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lewis m. fxKisr, proprietor.! giii independent ijamilg Jteuispaper: <Jbr the promotion of the political, Social, ggricutturat and Commercial interests of the ^ottth. |terms?$2.00 A YEAR IN ADVANCE. VOL. 35. YOEKVILLE, S. C., WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 6, 1889. NO.45. TAKEN B The Story of a Young ences in 1 Copyright by J. B. Lippincott Company Special Arrangement through th CHAPTER XL glass of wine up Kon ntnnnflH ^ \ drinking; it went to his head and i&kytYs l> intoxicated him, -? 'V/i ' and gave him an ! irresistible craving for more. He liad felt her eyes upon his; the touch of Iter hand had fallen upon his arm. Ho could no more resist going to see her again than he could have resisted her first invitation to call at her house. The pride that had been stung to the quick was "bottled up," as he expressed it, and he confessed to himself that he might as well surrender first as last. ' < "I:must not expect her to care for me yet It would be very Btrange if she did. What am 1 to her??only one of hundreds; and she may be engaged to that West Hastings now, for all I know. People say so, and people always know more L - *-I J_4l " I aooutyour irituiua man ) uu uu j uuimu, Such thoughts as these Sew through the young man's brain as he bent over his desk at night and plied the pen, or, blue pencil in hand, boiled columns of copy down to half or quarter columns. Again he argued with himself, "I owo her an apology for flooring that rascal in her presence. It was very ill bred of me and I must ask her pardon." I So on his next "night off" he put on his dress suit and walked up to Twentieth street The very thought that he was going to see Helen excited him so tliat he could scarcely do justice to the capital Italian dinner set before him at his old restaurant He had dressed himself with the utmost care. "I never want to appear in her presence except as a well dressed man," he said to himself; and this not because be was a dandy, but because he had heard her say that she liked men to dress well and give their personal appearance a suffioiont gmnnnt nt tVimirrht W. 0 "1 cannot bear a dowdy man," said Helen one day in Rush's hearing, speaking of a clever fellow of their acquaintance who was very untidy in his appearance. "I prefer a man to care less for Greek and more for soap and water. I shudder whenever he shakes hands with me. Such nails! there is no excuse for it There is nothing I like more than a well kept hand, and nothing 1 dislike more than one that is let to run wild." Rush looked stealthily at his strong, shapely hands, and wondered what head they came under. On his way home that night he stopped at a drug store and bought a bene containing all the paraphernalia of the toilette des ongles. From'that time forth he took care of his hands; and he had his reward; for one day, in shaking hands with him, Helen said, "What nice hands you have, Mr. Hurlstone! they are so well kept. I like to see it." She didn't know that it was her own doing. Helen's friends used to say among themselves that she was too particular and spoke her mind too freely on these subjects; but the effect on her admirers wus instantaneous. The moment a man came to know her, he began U!_ I 1? I UULLUg uuu sji nis uauuo auu after himself generally. Uncle Lightfoot Myers used to say that "the colts who trotted around Helen Knowlton were the best groomed youngsters in the city;" and so they were, i When Rush inquired at her door if Miss Knowltou was in, ho was in such a state of p^rvdus excitement that his voice sounded unnatural to him. She was in, and he' was ushered into the drawing room, where she sat with Aunt Rebecca and Uncle Ughtfoot Myers. They all seemed pleased to see him, and for a while he felt supremely happy. Uncle Lightfoot and Aunt Rebecca fell to chatting about u proposed trip to Europe, while Helen devoted herself to Rush. He made his apologies for the episode of the maskf ed ball, and she readily forgave him. Then she asked him why he had not been to see her, and she was evidently so unconscious of having given him cause for offense that he began to think that perhaps he had been unreasonable. As they talked about one thing and another, Rush said, "By the way, this is an aniver6ary." . "Of what?" inquired Helen. "Strange that you should not guess," answered Rush. "Twenty-one years ago to-night I was born." And he drew himself up to the full dignity of his years. "What?" said Helen, laughing; "are you. only 21? Why, you are a mere boy!" And 6ho seemed so much amused that Rush felt rather annoyed. IIo was a boy as beards go; but he was much older than his years; and yet again he was very boyish. "1 am every bit as old as she is, in uiy feelings," said Rush to himself; but, then, Helen was very young for her years. , "Your aunt and Mr. Myers seem to be discussing a very weighty subject," said Rush, anxious to change the conversation. "Yes, they are," Helen replied; "they are talking over my London engagement." "Are you going to London?" asked Rush, with undisguised surprise. "Yes; it is all settled except a few preliminaries. 1 am to sing at Drury Lane the coming season, and Uncle Lightfoot, who gives us so much good advice in business matters, is arranging tho details with Aunt Rebecca. I don't want to have anything to do with the business. If I have any of that on my mind I can't sing, and I dislike it anyway. Fortunately Aunt Rebecca likes it." This gave Rush time to recover, for ho liad been quite stunned by the blow. London seemed to him to bo at tho end of the world. How lie wished that he was a Monte Cristo, that ho might say, "What do you expect to make by your trip?"and if sheshouldreply,"A hundred thousand dollars," ho would say, "Stay at home, and here is two hundred thousand." But, alasl two hundred dollars would be almost more than ho could command. Oh, why was sho so kind and why did 6he look so beautiful on tho night when she announced her departure? ! He was afraid he would betray himself; but he must know before sho put tho sea between them whether sho was engaged to West Hastings. If she wa3, he would retire from the field and wait. Ho wouldn't give up even then. If she was not, he would stay in the field and bido his time. Should ho ask her? No; that would be too bold a step, and it might make her angry. While ho was debating in his mind the bell rang, und the servant announced Mr. Hastings. Hush knitted his brows and cursed his luck, and Helen looked smilingly towards the door as West Hastings entered. If there was ono thing above another that West Hastings could do well it was to enter a drawing room, and Rush could not but envy his elegant ease. His bow was courtliness itself, and this ho bestowed on tho inmates of the room collectively. With Helen he shook hands, and seated himself beside her on the sofa. Rush thought his manner with her insufferable, but that was his prejudice. West Hastings Y SIEGE. ' ; Journalist's Experlew York. , Philadelphia, Pa., and Published by e American Press Association. was exceedingly deferential to ladieB, and particularly so to Helen?so much so, in fact, that she felt it to be an outside polish rather than anything that came from the heart. "Confound his familiarity 1",said Rush to himself. What right, I should like to know, has he to sit there and talk to her in an undertone, as if he owned her? Can it be possible that they are engaged?" He looked carefully at her hands, to see if there was a tell tale ring there; but her fingers were without ornament This was something to be thankful for. Although West Hastings spoke in low tones, Helen did not. She tried to draw Kush into tiie conversation, out ne was too busy with thoughts of her departure to notice that any of the conversation was addressed to himself. She was going away, and that was all that he could think about "You will be in London the last of May," said Hastings. "Well, I am a lucky fellow?1 shall be there just at that time; and you must depend on me to show you the sights. London is an old story to me; but to visit the old scenes in such delightful company will make them fresh again." "What's that, you young rascal?" asked Uncle Lightfoot from the other sido of the room; "going to bo in London with Helen? Going to witness a new American victory over the British? Well, you are a lucky dog. When do you sail?" "On the 3d; in the Germanic," was the reply. "Well, upon my wordl Is this a prearranged affair?" exclaimed Uncle Lightfoot, winking at Aunt Rebecca. "That is our day and steamer," said Helen. "How fortunate we are!" "I am the fortunate one," replied Hastings. "I begin to think that I must have been born under a lucky star." Rush ground his teeth so fiercely that 4-V.sn /\/\rv,rvn w tt /1J*1 It no r lb 13 iX nuuuci tuo WLU^anj urn uvv nvai him. Going to cross in tho steamer with herl 3f he wasn't engaged to her now he would bo by the time they reached Liverpool; for the man who cannot make an ocean voyage the turning point in his courtship does not know how to use his opportunities. What was the use of working against fate? The way was made clear for West Hastings; while he had nothing on his side but a love which he believed was the fondest man ever had for woman, but which he knew it would bo fatal to betray. He felt desperate, and it is no wonder that he looked so. "You haven't spoken a word in the last ten minutes, Mr. Hurlstone. Why are you so silent?" said Helen, in a half bantering tone. "1 was just thinking of a lot of unfinished work, and that I must tear myself from this delightful company and hurry to my desk. Such a thought was enough to mako mo silent and sad," ho replied in the samo tone, at tho samo time rising to leavo the room. He bade them all good night and left the house with u Heavy neari. "I am really very fond of that boy," said Ilelen, as she heard the front door close. "Ho is 60 honest and enthusiastic ?quite different from the usual society men one is constantly meeting." "Yes," said Hastings in a patronizing tone; "ho seems quite an amiable young man. A reporter-or something of that sort, isn't lie?" "Well, yes, something of that sort," saiJ Helen, taking up the cudgels rather against Hastings' tone than his words. "All journalists, no matter how great they may become, begin at the bottom of the ladder and learn all the branches of their work. Mr. Hurlstone is devoted to his profession. Ho will bo editor of Tho Dawn some day, you mark my words." "Indeed ho will, if industry and ability go for anything," chimed in Aunt Rebecca. "Mr. Hurlstone's success would not surpriso mo," said Hastings, with a slight sneer in his voice. "A man who can make such devoted friends of tho ladies is bound to succeed. Women rule the world, say what you will." "Tho truth well spoken," said Uncle Lightfoot. "This young Hurlstone, however, strikes mo as a go ahead, sensible young fellow, and I hope that Helen's predictions will prove true." "I echo your sentiments, Undo Lightfoot, and should bo pleased to see virtue rewarded," replied Hastings. Helen felt like saying something sharp in reply, but, as Hastings was her guest, sho refrained. Besides, sho thought it was perhaps a tinge of jealousy that l-? i. 1 aueciuu ins speecu, uuu suo was wu much of u woman not to forgive sarcasm that arose from such a source. She therefore led tho conversation around to the European trip, and Rush Ilurlstono and his aspirations were forgotten in the discussion of pleasant plans tor tho summer. Poor Rush! he could not so soou turn the current of his thoughts. IIo began by wishiug that ho had never been born; but, he thought? Tls belter to have loved and lost Thau never to have loved at alL Ho felt that ho had lost, and he wallred from Twentieth street to Printiug House square thinking over his desperate case. Tho sight of Tho Dawn office recalled him to himself, and, hating no occasion to enter tho building that night, ho turned around and walked back to his lodgings. His case was certainly a hard one. He, a penniless boy, loved with all tho impetuosity of youth the most popular singer of tho day?a woman any man would bo proud to call his wife, whom all men loved, but to whose hand few aspired, owing to her position and the careful manner in which sho was guarded. Tho wealthiest young bachelor in New Yotk was acknowledged to bo her slave. Sho could marry him if sho would, so every one said, but she would probably marry a Russian princo or an English duke. It was already said that two such eligiblo suitors visiting this country had expressed their willingness to sharo the prima donna's ducats; and yet he, Rush Ilurlstone, a young country boy with his famo and fortune still to make, dared to love herl As ho stood at his window that night, looking out at tho moon, which seemed to bo shininir with especial brilliancy over the spot where her house stood, ho registered a vow that he would not give himself up to repining, but would bide his time. "I cannot believe that I was put in the world merely to be tho shuttlecock of fate. I'll bo my own battledoor," 6aid ho aloud, "and knock myself into a position by lier side." CHAPTER XII. ^HY DON'T I you learn \MU Italian?" Helen asked "v T Rush, one would be a good thing for you in your profession, I should think, and you know Latin so well it ? would not bo hard to learn. 1 might often want to say something to you. too, that I didn't want every ono el so to understand," she added, smilingly. Rush thought tho idea a good one, and tho last part of the argument carried conviction with it. IIo determined to learn at once, and in thinking about a teacher, he remembered Leoni and her c family. There was the ex-cannon ball f tosser?not an unintelligent man?with j time hanging heavy on his hands. He r would make a capital teacher. At any a rate, he could go over to the little apart- v ment and make the suggestion. He owed g the Cellas a visit. They had been very kind to him when he was alone in New i York, and now that lie had found other c friends he had quite neglected them. c So on his way up town at about C v o'clock one afternoon ho stopped at the l; Cella apartment. All the family were at s home and in tho best of spirits. Leoni a never looked prettier. She was dressed h in gala day attire, and so was the little ? room in which she lived. Tho curtains $ were tied back with gay ribbons, and s flowers stood in all sorts of receptacles g about tho apartment. Tho table was set s for dinner and looked very attractive. t Tho cloth was snow white, and the best h China was on it, with two or three bits J of silver that had been brought from t Italy and were polished till they shoDO I like mirrors in the light of the lamp. Tho v bottle of Chianti had a ribbon tied around its neck, and there was altogether an ap- a pearance of festivity about the place 1< which tho savory odor of a choice mines- p tra wafted from tho little kitchen did p nothing to dispeL Rush noticed that 1( tho table was laid for four, and ho pict- d ured in his raind the raven locks and si largo black eyes of tho favored son of v Italy who was probably soon to make I his appearance as tho guest of tho even- tl ing. "Leoni's color and tho unusual } brightness of lier eyes tell tales that need fi no words," said Rush to himself. "Well, v some silver voiced tenor is going to win n a prize. Leoni is an exceptionally nico v girl, and she is very beautiful" A Leoni seemed a little embarrassed and c tho parents a little mysterious; so be- v tween the two Rush thought it best to state his business and get away before & the arrival of the lover. Ho mado known J his errand to tho ex-cannon ball tosser, c who was delighted with the idea of so it pleasant a pupil, and time and terms g were agreed upon at once. Rush arose b to go, but before he had mado his adieus h the door bell rang, and Leoni disappeared o in the halL It seemed as though she a would never come back. Rush did not n want to go out and disturb her, nor did a he want to stand in tho middle of the s< floor and twirl his hat until 6he returned. ii "Ah, these young people!" said Signora s Cella, with an amused shake of the head. n Some whispering was heard in the g hall, and Leoni entered, followed bv a mail. Sho was just about to introduce j, the gentlemen, when they both stepped forward and stared at each other in e amazement. v "Why, John, you hero!" s "Hello, Rush, old man! glad to 6ee c you." And John shook his brother af- g fectionately by the hand. Rush was so j; astonished that lie had nothing to say, h but John was perfectly at his ease. 0 Rush remembered the vehemence with c, which John had denied any acquaint- ^ anco with Lconi, and his heart misgave 6( liim?not for John's sake, but for Leoni's a and for that of Amy Bayliss. ' So you know Mr. Stone?" said Leoni. j, "How very nice! I am so glad you are a friends." c, Rush saw that there was a mystery a about this acquaintanceship, but this was not the time or the place to unravel it: y so ho bade them good evening, and took y his leave. What did it mean?- John ^1 was evidently on terms of intimacy in o; tho Cella household. f, John was an attractive fellow,and Leoni g was, to say the least, very much inter- y ested in him. There would be no harm jj in this if John were not engaged to Amy ^ Bayliss. Poor little Amy! Rush thought of her big blue eyes and baby face. He a: would like to thrash John, if ho was u going to throw the confiding little tiling c, over after winning her affections so thor- a oughly. And Leoni?what would sho say if sho knew of John's engagement? s] But perhaps, after all, Rush wasxmagni- u fving tho affair. p Perhaps if Rush had seen Amy Bayliss h she might have tola him that thero was n 110 falling off in John's attentions. His jj letters were frequent, but short, and his flowers came regularly. Amy felt quite g happy, for John had named their wedding day in one of his early letters. To be sure, ho had rnado 110 allusion to it lately, but the thing once settled, why a harp upon it? f< John had not faltered in his affection for Amy, but a new affection had sprung ai up in his heart, and he was madly in love sc with Leoni Cella. He was one of those men who are so constituted that they can g] love two women at the same time, but h not alike. John was more in love, per- fl haps I should say more wildly in love, 6t with Leoni than ho was with Amy. Her p dark Italian eyes fascinated him, and 0: thero was something in his nature that b enjoyed loving a woman who was before b tho public. He liked to sit in the theatre f< and say to himself as sho came tripping f( down tho stage, "That is the .girl J love: w you may clap your lianUs and shout c, yourselves hoarse, gentlemen, but sho j' doesn't caro a button for 0110 of you. I ^ am tho man of her choioe!" ^ Now, Rush, on tho contrary, was not s. at all attracted by the professional life j.j of the woman lie loved. He couldnt bear tho idea of her being a "public j( character"?one whom every one felt at liberty to speak of with perfect free- [j tiom, and whoso photograph any man C( could buy. If he could have afforded it, Q he would have bought every photograph a of Helen that had been taken, and have c hidden it away where no one but he could see it. Ho could hardly keep his t] hands off a man I10 met in a Nassau street snop one uay. inu man wasmusing a collection of stage favorites, and ho had a lot of Helen's photographs t; spread out on the counter before liira. These he picked up and criticised in turn. He didn't mean to say anything out of s] the way, but Rush wondered, when he thought it over, why ho had not stran- u gled him on the spot. Instead of that, he a hurried out of the shop, after shooting glances at the man that must have left, jj him with the impression that his vis-a- s. vis was a lunatic. But John enjoyed seeing Lconi's photographs in the shop windows. She was the favorite dancer a of New York; why shouldn't her picture be for sale? The oftener ho saw it the a better he was pleased. He was affectionatc, but there was nothing sentimental about him. a Rush tried to see his brother the day \[ after the meeting at the Cellas', but he couldn't find him. It must have been a }j fortnight before ho met him, and in the ? mean time he had taken his first Italian C( lesson from the ex-cannon ball tosser. j, Leoni was not at home. She was at- ? tending a rehearsal at tlie Academy of t] Music, and Signora Cella was out in s. Third avenue, marketing. Rush tried to j find out, without prying too deeply into 0 his brother's affairs, just what John's po- jx sition in the household was. lie did not tell Signor Cella that Mr. Stone, as he j, called him, was his brother, but he said u that ho knew him, and ho soon found 0 that ho was answering Cella's questions ^ rather than Cella his. The old man t< seemed very anxious to learn all ho ? could about "Mr. Stone." Ho had been ^ introduced to Signor Cella and Leoni by v a Col. Mortimer, whom tho ballet master y at the Academy vouched for as being a h "perfect gentleman." y No sooner had Mr. Stone met Leoni a than he fell in lovo with her. Leoni was a used to lovo at first sight, and she knew q that it usually passed away as suddenly ^ as it came. But in the caso of John e! Qurlstono (or Mr. Stone, as sho believed y him to be) it was different. Ho had not u tho familiar assured-of-success manner i] of tho men she had been in tho habit of v meeting behind tho scenes. lie was gentle and deferential, and ho showed ti her as much respect as ho would have j| shown any lady in her drawing room. i; Ilis manner to her mother completely a captivated that excellent woman; and g ono rainy night, when ho took her and S) her daughter home in his carriage, she v invited him in to get warm, and ho ac :epted tho invitation with alacrity. A ew days later ho called to sco if they lad suffered any inconvenience from tho ain, and from that time on ho had been . regular visitor at the Cellas', where he ron all hearts by his amiability and ;entleness. He was moro desperately in love with ^eoni than ho had ever been with any ither woman; but I will not say that ho ould not have changed his affections vitli a chango of scene. Ho saw before le had talked with her many times that ho was as good a girl as had ever lived, .nd that if ho wanted to be her friend 10 must treat her with proper respect, iho was a ballet dancer, to l>e sure, but he had been well brought up. Although ho was deeply in love with him, she ;avo him to understand, as Juliet asured Romeo, that he need pay no court o her unless tho bent of his love was onorablo and his purpose marriage, ohn accepted the position of lover on hese terms, forgetting for the time being imy Bayliss and tho wedding day that .'as not fai off. Ho had fixed it for the 1st of June; but fter a while he wrote her tho tenderest jtter a man ever wrote to a woman, ostponing it till tho fall. Amy was erfectlv satisfied with the reasons, and )ved him more than ever for them. She id wish that he could get back to Farmted, if only for a day; but dear John as working 60 hard, and all for herl n the fall they would be married, and lien she would go with him to New rork. They would live at his rooms the rst winter, and take their meals anyrhere they chose. That was the way lany young married couples did. It as very Bohemian and very jolly, and imy, who had spent all her days in a ountry rectory, looked forward to it ritli the keenest anticipation. "Poor little Amy!" John said to himelf, as he sat in his private room at the lutual Dividend Mining company's offies, smoking its best cigars and sipping 3 special brand of cognac. "Poor little irl! Sho loves me 60, and I love her; ut I love Leoni more." And ho shut is eyes and gave himself up to dreams f Leoni. Such beauty, such grace, and depth of lovo for him that Amy could ot know. "I believe sho would kill ny one who came between us. I can ee hersoft eyes grow hard and flash flro f sho heard of a rival Women arc trango creatures; they never blame the ian; but Heaven help the woman if they et hold of her! 'She led him off,' they ay. Ah, if they only knew how willing e was to be led!" John's reveries wc*o brought to an nd by the entrance of Col. Mortimer, rho came in with some certificates of tock for him to sign as secretary of the ompany. Ho faad just got hold of a uileless merchant from a distant New Ingland town, and was going to give im ten beautifully engraved certificates f stock in the Mutual Divident Mining ompany for ten one-thousand-dolla* ills. John felfc a slight twinge of concience as he signed the certificates; bul man must have money to live! "You will get twenty per cent, on this lvestment in six months, Mr. Gorham, nd twenty in six months more," Joha auld hear Col. Mortimer teJl his victim 3 he bowed him to the front door. Forty per cent, is better than letting our money lie idle. You may consider ourself fortunate in having got any of lis stock. I don't like to sec it going ut of my own hands; but I have a very riendly feeling towards you, and am lad, after all, that you havo those cer ncates. "Ana 1 tnese greenuueiiLS, e might have added, as the door swung ) on its well oiled hinges. Col. Mortimer returned to his desk, nd, taking nine of the bills, rolled them p and placed them side by side in his apacious wallet. The tenth he took in nd handed to John. "There, you lucky dog, that is your iiaro of the day's receipts. I take as lucb myself; the rest goes for oifice e.\enses." John was fool enough to believe im; for, with all his worldly mindedess, he was very credulous. lie thanked lortimer, folded the bill neatly and put , in his waistcoat pocket. There it bean burning a hole at once. "How long before you're going up >wn, colonel?" he asked. "Not for some time yet. I have some latters of importance to look over be>ro I go." "Then I won't wait for you. I have 11 errand or two on my way up. I'll ic you at the club this evening." Closing his desk and throwing a light aring topcoat over his arm, ho put his at rakishly on his head and stepped ghtly out of the offico and down the airs into the street. There he hailed a assing cab and springing in gave the rder "To Tiffany's," and settled himself ack on the seat to think what he should uy. He would get something for Leoni ar love's sako and something for Amy >r the sako of pity. Poor Amy I Ho rouhl get her something very nice. The ab drew up at the famous jeweler's and ohn entered the place with the air of a ank president. lie went direct to the iamond counter and asked the obliging desman to let him see some solitaire ings. After looking over dozens of :iem, of all sizes and all prices, he seated a small white stone for which he aid three hundred dollars, throwing his lousand dollar bill carelessly on the ounter. This was for Leoni; but sho lust not tell who gave it to her yet while. IIow they would enjoy the seret together! "Can I show you anything else?" asked lie salesman. "Yes, if you will bo so kind. I want i send a present to a lady in tho country -some littlo trifle. I don't know ladies' xstes very well. What would you sugest?" "Really, sir, I can hardly say; you have liown such excellent tasto in tho selecion of that ring that I think tho lady rill faro very well at your hands. But, s you ask mo, what do you say to a fan? -a handsome hand painted fan? Wo avo somo beauties selling at a great xcrifice." "Capital!" said John. "Tho summer i coming on, and a lady is never without fan." So they walked over to the fan counter nd John bought a pearl handled, feather rimmed, hand painted absurdity for 200 (it was one of tho great "sacrifices") nd sent it off with the most affectionate ttlo note to Amy. It was her wedding present, every one x Farmstod said; for they knew that a edding day had been named, and John ertainly could not send her anything andsomer. Amy knew better; but sho r;is delighted with tho gift, and, kissing 10 feather tips, sho put it back in its xtin box and laid it away in her bureau rawer with tho tortoise shell boxes and tlier expensive knickknacks that John ad sent her. After John had sent tho fan to Amy, o sat down at his writing desk and rote a most impassioned letter to Leni, telling her how ho loved her, and jat ho sent tho ring in proof of his injntions; "but, my darling," ho wrote, wear this where it won't bo seen for 10 present. Cruel circumstances preent my coming out boldly and claiming ou as my lovo before all tho world; but avo faith in me, darling, as I have in ou. Don't even tell your good father nd mother too much; though you may ssuro them of my honorable intentions, ill, Leoni, you do not know what it is to o a creature of fate! I must wait quitly for a while, but I can go on loving ou and trusting in your lovo for me, nworthy as I am; and you may believo aat, como what may, I am and always rill bo your own John." This and tho ring lie dispatched by Jiis rusty valet. Tho letter puzzled Leoni a i ttle, but the symbol of tho ring do- | ghted her, and, as she was an Italian, nd mystery in lovo affairs is not altoether unknown in Italy, sho quietly iwed tho ring on tho insido of a bit of civet sho wore around her neck. Thero ; lay concealed, but her heart beat high with joy whenever the sharp stoho scratched her delicate throat. John dined as usual at the club that night with Mortimer and two or three other gamblers. After dinner they went to the gaming table, where John lost his remaining $500. When ho went to bed that night ho cursed the expense of living in New York, and determined to make the colonel raise his salary. TO UK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. UNCLE SAM'S SHEKELS. SOME CURIOUS FACTS CONCERNING THE TREASURY AT WASHINGTON. The treasury department was one hundred years old last week. And yet during the century of its existence?from its foundation under Alexander Hamilton to the one-hundredth anniversary just celebrated? it has never suffered a loss by theft which amounted to anything, writes Bene Bache in the Providence Journal. Think, too, of the temptation to its poorly paid employes? Consider the masses of gold, silver and greenbacks lying day by day un der their very noses! Money on such a scale cannot be made intelligible to the reader of mere figures of millions, which the mind has no power to grasp. Go into the basement of the treasury building, and simply cast your eye upon the huge lattice-work box of iron which holds eighty-five millions of silver dollars. Remember that it is one hundred feet long, sixty feet wide, and fourteen feet high?and chock full of thecoined metal?and you get some notion of what that amount of cash signifies. Why, the treasure of Monte Cristo was nothing to it! You gasp with wonder and turn around, only to be informed that behind a masonry wall, with a big door like that of a safe, eighty-five more millions are stored, twenty-five millions in bags of gold, and the balance in bags of silver. But this is only a small part of Uncle Sam's cash; in the New York subtreasury alone there are two hundred 1 millions 01 aonars more. True, these great masses of silver and gold are not accessible to employes of the treasury, but there is plenty of money in more portable shape lying around loose. The receiving-teller in the cash room takes in two millions of dollars on an average each week-day. You can see great bundles of bank-notes, amounting to many hundreds of thousands, lying around him at any hour between nine a. m. and two p. m. Likewise it is with the assort!ng-teller, who separates the greenbacks fit to be sent out again into circulation from those unfit, and also with the change-teller, who gives new bills for old ones, and the paying teller who deals out the wherewithal. All fairly roll in wealth, though not equally so with the vault-clerk, who thinks himself poor when he has only a paltry twenty-five million of dollars in his little shelf-lined room. That amount of money does not make much of a show behind the glass doors of the shelves. Most of it is done up in common-looking, rectangular, brown paper parcels, each containing four thousand brand-new notes. One of these bundles, about a foot cube, will contain eighty-thousand dollars' worth of twenties, or four hundred thousand dollars' worth of one-hundred dollar bills. Just such a bundle of ten-thousand-dollar greenbacks they bad some years ago, nnnto i nasi fnrftr millions flf dollars. You see the packages of bills stacked up in this shape on the shelves, simply for the day's use, with a few millions of silver and gold in hags, hero and there. This is a trifling affair, however. Overhead is a "reserve vault," which contains more such bags and bundles, to the tune of one hundred and fifty mil-* lions of dollars. Yet nobody ever steals anything? at a 1 events, nothing worth mentioning. One or two trifling attempts to pilfer have been made and quickly discovered. There was the woman, a year ago, for instance, who was ! caught in the only really dangerous trick which ever threatened the treasury coffers. The trick was dangerous, because it had never been tried before in a banking establishment, though it was sufficiently laminar 10 swindlers at large. It consisted in making nine bank notes out of eight, and the woman-thief, who was employed exclusively in examining mutilated bank-bills sent in for redemption, performed it in this way : She had a good deal to do in the way of pasting scraps of greenbacks together, to make whole notes, and it was her interesting habit to tear off a slice from each one of eight bills so as to make up a ninth, leaving each of the | original eight bills a little short, but still good enough to pass, when mixed in with hundreds of others untampercd with, as a reconstructed muti- 1 lation. This enabled the ingeuious female to pocket one bill?usually a fifty?and still have her account perfectly even. If she could accomplish I this little act once a day, it was quite an income outside of her salary. The way she was caught is a matter of history. Lack of ordinary prudence was alone responsible for her detection. She could not resist the temptation to splurge. She wore dia- i monds and silks, bought real estate, and drove to the treasury in her own carriage every morning. This excit- 1 ed suspicion, and the denouement soon followed. ! But the treasury will get its money 1 back in this case, as it did in the case 1 of a young man who made a dummy package to represent forty thousand ' dollars in ten-dollar notes, and skip- ( ped with the real bundle. The trick ' was clumsily done; it was found out j almost immediately, the thief was caught, and the cash given up. ' One reason wherefore the treasury ' does not suffer from thefts by its em ployes is that it is scarcely"possible i for them to steal. The secretary of I the treasury himself cannot draw a < dollar from the concern without depositing vouchers, signed hy others, that call for it. The treasurer of the ' United States cannot get a dollar ] from his own paying-teller without handing in the equivalent in bonds ( orotherwise. Likewise it is with the ] cashier; he has no better facilities for drawing money out than you or 1. 1 The register of the treasury handles ' no cash, but only accounts. The tellers are shut up in wire cages, which they are*not permitted to leave until 1 the head-bookkeeper has verified their accounts for the day hy adding 1 them all together to see that the sum squares precisely with the totals he ( ought to have. If both are the same, I the individual accounts separately 1 made out, are proved correet. A < teller might put one hundred thou- ] sand dollars in his pocket out of the I cash put down to his account on 1 hand, and tin; final proof would not J show the deficit; hut, as like as not, the cashier will say to him, before he < is {riven permission to leave the cage i and have the chain taken oft* his leg, 1 "Mr. Snooks, please wait a moment, < while Mr. Tinipkins goes over your ' cash with you." This is done constantly. Hut even I if the teller escaped from the build- 1 ing with the money in his clothes, the theft would be discovered and the < secret service blood-hounds start- 1 ed after him within a few hours. lie 1 could hardly getaway. In short, the < system by which the United States 1 treasury is protected from theft is so 1 elaborately complete that only a genius, capable of inventing a method i of stealing hitherto undiscovered, 1 could very well rob Uncle Sam of a dollar. * ] j^iy"Tell me, George, darling," j said she, shortly after their marriage, 1 "do you love me as much as ever?" "Yes, indeed." "And do you find i anything in the world dearer than < your wife?" "Nothing," said j George, "unless it is the house rent." 1 ?[Merchant Traveler. 1 She Confederate 3ttfar. ? c COMPANY B, TWELFTH S. C. V. ' IN tl Bivouac and Battles. tl HY 3TA.I. W>I. LOP, ^ Formerly Captain of the Company. * Written for the Yorkville Enquirer. 0 While Jackson was disposing of a Harper's Ferry and its strong garri- o son under Gen. White, Longstreet o was at Ilagerstown, and D. II. Hill n at Uoonsboro gap. v Gen. McC'lellan, now in command, C with an army of 90,000 men, was a moving cautiously upon Frederick ft Gitv. sunnosed to lie occupied by the a Confederates, when a dispatch from I Gen. Lee to Gen. Hill, with a full o outline of the Confederate position n and plan of operations, accidentally n fell into his hands. He now deter- tl mined to assume the offensive, and d after forcing the passage of South p Mountain over the small force under r D. H. Hill, to thrust his whole force IV between the two wings of the Confed- ci erate army. . a Accordingly, early on the morning o of the 14th, McClellan moved to the b attack, and vigorously assaulted the si position held by Gen. Hill, who met si the attack with his accustomed skill ii and valor, and repelled the successive tl assaults of the enemy until Long- v street arrived. The light now be- tl came more general and continued n without definite results until near the h close of the day. About nightfall, v however, the position held by Gen. tl Rodes was successfully carried by an tl overwhelming force. This gave the F Federals command of the central 11 pass, but the intervening darkness > prevented any disaster to the Confed- r< erates, and Gen. Leo withdrew his C forces to the neighborhood of Sharps- v burg. o The enemy did not appear before F Sharpsburg until late in the afternoon of the loth, and spent the following 1 day in reconnoitering and preparing ri for the coming struggle. The Confed- b erates, who had never known defeat, v confident in themselves, confident in n inesirengm ui uieirnew ptmiumi^uiu ?. confident in the ability of their in- u comparable leader, calmly awaited h the attack of an army more than s< double their own numbers. Some \\ preliminary skirmishing elosed the d day, and both armies slept upon their p arms in awful consciousness of the tl desperate struggle which awaited them in the morning. Meanwhile, si Gen. Jackson, leaving A. P. Hill in IV charge of the captures at Harper's t1 Ferry, with two divisions of his a corps, had joined Longstreet and I). n H.llill, and had taken position on the tl left of the Confederate line. a At daylight on the morning of the v 17th, the two corps of Hooker and v Mansfield advanced to the attack, 1: and were met by the three Confeder- ci ate divisions under Hood, Anderson o and D. H.Hill. The fight soon be- C came close and desperate, and was d well sustained for perhaps an hour, o when the Federals gave way, close- C Iy pursued by the victors. Mansfield v was killed and Hooker wounded, and their commands irretrievably tl shattered. Sumner and Franklin, c however, came to their relief, and v in turn the Confederates were now n borne back to their original posi- a tion. McCIellan now directed his y main attack against the Confederate o left, with the view of turning that b tiank so as to cut off Glen. Lee from p the Potomac river. Jackson's troops tl met the attack with their aucustomed jj intrepidity, and these veterans gal- f< lantly held their ground against every 1 assault, regardless of the odds a^lnst 0 them. Division after division was* j added to the lines on both sides until si nearly every Confederate division a was engaged, and the battle raged p with unabated fury until about the tl hour of noon, when the vigor and en- Ci thusiasm of the assailants began to re- tl lax. The Federals had been repulsed 0 at every point. Gen. BurnsifQf now tl determined, with 20,000 fresh troops, y to attack the Confederate right. lie i accordingly moved down to the p bridge across the Antietam and^the tl ford below, and by the weight or su- a perior numbers, forced his passag^of si the creek, against the very dex- a mined opposition of Toombs's bwg- b ade, and formed his line under cover tl of the hills in front. About "> o'clock Jflj in the afternoon his lines began to ^m advance against I). It. Jones, whose a division alone held the Confederate i, right. This division gallantly defended every inch of the ground, but n was slowly driven back over the open ft fields behind them, and defeat and a disaster seemed to threaten the Southern arms. ii At this critical juncture, A. P. Hill, b with five of his veteran brigades, C appeared on the scene. Amid the i( roar of artillery and the clash of arms, the conflict raged, and men fell in g battle like leaves before an autumn iV E?ale. Mounted upon hisstately steed, b the heoric Hill for a moment surveyed ai the exciting scene, then poising his a: intrepid battalions for a decisive o blow, with Brocket!borough, Pender, Branch, Gregg and Archer, reeross- s( ing from the right, he hurled them o] in solid phalanx, as with the right ci hand of Mars, against the Federal F left. Tired and footsore the men for- tl g'ot their woes in that supreme moment, and without a minute's rest oi sprang to their duty as if fresh from n the bivouac. Forward through the al dense mass of growing corn the Light w Division pushed its battle flags, each oj jfthe five brigades vieing with the A others as to which should do its duty y best. They struck the victorious col- J'< Limns of Burnside as they pressed g back the little division ofD. It. Jones, tl upon a slight elevation in the valley P :>f luxuriant corn, and for a moment A held them at bay. To and fro the n pendulum of battle swayed on other r. parts of the field, but Jlill held his f< Adversary fast in the death-grapple, hi In that awful moment the clarion c( voice of the lamented Barnes rang ai >ut for the last time above the din of t\ battle: "Forward; charge," and the G 1'welth South Carolina regiment A lashed forward closely followed by tl the First regiment; then the whole c< line, and Burnside was swont back L through the cornfield, and then the ri >pen ground across the Antietam, D leaving the ground literally covered e< with his killed and wounded. Night tl now intervened and closed the con- L test, with the Confederates masters of ?< :he field. tn The morning of the lKth found the [tonfederates occupying substantial- k' ly the same position, upon which h they were attacked on the preceding lay, ready for and confidently ex- o: pecting a renewal of the conflict; tc; but the Federal commander declined tl the challenge, and the battle of b< -tharpsburg was ended. s< The Twelfth regiment lost in kill- In ?d and woundad 102 officers and tc men; the brigade 1<>J. Among the t< killed were the gallant and lamented tl I'ol. Dixon liarnes, commanding the tl Twelfth regiment, and C'aj)t. F. A. ni Krwin, commanding Company H, of H the same regiment. Company 11 lost ('apt. John L. Miller, wounded, tl Win. Manning and A. Wallace, kill- w ?d. A number of others were ft ivounded whose names have jiassed tl from my memory. Upon the death at if Col. Ilarnes, Lieut-Colonel Jones became colonel, Major W. H. McCor- ft kle lieutenant-colonel, Captain John tl L. Miller major of the regiment, di md Lieutenant W. S. Dun lop, cap- w tain of Company 11. Lieutenants tl Darwin and McKnight were also hi promoted, and shortly afterwards " Sergt. It. L. Simmons was elected a1 unior second lieutenant to till the vi tinal vac; ncy. ai (ien. McClellan, declining to re- l? new the attack until the large re- tl enforcements now en-route, should -st irrive, Gen. Lee determined during ?t the night to withdraw his forces to w the south side of the Potomac; and bout throe o'clock on the morninj f the 10th began to retire. W rossed the river into Virginia a Jottelor's ford and went into bivoua ome four or five miles from the Po Dinac. The enemy pursued our track oi he 10th, and late in the afternooi ppeared in large force in front of: mall Confederate force left on th Virginia side to defend the crossinj f the river, and with the aid of thei rtillery succeeded in driving bad ur pickets and effecting a landing 11 the southern shore. Early on th lorning of the 20th, the Light Di ision was dispatched to check Mc 'lellan's movements, and about lull mile back from the river Gen. Hil irmed his lines with Pender, Greg] nd Thomas in front, supported b; iane's, Archer's and Brockenboi ugh's brigades. Gen. Gregg con: landed the front line. This columi loved promptly to the attack, an< lie moment it emerged from th ense field of corn throuirh which i assed, the enemy opened a destrucl vc artillery tire upon it from th faryland hills. Shot and shell, sue ceiled by grape and canister, litei lly swept the ground over whic ur lines advanced, but with una ated ardor the Confederates pur Lied their errand of death. W truck the advancing Federals squar l front, just as they emerged fror he valley below, and with a soli* olley, and a rousing cheer, charge hem back down the hill, across th arrow valley, into the river, an* ere deliberately poured volley afte olley into the seething mass a hey floundered in the stream unti he whole surface of the broa* 'otomae became blue with the float rg bodies of the slain. Thus endec IcClellan's pursuit, and Gen. Ilil 2tired to his former bivouac tregg's brigade lost 63 killed an* 'ounded; the Twelfth regiment onl; ne man wounded, and Compan; 1 none. On the next morning the Ligh )ivision was marched off in the di 2ction of Marti nsburg, and went int ivouac near Opequan creek. Her *e rested for about a week, witl othingt'o do but wash and clean uj 'he hardships and exposure of th impaign began to tell upon th ealth of the troops, ana many wer 3nt off to the hospitals, while thos 'ho had been wounded and brokei own in the early part of the cam aign returned to duty, myselfamonj hem. About the last of September w truck camp and marched througl lartinsburg to Bunker Hill, abou ivelve miles north of Winchester nd went into camp. Here we rt mined, enjoying the abundance o fiis highly favored section, unti bout the last of October, when, fo ,'ant of something better to do, w -ere sent to tear up and destroy th laltimore and Ohio railroad, and en limped near Berryville. On the 2n< f November, we had a skirmish nea 'astleman's ferry, on the Shenan nab, in which nothing but a batter f artillery on our side was engaged >nly three men in the brigade wer rounded. N The Light Division remained ii lie vicinity of Berryville and Win hester until about the 22nd of Nc ember, when we took up the line o larch for Fredericksburg. Movin long the beautiful valley turnpikt ' t* IJiiSMCU lliruu^Il uic nc v ill iv/ u 11 f Winchester, Stevensburg, Stras urg, Woodstock and Mount Jacksor iere we crossed the north fork c tie sparkling Shenandoah; then beai ig eastward we crossed the soutl irk and struck the Blue Ridge a 'hornton's gap, and went into bi\ uac at the base of the mountain airly on the next morning we ri umed the march and began at once t scend the mountain. From the slop ig base of the bristling backbone c (lis towering range, nature hai nrved an open gorge through whici tie divided sections held intercours ne with another. To and fro acros his gulch the graded thoroughfar round its way up thesloping height' 'he head of the column entered earl; i the morning, and for six hour lie Light Division, with glitterin; rms, like an immense serpent wit! ilver scales, drew its graceful fold long up the spiral stairway?a sigh eautiful and grand. We reaches lie summit about noon and begai fc eastern descent, which thougl is tortuous and sublime wasuniqu nd picturesque, and was accom lished with more ease to the wear; ildiers. We spent the entire day ii uiking the passage, a distance o fteen miles, and went into bivoua t 111C UU."5C \jl 111V lliv/unitvt*.. iming the march early on the morn lg of the 24th, we passed througl 'rout Royal, Washington, Madisoi . H., and Orange C. H. to Fredei jksburg, where we arrived on th rd day of J)ecember. Gregg's bri ade was now placed in camp on th [assaponax hills, five miles fron 'redericksburg, the entire army, no\ bout G0,<)00 strong, being statione< round and within striking distanc f the historic city. Gen. McC'lellan- had been super nled by Burnside in the conimam f the Federal army, which now oc ipied the Stafford hills, onposit redericksburg, and numbered some ling over 101),000 men. Longstreet's corps confronted him a the south side of the Kappahan tick, with his leftrestingon the rive hove the city, and extending east ard along the adjacent hills toabou [iposite the mouth of Deep Bun ji interval of some six hundre< urds between Longstreet's right am tickson's left was defended by a four an battery. A short distance fron lis battery Gen. Jackson plantet ender's brigade, then Lane, thei .rclier, along the line of the Rich loml, Fredericksburg and Potoma tilroad, with an interval of abou mr hundred yards between each tw< rigades. This was the front line ivering the two brigades of Lam ml Archer, and in the interval be veen them were posted Thomas regg and Brockenborough?all o .. P. Hill's division. Then back o lis Taliaferro and Early formed in i mtinuous line from Hill's left t< lamilton's crossing, and beyond tin tilroad Stewart's cavalry with 1) [. Hill's division were posted. Upoi /cry commanding elevation alonj le entire Confederate front, Gen ee had planted his artillery, ant i>w stood ready to meet his old an igonist. Cnder cover of his immense artil ry force, placed along the Stafforc ills opposite the city, Gen. Burn de succeeded, on the evening ant iglit of the lltli, in laying his pon tons, one directly into the city, anc le other about one and a half niih slow, near the mouth of Deep Klin > that on the morning of the 12th i rge Federal force was disco veret > be on the south side of the river > which was added during the daj le entire available infantry force o io Federal commander. Gen. Sum i?r commanded the right and Frank n the left wing of the Union forces About!) o'clock on the morning o le 1:1th of December, as the dense fog hich hung over the beautiful val y lifted away, a scene burst upor le expectant gaze of the Confeder :es, both grand and awful. Yondei ood the battlemented hills of Staf ?rd, with an armament of mor< urn two hundred guns, frowning jwn upon the peaceful city, whost bite church spires, rising abov< le habitations of men and pointing ?a veil ward, silently jiroclaimec Peace on earth and good will t( len," while here in the beautifu alley which lay out in front ant round the city, were drawn up ir ittle array three solid lines of hat e with glittering bayonets ant reaming banners, supported by i rong reserve, marshaled for th< ork of destruction. TO nK CONTINUED NEXT WEEK. I 3Uiscrlla?cousi pending. c WIVES ARE CHEAP. BEAUTY BARTERED FOR BEADS AND CALICO AT THE ANTIPODES. A Boston naturalist, Sherman Dena ton, now of the United States fish e commission, went to New Guinea a ? few years ago to assist his hither in ? his scientific work. The elder Denton g suddenly died there, and the son re- s e turned in 1H8(J to this country. But having eyes that could see, he kept a '~f faithful account of what he saw in a j land as yet untrodden by very few ? white men. He has now published ? some of the incidents and observa?_ tions of his travel in a book, "Incident of a Collector's Rambles in Aus" tralia," which make most fascinating j reading. The Boston Globe, which p has seen advance proofs of the book, x gives some of its contents. His stay among the Papuans occupies about a ' quarter of the volume. Mr. Denton traveled with his father and younger brother. During his stay with the Papuans he was most 0 of the time alone with his brother f among them. He tells an interest" ing story of his experience in the vil? lage of Narinuma, in the interior of ? New Guinea. There dwell the Coyara people, an idyllic tribe who had ^ never before seen white men. p Narinuma is a village of some six? teen houses, besides five tree houses J some sixty feet from the ground. ? The tree nouses are well built and rattan or bamboo ladders extend 'j from the ground to just below the platform of the house. These houses C are used by the natives to defend ^ themselves from their enemies in , case of attack. "i The village looked clean, and the ? houses tasty and comfortable. One * house, larger and stronger than the ' rest, was the visitor's house or hotel, . of which there is one in every town. Here strangers are sheltered and fed l* free of charge. The largest and the ? best house in every town is for the ? stranger. Tame pigs, with snouts half as long '* as their bodies and covered with long p brown bristles, roamed at will about ? the village. A small species of dun-. ? colored dog, which neither barked ? nor bit, but only howled, was the oc- r cupant with nearly every owner of l" the house. There was only one cat * at Narinuma, which Loheir, the chief, had obtained in trade from J" some of the coast tribes, and the anij. mal was a great pet. THE PAPUAN WOMEN. ... . 1 !- Larly in tne morning tne grouna f about the houses would be swept by * 1 the women and was as hara and | r clean as a table. The Papuan wo- ' e man is finely.featured and many of e the children are truly handsome. ; i- Age, however, is merciless to the 1 women, and when the old crones sit i r in the sun kneading clay or beating i- balls into shapely pots or dishes, their ^ y heads shaven with fragments of bottle ^ l. glass and every bone of their emae ciated bodies showing their wrin- e kled skins, they are venerable pic tl tures of ugliness. t h The old chief, Loheir, was the most >. interesting man in the village. He j ,f was fifty years old, stout and broad g shouldered, and so well covered was t his body with scars from the many a battles in which he had fought that ? j. by placing his hand upon him in the 1 i. darkest night Mr. Denton became ,f sure of his identity. Loheir's face * _ was dark, but his look was intelli- h gent, his manner was that of a horn j t gentleman, modest and unassuming, i One day after the two brothers had l# been in Narinuma a good while and * ;1 had learned enough of the language ^ o to talk freely, Loheir came to them, ^ showing by his actions that he had i ,f something important to say. Hebe- j \ gan by asking if they liked Coyara h men and their country. When told q that the white men had been treated . s very kindly, and that the Coyara e country was as fertile and beautiful 5i as any they had seen, he seemed s Y pleased. Then the conversation took r s this course : 1 uTu it worm mul mnifnrtiililp nt h America as at Narinuma ?" s "Not always; sometimes it is very J t cold." 1 [1 "Are white people any happier A n than Coyaras ?" c h "Perhaps not so happy. Their 1 e land is not so productive and they A . have to work very liard." J v "Are white men very numerous ?" t J "Yes." } f "Are white women as handsome as J; c white men ?" f .. "Some of them." c "Do they wear the same kind of c h clothes?" N i "No; they wear petticoats." ? "Do white men have one wife or 1 e many?" c "One wife." J P "How do you like the Coyara 1 i girls?" v yr "Some of them are very handsome ? j and pleasing." t e "Would you like to get married in New Guinea." * "Well that depends on circum- * j stances." ? "Have you seen any Coyara girls ^ p as handsome as the girls in Amer- * I ica?" . C "Yes, some fully as handsome." t "How much do you pay for a wife I in America?" r "Some are very cheap. Generally ii . the expense comes after they are mar- s t ried. The parents of some girls are c so anxious to dispose of their daugh- a { ters that they buy husbands for h j them." v The cheif laughed and rolled on t , the ground. n . "flow do the girls of Narinuma li ...a.. ?> ? 1 |;icaoc j wu u "They are very sociable." o c "Would you marry any you have u t seen here?" h ) "Hardly. You see, Loheir, we f< , came a long, long distance to get to tl a Narinuma, and as we are rich and ti I very good looking we ought to have h the best the country affords." p f lip started Loheir with a whoop o f and a yell that echoed through the t l town, and was off. d ^ The two brothers had a laugh at u a the curious questionings and at the f< " manner he left them, but thinking no I { more about it, went on with their a r work. v ' For several days the chief was not h I to he seen. He had gone away, to t< . be back soon. C THE CHIEF OFFERS TEMPTATION. One ofternoon, as the two white 1 men were preparing their dinner, d - they heard tittering and giggling, r 1 Looking around they saw Loheir in r< - the midst of a group of girls, some o 1 twenty in number. A broad smile P 3 lighted up the chiefs dusky face, ? , and many of the girls, of great beau- f< i ty, were laughing and peering at the <> I white men over each other's should- h , ers. They all wore flowers in their | & ' hair and ankles. Each niafuen naa f her best petticoat, and some wore ti necklaces of dog's teeth and feather t< - ribbons. 11 The chief came forward and ad- a f dressed the strangers; he had been a fi C long way, had visited the largest I - town in the country and had brought t i back with him the most beautiful 1< - women belonging to the tribe. He ? r hoped each of the brothers would se- 11 - lect one that pleased him, marry her r J and settle down among the Coyaries. 1> ? The white men were rich, they could f< i easily buy a nice garden, all the peo- r i nle in Xarinuma would help them f build a house, where the white men i and their children could live and be u > happy. The parents of some of the r 1 girls had come, too, and were stand- e I ing in the back ground. n i Loheir explained that the prices r - were high, as they were the finest in i 1 the land. t i He then arranged them all in a line, c 3 a row of giggling girls, that they f might be seen to advantage. Begin- r ning with the first he told their nam- i is and their different accomplishnents. "This onecan sing, dance, work in he garden, cook kangaroo, is goodempered and tidy ; a very nice girl, lot so good looking assoine, but will nake an excellent wife. The price or her is?a knife and a lookingflass." "This one is handsome, her father s rich, and slie has not had to work lard; is very shapely, has nice hair ind eyes; has no mother, brother or ister to make trouble lietween hus>and and wife. Her father, that rood-looking old man yonder, is ihief of his village and has abundance ?f land. He asks two axes for his laughter, but if the white man will ive in his town, Rapitora, he will rive his daughter free and a part of lis large house and a good garden heIdes." "Here is a fine looking maiden, just he wife for the younger of the white nen. She is very affectionate, kind o her aged mother, and keeps her louse very nay. one can uiukc irooms. knows how to cook a pig vithout burning it, and is economicil. Her garden has no weeds and he raises the best bananas in Sana >anagi. She wishes to be married ind her mother will let her go for a >iece of calico large enough to make i petticoat." "Here is a Lucena. Is not she ovely? Arms as round as a bamboo, orm as supple as the climbing vine, ikin as smooth as a banana leaf, hair is soft as a spider's web, and eyes as iright as the morning dew. She can ling like a bird and run like a kanga oo. She is a good housekeeper, an iffectionate daughter, and comes rom a good family. Her father was i great warrior and died fighting his memies. She can be had for?an ax, i knife, a piece of calico and a string )f beads." There was, however, no match, for nanifold reasons, the chief of which vas that the white men had other dans. But the matter ended merriy enough. The brothers invited Loleir to dinner, and while the three ite their dinner, the girls danced for heir amusement and sung a song, jomposing itas they wentalong, desiribing the whole scene of wooing ind complimenting the strangers for -j i- 1! neir generosity in uistnuuuiiK ^iiib imong the disappointed maidens. L'he village was the scene of much nerry-making and laughter that afernoon, and towards evening the naidens bade the strangers good-bye ind went homeward. Lincoln's Argument.?The folowing story, told by Mr. Herndon, jives a goocfidea of Lincoln's way of iractising law. It is told by one who lappened to be in Lincoln's office ina heard what passed. He says, vriting to Mr. Herndon: "One mornng, not long before Lincoln's nomilation, I was in your office and heard he following: Mr. Lincoln, seated it the baize-covered table in the cenre of the office, listening attentively :o a man who talked earnestly and in i low tone. After being engaged for iome time, Lincoln at length broke n, and I shall never forget his reply. Yes,' he said, 'we can doubtless gain four case for you; we can set a whole leighborhood at loggerheads; we can listress a widowed mother and her ;ix fatherless children, and thereby jet for you six hundred dollars to vhich you seem to have a legal claim, )ut which rightfully belongs, it ap>ears to me, as much to the woman ind hpr children as it does to VOU. Jl'ou must remember that some tilings egally right are not morally right. We snail not take your case, but will yive you a little advice for which we .vill charge you nothing. You seem o be a sprightly, energetic man; ve would advise you to try your land at making six hundred dollars n some other way.'" If this sort of thing was dreadfully rregular and by no means calculated o enrich the firm of Lincoln & HernIon, it furnished reminiscences the lissemination of which enshrined the ienior partner in the hearts of the >eople. A Wonderful Watch.?At the ime of her coronation at Moscow, in 724, Catherine I, empress of Russia, vas presented with a watch as wonlerful in every particular as the fanous Strasburg clock; even more vonderful when the delicacy of its instruction is taken into consideraion. It weighed seven ounces and vas both a repeater and a musical ime keeper. On the opposite side rom the works or time keeping part if the wonder there was an exact ounterpart of the holy sepulcher vith a carved image of the Roman fuard; this scene could be viewed hrough the glass in the case. Upon ipening the case the imitation stones vould roll away from the mouth of he miniature sepulcher, the guard vould kneel, angels appear at oppoite sides of the opening, and about his time the music would start up nd play, in soft, sweet strains, the Caster songs so well known to all lussians. The maker of this wonierful piece of mechanism is said to tave worked upon it almost uninteruptedl v for a period of nine years.? John W. Wright in St. Louis Retublic. The Forger's Pen.?I was talktig with a treasury official on the ubject of forgery. "Did it ever ocur to you," said the official, "that forger has half his work done when ie can get hold of the identical pen vith which the owner of the signaure habitually writes? A great uany men, bank presidents and the ike,* use the same pen, for their ames only, for a year or two withut change. A pen that has been sed by a man in writing his name undreds of times, and never used 3r anything else, will almost write he name itself. It gets imbued with he spirit of of the signature. In the lands of a fairly good forger it will reserve the characteristics of the riginal. The reason for this is that he point of the pen has been ground own in a peculiar way, from being sed always by the same hand and ir the same combination of letters, t would splutter if held at a wrong ngle or forced on lines against its rill. It almost guides the sensitive and of the forger when he attempts a write the name."?[Pall Mall lazette. U t vp Vr?I* W v Ti T'P \ miri/iiic ocument, drawn up in 18&3 by the oyal college of Bavarian doctors, was ecently unearthed from the archives f the Nuremberg railway coinany, ofFurth, Scotland. Thedoculent, records a protest of the royal dlows against the new-fangled methd of tniveling through space, which i claimed to be deleterious to health, s revealed by the following clause: "Travel in cars drawn by a locomoive ought to be forbidden, in the inerest of public health. The rapid aovement cannot fail to produce mong the passengers the mental afjction known as delirum furiosum. 5ven if travelers are willing to incur he risk, the government should at 3ast protect the public. A single lance at a locomotive passing rap[Uy is sufficient to cause the same deangement; consequently it is absoutely necessary to build a fence ten eet in height on each side of the ailroad."?[Ex. g&- It is said that while American nanufacturers have succeeded in ivaling European cutlers in nearly very branch, they have failed to nake any serious inroads into the azor business. Several Eastern muses have tried to make razors, mt one by one they have dropped out >f the business, till there are very ew remaining. Nine-tenths of the azors used in this country are made n Europe.