Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 2, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 6 September 1894 — Page 6

SHIPS HUT PASS IN THE NIGHT.

The Disagreeable Man stood at the counter. , .. y.-yV/v “You little thing,” he said; “I have come to see you. It is eight years since I was in England.” Bernardine leaned over the counter, “And you ought not to be here -now," she said, looking at his thin face. He seemed to have shrunk away since sh£ had last seen him. “I am free to do as I choose, ” he •ai<s7 “My mother is dead. " “I know," Bernar Jine said' gently. “But you are not free.” He made nannswer to.that, but clipped into the chair. “You look tired," he said. “What have you been doing?" “I have been dusting the books,” she answered, smiling at him. “You remember you told me I should be content to do that. The very oldest and Shabbiest havg had ffiy "tghdefiest care. I found the shop in disorder. You see it now." “I should not call it particularly tidy now,” he said grimly. “Still, 1 suppose you have done your best. Well, and what else?” “I have been trying to take care of my old uncle,” she said. “We are just beginning to understand each other a little. And he is beginning to feel glad to have me. When I first discovered that, the days became easier to me. It makes us into dignified persons when we find out there is a place for us to fill.” “Some people never find it out,” he said. “Probably like myself, they went on for a long time without caring/’ she answered. “I think I have had more luck than I deserve.” “Well,” said the Disagreeable Man. “And you are glad to take up vour life again?” j “No,” she said quietly. ‘T have not got as far as that yet. Butl befieve that after some little time I may be glad: I hope so, I am working for that. Sometimes I begin to have a keen interest in everything. I wake up with an enthusiasm. After about two hours I have lost it again.” “Poor little child,” he said tenderly. “I, too. know what is. But you will get back to gladness; not the same kind of satisfaction as before; some other satisfaction, that compensation which is said to be included in the scheme.” “And I have begun my book,” she said, pointing to a few sheets lying on the counter; “that is to say, I have written the prologue.” “Then the dusting of the books has not sufficed?” he said, scanning her curiously. “I wanted not to think of myself," Bernardine said. “Now that I have begun it, I shall enjoy going on with it. I hope it will be a companion to ' me.”" f “ “I wonder whether .you will make & failure or a success of it?” he remarked. “I wish I could have seen.” “So you wil 1,” she said. ‘‘l shall finish it, and you will read it in Petershof.” “I shall not be going back to Petershof,” he said. “Why should l go there now?” “For the same reason that you went there eight years ago.” she &aid. “I went there for my mother’s &ake,” he said. “Then vou will go there now for my sake,” she said deliberately. He looked up quickly. “Little Bernardine," he cried, “my little Bernardine —is it possible that you care what becomes of me?” She had been leaning against the counter, and now she raised herself and stood erect, a proud, dignified little figure. “Yes, I do care,’’ she said simply, and with true earnestness, “I care with all mv heart. And even if T didnot care, you know you would not be free. You know that better than I io. We do not belong to ourselves; there are countless people depending jn us; people whom we have never seen, and whom we never shall/see. What we do, decides what (they shall be.” He still did not speak. “But it is not for those others that I plead,” , she continued. “I plead for myself. I can’t spare you, indeed; indeed, I can’t spare you!—” Her voice trembled, but she went - tvn lirn '-a! v “So you will go back to the mountains,” she said. “You will live out four life like a man. Others may prove themselves cowards, but the Disagreeable Man has a bettor part to play.” He still did not speak. Was it that he could not trust himself to words? But in that brief time the thoughts which passed through his mind were such as to overwhelm him. A picture rose up before him; a picture, of a man and woman leading their lives together, each happy n the other's love: not a love born of fancy, but a love based on comradediipand true understanding of the soul. The picture faded, and the* Disagreeable Man raised his eves lud looked at the little figure standing near him. “Littie child, little child.” he said wearily, “since it is voufi wish, 1 will go back to the mountains.” Then he bent over the counter and put his hand on hers, “I will come and see you tomorrow,” he said. “I think there are one or two things 1 want to say to you.” The next moment he was gone. In ths afternoon of that same day

BY BEATRICE HARRADEN.

PART 11. CHAPTER HI- Continued.

Bernat-dine went to the city. She was not unhappy; she had been makj ing plans for herself. She would i work hard and fill her life as full as | possible There should be no room for unhealthy thought. She would go and spend her holidays at Petershof. There would be pleasure in that for him and for her.. She would tell him so tomorrow. She knew he would be glad. “Above all,” she said to herse],f, “there shalt be no room for ufihealthv thought. I must cultivate my garden.” iThat was wbat she was thinking of at 4 in the afternoon; how she could best cultivate her garden. At 5 she was lying unconscious in the accident ward of the New Hospital: she had been knocked down by a wagon and terribly injured. “She will not recover,” the doctor said to the nurse. “You see she is sinking rapidly. Poor little thing!” At 6 she regained consciousness, and opened her eyes. "The nurse bent over her. Then she whispered: “Tell “the Disagreeable Man how T wish I could have seen him tomorrow. We had so much to say to each other. And now —” The brown eves looked at -the nurse so entreatingly. It was a long time before she could forget the pathos of those brown eyes. A few minutes later she made another sign as though she wished to speak. Nurse Catherine bent nearer. Then she whispered: “Tell the Disagreeable Man to go back to the mountains, and begin to build his bridge; it must be strong and ” Bernardine died. THE BUILDING OF THE BRIDGE. Robert Allitsen came to the old bookshop Zerviah Holme before returning to the mountains. He found him reading Gibbon. These two men had stood by Bernardine’s grave. “I was beginning to know her,” the old man said. “I have always known her,” the young man replied. “I cannot remember a time when she has not been a part of my life.” “She loved you,” Zerviah said. “She was telling me so the very morning when you came.” Then, with a tenderness which was almost foreign to him, Zerviah told Robert Allitsen how Bernardine hadj opened her heart to him. She had never loved any one before; but she had leyed the Disagreeable Man. “I did not love him because I was sorry for him,” she had said. “I loved him for himself.” Thcv?> were her very words. “Thank you,” said the Disagreeable Mar.. “And God bless you for tell ing m-L .......... Then he added: “There were some few loose sheets of paper on the counter. She had begun her book. May I have them?” Zerviah placed them in his hand. “And this photograph,” the old man said kindly. “I will spare it for you.” “The picture of the little thin, eager face was folded up with the papers. , , ; : The two men parted. Zerviah Holme went back to his Roman History. The Disagreeable Man went back to the mountains, to live his life out there, and to build his bridge, as we all do. whether consciously or unconsciously. If it breaks down we build it again. “We will build it stronger this time,” we say to ourselves. So we begin qpce more. We are very patient. And meanwhile the years pass. THE END.

JUDGING BY APPEARANCES.

London Fun.

Little Tommy, being taken to the ’theater for the first time, and seeing from the pit the well-known Lady Dashe in a private box, afterward refers to her as “That woman who was on the first floor taking a bath.” Senators Quay and are the closest of friends for men in hostile camps, and a scheme of one usually gets the support of the other by a system of comity which prevails in higher politics. Both are good sto-ry-tellers, and have a quiet, droll way of putting things that carries a point with little difficulty. Dr. Kuno Fischer, the famous professor of philosophy at the University of Heidelberg, celebrated the seventieth anniversary of his birth the other day. The freedom of the city was conferred upon him, and the Grand Duke of Baden gave him the golden chain with the Grand Cross of the Order of the Zahringer Lion.

THE LONE CORVETTE.

Gilbert Parke, in Westminster Budget. ” Capt. Richard Debney, of the British navy, .commander of the man-of-war Cormorant, was entertaining koine friends in the harbor of San Francisco, and the talk turned upon “Ted” Debney, his brother, who had resigned from the navy several years before because he had, chivalrously prevented a French cruiser from boring holes in a wretched opium Smuggling craft. “Ted” was impulsive, brave, daring and loved alike by his superiors and his men. “Have you ever got on the track of Ted?” “Onde I thought I had at Singapore, but nothing came of it. No doubt he changed his name. He never asked for nor got the legacy ■whichmy poor father left him.” An hour later they were aboard the Cormorant dining with a number men asked to come and say goodbye to Mostyn, who was starting for England the second day following, after a pleasant cruise and visit with Debney. Meanwhile, from far beyond that yellow lane of light running out from Golden Gate there came a vessel like a half-obsolete corvette, spruced up, made modern by~every possible de vice, and all her appointments were shapely and in order. She was clearly a British man-of-war, as shown in her trim-dressed sailors, her good handful of marines; but her second and third lieutenants seemed like Englishmen, and indeed, one was an American and one jvas a Hollander. Their general discipline did credit to the British navy. But they were not given to understand that by their commander, Capt. Shewell, who had an eye like a spot of steel and a tongue like aloes or honey as the mood was on him. This was most noticeable when he was shut away from the others in the cabin. Then his whole body deemed to change, The eye became softer, and the body had a careless alertness and elasticity, the whole man had the athletic grace of a wild animal, and his face had a hearty sort of humor which the slightlylifting lip in its .bizarre disdain could aot greatly modify. He certainly seemed well phased with himself, and more than once, as he sat alone, ae laughed outright. The next evening, just before dusk after having idled about out of sight if the signal station nearly all day, Tapt. Shewell entered Golden Gate vvith the Hornet, of no squadron. But the officers at the signal station lid not know that, and simply telegraphed to the harbor in reply to ‘he signals from the corvette that a British man-of-war was arriving. She came leisurely up the bay, with Capt. Shewell on the bridge. He jave a low whistle as he saw the Bormorant in the distance. He knew ;he harbor well, and he saw that the Cormorant had gone to a new anchorige, not the same as British men-of-;var took formerly. As she came to anchor the Cormorant saluted her and she replied instantly. Custom officers who were watching the craft from the shore or 'roffl their boats gave up hope of iny excitement when they saw and reard the salutes. But two went out ;o the Hornet, \yere received graciously by Capt. Shewell, who, over i glass of wine in his cabin —approariately hung with pictures of Coliingwood and Nelson—said that he ivas proceeding to Alaska to rescue shipwrecked crew on an island, ind that he was leaving the next day is soon as he could get some coai, though he feared it would be difficult coaling up that night. Still, he did aot need a great deal, he said — which was true —but he did Mod some, and he knew that for his own safety and the Hornet’s he must have it. After this, with cheerful compliments. and the perfunctory decoration on his part that there was nothing dutiable on board, the officers left him, greatly pleased with his courtesy, saluted as they left the ship's side by the marines and sailors standing at the gangway. The officers did not notice 'that one- of these sailors winked an eye at another, and that both then grinned, and were promptly ordered aft by the second lieutenant. As soon as it was very dark two or three boats pushed out from the Hornet and rowed swiftly to the shore, passing a customs boat as they went, which was saluted by the officers in command. After this boats kept passing back and forth for a long time between the Hornet and the shore, which was natural, seeing ihaFfirsF a sort" of a holiday for officers and men. If these sailors had been watched, however,it would have been seen that they visited but few saloons on shore and drank but little, and then evidently “as a blind.” Close watching would also have discovered the fact that there were a few people oil Shore who were glad to see the safe arrival of the »Hornet, and who, about 1 o’clock in the morning almost fell on the neck of Capt. Shewed as’ they bade him good-byei Then for the rest of the night coal was carried out to the Hornet in boats instead of her coming to dock to load. By daybreak her coal was aboard, cleaning up then came, and preparations to depart- Capt. Sbewed’s eye was now much on the Cormorant, He had escaped one danger, and lie had landed half a tail don'dollars’ worth of opium in the night under the very nose of the law. and while custom boatsi were patrol ing the bay, but there v|’as another danger—the inquisitivqness of the Cprmorant. It was etiquette for him to call upon the captain of the Cor- ! taorant, and he should have done so ! the evening before, but he dared not

risk, nor could he run it this mornipg. And yet if the Cormorant diseovered that the Hornet was. not a British man-of-war, but a .bold and splendid imposture, made possible by a daring ex-officer of the British navy, she might open lire “and he couid make but a sorry fight, for he was equipped for show rather than for deadly action. Just as he was lifting anchor tc get under way he saw a boat shoot out from the side of the Cormorant. Capt. Debney was coming to see the discourteous commander. He was received according to custom and was greeted at once by Capt. Shewell. As the eyes of the twe men met both started, but' Capt. Debney most. He turned white and put out his band to the boat-side .tc. steady himself. But Capt. Shewell held the hand that'had been put out, shook it, pressed it. He tried tc press Capt. Debney'forward, but the other drew back to thegapgway. “Pull yourself together, Dick, or there’ll be a mess,” said Shewell, softly. “My God, how could you do it!” replied his brother, aghast. Meanwhile the anchor had been raised afnTUuTllqrnet was moving toward the harbor mouth. —|‘You have ruined us both,” said Richard Debney. " '“Neither, Dick! I’ll save your bacon.” He"made a sign, the gangway was closed, he gave the word for the full steam head, and the Hornet began to race tnrough the water before Capt. Debney—guessed his purposes. “What do you mean to do?” he asked, sternly, as he saw his own gig falling astern. “To make it hard for you to blow me to pieces. You’ve got to do it, of course, if you can, but I must get a start.” “How far do you intend taking me?" “As far as theFarilones, perhaps.” Richard Debney’s face had a sick look. “Take me to your cabin,” he whispered. What was said behind the closed doors no one in this world knows, and it is as well not to listen too closely to those who part, knowing they will never meet again. They had been children in one mother’s arms; there was nothing in common between them now except the old love. Nearing the Farilones Capt. Debney was put off in an open boat. Standing there alone he was once more a naval officer, and he called out, sternly; “Sir, I hope 'to sink you and your smuggling craft within four and twenty hours!” Capt. Shewell spoke no word, but saluted slowly, deliberately, and watched his brother’s boat recede until it was a speck upon the sea, as it moved toward Golden Gate. “Good Old Dick,” he said at last, as he turned away toward the bridge, “and he’ll do it if he can.” _ But he never did, for as the Cormorant cleared the harbor that evening there came an accident to her machinery and with two days’ start the Hornet was on her way to be sold again to a South American republic. And Edward Debney, once her captain? What does it matter? His mother believes him dead —let us do -tke-same,—■—— -—.—

That Apple Once More.

Texas Siftings. Mrs. McSychophant, the wife of Parson McSychophant; a Texas clergyman, happened to be present; when the class was being examined by the aforesaid clergyman. “Tommy,” asked the clergyman, “did Adam nfha Eve sin in the Garden of Eden?” “You bet they did,” replied Tommy. ■ “Which sinned first, Adam or Eve?” Tommy scratched his head and hesitated. In order to give him a hint that Eve had first transgressed the Parson pointed towards his wife. Tommy caught on immediately and roared out: “Your wife sinned first!” Almost all leading agricultural and horticultural periodicals have the pages filled with descriptions of new varieties of fruits and vegetables, a large majority of which, after being tested, prove to be of no more value than those which they superseded. It may be wondered whether this branch of horticultural literature is a benefit or disadvantage. Certainly in the very large number of classes of fruits and vegetables varieties popular to day are no better, if as good, as varieties Thai were in vogue a FaTTT'entut'y' ago. This is particularly the case with the strawberry. Certainly, the proportion of large and high flavored seen in our markets is far less than it has been in former timdk. Pne could go into a 1 garden and gather fruit, eating it with a relish directly from the vines; in these times one would scarcely think of eating them unless heavily smothered in sugar and cream. The only thing to be said in favor of this influx of new kinds is that in some unexplained way — though possibly from unnatural systems of cultivation—varieties tlegenerate, and other varieties have to be introduced. Not so much, perhaps, to improve the kind, as to make up for the degeneration that has been experienced. As a vital principle ol vegetation there is no such thing as a degeneration of varieties. If left to nature, or even under systems ol cultivation, there is no evidence thal a variety would ever wear out; but 'as a living fact, within the exper-; | icnce of every one engaged in fruit! ! and vegetable culture, varieties cerl tainly do wear out and very often wear out muph more rapidly than the cultivators find profitable.

SUMMER WARDROBES.

Fashion at a Standstill, bat It Is Time to Wear and Enjoy. It is now the season when fashion is nearly at a standstill. Summer wardrobes are all arranged, and it is too early to think of fall ones. Women to wear and enjoy the pretty things they already have rather than go through the fiery ordeal of shopping and being fitted. The odors of town, although quite as characteristic in their way, are less appreciated at present than the fragrance of sea and country places. The smell of pines or fresh seaweed in the sun is better than all the manufactured essences in the market. Tf*some one would only invent’ aT i method of bottling it up for winter use, the stock of potpourri jars would drop hopelessly. . —zf 1

SILK MUSLIN COLLAR.

Hie woman who is enjoying these scents at first hand is undoubtedly already provided with her outing suit of black, blue or brown serge, made with sta unlined skirt and blazer or Eton jacket. Such a costume may be worn with a thick or thin bodice, as the weather demands, and will endure any amount of rough usage, rain, spray and dust. She also has her dotted or flowered muslin gown,much frilled and furbelowed which she puts on- after Tier return from boating or fishing excursions in the aforesaid'rough and steady garments. A bath and a fresh dress are wonderful revivifidrs after fatiguing exercise so it is worth while, merely from a hygienic point of view, to have several nainsook gowns as prettily trimmed as one can afford. Of course she has a broad brimmed flower laden hat to correspond and long wash leather or silk gloves, as well as a white, scarlet or dark blue umbrella to keep the flowers on the hat from fading. She has not forgotten the light silk gown trimmed with lace for formal occasions nor the two or three evening gowns, one probably of black net or grenadine. In fact, it is doubtful if her wardrobe is not well stocked with most of the things in vogue just npw, except possibly the newest inventions in gauzy arrange - ments to be worn around the node and shoulders. Something fresh in that line is constantly appearing* and the latest is shown in the cut. It is of black mouseline de soie puffed over the shoulders and falling in two points in front. It is draped across the upper part of the chest and is collarless.

GOLD IS NORTH CAROLINA.

Tract Purchased by State Geologist Gorby and Others. Indianapolis News. State Geologist Gorby, Charles B. Feibleman and Hyam Cohen have returned from a ten days’ trip to Oconee county, the northwest county of South Carolina, where they have been inspecting a recent purchase of 1,380 acres, supposed to be rich in gold. Mr. Gorby was asked how the company with which he is connected .came to make the purchase. The company is known as the Walhalla, and is capitalized at SIO,OOO, the other members being, besides those named, J. P. Barker, of Danville, Ind., and Carl Willsuer, of Walhalla, Oconee county, South Carolina. “Some time ago,” said Mr. Gorby, “1 leceived some ore from that county to assay. It came from Carl Willauer, a mining expert. The land was offered, we formed a company and bought it. The prospect for a good yield of gold is encouraging. Oconee county is about the center of the Allegheny, mining region, of ■SouTETlarolina, North Carolina and Georgia. Considerable mining in a crude way was done there before the war. This was placer mining, washing gold in the valleys. The old mint was located at Dahlonega, Ga., about fifty miles west of Walhalla. The gold is in the quartz rock and in the gulches. We have a sixty-five acre tract of bottom land, and the other day, by means of an iron frying pan, we washed out of a single pan nine small flakes of gold, sufficient so show the richness of the ground. We intertd to pot in a steam dredge there which will do the work of twen-ty-five men, but our chief attention will be given tp quartz mining, and we shall put in a quartz mill immediately. There is no lack of water, and every facility will be given to work the quartz to the best advantage. -“The first gold mine ever in operation in the United States was in Transylvania county, North Carolina, which joins Oconee county on the north. This mine is still in operation. Some years ago it produced a nugget of almost pure gold, weighing twenty-eight pounds. The gold is mixed with silver. Gold from this district is sent to the government assay office at Charlottesville. Sen-

ator _ Jones, of Florida, has two quartz mills in operation forty miles east of us. This field has recently' attracted considerable attention, not from the natives but from persons who have come from a distance and who have seen the possibilities of the region. The quartz rock averages richer than most of the gold mines in the West, but when one gets down to the water level the mineral waters combine and make chlorides and sulphurets, so that the ores must be roasted. This is an expensive process, but not so expensive as is the treatment of such ores In the West. The implements for mining here have hitherto been very crude. Those who have done placer mining—the natives—are satisfied with small earnings—a dollar a day is considered quite enough. In fact, the mountaineers take no interest in mining, and the proximity of gold does not excite them in the least. The people are white, there being Only two negro families in the entire mining region. But it is full of distillers of moonshine. The government officers frequently capture a mountaineer with one or two gallon moonshine,’ the natives call it—but they seldom find a still. The stills are smail affairs, with a capacity to make only two or.three gallons a day. “A banker at Walhalla showed me a number of nuggets, some of them as big as one’s thumb, which had been found in the valleys. Several of them had been turned up b} r the plow. There is plenty of timber. Pine lumber sells at sf> a thousand. There is a a railroad at Walhalla and the mountaineers sometimes get out railroad ties. The ties are twice as large as are used in our roadbeds. The men will get out three of these ties, put them on an ox-wagon and take them to Walhalla. There they get thirty cents apiece for them. They spend a cay in town, have a good time on the ninety cents, and go home well satisfied with this return for two days’ work. “The finest watermelons and canteloups in the world are raised in these mountain valleys. I saw seventy large and fine watermelons sold by a mountaineer in Walhalla for one dollar, and he took his, pay in trade. They care little for money, and their wants are few. The most interesting subject to these people is a court trial, especially if it is connected with whisky. While we were the re a trial of moonshiners was gpiing on at Greenville, and the country was almost depopulated because of the number of persons who took that journey of forty miles to attend court,”

Pneumatic Roller Skates.

Various are the uses to which pneumatic tires are put. The most recent of them is discoverable in a bicycle skate. It is quite likely that within a year or so this form of locomotion will be widely put in use. A company owning the patents on the invention is negotiating with capitalists in America for the speedy manufacture of the skate. It is stated by those who have experimented with it that it affords au ease

of locomotion far superior to that obtainable from the roller skate, which was so fashionable some years ago. It is also claimed that there is less vibration. The wheels run upon ball bearings and are securely fastened to a cross frame, which in its turn is fastened to a skeleton metal plate which firmly grips the heel, and like the ordinary ice skate is bound over the fore portion of the foot bv straps. The heel is kept firmly in place by a strap across the instep.

Her Funn[?] Fad.

Cincinnati Tlmes-Star. Strange what fads possess some people.' The delegate the other ...evening... .calling. ngain.-Qnn.~nf... .tha_. sweet girl graduates, was surprised to have her make of him this peculiar request: “Won’t you?” asked she, “help me in my collection?” “What, postage stamps?” he asked. “No, indeed; that’s only for school children. You know collections are a present day fad. I’m going to be just a bit eccentric, and have started an original collection fad. You may think it an odd fancy, but I’m collecting wishbones.” So saying, she displayed those gathered. She had a vast assortment strung about her own room, and any number put away in boxes. “Now, then,” she poutingly said, “I think you might help me in my collection. If you can’t get a wishbone when you dine on game at the hotel or at the club, vbu can do another thing. Save all your empty cigar boxes for me to put my gems away in, won’t you?” “ Of course the promise was made. Then she showed more and more of her wisbbones, Among them were those of particularly large ajid small birds. She even had the wishbone of a humming bird.