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' JSSUKD L. m. grist's sons, Pnbiishen. j % Ifantilg JpFurspapfr: Jfor th? promotion ojf the political, Social t|gricultut[al and (Commercial Interests of the people. {nil oiw?! * established 1855. YORKVILLE, 8. C, FRIDAY, JULY 24^1908 KQ. 59. J, j; A A A A A >1 A T T T T T T T T T T T tSt + ' ^ 4? t ' ByETTA CHAPTER XII. Rose. It chanced next morning that Hume found himself left alone at Widow Pole's cape cottage. Private business required Harold to wire a mesage to his native city, and the nearest telegraph station being twenty miles away, he was obliged, much against his will, to clamber into the lumbering stage, and repair thither. "Of course, you'll have to go over to ?io mvo and about Miss Hillyer's arm," he said to his friend. "Do you think you can find the way alone?" "Not a doubt of It," replied Hume; and shortly after the departure of HarM old he set forth on a solitary walk ^ across the cliffs. His thoughts were busy, as he tramped the unfamiliar path, but not with things of Cape Desolation. "The sweetest Joy, the wildest woe is love; The taint of earth, the odor of the 4, skies, ^ Is in It." "I wonder," he muttered, moodily, "if that abominable closing scene rankles in her memory, as it does in mine? ^ Thank God she did not turn her eyes ' in my direction. Had she once looked at me. I could never have escaped from the place. Doubtless she'll go to Newport with Mrs. Ellicott, and carry all before her there?the fashionable world raves over that cold, queenly type of beauty. It is eminently aristocratic. Yes, in conquests worthy of her, she'll soon forget that miserable night." He found the Hlllyer cottage without ^ difficulty. The coddles were drying in the sun; the tall, red hollyhocks burned, like torches, in the garden inclosure. Through gaps of coarse sand the sea sparkled. The old porch was empty; the door stood wide open. Hume saw t no one, but somewhere inside the house he heard a girl's voice, pitched in a querulous key. "Go away, Andy! I will not have you following me about in this horrid, ghostly way! Can't you understand that I detest?yes, loathe you??that it makes me quite sick to feel you near? . Go down to the wharf?do!?anywhere out of my sight! Find Bess; she is always good to you. How she can be, I don't know; but she is?she is! Her patience never fails, where you are concerned. You ought to be sent to an asylum; but Bess won't hear to It! You ought to go away and drown yourself, quietly; butTof course, Bess would be upon the watch to prevent you." A shuffling step crossed the floor. Immediately a man appeared in the door, sneaking along like a whipped cur. He did not notice Hume, but made straight for a corner of the porch, where stood g an old bench, heaped with torn fish nets. Like some automaton answering to a spring, he seated himself and set to work at the broken twine, in a miserable, mechanical way. It was Andy Gaff, the husband of Rose Hlllyer. By the broad light of day Hume saw that he was a powerfully built fellow, evidently young, and neatly dressed In woolen clothes that did not fit him. His face was the color of clay?vacant, heavy, repulsive, as every human face must be when the mind is gone out of it The dull eyes, empty both of curiosity and comprehension, glanced once at Hume, and down again at the nets. "Good morning, Mr. Gaff." said / Hume, cheerfully. The net mender gave him a blank stare; then, unresponsive as the dead, ^ continued his work. But some one Inside the cottage had heard the greeting, and instantly there was a little rush, the soft swish of a woman's dress, and Rose stood in the door, and smiled a joyful welcome. "Oh. I knew you would come! I was watching for you!" she cried, like a delighted child. "Bess has gone down to the shore to see a boat load of fish that Uncle Caleb brought in this morn4 ing. She will be back directly. Her arm is better?oh. much better! Bess knows how to bear things without complaining. I wish I were like her!" mournfully. She wore a pale-blue gown, inexpen* alve, but made with many frills and furbelows. Her yellow hair clustered in loving little rings about her pearlwhite temples. The piquant, peachblow face, with Its red, smiling lips and maddening eyes, seemed even more lovely by morning light than on the previous night. "How good of you to watch for me!" said Hume, somewhat embarrassed by her Joy. "Surely you were not fretting (about the Injured arm?" "Oh. no! I was only anxious to see you again." she replied, with great naivete; and she dragged forth an oldfashioned armchair from a corner of the room, and motioned him to take it. "It is so very dull at the cove! One gets so low-spirited, so hopeless." sighing wearily; "one. I mean, who does not like the sea." He took the seat of honor to which she waved him. "You have your uncle. Miss Hillyer, and?and?your husband," he braced himself to say. "Andy? Oh, now, you are mocking ^ me!" with a quiver of the lip that made Hume hate himself. "You can see wnat he is. As for Uncle Caleb and Bess, of course. I love them very dearly, and yet sometimes I grow very tired of ^ them. too. Bess doesn't mind the life we lead?she talks about doing one's duty, and making the best of things, till I stop my ears and refuse to listen. Bess Is the favorite everywhere?all the cape folks sing her praises?they say nothing about me." in a piq up. .wude nothing about me." in a piqued tone. "Even Mr. Harold never looks at me twice when Bess is by." "Possible?" said Hume, smiling. "Then Jack must be very far gone indeed! Few men with eyes in their heads could refrain from looking at you twice, under any circumstances." "Do you think me very pretty?" she # asked, with perfect gravity. "Like the Father of his Country, I cannot tell a lie?I think you more than pretty"? mm j ^ i W. PIERCE. ^ $*?f4*$44f4'f8?$49f?sfc!fa,f4sfb9fc,f4 1 He stopped. Through an open window at his side a flood of sunshine poured into the living room. A shadow entered also, and wavered to and fro, in gray outline, upon the painted floor. It was that of the poor wretch Andy, mending old Caleb's nets on the rude bench. "You are very young, are you not, Mrs. Gaff?" said Hume, in an altered voice "Don't call me by that name," she protested, "I quite hate it! Say Rose, instead. Yes, I am young," with a sad, little smile; "barely eighteen." "And how long have you been Andy Gaff's wife?" She grew pale. "Two years," she faltered. The gray shadow, wavering back and forth on the bare boards, with gaunt arm outstretched, as it drew the needle filled Hume with sudden great aversion. "Good Heaven!" he burst out. "What monstrous thing is this? How did it happen? Had you no guardian, no friends, to prevent such an unnatural union?such a unholy sacrifice? Did you take him of your own free will, and where were your uncle and cousin tho while?" He had gone too far. "Hush!" she commanded, with more dignity than she had yet shown. "You must not speak of my marriage, or my husband, Mr. Hume. Nobody ever does?nobody asks questions about either. As a gentleman you should know that your curiosity Is neither polite nor permissible." The rebuke was sharp enough to bring the color to his face. "I beg your pardon. Miss Rose?such a strange state of things made me for the moment forget myself." The smiles came back to her red lips. "You aire pardoned, on condition that you will not offend again. I hate to talk of my marriage?I hate to feel sorrowful and wretched. You must not say things to make me cry." "God forbid"? He was spared further words, for at that instance old Caleb and Bess Hlllver entered the porch together. The bluff fisherman greeted Hume hospitably. "We bear.you no malice, sir, for leaving your mark on Bess," he said, with a twinkle in his eye. "It takes more than a scratch to put her out. A girl " " *?* ? cnai S cruiIHU l??r yutuv^niAi n uiu cuiu water, and helped to bury dead men at sea, ain't easily flustered. Now. here's one of another sort"?pinching Rose's seashell ear. "She's got no grit at all. but she can coax and cajole; I reckon she was born just fur that?eh, little one?" The sailor girl had been out in Caleb's boat. A faint crimson burned in her olive cheek, and her black braids were softly ruffled. A grand, bright creature, sound alike in body and mind. It was easy to believe all the heroic things that were told of her. Hume examined her wounded arm, and found it already healing. "I wish that I had been shot in place )f Bess!" said Rose, as she leaned on her cousin's chair, disarianging the )andages and confusing Hume with her soft smiles and restive movements. "It is worth a little pain to be the object of so much interest. Yes, I quite envy Bess all the excitement of this mishap." High noon was the dinner hour at the cove?the people there followed the primitive customs. Hume, after much urging, consented to dine with the Hillvers. It was a delightful, though simple, repast. Martha Bray was no mean cook, and the old Nankin ware upon the board had been brought by Captain John Hlllyer from the Far East, (n the midst of the meal Bess glanced around with a disturbed air. "Where is Andy?" she asked, fixing her eyes on Rose. A frown gathered on the lovely brows )f the younger girl. "I don't know?I don't care," she answered, in a vexed voice. "Leave him to Martha Bray." When the dinner was over, Hume, unable to frame an excuse for tarrying longer, arose to depart. At the same moment Martha Bray put her head in at the door. "That unfortlnit critter won't touch his vittles," she announced, shrilly. "I dunno what I'm goin" to do with him. He has no more sense than a sea goose." "Never mind. Martha," answered Rose, smiling like an angel. "It doesn't matter in the least, you know?let him severely alone." Somehow the words jarred on Hume. Bess cast a glance of unmistakable reproach on her cousin, then turned and went quickly out. As Hume stepped into the porch, lo! there on the old bench sat Andy, and by his side knelt the sailor girl. Her sound hand was laid gently, coaxingly, on the net mender's arm. "Andy, Andy!" she said, and Hume marveled at the tenderness of the tone; "you will come and take your dinner, will you not? It is Bess who asks you?you always try to please Bess, you know. Poor, poor boy! I wish that I could make you comprehend, for just one moment, how I pity you! ? perhaps it might help you to bear your horrible fate. Ah, you do understand something of it, do you not, Andy? Show me that you do. Put down the tiresome nets, and come with me." Her handsome fare was wet with tears. Hume experienced a sudden, queer shock. Great Heaven! Did the brave, bright sailor girl really care for that wretched creature?that hopeless wreck of a man? Verily she did, and in no common degree! A change seemed to pass over Andy's sodden face. He fixed his vacant eyes on the kneeling girl, and a faint light flickered in their cloudy depths, as though some breath had blown on a dying ember, and the responsive faculty was not wholly destroyed. Hume held his breath. Yes, the net mender understood. He dropped the meshes of twine, arose and put out his hand to Bess. She took it promptly. "Ah. you know more than people suppose, Andy!" she said, in a little, glad voice, and together they disappeared round a corner of the cottage. Hume stared after them for a moment. "Strange!" he muttered, then walked away down the cobblestone path. In spite of her angel face, was the girl Rose a little hard of heart? It seemed so; yet how could he blame her, tied, as she was, to a living corpse? What a fate for so much youth and beauty! Hume, greatly puzzled and perplexed, began to vex himself with fruitless questions. Had that enchanting child wedded an Idiot from choice? Monstrous?impossible to believe! Then he could only conclude that the man had lost his wits after his union with Rose Hillyer. But why did the cape people preserve a strict silence on the subject?" Some unpleasant mystery seemed to lie at the bottom of poor Andy's misfortunes. Then Hume heard at his back a panting breath, a little laughing, gasptrier nmr onrl fnmlntr ohnnf ha QQTir Rose herself flying after him, with fair head uncovered, and red lips apart, and large eyes shining like moons. "Oh, wait a moment!" she implored. "I forgot?I forgot"? "Something very important, I am sure!" he said, instantly forgiving all her faults, after the fashion of men. for the sake of her amazing beauty. "Yes; the dance tomorrow night at the flshhouse. You must come, and Mr. Harold, also. I did not think to invite you, until I saw you vanishing down the walk." "Then you dance?" asked, in an amused tone. "When I can find a partner to my liking." "Not with a cape fisherman, then?'" "Oh, no. As a rule, they are ugly and boorish. They wear canvas jackets, and smoke clay pipes." "And I quite detest them. I hope," plaintively, "that you and Mr. Harold will not fail me." "I think I can answer for both." said Hume. "Though the skies fall, you may depend upon us! Perhaps you will consent to caper with me through the first dance?" "Oh, yes!" like a delighted child. "I was hoping you would ask me. I should like it immensely. I must dance enough for Bess and myself, too. She will be obliged to keep to a comer, poor thing! because of her arm. But Bess doesn't mind?she likes self-denial." In scrambling affer him up the cliff, she had filled her small, russet-colored shoes brimful of sand. Now, laughing a little, she kicked them off, revealing tiny, arched feet In bright-colored stockings. Hume found it easy to picture those exquisitely modeled members twinkling to the music of a cape fiddle. Turning out the obnoxious grains, she resumed her foot coverings without a sign of embarrassment. "Bess will not like It." she said, "because I followed you like this. She will scold. But I do not mind Bess," with a flash of defiance in her lovely eyes. "Indeed, I do not rnlnd anybody!" And before he could reply she was gone, like a bird, down the cliff, the frills of her blue dress fluttering softly In the sunshine. With a whimsical smile, Hume sauntered on toward the village. CHAPTER XIII. Paget Fatsel. On the same morning in which Nigel Hume made his visit to Caleb Hillyer's cottage a man and woman were standing together in an open window at Wlndmere. talking earnestly. "Paget," said Edith Fassel, resting one hand on her companion's shoulder, and looking fondly into his face, "you are actually growing gray, and there are crow's feet about your eyes. Why, you are old, dear!" as though she had made a sudden and unique discovery. "Thirty-three, my last birthday," he answered. "When will you give over all this tiresome roving about the world? It is full three years since I had you to myself for even one short week. And what have you been doing in the interim? Why, exploring the ruins of Yucatan and the volcanoes of Central America, courting death in the forests of the Amazon, and studying cloud effects on the plateaus and peaks of the Andes. Ah, me! I consider it a stu penaous IllIMUnUUC lu nait UIIV .1 brother a famous explorer and scientist." He was a few inches taller than his sister, more elegant than powerful, more distinguished than handsome. A shade of tan darkened the cheek. His eyes were a cold, searching gray. He was Edith Fassel's stepbrother, and her senior by thirteen years. Both possessed the same regular features?the same unmistakable air of good breeding. "It is true that I have become a sort of Wandering Jew, Queenie," he said, smiling, "and that I am now fast falling into the sere and yellow leaf. But take heart! At last I have returned to rest awhile at home, and to write my long-delayed book. You will be sure to see a great deal of me in the next six months, little sister." She looked Incredulous. "Paget, you appeared before me twenty-four hours ago?suddenly, without warning, as though you had dropped from the skies. Doubtless you will rush away in the same abrupt fashion just four and twenty hours later?it would be quite in keeping with your usual habits." "N<?," he replied, laughing: "I promise you, Queenie, that my roving is over for a full half-year, at least. A man must rest some time. I will breathe my own native air for that period"? "Here at Windmere?with me, Paget ?" He shook his head. "Impracticable! I must, of course retire from the world?absolute quiet is necessary for my work." Her face fell. "I understand. You mean to withdraw to your desert island on the Maine coast, where your labors will suffer no interruption." "Exactly. I have certain reports to prepare?a book to write?work that cannot be done elsewhere. But a Maine island, you know, is something at your very door?not a remote mystery, like Honduras and South America. I sent Instructions last night to my man Terry to make ready for my coming. All my luggage has gone before me to the Storm. Terry will put the round tower in order for my arrival." "Oh, Paget! And you will not stay and rest here at Wlndmere, even for a few days?" "I cannot, Queeme. Life is short, and I have much to do. All my maps and notes and valuable papers are on their way to Storm Island?I must follow them." She regarded him with mingled disappointment and despair. "Paget, have you no taste for domestic joys?will you never marry, like other men?" "Such a contingency seems very remote at present," he answered, with a shrug of the shoulders. "You are past thirty: there are streaks of gray In your hair, and lines of carking care on your face. You are rich as a prince. Your fame is already established, and you are courted and admired by everybody; yet you spend your days In toll and hardship, wanderiner over the world in Quest of strange things, and writing books that only savants read. Too much knowledge has made you utterly Indifferent to my sex, Paget. You have never yet met the woman who could stir your heart?" "Never!" he replied, cheerfully. "Let me forecast your future." she said, smiling. "He Is a presumptuous man who hopes to escape the woes common to his kind. Your time will yet come, Paget, and I dare say you will be called to pay dearly for these years of Indifference." Prophetic words! At a later day Paget Fassel used to remember them with a bitter pang. "I have plighted my troth to Lady Fame, who tolerates no rivals," he answered, carelessly. "My dear Queenie, let us not talk nonsense?I shall never marry." A sudden gravity fell upon her face. She was leaning against the open window, In the full glare of the sun, which could bring neither color or spot to her lustrous white skin. She wore a cream-colored cashmere gown, with a single red rose In the corsage?a severely simple dress, which clung close to her shapely hips, and swept long and straight to the floor. Turning her brown eyes upon her brother, she said, quickly: "And I am of the same mind, Paget ?I, too, will go unmarried to my grave! By separate ways we have reached the same conclusion." He looked greatly annoyed. "My dear child, that kind of talk will do very well for a graybeard like me, but not at all for a young and beautiful girl. Did you love Lepel Ellicott so well that you must turn hermltess at twenty, and renounce all the conquests and happiness which naturally belong to a belle, a beauty and an Independent heiress?" "It cannot matter now how much or how little I loved him," she answered, calmly. "The tragedy Is two years old, Paget. When you speak of It, I seem to hear the rattle of dead dry bones." "I was In Peru at the time," said Paget Fassel: "Aunt Latimer was good enough to write me the whole story? """ T mmomhor ho mlv mentioned It In your letters. Since Lepel Elllcott's death, has any light been thrown on the mystery of his conduct?" "Not a ray. After all, there was very little mystery about it. He no longer loved me. He was weak, and, must I say it? cowardly. He ran away to avoid a distasteful marriage. I have never blamed him, save for one thing? he should have told me the truth before that fatal night." There was no quaver in her voice, no color in her cheek: her cool, proud face told no tales, even to this beloved brother. He looked relieved. "Two years?a snort time, Queenie? I fancied the wound would be deeper. Thank God that you can speak like this. Lepel Elllcott was not worthy to touch the hem of your garment. False, contemptible, lost to all sense of honor, he must have been"? She put her soft hand gently over his lips. "You are talking of the dead: say no more, dearest Paget. As I have already told you, I blame him only for keeping silent so long." "Is it true that he wrote you seme sort of confession on that miserable mopploom nlcrht nnd that* vou alone know the real cause of his mad behavior?" Some roses were blowing outside the window. She laid her cheek to a creamy cluster, on which the dew of night still lingered. The scented petals were not whiter than her living flesh. "It is true." she answered, quietly. "And you have kept his secret to this very day, Queenle?" "Why should I tell it? No good could come of a disclosure now?neither the living nor the dead would be profited." "Will you not make the truth known, at last, to me?your brother?" "Not even to you. Paget?dearly as I love you!" He pressed her hand tenderly. "As you will?I shall not urge you. From all that I hear, Queenle. there are those of my own sex who would fain console you for the past. Don't shake your head?all men are not false weaklings." She smiled, but made haste to change the conversation. "Let us go down to the lake, Paget, and look at the swans." (lathering up her cream-colored gown, she stepped through the French window upon a green terrace, and moved down a flight of steps to the walk below. Paget Fassel followed. A high-stepping chestnut horse, attached to a brougham, was advancing up the drive. Miss Fassel, recognizing the turnout, stopped short at the foot of the steps. "It is Mrs. Ellicott," she said. Yes. Mrs. Ellicott, quite alone, and looking weary, perplexed, haggard. "I will not go indoors," she said to the brother, and sister, as they hurried forward to welcome her. "Let me sit down with you in the garden;" and withdrawing a few rods from the vicinity of her coachman, she sank upon a chair of twisted vine, near the border of the little lake. "I heard that Paget was going down to his Maine island tomorrow, and I have a particular favor to ask of him before his depart ure." "It is already granted," said Fassel, promptly. The old dame fidgeted with her gloves. She had known Paget Fassel from his boyhood, and the place which he held in her regard was second only to that occupied by his young sister. "You bought Storm Island several years ago, did you not, Paget?" she began. "Yes," he replied; "I wanted a retreat, In which I could occasionally play Crusoe." "I remember. When you are worn out with wanderings and hardships you retire there for repose and restoration. I suppose you do not go often to the mainland during your visits at the Storm?" "No. I leave that to my man Terry." "Then you know nothing of the places about you?" "My dear Mrs. Elllcott," he answered, smiling, "we are bounded, on all sides by the roaring deep. The nearest land Is many miles away." She looked disappointed. "Somewhere on the Maine coast there Is a certain place called Cape Desolation. I hoped .,it might be In the vicinity of the Storm." He was too polite to nint ai tne number of rrlle8 embraced In the Maine coast line, or the distance that sometimes Intervened betwixt shore and Island there. So he simply said: "The name is unknown to me. I do not remember that I ever heard It before." "Undoubtedly it is some spot beyond the pale of civilization. Let me explain the errand which brought me to you this morning: At Cape Desolation. wherever it may be?and I confess my own Ideas of It are very vague ? lives a certain Elizabeth Hillyer, the grandnlece of my deceased husband. I have Invited her to come, and take up her permanent abode with me, and to consider herself my future heiress. My letter Is already on Its way to Maine. Whether Miss Hillyer, who is an utter stranger to me, will accept the invitation or not, remains to be seen. I have given her unlimited time In which to think It over. Meanwhile r naturally desire to know something of the young person herself. Of course, Stephens would be the proper party to aid me In the matter: but, unluckily, he sails for Europe today, and I decline to employ a stranger." Fassel's correct face betrayed some uneasiness. "You wish me to present myself to Miss Hillyer, In Stephen's place?" he said, with such grace as he could muster. "I ask you to sail over to Cape Desolation, in some leisure hour, Paget, make the acquaintance of this Elizabeth Hillyer, and then write me a full description of her personal appearance, and the impression which she makes upon you." "My dear Mrs. Ellicott!" cried Fassel, aghast. Edith laughed merrily. "Request him to explore a Mexican I volcano, o-r search for Aztec remains, or expound to you antediluvian history, I Snd he will acquit himself like a hero. But to send him In pursuit of a girl?a ! voung girl?and expect him to pass I judgment upon her, and receive lml nPMBlnna?nh. hnw can vou ask such' |a thing of Paget?" The anxiety on the elder woman's face told that she was ill at ease con(cerning her latest experiment. "It is my only hope of discovering the exact truth," she answered, stubbornly. "If Elizabeth Hillyer is to live with me as my constant companion, you will see that some reliable information in regard to her is very desirable. Because Paget cares nothing for our sex, his opinion will be quite unbiased. The girl herself need not know his business at Capo Desolation." "I should think not!" said Edith, still mirthfully. "Surely she would never consent to be interviewed by such a critic. He must approach her, | like a thief in the night, and with the wisdom of any number of serpents. Oh. that I could be there to see!" "Why do you laugh at my plan?" said Mrs. Ellicott, irritably. "It is a very good one, I think. The only question Is, will Paget help me, as I wish?" "His word is already given!" cried Edith. "Oh, yes, of course, my dear Mrs. Ellicott, certainly!" said Fassei wuu a smile on his lip, and profound gloom In his eye. "I will do your bidding: with pleasure." "No," corrected Mrs. Ellicott, bluntly; "there will ba no pleasure in the matter?quite the contrary. Miss Hill yer must be a young savage?I expect nothing less?a sort of strange marine creature, brought up with seafaring relatives. Still," growing hopeful, "I may find possibilities in her?she is yonng enough to be reconstructed. And, at any rate, I shall cast no more pearls Lefore swine?I mean." lowering her voice for Edith's ear alone, 'T have no more male relatives to whom I can offer fortunes or wives." As If determined to put a good face upon the matter, Fassel braved himself, and said, cheerfully: "I will get Terry to take me to Cape Desolation at the earliest opportunity; and, without doubt, I shall find Miss Hillyer, and be able to send you all the information you require." "Make a note of the matter, Paget," said his sister, "lest you become absorbed in your new book, and the fascinations of Storm Island, and forget, after all, to fulfill your promise." "I shall not forget," replied Paget Fassel. To be Continued. Mongoose Becomes a Plague. The island of St. Croix, the largest of the Danish West Indies, besides presenting to the artistic eye the most enchanting scenery affords to the sportsman opportunities for indulging his predilections little known to the outside world. A few years ago, previous to the introduction into this terrestrial hunter's .u..* moneroose. I naraai.se m mai ? there existed large flocks of quail (Ortyx vlrginianus) in the level lands of the centre and southern parts, affording the shooting, but these birds are now scarce. In those days an afternoon's stroll over one of the large guinea grass pastures belonging to the various sugar estates, with the ringing whistle of Bob White sounding on everv side, and the sudden whirr of their wings as a covey started up from among the grass at your feet and sped away with great velocity, was an experience to be remembered. The mongoose was introduced into this island by some well meaning but mistaken planters, with a view to the extermination of rats in the caneflelds. and though these vermin were thinn?d out of those localities they have become more plentiful in the buildings, where the mongoose cannot follow them, and so this beast has turner! his attention to the quail and other ground frequenting birds. The consequent increase of grasshoppers and caterpillars has reached formidable dimensions. Thus the mongoose, having increased with the natural rapidity of all things evil, has become a plague.?Forest and Stream. piswllaneousi grading. CnRISTIANITV AND PROSPERITY. Gospel Influence Powerful Factor In Temporal Development Following: is the address that Rev. W. C. Ewart of Yorkville, delivered on the occasion of the dedication of Smyrna church recently. *His subject was, "Christian Liberality as Evidence of Goad Citizenship." A man is a good citizen, not because he pays his taxes to support the government, and is obedient to the lav/; at least refrains from transgression of the law; but that man is a good citizen who uses his best effort to elevate liln 11An? nlf Innno A crnnH nltl7Pn la a man of patriotism; yes, a man who will lay his life on the altar of his country when it is necessary for her defence and honor. But noble as this act is, it is not the highest form of patriotism. The man or woman who gives their life to the task of elevating mankind, or relieving misery, and in removing conditions which make suffering, this is patriotism in its most noble form. The only peace that is worth the having is internal peace? peace within the nation?peace within the home?peace within the heart. This kind of peace cannot be obtained by force of arms. The angels sang the song to the world: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth, peace, good will to men." The only peace worth while to the nation, to the family or to the heart is that peace which comes from contact with Jesus Christ. Then. I make bold to claim that the peace, happiness and prosperity of our state and nation is conditioned on the influence of the gospel. But I can hear the objection: While this may be true with regard to those who accept the gospel, how can it be a matter of any consequence to those who do not accept it? The answer is simple, the blessing is to them indirect. They are blessed with the faithful. Thus we read: "God sends the rain upon the just and upon the unjust," but He has also said: "Ye are the salt of the earth," and as an evidence that the world is blessed and protected with the Godly, we need only turn to the history of the destruction of Sodom. Had there been ten righteous persons there, for their sake, God would have spared the city. These would have been the salt to have saved the city. Then I am bold to say that the world Is blessed today with the Christian and for his sake. It Is true that the blessing is of a temporal nature, yet all the substantial good which men enjoy even for time comes through Jesus Christ. Why is your land in this community worth from $15 to about $35 per acre? It is very rolling and rocky, it is not very fertile, nor do you live convenient to market, and even the roads over which you carry your produce are not good, and yet your lands are in de'mand at these prices, while other better by nature are not in demand at a much less price. Why this difference? It is because this church has been established here, and for generations the truth of the gospel has been preached and taught and has brought forth its fruit in the heart and life of men. The sweet odor of prayer has come up before God and He has come down and made this His abode. Pull down the church and remove the gospel, and you may have railroads, telephones, and R. F. D's.. you may have any other convenience, yet I will buy your land for a song in a year. The business man of the world has not been slow to see this fact, so that wherever you read his advertisement, his commendation will be that the church and school is convenient. But why is the church of so much importance? Because of the principles of honesty, sobriety and virtue; in a word, integrity coupled with industry, are taught and have moulded the lives and characters of the citizenship of this commnity, so that every man is guaranteed the full exercise of all his rights as a citizen. Not that we would claim for any community that mey nave mei an me requirements 01 the moral law, or that the golden rule Is the absolute standard of conduct to all Its citizens; but these truths have been taught, and the conscience of all are to a greater or less degree well influenced thereby. You can go to any community and look at the church and school house and fix with tolerable certainty the price of Its land. Not only does it bring Its store of wealth to all classes among men, but the high standard of social and moral integrity Is the product of the church in the community. The women of our country today owe a debt of gratitude which they can never pay. Their high and honored position in the social world has been given them by the gospel. That this claim Is Just, I only ask that comparison be made with other civilized nations, where the gospel is not known. China has been a civilized nation for four thousand years. Woman is received as the equal of man in this country, not because we are better by nature than a Chinaman, but because God has taUght us in His word that she was made the equal of man, and to be his companion and helpmate. Now we go back to the subject, for time forbids that we should follow this argument further. What does the good citizen owe to the gospel, whether he be Christian or not? While these temporal blessings are the lowest appeal to be made for the gospel, for its great primary end is to save the soul; yet even this is a just appeal. A man is an ingrate who would receive daily and yet make no acknowledgment. But when a man sees that a given cause is vital to the very existence of his community, much less its peace and prosperity, I ask, can he be a good citizen and not use his best efforts in its support? The man therefore who supports the gospel, even though not a Christian, Is but being a good and faithful citizen of his state which he has sworn to maintain and defend. Since we must see that it is to the gospel that we must look for peace and prosperity even for time, I wish to point out that the perpetuity, and spread of the gospel Is conditioned on the gospel ministry. Then it is necessary to call attention to the source of the gospel ministry. While a few come from the state Institutions, the great rank and file of them come from our denominational colleges. Now I would not be understood to in any way disparage our state Institutions, or to take from them one tribute of honor which is due to them, yet it must be admitted that they are In no sense the representatives of the Christian religion. only In so far as we are accounted a Christian people, and as the faculty may be more or less individually Christian. It is but natural then that the gospel ministry must come from the denominational colleges. The great divine method of spreading the gospel is: "By the foolishness of preaching." This, to say nothing of the thousands of men and women sent out into other walks of life from the college where the Christian religion was taught with science to become a blessing to society. Since the gospel ministry is dependent upon denominational colleges, and since the peace and prosperity of the nation Is dependent upon the gospel, then liberality to this cause of Christ is a test of good citizenship. But some one may ask, why is such a question raised? Because there are thoughtless ones who look at the splendid provision made from public funds for state Institutions, and then remember that they help to keep up these institutions by their tax, and they conclude that these are good enough. Why should they give money to support denominational institutions in addition, and because there are thoughtless ones who will encourage such a pernicious opinion. If such an opinion should prevail, it would sound the doom, from a human point of view, to the gospel ministry. Then in a time much shorter than we could believe, our state Institutions would fall with their own weight. For, "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom;" and no institution can long succeed without its life-giving influence, and our state institutions are dependent upon denominational colleges for such ir.iuence. A presiding judge in a sister state made the admission of the claims of the gospel upon men for the sake of its temporal blessings in a very remarkable way. He was approached and solicited for a contribution to a female college under the care of the Presbyterian church. He said: "I do not believe in your God nor the Christ which you profess, I do not accept the Bible, I do not believe in the heaven or hell, which you preach; at the same time, I would not bring my family up in any but a Christian community, I would not have them deprived of Christian society, I would not educate mv daughters in anv college other than a Presbyterian college, If I could help It. I will therefore give you five hundred dollars as a contribution to your work. Now," said he, '1 Introduced this subject and I will change It" How Inconsistent, you say. Yet I Insist, that he recognized a patriotic duty, If nothing else. The man who stands by, and supports Christian education, whether he be saint or sinner, Is building deep and well the foundations of the great bulwarks of the peace and prosperity of the state and. the nation. The man who does his best for the promulgation of the truth of the gospel Is passing the highest test of good citizenship. How fitting, then the motto of uor own beloved college: "Scientla cum morlbus conjuncta." THE COUNTRY BANKER. His Influence on National Finance During Crop Harvesting. Enter the small town for almost any purpose?to sell books, to seek a location, to look up land titles, to write life Insuiance, to get a news story, to collect a debt?and early in your visit you will go to the ornate, imposing building on the corner of the two busiest streets. You will pass a lattice crowned counter and be admitted to a room large enough only to hold a desk and two chairs. There you will come face to face with the town's financier, the Plerpont Morgan of the community, the banker. Not an enterprise, not a considerable business undertaking Is started without consultation with him. The man who sells a farm and wishes to put his money where it will earn Interest goes to the banker. The widow with a few thousand dollars of life insurance? more money that she ever saw together in all her life before?asks the banker how to invest it. It would be better if more of this class would take the banker's advice when it is given. Then there is the merchant who owes for a large portion of his goods. He comes nervously, asking if the bank will "see him through" the dull season. The banker gives assent to one, explains to another, refuses a third and comes at last to read unconsciously the business record of every man he meets on the street. The country banker exerts his greatest influence on national finance during the crop harvesting season. Whether it be in the gathering of fruit In California, of cotton in the south or of wheat In the plains region, the banker comes in direct touch with the worker. Take the wheat harvest as covering the widest area and creating the most intense demand during its existence. In a single state 20,000 harvesters are needed besides those already at work on the farm. Through the labor bureaus and railway departments whole train loads of workers are secured from states at a distance. These helpers are mostly itinerants, and they have no local standing. A grain raiser wont amnne his laborers one Satur day night and, asking their names, proceeded to make cut checks for the week's work. "What shall we do with them?" asked one. "Cash them at the bank, of course." "Who will identify us?" The employer saw the point, tore up the checks and secured currency with which to pay the men. That made a demand on the bank. Scores of other farmers were doing the same thing. Hundreds of other communities did it. The result is that the country bankers draw millions of dollars from the "reserve centers" every harvest and to some degree change national financial currents thereby.? C. M. Harger in Atlantic Monthly. 't'T Riches may have wings, but old John D. must have clipped the pinions of his. xt) The reason a good many people are so unhappy is that they don't have to work hard enough. X'"' Some women capture husbands as men capture horses. In neither case is the rope in sight until it is needed. Xv A palm which grows in South America has a leaf measuring 50 feet long and 12 feet broad?the largest in the world. GOOD SHOOTING. The Performance* of Walter Winana and Other*. Walter Wlnans, the well known millionaire sportsman who la making arrangements for the deadliest shots In the world to exhibit their skill in London Is himself perhaps the most phenomenal marksman living today. Indeed, his feats with revolver and rifle are so amazing that they border on the miraculous. Some years ago at a fete at Bagshot he gave some very astonishing exhibitions of his marksmanship for the entertainment of the visitors. Among other equally wonderful feats were the following: He sent bullet after bullet clean through the centre of the ace of hearts held at a distance of a dozen yards, never once missing his tiny bullseye during the whole afternoon. He repeatedly shattered a glass ball placed on the glass of his watch as It lay face upward on a table and out of six visiting cards placed edgewise before him he cut five In halves with six consecutive shots. But perhaps his most remarkable performance was that at the Brighton Gallery a few years ago, when, firing thirty-three consecutive shots with a revolver at a target 16 yards distant, he placed every bullet on a bullseye only 3 inches In diameter, scarcely as ftrge as the palm of a man's hand. Mr. Walter Wlnans* rifle shooting, by the way. Is quite as amazing as his marksmanship with the revolver, and the stag which can escape at any possible range from his death dealing bullet Is exceedingly lucky. He has killed as many as 103 stags in a single season, including the record number of twelve in one stalk, while some t years ago he had accounted for 1,000 stags. The record feat of killing a dozen stags in a single stalk was performed by crawling up to a herd of fifteen and killing twelve with as many shots before they could escape out of ranae. On one occasion, too. Mr. Louis Wlnans, who la little leaa clever than his famous brother, laid twenty stars low with as many consecutvie bullets Walter Wlnans, who Is as modest as he Is clever, always declares that the late Chevalier Ira Paine was a much deadlier shot than himself, and he tells how on one occasion the Chevalier killed a bluebottle fly which had settled on the white part of a target twenty yards away. This performance ranks as quite the most wonderful in the annals of shooting?and no wonder. But there have been many famous shots before Paine and Wlnans handled a revolver, and one of the greatest of them all was Capt. Horatio Boss who was In his prime about eighty years ago and of whom some remarkable stories are told. On one occasion the captain wagered ?100 with Mr. George Foljambe that with a pistol firing a single ball he would kill ten brace of swallows on the wing in one day. The feat seemed humanly possible, but Capt. Ross actually polished off his twenty swallows before an early breakfast. Almost equally remarkable was a contest between Capt. Ross and a famous Spanish marksman for ?50 a side. The match was held at the famous Red House enclosure, the distance was twelve yards, the number of shots fifty and the target an ordinary playing card with a bullseye the exact size of a sixpence marked on its back. The captain who proved an easy winner, actually hit the diminutive bullseye twenty-three times out of the last twenty-flve shots! John Tharp of Newmarket was another adept of these long gone daya One of his favorite feats was to shoot at coins flung high in the air, and on one occasion, for a wage of ?100, he actually struck ninety-seven pennies out of a hundred. A few years ago a Frenchman, M. Gaston Bordeverry, gave an extraordinary demonstration of shooting skill in Paris. A piece of sugar was placed on his assistant's head at a distance of a dozen yards, and M. Bordeverry shot it off with a revolver bullet without touching a hair of the man's head. When a fifty centime piece (about the size of a six-pence) was substituted for the lump of sugar it was removed just as cleverly, and at a great distance a visiting card was cut cleanly in two. These feats were wonderful enough, but nothing compared wl':h what followed. Standing ten yards from a piano and taking several repeating carbines, Monsieur played with his rain of bullets in brilliant style a difficult selection from "Cavallerla Rustlcana," the accompanying words being sung by a quartet of volcallsts. During the entire piece not a single bullet missed its proper note on the piano. Almost as wonderful were some feats performed not long ago by an American cowboy known to fame as Capt. Hardy. At a distance of fifty feet he sent five consecutive bullets through a hole in a card no larger than a shilling. When Gov. Savage of Nebraska flung a number of hickory nuts into the air as rapidly as he could throw them Hardy shattered every nut before it could reach the ground, and this performance he eclipsed by shooting one after another, half a dozen hazel nuts placed on the head of a man standing twenty paces away.? Tit-Bits. Queer auctions.?a Dutch auction at Cape Town Is frequently exciting. If a house is to be sold, the auctioneer offers "50 golden sovereigns for the man who first bids ?5,000." Nobody bids. A pause, and then "50 golden sovereigns for the man who first bids ?4,900." This is kept up until a bid is secured. But it by no means follows that the house is sold to this bidder. No, the auctioneer is than at it again. Say that ?4,400 is the first bid. The auctioneer cries. "There are 25 golden sovereigns for the first man who has the courage to bid ?4,600." Perhaps no one has it. Then ?26 is offered for a ?4,550 bid. If there Is eventually no bid above the ?4,400, the man who made that bid is saddled with the house. Otherwise he pockets his bonus and gets off free of It all.?Westminster Gazette. >*?' Africa leads in the matter of gold production, America next. t?" On the average, boy babies weigh a pound more than girls. tir Sharks were unknown In the Adriatic sea until after the Suez canal was opened. tv Half rates for women prevail in some old Swedish hotels because they eat less than men.