually found to be suffering for the necesaries of life. Our town council has taken the case in hand acd provided relief-. In the , meantime Ba&s should be punished to the extent of the law. It is said that he is now somewhere in this state and can be easily identified from the outfit above described. The girl with , whom he eloped is about 19 years of , age. j Ueb's New Scheme. I : Eugene V. Debs is out with a brand new scheme for abolishing poverty and bringing happiness and plenty. Tbe idea itself is not new, but the propsai to : nut it into practice is. The idea seems to be to begin by getting control of the machinery of a State and estab- ; lishing there a co-operative common- }; wealth. Having gotten CDntrol of & State'by popular vote, he says: "We 1 will then establish the co-operative ! commonwealth and the Slate govern men! will be in harmony with them The idea forces itself that Mr. Deb;; has beer, studying the rebate and commission feature of the South Carolina dispensary la?7. As a scheme for abolishing poverty so far as those who are believed to have "pulls'' are c^n- 1 r>lsn is hmir.d tn hft :! howling- sucees. A Clear Csso. President McKinlev is said to have ! helped out a young friend who was j courting a girl he knew by tellin ? j him to tell tfc: young lady that if sbe i wcmd like a ivaropean cndai trip he j would appoint ilie young man. to a consulsle as a wedding present. This hxed the business, for the President has beirn. notified that the wedding will take place in June. This is a clear Ci.se of bribery, but everything i is fair in love and war. r THE LAST QUARTER j jREPORT OF THE DISPENSARY FOF J THAI r'hriiUU. ; Financial Showiflg?A Net Px-olit of Ovej j >:J3,C0l) Em Been Made?Figares of Inj terest to the People. Below is given in complete form the ! quarterly report of the Slate dispeaI s'try which was prepare':', by the leg-isI lative examining committee and pre ssntea to governor jbiieroe lor transmission io the general assembly at its next session. The letter of transmissal reads as follows: Columbia, April 27, 1S97. To His Excellency, W. H. Ellerbe, ! Governor: Sir: We have rcetpersuant to act of the general a^semoiy and have made an examination of the bccks and vouchers of the State dispensary for the ouarter ending 31st of March, 1697. We found the books written up to date and neatly and correctly kept. We checked, off all the accounts and [ vouchers and iou^a them correct acj cording to the books of the original entry. We fourd voucoers for all payments made and invoices for ail goods purchased. We also e"amined the rec ords of sales mad-3 _ dispensers and J checked oil'the statements showing | the lemittances made by county dis : psnscrs to State treasurer. We ap! peed hereto the balance sheet showing | balances on March 31st, 1897, alsc the ! following statements: 1. Statement of assets and liabilities. 2 Profit and loss accounts. 3. Cash. I 4. Unearned profit. ! The difference between the State ! treasurer's cash balance and the cash | balance upon the ciispensary books is I S2.l29.08, the former be ng greater ; than the latter by that amount. This ! diterance is within ?16 04 of the amount of outstanding warrants drawn prior to April 1, and unpaid by the State treasurer at that date. The above statements are correct, according to the books, vouchers and records, KespecliulJy submitted, Aliamont Moses, John P, Thomas, ,Jr., C.ED Burns, Legislative Committee. The report reads as follows: 1 Comparative statement for quarter ending March 31, 1897: ASSETS. Cash in State treasury $ 73,234 53 Supplies (inventory) 54,528.25 Merchandise.. 98,653.93 Machinery and cince fixtures 2,857 47 Teams and wagons. 1,294.19 Personal accounts 3,2S1 23 Unexpired insurance 504 93 Ex-dispensers' balances.... 7,513.96 .aierc caucus 3 :n sanas ox county dispensers....... 221,449 54 Total assets $163,318.03 LIABILITIES. Personal accounts due by State $ 59,2SS.75 Unearned profits on $221,449 54, amount of gocas is hasds of county dispensers end of this quarter...., 44 289 91 School fund 269,530 Ou General fund.. 90,159 37 Total liabilities ?163,313.03 Statement of profit and loss account for quarter ending March 31st, 1897: PROFITS. Rebates ....$ 13,676.88 Profits from beer dispensaries 6,042.34 Contraband 2.355.55 l-\=Y?rvMt faoc AO r\fi Gross nrofit on merchandise salts 73,721.11 Total gross promts. $100..S36.33 LOSSES. Breakage and leakage 3S0.07 Constabulary 12,023 80 Freight and expr-ss 19,174 85 Labor. 4,258 56 Expense 3,930.64 License 18 75 Supplies 26,867.74 Total expenses 67,554.41 Nut profit on sales of this quarter ... 33,2S1.97 Total $100,836.38 Cash statement for quarter ending March 31st, 1897: RECEIPTS. Balance in State treasury end of last quarter. S 78,265.41 January receipts.$118,257.47 Feb. receipts.... 102,100.43 March receipts.. 111,997.05 Total receipts for quarter 332,355.00 Total to account for quarter$410,620.41 DISBURSEMENTS Jan disbursemer Is $150,003 07 Feb disbursements 89,061.96 .March disbursements 9S,320.85 xotai disbursements for quarter.$337,3S5.S3 Balance in State treasury March 31 73,234.53 Total ?410,620.53 STATEMENT OF UNEARNED PROFIT Unearned profit,Dec- 31....$57,650.63 Net accrued profit for the present quarter... 46,642 69 Balance unearned last quarter $11,007.94 Net profit on sales for present quarter. 33,2S1 97 Total unearned profit this quarter .* $44,289.19 A Po'Iceman a Burglar. A queer complication in burglaries developed in vvashington, D. C., recently, when Policeman James E. Pierce of the metropolitan force was arrested for robbing two houses on his beat. The sufferers were Mrs. Fannie McMillan and Mrs. M. Cooke. Both houses are in the fashionable residence section. The families were away at i the lime and Pierce irnrroved the cp- j portu-tUv to carry away a large! amount of glass, clothing, porcelain | and ether portable valuables. Detect- j ives searched his house and today re- i covered about $1,500 worth of plun- j der. Pierce has been on the force four i ^ears. He confessed his guilt, but re-j 4.^ ~ ! l uitru zay vviicic iiio k/uutv woa ac- j creted. I?e?th of Gers. Harlee. A special from Florence, S. 0., to the Columbia State says Gen. Wm. W. Ilarlee dieci at half-past 7 o'clock Thursday night at the ripe old age of S4 years. Hi:; health had not been g3od for some time, tut for only a weei naa ne been connned to nis oed. He sank rapidly during the day, and the end was painless. Victiin of a ITeud. West Oliver went into Martin Rathieis lielanearDcnaldsvilie,Ga, Friday morning, armed with a Winchester riiie, and shot Eathiel to death. Both parties are white, and were near neighbors, residing only a short dis^ r, no, "f rr? "Pi .~\ v? o \ a HT1 r* LX V?/w iUw 1 ^ UU has existed between them fcr a l^ng while. FORECASTS FOR MAY. i j Xhe Rev. Irl 1*. Hicks Predicts Great At- j ^ i mo.-pherlc Disturbii^crs. i A reclionary stcrm period is central j ! on ihe 1st and 2d of May, vrith moon j : j in apogee and new on the 1st. On and j J next to these dates look for general ] '{storm conditions to pass cast hardly j over the country. All should under-1 stand wh^n we use the word "storm" v:e do not always mean to onvev the idea tbat daD^er is to be apprehended. An ordinary .rain, with hitter temperature anu moderate depression cf the barometer, rr>?teorolog^cally speaking-. ' we call a "storm." A very v.*arm wave is apt to attend the disturbances ' the two or tbree first da.TS cf jI^v. eucin^ in socae rcpid sicrms. SI:ieh r-r> I-r? nichtc rril- f^llnvnr 1tif> bances, cein^ attended by possible , fr-jsts in many parts between the 3d and. 6!h. A Hercury equinox is central on the 7th, the same day 3s the regular Vulcan storm period. There will be marked tendency to cloudy, unsettled weather much of the time of Mercury's pericd, which runs from the 3d to 12th, \ bui: the tiaae of greatest and heaviest | storm probabilities voill be about Fri- J Gay, the 7ib, to ruu-sday, the lith IT j the temperature is high, air sultry,} grinds easterly to southerly and baro-j meter low and fai-icg, dangerous! storms should not surprise az<y section | At the same time, the disturbances ! may by harmless and gentle. Ample ; time acd unmistakabie indications will be given those who watch, if tor dadic aod uar-gerous storms sre brew- \ ing. We again remicd the public of the fact that storms about this time of [ the year are much inclined to repeat j themselves in cycles, or intervals, of I I about 12 and 24 iiours for several days j | in succession, the hours in which the j two periods culminate gradually ap-1 proaching each other until the two ; cycles come together and the general i disturbance breaks up in a great and; and violent storm. Very cocl nights i and some heavy frosts to the north ; will follow with the high barometer that succeeds these disturbances. About the 13th begins a reactionary period of change and storm that will more than likely continue ever the full moon on the 16 .h, and into the Vulcan period central on the 18th. i There are several reasons to believe j | that storms of much violence m?y ap- j p< ar between the 14th and 21st. The j j moon is at perigee on the 16.h. and at extreme South declination on the i 17vh, all of which are favorable to a j marked degree for great atmospheric! disturbances. This is also at the centre of abnormal electrical and atmospheric j perturbations almost sure to result i from the opposition of the planets, \ Saturn and Uranus. It is alsc the j time of year when the central path of j the sun's magnetic cower, in its swing 1 from the equator Northward, lies in j an East and West direction through.! the central parts of our continent. J We therefore admonish the people that j they should be watchful and cautious j: at the approach of all mreatening j storm clouds through all the central j parts of May, Do not worry or suifer . alarm, however?no danger may re-! suit, but if it should go quietly to'your j cellar or other safe refuge. At such times as this a perfectly reli- ] able barometer is of incalculable value, i Storm clouds may be appalling in appearance and at the same time ba per-1 fectly harmless. If the barometer j does not lau deeiaeaiy mere may oe j heavy rain and thunder, but danger-1 ous wind or tornadic storms will net! result. In Northerly sections it will j be prudeni to anticipate frosts during nights following the passage of siorm I areas. Earthquake shocks need not j surprise or alarm any one, especially j in this country, during this month. j On and about the 24th and 25th, reactionary storm conditions will ap-1 pear with rain acd bluster in many j sections. The month goes out in a re- j e<v1-wm -nritll t;1?> mnnri jjf. ! "new" on the 31st, being the second j new moon in May. A very warm j wave will be in progress with storms j moving: from Western extremes as the ( month goes out. But for the oooosi- j tions of Saturn and Uranus in May, j we should expect a month of placidness. Look for much fine wea her any way and push your belated agricultural work. Plunged Through a Bridge. J An electric car in the city of Port- j land, Ore., left the track Friday raornirs and plunged threug'n a bridge which spans the slouch on E'.st Morrison street. Three people were drowned an4 fifteen more or less injured." | There were thirty-four people in the !, car. It was running down hill at a j speed of fifteen miles an hour, and on reaching a curve fifty feet from ihe j' bridge left the track. The momentum j the car had sained carried it about 150 feet upon the bridge, when the |' timbers cf the structure ga^e way acd j; precipitated the car into the lagoon !; twenty feet below. The conductor, j who was on the rear platforcc,shouted \ \ to jump, but only a few were able to 3 i get out. The motorman jumped when | j he saw he could not stop the car. The i < water where the car struck was only ! 1 eight feet deep, and the car was not 1 submerged. In the fall the trucks 1 j \rere broken frora the superstructure | < of the car, which fact saved a number ! ] \~a: M JLlVCOj I lie yu: Wvjn S j floated and allowed those wbo had lol | J been stunned to escape. After the car j had been raised it was found that an ! ( axle had been broken, which was nro I \ bably the cause of the accident. Mo I, torman Keifer left the wreck soon j, after it occurred and has not been j j i seen since. He will be arrested. Georgian Cotton KIdr. I ^ j Hon. James M. Smith, -of Ogle- r j taorpe, Georgia's greatest farmer, has j < i just broken all records of cotton sales j j I from a single plantation, by selling to j s Macon cotton buyers, in on9 Jet, over j > Z,UUU Otties Oi. CUUU.U VI ilia vv? Ai j j sajs The Augusta Chronicle. Tne cot- i, ton was soid on a basis of 7 cents for j j middling, and when it is all weighed j) and shipped, Mr. Smith will receive a j } check for about ?70,000. This would jr be a tremendous crop, e-cen if Mr. j Smith raised nothing but cotton, but j when it is remembered that he grows j j large crops of grain and hay, and that j j cotton is his surplus money crop, af- j ( iis> trior oil f Vl a T\ On I L^Jl VUV V* ? V ?. w t he needs, then one can grasp some ! ( idea of the scale on -which Col. Smith j farms, and see the justice of calling! him Georgia's cotton king. A DanJardly D -jed. ! ] Train wreckers Wednesday night j 1 threw the switch at Fairbanks, on the j] Houston and Texas Central Eoad, i j twenty miles Xorth of Houston and the Southbound passenger train ran j I into it, causing a smass. up oi tae icr- j; wcri coaches and derailment of the others. The dead are: H. S- Gold-1* berg, of Houston, badly injured; Dr. j' E. O. Winn, of Sherman, back and]5 jeghurt; Waiter Giles, Porter, back j injured. Ten others ^ere more or]5 less seriously hurt. Mr. Goldberg "?rss j fmm3. an,-v.it 200 frr?m whwe the I j coach in which he was riding slopped. j He was lying in the ditch 2nd died J < 1 within thirty minutes. Three attempts j < 1 at wrecking have been, frustrated at i i i this nlace within the last Teur. this tims | j the bolts of the switching apparatus)' had been carefully rernojed, so thai j j the rails vrere left entirely loose, | ( though they remained in their places, i < [a death dealing flood. i I A CITY SWEPT BY WATER RUSHING j LiKd A TIDAL WAVE. r.l^. 7./\uf ir-A TTT^ ! ' Thocssnd P^cpl? Made Homeless?Cot- J ion VfoodRJvcr Saddaply Swelled by a j CJcud Burst. T^here at daylight Wednesday J mcrniss- stood the racs.t beautiful resi-1 dc-ncs portion of Guthrie, 0. T., new ! is a fl-'/cd devastated, stricken and de j rnolisbtd dis'-;ct. The houses that | are l<*ft are to oied abcuJ like cardboard l"?cx s 'pt vricd storm and j ceaseless .f resistless waters j roll thr-ui^h o ver half a thousand : deserted ar.d recked homes. T^o! ibous icd horneie?s people are gather- j id shivering on the biuifs west of the j city or housed ia the homes of the j part of the city which lies, high aad | dry on the hills. A hundred or more j iiavr uurc u tu ?i?rr#y auu i thousands have icst their ail. Fiom coon. Tuesday till midnight there was an incessant downpour in I and afeout this citv, and it was feared J that the Cotton Wood river, which was already very high, would do i much damage. But the watchers at J the bridges were surprised to see the i river go down and by daylight it had j fallen 10 feet. Just as they were about to go off j duty at 6 o'clock, they were startled i by a terrific roar from tne top of tee river vail^y and were soon convinced that a terrific flood was coming. Tae fire alarm was given and policemen and others rode all over town near the river, rousing families ana warning them to flee for their lives. Sornt thought the roar was a cyclone and scugnt their cave?, only to perish a rc w aaoiiic:ut.& later; uiucii aiuyjjcu lu , save things until it was too late, and very few would at first believe that any great danger was threatened. With a mighty roar the flood came down the valley a mile wide, 20 feet deep in the channel and four feet across the entire valley. It struck the city at 6:30 in the extreme southwest, where tue negroes mostly live, and in a few moments hundreds of their little homes were carried away and many lives were lost. The railroad tracks are on the east bank of the river for three quarters of a mile. Across is the valley running through the ; western part of the city, and in it is j musn 01 me uaest resilience portion : ana a small business section, where there were about 20 blares, several mills, warehouses, etc. In less than ; 20 minutes from the time the flood j struck the city the entire section was j inundated, and within an hour the j water was 10 feet deep and hundreds j of buildings were iLDating away. Not only the meaner structures, but fine? residences, store buildings, a large cot- 1 ton gin and other large structures went into ruins or floated down the stream.- Oa many buildings were men, women and children. From hundreds of trees c^me piteous calls for help. With the first rush went everv bridge in the city. The few boats were crushed or car- j ried away and nothing could be done to help many who fell or were swept I from piaces of refuge and were! drowned before the eyes of the horri fied but powerless spectators. By 9 j o'clock the water was 30 fest above the normal level of the river, and the ' once placid stream was a raging; torrent across the entire valley. ' It seemed soon that people in trees ana on rcofs would be swept away and desperate measures were taken to help ; them. George Willis and E A. Piatt, ! Vi'-.+ I-i r.yr.mirent VniciriACC mpn C'lMnnPfi and leaping into the torrent s Train the ; main channel of the river and secured an old fiat boat which was moored to a tree. With thi? boat they saved over 30 people. j Eugene Gill and Walter Olds at- 1 tempted to save a family on a raft, ] but were carried away and barely es capsd with- their lives. George 0 en, ] a bu{cher, headed a rescue party in a j nastily constructed fiatboat. The < boat capsized in the current and he < died a hero's death. Scores of men > < were at work at the lumber yards con- \ siructing boats, and by 10 o'clock six 11 scows were launched. Severe! cap- i sized and were cerried away, ana it is < believed that two of the men man- \ niug them perished. i At 10 o'cicck the flood was at a stand- ] still, a half hour it was beginning to t recede and by dark it had gone down i 5 feet. Eirly in the day the telephone < wires went do^n. ana as none or tne s boats which crossed the main, chan < nel were able to get back, it was im- < possible to get any facts as to who had 1 perished. j This evening a line was shot across with a rocket and a cable drawn across; boats are being ferried back t and forth, and food is being taken to the hundreds of famished people on I the bluffs and the 200 or 300 negroes | in the large brick school house, who * nave had nothing to ear since jesterlay. Fully a score of boats have r oten constructed and every part of ;he flooded district is being: patrolled md all the people taken from places 5f danger. It is impossible to correct- iv estimate the number of drowned, [t it generally conceded that the death 2 .ist will reach 100. A number of bodies were seen goia? 34m virrnv anH frtniorht r>alic: cqn I De heard for helD. The property loss will be fully $100,000 in the city and f will reach hundreds of thousands in .he coudtry. Up and down the Cot:onwood valley for miles everything 0 s swept aw-ay and it is believed many nore people perished in the country. Che railway tracks are swept away south of here and badly damaged C lortb, and there have been no trains iiace yesterday. In the city all business was suspended today. Tee home j u' -u u^?XJ ^~ 1 ^- 1 ti ess iire a.u u^uug uuuscu yvcjli , Dossibje and the city and county are , 'ending ail free at hotels and restau- ^ ants, where over a thousand dollars v iave been subscribed by business men. ^ Che Cameron, river, two miles north, ~a s higher than ever before and is ris- ti ng rapidly tonight and il is feared the s; ailroad bridges will go. While this ise is due to the general rise of the E Cottonwood, a cloudburst at 4 o'clock ? ;his morning near Seward, southwest a >f here, caused tne great flood. Has Only Fitly Wives. 0 The shah has an exceedingly small aaram for an eastern monarch, says i ;he Cincinnati Enquirer. Tnere are aot above six:y ladies, and he has :our sons and twenty-three daughters, rhe only occasion any of the shah's wives are to be seen is in the streets of Feheran. -when they pass in carriages. ( When the ladies go out driving they ? ire preceded by a gang of farasnes, * who caper ahead on their horses, shouting: ''Goacd hiJeyourselves ind all the men have to scamper up /-.V. Kr. f n-oc'hofl ::uo '-/A. k/v Indigestion* From vrhich spriags, directly or in- i Jirecily. nearly every form of headiche: and sick neadaciae never sepera.ed therefrom, is surely and speedily relieved and cured by the use of Hilton's Life for the Liver and Kid- j ; aeys." One 25c bottle will convince j I 5f its merit. Try it. Sold by dealers > generally. 1 sa-vii i ..i-naivi a tf ana M Tried to lind His Life. A dispatch^from Lake City, S. C., | to the Columbia State savs that ^Ir. i Wm. D. Shaw. editor of Tbe Times, of that placa, attempted suicide Wednesday momiBg. Mr. Shaw was rooming over Dr. Williams, drug store. He got up as usual Wednesday morning, talked with some friends and west in The Times office and wrote the letter below. j?e then went into his room, drank t ?70 or three ounces of laudanum and then shot himself, the ball penetrating the body just above ard to the right of the left nipple and was cut out by Dr. T. B. Hinnant just below the shoulder blade. When approached by a friend, he said he was only sorry he did not make an end of it; that bein? aazed by tbe laudaoun? he had the pistol in his left hacd when he thought he had * 1_ -L i. ? J it m nis ngiu iiu.au, iiitreoy iiiuuu..uir himself in the right instead of in the ieft breast. At this writing there is every chance for his rccoverv. Below is the letter: "Must I do the deed? Oh, Godsend down thine angel of mercy to bear my troubled soul away. Can it be a sin ? Oh! spare rne, forgive me, Father, to do away a life that is hlled with pain and miseury. Is there anything for me to live for? All is dark and dismal. I have no hope. Is there rest and peace in the grave? In a world so large, beautiful ana wealthy, and yet I must starve?no money, no work. Cheerless and cold seems every heart to me. 1 cannot stand this strain. I have strained every brain nerve, muscle and vein in thinking of what to do and all I can see before me is dismal distress. Death does away with all this. I have some Mends here, I believe. I have endeavored to to my duty towards them. I hope that they will be kind enough to dispose of my body. Place it in "any old place," I care not where. My trunk aca clothes will go to my two brothers and sister. My watch at Columbia will go to Mrs. 31 A. Emlyn, 1107 Pendleton street, Uoiumoia, s, u., m consideration 01 kindnesses extended to me by herself and family. William David Shaw. 0, tempora; 0, mores." Mr. Shaw is a son of J. Duncan Shaw, who was killed in Bishopville several years ago by tbe well known Kelly brothers. Mr. Shaw has been for several years connected with the Columbia Register. Woman Suffrage. Miss Phoebe Couzens, who for twenty years has been going from one end of the country to the other preaching female suffrage, has suddenly changed her opinion. "The movement is bound to fail, Three times I have seen women under fire, and as many times I have seen them fall, arid that ignominiously. I presume this wili be looked upon as treason, but the conclusion is reached from long ex perience, close observation and rare opportunities such as have been accorded to few women. Moreover, I look upon the outside life, impelled by necessity, as in a maj 3rity of cases to be simply experimental. It cannot be conclusive, for the vast majority of women prefer the qaiet domestic life, while man by nature seeks the conflicts of the outer world and its theo/v>?Afwe tViSZfairi W/Mvion 1Y\ mcc mo uavi-^iu.* TT AM public life will never prove satisfac tory. She is naturally a housekeeper. I would advise all young women to marry and become housekeepers. After twenty years of close observation and experience, I have come to the xnclusion that women are no better than men. I find that they are about equally balanced; that there are as many good women as good men in tne world, and no more. This true, not alone in regard to the relation of the saxes, but in integrity of word, in unyielding adiieraccs to principles they believe to be right, and loyalty to the highest in man." Tn?t. flj* ITHnaL Mr. Randall's letter from Washington in the Augusta Chronicle states that the usual antagonisms are cropping out in the Democratic party. Sir. Randall says: "Personal antagonisms. .on political lines, have become manifest among the house Democrats, sirsce my last letter, but I trust thai all differences will be haaded to such a itgree at least as not to impair the usefulness of what should be a united minority. Some people seem to think ;bat the several prominent men who ispire to leadership are preparing for , ;fae nest congress, but tbis is counting anhatcbed chickens and crossing a Dridge before coming to it. Mr. Bailij is a little wanting in tact, perhaps, jut his position is a delicate and difficult one. With a more dexterous management, he might have gained his :hief point and created no particular riction in either quarters. I am hope ui mat all matters or amerence win )resently adjust themselves." The Xaval QXalltis. The secretary of the navy has made i he annual allotment fuad of $50,000 \ ippropriated by congress for the nav- i .1 militia of the states. Deducting a 13,000 reserved for the purchase of i est books, the remainder of the ap- | >ropriation is alotted among the states | laving naval militia organizations in | iroportion to the number of uniform- | d petit officers as a men they had on | heir roils on January l,last.Tne result | n this state is as follows: 165 officers | ,sd men, alotment $1,814. SOT MuLSADlSS. I o | \o Danger, in Ccbing One Habit, or Form- p iso Another. | ? I 'PIUM (Morphine, Laudanum) Etc., Cusid | is fbom Foce xo Six Weeks. ? I LIQUOR DISEASE | ured Usually in Four Weeks. Also Tobacco | Habit and Nervous Diseases The Cure has been endorsed by the r,egis fe iture of six States and one Territ"tv; by | le National Government in the iiers' | tomes and in the regular army; by miny | >cal authorities in the cure of indigent | runkards (morphine and liquor); by Miss | irallard, the W. C. T. U.; Francis Murphy, jj 'ea3 Dow and the I. 0. G. T.; by prominent I len all over the land; by 300,000 cured paenta, more than 20,000 of these being phy icians. The Leslie E. Keeley Company and the leeley Institute of S. C. are responsible cororations 'which could not afford to put forth ny claim that the} are unaHle to prove. For printed matter ana n-r as. address, THE KEELEY LNoI'illTE, r Drawer '2.1. Columbia, S. C. * Mention this paper. JL J ^ 7&vT O T % 7 V"?. , BOILERS,: sAW MILL'S, ; GRIST MILLS, 2 AT |! FACTORY PRICES. S. W. SCREVEN, ' COLU3IBIA, S. C. MA.FJPY HUME IS INCREASED TEN FOLD BY GOOD MUSIC. Make tie most of life by procuring a gocd riAnu or uriija.x. juusic uaa a refining inficence and keeps yonr children at home. REMEMBER You only invest occe in a life lime prcvii- a ed you select 3 Rood instrument I CHALLiM 1 any bouse to beat my prices?QUALIT? m snd BESfONSIBILlTY considered. | TERMS: To tbore not prepared to piy C3sh I will give reasonable time at a slight SB diffeerence in price. WiBBiWTV If XL Jill All 11? ^ I fully gaarantee Pianos and Organs as represented, placing them on test triaL. I Bejreseit tie BdMers Hence CAN" and WILL save yon money. Prices Ranie as follows: ; Orga-s rroai ?45.00 ud. Piaxos from ?185.00 up. DON'T FaIL to write for catalogue. Toura for Piano i and Organs, ?' M. A. MA LONE, COLUMBIA, S. C. Machinery A ~vr r* IV Supplies ??? "X Engines, Boilers; Saw Mills, Corn Mills. Wheat Mills, Planers, Brick Machines, Moulders, Gang Edgers. And all iinds ot Wood Working A5a chinery. No one In the South can offer you higher grade go cds, or at lower prices. Talbott, Llddell and Watertown Entices. We are only a few hours ride from you. Write for prices. ri ?v Light, Variable Feed Plantation Saw M ills a Specialty. _ ^ ~~~~ ' V. Q. Badliam, General Agent, COLUMBIA, S. C. SEE < IS YOUR LIVER ALL RIG IF? Axe yoox Klinayi ia a^aajlthy condition If so, Hilton's Life for the Liver and Kidneys will keep them so. If . not, Hilton's Life for the Liver and Kidneva will make them so. A. 25c bottle will convince yon of this, fact. Taken regularly after meals it is an aid to digestion, cures habitual constipation, and thus refreshes and clears both body and mind. ^ SOLD WHOLESALES BY Fhs Murray Drug Co COLUMBIA, 8. 0. AND Dr. H. BASS. Charleston, S. O. MATBUSBEK / i ; ? . Tie Piano for a Lifetime, j Tie Piano of tie Soatl, Tie Piano Sold Host Seasonally. i ! The old. original Mathusbek, sold by us i i tor over a quarter of a century and the a i delight of thousands ofSouthern homes. \ | More Mathusheks used South than of J i any other one make. j | Lovely New Styles at Reduced Prices, j v\ ! cheaper than ever before known. I n* > Styles once $43S, now $325. | I $100 saved every layer. | How, because we are now interested In the great Mathushek factory, supply j purchasers direct, and save them all in- | j \ termediate profits. Weite cs. J XiUDDEX <fc BATES, ^ < I Savannah, Ga<, and Xew York City. Advice to Hothsrs. ^ Wo tate pieasar9 In calling your attea ion to a remedy so long needed in csiry- JS ng children safely through the critical tags of teething- It i3 an incalculable leasing to mother and child. If you are listurbed at night with a sick, fretful, esthing child; use Pitts' CarraiuatiTe, It 1 Till give Instant relief, and regulate the jowels, and make teething safe and e*sy. ;t will cure Dysentery aud Diarrhoea, ^ !?i?s ("!*T-Tr.5ri&tivA !s an instant ? ?]??* for olic of infants. It wili promo*} digestion, ^ ;ive tone and energy to the stomach and t wweLs. The elck, puny, snSering chiid fill aeon become the fat and frolicking joy ? if the household. It la very pleasant w J/ he taste and on'? ccat 25 ants n*>r hot*:* \ oil by dmggiata sni b~ \ THE 5IUBBAY DECG UCM .Columbia, S. 0.