Si)attcu Reccri
KATES
1 1 1 1
op
II. A., LONDON,
EDITOR AND PROPRIETOR.
TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION,
. 1,50 PER YEAR
Strictly in Advance.
"S3
J3reta.'sPouble
g8
By HELEN
(Copjright, by Robert Eonner's Sons.)
CHAPTER XXIV.
CONTINUED.
As he spoke, he unconsciously
pressed the little hand that lay so con
tentedly in his, and she cast a half -shy
glance at his manly face, while a soft
blush suffused her white brow.
"Now I will tell you about myself,"
she said.
But he interrupted her.
"No, never mind, now; wait until 1
take you to my mother, then you can
tell us both ai once. I see that you
are tired from your walk to the sta
tion, and now I want you to lay youi
head back and rest, while I watch ovei
you," he said, with a tender smile.
"Do you know," she said, glancing
up at him confidingly, "that I feel sc
much better since I have gotten out ol
that stuffy room. I believe that a
week or so spent in the fresh air would
make me quite well."
"That would give me more happi
ness than you know," he said.and then
added: "But now you must obey mt
and rest."
CHAPTER XXV.
"was anyone in theee?"
The girl whom Eric Brentwood had
taken from the old haunted house had
not been gone more than two hours
wnen tferald JJanton a supposed
granddaughter made her visit to thai
vicinity on so mysterious an errand.
And she had not left the place more
lhan thirty minutes when a cry of fire
was raised in the village, and the peo
ple jumped from their beds in alarm,
thinking that perhaps the fire was
close to them and threatened theii
safety. Having satisfied themselves oJ
the distance, some remained at theii
windows, suggesting as to the probabl
locality of the conflagration, while
others donned their clothing and wenl
down the road like mad.
- As fate would have it, the last to be
awakened by the cry of fire was Carlos
Monteri. But when he at last went to
the window ad saw the direction of
the light he uttered an exclamation.
"Good heaven! The old house
"videre she is confined is on'fire! I am
sure, for there is no other building in
that exact direction. "Will lie in
time?" he asked, excitedly, a:, hur
riedly donning his clothes, he rushed
from the hotel and tore down the road
like mad. "
Never before had Carlos Monteri
been in such a hurry. Bad as he un
doubtedly was he was too much of a
man to let an innocent girl whohad
never havined him, perish in - the
flames.
At lasi ai-riving upon the scene, he
uttered a cry of despair, for the place
was one solid mass of flames.
"Was anyone in there?" he asked,
addressing the crowd. "Was anyone
saved?" '
"I saw no one," answered a rough
voiced man, "and I was about one of
the first to get here. But if anyone
bad been in there, he would have been
b3rad alive. But everybody knows
h$i so one lived there, because the
a said to be haunted, and peo
p& steer clear of it. I wonder . how
toe old place got afire, anyhow?"
"It must have been set on fire,"
spoke up another. "There was no
other means of it catching, as no one
lived there."
Carlos Monteri was in a perfect fever
of excitement. Over and over again
he asked himself how the place caught
fire, and each time his thoughts re
verted to Inez.
"Did that fiend do it?" he muttered
under his breath. "Was it she who
did this, wretched night's work, ex
pecting that I also was in there? Il
she did she shall pay dearly for it.
Breta Danton has perished, but God
knows that I would not have had it so.
She, I am confident, is responsible for
the death of that innocent girl, and
now she shall be made to feel my re
venge indeed. No doubt she is now
exulting over my demise, but before
another sun sets she will sing anothei
tune. JTiend! Bad as I am, I have
yet to stoop to be on an equality with
her. But let her beware! She has al
most reached the end of her rope."
And with a feeling of disgust he turned
and left the scene that he felt he would
never forget as long as he lived.
Visions of Br eta Danton in the agonies
of death would rise before him; and al
though he was innocent of doing the
girl any actual harm, he could not but
feel that he was to blame for taking
her to that, isolated house, and so close
too. to the girl who wished her forever
out of her path.
Ah, well, she had succeeded; but
Carlos Monteri was not dead, and
while he lived she still had much to
tear.
CHAPTER XXVI.
"HAVE I FAILED?" ' ,
- The second day. after the destruc
tion of the house where she "supposed
her intended victim had met her death,!
Gerald Danton's granddaughter (?)
was strolling down the walk that led:
to the gate, with a triumphant and'
satisfied air.
At last she told herself that she was
free. Carlos Monteri and Breta Dan
ton had- perished as she meant they
should do. Of that she felt assured,
else he would have come to accuse her.
"Thank heaven!" she exclaimed
under her breath. "That "man, who
has hounded me from place to place,
is at last out of mj path. There is no"
J
VOL. XXII. PITTSBORO, CHATHAM
V. GREYSON.
OilO HOW Oil tlllS blUt) OX tilt) Ai'.ikUiilO tt
I raise a doubt about my identity, un-
J less it be that old Doctor Montford, to
whom. I owe my position here in Gerald
Danton's home. And I flatter myself
that I can manage to keep out of that
old man's way. At any rate, my risk
is - considerably reduced. The two
whom I most feared are evidently pasli
exposing me, and if I cannot cope!
with one old dotard, then my inventive
powers have greatly deteriorated; that
is all."
And, with a careless toss of her head,
she opened the gate and went onward
down the road.
She had not gone fa liowever, when,
upon looking up, she gave a start of
amazement.
"Good heaven!" she cried. "Havd
I failed, after all?"
There, before her, not ten feel
ffway, stood Carlos Monteri, insolent,
siniling.
Approaching, he liftcdhis hat mock'
ingly. '
"Good evening, my dear Inez.
Have you heard of the great catas
trophe?" "What do you mean?" she askec?.
controlling her surprise and chagrin,
i "Why, "the burning of the" old
haunted house." ..
"Oh, of course! I suppose you
got your prisoner out sale, however?'5
"On t.h ft enn tr&T v oViototic1'-1 in tin a
names, and you, my dear Inez, are her
murderess."
"What do you
to do with it?"
mean? What had I
'Everything!
I know that you set
(the old place on fire with the expecta
tion of riddinsr vourself of Breta Dan ton
nd Carlos Monteri. Breta Danton
erished, but Carlos Monteri lives to
venge her."
"You are mad!" she exclaimed.
"Not half as mad as vou are at mj
unexpected appearance. But, my
jdcar,Iwas not fit to die just yet awhile,
you see."
"Well, what do you wish of me
j now?" she asked, desperately.
"Whatl told you to do the other
night. At least, you must do the part
I assigned you. The rest, I e;m at
tend to. Will you obey me or not?
Will you promise to carry out my in
structions or shall we go immediately
to old Danton and introduce ourselves?
1 give
you exactly two minutes in
j wMch to make your decision." Taking
his watch from his pocket he watched
it silently. Presently he spoke:
"Time's up. What is your decision?"
"I agree," she answered, sullenly.
"I knew von would." he said, as he
innrhAl nnftw "in,i vomcmw i
shall not let you retract. I will mur
der you first. You hear?" '
"There is no danger. When I say
I will, I keep my word. You need not
ear but that I will keep my part of
y contract. It is my only chance. I
have played a desperate game so far,
i and now there is no turning back, as
j it is death and exposure on one side,
and who knows what on the other."
"Success and triumph," he said.
"For whom?" she asked.
'For you, for me for both of us,"
he answered, as he turned away. Then
looking back, he said: "Remember, if
krou fail me, it is at your peril. Carlos
Monteri holds the tramp card at last."
CHAPTER XXVII.
A STABTIiING DISCOVEP.Y.
The last interview between Carlos
Monteri and Gerald Danton's grand
daughter was not without a witness.
Cecil Doniphan, who had set him
self the task of watching those two,
had been loitering around the grounds,
and had seen their' meeting. And,
although it was impossible for him to
get close enough to hear their conver
sation, he could see by their gestures
and expression that they were engaged
in an excited interview.
v His curiosity was roused to the
.highest pitch, but try as he would, he
could not alter his position without
being discovered.
! He was satisfied, however, that it
was not altogether a friendly feeling
Ethat prompted their strange meetings,
e had intended to visit the old
tunted house and see what took the
fellow there, but before he had done
bo, the oldj place had burned to the
ground. Not for an instant did he
think anyone was confined there.
It was late that night when he raised
his head from his pillow and listened.
What was thai peculiar cry ? He was
certain that he had heard it. But not
hearing it repeated, he decided that
he must have been dreaming, and lay
down again.
In the morning he was the first
descend to the breakfast-room.
to
When the bell rang for breakfast
they all assembled save the head of the
bouse.
, "Where is grandpapa?" asked the
feupposed Breta Danton.
"I w3 just about to ask that ques
tion myself," replied Cecil Doniphan.
"Jorkin, go to uncle's room and see
if he is ill. He is always prompt at
mals." ,
J orkin, . returning a few minutes
later with a very white face, said:
"Mr. Cecil, he is not in his room,
and the bed has not been slept in."
"Impossible!" exclaimed Doniphan.
"What does it mean?" as he rose from
the table in his alarm. "Come," he
Baid, addressing his cousin and the
servants. "Search the house! I fear!
Something has hatroened to him." as'
his mind reverted-to the cry he had!
heard in the early part of the night.
Hal it eeu his i fia-iion or -was
it, after all, a reality? Following Ce
cil Doniphan's lead, they repaired first
to the. library, and there a sight met
their eyes that made even the girl,
wicked as she was, turn pale.
Lying at full length upon the floor
was the body of Gerald Danton, while
beside him a pool of blood stained the
carpet a deep crimson
"Oh, grandpapa!' cried she, as she
iorew back and covered her face with
her hands.
, With a cry of alarm, Cecil Doniphan
and the servants hurried forward.
! "What fiend has done this?" cried
Doniphan, as he gazed on the stiffened
form of his uncle.
"Oh, this is terrible !" exclaimed the
servants.
J "Must I go for the doctor?" asked
Jorkins. '
"It's too late, Jorkins," returned
CecJ Doniphan, "He is cold and stiff
now, ad past all aid. See, that win
dow is wide open, so the assassin, who
ever ho might be, must have entered
that way. Search the grounds, and to
the one who finds a clue to this foul
murder I'll give fifty dollars. Search
well; don't leave an inch of ground un
searched; and, Jorkins, go to the sta
tion and telegraph to town for a detec
tive. I mean to get at the bottom of
this affair."
All the time he had been talking.his
cousin had crouched back against the
door with that scared, white face, which
iCecil Doniphan s keen eyes were not
slow to note. Of course, the situation
was bad enough, but the wild, restless
look in her eyes caused him to watch
her closely.
All sorts of wild suspicious ruhsed
through Cecil Doniphan's head, but
h.a dared not utter them without being
ture. He had no particular love for
his uncle, and had often wished that
he would hurry himself off the earth
and leave Bavensmere in lys posses
sion. But to see him murdered, to
know that after all he would not be
heir to his uncle's estate that was
quite a different matter altogether. To
himself he was thinking:
"She, that evil-faced girl who stands
there before me, she would be heiress
to Gerald Danton's wealth, while I
would be left with a paltry thousand or
two. There is something behind all
this. She knows more about this af
fair than she pretends, and.if possible,
Imean to bring it hoiie to her. Sha
is the one who will be benefited by his
death, and in that fact alone I see a
clew. Bat I nrust not be too hasty."
I "You had better go away from this
Eight," he said, addressing her. "It
is not fit for you to look at, and I see
it agitates you greatly. Take my ad
vice and retire. If I need your assis
tance I will send for yo;i."
Glad of any excuse to get away from
Cecil Doniphan's searching eyes, she
availed herself of the opportunity and
went to her room.
"Why did he watch my face so
closely?" she said when she had
closed the door behind her. "Is it
possible that he suspects me? Ah, I
must control myself! This will not
do!" as she tock a bottle from her
pocket and proceeded to taker a small
dose of the liquid. "Ah, that's bet
ter. I feel the effects of it' already.
'jN' ow that he i3 dead, I will inherit all
jthis wealth," she added. "There is
iio one to dispute my right, and if
Cecil Doniphan interferes I'll fight
him to the death. How I hate him! I
know that in him I have an enemy.
But what will the rich Miss Danton
care for his enmity! And I am sure
that, suspect what he might,- he can
prove nothing."
Ah, Inez, don't be too sure of safety I
Have you forgotten that Nemesis is
on your track?
To be continued.
The Nation's Library.
They call it the Library of Congress,
and" the original plan was for a library
of reference for Senators and Bepre
sentatives. The plan broadened until
the library became a National, rather
than a Congressional library. It is
the attraction which draws to the capi
tal every year hundreds of earnest stu
dents and historians; and Jit is one of
the deciding causes in establishing
there many of the literary people who
make Washington their home.
When the new library building was
nearing completion it was planned to
have the books from the old library
rooms in the Capitol moved across the
plaza and put in the new building
in the spring. Thd calling of the ex
tra session of Congress interfered with
this plan. The books were needed for
reference by the members of Congress;
so it was deemed inexpedient to at
tempt the removal of any but those of
remote interest until Congress had ad
journed. The old newspaper files will
be the first removed, and the books
will follow slowly. Two months will
fee required for the work. The num-
ier of books to be moved, is greater
robably, with one exception, than was
sver transferred from one place to an
other. The are seven hundred and
'ortv-five thousand books now on the
jshelves of the library. Leslie's Week
ly. -
Still Very Young.
The best argument against the an
tiquity of the human race is found in
the slow progress man has made to
ward the highest of his present civil
ization. The fact that he has just
made intercourse by telephone prac
ticable, and is beginning to unfold the
mystery of electricity is not a matter
of much surprise and admiration, if
he has been a million of years at
work upon it, and when we take into
consideration the intolerance, super
stition and ignorance of our best men
land most advanced thinkers, the con
viction cannot be escaped that, if the
human race has been in existence
many thousands of years, it must have
started from a very remote point of
Intelligence to have made no further
n-ogress oat of stupidity " than it has
lone so far. Louisville Commercial.
COUNTY, N. C, THURSDAY, DECEMBER
ABRIGULTURMi.
Si
Cucumbers For Pickles.
Pickled cucumbers are sold by count,
and the small ones are generally pre
ferred. Hence close picking and fre
quent picking, so as to prevent any
from growing too large, is n'ecessary
to secure large crops. Sometimes,
however, a stray cucumber will hide
under the leaves until it has almost
ripened its seeds. It is astonishing
bow this lessens the yield of the vine.
Yet it is not to be wondered at, for the
perfection of seed in almost all plants
exhausts their vitality very rapidly.
The cucumber vines should be handled
carefully so as not to loosen the roots
which some of them send into the soil
from the joints. These are great helps
to the vine.- If the vine is turned up
to see what is under it some of these
iida rootlets will be destroyed.
Cause of Streaks in Batter.
An authority says that streaks in
hntter are generally caused by uneven
salting." In the farm dairy the be3t
way is to sprinkle fine salt over the
butter while still in the churn, then
revolve it a few times very slowly to
incorporate the salt with the butter.
The moisture in the butter will dis
solve the salt ina few minutes and it
can then be massed and. the surplus
brine pressed out. This finishes the
job. Don't hold it over until the next
day and then work it. In creamery
practice the salt must be evenly dis
tributed and then the butter worked
enough to make it uniform. White
lumps in the butter come from abuse
of the cream; it is not ripened uni
formly. a. portion gets too sour and
partially decomposes. The remedy i3
plain avoid the cause. .
A Handy Gate Latch.
X serviceable latch is shown in the
accompanying illustration. When
the gate is swung to, the end of the
latch strikes the beveled portion of
the post, c, and is raised a couple of
inches by means of the iron rods, bb.
The post is beveled on both sides, so
that the gate can swing from either
way. As the latch reaches the slot,
n, it drops into it and the gate is
DOUBLE SWINGING GATE LATCH.
secured. The bevel as described con
sists merely of a perpendicular slot
in the center of the post. Ou each
side of the slot the wood is cut away,
forming the bevel. The iron rods,
bb, are inclined only enough to cause
the latch to fall back in place, having
been.liftedwbeu it , struck the bevel.
I have slammed this swinging gate in
every imaginable way, but the latch
caught every time. Charles L. Hill,
in New England Homestead.
Irrigating: a Field of Celery.
From my experi'ence with irrigation
on my farm I have learned how to
economize in the use of water by
mulching or shading the surface of
the ground. I am now irrigating a
field of celery planted in rows with
alternate spaces between them of
twelve and eighteen inches apart.
The wide space is mulched with
coarse manure, and the plants are
largo enough to shade the narrow
spaces. Irrigating this field once a
week keeps the ground sufficiently
moist, while another, with the surface
exposed to evaporation, needs irrigat
ing every day. In a word, the lessons
learned are: Fill the soil with humus
to enable it to retain all; the moisture
possible, give frequent '' .cultivation
during the early part of the summer,
then, when practicable, mulch the
surface not shaded by the plants.
I hardly think we appreciate the
value of cover crops, which when
plowed under fill-the- soil with humus.
When the early garden crops, such as
peas, corn and potatoes, have been re
moved, if a late crop does not follow
this year, some catch crop should be
used to cover the ground. Where it
will survive the winter, sow crimson
clover and it will save a part of your
fertilizer bill the next year. On rich
garden soil, when the weather is fav
orable, it makes a good growth.
Crimson: clover, cow peas, or rye,
when plowed under fill the soil with
the humus that helps to retain the
moisture. Do not leave the ground
without seeding to some crop when a
crop has been removed. Nature's
plan is to keep the ground covered,
and unless you cover it with some
useful crop she will cover it with
weeds. The difference in soils is
shown in times of .drouth; the soil on
some parts of my garden has been so
filled with humus by plowing under
heavy crops and heavy dressings of
stable manure that it conserves so
much moisture that the plants do not
stop growing during an ordinary
drouth, while on other parts where
the soil is deficient in humus they
cease to grow. Vick's Magazine.
Useful on the Farm.
I saw some time ago a request for a
combination wagon ladder, stock rack,
etc. I send you a sketch of mine, or
part of it, rather. Anyone handy with
tools can make it, and it need not
cost over two dollars for bolts and
iron. I made mine, and would not
part with it for several times its cost.
Make it any length desired; mine is
16 feet long enough for two horses,
and to haul 15 head of 200-pound
hogs. The sills G, Fig. 1, are 2 by
8, red elm, and the uprights A andB,
Fig. 2, should be heavy at the bottom
and taper to 2 by 2 at the top. They
f' 5. h
)l id
JLA
HANDY COMBINATION.
fasten in the rollers with bolts. -They
are the only bolts that have to be re
moved in changing from one to the
other. The balance of it I made out
of linn. It is light; one man can
handle it easily. Have the bottom
boards to fit snugly, but do not nail
them. '
By using the main body C, Fig. 1,
with two extra bolsters F, Fig. 2, you
have a good log rigging. For the stock
rack, taper the posts. Use linn
boards. Have your blacksmith make
eight square sockets, li by 2$ inches,
to bolt on sides of sills G. Use one-quarter-inch
bolts for these. I used
old buggy tires. Make end-gates like
the side, D, Fig. 2. Use rods also.
Make two light gates for partitions;
it makes three pens. Hogs cannot
crowd then. Hooks and staples will
do for two middle gates. E, Fig, 3,
is one side for wagon ladders. Have
the arms notched just enough to set
square on the sill after the round ends
are in the two-inch hole on opposite
side. You can also have extra side
boards, tight, for hauling wood, corn,
etc. One man can unfold this com
bination. Store it in a small place.
You can surely find a dry place for it.
This is my own invention, not
patented, and if you use it once you
will like it. Ohio Farmer.
Agriculture in tlie Public Schools.
Those who have taken time to thor
oughly investigate the matter of teach
ing agriculture in our common schools
seldom arrive at any conclusion but
that it must be done and the sooner
the better. It is not an experiment
by any means, as many suppose, for
other countries have long since
adopted it and it has proved to be
very satisfactory. .In this country,
too, few realize the fact that an edu
cation pays on . the farm as well as
anywhere else, but there are too many
yet who are wedded to the old plan
of teaching reading, writing and arith
metic, and look upon higher education
as being unnecessary for the farmer,
and such a thing as teaching agricul
ture as being a w&ste of time, an un
wise innovation or a ridiculous im
possibility. If the farmers of this country only
realized how successfully agriculture
is now taught in France they might
be induced to give the matter more
consideration. It is carried on there
very systematically. The following
clipping from the Australian Agricul
turist under the caption, "How Ag
riculture is taught in France," gives a
good idea of the system and of the ex
cellent results:
"The perfect system of agricultural
education in France has had raiuch to
do with the wonderful improvement
in French farming. The federal grants
for this purpose are now about 200,
000 pounds. The social and political
position of the farmer in France has
been advanced also, and the general
public appreciate the importance of
agriculture. Agricultural teaching is
now given in France in seven differ
ent stages or degrees. 1. There is
the superior instruction of the national
agricultural college. 2. The national
schools of agriculture. 3. The irac-
tical schools of agriculture.. 4. Ap
prenticeship schools where boys and
girls are taught all the mvsteries of
general farm work, fruit erowinsr.
dairying, silk culture, asricnlture.and
fish culture. Then there are (5) mixed
schools, with professors of sericulture
and agricultural chemistrv. and ffll
instruction in. the fields, for all of
these schools have lands attached just
as thou eh the schools in the eonntrv
in Australia had lectures on the agri
cultural sciences illustrated by work
in the field. 7. France has carried to
great perfection her experiment sta
tions. The laborer has the farm
school, the small farmer the nrnatical
school, those in a better snhere of life
the national schools, while others who
desire to devote their attention to
agronomic science have the asrronomic
institute which is truly a polytechnic
of sciences physical, chemical and na
tural. By this means those engaged
on the soil are kept abreast with the
best and latest practice in agriculture,
and are enabled to see and learn such
things as tend to the improvement of
their condition and industry."
This is a complete and scientific
system, and cannot be carried out fully
in this country in present conditions,
but a start should be made in each
district school which is, or should be,
the foundation and -.preparation for
higher education. Farmers' Guide.
Teaching Pupils to Swim.
Teaching boys and girls how to
swim is the newest subject to be taken
up in our grammar schools. The mat
ter was first suggested by a philan
thropic society cf NcTcri City. .tLw
will endeavor to have the subject
adopted.
Tho Saginaw Fiiver, in Michigan, is
eighteen miles long, and on its banks
have been produced "18,000,000.000
feet of pine boards. -
Ay
14, 18!)9. NO. 17.
1 GOOD ROADS NOTES. I
Abolish the Toll System.
The continuance of tho toll system
is simply the perpetuation of an oner
ous tax upon the people for the bene
fit of the baldest kind of a monopoly.
In various parts of the country toll
roads have been gradually abolished,
as their franchises have expired.
Use or Crude Petroleum.
A writer in a St. Paul paper states
that he recently drove over a piece of
road at Fort Worth, Texas, which was
treated last fall with a wetting with
crude petroleum.. He says that dar
ing five months of drouth, when all
other roads were enveloped in dust,
this one -was clear of it, and that when
heavy" rain made mud of the dusty
roads this one remained dry and pleas
ant. Where the Farmer Profits.
We may say that it doesn't cost the
farmer anything to market his crops,
because he does all the hauling him
self. True, but isn't his time -vjorth
something? Suppose that in place of
every ton of wheat or hay or potatoes
loaded on his wagon he was able, as a
resuH of "good roads, to load up two
tons, and to market the entire crop of
his farm with just half the labor and
in just half the time which is required
at present, which would be the case
with good roads, wouldn't the amount
of time he could save be worth some
thing,, and wouldn't it be worth sav
ing? Automobiles and Gool Roads.
The "good roads movement," which
has been quietly and steadily pro
gressing in the United States for sev
eral years, is likely before long to be
come a great national issue in politics.
The movement was first started by
the wheelmen, through their national
organization, the League of American
Wheelmen, and hundreds of thou
sands of dollars have been spent by
this organization in agitating the
question. - To the wheelmen will soon
be added a large number of owners cf
horseless carriages as , ardent advo
cates of road improvements. Los
Angeles Times.
One County's Experience.
Mecklenburg County, North Caro
lina, not long ago began the con
struction of a system of macadam
roads. It was customary there to
load up two bales - of cotton on a
wagon to be hauled by a mule team.
The mules could draw this load very
well during dry weather. After a
rain, when the roads were soft, the
load was too much for even a pair of
tough mules. After the county had
begun to build roads this load was
doubled several times, and it was
found that the same two mules were
able to haul as much as twelve bales,
or six ton??, in place of their former
I load, which amounted to only a singlo
ton. Ana more the improved roads
made it possible to haul this load ia
wet and dry weather alike, for, being
properly built of stone, they were fit
for use immediately after a heavy
rain.
Interstate Object-Lesson Roads.
' IJ is t he intention of many States be
sides Massachusetts, either by con
necting their detached sample roads
or by laying down long lines to be
built as a whole, to establish s State
roads upon the principal routes of
travel, which shall . be object lessons
on a large scale. The Legislature of
New York has frequently had under
consideration the subject of a network
of roads connecting all of the county
seats by north and south and by east
and west lines. The same or similar
plans have been proposed in Pennsyl
vania, Maryland and California.
Other States have proposed to limit
these object lessons to a single road
running lengthwise of the State or
two lines crossing each other at the
capital. Should these plans be pat
into execution, it will be Tcry impor
tant that these roads in the different
States should be made to connect at
the State lines and thus form inter
state roids.
The Anti-Kot Agitation.
Over 2,000,000 has been spent by
the State of Massachusetts in the
building of improved highways.
It must be plain to any one who
gives the matter thought that wp
suffer enormous losses each year as
the result of bad roads.
Earth is the poorest of all road
materials except sand, and earth roads
require more attention than any other
kiad and generally receive less.
The fact that the Davis automobile
trip from New York to San Francisco
was abandoned on accounc of bad
r,oads will make a text for the good
roads people.
The best road for the farmer, all
things being considered, is a solid,
well-built stone road, so narrow as to
be only a single track, but having a
firm earth road on one or both sides.
Where the traffic is not very exten
stive the purposes of good roads aro
better served by narrow tracks than
by wide ones, while many of the ob
jectionable features of wide tracks are
removed, the initial cost of construc
tion is cut down one-half or more, and
the charges for- repair reduced in pro
portion. A mile of broken stone road, fifteen
feet wide, costs in the State of Massa
chusetts about $5700 per mile, while
a mile of the same width and kind of
road cost3 in the State of New Jersey
only $4700. This is due partly to the
fact that the topography of Massa
chusetts is somewhat rougher than
that of New Jersey.
Herr Biggenbach. who introduced
the cog-wheel railroads that have en
abled ' tourists in Switzerland to do
their mountain climbing without
effort, died recently
AD VERT I Gin G
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A ilUl TO PQE. !
Moat RemarUahle Man of. Letters This
Country Has Produced.
The University of Virginia com
memorated the fiftieth anniversary of
Edgar Allan Poe's death by unveilin"
a bust of him. '
Poe was without question tho most
remarkable man of letters this country
has ever produced the one American
author who may be fitly characterized
as a "genius."" -
He was a drunkard, to be sure. He
was chronically in debt. He was at
times ill-mannered in an extreme and
wholly unwarranted degree. But he
'wrote "The Raven" and "The Bells."
He-first discovered and taught the
world the art ot short-story writing,
as Gay de Maupassant, his most suc
cessful pupil in that art, has testified.
Jules Verne and Gaboriau have given
like testimony by borrowing from his
work the fundamentals of all that is
best in their own borrowing so open
ly that it is easily possible to assign
each of these Frenchmen's stories to
its original in Poe's works.
He invented the rationalistic method
in detective romance, and all men who
have since written such romance have
had to learn from him. Not only so,
but he justified his method by results
achieved. When Mary Rogers, the
beautiful cigar girl of New York, was
murdered, Poe, hundreds of miles
away, took the newspaper accounts of
the affair, and from them wrought out
a solution of the mystery, clearly
identifying the murderers, whom the
detectives had not even suspected,
and years afterward death-bed . con
fessions proved that he was right.
He was a master of tho higher
mathematics, and in his "Eureka" he
anticipated pretty nearly all that
science has discovered during the half
century succeeding hi3 death.
As a critic, he was merciless and
often unfair, but his work in that way
was in the main wholesome, because
it was honest, open-eyed and intense
in its. hatred of shams.
In his "Rationale of Verse" and his
"Philosophy of Composition" be
packed into two brief .essays all that
there is of exact literary ecience in lit
erary criticism. The pity of it is that
his teachings have not "fallen upon
"good ground" and that our news
paper literary critics have not learned
of him as much as they might and
ought. '
The late Charles F. Briggs, who
was Poe's associate on the Broadway
Journal, used to say that Poe was
never immoral but always unmoral
that he had no moral perceptions.
"If you had killed a 12 an who stood
aunoyingly in your way," said Mr.
Briggs, "Poo would nothave censured
you for the murder. But if you had
perpetrated a false quantity in verse
he would have thought no punishment,
too severe for your deserts.'' His
conscience was not moral, but artistic.
And he' obeyed it with loving lovultv.
New York World.
Ileroic Measures.
After standing it in rebellious sil
ence for three days, the hale and
rugged old gentleman called his
daughter aside.
"See here, Ann," he began, "your
children don't pretend to mind you."
"I should say they didn't, father.
They pay no more attention to me
than if I a ere a piece of statuary, un
less I resort to extremes. But you
should see their father bring them to
time. He pan do more in a word than
I can in an hour's straight talk."
"But that isn't right, Ann. They
must be taught to respect and obey
you while they are young. You are
not with them enough; you tail to en
ter into their childish pleasures and
to warm the natural affection that is a
part of their being. Your own f ctare
happiness demands that you take the
matter in hand. As between the ever
lasting social whirl and your children,
they should have the preference."
"I don't know but you're right, and
I'm going to assert myself," but the
old gentleman sighed at the tone in
which the subject was dismissed.
Next day the mother was about to
go out when one of the little folks
grasped her about the dress and
danced up and down in the rain be
cause she could not go along. There
was a "cross reprimand, an angry
shriek, and then the child, holding
her arm, ran to her grandpa. He
chopped his visit off short and left for
home that night.
A little later the expressman left a
package at the house and "Ann" was
surprised beyond words to find it con
tained a nicely polished ax. Then
she espied this note, signed by her
father: "If a hatpin is required to
make Edith obey now, you will need
this before she is grown up." De
troit Free Press.
Death From Yawning.
"I suppose I have spent about one
eighth of my life supporting the
whole weight of my body in midair by
my teeth," said a professor on the
trapeze, "yet I have never hung in
space with the buckle between my
teeth, and my life depending on my
ability to hold on, without wantiug
to sneeze, or cough, or yawn.
"I once mentioned this fact to a
doctor, and he told me that it was the
outcome of too great a strain on my
nervous system. He reminded me
that many athletes laugh at nothing
as they are bending over tho lino
waiting for the handkerchief to fall.
I have also asked all my brother and -sister
trapezists, and without excep
tion they declare they suffer in the
same way, and expect ono day that
the longing will become so strong
that they will give way to it. I have
come to the conclusion, after thinking
the matter over, that this probably ac
counts for the otherwise almost super
natural accidents which are continu
ally happening in our profession. If
this surmise is correct, some sixty"
per cent: of trapezists die from yawn