The battle at last was finished.
JThe victory was lost and won, and
while the defeated army had fallen
|>ark to take shelter in the woods
and mountain passes the victorious
host had encamped upon the field
of action. A thick, misty haze hung
over the landscape, through which
the setting sun shone like a great
copper shield burnished and ready
for combat.
Since early morn the battle had
been in progress, and the carnage
was frightful. Even the sturdiest of
the surgeons had more than once
turned pale as they worked over
their improvised operating tables,
and all had felt a sensation of faint
ness that they did not care to own.
In one corner of the field when
the fight had been the hottest, in a
little grove of half a dozen trees at
the angle of a stone wall, knelt the
colonel of a New York regiment be
side the prostrate form of his own
lieutenant, a young man of English
birth and a great favorite among his
comrades. His breath came slowly
and painfully, and when he strove
to 6peak the lifeblood welled up in
his throat so as to almost choke all
utterance.
"Creston, my boy," said the colo
nel in the low voice which he al
ways used when in the presence of
suffering, for the colonel was as (
kind and as gentle as a woman to ;
the sick, "is there anything more i
that I can do for you?any word or
message that you want to send ?
For you know"?
Creston's lips parted with a faint
and almost imperceptible motion,
and the colonel, bending low,
caught the words, "Lift?me?up."
Raising the dying man to a half
sitting position, the colonel held !
him in his own strong arms and j
gently wiped the red froth from his ;
tips.
"Colonel"?the words were weak
and low?"my vest?open?the?
the?pocket?inside"?
The exertion was so great that he
could say no more. The colonof,
?pening the vest, drew from an in
ner pocket a miniature, the portrait
of a young and beautiful girl, so
beautiful that even then the colonel
could not help gazing upon the like
ness with interest and admiration.
"And this?" he questioned as he
held it up to the eyes of his dying
comrade. The pale face of the suf
ferer grew strangely bright when he
looked upon the bit of painted ivory
before him.
"In England, he whispered,
"she lives?Densmond in Devon
shire?you'll remember?take her
this yourself?no one else. Find
her in Densmond?Amelia Burton.
Tell her?I didn't forget"? A tor
rent of crimson lifeblood gushed
from his lips, and all was over. The
colonel arose, folded a blanket and
placed it beneath the head of the
corpse. Then the night winds gath
ered and whispered among the tree?
and brushed with their dark pinions
the bright, cold drops that stood on
the pale forehead of Herbert Cres
ton.
Already the sun was casting long
shadows over the landscape arbund
the pretty English village of Dens
mond in Devonshire, for Densmond
was pretty and everybody said so?
that is, everybody who had ever
been there said so. And, as for those
unfortunate beings who had not
been there, they were so very much
in the minority that no one ever
cared a straw what they said or
thought.
The day had been hot and sultry,
and with the advent of the cooling
breezes of evening every one who
could possibly get out of doors did
so, for the air was delicious now
after the overpowering heat of the
day.
Along the dusty highway a man.
well dressed and evidently a stran
ger in the country through which he
was passing, was walking slowly,
evidently absorbed in thought. He
was about forty, of a bronzed com
plexion and dark hair, now slightly
tinged with gray. On the whole, he
was far from handsome, nor did
the scar of a saber wound across
his forehead add to his attractions.
Just now he paused before a cot
tage that stood somewhat back from
the public road, almost buried in
flowers, like the modest and retiring
cottage that it was. Sounds of hap
py laughter came from an arbor
concealed by the surrounding hedge.
Colonel Nathaniel Pember paused
but a moment, however, before he
?pened the gate.
"Can you tell me," he asked one of
the party of young girls that met his
?iew as he entered, "if you know of
any one residing in this neighbor
hood of the name of?of Amelia
Burton 1"
"Yes, indeed," answered one of
the young ladies, with a meaning
?mile, "but you'll have to hurry,
though, for there will be no such
person here after tonight."
"She?she ii not sick?not dying,
fs she 7" quMtioned the colonel ha?
tilv.
"Oh, not at all," answered the
young ladv, with a pleasant laugh;
"only she's going to be married to
Lord Littel tonight."
"Married?" said the colonel half
to himself; then aloud: "Can you
tell me where she lives? I must see
her upon business?sometl^ng verv
important."
"It's not very far from here. The
house in the park that you see on
the left belongs to her father. But
you must hurry. It's after 6:30, and
you've scarce an hour."
Colonel Pember turned and walk
ed hastily along the road. "Married
?married?then I am too late.
Perhaps not. I don't understand it.
I can't." And with every step he
took came the refrain, "Married,
married, married."
The next day Densmond was all
excitement. The daughter of the
Hon. Crofton Burton had refused
at the last moment to marrv Lord
Lorloose Littel. And then, too, the
appearance of this suspicious look
ing American. That must not be
overlooked. Surely there was some
thing in this, "if those as knew
would tell." But the Hon. Burton,
M. P., would tell nothing, and as
Lord Littel had left for town that
morning he could tell nothing, and
Miss Burton had declared that she
would tell nothing. So there the
matter rested, and like every other
sensation was almost forgotten ten
days after.
Almost, I say, for Colonel Pem
ber had taken lodgings at the Pot
and Kettle, and scarcely a day pass
ed but he made his way to The Oaks,
the residence of Mr. Burton, who
seemed to have a great fancy for his
company.
Nor was it long in becoming com
mon talk that the colonel had re
turned to Miss Burton on the eve
of her intended wedding a blood
stained miniature, the token of a
schoolgirl love that she had given
to Herbert Creston, the village ne'er
do well, and that as she saw the pic
ture, stained with his lifeblood, the
old love had returned, and she had
refused to inarrv any one else.
So passed a year, and again sum
mer visited the little village, sprin
kling the lawns with yellow dande
lions and the hedges with all man
ner of sweetness. From the many
farmyards came the sounds of cat
tle and of fowls upon the clear and
silent air, mingled with the distant
dashing of brooks. The trees, re
splendent in their "garments of
green," east grateful shadows for
the noonday wanderer. And then
the gardens?roses everywhere! The
air was one mass of perfume, de
lightful and overpowering, the first
sweet gift of. summer.
During this time Miss Burton
had not been seen by the village
folk save on one or two rare occa
sions, and those who had viewed her
reported that she was looking pale
and sickly and that she scarcely
ever spoke. Now, however, at the
approach of summer she had
thrown off her gloomy aspect, laid
aside the "inky cloak" that she had
insisted upon wearing and had even
gone so far as to ride out into the
country and always with the colonel
as a companion.
One night they walked together
in the gardens that almost entirely
surrounded The Oaks. There was no
other light than that of the stars.
As Amelia paused the colonel placed
his arm about her and held her
hand.
"You have my answer?" he ques
tioned softly.
She raised her face slowly. Their
lips met.
"It is 'ves ?'" he asked.
And she answered, "Yes."
*******
Far away in the wilderness of
Virginia the night winds gathered
and whispered and murmured and
muttered and with their dark pin
ions brushed the bright cold drops
of dew that clung to the blades of
Sass above the unmarked grave of
erbert Creston.
Palmerston and the Empire.
When Lord Palmerston was pre
mier of Great Britain, he took over
the colonial office for a time during
the absence of Lord John Russell on
a foreign mission. His first question
I of the permanent secretary of that
department was, "Mr. Merivale,
where are the colonies?" He was
cheered to find the office full of
maps. "I manage the British em
pire, as you know," he said, "but I
never could understand my latitude
and 'ongitude or make out where
the British empire isn't."
Books and Germ*.
A medical journal draws atten
tion to the dangers of circulating li
braries and says that all books
should he disinfected before being
taken from them. Experiments
have proved that the germ of diph
theria will live for twenty-eight
davs in a volume and the germ of
tuberculosis for more than a hun
THE STRICT GRAMMARIAN.
H?'? All Right on Papor, but Not In
Conversation, Says Thla Writer.
Mercutio wreaked all his dislike
upon a man that fought "by the
book." 1 have a mortal grudge
against one that talks by the book.
Let a man write himself into syn
tactical tangles that would befuddle
a Herman philoso t; let him be
pompous as Sir William Temple; let
him he purposely archaic as Spenser
or us lull of coinages as Shake
speare, as parenthetical as Brown
ing pi as antithetical as Swinburne:
let him follow any whim or tcholas
ticism to the deaih, so long as he
commits bookishness only on paper.
But heaven preserve me from fre
quent encounter with the fatal bore
that talks bookishly. I am not pa
tient with the unco' learned who
interlard their speech with those
crackling "by which's" and "to
whoin's" rather than 6eek the direct
colloquial forthright that give
them an honest, stout preposition
to end a sentence with. Now, the
torment of bookishness in actna1
talk is had enough, but you can ill
ways escape by running, or at least
call the police. What refuge is there,
though, from the bookish talk of
the characters in fiction? When an
author is before the curtain in pro
pria persona, one is not offended
necessarily by magniloquence or
overnicety of construction, but
when he steps back and pulls the
strings that work his puppets' jaw
then surely, surely, he must talk like
talk and not like composition.?
Scribner's.
The Banana.
The banana was named musa aft
er Antoninus Mm a, llie freedman
and physician of the great August us
of the Romans, says Linna*us. Th
sapient u m?the wisenesa?in its
name is a graceful tribute to it li
the "wise man's food," for, ineivd
! ible as it may seem, it is perhaps
the best food product of the earth,
being far more productive than ei
ther wheat or potatoes, the staple
food of other nations. Long ago it
was calculated that it is 133 times
as productive as wheat and forty
four times as productive as the po
tato?in other words, that the
ground that would give thirty-three
pounds of wheat or ninety-nine
pounds of potatoes would, as far as
mere space is concerned, give 4,000
pounds of lmnanas and with a frac
tional amount of the same trouble.
It has been called the "prince of
the tropics" because it takes the
same place, onlv to an even greater
degree, in those hot countries that
wheat, rye and barley take in west
Asia and Europe and that rice takes
in India and China.?Longman's
Magazine.
Bats and Vampires.
At sunset in the forest of Guiana
the bats flit from their hiding
places, some taking the place of the
parrots and flocking around the
fruit trees, while the horrid vam
pires wander far and near in search
of some sleeping animal or even
man in order to obtain a meal.
Cows, goats, hogs, fowls, as well as
game birds and quadrupeds, all suf
fer from their attacks if not secured
in well latticed pens, while the trav
eler must not be surprised when
awaking to find blood oozing from
a wound in his foot or tempie. In
some places domestic animals can
not be kept at all, as they are so
weakened by repeated attacks as to
ultimately die of exhaustion. For
tunately, however, the vampires arc
not very common and with proper
care may be excluded from dwelling
houses and stock pens.
Enlarged Vocabulary.
To have helped a great man on
his way is something to remember.
A Chicago paper says of.?ne western
senator that he takes pride in never
saying more than "yes" or "no" to
newspaper men.
One day a correspondent inter
viewed him with the usual result
and ended by asking:
"What is the largest city in South
Dakota?"
The senator looked his surprise,
but replied courteously:
"Sioux Falls."
The reporter bowed and took his
leave. A few moments later he met
a friend and said to him:
"I've beaten all you fellows. I've
just added the words 'Sioux Falls'
to Senator ?1?'s vocabulary."
Merits of Honey.
If people would use more honey
and less butter on their bread, we
think it would be better for their
health, especially for children and
invalids, at least such as suffer from
defective or weak digestive power.
Honey is a partly digested form of
sugar and thus relieves the stoma b
from the task of changing cane
sugar to grape sugar, whirh must
j be done with other forms of sugar
i before they can be absorbed into
the system. Many resort to honey
when they want a remedy for coughs
and sore throat, but why not use it
as a preventive ?
GOLDFISH.
Th? Proper Way to Care For Theea
Pretty Household Pets.
Goldfish are the cleanest and least
troublesome of pets. A quart of
water to a lish is sufficient. A me
Gum sized globe will accommodate
four fish aud, containing some shells
and a growing plant, which can be
bought of the fish fancier, makes a
very pretty ornament for the room.
The water must be changed about
once a week in cool and twice in
hot weather. With a cup I gently
dip out the fish, one at a time, and
put them in a bowl of fresh water,
which I have tried with my fingers
to be sure it is of the same tempera
ture. They can stand cold better
than heat. Then the globe and
shells must be scoured and the plant
rinsed.
After the shells and plant have
been returned and the globe refilled
the fish can be put back the same
as taken out, and they show their
appreciation of being at home
again. I have fed mine once a day
for nearly a year on oat flakes,
about two to a fish, and they flour
ish on their diet. They soon learn
to come to the top and accept food
from my fingers. They should be
fed nothing else, except fish food,
as meat and bread are apt to sour
the water. If when cleaning the
globe I find particles of food among
the shells, I do not feed tnem quite
so much. They must not have more
than they will eat, as it makes the
water cloudy. The intelligence they
manifest seems wonderful to me.
One usually rules the "globe,"
and it is not always the largest. 1
have a little tyrant too greedy to let
others eat until he has been served,
and he will chase one of his mates
twice his size. Goldfish repay what
little trouble they cause. They are
not especially suitable for children,
as they do not thrive so well when
tampered with. Lot them live in
their own way r.nd they will be hap
py.?Good Housekeeping.
Turtles Ruin Vines.
"One of our colonists," says an
Algiers paper, "recently noticed
that his vines had been gnawed
around the roots, and, resolving to
ascertain the cause, he went at
night into the vineyard and soon
heard a noise which was so strange
that for a moment he thought it
was of supernatural origin.
"Having lighted a lamp, however,
he discovered that it was made by
an army of turtles, which was slow
ly making its way from the river to
the vineyard. The mystery was now
solved, for the turtles no sooner en
tered the vineyard than they began
to ravage the vines. Summoning
some laborers, the owner finally
succeeded in getting rid of the tur
tles, but in order to guard against
further assaults he was obliged to
erect a wall around the vineyard."
Small Change In Abyssinia.
For small change in Abyssinia a
peculiar "coin" is employed. This
is no other than bars of hard, crys
tallized salt, about ten inches long
and two and a half inches square,
slightly tapering toward the end.
People arc very particular about the
standard of fineness of the currency.
If it does not ring like metal when
struck with the finger nail or if it is
cracked or chipped, they will not
take it. It is a token of affection
when friends meet to give each oth
er a lick of their respective "coins,"
and in this way the value of the bar
is decreased. Smaller change than
a bar of salt is sometimes needed,
and then the natives have recourse
to cartridges. Three cartridges pass
for one bar of salt.
A Curious Echo.
"Fellow citizens," thundered the
impassioned orator, bringing his fist
down hard on the table, "what, I
ask again, is our country coming
to? And the echo answers,
'What ?'"
"Pardon me, sir," interposed a
mild looking man in the audience,
rising to his feet. "Did I under
stand your question to be 'What is
our country coming to?'"
*Yes, sir."
"And you say the echo answers,
'What ?'"
"That is what I said, sir."
"Then there's something wrong
with the acoustics of this building,"
said the mild man, shaking his head
in a perplexed way and sitting down
again.
A Changed Man.
A Scotchman had reached the
summit of his ambitions, says Ev
erybody's Magazine, in attaining to
the magisterial bench. The honor
teemed to him a gTcat one, and he
tried to live up to it.
With his head high in the air he
swaggered along till he went bolt
up against a cow, which had not the
manners to get out of the way, but
continued to browse by the road
side in mild unconcern.
"Mon," cried the indignant own
er, "mind mv coo!"
"Woman," he replied, with fine
dignitv, "I'm no longer a mon. I'm
a baillie."
Proverbs
" When the butter won't
come put a penny in the
hum," is an old time dairy
jroverb. It often seems to
work though no one has ever
'old why.
When mothers are worried
x*cause the children do not
?ain strength and flesh we
ay give them Scott's Emul
>ion.
It is like the penny in the
milk because it works and
because there is something
astonishing about it.
Scott's Emulsion is simply
a milk of pure cod liver oil
with some hypophosphites
especially prepared for delicate
stomachs.
Children take to it naturally
because they like the taste
and the remedy takes just as
naturally to the children be
cause it is so perfectly adapted
to their wants.
For all weak and pale and
thin children Scott's Emulsion
is the most satisfactory treat
ment.
We will send you
the penny, /. e., a
sample free.
Be sure that this picture in
the form ?<f a label is on the
wrapper of every bottle of
Emulsion you buy.
SCOTT & BOWNE,
Chemists,
409 Pearl St., N. Y.
50c. and $1.00 ; all druggists.
| DISSOLUTION OF COPART
NERSHIP.
The copartnership heretofore
existing between M. C. Winston
and R. M. Nowell, has this day
been dissolved by mutual con
sent. M. C. Winston will con
| tinue the business in all of its
branches. AH parties indebted
j to the old firm of M. C. Winston
j & Co. will please makeimmediate
j settlement to either M. C. Wiu
I ston or R. M. Nowell. All bills
j aeainst the firm will be paid by
! M. C. Winston. Thanking all our
| friends and the public lor such a
I large portion of their business.
Your friends,
M. C. Winston,
R. M. Nowell.
Fewer gallons; Wears longer;
; Devoe.
Grippe Knockers?Just what they
I do to Grippe, Colds, Headaches. 25c.
A dose of Anways Croup Syrup
might save baby's life, if given at
J beginning of attack. Croup is
[ dangerous and Anways is safe,
j safer to have a bottle in the
house. Thousands use it, recom
mend it too. 25 cts. at Hoods.
For Fire Insurance call on
John 9. Ellington & Co. Best
companies, best rates.
I have a full stock of heavy
j shoes for men, ladies, boys,
misses and children for cold wet
weather. Also men's leather and
rubber boots at reduced prices.
W. G Yelvington. ?
Insure your property in the
I Liverpool and London and Globe
Insurance Co. Largest, Oldest
j and Strongest Co. in the world.
| Rates to satisfy.
J. H. Kikkman, Agent.
MacRae Bovett. Joe Jeroifaa.
New nrm.
We have formed a copartnership
and will deal in
Heavy and Fancy Groceries,
Snuff, Cigars and Tobacco.
Chickens, Eggs, Hams, Etc.,
bought and sold.
Country produce of all kinds a
specialty. Next door to
BOYETT BROS. & GODWIN.
All friends andtbepublic gener
ally are invited to call and see us.
Smithfield Grocery Co.,
BOYETT & JERNIGAN,
Proprietors.
SMITHFIELD, N. C.
DENTAL ACCOUNTS.
All persons owing Dr. J. W.
Hatcher for dental work are re
quested to call at once and set
tle same with Mr. Thomas R.
Hood, Smithfield. He has state
ments of the accounts. If more
convenient you can settle with
me. Hardy Hatcher,
Selma, N. C.
Jan. 2?2w.
INCORPORATION NOTICE.
Notice is hereby given that ap
plication will be made to the
General Assembly of North Caro
lina at its next session at Ral
eigh, N. ('., for a charter for the
Bank of Selma, Selma, N. C.
L. D Debnam,
Cashier.
I December 24tb, 1902.
FOR RENT.
A good one-horse farm for
corn, cotton or tobacco. Lo
cated 4% miles south of Clayton.
For terms apply to D. L. Jones,
Clayton, N. C., or T. A. Bran
ham, Raleigh, N. C.
Hancock'* Liquid Sulphur bHtks should be
taken once or twice a week. It destroys the
gee ma in all skin diseases, and heals it when
all ? tiiOr remedies fail. For sale by Allen Lee
DISSOLUTION NOTICE.
Notice is hereby given that the
firm of Etheredge & Hatcher is
dissolved by mutual consent.
W. H. Etheredge will collect all
accounts due the firm and all per
sons indebted to same will please
come forward and settle at once.
W. H. Etheredge.
FOR SALE.
On Tuesday, January 20, I
will sell to the highest bidder for
cash at my farm in SmithSeld
township, my fodder, shucks,
hay, two cows and two yearlings,
j six head fattening hogs, one two
horse wagon, carts, plows, one
mower and rake and other farm
| ing implements.
This January 0. 1903.
J. A. WoODALli.
SALE.
At 10 o'clock Saturday, Janu
ary 10th, I shall sell at public
I auction, one wagon, one buggy
anl harness and my farming
utensils. The land I have been
; cultivating is for rent. My dace
t is on Smithfield and Wilson's
i Mills road two miles from Smith
field. Needham Luncefobd.
Jan. 2?2w.
STRAYED OR STOLEN.
During Christmas time a small
cur barrow dog strayed or was
stolen from my place. Color
bluish white with small black
spots, a large black spot on his
back, *ellow ears. If you find
him please let me know.
J. M Bgackman,
(lift, N. C.
Jan. 2?2w.
New Drug Firm.
To the Public:
We have bought the Drug Business of MR. A LLEN LEE
and will conduct a first-class Drug Store at the same stand. We
will carry a complete stock of PURE DRUGS and everything
kept in an up-to-date Drug Store, and wil' be pleased to serve
you at all times, day or nieht. Prescriptions wdl be carefully
compounded by a registered and well experienced Pliannacist.
Christmas Goods and i'oys
GOING NOW AT COST.
We can give you bargains.
Yours to serve,
Boyett <Sr P ardee,
A. H. BOYETT. Manager. S TIP H.f . N. C.