The Darlington news. (Darlington, S.C.) 1875-1909, July 14, 1892, Image 3
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By AUGUSTA LARNED.
lt'opyrl*lit, ISC, by American Press Assoc is
llou.1
CHAPTER IV.
—N
He carried her nuH/tly through the darn
street to hie uun door.
Hiss Mayhew humbly hoped that her
tightened grasp on life—the little hectic
flush of hope that came to her that au
tumn morning—was not due to a presen
timent of Sister Martha's near depar
ture. The world looked very beantif nl to
her eyes that crisp, blowy day. There was
a little gap between the W oods' house and
old Mr. Simons’ place, where she could
catch a distant glimpse of the hills with
the yellow foliage shining against the
blue like golden billows fringed with
flame. The pale glimmer of the fad
ing willows, the white stems of young
birches seen through thinning veils of
leaves, seemed like a new and delightful
picture. Today there were no troops of
school children passing by with their
dinner baskets and books, bat a great
company of emigrating birds settled
down in her front yard, preened their
feathers and consulted together with
noisy talk on the wall, and at last roue
and flew away with a great whir of
wings. The smallest incident made her
happy.
It was easier to love her neighbors
when her head ached less and the films
of weakness, spotted with black, ceased
to dance before her eyes. She held up
the little rose colored garment she was
making in her thiu, pale fingers, and felt
an unusual sense of comfort and warmth
steal over her as she listeued to the soft
■napping of the logs on the old brass
andirons. The large empty house seemed
wanner and cozier now that she knew
Sister Martha was speeding homeward
on the train. In country phrase Mrs.
Whitcumb was “no company” for her
•ister-in-law. They could not And a com
mon meeting ground, and to have her in
the house, even though nnsoen, brought
With it a sense of oppression.
Meantime the captain sat just where
his visitor had left him, when she closed
the front door and he heard her foot
steps retreating down the walk. He felt
utterly weak and unmanned; the water
stood in great drops on his forehead as
he lived over the scene and saw what
was in his heart when he was tempted
to clutch the woman's throat. He had
knocked down a mutinous sailor once on
shipboard with a belaying pin, and he
remembered having had the same sensa
tions then, before the fellow began to
show signs of life. But there were other
things to think of, terrible as that mur
derous impuls” looked to him, and deep
as was the precipice over whose brink
be had taken a flying gl.mpse.
The confession of that woman came
back to him bit by bit out of the turmoil
of hi* sensations. He saw how poor
Vinie had been tricked by Martha Whit
cumb and her own mother, who was
rabid to seize upon any minor to his
hurt, however black. But Vinie had
loved him all the time. Her soul, inuo-
oeut and white, had taken no stain
Evan if she believed he bad wronged
her she bad forgiven him. Hhe had
faded and withered and suffered in
silenoe throngu the years, but bad kept
a glimmer of trost in him alive in her
gentle heart. She bad sat by her win
dow to watch him as he passed with
averted head. Bhe had listened for his
footsteps and lived on the signs of bis
existence—the smoke going up from bis
chimney, the light in his window, bad
known when he came and when he
went, had trained her ear to catch all
reports of him in the wind.
He felt his strength quite broken as
he sat there with hie dark head in his
hands, and the tears began slowly to
trickle throngh his brown fingers. The
impress of the mother's hard, unjust
words seemed all washed away by those
jrops wrung from the soul of a stalwart
man, to whom an outward show of emo
tion was a kind fif agony. Oeorgo Bligh
bad shed no tears when b>s mother died
*r whoa ho burled Ids last sister and
Was left alone. But now he crying
Ukeaohild. These were the drops of
awe and pity that are said to purge and
purify the heart.
He never knew bow long he thus set.
The sunlight faded out of the room and
traveled westward. " His Maltese cat
jumped upon the table, stepping softly
among the neglected dishes. The par
rot, In a weak, cracked voice, kept scold
ing and fussing about ou his perch.
“Hullo, George!" he would cry, “don't
be a fool.” He had lived a long time on
shipboard, and the sailor* had taught
him the use of bod language, and some
times he varied his advice to George by
the introduction of a “swear" word.
But the captain did not hear him. He
was reviewing all his past He seemed
to be standing outside himself, where
he could see his life iu all Its deformity—
the warping and perversion of his better
iiatnre, layers of hardness and selfish
ness that had gathered in moody, nn-
|ym pathetic years, the appetite for greed
gild gaiq that had grown upon him
itoaUhiiy tyke a creeping mold. He had
ftrqggled for advantage like other men.
Md setq* weaker brothers had neces
sarily gone to the wall. A strong,
masterful, self willed (pan, he had made
bis purposes tell In tb» world affairs,
while be shut himself away from his
neighbors and lived in a narrow groove.
A good lover, a good hater, a valiant
fighter, half way measures were not
possible to George Bligh- But now his
purposes all looked poor and mean and
sordid. Us Usd last his only love long
years ago. Had fiercely deuounoed her
because be believed she had swallowed
the evil reports of his enemies, and th*
good that wasnoMiblttohiabaidtanMd
jp Mtterneia, the .wound In his aatare
mgrene and proud flesh.
But these hour* had brought Vinie
hack to him. She seemed to have come
from the pale sjiade* of the other world,
after their long separation, and to be
Standing there in the room with her
gentle, beseeching face. He could think |
of nothing but Vinie, and her presence
■nd nearness seemed to wrap him around
in a soft atmosphere of forgiveness and
reconciliation lie remembered her as
she was who. a girl, among the morn
ing glories and tall hollyhocks of the
old Mayhew garden, with the tender
rose and snow of tor pure skin, and th
sun shining >n her dark curls. He ro
mom hi red ail her little movements, her
smallest words, the glances, half playful,
half loving, she had given him,’ the
blush that came so readily to her cheek
when he appeared.
How was he ever to approach Vinie
across that impassable gulf of years that
had been dug between them? He had
promised Mrs. Whitcumb never to re
veal the secret of her perfidy, and al
though the woman was a viper he must
keep his word. Should he stride boldly
into the old Mayhew homestead and find
Vinie there by the window where he
had known she was sitting all these
years, although he had never looked her
way, and clasp her and kiss her and
claim her for his own? And would she
understand without speech and come to
him with the confidence of a child?
The man was shut out from all sights
and sounds by the little world of emo
tion in which he lived. He was away
hack in his youth, wandering again with
Vinie in the Pelham woods on a spring
morning when the laurel was in bloom,
and all the intervening, fruitless, with
ered time had dropped away. The day
had sloped to twilight, then melted iuto
darkness when he raised his head, for a
strange sound had pierced the quiet street
through and through. It was the sound
of many feet, the running of men and
boys close pressed, breathing hard, down
the roadway. Suddenly a church bell
clanged ont, then another and another.
He stepped to the window, opened it and
thrust forth his head into the still even
ing air. A significant smell of burning
came to his nostrils, the sound of stealthy
crackling and snai>ping flames greeted
his ear just as a woman's shrill voice be
gan to shriek, “Fire! Fire!”
A snaky red tongue shot up among
the apple trees clone to the bounds of
Captain Bligh's garden. He looked
about bewildered for a moment trying
to get his bearings. Suddenly it came
over him like a blow that the fire was
making headway in the L part Of the
old Mayhew honse. He heard the en
gines and hose carts rattling down the
street, but he never knew how he got
out of his house or scaled the interven
ing fences and walls between his garden
and Vinie’s home. He saw at once the
tire was confined to the kitchen and
shed and had not yet stacked the maiu
building. The night was windless, and
the flames went straight up against the
sky with dense volumes of smoke and
showers of sparks that hang like a lumi
nous cloud just above the trees.
The firemen in their shiny black hats
and coats were getting two streams of
water to play on the burning roof. Some
of them were mounted on ladders
knocking out windows and cutting holes
through the shingles. At first the stream
of water flew wid* of the mark and
dashed in among the branches of the
trees, but presently it took a better aim;
the fire cowered down as the jets like a
million writhing serpents hissed on the
hot embers. It is the fashion in Little
field to “run" to a fire, and Miss May
hew’s lawn was filled with neighbors
who conld do nothing bnt get in each
other's way, and were as glad to come as
if it had been a garden party. Ladies
ran out bareheaded and without wraps:
young men and maidens sat on the wall
looking at the blaze, and a large com
pany of boys roosted in the trees in front
of the honse. AH the honse doors were
wide open and neighbors were bringing
out the furniture, jostling each other on
the steps and in the passages.
Absorbed as the people were with the
spectacle, there were some eyes sufficient
ly disengaged to note the presence of
Captain Bligh's tall form on the ground.
There were silent nndgee and “Well-did-
you-evers” whispered behind hands.
J ust as the captain was pnshing his way
toward the door there was a crash of
falling crockery from above. The cap
tain looked up and saw it was one o'
those giddy Wood girls, who had lost her
head and had thrown a toilet set out ot
the window.
The crowd in front of the house swayed
back, then parted, and two young men
came ont bearing Miss Mayhew iu her
armchair well wrapped in shawls. As
they neared the gate with their burden
the captain, who had followed with long
strides, stepped in front of them, dost
then the roof of the L part fell in with a
noise like thunder and all eyes were
turned that way.
“Where are yon going?” the captain
asked in his brief, curt tones.
“They told us to take her to Tucker's,
next door.”
"Leave the lady to me,” and the tones
were again decisive. "I will see that she
is safely boused. You will be needed
back there at the fire.”
The young fellows knew Captain Bligh
by sight and judged him responsible.
They were only too glad to get the job
off their hands and to rush away into the
thick of the excitement.
The captain picked np the chair as if it
had been a feather and strode with it
swiftly across the road, making a long
slant to avoid the groups of people who
were hanging over fences or thickly clus
tered together under the wayside trees.
“They've got it under control,” he
heard one man say. “and the main build
ing isn't so mnch os scorched. It's a
good thing to clean out the o)d rookery.
The insurance people will have to re-
build." The captain strode on. with his
heart going like the piston fif 4 steam en
gine and hi« strength redoubled, until
be came to a dark clump of mnples in a
lonely retired part of the street, where
not a cat was stirring, because every,
body had mn to the Are. Here he set
down the chair, and stooping took Miss
Mayhew in his arms. Bhe was very
light, like a child of ten years. Her eyss
were closed and her pale lids shone in the
fitful gleams ot light. He could feel no
pulsation of the heart. Had she fainted
or was she dead—killed on.right by the
excitement of the fire? The though.
turned him cold from bead to foot
There was only a little pale moon of a
face to be seen through the shawl in
in which her head was swathed.
He carried her swiftly through the
dark street to his own door, which he
pushed opeu with his foot, then groped
his way with his burden throngh the nn-
lighted passage, and turned in at the
living room, where the glare of the ex
piring flames still fitfully illnminated
the windows. Ha laid her down on an
old couch in one corner of the room,
then felt for a match and a candle, and
when tye had kindled a light he timidly
approached the place where »ho lay*-
Her eyes M/gra stif) sealed, but the shawl
had fallen away, allowing the white hair
still in thick tresses and softly curled at
the ends; the thin, delicate cheek, with
its refined coutoor. pale as marble: the
blue veining of the lids, the sunken
temples, the forehead that seemed
touched with sanctity, a* if a martyr’s
crown rested upon it; the seusitive
mouth drawn slightly with pain, bat
■U0 bcartojLthe trace of infinite sweet-
The beauty of that face
vending the tovelinsee of
whom he had been dfc
noon seemed to press George Bligh „
his knees, and hard, dry sots shook bis |
breast. It was ■ long time beforf she
opened her eyes and then they rested on
his face, apparently without seeing any
thing or being conscious of where she
was. He hail taken one of her slender,
chilly hands, and was softly chafing it
between his own. ' l
"Don’t yon know me, VinieT h*;
whispered, beading toward her ear. |
Possled lines ran in her forehead and
then suddenly the light sprang into her
eyes. "Why yes, of coarse 1 know yon
—you are Georg* Bligh." Then she
paused, as if trying to frame a question
for which the words would not come,
and said at last:
“Where am 1, Georgef
“Yon are here in my house, Vinie;
I brought you here in my arms away
from the fire."
“Oh, yes,” said she, growing brighter.
“I remember now. 1 was alone in the
house; Ann had gone to meeting. Then
I saw the people all running and heard
them calling, ‘Fire!* And I don't seem
to remember what happened after that.”
Her gase was wistful and questioning
now as it rested on the captain’s face.
There seemed so many things she wished
to ask, bat for which she could not frame
sentences.
“Yon are not afraid to trust me, Vt-
nie?"
“Oh, no, George,” with a little smile
abont her pale lips. “Why shonld 1 be
afraid? 1 have always trusted you."
“I guess, Vinie, I’ve been most crazy
with love aud remorse all day. Ever
since your Sister Martha came here this
morning; seems as though 1 had slipped
my anchor and was going right ont of
my senses."
“Sister Martha?" she repeated with a
questful look. “1 don't know what she
said, but I've been thinking of you
George for fifteen years, and yet I was
like one paralyzed that couldn't pat oat
a hand to beckon. They tried to make
me distrust you, but 1 never did. They
told me strange stories of perfidy and a
dissolute life, but 1 always believed you
were true to me until they came between
ns. I thought you might go wrong at
times, George, because you are a quick
and passionate man, bnt 1 knew your
heart. I saw your real self. It makes
me glad to tell you the simple truth at
last. It is just ss if we were both dead
and in heaven talking over the post, and
clearing np old misunderstandings with
the light of eternity on onr faces. I am
a poor, broken winged creature, George.
a miserable little hit of seaweed that
the tide has left high and dry on the
shore. But to speak with you once more,
to tell you that 1 always believed in
your better nature is a precious priv
ilege.”
He put down his dark head on the edge
of the couch, as if ashamed to let her see
his emotion.
“It was a damnable conspiracy to sep
arate us, Vinie. I never can tell you the
whole story, ss it has been told to m<
because my lips are sealed by a promise
made with my hand on the Testament
But it was all made up of fraud and lies.
And they made me think you believed
the lies, and thought 1 had been trifiin
with you to lead you to ruin, and that
you hated me like poison, but now I
know 1 was all ont in my reckonin, Vinie
It's as if I'd been to sea years and years
without seeiu the sun. No notion where
the north star was, either, compass varied
so. Kept driftin hither and yon, like
an old abandoned hulk on the current
Tried to go by dead reckonin, but 1 was
all wrong. Tried to clutch things that
hadn't no comfort in them”
"But when you saw the old house
blazing, George, you forgot all that had
come and gone?”
"Vinie,” said he, solemnly, “1 felt ns
if 1 could snatch you right ont of the
clutches of death.”
“But 1 wasn’t worth saving. George-
such a poor creature, all broken and
spent, tied to the chair or to the bed.
Georgh, yon might as well think of a
dead woman as of me. ”
At that moment the old parrot awoke
on his perch, shook himself, dabbed
fiercely at his breast feathers and piped
out, "George, kiss Polly."
Vinie burst into a little, weak, hysteri
cal laugh, and the captain raised her
pale hand and laid it on his lips. “Vi
nie," he said, "1 swear I'll devote my
whole life to yon if you'll let me. I’ll
cleanse my mouth of every foul Word and
my heart of every drop of gall. I'll let
nothing come in but you, just you. I'll
watch over yon as if you was a saint
right out of heaven and no wind shall
strike you roughly, you poor, long suf
fering. patient Vinie. I’m not th*
heathen folks wonld make me, for right
here oq my knees 1 fee) as if | conld
pray and tliank the Lord for giving yon
back to me.”
“What's thatr said Vinie, raising
her bead. They listened to a kind of
moaning and scratching st the door, like
a hungry dog pleading to be let in.
“Oap'n Bligh! Oap'n Bligh!" wailed a
a distracted voice, “Where’s Miss May
hew? Some say yon kerried her off ont
the bnrniu house awl some say you
didn't i can't find her. She's lust Oh.
Cap'n Bligh, open the doorl"
Ann had stumbled into the dark entry
and Captain Bligh took up the tight and
held it as she came limping forward in
a disheveled state pitiable to witness.
"Merciful man!" she exclaimed as
soon as her eyes fell on her mistress. "If
you aint a-laying right here on Cap'n
Bligh's eofy, of aU places In this town
the moet iinproperest."
The tone of wailing had changed to
one of sharp rebuke, like a distracted
mother who, as soon as she has found
her lost child, begins to shake him.
“I couldn't find yon nowhere, aqd 1
thought you was smoke suffocated. I
Med to rush right into the kitchen
part when it was all of a light blaze.
They held me back h/ main furce, aud i
onasa l fit gnd scratohed like a tiger oat.
Them Insurance men, if they choke me,
can't make me say how it ketched. 1
don’t know to save me whether it war
the dumbly bornin ont or ashes in a
bar’l. 1 sometimes bed put ashes in a
burl, but was always xeerful about
them hew cold and no sparks. If them
insurance men use alow torture they
can’t mak* me tell; I don’t know,
“ Twa* preparatory lecture night and
I was kind of hurried to get my disbee
done and be off, for 1 hain't missed a
preparatory lecture never since 1 came
to the Mayhew place, and that was
when Vinie was tittle; and the lecture
room was warm, and 1 eat in a dark
corner up against the wall, and the
minister's voice went right on without
a change. I knew he was sound in dec-
trine and I conld trust him, so I guess 1
must have dozed off, for 1 set right up
with a start when the church bell clanged
and somebody screeched fire! and all the
folks liegan scuttlin out of the room and
1 after them as hard as I could pelt, for
| hain't missed a Are no more than a
ipeetin for over fortv years. When 1
huasd somebody sqy it was the old May
hew place, seemed as though my head
shot away from my legs, and 1 come
! right down on s kerbstone on all fours,
and give myself a bruise 1 guess 1 shall
kerry to my grave.
“When I got home i see at once my
part of the house was gone and all that
jelly I had put up. It kind of haunted me,
that JeUr did. Thei
■Over hod aU been took eat
of file ceraer cupboard that woe plum
up agin the burnfa part and keiried no
body knows where, and my clothes, they
do say, ore scattered all over Littlefield.
When 1 tried to find Miss Mayhew 1
went kind of blind, distracted like, and
bumped up agin Frank HaUey, and he
said the captain had took her to Tuck-
ersea. Bo over there 1 went and there
wasn’t a soul to home; everybody bad
ran to the fire. Bo I navigated aU over
the honse and opened Mis’ Tucker's
presses and even looked under the beds,
and 1 did the same at Woods’, hot it
wa'nt no nee. So says I to myself she’s
fainted somewhere in s corner and been
overlooked and Captain Bligh's got to
answer for It. Bo 1 came straight here
and found her layln on the sofy and
Ionian as contented as a kitten in a basket
of wool. Now Captain Bligh I want yon
to pick her right np and kerry her home
again. Her room hasn't had a scorch
and the bed’s aired and her things lain
ont for the night"
The captain had a pleasant twinkle in
his eyes as he stood looking st Ann, and
he said slowly and with a great show of
deliberation:
“Bnt suppose your mistress has con
sented to stay with me?”
"Yon cant hev her!" cried Ann fierce
ly, like an old hen fighting for its ont
chick. “And what a place this is to ask
a lady to stay in. A man of your prop
erty should be ashamed of himself, Cap’n
Bligh. It’s downright heathenish, if I
do say it.”
“Don’t be an old fool," the parrot pnt
in casually, as if making a mere passing
remark.
Ann jumped as if she had been bitten
in a sensitive part.
“Oh,” she cried snappishly, “I’d jest
like to wring the neck of that old swearin
bird, as you've filled up fnll of bad lang-
widge.”
“Don’t get angry with poor old poll,
Ann. Bhe learned those bad tricks at
•ea. The sailors tanght them to her.”
“I don't like anything seafarin,” said
Ann, with her nose in the air, “an old
Mis’ Mayhew never did either. We al
ways agreed on them pints, though we
did differ some. Bhe knew seafarin
men is ungodly, mod parts, and prodi-
gions swearers. I guess she'd turn over
in her grave if she conld see her darter
a-layin there on th.# there sofy."
The captain gave a laugh that sounded
happy and confident, and to Ann's
astonishment she saw that Miss Mayhew
was smiling, too, and a little girlish
blnsh had stolen into her cheek. "Sup
pose Ann,” said she softly, “we were to
ask the captain to come home and live
with ns. If we were to make him com
fortable and happy he might forget all
he has suffered in his lonely life, and all
the evil that has been done him by un
kind tomrues."
“Well, Leviny-Mayhew, 1 never did
hear the beat of that it's just as if you
was throwin yourself at the captain’s
head—as if yon were offerin yonrself."
"No, Ann,” and she raised her voice
a little so that every word might be
clearly understood, “he asked me and
I've accepted, seeing as he thinks I'm
worth taking, thongh I don't understand
how he can; bnt it's all settled between
ns now. 1 tike onr honse better than
this one. 1 would rather live there, and
l shall beg thecaptain to come home and
stay with ns before long.”
Ann had listened to this speech with
her month open and consternation paint-
ed on her face. "Merciful man!" she ex
claimed, "I'm beat all ont and don't
know whether I'm standin on my head or
heels. He's axed yon and you've accept
ed! Well, if there’ss]iook81 shonld think
Mis' Mayhew wonld be walking into this
room. Bnt, of course, if you want him
and think it's proper to take him st
your time of life and his’n, with them
nervous spells of yours comin on,
when it’s hot water bags in a
jiffy, and the squeak of a mouse sets
your head to jnmpin, why. I’ve nothing
more to say. 1 ain't one to meddle or
make. Bnt I don't hev no profane par
rots around me, and when the insurance
folks builds up my part of the bouse, 1
want the cap'n to know that I'm cock of
the walk and has no master orderin on
my quarter deck. 1 don’t black boots,
nor lift trunks, nor ran arreute, nor
stand sass from no man, I don't care
who he is. If you want him in your
part of the honse, Miss Mayhew, why,
take him; and may suthin bad and
black light on his head if he don't treat
you well." Here Ann broke down in a
tit of uassionate sobbing and tears.
At the end of a few weeks Littlefield
was startled by bearing that Captain
Bligh and Vinie Mayhew had been mar
ried very quietly on a November morn
ing and were spending their honeymoon
at home. It wonld be difficult to say at
just what day and date Am; Ba ikett was
won over to become, with the exception
of his wife, the greatest admirer and ad
vocate of the captain in the town. Fierce
had i>een her contention for the body and
son! of her mistress, the one creature she
had taken into her strong nature and
cherished like her own flesh and blood.
The captain iu time won a place in her
loyal and strong soul almost equal to
that she gave to her. Gradually the
fragile lady, under the wonderful magic
of love, began to come back to the ways
of health, driving beside her husband,
living mnch in the open air, and on rare
occasions entering her neighbors’ doors.
People wondered st the marvelous
tenderness and devotion so long latent
in the heart of this man, who for year!
had been an enigma to all around him,
whoee sole thought now was how to
make one trail woman happy, cherishing
her with his strength and watching
over her with a care more than maternal.
Life sweetened and brightened for these
two who so long had wandered on lone
ly and barren paths. The old house uq-
fier the elms seems to smile on the pass
ers 4S if it had renewed its youth, and
times the door swings open to the en
trance of gnosis, thus fulfilling that
ides] of hospitality that always lay so
close to Miss Mayhew's heart. Yon may
see her almost any day, still at her win
dow. returning the greetings of the
eehool children, still fashioning th<*e
dainty little garments for the babies of
life m the Q?” ''Mayhew house is as
ample and unostentatious as of old.
Under the gentle prompting and influ
ence of his wife th* captain has found
new use and exercise for his energies.
HU fortune has become fruitfnl in the
best sense, and is blessed to others. The
old honse where he lived so many years
alone has been enlarged and altered,
and tamed into a hospital for incarables
supported mainly by his gifts, and just
beyond through the trees yon may see
the walls of a beautiful new free library
building rising rapidly. And if yon ore
a stranger and ask for details you will
find that it has been endowed by Cap
tain Bligh, one of the moet public spir
ited men in the town.
Ann, in tne new kitenen, tram for her
his repentant and meek dotage she
aas become reconciled, speculates on
the strange events in her life; and one of
the insoluble knots to Ann's understand
ing is Mrs. Martha Whitcnrab, what
ailed Bister Martha that day she depart
ed so suddenly for home, and why has
■he never congratulated Captain and
Mn. Bligh on their marriage, nor paid
toother visit to th* old Mayhew
A Oaeer Balia,
Lieutenant Peary,
who is bow sonewhere in the
north, had charge of certain govern
ment works at Key West. While th*
work was in progress he noticed on th*
bottom of the harbor, near where a
breakwater was being built, something
which shone throngh the water. He in
quired what it was, but he was able to
get no response more satisfactory than
the assurance that it had always been
there. The boatmen of the neighbor
hood had seen it shining there in theii
childhood, and had in turn been assured
by their fathers that it had been there
all their time.
Although the inhabitants of that sub
tropical clime might be content to live
and die with an unsolved mystery at
their very doors, it will easily be under
stood that the temper of Lieutenant
Peary was different He sent divers
down to investigate and after mnch dif
ficulty succeeded in bringing to light a
•mall copper cannon of the Fifteenth een-
tury. He was able to satisfy all ths
claims of the government to the piece
for the price of old copper and the inter
esting relic became his own.—Boston
Courier.
A Gallant Kentuckian.
When the name of Mrs. Mary Brown
Day was before the Kentucky legisla
ture the other day for election as state
librarian Senator Mulligan made this
fervid and chivalrous plea in the lady's
behalf:
“The storied stream that surges near
ns, floating on its bosom a full, round
century of history, poetry, tradition, was
broader, deeper, clearer than now; these
old hills that tower above ns were
greener, loftier, yet easier climbed; this
old pile was statelier, majestic; men
were braver, youth more heroic, lasses
were fairer, may 1 be pardoned for at
least believing? and amid that troop
ing throng of maidens, more beantiful
than the nymphs of Thessalian graves,
purer than the virgins who fed the sa
cred flames on Ephesian altars, brighter
in glance and smile than the beam of
Venus, happy as the wild birds that
twittered around them, the echo of these
bills repeating, bnt adding no sweetness
to their laughter, the most winsome and
beloved, gentlest, bonniest, best, was
she whom we so love to remember as
Mary Brown Russell."
She was elected.—New York Poet.
An Amusing Trick.
Select a boy who will be easy to man
age and seat him at a table with a gob
let between his teeth. Now tell him to
groan and make other doleful sounds,
still keeping the glass lietween his teeth.
This part of the performance having
passed off, say to him, “1 think, my
friend, that the results would be more
satisfactory if 1 should cover your head
with this towel.'' Accordingly his head
is then enveloped in a cloth on which
two marks havf been previously made
with charcoal to represent the eyes.
Care must be taken that the glass is still
kept between his teeth.
When all is ready he is told to con
tinue to make the sounds he had made
before. If all goes well the resonance
of the sounds, amplified by the presence
of the glass and the curious aspect of
the boy, will form a combination quite
sufficient to please the moet exacting.—
New York World.
PerHian Tombak.
Tombak is a narcotic, which is known
under the name of Nicotiana Persica,
and is cultivated in Persia exclusively,
in the provinces of Uhiraz, Kechan and
Ispahan. Its quality varies with the
place of production. The best tombak
is that which is derived from Chiraz
The production of this province varies
between 1,500 and 2,000 bales a year,
which is almost entirely consumed by
memliers of the imperial family.
Tombak of this superior quality is not
very abundant, and the price paid for it
is about fifty or sixty francs the oke, the
oke being equivalent to 2.8 pounds avoir
dupois. The province of Kechau pro
duces the second quality of Persian tom
bak. With small leaves like the Uhiraz
tombak the product of Kechan is not
even so abundant.—Kew Bulletin.
An Old KnglUli Institution.
We have quite lost the mughouse
This was a kind of music hall,
a large room where only men were ad
mitted, and where ale or stout was the
only drink consumed. Every man hail
his pipe; there was a president. A harp
played at one end of the room, and out
of the company present one after the
other stood up to sing. Between the
songs there were toasts and speeches,
sometimes of a political kind, and the
drank to each other from table
table.—Walter Besant in Harrier's
They Never Met.
“Is it true," asked a sympathetic
friend, "that yon met with another ao-
cidiint on the street yesterday?"
"No, sir,’’ said the victim surlily, “it
isn't. I'm not meeting these accidents
at all; they're following me np, d'ye
bear—fullowing me up!’’—Bt. Joseph
Daily News.
Little Pet Explained.
Mamma (with her best company smile)
—Why do yon raise your feet so high,
my pet, when you walk across the door?
Little Daughter—1 is afraid i'll kick
np zat new rug an show the holes wat's
under it.—Good News.
B© IT
Understood That
*THE RED ELM RACKET !*-
Is still here and here for
SUCCESS
We have just returned from New York with a stock that will
prove a thunderbolt and an eye-opener to the sore oppressed con
sumer of this county; we want your trade and believe we will
get it: for the simple reason we are going to give you more
goods tor your money than you can get elsewhere, either in this
town or another.
HERE IS THE SECRET:
We know when, where and how to buy and we knew how to attend to our own business and
leave others’ alone; also, we underbuy and can undersell, and so for the future we will be in New
York a great part of our time and have an office there.
Two thousand years nave not developed a better method of learning the state of affairs than to
come and see for yourself. We buy as we sell—for cash. The house that sells for cash has no
reason to put on long range profits. Now, when you read these
MATCHLESS PRICES BELOW,
Don’t try think of the quality of the goods, but come and see them and you will be convinced that
all we say is near the solid truth.
Remember, we are a shoe store, dry goods store, notion store, tin and hardware store, jewelry
store, and handle more real imported goods than anyone else in town. Come and see our Japanese
fire screens, fans and other novelties.
100 Barrels Tooth Picks at 5cts. Bbl.
7X
LWAYS the cheapest.
Alarm clocks, 80 to 90c.
Adamant pins, 14 rows, 1 c each.
Agate buttons, 3 cents gross.
Albums, 45 cents up.
Ash receivers, 5 cents.
It is not likely that, gave in Russia
Persia and China, there will again be
snch dreadful loss of life as has been ex
perienced from the failure of the crops
The railways of the United States pro
vide a living far nearly 8,000,000 per
sons, or nearly one-twentieth of the
population of onr country.
Huse English RrilitontU.
The English four posted bedstead was
a huge affair. There is one at one of
the inns at Ware, a small market town
near Hertford, which is large enough to
hold a dozen people, and it is one of the
curiosities of England. It is referred to
in Shakespeare's “Twelfth Night.”—Ta
ble ToU.
B
IG drives that make
trade lively.
Buttons, 1 cent dozen up.
Button hole twist, 1 cent a spool.
Basting spoons, 4 cents.
Basting thread, 2 cents.
Battice dress goods, bargains.
F
AMILIARIZE yourself
with our goods and
prices.
Fans given away.
Fans at 1, 2, 5, 10 to 50c.
Flannels all prices.
Family Bibles, sold by agents
at $12, we sell at $4.95.
Flouncing, 24 to 45 inches, at 25,
38, 45c per yard.
Fayle, i wide, only 14c.
c
ONSTANTLY receiving
goods.
Cuffs, linen, 5 cents up.
Collars, 5 cents up.
Curtains, lace, 11 cents and up.
Corsets, 25, 45 cents up.
Corset clasp, 5 and 10 cents.
Cologne, 10 cents and up.
Curling iron, 5 cents.
Combs, 3, 5, 8, 10 cents up.
Crash, 5, 6, 10 cents per yard.
Curry combs, best, 5 cents.
Clocks, large walnut $2.85.
Chiffon laces, 8c up; all colors.
D
RIVES for all.
m
ATCHLESS prices.
Millinery in its phases. Latest
styles cannot be surpassed.
Ladies’ hats, 5, 10, 20, 25, 30,
35c up.
Mits, all shades. 10c up.
Muslins and challies from lie
yard up; fast colors and white
s
OMETHING for every
body.
Shoes, we are up to the hub in
this line.
Ladies pebble grain button, 85c,
patent cap kid button, 90c,
love, $1.
xfords all kinds, 65c up. Wo
are headquarters for all
kinds of shoes.
Suspenders, 9, 10c up.
Shirts, 20, 25, 30 up.
Socks, 5c up.
Suits, $1.50, $2.85 up.
N
OTHING
dealing.
but honest
Notions of all kinds.
Nottingham curtains, spreads
and shams, 28c up.
Th* Lahicr Way*
▲ boy of three end a half years, on
hearing about a man who strained his
bock by lifting a barrel, said: "I should
base thought he would liave rolled 1L”—
Cor. Babyhood.
The cries of none of the quadrupeds
approoch more closely that of the hn
man voice than those of seals when la
menting the loss or capture of their
yoong.
Potatoes ore now treated with acids,
gardened by means of great pressur*
*nd manufactured into buttona which
cannot be disttngm&hed from th(*e of
hone
A Ban Jaee judge has decided that a
fence twenly feet high, and which shut*
off the light from a neighboring build
iqg. is a nui.<ince and must come *lowu
Dornet shirts, 20c each.
Dish pans, 10 to 35c.
Dictionaries, Webster’s large,
1,443 pages, only $1.25 each.
Damask, fast colors, 25, 30, 33c.
Dippers, black handle, 5c.
Dress stays, 5c dozen.
VERYBODY undersold
Embroidery silk, 7 spools for 5c.
j envelopes, best, 25 for 5c.
trimming, 1c per
o
p
IL, machine, 5c.
il, hair, 5c.
LUCK and prices win.
Purses, 5c.
Pocket books, 10c up.
Pencils, 5c dozen up.
Potatoe mashers, 4c.
Pens, 4 for 1c.
R
EFERENCE, the coin.
For Sale
The place on which O. B. DuBose
resided, five miles from Darlington on
the rood to Lamar and containing 215
acres. Apply to O. B. DuBOBE or
BOYD A BROWN.
Ribbons, big job, 1c up; wide at
10c.
Razor strops, 25c.
Ruching all kinds.
T
RADEMARK
bright.
Honor
Tinware, all kinds.
Tooth brushes, 5c and up
Tooth picks, 100 barrels at 5c a
barrel, toy
u
NDERBUY and under
sell
Underwear: Ladies’ vests, 8, 10,
15, 28, 30c
Umbrellas and parasols
I8IT us; no charge for
courtesy
Vests, 8c and up
W HALING big stock of
all kinds of dress
goods, latest shades
in cotton, wool and silk goods,
at prices that know no competi
tion. Come and see and be con
vinced. Mr. Brasington will
handle this end of the rope
while I will be in the markets
sending in each week land slides
that wtl shake the foundations
of all competition. I am well
satisfied with my experience in
Darlington and feel safe in say
ing that the Racket has a host
of friends.
Respectfully,
Shepard