The Fairfield news and herald. (Winnsboro, S.C.) 1881-1900, January 10, 1900, Image 4
A TALE THAT'S TOLD.!;
1
<
Rev. Dr. Taimage's Thoughts on i
. the Ciosing Year. j<
i
??? j
A SERMON FOR THE TIMES-!'
.
Some Practical and Timely 5ug-j<
"gestions as to Right LivI
ing. The Signify
|
cance of Life.
in this hoiiday discourse Dr. Talmage
takes the opportunity of offering
some very practical and useful suggestions;
text, Psalms xc, !), '* A"e speDa
our years as a talc that is told."
The Israelites were 40 years in the ;
wilderness, and during 38 years of the
40 nothing is recorded of them, and, 11
suppjse, no other emigrants had a dul- j
ler or more uninteresting time than i
they had. So they got to telling stories j
? stories concerning themselves or con-1
cerning others; stories about the biick
kilns- of Egypt, where they had toiled
in slavery; stories about how the waters
of the Red sea piied up into palisades
at their crossing; story of the lantern
hung in tht heavens to guide them b>
night; story of ibises destroying tn^
reptiles of the wilderness; stories of
personal encounter. It must have been
an awful thing to have had nothing to
do for 38 years except to get lost every
time they tried to escape from the
wilderness. So they whiled a vay the
time in story telling. Indeed there
were persons whose- one business wa*!
to narrate st-ories, and they were paid j
by such trifles as they could pick up j
from the surrounding listeners. To j
such instances our text refers when it J
oor>o l-\Xra cnonn' nnr as a *taie I
^ -? J -? ? .
that is told."
At this tremendous passage from the
year 1839 to the year 1900 it will do us
all good to consider that oar whole life
is a story told?a good story or a bad
story; a tragic story or a mirthful story;
a wise story or a foolish story; a clean
story or a filthy story : a story of sue- |
cess or a story of failure. "We spend j
our years as a tale that is told."
In the first place I remaik ihat every I
person's life is a very interesting story.
My test does not depreciate "a tale j
r.Ticf is inM " il\-> liavft all of us been I
entertained by the story teller when j
snow bound in she rail train; or in the j
group a winter's night in the farmhouse; I
or gathered around a blazing hearth j
with some hunters at the mountain i
_ ^ ins. Indeed it is a praiseworthy art
to impersonate a good story well. If
you doubt the practical and healthful j
and inspiring use of such a story, take
down from the library Washinnton Irving?s
'"Tales of a Traveler," or Nathaniel
Hawthorne's {'Twice Told
Tales." But as interesting as any of
these would be the story of many an
obscure life, if the tale were as well told.
way ao we an use Diograpmes
and autobiographies? Because they
are stories of eminent human lives.
Bnt the story of the life of a backwoodsman,
of a man who looks stupid, of one
about whom you never heard a word, ;
must be just as thrilling on a small
scale as on a larger scale is a life of a :
Cyrus, or a Caesar, or a Pizarro, or a
Mark Antony, or a Charlemagne, or 1
the late General Gordon, who was ^
upon a parapet leading his soldiers ]
ply with nothing but a stick in his hand, 1
*** and his troops cried: ';Gordon, come (
/^r*txr*> Van tttII Kn " 1^77 f. 1
did not come down, and one of the soldiers
said: "It is all right. He don't j
mind being killed. He is one of those j
blessed Christians."
If yon get the confidence of that very i
plain man just come out of the backwoods
and can induce him to give the
stirring experiences of his life, he will
tell yon tnat which will make your
blood curdle and your hair stand on
_ 3 mL.i r. ^ i 3?
ena. in at mgns wnen a pantner qis- ,
pitted his pathway on the way home;
that landslide, when the mountains 3
seemed about to come down on his ?
cabin; that accideat to his household
and no surgeon within 15 miles; that a
long siorm that shut them in and the
food was exhausted; that contest at his v
doorway with bandits, who thought
there might he within something worth * ;
taking; thai deathbed. with no one but c
himself to count tHe fluttering pulses. a
As Oliver Crom veil m the auniver- s
sary of his greatest victory folio .vedl^
his darling daughter t? ?!>. so ! ?
in the humblest and most uop;etonding ; fJ
life there has been a comiuinelin=r of
gladness and gloom, of triumph and , :l
despair. Nothing that David Garrack j ^
ever enacted at Drury Lane theater in
the way of tragedy or Charles Matthews w
ever played in Covent Garden .in the S(
way of comedy excelled things which n
on a small scale have been seen in the 111
life of obscure men and women. Many i
a profound and learned sermon has jt]
put the audience to sleep, while some j
man whose phraseology could not be | w
parsed and whose attire was cut and I b:
fitted and made up by plainest house- j w
wife has told the story of his life in a j ti
1^3.1 . _ i . . *
way mat meuea cue prayer circ;? into j ti
*?*** - tears as easily as a warm April sua dis- j gi
solves the snow of the previous night, j pi
Ob, yes, while "we spend our years c*
as a tale that is told" it is an interest- st
iag story. It is the story of an im- j w
mortal, and that makes it interesting.! fi
Ha is launched on au ocean oi' eternal j T
years, in a voyage that vrill never ter- i p:
minate. He is striking the keynote of! c<
an anthem or a dirge that will never | lo
come to its last bar. That is whatj ei
makes the devotional . meetings of: ti
modern times so much more interesting | sj
than they used to be. They are filled | s!
not with discourses by laymen on the 11
subject cf justification and sanctiSca- j ai
tioD, which lay discourses administer! st
more to the facetious than to the edify-I
ing, but with stories of what God has ; if
done for the soul?how everything sud- j is
denly changed: how the promises be-i cj
came balsamic in times of laceration;! it
how he wa3 personally helped out and ! 3(
helped up and helped on. Nothing can ! if
stand befere such a story of personal! o1
rescue, personal transformation, per-; e^
eonal illumination. The mightiest I tl
nnrt mr.sr arcniTn?nf' ftirainst- i rr
Christianity collapses under the un- i h
grammatical but siacere statement, j "
The atheistic professor of natural pfc.il-; V
osophp goes down under the story of j tl
that backwoodsman's conversion. ! le
The most of the Old Testament isj is
made up of inspired anecdotes about; h
Adam and Eve, about Jacob, about1T
Esau, about Ahab and Jezebel, about'
Jonah, about Daniel, about Deborah, j rp
about Vashti, about men and women of j
whom the story gave an accurate pho- i
tograph long before human photography ~
was born. Let all Christian workers.;
prayer meeting talkers, Sunday school;
teachers and preachers kaow the power j n
of that which my test calls the :<tale-b
that is told." jii
* I heard Daniel Baker, the wonderful: t<
evangelist of his time, preach what 11 ii
^ suppose was a great sermon, but I re- j o
member nothing of it except a story j <J
hat he told, and that, I judge from
:he seeming effect, may that afternoon
iave brought hundreds into the kinglom
of God. I heard Truman Osborne
preach several sermons, but I remember
nothing of what he said in public
>r private except a story that he told,
-ros omnr.tr ntVli>r thinCTS. the
SUU tuai v ? ?
aieans of my salvation. The lifelong
work of John B. Gough, the greatest
temperance reformer of all time, was
the victory of anecdote, and who can
sver forget his story of Joel Straton
couching him on the shoulder, or of
Deacon Moses Grant at Hopkinton, or
of the outcast woman, nicknamed "Hell
Fire," but redeemed by the thought
that she ';was one of us?'' Dffight L
Moody, .he evangelist of worldwide
fame and usefulness, who recently
passed to his great reward on high, durVio
in the T)uloit
wielded the anecdote for God and heaven
until all nations have been moved
by it.
If you have had experiences of pardon
and comfort and disiathrallment,
tell of it. Tell it in the most pointed
and dramatic wayyoucaa manage. Tell
it soon, or you may never tell it at all.
Oh, the power of "the tale that is told!"
An hour's discourse about the fact that
blasphemous behavior is sometimes
punished in this world would not impress
us as much as the simple story
that in a town of Xew York state, at
close of the last century, -36 profane
formed themselves into a club,
calling themselves "Society of the
Druids." They met regularly to deride
and damage Christianity. Oae
night in their awful meetiog they
burned a Bible and administered the
sacrament to a dog. Two of them died
that night. Within three daps three
were drowned. In five years all the 36
came to a bad end. Before justices of
the peace it was sworn that two were
starved to death, seven were drowned,
eight were shot, five committed suicide,
seven died on the gallows, one
arsr? flirpft diftd ac
MAD UV^M) -1**
cider)ta!!y. Incidents like th.21. sworn
to, would balk any proposed irreverent
and blasphemous behavior.
In what way could the fact ihat infidelity
will not help any one die -well be
so powerfully presented as by the incident
concerning a man falling ill in
Paris just after the death of Voltai-e,
when a professional nurse was called in
and she asked, '"Is the gentleman a
Christian?" ''Why do you as'c that?"
said the messenger. "I am the nurse
who attended Voltaire in his last illness,
and for all the wealth of Europe
I would never see another infidel die."
What discourse in its moral and spiritual
effe?:t could equal a tale like that?
You might argue upon the fact that
* k ~ pollan ova mr HrrttTlprS end sis
4CblXV*U fc*iv vv**
ters, but could we impress any one with
such a truth so well as by the scene
neare Victoria park, London, where
men were digging i deep drain and the
shoring gave way and a great pile of
earth fell upon the workmen. A man
stood there with his hands in his pockets
looking at those who were trying to
shovsl away the earth from those who
were buried, but when some one said
to the spectator, "Bill, your brother i3
down there," tben the spectator threw
off his coat and went to work with an
agony of earnestness to fetch up his
' .1 _ 1. - .. I. -L-L-L.-. L . <
Drotner. vvuat course ui ai^umcju
could so well as that incident set forth
when we toil for the salvation of a soul
it is a brother whom we are trying to
5ave?
A secoad reading of my text reminds
me that life is not only a story told,
ijut that it is a brief story. A long
aarrative stretched out indefinitely loses
its interest. It is generally the story
;hat takes only a minute or half ininute
to rehearse that arrests the at:ention.
And that gives additional in:ersst
to the story of our life. It is a
short story. Subtract from our life all
;he hours of necessary sleep, all the
lours of incapacity through fatigue or
llness, all the hours of childhood and
:outh before we get fairly to work, and
*ou have abbreviated the story of life
io much chat you can appreciate the
>salmist's remark when he says, 'Thou
last made my days as a hand's
ireadth," and can appreciate the
postle James'expression when he com>ares
life to "a vapor that appeareth
or a little season and then vanishes
way."
It does not take long to tell all the
icissitudes of life?the gladness and
he griefs, the arrivals and the depar- ;
ares, the successes and the failures, ,
he victories and the defeats, the UDS
ad the downs. The longer we live the !
horter the years. We hardly get over
ae bewildering fatigue of selecting
ifcs for children and friends and see
tiat the presents get of in time to ar- (
!ve on the appropriate day than we see
mother advancing group of holidays. '
Lutumoal fruit so sharply chases the
immcr harvest, and the snow of the
hite blossoms of springtime come so ^
)on after the snows of winter. It is a
;mark so often made that it fails" to
take ajy impression and the platitudr ,
lat calls forth no reply, ''How rapidly ]
oies goes.
Every century is a big wheel of years, j
hich. inake3 a hundred revolutions and ]
reaks down. Every year is a big
heel of months and makes 12 revolu- <
ons and then ceases. Geologists and
leologians go in^o elaborations of
uesses as to how long the world will
rchabi7 last; how long before the vol- (
mie forces will explode it, or meteoric 1
:roke demol'sh it, or the cold of a long i
inter f:e5;.c out its population, or the (
res of a ia3t conflagration burn it. ?
uai is ah vcr_v wen, uuv ay aa iuc c
reseat population cf the earth is coil- ]
jroed the world will last but a little f
>nger. We begin life with a cry ard t
3d it with a groan, and the cry and j
le groan are not far apart. Life, Job ]
iys, is like the Sight of a weaver's i
luttle, or, as David intimates in my g
;xt, a story quicklv told and laughed at e
ad gone and displaced by another
;ory, a? a "tale that is told."
But short as time is it is long enough 1
we rightly employ it. The trouble \
we waste so much time we cannot 1
itch up. Some of us have been chas- i
ig time we lost at 20 year3 of age or 1
) years of age, or 40 years of age and (
we lived 250 years we could never s
rertake it. Joseph, a poor apprentice, 1
-n-rv r\ i r? cr noccarl o oorfnr) of Aro oo i
?j u:v;ui,u^ yuooou a dtviv c*o i
le church clock struck 6 at the i
loment when the merchant took down i
is shuttsrs, each of them saying i
sood morning, sir," and nothing else, i
rhat was Joseph's surprise to find that t
le merchant had suddenly died and <
;ft him his store and business. That ;
? not the only instance where a maa i
as made a fortune by punctality. j
he poet's verse reads, j
Time fiies away
'he while we nev?r remember,
IIow scon our life here
Grows old with the year
'hat with the next
A. third reading of my text reminds <
le that life is not only a story told, \
ut a story listened to. There is noth3c
more vexatious to any one than to
;li a story when people are not attend}g.
They may be whispering-on some <
ther subject, or they are preoccupied
?ne cannot tell a story effectually un
less ttere are good listeners. "Well, |
that which in my test is called the
"tale that i, toll" has plentj of listeners.
There is no such thing as soli- i
tude, no such think as beiag alone.
God listens and the air is full of i
11 J !
Spiritual luieuigeuu^s <*u iisiemuj;, auu
the w>rld listens to the story of cur
life, some hoping it will be successful, !
others hoping it will be a failure.
TVe talk about public life and private j
life, but there is no private life. The I
story of our life, however insignificant 1
it may seem to be, will win the ap- i
plausc or hiss of a great multitude that !
no man can number. As a * 'tale that j
is told" among admirers Or antagonists,
celestials or pandemoniacs, the uni- i
verse is full of listening ears as well as
of gleaming eyes. If we say or do the
right thing, that is known,. I suppose
the population of the intelligences in
the air is more numerous than the
population of intelligences on the
earth. Oh. that the story of our life
' ' f, p ? 1. __
migac DO ni lor sucti au auuieuuu m
such an auditorium! God grant that
wisdom and fidelity and earnestness
and truth may characterize tbe "the
tale that is told."
Aye, all the world will yet listen to
and be redeemed by a "taie that is
told." We are telling it, each in his
own way?some by voice, some by pen,
some by artist's pencil, some by harp
and some by song; mother telling ia to
child, teacher telling it to Sabbath
class, reformer telling it to outcast,
preacher telling it to assemblage. The
story of the Loveliest of heaven coming
down to this scarred and blasted
island of a world. He was ordered
back from its shores and struck through
with lances of human hate as soon as
he landed. Shepheard's dog baying on
the hills that Christmas nuht was
better treated than this rescuer of a
race, yet keeping right on, brambles on
brow, feet on spikes, flagellated with
whips that had lumps of lead fastened
to them, through midnight without
lanterns, through storms without a
shelter, through years that got blacker
until they ended in a noonday with the
sun blotted out. Mightiest tale ever
told, and keep on telling it until the
last sorrow is assuaged and the last
animosity Jis qucnched and the last
desert is white with lilly and golden
with the cowslip and blue with the gentian
and crimson with the rose.
While reading my test the fourth
time I bethink myself that the story of
]if<? will f?nd when the erou'j breaks up.
The "tale that is told'' stops when the
listeners depart. Spmetiaies we have
been in groups interestedly listening to
some story told when other engagements
or the hour of the night demanded
the going of the guest. That
stopped the story. By this exit of
another year I am reminded that these
earthly groups will break up. No
family group or social group or relitrirtns
ornnn nr nnlitifial PTonn stava
X- O-' -A ?f long
together. Suppose some one
should take from the national archives
the roll of yonder United States senate
chamber or the roll of yonder house of
representatives as it was made up 20
years ago and then call the roil. The
* 1 t ^ ? li-V- j! ^.T_ _
silence ^ouiq De mignuer man tne
voices that would hear and respond.
The family group breaks up. Did
you ever know a household that for 25
years remained intact? Not one.
Was there ever a church record the
same after the passage of 25 years or
15 years or 10 years? The fact is that
the story of our life will soon end
because the group of listeners will be
gone. So you sec if we are going to
give the right trend and emphasis we
we must give it right away. If there
are old people in the group of our influence,
all we can dc for them will be
in five or ten years. If there are
children around us, in 10'or 15 years
they w'll no longer be children, and
they will be fashioning the story ?f
their own life. '"What thy hand
findeth to do, doit with all thymigbt,"
Passing all, passing everything, as a
tale that is told."
My test, in referring to the years,
reminds me that in 12 hours this year
will forever have gone away. Ninetynine
out of the hundred years of this
century will have disappeared. We
have disappeared. We have only one
only one year of the century left.
There ought to be something especially
suggestive in tbe last year of a century, j
It ought to bs a year of unparalleled
industries, of unheard of consccration.
Not a person in any of our audiences
this day can remember the first year of
this century. Xot a person in any of
our audiences today will ever again sec
the last ye&v of a century.
A Strange Case.
"Mr. Charles West, of Ohio," says
the Cincinnati Enquirer, "was playing
i game of cards and his last dollar was
it stake. As the cards were being
iealt out he remarked: "If the queen
Df hearts turns up again I hope to God
:h/it I may never speak again.' To his
jonsternation the fateful card turned
jp. He attempted to utter an oath,
out iound that he could not articulate
ibove a whisper. He has tried various
remedial agents, but up to the present
;ime he has not regained his voice.
Many of the friends of Mr. West look
lpon his afiiietion as a visitation from
1 M
jroa.
High. Endorsements.
The Xeeley treatment for the cure
>f the whitkey and the morphine habit
las the endorsement of medical author
ties, curative establishments and
)thers equally entitled to respect. Betliifi
thsi h!er.sr>r1 frnifcq r>f t.Vu*
sure themselves are seen in the new
ives of those who have had the benelts
of the treatment. The Keeley
:reatment may bs had at only one
jlace in South Carolina?the Keeley
[nstitute, Columbia. Letters of inquiry
eceive prompt attention. It is the delire
of those in charge to give all desired
information.
Last Year's Weather.?The Coumbia
State says "the weather of 1899
a. on i* .
ivas me most ecueutric ooum v^aruuua
ias had for many years. The winter
rionths of the year were unprecedented
y cold, with the mercury below zero in
Columbia. The early spring was excessively
rainy; so that by May the fall
lad exceeded the average about six
!nche3. Then the sun took his innings
md there was great heat and drought
intil September. The fall and the
winter to the close of the year were unisually
bright and pleasant?a milder
icd more open season could hardly be
lesired. And now the footings for the
/vnW 90 v^riirmn !
?rom the normal temperature and 2?
inches variation from the norma! rainPali.
Had the year ended one day
jarlier its temperature would hare been
)nly one degree above the normal; but
Sunday was an abnormal 31st of Delember
and it prevented the makiDg of
m almost unheard-of record. It was a
pear of weather in Iodk and antagonistic
streaks, but it wound up pretty well at
the end."
Christinas Dinner.
JSTo ill effects need follow the eatiDg
of a big Christmas dinner if, after
3ame, you take "Hilton's Life for the
Liver and Kidneys." 25c a bottle. tf
A SAD CASE. ""
Driven Mad by Love for a Brown
Eyed GirlHIS
MIND UNBALANCED
! She Had Promised to be His Wife
but Married Another!Wben
the Wedding Day
Came.
Unrequited love for a browa-eyod
girl dethroned the reason of Benjamin
F. L^e Friday night, suffering from the
1 ^ A L - it - _ . 1 ?
mania Drougiu on Dy me pangs in /lis
aching heart, he wandered into police
headquarters aod asked to be locked up
to prevent the violent outbreak which
he said was fast coming upou him.
The girl who refused to reciprocate
the affection which Lee showered upon
her is Miss Mollie Melton, aged 21,
and very pretty. She lived with her
married sister at 152 Walton street,
Atlanta. She left the city Friday af
ternoon for her former home in Macon.
TT . ..n._ J 1. Z _ V . ^ 11
ner suaaeu departure is wnat unoai
anced the mind of young Lee. Half
aa hour after she left the house he
called with a marriage license in his
pocket and stated to her relatives that
she had promised to marry him at 5
o'clock.
"Mollie will not marry you, Den,"
said her sister to the voune man when
he had stated the object of his visit.
"She has left the city."
"But I have the license,'' he replied,
"and e^orything is ready for the ceremony.
Oh, this is too cruel. Why
did she treat me in this way?"
He refused to believe that she had
left the city and begged to be allowed
to sec the girl he loved. When finally
convinced that she was gone he went to
the home of his brother, J. B. Lee, at
125 Crescent avenue, and told him hia
deep trouble. He said that be had at
first arranged to have the ceremony
performed by Rev. Mr. Oxford, but
that on second thought he had decided
to have his father, A. F. Lee, who is a
i minister, tie the matrimonial bonds
| which would unite him to the girl of
1113 V^UUIUC. liv tUtU tui u. tut WiVlUCi
for the first time that the ceremony
was to take place at his house.
Nothing more was seen of the young
| mai until he turned up in police head!
(j lancrs totally demented and fearing
! tiie consequences of his unsettled men!
tal condition.
The courtship between Lee and Miss
Melton extends over a space of five
ninths and has a tinge of romance
about it that is seldom equalled in real
i life.
T oa mec o in tViri n.Pintli
naj u. oviuiwi IU A n uia VJJ.
regiment, which went to the Philippine
isiands after a month's stay at
Fort McPherson. He was discharged
[just before the regiment left because
of physical disability.
it was daring his career as a soldier
that he met the brown-eyed girl for
love of whom he is now in close confinement.
He was walking-out Walton
street one afternoon in the late" autumn
dresssed in his soldier's uniform. Miss
Melton was on the veranda of her home
and smiled at the blue eyed soldier boy
as he passed. Lee went to the home
nf Tiis brother and sent Tier a nnt^ ask
ing if he might call on her.
"Certainly not," was her reply in the
note she sent back to him, "the smile
I gave you was a patriotic smile because
of the uniform you wear."
He did not despair, however, and a
few days later met a friend who introduced
him to the girl. After that he
was a frequent caller at the house.
"Ben came to the house often to see
Mollie," said the married sister, in
speaking of the courtship. "Though
she never did care for him he- seemtfd
determined to marry her. One night
they we/e on the veranda just outside
my window, and I overheard them
talking.
u lI am never happy except when
looking into your eyes, Mollie,' 1 heard
him say to her.
"She was only flirting with him all
that time. He had large blue eyes,
and she is death on blue eyes.
"I know she knew nothing of tin marriage
license, because she if engaged to
another man who don't live here. I
think Ben began to get desperate when
the other fellow came up to see Mollis
about two weeks ago. He was insanely
jealous when he found that she
was receiving a rival, and I heard that
hp t.ftftV a nf strunhninf* nne mcht
while the other man was visiting
Mollie. He has been acting queerly
ever since and Mollie has been trying
to avoid him."?Atlanta Journal. ;
NO LIMIT TO COTTON MILLS
Interesting Interview with D. A.
Tompkins, of Charlotte.
In an interview with a^ Associated
Press reporter Mr. D. A. Tompkins,
the well known cottoD mill expert of
Charlotte, N. C , takes a most encouraging
vie?v of textile conditions in the
S/Uth. In ty^v to a question as to
the {-rosptctb of mill construction
in 1900 Mr. Tompkins said that expectations
in this line will be fully
met. ''The machine manufacturers in
the United States," said Mr. Tompkins.
"can make 2,500.000 spind'es-a
year. Chat is the extent of . their <">utr.u
fr r*?ncr miila f/\ r\A Knilf in 1 QflO
J[-?UL. JLXit* m/ ?T iuiiig vy KJ\j wuui. ? ?vf
will require 2,000,000 spindles for
their equipment, so that the mill con- .
struction this year A-ili be very nearly
equal to the capat-i y of the machine
plants to turn out spindles."
Continuing, Mr. Tompkins said:
"New England has 13,000,000 spsndles,
of which 7;000,300 are located in
Massachusetts. There are now 5,000,000
spindles in the South. At the end
of 1900 the South will have 7,000,000
spindles and New England will still
have 13,000,000. In Massachusetts
new spindles are being put in on fine
stuffs only, while the old ones are bcine
discontinued on course stuff.
"Old England has 46,000,000 spindles;
the South 5,000,000; the United
States, including the Middle States,
20,000*000. At the rate of 2,000,000
new spindles a year, the pri-s^nt rate
of increase, tf>n j o.irs froai no* the
United Sta'><5 would have about the
s\me nutiibtr of spindles as-Eogland.
Of these New England and the middle
States would probably have 20,000,000,
all on fine goods, and the South 25,000,000.
In other words the United
States in 1910 will have as many
spindles as England, and the South
will have more spindles than New England
and the middle Siates combined.
The British privy council held a
meeting at -S7indsor Castle at which
Qaeen Victoria proclaimed a warning
to all British subjects not to assist inhabitants
oi the Transvaal or * of the
Orange Free State to sell or transport
merchandise thereto under penalty
of the law.
J
i' HOPE FOR THE HAIRLESS/
. of Alaska Futs a Crop oa thO
t Baldest Head.
' Th? experience of Roderick Dhu
> Smitfc, who recently returned from tha
| Klondike region with a big budget oj
! experience, quite a little sum of money,
and a head of hair which almost quaii!
flea him to take an engagement lb a
! Circassian girl in a circus, is of especial
interest to a large contingent: of
his fellow men and women, says the
San Francisco Call. For be It knowD
that Roderick, before making his per.
ilous way... to the Arctic regions,
though otherwise pleasing to look upon
and still on the sunny eide of forty,
was. .the owner of a head whic'i
made theater ushers, whenever the:" J
was a ballet on the program, escort
him down to the front row without
*?yen glancing at his seat check.
It is said that his baldness was the
real cause of his starting out in search
OS gold, since ne spent au nis patrimony
in the purchase of . hair restorers,
and it was necessary for him to
do something, no matter hew desperate,
to retrieve his fallen fortunes. Be that
as it may, he went to Alaska, and, after
a two years' residence there, ha?
returned a modern Samson, as far rs
chevelure is concerned, and he declares
that the transformation is entirely
due to the rigors of. the climate
In that quarter of the globe.
"The intense cold kills all germs and
microbes," he asserts, "and stimulates
the scalp, and nature does the
rest," and he proudly exhibits his lienlike
mane as proof of what nature can
do, *ben she takes a fancy, unassisted
by cashes or oils or unguents.
T\ J. McLeod, who has spent twelve
yeiifs in Alaska and the northwest, al?
though he has net the pleasure of
VniMBinor Afr Qmith norcnnnllv nnr? flirt
not, therefore, see the sprouting and
the bourgeoning of his especial crop
of modified epidermic cells, still corrobora^s
his story as to the virtues of
that frigid clime as a hair producer.
"My hair always was thick," he says,
"so I cannot speak from personal experience,
but the way dogs put on hair
up ther? Is a caution. They get as
shaggy as Shetland ponies, and now I
think of It, I never saw- a bald-headed
fellow anywhere around .there. To
tell the truth, they-all look, after they
have got to work, as though a razor
and a pair of scissors were far more
needed than a hair restorer, and I
think a missionary barber wou>? do
good work among them."
Signs of Good and Bad Weather.
A hint or two on weather prophecy.
When clouds are red in the west,.the
red having a purple tint, It is a sign of
fine weather. The air when dry refracts
red or heat-making rays, and aa
dry air Is not perfectly transparent
these are agaiu reflected in the horizon.
An old proverb says:
V rainbow In the inorning is the shepherd's
warning. .
A ttiinbow at night is the shepherd's
delight.
A rainbow occurs when the clouds
containing or depositing the rain are
opposite to the sun. In the evening
the rainbow is in the east, and in the
morning It is in. the west. As the
heavy rains in this climate are usually
brought by the westerly winds, a rainbow
in the west indicates that bad
weather 13 on the road; whereas the
rainbow in the east proves the contra^.
When the swallows fly high fine
weather h to be expected or to continue.
But when they fly low approaching
rain -is Indicated. Swallows
follow the flies and gnats, and flies and
gnats usually delight in warm strata
of air. As warm air is lighter and
moister than cold air, the warm strata
of air run higher, but when the warm
and raoist air is close ,to the ground.
It is almost certain that, as the cold
air flows down into it, water will fall.
As an indication of the approach of
wet Weather, nothing is more, certain
than a halo around the moon, which
b produced by the precipitated water;
and the larger the circle.the nearer the
clouds, and. consequently, the more
ready to fall. A coppery or yellow
sunset also foretells rain.
Observations teaches that when the
sea gulls assemble on land, stormy and
rainy weather is approaching. The little
petrel enjoys the heaviest gale, because
living j>artly on the smaller sea
insects, he is sure to find his food in
the spray of heavy waves. The fish
on whlAh thev nrev in fine weather at
sea leave the surface and go down
deeper during the storm. The different
tribes of wading birds always mi.
grate when rain is about to take place.
.Upon the same principle, the vulture
follows armies.
Architect Vaux's Busy Ghost.
Do spirits play pranks with living
people? Here is one incident that
seems to Indicate that they do. Not
long ago Stuyve$ant Fish asked Francis
T. Bacon, the architect, to remodel
a summer house for him. It is an old
home on the Hudson, called Glen
Clyffe. It is situated on a plat of
green hillside just opposite West
Point.' Mr. Fish and Mr. Bacon went
over the drawings together in the lat-ter's
Chicago office. Glen Clyffe is a
brick house, with stone trimmings,
with a wide veranda running around
it. It is in Italian renaissance and was
built in 3S57 by an architect named
Vaux, now dead. The front of the
house is four stories, and the back
thrpo fiwirt? tr> its lnrnMrm nr> a hill
slope.
Mr. Bacon, promised to modernize
the house, and put the plans away in
his desk. Within an hour George
Powers, industrial commissioner, came
in.
1 say, Bacon," he remarked, "can
ycu take time to remodel on old house
for ;i friend of mine?Ben Price, at
Oxford. Miss.?"
"Yes." &2id the architect. And when
the plans of ?the Mississippi house were
produced. Bacon rubbed his eyes.
"Queer," he said, reaching for President
Fish's plans. They were alike in
every particular?Italian renaissance,
brick, ?wkh. stone trimmings, situated
on a knoll, four stories front and
three rear. One is located on the Hud
son, thei other 2,000 miles away in a
i'iltlo Mississippi town. One was buflt
in 1S57; the other In 1S5U. Both sets
.if drawings wore sighed "C. Vaux."
The question is. What does the deceased
Vaux want? Is it a ghost's
joke?
"Is your lieutenant a handsome man.
Ella?"
"Oh. as handsor/.ft : ? Ur-..'.
come to life out c! r rr ijv.hj;; '
ruuj'i Vlclory 0*-er an Eafflo.
A tiger cat, belonging ro .Farmer
Hazard, of Herrick, Susquehanna
county, was strolling out toward the
barn some time ago, carrying in her
~ " ^ *?Anf h J*r> TAlin cr A
teem a pitjuc UL UIW L auj. v
bald eagle, .which had been hovering
over the farm for a week, suddenly descended
upon her and whirled her upward
In r.ipM vortical flight.
'Ha- jiyih of ascent, to the eye of a
spectator watching .the scene, was
cloarly indicated by loose feathers
violently tossed from the point of combat
In a brief time the struggling
pair came to a standstill ia the sky.
The eagle's wings had drooped now
and then, and he had given plain evidence
of pain and terror, yet not once
had his awful grip appeared to relax.
At leneth a descent was begun, with
a rapidity which increased every mo
merit, and the two animals struck the
ground at the point where they had at
first encountered each other, but the
eagle vras dead, and the oar. as soon
as she felt terra firma beneath her
feet, shot away for the barn, still
carrying hor bit of meat
Investigation showed that the cat
had cut the eagle's throat and so lacerated
its breast that its body was laterally
laid open. After the death in midair,
however, the cat had been too
clever to relax her hold an3 thus fail
to the ground, but let her ea?my servo }
a parachute to_ease_her_descent.
/
- ^
A Chapter Worth Reading
The following from the Ver|
diet is the clearest statement of
i McKinley's financiering ever
I published. It is plain and
worthy of careful: perusal. If
you desire t6 be well informed,
preserve it.
These are tigures to filo away.
Keep them as a rod in pickle for
the back of this black administration.
They are not to be lied
into silence.. Neither may they
be fled from,1; dodged or gone
about. TheyJare the dollar and
cent record of the disastrous
McKihley. The treasury^deficit
in three years of McKinley's is:
189 7 - ?18.054,000
189 8 38,048,000
1S9: i 88.897,000
The'government "revenues/ by
years during McKinley's administration.
liave[been:
189 7 * $847,721,000
189 8 . 402,321 000
189 9 517.216.000
Total $1,269,258,000
The McKinley administration
has spent, during its term, these
voc+ cnmc
? uoi muiio.
189 7 ?365,775,000
1898 443,368,000
189 9 605,093,000
Total $1,414,536 000
Deficit for three years.... 144.978,000
Of this revenue, received in
i ? b tT>r>AA AAA AAA
mice j ears $ q>.ivu,uw,vvv wct?
from the sale of bonds; $76,000,000
from payments by the Pacific
railroad and $112,000,000 by
means of the war revenue bill.
Put in table form it is:
Froin boDds $200,000,000
From Pacific railroads.. .. 66,000,000
Froai war revenue 112,000,000
Total $388,000,000
This extraordinary revenue is
~n ? x^ J ^ i.~
an cuunieu 111 me receipts ut
81,200,558,000. Had . not the
treasury -received these extra
bond, railroad and war revenues,
the deficit, instead of being
8144,978,000, would be $532,978,000,
a sum ; greater than for
any three, years in the life of the
nation, except during the civil
war. In putting upon the bsoks
of the treasury $200,000,000 in
bonds, the McKinley administration
has increased the public
rlpht as fnllnw*;*
Debt in 18%.- $1,769,840,323.
Debt in 1899 1,991,.927,406
Iecrease of public
debt ia three years.. 532,978,000
Naturally the annual interest
charge is increased. On. the
dates given it was as follows:
June-30,1896. $35,386,487
June'30,1899 39,896,925
Increase $4,409,438
On the basis of population
July 1 1S96, the per capita interest
charge was 50 cents, and on
July 1, 1899, it was 55 cents.
The table shows the public debt
of the United States for each
man, woman and child in this
country on the dates named:
July 1,1896 $25.00
July 1. 1899. I....... 29 00
Omnin/v >
ummiig
Machinery.
o
The Smith Pneumatic Suction
Elevating, Ginning and J
' Packing by stem
To tlir> uirvinlAat. ?>n<1 mnsf. ftffiw'pnt nn
the market. Forty-eight complete
outfits in South Carolina; each
one giving absolute
satisfaction.
Boilers and Engines; Slide
Valve, Automatic and Corliss.
My Light and Heavy Log Beam &a*
Mills cannot be equalled in design, efficiency
or price by any dealer ormanu
eajturer in the South. .
Write for prices and catalogues.
V. C. Badham,
1326 Main Street,COLUMBIA.
S' C
1%
unman rays
the EXpress
Steam Dyeing of every
description. Steaiir, Napi-lio
* TT'voiir>"h, Tirtr onil
I 11.CA j j X X VUVU^ X/ A J j
chemical cleansing. Send
for our new price list and
circular. All work guaranteed
or no charge.
Oilman's Steam lye Works,
1310 Main Street
COLU MBIA. S. C
A. L. Ortman, Proprietor.
WANTED!
Every one to know that the
KEELEY CURE
for Drink, Drug and Tobacco
addictions is now re-establihsed
at Columbia, S. G.
Call or writ a,
The Keeley Institute,
^ aa m _
liuy iMaiu oircci.
iS'o other in the state.
Jno. S. Reynolds,
Attorney afc Law,
Columbia, S. C. |
i
'1
\
Gree
ffle wish all a bright and pro:
those, who are The happj
Bni/ai Elaetir f i
llUJUIblUWUU I
We hope the success of
well assured as the success of <
grows steadily and the most gr
receipt of voluntary letters frc
of greatjsatisfactiou and comfo
If you are interested in gooc
~ a - -1 - 1
\,an uu yvur nearest aeaier. J
write to us direct for descriptr
. Yours truly,
Royall & Boi
Dea
r HAVE YOU B<
FIREW
Drrm im a nnctul "an/P+Vna nort mo
r u*?
Best Goods at
Columbia St:
^Wholesalers of Bags,
J. Wilson Gibbes, Manager,
LIGHTNING_A PUZZLE
NO REASONABLE GROUND FOR THE
GENERAL FEAR ENTERTAINED.^
Facta and Speculations About CelMtlal Artillery?So
mo Curious Performance In
Which the Dreaded, fluid Ha* Indulged
Value of Lightning Rod*.
The weather bureau has been doing
a lot of speculating of late on the sub- i
ject or lignmmg.
Out of every three persons struck by
lightning two survive and recover. The
amount of electricity In a thunderbolt
is not very great ?he experts say but Its
voltage is extremely high, and that is
what does the damage. It is rather
remarkable that so little should be
known as to the nature of the fluid
which is in such common and everyday
use. Nowadays it would be as easy
to get along without water as without'
electricity, yet the fluid is still _called
the "mysterious," inasmuch as its
character and properties are to a great
extent unknown. The latest and the
best .accepted theory on the subject Is
that, like iignt, it is a rorm or mouon.
- But what puzzles the experts
most Is to discover the nature of the
balls of electricity which are constantly
cutting up strange capers.
Fireballs of this description, though
not properly so: termed, have' been
produced artificially in Germany, by
charging masses of vapo: with electricity.
Soon after the famous experiments
of Franklin with a kite, investi
gators in various parts or tne wona
imitated his performance. One of
these was Prof. Richman, a wellknown
scientist of St Petersburg. He
succeeded in drawing the lightning into
his laboratory, but the result was
v unfortunate, inasmuch as a. fiery ball
; as big as a man's fist suddenly appeared
in the room, ."leaped from the
Insulated conductor to his head and
killed him. -The occurrence was described
by an assistant, who stated
that the ball was blue.
In recent years there has arisen a
serious doubt as to the value of lightning
rods. This distrust has arisen
probably from the fact that buildings
provided with lightning rods have on
, many occasions been destroyed. After
all, the lightning rod is. only, a conductor,
and is 'able to carry only a
certain amount of the electric fluid. If
an avalanche of electricity comes it
may overflow, like a torrent .that.overflows
the banks of the channel desighed
for it, and the result is disaster.
One of the best evidences of the
value of lightning rods up to date has
been afforded by" the Washington monument
It is capped by a small foursided
pyramid of aluminum, which
metal, so cheap to-day, was very costly
at the time of the building of the
greatest obelisk tbat the world has
ever known. This aluminum tip is connected
with the ground by four copper
rods which go down deep into the
earth. On April 5. 1885,- five immense
bolts of electricity .were seen to flash
between the monument and a thunder
cloud overhanging in the course of
twenty minutes. In other words, the
monument was struck fiercely five
times, but It suffered no damage whatever.
On.June 15, of the same year, a
more tremendous assault was made
upon the monument from the heavens,
and the result was a fracture of one of
the topmost stones. The crack still remains
to ?how whet nature can do in
the way of an electric shock, -but the
slightness of the damage is evidence of
man's power to protect himself from
such attacks. The obelisk is ideally
located for attracting electrical assaults
from the skies, and yet, while
many times hit it has suffered, only
once, and that time to a trifling extent
in oia ximes vessels us?u oiieu to oe
struck by, lightning and the loss by
that cause was very great From 1790
to 1840 no fewer than 280 ships of the
British navy were struck, 100 men being
killed and 250 injured. Nowadays
warships, as well as big merchant vessels,
have lightning rods running down
their masts and into the sea so that
the electricity is carried off. In these
days nobody hears of the destruction
of a vessel by lightning. Churches are
tha hnll^lnua mnct mmmnnlT cl I
There Is record of a certain church In
Carinthla which was hit'by lightning
four or five times a year on an average
the services being stopped In summer
on this account. A rod was put"on the
steeDle and there was no more trouble.
MONEY TO LOAN
On improved real estate.
Interest eight per cent.,
payable semi-annnally.
Time 3 to 5 years.
" N o commissions charged
|HM D 6. A
juu. d. rainier ou ouu7
CENTBAL NATIONAL BANK BUILDING,
1205 Plain St., Columbia, S. C
L
'/C
V
^ - -
* '/rtt
tings:
*VV~;
sperous New War, nspecinliv
T possessors of one of our
elt.Mattresses
'
..^a
'-fSi
. <%
every reader of this paper is as
Diir mattress.' The sale of same
atifying part of it is the daily
im new customers, expressive
rfc derived from use of same.
I bedding, and all ought to be,
[f he does not handle the n,
re pamphlet,
:?
am
uclJi MANUFACTURERS,
GQLDSBORO, N. C.
lers! 1
OUGHT YOUR I
nnifs?
VilliV i
,il will.bringyouapricelistof the
Lowest Prices.
itionery Co., Paper,
Twin?s, etc.
COLUMBIA, S. C.
I
"Machinery
. *
AKD
Mil! Supplies
u i
If you need anything in Dee
-above line write us. Prices
->i
are steadily advancing, and
there is every indication of
' * ' . i
further. advances. Bujr now
and save money. Prices and
|
estimates cheerfully submitted.
Now is the time to buy.
Engines and: Boilers, ?.
Saw 'and Grist Mills. 'Z~ ^
Woodworking Machinery, I 12 ^
Bice Hullers, ['?? J
Brick Machinery, T I
Grain Iris. , J
W. H. Gibbes & Co., J
804 Gervais Street,
, _
COLUMBIA, S. C.
Near Union Depot.
KIDNEY,
B LA ODER, D BIN A R ' AND
LIVER
' * * ^
DISEASE?, DYSPEPSIA., ISDIGl^TICN
AND (>?N?TCPATION POSITIVELY
l.CRU} BY THE UiP OF
DR. HILTON'S
LIFE 1
_K?R THE _ ^
LIVER ANDJUBNEYS. ,
A vegetable preparation, wherever kuowo
the m- st popular of.al' Tew-iico, because ih< ?
moat effectual. -Jj||
Sold wholesale by?
The Marray J)rng Co. Columbia
Dr. H. Baer. Charleston, S. C.
Macfeafs n
I
School of
SHORTHAND
?'AND?
TYPEWRITING
OOLUiMBIA, S. C. This
School has tbe reputation of heia? tbe
oetl business institution in tbe Sta'c Orad
oates ar?- holding raomneratiye posj'ions ia
mercantile house*, banking, insurance, irai
vwwww, (>iiuU4U vxuwo, ac.T iu iui9 Hiici ojner
Statea. Write to W l?. Macfeat.
Setenocrapber, Colore h?a. S 0. for terms, >? I
Man's strength ?
lies in his If
. stomach.
A poor, weak digestion debilitates
and impoverishes the body.
No need confining ohe's self to
in oimrvlo - ?
vvi v? ouupo uicu) vii tins account,
when with the use of
"Hilton's Life for the Liver and
Kidneys" any kind of food may
be eaten with comfort. 25c a
bottle. Wholesale by _
THE MURRAY DRUG 60.,
GfH.mrQT A a n
U. v.
- ?
-