The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, November 09, 1898, Image 4

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HEAVEN IM1PROVES. Dr. Talmage Tells How God's Home Has Improved. AN OLD FASHIONED iDEA. The Illimitable Vastness of Para dise. vmi:+ the Future on High Will Be. Heaven Beautified by Death. All out of the usual line of seo.moniz ing this story of Dr. Talige concern ing the next world. and it war do good to see things from a novel standpoit. The text is Revelation xxi. 1. "Amt I saw a new heaven. The stereotyped heaven does not make adequate impression upon us. We need the old story told in new style in order to arouse our appreciation. I do not suppose that we are compelled to the old phraseology. King James translators did not exhaust all the good and graphic words in English diction ary. I suppose if we should take the idea of heaven and translate it into modern phrase we would find that its atmosphere is a combination of early June and of the Indian summer in October-a place combining the advan tages of city and country. the streets standing foi the one and the 12 man ner of fruits for the other: a place of musical entertainments-harpers, prp ers, trumpeters, doxologies: a place of wonderful architecture--behold the temples: a place where there may be the higher forms of animal life-the beasts which were on barth beaten. lash whip ped and galled and unblanketed and worked to death. turned out among the white horses which the book of Revela tion describes as being in heaven; a place of stupendous literature-the books open; a place of aristocratic and democratic attractiveness-the kings standing for the one, all nations for the other; all botanical, pomological. ornithological, arborescent, worshipful beauty and grandeur. But my idea now is to speak chiefly of the improved heaven. People some times talk of heaven as though it were an old city, finished centuries ago. when I have to tell you that no city on earth during the last 50 years has had such changes as heaven. It is not the same place as when Job and David and Paul wrote of it. For hundreds and hundreds of years it has been going through peaceful revolution, and year by year, and month by month, and hour by hour, and moment by moment it is changing, and changing for something better. Away back tbere was only one residence in the universe-the residence of the'Almighty. Heaven had not yet been started. Immensity was the park all around about this great residence, but God's sympathetic heart after a while overflowed in other creations, and there came all through this vast coun try of immensity inhabited villages, which grew and enlarged until they joined each other and became cne great central metropolis of the universe, streeted, gated, templed, watered, in habited. One angel went forth with a reed, we are told, and he measured heaven on one side, and then he went forth and measured heaven on the other side, and then St. John tried to take the census of that city, and he became so bewildered that he gave it up. That brings me to the first thought of my theme-thrt heaven is vastly im proved iu numbers. Noting little un der this head about the multitude of adults y'ho have gone into glory during the last 100 or 500 or 1,000 years, Ire member there are 1,600,000,000 of peo ple in the word-, and that the vast ma jority of people 'die in infancy. How many children must .have gone into heaven during the last 500 or 1,000 years. If New York should gather in one generation 1,000,000 population, if London should gather in one genera tion 4,000,000 population, what a vast increase. But what a mere nothing as compared with the 500,000,000, the 2,C00,000,000, the "multitude that no man can number," that have gone into that city. Of course all this takes for granted that every child that dies goes as straight into heaven as ever the light speed from a star, and that is one rea son why heaven will always be fresh and beautiful-the great multitude of chil dren in it. Put 300,000,000 children in a country, it will be a blessed and lively country. But add to this, if you will, the great multitude of adults who have gone into glory, and how the census of heaven must run up. Many years ago a clergyman stood in a New England pulpit and said that he believed the vast majority of the race would finally be destroyed, and that not more than one person out of 2,000 persons would be finally saved. There happended to be about 2,000 people in the village where he preached. Next Sabbath two persons were heard dis cussing the subject and wondering which one of the 2,000 people in the village would finally reach heaven, and one thought it would be the minister, and the other thought it would be the old deacon. Now, I have not much ad miration for a lifeboat which will go out to a sinking ship with 2,000 pas sengers and get one off in safety and let 1,999 go to the bottom. Why, heaven must have been a village when Abel, the first soul from earth, entered it as compared with the present population of that great city! Again, I remark that heaven has vast ly improved in knowledge. Give a man 40 or 50 years to study one science or all sciences, with all the advantages of laboratories and observatories and philosophic apparatus, he will be a marvel of information. Now, into what intelligence must heaven mount. angel hood sainthood, not after studying for 40 or 50 years, but for thousands of years-studying God and the soul and immortality and the universe! How the intelligence of that world muns sweep on and on, with eyesight farther reaching than telescope, with power cf calculation mightier than all human mathematics, with powers of analysis surpassing all chemical laboratory, with speed swifter than telegraphy! What must heaven leran with all these ad vantages in a month, in a year, in a century, in a millennium? The differ ence between the highest university on earth and the smallest class in a prim ary school cannot be a greater difference. than heaven as it now is and heaven as it once was. Do you not suppose that when Dr. James Simpson went up fronm the hospitals of Edinburgh into heaven he knew more than ever the science of ealth, and that Joseph ie nry, grad uating from the Smithsonian institution into heaven, awoke into higher realms of philosophy, and that Sir William Hamilton, lifted to loftier sphere, un derstood better the construction of the human intellect, and that John Milton took up higher poetry in the actual pres ence of things that on earth he had tried to describe? When the first saints entered heaven, they must have studied only thme A B~ C of the fn!! literature of wisdom with which ther are now ae But you ay. i-iIt hiaven alys been perfeet:' Oh, yes. but not in the sense that it cannot bo auumented. It has- been :rolling on in* grandeur. Christ has been. there. and he never changes- -the same yesterday. today and forever. glorious then and glori ous now and glorious forever. lut I speak now of attractions outside of this. and I have to tell you that no place on earth has improved in so ciety as heaven has within the last 70 years. for the most f % ou within 40 years. within 20 ycars. within 5 years. within I year-in other words. by the accessions from iour own household. If heaven were ilaced in groups-- -an apostolic group. a patriarch:J group. a prophetic aronp. group tf martyr. group of angels a d then a group t your own gloritied kindred which .troup would you choo se-. 1ou migh t look around and make comparison. but it would not take you on to choose. You wouhi say: l ive me back those whom I loved on earth: let ine enter into their society--miy parents. my children. my brothers. my sisters. We lived together on earth: let us live together in heavenl. Oh, is it not a blessed thought that heaven has been improved by its society. this colouia tion fron earth to heaven? Again. I remark that heaven has greatly improved in the good cheer of announced victories. Where heaven rejoiced over one soul it now rejoices over 10) or 1.0011. In the olden times. when tle events of human life were seatte -ver four or five centuries of longe.y ~and the world moved slowly. there were not so many stirring events to be reported in heaven, but now. I suppose, all the great events of earth are reported in heaven. If there is any truth plainly taught in this Bible, it is that heaven is wrapped up in sympathy with human history, and we look at those inventions of the day-as telegra phy. at swift communication by steam, at all these modern improvements which seem to give one almost omni presence--and we see only the secular relation, but spirits before the throne look out and see the vast and the eter nal relation. While nations rise and fall, while the earth is shaking with revolution, do you not suppose there is arousing intelligence going up to the throne of God. and that the question is often asked before the throne. "What is the news from that world-that world that rebelled, but is coming back to its allegiance?' If ministering spirits, according to the Bible, are sent forth to minister to those that shall be heirs if heaven, when they come down to us to bless :us. do they not take the news back? Po the ships of light that come out of the celestial harbor into the earthly harbor, laden with cargoes of blessing, go back unfreighted? Min istering spirits not only, but our loved ones leaving us take up the tidings. Suppose you were in a far city and had been there a good while, and you heard that some one had arrived from your native place-some one who had recent ly seen your family and friends-you would rush up to that man, and you would ask all about the old folks at home. And do you not suppose when your child went up tc God your glori fied kindred in heaven gathered around and asked about you to ascertain as to whether you were getting along well in the struggle of life, to find out whether you were in any especial peril, that with swift and mighty wing they might come down to intercept your perils? Oh, yes! Heaven is a greater place for news than it used to be-news sound ed through the streets, news ring ing from the towers, news heralded from the palace gate. Glad news! Victorious news! But the vivacity and sprightliness of heaven will be beyond all conception when the final victories come in, when the church shall be triumphant every where. Oh, what a day in heaven it will be when the last throne of earthly oppression has fallen, when the last chain of serfdom is broken, when the last wound of earthly pain is healed, when the last sinner is pardoned. when the last nation is redeemed! What a timie there will be in heaven! You and I will be in the procession, you and I will thrum a string in that great orches tra. That will be the greatest day in heaven since the day when the first block of jasper was put down for the foundation and the first hinged pearl swung. If there is a difference between heaven now and heaven as it was, oh. the difference between heaven as it shall be and heaven as it is now! Not a splendor stuck fast, but rolling on and rolling on. and rolling up and roll ing up. forever, forever. I speak these words on the changes in heaven and the new improvements in heaven also because I want to cure some of you of the delusion that your departed Christian friends have gone into dullness and silence and uncon sciousness. They are in a sirring, pic turesque. radians. ever accumulative scene. When they left their bodies, they only got rid of the last hindrance. They are no more in Oakwood, Laurel Hill or Mount Auburn than you. in holiday attire, having seated yourself at a banquet, can be said to be in a dark loset, where you have left the old ap parel that was not fit to wear to the banquet. A soldier cannot use a sword until he has unsheathed it. and the body of your departed was only the sheath of a bright and glittering spirit which God has lifted and is swaying in the heavenly triumph. According to what I am telling you at present, your departed Christian friends did not go o much into the company of the mar tyrs, and the apostles, and the prophets. and the potentates of heaven as into the company of grandfather and grand mother and the infant sister that tar ried just long anough to absorb your tenderest affection and all the home circle. When they landed. it was not as you land in Antwerp or Hamburg or Havre. wandering up a strange wharf. asking for a strange hotel. They land ed amid your glorified relatives, who were waiting to greet them. Oh. does not this bring heaven near er? Instead of being far off it comes down just now, and it puts its arms around our necks. and we feel its breath on our faces. It melts the frigid splen dor of the conventional heaven into a domestic scene. It comes very close to us. If we had our choice in heaven. whom would we first see? Rather than o>k at thie great potentates of hcaven we would meet our loved one. I want to see Moses and Paul and .Joshua, but 1 would a great deal rather see myi father. who went away .'0yasao want to see the great Bible heroines. Deborah and Hannah and Abigail, but I would rather see my mother thtan to see the archangeel. I do not think it was superstitious when one Wednesday night I stood by a death-bed within a few blocks of the church where I preached, and on the same street. and saw one of the aged Christians of the church going into glory. After I had prayed with her 1 said to her: "We have all loved you very much and will always cherish your memory in the Christian church. You will see miy son before I see him, and I wish you would give him our love." 8e'I said, " will ..1 wil.1 -a in 241 as n ave1 the la.t words she ever spoke. It was a .wift message to the skies. If you had your choice between riding in a heavenly chariot and occupying the grandest palace in heaven and sitting on the throne next highest to the throne of God and n111t seCing your departed jues. aind on the other hand dwelling in the humblest place in heaven. without crown or throne and without garland and without scepter. yet having your loved ones around you. you would choose the latter. I say thee things because I want you to know it is a do Inestie heave n. and consequently it is all the tine improving. Every one that goes up makes it a brighter place. and the attractions are increasing month by month and day by day. and heaven. so vastly more of a heaven, : thousand tin:es more of a heaven than it used to be. will lie a better heaven vet. Oh. I say this to intensify 'our anticiwation. I enter heaven one day. It is almost empty. I enter the temples of worship. and there are no worshipers. I walk down the street. and there are no pas sengers. I go into the orchestra, and I finI the instruments are suspended in the baronial halls of heaven, and the great organs of eternity. with multudi nous banks of keys, are closed. But I see a shining one at the gate, as though he were standing on guard. and I say: Sentinel, what does this mean? I thought heaven was a populous city. ilas there been some great plague sweeiig off the population?~ "lave you not heard the news?" says the sen tinel. 'There is a world burning, there is a great conflagration out yon der, and all heaven has gone out to look at the conflagration and take the vic tims out of the ruins. This is the day for which all other days are made. This is the judgment. This morning all the chariots and the cavalry and the mounted infantry rumbled and galloped down the sky." After I had listened to the sentinel I looked off over the battlements, and I saw that the fields of air were bright with a blazing world. I said, "Yes, yes, this must be the judgment," and while I stood there I heard the rumbling of wheels and the clattering of hoofs and the roaring of many voices, and then I saw the coro nets and plumes and banners, and I saw that all heaven was coming back again -coming to the wall, coming to the gate, and the multitude that went off in the morning was augmented by a vast multitude caught up aliye from the earth, and a vast multitude of the re surrected bodies of the Christian dead, leaving the cemeteries and the abbeys and the mausoleums and the graveyards of the earth empty. Procession mov ing in through the gates. And then I found out that what was fiery judgment day on earth was jubilee in heaven, and I cried: "Doorkeepers of heaven, shut the gates; all heaven has come in! Doorkespers, shut the 12 gates lest the sorrows and the woes of earth, like bandits, should some day come up and try to plunder the citv!" THE PRESS GANG. Headquarters for Newspaper Men at the Fair Grounds. The representatives of the press who attend the State fair this year will find a room on the grounds handsomely pre pared for their entertainment and con venience. This has been decided on, and the spacious room formerly used by the treasurer has been given over for the benefit of the reporters and visiting journalists. It is the intention of the management to have it well furn ished and equipped in every par ticular. There will be on file at this office all the weekly and daily papers of the State. Those desiring to re ceive information will know just where to find it. An effort will be made to interest all the members of the State Press associa tion in the undertaking, and to accord all the visiting editors a most cordial reception while there. Besides the files or all papers of the State there will be stationery for the newspaper men. and every courtesy will be shown them. Not only members of the State Press association, but every visiting journal ist is to be welcomed to the office. A great advantage to be derived from this feature of the fair is that it will be a bureau of information for the news paper representatives. A correct tabu lation of all awards and premiums will be kept for inspection. Just as soon as an award is niade it will be entered on the books which will be kept on large tables in the room. The work of reporting the proceedings of the day will be greatly expedited and will save much labor to the "Knight of the Quill."_________ Catching On Fast. With fine irony the New York Even ing Post points out the new American ism shown by the Cuban lactions in Santiago province who clamor for the exclusive posession of the spoils of of fice. "Gen. Wood," it says " 'regards the outlook as rather discouragings Why? we should like to ask. Could stronger evidence be given us that the 'elevating' process has already begun in Cuba? Not only begun, but so far as this portion of our new posessions is concerned, virtually completed. They have grasped our system perfectly! What is the difference between the rca soning of Gen. Rios in favor of having his man put into the mayoralty of Man zanillo, and that which President Hiar rison followed when lhe 'fired' Mr. Pear son fl-om the postmastership of New York and put Mr. Van Cott in his place. Was ever such devotion as this to a new system of government shown by a rude and hitherto barbaric people? They have been 'eelvated,' civilized at a single stroke, and under their leaders take their places with the rest of us as Amer~can citizens living happily under boss govern ment and en joying the emoluments and blessm is thereof." Gitting a Move on Her. The city council of Charleston has apropriated the Thompson bequest, amounting to about $25,000,I) to the erection of an auditorium. The city had already appropriated $5,Ot00 for the purpose, and this, added to thc $25.000I of the Thompson bequest will make a handsome sum to be used for the large building. The auditorium will have a seating capacity of 750(0 people and will be ready in time foi' the reunion of the Confederate Veterans in Charles ton iiext May. Hilton s. odoform Liniment is the "nec plus ultra" of all such preparations in re moving soreness, and quickly healing fresh cuts and wounds, no matter how bad. It will promptly heal old sores of long standing. Will kill the pois on from "Poison Ivy" or "Poison Ok" and cure "Dew Poison." 'Will counteract the poison from bites of snakes an stings of in sects. It is a sure cure for sore throat. Will cure any ease of sore mouth, and is a supe ror remedy for all pains and aches. Sold by druggists and dealers 25 cents a MIRACULOS L 'A "E Miss Maude Roudebush Saved Her Life by Her Voice. THE GIRL TELL THE STOYR. Her Awful Experience in the Water Under an Overturned Boat. Details of Disaster. Miss Maude Roudebush, one of the few passengers on the Atlantic Trans port company's ste.imer Mohegan, which was wrecked on Friday evening. Oct. 14, off the Lizard. arriyed here recently on the Cunarder Etruria. Miss Roudebush was met on the Cu nard pier by a number of her friends, including her aunt, Mrs. Roudebush, who as Agnes Ethel was well known on the stage years ago. Miss Roudebush has not yet recov ered from the terrible experience she passed through on the night of the wreck. She saw her mother, Mrs. Grandin, die in the water from injuries she had suffered from the capsizing of one of the lifeboats. Miss Roudebush is a beautiful woman. Professionally Miss Roudebush is an operatic singer, her stage name being Maude Roudez. In describing her res cue Miss Roudebush said to a reporter of The World: "My escape was indeed miraculous. For more than an hour and a half I clung to the seat of an overturned life boat, with my head between the water and the bottom of the boat a couple of feet above me. My mother was gone. and I thought of her loss more than of my own danger. "People told me afterward I had only been in the water an hour and a half. To me it seemed an interminable peri od, many, many hours in length. "When I look calmly back at it all now I realize that my being alive to day is really due to the fact that my voice is trained and that I understand how to make it carry a considerable distance. Otherwise I doubt if the res cuers would have heard my cries for help. "My mother, Mrs. L. Grandin. and I left London in the Mohegan on the 13th and when the ship struck about 7 o'clock the next evening we had just gone into the dining room and were sitting *)t dinner. "With the others my mother and I left the table and started to go above. But the stewards continued to serve the dinner as calmly as if nothing had happened. 'Several of the passengers had their fears quieted by this and sat down at the tables agai-i. I was preparing to fellow their example, when one of the passengeas, -]r. Charles Duncan, rushed by me shouting, "To the life-preserv ers. "My mother and I went to the head of the stairs, where our staterooms were when we were met by a couple of the sailors. We had procured life-pre servers but did not know how to fasten them to our bodies. The two sailors, however, attached them to us. There was still no panic on board. "Then every light on the ship went out. I think this happened four or five miinutes after she had struck. Then we weat out on deck with the others. It was rapidly becoming dark and the scene, was terrifying. "We stood there nearly ten minutes with the two sailors who had at first spoken to us at our sides. I could not see any of the officers, and in the noise and bustle heard no orders given, but two of the boats were launched. "One of them had a number of sailors in it. Just as the other was leaving the ship's side, Mr. Pemberton, one of the passengers, threw his wife into the boat, then he dropped his child after her, jumping himself the next instant. Mrs. Pemberton's maid made a wild leap for the boat and by a miracle was saved. "The two sailor told us we had bet ter get into one of the boats as it was our only chance. They crawled into a boat and we followed. They told us that if the boat floated free from the wreckage when the ship went down we would be saved, but we had only been there a few seconds when the sailors rawled out, one of them saying: 'My God, we can't die like this, we must try something else.' 'Out on deck the scene was now ter rible. People were rushing about crazy with fright. The masts were black with men, each one striving to get as near the top as he could. I started with my mother to climb one of the masts, but when I saw our two sailors start for another boat we followed them. "Many of the boats were still un fastened and I saw no attempt to launch them. The two sailors assisted us into one of the boats. The deck was now slanting badly and the sail ors said the ship must soon go down. In this same boat were Mr. Duncan. Mrs. Compton Swift, Dr. Fallows and a few others. "One of the men who had a knife tried to pass it to another so the boat's fastenings could be cut, but he was so excited he lost it. For a minute we sat there waiting without knowing what to expect. "Then in an instant I felt a wave strike me in the face, the boat lurch ed. turned over and began to sink. I wnt down and down, and when I fi nally came up I was almost uncon sious. I came up just under the up turned boat, and in throwing my arms about my hands caught hold of one of the seats. I never let go of that grip. "After awhile I rested my chin on the seat of the boat and partially rested my arms in that way. Near me was old Mr. Duncan. Every once in a while he cried out for help. Soon his cries began to grow weaker, and then they stopped altogether. I was afraid to think what had happened to him. "At times the air became so close in that upturned boat 1 thought I would die of suffocation. Then a wave would come and tilt up one side of it allowing fresh air to blow in. "Some time after the cries of Mr. Duncan had ceased I began to call for help. At intervals of every qjuarter of a minute ! cried out, life boat ahoy!' in a voice that must have carried a long distance. T kept this up for at last 45 minutes, but if my voice had not been trained it would have given out long before that and the rescuers would not have found us until too late. "While 1 was calling for help I could feel the head of some one bumping against my bosom. I put one hand down, and, feeling short hair, knew that the head belonged to one of the sailors who had assisted us into the boat. "Iwas still calling for help when the )oat was turr e: violently over and I fell exhausted into to the bottom, still -hingingt to the seat. Then some one rasped hold of me and dragged me into~ OHANDLER EXPLAINS. .Ie Makes a Good Witness for Free Silver We are indebted to Republican United States Senator Chandler, of New H ampshire. for a revival in a slight degree of the silver question. The way he presents it will not be objected to by any party, and is put briefly as fol lows: The report of the director of the mint will show as to the world's product for 1S97 as follows: Gold . .. ..237.504,800 Silver ..............236.730.300 In 189t; the product approximated: Gold ................. 215,000,Ot0 Silver ....... .. .. . . . . . . 215.000.000 Th e coil In existence .July 1, 18%6. was: Gold .................4.0 8.00,00 Silver .............4.070.500.000 Truly it seems as if nature were onl the side of bimetallism at 15 1-2 to 1. Does any one believe that if the above new silver for 1896 and 1897. as well as the new gold. had been added to the world's money any harm to any human being would have been done? On the contrary. it would have benefitted all rumanity, and the Sawyer woolen mills ht Dover would not have failed. In explanation of the last clause it is to be said the New Englandl woolen mills, as well as those in other parts of the country, are suspending because of the falling off in the demand for wool en goods; and yet the Dingly tariff on raw wool and wool manufactures is the highest in the history of the country. Nor are the wool growers prospering. They are holding off for better prices, while the woolen mills are shutting down because increased prices f ,r their products have cut down consumption and actually increased foreign impor tations. It is a queer condition. The present state of the woolen in dustry in manufactures, with the low prices and slack-demand for raw mate rial, afford remarkable facilities for a philosophic study of Dingleyism as em bodied in the wool schedule. It can wait, however. -Washington Post. THE METEORS WILL FALL. It Will Be a Sight Worth Sitting Up to See. A meteoric display of magnificent proportions visible in South Carolina, is expected next Monday and astrono mers have put those interested on no tice, so that the darting balls of fire can be seen and fully appreciated. The display, which is to be seen every thir ty-three years, last seen in 1866, when the ignorant people thought the stars were falling. The meteric showers al ways cause a great deal of attention and their appearance is always a signal for the ignorant and unknowing classes to expect judgment. One of the most magnificent showers -was in 1833, and this display of meteors caused intenre excitement. The stars began falling in the evening before the people went to bed and after several million apparent stars had fallen the people decided not to go to bed, as it was generally be lieved that the final day was at hand. But the people have been wrong in their belief that the stars were actually falling. The meteors are tiny substances millions in number, which come from the constellation of Leo. Why they come has never been- ascertained by those most learned in-astronomy, but they come without any apparent rea son and they come at the rate of twen ty-six miles a second. The world is moving at the rate of eighteen - miles a second and in an opposite direction to the meteors, which makes the flight of the meteor more than fifty miles a sec ond. There are millions of meteors which we never see as they pass and it is only those meteors which are burned by contact with the earth's atmosphere that we see. The mete ors we do not see sweep past the earth and are gone for thirty-three years, re turning and crossing the orbit of the earth on the morning of November 14th. Everybody has heard of the time when the stars fell. This was in 1883 and it was one of the first showers of meteors which had seriously attracted attention in these late days. The shower of 1883 was wholly unexpected and even the astronomers did not know what it meant. SALUDA BUNCOED. One of the Varied Experiences of a Live Little Town. The Saluda correspondent of the Greenville News, under date of Novem ber 2, says: "Our little town was again thrown into quite an excitement this morning over the absconding of one of our lead ing merchants, George Merriam. Mr. Merriam caine to Saluda something over a year ago, representing himself as hailing frm Illinois. He soon gained the confidence of most of the leading citizens by his keen insight into business and upright dealing. "He secretly sold his store and stock of goods yesterday, or last night some time, and before day this morning had departed for parts unknown- lie left a good many of the best citizens in the "soup.'' It seems that he tried to ob taia every dollar he could before taking leave. "Dozier Mobley is a loser to the amount of $400 or $500. Mr. Maxwell for about $300 or $400, Mr. Dean some thing over $200, and a great many more for less sums. ranging from $10 up to $15, besides the wholesale houses from whom he bought goods. '-Some of the losers were caught by accepting Mr. Merriam's checks on the bank of Johnston for various amounts and giving money in exchange there for. The persons who were thus swindled have telegraphed all over the country for the authorities to appre hend him. Bepides many of them have gone to Augusta as they had rea son to believe that lie was making for that city. "If he is caught it wRI very likely go hard with him, as many arc not in the bcst humor It was a well laid plan of his and seems to have been an ticipated by him for some time and lie caught a good many." Merriam was arrested in Augusta Friday, and will be taken back to Sa luda. _ _ _ _ _ _ Party of Seven Lost. Frank J. Walker. of Atlin City, who came down by the Farralson en route to Chicago. brings meagre news of a story current when lie left the north of the loss of a party of seven Californians, headed by E. F. Englehardt, of Fassa dena. from which locality all seven haild originally. The casualty occur ed in a swamp lying between the new gold fields and the terminus of steam avigation from Bennett lake. As nearly ne could be aseertained the party lost the trail. being inexperienced back woodsmen, and wandering into quick sand forming the bed of a dry creek, were engulfed. A searching party was sent from Atlin City to investigate, but nothing had been heard from them when Walker left. Tlhe nmes are not ob LOWER THAN IN YEARS. A Table That Tells the Story of the Staple's Downward Course. Cotton is probably lower than it has been any time since the civil war. In the mniory of none of the present trade has the quotation for the great staple been as low in the past thirty years as it now is. Since the opening of the cotton y ear on September 1, it has declined from 5" cents for mid dling, to 4-; ents, at which it is now quoted. a drop of 4 cent. or $2.50 on a 500-pound bale. The Columbia Record says while there have been greater drops than this in a similar space of time, such a de cline with prices so low as they have been is a serious blow to the farmers of the South. depending on cotton as their great money crop. The decline has brought cotton to the lowest point in its history in decades and given the market a feeling of gloom which hardly describes the sentiments of the unfor tunate producers. How they can pos sibly derive any profit from the present prices it is hard to see. A4 a matter of fact, they probably are not getting out of their cotton what it cost them to produce it. no matter how economically they ran their farms. It is a blue year for the cotton grower. The following table of quotations on November 1. for the last ten years, will give some idea of the present unfor tunate state of the market. The first column gives the quotation for spot middling at Columbia and the second and third the quotations for January and March delivery at New York: Columbia. New York. 1898........4 5-8c 5.17c 5.26c 1897......45-16e 5.85c 5.91e 1896.... ..7 1-8c 8.11c 8.23e 1895........8 7-16c 8.80c 8.90o 1894.... ..53-16e 5.54c 5.69c 1893........7 1-2c 8.23c 8.38c 1892......7 1-2c 8.19e 8.42c 1891.. ....7 5-Sc 8.35c 8.55c 1890.. .... 9 1-8c 9.68c 9.79c 1889.. ....9 3-8c 10.02c 10.16c 1888.. ....8 15-16c 9.68e 9.88c From September 26 to October 26, this year, the maket was unchanged, middling being quoted for a straight month at 44 cents. Factors were gen erally hopeful that this was the lowest point that would be reached. There was a good demand almost continuous ly at Liverpool, and the market held steadily until Thursday, when weak ness, which had been apparent for a few days, culminated in the decline, which, on Saturday, brought the price down to 4. cents, at which it has since re mained. The immediate cause of the further drop is said to have been an es timate by Mr. Neill that the present crop would be one of 12,000,000 bales. Mr. Neill has been more fortunate in his estimates than many others who have essayed to predict past crops, and considerable reliance is put upon any statements made, or alleged to have been made by him. There is no rea sonable doubt, any way, it is stated, that the crop is another great one and if Mr. Neill made the estimate referred to it evidently found ready believers abroad. The outlook appears to have no sil very lining anywhere. Especially is this true of the territory immediately about Columbia. Reports from an area of seventy to one hundred miles, as well as the cotton being received, show that the quality of the crop was mate rially injured by the storm and bad weather, so that considerable of it will only grade as ordinary or good ordinary and bring from 35 to 35 cents a pound, if the present quotations continue. There is absolutely nothing in it for the planters at such returns, and the prospect for them is far from agreeable, so fi as their cotton crop is con cerned.. With an enormous crop this year coming on top of the previous two large crops, the outlook for prices an other season, unless there is a sure de crease in the production, is something thz.t is really quite painful for cotton men to consider. The low prices may work out the salvation of the planters by forcing a reduction in the acreage, but such has not yet been the result of low prices in the past, although at no time has there been such poor returnzs to the growers as now. Deadl eats. A conductor on one of our passenger trains is also a steward in his church, and carries around the collection basket at the public service. It is said that on one occasion, passing by a man who did not contribute, the ticket puncher, after urging a contribution, reached up in a fit of absent-mindedness for the bell cord with a view of putting the de linquent off the train. Of course, he was confused and the congregation amused, but the incident fails not, nevertheless, to point out the moral as well as adorn a tale. There are a num ber of so-called Christians who are simply dead beating their way on the "gospel train." The State makes them pay their taxes, the "lodges" make them pay their dues, but not being forced to shell out for the support of the gospel, they show how little gnd mean they are by stealing a ride at the expense of their brethren. A First Regiment Flag. Mrs. Joseph K. Alston has presented to the First regiment a beautiful regi mental flag, which was purchased by the subscriptions of the ladies of Y ork ville, Winnsboro. Newberry, Judge Benet, Mrs. Alston and Mrs. Heath, of Laurens. It is of blue silk. On one side is the palmetto tree and coat of arms of the State, and on the other the coat of arms of the United States. In her letter Col. Alston says: "Please present this flag to the regiment in my name, and immediately upon the mus tering out register it among the 'achiives of the State' in memory of the honored dead who sacrificed their lives in their country's cause in the fateful Hlispano American war." Our Men Do Well. The first battalion of the Second South Carolina gave an exhibition drill and sham battle in Savannah Thursday afternoon. The drill was a decided success from every point of view and Colonel Thompson received many con gratulations from competent critics The sham battle was between two com panics on each side, and the officers managed it skillfully. Blank cart ridges were used and about 8,000 shots were fired. Thousands of spectators witnessed the drill and sham batt'e and applause were alike vociferous. No Negro Need Apply. Mr. W. HI. Stalling, the new Repub lican postmaster at Augusta, has caused a 2reat row in his party by for getting the existence of Negroes and putting white men in all the offices He is doubtless of the opinion that the black wing of the party was sufficiently rewarded by H-anna at the St. Louis THE OLD RELIABLE. The Oldest Railroad in the United States of America. Mr. L. A. E.mmcrson, traffie mana ger of the South Carolina and Georgia railroad, has compiled some interesting information about his road, which is the oldest in the United States, and excepting a few short lines built in England in the early 20s, the oldest in the world. The South Carolina com pany was organized May 21, 1828, and during 1829 six miles of the road were constructed. At the start horse power only was used. Then a premium of $500 was awarded to the inventor of the endless chain process. which was calculated to move passenger cars at the rate of 15 miles an hour. In 1829 and 1830 sails were substituted for horse power. This experiment proved highly satisfactory, as it carried, when the wind was right, 13 passengers and three tons of iron at the rate of 10 miles an hour. This means of locomotion, how ever, came to an abrupt end one day. when the wind suddenly changed and took the sail, mast and sailors and all overboard in a gale which drove the cars at 15 miles an hour. In March, 1830. a contract was awarded to the West Point- foundry of New York to construct an engine guar anteed to make ten miles an hour and haul three times its weight. This was the first locomotive built in America, and it was called Best Friend. It was a four-wheeled concern, all the -wheels being drivers. These wheels had iron hubs, with wooden spokes and felloes. The boilers was vertical, like an old style porter bottle. The machine ex ceeded in power the wiidest hopes of both the railway men and the builders, for it proved capable of carrying a load of between forty and fifty people six teen miles an hour. On June 18, 1831 however, a negro fireman held down the safety valve, and as a result the boiler exploded, landing the whole con cern in the ditch. The accident was thought at first to be the result of fast running, as the train was at the time making close to eighteen miles an hour, and shortly afterward the following resolution was adopted by the board of directors: ! No greater speed shall be made by the enginees than fifteen miles per hour wiih one car of passengers, twelve miles with two cars, and ten miles with three cars." The next engine owned by the South C.irolina road was named the West Point, and made two miles in eight minutes, The State legislature stepped in at this point and declared that this rate of speed was excessive and dan gerous to human life, and as a conse quence - the company put a "barriar" car an each train. This "barrier" car was a flat car loaded with cotton bales. which was expected to act as a sort of brake, and diminish the force of the fall when the passengers hit the ground. These experiments, Mr. Emerson says, were among the early experiences of this historical road. They began with horse power and sails, and today, after a varied experience, extending over nearly three-quarters of a century, the company possesses one of the best equipped roads in America. LyncherKilled. About 6 o'clock Wednesday morning in Auguasta, Ga., a Negro named Will Robinson attempted to rape Miss Mini nie Walker, but was foiled in his pur pose. Later he was arrested and con fined in the jail. The occurrence ex cited great feeling in that section of the city in which the young lady lives. During the night about 500 armed men, including a number of soldiers in camp here. formed in the ball park several blocks from the jail. About 1 o'clock formed in a column of fours they marched to the jail, in which 20 policemen had been stationed and de manded the surrender of the Negro. Upon being told by Jailer Collins that the jail would be defended one of the attacking party shot at the po liceman holding the lantern. A gener al fusilade then followed. William Moore, a volunteer soldier on furlough was shot through the head and will die. When he fell the attack was abandoned. None of the policemen were injured. The Right Men Lynched. The Edgefield Chronicle says: "We have conversed carefully with six or eight of the best, quietest and most con servative citizens of the Ropers-Repub lian section, and with one accord they assure us of their stern conviction that, as regards the late horrible assassina tion of Mrs. Atkinson, the right men were made to pay the penalty with their lives. These good citizens says that since the inquest, facts and circumstan ces have stadily continued to point to_ the three -lynehed men as the real per petrators of the bloody and atrocious deed. We are glad---more than glad to hear and to chronicle this status of the matter; for, the right men having been made to pay the penalty, it simp ly becomes a matter of our own judg ment and of our own safety, and of the safety of our wives and children, how we take care of ourselves. and of them. The outside world may rave madly, but it is always easy for bystanders to make observations." The Farmers Profit. When does the farmer make profit? There are hundreds of farmers who became wealthy, yet t'.ey have handlt d very little money and have had difficul ty in meeting their obligations. There is one bank account which they do not draw upon, and the deposits aiccumu late for years, and that is the s .ii. A farmer takes a poor farm. works it, adds manure, and receives but litsie over cx penses, but every .year his farmz has be come nmore fertile and also incerea:ted in value. In ten or mnorc years the farm may be worth five times the original cost, and it represents just as much profits as though the farmer had re ceived money. All farms are. to a cer tain extent, banks . deposit. where the profits of the fanu, slowly accumu late. Wants Them All. The United States Peace~ Commis sioners have demanded from Spain the whole Philippine group of islands, and only agree that this gov-ernment shall assume that part of the debt which was incurred in making permanent improve ments on the islands. The Spanish Commissioners declincd to grant the request, and complications may ensue. Suffered Enough. A man in the penitentiary of Mary land has made the statement that he has been married fifty-five times. It is possible that he is after a pardon, and would convince the authorities that he has already suffered enough. A WXARNIN.-Here is a warning to reckless bicycle riders: John Niles, a Harvard man, has just had to pay a verdict of $2,500) damages for running his wheel over a woman; while her hus band also obtained a judgment for 125 for medical expene incurred The weal Is the highest g.ede oemg poweed keows. Actual tests show It geese 0 third fortber than gay othe brnad, POWDER Absolutely Pure ROYAL BAKNO POWOER CO., "EW YoMC. IN HARVEST TIME. Remember, dearest, how youth's easy ways Lead to one certain goal of dusty death. tearn. then, the wisdom born of these brial days In which the joy of lifa i one With breath. Delay not, pause not, give me lcve for love, And mark the exchange with kisses, lip to lip, Lest that ferce eagle, time, slay our poor dove Before it taste the swoots of fellowship. Ah, take the best, the all, I have to give, And in the taking leave me richer far, That in love's constellation we may live The perfect union of a double star. The land is ripe to harvest. Lift your eyes! The reapers reap in fields of misty gold. The full ears fall. The husbandman is wise. Dear heart, be wise as he, as he be bold! -Pall Mall Gazette. ENGINES TO THE LEFT. Why One Railroad Uses Its Left Hand Track For Trains. People who live along the line of the Chicago and Northwestern railroad where there is a double track have often asked the question, "Why is it that the trains - run in and out on the left hand track?" In the ease of the Northwesten and in a few other instances the time honored rule, "Keep to the right," is disregarded, and the engineer rides over the inside rail in stead of the outer one. At Chief Engineer Brunt's office it is claimed that there are arguments for and against running ahead on the left hand track. The Northwestern has made this its custom since the road was first built, the main argument in its favor being that the engineer can better keep both tracks under his watch. When running ahead on the right hand track, there is always a short distance immedi ately ahead of the engine which he cannot cover with his eye, while if he keeps the right hand track to the right he can at all times keep both tracks square in front of him. However, it is awkward to most en gineers, who prefer to run under the old rule of keeping to the right. This is evi denced by the fact that most of the roads stick to the old custom. The Northwestern people say that they will adhere to their present practice, be cause were they to change it it would be necessary to change the locations of all the depots, which are always on the near side of inbound trains. It would be unsafe to compel passengers to cross the tracks from the depot, where they always wait ntil the train arrives. If they had to eross over, they would be running in front of the train and lives would be in danger. Passengers who get off on the side opposite the depot disperse at once after the train ulls out, and there is no danger in cross in& The present plan of running ahead on% the left trek is in vogue all over the North western system where there Is a double track, and it Is doubled from Chicago to; Belle Plalne, Ia., and to Milwaukee. It is. noticed that all the new depots on the ele vated tracks are built on the near side as heretofore -Chicago Tribune. A Great Hunting Outfit. The emperor hath two barons who are' own brothers, one called Balan and the' other Mingan, and these two are stylede chinuchi (or cunichi), which Is as much' as to say, "the keepers of the mastiff.' dogs." Each of these brothers hath 10,000' men under his orders, each body of 10,000 being dressed alike, the one in red andthe' other in blue, and whenever they accom pany the khan to the chase they wear this'a livery In order to be recognised. Out ofi each body of 10,000 there are 2,000 mens who are each in charge of one or more great; mastiffs, so that the whole number off these is very large. And when the prince' goes a-huntinig one of those barons, with. his 10,000 men and something like 5,000' dogs, goes toward the right, while the oth er goes towrard the left with his party inm like manner. They move along all abreast' of one another, so that the whole line ex tends over a full day's journey and no animal can escape them. Truly it is a glo- - rons sight to see the working of the dogs. and the huntsmen on such an occasion.. And as the khan rides a-fowling across the plains you will see these big hounds; coming tearing up, one pack after a bear,. another pack after a stag or some other beast, as it may hap, and running the, game down now on this side and now on. that, so that It is really a most delightful' sport and spectacle. The two brothers I have mentioned are: bound by the tenure of their office to sup ply the khan's court from October to the - end of March with .1,000 head of game-' daily, whether of 1.easts or birds, and not. counting quails, and also with fish to the-' best of their ability, allowing fish en'ough for thzpe persons to reckon as equal to one head of game.-" The True Story of Marco' Polo," by Noah Brooks, in St. Nicholas. Wonders of Baalbee. Baalbec or Baalbek is the name given a~r ruined city lying in ancient Coele-Syria, 45 miles northwest of Damascus. There is nothing particularly remarkable about. a ruined city being found in the locality mentioned, but the size of the blocks of: stoe used by the ancient builders of this' particular city Is something that has pus sled the modern engineers since the day: when Baalbec was first made the Mecca of: the oriental traveler. There are Immense stones on every aide of the visitor to this; ancient pile of ruins, but the three moss remarkable blocks-said to be the largeste ever used In the construction of a building -are in a wall back of the Temple of BaaL, These immense stones are respectively 64,. 63 and 62 feet in lerigth and each is 15 feet In thickness, but the most wonderful thing In connection with them Is the fact that they are at a place in the wall 25 feet from the ground. How theose immense blocks of granite were ever raised to such a height is a question that has never yet been answered.-St. Louis Republic. Art Iu Mlantelpieces. But a few years ago the choice In man telpieces was limited to marble or wood, with a predilection in favor of the latter material, perhaps, in the best examples, ombined with stone, brick or tiles. But"' now a new material, or rather an old ma terial put to new uses, is suing for popular favor, and the beautiful and artistic, orna mental, unglazed brick mantel is deserv ing more than popular notice. These man tels are built up in an endless variety of happy combinations that canu be made from the various shapes of bricks manufactured. These bricks are pressed in molds prepared om patterns of Greek and renaisance eigs, and the effect is that of carved work. They are made in different colors, od, cream, buff, pink, brown and gray. thus securing a choice of coloring to hair lnonize or contrast perfectly with any scheme of surrounding decoration. The science of physiognomy dates from the writings of Lavater, who was born in l1 and died in 1801. From Auckland, N. Z., to Washington Is a distance of 8,29)0 miles. A Petty Thief. The Louisville na cashier, 'who sloped with $4,000 when he could have scured more, has been located in Lon don and later will be located in pri~on just because he did not secure suffiet nt. scads for a compromise.