Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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f . 3 Mta j b arahjm feb 1 8f THE AIKEN RECORDER BY FORD & McCRACKEN. AIKE>, SOUTH CAROLINA, TUESDAY, JANUARY 1, 1889. PRICE $1.50 A YEAR. AIKEN INSTITUTE; AIKEN, S. C. FBANK £[. CUBTISS, President. D ESIGNED for the higher educa tion > of young fodieM and young gentlemen. Course of study thorough and exhaustive, covering a jteriod of eight years exclusive < f collegiate course of feur years. Each department complete in itself—Primary, Inter mediate, Grammar, Preparatory Aca demic. Academic and Collegiate. WAXES OF TUITION. Xek Month. Primary. $1 50 Intermediate 2 50 Gramnmr 3 00 Prep. Academic,! 4 Academic, ) Collegiate 5 00 German and French, each 1 00 Instrumental Music 2 50 Special Drawing Lessons.. ° ^ Painting, Oil, Water Color, Chi na. Lustra. 2 60 For any desired information con cerning'catalogues, rates of board, or any otl/er matters connected with the Inslituite address the President. A livnited number of students de siring Jjoard may Hud a pleasant home in the-familv of the President. FRANK H. CURTISS, Feb. 1. 1888.-ly President 4- MLSi CAPi*rAi. paid in, - - #50,000* Aiken County Loan and Savings zb-A-Hstik: Does a General Banking and Collec tion Business. Savings Department. interest Allowed on Deposits on Most Liberal Terms. W. W. Wooi-sky, I W. M. ETittson, President. | Vice-President. J. W. Ashhukst, Cashier. DIRECTORS. W. W. Woolsey, H. IT. Hall, H. F. Warneke, H. B. BurckliaKer, W. M. Hutson, J. W. Ashhurst, C» H. Phinizy, G. W. Williams, jr. C. BART £ CO, Importers and Wholesale Dealers in iFIR/CTITS I Apples, Oranges, Bananas, Cocoanuts, Lemons, Peanuts, Pine Apples, Potatoes, Onions, Cabbage Ac. ^ 66, 57, 59 3£,arbet8t., Charleston,^. C, L. L. SOMMER, f atctiialer aid Jeweler Richland Avenue, and Laurens St. I am prepared to repair watches and iewelry, with promptness and care, at moderate prices and guarantee satis faction. The cleaning of watches a SPECIALTY. With a continuous experience of six years I respectfully solicit a liberal share of the pat ronage of the Aiken county public. L . L. SOMMER, Richland Avenue, and Laurens St. BUSCH HOUSE! AIKEN, S. C. HENRY BUSCH, Proprietor, HA TES $2.00 PER DA Y. Sprcial Rates by the Week. Busch House Transfer Carries Passengers for Busch House FKKK. CffOrders for Passengers and Bag gage left at the Busch House or at H. Busch & Co.’s Store, will receive prompt attontion. THE AUGUSTA HOTEL! Augusta, - - Georgia. BEST $3.00 HOUSE IN THE SOUTH. Headquarters for Commercial Men. Centrally located nearR. R. Crossing. L. E. DOOLITTLE, Proprietor, Formerly of Tontine Hotel, New Haven, Conn. Also, H’est End Hotel, Lony Rranch, J. X. PAVILION HOTEL. Charleston. S. C PASSENGER ELEVATOR AND ELECTRIC BELLS. House fresh and clean throughout. Table best in the South. Pavilion Transfer Coaches and Wagonsat all trains and Boats. Rates reduced. Beware of giving your Check to any one on Train. Rates $2 00 (& $2 50. Wright s Hotel! S. L. WEIGHT & SON, Prop’rs., COLUMBIA, - - S. C. T ABLE supplied with the BEST. Rooms large and well furnished. One of the most comfortable hotels in the South. OTRates •easonable.^Ocl (YUM!® Corner York Street and Colleton Avenue. Comfortable and well furnished Roams and table supplied with the best. Terms reasonable. MRfl. N. E. 8ENN. &AKIHG POWDER Absolutely Pure. Tills powder never vanes A marvel of purity, strength and wholesomeness. More economical than the ordinary kinds, and cannot he sold in competition with the multitude of low test, short weight, alum or phosphate powders. .Sold only in cans. ROYAL BAKING POWDER CO., 10G Wall street, New York. Far sale by COURTNEY & CO., Aiken. 8. C. Professional Advertisements. D. 8. Hendebson. E. P. Henderson. Henderson Brothers, Attorneys at Law, Aiken, 8. C. • - Will practice in the State and United States Courts for South Caro lina. Prompt attention given to col lections. James Aldrich Walter Ashley. Aldrich & Ashley, Attorneys at Law, Aiken, S. C. Practice in the State and United States Courts for South Carolina. John GaryJSvans, Attorney-at-Law. Will practice in the Counties of Aiken, Edgefield and Barnwell. Haviland Stevenson, Attorney at Law, Aiken, 8. C. Special attention given Collec tion. 0. C. JORDAN, ATTORNEY-AT-LAW. AIKEN, S. C. Edw. J. Dickerson, Attorney-at-Law, Aiken, 8. C. Will practice in all the Courts of this State Dr. Z. A. Smith* PRACTICING PHYSICIAN, VAUCLUSE, - - - S. C. i5?“Ofllce near Depot. SIBERIA 0TT, ARCHITECT, Insurance and Real Estate Apnt, AIKEN, S. C. Tornado, Cyclone and Windstorm POLICIES! ISSUED BY HUTSON & CO., Agents, IN PHCENIX INS. 00. of Brooklyn. ASSETS, - - - *5.000,000. On Frame Buildings: 1 year, 30 Cents on *100.00 ; 3 years, 00 Cents on *100.00; five years, 90 Cents on *100.00. Brick Buildings; 1 year 20 Cents on *100.00 ; 3 years, 40 Cents on *109.00; five years, 00 cents on *100.00. For Policy, apply to HUTSON & CO. A. P. FORD, Insurance and Real Estate Agent, LAURENS STREET, AIKEN, S. C. REPRESENTS The Mobile Insurance Co., of Mobile. The Hibernia Insurance Co., of Now Or leans. The Southern Insurance Co., of New Or leans. Tlia Travellers’ Life and Accitlent*lnsur- ance Co., of Hartford. Strong and reliable companies. Losses adjusted ami paid promptly. Real estate bought and sold. Houses r nted. ian25tf lathe Lying-In Hoorn. BETHLEHEM OAT FOOD Is recommended by all physicians as the mosj di gestible as well as nutri tious diet for the invalid. SOLD BY ALL DRUGGISTS AND GRO CERS. FRANCIS JORDAN £ SONS, Manufacturers, JU9 N. THIRD STREET. PHI ADELPHIA FOR SALE BY COURTNEY & CO., Aiken, S. C- STOVES AND CUTLER1. —EYERYTHING— Necessary and Convenient for the Kitchen, Dining-Room, Dairy and Laundry, at Jessup Bros.’ STOVE EMPORIUM! 832 Broad Street, AUGUSTA, GA. RIP VAN WINKLE. Bj WABHDTGTOH IBVIHG. A POSTHUMOUS WRITING OK DIEDR1CH KNICKERBOCKER. By Woden, God of Saynna. I rum whence cornea Wenaday. that L YToJensday. Truth u a thing that ever I will keep Unto thy Ike day in which I creep into My sepulchre. —Cartwright. Whoever has made a voyage up the Hudson must remember the KaaUkiU mountains. They are a dismembered branch of the great Appalachian family, and are seen away to the west of the river, swelling up to a noble height and lording it over the surrounding country. Every change of season, every change of weather, indeed every hour of the day, produces some change In the magical hues and shapes of these mountains; and they are regarded by all the good wives, far and near, as perfect barometers. When the weather is fair and settled they are clothed in blue and purple and print their bold outlines on the clear evening sky; but sometimes, when the rest of the landscape is cloudless, they will gather a hood of grave vapors about their summits, which, in the last rays of the setting sun, will glow and light up like a crown of glory. At the foot of these fairy mountains the voyager may have described the light smoke curling up from a village whose shingle roof# gleam among the trees just where the blue tints of the up land melt away into the fresh green of the nearer landscape. It is a little vil lage of great antiquity, having been founded by some of the Dutch colonists in the early times of the province, just about the beginning of the government of the good Peter Stuyvesant (may ho rest in peace!) and there were some of the houses of tne original settlers stand ing within a few years, built of small yellow bricks brought from Holland, having latticed windows and gable fronts surmounted with weathercocks. In that same village, and in one of these very houses (which, to tell the pre cise truth, was sadly time worn and weatherbeaten) there lived, many years since, while the country was yet a prov ince of Great Britain, a simple, good □atured fellow of the name of Rip Van Winkle. He was a descend ant of the Van Winkles who fig ured so gallantly in the chivalrous days of Peter Stuyvesant, and accompanied him to the siege of Fort Christina. Ho inherited, however, but little of the mar tial character of his ancestors. I have observed that he was a simple, good natured man; he was, moreover, a kind ■hbor, and an obedient, henpecked Indeed, to the latter circum stance might bo owing that meekness of spirit which gained nim such universal popularity; for those men are most apt to oe obsequious and conciliating abroad, who are under the discipline of shrews at home. Their tempers, doubtless, are rendered pliant and malleable in the fiery furnace of domestic tribulation, and a curtain lecture is worth all the sermons in the world for teaching the virtues of patience and long suffering. A termagant wife may, therefore, ui some respects, be considered a tolerable blessing; and, if so, Rip Van Winkle was thrice blessed. neighbor, husband. Certain it is, that he was a great favor- ite among all the good wives of the vil- liage, who, as usual with the amiable sex, took his part in all family squabbles, and never failed, whenever they talked those matters over in their evening gos- sipings, to lay all the blame on Dame Van Winkle. The children of the village, too, would shout with joy whenever he ap proached. He assisted at their sports, made their playthings, taught them to fly kites and shoot marbles, and told them long stories of ghosts, witches and Indians. Whenever he went dodging about the village, he was surrounded by a troop of them, hanging on his skirts, clambering on ills back, and playing a thousand tricks on him with impunity; and not u dog would bark at him throughout the neighborhood. The great error in Rip’s composition was an insuperable aversion to all kinds of profitable labor. It could not be from want of assiduity or perseverance, for he would sit on a wet rock, with a rod as long and heavy as a Tartar’s lance, and fish all day without a murmur, even though he should not be encouraged bv a single nibble. Ho would carry a fowl ing piece on his shoulder for hours to gether, trudging through woods and swamps, and up hill and down dale, to shoot a few squirrels or wild pigeons. He would never refuse to assist a neigh bor, even in the roughest toil, and was a foremost man at all country frolics for husking Indian corn or building stone fences. The women of the village, too, used to employ him to run their errands, and to do such little odd jobs as their less obliging husbands would not do for them; in a word, Rip was ready to attend to anybody’s business but his own; but as to doing family duty, and keeping his farm in order, he found it impossible. In fact, he declared it was of no use to work on his farm; it was the most pesti lent little piece of ground in the whole country; everything about it weut wroug, and would go wrong in spite of him. His fences were continually falling to pieces; liis cow would either go astray or get among the cabbages; weeds were sure to grow quicker in liis fields tiian anywhere else; the rain always made a point of set ting in just as he had some out door work to do; «o that though his patrimonial estate had dwindled away unaer ids man agement, acre by acre, until tiiere was little more left tfian a mere patch of In dian cord and potatoes, yet it was the worst conditioned farm in the neighbor hood. His children, too, were as ragged and wild as if they belonged to nolxxly. His son Rip, an urchin begotten in his own likeness, promised to inherit the liabits, with the old clothes, of his father. He was generally seen trooping like a colt at his mother’s heels, equipped in a pair of liis father’s cast off galligaskins, which he had much ado to hold up with one hand, as a fine lady does her train in bad weather. Rip Van Winkle, however, was one of those happy mortals, of foolish, well oiled dispositions, who take the world easy, eat white bread or brown, which ever can be got with the least thought or trouble, and would rather starve on a penny than work for a pound. If left to liimself he would have w List led life away in perfect contentment; but his wife kept contiiumally dinning in his ears about his idleness, his carelessness ami the ruin he was bringing on bis family. Morning, noon and night, her tonjjue was incessantly going, and everything he said or did was sure to produce a tor- exit of household eloquence. Rip had out one way of replying to all lectures of the kind, and that, by frequent use, had grown into a habit He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head, cast up his eyes, but said nothing. Tills, however, always provoked a fresh volley from his wife, so that he was fain to draw off his forces, and take to the outside of the bouse—the only side which, in truth, be longs to a henpecked husband. adherent was his hen pecked Winkle re- So that hs teas fain to draw off his forces- P dog Wolf, who was as much as liis master; for Dame Van garded them as companions in idleness* and even looked upon Wolf with an evil eye as the cause of his master’s going so often astray. True it is, in all S oints of spirit befitting an honorable og, he was as courageous an animal as ever scoured the woods—but what cour age can withstand the ever during and alt besetting terrors of a woman’s tongue? The moment Wolf entered the house his crest fell, his tail drooped to the ground or curled between liis legs, he sneaked about with a gallows air, cast in heights. He proceeded. 'Passing Through the ravine, they came to a hollow like a small ampnitheatro, surrounded by per pendicular precipices, over the brinks of which impending trees shot their branches, so that you only caught glimpses of the azuro sky and the bright evening cloud. During the whole time Rip and his companion had labored on in silence; for though the former marveled greatly what could be the object of car rying a keg of liquor up tliis wild moun tain, yet there was something strange and incomprehensible about the un known that inspired awe and checked familiarity. or yelping Times On entering the amphitheatre, new ob jects of wonder presented themselves. On a level spot in the center was a com pany of odd looking personages playing at nine pins. They were dressed in a a uaint outlandish fashion; some wore liort doublets, others jerkins, with long kpives in their belts, and most of them had enormous breeches, of similar style with tliat of the guide’s. Their visages, too, were peculiar; one had a large head, ry HlJlUy LllX&LXt L»I_1L3 IlcxU cl UCJcim p a sidelong glance at Dame Van Winkle,* bro;wl and small piggish eyes; the least flourish of a broomstick faco of another seemed to consist entirely of nose, and was surmounted bv a white sugar loaf hat, set off with a little red cock’s tail. They all had beards, of vari ous shape's and colors. There was one who seemed to be the commander. He was a stout old gentleman, with a weather beaten countenance; ho wore a laced doublet, broad belt and hanger, high crowned hat anti feather, red stoek- and at the least flourish of a broomstick Ladle he would fly to the door with _ precipitation. Lues grew worse and worse with Rip Van Wuikle, as years of matrimony rolled on. A tart temper never mellows with ago, and a sharp tongue is the only edge tool that grows keener with con stant use. For a long while he used to console himself, when driven from home, , , _ , . . , , , . , . . by frequenting a kind of perpetual club,j an< A Lu&Li heeled shoes, with roses of the sages, philosophers ana other Idle JP them. The whole group reminded of the village, which held ita, 9 f tho figures in an old Flemish personages lich held its< Rip of the figi __ , __ sessions on a bench before a small inn^ panning in the parlor of Dominie y an designated by a rubicund portrait of hist ochaick, the village parson, and which majesty George IIL Hero they used to) ba< i been brought over from Holland at sit in the shade, of a long, lazy sum-l the time of tho se .tlement. What seemed particularly odd to Rip tliat though these folks were 6vi- mer’s day, talking listlessly ovex- villago gossip or telling endlesi sleepy stories about nothing. But t would have been worth any statesrr.an’i money to have heard the profound ditrh cussions which sometimes took place.’ when by chance an old newspaper fell, Into their hands from some passing trav eler. How solemnly they would to the contents, as drawled out by rick Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, a’, danper learned little man, who was not. to be daunted by the most gigantic word* in the dictionary-; and how sagely theyf would deliberate upon public events, some months after they had taken place.^ The opinions of this junta were com-, pletely controlled bv Nicholas Veddcr, al patriarch of the village and landlord of! the inn, at the door of which he took hlj seat from morning till night, just moving sufficiently to avoid the sun and keep inj the shade of a la*-ge tree, so that tho neighbors could tell the hour by hhj movements as accurately as by a sun dial. It is true, he was rarely heard Lf speak, but smoked his pipe incessantly^ His adherents, however (for every greaf. man has his adherents), perfectly underj stood him and knew how to gather opinions. When anything that was or related displeased him, he was served to smoke his pipe vehementl to send forth short, frequent anA niffs; but when pleased he would e smoke slowly and tranauill. emit it in light and placid clouds, au4 sometimes taking the pipe from hi? mouth, and letting the fragrant vapoC curl about his nose, would gravely nod* £ liis head in token of perfect approbatiaP- ng hold the unlucky Rip was at length routed From even this stroi hold w by his term->‘ gant wife, who'would suddenly break upon the tranquillity of the assemb* and call the members all to nought: mipniufc p.yrg/^n-10-0 A. Vedder himself, sacred from the _ ( tongue of this terrible virago, who charged him outright with encouraging her husband in habits of idleness. Poor Rip was at last reduced almost to despair, and his only alternative to es cape from the labor of the farm and the clamor of his wife was to take gun in hand and stroll away into the woods.* Here he would sometimes seat himself at the foot of a tree and share the contents of his wallet with Wolf, with whom he sympathized as a fellow sufferer in per secution. “Poor Wolf,” he would say, “thy mistress leads thee a dog’s life of it; but never mind, my lad, whilst I live thou shalt never want a friend to stand by thee!” wistfully Wolf would wag his tail, look in his master's face, and if dogs can feel pity I verily believe he re ciprocated the sentiment with all Ids heart. In a long ramble of the kind, on a fin? autumnal day, Rip had unconsciouslj' scrambled to one of the highest parts oi the Kaatskill mountains. Ho was after his favorite sport of squirrel shooting, and the still solitudes had echoed and re echoed with the reports of his gun. Panting and fatigued, ho tlirew himself late in tho afternoon on a green knoll covered with mountain herbage tliat crowned tho brow of a precipice. From an opening between the trees he could overlook all the lower country for many a milo of rich woodland. He saw at a distance tho lordly Hudson, for, far be low him, moving on its silent but ma jestic course, with the reflection of & purple cloud or tho sail of a lagging bark hero am eping losin- on its : itself glassy in the and there slee] bosom, and at last blue higldands. On tho other side ho looked down into a deep mountain glen, wild, lonely and shagged, the bottom filled with frag ments from the impending cliffs, and scarcely lighted by tno reflected rays of tho setting sun. For some time Rip lay musing on this scene; evenhig was grad ually advancing; the mountains began to throw their long blue shadows over the valleys; he saw that it would be dark long'before he could reach the village, ana ho heaved a heavy sigh when he thought of encountering the terrors of Dame Van Winkle. As he was about to descend ho heard a voice from a distance halloo ing “Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkler Ho looked around, but could see nothing but a crow winging its soli tary flight across the mountain. He thought his fancy must have deceived him, and turned again to descend, when he heard the same cry ring through the still evening air, “Rip Van Winkle! Rip Van Winkle 1”—at the same time Wolf bristled up his back, and, giving a low E owl, skulked to his master s side, look- g fearfully down Into the glen. Rip now felt a vague apprehension stealing over him; he looked anxiously in the same direction and perceived a strange figure slowly toiling up the rocks and bending unuer the weight of something he carried on his back. He was sur- f irised to see any human %!>ein» in this onely and unfrequented place, but sup posing it to be some one of the neighbor- nood m need of his assistance he hastened down to yield it. On nearer approach he was still more surprised at the singularity of the stranger’s appearance. He was a short, square built old fellow, with thick bushy hair and a grizzled beard. His dress was of the antique Dutch fasiiion—a cloth jerken strapped round the waist— several pair of breeches, the outer one of ample volume, decorated with rows of buncos down the sides, and bunches at the knees. He bore on his shoulders a stout keg, that seemed full of liquor, and made signs for Rip to approach and assist him with the load. Though rather shy and distrustful of this new acouaintance, Rip complied with his usual alacrity, and mutually relieving each other, they clambered up a narrow gully, apparently was _ dently amusing themselves yet they maintained the gravest faces, the most mysterious silence, and were, withal, the most melancholy party of pleasure he had ever witnessed. Nothing interrupted tho stillness of the scene but the noise of tho balls, which, whenever they were rolled, echoed along tho mountains like rumbling peals of tliunder. As Rip and his companion approached from their :h a I i ;aze, ana suen strange, ,ustcr countenances, that his heart turned within him and his knees smote together. His companion now emptied uie contents of the keg into large flagons, and made signs to him to wait ujion the company. He obeyed with fear and trembling; they quaffed the liquur in profound silence, and then returned to their game. By decrees Rip’s awe and apprehension subsided. He even ventured, when no eye was fixed upon him, to taste the bev erage, which he found had much of the flavor of excellent Hollands. He was naturally a thirsty soul, and was soon tempted to repeat the draught. One taste provoked another, and he reiterated bis visits to the flagon so often that at length his senses were overpowered, his eyes swam in his head, his head gradu ally declined, and he fell into a deep sleep. On waking he found himself on the green knoll from whenoe ho had first seen the old man of the glen. He rubbed his eyes—it was a bright sunny morning. The birds were hopping and twittering and the eagle was breasting the pure urely,” thought Kip, not slept hare all night.” He re occurrences before ho fell 3 strange rASlPfcltii ttlO'TK’g’ •—the mountain ravine—the wild retreat among the rocks—the woe begone party at nine pins—the flagon —“Oh! that wicked flagon!” thought Rip—“what excuse shall I make to Dame Van Winkle!” He looked round for his gun, but in bushes, loft ana “I have the 27c found an old fire lock lying by him. lock falling off and the stock worm eaten. Ho now suspected that the grave roysters of the mountain had put a trick upon him, and having dosed him >vith liquor had robbed him of his gim. Wolf, too, had disappeared, but he might have stenyed away after a squirrel or partridge. Ho whistled after him and shouted his name, but all in vain, tho echoes re peated his whistle and shout, but no dog was to be seen. He determined to revisit the scene of the last evening’s gambol, and if he met with any of the party, to demand his dog and gun. As he rose to walk, he found himself stiff in the joints, and wanting hi his usual activity. “These mountain beds do not agree*with me." thought Rip, “and if this frolic should lay me up with a fit of the rheumatism, I shall have a blessed time with Dame Van Winkle.” With some difficulty he got down Into the glen; he found the gully up which he and his companion had as cended tho preceding evening; but to his astonishment a mountain stream was now foaming down it, leaping from rock to rock, and filling the glen with bab bling murmurs. He, however, made shift to scramble up Its sides, working his toilsome way through thickets of birch, sassrfras and witch hazel, and sometimes tripped up or entangled by the wild grapevines that twisted their coils and tendrils from tree to tree and spread a kind of network In his path. At length he reached to where the ravine had opened through the cliffs to the amphitheatre; but no traces of such opening remained. The rocks presented a high Impenetrable wall, over which the torrent came tumbling in a sheet of feathery foam, and fell into a broad, deep basin, black from the shadows of the surrounding forest. Here, then. B ior Rip was brought to a stand. e again called and whistled after liis dog; he was only answered by the caw ing of a flock of idle crows, sporting high in the air about a dry tree that overhung a sunny precipice; and who, secure in their elevation, seemed to look down and scoff at the poor man’s per plexities. What was to be done? The morning was passing away and Rip felt famished for want of his breakfast. He eved to give up his dog and gun; he ed to meet nis wife, but it would not do to starve among the mountains. He shook his head, shouldered the rusty firelock and with a heart full of trouble and anxiety turned his steps homeward. As he approached the village he met a number of people, but none whom he knew, which somewhat surprised him, for he had thought himself acquainted with every one in the country round. the dry bed of a mountain torrent. As i Their dress, too, was of a different (hey ascended. Rip every now and then fashion from that to which he was ac- heard long rolling peals, like distant ! customed. They all stared at him with thunder, that seemed to Issue out of a ! equal marks of surprise, and whenever deep ravine or rather cleft between lofty ! they cast eyes upon him Invariably rocks, toward which their rugged path stroked their chins. The constant recur* conducted. He paused for an instant, rence of this gesture induced Rip, in- but supposing it to be the muttering of voluntarily, to do the same, when, to his one of those transient thunder showers astonishment, he found bis beard had which often take, place in mountain grown a foot long! YlS fiaa Bgw entered the skirts of the village. A troop of strange children ran at his heels, hooting after nim and point ing at his gray beard. The dogs, too, not one of which he recognized for an old acquaintance, barked at him as he passed. The very village was altered: it was larger and more populous. There were rows of houses whlcn he had never seen before and those which had been his familiar haunts had disappeared. Strange names were over the doors— strange faces at the windows—every thing was strange. His mind now mis- K ve him; he Began to doubt whether th ho and the world around him were not bewitched. Surely this was his na tive village, which he had left but a day before. There stood the Kaatskill mountains—there ran the silver Hudson at a distance—there was every hill and dale precisely as it had always been—Rip was sorely perplexed—“That flagon last night,” thought he, “has addled my poor head sadly!” It was with some difficulty that he found the way to his own house, which he approached with silent awe, expect ing every moment to hear the shrill voice of Dame Van Whikle. He found the house gone to decay—the root fallen in, the windows shattered and the doors off the hinges. A half starved dog, that looked like Wolf, was skulking about it. Rip called him by name, but the cur snarled, showed his teeth and passed on. This was an unkind cut indeed. “My very dog,” sighed poor Rip, “has forgotten me!” He entered the house, which, to tell the truth, Dam Von Winkle had always kept In neat order. It was empty, for lorn and .apparently abandoned. This desolatcness overcame all his connubial fears—he called loudly for his wife and children—tho lonely chambers rang for a moment with his voice, and then all again was silence. He now hurried forth, and hastened to his old resort, the village inn—but it too was gone. A large, rickety, wooden building stood in its place, with great, gaping windows, some of them broken, and mended with old hats and petticoats, and over the door was painted, “The Union Hotel, by Jonathan Doolittle.” Instead of the great tree tliat used to shelter the quiet little Dutch inn of yore, there now was reared a tall, naked pole, with something on the top that looked like a red night cap, and from it was fluttering a nag, on which was a sin gular assemblage of stars and stripes— all this was strange and incompre- benslble. He recognized on the sign, however, the ruby face of King George, under which no had smoked so manv a peaceful pipe, but even this was singularly metamorphosed. The red coat was changed for one of blue and buff, a sword was held in the hand in stead of a scepter, the head was deco rated with a cocked hat, and underneath was painted in large characters, Gen. Washington. There was, as usual, a crowd of folk about the door, but none that Rip recol lected. The very character of the people seemed changed. There was a busy, bustling, disputatious tone about it, in stead of the accustomed phlegm and drowsy tranquillity. He looked in vain for the sage Nicholas Vedder, with his broad face, double chin and fair long pipe, uttering clouds of tobacco smoke, instead of idle speeches, or Van Bummel, the schoolmaster, doling forth the con tents of an ancient nJnspaper. In place of these, a lean, bilious looking fellow, with his pockets full of handbills, was I a gun beels, riot in some- and other words that were a perfect Babylonish jargon to the bewildered Van Winkle. The appearance of Rip, with his long, grizzlecf beard, his rusty fowling piece, nis uncouth dress, and the army of women and children that had gathered at his heels, soon attracted the at tention of the tavern politicians. They crowded round him, eyeing him from head to foot, with great curiosity. The tor bustled up to him, and orawin partly aside, inquired, “on whic de he voted?” Rip stared in vacant stu pidity. Another short, but busy little fellow pulled him by the arm, and rising on tiptoe, inquired m his ear, “whether he was Federal or Democrat.” Rip was equally at a loss to comprehend the ques tion; when a knowing, self important old gentleman, in a sharp, cocked hat, made his way through the crowd, put ting them to the right and left with liis elbows as he passed, and planting him self before Van Winkle, with one arm akimbo, the other resting on his cane, liis keen eyes and sharp hat penetrating, as it were, into his very soul, de manded in an austere tone, “what brought him to the election with on his shoulder, and a mob at his and whether he meant to breed a the village?” “Alas! gentlemen,” cried Rip, what dismayed, “I am a poor, quiet man, a native of the place, and a loyal subject of the king, God bless him!” Here a general shout burst from the bystanders—“a Tory! a Tory! a spy! a refugee! hustle him! away with him!” It was with great difficulty that the self important man in the cocked hat re stored order, and having assumed a ten fold austerity of brow, demanded again of the unknown culprit, what he came there for, and whom he was seeking. The poor man humbly assured him tliat he meant no harm, but merely came there in search of some of his neighbors, who used to keep about the tavern. “Well, who are they? Name them.” Rip bethought himself a dioment, and inquired, “Where is Nicholas Vedder?" There was a silence for a little while, when an old man replied, in a thin, piping voice, “Nicholas Vedder? Why, ne is dead and gone these eighteen years! There was a wooden tombstone in the churchyard that used to tell all about him, but that’s rotten and gone, too.” “Where’s Brom Dutcher?” “Oh, he went off to the army in the beginning of the war; some say he was killed at the storming of Stony Point, others say he was drowned in the squall at the foot of Antony’s Nose. I don’t know—he never came Lack again." “Where’s Van Bummel, the school master?” “He went off to the wars, too; was a great militia general, and is now in con gress." Rip’s heart died away at hearing of these sad changes in his home and friends, and finding himself thus alone in the world. Every answer puzzled him, too, by treating of such enormous la|>ses of time, and of matters which he could not understand: war—congress—*6tony Point!—he had no courage to ask after any more friends, but cried out in de spair: “Does nobody here know Rip Van Winkle?” “Oh, Rip Van Winkle!’’ exclaimed two or three. “Oh, to be sure! that’s Rip Van Winkle yonder, leaning against the tree.” Rip looked and beheld a precise counter part of himself as he went up the moun tain; apparently as lazy and certainly as ragged. The poor fellow was now com pletely confounded. He doubted his own identity, and whether he was himself ox another man. In the midst of his be wilderment the man in the cocked hat demanded who he was, and what , . was his name? “God knows,” exclaimed he at his wit’s end; “I’m not myself — I’m somebody else—that’s me yonder—no— that’s somebody else, got into mv shoes— I was myself last night, but I fell asleep on the mountain, and they’ve cliangea my gun, and everything’s cliaaged, and I’m changed, and I can't tell what’s my name or who 1 am!” The bystanders began now to look at each other, nod, wink significantly, and tap their fingers against their fort 'wlilsper,' also, about secur- and keeping the old fellow Tiiere was s lug the gun, from doing mischief; at the very sug gestion of which, the self Important man with the cocked hat retired with some precipitation. At tliis critical moment a fresh comely woman passed through the throng to get a peep at the gray bearded man. She had a chubby cliild in her arms, wliich, frightened at his looks, be gan to cry. “Hush, Rip," cried she, “hush, you little fool, the old man won’t hurt you.” The name of the child, the air of the mother, the tone of her voice, all awakened a tram of recollections in liis mind. “What is your name, my good wo man?” asked he. “Judith Gardenier." “And your father's name?” “Ah, poor man, his name was Rip Van Winkle; it’s twenty years since he went nwav from home with his gun and never has been heard of since—his dog came home without him; but whether ne shot himself, or was carried away by the Indians, nobody can tell. I was then but a little girl.” Rip had but one question more to ask; but he put It with a faltering voice: “WTiere’s your mother?” Oh, she too had died but a short time since; she broke a blood vessel in a fit of passion at a Now England peddler. There was a drop of comfort, at least. In tiffs intelligence. The honest man could contain himself no longer. Ho caught his daughter and her child in liis arms. “I’m your father!” cried ho— “Young Rip Van Winkle once—old Rip Van Winkle now! Does nobody know poor Rip Van Winkle?” All stood amazed, until an old woman, tottering out from among tho crowd, put her hand to her brow, and peering under it in his face for a moment, exclaimed: “Sure enough! it is Rip Van Winkle—it is himself. Welcome homo again, old neighbor. Why, where have you been these twenty long years?” Rip’s story was soon told, for the whole twenty years had been to him but as one night. The neighbors stared when they heard it; some were seen to wink at each other, and put their tongues in their cheeks; and the self important man in tho cocked hat, who, when tho alarm was over, had returned to tho field, screwed down the comers of his mouth, and shook his head—upon which there was a gen eral shaking of the head throughout the assemblage. It was determined, however, to take the opinion of old Peter Vanderdonk, who was seen slowly advancing up tho road. He was a descendant of the his torian of that name, who wrote one of the earliest accounts of tho province. Peter was the most ancient inhabitant of the village, and well versed in all the wonderful events and traditions of the neighborhood. Ho recollected Rip at once, and corroborated his story in the most satisfactory manner. He assured the company that it was a fact, handed down from his ancestor the historian, that the Kaatskill mountains had always been haunted by strange beings. That it was affirmed that the great Hendrick Hudson, the first discoverer of the river and country, kept a kind of vigil there every twenty years, with his crew of the Half-moon, being permitted in this way to revisit the scenes of his enterprise and keep a guardian eye upon the river and the great city called by his name. That his father had once seen them in their old Dutch dresses playing at nine pins in a hollow of the mountain; and that he himself had heard, one summer after noon, the sound of their balls, like distant TWO PRESBYTERIAN BODIES. to The Conference Wliich is to Try Bring Them Together. New York, Dec. 23.—The confer ence to be held in this city beginning next Friday between representatives of the Northern and Southern Pres byterian Churches for the purpose of effecting an organic reunion between the two bodies, is looked forward to with great interest by members of the church throughout the entire country. The committees were appointed by their respective General Assemblies, and are composed of ministers and laymen, many of whom, on both sides, are widely known and occupy dis tinguished positions. The sessions of the conference will be held in the Mission House, at 53 Fifth avenue, and will be private. On Friday night a reception will be given in honor of the members of the committees at the Metropolitan opera house by the Pres byterian Union of tliis city. A lay member of the com mi tte, rep resenting the Northern Church and a’ resident of this city, said he had com paratively little hope that the coming conference would be able to effect a complete union at once, though he thought it would pave the way to something in the future. The color question was, in his opinion, the chief stumbling block. The Southern men do not wish to have the negro ad mitted to the Presbytery and thus placed on an equality with them, and, in fact, if this were done, in some sec tions the negro would have things all bis own way, being in the majority. If the colored men were not admitted to the Presbytery, then it would be necessary to form a separate one for them, and what would follow?—two Presbyteries in the same geographical limits, a tiling atioinalous to our sys tem of government. Then there is another thing which has been a cause of difference and un pleasantness. At the opening of the war both bodies passed resolutions approving the acts of their own sec tion and condemning those of tne other. When the war was over the Southern Church rescinded its action on that subject and thinks the North ern Church ought to do the same. A Reform That is Here to Stay. peals of thunder. — Tv-makfr «*V long story sh+rt, company broke up, and returned to the more important concerns of the election. Rips daughter took him home to live with her; she had a snug, well furnished house, and a stout cheery farmer for a husband, whom Rip recol lected for one of the urchins that used to climb upon his back. As to Rip’s son and heir, who was the ditto of himself, seen leaning against the tree, he was em ployed to work on the farm, but evinced a hereditary disposition to attend to any- tiling else but his business. Rip now resumed his old walks and habits; he soon found many of his for mer cronies, though all rather the worse for the wear and tear of time, and pre ferred making friends among the rising g eneration, with whom he soon grew ito great favor. Having nothing to do at home, and be ing arrived at that happy age when a man can do nothing with impunity, he took his place once more on the bench at the inn door and was reverenced as one of the patriarchs of the village and a chronicle of tho old times “before the war.” It was some time before he could get into the regular track of gossip, or could be made to comprehend the strange events tliat had taken place during his torpor. How that there had been a revolutionary war—that tho country had thrown off the yoke of old England—and that, instead of being a subject of liis majesty George the Third, lie was now a free citizen of tho United States. Rip, in fact, was no politician; tho changes of of states and empires made but little im pression on him; but there was one species of despotism under wliich lie had long groaned, and tliat was—jietticoat gov ernment. Happily, that was at an end: bo had got his neck out of the yoke of matrimony, and could go in and out whenever lie pleased, without dreading the tyranny of Dame Van Winkle. Whenever her name was mentioned,how ever, he shook his head, shrugged his shoulders, and cast up Ids eyes; which might pass either for an expression of res ignation to ids fate, or joy at his de liverance. He used to tell his story to every stran ger that arrived at Mr. Doolittle’s hotel. Ho was observed, at first, to vary on some S oints every time he told it, wliich w:is oubtlcss owing to his having so recently awaked. It at last settled down precisely to the tale I have related, and not a man, woman or cliild in the neighborhood but knew it by heart. Some always pre tended to doubt the reality of it, and in sisted that Rip had been out of his head, and that this was one point on which he always remained flighty. The old Dutch inhabitants, however, almost universally gave it full credit. Even to this day they never hear a tliunder storm of a summer afternoon about the Kaats kill but they say Hendrick Hudson and his crew are* at their game of nine pins; and it is a common wish of all henpecked husbands in the neighborhood, when life hangs heavy on their hands, that they might have a quieting draught out of Rip Van Winkle’s flagon. From The Savannah News. Congressman Spinola said in a de bate in the House the other day that at least three-fourths of the Republi cans and all the Democrats of that body were opposed to the civil ser vice reform law. A vote was soon after taken on the proposition not to make an appropriation for the civil service commission. 138 voted in fa vor of the appropriation and only 25 against it, thus showing that an over whelming majority of the House was in favor of enforcing the civil service reform law. It is safe to say that at least four-fifths of the people favor that law. If Congressman Spinola will cut oown bis shirt collar so that the voice of the people can reach liis ears he will be surprised how greatly he has mistaken their sentiments not only with regard to civil service re form, but also other important public questions. There are a few men in public life who, like Gen. Spinola, think the opinions they entertain are tne of the powpiii, aad -n iiuew$IUl« seem to them possible that the peoifie can differ with (hem. There is nothing more certain, how ever, tiian that civil service reform law has come to stay, and that Gen. Harrison’s administration will not dare to assume an attitude of hostility to it. The people had become thor oughly disgusted with the spoils sys tem when civil service reform was adopted, and they are by no means anxious to get back to that system and risk the dangers which it threatens. Mr. Clevehnd is the only President who has had the courage to make a firm stand against the spoils seekers. Civil service reform had been tried during other administrations, and al ways without success. The spoilsmen always bulldozed the Chief Executive into disregarding it. The effort to buldoze Mr. Cleveland into disregar ding it failed. Congressmen who bad voted for it were among those who tried to induce him to defeat it. He has been true to the trust reposed in him, and the people will remember him for this reform, if for nothing else. A Tine Tonic. When you don’t feel well and liaidly know what ails you, give B. B. B. (Botanic Blood Balm) a trial. It is a fine tonic. T O Callahan, Charlotte, N C, writes: “B B B is a fine tonic and has done me great good.” L W Thompson, Damascus, Ga, writes: “I believe B B B is (he best blood purifier made. It lias greatly improved my general health.” An old gentleman writes; “BBB gives me new life and new strength. If there is anything that will nfiiku an old man young, it is B B B.” P A Shepherd, Norfolk, Va, Au gust 10th, 1888, writes: “I depend on BBB for the preservation of my health. I have had it in my family now nearly two years, and in all tliat time have nof had to have a doctor.” Titos Paulk, Aiapaha, Ga, writes: ‘T suffered terribly from dyspepsia. The use of B B B has made me feel like a new man. I would not take u thousand dollars for the good it lias done me.” W M Cheshire, Atlanta, Ga, writes: “I had a long spell of typhoid fever, wliich at last seemed to'settle in my right leg, which swelled up enor mously. An ulcer also appeared, which discharged a cup full of matter a day. I then gave B B B a trial and it cured me.” Nor*.—The foregoing tale, one would suspect, had been suggested to Mr Kntckerliocker by a little German superstition about the Emperor Frederick der Rotbbart and tho Kyppbauser mountain: the subjoined note, however, wliich he had appended to the tale, shows that it la an abso lute fact, narrated with his usual fidelity. “The story of Rip Van Winkle may seem incredi ble to many, but nevertheless I give It my full be lief, for I know the vicinity of our old Dutch set tlements to have been very subject to marvelous events and appearances. Indeed, I have heard many stranger stories than this In the villages along the Hudson, all of which were too well au thenticated to admit of a doubt. I have wen talked with Rip Van Winkle myself, who, when I last saw him, wasa very venerable old man, and so perfectly rational and consistent on every point that I think no oonjf dentious person could refuse to take this Into the bargain; nay, ( have seen a certificate on the wbjeot taken before a country justice, and signed with a cross, in the justice's own handwriting. The story, therefore, la beyond the possibility or doubt.” “In which of his battles did Gen. Bluff et that scar on hia face?” inquired IRm nyder. "He got that in a duel,” replied Merritt. aw vuuy UZM) vs Uis WWIBB wnere ne —l not remain in shelter.”—-New York J veiling Sun, Make No Mistake.—If you have made up your mind to buy Hood’s Sarsaparilla do not be induced to take any other. Hood’s Sarsaparilla is a peculiar medicine, possessing, by vir tue of its peculiar combination* pro portion and preparation, curative power superior to any other arliele of the kind before the people. For all affections arising from lippure blood or low state of the system it is une qualled. Be sure te get Hood’s. Bread pudding.—Beat the yolks of three eggs, add one cup and a half of sugar, the grated rind and juice of one lemon, one salt-spoonful of salt, one cup each of chopped apples, currants and grated bread crumbs. Mix well then add the whites of the eggs, beaten stiff'. Boil in a buttered pudding mould three hours, or bake two hours. Serve with plain or foamy sauce. Health is impossible when the blood is impure, thick and sluggish, or when it is thin and impoverished. Such conditions give rise to boils, pimples, headaches, neuralgia, rheu matism and other disordefs. Ayer's Sarsaparilla purities, invigorates and vitalizes the blood. 4 / IjffS