University of South Carolina Libraries
~ TS9jymD sKWt x-WKKKX.1^^ l. m. grists sons, Publishers j % Ifamilg 3}eirspaper: |[or the Jromotion of the political, Social. Agricultural and Commercial Interests of the people. { SINOlffl COPY, FIVE CENTO. ESTABLISHED 1855. YORKVILLE, S. O., FRIDAY, ,J ANUARY 17, 1908. . ISTQ. 5. twc: I By ETTA "1 CHAPTER XXV. The Parting. The alarm bell rang sharply front * the steeple of the island church, anc directly every- able-bodied man on th( Tempest had gathered at the door o: the Hall. Hawkstone's words were few?his little daughter was missing?the whol< place must be searched at once. H< himself mounted a fleet horse anc I started out to overtake the party lec by Harris and Doris Rokewood. He came up with it at that very spot ir the road where Bee had so mysteriously disappeared. Miss Rokewood, pah . and distressed, rushed to meet him f and related the same story that he had heard from Mrs. Otway. The ponies had taken fright and bolted, as she was returning from the lighthouse She had been thrown out and stunned and in that interval of unconsciousness ?not more than ten or fifteen minutes she thought?Bee had vanished as completely as though the earth had swallowed her. "What frightened the ponies?" asked Hawkstone, quickly. "Something moved suddenly in a thicket by the roadside," Miss Rokewood answered, in great grief and re morse; "I caught one glimpse of a dark object, crouching there?whether man or beast, I cannot say, for my attention was instantly drawn away to the beasts. Oh, Mr. Hawkstone, will you ever cease to blame me for this disaster??can you ever forgive me?" "There is nothing to forgive," he answered, kindly: "nothing for which I can blame you. Do not distress yourself. Please God. we will find Bee again, and before many hours. I ought to have been on my guard, knowing, as I did, thut an outrage of this kind * was always imminent. Harris shall take you back to the Hall, Miss Rokewood?leave the search to me?I know into whose hands my daughter has fallen." He gave a few order's to his servants, then turned his horse's head, and rode off through the gathering night straight i to Peg Patton's Inlet house. B The brown woman was still sitting in B her low door, smoking her cob pipe. Hawkstone swung himself out of his saddlfc. and strode up to her with an ^ ominous air. Peg." "Master?" she answered, inquiringly. "Is that woman still in your house?" Peg unlocked the swarthy hands that held her knees, and answered: "No. sir. She went back to Whlthaven an hour ago." His face was dark with anger. He f put one hand heavily on her shoulder. "I am not quite pleased with you tonight. Peg. My daughter has disappeared from Tempest Island. Now tell me the truth?don't dare to trifle with me. When Mademoiselle Zephyr went k hack to Whithaven, did she take Bee with her. and what help did you give her in the business?" Peg dashed down her cob pipe, and confronted her master boldly. "Have I served the Hawkstones for more than twenty years, sir, to be suspected. at last, of treachery to you and yours? Is your opinion of me so poor that you think I would stoop to help ^ any one?mind you, any one!?steal your daughter? If Mademoiselle Zephyr, as you call her, has taken the child, God is my witness that I had no part in it! I haven't set eyes on Miss | Bee. A Whithaven boat brought your former wife to the Inlet, and also tool: her away?I didn't watch her come 01 go?It wasn't my business." "In that case, you do not know whether she was alone or not, eh?" "I can see some things master, without watching." answered Peg, dryly "There was a dark, thickset man with her when she appeared at my door I He turned and went off into the wood." ' "Jasper Hatton!" thought Hawkstone He regarded Peg with unappeasec! wrath. "Why did you lend your aid to decoy Miss Ravenel here tonight? Why did you fill her ears with a story which might better have been told a) another time? How dared you, at the bidding of Mademoiselle Zephyr, seel* to turn from me the heart of the woman I love?" Peg looked the Island lord squarely in the face, and replied: "I gave your former wife the sheltei of my roof for an hour or two, master because I could not deny such a smal favor to one who had once borne th< V name of Hawkstone; but I didn't decoy Miss Ravenel here?that was th< work of Mademoiselle Zephyr. True, : spoke my mind to her. sir?I told hei your mother's story. For the sake o: r Philip Hawkstone's second wife. could not let the girl that she brough to this Island rush into marriage witl you without knowing something of th< fate of those who had been before he; ?something of what she herself may c\pect. if ever she becomes your wife." He winced visibly. "Answer me. master would It not have been a sin an< shame to stand by and see Miss Rav K enel marry you with the truth untold?' He frowned. Y'>u have meddled with my prlvat tiff alia In an unwarrantable mannet IVg," he answered, sternly. ''Were 1 I not for your long service to me an< " mine. I should llnd It hard to forglv you.' "I did right. sir?I know I did right! persisted res. stubbornly. With a dark suspicion In his eye? lie stepped suddenly Into the Inlo house, and seized a candle from Pes' mantel. "With your permission." he said, dry k ly. "I will go and see my mother!" Peg followed him as he strode dowi the passage, and through the secre door to the apartment of the mad-wo man. The lamp was still burning there, th I sea-shells still strewed the floor, bu the place was empty. "What has become of her. Peg?" de manded Hawkstone, sharply. fFER iV. PIERCE. "It's likely she's slipped out on one of her flights round the island, sir," ant swered Peg. looking blank, "though I j didn't see her go?I never do. She's more like a spirit than a woman. If I ^ try to lock her in, she grows violent. I've found from experience that It's best to let her have her own way. Besides, she knows how to manage the [ secret door as well as I do." j He gave a searching glance around I the room, then put the candle in Peg's hand. "I see, master," she said, sadly, "you doubted me?you thought I might be hiding Miss Bee here. Can't you believe me when I tell yeu again that I [ haven't seen the child, and know noth J ing of her? Won't you believe me for the sake of my past service?" "Yes!" answered Hawkstone, "I can ?I do believe you, Peg! Now come | and show me the way which that dark, thickset man took when he turned into the wood." She went with him in silence. The salt tide was gurgling in the creek; the brown leaves rustled down upon them, as they moved together under the twisted pepperidge-trees. Peg pointed to a little path running away into the deeper silence and darkness of the forest, and Hawkstone nodded. \ "It joins the island road." he said, "at the very spot where Miss Roke( wood's ponies took fr'ght at some t strange movement in the thicket. Yes, ' all is now quite plain to me, Peg,7 Then he mounted his horse again, and rode away by the border of the creek. He had small hope of finding there any track of Bee's abductors. The Incoming tide had been at work before him, and of course he was ignorant of the exact spot where the Whithaven boat had waited for Mademoiselle Zephyr. Dark as it was, however, his keen eyes suddenly discovered something swinging from a low bough near the entrance to the creek. It was a sash of pale ribbon, worn, as he remembered, by Bee when she started with Miss Rokewood for the lighthouse. He slipped it into his pocket. All was plain to him, indeed! Madame Vera had with great success substltut! ed the aid of Jasper Hatton for that of Gabriel Ravenel. He went back to Tempest Hall to await the return of the searching party. He could not leave the island till he had arranged certain affairs with Harris, as it was difficult to tell how long a chase Mademoiselle Zephyr might lead him. Jetta Ravenel and Miss Rokewood stood waiting in the porch as Hawkstone dismounted at the door. "No news," he said, grimly, before either could speak, "Bee has been carried from the island. I shall start in pursuit as soon as possible." Then aside to Miss Ravenel, who leaned white and cold against a pillar of the porch: "I must see you alone before I go?I have something to say to you." She made a slight gesture of acquiescence. Doris Rokewood followed Hawkstone into the Hall. Her usually calm exterior was greatly ruf Med. "All this is very dreadful." she cried; "and my guardian is in a fever of anxiety because Bee was in my care when she disappeared." , "Have I not assured you that you are , in nowise accountable for the loss of i Bee?" he answered, soothingly. "I . beg of you to cease reproaching yourself. Before many hours, I shall re. turn with the child." The night was far spent before Harris and the searching party came back to Tempest Hall. They had found no trace of Bee. After a long conversation with the overseer, Hawkstone or- ! , dered Sampson and his catboat to await him at the wharf, then snatched a hasty breakfast alone, for neither Miss Rokewood nor Jetta Ravenel apI pea red at the meal, and repaired straightway to the old library for a last interview with the woman he loved. After a brief delay, which seemed an ' eternity to his furious Impatience, Jett ta Ravenel entered with a slow, reluct; ant step. ' She was very pale?the dark shad ows under her eyes told that she had not slept. He took her hand?It lay as snow in his clasp. About her lovely mobile lips were resolute lines that r filled him with alarm. "I see?you have been thinking over ' our conversation of last night?" he - saiu. "Yes," she answered, and drew her 1 hand significantly from him. "My deI termination remains -unshaken." r "You will not marry me, Jetta?" f "No!" I "And you can stand and say this, f knowing that you are deliberately 1 putting a knife through my heart?" - "There Is a knife in my own!" she r answered, drawing a shuddering ? breath. The pain, the pallor of her face, in - its drift of dark rich hair, maddened 1 him. He tried to take her in Ids arms. She repulsed him?gently. Indeed, but " firmly. "You make It very hard for me, Ba* sil," she faltered. "It Is impossible ' that I can ever know happiness, or t peace of conscience, as your wife. 1 Spare ine further words." '' His iron- tray eyes blazed with desperate pass. on. "Kvery man will make a stand for this life!" lie cried, bitterly. "You are >. assailing the very citadel of mine! I i will not live apart from you, Jetta, for s I can have no life apart. Your scruples shall n?>t avail with me. You love me. I love you?this is the only thing worthy of our consideration." n "Oh. hush!" she implored. * "No. you must hear me out. I am - free to marry you lawfully, and neither Mademoiselle Zephyr, nor any other e living creature, shall hold us asunder, it I freely acknowledge that my father committed a cruel sin when he cast off - my mother and married another woman. Do you find any parallel betwixt ^^^PIU8 X.^ her case and that of the girl who deliberately deserted husband and child to fly with Jasper Hatton back to the circus-ring? You dare not tell me that you do! Her protests against my marriage with you are as false as herself. Shall I allow you to sacrifice our happiness to her vengeance and jealousy??never! You have promised me your hand, Jetta?I will never give you up, nor release you, under any circumstances, from your engagement." She trembled as she answered. "All that you say only convinces me that I must leave the island at once?that 1 must put the world betwixt myself and you, Basil. I never can. I never will, marry you while Bee's mother lives. I tell you again, as I told you last night?you may break my heart, but not my resolution. I must go away to some spot where you will never see?never hear of me more!" "And where will you find that spot?" he demanded, fiercely. "Not on this side of the grave! Whither you go, I will follow!" "Now you are unkind, ungenerous? unlike yourself," she sobbed. "In this battle the odds must ever be against me. I leave you, Basil, because it is right that I should do so." "Right that you should cast me from Heaven down to perdition? Right that' you should utterly lay waste my life? You have small comprehension of the love I bear you tr you tnina 1 win sudmlt to such a fate." The wavery autumn sunshine, peering through the small panes of the library windows, struck mournfully on the wan faces of the two lovers. Jetta Ravenel looked, as though seeking some avenue of escape. All the heart within her?a passionate, southern heart that, like a flower, had wakened to life under the ardent sun of his gray eyes?reached after this man; but an iron hand seemed holding her back from him. Her visit to the Inlet house, all that she had seen and heard there, still pressed upon her like a nightmare horror. "Basil," she gasped. "I cannot talk of it now. Let us face the inevitable with courage. Your fate can be no sadder than my own. You are going away this morning in pursuit of Bee?" "Yes," he answered, gloomily. A spasm of pain contracted her pale, sweet lins. "Ah, poor little Bee! I see now that my presence at Tempest Island has been disastrous to you all. No attempt was made to carry away the child till I came?none might ever have been made but for me. I have provoked this crisis?another reason why I should go" The haggard reproach of his look made her shrink. "Your argument is a poor one, so far as it concerns me. Jetta, since no trouble, no possible disaster, can equal that of separation from you. Oh, girl, girl! how can you be so stubborn, so determined, when you know that you are breaking my heart? Bee may go?I will not leave this spot to search for her?the whole world may go, unless you swear that you will stay on the Tempest till I return to it." "Oh. be calm!" she entreated. "Go, and look for Bee?go at once! You have no right to delay a moment. Yes, yes, I will stay at the- Hall till you come back?I will not leave the place till you bring the child?I promise faithfully." He snatched her to his heart, and pressed his lips to hers. "No more than this? Will you promise no more, Jetta?" "I must not?I cannot!" "Ah, you are a woman, and therefore it is not possible that you can slay both your own heart and mine! If I did not believe this, no power on earth should tear me from the Tempest. I would not leave you if a thousand voices of duty called. Oh, my dearest! be merciful to me and to yourself! Oh, my dearest, keep faith with your lover, and when I return. God grant that you may be less cruel, and I less wretched!" It was well that his arms fell away from her with the last word, for he " 1 on rl 11 rfl nPP was laxiiiB nci ...... to the utmost. She could not look longer in that splendid, reproachful face, and keep her determined front. Hej went out in silence and closed the li-1 brary door. Half an hour after, Sampson's catboat was dancing over the blue water toward Whithaven. bearing the island lord, who looked back, again and again, with troubled, anxious eyes, to the old Hall on the wooded slope, where he had left the woman that he loved. When and where would he meet her again? To be Continued. ' t'T Probably the easiest-worked coal mine in the world is at Hongay, near ' Tonkin. It is situated in the side of a hill, and the coal is simply run out on trucks, instead of having to be ; hauled to the surface. iHisrrUanrott.s grading. WHERE SOUTH CAROLINA LEADS. Facts That Establish Her Claims as the 1 Best State In the Union. Commissioner Watson will have ' ready in a few days his handbook on the resources of South Carolina and It is expected that very wide public- ' ity will be given the article which gives a complete review of the state and Its advantages. The book "ontalna ( 19 chapters and is a very comprehensive write up of every resource. A part of this is ready and the other ' chapters are being prepared as rapid- 1 ly as possible. It is shown that South Carolina leads the world in the following res- t pects: 1 Grower of cabbages?Norman H. Biltch, Megget. One thousand acres. * Began a poor man, working on small r | wages in 1891. It costs $110,000 to ' | cultivate his crops. E Gmnnof Af fr.i nla ntc Wm O. ^ v/4 VUMWMCW - Geraty, Young's Island. Ships 40,000,- F 000, worth $35,000. Has booked 100 C cars, 100,000,000 plants, for this year's ? delivery. Began poor. Pecan grower?John S. Horlbeck, * Mount Pleasant. Main grove 600 acres; c two smaller groves with 10,000 trees v each. Annual production, ten tons. Cotton tnlil under one roof?Olym- * pia mills. Columbia. Has 11 acres of 1 floor space and 105,000 spindles. In the production of upland cotton per acre?four bales. In the quality of sea island cotton. \ Yield of corn per acre as demonstrated in world contests. Yield of rice per acre. c Yield of oats per acre. v In the use of transmitted electric e power for cotton mill drive. e In the tensile strength of granite, p The state leads the United .States in v the production of tin. v In the yield of corn per acre. d In the yield of oats per acre. In the yield of rice per acre. 0 fn the value of sea island cotton per pound. p In the production of tea, possessing c the only commercial tea garden in c America. In the use of water power, and n transmitted electric power for textile s plants. J In the cheapness of the cost of u living. f In climatic conditions, which are j, only equaled by those of southern |( France. In the production of gold (east of j. the Rockies.) g The state leads the southern .states in textile manufacturing. e In the production of corn, oats, rice p and cotton per acre. a In the value and yield of hay per ton. * t, In water power?developed and un- ^ developed. '* ?- -?i In cheapness of cost of living. ? In establishing direct export and c import trade and trans-Atlantic passenger service. In production of gold and tin. t( In production of kaolin. In climatic conditions. . In the variety of opportunities for ^ the home-seeker. In rapidity of industrial develop- g ment. ^ In the manufacture of fertilizers. In harbor facilities, depth of water a on bar and accessibility considered. In rapidity of development of the trucking industry. j In extent of cheese manufacturing. j In size of bleachery. In the strength of her granite. In the manufacture of paper pulp In welfare woik in her cotton manufacturing districts. South Carolina, among the states of the American Union, ranks: Second?In cotton manufacturing, . Fourth?In the manufacture of ^ commercial fertilizers. Fifth?In the canning industry. c Fifth?In the manufacture of hos- . iery. u Fifth?In production of raw cotton. . ?Columbia State. S FOWLER CURRENCY BILL. e h House Proposition Antithesis of That s Before the Senate. f On last Thursday, says a Washing- t ton dispatch to the St. Louis Globe- o Democrat. Representative Fowler, v chairman of the house committee on bank and currency, prepared and f, made public his bill for solving the s financial ills of the country. Briefly b stated, the bill provides for credit currency: for the guaranteeing of depos- e its; for the extension to national banks a of many of the functions now exer- p cised alone by trust companies; to the a placing of all credits upon a gold basis, or at least to give bank reserves ri a gold basis; to secure closer rela- c] tions between the banks and national ^ treasury by the selection of assistant v comptrollers of currency, who will be ^ sworn officers, receive $6,000 a year and reside in districts into which the banks of given geographical sections organize. Mr. Fowler, in a brief statement 1 accompanying the bill, makes an at- ^ tack upon the financial measure introduced in the senate yesterday by sen- 11 ator Aldrloh by asserting, in effect, that the proposal at this time to Jiase ^ a national bank circulation on any bonds other than government bonds ' is as bad as was the proposal in 1896 s to depart from the gold standard. He n says a number of other things pointed a If So fha nninSnn nf ^ clIIU UllCVl, UUt ll lo iiiv vptu.v/.. most members of the two houses they are far In advance of the present sentiment and information on the financial question. He pleads for uniformity of banking methods and the creation of a currency which will respond automatically to the needs of business. This is evidently what he presumes will be furnished by the currency which his bill contemplates. The chairman of the house committee also asks for the elimination of the treasury department from being a factor in the business and financial situation. While it is admitted on every hand that many of the suggestions made by Mr. Fowler are wise and should be followed, and possibly will be at some future time, there is little prospect of such legislation as he now puts forward being enacted. The past twentyfour hours has seen some criticism of the Aldrich bill and the discussion points to its amendment in some minor particulars. These particulars were pretty well Indicated in these dispatches last night. Senator Aldrich does not himself assert that his measure Is perfect, but he insists upon it is reaching the present situation and emergency. It can not be set down now as reasonably certain that the Aldrich bill, in principle, will pass at this session of the congress. It will pass the senate after some minor amendment. Lt will pass the house of representa:lves. It will be reported from the jommittee on banking and currency, if which Mr. Fowler is chairman. The ipeaker of the house has once reorganized Mr. Fowler's committee. He etained Mr. Fowler in his place at its lead in spite of strong protests both n and outside the administration :ircle. However, if Mr. Fowler insists lpon the impractical and is not conent to deal with the present emerfency and leave to the future the luestion of solving all the financial lis from which the country suffers, md also leave to some future time the urnishing of a new and elaborate : lystem of currency, he may find his ommittoe again reorganized, and In l way that will insfire prompt action. While bankers and commercial or- i ranlzatlcns in different parts of the ( ountry which Mr. Fowler has ad- j ised take him rather seriously, this s not the case with the leaders of the ' wo houses. Some consider him an | ileal 1st. i CUBAN CIGAR MAKERS. Vhile They Work Novels and Newspa- 1 pers Are Read to Them. A Cuban cigar factory of the best lass is by no means a stupid place to rork. Not only does every cigar makr have plenty of light and air, a leathr covered chair to sit on and the privlege of keeping on his hat while he corks, but he is entertained meanwhile ^ i?ii noi-fiia on/i r?AU'?nu nprs snner and ' lscusslon. The factory reader sits at the rear j f the workroom, enthroned upon an levated stand. He is paid from the 1 irivate funds of the cigar makers, the [ ost to each man ranging from 10 to 15 ents a week. This covers tlie cost of the books, levels and newspapers, as well as a ( alary of $39 which is paid the preslent of the rending committee to make i|i for the time he is supposed to lose , rom his work while engaged In countrig votes or making the weekly col- ' ;etion. According to the Cuba Review and Sulletin, these readers earn from $40 to 60 a week, reading for a period of hree or four hours a day. As a rule ach factory* has two readers and newsapers are taken up in the morning nd books or novels In the afternoon. The selection of the book or novel o be road Is an interesting feature. It ( akes-Jthe character of a political elec- ^ ron,~&eh man voting for the book he ants. The president of the reading ommittee counts the votes and an- * ounces the winning book, which is irthwith bought and placed in its turn ( o be read. The cigar maker is a very independlg workman. He has no fixed hours, ut can go and come as he pleases. If e remains away no more than a reaonable time he can have his old place ack again. All work is piece work, but wages re according to the size and the kind f cigar he can make. He is allowed > talk and smoke while working, but lie reading keeps the men quiet and idustrious. Those who cannot read or write are ft kept informed on public questions nd are able to discuss intelligently roblems of national and municipal in*rests. They seem to be well posted on cientiflc discoveries and other matters. It is common that the newspapers ave editorials or articles which arouse he patriotic feeling of the men. Then he reading is stopped, voices are heard ommenting on the subject treated and heir knife or chaveta is struck viointly on the flat surface of their worklg table. This is their mode of applauding, lometlmes the national hymn and othr popular airs are entoned. but slnglg is reserved for important occasions, ueh as the victory of a Cuban in a areign country in some athletic conest. in a hard game wrung from some f the baseball teams which visit Ha ana each year. The excitement, however, only lasts ' or a few minutes, work is at once re- 1 utned and the only voice heard in the ig room is that of the reader. The wages earned by the cigar makrs vary. Some make as much as $50 week, while others who are not ex- ' erts in making the selected sizes draw weekly salary of $10 to $15 a week. Some cigar operatives need only to nake a small number of good cigars a ay to draw big wages, because the ciar they make is an expensive one for k'hich they get 15 or 25 cents.?New J "ork Sun. ^ i Force of Habit. A Boston psychologist was recently | eminded of the story of the Russian | ailer who, changing his occupation, , ound the chief interest of his leisure < aoments in catching birds, putting hem in cages and selling them to the dghest bidder. j The scientist having to attend a se- , ies of lectures in a large public hall | truck up acquaintance with the janitor , if the building and soon noted in hlin , l suggestive bent of mind. The man | eemed fond of counting the people, nd would occasionally report the exact | lumber present. "We have 115 here ( onight." he would say, or "Just 201 all old;" or. when the hall was crowded, | I make it 370." There was a problem n all this, but it took some time for the )sychologist to solve it. , 4 v i. -4? r..u?dlt' fomilhr tn.llf. POn -A IJIl 111 1 I Idiui.i , i,.......... ? inually renewed, did the business, for t brought out the fact that the janitor lad spent many of the previous years >f his life as warden in an eastern pris>n. With rifle on shoulder, from some ?nclosing wall, the man had counted lis convicts until the habit became inrrained. In the recesses of his brain he lecture hall took the shape of a jail ,ard and the audience were his prisoners. He counted because he wished to (now if all were there.?Boston Herald. I + 9 t'X In Russia an extensive domestic industry consists of the manufacture >f wooden spoons, of which as many is 30,000,000 are made annually. They ire nearly all of birch wood. THE LONDON TIMES. Ranked as the Greatest Newspaper of the World. The sale of the London Times, although it does not pass entirely out of the hands of the family which had always owned it, is as great an event in Englunch as a change In the administration of the government. The London Times Is and always has been the leading newspaper of the world, and, although the lines upon which it has been conducted are very conservative and it has been different in several respects from every other paper, none has ever exercised so powerful an influence in political, social, diplomatic, ecclesiastical. financial and international affairs. For that reason it has been called "The Thunderer. Men have been mude famous by the smiles of the Times; men have been ruined because it has frowned upon them. Its favor has been courted by sovereigns, and a political party could have been founded upon its sole support. There are thousands of intelligent people in England who still believe that the editorials in the Times are written by the prime minister of Great Britain and other members'of the cabinet, and its money article is still the most powerful agency in the finances of Europe. The integrity as well as the influence of the Times has been seriously impaired during the last twenty years. It received a fearful blow when its attacks upon Parnell, the Irish patriot, were exposed, and it has never been able to recover Its prestige. Several subsequent incidents have shaken public confidence in Its infallibility and omniscience, but It iias survived experiences which would have ruined any other paper, and still Is the most imjrortant publication in the world. The earliest newspaper in London was called by the quaint title "Newes [)ut of Holland" and was first published May 16, 1619. "The Newes the Present tVeek" was started three years later! and was edited by the famous Nathaniel Butler. In 1696 there were nine weekly newspapers and reviews in London: in 1709 there were eighteen, and n that year the first dally newspaper ?ver published was started and called the Courant. In 1724 there were three lallles, six weeklies and seven triweekly newspapers in London. The Morning1 Chronicle was started in 1747 and was edited by William Woodfall until 1789. It was the first paper to report the debates In parlianent, and many famous men were conlected with It as editors and contribu:ors, Including Coleridge and Campbell, :he poets; Sheridan, the wit and dranatist; Canning, the statesman, afterivard prime minister. Hazlitt was dranatic critic of the Chronicle, and Charles Dickens was for several years i reporter on the staff. Of the other London papers now livng, the Post was started In 1772, and :he initial number of the Times was isjued on the first of January, 1788, 120 pears ago last Wednesday, by John Walter. It was a continuation of a lally called the Universal Register. Since its first number the Times has seen, as I have already said, the leadng journal of Europe and the most influential and prominent paper in the vorld. Until recent years it has also jeen the most progressive; it was the Irst paper to be printed by steam. In November, 1814, It set up a wonderful press that turned out 1,800 copies an tour and was Inspected by all of the >pA\vnoH honda nf TTtnrnnp A model of :hat press is now displayed in South Kensington museum. In 1848 the improvements had been so rapid that the Times' presses were able to print 8,000 rn hour, and if you will look into the encyclopedias that were published fifty rears ago or even more recently you >vill find descriptions of the press and composing rooms and business office, vhen they were as great objects of In:erest as St. Paul's or Westminister ab>ey. The circulation of the Times has nev>r been very large. In 1850, according :o the encyclopedias, it had 28,000 subscribers, and from what I heard in Lonlon two years ago it cannot have very nany more than that number now. In 1862 it printed an edition of 70,000 copes, containing an account of the funeril of the duke of Wellington, which was the largest edition ever issued by a newspaper up to that time. In 1863 it printed 135,000 copies of an edition containing a description of the marriage ceremonies of King Edward VII., then prince of Wales, and the Princess Alex\ndra of Denmark. That was highivater mark for newspaper circulation in those days. Rut it was soon after surpassed by the New York Herild's edition containing an account of the battle of Gettysburg. Before the Parnell exposures the Times had a circulation of 50,000 or 60.)00, which ran up to 75,000 or 80,000 on special occasions. But since then its subscription lists have been growing smaller and smaller and its earnings less and less, while the other London pewspapers were coining money and printing five and six times as many papers. One reason for this falling off is the high price of the Times, which has I.m en maintained at six cents a copy hi tdtr.il non'ono naro Li II L11 UlUay, Willie 1 I > Ul lien n|iaj?vi ?j ivere selling for twd cents. The advertising patronage of the Times has also been falling off gradually as its circulation has gone down, and this is explained by advertising experts on the theory that the merchants realized that the classes of people who read the Times are not subject to influence by advertisements. Hence the classified ads" were very few in number and it was patronized only by flrstrlass mercantile establishments, book publishers, real estate agents, brokers, bankers and other llnancial operators. Its revenues became so much reduced that the Times has resorted to various outside schemes to increase its circulation. It has handled encyclopedias and atlases, it has published special editions Untl suppieilieum i" uiiiai.i me j/m.v,.. age of the different professions, and it employed a Philadelphia promoter to conduct a sensational book sale which demoralized the entire book trade of England. Nevertheless, it has continued upon its old-fashioned, conservative way, publishing enormous blanket sheets, containing verbatim reports of the proceedings of parliament and the political speeches made by its favorites in public life. It is said that every word that has been uttered in the British parliament for more than a hundred years has been published in the London Times, and that is probably true. Tin government has official reporters ii both the house of lords and the hous* of commons, and their stenographic ac counts of proceedings are printed everj morning in a publication similar t< the Congressional Record and callet "Parliamentary Debates." But a llmitec edition Is printed and the public ii compelled to get Its account of parliamentary proceedings from the Times. The Times has maintained the besi staff of correspondents in foreign countries of any newspaper in the world, tht most intelligent, experienced and competent news gatherers and publicists and they have invariably enjoyed greater advantages for knowing what is goAM IhnM ilifi ranfout-nlalivoo nf am other paper. The prime ministers am! other public men of Europe will send for the correspondent of the Times when they would refuse to receive th( representatives of other papers, anc will Rive him information that the loca! newspaper men cannot obtain. Th? public men of England, in the church in the cabinet, the parliament and ir financial circles, will furnish information to the Times in preference to anj other paper, and for a century its editorials have frequently been writter by prime ministers and their associates when those gentlemen had ideas whlcl they wished to bring before the people That does not happen so often nowadays as was formerly the case, but a Times reporter always has precedence still, and when an Englishman is aggrieved at anything he writes a lettei to the Times and expects that whatevei is wrong will be corrected. The Times has never passed out ol the control of the Walter family. The original John Walter, who founded the paper, conducted it for fifty-nine years and then died, one of the most influential men in Europe, in 1847. The property was left exclusively to his son ol the same name, who had been associated in the management for many years and who was a member of parliament. The second John Walter remained at the head of the business until 1884, when his son, Arthur F. Walter, inher ited it and has since been nominally the editor-in-chief and controlling Influence, although the financial necessities of the paper and the necessity of improving the plant and introducing modern ideas have compelled the Walter family to part with a portion of their Interest. George E. Buckle has been the editor-in-chief for twenty-seven years and Moberly Bell has been the business manager for about the same time. Arthur Walter has a number of sons, but they have never taken an active part either in the editorial work or business management. It is announced that Arthur Walter will continue as chairman of the board of directors of a limited company, which has purchased the property, and that he and the other members of his family retain considerable interest. According to the dispatches from London, C. Arthur Pearson, owner of the Daily Express, the morning and evening Standard and the St. James' Gazette, has obtained control. Associated with him is Sir Alexander Henderson, a liberal-unionist member of parliament and chairman of the board of directors of the Great Central railway. Mr. Pearson and Mr. Henderson are both advocates of a protective tariff for England, and they have purchased the Times for the purpose of promoting that doctrine. Mr. Pearson is an intimate personal friend of Joseph Chamberlain, the leader of the protective tariff party in England, who once called him "the greatest hustler I have ever sden outside of America." The Times has been an advocate of fiscal reform, as they call it over there, in a mild way, and has lost a great deal of its patronage and circulation on that account, because the classes of people who have been its most consistent supporters are free traders by inheritance.?W. E. Curtis in Chicago Record-Herald. TEXAS BUZZARDS IN DEMAND. Few Carloads Wanted For Shipment to the North. Henry Fielding of Bangor, Me., arrived In the city recently and is stopping at the Bexar hotel. His mission In the Lone Star State is to purchase and acquire Texas buzzards of various ages for shipment to Maine for scavenger purposes. He is representing a number of the boards of trade, chambers of commerce, business clubs, etc., of Maine cities, which have recently awakened to the fact that the supply of buzzards in Maine is rapidly decreasing, which is injurious to the rural districts in Maine. Mr. Fielding was instructed to select the most strategic point as a headquarters in a section of the southwest well oopulatect with the crimson neaaea creatures, and to begin operations, Mr. Fielding says it Is a matter of general knowledge that buzzards are thickest in a cattle country, and inquiries by mail and otherwise proved that southwest Texas is well stocked with what he Is seeking. The shipments will be in carload lots to various points of Maine. Most of them will probably move out of San Antonla, coming here in less than carload lots. However, if Mr. Fielding secures a carload at any particular point in the southwest the shipment will be made from there. Mr. Fielding admits that his mission is unique and seems strange in a community where buzzards are plentiful, yet one that can be perfectly appreciated in a community where the stock of buzzards has been almost wholly destroyed. He says the last legislature in the state of Maine passed stringent laws relating to the slaughter of buzzards and that during the next two ot three years an effort will be made to undo the damage that has been done and to remedy present conditions. "Naturally," said Mr. Fielding, "any one will admit that the buzzard Is a very necessary bird to rural districts He is not only a destroyer of carrion but he is a great detective and calls the attention of many a farmer and ranct owner to the presence of nearby carrion calculated to Injure health, if noi Knlintf A Ko* Ku o o>An. un|Miacu \fk, ?? c ucucvc mat uj u nv>? oral campaign it will be possible to restock the state of Maine in the cours< of two or three years, and believe thai the money will be well expended."?Sar Antonla Express. Men are becoming scarcer, yeai after year. So says a German statlS' tlcian; and he predicts that 3,000 yean hence there will be only one man t< 220 women. B A WOLF HUNT. i 8 An Extemporized Affair In a Minnesota Forest. f A few years ago, in the northern ' part of Minnesota, wolves often be* tame an intolerable nuisance during 1 the winter and reports of numbers hav3 ing been seen led five of us to conclude that we needed a little rest and recreation and that a wolf hunt would t fill the long felt want. The scene of action was on the Mississippi river 5 within fifty miles of St. Anthony Falls, at a place where a low bottom, covered with trees and thick underbrush, reached back from the river half a mile to the cliff. From the rocky face of the cliff, almost perpendicular in ' places, sprang trees end bushes, finding ' root in the many cracks and crevices. 1 For miles back from the top of the ! cliff lay a rolling, heavily timbered ' country, the whole forming a most ' beautiful retreat for wolves. ) Not one of the party "owned a dog that would have been of the slightest 1 use, and even If we had possessed one not one had the least idea of how to r hunt wolves with or without dogs. The I mmJ Aon f ko TTfAl?1 VtOI'O Ytu iuua at hid ui tiic uunu tvvuiu uaic 1 made a good collection for some gun * Store window. ' It was a few days after New Year's, ihe thermoneter registering 8 deg. below In the sun, when we reached the 1 edge of the timber. Joe, who wore a ! pair of Indian snowshoes, and I,' who had a pair of Norwegian skis, got along very well, but Harry, who weighed over 200 pounds, broke through the crust at every step. After holding a pow-wow we decided 1 to work down the bottom till dinner ! time, then back up through the timber 1 above. Giving my skis*to Harry he and George followed the river bank, Billy took the centre, while Joe and I kept in close to the cliff. For perhaps an hour we silently 1 worked our way, when a shot from Billy's express put us all on the qui vive. Hearing no whistle?the signal agreed upon In case one of us saw wolves? and being only too glad of something 1 to relieve the monotony we all hurried over to Billy and found him fastening a fine specimen of the horned owl to the back of his belt. After a few words we were about to return to our places when Billy, with a wild yell, began a war dance, his hands behind him In a vain attempt to get rid of his game. Billy's owl was far from dead, having been only stunned, and on coming to had sunk his claws deep Into the nearest flesh. Every time the bird swung against Billy's legs he would peck at his calves, Billy letting out a wilder howl at each nip. As well as we could for laughing we released him from his game. It was past 1 o'clock when we sat down to lunch at the spring where we had arranged to meet?that is, we all sat down except Billy, who preferred standing, for reasons best known to . himself. Afterward we climbed Wle' bluff, i Harry was sent to the far side of the timber?it being deemed ad visa ble to have him at as great a range as possible, for general safety?next to him came George, then Billy, Joe and I keeping near to the edge of the cliff, so as to be able to keep an eye on the bottoms below. We had covered perhaps two miles, when Joe held up his hand and crept cautiously to the edge. The next moment there was a crunch, and over he went with a whoop. Running forward, I was Just in time to see a dark body, that seemed to be mostly arms and legs, revolving in a cloud of . snow, plunge out of sight in a drift at the foot of a steep slide of seventy-five or a hundred feet, where the snow, blowing over the top of the blufT, had filled in level. A heavy crust forming, it made a smooth chute, without a break from top to bottom. Had it killed him I believe I must have laughed; but the next instant the laugh was the other way, for my feet slipped and away I went, shooting along in Joe's track. It was a swift rush, the snow flying into my face and down my neck, i as I covered more ground in a given time than I ever did before or ever want to again. Then came a leap into the air?I felt as though I fell miles? i and spread eagle-fashion, I dived keri chug into what seemed fathoms of i snow, but proved to be only about one. Almost smothered, I pawed my way nut tn h#> arretted with loud yells of laughter by Joe, who had already extricated himself, and Harry, who, tired of tramping alone, had come up In time to see me perform what he termed some very graceful gymnastics, he even having the nerve to beg me to do It over. About 4 o'clock, Harry, Joe and I stopped to rest in the bottom of a little coulee, sitting down on the side of I a road that led out Into the bottoms. We had not seen either of the other two I since lunch, though we had heard Billy's rifle once or twice. While we sat there lamenting the lack of wolves and game In general we heard the peculiar '"bang" of George's goose gun, then In a minute came the ' crack of Billy's rifle. We all started to our feet as a swift patter came down i the road. Large bodies move slowly ' and Harry had hardly got on his feet when three grayish wolves sprang past i Joe and me and dashed plumb into j ? ? * him, roiling mm over anu u?n m n.c i snow. Before they reached the mouth of the coulee Joe and I fired and had , the satisfaction of seeing one turn endover-end and drop. ! George and Billy soon came up, each bringing a wolf. George had first seen i the wolves crossing the coulee further : up; his shot turned them down the road, where, as they passed Billy, he dropped one. Joe and I divided hon> ors on the third, for we had both shot s at and hit the same wolf. That night as we steamed back to ' the city with our three wolfskins, every i one was perfectly satisfied with the . day's fun except Harry, who had not , pulled the trigger once, for which we i chorused, "Let us be duly thankful!"? i Forest and Stream. t ' ' . 'tT A curious mode of catching turns' Although the mosquito speclal> izes on yellow fever and malaria and t is universally recognized as an enemy i to be fought outright, scientists have come to regard the common house fly as the more dangerous. The mosquito will spread only one or two diseases, but the house fly spreads many. Typhold germs, tuberculosis germs and , a hundred other germs are all the same to It, _