Rensselaer Semi-Weekly Republican, Volume 34, Number 14, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 18 October 1901 — Page 2

The Doctor’s Dilemma.

CHAPTER XXV.lL—(Continued.) “Hast thou brought a doctor with thee, my brother?’’ she asked. “I have brought uo doctor except thy brother, my sister,” answered Monsieur Laurentie, “also a treasure which I found at the foot of the Calvary down yonder.” He had alighted whilst saying this, and the rest of the conversation was carried •n in whispers. There was some one ill in the house, and our arrival was illtimed, that was quite clear. Whoever the woman was that had come to the 4oor, she did not advance to speak to me, but retreated as soon as the conversation was over. “Pardon, madame,” he said, approaching us, “but my sister is too much occupied with a sick person to do herself the honor of attending upon you.” He did not conduct us through the open door, but led us round the angle of the presbytery to a small ■ out-house opening •n to the court, and with no other entrance. It was a building lying between the porch and belfry of the church and his own dwelling place. But it looked comfortable and inviting. A fire had been hastily kindled on an open hearth, and a heap of wood lay beside it. Two beds were in this room; one with hangings over the head and a large tall cross at the toot board; the other a low, narrow pallet, lying along the foot of it. A cruciftx hung upon the wall, and the wood work of the high window also formed a cross. It seemed a strange goal to reach after our day's wanderings. Monsieur Laurentie put the lamp down an the table, and drew the logs of wood together on the hearth. He was an old man, as I then thought, over sixty. He looked round upon us with a benevolent ■mile. “Madame,” he said, “our hospitality fe rude and simple, but you are very welcome guests. My sister is desolated that she must leave you to my cares. But if there be anything you have need of, tell me, I pray you.” “There is nothing, monsieur,” I answered; “you are too good to us —too good.” “No, no, madame,” he said, “be content. To-morrow I will send you to Granville under the charge of my good Jean. Sleep well, my children, and fear nothing. The good God will protect you.” Minima had thrown herself upon the low pallet bed. I took off her damp clothes, and laid her down comfortably to rest. It was not long before I also was sleeping soundly. Once or twice a Tague impression forced itself upon me that Minima was talking a great deal in her dreams. It was the clang of the bell for matins which fully roused me at last, but it was a minute or two before 1 could make out where I was. Then Minima began to talk. “How funny that is!” she said, “there the boys run, and I can't catch one of them. Father, Temple Secundus is pulling faces at me, and all the boys are laughing. Well! it doesn’t matter, does it? Only we are so poor, Aunt Nelly and all. We're so poor—so poor—so poor!”

Her voice fell into a murmur too low Jor me to hear what she was saying, though she went on talking rapidly, and laughing and sobbing at tiipes. 1 called to her, but she did not answer. What could ail the child? I went to her, and took her hands in mine—burning little hands. I said, "Minimal” and she turned to me with a caressing gesture, raising her hot fingers to stroke my face. “Yes, Aunt Kelly. How poor we are, you and I! I am so tired, aud the prince ■ever comes 1” There was hardly room for me in the ■arrow bed, but I managed to lie down kesidether, and took her into my arms to soothe her. She rested there quietly enough; but her mind was wandering, and all her whispered chatter was about the boys, aud the dominie, her father, and the happy days at home in the school in tipping Forest. As soon as it was light I dressed myself in haste, and opened my door to see if I could find any one to send to Monsieur Laurentie. The first person 1 saw was hirhself. coming in my direction. I had not fairly looked at him before, for I had seen him only by twilight and firelight. His cassock was old and threadbare, and his hat brown. His hair fell in rather long locks helow his hat, and was beautifully white. His face was healthy looking, like that •f a man who lived much out of doors, and his clear, quick eyes shone with a kindly light. I ran impulsively to meet him, with outstretched hands, which he took into his own a pleasant smile. “Oh, come, monsieur,” I cried; “make haste! She is ill, my poor Minima!” The smile failed away from his face in an instant, and he did not utter a word. He followed me quickly to the side of the little bed, laid his hand softly on the child's forehead, and felt her pulse. He lifted up her head gently, and opening her mouth, looked at her tongue and throat. He shook his head as he turned to me with a grave and perplexed expression, and he spoke with a low, solemn accent. “AAudamo,” he said, “it is the fever!” He left me, and I sank down on a ♦hair, half stupefied by this new disaster. It would be necessary to stay where we were until Minima recovered; yet I had ao means to pay these people for the trouble we should give them, and the expense we should be to them. I hud not thne to decide upon nny course, however, before he returned and brought with him his sister. Mademoiselle Therese was a tall, plain, elderly woman, hut with the same pleasant expression of open friendliness as that of her brother. She went through precisely the same examination of Minima ns.he had done. “The fever!” she ejaculuted, in much the same tone as his. They looked sig■lfcaatly at each other, and then held a hurried consultation together outside the door, after which the cure returned alone. "Madame,” he said, “this child is not yaur own, ns I supposed last night. My afarter *iys you are too young to be her ■Mthar. Is she your sister?”

By Hesba Stretton

“No, monsieur,” I answered. “I called you madame because you were traveling alone,” he continued, smiling; “French demoiselles never travel alone. You are mademoiselle, no doubt?” “No, monsieur,” I said frankly, “I am married.” “Where, then, is your husband?” he inquired. “He is in London,” I answered. "Monsieur, it is difficult for me to explain it; I cannot speak your language well enough. I think in English, and I cannot find the right French words. I am very unhappy, but I am not wicked.” “Good,” he said, smiling again, “very good, my child; I believe you. You will learn my language quickly; then you shall tell me all, if you remain with us. But you said the migfionne is not your sister.” “No, she is not my relative at all,” I replied; “we were both in a school at Noireau, the school of Monsieur Emile Perrier. Perhaps you know it, monsieur?” “Certainly, madame,” he said. “He has failed, and run away,” I continued; “all the pupils are dispersed. Minima and I were returning through Granville.” “I understand, madame,” he responded, “but it is villainous, this affair! Listen, my child. I have much to say to you. Do I speak gently and slowly enough for you?” “Yes,” I answered, “I understand you perfectly.” “We have had the fever in Ville-en-bois for some weeks,” he went on; “it is now bad) very bad. Yesterday I went to Noireau to seek a doctor, but I could only hear of one, who is in Paris at present, and cannot come immediately. At present we have made my house into a hospital for the sick. My people bring their sick to me, and we do our best, and put our trust in God. But this little house has been kept free from all infection, and you would be safe here for one night, so I hoped. The mignonne must have caught the fever some days ago. Now I must carry her into my little hospital. But you, madame, what am I to do with you? Do you wish to go on to Granville, and leave the mignonne with me? We will take care of her as a little angel of God. What shall I do with you, my child?” “Monsieur,” I exclaimed, eagerly, “take me into your hospital, too. Let me take care of Minima and your other sick people. I am very strong, and in good health; I am never ill—never, never. I will do all you say to me. Let me stay, dear monsieur.” “But your husband, your friends ” he said. “I have no friends,” I interrupted, “and my husband does not love me. If I have the fever and die—good! very good! lam not wicked; I am a Christian, I hope. Only let me stay with Minima, and do all I can in the hospital.” “Be content, my child,” he said, “you shall stay with us.” I felt a sudden sense of contentment, for here was work for me to do, as well as a refuge. Neither should I be compelled to leave Minima. I wrapped her up warmly in the blankets, and Monsieur Laurentie lifted her carefully and tenderly from the low bed? He told me to accompany him, and we crossed the court and entered the house by the door I hud seen the night before. A staircase led up to a long, low room, which had been turned into a hastily fitted-up fever ward for women and children. There were already nine beds in it, of different sizes, brought with the patients who now occupied them. But one of these was empty. In this home-like ward I took up my work as nurse. “Madame,” said Monsieur Laurentie, one morning, the eighth that I had been in the fever-smitten village, “you did not take a promenade yesterday.” “Not yesterday, monsieur.” “Nor the day before yesterday?” he continued. “No, monsieur,” I answered; “I dare not leave Minima. I fear she is going to die.” Monsieur Laurentie raised me gently from my low chair, and seated himself upon it, with a smile as he looked up at me. “Madame,” he said, “I promise not to quit the chamber till you return. My sister has a little commission for you to do. Confide the mignonne to me, and make your promenade in peace. It is necessary, madame; you must obey me.” The commission for mademoiselle was to carry some food and medicine to a cottage lower down the valley; and Jean's eldest son, Pierre, was appointed to be my guide. Both the cure and his sister gave me a strict charge as to what we were to do; neither of us was upon any account to go near or enter the dwelling; but after the basket was deposited upon a flat stone, which Pierre was to point out to me, he was to ring a small hand-bell which he carried with him for that purpose. Then we were to turn our backs and begin our retreat, before any person came out Of the infected house. I set out with Pierre, a solemn looking boy of about twelve years of age. We passed down the village street, with its closely packed houses forming a very nest for fever, until we reached the road by which I had first entered Ville-en-bois. Above the tops of the trees appeared a tall chimney, and a sudden turn in the by-road we had taken brought us full in sight of a small cotton mill, built on the banks of the noisy stream. A more mournfully dilapidated place I hud never seen. In the yard adjoining this deserted factory stood a miserable cottage with a mildewed thatched roof. The place bore the aspect of a pest house. Pierre led me to a large fiat stone, and I laid down my basket upon it. Then he rang his hand bell noisily, and the next instunt was scampering back along the road. But I could not run away. The desolate plague-Btricken place had a dismal fascination for me. I wondered what manlier of persons could dwell in it; and as I lingered I saw the low door opened,

and a thin, spectral figure standing in the gloom within, but delaying to cross the moldering doorsill as long as I remained in sight. In another minute Pierre had rushed back for me, and dragged me away with all his boyish strength and energy. “Madame,” he said, in angry remonstrance, “you are disobeying Monsieur le Cure.” “But who lives there?” I asked. “They are very wicked people,” he answered emphatically; “no one goes near them, except Monsieur le Cure. They became wicked before my time, and Monsieur le Cure has forbidden us to speak of them with rancour, so we do not speak of them at all.” Who were these pariahs, whose name even was banished from every tongue? A few days after this, the whole community was thrown into a tumult by the news that their cure was about to undertake the perils of a voyage to England, and would be absent a whole fortnight. He said it was to obtain some information as to the English system of drainage in agricultural districts, which might make their own valley more healthy and less liable to fever. But it struck me that he was about to make some inquiries concerning my husband, and perhaps about Minima, whose desolate position had touched him deeply. I ventured to tell him what danger might arise to me if any clue to my hiding place fell into Richard Foster's hands. The afternoon of that day was unusually sultry and oppressive. The blue of the sky was almost livid. I was weary with a long walk in the morning, and after our mid-day meal I stole away from mademoiselle and Minima and betook myself to the cool shelter of the church. I sat down upon a bench just within the door. There was a faint scent yet of the incense which had been burned at the mass celebrated before the cure’s departure. I leaned my head against the wall and closed my eyes, with a pleasant sense of sleep coming softly towards me, when suddenly a hand was laid upon my arm, with a firm, silent grip. (To be continued.)

Nice Turkish Customs.

It is said by a correspondent of the London Telegraph that the habits of the Turkish ladies in Constantinople are wonderfully fastidious. When they wash their hands at a tap from which water runs into a marble basin, they let the water run till a servant shuts it off, as to do this themselves would make them unclean. They cannot open or shut a door, as the handle would be unclean. One of these fastidious ladies was talking to a small niece the other day, who had just received a present of a doll from Paris. By and by the child laid the doll on the lady’s lap. She was horrified, and ordered the child to take it away. As the little girl would not move it, and no servant was near, and the lady would be defiled by touching a doll that had been brought from abroad, the only thing she could think of was to jump up and let the doll fall. It broke in pieces. The same lady will not open a letter coming by post, but a servant opens and holds it near for her to read. If her handkerchief falls to the ground it is immediately destroyed or given away, so that she may not again use it. Among the men this curious state of things does not exist.

Pope on Woman’s Clothes.

The Pope has recently manifested a preference in regard to ladies’ apparel over and above the strict regulation In regard to ladies who are received by the holy father at the Vatican. A niece of the Pope was about to be married, aud her distinguished relative took so great an interest in her trousseau as to stipulate that the young lady should only have white, blue or black gowns, adding that these were the three colors most becoming to young girls. “Gray and brown,” remarked his Holiness, ‘are only suitable for old women, and I do not like any other colors.” Possibly the Pope prescribed white because it is the symbol of purity, blue because it is the color dedicated to the Virgin Mary, and black because it is the time-honored hue of dress for outdoor wear for Spain and Italy.—London Pall Mall Gazette.

Improved Methods in Surgery.

It was in Boston that the first administration of ether for anaesthetizing the patient under the surgeon’s knife, and a Boston physician, Dr. W. B. Hidden, has perfected an appliance with which the surgeon operating secures the full effects of ether and chloroform without any waste, while the insensible subject breathes In the same amount of pure air with each inspiration as though not using the anaesthetic. The blood is thus kept oxidized, and the patient is left in the best possible condition for reaction and recovery.

The Speed of the Blood.

It has been calculated that, assuming the human heart to beat sixty-nine times a minute at ordinary heart pressure, the blood goes at the rate of 207 yards in a minute, or seven miles a day, and 01,320 miles a year . If a man 84 years of age could have one single corpuscle floating in his blood all Ills life It would have traveled in that time over 5,150,000 miles.

Equal to the Occasion.

Liveried Menial—“Me lud, the carriage waits without.” His Lordship—Without what? “Without horses, me lud; ’tls an au-tomobile.”—Tit-Bits.

Historic British Regiments.

The names of no fewer than 105 battles are emblazoned on the banners of the various regiments which form the British army.

Fish of the Nile.

The Nile Is noted for the variety of Its fish. An expedition sent by the British Museum brought home 2,200 specimens

FARMS AND FARMERS

A Handy Boar Holder. A great deal of time is lost in filling grain bags, unless some device is used by which the bag can be kept open aud the one filling it have the use of both hands. The upright board (Fig. 1) is made of inch stuff, two feet long and ieleven inches wide. The arms (Fig. 3) which support the hopper are held by two triangular boards (Fig. 2), which are nailed to these arms, and to the upright board (Fig. 1), as shown in the illustration. The aims shown at Fig. 3 are each ten inches long, two inches wide and’an inch thick, and the ends are screwed to the side of the spout as shown. The spout is made nine inches square, and both this and the hopper should be made of boards eight inches wide. At Fig. 4 a row of wire nails is shown, by which the bag is held in place at the bottom ,of the hopper. By boring a number of holes

BAG HOLDER.

in the back board (Fig. 1) at intervals of an inch apart, and hanging the device to a heavy wire nail or a heavy screw put in the wall, the bag holder may be raised or lowered to a convenient height. Fall Plowinsr. One trouble with fall plowing is the careless way in which It is done. Oftentimes the land is simply plowed in a careless manner with the thought in mind that it can be finished in the spring if it is to lie fallow. Sometimes the plowing is no more perfect when winter wheat and rye is to be raised. 'The ground should be as carefully plowed and prepared for grain sown in the winter as for that sown In the spring. As a rule five or six inches is a most satisfactory depth to plow in the fall, although, of course, it depends somewhat on the character of the soil. If the ground is intended for fall seeding, it'must be handled in accordance with Its character. If inclined to be loose, the harrow and roller should be used until it is well compacted. If the soil is naturally heavy, it should be loosened up just before seeding, by a straight tooth harrow, and if rain sheuld come in a few days after the seed is sown, it always pays to go over the entire plot and loosen up the soil by a light harrowing. For Scalding: Hotr«. With the device shown here, reproduced from the Ohio Farmer, one man can handle the heaviest hog with ease. I have scalded 40 hogs with it, and know what lam saying. Place the hog on the rack (Fig. 1), then close it, then

HANDY SCALDING DEVICE.

proceed as shown In Fig. 2. Lift the hog over the trough by taking hold of the lqng lever. Lower It Into the trough, so that the rack springs clear of the bottom of the trough, then take hold of the cross lever and work It up aud down, throwing the carcass from one side to the other, back and forth, until perfectly scalded. Keep trying the hair, so as to know when the proper scalding point is reached. Then swing out on the cleaning rack and take another hog. The figures explain themselves.

Winter Feeding of Wheat.

The consensus of opinion among those who have fed more or less wheat seems to be that wheat can be fed profitably, when comparatively low in price, to nearly all farm stock, provided It is ground or partially broken aud fed with some other grain. Wheat and brau was found to be a fair grain ration for horses and wheat and corn meal for swine, while for sheep the wheat was mixed with oats to the best advantage. Ground oats and crushed Wheat make a fair ration for the dairy cow, or wheat bran may be fed with •ny other grains the dairyman la In

the habit of using. The experiments of feeding the whole wheat show that often as much as one-quarter of it passes through the animal without being digested, and When the wheat was ground or crushed it was but an indifferent food given alone. Fertilizers for Bmall Fruits. Undoubtedly the judicious use of commercial fertilizers is beneficial to small fruit plants, but it must bo applied intelligently, especially if worked with stable manure, to gain the greatest value. A first-class general fertilizer for all small fruit plants Is a mixture of either sulphate or muriate of potash, 200 pounds with 500 pounds of dissolved phosphate rock. It may be applied broadcast or with a drill, the quantity named being sufficient for an acre. This mixture should be applied this fall, and can be used by the plants In time to benefit the crop next summer. This mixture should be applied once every two years. It will be understood that the mixture named is for general use. Some other mixtures will do better for some plants, and what will do best can be determined by experimenting, but until the fruit-grow-er learns just what mixture gives him the best results, he will make no mistake by using the one here advocated. Selecting Seed Potatoes. We never tried the plan of selecting seed potatoes wben we were digging by taking only those from the most pro lific hills, yet it might be a profitable method. If like produces like it should result in a better yield. When we were farming we had not thought as much about such things as we have since, and we were thought a little cranky because we selected our ears of corn for seed from those that matured the earliest, allowed a strip of the best peas to go to seed instead of picking them for market, and allowed the earliest beans on the hill to ripen. We thought it paid us well to do so. and those who laughed at us for bothering so were not unwilling to come to us for seed. If it was profitable to select other seed from the most prolific plants, why not try it with the potato tubers?—American Cultivator.

Safety Blind for Horse*. When you want to get a frightened horse out of a burning stable a blanket thrown over its head renders it as do-

cile as though there were no fire, and why shouldn’t the same idea be applied to a runaway horse on the road? In the illustration we show this idea carried out under the invention of Daniel

Connertliy, of Cliunchula. Ala., and Josef Rothweller, of Chicago, 111. In order that the appliance for manipulating the blinders may not interfere with the control of the horse on ordinary occasions a separate pair of cords is provided, leading back to the carriage. The blinds are held normally open by springs on the bridle, being hinged to the side straps. A pull on the cords throws a lever out from the rear portion of the hinge and presses the blinds over the eyes, thus shutting out the vision of whatever has frightened the animal. As soon as the pressure Is released on the cords the blinds resume their normal position by the action of the springs. Corn Fodder for Fattenin'”. If corn fodder is harvested at the right time, properly handled and cared for, it makes our best feed for farm stock, and especially If a little corn has been left on it, says a correspondent of Prairie Farmer. I would recommend that fodder be cut rather high, so as to leave the hardest part of the stalk In the field. I have handled and fed cattle for last fifty years, aud corn fodder, corn aud all, makes one of the best balanced rations for fattening cattle I have ever tried. Farm Notes. All trees should be examined early in the fall for borers. Farms are getting smaller; the average size in 1850 was 203 acres; in 1890, 137 acres. Large profits from farming in Alaska are claimed. It has been suggested that stock fstfrms near the larger settlements would pay. Rape may be fed to best advantage In the early fall, and hence Is of valuable assistance in fattening lambs for the fall or early winter. It costs no more per pound to raise a colt than a steer, and the colt will sell for four times as much as the steer if the colt is of the right kind. The grape leaf hopper lives on the underside of grape leaves from midsummer uqtil they fall in autumn. Burn all fallen leaves. Bederwood strawberry seems to be the best all round perfect flowering variety at the Michigan station, either for home use or for general marketing. A hired man who persists In swearing at or speaking to the teams In a loud, harsh manner should not be tolerated. All farm animals should be treated with kindness. Indian Runner ducks are attaining a good degree of favor just now among fanciers and by them are recommended to farmers and other practical folks on account of their great prolificacy.

SAFETY BLIND.

COMMERCIAL AND FINANCIAL

—; In nearly all lines trade WOW VQrk maintains an even volume. is being viewed in an unfavorable light is not due to the state of business itself in the several industries, but to the"weakness in a number of the large corporations, growing out of their heavy burden of over-capitalization and sometimes inefficient management as well. Conditions are good in manufacturing lines. The steel trade is active and prosperous and orders must be placed in advance to assure prompt delivery. Domestic consumption is so large that the competitive foreign business can be neglected. Activity and a show of strength were displayed in the stock market for the first time in a long while on the revival of reports of a further extension of railway unification in the Northwest. Evidently the various interests in that part of the country wish to settle the differences that ci'opped out in the Northern Pacific contest. A comprehensive plan to unite the Vanderbilt properties In the East awaits action by the head of that family. The schemes of changes in the railway world have been revived suddenly and when they were unexpected. This may be because in all probability Congress will agitate, if it does not take action on, tho subject of control of “trusts,” at its coming session. Discussion on this topic would affect trust stocks adversely and through them all other stocks indirectly. Money is hardly as firm, although it is likely to be in good demand for several months, and banks do not make concessions readily. A smaller reserve is held by the Bank of England, but its minimum discount rate is not changed from 3 per cent. The prospect of shipments of gold to this country from Germany is spoken of there as a danger. America will sell large quantities of grain to Germany, where the crops are poor. Railroad earnings were ChlCflOO not unifol ' m, y E°od- Several * * western railroads in their latest returns failed to show so large increases as has been the rule lately. This is one of the first apparent effects of the shortage in the corn crop. Bank clearings are gaining generally. The weeLs record throughout the country amounted to $2,101,347,911, as compared with $1,600,941,217 for the corresponding week of last year. Business in Chicago, as indicated by clearings, is considerably larger than in 1900. The purchase of homes in and about Chicago by workingmen continues a feature of the real estate market. United States Steel interests are back of a consolidation of soft coal companies in the Virginia district. The anthracite situation is held well in hand by the strong combination now in consol. The largest company now owns about 63 per cent of the unmined anthracite coal in Pennsylvania, and advances in price are maintained firmly. The sugar trust is at war with the beet sugar refiners. Cattpn prices were higher on the poor reports of the" condition of the crop. .

WORLD’S WHEAT CROP LARGE

Kxcee Is that of Either of Two Precel* liiK Years. The Department of Agriculture announces that the three most important estimates of the world's wheat crop of 1901 so far made agree that the crop is larger than that of either of the two preceding years. The estimates follow: Hungarian ministry of agriculture, 2,671,360,000 bushels of sixty pounds; Beerbohm'a Corn List of London, 2,711,600,000 bushels of sixty pounds, and Bulletin des Halles of Paris, 2,790,310,000 Winchester bushels. Our department withholds its opinion as to the degree in which the world’s crop has been approximated in any of these estimates until a considerably larger number of official returns is available. The official Hungarian estimate says the crop exceeds last year’s by 209,881,000 bushels of sixty pounds, or by 212,430,000 Winchester bushels. According to Beerbohm the excess over last year's crop is 200,200,000 bushels of sixty pounds, and according to the Bulletin des Halles the excess is 136,777,000 Winchester bushels. The principal increase is credited to the United, States, Canada and India, though various other countries are credited with larger crops than they had in 1900. _ TREASURY BREAKS RECORDS. Bum of Available Cash Unequaled in World’s History. Nearly $1,250,000,000 is the enormous sum of money which the United States treasury has now in its possession. This is an aggregate of wealth never before equaled in the history of this or any other country. The exact total of the amount held by the treasury is $1,190,225,224. Ol! this sum $700,547,089 is held as a trust fund for the redemption of outstanding notes and certificates; the gold coin and bullion amounting to $150,000,000, constitutes the regular reserve fund; there is gold coin and bullion in the general fund to the amount of $73,399,276, or a total of $145,549,038, representing nil sorts of available notes and coin and $110,143,772 in national bank depositories. Included in the great governmental wealth is $534,000,000 in gold and $403,000,000 in silver, a pnrt of each being bullion and the remainder coin. The subsidiary silver coin held by the treasury amounts to $8,785,875. Fractional currency and minor coin aggregates more than $482,000. It is computed by treasury officials that at the end of this fiscal year, June 30 next, the government will have $70,000,000 left clear, after paying all running debts. The Australian House of Representatives has adopted a clause of the immigration bill prohibiting the entry into the commonwealth of anyone under contract to do manual labor. At Tunnelton, W. Va., F. L. Welcher, alleged anarchist, was given twenty-four hours to leave town, but twenty minutes was sufficient.