St. Joseph County Independent, Volume 20, Number 31, Walkerton, St. Joseph County, 23 February 1895 — Page 7

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CH APTER Xlll—Continued. “Oh, Rody, do not be hard upon me! I have nobody in the world to come to but yon. How am I to get rid of my husband? Not harming him—l'll not harm him—only let me escape from him. I will do it. and I'm right; your wife says so.” Roderick started. “Yes. she is quite right," said Silence, not lifting her eyes, but speaking as her husband knew she could speak sometimes, with unmistakable decision. “My wife is a daring woman to say such a thing.” "Am 1?” She looked up a minute with a quivering lip. and did not attempt to put back her _ „ hand, which he had let go, but folded her fingers together, after away she had. as if to give herself strength, when she had • any difficult or painful thing to do. “This is a very strange advice for my wife—l hope a happy wife—to give to my sister. Your reasons?” “They are not easy to explain, but I will try." Site stopped, then with tt firm, •clear voice went on again, "If Hella had only herseli to sacrifice she might do it, though I am not sure. It is a sin against heaven to condone sin, even in one’s own husband. But in this and similar eases a woman does not sacrifice herself alone, j There tire others upon whom the sins of i the father may descend, generation after i generation. Sho must think of them. I She is responsible to God for them. Ill; were in Bella’s place”—her voice sunk al- j most to a whisper; she turned deadly pale j and then flushed crimson all over her { face—“if 1 were in your sister’s place I ; would die rather than be mother to a ■drunkard's children.” There was a total silence. Bella, aecus- ; domed to make self the standpoint of all i her opinions and acts, perhaps could scarcely understand; but Roderick did. ; Startled he might be, yet there was something in his wife’s stern righteousness ' which he could not gainsay. As he looked i on that small, sweet face, so sweet, yet ■ so strong, he saw in her for the first time ; not merely his wife, but the woman, the I cojoint and yet separate existence, in- ‘ trusted by God and nature with far more ; than her own petty life, inheriting and : conscious that she inherited- the destiny 1 which came to her from sacred Eve. ; “mother of all living." Man as he was, with a man’s natural leaning to the masculine side, with a man's natural blindness to much that women see by instinct, still his wife's words smote him with a certain respect, even awe. That she had strength to say j them at all, she so timid, so shy, so roti- ’ —— rent, proved how deeply she must have thought and felt on the matter. “Dear.” he said, holding out his hand, ■“if all women were like you—especially if all sons had mothers like you there would be fewer bad men in this world." She answered nothing; but her whole face brightened in recognition of what is to women like her as sweet as being loved —honored. And so, without more arguments, all three seemed tacitly to accept the position which poor Bella had so fiercely insisted upon—that for her, married life, or rather that unholy travesty of marriage which had been her self-in-flicted doom, was over and done forever. “Let her live as a widow,” Silence said. “Her life is lost—l know that—but let the sacrifice end here. Let her not submit to be the ruin of some other lives.” “But she may be the ruin of her husband's whom she took ‘for better, for worse,’ How do you answer that?” Silence shrunk back, full of pain. “Oh. it is difficult, so difficult, to see the right: worse, perhaps, to do it. Still, still — No," and again the strong, clear Abdiel look came into her eyes—“no, there can be but one right and but one wrong alike for men and for women. She must leave him. Think, Roderick, if the case was reversed, if you, or any other husband, were expected to keep as mistress of your house, as mother of your children, a drunken woman.” “God forbid!” “Then men ought to forbid it, too. Drunkenness, dissoluteness, anything by which a man degrades himself and destroys his children, gives his wife the right to save them and herself from him, to cut adrift, like a burning ship, and be free. Poverty, contumely, loneliness —let her endure all. Pity her lot, if you will, but to ignore it, to accept it, and submit to it. above all. to let the innocent suffer from it —never! Bella tells me that the law gives her possession of her child for seven years. My advice is let her take it in iw^ arms ami tty—anywhere, so that K'nli* v^pnot cot her back, or make Nay. if I were she, I ^^^wourjSefy the law; I would hide myself at tbfJ world’s end, change my name, earn my ’*7^ad as a common working woman, but / tould save my child and go.” Aj£ -donee stood, holding close to her bre .^ <pe poor babe —she had fetched it, an/5 walking up and down the room w t ' I , ' 1 'for no one else seemed to have pf/ Vith the miserable, sickly, wailii g wj—she looked the very incarnation ■ manhood in its highest form — motherhood; absolutely calm, absolutely fearless, as mothers ought to lie. Roderick, touched with many new thoughts which come crowding to a man when he has ceased to be merely a young man, absorbed in himself alone,and begun to look into the far future, the future of those who may yet bless or curse him for his part therein —Roderick caught her arm as she passed and drew her to his side. “Perhaps you are right—l do not quite know. We must take time to think. But just at this moment you must give baby to its own mother and come and sit down by me. Remember, you are mine.” ‘“Yes.” She obeyed, apparently without a thought of disobeying, for the authority was that of love, and the voice, though decisive, was thrilled with unspeakable tenderness. “Mine!” Ah. she acknowledged the possession—the subjection. You could see by her look that she ivould

have served him like a slave; but only him, her just and righteous lord. Never for one moment would she have submitted to unrighteousness or to tyranny. “What a fierce little woman this is!” he whispered, with a smile. “I never could have believed it of her!” “Oh, forgive mo! It is because I am so happy so happy! that l ean understand what it must be to be miserable.” But Bella's misery, however deeply it had moved her sister-in-hiw, did not seem to have overwhelmed herself. She began talking over all her affairs, volubly and freely; silent endurance was not her gift. Once having got her brother to agree with her in the opinion which, at any rate, she i held to-day. though it might change tomorrow, she became quite cheerful, ami planned her future life as a “widow bewitched” with an eagerness that a little astonished Silence. It mamma would only give me some money, I could spend the summer in Switzerland, the winter in Paris. I always wanted to travel abroad for awhile; and ’ to be traveling without him. able to go ivhere I liked, and do what 1 wanted. <>h!"—a sigh of intense relief—"Rody, you must try and persuade mamma to give me plenty of money." \on forget ”he began, bravely. Dear me, yes! 1 hail forgotten nil about if. But never mind, Rody dear,” in a coaxing tone; “can't you [mt your wrongs in your pocket, and write to’ her ; for me? You always wrote such capital letteis, and sho would listen to you when she listened to nobody else. Iler only son - worth all her daughters [mt together at least she thought so. Come do it. This morning I objected to her being told where I was, but now I see it must be. ! Aon II save mo the trouble of it by writing to her yourself," I’oor Bella! Sin- was always ready to Inv her burdens upon anybody who was । willing to bear them. He knew that, and I yet when ho looked at her, ami heard her I 1 amiliar caressing voice, the good brother ; felt again like the little boy who had car- ; ried his big sister's pa reels, flowers, gar- ' . den tools, ('ven her doll sometimes, when I she got tired of it. "1 cannot write to my mother,” ho j said, with a sad earnestess; "but I will i telegraph to her in your name, saying I where you are, and that you wish to stay ! with me—you really do wish it? -till ; something can be settled between you I ami your husband- reconciliation or, if । it must be, separation." "Separation —only that; she says so," i cried Bella, al wavs ready lanoth< r peeui liarity how strangely, cruelly dear they | all came out now!) ready and eager to | lay the responsibility of her doings ami I opinions upon somebody else. | "What I say is.” Silence answered, ; "that if your husband is as bad as you ; aver, and if you have that hatred to him i which >ou profess to have, there is no i righteous course for you but separation, j But you must not wander about the world ias you propose. Live simply ami quietly. ■ Bo a real mother and lake care of your child. You can never be quite desolate : with a child.” Bella shrugged her shoulders. “You j have the most extraordinary ideas! But | you arc a good woman a very good woman. 1 shall tell mamma so. It shall ’ not be the worse for you to lune b< en ' kind to mo, my dear," she addl'd, with a i certain touch of feeling, and then plunged । back into her own affairs, which absorbed ■her so entirely, and which she expected ever} one else to lie absorbed in too. Ear into the night they talked, for Mrs. Alexander Thomson, who never rose early, was accustomed to sit up late; ami, besides, she seemed to take a certain satisfaction in discussing her misfortunes. It was like a person with an ugly wound, : or a remarkably severe illness, who at last comes even to take a sort of pride in the same. The self-respect, the reticence, the silence of a broken heart, was not hers at all, though unquestionably she had been a cruelly wronged woman. Taking advantage of her lolly, worldliness, and love of wealth and position, her hus- ■ band's family had married him to her. ■ just to shift from themselves the burden ; of him —a man who, as she truly said, ; "wanted a keeper" rather than a wife. She had walked into the snare, open-eyed, but it had been a snare nevertheless; and ■ Roderick, as he heard her revelations, j felt his blood boil with righteous indignation, that instinctive chivalry in defense | of the injured and weak, which if every strong man felt as he ought t > feel there , would be no need for feeble n '.men to vex the world with clamors about their rights or their wrongs. The truly noble ! of either sex never care to put forward either the one or the other. While Bella talked, Roderick and his wife were almost entirely silent; and ' when, afterward, day after day passed i by, and no answer came to the telegram, i or to a second, which, weary of waiting, . she sent after it, still they made as few comments as possible on what now began seriously to perplex them both. Mrs. Thomson did not seem in the least perplexed. She'made herself extremely comfortable, without much regarding the comfort of other people, ex- j acted a great deal of attendance, and amused herself with suggesting many luxuries hitherto unknown at Blackball. “No, there’s no fear of my husband’s coming to fetch me,” she said one day, in answer to a question of Roderick's. “He is a Richerden man all over—hates the country; would never face a Highland pass in winter, and if he came he would run away again. You haven’t big enough rooms or grand enough dinners for him. By-the by, Blackhall is rather a cold ; house, Silence, and a little gloomy, you'll ; allow. You ought to keep up good fires, ■ and I think, if I were you, I would have j entirely new curtains and carpets before | next winter.” Silence smiled. It was one of those 1 I numerous little remarks which she had already learned quietly to smile at without showing offense, even if she felt any. As days sped on, the constant presence ' of an idle woman in a busy house, had, to say the least, its difficulties. The mas- ' ter did not feel them —his wife took care of that—but the mistress did. Many a time would Roderick notice how tired she looked, and why was it so? Had she not Bella to help her? —women were always company for one another at home, while the men were away. His wife’s only answer was that silent smile. The fact that her guest was his sister tied her tongue, : even with her own husband. “It is not for very long,” she said every morning to herself, and went through the day’s work as well as she could. At

night she would often creep away, lent," ng the brother and sister together, and mount to the attic (which Bella had in sisted should be made into a nurseryßl “because there one can’t hear the litthrf wretch crying”), to sit with the child u her lap—the ugly, elfish, troublesome * child, doomed to disease and weakne^ j from its cradle—and wonder with ar ( agony of pity how it would fight throug] life, or whether, after all, God’s merej might not be best shown by taking i| back again out of a world where nobodj wanted it, and into which it had nevet asked to be born. A great mystery, which none can solve. She and Bella were always friendly, even affectionate, in a sort of way; but nevertheless she often felt weary, so weary; like a person who had to speak all day Img in a foreign tongue. At least such was the moral effect of her sister’s companionship. The two women might have been brought up in two hemispheres. Their \ iews of life were so altogether different that they could not understand one another's language at all. Still, this must he borne; and it was borne. Things might I have been a great deal worse. I * >nly n hen she hi aid her husband's rest- I less call for her all over the house, and I noticed a nervous irritation in him when- I ever lie was left long alone with his sister, I Silence began to wish for some sign of i their suspense being over. Evidently i both husband and mother had discarded] the runaway wile, either on her own ac-j count or that of her brother with whoind she had taken refuge. ' "We row in the same beat now, Rod<.’3 Bella said one morning, when the seventh day's )>ost had gone by. “1 don’t care; dol .von? Clearly you will have to adopt as * waifs and strays both me and the child. | 1 11 call it after you, ‘Roderica,’ or per- I haps ‘Silence,’ ” "No, not Silence,” he answered, hastily. | "1 beg your pardon, but there can be only ' one Silence in the world for me,” taking ■ lovingly his wife's hand. “Advise with | her. Bella; she will bo sure to suggest the i wisest and best thing.” But wlu n the sisters-in-law talked things i over, which they had full opport unity of ; doing, for a deep fall of Christmas snow ; shut them in, and made Blackball im- । liregnalde e\ n to more courageous and ’ less luxurious folk than Mr. Alexander , Thomson, they came to no satisfactory ; conclusions. Though strong on the ques- I lion <>t her wrongs, and her correspond- , ing rights. Mrs. 'Thomson seemed to have ; a very feeble idea of her duties. To any • coirse which involved the slightest trouble, or exertion, or self-denial, she always offered innumerable mild but in- i surmountable objections. "It's all very tine to tel) me that if I cut my husband adrift, and refuse to live with him. I can't expect him to maintain me, and must maintain myself; how can I maintain myself? It isn’t genteel for women to work, and it isn't pleasant, either. You talk of independence and nil that, and the comfort my child will be to mo; Imt 1 don't like children; ami l‘m i sure. Silence. I shall never enjoy being < poor. \on know" she glanced round the old !ashioned room, and helped herself with an air of exemplary condeseeusion to the best dish of that meal which had been considered dinner, Imt which she always called lunch "you, my dear, who have always been accustomed to that sort i <d thing, may find it easy, but I should not." "No," said Silence, absently. She was I thinking, not of herself, but of her hus , band of his long, hard-working days sjumt at the mill, amid surroundings not ' too pleasant ami with the perpetual whir I ; of machinery in his ears; and to sensitive organizations incessant noise is of itself a torment almost indescribable, though unexplainable to those who do not understand this. 11 • did. and fell it. too. yet he never complaim-I. Even m>w. as Si- ' h lice watched him come up the brae, with somewhat lagging ste|is. she knew he would enter with a cheerful face, and when he had "put off the mechanic, and put on tiie gentleman." as lie said, laughing. one day to Bella, be his own tender sell to both of them. Eor the common notion that a man may justifiably vent all Ids business worries on his womankind at home did not seem as yet to have occurred to Roderick dardine. Whatever i vexed him out-of-doors, in doors he was always the kind, pleasant master and husband always, under all circumstances, [ the gentleman. "Yes 1 like my work." he answered, ; wht'n his sister inquired about it, which ; she rarely did, evidently considering it a topic which had better be ignored. “Ami l like working. < >nee. Bella. I was a great idler, and she has cured me of that. If 1 had ten thousand a year even. 1 could ■ never could be idle any more. (To be continued.) Necessity of Composure. One thing that, if not a necessity, is at hast conducive to comfortable living, is hardly appreciated even by those who most need it. This is the need of j ; having some time each day entirely i alone. It is impossible to live comfortably without composure of mind, and ; there is no way of securing it so surely as to spend a short time each day (and I a long time is even better) in silence, and free from interruptions. It is sooth- ! ing to tired nerves, and strengthening to a tired mind. The person who does not like to be alone, who does not even 1 strongly desire to be alone once in a while, is already on the high road to- j ward ill-health. It is the only way to . have relief from the confusion of al- ' ways being in some one’s presence, which will, sooner or later, either as- ; feet the nerves or weaken the mind. AVherever, or however, you live, then, see to it that you have at least one hour out of every twenty-four that you can call your own. Some busy people may tit first think this is impossible; but we ; rarely find anyone who does not waste ' more than this every day, and who is not the worse off for the waste. The j ; very act of taking this hour strengthens ! the will and adds that much to the com- ; fort of living, since a xveak-willed per- • son is at the mercy of everything and i every person that encroaches upon his rights; and not the least of these is the ; right to live a healthy, comfortable life. I When Talk Is Idle. The question “Should wives obey their husbands?" is settled in very i summary fashion by a woman corre- j spondent: “They don't, they won't, and you can't make ’em; so what's the use of bothering?” Probably the oldest bicycle rider in - the world is a New York woman who celebrated her 93d birthday recently by } giving a picnic, to which she and her i friends rode on bicycles.

THE SUNDAY SCHOOL. I ' THOUGHTS worthy of calm Reflection. a Pleasant, Intcreating, and Instructive Lesson, and Where It May Be lound-A Learned and Concise Review of the Same. Lesson for Feb. 2-1. , T y xt T" l um the Iji ght of the world. ’—John 9: 5. n/i'Ti’ 088011 week is taken from John '’, Y’ * ln< ^ h'Us of the meeting of Christ and the man born blind. At the mouth of the lyropocon, southeast of the city of Jerusalem, lay a pool of water, clear and beautiful, called Siloam. One day its depths were strangely stirred. A group came from the direction of the sacred city, moving swiftly and leading one who jin his numifest blindness, even seemed I more eager and rapid in his movements j than those about him upon whom he was Iso dependent. A moment only they puusjed upon the brink and then, plunging in, ■the blind man was washing his eyes with Vhelturbid water. Suddenly he pauses »nd throws up his face toward the skv, ■ then with a swift hungry glance about [him he has leaped without taking the Kinlping hands held out to him. out from water and up the rocks toward the "He sees.” they cry, “he Iris the only word they speak, as whey hastened wondering after him. Some inmeh scene as this must have been eniiacted on that day wht'n Jesus met and Ikenk'd the blind man of whom our les- : s<>n speaks. Hints and Illustrntions. This chapter may be miule the basis of a profitable parlor recital of a devotional I sort. We have our Browning recitals; why not a Bible recital? Before us on I some Slips of paper, recalling to us an interesting exercise, by which th'.G f’erip- ■ ture was once made vivid to the mind ‘ and vital to the heart. It was a rainy i night, and the members of the little ' prayer im'eting dn the delightful "New ‘ Smyrna" days) were gathered about the shore. Anticipating a small attendance, and a kind of "Round table" interview, the pastor had divided up the eluqiter , ticeording to the dramatis personae. They are five in number: Jesus, the blind man, tlie Pharisees, the parents ami the ueigM Lors. The slips of paper were labeled rej sportively with these names, ami the Scripture parts appropriate ami passed around. For exanq>|e: The pa[>er marking tin' blind man's part had noted upon it verses 9, 11. 12. 17 (pt.). 25, 27. 3o 33. 3t» mid 3S. The Pharisees, <>n the other l and, verses. 10. 17 (pt). 19. 24, 2(‘>, 28, 29. 31, It). Tim intel spaces were tilled by the pastor. It proved a Bible reading <>f n most stimulating ami fruitful sort. > It is wonderfully thrilling this Gospel story, if only it be allowed to speak itself to us in a grai'hi.- or realisti" way. When classes are in separate rooms, or at home ;u the family it might be tried with profit. For aid in sm h presentation we append the other parts, ns hastily outlined on the slips of j>aper, Jesu.-; vs. 3-5, 7, 35, 37, 3!>. H. Neighbors: vs. S. 9 (pt.), 10, 12. parent': 2<>. 21, 23. Introduction ami dunm'ction of passages by the teacher. i iZuother practical suggestion. There is .'i^’ sson here on the use of means. The rthun'li that puts itsi If in the line of the djvine blessing is th<' < Imrch that is blest. That is. get nil the departments of the (liuroh into operation ami then expect God’s vi-i'ati-n along those lines. kt iiuty hi' very simpl" working, but it shows a readiness to be hel[n <l. And God loves i to come in such cases. It is the dry [[’ace set out for the dews of heaven. Just now seme of us are concerned about tin l boys. . who seem to be getting away from us, other wealthy eaablishmeiiis offering superior induct nc ijts in the way of accoutrements, etc., one of the unfortunate eoneomitnnts. sad to say, of recent effort in behalf of the boys. In such competition some of us w ould not dare, nor would we care to haxe a [>art. But (he general i thought is a good one ami the lads ought to be rallied and given something to do. Here is the way one church has adjusted itself to the situation. A competent com- ! mittee being appointed, the announcement ■ w as made that these brethren would meet i the boys of the school and confer with reference to a Boys’ Monday Night Club. Appeal was made to the motive of loyalty, and twenty lads responded the first night. Chairs and tables were re arranged and a part of the vestry of the church put ! into the form of a parlor for the boys, . where they had music, conversation, pictures, puzzles, etc. 'Three-quarters of an hour of that, then the same length of time given to Bible drill, "setting up” (calisthenic exercisi s», organiza: ion (their own), and the whole closing with a brief address i in some practical moral theme, all out at 9 o'clock. A Boys' Evening at the church. And then, right along with tins, a girls’ Monday afternoon at the church. Put it directly after school, say from 4 to 5 p. in. Have singing, a little marching, perhiqis, of a decorous, wholesome sort, a । story'or two, reports of some special work ! being done, suggestions regarding new » r-ram.s^^^l^^ehuri-h and the Sunday ""j” 1 f ',’ r I oX ° some good advice as to I q a prayer and a cordial goodi7ve. Surely tire hour will not be speir vainl^rJmd out of such simple meetings con .(^sometimes the best fruits and the : surest and safest accessions to our . churches. I Wh^ can tell the rapture of that first I moment of vision to the man born blind! , The bandage was taken off from the little boy’s eyes after the operation had fully ; done its work. For a moment he gazed about him, dazed and wonder-struck, then, hearing his mother’s voice saying, j “Willie, can you see?” he threw himself into her arms, crying, “0, mamma, is this heaven ?” it was another lad, a long lime blind, who, when he first saw the sky and the j earth, exclaimed. “O, mother, why didn't [ you tell me it was so beautiful?” Said | she, “I tried to tell you, dear, but you could not understand me.” Do we understand, and do we appreciate as we should? | Aud gratitude wrought rightly here, it ; brought the healed man to the Saviour's ! feet. A father whose eyes had long been ' sightless resorted to a great physician and I was at last made to sec. His first act ! was to call for his wife that he might 1 gaze upon her; then his children. But ; there he suddenly stopped. “And have : I forgotten the good physician who has i made such delights possible to me? Let me first see him and thank him for my sight.” Thank God, we see. — Next Lesson—“ The Raising of Laza- ; rns.” John 11; 30-15

INDIANA LEGISLATURE. a nti-pass-bill was before the House, । Friday. The committee on Rights and /u 1 Vuf re P° rted favor of the passage ot the bill, but Representative Moore moved its recommitment to the Committee on Railroads. After a heated debate it was so recommitted, by a vote of 48 to 28. The House passed the following bills: I loviding that railroad companies and street car companies shall not run their lines through cemeteries. Legalizing the incorporation of Grand View, Spencer i nunty, ami Alton, Crawford County. The BUI creating a Board of Park Commissioni en, for the city of Indianapolis was passed : under suspension of rules. The. military icorganization ' ^,ai>propriating iH5,000, was passed, , Dinwiddie’s prize-fight bill was ordei\ "grossed. I i |( Senate killed a couple of insurance ' bids bearing on what are known as valued policies. tec Se . nate l ieard and adopted Commit<i i< pmts ami then adjourned until Monday morning. Among the bills recommended for passage were the followingSenator Barnes’ bill to establish permam nt meruhan lines. The bill to reimburse. certain persons for diseased stock, killed by order of the State Loard of Health. Senator Crumpaekerks bill providing for a system of public parks in the citv of In(lianapolis. I lie lull of Senator Kern, providiim for ( the abolition of the general term of Sn- ! ]»crior Courts. Lx the House Monday the regular order ot business was bills on second reading. There was some discussion over House bill No. 318, for an act regulating the dog tax. 'The bill was passed to third reading. Among the other bills passed to third reading were the following: Touching the duties of township trustees; reorganizing the board of trustees of Purdue University: relating to the running at large of all kinds of animals; concerning the dimensions of gravel roads on which tolls are collected, providing that such roads shall be twelve feet wide and shall have gravel twelve inches deep; to authorize common councils to license vehicles: to regulate teaming and hauling over turnpikes; relating to the employment of teachers by township trustees. The Millet-Bowers contest from the joint representative district of Dearborn, Ohio and Switzerland counties was decided in favor of M iller. The following bills were introduced in the Senate: To prohibit the sal" of pernicious literature; a fee and salary bill; to provide for a waterway from Lake Michigan to the Wabash River, and to drain the Kankakee swamp lands: to protect persons who have been injured and have recovered a judgment therefor: to amend the laws concerning civil cases. The Senate passed the following bills Tuesday: Providing that fencing and drain tile shall be a lien on property; authorizing trustees of religious and charitable institutions to receive donations: providing that auditors of counties from which cases are sent on change of venue may make inquiry into bill of expenses charged; providing for the apointment of a food and dairy commissioner; declaring a road that has been used five years a pulilic highway; requiring railroads to build their tracks to a grade with tiie streets; placing the keys of the jury box in the hands of the jury commissioner ol opposite politics to the clerk; providing that tiie salaries of county commissioners in counties of 60,003 or over, shall I e $1,200 a .war: appropriation SIO,OOO annually to enable the state Board of Agriculture to pay premiums. The House adjourned at 3:30 o'clock to give (lie liepublican Representatives an,opportunity to attend the Lincoln League meeting. The bill prohibiting football and baseball on Sunday was engrossed. The bill requiring farmers to take out lieetise before selling produce in cities and towns was referred to the Committee on Rights and privileges, and thereby killed. The bill prepared by the Ways and Means Committee providing for the exemption of mortgage indebtedness from taxation to the amount of SSOO was amended to read SI,OOO, and was ordered to engrossment. The bill exempting SSOO indebtedness on personal property was also engrossed. Tiie House was engaged all day Wednesday on committee reports. The anti-rail-read pass bill of Representative Robinson was befcre Ihe House for an hour, and an effort was made to refer the bill to the Committee on Railroads, which would have meant its burial. The motion to refer was defeated by a close vote, and the bill was ordered to a second reading. The senate was engaged all day with bills on third reading. Tiie most important bill passed was the bill creating a firemen’s pension fund. The following bills werepass( (l: Providing for an attorney’s fee of not less than $5, to be paid by the defendant, where any citizen, mechanic, laborer, servant or other employe lias to sue for wages; Requiring township trustees to keep record of all persons to whom aid is , granted from public funds; providing that prosecuting attorneys may administer oaths in certain cases: providing that upon the petition of fifty-three holders the question of the construction of gravel or macadamized roads shall be left to a vote of the locality interested; authorizing county commissioners to purchase and hold for fair purposes fair grounds that have become encumbered with debt; providing for the issue of bonds for the purchase of lands and the erection thereon of school-houses. The Nicholson temperance bill was favorably reported from the House Temperance Committee, Thursday. Representative Nicholson wanted the constitutional rules suspended and the bill placed upon its passage. This caused a wrangle, and an attempt by Representative Holloway to stave off discussion until next Thursday. Representative Robinson's amendment to postpone until Tuesday finally prevailed. Representative Moore’s bill giving councils. tiie power so say where saloons shall be located and likewise the poxver to prohibit winerooms xvas also favorably adopted and the report adopted. The Raiiroad Committee made a favorable report on Representative McCaskey’s bill reducing the rate of railroad fare tc two cents a mile. In the Senate there was a discussion ovei Senator Shively's bill, which, permits a wife to become surety for her husband, and to make contracts, Ac. There were two reports. The majority report was adopted and the bill killed. Senator McDonald's Iroquois Gun Club bill, to amend the present law so that men can hunt on the marshes in the north part of the State, which is prohibited now, was reported favorably. There xvere two reports from the Committee on Education on Senator Newby's bill requiring instructions in public schools concerning the effects of stimulants and narcotics. The minority report, favoring the passage of the bill, was adopted.

INDIANA STATE NEWS. OCCURRENCES DURING THE PAST WEEK. An Interesting Summary ot the More Important Doings of Our Neighbors—Weddings and Deaths—Crimes, Casualtiesand General News Notes of the State. ilonsier Happenings Ei.wood planing mill plant is m ashes. Loss, SS,(KM). John Steinbki ner was found dead in his bed at Fort Wayne. Salem is talking of an electric railway between Salem and Seymour. Mus. Elenou Maxxvell, 76, early settler of Morgan County, is dead. Os the 55 inmates in the St. Joseph County Asylum, eight ar women. Clay Couvty sold $25,000 worth of jail bonds, lately at a premium of $6lB. There are two cases of glanders in Needham Township, Johnson County. The Good Citizenship League of Anderson is making war on the slot machines, r* Mrs. T. G. Ewing, a wealthy lady of Seymour, slqqied and fell on the porch at her home, and broke her left arm at the shoulder. A th<»ii<>i*<iii hwcsl’dis l>cin«xma'le of the Eoust murder,at K\nn oo<l, •and it is wry probable that at least two more arrests will shortly be made. Three robbers entered J. E. Erwin's drug store at Logansport, while the proprietor was alone, arid robbed him of SBO. The men were captured at Camden. Charles Fraker, who shot his rival, Frank Richards, from ambush in Harrison County, .sometime since, was sentenced to two years in the pen, at New Albany. The collector of internal revenue. Jump, of Terre Haute, has appointed Ford Baler, of^ullivan County, and AV. D. Bryant of Enil ftjK^deputies oil the income tax. Chaklesl'onnor, son of M. A. Connor, living east of Crawfordsville, xvasseriously injured by a half dozen horses rushing out of a barn and over his body. He is expected to die. Tin: Masons of Anderson and the Anderson Building and Loan Association have joined in an enterprise to erect one of the largest business blocks in the gas belt. It will cost $40,000. Extensive preparations are being made at South. Bend for ti e entertainment of the Indiana teachers, wlio will hold a three days' session there the first week in April. One thousand teachers are expected. □ Charles, the 6-year-old son o^John 7q7p77f"Neh : ~Albany, was left alone at home and was burned to death. The child’s clothes caught lire from a grate and he xvas horribly burned before neighbors could render assistance. Rhineheart Smith of Elxvood, xvas out gunning, and by some unknown means his gun was discharge'll and the load passed through his right wrist. The xvrist xvas so badß shattered and mangled that amputation was necessary. Elxvood lias so far this xvinter had no need of a charity mission of local citizens to care for the poor, as there are very f*w cases of destitution reported, and these are being cared for by the different churches and fraternal societies. The annual report of County Superintendent Shaw shoxvs an enrollment in the public schools of Shelby County of 8,868 children and an attendance of 4.448. In Shelbyville the enrollment is only 1,461 and the attendance 934. Loris Boger, a xvealthy farmer residing in Noble Township, Shelby County, xvhile cutting wood severed his right foot at the ankle with the ax Theman fell unconscious to the ground, and when found a half hour lalci was almost frozen. Webster Doi gherty, one of tiie bestknown and brigl Test Fort Wayne newsboys, was killed recently. He attempted to run across Lafiay ette street between detached parts of a train and xvas caught between the cars. A few xveeks ago Albert Frazier of Muncie, xvas married,, and in the delirium of his joy he treated all his friends to cigars. Two of the recipients happened to be minors and the grand jury indicted him. He xvas released upon a petition signed by the citizens. The elevator in the .Shelbyville furniture factory of Stbxvart & Blakely' fell two stories xvith bookkeeper B. A. Harding and an employe named Wood. Both xvere badly in jured by being buried under some table leaves which toppled ox er at the same time. The little town of Jonesboro, Grant County, some time ago. struck mineral xvater similar to that at Martinsville andnoxv has a new phenomenon in the shape of a, hot xvater xvell. The xvater is too hot to drink and on striking the cold air sends up a great volume of steam. At Jeffersonville, Judge Gibson granted a divorce to Mrs. Anna Fineberg from her husband Abr: ham. The proceedings occupied just seven minutes. The court officials claim that is the shortest time on record in xvhich the proceedings of a divorce suit xvere consummated and tiie divorce granted. John Ripley, of Burlington, la., a brother of Superintendemt, Ripley, of the Cosmo Buttermilk soap factory, of Valparaiso, was seriously injured by the falling of the factory elevator. He xvas on the third floor and took the freight elevator to descend, xvl on the mooring gave xvay, letting Ripley and the platform drop to the first floor, a distance of fifty-five feet The xvill of Gen. M. D. Manson has been admitted to probate. He absolutely gives to his wife all his property, personal and real, xvith poxver to do as she desires xvith it. In case she dies xvithout disposing of all the property it is to be divided equally between his children, taking into consideration xvhat sums he has advanced to them. Mrs. Manson is named as the executrix. Frederick Nipple, a prominent farmer living three miles south of Delphi, xvas hunting rabbits xvith his 13-year-old boy. Both xvere armed xvith shotguns, and both discovered a rabbit at the same moment. As the boy, in his excitement, brought his gun to his shoulder his finger accidentallytouched the trigger too soon, and the contents of his gun were discharged into the body of his father, causing instant death. The firm name of Wadsworth & Kessler, publishers of the Laporte Argus, xvill undergo a change in the near future, the latter having sold his interest in the paper to D. L. Wa isxvorth, son of the senior member of tine linn. The transfer, howexer, xvill not occur until April 1. One of die largest deliveries of timber in a single day in this State occurred in Decatui the other day. Sixty-five teams delivered to the m Ils of I’. W. Smith & Co. ove; 81,000 feet of oak and hickory timber, log measure. They came in one continues train, each driver bearing aloft the Amcrica i flag, and xvere headed by the city band,.