Yorkville enquirer. [volume] (Yorkville, S.C.) 1855-2006, November 16, 1909, Image 1
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k e?tTblished i835. YORKVILLE, S. C., TUESDAY, NOVEMBES 1G, 1909. NO. 92.
m biri
By ETTA X
i
CHAPTER XXVH.
r
Serle Varneck stood at the door of
the Hammerton cottage, little dreaming
who the person was he had Just passed
at the gate. The same answer which
had driven Paulette away in despair
awaited Sibyl's lover. Mrs. Arnault,
her daughter, and attendant were gone.
"But where," cried the old woman,
"I don't know, and couldn't tell if you
should tear me to death with wild
horses!"
Gone! And there he stood elate,
with news of his freedom, burning with
a lover's raptures, eager to claim her.
Was ever disappointment so bitter as
this?
"Think!" he Implored; "did not Miss
Arnault leave some word for me?some
' " ? ?ah<? surelv knew
lareweu ; one n.?v .. .
I would come again."
"Not a word, sir," answered the Imperturbable
old woman?"not a farewell,
for you or any other,"
Varneck turned from the door, and
departed, as Paulette had done. In anguish
of sou). He strode back to the
station, but a few rods behind that
f small veiled figure, but so absorbed In
his own thoughts that Solomon, In all
his glory might have passed him on
the way unnoticed. He crossed the
ferry with her, and proceeded, in savage
mood, to his hotel, where he found
awaiting him a letter from his mother.
It was dated from Boston, whither she ,
had gone with friends. ,
"If," she wrote, "there Is no risk of
v--1- 1"? tho? /irna/tfui tvDhus in your
clothes, pray come and Join me. I am :
^ quite prostrated with the news of j
fm Lucy's folly. I am sure she will regret
it, as soon a3 her first gratitude to you
is over. By this time, no doubt, you I
have entangled yourself In a new en- i
gagemenb Come immediately, and tell
me about It." <
He paced his room, thinking this
summons over. i
"As well go there as anywhere," he <
concluded, gloomily; and the same train
that conveyed Paulette back to her old
J ?s Ifntmnolr q 1 an
I lie, car rieu on ic <? <? .
He breakfasted alone, with his mothi
er. In her own elegant rooms, overlook- (
lng Franklin Square.
"Where did you leave Lucy?" she i
asked.
"At Beechwood, guarded by a troop
^ of nurses and servants," he answered, i
* "I hope!" she cried, adjusting her
charming breakfast cap, "that you havj (
brought no contagion with you?In y<?ur i
beard, for Instance. You seem quite i
out of spirits." i
"I am," he answred. "Pray do not
urge me to talk, mother?I really can
(not."
"Ah!" bristled Mrs. Varneck, "that i
means?what does it mean, Serle? That
girl?that Miss Arnault?no! it is not j
possible that she can have refused :
you?" i
"Something quite as bad," he answered.
"She has disappeared?I can- i
not find her."
Mrs. Varneck looked rather pleased
than otherwise.
"I really must beg to express a hope,
Serle, that this later fancy may be as
short-lived as another which I remem
ber. There! don't look so black! My
nerves are quite shattered this morning.
Remain the week out with me
here, and then I think I may venture
back to Lucy." i
w At another time he might have groaned
at the prospect. Now he regarded
it with supreme indifference.
"Consider me your faithful esquire,"
he said, whimsically, "and do with me
as you will."
* The third night after his arrival, in
obedience to one of his unaccountable
wiilms, he found himself sitting again
In the parquet of the old Museum.
Oh, the music pealed, and the lights
^ burned, and in the surrounding seats
A1? ? ? oooma/1 olnetarA/l AS of
lilt" SiVIIlf lutra DVCIMVU V.M-W.-,
old! And as Varneck looked a figure
stepped forth upon the stage. In the i
full blaze of the footlights?Paulette!
Paulette. In the full glory of her matured
beauty, her golden hair flowing,
a smile on her parted lips, her dark
eyes brimmed with lustre! There she
ttood, bowing to the applauding house
with the old grace which had taken him
so often by storm. Varneck stared at
the play-bill. Could he believe his eyes!
yes, the fair-haired enchantress he had
once worshiped so madly stood before
him agarn.
"What a beautiful creature!" whispered
Mrs. Varneck, fumbling with her
glass and her play-bill. "Who is she.
Serle? Horror! No?yes?it must be!
You bad, deceitful boy! You have actually
brought me, your mother, to see
that dreadful actress, that nearly coat
you your life!"
"Pardon!" he answered, carelessly:
'it is you who have brought me! Yes,
? there she Is?lovelier than ever, too!
What a spoon she made of me once,
to be sure! There was a rumor current
a few years ago that some rich old
party had adopted her. They seem
rather glad to see her here again."
"I really." said Mrs. Varneck. "cannot
stay In the house another minute! You
^ need not urge me?it is out of the ques
tion. I wonder if all mothers nave sucn
trials with their boys as do I with
you!"
They arose at once, and returned
home?Vameck a picture of listless inI
difference.
He sat the wearisome evening out
over a chess-board, till she fell asleep
in the midst of her pawns and castles.
Long before her breakfast hour on the
f dlowlog morning he lighted a weed,
and goaded by some restless demon, set
out on a stroll about the city. After
some random tramping about through
Its southern borders, he blundered unconsciously
upon a square, green as an
* emerald, with a fountain tingling in its
centre, and tossing up showers of silver
into the sunlight. Rows of trees
hraided their shadows along its shaven
turf.
Varneck lounged mechanically into
t the place, and had traversed half its
length, perhaps, when he lifted his eyes
and saw, seated on a bench beside the
[H-MftRK
V. PIERCE.
garrulous fountain, the figure? of two
women.
One young, one old, with the air of a
duenna?both dressed in sober garb.
The girl sat digging holes in the turf
with the point of her parasol, a sunbeam
the while slipping through the
boughs overhead down upon her handsome,
drooping face. Varneck looked,
stopped short, looked again, then made
a great stride forward, his voice rising
almost to a cry.
"Sibyl! Sibyl!"
The parasol slipped from her hold.
She sprang to her feet. So did Rebecca
Hardin. The next moment, Serle Varneck
was crushing her two hands in his
own?was bearing down upon her,
with great, bold, passion-bright eyes.
"At last!" he cried?"at last, I have
found you. Sibyl!"
She changed rapid color, and tried,
to withdraw her captive palms, but
could not, so, let them rest In his. Rebecca
stood looking grimly oft Into the
distance.
"Miss Sibyl," she muttered, "I will
take a turn around the square," and so
departed, leaving the pair together.
"Heaven bless the woman!" cried
Varneck, fervently; "look at me, speak
to me, give me your promise now*
Sibyl, for I am free!"
They took the seats beneath the
spreading trees. Neither spoke for a
while after this. They sat, exchanging
troth-plight with their eyes, before
their lips uttered a sound.
"Miss Varneck has, of her own will,
released me from our engagement.
Now may I call myself your lover,
Sibyl?"
Then he told her all.
"I could leave you no word," said
Sibyl, thoughtfully, "for I knew nothing
of our destination. There came a visitor
to my mother one night, and by
davbreak the next morning we left
Hammerton. We have taken up our
abode in a house near by. I never gro
out, except for an early stroll here with
Rebecca?she is, as you, see, very good
to me."
He took her face in his two hands.
"Particularly now, when she walks so
slow, and turns her back upon us! You
must let me see this mother of yours
at once, Sibyl! May I call today?"
She let her head sink forward toward
his shoulder. It was fortunate
nobody was in the square but Rebecca.
"Oh," she murmured, in an ecstasy
of contentment, "are you sure I am
not dreaming? I fear?I greatly fear
mamma will not in the least approve
of you. Rebecca assures me she will
never let me marry."
"Monstrous!" cried Varneck. "My
dubious opinion of her deepens. Pray
answer me, when can I see her?"
"Rebecca alone can tell you," sighed
Sibyl. "We live as secluded here as at
Hammerton. She only knows my
mother's hours."
Miss Hardin's plain figure approached
them, with downcast eyes. Sibyl immediately
sprang up, coloring gloriously
as she did so.
"Rebecca," she stamered, looking unspeakably
beautiful, in her mingled
pride and confusion, "Mr. Varneck
wishes much to see mamma. Do you
think he may?"
Rebecca gave trie Dig Dionae gentleman
a good, long look.
'"Mrs. Arnault," she answered, "never
sees strangers. The last one I let
In upon her scared us all from Hammerton."
"She must both see and hear me,"
said Mr. Varneck, "and that without
delay. Will you have the goodness to
mention an hour when I may call?"
Her stolid face grew more stolid still.
"She has an early tea at six," said
she; "I might possibly admit a visitor
then, though, I tell you now, it will do
no good. She will never let Miss Sibyl
marry. I will walk once more around
the square and then we must go."
So this indulgent Rebecca left them
a little longer to the honeyed sweetness
of that old, old story, forever new.
"Promise me," urged Varneck, a little
dubiously, "that, whether your
mother approves my suit or otherwise,
nothing shall now part us, Sibyl."
"I promise!" she answered.
When Rebecca came slowly back, she
found them standing in the shadow of
the trees. Varneck bold and radiant,
Sibyl's proud head held down,
"Yonder is the house." said Rebecca,
pointing with her gray-gloved finger
across nit- quici squcii r.
"At six o'clock tonight, then," said
Varneck.
"Since you insist."
A touch of slim hands, a long look,
a sigh, then she went off with Rebecca,
and Varneck stood and watched them
both, till they disappeared together inside
the dwelling thus named; then,
with a ringing step, he returned to his
lady mother, whom he found pensively
awaiting him. over her fast-cooling
breakfast.
"I do not believe in such early
tramps!" she cried, fretfully, as he entered,
"especially on an empty stomach
?they are always rouoweu Dy a great
reaction. How strange you look!
What can have happened to you, sir?
Tell me at once!'
"A blessed. Joyful thing has happened,
mother?I have found her!"
Mrs. Varneck gave a start and a
groan.
"My smelling-salts! Fortunately, It
Is not altogether an unexpected blow.
I can only hope that she may make you
happy. Serle?as happy as I am sure
your poor cousin would have done."
"There isn't a doubt of It," he answered.
dryly. "After this, mother, you
must be more generous with Lucy?I
myself have settled a yearly sum upon
her."
Punctual at six that night, Varneck
set forth to keep his appointment with
Rebecca. He crossed the quiet square
to the door through which Sibyl had
vanished that morning. It was opened
promptly by the grim-faced nurse.
"I will take you to her at once," she
said; "but mind, I give you no hope.
r*ne win ue iunuus wmi us o,u.
Varneck followed her up a stair lntoj
a room, where a tea-gray stood on an
Inlaid table, and a woman In a long
purple dressing gown, pale, stately as a r
crowned queen, was moving slowly, la- t
borlously along the velvet pile floor, r
She did not look up at the opening of
the door, but began to talk In a voice s
of deep distress.
"I ask you again, Rebecca, Is It prob- t
able? Money and Jewels I left, enough
for all expenses. Why should Hannah
Duff seek the death of my child? Oh! a
how cunning my enemies are?how they /
try to delude and baffle me!" \
"Mistress!" interposed Rebecca, bold- t
ly, "here's a gentleman?Mr. Varneck? t
who wants to speak with you particular."
1
She paused In her walk, her long
purple robe sweeping grandly away e
from her, her cavernous black eyes fill- e
ing up with angry flame. With a ve- 1<
hement gesture, she extended her long g
arm. T
4,rtob-a vklm qwqv'm flhn pnmmflnhwl- r
shortly. r
Mr. Varneck, nowise astonished or t
abashed, yet painfully conscious that 1
he had no time to waste, made her a s
profound bow.
"It's Sibyl's lover!" added Rebecca, e
The cavernous eyes flashed Are on
the intruder.
"What do you mean, simpleton? Sibyl ^
Is a nun. She has no lovers."
"I had the honor," said Varneck, in his p
polite, manly may, "to entertain Miss
Arnault for a few weeks at my house
at Beechwood. It was there I first lov- g
ed her. I come to ask your permission g
to make her my wife. One word, ma- a
dame, and I will retire at once." ^
She regarded him In a very search- t
lng, uncomfortable way. a
"You loved her at Beechwood?did a
she also love you there?" ' a
"Thank God! yes." r
Mrs Arnault flashed round uoon Re- ?
. ? - ? V
becca, in high indignation. s
"You traitress!" she raved. "And j
this has been going on ever since; and r
you knew it from the first, no doubt, t
and would not tell me!" t
"Mistress," answered Rebecca, "didn't ^
I warn you against leaving her so long 0
at a strange house? Didn't I tell you
when she first came to Hammerton she a
was like one love-sick! But, lor! you ^
wouldn't hear?where was the good of t
talking to you!" y
"Madame," urged Varneck, his hand- n
some face glowing, "I have said that I
love your daughter?I do, Indeed, more g
utterly than I can tell. I have wealth
and position; give her to me, and I will
accept her as the most priceless gift p
man ever received." .
She repeated her repellant gesture ^
with greater vehemence.
"My daughter will never marry!" and
then, setting her teeth, "I wish she had g
perished with Naman, before she ever a
crossed your threshold!"
"Mistress, don't be too hard with ^
him," said Rebecca, dryly. "You were ^
young yourself once."
She thrust her attendant angrily ?
back. She began to trembl. from head
to foot in an alarming way.
"Is the whole world leagued against e
me?" she cried. "Neither this man nor 1
any other shall have Sibyl! I would see ^
her dead first! Go, Mr. Varneck; I r
...111 Kaah urnra T ilitnlinA ^
your suit."
Varneck looked as If fast relapsing e
into a state of Idiocy.
"Madame, how am I to content my- u
self with such an answer as this? Is 0
Sibyl's happiness?is mine, to count for a
nothing?"
Mrs. Arnault's face assumed a livid 11
blue tint. She groped for a seat.
"I care," she cried, "nothing for her
happiness, or yours! Who has ever a
cared for mine? Shall I give her up n
now, after all these years, to you or to
any one? No! no! no! Thief! you e
have caught the trick of my enemies,
then?you come only to steal from me n
that which I have." Then, waving him
again toward the door, she added; ?
"Never dare to come here again! Out e
of my sight! You choke me?you kill
me! Go! go!"
Down dropped her wild arms, as If
struck by an insensible hand. She stif- v
fened In every limb?sank back a dead v
weight against Rebecca. Varneck P
rushed to her aid. h
"Lay her down," the nurse cried, n
"She has such turns often?she will die a
in one yet. Mercy! how stiff she Is! o
can tne otner servant?can miss smyi, c
sir, and a doctor. Oh! for the Lord's
sake, get a doctor.' ii
"It looks very like a fit," said Var- r
neck, and rushed out on the landing, fl
and met Sibyl. Just as she was ascend- fl
ing the stair. o
"Something has happened?I hardly 0
know what!" he cried. "Go to your a
mother, pray?I will be back directly." tl
He hurried from the house. Quite t:
unacquainted with the locality, he was a
utterly at a loss to know which way to e
turn in o*der to find a physician. It
was growing dark in the green square, n
as he da* hed across it, and ran bolt J(
against a person who had Just entered tl
from the street?a very quiet and 8
thoughtful looking person, pacing n
along, with bent head, and hands clasp- si
ed behind him. a
"A thousand pardons!" apologized t<
Varneck, recoiling. "Will you have the T
goodness to tell me where I can find the tl
nearest doctor?" tl
The person looked at him with a o
dark, quiet face lighted by a pair of c
steady brown eyes.
"I myself am a physician," he an- e
J MUrknt ? f .1^ O
SWCICU. VVIIUl 1 UU 1UI ^uu .
Vameck seized his arm. c
"There's a lady lying in a fit near by. w
Come, for God's sake! It looks to me v
frightfully like death.' t
"Lead on?I will follow," said the
physician. h
Together they hastened back to the 1
house, and Varneck led the way up the c
stairs to Mrs. Arnault's chamber. They b
stepped across the threshold, and saw e
Rebecca kneeling by a sofa, supporting g
the head of Mrs. Arnault, who, in her t!
long purple robe, lay stretched out s
thereon, like one dead. Over them c
stood Sibyl, white and frightened. ^
The doctor advanced to the sofa, and t
looked down on the ghastly face rest- d
ing on Rebecca's arm. Some reflection a
of its pallor seemed to fall ui>on him- ?
self. He did not speak for a full mo- s
ment. f
"It's a swoon," he then said. v
"To be sure," cried Rebecca, with :i
deep breath of relief. "Something is a
wrong with her heart?yes, and her o
head, too, for that matter."
iiTT 0? A J a ^ ,i??? b
ncl iiciiiic. uciuauuru iiic uuvivi. q
"Arnault," answered Varneck, In a b
low voice. ^
"And this young girl?" gazing stead- Q(
fastly at Sibyl. tl
"Is her daughter."
He set silently about the work of
estoratlon. With the first sign of reurnlng
life Rebecca motioned Varleck
to go.
"Indeed, sir, the sight of you will be
ure to upset her again," she said.
The dark doctor dropped the patent's
hand from his hold.
"You are her son?" he asked.
"Hardly," replied Vameck, stiffly; "I
rm Miss Arnault's betrothed husband."
Lnd then extending his hand In fare
veil to Sibyl, "my darling, wnat are we
o do!" he burst out. "She will not 11sen
to me."
"Hush!" cried Rebecca; "she la comng
to herself."
Slowly Adah Arnault's back, hollow
yes opened. With a shudder, she lookd
up at the faces grouped about her?
ooked vacantly at first, till her roving
;aze alighted on the strange doctor.
Phelr eyes met. There was a moment
>t dead silence. Then a shriek?a wonan's
shriek that might have raised
he roof?pealed through the room,
["he patient sprang upright from the
ofa. ..
"Great God!" she cried; "Philip Gowr!"
(To be Continued.)
----
THE KRUPP AERIAL GUN.
I
"roblem Now It to Bring Down tht Airships.
The announcement that the United
itates army authorities are about to
itart practice in firing at balloons
ind airships at Sandy Hook gives adlitional
interest to the announcement
nade by the Krupps that they have
.t last perfected what they consider
m efficient cannon for use against
.erial war machines. It will be renembered
that in an account reently
given in The Sun of the scout
ervlce performed by the dirigible La
lepublique during the French army
nanoevres it was pointed out that
he present immunity which enabled
he ship to fly low as she collected
ler Information from above the enmy's
lines could not be expected to
ast long. It was foreshadowed that
form of ordnance would soon be
evlsed to neutralize in some degree
he enormous advantages which a
veil equipped balloon scout system
nust give to tne army possessing ?.
Whether the Krupp gun will make
:ood can only be made certain In
ctual practice, but at least In theory
I meets all the requirements of the
iroblem. The difficulty of course Is
o invent a great gun whose aim may
e varied In all directions as rapidly
s a man can alter the direction of
shotgun which he holds to his
houlder pointing at a bird in the
ir. Scientifically stated, the probim
is to hit a target moving in all
hree planes of space at the same
Ime. In other words, the problem
f firing at balloons is the same Mi
hat of shooting a bird on the win^.j
lhange of lateral direction as well 9#
levatlon is Indispensable up to and
icluding the Instant of dlschaflfSr
loth motions must be swift, easy,
egular and capable of minute con'
rol.
It is represented that the Krupp
un meets these conditions. It conIsts
of a tube of great length not
nlike a great inverted telescope set
n trunnions, which enable it to be
imed at any angle from the horizonelI
up to 75 degrees. Gun and bearigs
are set upon a swivel, which is
apable of making complete revoluons
which carries the man operating
the gun along with it. The
lechanism is so light and sensitive
i its operations that when the oprator
points it with the aid of his
Jlescope sights he can keep it in
lotion so as to follow a minute seemig
object in the air until he is sure
f his aim and ready to fire with the
xpectatlon of hitting it.
The cannon has a range varying
rom 10,000 yards on nearly horizonal
lines to about 7,000 when the
ertical is approached. It weighs
'lth its mechanism about 2,000
ounds. It is mounted on a fifty
nroo.nnu'oi- nutnmnhllp urhlrh pan
lake a speed of twenty-seven miles
n hour, carrying sixty-two rounds
f ammunition and the full gun
rew.
The gun throws a projectile weighig
about twelve pounds, which caries
besides its effective charge a
ashing composition which is set on
re by a special fuse at the moment
f firing and leaves in the air a train
f burning gas and smoke visible
like by night or day. This enables
he operator to follow the trajectory
rom the mouth of the gun to its
pex, and thus correct his aim with
ach succeeding shot.
A second fuse of extreme sensitiveess
causes the explosion of the prosctile
at the moment when it pierces
he envelope of the balloon or airhip.
It is said to be a great improvelent
over former devices for the
ame purpose, which contained only
flame producing chemical designed
i make the balloon destroy Itself,
'his was' found to be often ineffecIve,
for whenever the hydrogen in
he balloon remained unmixed with
xygen it would not explode or even
n fnV? fl
Still another aerial shell Is regardd
as an improvement on both the
thers. It is the Hartbaum, and it
ontains a reservoir of liquid oxygen
,rhich is released as soon as the enelope
of the balloon is penetrated
hrough the well known action of
he hydrogen Itself In raising to red
eat a particle of spongy platinum,
'his in turn sets off a fulminating
omposition; the wall of the shell
reaks and the oxygen is set at librty
at the same moment; the oxyen
combines with the hydrogen of
he balloon and produces an explolon
which destroys the entire mahine.
Such Is the theory of the new
[rupp gun, but It is admitted that
his ingenious contrivance does not
o away with all the difficulties of
nnlhUntlnc n**rr??tnte hv nrMllnrv
re. Airships of the largest size at
ilgh elevation will always be mere
pecks in the sky, no more easy to
ollow or hit than a flying bird,
. hlle the new gun presents none of
he advantages that chokebore barels
and the scattering cloud of shot
fford to the fowler. There is an
ther difficulty, as Is learned through
he experimental firing at captive
alloons; the projectile not lnfreuently
passes entirely through the
alloon and far beyohd It before the
estructlve explosion takes place,
saving mere punctures In the envelpe
which only very slightly Impair
he efficiency of the machine.
Iftijwltottrous grading.
LAST OF RECONSTRUCTION.
Recollections of Days That Were Troublous.
November 7, was the thirtythird
anniversary of the final
overthrow of the reconstruction governments
In the south. In the year
187fi November 7. In the states of
Louisiana, South Carolina and Florida
especially, was looked to with
I dread and hope. It was the day of
the general election. These states, as
officially described at that time, were
armed camps. The negroes, carpet- .
baggers and scalawags and their {
camp followers and dependents had ]
normal majorities, ranging from 50,- )
000 to 20,000. The patlve white peo- j
pie were generally enlisted as Democrats.
As a matter* of fact, they were ,
giving no thought to'^party prlncl- ,
pies. They represented home rule and ,
white rule localfr. The-fights were the ]
most desperate and spectacular In the ;
political history of civilization. In
louth Carolina and Louisiana, on the
Ace of the returns as they came from
he polling precincts, the Democrats t
Bud majorities. The legal authorities,
fethe returning boards, composed or
ptate officials calling themselves Re- <
publicans, but really the most intelli- i
pent Elements of the scum intent on j
plunder, threw out enough Demo- i
Kratic majorities, on the grounds of i
fraud and intimidation, to give the <
states to the Republicans. Unques- ]
tonably the fraud and intimidation
Eated. In a scuffle like that nobody j
tught much of the fine points of j
r. The negroes and their carpet- i
bag leaders defrauded and intimidated ]
where they had the power and op- j
portunlty. The white men rode their ]
Neighborhoods whooping and shoot- 1
|ng during the night, fired cannon at ;
daylight, repeated from precinct to
precinct as long as their horses would
hold out and without hesitation shot
Eand burnt hostile ballot boxes,
t hostile election officials and obloua
negroes over the head with
the barrels of long navy revolvers and
when it became necessary for the exigences
of the occasion, turned loose
bullets into the persons of unduly
Stubborn opponents. Nobody knows
jor ever will know who really would
have been elected on a straight vote
and by an honest count governor of
any of the three states or whethter Tilden
or Hayes for president really was
the choice of the majority of the people
choosing the members of the electoral
college.
It was a time of deadly danger to
the republic, of confusion and fear
and fierce contention. Colonel Watterson,
of the Louisville Courier-Journal,
threw a firebrand Into the situation
with a telegram prospering to
have 100,000 unarmed Kentucklans in
Washington to see Tllden inaugurated.
Through south and north were muitferlhgs
and threats and suggestions of
revolution and resort to weapons by
one side or the other.
These conditions of doubt dragged
along through November and December,
January and part of February. It
was a clouded and fearful Christmas
hot vonr hut one of the wildest and
' ' " c
Jolliest the country ever has known.
The reckless spirit of the American
people asserted Itself and because nobody
knew what would happen Or
what fury and disaster would break
forth before the next Christmas everybody
proceeded to celebrate It and enJoy
It regardless of consequences. It
was a tremendous reaction of laughter
and drunkenness and jollification
against the gloom and dread which
overhung the country. Later, American
common sense and conservatism
asserted themselves 'and peace and
growth were gathered from danger
and wrath.
In South Carolina the conditions
were especially dramatic. In the early
part of December of 1876, two houses
of representatives were occupying the
same hall In the state house with
two speakers sitting side by side, E.
W. M. Mackey, of Charleston, presiding
over the Republican house, William
H. Wallace, of Union, presiding
over the Democratic house. Sitting so
close together that either could touch 8
the other with his hand, eacn aecunea
to recognize the existence of the other
or of the house presided over by the
other. The white men and their few
negro allies had walked Into the
chamber stiff-legged with Winchester
rifles inside their trousers and stores
of six shooters and ammunition In
their overcoats. On a Sunday night
General Wade Hampton, supposed to
have been elected governor by the
Democrats, while Daniel H. Chamberlain
was officially declared by the Republican
returning board to be the
governor, received an anonymous letter
informing him that during the
night several hundred desperate negroes
brought up from Charleston
and officially commissioned as deputy
sergeant-at-arms of the house, would
break and run out the Defmocrats
or slaughter them and that they
would be backed up by the United
I Q rofrlmonf h<i|n C fl llfl F
oiaico uuupo, t* i UQititvtih w?....a ^
tered at Columbia and under the di- 1
rect orders of President Grant. Calls
were sent out by telegraph wire and s
courier. Special trains were called s
Into service. At daylight Monday f
morning the red shirts were piling In g
by trains and pelting headlong on the s
backs of horses driven at full speed, 1
every man armed, many of them, vet- ^
erans of the Confederate army train- 9
ed to desperate fighting and eager e
for opportunity to know again the stir 8
and exhilaration of battle and the t
smell of powder smoke. By noon a
Hampton had concentrated In Colum- r
bla probably 8,000 armed and fighting *
men ready to sweep away the Repub- s
llcan government and to go against b
the United States regulars. The rank *
and file of the United States army, t
consorting with the South Carolina S
people, had given It out confidentially J
that if called on to tire on me reu
shirts they would "bust h?1 out of t
the stars," the plain meaning of which F
was, that they would Are over the 11
a
heads of their antagonists and permit t
themselves to be run down and cap- s
tured. Probably their officers under- r
stood very well the purposes of the |
men and would not have been very t
severe in their demands. Blood is t
thicker than water and it was a race ?
fight. c
That was about the last serious ii
demonstration of the reconstruction
and Republican governments in the
south. The rotten fabric fell to
pieces in May when Hayes, by some
juggle or mysterious Dargain, never
yet clearly revealed, having been
counted In as president, withdrew the
troops. Then It became a case ol
"save yourself." The Republican politicians
and leaders fled the south with
what remnants of loot they could collect,
and disappeared Into obscurity,
anxiously sought. And the southern
white man came into his own and the
top rail was replaced on the top,
where It belonged. Not for bitterness
and not for strife or resentment,
but to know the truth and for
guidance in the future, the younger
generation of southern people should
have drilled Into their minds always
the significance, the lesson, the warning,
the glorious recollection of the
heroism of the southern white man
and of his ability to take care of himself
in any stress or strain or circumstances,
perpetuated by this date of
November 7.?A. B. Williams, In
Richmond wewg i^eaaer.
FARMING AMONG THE BOYS.
Agricultural Department Pushing a
Great Work.
"In The Progressive Farmer
'Uncle John" tells about margin
a. boy a year ago to join a
Boys' Corn Club. The boy did so
ind has reported this fall that he
made 104 bushels of corn on an acre
sf land where he gathered twelve
3ushels of nubbins the year before.
"Our reports show that there are
i great many boys of this kind
imong the 12,464 boys in the south
Evho have joined such clubs, and who
have planted and cultivated their
acres by improved methods. A report
which came in today tells of a
soy who made 8,640 pounds or
IU6g UUOIICIO VI Ol IQIIOU Will V(1 u?
icre. This report was not so much
>f a surprise to me because I had
flsited the plat and had counted the
lumber of stalks and ears to the row
tnd the number of rows to the acre.
A great many of these reports show
fields of more than 100 bushels per
icre.
"Not so very many miles from the
3oy above referred to, 1 have met
mother boy whose work is of especial
Interest. He will make a fine
field on his acre, and he will know
low he did it. He has secured a
lice desk In which he has kept accurate
records of the progress and
expenses of his work. He knows extctly
when his land was prepared,
low deep it was broken, what ferlllzers
were used and the analysis
>f the same. He knows the time of
planting, the kinds and amount of
iced and the dates of the various
cultivations. He has kept a record
>f his own time and the amount of
:lme required for the horses to do
he necessary plowing, and the value
>f such time by the hour. This boy
il8o keeps all the bulletins and agricultural
papers which he receives
carefully filed in his desk. He will
evidently develop Into a business
'armer, something the country needs
n large and increasing numbers.
"Some of the meetings of the Boys'
muds ana meir exniDiis mis season
lave been of unusual interest. In
tome cases the exhibits have led to
he establishment of county fairs
vhere prizes are offered, not only to
>oys for other field and garden crops,
>ut also to girls for good work in
lower and vegetable gardens and
ilso for good specimens of cooking
md sewing.
"At some of the meetings the
nembers have been called upon to
ell how they worked their crops.
The reports say that boys who would
>e unwilling to talk publicly on abitract
subjects talk right out in the
neeting when it comes to telling about
heir successful work. This progress
n public speaking, as well as the
)rellminary knowledge gained in
sonducting the clubs, is worth while.
"Public-spirited men generally ap>reclate
the Importance of this work
ind realize its significance. In some
:ountles more than $500 worth of
>rizes have been offered. In quite
i number the amounts are above
1300, while It is very common for
he amount to exceed $100. The folowing
will show some of the things
vhlch are offered as prizes in this
vork:
"A trip to Washington; $50 in
rold; $20 in gold; $10; $5; a nice
>uggy and harness; a good two-horse
vagon; a first-class bicycle; a strong
wo-horse plow; a two-row corn
>lanter; a double-barreled shot gun;
i substantial cultivator; a $5 hat; a
115 suit of clothes; a half ton of ferllizer;
a $5 pair of shoes; some full>looded
pigs; three books on agriculure;
bridle, saddle and whip; gold
itick pin in shape of ear of corn.
"It will be noticed that some very
;ood suggestions are contained in the
lsts. A sample prize list from a
ilngle county will perhaps give a
nore definite idea. Herewith is subnitted
a list from a county which
las a live, active Boys' club.
"$25 cash; $15 saddle; $5 farm im)lement;
$20 watch; corn planter;
liverse cultivator; $15 shot gun; $5
lat; $5 pair Plymouth Rock chickins;
trip to state fair; three books
in agriculture; three good agriculural
papers for one year; $3 cash to
toy in each beat who makes most
:orn on one acre, given by Farmers'
Jnlon; 500 pounds fertilizer.
"The prizes are not offered upon
rreatest yield alone; other important
actors are considered. When a club
s first being organized and the work
teing started in a county it is the
:ustom in many cases to put up a
ew prizes, just on seed selection
lone. Each boy is asked to bring
he best ten ears of corn he can find
in his father's farm to the organiatlon
meeting. Some instruction is
hen given in corn judging. This has
?een found helpful to the boys in the
rery beginning of the work. After
hat the following points are used in
naking awards of prizes and premiums:
(1), yield; (2), ears and
talks; (3), written account; (4),
nowing or prom.
"There are a great many more
nembers of Boys' Corn clubs in the
rulf states than in the south Atlantic
tates. Some of the boys In
he South Atlantic states, however,
ire showing some fine records for
his year. They will be prepared for
till better work next year, and sevral
more thousands of boys In these
tates will join clubs.
"Those boys who have made more
han 100 bushels of corn per acre
.re public benefactors in their comnunities.
They are making demontrations
of what can be done. They
onstitute a great correspondence
chool because they ask for the best
lulletins on specific subjects and
hen master them. After they learn
. great deal about corn they are beter
prepared to study other plants,
iuch study gives pleasure and profit,
t opens up some of the delights of
arm life. Just from the standpoint
if profit the showing is good. The
?oy who made 152J busheds of corn
>er acre can sell his corn at $2.00 per
lushel If he wants to. I have heard
Iready of a good farmer in his coun\r
u'Vin U'finta tn hnv Qnma r?f Vila
eed. He will probably make 525 or
nore In county prizes and at least
n equal amount at his state fair,
le will stand a fine chance of winning
he prize trip to Washington. Alogether
his one acre will be worth
.t least $400 to him. Many other
ioys will approximate the same sucess.
May his tribe greatly Increase
n 1910."
HITS BACH AT TILLMAN
Mr. W. L Gonzales Makes Statement
About Columbia Luncheon.
POSITION OF COMMITTEE EXPLAINED
There Were no "Gussts" at tha Big
Dinner Except the Taft Party?All
the Other* Were Hoet* and aa 8uch
Paid $10 Each?It Waa a State Instead
of a Columbia Affair, Notwithstanding
Columbia Reserved the
Right to 8ay Who Was Who.
Editor W. E. Gonzales of the Colum>
bla State on last Saturday issued the
following statement with reference to
i the Columbia luncheon affair:
As a member of the central comi
mlttee and as the Individual primarily
responsible for the method of Presdent
Taft's entertainment at luncheon
at Columbia, a method characterized
by B. R. Tillman as "Indecent," and
criticised In chorus by more or less
thoughless, uninformed, or malicious
newspapers, I make the subjoined
statement of facts. The vicious assault
upon Columbia by Tillman,
broadcast throughout the country In
press dispatches, Is a reflection upon
all South Carolina
Last winter the president-elect was
Invited to Columbia by the governor,
the president of the South Carolina
Bar association, and the president of
Columbia Chamber of Commerce. He
could not then come. Later the In
vitatlon was renewed by the governor,
the' mayor, and the president
of the Chamber of Commerce. He
accepted that Invitation. Three
months ago organization for the care
of the president and his entertainment
was begun by the formation of
a central committee, of which the
governor, representing South Carolina,
was chairman, Mayor Reamer
and myself being the other members.
The first suggestion for the president's
ent?rtfl.inment was bv GOV
ernor Ansel, who proposed tendering
him a luncheon. I opposed that
plan on the ground that the coming
of the president to the capital, on
the Invitation of the city and state,
was statewide In Its significance, and
the hosts should be the representative
men of the state, that any formal
function at the mansion must of physical
necessity be restricted, and therefore
the idea of a state entertainment
could not be carried out. As a substitute
I suggested Inviting a certain
number of representative men of i
South Carolina to participate in giving
this luncheon. The cost was estimated
at $10 for each host, there to
be no "guests" except the president,
his Immediate party and members of
his cabinet. This plan was accepted,
the governor deciding to give the
president a breakfast, Mr. Taft at
that time expecting to arrive here In
the morning. . ..." J
Members of committees were later
appointed, and the committee on in- <
vltatlon forwarded to the thqusand
persons selected to be given the op- i
portunity to participate in entertain- ,
lng the president, a card of Invitation,
In stereotyped form, bearing, as '
symbolical of the scope, an engraving '
of the flag of South Carolina. There
was absolutely nothing upon that card
suggesting Columbia as the host An- i
other card carried tne inrormauon 10 i
South Carolinians Invited that the 1
first three hundred to avail them- ]
selves of the Invitation, and pay the f
amount fixed upon, would participate 1
in the luncheon. 1
Invitations were essential because I
limitation and selection were neces- i
sary. No one was invited because he i
could pay his way. Official South 1
Carolina, the press, the men of learn- l
ing and of worthy achievement were
recognized a3 fully as possible in the
effort to have assemble here a repre- I
sentative and distinguished body of
South Carolinians to meet the country's
chief executive. Private entertainment
in Columbia would have 1
aved the committees Infinite troubles
and trials, but would necessarily have
eliminated that state feature of the I
entertainment to which the president 1
so feelingly referred in his address
here.
Further carrying out the state- i
wide conception, a reception committee
was appointed, on which every <
county in South Carolina had representation;
there were two aldermen
from Columbia and probably a dozen
members of the general assembly on
that committee.
The design and Inscription for the
menu card, chosen by the luncheon
committee, a full month before the
event, emphasized the scope of the
function. In addition to the engrav- >
lng of the capltol, the coat of arms
of South Carolina and a palmetto tree, 1
the declaration that the luncheon I
was "Given to President Taft by South '
Carolinians," was conclusive of Its i
purpose, i
At the beginning of the preparation '
it was declared that there should be i
no "guests" at the luncheon except '
the president, his party, and members
of the cabinet. And there was .
none. Every South Carolinian pres- i
ent was there as a host. The report- <
ers for The Columbia Record, The i
News and Courier and The State, the <
members of all committees?the men 1
who bore the responslbiltles and did 1
the arduous work of preparation?
aonh rr?ntrihutlnfir his '
WCIC I1UOIO, CUV.. w
share toward making fitting South 1
Carolina's hospitality to the nation's <
official head.
There are two practicable methods 1
of defraying the expenses of public '
banquets. One Is by using the tax- '
payers' money. to pay for an enter- 1
talnment from which more than 99 J
per centum of the taxpayers must of <
necessity be excluded, and the other '
Is that those acting as nosis uu me part
of hosts and defray the-costs. ?
By the first plan the many pay for the (
benefit of the few; by the latter there i
is equality and Justice. And the latter t
plan Is practically universal.
After Tillman's Ill-bred outbreak In '
the face of Columbia and South Caro- <
Una's approaching guest, I took the t
pains to inquire of four towns that <
either had entertained the president
or contemplated so doing, as to the I
plan followed. Here are extracts 1
from the replies: !
"Washington: "The dinner given to j
President Taft was arranged by a <
Joint committee of the Chamber of c
Commerce and the board of trade.
The committee issued invitations to a
few distinguished guests who, of
course, paid nothing. Ali others who
attended paid $20 a plate. The list,
however, was not confined to Washingtonians."
New Orleans: "At the banquet tendered
President Taft here last February,
Just before the inauguration,
all those who attended were Invited
to pay $26, with the exception of Mr.
Taft's party, the press (of New Orleans)
and possibly one or two guests
of honor." Those invitations to participate
were not confined to cltisens
of Louisiana.
Atlanta* ?T Vi a vn ttiat ?iriv?a/1 vnn
that we did exactly the same thing
here In Atlanta, and It la the usual
custom not only here In the south
but In every other city In the country.
It seems to me It Is
a very sensible custom, see
Somebody has to pay, why not, therefore,
those who are there in the capacity
of hosts? So far as
I have heard this Is the only instance
of complaint of this kind on record."
Savannah: "The Taft banquet will
be attended by S50 persona About
thirty will be guests of the city; the
320 who are not special guests will
pay 320 per plate for the occasion.
In eighteen years I do not recall a
function of the sort in this city that
was not similarly financed. Invitations
to participate in that banquet
and its expense?a banquet given in
the name of Savannah?were sent to
Atlanta and elsewhere in Georgia."
The direct charge that Columbia
was attempting to make the state at
large pay for her frolic, and the infamous
insinuation that the plan of
a committee of which the governor,
the mayor and myself were the members,
had engaged in a money-making
scheme, warrants reference to
what was spent in Columbia aside
from the luncheon?whose cost, by
the way, was not covered by the est!
mated $10 a plate. Aaide from the
entertainment In the state house, the
outlay was as accurately as I can now
secure the figures, $6,800.
I have no means of defining the
motive prompting B. R. Tillman to
make the gross and Insolent reply he
did to the Invitation to be a host Instead
of a guest at the luncheon to
the president, and it Is immaterial
whether he imagined It an opportunity
to hurt Columbia, or to embarrass
his political opponents on the
committee, or to hoodwink gullible
backwoodsmen. But his ill-bred
tirade, his maliciously false statement
of Columbia's position, his charge
that our plan was a violation of hospitality,
and "Indecent," would have
been ignored by me, had not newspapers
in South Carolina, some of
them perhaps misinterpreting the
committee's silence while the guest
was approaching, Indulged In wholly
unjustified, and, as a distinguished
Georgian writes me, unprecedented
criticism of this. city.
That Tillman, who has never balked
at the price of a dinner when paid
for with the money of taxpayers,
should essay the role of a Ward McAllister
Is grotesque. The man who
as a guest of honor In Charleston,
A#f?? V. la an/1
luurv kiic iiiuo uu 1110 uvsub cuiu vsavs*
"rubbed In salt," and gave Charlestonlans
a stomach-turning from which
they needed years to recover, the
man whose coarse speech when making
addresses by Invitation has
brought the blood to the face of farmers'
wives and daughters in South
Carolina, the man whose profanity
before women has shocked In South
Carolina and in Washington?this
man's criticism, I say, of hospitality
and etiquette is grotesque. The
animus is revealed when Tillman, notorious
for lack of courtesy, lack of
refinement, and for general uncouthness,
and boastful of his disregard of
the conventions, attempts to be mentor
of Columbia's manners. And
when it comes to maintaining the
good name * of South Carolina, for
which he now essays to be Jealous,
Tillman's display of an appetite for
getting something for nothing or
much for little, which had its incipient
manifestations when he was governor
in the cultivation of a private
oat crop at public expense, and its
latest development in the Oregon land
tuitiir, uuKin its uciaucu aa tuiuiui
inconsistency between the word and
the deed.
WHEN WOMEN VOTE.
Not a Self- Respecting Man Will 8tay
Away From Polls.
I have a letter from a man, says
Dorothy Dlx, who is really intelligent
enough to know better, who says:
"If women had votes there is not a
self-respecting man who would go to
the polls. He will let the country go
to perdition in the hands of that abnormal
and unnatural creature, the
masculine woman, and things will the
sooner right themselves by a political,
social and economic cataclysm that
will drive the brazen females back to
their proper places?the kitchen and
the nursery."
Let us hasten to assure this modern
Jeremiah that his gloomy prophecies
ire without foundation. The time will
:ome when women will vote, and yet
not a self-respecting man will stay
iway from the polls because he is liable
to meet there his mother, his sisters,
his female cousins and his aunts.
"The proof of the pudding is in the
mating," says the old adage, and we
3ase our belief on this happy outcome
)f woman's suffrage on the fact that
n the countries where women do vote
;hey have not kept a single man, selfrespecting
or otherwise, from exerclsng
his privilege as a free man to exjress
his opinion by means of a ballot.
In the four western states where wornm
vote and where men are quick on
he trigger it certainly wouldn't be
lafe to tell any gentleman that he was
i poor, emasculated squaw man be
a use ne weni 10 me pons ui which
vomen voted. In New Zealand, Ausralla,
the Isle of Man, Finland and
Norway women have full suffrage, and
f the self-respecting men of these
:ountries are conspicuous by reason of
heir absence from the polls no rumor
>f it has reached the outer world.
Indeed, the best argument that can
>e advanced for giving women the
ight to vote is that wherever female
luffraae has been tried it has worked
>ut successfully, and there has never
jeen a suggestion of depriving women
>f their rights and going back to the
>ld order of a male oligarchy.