The Manning times. (Manning, Clarendon County, S.C.) 1884-current, May 16, 1900, Image 4
ELDER BRiiER
A Lesson From the Parable of
the Prodigal Son.
REV. DR. TALMAGE'S
Denunciation of Self Righteous
ness and the Lack of Sym
pathy for the Fallen and
Ur.fortunate.
In this discourse Dr. Talmage pleads
for a hearty reception to all those who
have done wrong and want to get back,
while the unsympathetic and self
righteousness are excoriated: text,
Luke xv, 23, "And he was angry and
would not go in."
Many times have I been asked to
preached a sermon about the clder
brother of the paralle. I re"eived a
letter from Canada saying, "Is the
elder son of the parable so unsympa
thetic and so cold that he is not worthy
of recognition?' The fact is that we
ministers pursue the younger son. You
can hear the sapping of his rags in
many a sermonic bret ze ard the cranch
ing of the pods for which he was an un
successful contestant. I confess that
it has been difficult for me to train the
camera obsCura upon the elder son of
the parable. I could not get a nega
tive for a photograph. There was not
enough light in the gallery, or the
chemicals were too poor, or the sitter
moved in the picture. But now I think
I have him, not a side face or a three
quarters or the mere bust, but a full
length portrait as he appears to me.
The father in the parable of the proi
gal had nothing to brag of in his two
sons. The one was a rake and the
other a churl. I find nothing admira
ble in the dissoluteness of the one, and
I find nothing attractive in the acid so
briety of the other. The one goes
down over the Jarboard side, and the
other goes down over the starboard side,
but they both go down.
From all the windows of the old
homestead bursts the ministry. The
foor quakes with the feet of the rustics,
whose dance is always vigorous and re
sounding. Th" neighbors have heard
of the return of the younger son from
his wanderings, and they have gathered
together. The house is full of congrat
ulators. I suppose the tables are load
with luxuries, not only the one kind of
meat mentioned, but its concomitants.
"Clap!" go the cymbals, "Thum!" the
harps, "Click!" go the chalices, up
and down go the feet inside, while out
side is a most sorry spectacle.
The senior son stands at the corner
of the house, a frigid phlegm'itic. He
has just come in from the fields in
very substantial apparel. Seeing some
wild exhilarations around the old man
sion, he asks of a servant passing by
with a goatskin of wine on his shoulder
what all the fuss is about. One would
have thought that, on hearing that his
younger brother had got back, he would
have gone into the house and rejoiced,
and, if he were not conscientiously op
posed to dancing, that he would have
joined the oriental schottish. No,
there he stands. His brow lowers; his
face darkens; his lip curls with con
tempt. He stamps the ground with'in
dignation; he sees nothing at all to at
tract. Trhe odors of the feast, coming
out on the air, do not sharpen his ap
petite. The live'y music does not, put
any spring into his step. He is in a
terrible pont. He criuicises the ex
pense, the injustice and the morals of
of the entertainment. Ti-e father
ruahes out bareheaded and coaxes him
to oome in. He will not go in. He
scolds the father. I1e goes into a pis
quinade against the younger brother
and he makes the most uncomly scene.
He says: "Father, you put a premtum
on vagabondism. I staid at home and
worked on the farm. You never made
a party for me; you didn't so much as
kill a kid. That wouldn't have cost
half as much as a calf; but this seape
grace went off in fine clothes, and he
comes back nor fit to be seen, and what
a time you make over him! He breaks
your heart, and you pay him for it.
That calf, to which we have been giv
ing extra feed during all these weeks,
wouldn't be so fat and sleck if I had
known to what use 2,oa1 were going to
put it. That vagahvn' - --d'rves to- be
cowhided instead of banquec d. \cei
is too good for him." That < ei
while the younger son sat telhag a
father about his adventures and askius
about what had occurred on the place
since his departure, the senior brother
goes to bed disgusted and slams the
door after him. That senior brother
still lives. You can see him any Sun
day, any day of the week. At a meet
ing of ministers in Germany some one
asked the question. "Who is that
elder son?" and Krummacher answered
"I know him; I saw him yesterday."
And when they insisted upon knowing
whom he meant he said, "Myself;
when I saw the account of the conver
sion of a most obnoxious man I was ir
ritated."
First, this senior brother of the text
stands for the self congratulatory, self
satisfied, self worshipful man. With the
same breath i" which he vituberates
against hL5 younger brother lie utters a
panegyric for himself. The self right
our man af my text, like every other
self righteou~s man, was full of faults.
He was an ingrate, for he did not ap
preciate the home blessings which he
had all those years. He was disobe
dient- for when father to', him to come
in he staid out. He was a liar, for he
said that the recreant son ijad devoured
his father's living, when the father, so
far from being reduced to penury, had
a homestead left, had instruments of
music, had jewels, had a mansion, and
instead of being a pauper was a pr'n se.
This senior brother, with so many
faults of his own, was merciless in his
criticism of the younger brother. The
only perfect people that I have ever
known were uttedly obnoxious. I w:s
never so badly cheated in my life as by
a perfect man. He got so far up in his
devotions that he was clear up above all
th rules ef common honesty. These
men that go about prowling among pray
er meetings and in places of business,
telling how good they are-look out for
them; keep your hand on your pocket
book! I have noticed that just in pro
portion as a man gets good he gets hum
ble, The deep Mississippi does not
make as much noise as the brawling
mountain rivulet. There has been many
a store that had more goods in the show
window than inside on the shelves.
Again, the senior brother of my text
stands for all those who are faithless
about the reformation of the dissipated
and the dissolute. In the very tones
of his voice you can hear the fact thati
he has no faith that the reformation of
the younger son is genuine. H is entirej
manner seems to say: "That boy has
come back for more money. He got a
a thir of the property;.now he has
neve~ ae mietted to atay on :
S , -fall away. I would go
in to* and rejoice with the others if I
thought this thing were genuine; but it
is a ,ham. That boy is a coanfirmed
inebriate and dtbaunchee." Alas, my
friends, for the incredulity in the
church of Christ in regard to the recla
mation of the recreant! You say a man
has been a strong drinker. I say, "Yes
but he has reformed." "Oh," you say,
with a lugubrious faze, "I hope you are
not mistaken; I hope you are not mis
taken." You say: "Don't rejoice too
much over his conversion, for soon he
will be unconverted. I fear. Don't make
too big a party for that returned prod
izal or strike the timbrel too loud; and,
if you kill a calf, kill the one that is on
the commons and not the one that has
been luxuriating in the paddock. That
is the rea.on why more prodigals do not
con'e home to their father's house. It
ii the rank itflidelity in the church of
J.d on this suiject. There is not a
house on the streets of heaven that has
not in it a prodigal that returned and
staid home. There could be unrolled
before you a scroll of a hundred thou
sand names-the names of prodigals
who came back forever reformed. Who
was John Bunyan? A returned prod
izal. Who was Richard Baxtt r? A
retururned prodigal. Who was Gcorge
Whiteficld, the thundrer? A returned
prodigal. And I could go out in all
the ailes of this church to day and
find on either side those who, once far
astray for many years, have been faith
ful, and their eternal salvation is as
sure as though they had been ten years
in heaven. And yet some of you have
not enoueh faith in their return.
You do not know how to shake hands
with a prodigal. You do not know how
to pray for him. You do not know how
to great him. He wants to sail into the
warm gulf stream of Christian sym
pathy. You are the iceberg against
which he strikes and shivers. You say
he has been a prodigal. I know it, but
you are the sour, unresponsive, cen
sorious, saturnine, cranky elder broth r,
and if you are going to heaven one
would think some people would be
tempted to go to perdition to get away
from you. The hunters say tha; if a
deer be shot the other deer shove him
out of their company, and the general
rule is-away with a man that has been
wounded with sin. Now, I say, the
more bones a man has broken the more
need he has of a hospital, and the more
a man has been bruised and cut with
sin the more need he has to be carried
into human and divine sympathy. But
for such men there is not much room in
this world-the men who want to come
back after wandering. Plenty of room
for elegant sinners, for sinners in velvet
and satin and lace, for sinners high
salariea, for kid glovos and patent
leathered sinners for sinners fixed up by
hairdresser, pomatumed-and lavendered
and colonged and frizzled and crimped
and "banged" sinners-plenty of room!
Such we meet elagantly at the door of
our churches, and we invite them into
the best seats with Chesterfieldian gal
lantries; we usher them into the house
of God and put soft ottomans under
their feet and put a gilt edged prayer
book in their hands and pass the
contribution box before them with an
air of apology, while they, the gen
erous souls, take out the exquisite
portemonnaie and open it, and with
diamonded finger push down beyond
the $10 goldpieces and delicately
pick out as an expression of gratitude
their offering to the Lord--of 1 cent!
For such sinners plenty of room, plen
ty of room. But for the man who has
been drinking until his coat is thread
bare, and his face is erysipelased, and
his wife's weddin& dress is in the pawn
broker's shop, and his children, instead
of being in school, are out begging
broken bread at the basement doors of
the city-the man, body, mind and soul
on fire with the flames that have leaped
from the scathing scorching, blasting,
blistering, consuming cup which the
drunkard takes, trembling and agonized
and aifrighted, and presses to his
parched lip, and his cracked tongue
and his shrieking yet immortal spirit
no room.
Oh, if this younger son of the parable
had not gone so f.r off,if be had not
dropped so lowv in wassail, the protest
woald not have been so severe! But,
going clear over the precipice, as the
younger son did, the elder son is angry
and will not go in.
Be not so hard in your criticism of
the fallen lest thou thyself also be
tempted. Do you know who that man
was who Sabbath before last staggered
a p and down the aisle in a church, dis
tur bing the service until the service had
to sto'p until he was taken from the
room? He was a minister of the gos
pel of Jesus Christ in a sister denomi
nation! That man had preached the
gospel, that man had broken the bread
of the holy communion for the people.
From what a height to what a depth!
Oh, I was glad there was no smiling in
the room when that man was taken out,
his poor wife following him, with his
hat in her hand and his coat on her
arm! It was as sok mn to me as two
funerals-the funera of the body and
the funeral of the soul. Beware, lest
thou also be tempted!
An invalid went to South America
for his health and one day sat sunning
himself on the beach when he saw
something crawling up the beach wrig
gling toward him, and he was affrighted.
He thought it was a wild beast or a rep
tile, and he took his pistol from his
pocket. Then he saw it was not a wild
beast. It was a man, an immortal man,
a man made in God's own image, and
the poor wretch crawled up t" 'me feet
of the invalid and asked lvr strong
drink, and the invalid took his wine
fask from his pocket and gave the poor
wretch something to drink, and then un
der the stimulus he rose up and gave
his history. He had been a merchant
in Glasgow, Scotland. He had gone
down under the power of strong drink
until he was so reduced in poverty that
he was living in a boat just off the
beach, "Why," said the invalid, "I
knew a merchant in Glasgow once, a
merchant of such and such a name."
And the poor wretch straightened him
self and said, "I am that man!" "Let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed
lest he fall."
Again, I remark that the senior
brother of mnyt tex stands for the 5pirit
of envy and jealousy. The senior
brother thought that all the honor they
did to the returned brother was a wrong
to hina. He said, "I have staid at
hocm, :ud 1 ought to have had the ring,
a~d 1 ought to have had the banquet,
and I ought to have had the garlands."
Alas for this spirit of envy and jeal
ousy coming down through the ages!
Cain and Abel. Esau and Jacob, Saul
and David, Haman .and Mordecai,
Othello and lago, Orlando and Angel
ica and Torquatus, Casar and Pompey,
Columbus and the Spanish courtiers,
Cambyses and the brother he slew be
ause he was a better marksman. Diony
sius and Philoxenius, whom he slew
because he was a better singer. Jeal
us among painters. Closterman and
Geoffry Kneller, Hudson and Reynolds.
Frncia, anxious to see a picture of
Raphael, Raphael sends him a picture.
Francia, seeing it, falls in a fit of jeal
phen and Plato living at the same
time, but from their writings you never
would suppose they heard of each other.
Religious jealousies. The Mohamme
dans praying for rain during a drought;
no rain coming. Then the Christians
begia to pray for rain, and the rain
comes. Then the Moharamedans met
together to account for this, and they
resolved that God was so well pleased
with their prayers he kept the drought
on so as to keep them praying, but that
the Christians began to pray, and the
Lord was so disgusted with their pray
ers that he sent rain right awvay so he
would not hear any more of their sup
plications. Oh, this accursed spirit of
envy and jealousvl Let us stamp it
out from all our hearts.
Oh, what a God we have! Bring
your doxologies. Come, earth and
heaven, and j in in the worship. Cry
aloud. Lift the palm branches! Do
you not feel the Father's arm around
your neck? D,) you not feel the warm
breath of your Father against your
cheek? Surrender, youngerson! Sur
render, elder son! Surrend~r, all! Go
in today and sit down at the banquet.
Take a slice of the fatted calf, and af
terward, when you are seated, with one
hand in the hand of the returned
brother and the other hand in the hand
of the rejoicing father, let your heart
rejoice. It is meet that we should make
merry and be glad. for this, thy brother
was dead and is alive again; he was lost
and is found.
IS THIS WAR?
Or Is It Prodigious Lying or Wan
ton Massacre?
The accounts which come from Ma
nila of battles of Filipinos engaged in
by our troops have attracted the atten
tion of other newspapers besides The
State. The Springfield Republican
says:
The day's news from Manila tells of
fighting in Luzon in which two Ameri
cans were killed and the Filipinos "lost
heavily"; of fighting in the island of
Samar, in which two Americans were
wounded and 155 natives left dead on
the field; and of fighting in the island
of Leyte, in which 125 natives were
killed, with no American casualties.
Reports of the character of- the two
last have been frequent in recent
weeks. Thus some days ago it was
recorded that three detachments of the
Forty-fifth regiment surrounded a
number of natives, a majority of whom
were armed only with bolos, and killed
8) of them. There were no casualties
among the Americans. No mention
wa? made of any wounded or captured
natives. The inference left by the dis
patches was that the whole body of the
enemy had been wiped out. This was
certainly the case in the reported en
counter, at about the same time, of
Lieut. Batech and 20 men of the Thirty
seventh regiment with 50 bolo men.
The latter were cornered in a river and
"every one of them" was shot, "the
bodies floating away." One American
was killed.
It was further reported the other day
that Gen Bell's men, in the course of
clearing the province of South Cama
rices, met with many smal squads of
bolomen and "killed a total of 125."
No American casualties; no wounded
or captured natives, apparently. At
the same time an'ither fight was re
ported in Albay province, where Capt.
Gordon and three companies of the
Forty-seventh regiment routed a large
force of insurgents and killed 53 of
them; no casualties on the American
side, and no mention of wounded and
captured natives.
Gee Otis reported a janth ago that
from January 1ito April I, 1,4'>6 Fili
pinos had bee~n killed and left on the
field. On Friday last he cabled that
during the niorsth of A pril 1 721 Fili
pinos had beim "kiled, wounded and
captured." The reports of the fighting
in detail above given show that the
"wounded and captured" must have
been added by way of softening the
statistical exhibit of cur progress for
the month, and really had no place in
connection with the flezure given. Our
loses in April were 13 killed and 27
wounded; one American to 132 natives.
Is this war? But if it is not war,
what is it? We might compromise on
Bishop Potter's description. It is a
little discussion of an "academic" char
acter.
Is this war? asks our Massachusetts
contemporary. To our mind it is not
-it is either prodigious lying or wanton
massacre.-Columbia State.
WORK OF AN INCENDI&RY.
A Double Tenement in New York Set
on Fire.
An apparently deliberate attempt
was made Thursday morning to burn a
big double tenerrent at the northeast
corner of Madison and Jackson streets
in New York. Nearly 100 p'~rms
were placed in peril of their live and
twenty families were rendered homeless
by the blaze.
Mrs. Margaret Lane, who lives with
her husband, the janitor of the build
ing het two brothers and two sisters on
the second floor of 391 Madison street,
was awakened at 2 o'clock by a noise
in the hallway. She heard the shuf
ling of feet and the rusting of newspa
pers. Her husband went down stairs
to investigate, and found a quantity of
newspapers in the hall. rhinking that
some late homecomer had thrown them
there carelessly, he went back to bed.
Shortly before 5 o'clock Mainie Law
ler, the twenty-year old sister in-law
of Mrs. Lane, was awakened by a smell
of smoke, and the noise of crackling
lames in the hall outside of her door.
She awakened those in the Lane apart
ments and then made her way upstairs,
shouting a warning to the other tenants
in the building, and escaped in safety
to the house ao joining, No. 10 Jackson
street.
The waiascoating in the hall and
along the staircase was ablaze by this
time, and through dense smoke could
be distinguished the pungent odor of
kerosene oil. The occupants had no
time to escape by the stairways. Ba
bies were thrown from the second story
window to those on the streets and
children whose ages ran from seven to
twelve were tossed into blankets
stretched out to catch them. All es
caped with nothing more serious than
bruises, parents of the little ones slid
ing down ladders. The police are in
vestigating.
Cuban Editor Killed.
Senor Alberti, editor of the Don
Claridades, published at Gibora, CJuba,
was shot and killed instantly by an un
known assassin at the cheatre recently.
Alberti was an active politician and his
paper recently has been criticising the
action of the American officials, parti
ularly the eleetion orders. Hidalgo,
who killed Capt. Smith, collector of
this port, in January, was editor of the
Don Claridades. Alberti has received
threatening letters which he ridiculed
n his paper.
TEs BAMIR:iiLING.
Ret. Mr. Johnson.Giveu'Ela Versioz f
the unfortunato Affair.
Rev. W. E. Johnson, who shot and
killed Court Stenographer Bellinger at
Bamberg last week, was bailed by Jus
tice Pope at Columbia on Friday in the
sum of three thousand dollars. At the
hearing numerous affidavits of a most
interesting character were presented on
both sides, throwing much light on this
most unusual criminal case.
THE MINISTER 8 VERSION.
The following version of the killing
was given by Mr. Johnson in his affi
davit:
That he is 36 years old and has been
ordained minister of the Baptist church
for 11 years past, and for the past three
years has been in charge of the Bam
berg Baptist church at Bamberg in said
State. That the pastoral residence or
parsonage in which defendant resides
with his family, which consists of his
wife and four children, is situated upon
the same part of the town with that of
Mr. Bellinger, immediately adjoining
each other and separated only by a di
viding fence. That deponent moved
to his said residence in October or No
vember, 1898, and up to the month of
June, 1899, t he relations between the
two families were peaceable; that in the
month of June, 1899, deponent was
cal!ed on professionally to perform the
marriage ceremony between Mr. Joseph
E. Brown and Miss Jennie Bellinger,
the daughter of the sail Joan R. Bel
lirger, .oq., both of whom appeared to
be, and deponent is informed, were of
lawful age, i. e :. above the age of 21,
ycars. That after this marriage, which
it seems did not meet the approval of
Mr. John R. Bellinger and his family,
they became extremely hostile to de
ponent, often abusing him to his face
and in the hearing of his wife and chil
dren in the most extreme manner, and
showing this hostility towards him by
many of those irritating unneighborly
ways which are so easy to do and so
hard to bear; deponent bore it all with
that fortitude and resignation which
his calling sequired. That the manner
in which he was treated by this family
became a matter of public notoriety,
and he was assured by many that he
ought to take steps to have it stopped,
as it was lessening his influence for the
rood of the community. That about
- x weeks ago a young man of the town
..t Bamberg, in sympathy with the Bel
iogers, without the slightest cause,
rudely accosted deponent in one of the
1 ublic streets, called him a liar, and
struck him in the face, forcing him to
defend himself. That about two weeks
ago a colored painter by the name of
Walker, who was painting Mr. Bellin
ger's house and fence, came to depon
ent's house and asked leave to come in
deponent's yard to paint the division
fence between the two lots. Deponent
consented provided he would paint the
bottom board of the fence as well as
the balance. This he promised to do,
but he did not do so; ceponent called
his attention to it from time to time,
each time receiving a promise that he
would paint the said board before he
left, but he never did do it. About a
week ago the said painter returned t,
put on a second coat, and deponent in
formed him that he must do the work
in accordance with the agreement or it
could not be done at all. He promised
to do it, but did not, and deponent, see
ing that he did not intend to do it, or
dered him to leave the yard. On
Thursday the man. Walker, was in the
yard painting, and the deceased, Wil
liam T. Beilinger, was sitting on
the fence at the intersection of
the division fence and the front fence
on the street. Deponent ordered Walk
er to get out of his yard; he hesitated,
looking first at the deceased and then
at deponent; Blellinger ordered the man
to paint on and deponent inristed on
his going out and he started to go and
Bllinger ordered him to paint on, and
the painter would act as if he intended
to obey, when deponent peremptorily
ordered him out and he went.
Mr. WV. T. Bellinger then said that
the fence would be painted, and cursed
deponent for a d- long lipped - of
a - and much more of the same abuse,
repeating that he would see that the
fence was painted; deponent Einally
said he could not come into the road
and talk to the deponent that way, when
deceased jumped off the fence to his
father's gate, came out and stood by
the post with a drawn pistol in his
hand; deponent had not noticed before
that he had a pistol, and said "you are
armed, eh," and turned and walked
back into the house. Nothing more
passed that day. The next day depon
ent came out of his gate to go to the
postoffice, when he met Mr. Joe Brown
in his buggy, who asked him to take a
seat with him, and they drove down
town. Mr. Brown told deponent that
he had heard of the difficulty of the
day before and that he had heard of
the threats made by the deceased
against deponent, and warned him to
protcct himself. Mr. Brown got out of
the buggy at Jones' stable and told de
c eut to drive around to the postoffice
and to bitch the horse there in the rear
of the pa)s tii~e. which deponent did.
Deponent got ii mail and returned
home. While at the postoffice deponent
was warned to look out for Mr. Bel
linger, that he had made threats to kill
him. On deponent's return home he
saw Mr. Joe Browa coming towards his
home in his buggy, and deponent start
ed out to meet aim, and seeing Mr. WV.
T. Bellinger across the street, he pinked
up a gun which a friend had put into
his possession the day before, telling
hin to use it to protect himself with,
and that he would need it to protect his
life, and took it out with-him, holding
it in his hands.
Mr. Bedlinger came walking towards
his father's house, while deponent was
walking by the buggy with his hands
upon the shafts, the horse being rest
less, moving forward a step at the
time, Mr. Brown pulling him back and
endeavoring to restrain him, which
drew deponent and deceased nearer to
gether, when suddenly Mr. Brown
pulled his horse suddenly back, and
backing some feet, left deponent and
Mr. Bellinger in plain view of each
other; immediately when without a
word from each oth~er Mr. Bellinger
raised his pistol and dired on deponent
at a distance of 10) or 15 steps; in quick
succssion he fired a second time, and
as he was in the act of firing the third
time deponent fired the gun one time
and deceased fell; deceased fired again,
making four in all; deponent raised his
gun to fire again, but seeing that de
ceased had desisted from firing he shot
no more. The deponent regrets more
than he can tell, the necessity which he
was under to shoot the deceased, and
would only have done so in defense of
his life.
THE OTHER SIDE.
The State presented a number of
strong affidavits from good people.
Miss Lulie Bamberg, a student at
tending the Carlisle Fitting school, and
a daughter of Gen. F M Bamberg, said
at last Friay morning aot half'
piazza oi the girl's boarding hall of the
fitting achool, facing on the campus;
saw Mr. Joe Brown drive up the street
from toward Railroad avenue, turn the
corner, and stop his buggy in front of
Mr. Johnson's gate. In a few minutes
Mr. Johnson came out of the house
towards the buggy with a gun in his
hand: the impression made on the de
ponent was that he was going hunting.
The deponent then saw Willie Bel
linger in the path leading diagonally
across the path to his father's house.
He had a paper in his hand. Mr. John
son did not stop at the buggy, but
walked rapidly across the road that
runs in front of his house to the tele
graph pole in front of Mr. Bellinger's
lot, and as Mr. Bellinger turned into
the short path leading to his house, the
deponent, fearing something would hap
pen from the manner in which Mr.
J( h 1son was carrying the gun in his
hand toward Mr. Bellinger, went to the
hall door to go into the piazzs when
she heard a loud report, as of a gun,
followed by several pistol shots, and,
looking back, saw Mr. Bellinger falling
with his pistol in his hand, shooting
The loudest report was the tirbt. "Miss
Verbena Brabbam was with me on the
piazza at the time. I could not tell
whether the first loud report was one
gunshot or two bimultaneously. It was
as two barrels discharged almost to
rether. After Mr. Jehoson shot and
Mr. Bellinger fell, Mr. Joe Brown drove
up by Mr. Bellinger, looked at him, and
drove off."
Miss Verbena Brabham, daughtcr of
Dr. R. C. Brabham of Hawthorne, an
nother student, said that last Friday
morning she was on the front piazza
of the hall (upstairs), with Miss Lulie
Bamberg, a little after 10-half after
when she saw Mr. Brown drive up and
stop in front of Mr. Je'hnson's front
door. "Mr. Johnson walked out in a
hurry with his gun, and from where I
was standing, on the end of the piazza,
I had a side view of him, and be went
near the telegraph post. It did not
seem to be exactly behind it from where
I was. He was carrying the gun in his
hands and raised it in a burry, stopped
a second ard shot. Mr. Bellinger had
his paper in his hand, and I saw him
pull his pistol as he was falling, and
shot twice, I think, I am sure Mr. John
son shot him down before he drew his
pistol. I did not leave the piazzi until
after the crowd got there. When Mr.
Johnson came out of his yard he did
not touch the buggy, but went by it in
a hurry." The above statements are
sustained by Nathaniel M. Salley, a
teacher of the fitting school; James L.
Cleckley, F. E. Dibble and L. 0.
Hiers, particularly as to the loud report
coming first.
James Grant said that he is between
14 and 15 years of age, a native of
Charleston, and moved to Bamberg
about the first of last November; that
last Thursday afternoon he was askel
by a tall white man, unknown to him.
who was standing by the artesian well
to go to the hardwrre store and get him
a box of loaded buckshot shell, and
gave him 50 cents to buy them and 5
cents to get some 33 calibre. centre fire,
pistol cartridges. "I went into Mr.
Brooker's store and told the clerk what
I wanted. He gave me some buckshot
loose and some pistol cartridges, as re
questd. I went and gave them to the
man who asked me to get them. He
sent me back the second time to get
some loaded shells for the gun. This
time I got some loaded shells and re
turned the loose buckshot. The sales
man who waited on me was Mr. Hooten
F'elder. The man told me to tell Mr.
Felder a man at Mr. Counts' store
wanted them. I don't know who the
man talking to me was."
Blown Up in Street Car.
A car on the St. Louis and Suburban
Railway was blown from thc track and
twisecd sideways by an explosion
Thurday. Several of the ua'ssengers
were slightly injured by the fir~gglassI
and broken timbers which came upI
from below. Four wars taken bak to
tnle city for treatment. There is a
strike on the road. Tfhe explosive was
nitro-gly cerine, which had been spread
on the- track for some distance. Thbe
car was filled with persons returning
from a Dewey celebration. It was rain
ing hard at the time and liphining
fashed continuously across the car.
Many women were among the passen
gers, and they screamed wildly. Every
person was hurled from the seats and
fell pellmell into the aisle. At first it
was thought that a bolt of lightning
had struck, but when the motorman
and conductor, after an examination,
announced that the car had been blown
up by strikers there was more confu
sion, and the men prepared for an at:
tack. This was the signal for more
screams, and many of the passengers
got off the car and braved the terrible
downpour. No attack was made, how
ever, and the wrecked car was removed
to the sheds.
Will Support Bryan.
"It has been said that I shall support
Bryan if he is the Democratic nominee
for president," said W. .Bourke Cockran,
who spoke at Montgomery, Ala., Thurs
day night at the race conference
"That depends, I say frankly, upon the
Kansas City platform and the spirit in
which it is submitted to the American
people. If that platform is only a
reiteration of the platform of 1896, 1
shall not support it or the nominee. I
am unalterably opposed to the Mc Kin
Iy policy toward our new possessions.
I oppose militarism. I oppose imperial
ism. I oppose trusts. If the rlatform
takes a decided stand in opposing these
questions and the spirit is in favor of
making theta predominant, I shall sup
port it and do all I can in my State for
the ticket. Otherwise I will not. I con
ider these questions the issues of the
eanpaign. [The money plank, it it
must, can remain the same as in 1896,
because it is impossible to make it ef
fective, and the other issues are graver
and far more important from the
standpoint of present conditions. As
to New York State, I can say nothing,
for I am there only as a private citizen."
Stands at the Head.
Th-> Bailtimiore Sun says President
McKinley has in four years demon
strated his capa::ity for changing his
mind oftener or presenting that ap
pearance more perfectly of having two
minds at the same time on the same
subject, which is popularity described
as "facing both ways," than any light
ning-change artist in the profession.
No BLACKUST oN SOUTHERN.-As
sistant, General Superintendent J. B.
S. Thompson, of the SouthernRailway,
s~id in Atlanta Thursday that the sys
tem would not use a black list against
the telegraphers who struck recently.
"The road has never used a black list,"
said Mr. Thompsan, "and has no in
tention of doing so either against the
telegraphers or any other employes.
"It has been published that we would
use the black list and this is to deny
the report. We apprehend no serious
results from the threatened boycott
THE CROPS.
Weekly Bulletin Issued by Sec
tion Oirector Bauer.
HOW THE CROPS ARE DOING.
Review of the Situation and
Summary of the Outlock
for the Year. Warm
Weather.
The following is the weekly bulletin
of the condition of the weather and
crops of the State issued Wednesday by
Director Bauer of the South Carolina
section of the Unitcd States weather
bureau's climate ard crop service:
The week ending Mlonday, May 7th,
was slightly cooler than the previous
one, wiih low night temperatures after
the 3d, :ausing light frosts in portions
of Greenville and Spartanburg coun
ties, but without doing any perceptible
danage except to young cotton, and
slightly checking the growth of tender
vegetation.
There were numerous light, scattered
showers, generally confined to the mid
dle anid lower Savannah valley, ana
along the immediate coast. These
showers were beneficial, and a warm
rain is needed over the entire State to
soften the ground, which in clay lands
is becoming baked and hard to hasten
the germination of recently planted
seeds, and to supply moisture to wheat
and oats while heading and blooming.
Damaging hail occurred in Abbeville
county.
Planted fields are becoming grassy,
and stand in need of cultivation, which
has begun where corn and cotton are
large enough. Bottom lands are just
becoming dry enough to begin to pre
pare them for planting.
Corn is coming up to generally good
stands, and cultivation has made con
siderable progress. Over the western
portions of the State very little corn
has been planted, being deferred until
cotton is all planted. Cut worms and
crows are very troublesome on bottom
lands, necessitating much replanting.
Cotton planting made rapid progress
during the week, and, where least ad
vanced, is from half to two-thirds fin
ished. Early plantings are up to fair
stands, but the recent cool nights are
very injurieus, causing some cotton to
die. Lands are not all prepared for
cotton. Chopping out is well under
way.
Rust on wheat has become quite gen
eral and is spreading. This crop is in
many places less promising than here
tofore, having been apparently injured
by the excessive rainfall of April. Oats
have improved. Both crops are head
ing.
The buik of the tobacco crop has been
transplanted, and the work is nearly
finished. There was no scarcity of
plants, except at a few points. Rice
was badly damaged, in the Georgetown
districts, by high water, but to what
extent cannot now be estimated.
Apple and pear trees are blighting
badly; some peaches dropped, but
enough remain to make a full crop;
wild berries are abundant. Sugar cane,
sorghum and melons have eome up to
good stands, tho latter beginning to
run to vine. Sweet potato slips plen
tiful in beds, but few have been trans
p'anted. White potatoes doing well,
but bugs are very numerous. Large
truck slipments being made.
FREE BLOOD CURE.
An Offr Providing Faith to Sufferers
Eating Sores, Tumors, Ulcers, are
all curable by B. B. B. (Botanic Blood
Bairm,) whch is made especially to cure
all terrible Blood Diseases. Persistent
Sores, Blood and Skin Blemishes,
Serufula, that resist other treatments,
are quickly cured by B. B. B. (Botanic
Blood IBim). Siih Eruptions, Pim
ides, Red, Itching Eczema. Scales
Blisters, Boils, Carbuncles, Blotches
Catarrn, Rheumatism, ete., are all due
to bad blood, and hence easily cured
by B. B. B. Blood Poison producing
Eating Sores, Eruptions, Swollen
glands, Sore Throat etc., cured by B.
B. B. (Botanic Blood Balm), in one to
five months. B. B. B. does not con
tain vegetable or mineral poison.
One bottle will test it in an case. For
sale by druggists everywhere. Large
bottles $1, six for five $5. Write for
free samplebottle, which will be sent,
prepaid to Times readers, describe
simptomns and personal free medicaf
advice will be given. Address Blood
Balm Co., Atlanta, Ga.
Strange Elopement.
Esta C. Shamley and Miss Della
Dimmick, of South Haven, Mich., de
sired to marry but the girl's parents
were opposed. The lovers decided to
cross the lake te Chicago Thursday
night. Miss Dimmick went to the
steamer Kalamazoo, which leaves at
8:30, and, enraging a statero~om, locked
herself in. Her parents, with the po
lice, went to the bat, and was ordered
to come out, but refused. Shamley
was watchtd. but his friends assisted
hite. Just before the boat started a
crowd rushed down the pier with him,
and when the steamer pulled out he
was beyond the reach of arrest. "The
couple clasped arms and waved hand
kerchids to the angry parents ard
bafld police. who stood upon the dock.
The elopers came to thc residence of
the bride's sister, Mrs. Ora Stanley,
Waukegan, Ill , and were married.
Dictionary Girls.
A Sad Girl-Ella G
A Nice Girl-Ella Gent.
A Rich Girl-Mary Gold.
A Sweet Girl-Carrie Mell.
A Nervous Girl-Hester Ical.
A Warlike Girl-Millie Tary.
A Musical Girl-Sarah Nade.
A Smooth Girl-Amelia Rate.
A Lively Giri-Annie Mstio~n.
A Clinging Girl-Josie Mine.
A Great Big Girl-Ella Phant.
A Flower Girl-Rhoda Dendron.
An Uncertain Girl-Eva Nescent.
A Profound Giri-Metta Physics.
A Muscular Girl-Callic Sthenics.
A Geometric GirI-Hettie Rodox.
A Clear Case of Girl-E. Lucy Date.
A Disagreeable Girl-Annie Mosity.
A Mammoth Whale
A special dispatch from Conway, S.
C., to the Celumbia State says: "A
mammoth whale has been washed
ashore near the terminus of the Con
way Seashore railroad, and President
Burroughs has been running excursions
to accommodate the crowd wishing to
ee the 'big fish.' It is 66 feet in
Length and 24 in breadth. It has in its
ide a harpoon with about 30 feet of
ope attached. The suppos'tion is that
it was attacked by a whaling crew and
:hat it escaped but died from its
wounds. To prove to those that did
2t see it that this was not a 'fish story'
,f the usual type, several took snap
ABSOLUmEF b
Makes the food more del
ROYAL BAKINO POWO
DAZZLING LIGHT.
Illumination of a Car That Has Been
Short-Circuited.
Electricity played a queer prank on a
Northern Central car the other night.
To lookers-on at a saf. distance it was
merely a remarkable display ,the like
of which as never before seen in St.
Louis. To those on the car It had many
elements of tragedy.
One man narrowly escaped death by
fire and others of the passengers may
have been injured in the panic that fol
lowed. Even the officials of the United
Railways Compaay Wave not yet ar
rived at he exact extent of the damage
done.
The cars on the Northern Central line
are the oldest in the service. Their fus
es burn out freuently, but that night's
occurrence was the most serious acci
dent of the kind that has yet occurred.
At 9:Z0 o'clock a car was rounding the
sharp down-grade curve at Thomas
street and Leffingwell avenue. It was
half filled with passengers.
Suddenly there was a grinding noise,
which deafened those in the car and
awakened residents in the neighbor
. hood. The car came to a sudden stop.
What followed is told by an eye-wit
ness. who was attracted to his window
by the unusual sound.
"When I looked out," he said, "the
street was lit up for several blocks as
if a powerful searchlight had been
turned into it. The brilliancy all radia
ted from the car, which I at first
thought was on fire. I could see the
car distinctly. It seemed a shadowy
form, seen through a halo of light. The
outer edge of this light was a brilliant,
dazzling white, but the inner portion,
the nucleus, as it were, nearest the car,
was the deep red of a consuming blaze.
"With the first play of the flames I
heard passengers in the car cry out
in alarm. Two young men jumped
through a window and the other pas
sengers rushed for the back door. I
saw a man leap from the rear platform
with his coat smoking. He pulled the
garment off as he left the car.
"The Illumination could be seen at a
great distance, apparently for people
come flocking from blocks around to
see the illuminated car. Most of them
walked home. Another car pushed the
disabled one to the sheds."
Investigation Saturday morning
showed that the accident was one of a
number of electrical freaks caused by
the recent damp weather. At the power
house of the Northern Central line it
was said that the current had become
short-circuited. This meant that the
current on coming from the wires, In
stead o2 going through the controller
on the front platform operated by the
motorman, went through the one on
the rear platform. Unable to get into
the motors by that route it passed out
again and sought the nearest route to
the rails. This was by way of the met
al work about the sides and roof of
the car.
Oi its journey around the car a por
tion of the current escaped into the
moist atmosphere, causing the appear
ance of a halo. Enough of the current
went through the controller and the
motors to burn them out, which caused
the red light of consuming flames. It
was the burning out of the controller
that Ignited the coat of the man who
stood near it on the rear platform.
Street railway men agreed that the ac
cident was a most unusual one.-St.
Louis Post Dispatch.
TH REE JOINTS.
Removed From a Mar.'s Backbone and
He Still Lives.
Minus three joInts of his backbone,
John Kaller, of No. 60 Willoughby
street, Brooklyn, N. Y., lies on a cot
In St. John's Hospital, Long Island
CIty. making a brave fight against
death. The missing pie oes of his spInal
column were removed on Thursday
last by five surgeons. It was an opera
tion almost unparalleled In surgery,
but it was his only chance for life.
Zaller has been a telephone lineman,
Recently he was sent to repair wires
along the Shore Road, In Astoria.
About noon he was working at the top
of a pole near the Woolsey estate. Just
how it happened neither Kaller nor any
one else knows, but suddenly the line
plan found himself In the clutches of
an electric current. He had grasped a
live wire, his body was twisted In tor
ture and puffs of smoke arose from his
burning hands.
The man kept his senses. Hanging
there, burning and in terrible pain. he
realized that to remain In contact with
the wire for but a few seconds more
meant death to him.
With strength born of that knowl
edge Kaller tore hiruself free from the
live wire on which ha had fallen and
deliberately threw himself to the road
way. He fell 35 feet and struck upon
hIs head and back. He was taken to
St. John's Hospital. and doctors worked
over him for eight hours before the
dangers from the electric shock were
removed. Then they performed the
operation.
In falling Kaller ha d broken his back.
The seventh, eighth and ninth verte
brae were badly fractured, and splin
ters of the broken bone pressed on the
spinal cord. The fressure had produced
paralysis, and would have caused death
if not removed.
Dr. John Francis Burns was In
charge of the or'eration. Assisting him
were Dr. H. A. 3.irGronen, Dr. J. J.
Mulcahey, Dr. Thomas Cassidy and Dr.
John F. Farwell. Technically, the doc
tors took out the spinous prosesses and
transverse secticns of the seventh,
eighth and ninth vertebrae. The oper
ation was successful.
"I do not know of an exactly similar
case," said Dr. Burns, last night.
"Three vertebrae were badly fra'tured,
and had to be removed, leaving aren-.
to protect the spinal cord. But Kal
er's other injuries make his recovery
doubtful, and at my suggestion his rel
atives have telegraphed to his mother,
askIng her to come to his bedside. She
lives in Illinois."
Kaller's condition is very grave. He
has remained conscious from the first,
and has taken a keen Interest in the
remarkable operation performed upon
him.
Following closely upon the rumor of
the retirement of John Burns, of Eng
land, from all active participation in
the great movement of organized labor,
in Great Britain Is the loss of another
famous leader In the person of Joseph
Arch, the well-known agricultural la
borer and member of Parliament. Mr.
Arch confirms the rumor that he will
retire from all active work in the la
bor field at the next general election.
Gainesville, Ga., Dec. 8, 1899
Pitts' Antiseptic Invigorator has
een used in my family and I am per
ectly satisfied1 that it is all, and will
o all, vou claim for it. Yours truly,
A. B. C. Dorsey.
P. S.-I am using it now myself.
It's doing me good.-Sold by The Mur
ay Drug Co., Columbia, S. C., and all
ruggists. tf
A. kingdom for a cure.
You need not pay so much.
A twenty-five cent bottle of L. L. & K.
Will drive all ills away.
LRE
cious and wholesome
mR Co., HEW woR.
SPOOK FURNITURE.
If Not This, Then What Could It Be?
-A Peculiar Story.
A singular story is related by the
New Orleans Times-Democrat. It was
told by a well-known professional man
at a stag dinner, and the unusual ex
perience stated in his own words is
well worth repeating:
"In the spring of 1892," he said, "I
was living in a house in North Ram
part street, which I had taken on a
one-year's lease, expecting to build.
Our family consisted of myself and
wife, our little boy, then only 5 years
old, and my unmaried sister. The
house was a two-story brick, which
had been built before the war and the
interior arrangement was very sim
ple. The front door opened on a hall,
which contained the staircase and ran *
all the way through on the right-hand
side, while on the left was, first, our
parlor, then the dining-room, and lasto
ly, a small unused apartment not
much larger than a closet. Upstairs
were bedrooms, and in the rear was a
detached kitchen. We allowed the lit
tle room on the first floor to stand
vacant for several reasons. To begin
with it was actually too small for ac
tual service, and It was badly lighted
by only one high, narrow window, be
sides some of the plastering had fallen
from the ceiling, and I was afraid the
rest might come tumbling down on
our heads. That was undoubtedly a
source of danger, and prevented us
from using it for storage, so we sim
ply left it as we found it-entirely em
pty. I suppose the room was con
structed originally for a pantry. I
have been a little particular in de
scribing these details because, as you
will see, they have a direct bearing on
my story.
"We had been living in the house
almost a year," continued the speaker,
"when one Sunday In June, as nearly
as I can remember, I went with my
wife and child to see some friends
near Audubon Park. My sister was
visiting at Biloxi at the time, and we
let the servant off for a holiday. We
got back at 5 o'clock or thereabouts,
for I recollect It was still quite light,
and as we were walking-toWard the
house I noticed that somebody had left
a stepladder standing directly in front
ct the high window opening into the
litie disused room on the ground
floor. 'That's rather a cordial invita
tion to prowlers;' I said halt joking.
'Let's see whether any have availed
themselveq of it.' So when we went
inside we galked back together to the
last door and I pushed It open. 'Whyl
what does this mean?' I exclaimed in
astonishment. There was nobody
there, but the room, which had always
been entirely vacant, contained sev
eral pieces of furniture. A rough
looking table stood in one corner, with
an old-fashioned straight-back chair In
front of It and opposite was a small
bed cot. There were some papers and
other things en the table and a relig
ious print stuck on one of the walls.
I started to go in, but my wife held
me back. 'Don't go In,' she pleaded,
'the plaster may fall. Those things
mst belong to the cook. It struck me
very strange that the cook should
mo've In without asking permission,
but I noticed that my wife was very
nervous so I drew the door to and we
went Into the parlor. A few minutes
later I walked outside to shift the
ladder, and as I picked It up I glanced
through the window. The room was
perfectly empty.
"I am not superstitious, and - the
proof of It Is that I thought Immediate
ly I was the victim of some practical
joke. I re-entered the house quietly
from the rear and again I opened the
door. The room was as empty as a
drum, and It was evident at a glance
that no sort of trickery was remotely
possible. I won't attempt to describe
my feelings. I was so shocked, so be
wildered, so frightened to tell you the
truth that for a moment or two I was
sumply rooted to the spot. Then I
pulled myself together somehow and
went back to the parlor., My wife
saw at once tilat something was
wrong.
"It's that room!" I blurted out.
'There's nothing in It now-not a
stick!'
"And Immediately I had a case of
hysterics on my hands. That's about
all there Is to the story. Next morn
ing I examined the place carefully by
broad daylight, and It was plain from
the dust on the floor that no furnish-.
ng of any kind had been there for
years. We left the house before the
end of the week, paying a month's for
fet on the lease, not because we be
lieve in spooks, but because we didn't
care to stay in a place where unac
autantable things happen. It's bad for
the nerves. My wife and I have talked
the matter over a thousand times,
carefully comparing notes, and as far
as we know we both saw the same
things. My boy must have seen them,
too, for when we went back into the
parlor he asked his mother 'whether
that wasn't Aunt Hattie's chair.' Aunt
Hattie is an old relative of ours, who
has a favorite straight-back chair, sim
ilar to the one we saw In the room.
Of course we have never allowed our
selves to refer to the occurrence be
fore the child, so I am unable to say
positively what else he observed.
What I saw myself was as plain and
as distinct as you are at this moment.
I even noticed that one of the table
legs had been mended with a piece
of slat, and my wife remarked the
same thing. The house Is still stand
ing, and has since been occupied by
several successive tenants. As far as
I am aware none of them have ever
bad any unusual experience."
BLACK EYES.
'ratment for the Kind That Are Not
Given by Nature.
When the patient Is seen early, be
fore discoloration has set in, cold com- -
presses or evaporating lotions are in
dicated; this reduces the swelling and
limits the subsequent discoloration.
But if the patient is seen after he has
a fully-developed "black eye," hot -
compresses and massage are required.
The affected portion is smeared over
with vaseline and rubbed for 10 min
utes several time a day. By frequent
massage and continuous hot applica
tions the discoloration may be almost
entirely removed within twenty-four
hours. The professional "black eye"
artists use a poultice of the scrapings
of a root, which is thought to be bry-,.
ony root.
A single human hair will support
four ounces without breaking.
A Strange Case
A dispatch from Hartsville, S. C., to
the Columbia State, says t be remains of
a colored man were found on Black
Creek about eight miles from Harts
vlle one day last week. The body was
fastened to a stake in the ground, and
bore marks of violence. Bait, so I ar as
can be learned, no one is missing from
that section, so it must be the corpse,
of a stranger. The case has been re
ported to the coroner, and 1t 1s to be
hoped that he will spare no pains to
solve the mystery. The killing must
have occurred some weeks, possibly
months, ago.