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YOL. I
THE PRESENT WORLD.
This world's a pretty good sort of world,
Taking it altogether.
In spite of the grief and sorrow we meet,
In spite of the gloomy weather,
There are friends to love and hopes to cheer
And plenty of compensation
For every ache, for these who make
The best of the situation.
—Josephine Pollard.
m.'W
J a STORY. £ A
A DOCTOR’S
* BY B. SI. NEILL. A
J
When M.D. was tacked to my name,
I bowed at two shrines, my profession
and—my Angelina. Her name was
not Angelina, but my wife being a
modest little lady, desires she shall
not be dragged before an inquisitive
public. Let, then, Angelina represent
the real woman.
Of course I had a rival; name,
Richard Somers; age, twenty-six;
general appearance,striking and haud-
some; character, very bad.
Neither my affection for this gentle¬
man nor his affection for me would
hnve caused a conflagration on any
river of which I know'. We disliked
each other heartily from the first.
Being a much handsomer man than
myself, he might have been a danger¬
ous rival. However, he saved me all
trouble. He committed a forgery
which was discovered sooner thau he
expected. He was arrested for the
offense, tried and convicted. I was
one of the principal witnesses against
him. When the sentence was passed
upon him, he requested a moment’s
conversation with me. I shall never
forget the look of hatred ujion his
face as he hissed out:
“You have ruined my love and my
life. Remember that, and fear me!”
I attached but little importance to
his threat.’ I thought it simply the
bluster of a self-defeated and disgraced
rival
Shortly after, Angelina aud I were
married, and for tw o years I heard
nothing of Somers. His sentence had
been a comparatively light one—a year
aud six months. After his discharge
from prison, however, I neither saw
nor heard of him.
For so young a man, I had been
very successful as a physician, prin-
cipally due to my strict attention to
practice. No matter how late, or dark
and stormy, might be the night, I
promptly attended to all summonses
to the bedside of suffering.
One night, a little while before the
hour of retiring, the door-hell rang,
and shortly afterward a man entered
the room where we w'ere sit¬
ting. He was not prepossessing. Plis
hair was short and thick, and the
general cast of his features villainous.
Without hesitation, I put on my
coat and liat aud prepared to go with
him.
i 6 A gentleman, ”he said, “had broken
his leg.”
i thought it a pity that, if the gen¬
tleman were anything like his mes¬
senger, he hadn’t broken his neck. I
did not tell* my wife where I was
going, for it xvas a distant part of the
town, and in anything but a respect¬
able neighborhood. I did not wish to
make the little woman nervous.
On our way, the unprepossessing man
Wris very uncommunicative. He an¬
swered my inquiries about tlie injured
gentleman iu surly monosyllables. He
was apparently in no baste, for he
walked very slowly—more slowly, I
thought, than was consistent with the
welfare of my patient.
At last we arrived at our destina¬
tion. It was a very dark-looking
house, iu a very dark street.
My guide led me up two flights of
very dirty and rickety stairs, that
creaked objections to our weight, upon
them. In the third story, we stopped
before a door, which, to my surprise,
my companion opened with a key
which he took from his pocket. Was
he afraid that a man with a broken
leg would escape? I xvas still more
surprised when.ou entering the room,
I found it empty!
He motioned me to a chair, and, re¬
marking he xvoukl return soon, left the
room.
For the first time I was somewhat
nervous aud suspicious. The empty
room—the last action of my guide—
his carelessness,on our way, as to the
health of the supposed injured man—
_the lonely house and neighborhood-
all combined to make me suspect foul
play. the
I stepped to door, only to find
it locked from the outside—to the
windoxv,only to find escape impossible
there. * It was many feet from the
ground. certainties.
My suspicions were now
TRIBUNE.
“Don’t Give Up the SHip.”
BTTCHANAN, GA., FRIDAY, JULY 1. 1898.
I was trapped. None of my friends,
not even my wife knew where I was.
I might be murdered in this den, and
my death remain a mystery.
I suppose I waited about an hour
before T heard the key turn in the
door. Then, to my dismay, half a
dozen men entered.
When nature made the jail-bird who
had led me into this trap, she did not
break the mould. These men were of
the same pattern. All wore the same
hang-dog, murderous look. One of
them raised the light in the room,
which had been burning low. With
hardly a glance at me, they took seats
upou 'the floor, and began to play
cards,
Soon the door opened, and another
man enteved. I hardly had a hope as
I looked at him, for I saw the exulting
face of my enemy—Dick Somers!
At a glance he saw that I recognized
him. With a malicious leer, he
stepped forward, and, quoting his own
words of two years before, said:
“You have ruined my love and my
life. Remember that, and fear me!”
I saw in his face, at once showing
his revenge and desperation, that noth¬
ing could turn him aside from his pur¬
pose.
“Somers,” I said, “I know' that you
have trapped me here for the purpose
of revenging yourself upon me, but
remember, sir, that I have friends!
Remember law' aud justice!”
“I fear nothing,” he answ'ered. “I
defy man aud God! Revenge on you
is clearer to me than life; and though
for me the bottomless pit were yaxvn-
iug, I wqtild have it.”
1 saw' it was useless to appeal to
him, and I sullenly w'aited for what
seemed fate.
At his command the ruffians
searched me. One of them, who ap-
l 3p aved 1° kmd ot treasurer for the
a »g> secured my watch and pocket-
bonk ' 1 lien they tied me with stout
ropes to a chair.
Somers did not address me again,
, ^ut sat upon the L , floor and , gambled , ,
with the rest. Presently he rose, and,
saying he would ietuin by daybreak,
left the room. He evidently felt I was
lu his P (nvel ' and seemed in no hurry
to complete his revenge.
Wben be had S one tb <j card-playing
was kept up for a couple ot hours,
Then the men all stretched themselves
upon the floor and slept. The door-
opened inward, and across it was the
burly form of the treasurer. In spite
of tlie apparent hopelessness of the
trial, I set about devising some plan
of escape.
The first thing to do was to free
myself; I have large wrists and small
hands. In tying me they had not
taken this into consideration. With¬
out much difficulty I liberated my
hands; then, of course, it was the
work of but a few minutes to entirely
free myself from my bonds.
Taking the precaution to place the
ropes in such a position, that, should
the gang waken, I would still appear
to be hound. I thought upon my
chances of escape. They certainly
appeared very few and small. The
fact of the men upon the floor being
asleep, seemed little in my favor. 1
could not move the ruffian who was
sleeping at the door without waking
him. Escape by the window was im¬
possible. Every plan that suggested
itself had insurmountable objections
to it. I had almost given rip schem¬
ing in despair, and concluded to adopt
seme hopelessly desperate measure,
when I thought of the contents of a
bottle I had in my pocket.
In searching me, the ruffians had
not disturbed it, thinking it of no im¬
portance. It contained chloroform. I
also had a sponge in my pocket. In a
moment I resolved what to do. Draw¬
ing the bottle from my pocket, I
soaked the sponge thoroughly with its
contents.
Sloxvly, painfully (I could hear my
heart beat), xvith all the caution that
a man uses xvheu his life may stepped depend,
upon the slightest noise, I to
the side of the nearest ruffian.
I placed the saturated sponge to his
nose. I saw him quickly yield to the
influence of the vapor. From man to
man I stepped. One by one they xvere
made senseless, helpless.
The man at the door was the last- 1
drew him axvay, first securing my
watch and pocketbook. I also found
in his possession a blackjack, which I
took the liberty of appropriating.
Then, openiug the door, I stepped out
into the hall,
I still moved cautiously,feeling that
all danger was not past. I thought
there might be a watcher there, but,
to my relief, I -saw no one. I de¬
scended the first flight of stairs, and
reached the-second story' in safety.
I bad gone about half way down the
second bight. My heart stood still,
for I heard some one enter below,
then, in the muttered oath, I reeog-
mzed . homers , voice. T I crouched , , down , |
upon the stair next the wall, hoping i
he might pass me. But, as he came -
up, his hand brushed my lace. j
In a moment lie lad me by he
throat. I knew him to >e by tar the
more powerful man, and it was not a
tune for scruples. Quickly, it being ,
so dark lie could not see the action, I
raised the blackjack—I hail held it
since I left the room—and brought it
downjieavily upon Ins skull.
His hand left my throat and he
rolled down stairs I found him at
the foot, quite still. I made good my
escape, not stopping to see if I had
killed him. 1 do not know to this day
wliether lie is living or dead. I ne\er
saw nor heard of him again.
hen I arrived home, I found a very
frightened little woman, but I did not
tell her till long af erwaid the his ory
of that mglit. I have never since been j
in such a fix, and if discretion am a
reasonable supply of timidity can pie-
cent it, never will will be in the fntuie. ,
featuiday Night.
Said to Be a New Lincoln Story.
rhere is a citizen ot Clev eland xvho
can add a very pleasant story to the
x olume ot Liucolmana. He and his
four brothers, all young men, were
in the Federal army during the war,
and one ot the brothers, 19 veais old,
after a particularly fierce campaign,
found himself m a IVaskmgton mill-
tary hospital.
His mother came from C.ex eland to
do what she could to a id him. He
passed the crisis ot his illness safely,
and when he was we.l enough to be
moved the mother went to the White
House to ask Ins discharge from the
avmy. Hue had no letters of mtro-
Auction but her simple story was
enough. .She saw the president, aim
ln his kindly way he questioned her.
She told the story of her five soldier
boys, and when she had lnishei he
stepped to his desk and wrote an
order for the young man s discharge
“Take that, madam, he said, “and
get your boy. Then bring him here.
I want to talk with him.”
He gave an order to a secretary,
the president’s carriage was brought
arouud, and , ,. the mo ,. her rode away to .
the hospital. Their she and the con-
xalescent youth lode back to the
White House, w lere they dined.
Later on the president handed the
mother two railroad tickets to Gleve-
land and a document setting forth that
it was his (the president’s) wish that
the young man should be given a posi¬
tion in the government service when¬
ever he desired it.
For nearly a third of a century' that
war-time stripling has held an excel¬
lent office in the treasury department
at Washington. — Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
Coal and Iron in Germany.
The mineral production iu Germany
reacheda total in 1897 of $200,000,000.
In some important materials Germany
stands very high as a producer, rank¬
ing next after the United States and
Great Britain in iron ore, iron and
coal. In the output of the salt xvorks
and chemical xvorks the Germans also
hold a high place, since there, as in
other trades, German industry and
scientific research are applied very
thoroughly' to improvements in pro- i
cesses and the utilization of by¬
products.
The average prices gix r en show some
differences from our own iu a direction
we should hardly expect. Coal is much
higher than the average of our
bituminous coal, though the broxvn
coal brings a low price; the latter,
however, is an inferior fuel, and its
use is restricted. Pig iron averages
nearly one-half more thau in the
United States, A study of these
prices will shoxv that the supposed ad¬
vantage of loxver wages iu Germany
disappears xvheu submitted to careful
examination. It is more an offset by
our improved machinery and processes
aud the greater efficiency of our labor.
—Engineering aud Mining Journal.
An Expert In Oils.
Mrs. Million—Oh, so you used to j
knoxv the Count Macaroni in Italy.
He is very attentive to my daughter,
yon knoxv, and I am somewhat inter¬
ested in him. He tells me that he
worked for years under one of the old
Italian masters, and that his specialty
is work in oil.
Mr. Globetrotter—Yes, that was his
profession when I saw him. He xvas
one of the most rapid sardine canners
I saxv in the place. —Pittsburg Dis¬
patch.
A REMARKABLE SHARPSHOOTER.
A Cheer Went Up When "Something’
Dropped Out of a Tree Across tile Line.
“It was in the battle of Corinth in
Mississippi that I first saw an effect-
j ye H hot by 0 ne of the Illinois sliarp-
shooters,” relates an old soldier. “It
wa8 pls t before tlietinal desperate and ;
una vailing assault ouBattery Kobiuet.
^ was sa ;fl that the Confederates who
imu l e the charge were a forlorn hope
— men w ho had volunteered for an al-
mos t hopeless undertaking which no
0 gj cer would order his men to attempt,
Uuless the battery could be silenced
Price all d Van Dorn could never enter
Corhlth The men knew where they
were 3 ing and wh y, and could have
mtle oubt of the ir fate. They were
ftd veterana aud the courage required
o{ them waB a8 re ckless as that dis-
pi ayed by the Light Brigade at Bala-
klava. The most desperate of all was
the chaplain of a Texas regiment, w ho
c h a rged pistol in hand. The enemy
bftd pog ted sharjishooters in the trees
neaves t the battery for the obvious
purpose 0 f picking off gunners when
agsau \t should be made. We were
]yj ugi many infantry regiments, in
the rear of the battery., to be used or
not, according to the success or fail-
ure of the attack. While waitiug for I
mov ement a sharpshooter in our
f rcm (- amlise d him'self by shooting at J
COU spicuous mounted men, such as
a j des and orderlies, who came riding
up the hill. He was a very imcom-
inoJ , marksman. The distance seemed
too great for effective shooting, yet he
had wounded two officers, shot the
horse of an aide, and sent his bullets
w histling so (dose to the ears of two
0 j| iei . 0 ffi cers that they dismounted in
haste, though they must have known
they would be chaffed by the idle sol-
dier8> as tbe y were.
“„\ n infantry officer who sat on a
crac h er hox with his back against the
eav thworks smoking liis pipe, under-
t(J0 ^ to warn mounted officers who
cam e that way. Boon he called one of
pig men an q instructed him to go to
{ j )e llex j regiment, the Sixty-sixth
minoi x thi nk, for a crack shot. The
80 idi er returned with a man whose
stooped soldiers made him appear
anything but soldierly. This sharp-
shooter carried his rifle, not a musket,
in his hand, like a careful hunter, not
on his shoulder. As he stopped to
the officer, who now stood
ftnd inted witll his pipe toward a
c i ump 0 f distant trees, he took out a
p j eoe c f chamois and slowly rubbed
« sights like a man about to
sho fm . fl prlze
i ( While the officer and the sharp-
shooter were talking an orderly,
mounted on a big horse, came tearing
up from the town. Obviously lie had
a message, was in haste, aud was nn-
certain where to go. He had stopped
below to ask a question, then dug a
showy Mexican spur into his horse,
which almost leaped up the slope. The
rider stopped him with a jerk to speak
to the officer with the pipe, hut his
question was never asked. He raised
liis hand to a salute, gave a gasp,
clutched at the air, and fell over, to
be dragged with one foot in tlie stirrup
down the slope by the frightened
horse.
“After a single bounding glance at the body
of the orderly axvay over the
rough ground, the sharpshooter ad-
justed his sights xvith deliberation,
rested his gun on the earthworks and
tired at a spot xvhere a puff of smoke
indicated the marksman xvho had shot
the orderly. It xvas a loug shot and
the chances seemed all against its
being effective, at least at a first at-
tempt. After the shot a cheer went
up along the line back of him,the men
rising in disorder. Something had
rolled out of a tree across the open
Sb ‘ lCe '
“A mounted officer in . mlliant
trappings came up and stopped, but
n° sbot disturbed him. Iheiexvas no
doubt that the something that had
rolled out of the tiee xvas the Con-
federate sharpshooter.
“Without looking again in the
direction of his great shot and xvith-
out paying any attention to the cheers,
the old marksman took out his pipe
xvith ostentatious indifference, lighted
it and xvalked slowly back to his regi-
ment.
“Such shooting is for the born
marksman. It xvas discovered that
most soldiers did not shoot well.
They xvere unable to resist the temp¬
tation to fire too high. This was the
ease with botliFederals and Confeder¬
ates.”
There is an old superstition, that
when a flock of wild geese is seen
flying in the shape of a ,“W” war is
imminent, v -
NO.
IN DARKEST INDIA-
Miss Newcomb Picture* the Suffering of
the Natives.
The following dreadful picture of
India was given by Miss Helen New¬
comb at the Women’s Baptist Foreign
Missionary convention in Syracuse the
other day :
When I went through Bombay over
half the population had locked their
doors and fled,and the desolation alone
of the streets w as terrible. The plague
which raged in India is supposed to
he that which attacked the Philistines
of old, and shows many symptoms of
that dread disease. The natives have
a dread of the foreign hospitals, and
believe that they are carried to them
in order that their livers may be ex¬
tracted, to be used in some foreign
medicine.
I was told not long ago by a woman
that she was sure the terrible pictures
which had appeared of the Indian
famine were not true to life. Suffer-
ing by famine cannot he exaggerated,
The horrible picture of skeletons of
children lying along the roadside, de-
serted by parents who crawled on per¬
haps only a few yards before they, too,
were overtaken by death—this even
the camera cannot do justice.
You wonder why India, with its fer-
tile soil and under British rule, should
come to this condition. In the first
place the people work one day and
rest three. They do not prepare for
the future. In the second place, we
must remember that the crops ore en-
tirely dependent upon the rainfall,
Should the rain fall once it places
them in bad condition. Should it fall
a third time famine is inevitable, The
government relief work reaches some,
but cannot reach all. The native mer-
chants, too, are a set of rascals. If
a scarcity of food is hinted at they
go out to the fields and buy at mod-
erate prices from the unsuspecting
farmers what tliey later refuse to sell
except for fabulous prices. The mis-
sionaries themselves often liny what
they cun at such times to sell at low
prices or give away later, as the case
may demand,
*
After six years spent in India, in
which time J have made a study par-
ticularly of the women, I cannot bring
to you the brightness I would desire,
The idol worship and the hundreds
of dancing girls plunged into degra-
dation from which there is no escape
form a sorrowful picture. If the
young women of this country are
thankful for nothing else, they mar li
be thankful that they are born in
Christian land, where they can enjoy
a happy girlhood. The girls there are
generally married at ten, almost never
later than twelve years of age. One
of the most pitiable sights is the child
widow, who is supposed to have coin-
mitted some great sin in a previous
state of existence, which she must
suffer for hereafter. The more she
suffers here the loss there is to come,
so that the hard labor, insults and
degradation she endures are almost
unlimited. There is no possible es-
cape for her to anything happier or
better. The pariahs are another set
of unfortunate women, who labor from
early morning until late at night to
provide for the family and buy their
husbands opium. —New York Tribune.
Hindoo Pursuit of a Treasure.
The folloxving incident occurred re-
cently in one of the largest- lu tels in
Calcutta. It appears that an officer
of the Gordon Highlanders arrived
in town on his xvay home. He had a
large sum of money with him—about
2000 rupees—and the usual jewelry of
*n f^sh .. gentleman, ,, These xvere
?» locke d 111 °" e °, f lus tr " nk8 -
ttmuu g fl f ' om the d uun . S snlo «»
room oue evening, he 1 xvas just in time
to see some suspicious-Joolung natives
bolting down the corridor. On entev-
j ng loom he found, on exainiua-
ti tbat a n his trunks had been
f orced open and the contents throxvn
abo ut; but strange to say, not a piece
mone y was missing nor any
item of jewelry. He believed that the
burglars xvere Afridis, and the object
of their cupidity a copy of the Koran
belonging to the Mad Mullah, xvliich
they somehow learned xvas in his pos¬
session. The book xvas rolled up in
an old singlet and thus escaped the
searchers, who appear to have tracked
the officer from the front.—London
Empire.
Challmige for Chopper*.
The Australian Axmen’s association
of Tasmania is seeking foemen worthy
of its steel and has issued a challenge
to American choppers to compete
singly and in pairs and also in teams
of four, in chopping and sawing tim¬
ber for a series of prizes ranging from
$250 to $500.