Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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THE DRUMS OF THE FORE AND APT. " By STJDYASD KIPLIM. Then the foe began to shout with a great shouting, and a mass-a black mass-detached itself from the main ibody and rolled over the ground at hor rid speed. It was composed of perhaps SOO men. who would shont and fire and Slash if the nish of their 50 comrades S&who were determined lo die carried Borne. The 50 were Ghazis, half mad | dened with drugs and wholly mad with ?religions fanaticism. When they rushed the British fire ceased, and in the lull the order was given to close ranks and meet them with the bayonet^ Any one who knew the business could feave told the Fore and Aft that the only * way of dealing with a Ghazi rush is by volleys at long ranges, because a man who means to die, who desires to die, who will gain heaven by dying, must, in nine cases out of ten, kill a man who has a lingering prejudice in favor of life Sf he can close with the latter. Where they should have closed and gone for ward, the Fore and Aft opened out and skirmished, and where they should have opened ont and -fired, they closed and waited. A man dragged from his blankets half awake and unfed is never in a pleasant frame of mind. Nor does his happiness increase when he watches the whites of be eyes of SOO six foot fiends npon whose beards the foam is lying, upon Whose tongues i3 a roar of wrath, and In whose hands are three foot knives. The'Fore and Af fe heard the Gurkha ingles bringing that regiment forward at the double, while the neighing of the highland pipes came from the left " They strove to stay where they were, ?though the bayonets wavered down the line like the oars of a ragged boat , .Then they felt body to body the amaz ing physical strength of their foes, A .shriek of pair ended the rush, and the -inives fell amid scenes not to be told. The men clubbed together and smote ^blindly-as often as not at their own ..fellows. Their front crumpled like pa per, and the 50 Ghazis passed on, their backers, now drunk with success, fight ing as madly as they. ^ Then the rear ranks were bidden to close np, and the subalterns dashed into the stew-alone, for the rear rank had ieard the clamor in front, the yells and the howls of pr.in, and had seen the dark, stale blood that makes afraid. They were not going to stay. It was the rushing of the camps over again. Let their officers go to hell if they chose. They would get away from the knives. "Come on!" shrieked the subalterns, and their men, cursing them, drew hack, each closing into his neighbor and . "wh elinsr ronn . Charteris and Devlin, subalterns of the last company, faced their death alone in the belief that their men wculd follow. "Yon*ve killed me, you cowards!' Bobbed Devlin and dropped, cut from '{ he shoulder strap to the center of the chest, and a fresh detachment of his men retreating, always retreating, trampled him underfoot as they made for the pass whence they had emerged. I kissed her in the kitchen and I kissed her ip . the hall. Child'cn, child'un, follow me! Oh, golly, said the cook, is he gwine to kiss us aH? .. Halla-halla-halla halleluiah! The Gurkhas were pouring through the left gorge and ever the4heights at the double to the invitation cf their regi mental quickstep. The black reeks were crowned with dark green spiders as the bugles gave tongue jubilantly : in the morning-in the morr.ing bv the bright light! When Gabriel blows his trumpet in the morn ing! The Gurkha rear companies tripped and blundered over loose stones. The front files halted for a moment" to take stock of the valley and to settle stray toot laces. Then a happy little sigh of contentment soughed down the ranks, and it was as though the land smiled, for behold there below was the enemy, and it was to meet them that the Gur khas had doubled so hastily. There was much enemy. There would be amuse ment The little men hitched their ku kris well to hand and gaped expects r;t iy at their officers as terriers grin ere the stone is cast for them to fetch. The Gurkhas' ground sloped downward to the valley, and they enjoyed a fair view of the proceedings. They sat upon the bowlders to watch, for their officers were not going to waste their wind in assisting to repulse a Ghazi rush more than half a mile away. Let the white men look to their own front "Hi, yi!" said the subadar major, who was sweating profusely. "Dam fools yonder, stand close order ! This is no time for close order; it's the time for volleys. Ugh!" Horrified, amused and indignant, the Gurkhas beheld the retirement-let us be gentle-of the Fere and Aft with a xnnning chorus of oaths and commenta ries. "They run! The white men run! Colonel Sahib, may we also do a little running?" murmured Runbir Thappa, the senior jemadar. But the colonel would have none of it. "Let the beggars be cut up a lit tle," said he wrathfully. "Serves 'em right They'll be prodded into facing round in a minute. " He looked through his fieldglasses and caught the glint of an officer's sword. "Beating 'em with the flat-damned conscripts ! How the Ghazis are walk 'T2g into them!" said he. The Fore and Aft, heading back, bore with them their officers. The narrow ness of the pass forced the mob into solid formation, and the rear rank de livered some sort of a wavering volley. The Ghazis drew off, for they did not know what reserves the gorge might hide. Moreover, it was never wise to chase white men too far. They return ed as wolves return to cover, satisfied with the slaughter that they had done and only stopping to slash at the wound ed on the ground. A quarter of a mile kau Ce.Fore a$j Aft retreated.and now, j j jammed m the pass, wa s quivering pain, shaken and demoralized with "Get back! Get back, you cowar you women ! Right about face-col tf companies, form-you houn ihouted the colonel, and the su bali iwore aloud. But the regiment wa to go-to go anywhere out of the r; ti these merciless knives. It sway and fro irresolutely wit h shouts and Cries, while from the right the Gurl dropped volley after volley of cri; stopper Snider bullets at long range to the mob of the Ghf:zis returnin; their own troops. The Fore and Aft be nd, though 3 tected from direct fire by the ro knoll under which it had sat down, at the first rush. Jakir and Lew wc have fled also, but their short legs them 50 yards in the rear, and by time the band had mix ?d with the r< ment tbey were painfully aware they would have to close in alone ; unsupported. 'Get back to that rock," gas Jakin. "They won't see us there. " And they returned to the scatte instruments of the band, their hes nearly bursting their ribs. "Here's a nice show for us," s Jakin, throwing himself full length the ground. "A bloomin fine show British infantry 1 Ob, the dev: They've gone an lef:; us alone he Wot'll we do?" Lew took possession of a cast off T ter bottle, which naturally was full canteen rum, and drark till he congi again. "Drink!" said he shortly. "The: come back in a minute or two-3 see." Jakin drank, but there was no sign the regiment's return. They could h< a dull clamor from th'3 head of the v ley of retreat, and saw the Ghazis sli back, quickening their pace as 1 Gurkhas fired at them. "We're all that's left cf the bai an we'll be cut up as sure as death said Jakin. "I'll die game, then," said Li thickly, fumbling with his tiny dru: mer's sword. The dri:3k was working his brain as it was on Jakin's. "'Old on I I know somethin beti than fightin, " said Jakin, stung by t splendor of a sudden thought d chiefly to rum. "Tip our bloomin co ards yonder the word to come back. T Paythan beggars are well away. Coi on, Lewi We won't get hurt. Take t fife aa give me the drum. The 'C Step' for all your bloomin guts a worth I There's a few o' our men coi in back now. Stand up, you drunk little defaulter I By your right-quii marchi" He slipped the drum sling ever h shoulder, thrust the fife into Lew hand, and the two boys marched out . the cover of the rock into the ope: making a hideous hash of the first ba of the "British Grenadiers," As Lew had said, a few of the Fo: and Aft were coming back sullenly ai shamefacedly under the stimulus 1 blows; and abuse. Their red coats shoi at the head of the valley, and behii them were wavering bayonets. But to tween this shattered line and the enenr who with Afghan suspicion feared thc the hasty retreat meant an ambus and had not moved therefore, lay ha a mile of a level ground dotted only b the wounded. The tune settled into full swing, an the boys kept shoulder to shoulden Jakin banging the drum as one poi sessed. The one fife made a thin an pitif ul squeaking, but the tune carrie far, even to the Ghurkbas. "Come cn, you dogs!' mattere Jakin to himself. ' Are we to play foi ever':" Lew was staring straight i: front of him and marching more stifS; than ever he had dene on parade. And in bitter mockery cf the distan mob the old tune of the old line shrille* and rattled: Some talk of Alexander And some of Hercules, Of Hector and Lysander And such great names as these! There was a faroff clapping of hand from the Gurkhas and a roar from th highlanders in the distance, but never ; shot was fired by British or Afghan The two little red dots moved forwan in the open parallel to the enemy'! front. Bat or" all the world's great heroes There's none th.it cen compare With a tow-row-row-row-row-row. To the British grenadier! The men of the Fore and Aft wen gathering thick at the entrance into th plai:"!. The brigadier on the heights fai above was speechless with rage. Still no movement from the enemy. The day staid to watch the children. Jakin halted and beat the long roll of the assembly, while the fife squealed despairingly. "Right about face! Hold up, Lew; you're drunk:" said Jakin. They wheeled and marched back. Those heroes cf antiquity Ne'er saw a (rannon ball Xor knew the force o' powder "Here they come!" said Jakin. "Go on, Lew!' To scj?re their foes withal'. The Fore and Aft were pouring ont of the valley. What officers had said to men in that time of shame and humili ation will never be known, fer neither officers nor mon speak of it now. "They are coming anew!" shouted a priest among the Afghans, "Do not kill the boys! Take them alive and they shall be of our faith. " But the first volley had been fired, and Lew dropped on his face. Jakin stood for a minute, spun round and col lapsed, as rhe Fore and Aft caine for ward, the maledictions of their officers in their ears and in their hearts the shame of open shame. flair the men nari seen the drummers d<ie, and they made no sign. They did nut even shout. They doubled out straight across the plain in open order, and they did not fire. "This," said the colonel of Gurkhas softly, "is the real attack, as it ought to have been delivered. Come on, my children. " "Ulu-lr.-ia-lu !" squealed the Gur khas, and came down with a joyful click ing of kukris-those vicious Gurkha knives. On tbe rierht there was no rush. The --- highlanders^ cannily commending t ID IS tg_God (for it matters as nine "3 dead" man whether he has been Sn a border senffle or at Waterl opened out and fired according to tl custom-that is to say, without 1 and without intervals-while the sci guns, having 'dispos e; of the impe j nent mud fort aforementioned, drop j shell after shell into the clusters roi j the flickering green standards on heights. "Charrgin is an unfortunate nee sity, " murmured the color sergeanl the right company of the highlander "It makes the men sweer so, hr am thinkin that it will come tc change if these black devils stand mi longer. Ste warr t, man, you're fi into the eye of the sun, and he'll J take any barm for government amn neetion. A foot lower and a great d slower! What are the English do: They're very quiet there in the cent Runnin again?" The English were r ot running. Tl were hacking and hewing and sta bing, for, though one white man is s dom physically a match for an Afgh in a sheepskin or wadded coat, ] through the pressure of many wh men behind and a certain thirst for : renge in his heart he becomes capal of doing much with both ends of 1 rifle. The Fore and Aft held their t till one bullet could drive through fi or six men, and the front of the Afgh force gave on the volley. They then'i lected their men ar d slew them wi deep gasps and short hacking cong and groanings of leather belts agair strained bodies and realized for the fi] time that an Afghan attacked is f less formidable than an Afghan attac ing, which fact old soldiers might ha told them. But they had no old soldiers in th ranks. The Gurkhas' stall at the bazaar w the noisiest, for the men were engage -to a nasty noise, as of beef being c cn the block-with the kukri, whi< they preferred to the bayonet, w< knowing how the Afghan hates the ha moon blade. As the Afghans wavered the grec standards on the mountain moved dow to ^assist them in a last rally, whic was unwise. The lancers, charing in tl right gorge, had thrice dispatched the only subaltern as galloper to report c the progress of affairs. On the third o< casion he returned with a bullet gra2 on his knee, swearing strange oaths i Hindustanee and saying that all thin^ were ready. So that squadron swun rennd the right cf the highlanders wit a wicked whistling of wind in the per nons of its lances and fell upon th remnant just when, according to a! the rules cf war, it should have waite for the foe to show more signs of wav erl ng. But it was a dainty charge, deft! delivered, and it ended by the cavalr finding itself at the head of the pass b; which the Afghans intended to retreat and down the track that the lance had made streamed two companies o highlanders, which was never intende by the brigadier. The new developmen was successful. It detached the ener^ from his base as a sponge is torn fron a rock and left him ringed about witl fire in that pitiless plain. And as < sponge is chased round the bathtub b] the hand of the ba ther, so were the Af ghans chased till they broke into litth detachments much more difficult to dis -fose of than large masses. "Seel" quoth the brigadier. "Every thing has come as I arranged. We*v< cut their base, and now we'll buckei em to pieces. A direct hammering was all that thc brigadier had dared to hope foi, consid ering the size of the force at his dis posal, but men who stand or fall by the errors of their opponents may be for given for turning chance into design. 1 The bucketing went forward merrily. The Afghan forces were upon the run -the run of wearied wolves who snarl and bite over their shoulders. The red lances dipped by twos and threes, and, with a shriek, up rose the lance butt, like a spar on a stormy sea, as the troop er, cantering forward, cleared his point. The lancers kept between their prey and the steep hills, for all who could were trying to escape from the valley of death. The highlanders gave the fugi tives 200 yards' law, and then brought them down, gasping and choking, ere they could reach the protection cf the bowlders above. The Gurkhas followed suit, but the Fore and Aft were killing on their own account, for they had pen ned a mass of men between their bay onets and a wall of rock, and the flash of the rifles was lighting the wadded coats. "We cannot hold them, Captain Sahib!" panted a ressaidar of lancers. "Let us try the carbine. The lance is good, but it wastes time. ' They tried the carbine, and still the enemy melted away-fled up the hills by hundreds when i jere were only 20 bullets to stop them. On the heights the screw guns ceased firing-they had run ont of ammunition-and the brigadier groaned, for the musketry fire could not sufficiently smash the retreat Long be fore the last volleys were fired the lit ters were out in force looking for the wounded The battle was over, and ont for want of fresh troops the Afghans would have been wiped off the earth As it was they counted their dead by Hundreds, and nowhere wero the dead thicker than in the track of the Fore and Aft. But the regiment did not cheer with the highlanders, nor did they dance un I couth dances with the Gurkhas among i the dead. They looked under their brows at the colonel as they lean d upon their rifles and panted. "Get back to camp, youl Haven't you disgraced yourself enough fur one j day? Go and look to the wounded. It's j all you're fit for,"said the colonel. Yet j for the past hour the Fen- and Aft had I been doing all that mortal commander could expect They had lost heavily be . cause they did not know how to set j about their business with proper skill, i t>ut they had burile themselves gallant j ly, and this was their reward. I A young and sprightly color sergeant, j who had begun io imagine himself a hero, offered his water bottle to a high lander whose tongue was black with thirst. "I drink with no cowards," an swered the youngster huskily, and, turning to a Gurkha, he said: "Hjia, Johnny! Drink water got it?" The Gurkha grinned and passed his bottle. The Fore and Aft said no word. They went back to camp when the field of strife had been a little mopped up and made presentable, and the briga dier, who saw himself a knight in three months, was the only soul who was complimentary to them. The colonel was heartbroken and the officers were savage and sullen. "Well," said the brigadier, "they are young troops, of course, and it was not unnatural that they should retire in disorder for a bit. " "Oh, my only Aunt Maria!" mur mured a junior staff officer. "Retire in disorc^r! It was a bally mn !" "But they came again, as we all know," cooed the brigadier, the colo nel's ashy white face before him, "and they behaved as well as could possibly be expected-behaved beautifully in deed. I was watching them. It's not a matter to take to heart, colonel. As some German general said of his men, they wanted to be shooted over a little, that was all." To himself he said "Now they're blooded, I can give 'em responsible work. It's as well that they got what they did. Teach 'em more than half a dozen rifle flirtations that will-later-run alone and bite. Poor old colonel, though!" All that afternoon the heliograph winked and flickered on the hills, striv ing to tell the good news toa mountain 40 miles away. And in the evening there arrived-dusty, sweating and sore -a misguided correspondent who had gone out to assist ata trumpery village burning and who had read off the mes sage from afar, cursing his luck the while. "Let's have the details somehow-as full as ever you can, please. It's the first time I've ever been left this cam paign, " said the correspondent to the brigadier, and the brigadier, nothing loath, told him how an army of com munication had been crumpled up, de stroyed and all but annihilated by the craft, strategy, wisdom and foresight of the brigadier. But some say, and among these be the Gurkhas who watched on the hill side, that that battle was won by Jakin and Lew. whose little bodies were borne ni j".st in time to fit two gaps at the head of the big ditch grave for the dead under the heights of Jagai. '"Eaten a Mountain." A good example of the caustic humor of a Scotch examiner floats this way from we know not where. It seems that Scotch parish schoolmasters are, on their appointment, examined as to their literary qualifications. One of the fraternity being called by his ex aminer to translate Horace's ode be ginning "Exegi monumentum oere pe rennius," began as follows: "Exegi monumentum.'' (I have eaten a moun tain.) "Ah," said one of the examiners, **jre needna proceed any further; for after eaten' sic a dinner this parish wad be a puir mouthfu' F ye. Ye maun try some wider sphere."-"Poet Lore." She .Will Get Over lt. Young Mr. Justwed-My darling, why are you crying? Young Mrs. Justwed-I have just read here (boo-hoo!) that all the world loves a lover. Harry, swear to me that you do not reciprocate their horrid af fections!-Philadelphia North Ameri can. The Worst Ever. Burgling Dill-Is ho lazy? Why, honestly, if. dat feller wuz goin ter commit murder, he'd do it in New York state so's he could sit down wheo he died.-Kansas City Independent East of Chicagro Doesn't Count. When I was in Chicago in 1S77 It was the metropolis of the west with out qualification. Now it is merely the frontier city of the middle west. From the point of view of Omaha and Denver it seems to lill the eastern horizon and shut out the further view. Many stories are told to show how absolutely and instinctively your true westerner ignores the eastern states and cities. Here is one of the most characteristic: A little girl came into the smoking car of a train somewhere in Kansas or Nebraska and stood be side her father, who was in conversa tion with another man. The father put his arm around her and said to his companion: "She's been a great traveler, this little girl of mine. She's only 10 years old and she's been all over the United States." "You don't say!" replied the other. "All over the United States!" "Yes. sir, all over the United States," said the proud father, and then added, as though the detail were scarcely worth mentioning, "except east of Chi cago." Chicago, unfortunately, marks the limit of my wanderings, so I shall re turn to England without having seen anything of thc United Slates, except for a sort of Pisgah glimpse from the tower of the Auditorium.-William Archer in Pall Mall Gazette. Easily Fixed. "Remember, boys," said the teacher, "that in the bright lexicon ot' yoi th j there's no such word as fail." After a few moments a boy raised his hand. "Well, what is it, my lad?" asked the master. "I was merely going to suggest," re plied the youngster, "that if such is the case it would be advisable to write to the publishers of that lexicon and call their attention to the omission." A Hole In II In Heel. A hole in his right heel enabled a negro workman in the diamond tields of South Africa to secrete and steal gems to thc value of $273,000. These he expressed in small pare is of fruit to a cousin in King William's Town, in the extreme south of Africa, from which place both recently departed for England. Enemy of Corn Crop. Atlanta Journal. The corn crop of the south is threatened with total IOFS by the destructive onslaught cf the larger cotton stalk borer, a new enemy that ha3 come to devastate the fields of growing grain. Many letters have been received by State Entomologist Scott from farmers in all sections of the State, and he has received quite an interest ing collection of the worm and the stalks upon which he finds his exist ence The worm is hatched from the eggs of a moth that lays on the young stalk of corn. The pciiod of hatch ing requires little more than a week, and the moment the new born pest open its eyes in the new world he begins boring his way into the heart of the stalk, killing and poisoning the life of the plant. State Entomologist Scott, in an interesting interview this morning, tells the full story of the worm and tho remedy that must'be applied to 6ave the crop from destruction. Entomologist Scott, in speaking of the worm which is destructive, says : "The larger cornstalk borer is a large white caterpillar, dotted with dark brown spots, which bores into corn stalks preventing the growth of the ears on young corn and weaken ing older stalks so that it is ieadily blown down It frequently occurs in such numbers in corn fields that one stalk of corn may be riddled with twenty or thirty holes ' This insect is quite well distrib uted over the southern States and frequently becomes very trouble some, causing a loss of 25 to 50 per cent, of the crop when it occurs in large numbers. Aside from corn it also attacks sugar cane, sorghum and gama grass or semain grass "The adult insect is a moth which deposits eggs on young corn soon after it comes up. The eggB soon hatch and the young Jarvie bore into the stalk from the ground to the third joint aua tunnel usually up ward through the pith. Corn 6talks affected become distorted and do not form ears. There is a second generation of this insect which bores into the well^grown stalks and so weaken them that they are frequently blown over. This second generatiou passes the winter in the old corn stalks ready to produce a spring brood to attack the next crop of corn. "The remedy for this insect con sists entirely of preventative meas ures Since the caterpillars stay over winter in the old corn stalks they can be almost entirely destroyed by burning the stalks in the fail or winter after the crop is gathered. "Our method of pulling fodder and leaving the stalks on the ground, or even cutting the corn and leaving the butts, affords the very best con ditions for this insect to hold over the winter and continue to multiply year after year. The stalks should be dragged off, collected and burned during the fall and winter. "Again, corn should not follow corn on infested lands A system of rotation cf crops should be adopted, 60 that corn will not be planted on the same land two years in success- i ion The same is true of sugar cane j and sorghum Also swamps in which gama grass . is growing should be burned over every year to destroy the worm infesting this grass If these preventive measures are follow ed farmers need not suffer from attacks of the pest." Ignorance of City Children. There is a standing j ke, appearing annually, relating to ignorance concern ing couotry affairs oo the part of city visitors to the rural districts. Recent experiments show a foundation for this humor. The school children of Boston, Kansas City and Syracuse were interro gated as to their knowledge of nature Fif<y per cent, of the Boston pupils ft om six to seven years old had no idea of a beehive, seventy seven per cent, had never seen a crow or knew what an ant looked like. The majori:y ot them had no idea of a squirrel, robin, sheep, bee, hog or pig. Neatly half had no idea of a chicken and few bad a notion of what growing wheat, oak, pine or maple trees lock like Only about twenty two per cent, would know strawberries, roos? or dew ir tbey were to see them. A cow, chicken, butterfly or worm was something ocly about one fifth of these Bostoo children bad ever seen. The Syracuse children were found to be not 60 ignorant and the Kaosas City pupils knew more than those of the two other cities Here we have a tendency of city life. It seems won derful and deplorable that a child should grow np without ever experiencing the delight of chasing a butterfly, being stung by a bee io the clover upon wbioh the little foed trod, feeding the chickens, or watching the cow in half fear and half joy. What good is a boy who has never made a frog hop or who has not destroyed hundreds cf ant hills ? Is iife worth living to the child who has never played with a June bug on a string? Thebeitof '-nature training'' io the fio?st of schools cannot compen sate for these thirds.-The State eWitis Little Early Risers becefit perma nently. They lend gentle sssistar.ee to na ture, causicg no paias or weakness, perma- j nently curing constipation and liver ailments, j -Hugbscn-Ligon Co. Yellow Jack in Santiago. Santiago, July 14.-The strict en forcement of Gen. Wood's quaran tine and sanitary order seems to be repressing the yellow fever outbreak. One death and three new cases were cfficialiy reported today, but there have been no new cases among the United States troops. Many American and Jamaica vagrants have been arrested and taken to the detention camp. Dr Childs, an American physician, was arrested, subject to the fumigation process, and Jocked up for concealing a case of the fever at his own residence This patient, an English employee of the North American Trust Company, died to day. The troops at Songa and headquarters at Ceristo are comfor table and generally in good health. The weather is extremly hot and dry, but the city is in good sanitary con dition. Tiie Hampton Home. The central committee which has had in charge the erection of arbouse for Gen. Hampton bas for that pur pose purchased a lot at the corner of Barnwell and Pendleton streets con taining one third of an acre. The lot was bought for $1,500. Tire plans for the house have not been adopted, nor ia it known when work will com mence, but there will be no more delay than is absolutely necessary. The site purchased is near the home of Mr. John P Thomas, Jr., in the extreame eastern part of the city -State July 14. - MT -- ?.?? -: No Bight to Ugliness. The woman who is lovely in face, form and temper will always have friends, but one who would be attractive must keep her health. If she is weak, sickly and all run down, she wilt be nervous and irritable. If she has constipa tion or kidney trouble, her impure blood will cause, pimples, blotches, skin eruptions and a wretched complexion. Electric bitters is the best medicine in the world to regulate, stom ach, liver and kidneys and to purify the blood. It gives strong nerves, bright eyes, smooth velvety skin, rich complexion. Ic will make a good looking, charming woman 6 a run-down invalid. Only 50c at J. F. W DeLorme's Drug Store. 2 In seme parts of Pennsylvania, where rural free mail delivery ie in operation, it is said the merchante, travern keepers and others are raising ! stenuous objections to the system. I It is claimed that the farmers pay fewer visits to the town and as a con* sequence purchase fewer of the commodities which ' the stores offer for sale and fewer eat meals at the taverns. There may be something in that view of the matter ; still it is not likely that the legitimate wants of the farmers are decreased through having their mails delivered at their doors. If the rural free deiiverery wii! save farmers from making unneces sary purchases, then it follows that it is a good thing for the farmers. --r- ? i ur DeWitt's Little Early Risers txpel from the system all poisonous accumulations, regulate the stomach, bowels and liver, and purify the blood. They drive away disease, dissi pate melancholy, and give health and vigor for the daily routine. Do sot gripe or sicken. -Haghsoo-Ligon Co. Gen. Wheeler's eagerness to join io the conquest of the Filipino does not command much applause in South Carolina. The reason is given in the following extract from the Anderson People's Advocate : ''He is going there to fight a people who are fighting for the very same principie that he gave four of tbs best years of his life to maintain, and be must feel when be gets there that he is occupying a very anomalous position. It ii impossible to reconcile the two If what be fought for io 1861-65 was right, then what he is fighting for now is wrong. These people only ciaim the right to govern their own country in their owo'way.jast what be claimed the right to do SS years ago. If Gen. Wheeler keeps on it might have bec-o fortunate for his history if he had stopped a Mauser bullet at El Caoey. STANDARD BRED STALLION Mod c, Will Stand the Season ia Sumter AT Boyle's Stables, Chestnut Stallion, foaled May 1892:; bred by Maj. Campbell Brown, Ewell Stock Farm. Tennessee, "MODOC," sired ty McEween, 2. 8} ; first^ dam Lady Radawa; registered io Vol 12. ^ American Stud Beck. He ts one of the Soest bred, stallion:; in the MR te; hred for size style, beauty nod speed, he is of kiod and gentle disposition. A sure fea! teller.