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WAS A WOMAN. A Remarkable Story that Comes from a Monastery, BUDAPEST AUSTJRIA, Father Basile Popovice, Dying at Ninety Years of Age, Turned Out to Be a Woman. Discovery Connects Her Life With a Very (irave Crime A dispatch from Budapest, Austria, to the IsTew York American tells a strange story. The letter says the sudden blaze of excitement within and without the walls of the famous monastery of Tziduoani, then frowning silence on Lnc part of the agitated monks, andr.o* the moat tantahzing mystery concerning the details of a discovery the most marvellous and unexpected ever made within the do main of a holy order. What! Father Basile Popovice, holiest of the aged brethren, really no monk at all? Good Father Basile, loved by the peasantry, for thirty years famous for his piety the world over, dying at ninety, to reveal the fact that lie Is a woman! All about the countryside the amaz lug news spread itself before the fathers could gather their wits together and resolve to give no authority to the report, to discountenance any further discussion of it. Hut their ef forts in the latter direction have been unavailing. The bare suspicion that Father Popovice lived more than a 1 third of his life as a monk and was ' buried as a woman, is enough to set the memories of old men and women to work to lit into his history a page so dark that It cannot be read without a shudder. Did Father Popovice become a monk thirty years ago to protect himself from the consequences of and to expiate a terrible crime? This is what the old men and women of the district remember?old men and women who for forty years have had dealings with the Tzlducani Monastery aud whose trials have been lightened by the ministrations of Fa ther Popovice and his brethren. RECALLS A TKRHIHLE MUUDEK, It is not difficult for them to r call the exact year when Father Popovice first appeared among them. It was the same year, the same mouth and the same week that the countryside was shocked by a horrible murder. In the outskirts of the district lived an honest worklngcoan with his bcautl iui wire ana two charming children. One day the husband discovered that his wife knew and occasionally met a man who appeared to be considerably above his own station in life. Although the husband did not charge his wife with Impropriety, he is said to have reminded her that nj good could come of such a friendship The very next day the husband ai d both children were found dead in the hut savagely murdered. The wife and mother had dlsap peared as absolutely as though the ground had opened and swallowed her. There was strong circumstantial evidence that she was the murdress. She was believed to have committed suicide in such a manner as to place her body beyond possible discovery. How she could have accomplished this was a mystery that has never ceased being discussed. Abbott's stkanok visitou. Now at least these old men and women who, for three decades, have passed in and out through the gates of the monastery of Tziducani believe that the death of Father Popovice has solved the mystery. , It was on the second night following the triple murder that a man who appeared to he between iifty and sixty yuarN uni, uu&wua uu iiairon nis iace ' ?save some short scattering hairs on his chin?and dressed like a getleman, appeared before the abbot of the monastery and begged 'to be ad i mitted as a member of the order. The man appeared much agitated. He foil upon his knees to the abbot, j He shed tears and said that the salva- j tion of his soul depended upon a fu- j ture life of the most rigid self denial ] in the service of God and humanity. Nothing but a vow of obedience, l charity and humility could save him. ] The abbot bent his gaze severely up- < on the suppliant and asktd: i "What crime have you committed 1 that you thus seek to make expiation?" At these words the man trembled ; and was silent for several moments. Finally he offered to confess, provided , the abbot would grant his prayer. , Again ti e father superior of the mon&strv looked inquiringly at the kneel ing suppliant. "Hut," he said, at length, "you appear never to have grown a beard. It is a rule of the order that the brethren must wear beards." MADK A CONFESSION. Then the man rose eagerly and showed the abbot the scattering hairs on his chin, and protested that in time their growth, if not luxuriant, would at least serve to prove his spirit of obedience. "Very well," said the abbot; "now what is it that you have tooonfess?" The man put his lips to the abbot's ear and whispered half a dozen sentences. The abbot drew back as though shooked. But the orlme that the man confessed could not have been very great, for that night he began bis novitiate. One of the monks who witnessed this scene spoke of it to blB fellows, and gradually every one In and about the monastery learned that the new monk whose face was so nearly smooth had something on his conscience, and was engaged In a service of expiation He had called himself Popovlce, but when he had subscribed to the vows he was christened again, and "Brother Basile" t>egan his career in the monastery of Tzlducanl as the meekest and most obedient of all the voices, whose duties are menial and their garb and food of the scantiest, Brother Basile never faltered. lie served as scullion In the monastery kitchens, waited upon theeldtr monks at table, Fcruhbed the floors and tolled tirelessly In the garden and vineyard. Sometimes at dusk In the gard' n he would be seen leaning on hisspr.de for minutes together, motionless, evidently In a reverie, and at such tiroes his e^es shone out of their dark ctveri a with a light which seemed like that of madness. T ie scatter log hairs on his chin grew longer, tut wire hardly more numerous. But because Brother Basllc was so ( ften heard praying all night In ids c. 11, and because o' his humility and his unflagging industry, this shortcoming in a brother whose fellows were all full-beared, was readily forgiven. a I'ASSION FUJI KNOWLKDGB. Not only did lie pray In his cell; he studied?studied passionately. And before live years bad c me and gone "Brother Baslle" had become a ' regularly initiated monk and wa^ loved in and out of the monastery as "Good Father Baslle." No one was so ready as he to no among the poor of the village^, to watch heside sick peasants, to bring food to the starving, to comfort the dying and support the spirits of the hereav- d. F >r this the people came to love him with a devotion which no other monk enj >yed. All through the district the name of Father Baslle was known and revered. Yet at times lie was a strange being whom no one could fathom. There were times when his prayers were mingled with heart rending groans. With face ghastly pale and his features writhing as though In manifestation of some almost insupportable mental agony, he would stop beside the road at dusk, Ills eyes apparently tixed upon some object miles away. Atfu ih times 110 cue accosted him. It was something no one tried to understand, but all respected the cause, whatever It was, for all knew that niurht Lrood Father lUivll^ wf.niri ? ? main tbe whole night on liia knees in his bare cell. WENT IIUNUKY TO KKKI) OTHERS. Nowhere in the world is there a monastery whose regulations are more severe than are those of Tziducanl. Unless he were ill Father Ilasile didn't know the taste of tea, coiTee or cocoa. Like the other monks he slept in a cold, hare cell. At (5 a. m. he rose from his narrow, hard bed and said prayers for half an hour, until the ringing of the Angelus. After that until 9 o'clock, without a morsel of food, heattended various services. Ti en meditation for half an hour, another half hour at work in the garden, or at some other kind of manual labor. Now there is a meal of the most frugal descrip tlon never a morsel of ilesh meat, and during Lent not even e ggs, cheese, miik or butter. Coarse bread, a little tish, sometimes two eggs and a salad, with the choice tf wine or beer?that was the. fare of Father Hasile. And because almost daily he would lay aside some portion of it to relieve the l unger of some poor villager he was more often hungry himself than any other monk. Such self-denial, and such deeds of kindness to all in the district who ever appealed to him caused Father Baslle's fame to spread all over Europe. When he grew too old to leave the monastery groun ls peasants and even rich and powerful persons made pil grimages, even from great dls .ances to, obtain the blessing of the holiest of monks. A Hfr.t-.lo mnrn tfrion ? - ? .. ..w>? luutu uiiau UVTU UlUlltllH ll^O Father liisile was ninety years old. The visitors who did him honor 011 that d ly were so numerous that the t monastery inclosure cuild hardly hold S the 111. His place in the monastery, A unotlicially, was higher than that of f the abbot, for it was the fame of t Father Baslle's piety and long ascetic > life that had caused Tziduoani to rise a from obscurity and take its place f among the most celebrated homes of u religious orders. i; Father liasile, on his ninetieth d birthday, was still active, but d af and c partly blind. Toe outlines of his I wrinkled face were softened by long a straggling hairs?barely enough of t them to be called by courtesy a beard. For the last half dozen years he had remained mostly in his cell, praying more hours than ever. Hut he was F more cheerful than formerly. What- a ever had been the crime which he had c confessed to the old abbot, now dead, F Lve seemed to feel that it. i.aH r - w MWVU fully expiated. c DiCA 1) AND A WOMAN. 4 Less tban a month later good Father a Hasile was found dead in his cell. ^ Hardly had the sad news reached the neighboring villages where It was followed by the startling report that in preparing the monk's body for burial e the fathers had made the discovery c that had thrown the monastery into t uncontrollable excitement?that Fa- s ther Hasile was a woman! i There had never been any suspic- 1 Ions of this to give rise to a false report, and the very reticenoe of the abbot and all the fathers when details H were sought tended to give the first j report stronger credenoe. Naturally u the abbot would shield the monastery J from gofstp go damaging to its fame, and naturally the life long companions of Father Haslle would strive to have his fame continue unimpaired. Aed thus there Is only the first significant fiame of excitement, and the first incautious admission of the fact to support what every* ody believes to he the truth?that Father IJasile was really & woman. Why should it occur to a woman to tike such a step, considering the risk of discover* ? She was a fugitive from Justice. Where else could she better bury herself? What othe* disguise would be more securt ? Did she not confess to the abbot her commission of some crlm< ? SOLVES AN OLD MY8TKUY. And so, piece by piece, the old mm and women c f the district I ave built up the theory that this woman calling herself a man wis the wif j who>e husband and children were found murdered thirty years ago. But thev do not say that she her self committed that terrible deed, or even that she had guilty knowledge of It. Perhaps, knowing that her fault led logically to the. murder by another, and knowing that she. was suspected, she sought In the monas tery to h refuge arid the expiation of a contributory orror. PREMIUMS FOR B.-8T CROPS Are Oflt r'd l>v the Agricultural Society of South Carolina. In order to encourage the planthk of alfalfa hay among the farmers f South Car; lltia the agricultural soilety of South Carolina has offered a premium for th?? best crop raised djrng the year 1906. The following circular has been tent out, which gives the conditions >f the contest and all information >onnected with it: Premiums for the best crops of alalfa hay made in South Carolina dur1906, offered by the agricultural sodoty of South Carolina: 1. Those who desire to compete or these prizes must send their lamrs to J . Bach man Chlsolm, sec eiary of the agricultural s ociety of Joutb Carolina, No. 26 Broad street, Dearleston, S. C., giving the location ind post lice address, and stating vhether they have entered for the ive- acre prize on or before the 1st of \ugust, 1905. 2. The same party cannot enter or both the live-acre aud one acre prize. 3. The hay must be cut, cured and 1 paled from the tive-acre plot in one ,ract, all in one tive-acre body. Tne esults are not to be made by taking my portions of one or more acres from various sections of any tract. 4. This hay should be cut as soon 1 is the bloom appears, after the 1 -?t of May, 1906, and as frequently as the '.rops will warrant until the 1st of November, 19C6. 5. An examination of quality of imp hn.va.nri t\l .? irfoOrVil r>f? r.f U)l" r-.w vy ??UV? Wtl V " V I I i k ? ^ V/l T? Ill oe made by a committee of judges, composed of three responsible reM lents of the neighborhood, who shall .jive certificates of same d. ()a receipt of the certificate* giving the aggregate of the total cut Pings between May 1st and Novemb r Lr>t* of these who have entered this competition the agricultrual cummitPee of the society will at one0 pay over to the succcaful contestant the award )f $100 for the best results of alfalfa from the live acres, and $b0 for the iest results from one sere. These certificates must be sent to the sec e jary of tiie society before the 31st of December, 1900. The secretary of the society will be pleased to furnish those who desire to inter the contest with imformation is to where they can procure the alalia serd and tuoh information as to ihe prt. paration of land, fertilization, ilanting and cutting of the crop, as liven in the United States agricuUual bulletins, Nos. 31 and ii!5, on "Al"alfa." William G. IJinson, John S. Ilorl>eck, James S. Murdoek, Theo. G. -tarker, Taos, lhnckney, Samuel G. Itoney, agricultural committee. A iieorjcla Tr?jc?Uy, George Wright, city passenger and ilokct agent at Rome, Ga.. for the Southern railway, was shot and killed Vo-lnacrli... K.. rn O ? 1 O i i/ uj" V 1IICO X . OiHilUrU. iSBHIoid refuses to talk acd the cause of , he tragedy is not known. Mrs. Vright is pnstrated. She was ill, * d the killing of her husband, it is j eared, will cause her death. The [rand Jury returned a true bill chargng murder to Sanford. Acting un- 1 icr advice of his attorneys Sntiford { ontinues silent. The only state raent ?e made is: "lie has ruiued my home nd 1 have killed him. 1 would do ( he same thing again." ; Kquai to ttie lOiuerKonoy. j An old artmlral mall fn* ??i? ? MvwMaAUiA rf v>n nuwn 11 ? JI 1119 j >ower of exaggeration was describing , , voyage at supper one night. "While j ruising in the Pacitic," be said, "we ( >a?sed an inland which was positively ed with lobsters." "But," said one ?f the guests, >m!ling incredulously, 'lobsters are not rod until boiled." 1 'Of course not,"replied the undaunted 1 admiral, "but this was a volcanic < sland with boibng springs." ( KcfiiHOd to Mix. 1 Fifteen white girls sewing matress- j is in Pittsburg went on strike because a negro girl was brought in to he c Hi 3? of the factory to work as a ! tcnographer and typewriter. They esented the idea of the light work >eing done in dark color. Why Indians Smoke. I An Indian ohlef, in an unimpasioned effort to tell something of Indian peculiar it Ion, said: "Indian 1 treat smoker. Smokin' great help to 1 azlness." 1 A BJ5B8ATIOHAL REPORT That li. K. l)arK*n Old Not Commit Hulolde ? Reported. A story was Id circulation last week that former President Robert Keith Dargan, of the Independent Cottton Mill Company of Darlington, did not commit snioide, and in fact is not dead. Tne rumor states that the body has never been viewed by the jury, and the only time that it was seeu by the coroner was when the or unty otllcial was called to the law otllce and found the former cttlcer seated in a chair at a desk, with the whiskey, and carbolic acid on the desk According to the story, Mr. Dargan was carried to his home in a closed carriage. It is said that the stricken home was cloned to callers, and nobody saw Mr. Dargan in the ca ket, which was later interred after services performed by two ministers of Darlington. The story question whether the casket contained Mr. Dargan's body, and it is said that the insurance company, the state agent of which is locited at Columbia, is investigating the matter, with a view of ascertain ing whether Mr. Dargan really died and was bulled. It is argued that whiskey is an antidote for carbolic acid poison, with which Mr. Dargan is said to have killed himself, and that as long as whiskey Is drunk the acid can be safely taken into the system The presence of the whiskey on the desk near the suicide, is cited to show a possible knowledge of this f^ot, and to sustain the theory that the man never killed himself. Additional color is given to the theory from the part that Mr. Pegram had in the af fair It struck many people a3 a most asfounding proposition that a man could idly and calmly sit in the room and allow his brother to take the poison, and after his death then give the alarm. The theory that no suicide was c >mmitted offers an explanation of this feature of the case, and the failure of Mr. Pegram Darganto make any statement at the inquest, when put on the stand, simply saying that the statement of his brother spoke for Itself, Is construed to mean that he did uot wish to tnvolve himself by asserting that tils brother was dead, when he had not killed himself, ac cording to the story. Tho story is a most remarkable one and is thought to be a fake, but it is being very persistently circulated here and Is published for what It is worth. Served Hint Kighc. James Beard, a prominent citizen of Od ?u, lod., was horsewhipped in the streets of that town by Mrs James Cnurchman while her husband stood guard over Beard with a revolver. Churchman, so it is alleged, had heard that Beard had m ide statements that were derogatory to the character of his wife. With his wife he went to a hardware store, purchased a buggy whip and waited for Beaid to appear. When Beard came up town Mr. Churchman covered him with his revolver and told his wife to do the whlnn'nir VVhiln Uoa H /-I ?.r r - Q ? ? t4?*w I'vmiu ouv/uu | looking iuto the muzzle of the revolver In Churchman's hands, eight lashes were laid on his coatless back. After the whipping was over Churchman ad conished Heard not to talk about his wife again. What Ho Deserved. "The man who rocked the boat" got what tie deserves a sound drubbing Monday when a crowd of New York women set upon him and almost pounded him to death. He ha 1 almost caused the drowning of two joung ladies by capsizing the boat which he "rocked." It's the only way to handle such Idiots and If it were done every time, there would be fewer cases of his idiotic display. A Mad Woman. At New York Mrs. Annie Cahes, a youDg mother, Wednesday morning It ft her bed and seized a carving knife and stabbed h'r nineteen yearold son tu death. Tne woman sought to murder her husband, but wa-? prevented. She then stabbed heiself in tbe breast. Jealously over her sister, who is living with her, is thought to have prompted the act. A CJoorgta fc'roak. We may always look for a freak From Georgia when times are dull. The latest is a man with a conscience itrong enough to make him send the railroad company a check for a ride le took without paying for it. We wish all people who owe. us for tholr ^aper uuuiu uave just suon an awakjniuK of conscience. Hanged for AhhhiiU. Austin Johnson, colored, who was jonvicted for criminal assault upon Ruth Rebecca Pi nob beck, the elevunyear-old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. (). [j. Pinchbeck, of Richmond, Va., was landed thereon Thursday. Johnson's was the third ex culion in that connLy this year and the second for the tr(ma nf >Konntt AftAiV U* IV OWUi U. Plenty of Check. E. S. Holmes, former assistant stablstican in the department of agriculture, who was dismissed for selllDg ootton facts, Wednesday consulted counsel relative to the investigation of the cotton leaks. It is understood that he will take his dismissal from the department to the courts. Holmes declined to make any statement about his case. He returned to Washington late Wednesday. Killed lor Nothing. George Brown, a welt known farmer of Wetzel county, living near New Martinsville, W. Va., shot and killed William Williams, a fifteen-year-old boy, Wednesday morning because he found him pioking blackberries on his property. Brown was arrested. Bookkeeping, Shorthand, Typ guaranteed course 20 weeks. Sin/ hand, 8 mos 12 calls for graduates mand. Write. Mich inery Supply 1 WO SELL I Headquarters for EVERYTHING All kinds of Injectors, Lubricators Supplies for Saw Mills, Oil Mills ar Lartfe stock of Well Pumps and Cy COLUMBIA ? O O The in 5 r * * ' ^ : THE IxUINARD ! coivUMi: O Manufacturers Hrick, Fire Proof J[ Flue linings and Drain Tile Pi o or millions. Whlske I Morphine I Clgarot Habit. I Habit | Habit "Cured by Keelev J 1329 Lady St. for p o Pox 7fi>'ryoi WjSATHEK and crops. Corn Damaged, but Cotton (Jotting Along Fairly Well. The week ending Monday, July 17, was slightly ccoler than normal. The temperature extremes were a maximum of 91 degrees at Allendale on the 10th, ai da minimum of 65 degrees at Greenville on the 11th and 14th. The temperature conditions were favorable. There were a number of damaging high winds, especially in Greenville and neighboring oouuth s, accompanying thunderstorms. There was an excess of cloudiness over the entire sta> e. With the exception of a deticlency in the central counties where there were numerous showers but little rain, tiie precipitation for the week was copious and in many places excessive, ra.ni/irior from nnn In nver 6vn lrmhA? In the extreme western, and in plaees in the northeastern counties, lands were washed and bottom lands Hooded. The rainfall was heavy along the coast and excessive in lieaufort couaty. Over the greater part of the state, the numerous showers and the cloudy weather kept the ground too wet to work, and delayed the laying by of Held crops. Some fK Ids of corn and cotton have again bicome grassy and are in urgent need of cultivation. Cotton grew very fast in all sections, but did not fruit in proportion. The plants have generally attained normal growth, and in many places ! have grown too large, but, with the exception of Hampton county, where the rai is caused the plants to turn yellow, .hey have a good, health, color, but aie soft and sappy. There are some complaint of shedding squares and of black root, and of rust ou sandy lands, and of damage from Insects, but on the whole a general improvement Is noted. The crop needs fair weather. Some bottom land corn was damaged and some destroyed, otherwise there was a general Improvement in the oodditlon of corn, especially of late plantings. Tobacco curing is general; late tooaeco made rapid growth, but the crop promises to be short. June rice receiving its Hrst cultivation. Gardens improved. Peas doing well Peaches rotting. Pastures have im proved. Cane growing well. Watermelons generally plentiful and shipmerits heavy. A Proposition of Interest To all readers of this paper, who call or write for treatment within the next 30 days 1 will cure them of the following diseases for ONE-HALF my usual charge: LOST MANHOOD, SYPHILIS (blood poison), GONOUHE, GLEET. STRICTURE, VARICOCELE, RUPTURE, CATARRH and all CHRONIC DISEASES, of both sexes. Diseases of women cured without operation. PILES cured under guarantee without the knife or any tying or burning operation I 'Anonlfn f Wk * I/\? A ^3?' vuuauii/auiuu3| u&auiiiiAliUU| AU'" Free. T. S. HOI LEYMAN, M. D.t THE SPECIALIST. 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Address I MALONE'S MUSIC HC&SE, j M U COLUMBIA, S. C. I ,W LEARN j/%ORAP?lY And R. R, AGENOy^^h also train you for The U.S. SIGNAL nitl'sj^^ftool eatabliahed 17 yoara. Cheao boar?, low tuition, and Our Plan INSURES poalUon. Catalogue free. GA. TELEGRAPH COLLEGE. Senoia. Oa. llooi Fell In. The roof of the ohapel of the Woman's hospital at For mo, Italy, fell in during morning servioe on Sunday killing 16 women and injuring 32. 4