Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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T E MASK OF DECEIT. "WHY FEIGNEST THOU THYSELF TO BE ANOTHER? Rev. Dr. Talmage Draws Some Startling Lessons From a Unique Text-Royalty In Disguise-The Accuracy of G od's Provi dence In the Universe. WAH 'rSGTo,. Dec 13.-In this ser mon from a Bible scene never used in sermonic aiscourse Dr. Talmage draws some startling lessons and tears ot the mask of deceit. The text is I Kings xiv, 6, "Why feignest thou thyself to be another?" In the palace of wicked Jeroboam there is a sick child-a very sick child. Medicines have failed; skill is exhaust ed. Young Abijah, the prince, has lived long enough to become very popular, and yet he must die unless some supernaLural aid be afforded. Death comes up the broad stairs of the palace and swings back the door of the sick room of royalty and stands looking at the dying prince with the dart uplifted. Wicked Jeroboam knows that he has no right to ask any thing of the Lord in the way of kind ness. He knows that his prayers w6uld not be answered, and so he sends his wife on the delicate and ten der mission to the prophet of the Lord in Shiloh. Putting aside her royal at -ire, she puts on the garb of a peasant woman and starts on the road. Instead of carrying gold and gems as she might have carried from the palace she carries only those gifts which seem to indicate that she belongs to the pantry-a few loa res of bread and - tfew cracknels and a cruse of honey. Yonder she goes, hooded and veiled, the greatest lady in all the kingdom, yet passing unobserved. No one that Ien' - hway has any idea ladv Z. e eat work dam, the ipwright's ax thorough disguise the peasant woman ueen of Tirzah. But the f the Lord saw the deceit. gh his physical eyesight had ed, he was divinely illumined, and at one glance looked through the im position, and he cried out: "Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam! Why feign est thou thyself to be another? I have evil tidings for thee. Get thee back to thy house, and when thy feet touch the gate of the city the child shall -die." She had a right to ask for the recovery of her son; she had no right to practice an imposition. Broken hearted now, she started on the way, the tears falling on the dust of the road all the way from Shiloh to Tir zah. Broken hearted now, she is not careful any more to hide her queenly gait and manner. True to the proph ecy, the moment her feet touch the gate of the city the child dies. As she goes in the soul of the child goes out. The cry in the palace is joined by the lamentation of a nation, and as they carry good Abijah to his grave the air is filled with the voice of eulogy for departed youth and the groan of afflicted kingdom. t is for no insignificant purpose I present you the thrilling story e text. In the first place I learn wickedness involves others, try make-them its dupes, its allies itsascapegoats. Jeroboam proposed odwink the Lord's prophet. How e do it? Did he go and do the k himselfi No. He sent his wife it. Hers the peril of exposure, * ' ue of the way, hers the the plot; his, nothing rag, but it is a great cow an and - me else and tsa late of un n hose who planned the arson. th~e murder, the theft, the fraud go fre.e, while those who were decoyed and 'heated and hoodwinked into the conspiracy clank the dhain and mount the gal lows. Aaron Burr, with heart filled with impurity and ambition, plots bor the overthrow of the United States gov enent and gets off with a few threats and a little censure, while Blennerhas sett, the learned Blennerhassett, the sweet tempered Blennerhassett, is de coyed by him from the orchards, and the laboratories and the gardens, and the home on the bank of the Ohio riv er, and his fortunes are scattered, and he is thrown into prison, and his fam ily, brought up in luxury, is turned out to die. Abominable Aaron Burr has it comparatively easy. Sweet tem pered Blennerhassett has it hard. Ben edict Arnold proposed to sell out the fortq of the United States; to surren der the Revolutionary army and to destroy the United States government.' He gets off with his pockets full ofI pounds sterling, while Major Andre, e cnsmacyand suffers on the obet on the banks of the Hudson, so that even the literature-the mar Pble tablature that commemorated that event-has been blasted by imidnght deeradoes. Benedict Arnold has it easy. Major Andre has it hard. .t - have noticed that nine-tenths of those who suffer for crimes are merely the satellites: of some great villians. Ig nominious fraud is a juggler which by sleight of hand and legerdemain makesthe gold that it stole appear in somebody else's pocket. .Jeroboam plots the lie, contrives the imposition, and gets his wife to execute it. Stand off from all imposition and chicanery. Do not consent to be anybody's dupe, anybody's ally in wickedness, any body's scapegoat. The story of the text also impresses me with the fact that royalty some times passes in disguise. The frock, the veil, the hood of the peasant wo man hid the queenly character of this woman of Tirzah. N obody suspected that she was a queen or a princess as she passed by, but she was just as much a queen as though she stood in the palace, her robes incrusted with diamonds. And so all around about us there are princesses and queens whom the world does not recognize. They sit on no throne of royalty, they ride in no chariot, they elicit no huzza, they makie no pretense,. but by the grace of God they are princesses and and they are queens; sometimes in their poverty, sometimes in their self dnial, sometimes in thd~r hard strug gles of Christian service-God knows they are queens. The world does not recognize them.- i igie ig Royalty passing i igie ig without the crown, conquerors with out the p alm empresses without the jewel. You saw her yesterday on thle street. You saw nothing important in her appearance, but she is reguant over a vast realm of virtue a'nd gcod ness-a realm vaster tha Jeroboamn ever looked at.- You we down izto the house of destitution aniJ want az d sufering. ousaw th-: story zf trial wi on hat~ of the ut cess. >auper." Tliy do not rea11 ze that 'od has burnished for hr a crown, nud that afttr :ie hi got through the at izuinz journeoy from Tirzah to Si oh'ind from Shiloh back to Timz.bh .here will be a throue of royalty on which she shall rest forever. Glory reiled. A lunce hidden. Eternal captures hushed up. A queen In mask. princess in disguise. When you think of a queen you do not think of Catherine of-lIssia. or aria Theresa of Germany, or Mary, gueen of Scots. When you think of a q een, you think of a plain woman who sat opposite your father at the table or walked 'with him down the path of life arm in arm, sometimes to the Thanksgiving banquet, sometimes to the grave, but alvays side by side, soothing your little sorrows and d justinz your litte quarrels. listening to your evening prayer. Loung with the needle or at the spinning wheel, and on cold nights tucking you up snug and warm. And then on that dark day whlien b lay a-dying. put ting tose thin hands that had toiled for you so long, putting them together in a dying prayer commendma you to that God in whom she had taught you to trust. Oh, she was the queen, she was the queen: You cannot think of her now without having the deep est emotions of your soul stirred, and you feel as if you could cry as thouzh you were now sitting in infancy on her lap, and if you call her back to speak your name with the tenderness with which she once spoke you would be willing now to throw yourself on the sod that covers her grave, crying, "Mother, mother!" Ah, she was the queen: Your father knew it. You knew it. She was the queen. but the queen in disguise. The world did not recognize it. Put there was a grander disguising. The favorite of a great house looked out of the window of his palace, and he ssp4 Rt the people were carrying heavy burdens, and that some of thenm were hobbling on crutches, and he saw some lying at the gate exhibit ing their sores, and then he heard their lamentation, and he said: "I will just put on the clothes of those poor people, and I will go down and see what their sorrws are, and I will svm pathize with them, and 1 will be one of them, and I will help them." Well, the day came for him to start. The lords of the land came to see him off. All who could sing joined in the parting son , which shook the hills and woke up the shepherds, The first few nights he has been sleeping with the hostlers and the camel drivers, for no one knew there was a King in town, He went among the doctors of the law, as tounding them, for without any doc tor's gown he knew more law than any dcctors. He fished with the fish ermen. He smote with his own ham mer in the carpenter's shop. He ate raw corn out of the field. He fried fish on the banks of Gennesaret. He was howled at by crazy people in the tombs. He was splashed of the surf of the sea. A pilgrim without any pil low. A sick man without any medica ment. A mourner with no sympa thetic bosom in which he could pour his tears. Disguise complete. I know that cccasionally his divi, e royalty flashed out as when in the storm on Galilee, as in the red wine at the wed ding banquet, as wnen he freed the shackled demoniac of Gadara, as when he turndd a whole school of fish into the net of the discouraged b:>atmen, as when he throbbed life into the shriveled arm of the paraly tic, but f or' the most part he was in disguis. No one saw the King's jewels up his san dal. No one saw the royal robe in his plain coat. No ony'new that that shelterless Chris' owned all the mansions in whie'/the hierarchs -..heaven. ha *di N i. one knew that that hungered Jhrist owned all the olive groves mud all the harvests which hook their gold on the hills of Pales-1 ne. No one knew that he who said. 'I thirst" poured the Euphrates out! f his own chalice. No one knew that he ocean lay in the palm of his hand .ike the d-ewdrop in the vase of a lily. So one knew that the stars and moons md suns and galaxies and constella ions that marched on age after age vere, as compared with his lifeb'ne,1 ;he sparkle of a firefly on a summc' aight. No one knew that the sun in nidheaven was only the shadow of' is throne. No one knew that his - rown of universal dominion was coy tred up with a bunch of thorns. Om apotence sheathed in a human body. )niscience hidden in a human eye. nfinite love beating in a human eart. Everlasting harmonics sub ied into a human voice. Royalty m masoue. Grandeurs of heaven in ~arthly disguise. My subject also impresses me with iow people put on masks and ho~ wthe [lord tears them off. It was a terrible noment in the history of this woman f Tii zah when the prophet accosted aer, practically saying: "I kno w who s are. You cannot cheat me. You cann impose upon me. Wby feign. est thou t self to be another T' She had a right to k for the rcstcration1 of her son; she haa .a right to prac tice that falsehood, It 1- ever right to do wrong. Sometimes vo may be able to conceal an atl'air. It is at necessary to tell everything. There is a natural pressure to the lips which seems to indicate that silence some times is right, but for double dealing, for moral shumling, for counterfeit and for sham God has nothing but anathema and exposure. lHe will tear off the lie. He will nip up the empir icism. He will scatter the ambuscade. There are people who are just ready to be duped. They seem to be waiting to be deceived. They believe in ghosts. They suw one themselves once. They heard something strange ini an unin habited house. Going along the road one night. something approached them in white and crossed the road. They would think it very disastrous to count the number of carriages at a funera!. They heard in a neighbor's house something that portended death in the family. Tney say it is a sure sign of of evil if a bat ily into the room on a summer night or they see the moon over the left shoulder. They w.:-uld not for the word undertake any en terprise on F-riday, forgetful of the fact that if they lock over the calen dar of the world they will see that Fr-i day has been the mest fortunae day in all the history of the world. A s rear as I can tell, looking over the calendar of the world's history., more grand, bright, beautiful things have happened on Friday than any other day of the week. They would nct begin anything on. Friday- They would not for the world go back to the house for any thing after they had once started. Such people are ready to be duped. Ignorance comes along, perhaps in the disguise of medical science, and carries them captive, for there are always some men who have found some straige and mysterious weed in some strange place and pluck ed it in the moon shine,and then they cover the board fence with the adver - tisements of "'elixir" and " panaceas" and "Indian mixtures" and --iueffable cataplasms" and "unfailing disin fect ants" and "lightning salves" and "in stantaneous ointments," enough to stun and scarify and poultice and kill half the race. They are, all ready to be wrought upon byl such impositions. Ah, my friends, ict the part of such persons a 2een descr*,bing. Stand back from a -icauery, from all imposition. They 1 xho practice sah imposition shall be sXpos d in the day of God's indigna ion. They may rear great fortunes. )at their dapple grays will be arrested c n the road some dav, as was the ass ( Dv the angel of Gcc wiih drawn i ;word. The light of the last day will ( dhine through all euch subterfuges and with a voice louder than that 'vbich accosted this imposition of the i ext: "Come iw, thou wife cf lero boam. Why feignest thou thyself to be another," With a voice louder el than that God will thunder down into1 midnight darkness and doom andj3 eath all two faced men, and allcharl-I -tans, and all knaves, and all jockey s,H and all swindlers. Behold how theI people put on the masks. ard behold'C how the Lord tears them olr. My subject also impress s me withI s how precise and accurate and particu- l lar are God's providences. Just at z ihe moment tlat wsoman enterered the I city the child died. Just as it was d prophesied, so it turned out, so it al ways turns out. The event occurrs, the death takes place, the nation is born, the despotism is overthrown at C the appointed time. God drives the a universe with a stiff rein. Events do a not just happen so, Things do not go t. slipshod. In all the book cf God's providences there is not one "if." I God's providences are never caught in 3 dishabille. To God there are no sur prises, no disappointments and no ac- I cidents. The most insignificant event - lung out in the ages is the connect- C ing link between two great chains the chain of eternity and the chain of eternity to come. I am no fatalist, but I should be C completely wretched if I did not feel I that all the affairs of my life are in God's hand and all that pertains to e and mine, just as certainly as all the affairs of tnis woman of the text, as this king of the text, were in God' s hand. You may ask me a hundred 3 questions I cannot answer, but I shall I until the day of my death believe that I am under the unerring care of God, d and the heavens may fall, and the worlds may burn, and the judgment may thunder, and the eternal ages I may roll, but not a hair shall fall I from my head, not a shadow shall I drop on my path, not a sorro v shall I transfix my heart without being di- , vinely arranged-arranged by a lov ing, sympathetic Father. He bottles y our tears, he catches our sorrows, and to the crphan he will be a Father, and to the widow. he will be a hus band, and to the outcast he will be a home, and to the most miserable i wretch that this day crawls up out of I the ditch of iis abomination crying for mercy he will be an all pardon- N ing God. The rocks shall turn gray C with age, and the forests shall be un moored in the last hurricane, and the sun shall shut its fiery eyelid, and the stars shall drop like blasted figs, and the continents shall go down like an hors in the deep, and the ocean shall y heave its last groan and lash itself with expiring agony, and the world I shall wrap itself in a winding sheet of flame and leap on the funeral pyre of the judgment day: but God's love shall not die. It will kindle its suns y fter all other lights have gone out. [t will be a billowy sea after the last i ocean has swept itself away. It will I warm itself by the fira of a consuming ( world. It will sing while the archan- I el's trumpet is pealing forth and the c air is filled with the crash cf broken ; sepulchers and the rush of the wings of y the rising dead. Oh, may God corn ort all this people with this Christian a sentiment! }_______ CHRISTMAS GIFT TO CeHRIST. I apal to the Public by the National Ar-( NEW YORK, Dec. 17.-The National irmenian Relief Committee has issued1 he following appeal: "T wo thousand years ago was heard Ramah the voice of 'Rachel weep ng for her children.' Today is borne S o us from the same country the wail ng of little orphans, homeless, naked' mid hungry. This is the work of the C nodern Herod-Hamid II. C "Here, Christmas bells ringingb hrcugh thousands of happy, comfort Lble Christian homes, 'Peace on earth,~ rood will to men.' There, where 'ristianity first found its welcome, .0,000 orphan children of martyrs~ 'aiting the coming of the barest ne-' essities of life. C "Never did the 'King's business' all for greater haste, 'Pulling up :ras and eating it, roots and all" whole villages cry as we pass: "'We Lre hungry'"; 'dying daily, from cold, I mnger, fever, and exposure:' 'huddled d n stables:' 'tegging fror door to loor;' 'wandering abou' iike dogs, ating and sleeping whe' ,.they can' ;uch are the reports of .ye witnesse. "The relief of thes sufferers of hrist is entirely practica'ole through iT sur heroic American missionaries, who tre staying at their posts all through he devasted regions, anxious and ole to do this very work. if left to he tender mercies of the Turks, the hildren will be brought up as Mos-C ems the girls being forced into Turk sh harems.C "The paltry sum of $12 will support S >ne of these orphans for a year. No I nse is needed for buildings dr for taas~ those in charge. "Ho dar we celebrate the birth t of the Christ wit costly gift one to ~ mother. with pomp an ircumstance,S while those of whom, He s ^'ie, 'In-C asmuch as ye have done it unto nen >f the least of these My brethren, y bave done it unto Me,' perish with A hunger? . "Oh, happy children, in this favored 1 land: Will you not this year make a J birthday gift to the Christ Child Him- I self, represented by one of these? Oh, ~ young men and women, consecrated E to the King's work: What better ser- I rice can you render 'In His name' I than the caring for one of His own lit tle ones? Oh, parents with empty cra- d~ tles and vacant chairs! Your darlings ~ need your tender care no longer. They 3 are past your voice to lull, or kiss to I waken, happyI "In the far land to shine and singr 8 Before the Beautiful, the King. I Who every day doth Christmas I make.' "But these otner children, wander- ( ing in the blackness of despair, reach 1 out to you their tiny hands for the 1: love and pity they so sorcly need. Is f not this a work that you may do in J rnemory of your loved and lost? "Any gifts for this object should 'I be sent to Brown Brothers & Co., 598 Wall street, New York marked 'For 8 the Orphan Fund of the National Ar- r menian Relief Committee." Send for\ literature and further information to t the Rev. F. D. Greene, Secretary, 63 I. ( Bible House, New York." A EQueer Suit for Damxages. MOBIuE, Ala-, Dec. 17.-Dr. 1". T. I M4cKaig, of Mobile, sues Drs. Hernan i Mohr, J. A. Abrahams, Neil Mc~in- j non and P. J. M. Acker for sending y him to the Alabama State Insane Asy- 5 lui when perfectly sane, and for the purpose of appropriating the income from his property and enjoying the emoluments of his position in the Al- 3 abama Medical College. All are of 1 high standing. The defendants say to they sent him to the asylum at his'r own request, as he was loosinz his a mind and wanted to be cured. He de- t nies tis whei"y and- wants $20,000 Jt] THE METHODIST PREACHERS -d Their Fleids of Labor for the Next Year. The following are the appoinlmets f the ministers of the South Carolina ,onference of the Methodist Episco al Church, South, for the ensuing ,onference year: Charlesto, District--Pr-esiding El er, W. 1. Meadors. Trinity. J. W. :ilgo; Bethel. II. W. Bays; Spring treeW, W. S. Martin: Cumberland, J. . Steadman; McClellanville, W. H. 'hrower; Berkeliv, J. L. Ray; Sum 'ierville. G. P. Watson; Cypress, E. 1. McKissick. St. George's and teevesville. A. C. Walker and C. E. Viggins; Ridgeville, W. A. Masse seau; Colleton, H. C. Mouzon; Round ) and St. Paul's mission, E. K. Moore; Valterboro, W. M. Duncan; Hender rnville, D. Hucks: Hampton, I. L. Iolyroyd; Port Royal mission, W. L. Fairey; Allendale. W. B. Duncan; lack Swamp, W. I. Wroten; lHar eeville, J. C. Welch; Beaufort, P. A. furray. Cokesbury District-Presiding El er. G. T. Harmcn. Cokesburg, J. . Chandler; Greenwood. M. Dargan: -erdery. G. R. Shaffer; Ninety-Six, V. \. Betts; Donalds, W. B. Whar on; Abbeville, J. A. Clifton; Antre ille, W. J. Snyder; McCormick, V. H. Ariall; Lowndesville, E. W. lason; Mt. Carmel, W. A. Kelly; rinceton, S. D. Vaughn; Waterloo, t. C. McRoy; North Edgefield, W. B. ustus; Newberry and city mission, . W. Creighton and W. B. Verdier; ewberry Circuit, D. Tiller; Kinard's L. S. Lesley; Saluda, J. J. Stephens; utler's. W. W. Jones; Parkesville, ). N. R-untree; Prosperity, E. G. ric!. Columbia District-Presiding Elder. W. Dickson. Washington Street, V. W. Daniel; Marion Street; P. L. irton: Ureen Street and Brookland, V. B. Baker; Richland and Granby Iission, J. C. Abney; Edgewood, A. . Phillips; Lexington, R. M. DuBose; ,exington Fork, J. L Siiley; Lewie ale, J. N. Wright; Leesville, N. G. allenger; Batesburg, T. G. Herbert: ohnston, R. E. Stackhouse; Edgefield, ). Z. Dantzler; Granitville, J. E. eard; Langley, M. L. Banks. Jr.; pper St. Mattnews, D. D. Dantzler; ort Motte, J. D. F. Monts; Ridgeway, V. C. Wynn; Winnsboro, T. M. )ent; Fairfield, W. A. Miller: Colum ia, Female College, J. A. Rice; ED rorth Orpanage, George H. Waddell; aine Institute, George W. Walker. Florence District--Presiding Elder, . T. Hodges. Florence, W. I. Her ert and C. C. Herbert; Darlington, . A. Child; Cheraw, D. M. McLeod; heraw Circuit, R. E. Mood; Harts ille, G. F. Clarkson; Clyde, J. C. ounts: Darlington Circuit, P. F. ilgo; Lamar, W. H. Kirton; Tim. aonsville, A. B. Earle; Claussen, t. R. Dagnall; South Florence, J. A. Vhite; Scranton, C. H. Clyde; Lake ity. S. J. Bethea; Kingstree, S. P. 1. Elwell; Indiantown, R. A. Few; rourdin, J. H. Noland; Salters, R. C. oulware; Georgetown, A. J. Stokes: ieorgetown Circuit, L S. Bellinger; ohnsonville. G. W. Davis. Greenville District-Presiding Elder, V. C. Power; Buncombe Street and ity Mission, W. A. Rodgers; St. Paul, I. B. Browne; Greenville Circuit, 0. Durant; Reedville, M. H. Pooser; rreer, A. H. Best; North Geernville, . H. Shuler; Fountain Inn, J. W. hell; Williamston, R. W. Barber; Lnderson and City Mission, W. R. tichardson and S. B. Harper; Ander on Circuit, John Attaway ; South An erson, W. T. Duncan; Townville, D. E.Keller; Pendleton, A. T. Dunlap; 'ickens, WV. M. Hard in; Seneca and Valhalla, J. L. Daniel; Westmimister, . Burn; Waihalla Circuit, J. L. Mul asley a-nd Bethesda, J. T. Ana'enzon; iedmont, E. P. Taylor; Williamaston 'emale College, S. Lander: Editor outhern Christian Advocate, John 0. Vilson; Assistant Editor Sunday chool Literature, L. F. Beaty. Rock Hill District-Presiding Elder, B. Campbell, Chester, J. E. Greer; hester Circuit, J. E. Mahaffey; East hester Circuit, R. A You age; Rich urg, E. P. Hutson ; Roa Hill, S. H. imerman; Rock Hill Circuit, C. T. igon; North Rock Hill Circuit, J. B. [arris; Yorkville, A. N. Brunson; lackburg, H. J. Cauthen; Hickory rove, J. H. Thacker; York Circuit, W. Humbert; Fort Mill, J. A. apbell; Van Wycke, H. Stokes; ancaster, S. A. Weber; Lancaster ircuit, G. C. Leonard; Tradesville, .L. Bedenbaugh; Chesterfield., J. P. .ttaway ; Jefferson, Alien McFarlane; lackstock, P. B. Ingraham. Spartanburg District- Presiding El er, A. J. Cauthen. Central, .M. L. arlisle; Duncan, WV. C. Kirkland; ty mission, E. B. Loyless; Clifton, .L. Harley ; Union station and mills, . E. Carlisle and J. C. Ropei'; Gaff ey, J. C. Crout; Laurens, R. H. ones; North Laurens, D. P. Boyd; herokee, J. M. Fridlay; Jonesville, ,. Spigener: Kelton, J. N. Isom; acolet Circuit, G. M. Boyd and E. S. ones; Enoree, J. D. Abercombie; linton, N. B. Clarkson ; Whitmire, '.A. Phillips; Santuc, A. F. Berry ; ampobello, S. A. Nettles; Belmont, T. Blackman; Agent Wolford Col ge, C. B. Smith. Marion District-Presiding Elder, B Wilson ; Marion, T E Morris; Cen nary, G. R. Whitaker; Brittons *eck, J. R. Copeland; Conway. W. Stokes; Bucksville, J. F. Way; onway Circuit, W, E. Barre; Wacca w, D. A. Calhoun; Bay boro, G. 7. Gatlin; Loris, J. R. Sojourner; ' s J. G. Ariail; North Mullins, ams; LittI ek, A. J. Cauthen, r.; Clio, B. M. .~,; Blenheim, P. !Wells; McCall M.~U T. L. Bel in: Bennettsville, J. L. -e; Ben irightsville, J. B. Traywick; No arlboro, XW. S. Goodwin. Orangeburg District-Presiding El er, John Owen; Orangeburg, E. O. Vatson; Orangeburg Circuit, J. C. ounge; Lower St. Matthews, M. XV. look; Providence, C. D. Mann and .Speer; Branchvilie, .1. C. Stoll; outh Branchville. E1. A. Wilkes; ~amberg, T. C. O'Dell; Denmark, M. . Kelly; Barnwell, WV. L. XWaite; Villiston. J. C. Davis; Springfield, E. E. Stokes; Boiling Springs, G. P. ooser; Orange, W. E. Wiggins; E. ito, N. K. Melton: Aiken, A. J. Staf rd: Swansea, J. T. McFarland and .E. Smith. Sumter District-Presiding Elder. '. J. Clyde; Sumter, J1. WV. Daniel; umter Mission, T. G. Herbert, .Jr., umter Circuit. T. P. Phillips; Man ing, WV. H. Hodges: Santee, A. B. Vatson: -Jordan, W. A. Pitts; Fores >n, E. H. Beckham; New Zion, WV. .XWright; Lynchburg, J. S. Porter: 3wego, J. E. Rushton; Bishopville, . W. Elkins: Bethany, J. D. Frier >n: Salem Station, S. WV. Henry; ershaw, J. G. Beck with; Smithville, 'eter Stokes: Camden. J. T. Pate: St. ohn's Mission, T. B. Bailey ; Wateree, .M. Robertson; Richland, T. J. hite: Wedgetield, W. J. Dowel. Frozen to Death.1 MIDDLEoN, N. Y., Dec. 16i.-Percy iddlebrook, Frank Roe and Patrick owers, all sons of prominent citizens f Orange county. Florida, took a de in a sleigh last night, returning t midnight. Roe and Powers at mpted to assist Middlebrook from 1e sl"5'>-ut found that he was dead nd fru,~en ::hff' CUBA MUST BE FREE. Prom:>t. 1. c >nition of Caban Iudpend enca Called for. JArKs)N VILLE, Dec. 10.-The iudig natioin of the Cubans of Jacksonville and the American friends of Cuba over tic reported cowardly assassina tion of General Antonio Maceo under a flag of truce was expreesed tonight by a great torchlight procession and mass meeting on a vacant lot, no building in Zthe city, being large enough to accommodate the crowd. Judge R. B. Archibald, one of the leading lawyers of Florida, presided, and speeches denurciary of General Weyler and the Spanish government were made by prominent citizens. Ex-Mavor D. U. Fletcher, member of the Florida legislature. said: "The highest authority in the United 'Sates, President Cleveland. tells us there is no war in Cuba. If not why is it a craft cannot leave this port without being chas-d by armed cruisers? I tell you there is war in Cuba, and the time has come when we as American people can no longer say that the Spanish people are examples of chiv alry. Their chivalry now exists in butchering crippled men, weak wom en and children. We know what free dom and liberty means and we will stand by Cuba and see that she gets her freedom." Judge R. B. Archibald, in his ad dress, said: "A few dags ago Presi dent Cleveland, in referring to Cuba. expressed what he supposed was the sentiment of the American people in referring to the honor and chivalry of the Spanish people. In the war of the rebellion it is said that Cleveland hired a substitute. He believes in sub stitutes, and in his message substitut ed his opinion for that of the Ameri can people. The substitute is repudi ated by the American people, who now clamor for the recognition of Cuba as a free and independent na tion. We not only are here to express indignation at the manner in which Maceo was asssinated, but to cxpress indignation at the appointment of Spanish spies as United States deputy marshals. It seems that the Spanish cilicials are dictating to and controll ing the Federal officials." Sheriff Napoleon Broward, the cam mander of the steamer Three Friends, was given an ovation when intro duced. He made a strong plea for free Cuba. He predicted victory for the Cubans by April 1, 1897. State Senator John E. Hartridge, a candidate for the United States sena torship, said that the cowardly assas sination of Maceo was the most disas trous thing that could have occurred for Spain. Maceo was a black man, but was fighting for white and black alike, and his death only created a greater sympathy for the struggling Cubans. J. N. C. Stockton, a national bank president and meraber-elect of the leg islature, thought that it was time President Clevelanl stopped dealing in long-winded seniences and acted according to the resolution of Senator Mills. It is titne to give the Spanish minister his passport and send nim home. Gen. J. J. Dickinson, commander of the Confederate veterans of Flori da, said he was ready to raise a regi ment of 1,000 men to go to Cuba and drive the Spanish off the Island. Resolutions calling upon the United States government to at once declare the independence of Cuba were unan imoasly adopted. The resolutions fol low Resolution offered by E. G. Blair: Be it resolvei, first, That we, the people of Jacksonville, Fla., in mass1 Sed receive the news of the assassination ! a Antonio Maceo. the gallant leader o af&~ban patriots, with profound sorrow d believe no act of intrigue, i-humanity, butchery and cowardice so appallingt in its nature can be found in the rec ords of warfare among civilized na- t tions save in the annais of Spanishr history. Second, Believing that the war in Cuba is being waged by the Spanish government in an inhumane, atro cious and uncivilized manner, never before equalled in the pages of histo ry, for cruelty, indecency and vice, 1 save in the acts of the barbarous and uncivilized nations. We, therefore, as a Christian com munity, appeal to the American con gress for the sake of humanity, to en act such legislation as will give Amer. ican citizens the right to legally aid the Cuban patriots and that our gov. ernment may at once declare the inde. pendence of the Cuban nation regard- 1 less of foreign complications. Tnird. We further appeal to all christian communities throughout this - broad land that cherish liberty, hu. manity and freedom and that abhor crime, oppression and tyranny, to do ~ whatever be in their power to encour- 2 age and aid the Cuban patriots in their gallant struggle for autonomy; and. believing as we are taught by the charts of constitutional government I that all men ought to be free and have ~ the right to enact such laws as are best suited to their .welfare and pro- ~ tection, we appeal to all men who en- C joy these blessings in a free republic ~ to assist those patriots who are trying ' to rid themselves of the oppressions of ~ tyrants and inhuman savages, who t represent a country whose govern- 1 ment is a disgrace to European ci vili zationi." A Convenient invention. An Orangeburg farmer comes to theo front with a new invention in the I shape of a Lubricator for oiling ye hile wheels without takin them off the axle. It is inserted i he hub between two of the spokes ,When want to grease your wheel aiyou a havegQdo is to withdraw, a plunger, b which o s with a spring, and put~ as much oil *needed on the axle. Upon being rele he spring closes up the oil hole until it ~.ned for oiling up again. It isave el t ous and clever device, and is boun a be used generally. With these lubri cators a vehicle can be oiled up any where along the road in less minute. The palent for this! invention is owned by the'Natio~ Lubricator Company of Qcangeburg, S. C. Mr. Jas. L. Sims,/Editor and Proprietor of the Orang' burg Times and Democrat, is the m nager of the company, which is a gli'arantee that it is all right. The ce~mpany wants an agent in this county to sell the Lubri cators. See advertLsement in another column. The silvek Republicans. WAsmiNsToN, Dec. 17.-The silver men of the Senate and House who bolted the St. Louis Republican Con vention held a ineeting last evening at the resideneja of Senator Teller.i There was no iction taken looking toi a course of prockedure on their part as to legislation id this or the next Con-i gress, although the indications were that they would "act together when the< time arrived. it was agreed, how ever, to continuEr the publication of the Bimetallic 1 nion for the purpose< of disseminati kowledge on the sil ver issue. Jongressmen were re quested to giwe their support to these publications ~nd assist in the circula tion of liteat re. This they unani mously agreei to do. POS3I1BIL!.ES OF WAR uetween the United st:ttes and Stain AIbout Cuba. WASrINUToN, Dec. 15.-Arter an impressive opening prayer by Rev. T. DeWitt Talmage, to-day, Serator Mor gan of Alabama held the attention of the Senate and well filled galleries for an hour by his earnest advocacy of a strong and decisive policy in dealing with the Cuban question. The prom inence of Mr. Morgan in the Cuban lebate of last session, when he had charge of the Cuban resolutions re ported from the committce on foreign relations, gave special interest to his speech today. He spoke in a dispas sionate style, although his words had a directness and severity ia pictuing the horrors existinz in Cuba such as is seldom heard in the Senate. Mr. Morgan spoke freely of the pos sibilities of war, welcoming it if neces 3ary to guarantee the protection of American citizens. He asserted that pain's bankruptcy would prevent the collection of any indemnity for wrongs. The Senator questioned the wisdom of the President's position that the granting of belligerent rights would be untimely. Mr. Morgan went on to speak of the trying situation which required prompt action to save thousands of innocent people from cruel and delib rate butchery. The wholesale mas acres of Spain was no surprise to the enator, who had anticipated it. "If war with the United States is ecessary to reconcile the Spanish peo ple to the loss of Cubi by foreign con :uest," said Mr. Morgan, "we shall be :ompelled to meet that emergency. If he destruction of Cuba is enough to atisfy the popular sentiment of re venge, we can avoid a war with Spain by remaining inactive wh'.le our own people are being ruined or sluaghtered long with the Cubans. If we mean to take any action towards the ending of this war of aunihilation and exter nination, we have no time to lose." Mr. Morgan referred to the resolu Jion of Congress at the last session, which he said left to the President the hoice of concurring with the policy >f Congress or delaying. The Presi lent chose delay. "The war has con tinued," said Sena tor Morgan, "until it has reached the anal and desperate stage of war of de vastation and extermination, with the people of Cuba as a prey to those who bave set aside the usual honorable iages of warfare, and have become robbers, cut-throats, assassins, ravish ,rs and pirates." Alt of these crimes, Mr. Morgan de :lared, would be found to have been mthentically stated to the government, when the seals of secrecy are broken mnd they are brought to the knowledge )f the world for the vindication of our :ourse, "if we are forced to war to put mn end to this saturnalia of blood and Ire." Congress had reason to regret the inaction of the President. A firm de :arati6n that the conflict in Cuba had -eached the stage of open, public war would admonish Spain that the United States at least would hold her account Lble for the observance of the rules of :vilized warfare. "0 urpeople were not content," said r. Morgan, "to suffer these wrongs within earshot of our frontier, and to pile up claims, petitions and proofs to be brought before Spain in the endless palaver of dispiomatic cor respondence. While we know that wrong have been done to our people ad other wrongs are tareatened, our overnment is in the most humiliating state of innocuous desuetude if it in terposes no helping hand to the suffer ers and refuses to forbid the further levastation and :h ath that a cruel ~overnmnent is now inflicting upon hem." The Senator said he foresaw that the hewas near at hand when the inal tanE -f the United States must be aken. '~hsforeshadowed by the esgand he moment might come it any time th~ President would take tdefinite and inal stand. When this :amo the Senator would follow the olors of the Pr ident, and if it meant var, would any merican hesitate to -espond? There as no alternative >etween further humni"' ting delay ot >f intervention. In conclusion, Mr. Mo gan said: 'In this condition of ims otency to stablish peace in Cuba and perman nt security for our own peop e, while he Spanish monarchy is do inant in hat island we have no altern tive lef t o us but the single choic *between he continuous repetition if the evils ortrayed in the message of the Presi Lent, or a base, humiliating and cruel elay on our part while ra pijne and de truction are rampant in the hope hat some fortunate turn in events ay relieve us from a duft that we Swe to humanity, to Chari tian civihi ation, to the spirit and tr ditions or eur country and our people, and to the ives and liberties of our eople in uba who are now held b the cruel sower of Spain. I do not ely upon ny authority for what p ed beyond le President's message an the report f the Secretary of State That is nough;-facts are incontro ertible and ur duty is plain. If we f il to act up n them, we take the res asibility of delay to perform a plai duty, at he expense of our people 'vhose ives are in constant peril." At the close of Mr. Morgan's h te asked for the adoption of tt- e olution presented yesterday reques og the Secretary of State for the pa ers in the Competitor case and fori ther cases involving the arrest of1 nited States citizens by the Sanish uthorities. The resolution was agreed : without division. Swindled their Uncles. NEw YORK, Dec. 16.-Pawn brokers 11 over this country and Canada have ~ een swindled by an elaborate scheme, hich was operated from this city as entre. The men engaged in it over rorked the fraud when they found it C ucceeed easily, and two of them cave been arrested here. Their names re John Palmer and George Wilson. Ws~.er says h'% is a jeweler; Wilson ~ a pr from. Philadelphia. The :ommo itsod oi valuation for a sto " toush' with acid the rim -such a process 2 4s :eing disturbing to the W la Tistdc est the suspected watches~iv tc erfectly, and $15. S:) and a=igh asti 05 had been loaned on them. The t rtual loaning value was frcm $;to P /1. The deception was through th retense that the watches were all sold while only the parts usually test d by pawn brokers was of this metal. Works and cases bore counterfeited narks of standard manufacturers. Tyrany of a Trust. KANsAs Cirx, Mo., Dec. 16.-The irst real eftfect of the recently organ zed Kansas coal combine was made nanfest when a local dealer who had >een cutting rates and refused to en er the trust received a "Kansas City ate card." which stated that u:11ess he hse to sell at the combine's price he vould be unable to obtain coal from he mines with which he had been ealing. The local dealer had an greement with a Pittsburg Kansas, nine to serve him with coai, but this igreement the miners now claim s not binding. The b-zldness of the |rust has caused alarm amongdelr ANSWER OF DR. J WM. STOKSES Sca&fhirq f. Illy to Col. John~Storis No-te o f Protest. It wvml be remernbere.i that a few weeksago the notice and grounds of protest upon which Col. Thomas 1. Johnston will rely for his contest r.fains, Dr. J. William Stoke-s for his seat in the 54th Congress were pub. lished. The answer of Dr. Stokes was served on Col. Johnston in Sum ter yestErday. This answer was pre pared by Capt. B. H. Moss, the gener al attorney for Dr. Stokes in the con test, and will prove of interst to ail who reid the "Notice of protes.." It will be almost an impossibility for Dr. Stokes to be ousted from his seat in tLC present Congress, as the Congress ex pires n March, and there is not sufli eient time, as allowed by law, for the taking of testimony in the contest and the filing of all papers. But it is gen erally understood that Col. Johnston wili also contest the seat of Dr. Stokes in the 55th Congress, which will in volve practically the very same issues as are brought into thet present con test. The following are the nain featur-es in the answer served on Col. Johnston: Hon. Thos. B. Johnston: The un dersigned, contestee. protests that tie notice served on him by you, that you proposed to contest his right to *it as a member of the 54:h Congress from the th district of South Carolina, contains mere sweeping allegations; that said charges are vague at d do not, as they should,specify particulary the grounds upon which contestant relies in the contest, so that the contestee may be informed and kaox definitely what it is to which he is required to make a swer and against wnat it is he is to de fend. Second. The contestee denies the allegations contained in paragraph one of said notice of contest, and alleges that the present Constitution of South Carolina was regularly adopt ed and made of force by the said sov reign State of South Carolina, and in no way con1licts with or contravenes either the Constitution of the United States or any statates enacted thera under. Thir,. The contestee denies the al legations contained in Paragraph 2 of said notice of contest, and alleges that the election held on the 3rd day of November, 1896, to fill the vacancy for Representative in the 54th Con gress from the 7th district of South Uarlina was regularly held according to law, under a writ of election issued by the Governor of the State of South Carolina, in accordance with the pro visions of the Constitution of the United States, and that said election in no way violated the spirit or intent of the resolution of the House of Rep resentatives passed on the 1st day of June 1886, creating said vacancy, and the House of Representatives did not have or assume to have any jurisdic Lion to control or prescribe the mcde of holding elections in South Caroli na. S I Fourtn. The contestes denies each a-nd every allegation contained in Paragraph 3, and denies, furtber, that any citizen of the United States or of South Carolina was deprived of the right to vote except under the provis ions of the Constitution and laws of the State of South Carolina, and de nies that the managers of election rz fused or neglected to receive the bal lots of nine thousand five hundred persons who offered to -vote for you, and alleges that the Constitution of South Carolina adopted in 1868 was changedt and altered in accord ance with the provisions of that Con stitution itself. * * * And contestee further alleges that the State of South Carolina has the right to change her Constitution as suits her sovereign will, subject to such limitations only as are set forth in the Constitution of the United States, and that the State of South Carolina was not admitted in to the Union by the Act of Congress passed March 2, 1867, and Acts supple mentary thereto, but has been a con tinuous member of the Union, the equal of any of her sister States, from the 23d day of May, 178S, when she ratified the Constitution of the United States. Fifth. That the contestee denies hat a sufficient number of persons were rejected to have changed the re mut of said election, even if the con testant should have received the votes >f all such rejected persons; therefore, the contestee denies the allegations :ontained in Paragraoh 4 of th e said otice of contest. Sixth. The contestee den-es each and very allegation c-ontained in para ~raph five of said notice of contest, ad denies that the managers of elec on in any way discriminated seains mny class of citizens of the United tates or of the State of South Caroli Seventh. The contestee admits that said election was held at the same time s the general election, which was eld under the new Constitution and as of South ;Carolina, but denies each and every other allegation con ained in paragraph six of said notice >f contest and alleges that the Gover aor of the State of South Car-olina ex rcised his prerogative of office under he Constttution of the United States ad issued the writ of election to take lace on the same day as the regular ~eneral election, which was before the ime for the next regular session of .he Fifty-fourth Congress, that the sontestant is inconsistent in complain .ng that the writ of election was not ssued as soon as the vacancy occurr ed, for the reason that had it been ued then and the electioa held im - a iately thereafter, it would neces arily ave been held under the pro isions o- the old eler- ion laws of outh C lina, whica contestant laimed, an which the committee on lections of t is House held, to be un onstitutional. Eighth. 'lh contestee denN'- the llegations con ined in paric --aph even of said not 'e of contest and al eges that the reg ' tration ollieers of amter County in n way discriminat d against any class- f citizS tdo the nited States, or of S. h M~4olina, nd did not illegally or egister any of the frie estee. Ninth. Contestee det f the registration offic' ~County was disq'r sefrom holding sai iey rons who voted -jg and legally liIie~d aWquired b Tenth. Tigcontes :he Republican iarty ;rict and in the StRC a is divided into tw pposed to eachr othe .he reorganized or Me he other known as t Webster faction, both f :wo distinct tickets in t election held on the ovember, 189t. for P ors and other offices, a ion the regular, or ecived a much sm votes than the other >elonged o the weak. ecout of tilisfaction iot loyally orctivel he reorganized factio ~ontrary, you were a >ior to and during nany influential Rep listrict. Absolutely Pure. A cream of tartar baking powder. Highest of all in leavening strength. --Latest United States Govirnn let Fwn)l 1lkport. RonL BAKING POWDER Go., New York. on the :31 day of November, 189", was conducted fairly, impartially and without discrimination, and that both political parties were allowed repre sentation at the polling p:ecincts in said 7th district J. WILLIAMI STOKES. C)nteStee. B. H1. Moss, Cunsel for Cotestee. LOST IN THE SWAMPS. Terrible FAte of a Roy in Gorgetown County. PLANTEINVILLE, Dec 1V5.-Your cor respondent heard some days ago that a boy had been lost in "Carver's bay" and upon inquiry, finds the report well founded and surrounded by such circumstances as makes a sad atid heartrending story, particularly .so be cause of the inditierence shown by the parents and those naturally most in terested in the boy; nearly twa weeks elapsed before the magistrate at this place was informed and appealed to for aid. Few people know what a huge and denseswamap, parts of whiea are impenetrable, "Carver's bay" is, and what kinds of wild beasts dwell in its jungles. It extends across the northeastern portion of the caanty, from Black river to Pee Dee, the eai tera end of which, however, is a bAld stroam, and is kaowa as Cyprss creek, emptying into the Pee Dee riv er two miles from this place. It seems that on. November 30.h1 Mr. Daniel Jac:bs, living near the bay, went deer hunting and carried a 1) year old negro boy to help "drive." The hunting is done on the edge of the bay and the swamp tributary there-. to. The boy was given a blowing horn and cautioned how far to venture in, and that is the last of John Hughes, for that was his name. Af ter a reasonable time, the boy not re turning, horns were blown and blowo, but whether he mistook the direction or did not hear them will never be known. When Mr. Jacobs informed the boy's parents they showed little or no con cearn and n6ne of the negroes seemed inclined to search for the unfortunate child; so, whether he was ffzm to death or devoured by wild beasts will hardly ever be ascertained. It is claimed that a woman heard a horai blowing in the bay near midnight on December 2.1, t wo days after the boy was lost, and just at the beginning of that terrible Ireeze, and it is taought that it was the blovving of the lost boy, but unless there is a well defined uiding sound from the outside, in all probability the wiliest woodsman would be doomed in that terri~ waste, 1o say nothing ofa boy 10 years old with little experIence in r-oodcraft, if any.. . I have heard horrible experienc.'s in connection with this lonely sgZ of wilderness, among which old hunteid are reported to spend hours in retrac ing a few steps from the edge, and in another case, where a good wooasman left a certain spot only to return after making repeated efforts to get out and* fially having to trust to the horse for a safe deliverance. Therae are parts f "Carver's bay", it is claimad, that man has never penetrated, so vast is its wilderness. It is reasonable to assume that ;John ughes has met a horrible, violent ed 'as his people did not seek for him while he was yet alive, it is impossi le that they v~ill venture a search for hs remains. GEORGETOWN, Dec. 17.-A most ter rible experience, told and vouched for y Mr. Daniel Jacobs of Carver's bay, is he great exposure and wonderful en urance of a colored boy 10 years old who, the day before the receznt bliz ard, followed Mr. Jacobs out into the oods to help him place a pack of ounds on a deer's trail. Mr. Jacobs, hinking the boy would keep up, or n earing, rode on, absorbed in the hase. That was the last seen of the ufortunate boy until last Monday, when after wandering around in the ense bay lost, ill clad, shoeless and ubsisting on the withered berries of winter and the bark from trees, he eard the sound of a turpentine chip ~ers axe, by which he was led to suc or and almost from the grim grasp of eath. After fourteen days' exposure hree or four of which were during hat terrible freeze, weak and attenu ated in frame, it is wonderful to note hat one so young anad miserably lothed is living anid rapidly recover ng.-The State. Gallant 31aceo stil1 ived ! KEX WE.ST, December 37.-Pa:nen ers who arrived here from Cuba last iight report that General Pratt had wired Gen. Weyler, fro-n Mat-anzts that he had an engagement in that >rovince with Antonio Maceo's forces ad by Maceo himself and that upon ceipt of the telegram conveying this aformation, all festivities which were n progress iniHavaca to celebrate the b ath of' Maceo were ordered suspend -J ~p'--~-~urther stated thata