Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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T K WIS >r- uui^t, Proprietor. | An |ntrejplirnt Jfamiln fjtefospapr: ^or tjje promotion of tjje political, Social, Agricultural ani> Commercial Interests of tjje iSoufjj. |TERMS?$3.00 A YEAR, IN ADVANCE. VOL. SO. YORKYILLE, S. C., THURSDAY, JAJSTIJARY 29, 1874. 1STO. 5. JU (Original flora. Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. DESTINY; OR, HOUNDED DOWN. BY NELLY MARSHALL McAFEE. ntTAPTFIR YVTT. * VAX11.X AXJA.W A*. > ? "Miriam, Miriam, look up! For God's sake, look up! Speak to me!" cried Gertrude, ^ frantically, as she stooped down and took the wretched woman's head upon her knee. Stansnury stood over them. His face was pale?deadly pale ; but every feature was set in calm cruelty of expression, dreadful to behold. Doubling his fist, he shook it fiercely at the inanimate body of Miriam Halstead, who, whatever her dreadful disgrace, was redeemed through the love she bore him. His voice was harsh aud rasping, as he said? "You would have fled from me?eh ? You informed on me, traitress! Aud your judgment was clear. Your life was not worth?a pinch of dust to me?much less a pinch of snuff!" Then turning to Gertrude, he caught her by the arm. "Get up !" he said, sternly; "don't sit there so stupid, holding that dead devil in your arras !" And as he spoke, he brutally spurned the still figure with his foot. Gertrude arose with difficulty and stood like a woman goue daft, but said not a word. "You are shocked, madam ; 1 can see that," said Stansbury, half apologetically; "your husband kept you in ignorance of his love affair, and I never intended to betray it to you. But for the long tongue of that demon, you might have been ignorant and happy. She is well out of the way. That dead shot of mine finished her off. You need not shudder. Your own husband's bauds are redder with blood and darker with sin than mine ever were or ever will be?" "Say no more, sir ; you cannot convince me that Irving McDonald?villain though he is? would ever commit the foul and dastardly deed that you have done!" said Gertrude, haughtily; "now," added she, folding her arras across her breast, "shoot me through the heart; send my soul out in the night of death, to join the one you have just driven out in the dark, while the sun is shining all about her. Come! It will be a brave deed?a merciful one. I am ready?aye ! glad to go ! Fire!" * * ' i - - wl.i ^ ? "Uroas: now Drave sne is j u uuiaspmi How could McDonald have deserted her, for that quiet, Vellow-headed doll?" exclaimed Stansbury, regarding, with undisguised admiration, the fearless and beautiful woman confronting him. "Pshaw, fair lady, you mistake me ! Noth. iug could induce me to harm you ! You know I would not! For I love you?love you devotedly?wildly?madly?passionately. No mortal woman ever so enchauted me, and I mean to possess you for my own." "Never!" she said, sternly and loudly ; never ! So help me God! never !" He laughed loug aud sneeringly. "I usually do what I say!" he answered. Gertrude began to tremble violently. She could scarcely stand, and her wan features were livid with dread. She kuew, well enough, that she was entirely at the mercy of this wretch?this scoundrel?and her very soul sickened with terror within her. Nothing, save death, could snatch her from her horrible fate. But how to compass it? She was placed in such a position that she had no means of attainiug it. She had no destructive weapon?no poisonous drug?and could get none. Shame and dishonor stared her in the face. By them she might be overcome before she could snap the links that bound her to life?to earth?to sorrow ! But what to dol Stansbury approached her to lead her back into the house; but she shrank away from his touch with a shriek so shrill?so despairing? so full of penetration, heartrending distress, that for a minute he hesitated, appalled from his purpose, and stood regarding her with a dark and terrible frown. "Fiend !" she cried, "dare not lay the weight of your finger ou me !" it A ~ 4-U'o fA tnnnf r\v fr\ nro'/c XlIC J'UU UUIMg I/UIO t \J bauiiw W4 i,\j vittuv me," retorted he, in a voice husky with passion and desperate resolution ; "if you are, I will no longer suffer you to play with and tantalize me! You shall be mine!?mine this very day?this very hour !" So saying, he seized her by her left arm and dragged, rather than led her, through the grounds into the house, and on into his own apartment. There she was so exhausted and terror-stricken that when he placed her on a couch she lay perfectly quiescent. When he " saw this he laughed, and said suasively : "1 knew you would act with common sense if 1 r .>? - only took the reins in my own hands in the beginning." She smiled faintly, and said in a low, reproachful voice: "You hurried my footsteps so!" "I did not mean to do so ! I did not realize that I was doing so," he answered ; "lie still and I will go bring you a glass of wine. Yoi are weak, and it will revive you." "Please do so," she said, faintly, with hall closed eyes and pale lips, that had a sad tre' mor about them. He hurried from the apartment to obey hei behest. But the door had scarcely closed upon his form, before she started to her feel with flaring eyes and panting bosom, and looked here, there and everywhere, for somt sharp instrument with which to terminate hei life. Just as she was despairing of finding anything to serve her desperate purpose, sht noticed his dressing-box open. Running to il she opened a drawer, snatched a pearlhandled razor lying in its blue velvet sheath and quick as a flash, the unhappy creaturt drew it across her slender white throat, again and yet again. Then tottering, fell back?the red blood of the suicide staining darkly the Indian matting on the floor. So Stausbury found her a moment later She spoke not a word more! The weapon had severed the jugular vein, and she died withoul even a murmur?a deep sigh being the onlj sign of the spirit's departure from its earthly abode. The ruffian stood aghast?horror-stricken The glass of wine fell from his palsied fingers The deed had been so wholly unexpected bj him, and so sudden, that although cruelly inured to blood-shed, he was absolutely ap ^ palled. After a moment or two, he recovered him self sufficiently to lift (Sertrude's body fron J the floor aud place it on the bed, when he j rang for assistance, and when the servants appeared, he turned away?after the briefest ex- ( , planation of the deed as that of a maniac? j j and with a shudder of horror moodily strode I out of the house and ou into the park attach- ( I ed to the grounds, with his gloomy eyes bent { upon the earth, and his sinful heart gnawed j j upon by the keenest remorse. | And so, like a drifting shadow, Gertrude's j j spirit passed from earth. Death was prefera- j , ble to dishonor. CHAPTER XVIII. "Go back to Stewart's, Ola, and say that IJ ! must have that dress pattern, whatever sum it | I costs to get it. Great Mercy, girl! I should j ! be ruined if I failed to get it! That Lide ; j Halstead, with her magnificent hair reaching i I nearly to the ground, and her white, statu- j i esque limbs, will carry everything before her! j I She canuot sing as well as I do, nor is she so ; magnificeut an actress as I am ; but her actj ing is 'on the boards,' where the whole world | can see and applaud ; mine is in the salons, I among 'the chosen few.' She sets her audii ences mad about her beautiful hair and her exquisite face ; I craze mine with my singing j and with my brilliancy." "And yet, madam, though she may be ! young and beautiful, and though men may 1 go mad over her, and rave of her grace and | loveliness, in not one thing can she compare ! to your gracious self!" said Ola, admiringly. "That is all very true, Ola; but when I am not near her to show the difference which ed-1 ucated, social culture imparts to a woman? j in fact, to me?why she triumphs, as if she i i were a new Hypatia ! Go to Stewart's direct| ly, Ola, and deliver my message. On the j first of next month she is to appear in a new j opera, and by that time I must procure what ' I want, and outshine her. Go!" J And Mrs. Vaughn Fessendeu waved her ] hand with an air of impatience as Ola, her maid, left the apartment for the store of the ' great New York merchant. "Well, Ola, I will obey the order of your 1 " li-J %**V*a f 1^ I unstress, repneu me 01cia, ivwuvu >?v | commission for Mr. Stewart. "We will send j forthwith to Paris ; but I am not sure we will j ; succeed in our endeavors; the goods Mrs. j j Vaughn Fessendeu requires is very rare, and | ! almost priceless." "Well, sir, if you do your best and fail, of i course no more can be done. But I shall | pray that you will succeed ; for my mistress | will be out of temper with me, and with every; body else, until she obtains exactly what she j wauts! She seems half crazy on the subject. ! I just wish Miss Lide Halstead was gummed j fast with bitumen to the bottom of the Red j jSea!" And with that, Ola flounced out of j i the store, and directed her steps homeward, j As she was passing along, she was accosted j by a decrepit, odd-looking old Jew. Ola paused. There was something iu the j appearauce of the man very different from ; that of the common Jew ; and something ar; rested the attention of the serving-girl and I j made her stand still. "What do you want with me?" demanded the saucy Ola, imperiously, eyeing the man narrowly and suspiciously all the while. "You are, I believe, in the service of Mrs. am */lalaKrotorl nnrl hpfl 11 I | v uugmi rcssciiuni) tu& vwvu>?tvu 1 tiful widow ?" "Well, suppose I am? What of that?" | asked Ola, insolently. "Perhaps you could tell me whether your > mistress could make any use of this. It is i her color to a shade, I fancy," he said, draw! ing from beneath his cloak a leathern bag. - Look here, my pretty girl, and be you the i judge," he added, as he opened the receptacle i' and displayed a dress pattern that shone and ; > i shimmered and sparkled like spun-glass, at ' i the sight of which Ola made, unguardedly, an . | exclamation of delight, and afterward uttered, i sotto voce, an inward thanksgiving at the piece j of unhoped-for good fortune that she had come j , across. 0, blessed chance! The dress was : i exactly the shade that Mrs. Fessenden wantJed! Ola, in her joy, could have hugged the j old Jew ; but she was discreet, and refrained i :: from demonstrating her pleasure too strongly, \ | "Why, it is spun-glass, I declare!" she cried,! > mltVi on air nf well-anted disannointmeilt: "I ! , ...... .... .... ... i , , ( didn't know that. It was so soft and pliable i in texture?and then it is bright as the rain- i . bow ; it has all the seveu colors shimmering J !. in it. What do you imagine Mrs. Vaughn ' ! Fessenden could do with it ?" she added, i i ; affecting an indifferent manner, t j "What should the beautiful Mrs. Vaughn i i J Fessenden do with it?" echoed the Jew ;"why | I , wear it, to be sure. Not a woman in the j i j world has a dress like this! I bought it in! i ! the far East, beyond the seas, from an orient-, ; J al bazaar, the owner having bought it, by i . j chance, from some other man who had pil- j > I laged it from the curiosities of a royal house-! hold in Persia. I heard you talking to the , . ; clerk at Stewart's about a rare robe your mis-1 s! tress wanted, and resolved to show you this. : ' I had just entered the store to try to sell it." 1 ; { "And you count upon selling this spun-glass! , ' as a dress pattern ?" interrupted Ola. i i "Of course I do! Its color is so rare and , i i .trv-i i ki? ' oeauuiui, UUU US ICAIUU- its line aim jmuuic us f silk. I want to sell it to your mistress !" "Where did you get it? Are you quite. 1 sure your story is a true oue? Are you very 1 J certain it it not property stolen by you ?" 1 j The old Jew shrugged his shoulders and t i made an ugly grimace. 1 1 ! "I am afraid that it is !". added Ola. ;! "At any rate, I came by it honestly." j t "Well, that is something. How much do ; \ you ask for it ?" >! The man hesitated. ; I "Mind now," said Ola ; "if I buy it, it is ' | only on speculation. Mrs. Vaughn Fesscn-' ,! den has the most magnificent clothes iu the :, world, and she may laugh at the idea of wear-' i' ing a dress made of fine spun-glass !" ! j The Jew, sighing, said?"Give me what j i you like for it." *' "No; set your own price !" i "A thousaud dollars, then. You surely I would not offer me less than that, pretty one." , ti Ola's heartbeat fast! What a profitable j r. bargain she was about to make ! Why, her r mistress would be transported with joy at | thus obtaining what far surpassed the fabric j . ' she was so earnestly desiring to possess. . j "A thousand dollars!" repeated the servingr i girl. "Well, so be it. Follow me, and I will r give you the thousand dollars, and a mug of - ale, as well. I'll warrant that your old throat is dry, dragging around these long streets." "Dry ! It is parched ; but I am poor and i can't afford to cat but once a day. May the God of the Israelite look down upon and bless J In you, who are kind to a poor old man, who has ! pi not a friend in the wide, wide world." i m "Don't talk so much, old man, else I will j w forget to give you some nice sandwiches ofjec mutton and white bread with your ale!" j ri "Mutton and white bread ! May your bed be of roses hereafter! And may you have a of husband with more gold than you can count te in a year! Mutton and white bread, and a mug of foaming ale?a dinner for a king !" w And thus muttering, the old Jew followed fe closely at Ola's heels, until they reached the so Fifth Avenue Hotel, where her mistress occupied a magnificent suite of apartments. so tl CHAPTER XIX. H I will not describe to you the delight of ^ Mrs. Vt ughn Fessenden, when she obtained ^ for herself the robe of fine spun-glass that had once been the most prized curiosity in one of r the royal houses of Persia. m It must be remembered that Cecelia Fes- y, senden was a beautiful woman?but not so m beautiful as Lide Halstead; and although she m lived in magnificent style, obtaining her mon- fe ey, the world never cared to ask how or where, js since she led the "ion"?the grace, and loveliness and modesty of the young girl won more fa than one of Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden's devoted ?| admirers to her own feet, in unreserved horn- tj age- ^ d< Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden was a superb sing- 0| er. Her voice was one of graud compass? e? one that constantly astonished her hearers with brilliant roulades and shakes, full of ex-1 pression ; and she could move her "select" au- J w dience to tears with the impassioned tones that j j) came swelling from her throat. | ia Cecelia had a host of admirers, but Lide h, Halstead had, perhaps, more. The former fo, had led the gay, fast "ton" of New York for two seasons?since she had left off her widow's weeds. The latter had only just been added w to the opera company at "Pike's." h, The beauty of Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden hi dazzled, while that of Lide Halstead fascinated, with its feminine softness, and its winning simplicity and grace. Both were blondes. sl: One was under thirty years of age?the other scarcely twenty. nj Cecelia had not a relation in the whole world?neither had Lide Halstead ; but she p] had a chaperon, under whose careful wing hi she was ever jealously guarded. When Irving McDonald had sought her cc out, that day in the parlor, he had weighed his course well, and resolved to make some- pi thing wonderful out of the girl, and hold her ol "in reserve," should he win Mrs. Vaughn tl; Fessenden and weary of her. Therefore, in y< their interview, he treated her with the pro- ai foundest courtesy, and told her he had just st left his wife, who agreed with him in his plans, but loved her too dearly to submit to the pain w of a parting interview with her, and had, cou- pi sequently, commissioned him to speak her hi farewells. His plans were to educate liar for 01 the stage, she was so brilliant and beautiful, ct Lide received his information with the pro- j is fouudest gratitude, and the next day started j hi for New York with him, leaving a long letter i (] for her "dear benefactress," promising in it to be "an honor to her yet," and at the close, s[ 'calling down Heaven's choicest blessings on w her devoted head. lj Without a misgiving, she set out on her ni journey, and being placed under proper tutors, tl had set herself to work and study with marvelous energy. The end may be conjectured, m Full of soul and fine talent, she developed into bi a superb actress. Irving McDonald never, m even once, intruded upon her. But one day ir a letter from him, bound in black, announced hi the death of his wife. Lide moaned exceed- st ingly; but never knew all of the sad story as sn we know it. tc When she made her debut, Irving McDonald tc generously supplied her wardrobe, and still II stood in the light to her of a patron and a hi friend ; and as such, shg loved and admired m him, despite his evil deeds and his evil name. C However cold he may have seemed, he never c< ceased to watch over her?and to wait, as the glittering serpent waits, for the time when he tc .1 a. IllUy UIUW Llie UUUUIIU^ naiuici iuiu ma ovciijr ui folds. w He placed a chaperon with her?a Mrs. w Park Brentz, who, to Lide, was father, moth- tr or aud chaperon, all combined. She was plain ai of feature, and deformed of limb ; and never was there a time, early or late, in public or te private, when she could be seen away from yi the young girl's elbow. She watched every- el thing with the sharpest and most glittering b eyes in the world, and listeued with ears so h sharp that they could catch the merest sound Ir stirring in the air near her?were it the flap- h ping of a humming bird's wings, or the beat- 01 ing of a butterfly's heart. She was universal- aj ly unpopular, although she smiled pleasantly on everybody, and her tongue dropped the w honey of flattering speeches ; but despite her n; oily compliments?despite her good-humored w smiles?there was something in her tones, and w more in her looks, that filled all who ap- ai proachcd her with dislike and distrust. n While the new opera was being rehearsed, p Mrs. Vaughn Fessendeu had Ola to watch aud listen daily from a seat at the wings. She w viewed Lide Halstead with curious aud mali- sc cious eyes. She knew that she was beautiful, T and doubted uot that her talent was great; tl and then her hair?it was of a bright golden K hue, a hue that utterly quenched the amber light in her own fair locks, aud made them rt seem faded and dim in her own eyes. When Ola would return home and tell Mrs. j te Fesseuden of these thing3, she would bite her j d< lips angrily; a wicked, spiteful light would V flash in her splendid eyes, and in her heart w she murmured much that she never dared to h speak aloud, heaping curses upon the head of the unoffending and innocent Lide. Then r< she would recognize her own marvellous beauty, and remembering she was in a social j E sphere the young actress could never reach, j tc she would become satisfied, and sing for her j h guests far better than she ever saug before, ol Her voice had become richer, more flexible, e< and even more powerful than of yore; and p her admirers and lovers and friends were in si raptures as they listened. a: One afternoon, just as she ceased singing j al an air from Trovatore, to the guests gathered h at her reception hours, Irving McDouald, who i had entered the parlor before the air was fin-1 n ished, approached her and said?"You would j h surpass yourself in opera!" ! w She turned toward him and slightly bowed, si He was still the handsomest man of his time, and as we know, had once professed h , great love for Cecelia ; but for the last ten tl I days lie had boon paying assiduous court to w ir rival, Lide Halstcad. Hence, wound? ride roused, very naturally, a sense of indij ition in Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden's breast t ard her faithless lover, whom she now trea 1 with all the coldness and disdain he ! chly deserved. "Ileally?" she answered him, with a spi< ' scorn in her accents, and a curl of coi mpt upon her short upper lip?"Really f" "Yes, indeed, you would!" he answera ith earnest candor; "I assure you I am pe ctly sincere ! I never, never heard you sic i well as you have done to-day." "I am obliged. To merit your praise is furce of profound gratification to me!" wi le stiff and sarcastic rejoinder. ~ ' k r\r* o mnmanf in QllonP nu luuhcu ai uo& a\ji <* iuvitiLui/ ?? w..v..v [is face expressed annoyance in every fe ire; but tars was lighted only by the quie t contempt. "Cecelia," he said, sinking his voice to iproachful whisper, "you are angry wil e ! What foolish tale has been carried 1 5U ? Anything respecting my attentions y protegee, Lide Halstead ? If so, yc ust know, without assurance, that they we ,w and meaningless. Why, Lide Halstea no more to be compared with you than? He paused abruptly, for his eyes had ju .lien on the quiet figure of Cecelia Fessende he was not paying him the slightest atte on, but was looking calmly before her, e\ mtly engaged in watching something at tl ;her end of her parlor; though her shai irs were wide open, and they drank in evei 'liable that the man near her let fall. "Why have I not been admitted, of lat hen I nresented ravself at your doors?" M 'onald interrogated, at the same time gent' .ying his hand on Cecelia's arm and drawir sr aside from the piano, to a niche wher alf hidden by lace drapery, was a sofa. "Do you think I have no pride ? Miss Li< [alstead is quite welcome to you. I do n ant you!" Cecelia answered, lifting h aughty eyes, flashing with stormy light, is face. "You are very foolish, Cecelia." "I had rather be foolish than perfidious ie retorted. "I grnnt that much," he replied, with di ity. "You grant it, because you have no set r iy by which you can justify the course y( lve pursued," ehe answered, in high disdai "Justification is unnecessary," he replie )ldly ; "I simply agree with you." "Oh ! yes, I understand you uow. You a rofessing not to understand the personalii ? my remarks. Must I tell you, in languaj ie plainest that a tongue can command, th o yn Onion cry A tknt T nnOUP Uriull tfl hfl< JU C JC&JO^/f ((IIU bliltu X UV I V? II ?V*? WW ?.?-? lything more to say to you !" she answere ormily, in return. Irving McDonald frowned angrily. I: as on the point of replying, when a thii 3rson appeared, lifted his hat, and held o is hand to Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden. Wit Jt a word, Irving coldly bowed to the ne' )mer and walked hastily away, leaving tl !entuckian to say as mauy pretty things e pleased to the charming widow, whom 1 [rving) had neglected lately for another. McDonald had a heart as inconstant as tl >ring winds. To-day he would kneel at 01 Oman's feet, swearing he loved her devote and to-morrow he would be vowing etc al fidelity to another fair one, forgetful ic first. Cecelia once had liked him very much?ay lore?she had loved him ; and when tin oth were freed from conjugal bonds, s! light have proved that tenderer, warmer fee ig by a consent to marriage. But when si card that he was paying court to Lide Hr cad, she resolved to have nothing more ly to him. Hence it was, that when he calh ? her, her servants were instructed by her ill him their mistress was "not at home [e winced at this, knowing full well that si ad denied herself to him ; but his vani aver for one moment allowed him to thic ecelia's angry feelings toward him would 1 instant. "She i3 only showing her temper," he sa > himself; "wait; she will come into clo intact with me again before long, and si ill be as deeply in love with me as ever, ill forgive her by not noticing her little ta ems. By and by, she will be as gentle ai [fectionate as a turtle dove in the spring." But McDonald had altogether miscalcul sd matters. It was evident that he was n ct acquainted with the proud spirit of Ceceli .so he could not have entertained, for tl riefest moment, a hope that she would pardt im for his infidelity toward her. Gazing < er, he felt that she was lost to him?lost im forever?and that nothing he could si r do, would undo the past or replace his ii ge in her breast. With this conviction on his mind,McDona orked himself into a state of great excil lent, protesting in his secret soul that Cecel as the only woman he had ever loved in 1 hole life, and that he should never care f nother; that he must wed her, or die, or ( iving mad. Truly, was retributive justi n roil 5 itrm lii m f uiouiug uiiu He glunccd across the parlor to the nich here Cecelia and the Kentuckian were st sated together, engaged in close conversatio lie gentleman's face was very earnest, ai ic head of his fair companion was droopii iw on her bosom. McDonald ground his teeth with suppressi lge. "Curse him!" muttered he, between h seth ; "what can he be saying to her, that si oes not look up at him while he speaki ^hat business has he here? None! And ill have him sent away?else I will pit< irn, neck and heels, from the window!" Burning in wrath, he walked across tl join. Meanwhile, what was it this gallant youi lentuckian?Clarence Gadbury?was sayii > the beautiful Cecelia? First, he spoke er glorious voice, and vowed it rivaled th f the Swedish Nightingale. Then he softe I his tones to the teuderest whispers, ai raised her beauty iu terras honeyed and pa onate enough for the lips of Swinburui nd lastly avowed his love in the most hone ble manner, and solicited her hand ai eart in marriage. To all of this, Cecelia answered with fern ine modesty, begging that he would alio er time to reflect upon his generous offt hich had taken her so much by surprise th ie was at a loss to make a meet reply. He added that he was very wealthy ; th e was his own master, and that it would I ie joy and pride of his life to call her h ife. id These two were too wholly absorbed in g- their mutual confidences, and themselves and o-1 their feelings, to observe the dark form of Ir-1 t- j ving McDonald close behind them, listening so J to every syllable they uttered. I "Very wealthy, and my own master," were :e the words Cecelia heeded the most?the words that determined her to accept the man's ardent suit. d, A wealthy husband was just what she wantr ed. Her health was not overstrong, and she ig could go to Paris for its improvement. Then, j too, if she rejected this chance, she would a j never again have so good a one; age would as I creep on fast enough ; and her voice?why her i voice was her greatest charm ; but who could e. , tell what day it might suddenly give way and a- become cracked and unmusical, unfit ever to st- be heard iu public again ? Cecelia Fessenden was a woman of great a influence when she chose to exert herself, h Omr hanchtv. and over eentle natures, she to J was alike powerful. She was a woman of the to I greatest acumen, and knew well enough how >u j to steer her bark without waiting a moment re | to ask another a question, or to express a desire id | for advice. She followed her own judgment | implicitly. She now listened to Clarence st i Gadbury's softened words with all the ambin. tious feelings of which she was capable, stirn ring in her breast. She sat there and reflect'i ed a few minutes; then with a sharp, little le simulated cry of pain, she suddenly slid off p her chair to the floor, in a pretended fainting y ' fit. This caused Irving McDonald to turn round to them, e, "What can be the matter?" said young c-1 Gadbury, as he stooped to raise the still figly I ure of the beautiful widow. >g "Give her to me!" said McDonald, in a e, j stern voice and a resolute manner; "let me rej lieveyou of her weight." le j "I thank you," answered Gadbury, in a ot | tone equally positive and a bearing equally er i haughty, "it is my privilege to support her;" to | and the emphasis of his tone?the passion of his eyes?could not be gainsayed. II CHAPTER XX. g. "0, is it a fainting fit ?" cried Ola, in sudden alarm, running into the room with aroe matic vinegar and pungent salts, when thein)u formation of her mistress' indisposition reachn. ed her ; "my dear mistress is not subject to d, fainting fits ; I never saw her in one before i Ought we to send for a doctor ? I don't know re what to do !" she cried, helplessly, wringing ty her hands. ;e "Give me a glass of cold water for her! at She is beginning to revive!" said Clarence ire Gadbury. d, Ola immediately departed in search of it. Meanwhile a little group had gathered le around the apparently insensible Cecelia, rd who, knowing that water had been sent for, ut and not quite certain about the mode in which h- it would be applied, began languidly to unsv close her large gray eyes, and to glance with !ie well-acted wonderment about her, sighing? as "Where am I ? Clarence, are you here?" ie "Dearest, I am here," replied the devoted young Gadbury, stooping over Cecelia in an ie affectionate marfher; you have been very ie sick?but you are better now, are you not ?" d- "Oh ! yes; much better! It was the heat :r- of the room and the excitement that prostraof ted me!" said the wily Cecelia. Then she went 011?perceiving the crowd and turning e, to Gadbury with an apologetic air?"I thank iy you very much for your kindness, sir!" ie And with these words, breathed in her gen >1- tlest tones, she softly released herself from the ie young man's supporting arms. "It was so tl- foolish in me to lose my senses in that weak to way! Such a thing never happened to me id before, and I hope it never will agaiu. I feel to quite ashamed of myself!" Several guests, who had gathered about her, :ie now dispersed to their tetes u-tctes and their ty j music, and Gadbury was left to the mercy of ik j the lovely, cunning, scheming widow, Cecelia 3e 1 Fessenden, who boasted that she never "missed her mark." id "You will nllow me# the pleasure and the se privilege of calling to make enquiry about tie your health, even if I may not immediately I expect an answer to my suit?" Gadbury said, n- after he had conversed with her for some time, id and was about taking his leave. I Cecelia's heart beat high at this. It was a-. the very thing, of all others, that she most ot! ardently desired?the very thing which had a, j prompted her recent swoon, that she might he | avoid Irving McDonald's espionage, and rein j ceive the new lover's suit in her own way. m j "If you care so much, I shall be too happy." to ; She felt that it was so charming for some one iv ! to take even a trifling interest in her for her li- J owu sake. In that great city she was alone? | utterly alone?and it would be too delightful Id [ to eujoy the familiar society of a frieud whose e- j mind and heart were congenial to her own I ia I Smiling iu the young man's face, with an lis j enchanting smile that might have deceived or i the arch-fiend himself, she said these things. 50 j And with a glamour over him, young Gadee j bury departed ; but he had no idea, as yet, of i resigning his privilege to visit other celebraic,: ted and beautiful women, and the next day ill | found him paying a courteous call upon the n. ' charming youug debutante, Lide Halstead. id ' He half way meant to leave his card, but at lg : the door he was met by Mrs. Park Brentz, in ( lieu of a domestic, sd 1 "Oh ! Mr. Gadbury !" she cried, "pray come : in ! Miss Halstead will be so enchanted to see lis 1 you! She is just practicing a lot of new songs be from Paris. She will be so delighted ! She s ? ( has such a passionate admiration for KentuckI j ians!" jh I There was nothing left for Clarence to do ; hut accept the pressing invitation and enter, ue ! He had no earthly inclination to become on an | intimate footing with Miss Halstead and her ig ! disagreeable chaperon ; but courtesy left hira ig ! no alternative in the matter, of; Miss Ilalstead lived in a very pretty villa, at j near Clairmont. It was furnished in the most n- j charming style, too, by the owner, from whom id I she rented it. is- i Clarence was ushered into a delightful lit2;1 tie parlor, opening, in turn, on a beautiful, ir-; breezy balcony, shaded by creepers, by sceuted id eglantine and crimson honey-suckles?forming a most enchanting retreat during the sulli try hours of day or night, iw ; A graceful figure, robed in white, came for:r, ward and greeted him with a modest bow. It at was Lide Halstead, the young actress. After he had made polite inquiries regardat ing her health, Gadbury launched out into the be sea of social common places. Time drifted is , by, and the young Kcntuckian began to feel I somewhat bewildered by the fascinating glan I ces of the lovely singer; but never, for one iustant, did his heart wander from the fair woman he had professed to love?from Ce* j celia Fessenden. Coffee and fruit were, after a while, present-1 ed. Then music was introduced, and Clar-j ence was entertained by the new songs from | Paris, sung in the sweet, melodious voice of j j Lide Halstead. Mrs. Park Brentz, all this while, regarded their guest with the closest | scrutiny, endeavoring to discover whether he 1 looked indifferent or interested. She thought j he looked pleased, and she wisely reflected: He will succumb-?ot in a visitor two, perj haps?but surely, after while he will. To i fulfill ray employer's behest I am resolved, j I will be watchful and patient. Perseverance I wins all things. Lide is quiet enough ; but | she is not weak, and she will, unknown to herself, aid me; for she is in love with him !" "You love music, Mr. Gadbury?" she said, when Lide left the piano. "Very much, indeed," he answered, earnestly. "0, so do I!" said Lide, impulsively; "do come often, and let me play and sing for you !" Then she colored vividly and drew back, for she feared she had shown her ardent feelings too plainly. Whereupon Clarence bowed to her, saying he should feel the greatest happiness in availing himself of the kind privilege she extended to him. But days elapsed, and Gadbury made no second visit to the villa. 4 He had the entree to Mrs. Vaughn Fessenden's residence, and had no inclination to seek any other society?hers was so satisfying and so fascinating. Every day, Gadbury fell deeper and deeper in love with Cecelia, and she had become the light of I his very life. There was always a joyous j smile, a gaily beating heart, a warm clasp of | the hand, to welcome his coming ; and the j flushing cheek and trembling fingers he ac I cepted as signs of love?of waking love?tor j him, and he glowed with inexpressible delight at the thought. Meanwhile, how felt Irving McDonald ? He was devoured by jealousy! He meditated all sorts of plans, in order to injure Cecelia and separate her from her wealthy lover, the Keutuckian, whom he watched every day disappear behind the portals of Mrs. Fessenden's abode. And he hit upon the plan of Lide Halstead wining him from her. It seemed feasible, and he would triumph yet! He felt sure of that. As for himself, he did not approach her at all. To have done so, would have been to love her and lose his vengeful feelings. * * * * * "At the end of the season, Mr. Gadbury, you shall have my answer!" Cecelia said, one day, in reply to her lover, who had been urg- j ing his suit with more than his usual ardor. "Not until May, Mrs. Fessenden ?" he replied with an air of deep disappointment. "Ah ! my beloved, why not say 'yes,' at once? My heart assures me the answer will be 'yes'? will it not?" "Perhaps your heart is wise and truthful," r.V.o nnoiLDMrl Ulltll fl little llnfl f>f ll Of llfiad. one aiiomiu %* ?iw*w mwv ?. .... "Ah! why not answer me now, Cecelia!" he said, using her christen name for the first time, and uttering it in a half whisper. "Do not insist, I implore you ! my answer will come soon enough?trust me!" Pie looked bitterly disappointed, and when her fond eyes noted this, she hastened to say? "Don't you know that a woman's happiest days are those she lives out while her lover is attentive and adoring ? I shall be jealous of these things, as a wife; be warned !" "Never fear for me! Do you imagine I could ever love you less than I do now ? If you do, I know you have never fathomed the depth of my fondness and devotion for you !" he said, with a radiant smile. "Your affection is, at the least, generous; for I am not a woman of wealth?I am only a widow.'* "You are the most charming of your sex," lie interrupted, gazing upon her as he spoke, with the most respectful admiration; then added, in a winning tone, as he took her white hand between his two firm palms? "You said, just now, that you would be jealous. Well, sweet Cecelia, I am not less so than you are yourself 1 So pray be warned. I do not want to see that handsome McDonald waltzing with you again. I feel like an ogre when he puts his arm around your waist. He must not even touch your hand." " "But if I meet him in the dance, or in my own parlor, how am I to help it ?" she answered, with heightened color and averted eyes, remembering much that he would never know. Then she turned to him, with winning air and dimpling cheeks?"we don't mean anything by that. It is only a form !" "Form or not, I don't like it I For I have a hope of one day calling you my own?my very own?forever!" "Why, Mr. Gadbury! Such feeling upon your part makes me perfectly uncomfortable," she answered, gravely; "I cannot help conforming to the customs of society while mov ing in its circles." "But why not leave it, then ?" "That I cannot do, iu justice to inyselfand my position. 'Noblesse oblige" "Ah ! you are more devoted to the world than you are to me! I can see that! You, indeed, make me jealous !" he cried. "Why, Mr. Gadbury, I could laugh at you!" "Don't call me'Mr. Gadbury 1'" he said, still holding her little hand in his; "call me Clarence?Clarence now?and always! Come! Say it!" "Clarence!" she murmured, softly, blazing the coy splendor of her great gray eyes upon him. "Oh ! my love?ray own?own darling," he eriprl nut. as he caucht her in his arms and pressed his passionate lips upou her broad, j white brow?upon her cream-tinted eyelids, and upon her red, delicious mouth. [to be continued next week.] An Ingenious Device.?The Sultan's favorite dwarf, a man about 40 years old, and 3 feet high, a few years ago, took a notion to i marry, and applied to the Sultan for a wife. The Sultan gave him permission to go into his ; harem, and take the one whom he could kiss, j The dwarf, like all other small men, wasarabi-1 bitious to have a long wife. While the Sultan's ! ! five hundred women, who knew the terras ac-1 | cording to which the dwarf was permitted to j ! choose, were laughing at the manikin, he went i j up to one of the tallest aud handsomest of! i them, and struck her a sudden blow on the ' J stomach. She collapsed with the pain, and,' l before she could recover, he caught her by the J I neck and gave her the dreaded kiss. The j Sultan kept his word, and the tall beauty is j I now the mother of thedwarfs children. fgMHmie.tftts fUMiug. Correspondence of the Augusta Constitutionalist. NEAGLE AND MOSES. Columbia, January 18,1874. Hearing almost every one 1 met on the streets snickering over the means adopted by M^ar?io TnflVfl Governor Moses pay his XI UUgiV VV ? ?- _ ^ debts, I determined to interview the ex-Comptroller General, and accordingly repaired to his office, where I was kindly welqoraed, when he recounted the particulars of the "breaking into" of the Mosaic mansion. It appears that Moses, as is characteristic, is shrewd and ever ready to beguile the unwary.w Mrs. Moses had consented, early in December, to permit a levy to be made against herself, but recently Moses paid a portion of the debt claimed and in some way managed to have the furniture relieved. Upon hearing this, Neagle became furious and again dispatched "Honest John" Patterson to demand "money or his life." Tips was on the 31st ultimo. Mo'sds replied civilly, "upon his honor as a Mason," that he had not a cent, and was obliged to repair to Charleston that night to inspect the saqle militia, which would parade on the 1st. Whereupon JN eagle resolved to thwart the design of his certificatecy, and arming himself, cap-a-pie, went over to the "Preston mansion, and asked to see the Governor. "His Excellency is just on the eve of starting for Charleston and cannot be seen," was the rejoinder of the powdered and liveried servant. "But I must see him," replied Neagle, knocking down the porter in ruffles, and walking into the mansion, brandishing a huge Colt's sixshooter. Moses sought safety in flight and started for the back gate, but Neagle followed close on his heels, and "cut him off," when his Excellency scaled the brick wall, (which some of your readers have doubtless seen,) impressed a dray into his service and hied him to the Sheriff's house for protection. In the meantime Neagle followed closely, discharging his pistol at intervals ofa few seconds, until he had used a box of cartridges. Moses then sent for Trial Justice Stratton and had a peace warrant issued. Neagle was arrested, and Moses took the train for Charleston. This was 7 o'clock, p. m. Neagle found no trouble in giving a teu thousand dollar bond, even Democrats going upon it, even though Neagle still declared his intention to shoot Moses if'the money ($16,000) was not paid.' Moses was now en route for Charleston, and when Neagle was released he sent him the following telegram : Columbia, S. C., December 81, 1873. F. J. Moses, Jr., Governor,<tc., Charleston Hotel: Engage suite of rooms for me next your own. I will bo down to-morrow to assist you in reviewing the militia. - [Signed,] J. L. Neagle, Aid de Camp. Moses was at breakfast when the telegram reached him. He hurried to his room, barred the door, and sent for his friend, Treasurer Gurney, when, with tears in his eyes, he implored that he pay Neagle. Gurney consented, and when the train arrived, Neagle was paid, and the people denied the pleasure of witnessing a first-class funeral, of which Moses would have been the figure-head, as he certainly would have been shot. His Excellency reviewed his battalions, but kept a close eye on Neagle for fear the latter might give him an ounce of lead in the way of interest. To my inquiry if he was not apprehensive of being put under a "peace bond" in Charleston, Neagle replied, "No, the whole population would have insured nie my liberty as long as there was a hope of my killing Moses." 'This being a fight between Radicals makes it the mnro nmnqinar. Nestle made theabove state raent to me personally and vouched for its accuracy. I wonder what Grant now thinks of his man Moses? The friends of Scott are confident of his ability to defeat Moses. The people would applaud his re-election, for with all his faults he possessed some honor and was worthy of respect. Recent developments have fully vindicated his administration, and it has leaked out that Moses was the villain who concocted all the devilish schemes which have so effectually ruined our State. Adolpiius. The Seven Wonders.?The seven wonders of the world are among the traditions of childhood, and yet it is a remarkable fact that ninety-nine persons out of a hundred who might be asked the question could not name them. They are the Pyramids?the mystery of the past, the enigma of the present and the enduring mystery for the future ages of this world. The temple, the walls and hanging gardens of Babylon, the most celebrated city of Assyria,and the residence of the kings of that country, after the destruction of Ninevebl The | Chryselephantine statue of Jupiter Olympics, the renowned work of Phidias, the illustrious artist of Greece. The statue was formed of gold, and was sitting on a throne almost touching the summit of the temple, which was seventy feet high. The temple of Diana at Ephj esus, which was 220 years in building, and j 425 feet in length and 220 in breadth, and I supported by 127 marble columns of the Ionic ! order, 60 feet high. The Mausoleum at Halicarnassus, erected in the memory of Mausolus, the King of Caria, by his wife Artemesia, B.C. 353. The Pharos at Alexandria, a lighthouse erected by Ptolemy Philadelphus, at the entrance of the harbor of Alexandria. It was 450 feet high, and could be seen at a distance of 100 miles, and upon which was inscribed "King Ptolemy, to the gods, the saviours, for the benefit of sailors." Lastly, the Colossus at Rhodes, a. brazen image of Apollo, 105 Grecian feet in height, and which was to be located at the entrance of oue of the harbors of the city of Rhodes. ? Running for a Ferry-Boat.?A New York reporter relates a scene of this sort which came under his observation: Wp wpfl an Irishman, and when first seen he was coming down Montague street, Brooklyn, on his way to the Wall street ferry. Over his port shoulder hunga bag containing about a bushel of potatoes, and in his starboard hand he carried a stout stick. Being under full sail, the momentum acquired in coming down the steep grade carried him nearly through the gateway, when seeing a boat ten feet from the dock, he shook out another reef, made au astonishing burst of speed and jumped. Just as he reached the deck the potato bag shifted heavily to port and laid out a broad street clerk, who was smoking a Henry Clay through a meerschaum holder ; while j the stick hit a rotund South street merchant in the waistband, shutting him up like a jackknife, and Pat himself assumed an involuntary devotional attitude. He was the first to recover his perpendicularity, and as he placed the bag in its normal position he complacently remarked, "Be jabbers, but I got the boat anyhow 1" "Got the boat!" screamed he of Broad street, spitting the pieces of amber out of his mouth. "Why, you double blank idiot, this boat is coming in!" And so she was. ^-^.4 Jteif* A Connecticut man, while eating fish, got a bone in his throat, which irritated and pained him exceedingly. For forty-eight hours he fasted, in the hope that the bone would leave, but it did not. A friend suggested that he should swallow an egg. He tried the experiment, and felt the bone move ; he then swallowed another egg, and it was gone entirely. This may be worth remembering. 5ST A Maine paper, in speaking of the ladies, calls them "animated fragments of shattered raiubows."