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CHAPTER in.
Whether or not malevolent spirits have
power of interference in human affairs
is an open question; but certain it is
that, to prima facie view, events can at
times arrange themselves with a malig
nant disregard of individual needs and
deeiree which would leave nothing to the
Invention off the most perverse devil the
imagination could conjure up. Also
certain is it that everlasting truths anent
the inexorable interplay of siircumstance
and environment and the tq oration of
unchangeable laws fail of the recogni
tion and reverence they merit when in
terplay and action combine to knock the
foundations from under a man’s per
sonal calculations. And the individual
thus stranded is a good deal more apt to
blaspheme like r stevedore than to ac
cept the si Hiatt on like a rational and
scientific gentleman.
The train which left Matoacea at 4:30
pulled into the little mountain station
at 10:55, when, according to a perjured
schedule, it should have lxv-n there at 1C
sharp. There was o reason that Royal
conld -discover fqr .such flagrant breach
of contract save the unhastefulneM of a
single track road with no competition
and few connections. Passengers, em
ployes and even the engine appeared can
tent to take it easy over the mountains,
and when Royal in a frenzy of impatience
entered protest he was met by the con
doctor with intolerable good humor and
the assurance that matters might bf
much more unsatisfactory.
4ftQ' -
ijjr
Anti recef red from the hands of a whit*
haired gentleman his unknown bride.
“We used to aim to be on time,” tht
official observed cheerfully, “but these
here grades are tremenjeous heavy, an
the curves sharper ’n common. The
Iliad coach jumps the track once in a
while if she ain’t humored, an’ it takes r.
darned sight longer to h'ist her hack
with fence rails 'en it does to run keer
ful.”
“The schedule oughtn’t to say one
thing and the road do another.” re
baked Royal. “It’s an imposition on
the public."
“Well, it don’t look considerate," ac
quiesced the conductor, then added, with
the esprit de corps of all railway men.
“We do make it most in general. Some
times, like today, we gets bothered. It
don’t happen tnore’n once a fortnight
we lose over fifteen or twenty minutes.”
He walked away with uplifted
shoulders, which gave to the back of his
coat an expression of protest against in
temperate haste. And Royal, as though
that could expedite matters, established
himself on the platform.
He was vexed and tormented by a de
lay which threatened shipwreck to his
scheme by depriving him of the time
necessary for explanations and readjust
ments. His sympathy and interest had
become so involved that he had come tc
feel a personal pride in carrying the af
fair through to a successful issue—tc j
feel that he had heralded himself to en- j
ter the lists against caprice and injus
tice, and was iu danger of failure, not
through lack of prowess, but through
extraneous and exasperating circum
stances. So completely did the matte!
absorb and possess him that obstacles,
instead of daunting his resolution and
causing him to reconsider the situation,
only aroused and concentrated his forces
as though they had been obstructions in
the path of his individual hopes and
fortune.
He was anxious also about the patient
he had been compelled to leave in the
care of an inexperienced young fellow,
downy with graduation honors aud soli
confidence, whom he had picked up in
the office of the hotel. The case was si
Berions that the least mismanagement
might precipitate the result.
Held aloof by preoccupation. Royal
failed to appreciate or even note the
grand uplifting of the country round
about, the exquisite tracery of the win
ter forest, the delicate hue of the sky.
or the wonderful harmony of tone given
by the shading of earth and rocks, tree
stems and fading vegetation. Even the
quick leap of a brook escaped him. and
the grace of the curve with which, like a
queen’s obeisance to a rival power, it
turned aside from the embankment of
the railway and pursued its lovely, mur
murous journey down the mountain
Higher up the road ran at the foot of
cliffs covered with laurel and scrub pin<
and cedar, whose gray bowlders jutted
up through dark mold and the brown
ness of fallen leaves, relieved and bright
ened here and there by patches of par
t ridge berry and teaberry vines, whicl
grew low, and showed vivid scarle
against dark green, where birds am
rabbits had left the fruit ungathered
Against the rocks, in sheltered nook
where the wind could not despoil then
were tong traits or Dramme .vines anu
poison oak holding bunches of dark pur
ple berries and tufts of crimson leaves.
Through a long cutting, whose sides
showed* the presence of iron ore, the
train steamed out into a broad valley,
and drew up at .a small station with de
ceitful briskness and a self laudatory
whistle of accomplished duty. Royal
lost no ti me in transferring himself and
his impatience to the station platform.
“Anybody here for Dr. Royal?"
The question was impersonally ad
dressed to a little knot of loungers, and
Royal panned for a reply, wondering
what the dickens he should do if thrown
oil his own resources.
A thickset man in a gray overcoat
copiously patched with blue—a relic of
secession reconstructed—advanced to
meet him.
“You’re Dr. Royal yerse’f, I reckon.
Ain’t you?” he questioned.
Royal nodded and the man extended
his hand with great cordiality.
“Done forgot me, I reckon, doctor, but
I ain’t forgot you. We all used to hunt
an' fish together back yonder befo' you
went to school. My name's Jim Dodson;
that’ll fix you, I reckon. Hurry right
along. You ain’t got time to talk now,
I know, an’ we’ll hitch up them six
years arter a while. Como this a-way.
Squire Brandon eont the buggy, an’ Spot
driv; but that mar’ o’ liis’n can’t abide
engines, not her she don’t like strangers,
so Spot he hilt her here behind the depot
an’ axed me to look out fur yap.”
He tilted up his hat brim and cast an
observing eye skyward. Royal per
ceived the man’s mistake, but had not
time to rectify it. Behind the station
stood a buggy, mud splashed and untidy,
but strong and serviceable; between the
shafts was a dark bay with a good deal
of white to her eyo and apparently con
siderable go in her. A gentlemanly lad
of fourteen or thereabout stood at her
head and glanced anxiously toward the
train. At sight of Royal his counte
nance cleared and ho accosted him
cheerily:
“All right, doctor! How are you?
Jump right in. 1 thought judgment day
would beat that train coming. Hallo!
L forgot about the accident! Here, Jim,
stand by her head, please, while I help
Dr. Royal in. Wtr’ve got to make tracks.”.
“You have that!” observed a bystander.
The whole group had followed Royal
round the station, and appeared fully*
aware of tho situation and deeply inter
ested in it.
Bilk-1 with amusement, and feeling
hypocritical, Royal declined the boy’s
proffered shoulder and took his place in
the buggy. Spotswood sprang in beside
him, gathered up tho reins, and they
were off, followed by a snout from Jim
Dodson:
“Make her everlastin’ toddle, Spots
wood! The sun’s a-clamborin’ up to’arils
the j’ist mighty rapid. If you don’t step
out peart, 12 o’clock will ketch you-all
gwine.”
“I reckon not,” the hoy shouted back.
“Clipper knows how to travel.”
Then he turned with a reassuring air
to Royal: “Don’t you fret, doctor. We’ll
make it, now I’ve got you behind Clip
per. I shook in my shoes though awhile
back, that confounded train dawdled so.
It looked like fate was dead against you.”
“Why don’t somebody report those
trainmen?” demanded Royal, still in
censed over the delay and longing to
punish somebody.
The boy laughed. . “Where’s the use?”
he demanded in his turn. “They’ve got
a monopoly, and complaints would go in
at one ear and out at the other. They
aren’t often so much behind as they were
today though, and 1 don’t wonder you
wanted to lay on the whip. We’d have
made better time from the station on
horseback, but Phyllis was afraid the
ride would knock you up. The road isn’t
bad, however, and we can make it driv
ing if we look sharp.” He whistled to
his horse and touched her lightly with
the whip.
“How far is it?” Royal questioned,
glancing at his watch.
“Half an hour's drive to the house,
and fifteen minutes to the church—for
Clipper,” the boy replied concisely. “The
road's been altered since you used to
know it, 1 reckon; but you’ll remember
where the church is—the one Miss Royal
built just after she came to the old
place in memory of John Hart. She's
buried there, you know, under that big
oak near the vestry window. She told
Phvl once, a long time ago, that she
wanted her to be married there. Phyl
has been with us ever since Miss Royal
died, but the church is close by and
mighty convenient. Phyl wanted to be
married from the old place, but my
mother wouldn't hear of it. The house
has been shut up for nearly four months,
you know; it’s bound to be damp and
stuffy.”
“Where are you going now?” Royal
questioned, the demand for new plans
making itself disconcertingly apparen i.
“Straight to the church, if the train
w;ts on time I was to drive you out
home; if it wasn't, right to the church.
Phyl and the rest will meet you there.”
The road had entered a skirt of woods,
and was firmer and more free from ruts
and mad holes. Clipper responded to
the improvement in a style which won
Royal's admiration. Young Brandon
listened with the air of personal merit
mingled with assumed deprecation with
which the creature masculine always
hearkens to praises of his horse. He was
in nigh feather, filled with pride in his
mission, and chatted away merrily. His
father—old Squire Brandon, as he was*
jailed—had intended meeting the train
mmself, bnt bad been preventeu at trie
last minute. Just the scurvy sort of
trick fate had been playing John Royal
all through, the sick man’s representa
tive thought, as he heard it. Here was
more time irrevocably wasted, for it
wonlfl l>e useless explaining matters to
this boy.
The boy meanwhile, considering him
self, evidently, not a deputy to be de
spised. put his horse along with a deft
avoidance of stones, mud holes, and
other impedimenta which to Royal, un
accustomed to mountain roads, seemed
little short of marvellous. He increased
Royal’s fierplexity, too. with every word
he uttered, and with every intention of
being agreeable forced more and more
absolutely upon that gentleman the con
sciousness that things were at a deadlock.
“It was all right about th license,”
Spotswoo l gleefully assured him. “Tom
had attended to that: Tom was to be
best man, as lie doubtless lfhew. The
preacher would be up to the notch also:
Uncle Jeff—Miss Royal’s old carriage
driver—had gone for him at daybreak.
The wedding was everybody’s wedding,
Phyl said. And it looked like it; for
the whole neighborhood wanted to take
a hand. Phyl waa mighty popular, and
then jKXiple felt so sorry for her.”
Royal, curiously enough, felt nettled
through all his perplexity, and then re
alized with an inward touch of amuse
ment that he was appropriating not only
John Royal’s position, but what might
naturally lie John Royal’s feelings under
the circumstances.
At a point where the road forked yonng
Brandon suddenly drew up his horse and
handed the reins to hi 9 companion.
“Hold"her a minute, please.” he said,
and faced about to the wood on the right,
put both hands to his mouth, and gave
vent to a long drawn eddying howl.
which echoed and re-echoed among the
trees with a peculiarly penetrating ca
dence. It was like nothing which Royal,
for all his experience of Indians, * ‘loa vers”
and coyotes, had ever heard in his life
before, and. had lie but known it, was
simply a differentiation of the old “rebel
yell,” still used among the mountains as
a signal.
In a second it was answered, and the
lad dropped back to his seat and put out
his hand for the reins.
“What was that for?" demanded
Royal, feeling that ho was getting all of
adventure he could possibly desire.
Spotswood laughed, and turned his
horse into the road to tho left. “To let
’em know it’s all right and we’ve gone
on to the church,” he explained. “We
were afraid something might happen to
prevent your coming, in apifco of what
you wrote Phyl. And it wouldn't have
done for her to go to the church and no
wedding after all, yoT know. She’d
have been mortified, even if you couldn’t
help it. Women are different from ns,”
with protective assumption. “Their
fir din gs have got to be all - -ved for. Tom
and I put up that job. He had a little
nigger on horseback in the woods there,
and when 1 whooped he was to gallon
back to the house and tell ’em. There’s
a short cut that way. If you hadn’t
come I'd have howled twice. They'll get
to the church almost as soon as we will.”
The lad's consideration touched Royal.
In his frontier exp..-nonce the life had
been too free from conventionality, and
human interpondence had been too read
ily and practically recognised, for him to
wonder over the interest these people ap
peared to take in each other's concerns
and the trouble they voluntarily put
themselves to in each other's behalf.
That seemed to him legitimate and nat
ural, but at the same time it increased
the difficulty of the position. In their
love and care for the girl these people
would doubtless demand not only elab
orate explanation of his plan, but some
sort of credentials for himself bpfore they
would allow so unprecedented a thing as
a marriage by proxy to take place. The
bucolic mind did not assimilate ideas
readily, nor was it avid of experiment.
And what could they know of the an
guish, the insistence of the poor fellow
dying down there in Matoacca? If only
he had time to make them feel the pathos
of those last words John Royal had ut-'
tered as they shook hands ere his own
departure: “Man, see to it that you do
your work well! I’m trusting with you
what I value more than life. Don’t fail
me! Help me to save her from poverty
—from dependence.”
They seemed to ring in his ears, to
beat on his heart, to grasp and hold and
compel him like sentient things.
He looked at his watch. Three-quarters
of an hour to expound his scheme, com
bat objections, satisfy curiosity, allay
scruples and get through the marriage
ceremony. It could not be done. No
thought of abandoning his plan crossed
his mind; he simply readjusted it. He
would marry the young lady first and
make the explanation afterward. So far
he had been accepted as- John Royal's
self instead of John Royal’s representa
tive —any changes in appearance appar
ently accounted for by the lapse of six
years in intercourse. He must carry out
the deception until the ceremony should
hav(j been performed, after which, of
course, must come the explanation. The
spirit of adventure was strong in him,
and he was conscious of the thrill an
act4r knows when his cast is on the
razor edge between success and failure,
and may be made or marred by an ex
pression or a gesture.
The lad, busy with his horse and in
tent on speed, was silent. Tie* road left
the woods and emerged on to a lovely
plateau, gently rolling and studded with
groups of superb trees—pak, hickory,
maple and sweet gum. It was sheltered
by hills and carpeted with short gras a
which showed green even in December.
Near the center, amid a clump of oaks,
stood a quaint, picturesque stonechurch
with i tom ted windows and ivy covered
walls. It was inclosed by a stone fence,
and the space inside was evidently used
for a burying ground. Under the trees,
outside the inclosare, a spring gushed
forth, near which were racks for horses
and a place where the animals might
drink. Royal noticed several vehicles,
spring wagons mostly, standing about,
and horses, a dozen or so, some tied to the
racks aqd some to swinging limbs, ac
cording ;is their dispositions were sedate
or nervous.
Spotswood drove round to a side gate,
and a negro came and took the horse.
He looked smiling and important, and
bowed affably to Royal, half extending
his hand, which Royal grasped and cor
dially shook, not knowing him, of course,
but dissembling.
“Many folks inside. Uncle Jeff?” the
boy questioned, indicating at the same
moment by a gesture to his companion
the spot where Miss Royal had been
buried.
“Tol’r’hle smart, sir; de body’s fullin'
up, an’ dar’s a right smart sprinklin’ in
de gall’ry. Dar come mo’ folks now.
Dry been practisin’ de music over, sir,
an’ hit soun’ mighty pretty an’ cou
solin’.”
This last was addressed to Royal, who
dumbly felt that before he should get
through with the affair he might be in
need of consolation.
In the vestry they were received by
two gentlemen who were introduced by
Spotswood us his brother Tom and the
Rev. Carter Braxton. Both men shook
hands with Royal with enthusiasm, and
Tom Brandon helped him off with his
overcoat, remarking that be “looked a
trifle off color, but on the whole fitter
than they had expected.”
Royal, who felt that twenty-four sleep
less hours, two sketchy and insufficient
meals and a tremendous strain of anx
iety and excitement lay between his pres
ent self and the man who boarded the
train so tumultuously the day before,
did not wonder that he should look his
part at least sufficiently to pass muster.
With the climax so close upon him a
strange, still, all powerful excitement
seized on Royal and thrilled through
every nerve and tissue like an electric
current. Elis pulses quivered, his heart
beat thick and rapidly and the blood rose
to his brain. He replied to their inquiries
like a man in a dream, and was conscious
of a vague sense of confus T identity.
As he stood before the mirror, placed in
a comer for clerical convenience, he
caught himself dimly questioning his
own existence as apart from the existence
of that other John Royal, dimly seeking
to identify his own features with those
of the man from whose sick bed he had
come. Life and circumstance for the
time became unreal to him, and he ac
cepted the sequence of events as imper
sonally as a somnambulist could have
done. Individual will seeme l, as it were,
in abeyance, held under and dominated
by a force with which it was powerless
to cope. He seemed himself, and yet
other than himself, more than himself.
The minister in his robes stood, book
in hand, within the chancel rail; the
wedding march burst forth with joyous
invitation; a group of black coated men
and maidens all in white came up the
aisles, crossed each other and ranged
themselves about the chancel. And
Royal, still like a man in a dream, ad
vanced from the vestry door with Tom
Brandon at his side, and received from
the hands of a white haired gentleman
the lace enveloped figure of his unknown
bride. Her hand lay on his arm, the
folds of her shining robe brushed against
him, the lace which covered her droop
ing head almost touched his shoulder,
but he did not look at her nor manifest
by so much as the quiver of a muscle
consciousness of her proximity. His in
dividuality seemed lost, merged in that
of tho man whose part he liad assumed.
His imagination was strained, his pulses
heat with excitement, but his brain was
clear, his perceptions preternaturally
acute. lie could hear the snap of a
watchcase somewhere among the au
dience, and the stamping of the horses
outside distinctly through the rhythm of
the music. The interest of the specta
tors thrilled him, but failed to renew
recognition of being other than he
seemed.
Then, amid the hush which followed
the cessation of the music, came the
minister’s solemn statement of the pur
pose for which the people were there as
sembled, and his impressive charge to
them that if any man knew aught which
should prevent this union he should set
it forth, followed by the pause which is
so seldom broken. Then, in tones that
sounded in his ears as the voice of an
other man. Royal found himself repeat
ing words which, with the strange sense
of duality which oppressed him, seemed
to bind him, as well as that other, to
the woman beside him as with bands
of steel; and when, her answering vow
breathed forth, he received the ring, it
was as though another hand was with
his hand, guiding it as he placed the
circlet on her finger. And a terrible
sense of irrevocability and powerlessness
for a moment overwhelmed him, turn
ing him faint and sick, as one on whom
a heavy blow has fallen.
Then he realized that everything was
over, and that the people had glanced at
their watches for the last time and were
pressing forward with congratulations.
He moved aside and involuntarily took
out his own watch and noted the time.
It wanted ten minutes to 12.
[TO BK OONTINI'KD.]
Georgia Teachers Association.
To the teachers of Georgia: Com
plete arrangements having been
effected the association will meet
at Brunswick.
Opening exercises will take place
on Tuesday April 2Sth.
A rare opportunity is in store for
our teachers to combine profit and
pleasure at small expense. All rail
roads belonging to the Southern
Passenger Association have gran
ted a rate of one tare for the round
trip, and Brunswick offers free en
tertainment to all lady delegates.
All correspondence should be ad
dressed to the secretary at La-
Grange, Ga.
Very cordially yours,
W. R. Thigpen, President.
Savannah, Ga., Feb. 20, 1891.
WANTED.
The consent of 10,000 Smokers—to send
each, a sample lot of 150 “NICKEL”
Cigars and a 20 year gold filled Watch,
by express C. O. I). $5.25 and allow ex
amination. Havana Cigar Cos.,
feblg-st Winston, N, C.
THE TARIFF QUESTION.
Some Very Uunique and Interesting
Views of a Juvenile.
[Sallie Heyward in Agnetian Monthly.
Like a distinguished countryman
of ours I did not intend to say any
thing on the tariff, the great topic
of the day; I, too, intended to re
serve my sentiments on the sub
ject, not for amendment in the
committee, however, hut because
heretofore I feared that an express
ion of my opinion might make
known to the students of the senior
class, my ignorance which I am
forced to confess is very great. Hut
since I have heard and read the
thoughts of some of our eminent
speakers I have changed my mind,
and even regard it as ray indispen
sable duty as a citizen of the United
States and a native of dear old
South Carolina, to give my class
mates my opinions on this most im
portant question. Before going any
further I think it desirable that I
should say of which side of the de
bate I approve, for it may not a
little confuse my hearers to know
at what I am trying to arrive, my
command of language being under
the law of high tariff. This subject
of protection and non-protection
has been treated of by people of
I every station, but as yet no school
girl has voiced her sentiments in a
1 college hall before her enlightened
| companions, though indeed there
lias been enough of private squab
ble on the matter to bring to light
many brilliant points of discussi in.
It is my endeavor to put -before
1 my companions my personal oppo
sition to the tariff from this point
of view. What is a protective
tariff? Does it not bring to the
school-girl many intricate examples
in arithmetic, which otherwise
would never have been invented?
To prove this, I will give my own
experience, A problem on duties
and customs lost me half my marks
on my last examination paper.
Now, were it not for tariff, that ex
ample would never have found , its
way into tlie arithmetic, and’ 1
would now be richer in marks find
happier at heart. While reading
Mr. McKinley’s speech,‘l saw a
paragraph which he took from the
London Post, it was this: “If there
is any truth in figures it ought to
startle us from our free trade
dream.” I beg to make a slight
change in this remark for personal
application. If there is any truth
in the figures that I found at the
end of my examination papers, T
ought to be startled from my high
tariff dream.
We are told that tariff raised
wages, but my experience proves
that high tariff is not a blessing to
the poor or to laborers, for school
girls are laboring under great diffi
culties working in percentage so
long as tariff exists. A notable
reason why high tariff is not pro
fitable to school-girls is that it
raises the price of candy. Perhaps
my antagonist may advocate high
tariff on the plea that it prevents
eating of too much candy, and
therefore protects the girls from
getting sick and being unable to
devote themselves to study.
I will answer this objection by
stating that nowhere can it be
found in the record of the years of
free trade that there were any
more deaths from candy eating
than in tin- records of today. And,
O, dear me! fruit, that we would
otherwise receive in abundance,
and which physicians recommend
as being so wholesome, comes under
the same law as candy. But though
I appeal for low tariff, I do not
mean to have no duties at all, for I
know well that it is by taxes
the government is supported, but
there must be a regulation so that
there will be neither the surplus in
the treasury, as is the case at pres
ent, nor shall there be ’a deficiency
as might be in the future. I think
there should be very high tariff on
brass and all bell metal, for there
are some bells which are very an
noying. But I advocate the free
use of dinner bells. The importa
tion of wooden clappers ought not
to be encouraged, although I don’t
think they are extensively manu
factured in this country.
I also suggest a very high tariff
on children imported out of bed at
half past rive in the morning, be
fore the sun has even peeped above
the horizon. If the tax were as
follows, I think there would be an
end to all debates or trouble on the
subject:
FREE TRADE. HIGH TARIFF.
Per Cent.
Candies Bells 70
Fruits. Clappers * 5o
Toys. Examination papers,.. DO
Badges for excellence, Schoolbooks, 45
Sleds, Reports, 100
Fancy shoes. Slates, 88
Feathers. Pencils, 50
Jewelry. Silence 100
Faces. Loud sleeping SO
Ribbons. Ink, 28
Hats, Music lessons, 90
Silk stockings, Clothes imported to darn-
Satin dresses, imr class to be fixed, !N>
Fans, Needles 45
Easy chairs. Thimbles 45
Late Sleeps, Physical culture 60
Loud voices, Dumb bells, 50
Walks to the lake Wands 25
An occasional holiday. Study class, 75
H muan nature In (ren'i. Rules 102
None but fresh seeds are sold at R. C.
Miot’s drug store.
CORN AND WHEAT CROPS.
Statistical Returns Made 1,, the r.uted
States Government.
The statistical returns of the de
partment of agriculture tor March
are estimates of the corn and wheat
in the hands of the farmers,'the
proportion and present value of the
merchantable corn, the weight of
wheat per measured bushel, and
other points in the commercial dis
tribution of grain.
The result of the consolidation
makes the farmers’ reserve of corn
:Sb.4 per cent, of the crop, in com
parison with 45.9 per cent, last year.
Mn bushels it is 542,000,000 against
970,000,000 last year. It is the low
est recent reserve, except that from
the smaller crop of 1887 and that
from the crop of 1883. The percen
tage retained in the seven corn sur
plus states is less than in the
others.
TO BE CONSUMED AT HOME.
The proportion estimated for con
sumption grown is relative
ly large, 87.4 per cent, instead of
81.8 last year. The quantity ship
ped or to be shipped from the farms
is, therefore, only 188,000,000 or less
than half tho surplus of last year.
The proportion of the crop mer
chantable is 79.9 per cent, against
85.7 per cent, last year*. It is there
fore slightly under the average in
quality. The average price of mer
chantable corn is 55.8 cents per
bushel, and of unmerchantable, 42.9
cents. The aggregate value of the
crop, on this basis, is $861,000,000,
nearly $7,000,000 m- re than the
December valuation, an advance of
about 1 per cent., establishing the
substantial accuracy of the Decem
ber estimate.
THE SUPPLY OF WHEAT.
The proportion of wheat still in
the hands of the farmers is lower
than an average of the last ten
years, the range being from'26 to 33
per cent. It is 28.2 per cent., or
112,000,000 bushels. It has been
lower only in two years of the last
ton, after the meagre crops of 1881
and 1885, which were smaller than
that of 1890. Including visible
stocks, the supply is 135,000,000
bushels. The c resumption of the
last twelve months is estimated at
299,000,000 bushels, the seed used
53,000,000 bushels, and the exports
have been about 98,000,000 from
March 1, 1890.
SPRING WHEAT.
ThO lO.W * * *'''**'*•--’ Hao omn’ii o*
X.IIV IV/1T pv *v X . u VI• wa tv .jpiug
wheat states are especially notice
able. Half of the present stocks
will be required for spring seeding.
The proportion of the crop esti
mated for consumption within the
country is 52.1 per cent., against
48.1 last year. The average weight
per measured bushel is 57.2 pounds.
The average of 1889 was 57.7
pounds, which was precisely the
average of seven crops from 1883.
In bushels of sixty pounds the ag
gregate is 38.’,000,000 or 90,000,000
less by weight than the preceding
crop.
NOW GIVE ATTEN lION.
To the purification of your blood, for
at no season is the body so susceptible
to the benefits to be derived from a good
medicine, as in March, April and May.
Hood’s Sarsaparrilla is the "-people’s fa
vorite tpring medicine. It stands un
equalled for purifying the blood, curing
scrofula, salt rheum, etc., regulating the
kidneys and liver, repairing nerve tis
sues, strengthening and invigorating
the whole body, as well as cheeking the
progress of acute and chronic disease,
and restoring the afflicted parts to a
natural, healthy condition. Jfyou have
never tried Hood’s Sarsaparrilla for
your “spring medicine,” do so’ this sea
son. tilseewinaprl
This is the Country for Poor Boys.
Effort, constancy and courage al
ways win. says the Chicago Indus
trial World, and then adds, as an
illustration of this aphorism to
which we gladly give place, some
facts as to the wonderful achieve
ment of an apprentice in a machine
shop, who, by strict and earnest at
tention, stepped from one position
to another until now he is presi
dent of the great firm of the Eagan
Cos., builders of wood-working ma
chinery of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr.
T. I\ Egan, the apprentice spoken
of, is but 43 years of age, and has
become known as the youngest
millionaire in that city of rich men.
It is possible only in this country
for a poor boy to become famous,
and the example of this one is
worthy of imitation.
EVERYBODY KNOWS
That at this season the blood is filled
with impurities, the accumulation of
months of close confinement in poorly
ventillated stores, workshops and tene
ments. All these impurities and every
trace of scrofula, salt rheum, or other
diseases may be expelled by taking
Hood’s Sarsaparilla, the best blood pu
rifier ever produced. It is the only
medicine of which “100 doses one dollar”
is true. marl!)
Some years ago Sarah Bern
hardt developed a fondness for
dogs, then for snakes, then for un
occupied coffins. Within the past
week her affections have taken an
upward trend and have centered
upon a little girl, concerning whom
romantic tales are told.