Rensselaer Republican, Volume 27, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 1 August 1895 — Page 6

THE BEST OF LIFE.

Not till life’s heat is cooled, The headlong rush slowed to a quiet pace, And every purblind passion that has ruled Our noisier years, at least Spurs us in vain, and, weary of the race. We care no more who loses or who wins— Ahl not till all the best oflife seems past The best of life begins. To toil for only fame, «■* Handclappings, and the fickle guests of _ praise, , ~ .■. ~ I For place or power or goM to gnd a name Above the grave whereto All paths will bring us, were to lose our days. We, on whose ears youth’s passing -bell has tolled, In blowing bubbles, even as children do, Forgetting we grow jld. But the world widens when Buchhopeof trival gain that ruled ns lies Broken among our childhood’s toys, for then We win to self-control! And mail ourselves in manhood, and there rise Upon us from the vast and windless height Those clearer thought that are unto the soul What stars are to the night. —The Spectator.

CHAPTER I.

Three steely wreaths of smoke/from three 1 -cigars- floated toward the park The night was calm, with scarce a breath of air to set the tree tops nodding No one thought to jar upon the stillness of the scene by uttering his thoughts aloud. Besides there was no need of speech; they were friends, and, being friends, smoked on in peace, helping by their presence the unfolding of each other’s dreams. But the spell was broken at last The warm coloring of Lewis Forbes’ dream had vanished into a grayness of vacancy. He rose, and by his motion disturbed his guests. The three men rose and shook themselves free of the last remains of what they had just tried to conjure up again before them. The heat from the fire began to make them more sociable, and they talked on all sorts of topics, their conversation a wide range, from the newest book on conveyancing to the latest opera. At last the talk came in nearer circles and assumed a more personal interest. “I suppose you are both going to the Ransome dance next week?” suggested Lewis Forbes, the host. “Perhaps; 1 know quite know ye?,” replied his friend Spencer, in a tone of the least possible concern. “I dare say I shall go,” drawled Carew. Who could have connected these almost careless replies with Agnes Ransome’s bewitching eyes and cherry lips, whose unsubstantial image they had been kissing in their counterfeit of passion? Each slowly took from his pocket a delicately-tinted envelope, from which he drew a letter. A glance sufficed to show that the contents of all three were the same. The truth flashed upon them, lighting up for them the ludicrous side of the matter. To do them credit, they tried to be angry, but, despite themselves, they burst into a roar of laughter. When they had finished they consoled themselves by calling the lady a flirt, accepting their'”” Infatuation as a fact too real to be displaced by reason. Forbes was the first to suggest that they should discuss the matter in all its bearings. “What is the good of that?” asked Carew. “To arrive at some understanding,” was A < .' “Well, but after all,” insisted his friend, “the best man will win.” “Yes—or the first,” was the rejoinder. They sat for a long time propounding solutions of the difficulty. All kinds of devices were mentioned to ascertain the lady’s feelings on the subject. At last Spencer was seized with a happy idea. “Let us all propose together,” he ex. claimed. They looked at him in surprise. “All together?” they echoed. “Yes,” he explained, “why should we not all three call on her, or, perhaps, writing would be less embarrassing.” They sat a while and pondered, raising objections that were not objections. Finally they set themselves seriously to think out the details. CHAPTER 11. - Agnes Ransome, like a bee among the heather, hovering over the purple bells, was In her boudoir turning over with dainty fingers the books and pretty things. She left the mirror and lay on the couch before the fire, too indolent almost to think. She had not lain long before a gentle-* man was announced, and It was evident by her eager and loving welcome

was his first visit after his acceptance, and as yet he was still only a friend of the family. They were still talking—now about themselves—when the maid brought her mistress a letter. She read It and very demurely Landed it to her lover, but before he Lad half got through it she broke into a peal of'laughter. “What answer shall I give, dear?” “Well, I think you had better tell the truth," he replied. “Tell the truth?" she asked, repeating his words. “Yes, that you haven’t any preference.” “Oh, but suppose I have?” she rejoined archly. A kiss was her only reply. ’ This was the letter which caused her such amusement: “Dear Miss Ransome: We, the undersigned, having the honor to make you a somewhat curious request Each of us aspires to the honor of your hand, and, being dear friends, we cannot, in the light of this knowledge, set our own fancied individual claims before those of each other. We pledge ourselves to abide by any decision at which it may please you to arrive. Hoping that you will find It possible to help us, and that you will pardon what may appear impertinence, we have the honor to remaln, your most devoted admirers, “LEWIS FORBES, “HUGH SPENCER , “WILLIS CAREW.” They discussed the wording of the reply, and decided to couch it in such a form that no mention should be made' of the engagement, while no direct acceptance of the proposal contained in this note should be given, Agnes suggested that Jack should call on Forbes that same evening, shrewdly guessing that the friends would meet at his lodgings in eager expectation of the reply. CHAPTER 111. never strike 4. Would the court never rise, that poor juniors might doff their wig and stnff gown and hasten a way westward? But Lewis Forbes got home at last, eager for a letter that he hoped to find. But when he found it he did not open it, but, with his mind in a ferment, waited for dinner and the arrival of his friends, who were to dine with him. They arrived together, and both inquired: “Where is it?”

. They arranged themselves around the table. In the middle of which lay the precious envelope. “Open It,” suggested Carew. Spencer nodded approval. “Gentlemen: I thank you most sincerely for the honor you propose to confer upon me. I much regret that I cannot help you out of your difficulty by personal preference. Would not such a case be better left to pure chance? A pack of cards might work out a solution. Thanking you once more most, sincerely, and awaiting the result with some anxiety, I remain, Yours very truly, AGNES RANSOME.” He finished, and set a pack of cards on the table without speaking a word. They shuffled them still in silence. Forbes was the first to break it. “You see, cutting for the highest or lowest card Is one of the crudest of methods. Let us play vingt-et-un, the first to turn up a natural to be the lucky man.” They agreed, and the deal fell to Forbes. Play began and went on round after round, but still no “natural” turued up. Every other combination in the pack was dealt except a “natural.” A visitor was announced to relieve the monotony. He proved to be Millman, who, true to his proposal of the morning, had called and found things as he had anticipated. “We won’t keep you a moment,” urged “We are only waiting for a natural.” CHAPTER IV. Another round was being dealt; each one had a card. Millman, looking on saw the light In Spencer’s eyes; glancing at Carew he was surprised to see his mouth twitching nervously. Both evidently had a good card. Forbes dealt each a second. “Naturall” came from both simultaneously, as they started up from the table. Forbes looked at his own cards, rather from curiosity than anything else. “Natural!” he shouted, his face aglow with excitement “But" insisted Spencer, “you forget the, agreement the winner (Mould be the man who turned up a natural first" “Yes,” objected Forbes, “but surely we must keep the rule of the game. If the dealer gets a natural it cancels any others. Tho rule is, as you know, ‘Quits—pay the dealer.’ ” “But don’t you see,” argued his friend, “that this is not a regular game?” “Appeal to MUlman,” suggested Carew, himself uncertain whether to advance his own claim or not Forbes undertook the task, and after putting him in possession of the iea<h Ing facts, concluded by saying: “Now, who do you think is entitled to propose to Miss Ransome?" Jack appeared for a moment to be deep in thought At last he said, very slowly: “There is one way out of the difficulty—" “Yes?” “I will save you the trouble. I will marry Miss Ransome myself." “Oh, but it’s no' laughing matter,” protested Forbes, giving utterance to the feelings of his friends as well. “Of course not,” assented tb'b umpire; "but it solves the difficulty, doesn't ft? Besides,” he added, “it’s easier for me —l’m engaged to her.*

MURDER HIS TRADE.

H. H. HOLMES ACCUSED OF DIA-* BOLICAL CRIMES. More of His DevilishneSs Cotning to Light Every Day—Startling Discoveries Made in Chicago—Building with Mysterious Chambers—Bones Found. Fiend in Human Form. There is incarcerated in Moyamensing Prison, in Philadelphia, a man who, according to his own admission, has deserved hanging a dozen timeja, and, if guilty of half of the crimes laid at his door, is, without doubt, the arch-crimina 1 of America. The name he is known by in prison is H, H. Holmes, but he has as many aliases as a chameleon has colors, and, when at liberty, he could change them as quickly. • ~ Holmes’ reabname is Herbert, or Herman, Mudgett, and he was born in Gilmanton, N. H., about thirty-four years ago. His father was Levi H. Mudgett, and he was postmaster of Gilmanton Comers. He gave his son a good education, the boy graduating from the village academy with honor. When but 18 young Mudgett married Clara Lovering, the pretty daughter of a well-to-do citizen of Louden, N. H, Mudgett supported his wife for awhile, first by teaching school and after by clerking in a store. Then he took a notion to study medicine, and partly through his parents’ and his wife’s parents’ assistance he become a student in the University of Vermont,- at Burlington. His wife in the meantime supported herself as a dressmaker. By and by Mudgett Went to the medical college at Anu Arbor, Mich. Here he run out of funds. He and a chum to work during the summer vacation on a farm. One day it occurred to Mudgett that it was possible to obtain a quantity of money by swindling a life insurance company. It is said that he told his plan to his chum, who at once fell in with it. The chum had his life insured under a fictitious name, and shortly after they procured a body from the pickling vat of a medical college, boxed it up and

THE HOLMES BUILDING IN CHICAGO. [The star shows Holmes’ office.)

shipped it to Connecticut. Then it was given out that the chum had died, the body was palmed off as his, and Mudgett got the insurance money, some $12,500. After securing his degree Mudgett began the practice of his profession at Moore’s Fork, in his State. His wife was with him for awhile. She bore him a child, and then went back to her parents on a prolonged visit. Commits Bigamy, The young doctor built up a fairly good practice, but did not ask his wife to return to him, as he thought his field of action tod circumscribed and he talked of going to Chicago to establish himself there. His was a flirtatious nature, and meeting an adventuress in Boston, he married her. She soon found that his means were poor and left him. Then he paid his real wife a visit and told her he was going west. That was the last she had heard of him for several years. Believing that she was deserted she went to hard work as a dressmaker to support herself and her child. Holmes, by which name he is afterward known, then entered into various schemes tn Chicago. He employed a typewriter named Minnie Williams. He learned that

HOLMES IN HIS CELL.

she and her sister were worth $50,000 and determined to have the money. He persuaded Minnie to live with him. Then they sent for her sister Annie. The latter soon disappeared and no clue has ever been found of her whereabouts. It was dot long after this that Minnie also disappeared. Then Holmes met Benjamin F. Pitezel. They laid a plan to defraud the Fidelity MutuaTLife Insurance Company of Philadelphia. Pitezel took out a policy, for SIO,OOO. In September last the body of a man was found in a certain house in Philadelphia. By his side was a broken bottle of carbolic acid. He was identified at the time as the man who, under the name of B. F. Perry, had rented the house some time before. The doctors said he had died in a natural manner. The *ody was buried in the Potter’s field. Then Holmes came forward with a man named Howe to represent Mrs. Pitezel,

who claimed that the body was that of her husband. It was exhumed and she identified it. The insurance money was paid. The largest share went to Holmes. He then persuaded Mrs. Pitezel to let him. take care of three of her five children. She agreed and he took them with him. They have not been seen since, dead or alive, until the finding last week of the bodies of two of them in the cellar of a house in Toronto, Ont., and every circumstance indicates that they were murdered” by Holmes. . Holmes A. rested. In some way the insurance company beWhen Mrs. Pitezel was pressed she admitted that the whole thing was a conspiracy and that pitezel, she believed, was alive. She was arrested, asjvas Howe. Then the detectives chased Erolmes from city to city until they arrested him in Boston. Pitezel Jias never been found and the belief is strong that he was murdered by Holmes. When the childrent could not be located detectives began to hunt for them. They were

MINNIE WILLIAMS. ANNIE WILLIAMS.

tracked with Holmes to Detroit. Then one of them seems to have disappeared. The other two were traced to Toronto. It was discovered that Holmes rented a certain house In that city and that he had two children with him. A search was made. The earth forming the floor of tha cellar had been disturbed. The detectives began to. dig and soon they uncovered the nude bodies of the two children. Where the other one is, whether dead or alive, whether or not their father is living, and whether or not Minnie and Annie Williams were murdered are matters the police and detectives are trying to solve. That the Williams girls met death at the hands of Holmes, there is scarcely a doubt. That they died in Chicago in a violent manner has been proved almost coqplu-

sively. The police found in a stove in a three-story brick building at 701 63d street, which was built by Holmes and in which both he and the Williams girls lived, a quantity of charred bones, buttons known to have been on a dress owned by Minnie Williams, and the partly melted portion of a watch chain which was positively identified as having been the property of the girl. The contents of the stove were quickly dumped, and portion of bones too badly burned to admit of positive identification as belonging to any particular portion of the body were found All of the ashes and debris removed from the stove was carefully preserved. The police are now of the opinion that not only Minnie Williams but her younger sister, Anna," and the boy Howard Pitzel met death in this house. Anna Williams has not been seen or heard of since Holmes left the 63d street building. If she has fallen victim to Holmes’ murder ous instincts she will be the sixth he hat, killed—Pitezel, his three children and the two Williams girls. Holmes pleaded guilty to conspiracy In defrauding the Insurance companies out of about $250,000, and was awaiting sentence therefor when the bodies of the children were found and the suspicion that he murdered Pitezel was aroused. Of course he disclaims all knowledge of the manner of their death.

EXPRESS IS HELD UP.

Chicago Limited on the Lake Shore , y Boarded by Robbers. Masked men boarded a west-bound Lake Shore and Michigan Southern express train at Recce Siding, Ind., at 12:35 Wednesday morning, forced open an express car and at the point of revolvers compelle 1 the messenger to unlock the safe. It is known that at least SB,OOO was taken. The train is a heavy one, made up of several express cars, baggage and mall cars, two coaches and three Pullmans. Reece Siding is a lonely spot in the woods, between Archbold and Stryker, about ten miles west of Wauseon. A blind sliding is used by this train nightly to allow the western express to pass. This usual stop is well known to those familiar with the locality. For a mile in each direction the woods are dense close to the railroad right of way. The noise of the coming western express was ringing louder and louder when Conductor Darling, who stood by a coach, saw three masked men ride out of a road from the woods which led directly to an express car which crossed it. He was ordered inside the coach and at the same time three men, approaching the other side, joined their companions in demanding admission to the express car. This was gained at revolvers’ points, and the express messenger, under threats of instant death, Was compelled to open the safe. The entrance to the express car was made quickly and no commotion was created in the other cars. The robbers seemed to know just how to handle the railroad men and to board the cars. Their evident familiarity with cars and the time the trains met give rise to suspicions that they are railroad men.

THE FARM IND HOME.

MATTERS OF INTEREST TO FARMz ER AND HOUSEWIFE. Cattle Without Horns Are Much More Quiet— Hoeing Is Now Done with the Cultivator Balanced Ration Will Prevent Dyspepsia in Hogs. The Dehorning Question. In the cattle they are to handle people seem to have a leaning of late years to the idea of no horns. It is a conceded fact that cattle are much more quiet ' without horns than with them, says the Nebraska Farmer. It IS a fact, too, that this disposition to be quiet among themselves goes a long way toward securing the comfort and good condition that leads to profit in the handling of cattle. This preference for cattle with the horns off is evidenced In the growing popularity of the hornless breeds of beef cattle, and also in the disposition to remove the horns from steers that are to be fed in bunches for the market We may be allowed to venture the opinion, too, that tUis new departure would have taken a still faster hold upon feeders in the last few year’s if low prices had not cast a gloom upon the feeding Industry. With better prices and a better feeling pervading cattle circles, we predict that the dehorning practice will receive a new impetus The question does not resalve itself into one of breeds, but into one of methods only. If it be true that cattle do better with their horns off, it has been demonstrated to be a thoroughly practical business transaction to remove them, and at small cost, so that we may expect to see the practice more than ever popularized in the next few years to come. Hoeing to Kill Weeds. We hoe merely to kill the weeds. The land has been, or should have been, properly and thoroughly prepared before the seed was planted. Now nothing of that is to be done, no digging, no pulverizing, no making of hills, only killing the weeds, says the Maine Farmer. Much of the hoeing is now done with team and cultivator, though thereTT still some .work to be done with the hoe. Simply stirring the«®tfrface eoil and cutting up any stray weed that may have become rooted Is all that Is called for. Do this early and often, and the weeds will be mastered. Never wait for a field to get weedy. It Is just as effective to stir the soil before the weeds have had time to 1 get rooted, and it is much easier doing it. It has been a pet theory to run the cultivator through the field often and keep it up as long as practicable. Experiments at the stations, however, have shown that frequent cultivation, unless needed for the destruction of weeds, is no advantage to the growing ; crop in an ordinary season. Work the field, then, as often as needed to kill the weeds, and no more. Clean culture should be the alm. The weeds must be destroyed;

Dyspeptic Hogs. ■The acidity of the sromaetr,- wtrtclrls the result of feeding hogs exclusively on corn, may be temporarily corrected by feeding charcoal. But in this case, as in most others, prevention is better than cure. The hogs fed with a properly balanced ration, including some fine wheat middlings and a few roots each day, says Colman’s Rural World, will not be troubled by acid stomach. Acidity is a sign that fermentation has progressed to its second stage, the first being alcoholic. It is not possible to cause food to ferment in even the slightest degree without some waste of its nutrition. When fermentation progresses so far as to make acidity of the stomach the loss is much more consld erable. This is in addition to the loss by Impaired digestion. Repairs for Harvesting Machinery. All kinds of mowing and reaping machinery are much cheaper than they ware a few years ago. But in some cases the manufacturers put inferior material into their work, so that more repairs are needed, and these always come very high. The separate pieces cost enough more than they should to make up the deficiency in price of the complete machine, which competition obliges them to submit to. When they have sold a machine the buyer can get his repairs from no one else, and they can make charges without limit. Worse than this, the buyer often finds that ho must send for repairs hundreds of miles and wait perhaps two or three days while they are coming. If the machine is out of date it is sometimes difficult to got repairs at any' rate. This is a matter that farmers should think of in buying harvesting machinery. Find out, if possible, whether repairs will be sold reasonably, and deal only with houses of such established reputation that there need be no fear that they will go out of business.

Sprouted Potatoes. It is well known that seed potatoes which are stored for late planting often become soft, while much of their nutritive matter is exhausted in developing sprouts which must be broken off ft planting. The first sprout is always the strongest and thriftiest, but it often happens that these sprouts have to be removed several times before the potatoes are planted, and each time some of the vitality of the tubers is lost A comparative test was made by Prof. Tatt at the Michigan Experiment Station last year, when two equal lots of potatoes were taken, one being left, in the cellar, theother spread in a dry,' well-lighted, moderately warm room. On April 20 both lots were planted side by side, and the {Hants from the unsprouted seed came up first, looked the best throughout the season, and produced a greater amount of potatoes and a greater proportion of large ones with fewer 111-shaped tubers. Of course, it hardly needed an experiment to demonstrate the superiority of unsprouted

reed, but since no one can afford t® grow anything but the very best crops It would seem to be worth while to take every precaution to prevent sprouting, or to secure second crop seed from the South, which is rarely affected In this way.—Garden and Forest Evaporated Apples. In Wayne County, New York, which is not a very large county, says the American Cultivator, something like a million bushels of apples were evaporated last year, yielding a product worth $500,000. As most of this was from fruit that could not very well have been marketed In any other form, and some of it probably was just good enough and large enough to have tempted the growers to try to work it Into the barrels if they could not Have utilized It as they did, and thereby lessened the market value of the better apples among which it would have been put, we say blessings on the man who invented the evaporator, and hope to see them in more common use in New England soon. They save fruit that would go to waste, or to worse than waste, the cider barrel, and Improve the quality of the apples sent to market IT those who use them will stop the artificial bleaching of their evaporated ripples, the product will soon be more popular. While farmers color their butter and bleach their apples they should not make much outcry about tha shoddy goods sent out by manufacturers. Cotton-Seed Meal. English farmers have learned to use cotton-seed meal, and it Is very largely taking the place that Unwed meal used to have. It was the English demand for linseed meal for feeding that raised Its price for many years, so that American feeders could not afford it The English-farmer-feeds meal with roots.. This enables him to use richer meal than the American feeder can feed with profit. The English farmer does not have corn except by importing It and It Is, therefore, for him not so cheap feed as it Is for us. Nor does the English farmer have such large supplies of bran, as mucn of “the grain now fmported Into England comes in the form -of flour. dßranis even better than roots to Rive with concent rat (id foods, like cotton-seed and linseed meal. Milking on the Ground. There is a belief among dairymen that to milk on the ground dries up the cow. One reason for this is that milk Is not often spilled upon the ground while milking unless there Is something the matter with it making It unfit for use. In such case all the milk Is not likely to be drawn from the teat, and that of itself will dry up the cow. The soothing noise of the milk going into the pail keeps the cow quiet and disposes her to give down all the milk she has. There is a stopping of this soothing noise when milk Is drawn out upon the ground. The cow Is very susceptible to the strains of music, vocal or instrumental, and the milker who can sing while milking will be able to get all the milk quickest as wall a& to get the largest quantity. Green Peas Profitable. Market gardeners find that the pea crop returns as large a profit as any that can be grown so easily. They sell It while green, and for the very earliest get very high prices. The pea Is hardy, and the farmer who has light, warm soil has as good a chance as the market gardener. To give the plant a good sendoff early some concentrated commercial manure should be put in with the seed. This will make the green pea crop several days earlier, and on earllness the price mainly depends. The crop bears shipment well, and farmers too far from the city to market the peas themselves can easily make arrangements to ship tjiem to some one who will deal fairly with him. Adulterated Parle Green. In purchasing paris green for poisoning potato bugs or other insects, care should be taken to secure that which Is pure. The entire unreliability of much of the paris green In market leads to using it in large doses so as to produce the right effect, and this Is frequently Injurious to the tender leaves. With paris green of full standard purity the amount required to kill insects Is so small that no Injury will result from Its use. When the paris green is used to destroy fungous growths heavier doses are required, and lime must be used with it to prevent injury. But for both uses the paris green should be pure, so that those using it may understand what results to expect.

Merits of the Java Fowl, I The Java fowl resembles in form that of the Plymouth Rock. It is, however, not so heavily built, says the Independent, nor is its comb like the latter’s. There are three colors among the Javas —black, mottled, solid black and solid white. Javas are good layers, very good broilers, and by many considered superior to either the Plymouth Rock or Brahma fowl; but experience will more correctly prove this. We find In nearly all fowls some few points that we do not fancy. The better qualities overbalancing the inferior should be the point to aim at in selecting a stock for fancy and practical purposes. Time to Cut Wheat. Wheat Is ready to cut as soon as any part of the stalk begins to turn yellow. If the head is well filled it will then be bent over and the berry will fill from the stalk better if the grain is ~ left standing until dead ripe. Ths bran of wheat cut while the stalk is somewhat green Is thinner and its proportion of gluten and starch is larger. Dathpnees Kills Chickens. Cold, dry weather, provided there an no cracks to cause draughts of air, will not cause sickness in fowls, but damp quarters will cause roup, even la moderate weather.