Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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?1* . - - - -.^r- . jjloldenhii ' copyright !?*s by B* CHAPTER XX. Continued. My cheeks tingled with indiguation which I did not dare to express. I followed my uncle down the stairs. Thoroughly vexed and pained as I was to hear my dear father so pitilessly disparaged by his brother. I was not at all surprised at uncle Sam's bitterness. Circumstances seemed to how that my father and I bad both fallen victims to the clumsy fraud of an iguorant old mau. But the situation bad now become hopeful. If uncle Sam's theory was correct, as I hoped and believed it might prove to be, reconciliation of the brothers was not only possible but highly probable, my uncle's recent declaration to the contrary notwithstanding. As soon as he entered the brilliantly lighted dining room uncle Sam as-! suined his airiest manner, in no way ' Indicating the serious thoughts which Lad occupied Lis iuiud a uiiuuie of so before. All the company. except Mr. Rosenberg, had departed; and uiy aunt and Miss Marsh, who were dressed for dinner, appeared very charming in white silk robes trimmed with old lace, each lady wearing a girdle troin which depended a superb fan ornamented with feathers and diamonds. l shall not attempt to describe either the apartment or the decking of the table, being well assured of mv inability to do so. Suffice it to say tbat both were as artistic and luxurious as the best artists in those thiugs at | the end of the nineteenth century can 1 provide for men of lavish expenditure. As soon as dinner was over, we adjourned to the drawing room, with the exception of uncle Sam. who betook himself to the roof to smoke, aaying that he would prefer to be alone as he bad a troubled matter to unravel, and could not accomplish bis purpose without consuming three cigars. "It is uow," said he. glancing at his watch, "a few minutes past nine, and I may not see you again before morning, so good-night aud pleasant dreams." Dear old uncle Sam! Uow well I Knew UiS SUDjeel OO wnicu ut? luieuuni to exercise bis thoughts, and how ardently I hoped a renewal of his friendship with my father would result from his deliberations! Whether her womanly instincts had perceived the attraction which her sister had for me. and her kindliness of heart prompted her to gratify me. or that it so befell of accident I know not; but to my great satisfaction, ou returning to the drawing room my aunt at once entered into conversation with Mr. Rosenberg, leaving Miss Marsh and me to pass our time us best we could. What an evening was that! Why. I was almost happy and really believe I should have been quite so but for the shadow of the estrangement l>etween the two brothers whose lives were bound up with miue. The conversation of lovers, so delightful to the parties immediately concerned, is notably uninteresting to everybody else: and it is not my inteuiiou to bring upon myself that ridicule which meat past the amorous phase of their career so mercilessly and inconsistently uete oot to their fellows eugaged in it by recording in ihis place my conversation with Constance Marsh on that memorable occasiou. 8udice It to say that in ??biug the tule of the sequins, which j ( seised this opportunity to relate, 11 greatly excited her sympathy. My ! iong silence was forgiven as soon as ; its cause was understood and it was J clear to me that I had established myself in her favor more firiuly than ever. "1 understand you will be from home all to-morrow," I observed. "Yes." replied Miss Marsh. "I am ; going to Tgrrytowu. Airs. Van Rens- j iselaer has just returned from Europe. ^ and is to give a big reception." "Where is Tarrytowu. and who is j Mrs. Van Rensselaer?" I inquired. I "Tarrytowu is a beautiful village j on the Hudson, about twenty-five miles j jrom here. Mrs. van Rensselaer is (he widow of Martin Van Rensselaer, the railroad king. Everybody has heard of old Martin Van Rensselaer, j who died two years ago worth fifty uilliou dollars." "Yes. I think I have read something about him somewhere." I said. "Tell me. Connie dear will the Rev. Mr. Price be thereV" , "I don't know, I'm sure. I hope not." replied Miss Marsh. "I am quite unable to express my delight that your entertain such a hope, j May I beg you will increase it by telling uie why you hope he may not be ; there'/" "Because he is a tease, and nionopo1 xes my time when he has the opportunity to do so," confessed Miss Marsh. "If the Rev. Mr. Price were to ask , you to become his wife, what would you say'/" ; "The uarne as I have said before." "What! bus he asked you to marry hini'f* "Dear me. yes. Lots of times." "Aud what has been your answer?" - irstAlHaijy j ss- by" ALTER BLOOMFIELO bekt Banner's Sons. [ -No." "Dear Connie! And If T wete to ask ; you that question, what would your reply be?" "The same." "Do you like me no better than Mr. Price?" "O yes; ever so much better." "Then who Is it you prefer to either of us?" "Myself." "Connie," I said, taking one of her little hands and holding it tightly in both of mine, "I don't mind confessing to you that I was vain enough to hope your decision might be different. I would not ask you to marry me while j I am poor; but all the world knows? 1 and no place furnishes more examples ; that this city? that wealth is a thing 1 which passes from hand to hand and is as often gained as lost. What if I were rich enough to keep my wife in the manner in which you have lived your life?" "I was not thinking of money; my father left me more of that than I can possibly require in any circumstances. I don't think I'm much inclined to marry anybody." "You may change your mind. Some young ladies who have talked as you talk now have afterwards become admirable wives. If that should be your case, what sort of man could you tolerate as your husband?" "Not Mr. Price." "Dear Connie! And me?could you tolerate me?" "I think perhaps I could if I tried." "May I rest assured that, should you ever marry, it is my wife you will become? That provisional promise would make me happy." "Take Tt then and be happy, you silly boy." "Dearest Connie, I must seal this compact with a kiss." "Not now. Earnest dear, not now. Hush! Leave go of my hand; here comes my sister and Mr. Rosenberg." CHAPTER XXI. ANNIE WOLSET FOUND. Though Constance Marsh had not promised to be my wife (indeed that could hardly have been, for I had not asked her for any such promise;, her undertaking to accept me for her kusIwtnd should she marry tilled me with satisfaction. Her professed indisposition for marriage I regarded as a profession and nothing more?the bantering playfulness of a high-spirited, noble-uiiuded girl. I had not lacked opportunities to observe that the ambition of every woman is marriage; and that the few, the very few women who deny this assertion with words, illustrate its truth in the failure of their lives. The girl of my choice was intensely feminine, her nature unwarped by any of the pernicious humbug of woman's so-called rights, concerning which a shrieking sisterhood of the malformed, the neglected, and the deluded spoil much good paper and rend the air in many lecture halls; and I did not at all doubt that I bad now merely to raise my fortune to the level of hers to enable me to claim her hand and find my claim allowed. Love will lightly attempt tasks from which reason would shirk, and the difficulty of effecting the necessary change in my condition had no terrors for me, or I was too dazzled by the prospective prize to perceive Them. With an unquestioning faith in my uncle's perceptive powers. I was now more than ever disposed to unreservedly accept his theory of the robbery of the sequins, and I resolved to neglect nothing that might tend toward their recovery. Filled with t-his idea. I arose early the next morning, resolved to discuss with him ways and means expedient for me, and was surprised to learn that he had arisen before use and was engaged in his study. My mental condition was such that it appeared to me impossible that another man could have affairs comparable for importance with the matter upon which the possession of my dear Constance more or less depended, and 1 did not in the least scruple to interrupt my uncle. I found him seated at his desk, writing with mar vellous rapidity. "iou come eariy, be said, looking up. but without for a moment ceasing to write. "Take a chair. I will talk to you presently." Seeing that he was busy, I did not answer, but sat down as requested ' and listened to the industrious scratching of my uncle's pen. Preseutly the writer ceased, folded his papers, placed them in an envelope, on which he bestowed a vigorous blow at the sealing place, then threw himself back in his chair and folded his arms. He appeared to know perfectly why I had disturbed bim at that early hour, though I bad not yet spoken to bim; and with bis accustomed bluntness he at once grappled with the business he conceived 1 had come upon. With regard to those sequins," said uncle Sam, "I find no cause to revise the remark I made about them last uight. Adams, the butler, or whatever you call him, stole them; of that ' I don't entertain the smallest doubt. He may have been assisted by another of the Holdenhurst servants, or by one of Knight & Faulkner's men; but it : is improbable. I have never beard it suggested that the old man was a thief; but I well remember his miserly habits of more than twenty years ago. Miserliness once acquired is never shaken off. but intensities with time. What can be more reasonable than to suppose that when Knight & Faulkner were making the alterations in the Hall, the treasure was accidentally revealed to AdamsV?who would be quite safe, he would think, in concluding that its existence was unknown to your father or any other member of our family from the mere fact of it being where It was. Many people who can look with equanimity on piles of bank notes are strangely moved at sight of a heap of gold coins, and find the infernal stuff quite Irresistible. This I believe was the case with Adams; and I base my opinion on his going so much in and out of the crypt about the time the robbery is supposed to have taken place, his strange finding of you there, his illness immediately afterwards, his lies to incriminate me, and his gift to you of fifty pounds. This last move of the old man was to salve his conscience rather than to benefit you. That consoience is a vile thing and troubles a great many people, I know well; for I had a conscience myself some years ago. It was a great nuisance. However, I take only a remote interest in all these things, and but for your sake, don't care two straws what became of the sequins. xour iatncr nas xreaiea rue too badly for friendship between us even to be renewed; but I confess I should be gratified to learn that his frightful blunder has been demonstrated to him. This is my position; and if you intend to try to recover the treasure?good; I will help you with advice and money. Or if you don't think the amount worth the trouble, good again; and we will agree not to speak or think any more of the matter." At another time my uncle's declaration would have depressed me, for certainly there was but one thing I more ardently desired than his reconciliation j with my father. But I was not now ; disposed to be easily depressed. On ; the contrary, to my eyes all things had put on a rosy hue, and I not only looked for the speedy possession of a quarter of a million sequins, and of ' Constance Marsh as my wife, but also for the patching up of the miserable , feud of which uncle Sam had just spoken. Lovers' thoughts are so ex- . travagantly fantastical that I was . oblivious of the fact that the sequins . might never be recovered, or if recovered were not mine; that Constance . Marsh had not promised to marry nre; J and that my uncle had just declared ( the impossibility of renewing his former friendship with my father. In . this cheerful tnood I answered that ( I had fully determined to follow up the 3 clue he h^d suggested, and was pre- ( pared to accept any assistance ut* might think necessary and was pre pared to offer "Very good,'' said uncle Sum. "The case is a simple one. You have not to deal with an accomplished thief, but an ignorant old miser, who was overcome by a large temptation and has already manifested a symptom of remorse. The world knows nothing of its greatest thieves; their success prevents that. Your object, as I understand it, is to get a grip on those sequins; and mine merely to establish the fact that I had no hand in abstracting them. Am I right?" "Quite right, uncle." Well, you have but to follow my directions, and I venture to predict that you will recover every sequin before three weeks are over your bead. Return at once to Holdeuhurst, and for a few days closely observe every act of Adams; but be extremely cautious that the old man doesn't become conscious you are watching him. Talk to him freely, but make no attempt to sound him on any point which bears, however remotely, on the matter in i hand. It is not unlikely your vigilance 1 will be rewarded by valuable knowl- I edge. About a week after your re- 1 turn send the old man on some errand 1 whicly will keep him away from Hold- ' enhurst for an entire day, and during 1 his absence thoroughly examine his * room afcd everything that is his. Don't * scruple to turn out his drawers and I boxes?his suspicious conduct fully jus- 1 tides the act. Should you fail to tind I the sequins, when the old man returns, * seize him by the throat and, forcing J him against the wall thus"?here uncle ( Sam suddenly arose and, grasping me t tightly around the neck with his left 3 hand, pushed me backwards against ' a large cabinet with such vigor that I was almost strangled, and my white f tie, which I had spent twenty minutes in adjusting, hopelessly spoiled?"tell him you possess the clearest possible 2 evidence that be has stolen the contents of ten chests belonging to your father; that if he immediately restores what he has stolen he shall be forgiven, but that if he dare refuse or even demur you will at once hand him over to the police and charge him with robbery. Be intensely earnest in your manner, and let your subsequent acts accord with your words. If you don't find the sequins while Adams is away, your accusation on his return will throw him into a deadly terror; he will fall on his knees like a penitent villain in a melodrama and give you information worth $560,000. If you find the sequins. j*ou can afford to deal less harshly with the old man." "Yes," I gasped, as soon as my un- c ele relaxed his grasp on my throat r To be continued. Softly (who fell overboard and was t dramatically rescued)?"Did?you?aw ?faint when you heard them yell. 'Man overboard?'" Helen (sobbing)? "No?no, Cholly. I never once sua* c pected they could mean you."?Tit-Bit*. y ? . r Checker Hoard Road*. N* most parts of the West ^ Jg where the public lands O I O were surveyed and laid X -* K off into sections, halves \ffOfr and quarters, the public roads have been established on the section lines. These roads consequently run either north and south or east and west, crossing at right angles. This method of locating roads is sometimes called "the checker board system." and the term is quite appropriate. In some States the road laws contemplate the establishing of a road on every section line, so they will be only one mile apart, but not nearly all these roads have been actually opened. In comparison with the system, or lack of system, which prevails in the older settled States of the East and South, this checker board system has some advantages. The roads are not left to be located at bap-hazard, or c;i \ crooked farm boundaries, or according to the whims or selfish interests of the locators. The order and mathe mntical regularity of the system na-! turally appeals to the minds of those J who read about those roads or study i tbeni on maps, but to tnose wno actu- j ally travel them, tbcir location appears j to be very far short of ideal per fee- j tion. In fact the system involves two very grave defects. If a man wishes i to travel directly north, south, east or west, these roads take him by the shortest route. But a large majority of the people wish to travel in other directions. Let us suppose a man lives exactly ten miles northwest from his country seat. In order to reach it he J must travel seven miles east and seven i miles south, or fourteen miles in all. | Thus a majority of travelers suffer a hardship in the matter of distance. But the second defect in the system Is far graver. The mathematical precision with which these roads are located carries them across hills and hollows without any regard to economy in the matter of grades. Where the country is perfectly level there is r.o difficulty; where it is rolling the roads can only be improved at a heavy cost in making cuts and fills: where there are steep hills and deep ravines to cross the system is wholly impracticable. Doubtless one of the first benefits that will follow the adoption of the national plan will be the modification 3f this system so as to remedy these Icfccts in a large measure. Naturally the first roads to be improved in a county will be those leading directly north, south, east and west from the wiinhr coot- Thon mnin rnuls f>r J?V. I snues leading northeast, northwest, southeast and southwest from the county seat should be opened and improved. Thus the first defect shall be largely eliminated. The second defect pointed out can inly be cured by departing from the section lines where the lay of the road makes it economical to do so. [Jnder national and State aid competent engineers will be employed to correct errors of location, so as to increase the usefulness of the roads, and it the same time reduce their cost. The sentiment for national aid is making great headway in this part of the country. In Nebraska the Legislature has declared in favor of it Several members of Congress from Missouri are outspoken advocates of the plan. In Illinois a State Commission has been appointed to investigate ind report on national aid. In a num>er of other States definite action will probably be taken in the near future. >'o "Gntfl!" Congress has no more widely useful measure of domestic legislation in i land that is contemplated in the bill 1 )Ut forward by Representative Browuow and Senator Gallinger to give naional aid to the good roads movement, rhe plan is to make a liberal appropriation which will be available for he payment of half the cost of buildng new roads, the other half to be laid by the State, county or local poitical division benefited by the imirovement The authors of this delign pointed out in addresses to the 1 Automobile Club that the general government, which has spent $2,000,000 in he Philippines and $1,500,000 in Porto : Rico on road building, could properly lo something in that line for the Amercan farmer. As $150,000,000 has been ; ;pent on rivers and harbors since : lie Civil War, they suggest it Is time o make facilities for land travel also ( t matter of federal concern. There is no doubt that the Ameri an farmer directly, and the whole , icople indirectly, would gain much by he stimulus the good roads move- ( nent would receive from a federal ippropriation sharing with the State lalf the cost of new roadways. There s only one argument against putting u.? plan quickly into effect, and that '> s the danger of opening the way to 'Xtravagance in appropriations and 'graft" in their expenditure. If the American people could have assurance lot to say insurance, against turning ; he plan to the advantage of reckless ] egislators and corrupt contractors, hey would quickly order it carried >ut. They want no more river and larbor grabs or public buildings steals , >r rural free delivery plunder. There ire plenty of arguments against openng the Treasury door to that kind of 'graft." But there is no argument igainst good roads. A Good Tip. I Be careful what you do here and lon't worry about what will be done vith you hereafter.?Chicago News. ]?Rcp(E^ Carrot PuddlDt. Two cups grated carrot, two cups grated potato, two cups chopped suet, two cups flour, ouc cup sugar, one cup molasses, one cup laisins, one cup currants, one lemon (grate rind and add Juice), one teaspoonful cream tartar, spice and salt. Steam three hours, bake half an hour. ??? Chocolate Souffle. Melt two tablespoonfuls of butter; add five tablespoonfuls of flour; do not brown, but stir constantly until smooth; add gradually half a cupful of milk and stir until thickened; pour this over the yolks of three eggs and two tablespoonfuls of sugar, which have been beaten together; put two squares of chocolate in a pan over hot water; when melted add it to the mixture; stand aside until cool; shortly be fore the souffle is to be served beat the whites of eggs until stiff; mix them carefully into a cold mixture; turn into a buttered mold; the mold should be only three-fourths full; cover the mold; stand it in a pan of boiiing water and boil half an hour; serve with sugar and cream. Two Cheese Sandwiches. A circular cracker, of the variety known as water thin, is crisped in the oven. It Is then spread with rich cream cheese, rather thickly, and topped with a layer of ruby bar-le-duc. This is made of stemmed red currants floating in a delicious thin jelly. The other cheese sandwich consists of two oblongs, three by one and one-half Inches, of brown bread, cut very thin and freed from crust. The filling is prepared by rubbing some cream cheese very soft and blending it with mineed watercress and two tablespoonfuls of mayonnaise dressing. The brown bread sandwich is served on a crisp lettuce leaf. It is a tasty and delicious sandwich for summer luncheons and for picnics. Nothing can fill its place. A Short Cut to Marmalade. To slice oranges and lemons in the process of making marmalade, there is nothing better than an ordinary carpenter's plane, an instrument which is found in almost all households in the larger or smaller form. The older wooden planes are preferable, as they do not discolor the fruit as the more modren all iron plane would do. To use, invert the plane over the pan in which the marmalade is to be made. Take the whole fruit and move it back and forth over the knife, removing the seeds as they appear. This will give slices equal to those made with the very expensive marmalade machine, though with slightly more trouble, but much more quickly and easily than with an ordinary knife. The plane blade should be sharp and properly adjusted before commencing the slicing. An individual once trying this short cut will never use the ordinary kitchen knife again, for the ease and rapidity with which the fruit is sliced is marvelous.?Boston Cooking School. fcllNTS FOR THE t Housekeeper^ Dishcloths are quickly made fresh and sweet by boiling in clean water with a good lump of soda added. Always put the sugar used in a tart In the centre of the fruit, not at the top, as this makes the paste sodden. When peeling onions, begin at the root end and peel upward, and the onions will scarcely affect your eyes at all. In boiling meat for making soup the meat should be put into cold water. In order to extract all the goodness from the meat. Soup will be as good the second day If heated to boiling point. It should never be left in a saucepan, but turned into a dish and put aside to cool. Do not cover the soup up, as IUUL UJilJ Uli U3(? 1U IU IU1U BvUl A tablespoon of black pepper put in the first water in which gray and buff linens are washed will keep the colors of black or colored cambrics or muslins from running. A little gum arabic imparts a gloss to ordinary starch. If moths are in a carpet, turn it over and iron on the wrong side with a good hot flatiron. Then sprinkle the floor underneath liberally with turpentine, pouring it into the cracks if there are any. Rub the turpentine in and then you can turn back your carpet. Repeat this treatment two or three days. < A good recipe which will keep the bristles of hair brushes stiff after washing is as follows: Pour into an open dish a dessertspoonful of ammonia to a quart of cold water. Dip j the brush into this, moving up and down, but taking care not to wet the J back of the brush. In this way the bristles will be clean and white in less than one minute and without any rubbing. Then dip the brush Into clear water, shake and place in a ' rack to drain. Humor^ Today All Correct. ^' An antiseptic baby lived on antiseptie milk; His clothes were antiseptic, made of antiseptic silk. In antiseptic carriages he rode, with time to spare. He had an antiseptic nurse, breathed antiseptic air; And though upon this mundane sphere he did not long abide, They placed him in an antiseptic coffin when he died. ?Smart Set. i Its Drawback. "Education is a groat thing." "Yes. it tnrns out some mighty intelligent criminals."?Life. Expensive Encashment. Patience?' How do you know her love for him was strong?" Patrice?"Because* it broke hiir.."? Yonkers Statesman. Ambiguous. Jack Xervey?"I'm going lo kiss you when I leave this house '.o-ulglit." May Kutely?"Leave the house this instant, sir!"?Philadelphia Press. Mother Earth. "I wonder why pooplc always speak of Earth as she?" "It's natural enough. Nobody knows exactly what her age is."?l'kiladel puia L.euger. Aflcr. She?' Ali, you meu! Before marriage you pay compliments, but a*ter?" He?"After? Why, after?wc do better; we pay bills."?Life. Advanced. "You say that Lord Fueash's social position has improved since he mafried a rich American girl?" "Yes, indeed. Formerly he was only a nobleman; but now he belongs to our heiresstocracy."?Washington Star. i None Sucli. "I'm looking for a painless dentist Can you recommend one?" "I never knew any that didn't hurt at least once." "When is that?" "When his bill comes in."?Detroit Free Press. Careles* Arti?t. "Do you think you can draw that hall the lencth of the table?" "I'll have to, I suppose. But I don't set why the artist didn't draw It back there to begin with."?Chicago Tribune. rV'rv- " ! Wisely Chosen. Mr. Short?"Can I believe it?you will really marry me?" Miss Tall?"Yes. I always make my own dresses, and, as we are both the same height, you will come real handy when I am cutting and fitting."?New York Weekly. Not Compulsory. M "Tell me, Colonel," asked the beginner in politics, addressing the grayhaired statesman, "can a politician be honest?" "I suppose so, my boy," replied the veteran, "but?ah!?it isn't necessary." ?Collier's Weekly. Making Allowances. "People do not take in proper account," said the broad-minded man, "the nervous strain under which we live. It is necessary to make allowances for some of our public officials." "That's the idea," rejoined Senator Sorghum. "And liberal allowances, too."?Washington Star. Physical, Not Political. Doctor?"You have a perfectly sound constitution, sir, but you are overworked a little and run down, and that is why your physical energies have begun to flag." Patient?"Then in my case the constitution does not follow the flag? Thank yon, doctor."?Yonkers Herald. No Contretemps. "How did your nephew's wedding pass off?" "Just splendid." "Were there any contretemps?" "I don't think so. I didn't see any. You see we had the church thoroughly cleaned up just before the wedding took place."?Cleveland Plain Dealer. In the BUlTllle Backwoods. "How far is it to the next town, my friend?" " 'Bout nity acres?ur ucua. "I mean?how many miles." "Well, hit mout be two, or hit moat be six." "You're a big fool!" "I know it; but?you orter seen my daddy!"?Atlanta Constitution. HI* Preference. f The father was giving the son some ldvice. "Now that you are starting out in life," said the parent, "you will find It ?ays to cultivate the acquaintance of well-to-do people." But the son shook his head. "No, pop," he responded, "I will find t pays me better to cultivate the ac? juaintance of easy-to-do people. I am joing to locate iu Wall Street."?CMliago News.