The Abbeville press and banner. (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, January 08, 1896, Image 6
MMir.
A rilnln nf 1?nn>licli T.-S-fV\
jl j. (ij.c ui juiigiiou jjuci
BY WALTEK BESANT
t '
CHAPTER IV.-Contlnned.
"You have told them, I suppose, that
jou are married already."
"No, I have not. I 6hould tell them,
of nniiras. If I could afford it. But I
can't. The old man has found out all
about you, Ruth, I don't know how.
He's not a bad sort, the old man; all he
ays Is 'cut it,' that's all."
Euth drew her breath quiokly. On
her pale cheek there showed a spot of
color.
" 'Cut It,' he says, and you shall be a
partner; keep It on and you shall be a
beggar.
"That's the situation, Kuth"?he
threw himself into a chair with a laudable
assumption of carlessness. "A begfr.
There is nothing in the world that
can do. I don't know any trade?I
can't do anything. There isn't a man
in the world more helpless than I when
it comes to doing any work that will
pay. So you see, as I can't afford to be
a pauper, &nd it would only make things
for you worse if I made you a pauper,
tco, I've made up my mind that the only
thing for us to do is to cut it; to have
done witn- it?to separme?lo gu uu us
If we had never met."
"But we cannot, Harry. It is too late
to talk of such a thing."
"It is never too late. That is my resolution,
Buth."
"Good Heavens! Why, we are married.
Have you forgotten that? 1"
^re we?"
"Are we not?"
"Look here, Kuth;" he threw himsell
Into a chair and tried to assume a fine
air of carelessness, as if the matter was
one of very small importance. "So long
as there was any chance at all for us I
was willing to go on. But there isn't.
It would be only cruel to you to keep up
the thing any longer. I want to consult
yonr interests first. I can't keep a wife,
you see. I can't even keep myself.
Well, now?don't fly out more than you
can help, Ruth. Look here, you've got
a dozen of letters of mine; you can
make yourself infernally disagreeable
If you please. If you go into a court of
law you would even get damages, I dare
say. Now look here. Don't let's have
any scandal. I'll buy the letters?I'll
l>uy np everything at a big price. Anything
to prevent a row and to part
amicably."
She stared at him with a mind only
' . i half awakened.
"Buy your letters? "What do you
mean? Harry?husband"?she laid her
hand on his arm as he sat up in the
chair; "tell me what does this mean?
Buy your letters to your wife?"
"Wife?ah! well?of course, I don't
pretend to believe that you didn't 6ee
through the trick. Where were you
married, pray?"
?~ ? ?
Alitt
"Where is that registry?"
"I don't know. You took me there."
"I took you to an office; but, my ohild,
/ It was a sham registry.u
He turned away his head. Cold and
elfish as he was, he could not face her
as he told this infernal lie.
"A sham office," he went on, "and
took a false name. You are no more
married than your sister, Miss Ruth
Heron." i
He forced himself to face her.
"I don't know, 1 don't know," she
said, not in fact knowing what she said.
Then she stopped and neither spoke.
"Do you mi an all you say?all?" she
- asked.
"All; I mean it all. Hang It, Ruth, nobody
wants you to come to any harm! I
tell you frankly that I will buy ^ack all
the letters."
She bent forward and whispered.
He sprang to his feet with an oath
and walked across the room. When he
came back to her his face was dogged
and obstinate, as it naa Deen wim ms
father. Unhappily, the girl would not
meet him with equal stubbornes6.
"What does that matter to me?" he
asked her, witft brutality incredible.
"Do as you like. Only when you come
to think it over you will say that the
beet thing you can do is to follow my
advioe. Give up all the papers and I'l)
see you through?buy you a business;
send you abroad?anything you please.'
Remember that this man up to this
moment had been her passionate lover
one who would not find respect too great
or worship too complete. What did ]
say? Fear of poverty reduced him in
one moment to this level. Again I say
?it makes one tremble lest through
some temptation we, too ?
The girl stared at him. It was as if
beneath the visor of the knightly helmet,
where a moment before had been the
face of a man, there should be grinning
the ugly features of a mocking ape.
"You mean all this," she said again.
"Of course, I mean it. What the devil
should I say it for unless I meant it?"
Brutality, you see, once begun must be
kept up, even if one has had enough of
It. Yet I declare that to this young man
the recollection of his father's fierce
eyes and of his awful threats drove pity,
' love, memory, honor?everything out of
his mind. He had but one thought, to
get out of the mess.
"You have no pity? Consider?oh! I
aave ioiq you?consider?uecause you
did love me only a week or two ago "
"Drop it, Ruth. If one of us two is
going to be a pauper it 6hall not be me,
& I cnn help it. \Ve've had a good time,
and it's over. You shall bo taken care
of. It is all over, I tell you."
"No?no. Oh!" She clasped her
hands with a cry of anguish "It is only
beginning. Oh! It is beginning."
She sank into the chair ho had left
and buried her face in her hands. Then
she sprang to her feet again as U there
was no rest in her.
"Oh, my sister?Naomi!" "Oh. ray
sister!?how shall I tell her? What
Bhall I 6ay? What will she say? Oh,
I would rather die than tell her!"
Be was leaning against the mantelshelf.
He turned impatiently aid took
up a little dagger paper-knife, one of
those glittering toys the handle of which
Is of mother-o'-pearl and the blade. of
polished blue steel, and began to play
with it, not even thinking of tho toy.
"I thought you had more sense," h<i
eaid, "than to* go on like this. Well, you
know now what I ha l to say. Better go
quietly and think it over. Come, Enth,
it won't be so hard, after all. I tell you
that vou sljall always have a friend in
me. and "
"I cannot bear it. How can I tell her?
Oh, I wish I was dead! How can 1 tell
her? I will kill myself." She wrung
her hands, looking round the room as if
for some help or comfort there.
"They all say that," said the man.
"But they don't do it, you Know."
She pushed back her Lair; then she
tore o.T her bonnet a:;d let it la'.l, a^ if
the stght of it oppressed her. The wild
lot>k in her eyes an 1 her white cheeks
frightened t,ho man?brute as he was.
"Come, l'.u'.h," he said, "be raote t-cnsibie.
s Consider?think a. little. Lit us
r> .rt friends." He held out his baud aa
one "who seeks to conciliate. In it wa
the little dagger.
* She snatched it from him. "No," 6h
cried. "I will never tell Naomi. Yoi
may tell her?you. I will kill myself
Yes?let me go?let me go. I will ki]
myself."
i She fought with the strength of despai
while he tried to wrench the weapoi
from her hand. Then his?her?fee
caught, and they fell upon the floor?h<
undermost.
When the girl's shrieks called in th<
housekeeper from the next set of cham
bers, she was standing over Mr. Harrj
Stoke, who lay on his back?white in th
face?lying in his blood. Upon he
dress was blood: ui>on her hands wai
blood, and in her right hand the paper
knife which she had torn from the rib
of the wounded man was dripping blood
CHAPTER V.
THE CASE.
The oase, which came on for trial i
few weeks later was very briefly aii<
imnorPeftt.lv -remnrterl In t.hf> Th
facts, as they appeared in the reports
were neither sensational nor interest
ing. A certain Ruth Heron, aged 21
unmarried, was charged with stabbinj
and wounding with intent to murder on
Henry Stoke. The prisoner was repre
sented by counsel, but there was prac
, tieally no defense, and the jury founi
their verdict without leaving the box
In passing sentence, the judge tol(
the prisoner that only a providentia
interposition had prevented hei
from being charged with actual mur
der; he should sentence her to th<
term of seven years' penal servitude,
The prisoner, who appeared perfect!]
unmoved, then left the dock.
As reported, the case looked lik<
nothing more than a common stree1
brawl among drunken and disorderly
| persons. mere are mouBauas ox uuSHI
WAS STANDING OVEB Mil. HARB1
6T0EB.
married girls of 21 who go mad witl
drink every night, and assault the ruffians,
their associates, though to stick i
knife into a man is reckoned beyond th(
rules of the game. It wa6 not statec
where the assault took place, or wha'
was the position of the wounded man
or the relations of these twain. Therefore
the case occupied five lines, and nc
one paid the slightest heed to the terrible
wreck and ruin of u life. That a
[ gin OI '?ii BJQOUia do louiieu up m a prioui
for seven long years, and at the end oi
that time should be separated from the
virtuous by the memory of shame, and
crime, and jail, is a thirg that happens
every day. Only another ol our unhappy
sisters come to grief. We are 6uch
a large family that we can not love alJ
' our sisters, can we?
In the city there were some persone
who showed each other the paper, and
whispered: "John Stoke's eldest son.
Devilish unpleasant thing." A week
later the matter was clean forgotten,
save by the younger men who still remembered
the romantic episode in the
life of Harry Stoke, and still told the
tale how he was knifed in a. row, by a
girl, and taken up for dead. Now, had
, the case been fully reported; had certain
questions been asked, which should
have been asked;?had I been upon the
jury I would have asked these questions
namely, why this girl called upon this
young gentleman in his chambers on
Sunday afternoon? what had Deen their
relations? whether she brought that
knife with her? what she said before
the thing was done? and so forth; there
might have been some sympathy for the
girl; the jury?I know not?might have
brought in'a different verdict, and there
would have been a corresponding verdict,
or an equivalent sentence passed
upon the injured man by the world outside
the courts.
Let us add one or two details, not reported
in the papers.
The case was taken after luncheon.
When the prisoner was placed in the
dock, she lifted her vefl and looked
round the court with seeming curiosity.
She was pale, but not trembling or confused,
nor did she appear in the least
afraid. If she had been a mere spectator
she could not have been more unmoved.
When she had looked steadily
at th<* Judge on the bench, the jury in
their box, tne crerk oexow, the counsel
In their wigs, she lowered her veil, folded
her hands, and stood impassive. Being
called upon to plead. sh6 made nc
audible reply, but the oflicial beside hei
leaned over her and informed the Courl
that the prisoner pleaded, "Not Guilty."
The principal witneB3 was Kenn
Stoke. Considering all facts of the case
one might have expected him to be in s
highly nervous and agitated condition ol
?vxi-nA KaHv T+ ic ftlTxrnvtt Vmrriri if
UX1UU UUU UVUJ *V w MI '? wr .?
go Into a witness box and give evidence,
even when one lias tp give, bo to speak
out6ide evidence. But in such a case as
this, when one's motives may be sc
cruelly misinterpreted, and one's actions
harshly judged, and when one may b<
aeked "the most disagreeable questions
about things one would willingly burj
and forget, and when facts or a mosi
damaging kind may have to be admit*
ted, to go into a witness box must b<
thennost disagreeable thing in the work
for a sensitive and candid soul. Onl>
consider what the young man migh
have to confess! Yet he marched int<
the box upright and confident, his cheel
a little flushed, without the least np
parent nervousness. The reason of tlili
was. I suppose, a little note which la:
in his pocket. It contained thes<
words:
"My sister bids me tell you that s><<
will give no account at all of what tool
place. She will have no question askec
about her relation with you. "What yo\
say in your evidence than go unques
tioned. Naomi."
He went into tne box, therefore, for
tified by the knowledge that, he coulc
say anything he pleased. Let u s be
lieve that he did really conceive himsel
to have been deliberately stubbed b;
the> fir]- hp cr, w^ll deserved that, nun
Ishment that ho hakl no doubt in lii
mind as to her having done it on par
I (l\v?
i iSi-- gfckl.
j iafV JSP??!''4
WiIWD:g SAID Eli t'OlLU .NOT SAV. .
? ' .
8 pose, ne aeposea simply that the gli
had called upon him, that there ha
6 been an altercation, that the prisone
^ seized a small paper-knife with a stet
; blade, and that he remembered nothin
1 more.
The counsel for the deiense said h
r was instructed to ask him one question
J Could not the wound have been inflicte
1 by accident?
0 Witness said that he could not say.
There wore no other ouestlons asked
1 and he left the box. Well, he had bee:
, stabbed; he had been obliged to go into
e court and to state that fact. What gooi
_ would it do to go into other matters
People must not be stabbed even >>;
girls who have been deserted. Person
* ally, he was horribly vexed about th
S vVinla hnsinAQB nnf.tr* cnAnlr r>f thn nun
*, caused by the wound. But what coul<
he do? He was very sorry for the girl
but it would not help him if all the stor;
of his entanglement was Drocl aimed ii
% open court. - Observe that when ayounj
i gentleman like Mr. Harry Stoke behave
0 in this kind of way it is always an en
i, tanglement into which he has fallen
- and, among* his female relatives, th<
, other party entangled is always the mos
1 crafty, the most subtle, the most design
e ing, the most foreseeing, the most far
- reaching she-devil that ever walkec
- about with intent to entrap and destroy
3 the sons of women.
The next witness was the house1
keeper at the chambers, who deposed
1 that, being engaged in the adjominj
r room, she heard voices in dispute"; tha
one of them was a woman'* voice; tha
> she heard a scuffle of feet and a heavj
. fall, followed by a woman's ehriek
j that 6he ran into the room and saw Mr
Stoke lying on tho floor in a pool o
) blood, and the prisoner standing ovei
t him, the dagger dripping with blood ii
t her hand, and that all she said was
? "I have killed him! I have killed him!'
Another witness was the medical mai
who bad examined tbe wound. He sau
' that he was called In about half-pasi
seven that evening and found a mar
lying on the floor unconscious anc
bleeding from a wound, of which h<
proceeded to give a minute description
which caused the conduct of the assassin
to seem very deliberate, and ever
scientific. Had the weapon passed ai
inoh more to the right or to the left, 01
to the north or south, It must have gone
through the heart, or severed tbe?peri
cadiac artery, or pierced the vasculai
integument, or penetrated the femora
tissues, in which case death would have
supervened. He said, however, thai
there was nothing to prevent the wound
having been accidentally caused by t
1 scuffle and a fall.
The counsel for the defense dwell
strongly on thi6 possibility. The
1 wounded man, he said, had no recolleo'
tion of any 6uch scuffle; on the othei
* hand, he had no recollection of the
' events at all after the girl had taken uj
? the knife. He called on the jury te
6 give the prisoner the benefit of the
? doubt.
The counsel for the Crown rldlculec
} this theory. Here was a girl, probablj
" with a grievance, real or fancied?il
k was not for him to plead that grievance,
1 and his learned brother had not thoughi
' proper to advance it. She waited foi
' the.wounded man on a Sunday afterI
noon when nobody was about?probablj
1 she reckoned on being able to walk o?
unseen?and she attempted to murdei
1 him. Nothing could be more clear; she
1 bad made no defense; she refused t<
take advantage of the power to give
' evidence on her own behalf; she hac
' aothing to say; her counsel would pleac
nothing but a possible?and very improbable?accident.
; ^ that tne counsel sat down, anc
the Judge 6umtned up. He, too, hac
J nothing to say in favor of the prisoner
It is difficult for a person to speak whe
[ refuses to speak, or to let others speak
for herself.
The jury, without leaving the box
, found the prisoner guilty of stabbing.
. During the trial, there was anothei
, sitting in the body of the court beside
the solicitor for the prisoner. Anothei
girl, evidently a friend of the prisoner
. for she was in deep distress, and sai
' with her handkerchief to her eyes near]
Iy all the time. But the prisoneo
showed no sign of any emotion. "Whei
, the man whom she had stabbed wenl
, into the box she looked up curiously
after that she remained perfectly still
her head was bent, her hands were
crossed, her eyes were raised; she received
her senfence, and she walked oui
of the dock afterwards with the same
apparent Callousness. It was the othei
girl in the body of the court who,'wher
the Judge concluded, shrieked aloud;
ana reii rainting on tne noor.
Mr. Harry Stoke walked quicklj
away. This was the end of that romantic
episode into which he had crammec
all the passion of which his heart was
capable, and all the treachery and villainy
of which mankind at large is capable.
Probably in his boyhood he had
, read of great monsters?men whose
place is low down in those fearful ringe
of flame and coiling pitch and devilisi
, tortures?of whose sufTerinzs and dub
Ishments one reads with equanimity
; Well, he himself had become even ai
' great a villain. That man's heart mus
i be as hard as the nether millstone, whc
could thus send to a felon's prison thi
[ girl whom he hod toved and betrayed
I to whom he had promised so much and
, lied so foully. But he went awaj
bravely, with quite a color In his cheek
a handsome young man, as some of th<
j women in the court whispered" to eacl
, other, and no doubt abominably treate<
by the wicked, impudent, designing
\ murderous wretch who had now re
| ceived her reward, which richly she de
served.
' TVio nnnncol fnr l.lin ripfnriRP Walkft.
across Fleet street to his chambers ii
) the Temple, accompanied by a friend
i briefless but without envy.
f "I was thinking^ Jack "hesaid, bu
{ stopped.
j "So was I." said Jack.
t "I was thinking " he began again
" That it i6 a beastly shame to loci
i up such a pretty girl for s~ven years."
f "Yes; poor wretch. "Why wouldn't thi
= girl ask any questions? Why did ehi
refuse any cros^-examination? Wh;
i wouldn'1 she allow me to ask what 1hi
< row was about? Did you see her face
1 Jack? It'wasn't murder in that face
] my friend, it was pride. She neve
meant to stab him. The only questioi
sh^ would suffer me to ask revealed thi
tr;:tM-?-what had the fellow done? The;
1 soy he's the srin of a rich city man. He'
a villain. Jack: he's a villain. And he'
! a cur. Jack: i e's a cur. Well, the gir
y had the swect'-st face. She let that fel
N low say what he pleased?she was t?
a frond to defend herself. Oh, he's a vil
lain: }: "*# u vl'la'n. Poor child! I hop
they will be kind to her. But she's go
to cotne out again, and her liie is ru
ilit'U.''
N [to i:n CONTINUED. I
A Competitive Hunt.
Ic a "compeiitiro hunt"' between tw<
' bands of farmers, som? fifty on a side, nea:
E;i?t Atchison. Krii., a few days aj?o, ninety
i six rabbits wt" killed l>y o:i<* sido aatl sov
entv-six l?y tii" oth'-r. In Ui'mb competition.1
a liet is postfti '>n i!i" result. ami tb<3 winning
isitlo t a !{'.'> all t!iu sum?, a-; well iis a!l tbi
inyoey suikr.s.
[i ? ?
1 Epitii'inU: ??l tl.vHteria.
iln a factory .it New Jlr.vn.o, Conn., a Tcm
days ago, a girl fainted and fell to tho (iooi
whereupon. oat of pmv sympathetic norv
? outness, eleven other girls hunted, one iifto
tins oth::r.
A "Colonels' D;?v."
Ilt wag proposed to have a "Colonels' Day
at tho Atlanta Exhibition, ...
> "
' :r. /
V... .-n' . ' ' * i : i / . ... . -A
\ ' & , . ii; >\ ^SlFis8BW9
si FAIR VENEZUELA:.
!r ______ *
g A SUNNY LAND GREATLY SUBJECT
TO EARTHQUAKES. .
e
Jj Its Varied Products?An Earthquake
Bell In Every House?The Capital
City?Rise of the
[, Republic.
Q
j "T 0 wonder the Venezuelans love
j j their country, that fair land
y 1_\ with a climate like that of
6 Southern Prance, so far from
a us, more foreign than India or Japan,
i yet as near to New York and Chicago
1 as Liverpool by 6teamer. Only a
third of it under cultivation, yet there
^ is no want. Prosperity smiles on
y them; they pay only four per cent, m
g the markets of the world and they im
port the manufactures of Europe and
, the United States. So rich and varied
a are their products that England could
t
I
r
P
STREET SCEJJ
blockade their coast for years and not
starve them out, while the capital and
Government were safely intrenched
behind the mountains that climb from
the seaport town of La Guayra.
Four thousand feet above sea level,
und only nine miles from the coast,
Caracas nestles among the ranges on a
plateau. Almost below it spreads the
\ ' sea in one unbroken ezp inse, olear to
[ Florida and New Orleans. The great
plain is covered with feathery palms,
i and far off Sao Sebastian lifts his head
> clear of clouds. A perpetnal haze lies
* on the valley, bnt a mist on the moan}
tain portends an earthquake. It is a
; beautiful city of Spanish-American
character, but with broad boulevards
j And spacious plazas, where there is alj
ways a statue of Bolivar or Washington.
> The houses are of one story and
> 1
TYPES OP VENEZUELAN SOLDIERS.
1 * ~ I
i built of wood, with flat roofs and low
chimneys, on account of the earthquakes.
The cathedral of stone has a
buttressed basement for safety, which
? 'A ? nnrvnrironrtQ TKfl
( glVt'S lb u ^yiaiuiuni
| cornerstones, roofe and beams are
mortised, the houses are built in solid
[ blocks and often girded across the
r street. If an architect were to put up
; a tall chimney, a keystone arch, or dig
3 a vault under a honse, he would probJ
ably be mobbed. A simple wooden
lintel to doors is all that is permitted.
' In the houses a bed is always put in
. the middle of the floor, never near a
wall,door or window, and when a slight
trembling is felt the whole population
\ ? - i
9
: I'llRp
3 ?
1 _ 5^LEGISLATIVE
BUILDING AT CA11A
_ throngs the spacious plazas. Every
house lias an earthquake bell, hung
> from a T frame in the ceiling. The
[ lightly hung bell responds to the most
delicate vibration, the lateral pus.il,
5 like r. lidal wave. When the bells
\ ring violently the inhabitants rash to
the streets, fall on their knees and
cry, "Dios, ten piedad!" and God is
generally merciful, I'or there arescarce*
)' 3y as many deaths caused by Jailing
1 walls in a y^ar as there are by the
r trolley and surface roads in Chicago.
Yet there issearcclya hon.se :u Car
rcss that has not been rebuilt at least
? u hail-dozen lime.', and the eitv is
grftduUij.F WQTUlg CfiStwd wiu.l
1. . .
the junction of the Catucho Biver hi
with the La Guayra, where it is com- ai
paratively safe. Even as it is, some st
street* are immune, the San Martin'
district particularly so. Occasionally tc
a house stands for a generation, while m
those around it topple and are , rebuilt si
and have blood on the hearthstones. a;
Under these circumstances the real p]
estate business is a lively one, and tl
certain spots bring fabulous prices p
and rents. There are on the average a
sixty "tremblings" in a year, and six n<
destructive shocks in a century. Three p;
times in ihree hundred years has the n<
city been destroyed, and the repairs tl
are estimated at a cost of 8300,000 b
annually. tl
Yet the people go on in an easy, a:
mi -u?~ at?.
prosperous way. xuejr uu*e> iw
era, railroads, electric cars and lights, tl
and old Spanish fends They swear V
by Bolivar; they put him on their ft
notes and stamps; their standard of tl
value is a coin worth twenty cents, A
and they call it a bolivare. They have C
EK CARACAS
ai
twenty statues of him in the city; 61
they paint medallion portraits of him W
- ? ? ai
on their pink and oine ana yeuow ?
houses fronting the plazas. He ia a ^
legend, an allegory, and some of the t]
stories of him are mixed up with
those of Washington, w hom they almost
deify. It is to be doubted if any
city in the United States honors the
father of our country ps does Caracas.
His name recurs in statue, tablet,
painting, street, plaza, park.
Meantime the citizens watch the
seismic signs: Low water not preceded
by a drought?the devil drinks,
they say picturesquely?a mist in the
afternoon, a haze on the wooded
heights of San Sebastian, unusual
waves on the ocean wben there is little
wind, and low water in Cura Spring.
They listen for the little bell, watch
the British ships in the harbor, and
aa-r t.hftv flould do without English cal
** */ " ~~ , w
ico better than England oonld do without
coffee and sugar and copper and gold.
And they watch Crespo, wondering
what he will do next, ready p
with their pistols and knives to march t]
to the front with him, 300,000 strong, ^
where they are well aware he had ^
rather be than in the "yellow house." w
I
How Venezuela Became a Republic, o
In 1810 a Venezuelan creole, Simon a
Bolivar, returned to Caracas, the city a:
of earthquakes, with a bride from si
Madrid. In the years he had passed tl
in European capitals he had drunk a
deep of the revolutionary principles h
everywhere rampant. He met Lat'ay- h
ette and learned of the heroic struggle
of Washington, scarcely an echo of n
which had reached the Spanish colon- $
ies. He 6aw the weakness of Spain c<
and the galling disgrace of suffering
the despotism of a third-rate Power.
Simon Bolivar was twenty-seven
years old. He had vast plantations of g
sugar, coffee and cocoa and thousands
of slaves. He was cultivated, handsome,
eloquent, stately in demeanor,
ambitious but licentious, cruel and ?
' rt rra rrcx V? im v
cruuy. u.ia witc ujiug, uv
self up to all these passions with in- a
domitable energy and pride. He c
seemed to have a contempt for wealth. 11
He freed his slaves, deolaring that no ?
man deserved freedom who held others ~
in bondage. At the age of twenty- "
nine his estates were confiscated and
a price was on his head, and he was in ^
exile. J
In the interval Venezuela enjoyed ?
eight months of freedom under his *
rule. At the height of the festivities
the awful earthquake of 1811 de- e
! molished the city, killing 12,000 peo- '
I!8J8fP - i
y i?
CAS. THE CAPITAL OF VENEZUELA. { (i
7 ! b
! pie. Ami J the toppling walls au?l r o
j shrieks of the dying the prior of the J o
; Dominicans preached in the open i *1
squares, calling it a .lust judgment1 tl
: and turning the people to repentance.
! Yet in 1813 Bolivar freed Caracas [ p
again, wus made dictator, and again : tl
j defeated. The third time he ntted : o
j ont an expedition and came down the w
: Orinoco, between junglys of dark, j al
! moss grown forests, glittering with j tl
i green parrots and scarlet mac a as. Rod ' n:
| monkey.?, venomous snakes and man w
; eating alligators infested the dreadful hi
1 solitude, bat he yms lured on by the k:
'lovely line of the Han Sebastian d
Mvautir.uVj ab'JY? the hi^h plateau of;
g native city, the plain of the palms De<
id the wido blue Bea, /weltering in wat
in and subterranean heat. wh:
When be made'his stand he was cut in
? pieces, and fled' io the jElldorado not
inee with a half dozen followers. In
x months he had gathered an -aria# Un:
jain of unkempt, ill armed, undiscr- the
Lined sons of the tropics, and marched the
xem in the dead of winter across the it i
reoipitons passes of ' the Andes, inv
wamps and reptiles, falling bowlders, pla
oisome > forests, snow, ice, chasms, '
recipicee, glaciers, hunger, naked- len
ess, daunted them not. A tenth of hai
lat wiid.naggard Joand, leaving their me
loody tracks in. the virgin show of " '
ie Andes, stood before New Grenanda Sei
ad won the day. k pr<
He founded Eouador, Pern, Bolivia, 184
10 United Slates of Colombia, and an
eneznela. Chile deolared herself evi
ee and Argentina. The doer of all ?
xese deeds, the "Washington of Sonth
merica, declared he wonld yet free
aba. He died in exile, when only
>rty-seven years of age, the victim of
political party.
EOKtiE TANDEKB1LTS CASTLE.
illtmore,1 Which Will Cost About
Five Million Dolldrs.
The work on George W. VanderQt's
estate near Asheville, N. C.? on
hich he has erected a mansion that
reaks all records for residences in
lis coantry, is reported to be nearly >
Dished.
Thirty-four pieces of land as large
? Central Park conld be out out of y>
ie estate, which consists of 30,000
jres. Eaoh member of Mr. Vanderilt's
family can, therefore, have all
? himself a private playground as
ige a? all the breathing spots set __
tide for a million and a half of New a j
orkere. j ? 0B(
The mansion stands on a spot once ter
jcupied by a mountain peak. Mr. of
anderbilt had the peak out off and ^
irted away. In order to expedite to
ie construction of his castle a. plaut geI
as put up that turned out 60,000 ?Q
ricks and 2000 flower-pots a day, the
tter to be used in a seventy-five-acre W]Q
lot set aside for green-houses and
urseries. ' rei
A $50,000 railroad was built between to
iltmore station and the castle for the ^
ansfer of. materials, and this line ^
ill be torn up when the work is done. wa
There is a deer park of 3000 acres, 0jt
ad extensive trout ponds. The great- ye
3t curiosity of the estate, however, is
ie fact that right in the oentre of it g0
;ands the shanty of a colored man |
ho refused to sell his nine acres to pr
lie millionaire.
GEORGE VANDEBBILrS CAST]
i 1 . i ,
Mr. Vanderbilt offered $900 for the pr
roperty, which tvas worth much less ta:
!ian that. Bat the colored man was
ise. "Say, boss," he remarked, "if 82
bat's worth $900 to yon I gaees it's ofl
'orth 810,000 to me. I'm. a poor man, pr
am, and if 1 can afford to refute $10,00
for a place like that I should think
millionaire like you wouldn't be
fraid to pay $40,000 for it." It is
lid in the neighborhood that this is an
onm Mr VanrtaVhilf. had to r?av. 18
L.W * ? ad
sinoe then the colored man has an
ad 'possum and sweet potatoes on atf
is table three times a day. Of
The entire enterprise, it is esti- at
ia?ed, will cost Mr. Yanderbilt abont be
5,000,000. The annnal outlay, of Yc
onrse, will be enormous, 80
ONLY TWO PAGES THEN. **
ea:
fiv
ome Personal Reminiscences of the
Late Captain Bassett. jaa
The late Captain Isaac Bassett was th
tie one man in the'employ of the loi
Fnited States Senate who had been 1
ble to hold his place in spite of (t
banging majorities for a period of br
lore than sixty years. Recently, in by
n interview, the venerable Assistant"* (1(
>oorkeeper of the Senate talked of itry
is long service.
"It doesn't seem to me," said the an
'aptain, "that I have spent sixty-four br<
ears of my life in the United States hai
enate. Once m a wnue x ieei as na
bough it were but a little while since in
?a youDgster of twelve years?first 001
ntered the Senate. Do you know I stc
'ae the second page the Senate ever evi
mployed? The first one was Grafton on
lanson, who is still living in the city, ria
olding a position of prominence in Qa
ne of the departments. Hanson left th?
be Senate soon after I arrived; be cal
-as too big for the place, and a page sti
5 nojfc acceptable when he commences
rj grow rapidly. My. appointment
ame through Daniel Webster; it took
big man to secure snch an appoint- . 1
lent, for there were but two pages *n<
lien. "When I entered upon my duies
I found Hanson wearing a sait of
lue cloth adorned with brass buttons. *OT
t _-_.m? inr
ly new suit was precisely similar, j ?
ad for a time it looked as though P?
lne and brass would be necessary er?
arts of A page's uniform. The habit ta*
f wearing such clothing died very
Don, and since then the youngsters
ave worn almost any kind of gar- Kei(
lents they likfed best, it seems to me ?n'
:iat the pages of that time had more ;
) do than their successors have now. j
7e never had much idle time while j
ae Senate was in session. We two j
oys had to file all the bills, I doing
ne side while ray companion did the
:her. That was a good deal of a job,
[though the Senate was much smaller 1
len than now. ?
"The relations between Senators and k
ages were just about the same in tne m
tk. Cr
urties as iney are uuw. * uc wiyyooi, r
f the Senators used to laugh ar.il talk g
ith us when they wore not busy ; they 0
I ways treutcd us very well. Of courrso eft
ierft were pome Senators that thought ^
;ore of the pages than did others. I i
t's Webster's favorite. 31 any a time
as that great statesman s:;t ro<' on hi?
nee. He always had ? more than orinary
inflection for me.
"iiow ioag iras 2 a pageTxom ; ?'
las oi nun in
reporter
'I was," eaid the Captaip.' /"TSSwj
late, then in what is now. the 8ul
me Ctourt room (it was on
4), was considering and votu^tsponfl
appropriation bill
dent that the bill conld n
clock might be jso manipulated ?H
it for and was ordered by
ich stands outside, almost oppbmf J
pember very distinctly
ed was sufficient and the biU M^^Hflj^HS
a rare
4 r m
" fli^l
??
rgest Diamond In tbe United Statei^^^MBjBB
rhe finest yellow diamond knpjin^^^^^HH
d the largest stone in tins
the Tiffany diamond of one hnh1?pS^^^^^BB
d twenty-five and three-eighth
It is a flawless double brilliatf^^^^^^^H
a rich orange yellow, and is
$100,000. It is an Airioan
longing to Tiffany & Co.,' of
rk, and has never been offttned
The Star of the South is a
me, of pale yellow and nearly
ne size, one hundred and twentg^Bh^^H|S
e and five-sixth earata. Its orijj^^^^HHH
1 weight was just abotit double.).
s considerable fire, andranksaa&tf^^Bj^^^B
9 finest stones known; it now be^H^H^H
igs to the maharajah of Barod*.
Ihe Bed Bussian diamond ia'iuna^^Hfl^^H
n bnt remarkable for
illiant red color. It vat purchase^^^^^^M
the Emperor Paul L for $75,00SH^^^pB
)0,000 rubles) and letters of
A. diamond wheighing four hundrqj^^^^^^^H
d fifty-seven andone-half carats wa^BB^ffl
ought irom the Cape in
3 been cnt into a brilliant of
ndred and eighty carats, the Iargec^^^HBHg
the world, and is valued at ?200Jb^^^^^H
) ($1,000,000. The finding of
*ne is enveloped in mystery. Itwa^H^HJHfl
idently snrrepitiously taken froi^^^^^^H
0 of the mines. The name "Viet^^^^^H^I
" was given to it in honor, of
teen, and from 1888 to 1898 it H
1 finest brilliant known. It is*l<^^H^^H9
led the "Imperial."?Atlanta Coifl
A Small Man and a Big Gfrl.
One of the smallest men and one^^^^D^^H
3 biggest girls in the
wn in Georgia. The former is
of fiazelhurst, who is twent^^^^^^HH
ir years old, is three feet
rrll o
nnds. He has two younger bro^^^^HQ^H
I who are each more than sjx
6. W. Koddenberry, of
lokee, has a girl thirteen years 18
o weighs 175 pounds, and a boyH^H^BHB
ren years who weighs 110
d wears a number one shoe. ?
B
rnintsutioaal Sarcasm.
Fender?"Xotv then, you
..:, fl