University of South Carolina Libraries
lewis m. grist, proprietor, j %n |itkptttbonf Jfamilj SMospaftr: <for % |)romotion of % f olifiral, Social, |jricnlfiiral aitir Commtrdal |nltrtsts of % jsSonfj}. j terms--$2.00 a year, in advance. VOL. 34~ YOEKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 31, 1888. NO. 44. JfeJertfd fodrn. A SOUTHERN STATESMAN'S POEM. [The following lines, by Hon. Richard Henry Wilde, of Georgia, won the warm praise of Lord Byron, and are the most lyrical stanzas that ever came from the pen of an American statesman.] MY LIFE IS LIKE THE SUMMER ROSE. My life is like the summer rose That opens to the morning sky. But, ere the shade of evening close, Is scattered on the ground?to die. Yet on the rose's humble bed The sweetest dews of night are shed, As if she wept the waste to see? But none shall weep a tear for me! My life is like the autumn leaf A?~u,?" " <Ko mnnn'a nnln rnv mat wrtsui uido m mv ???wv.. ? ^ , Its hold is frail?Its date is brief, Restless?and soon to pass away. Yet, ere that leaf shall fall and fade, The parent tree will mourn its shade, The winds bewail the leafless treeBut none shall breathe a sigh for me! My life is like tbe prints which feet Have left on Tampa's desert strand ; Soon as the rising tide shall beat, All trace will vanish from the sand; Yet, as if grieving to efface All vestige of the human race, On that lone shore loud moans the sea? But none, alas ! shall mourn for me !. Jtotg idler. Treasure of theThree Kings. By JAMES Q. HUSTDj. fOopyrtgbt] "Hold on a bit, doctor. 1 want to say something?wait a bit?there, now I'm easier? did you say I was?dyingF "Well, yes, Baybridge; yon might as well know it, 1 suppose You wont pull through this time, my poor fellow. 1 have warned you befoie." "Never mind all that doctor; if Tm bound to die wbat's tbe use of preaching? But I*ve got something?ugh?there it is again?I've got something to ask for." "Well, Baybridge, anything in reason, but ?.?a ?MUI. f? yvu iiiuM uo "Oh, it ain't unreasonable, I reckon. I want to see nay son." "What, No. S5P "Yes, doctor He works in the foundry gaug, and 1 being in the brush shop havent got to see him for two or three years now. X Just"after he come in this time it was that the warden let us have a patter. 1 haven't seen him since." "Weil, Baybridge, your wish is natural, and does you credit 1 will speak to the warden, and 1 dare say he will let No. 85 come up here dnd Have an interview?at noon perhaps." "Will i last till then, doctorP asked the hoary old convict, turning his eyes anxiously upon the face of the physician, who stooped to examine them narrowly, felt the pulse, touched the clammy forehead, and answered gently: "Yes, youll hold out until sunset I think, my man." "All right, doctor. You'll see about NickP "Yes. Keep very still, and go to sleep if you cam Save yourself up, you know." "Yes, doctor," and old Stephen Baybridge, the incendiary, the burglar, the would be assassin, turned bis gray bead upon the pillow of his prison bed and composed himself for the last sleep before the final one. Twolra nV?lrv?lr mirlHnv r*! o ohnrl r?nf f y*r\m the prison clock, and the convicts gathered from the various workshops were marshaled in the courtyard and marched in past the kitchen grating, where each man received his liberal mess of wholesome food, and so to their cells for an hour of rest and refreshment. "No. 85, the warden allows you to visit No. 104 in the hospital ward. Bo ready in ten minutes," said the officer in charge, as a tall, stout fellow, who might nave been good looking but for his close cropped hair and the hideous prison dress, filed by him. No. 85 replied by a military salute, took his dinner and turned down the corridor to the right In ten minutes the turnkey who came to release him found his tin basin empty. "Blessed if they don't snap up their victuals like dogs," muttered he, nodding to 85, who followed him without a word. Stephen Baybridge had not slept, and as his breathing grew more difficult, the attendant had bolstered his grizzly head high upon the pillows, and now stood fanning him; but as his son came down the ward and stopped beside the bedside Stephen motioned the nurse away. "There, that'll da I want to be all alone with my boy here for awhile. How are you, Nick?" "Well enough, father, but you dont look to be. What's up?" "I'm up for?somewheres. The parson says maybe I'll do well enough, but that ain't what 1 wanted of you. Nick, have you heard from the old woman since I saw you three year ago?" "Yes. She's gone under." "Dead?" . "Yes. A fellow come in and says, says he, 'Warn't Susan Baybridge , your mother?' And I says, 'Yes.' 'Well,' says he, 'she was run over by an ingine I was driving, and 1 was drunk, so they sent me up here for five year.'" "Old woman's dead, Sally's dead, Tom's gone no one knows where," muttered the dying man, and then fixing his eyes upon his Bon's face, said aloud: "Nick, you're all Twe got left of all the folks 1 ever had." "Yes, father, I suppose I am," replied the young man, with a sort of patient indifference of manner. "Well, Nick, you ain't the sort of boy you'd ought to be, but like as not that's more my iauit tnan yiurs. xou aianx get mucn or a bringing up." "I was brought up in the streets mostly, except when i got a turn at the Keform or House of Crection," replied Nick, coldly. "Yes, 1 know it, Will, it's too late now, and 1 ain't the one to preach what 1 never practiced." said Baybridge, uneasily, and then fixing a glance of anxious scrutiny upon his son, he asked: ."Saying you got rich, Nick, would you quit them ways that brought you here?" "Of course I would. What's the use of taking another man's money if you've got enough of your own) I'd be as steady as a clock if 1 could afford it and wus out of here." "How long are you in for?" "Fifteen year. Three is out now," replied Nick, sullenly. "Twelve year to run if you can't get pardoned out How old are you, Nick f" "Rising 80, 1 reckon." "Forty-two. Well, that ain't old, and mnybo you'd be steadier after you was out Nick, I've got a secret to tell you." "About money*" asked the young man, his face at last lighting with real interest "About a fortune, Nick, a fortune lit for a king," replied the father, impressively. "Well, let's bear it; tell away, old man; the time is short, anyway." "My time is short, or I'd keep the secret to ? ?n it reemr, fWk I11J SCU, UWjpULU. UUU OCVilJfc k w got to go, I thought?well, well, the long and short of it is, I've had a pal ever since I came here twelve years ago, a fellow that worked next to me in the shop, and walked next me in the gang, and sat next rne in chapel, so of coarse we talked, rule or no rule, and 1 found oat all about him. He'd been a Catholic priest, and ho was took up for forgery, and got twenty years in this placa So mach 1 know all along, but about a year ago be took bod, and was put in the hospital here. 1 have a way when I get tired of work of making myself sick swallowing some of the stuff in the shop, and so I got sick then, and came to the hospital, too, and was in the bed next my paL He bad a fever and went off with it, but the last night he'd to live ho was mighty uneasy, and at last, when the nurse vus asleep, he tokl me that ho would leavo me a secret worth more money than be dared to noma Then he went on to say that the very night before he was arrested he was called to confess a Spanish sailor, dying in a hospital of a wound got in some drunken spree, and?stop now?the priest had got it written down, and PCTitiniifld to keep it all the time he'd been there, stowed , a way with some relics ho wore k round his ueck, and he just gave me relics and all. and I've worn them in the same way ever since, tlarkl There's the nursecomiiig to say time's up Take the little hag and sling it round your neck, quiokl Though if they find it they won't meddle with it, because it's your religion, you know.'' "Come, 35. your time is up." said the officer, approaching with the nurse. "Good-hy, Nict Maybe we'll see each other t'other side of Jordan, anyhow, remember, boy, that you said if you got pardoned out, or even if you stay your time out, that you'll lead a different life. Remember that, Nick." Nick leaned over the bed and took his father's cold hand in his, while upon his dark face came a shadow of genuine emotion. About moneyT' asked the young man. "1 remember, father, and I promise you that if I'm ahle to do as you've been advising, I'll turn over a new leaf and be an honest man." "That's it, Nick; that's the talk; now good-by, my boy; good-by, lad." "Good-by, father, and good luck to you," and Nick turned away with more human feeling working in his breast than he had knowu in many a wicked year. At sunset Stephen Baybridge died. A few days later his son Nick, better known to the prison authorities as No. 35 of the foundry gang, contrived, while filling the mold for a casting, to pour a quantity of the molten metal over his left arm and hand, burning himself severely and putting all possibility of work for several woeks out of tho question. Ho was at once removed to the hospital ward, and the same physician who had closed the father's eyes was summoned to atteud the sou. "A bad burn, Baybridge. You will be laid up a week, at least Your father used to make himself sickVn purpose, and did it once too often. We can's suspect you of the same trick, though, with such a burn as this to show." "It ain't likely," groaned 85, writhing in agony as the doctor dressed his wounds. Ten days later the burns had so far healed that 85 was informed he would be returned to his cell the next morning. The news took him a little by surprise, as he had calculated upon a longer convalescence, but he was prepared. A foundryman with sand molds and molten iron at his command finds little trouble in manufacturing a key, and a bettter one, too, than those formed of knife blades, candlesticks, theme? frame of pictures, or a dozen other unlikely materials, by which prison doors have been unlocked and miraculous escapes effected. The story of Bruce's spider loses all its marvel as one reads our prison reports. Besides the key, 85 had possessed himself of a short, stout bar of iron, which he wore bound upon his back when he was brought to the hospital, and I had since secreted beneath his mattress. This , he carried in his right hand as he effected his ; escape, and hud any obstacle presented ltBelf in human shape, the gleam of 35's dark eyes, and the feline readiness of every motion, suggested the course events might take and the consequences likely to ensue. But by good or ill fortune, as one views the question from the side of convict or keeper, no one was in the way of the well planned and adroitly executed escape, and in the darkest hour of a black autumnal night Nick Baybridgo reached the summit of the wall dividing him from the world. A temporary staging left by the masons who were repairing the stone work helped him to surmount it, but no such aid was to be expected upon the other side, nor had 85 been able to provide himself with a rope, even if there had lieen any means of fastening it. "Here's for luck!" muttered Nick in lieu of a prayer; and lowering himself from the coping by his hands ho hung for a moment and then dropped upon a heap of broken iron castings full of sharp edges and jagged points. "I'm done for," muttered Nick, grimly suppressing a groan of anguish as the sentry above his head paced slowly along the wall, and paused to listen for the sequel of the voice ho had heard. "I won't die here; I won't give them that comfort I'll get to the water and drop over. As good one way as another." So muttering between his clenched teeth, the man, brave as any brute, gathered his poor broken and bleeding body together and trailed it inch by inch along the pavement, leaving a dismal track behind him, toward the turbid tide rolling not 300 feet from the spot wnero 110 nau uroppeo. But the anguish and the exertion were too great, and half way he fainted, and lay there, his faco upon the earth, half naked and wounded to the death?a horrible sight. An hour went by, and brought the dawn. Before the dawn had grown to daylight a young girl came tripping along the silent street and paused at the beginning of the bridge. "Just 5. It's time for father now," said she, listening for the sound of wheels. Then, as nothing was to be heard, she began to look about her, noticing the odd effects of familiar objects in tho half light, and so came upon the prostrate figure of the dying felon in his prison dress. Tho dress, tho hour, the mangled form, grouped themselves suggestively in the girl's quick brain, and her second glance was toward tho prison walls rising gloomy and forbidding close behind her. No unusual stir was apparent, und Louisa Wylie, snatching tho gray plaid from her own shoulders, threw it over tho figure at her foet, murmuring defiantly: "They haven't missed him yet, and they shan't get him again if I can help it. Poor creature!" Just then tho rumble of wheels passing from the paved street to the wooden bridge was heard in tho distance, and at the same moment poor Jo stirred in his swoon and moaned drearily. Both wero sounds of promise, and Louisa hastened to lay the wounded man's head in an easier position, and then stood up looking eagerly down tho bridge. A covered country wagon, drawn by a comfortablo plow horso, was slowly approaching. Louisa could not wait, aud ran to meet it. Two men wero upon tho seat, one a white haired patriarch, the other a good looking young gentleman, who, at sight of tho girl, uttered an exclamation of great surprise, and mode a movement as if to spring to tho ground. Tho old man drew the nlcn in nct/inichmonf.* "Why, Loo! how came you here?" "I knew you would drive over the bi idge on your way into the city with the mr rkefc stuff, and I wanted to see you about something that wouldn't wait, and so I came out to meet you, father; but what I want now is that you should take up this man and--and j hide him somewhere." "What man? Hide him?" helplessly repeated the old farmer, staring about him in hewilderment, while tho younger man sprang to the ground. "What is it, Miss Louisa? Let me ielp you," suid he, going close to the girl, who, pointing back at the prostrate figure, said, resolutely: "I suppose ho has escaped from the j'ate prison, but ho is terribly hurt, and perhaps dying. They shall not get him if I can help it, and I want father to put him in the wagon and carry him right homa I'll go, too." "Sho, Louizy, I shan't do any such thing. What, lose all my marketing for the sake of helping a gallows bird to escapel I'd be well set to work doing that, shouldn't II" exclaimed the old man, indignantly, and his I daughter replied: "Indeed you would be, father. No matter 'what he has done, he is wounded, suffering, dying lx?fore our eyes Would you carry him back tQ the very prison he has killed himself in trying to escape? Oh, father, would you, could you bo so cruel and unfeeling f * "Well, but you see, Loulzy, be afn't nothin' to us, and I've got all my green stuff in the back of the wagon" "Ask me, and I will help you, Louisa," said a low voice at her elbow, and Louisa, turning, fixed her indignant, honest eyes upon the face of the young man as she replied: "Well, John Merton, I do ask you to help me, and 1 offer you my best thanks in advance for doing so." "I think, Mr. Wylie, wo might make room at the back of tho wagon for tho poor fellow, and if you don't mind going three or four miles out of tho way I will take tho risk of carrying him to my mother's house, since Miss Louisa is so resolved upon rescuing him. And any loss that you may experience in your marketing" The rest of the sentence was spoken softly in the^ ear of the old farmer, who, nodding twice or thrice in reply, stiffly dismounted from his driving seat, and, going round to tho back of the wagon, began to unbutton the curtain and move round tho various boxes and baskets stowed behind it. Meantime the two young people had approached and bent over the convict, now conscious of his sufferings and his danger, and watchimr their motions with the keen. anxious eye of a trapped animal who sees hia captorB approaching. "You are dreadfully hurt, aren't your asked Louisa, faltering for the first time as she saw the pool of blood oozing from beneath the crushed figure. "Yes. Are you going to carry me back?" , "Won't you be better taken care of there than anywhere else! Do you mind very much where you go?" asked John Merton, restraining the girl by a warning look. 1 "Mind? Of course I do. I'd rather die here. Hide me away somewhere, and I'll pay you handsome," gasped poor 85, clutching with his one hand at the secret upon his breast. At this proposition Merton smiled contemptuously, Louisa reproachfully. "We do not want to be paid," said she. "Even if you could pay us," added he. No. 35 smiled dubiously at both speakers, but made no reply. Then, with Farmer Wylie's help, and even some assistance from Louisa. Merton got his charge into the wagon, and, with his foot upon the step, turned to say: "Mr. Wylie, you had better go home with Miss Louisa to her rooms, and I will call there for you as soon as I can. It may be best for you not to have more to do in this business than cau be helped." "I reckon s6; and make the best of it, I'm a loser by the hurt ray stuff will take jolting six mixes exx>ra, jetting aioco getting in late for the market," grumbled the old man, but his daughter checked him. "Oh, father, when a man's life and mortal agony are in question, can we care for a little more or less trouble and loss?" "Well, I'll go home with you, Louizy, and, John, you come as quick as you can." And Mr. Wylie, taking his daughter's arm, plodded along in the direction of her lodgings, while John Merton drove rapidly yet carefully away in the opposite direction. "And what was you coming to meet me on the bridge for, Louizy? Ain't you doing well at your work?" "Oh, yes, father. I have more photographs to color than I can do, and my business with you was about just that Mr. Waters is going to Havana next Thursday to take photographs of phces and people, and ho wants me to go, too. Ho says no ono else does the work as well, and he will pay me handsomely, besides my expenses. But I must decide today, as he will have to look for some ono else if I cannot go." "Then he's bound to go, any way?" "Oh, yes, and he will take some ono to paint his photographs." "Then it might as well bo you as any one, for if you stop to home you'll lose his work," said the farmer, shrewdly; and Louisa answered, with New England self confidence and self respect: "There's no trouble about that, father. I shall always get as much work as I can do, I think." "But you can't go alone with this man," suggested the father, suddenly. "Oh, no; Mrs. Waters is going, of course." "Well, I don't see but what you might as well go, then, Louizy," said Farmer Wylie; and so was decided an important step in the matter of the secret confided by the Spanish sailor to his confessor, by the confessor to Stephen Baybridge, and by him to his son Nick, or No. 35. An hour later John Merton called at Miss Wylie's lodgings, and after surrendering the horse and wagon to their impatient owner ho informed her that their wretched charge had arrived at the cottage, terribly shaken and exhausted, both by his hurts and by the drive, and that although his mother had ' willingly accepted the charge he had put upon her, ho felt that it was too arduous a one, and should, after a brief visit to the city, go homo for the rest of the day. Also ho informed her that the dying man? for suck ho considered the convict?had expressed a very ardent desire to seo the "young woman who spoke so pleasant" to him in his first conscious moments, and to whom ho had something of tho greatest importance to reveal. "Some message for his friends, I suppose," said Louisa, thoughtfully. "I can hardly leave home today, for I must begin to get ready for my journey;" and then she told her plan to the young man, who listened attentively, and replied: "All tho more reason you should go home with mo today, to bid my mother good-by; and I, too, have something important to soy to you, Louisa, before you go. I went out to the farm yesterday on purpose to speak to your father and mother, and intended when I rode in this morning with Mr. Wylio, to ask you to go out to my mother's today. Will you come?" "I could not go merely for pleasure, John, but I will go to see this poor dying man," said Louisa, coloring scarlet, but meeting the young man's meaning glance fully and fearlessly. "Then I will call for you at 10 o'clock, shr.ll I?" "Yes, if you please." P.ut at 10 o'clock as they passed through the city streets to the horse cam every wall confronted them with placards announcing tho escape of Nicholas Baybridgo from the state prison, describing his person and dress, r nd offering a large reward for his apprehension. "You must not tell until he is dead, John," said Louisa, anxiously. "He cannot live many days, and they should be spent in lieace." "They shall not bo disturbed, Louisa," said the young man, and resolved to keep his word at any sacrifice, but none was needed, for, like many other very transparent secrets, the true story of No. 35'sescape was nevor known, and the authorities wisely decided to identify him with the body of a man found floating in the dock next day, as poor Nick had fully intended himself to be found. Arrived at the cottage, Louisa, after a brief conversation with Mrs. Mcrton, asked to be allowed to see the sick man. "It's a shocking sight for you, dear," said tender hearted Mrs. Merton. "But he has done nothing but ask for you since John went away. He's sinking fast, poor fellow, and the doctor says?I would send for old Dr. Spear, though the man declared ho wouldn't have any one?the doctor says ho never will see sunrise again." "Poor man! And such a horrible death. Let us go to him at once, Mrs. Merton, if I can say or do anything to comfort him," said Louisa, pale, but very resolute, nor did she shrink or falter when, standing beside the bed, she looked for the first time full at tho disfigured face und head, tho inaimed and broken jifctns and heaving chest of tho injured man. "You were asking for me, they said. Can I do anything for you?" inquired she. Tho convict opened his heavy, blood shotten eyes, and looked earnestly up into her face. "It's come round curious, that you should be the one to get it, after all," said he. "Get what?" asked Louisa, gently. "What I'm going to give you. The old woman would have a doctor; I didn't want one because 1 thought he'd blow on mo, and I ain't a-going back to the prison anyway. But the doctor said he wouldn't get round so as to report me before night, and by that time I'd be out of danger." "Out of danger of arrest?" "Out of danger of anything that we know about. Tho old man spoke solemn to me the other day when he lay as I lay now, but I didn't feel it then. You don't till it comes your own turn. He went off at sun down, the parson said May bo 1 shall, too. But, Lord, what a lark it is for me to be laying here In this clean white bed. with posy pots, and pictures, and easy chairs, and curtains all about me. I never slept in such a room in my life, and to think of only getting in here to die. Now, that's just my luck, just my confounded luck." "I wouldn't talk in that way now," said the young girl, with a sort of kindly severity of tone. "Why not? You ain't 0110 of tho overly * pious folks that think a poor fellow is going straight to the bad if he says a strong word or so, are you?" asked 35, in a tone of some disgust, but added, impatiently: "Well, it don't matter. I've got to go, and I can't take it with me, and you was good to me, and made that fellow help mo. and you're tho first decent woman I ever had a chance of doing a good turn to, ? even speaking to. More than all, you're good looking?first rate." He rolled his languid eyes upon her face with a look of critical admiration. Louisa met it as unblushingly as a bird upon a tree might have done. "What are you talking about?" asked she. "Well?about?this." And as he spoke,. the convict, with movements whose agony betrayed Itself " upon his writlfiiig 'features,'M drew from bis bosom a little leathern reliquary In the shape of a heart. It was fastened about his neck by a thong, also of leather, hardened and blackened by much wear, almost to the texture of iron. "Cut the line and rip open the bag. There's a fortune inside and it's yours. I give it to you, because you was good to ma 0 Lord I O Lord! I can't stand this. I'm going now, snre." A terrible access of pain cut off all further speech, and Louisa hastily summoned assistance, but no assistance could now avail. Poor 85 lingered a few hours, at first in torture, then in the fatal ease that precedes death from internal injuries. During this interval he called Louisa to bis side and feebly asked: "Well, what was in it7" "The little case? I have not opened it" "Open it now?send the rest of the folks away," whispered No. 35; and Louisa, requesting Mrs. Morton and John to leave her alone with the patiout for a few moments, brought the reliquary and a scissors to the bedside. "Shall I cut it open?" asked she. "Yes, and quick, too." Without reply Louisa ran the scissors about the edge of the little cose and opened it upon her band. "A lock of hair, a scrap of cloth, a bit of? evergreen, I should say?and a folded paper covered with writing," enumerated she, turning over the contents. "The paper?read it out aloud?the other stuff is the priest's nonsense?read!" gasped 85, almost at the last now. With a hasty glance at his cadaverous face Louisa obeyed. The paper was very fine and thin, and the writing very faint, so that it was with difficulty she decipl^red and read out these words: 14 A nfoniA CInroio hoinrr in rfrnmic r?rm_ fessed to mo that ho. with others, caused the wreck of the Brazilian treasuro ship, the Three Kings of Cologne, upon' the eastern end of a small island or key, known as Los Demonis, within fifty miles of the island of Cuba, the Three Kings being bound for Havana. Garcia and four others secured the princely amount of the treasure, mostly in diamonds and other jewels, with some bullion, confined the rest of the crew and officers under hatches, seized one of the ship's boats, and escaped, leaving tho vessel in a sinking condition. After much danger and delay they landed at a point forty-seven miles east of tho town of San Juan de Ios Remedios, beneath a tall cliff called, in the langunge of tho country, 11 Cavallo Blanco, or the White Horse. Here, being in much doubt as to their treatment by the natives, and of the time when they should escajio from among them, they agreed to hide their treasuro in a grotto or cavern half way up tho cliff, and not to bo seen either from its Imso or its crest, but marked by n deep crevice in tho faco of the rock pointing like a linger from tho summit downward, tho said cavern being discovered by Garcia himself while searching for birds' eggs to assuage tho extreme hunger of hijnself and his comrades. And the boxes of treasure are hidden under a large stone, like a bench, across tho end of tho cave. But the cave can only be reached by stopping from a boat at high tide to a projecting rock, and then scaling tho face of tho cliff. And said Garcia bequeaths this entiro treasuro to tho use and benefit of the Holy Church, he being the heir of his comrades, who unfortunately died within a few days after concealing the treasure, and before leaving the island of Cuba." Hero abruptly ended tho memorandum of tho priest, evidently a mere abstract, taken down just after hearing the confession of the dying man, and designed to fix the information given by him beyond tho chance of forgetfulness or mistake. "And do you suppose it is still there, and do you mean to give it to me?" asked Louisa, o? eVio ftnichn/1 t*?nrlin<r nnrl rniRPfl hpr AVPS t<"> the face of her attentive listener. That face was already awful with the impress of death; the eyes that met hers had fixed in a glassy stare of admiration, too horrible for even the well strung uerves of the New England girL She uttered a low cry, and fled from the room, convulsively grasping the scrap of crumpled paper, which had become her warrant of a princely fortune. A week later Louisa Wylie sailed with Mr. and Mrs. Waters for Havana. In the same steamer, but not in the same party, sailed John Merton, the junior partner of a flourishing legal firm in Boston. Ho went, as ho took occasion to state, upon professional business, and, in so stating, told the exact truth, his employer being Miss Wylie, and his business the investigation of Antonio Garcia's story and the discovery of the owners, or rather the heirs of the owuers, of the ship Three Kings of Cologne. Arrived in Havana, Mr. Waters went soberly to work at the business which had taken him there, and Miss Wylie devoted herself to his assistance as steadily and as conscientiously as she had ever done in her life. Mr. Morton meantime busied himself with his own alTairs, and at the end of ten days came to reportprogress to his employer. "I find," said he, "that the ship Three Kings of Cologne was actually owned hero in Havana, fifty years ago, by a wealthy firm styled Ramirez Bros. The ship was wrecked, and the treasure she contained absolutely lost, it is supposed. The solo survivor of the family of Ramirez is a young man, wealthy, handsomo and unmarried, who neither needs nor misses tho fortune of which Antonio Garcia robbod his grandfather." "What will you do next?" "Have you not been to see Ramirez?" asked Louisa, in somo surprise. "No, certainly not, until I know your desire." "Why, you knew it beforehand." "But the circumstances are different from what we imagined possible. This property, if indeed it exists at all, is fairly yours, all other claim being outlawed long ago, and cj:,. r>.... I .wit),..- nr.*. misses this" "John, what are you talking about? Has ten days among these deceitful and intriguing people changed your honest and upright heart to" For the first time since ho know her tho clear, round voico faltered, and tho bravo eyes filled up with tears, half of sorrow, half of shame. John flushed scarlet, and left tho room without a word. An hour later ho roturucd, accompanied by a superbly handsome and courtly gentleman. "Miss Wylie, this is Sig. Ramirez, to whom I have given only a hintof thestrango story you have to relate to him," said tho lawyer. "I am very glad to sco you, sir, and hopo that I havo good news for you," began Louisa, and then, clearly and briefly, and without ono word of sentiment or one suggestion of any other course possible for her to pursue, she repeated tho story of Nick Baybridge's escajte from prison, his constituting her his heir, the priest's abstract of Antonio Gareia's confession, and finally sho ended by placing the pa|ier in tho hands of tho young Spaniard, who had sat listening to her with his great melancholy eyes open to their fullest extent, and his face lighted with the most active emotion it had ever expressed. "And you have come to Habana to restore this property to me, its so doubtful owner or heir?" asked lie, at length. "No; 1 cnino upon my own business, but I, of course, determined to see you and tell you about the hidden treasure. This gentleman, Mr. Merton, a lawyer by profession, came on purpose to seo to it," said Louisa, indifferently. "My thanks, and something more, shall bo laid at the feet of tho Sig. Merton," said the hidalgo, with rather a patronizing bow to the lawyer. "But," added he in another tone, as his eyes traveled back to the young girl's handsome face, "but you, siguora?I have no word of thanks for you." "I assure you, sir, I do not wish for or expect any. Tho ship was yours or your grandfather's, and when I happened to hear what had become of the treasure, it was no great trouble to let you know, especially as I was here. I hopo you will find tho diamonds, etc., all safe." "Thanks, signora," replied tho Spaniard, his eyes fked in unabated astonishment upon viAitfVionn tnnr\ wtoin fuller rn/1 rlnninrf ???>? ? .UI.V, - ' ? beneath his gaze, until, rising, Louisa said: "Thanks, signora." "Now 1 will beg you to excuse me, as I have work to do before sunset," and left the room. "Work 1 The lady works?" asked Ramirez, turning with n puzzled glance to Merton.who hastened to explain. "Ahl what shame for her to work. And all this money in her hands, if sho had closed them upon it!" exclaimed the Spaniard; and, after a moment's thought, he approached the young American, and, laying a finger confidentially upon his arm, asked: "Sho is not married?" "No." "Or affianced?" "No," said John Morton, closing his teeth firmly upon the monosyllable. Sig. Ramirez nodded twice or thrice, and then asked somo shrewd questions about the business in hand; uor was Miss Wylie again alluded to between the two men. Another week went by, and Mr. Waters having nearly finished the business that had brought him to Havana, was talking of the return voyage, when Sig. Jacinto Ramirez sent to beg a private interview with Miss Wvlie. It was conceded at once, and Louisa learned, much to her gratification, that tho information had indeed proved worth a fortune to tho heir of old Ruy Ramirez and his brother Jago, owners of the Three Kings of Cologne; for the precious freight of that unfortunate vessel had been so securely hidden by the mutineers as to remain undiscovered until the moment when Don Ramirez himself, aided by two trusted slaves, removed the large stone like a bench across tho end of tho cave beneath which it lay concealed. "The treasure is vast, signora," added tho Spaniard, fixing his dark eyes upon those of the woman who had brought this fortune to him with such unconscious and disdainful honesty. "But yet not enough. Signora, I value this fair hand for above all tho magnificent gifts you have bestowed upon mo. Will you add it to them?" "Sir?why, did not you know" "What, signoraT' "Well, nothing yet; but if I over marry, ' sir, it will bo but one man." "And that man, signora?" "You should not ask such a question, Mr. Ramirez. It is not you." "That is enough, signora." "No; but you should not bo offended, sir, although 1 know my manner is somewhat rude and hluut. That is my birthright, as courtesy is yours. Forgive me if 1 have hurt you, signor." Sho came close to him, put both her hands in his, and raised hor clear, bright eyes to meet his astonished gazo. * "How different you aro from my countrywomen. Oh, signora, bo gracious, and think, at least, upon my offer of hand, and heart, and lifo. You do not know mo yet." "But, sir, 1 told you that I lovo some one elso, and never shall dream of marrying any man but that one," said Louisa, with decision. "And be?docs ho? F stammered Ramirez. "Does ho love moF suggested Louisa, blushing rosy red. "I think so?I hopo so." "It is the notary," muttered Ramirez. "Good-by, signor. I hope you will be very happy, and find a very good and truo woman to be your wife," said Louisa, again offering her hand. "Signora, I wish no wife but you," replied tho Spaniard, raising the hand to his lips. And so they parted, not to meet again. That evening John Merton olfered himself to Louisa Wylie, and was accepted. "I would not ask until after Don Ramirez, for ho had far more to offer than 1 shall ever have," said the happy lover at last. "Had ho John Merton to offerf asked Louisa, with a smile. They did not meet again, but on her wedding day, Louisa Wylie received from Don Jacinto Ramirez the gift of a wonderful paruro of diamonds, and the deed of gift of $100,000, "a sum very poorly representing her due share of a certain property lost to the family of Ramirez but for her exertions." So ran tho deed, but Louisa, in accepting it, wrote with her own hand to Sig. Don Ramirez that it was only as a free gift, and not in the least as restitution, that she could accept it, and thank him for it mast heartily. "Men have died, and worms have eaten them, but not for love," and the signor was married last week to a charming New England girl whom he met at Nowport. Let us wish him happiness as great as that of our friends John and Louisa Merton, for wo can suggest no question. Male Pockets.?The full-dressed male animal abounds in pockets; he has coat pockets, vest pockets and pants pockets; breast pockets, side pockets, hind pockets, hip pockets, pockets it) the overcoat, his ulster and his rubber overalls; never less than sixteen to twenty of these economical hiding places for lots of articles?cash in loose change, cash in bills, lawyers' briefs, sermons, tradesmen's accounts, doctors' prescriptions, architect'sdrawings, ,tax|gatherers' list, blank books of all sorts and sizes, enough to stock a bookseller's stall or a merchant's counting room. All kinds of pocket articles are enumerated and defined in the dictionary?pocket comb, pocket compass, pocket pistol, pocket knife, pocket money, pocket glass, pocket volumes, pocket inkstand, pen, pencil and the like. A school boy's pockets are a curiosity; a repository for nails, balls, jackknives, gingerbread and apple cores, fishing twine and angle worms, and as he grows older, billets from the girls, excuses from his mother and extra problems j from his teacher. A female lecturer i of some celebrity said "the only i thing for which she envied a man was his multitude of pockets."? [Troy Times. a?*"Is there anything you can leave off the bill of fare?" asked the careful landlord of hissteward. "No, sir. I've marked off most of the dishes now, and have added the salt and pepper to the list of relishes." "Have you announced that all meals sent to rooms will be charged extra?" "I have, sir." "And the guests are not allowed to take fruit from the table?" "Yes, sir." "You might add that no second orders will be filled." "It is done, sir." "Then that is all, unless you speak of the toothpicks. We mustn't be too particular in serving the public. You can mark toothpicks free." ^ttiscrllaucous Reading. For the Yorkville Enquirer. REMINISCENCES OF WESTERN YORK. Scarcely had the war began, before counter-influences were brought to bear upon its success. The idea of a "Conscript law" was conceived by the Richmond Examiner, and by that paperput forward in all its plausibility. Other leading papers took the matter in hand, and as a result, ou the 16th day of April, 1862, it passed the Confederate Congress, received the President's sanction, and bee ..ne a law. It provided for the j enrollment of all able-bodied men between the ages of IS and So years. It is needless to say that this law met bitter opposition from many influential men throughout the Confederacy. An estimate made by the war department from the muster rolls and from such data as it had in its possession, convinced the authorities that an army .sufficiently strong to cope with that of the Federals could be raised by this means. The time of enlistment of the first troops to volunteer was coming to a close, and the army must be kept intact. As McClellan was drawing his military coil around the Confederate capital, our people ignored the "conscript act," and the young men and others within the age, made choice of their commands and went to them. They went, not as "conscripts," but as volunteers. Thus, at the opening of that campaign, the different regiments and other commands were re-organized, and when Gen. Lee took com mand of the Army of Northern Virginia, in front of Richmond, after Gen. Joseph E. Johnston had been wounded at the battle of "Seven Pines," he (Lee) could truthfully have said of his army, as "fighting" Joe Hooker said of his a year afterward, that he (Hooker) commanded the finestarmy on the planet. , Our people at home had labored assiduously to equip our army for the ordeal through which it was to pass in removing McClellan from his strong position. The privations at home were kept secret from the MAIJ'oMA ? V> f U/\ ^ ril fl WAnfo f HI SUJUJCJ3 ill IIIC I1CIU. J. tticmo wicu to be cheerful that their soldier boys might have no anxiety for them. Sisters wrote cheerful letters and reminded their brothers that their cause depended upon their fidelity. Butthi9 was not to be the case long, as we shall now see. In vain we search our country's history for such a case of demagogism as the enactment of the "Conscript law," to which we have just called the reader's attention. It was beyond doubt the most damnable piece of legislation that ever blackened the bright escutcheon of American statesmanship. It was thequintessence of slavery itself. The volunteersoldier could no longerstand upon his dignity as such. He felt that his country distrusted his loyalty to its flag. The son was torn from the arms of his mother, and the husband from the fond embrace of his wife and children by its cruel provisions. Many a delicate youth was ushered into the army and to an untimely grave by its rigid exactions. Discontentment was inexorable. It permeated both the ranks of the army and the home circle at the same time and in the same way. Greater sacrifices must be made. The Government demanded its supportand the people voluntarily yielded to its request. Provisions and army supplies were turned over to the commissary department with marked liberality. Espionage crept into treacherous and jealous hearts, and the "whys" and "wherefores" that certain people were not in the army were freely and fully discussed. The conscript officers were besieged by those who wished to keep out themselves and get others in the army; and thus dissention and disifo iin\i?lr in mil* mlHof CUI'U UC^illl us truin in uui ujiuuv< An enemy in the rear is always demoralizing to an army. It was in a great measure the condition of affairs among our people at home that defeated our army. Everything was chaos and despair towards the close, and the march of Sherman's army through the centre of our State, applying torches to the property and homes of defenseless (yet patriotic) women and children, finally accomplished what it failed to do with firearms. Thus the early months of 18G5, witnessed the closing of one of the most destructive wars, (both of lives and property) recorded in modern times. We expect yet to give accounts of the personal courage of some of those who took part in that memorable struggle. J. l. s. ADJOURNMENT OF CONOR ESS. On the 20th instant, at 1 o'clock, the first session of the Fiftieth Congreas was ended?the longest continuous session in the history of nearly a century of Congress, having lasted three hundred and twenty-one days. The longest previous session ran three hundred and two days, ending September 30. Apart from the protracted but interesting discussion of the tariff question in both houses, and the unparalleled deadlock in consideration of the bill to refund the direct tax, the session has been remarkable in several ways, but in none more than in the enormous number of measures introduced in both branches of Congress. In the Senate 3,641 bills and 116 joint resolutions were presented, and in the House the record ran up to the unequaled figures of 11,598 bills and 230 joint resolutions, making a grand total of 15,585 measures introduced in one session. In the Senate 2394 measures were reported back from the committee and placed on the calendar, a much larger proportion than in the House, where 8,305 measures of the total number of 11,828 introduced still slumber in committee rooms. Of the measures introduced, but few of public interest became laws. Of these may be mentioned the bill to authorize juries in United States Circuit and District Courts to be used interchangeably, and the bill to prohibit the comingof Chinese laborers to the United States. In the . next stage, that is in the conference between the two houses, are two bills of the first importance, na?nely: Repealing the pre-emption and timber culture laws and providing a general homestead law ; and declaring the forfeiture of unearned railroad land grants. Pending before the Senate is the House tariff and the Senate substitute. The Senate passed bills to divide Dakota and admit the southern half as a State, and to aid common school education (the Blair bill), but they never reached the House for action. There are also several bills unacted upon on the Senate calendar, among which the following are the more important: To establish a United States land court; to invest the surplus in United States bonds; for the admission of Montana and Washington territories; to prohibit*alcoholic liquor traffic; to declare trusts unlawful; to establish a postal telegraph system, (adversely reported from the committee). The bill reported from the House committee and still on the House calendar, for refunding the direct tax, will be taken up early in December next, under an agreement by which the memorable deadlock over this bill was broken. Of the Senate bills in committee may be mentioned as important, the bill for the free coinage of silver ; to repeal arrears of pension limitation ; to reduce letter postage to one cent; to grant woman suffrage, and measures proposing radical changes in the government's financial policy. The following are original House bills which, likewise, never got out of the committee : To repeal the internal revenue laws and the tobacco tax ; to prohibit the mailing of newspapers containing lottery advertisements; to lay a graduated income tax; for a bounty on sugar; to repeal the civil service law ; for the free coinage of silver; to break up trusts, and various measures proposing changes in our pension, tariff and financial laws. A SINLESS FALL. rr?u~ ?? 1: ? ?< t^n, T)i..n. jLiie L'uu^irfcttiiuii ui j^iiv invci church, a meeting-house, in an exceedingly rural community about seventy-five miles northwest of Chicago, says the Arkansaw Traveler, decided that a few new hymn-books and gospel papers were needed, the Rev. Anthony Nash should go to Chicago and purchase them. Mr. Nash, having never seen the city, was exceedingly pleased with the appointment. He knew, as all country people do, how wicked a city is, and he thought that by merely keeping his eyes open he could find a text for a great sermon. lie was thrilled by the busy scenes, and found delightful rest in the parks. One morning, the third day after his arrival, and while he was wondering if he could reach the railway station that afternoon in time to catch the train, he strolled quite a distance from the huisness centre of the city. He looked at his watch, and discovered with alarm, that he only had four hours in which to catch the train. The street cars were running in the wrong direction. Just then a patrol wagon came along. There was only one policeman on the seat. "There's the baggage wagon and the baggage-master," the preacher mused. "I will get in and ride with him." He climbed into the wagon, without attracting the attention of the policeman, and took a seat. The wagon stopped at a police station. A policeman came up to the wagon, and addressing the preacher, said: "Come on here, now." "Are you sure my books have been sent to the depot ?" "Come on, I tell you." The policeman on the seat, half drunk and half asleep, paid no attention to the performance. Mr. Nash got out of the wagon and turned to go away, but the police? - ? U *v? ? r? rl ? m rinJ Va /\f U ! li luau sei/itju miu, auu, 111 spue UI ma struggles, took him to a cell. The next day he was taken before court. The policeman who had driven the wagon?to show that he was keenly alive to the interests of the city?brought forward a charge of drunkenness and disorderly conduct. The honest preacher told his story. The judge, the policeman and the reporters laughed at him. He was fined ten dollars, and the afternoon papers devoted many mirth-provoking lines to him. When Mr. Nash reached home he found an angry committee awaiting him. He was immediately summoned to appear before his congregation, and by a rising vote was robbed of his pulpit. An Illustration.?"Put thou my tears into a bottle," is the touching prayer of the Psalmist. He who notes the sparrow's fall will not overlook the eyes that weep. The Psalmist probably alludes to a custom which still prevails in Persia, as of old. They bottle up their tears in thefollowingmanner: Asthemourners are sitting around and weeping, the master of ceremonies presents each one with a piece of cotton wool, I with which he wipes off his tears. This cotton is afterwards squeezed J into a bottle, and the tears are pre! served as a powerful and efficacious remedy for revivingadying man, after every other means had failed. It is also employed as a charm against evil influences. The practice alluded to was once universal, as is found by the tear bottles which are found in almost every ancient tomb; for the ancients buried them with their dead as a proof of their affection. There is a fair land where all tears shall be wiped away. Reader, are you going thither??[Anon. Controlling More Railroads. Recently the Richmond and West Point Terminal Railway and Warehouse Company, more familiarly known as the Richmond and Danville system, obtained control of the East Tennessee llailroad and its connections ; and only a few days later the same company purchased the entire capital stock of the Central Georgia company?thus giving the combination control of an extensive system of rail and water lines, in Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama, aggregating 7,214* miles. These roads and systems are as follows: Richmond and West Point, including Richmond and Danville and leased lines, 16roads,3,094miles; East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia, 12 roads, 1,624 miles; Central, of Georgia, 23 roads, 2,189* miles; Georgia railroad and connections, 307 miles. It is probable that suits will be entered to prevent the acquisition by the Temiinal Company of the East Tennessee and Georgia systems. An Incident.?One evening last Christmas a gentleman was strolling along a street in Toronto with apparently no object in view but to pass the time. His attention Was attracted by the remark of a little girl to a companion in front of a fruit stand: "I wish I had an orange for ma." The gentleman saw that the children, though poorly dressed, were clean and neat, and calling them into the store he loaded them with fruit and candies. "What'syour name?" asked one of the girls. "Why do you want to Know querieu me gentleman. "I want to pray for you," was the reply. The gentleman turned to leave, scarce daring to speak, when the little one added: "Well, it don't matter, I suppose. God will know you, anyhow." ? ^ + Life's Struggle.?Is life to be a success or a failure? This is the question with all. It is a struggle. It is a hard one, and are you discouraged and on the point of giving up? If the crisis is upon you it is the time for manly struggle?for decisive efforts based on courageous purposes. Here is hope. To give up is to make life a failure; to hold on is to gain heroic and triumphant success. Stability will take the place of fickleness and hesitancy, and the struggle will not be in vain.?[Morning Star. 4 A CAROLINA INDIAN CHIEF. SOME ACCOVXT OF THOMAS MOltltlSOX, CHIEF OF THE CATAWBA IXDIAXS. [From the Sumter AUvance.] Id January, 1887, the News and Courier informed us that the Catawba Indians were "on the law path." They were not after the bloody scalp of any pale face, but were looking up a claim to 144,000 acres, which formerly belonged to them, and to a good part of which, I believe, they still have a just claim. The Indian most prominent in hunting up this claim appears to have been Thomas Morrison, chief of the Catawbas. A few words about him and his people will not be uninteresting to those of your readers who are fond of our Indian history, for chief Morrison is not only a civilized, but is also a Carolina Indian Chief. Mr. A. E. Smith, of Rock Hill, who is the agent for the Catawbas, in a recent letter to the writer of this article, says of these Indians : "About 60 live on the reservation, 92 In all; the others are scattered about at different points, but maintain their identity. The reservation contains 720 acres, situated in Catawba township, in York county, on the waters of Catawba river." Last March the writer received an interesting letter from James Harris (one of the Catawbas) and from it we learn that Chief Morrison went away from his people when he was small and returned in 1880. His wife was dead when Harris wrote. She was half Catawba. He was married in the Choctaw Nation. Mr. Smith writes, "Chief Morrison is about 45 years of age." The government of the Catawbas is rather republican in form: "In electing our chief," says Harris in his entertaining letter, "we hold a convention and appoint him, then call a mass meeting and elect him by voting." Harris says that Thomas Morrison was elected chief, as near as he could tell from memory, on November 5th, 1886. The chieftaincy of the Catawbas is something more than an empty title ; again I quote from Harris's letter, "the chief has the authority to do all public business for the tribe.whileothersdo not." The newspapers mention two visits that Chief Morrison has paid to Columbia in the interest of his people; both visits occurred last year, one in January, the other in December. He has manifested an earnest interest in the rights and welfare of the Catawbas. When he visited Columbia in January, 1887, the Columbia Register, speaking of him and another red man who accompanied him, tells us: "they were both clad in the habiliments oT civilization and had nothing about them to attract unusual notice save their strongly marked Indian features." The Chief was mentioned as "being a man of more than ordinary stature" and was "very deaf' and "difficult to converse with." The Columbia correspondent of the Augusta Chronicle has spoken of Chief Morrison as "an intelligent Indian" and of his "having served nobly through the war, and rendered invaluable services as a scout in the Confederate army." From tlys we learn that Thomas Morrison, besides being an Indian chief, has also been an Indian warrior. Such is a brief sketch of Thomas Morrison, chief the Catawbas, a nation of Indians who have been as brave, if not braver, than were the Mohicans, the same tribe which J. Fenimore Cooper has immortalized in that romance of all Indian romances?"The last of the Mohicans." Mcdonald jjurman. Privateer township, Sept. 22,1888. Substitutes for Kissing.?Some rude races have strange substitutes for kissing. Of a Mongol father, a traveler writes: "Hesmelled from, time to time the head of his youngest son, a mark of paternal tenderness usually among the Mongols instead of embracing." In the Philippine Islands, we are told, "the sense of smell is developed to so great a degree that they are able, by smelling pocket-handkerchiefs, to tell to which person they belong, and lovers, at parting, exchange pieces of linen they may be wearing, and, during their separation, inhale the odor of the beloved being." Among the Cittagong Hill people, again, it is said, the manner of kissing is peculiar. Instead of pressing lip to lip, they place the nose and mouth upon the cheek and inhale the breath strongly. Their form of speech is not "Give me a kiss," but "Smell me." In the same way, according to another traveler, "the Burmese do not kiss each other in the western fashion, but apply the lips and nose to the cheek, and make a strong inhalation." Moreover, "the Samoans salute by juxtaposition of noses, accompanied not by a rub, but a hearty smell." There is scripturral precedent for such customs. When blind Isaac was in doubt whether the son who came to him was Jacob or not, "he smelled the 11 . r t- ? - ?: a ~ kiamaa/i amen 01 nis rmiiinem, nuu uicsocu him." A Story of a Pair of Drumsticks.?After the battle of Saratoga, in 1777, a pair of drumsticks were found by the side of a British drummer, who had been killed. The sticks were given to an American drummer-boy, who used them,during the remainder of the Revolutionary war. The boy became a man, and when the war of 1812 began, he gave the Saratoga sticks to his son. The latter used them throughout the war of 1812, and they beat "the Americans to Arms," at the battle of New Orleans, in 1815. A grandson of the Revolutionary drummer used the same sticks in General Scott's army during the Mexican war. A great-grandson of the Revolutionary drummer carried them for four years during the late civil war, and now they are in possession of Col. Morrow, of Niles, Michigan. The historical sticks were used at a reunion of Michigan soldiers, at Buchanan, in that State, on the 25th of last August. One of the sticks is made of camwood and the other of raahogony. They are both sound, though they are more than one hundred years old. A Smart Scholar.?A zealous Suuday-school teacher who had endeavored to teach her class of boys lessons of temperance, in everyway snowing inem ine iony aou uauger of using intoxicating liquors, was very much surprised one Sunday by one of herboysexclaiming: "I have been reading a book lately, teacher, and it says that every boy ought to drink, lie and steal!" Of course the teacher was shocked that any bodk should give such bad advice, and inquired more particularly into the matter, telling the boy that such a book was not fit for him to read. Looking up at her with'an amused smile, he replied: "Oh! 1 didn't tell you all; it says that every boy ought to drink nothing but cold water, lie on a good bed, and steal away from bad company. I think so, too; don't