THE ENTERPRISE TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION: SI.OO Per Year. Strictly in Adnacc VOL. IV. - NO. 17. : THE WAY OF A i MAID. : From the patch the view was taptob. Upon either side were the ■nuil j; at am ieet the pot yard, with its rrrid turf, its aid oaks, its wd!-tnuuned nctgicni and its winding pncl walk, patlf doped to the pnbiic roudway; actum the nadnjr broad pasture laads. cos mtetily munched over br a thorn cattle, beyond the {Wtnc-bads flowed the blue riier. Happily had Colonel Everett planned, when he had so fault that the main portion of his estate should he hi froat of him. and that, like a patriarch in his tent door, be wight ait npon his porch and const his flocks and herds. " , To-day, here against the thickly tinbtnd hill-crest stood the huge honse. its commanding position, its odd crenelles and tmrents, giving it the appearance of a castle, while its generous verandah proclaimed k a comfortable home. There, be low, extended, almost as far as the eye conld corer the bnsy, thriving meadows. Bat Colonel Everett was dead, and the hud of the vast prop erty was this slip of a girl now id ly swaying in the hammock,athwart the porch corner. "Clarke, I said abruptly, "yon on;! it to get married. •*I know it," she admitted with promptness. "Then why don't yon?" I asked. "Echo answers •Why?*" she murmured The hammock ropes squeaked as • she anting to and fro between the columns. "You must see—of course you do—that Everett Place should be in charge of some man dothed with more* authority than a mere salary can give," I continued. "Heshould be interested in it because it is Ins and yours. Money will buy serrice, fart it will not buy interest. The manager of Everett Place should be its owner—that is, its joint owner. • "Tis a pity to let an overseer play hob with such an estate. "But I'm quite satisfied with the 'overseer' as you are pleased to call yourself," objected Clarice. "Every body says you've dope finely, and I'm sure that I've got more money than I can spend." "Which is one I have in mind to the present," I replied. "Your hus band would feel free to invest the money, for it would be his mooey also; on tbc other hand, a conscien tious manager or overseer natural - ly hesitates to take the risk, if the investment would fall outside the farm." "I expect you're-tiredof being tied ' down in the country," accused * Clarice, peeving, bright-eyed, a fuund the corner of her hammock pillow at me, sitting upon the rail ' with back against a pillar. The vehemence with which I has tened todeny was so sincere that it was ludicrous "However." I concluded, "your father did not intend that I should stay here always. He must have foreseen that you would some day be married, and my liraiidihip could be only temporary." -'Why couldn't you be my hus band's steward as well as aune?" jamanded Parke myt; with « _ trwre of osuke. J_ "Heaven forbid!" I exclaimed "Mescyi" she cried, with a lit tk giggle. "I had no idea that your ' task was so disagreeable." "It isn't disagreeable," I retort ed, di»«M\tsd "But your husband yon understand, he'd be your hus band, and—" •"Yes, I certainly hope so," inter rupted Clarice. "I should insert on having it in blade and white." •• and while I'm glad tsaerve ym, he ought to be able torn his Besides, I waqt to be | e*»2thfaig mare than a dried-up | secretary, another man's hired help - an my life." "Win.nMl?" asked C2arioe.gaz- I iHg at me curiously. I coUkl not tell her my heart's i desire, though it was on the tip of % (Sntaprist my 'tongue, aa ever. I had been left in trust by her father; in trust of his daughter's lands, but not o his daughter's life. 1 mat nat onr step my office. Sol responded, euig matirally: "Much." Which Clarice received with a dry; "Thanks/' "Why JJout you get married?" I persisted. "You are eld enough— mind are that I'm twenty three!" she sniffed .severely. "And hou uij rude!' You ihaUM have arid that I am young enough. I*m angry with you. Cousin PhflT* •'And to my personal knowledge you have had offer after offer ■*" "And not all from the aaaae per son," she corrected. "No; bum many young men of good character, good family and goad iwaitam. and why juu refus ed some of them is more than I can fathom." "Possibly I didn't lure them," she suggeated, aoftly. "Supposing. Mr. Wise-Acre, yon pick ant a fans baud for ne." sin added. "It wfll so symplify nutter*—yon being un biased." "Pick out a busbuud?" Quick as a wink I might hare replied "Phil ip Armsted" —but I didn't. My name had no busmcm in the candi eacy; and while it yearned to break prison I United, haphazard: "Jasper Tait-" " 'Jasper Tail!* " repeated Clar ice,indignantly. "A would-be Beau Brummel! I hare no wish to be a valet!" "Robert Harne." " 'Ha-ow's your hawgs. list Clarice?' " mimicked my pert audi tor. "No; the man *1 marry must have mind above such a subject." "Brandon Sawley." "A sport! He might wager me on a horse-race —and not lose!" "Well. Edmund Buff." I propos ed, triumphantly. " 'Puddin' bead Ned?" Gracious! He's the other extreme. I prefer Bran." "John de Voe, then. What's the objection to him?" ',None! He iaut worth ft. Good character! Bad charncterl 17* has no character at iD! He's like gela tine; tasteless, colorless-" "Frit* Feutox." * "Pub! A cheap edition of Bob. I'd never get farther than the kitch en. He wantsa drudge, not a wife!" I paused, at lam for another name, and inwardly exultant over the trenchant way she had swept aside those which I had already presented. "Done?" she inquired, sweetly. "Yes—that is, while there are lots more, I don't see but what you had better choose for yourself,' I responded, with meekness. "Cousin PhiL how old are yon?" asked Clarice, suddenly rittmg up and facing me. "Forty winters and thirty-three summers," I rpfied. "Or, forty with my beard on, and thirty-three with itoff." "Which (makes seventy-three," asserted Clarice- "But at the low est estimate, don't you think that "It's hard to lean that I have tried and failed, Clarice," I confer though rather startled by her in sinuation. "Vet, positively, you expose yourself by sayiag that I had bet ter choose my And you preface that remarkable advice by attempdbg, like a big, ianofent calf, to aid me by a hat which, I must admit, you with he roic impartiality! Oh. {feißp the Fooliahf "and she laughed mock ingly- I flushed. I did not take kindly to being put sp«a the same plane with a "big, innocent calf," even by Clarice —or should I say, espec iafly by Clarice! "However, yoymhace Is Ihmlj. no matter if it mat way original," she resumed. "I usff chooae —there! She emphasised her "there" by | plumping, with a little spring, ont of the haaunork "I'll ten yon the rest after sup per tonight." she vossduufed. with WILLIAMSTON, N. C, FRIDAY, JANUARY 23,1903 aa energetic shake of her crumpled skirt about her dainty anklm; and tripped toward the door. Midway she halted aa instant, and patting me on the head, parried; "Don't fed bad, PhiL Cahesare such dmr things." An instant more and she had fled, leaving her light touch and dear laugh asaqr pleasant memory of hex presence; her acceptance of my null counsel, as my unpleasant. According to tbc design which Clarice unfolden —and a atulrap whim itsemed to be—within the week we sent out invitations to the mast elaborate dancing party, for the twenty-ninth, that the vicinfty bad ever known. Hospitable Everett Place was to eclipse aO its past record. Town and country dike were bidden, and the neigh borhood was agog. It was my duty to enter cheerful ly into Clarice's countkss plans concerning the forthcoming event; but nevertheless, I was miserable. PrncticaUy, the night of the twen ty-ninth meant to me the end. It meant goodby to Everett Place; it meant good-by to Clarice. I had been here eight years, eight happy years, shadowed only bv the death of the colonel. When he had heeu able to realize the dream of his life, and with bis mil lions bad retired here to establish a country house and to develop him sdf to his passion—fancy stock — he bad sent for me. whom he d urays had favored among his youn ger relatives, to be his secretary— and. I cannot but add, bis sen When he had died, so unexpected ly to dl, I found that I had been named his executor, Clarice his heir. Since then fire years had flashed by. Claiice, whom I bad seen first in her girlhood, had attained her womanhood. My .executorship has long been fulfilled. StiD. at the. wish of Clarice, and because St was best for the estate that I should I had stayed at Everett Place to manage it. That I loved Clarice goes with out saying; loved her not as a fis i ter. or as a second cousin, bat a* j Clarice —just as Clarice. And oar very intimacy prevented my teUing her so. I did not wish to subject her to any embarrassment which she might feel by reason of a ridic ulous sense of obligation. More over, I was ten years her senior, and was, save her househeeperaunt (an amialde but dense person), her only adviser. Everett Place had prospered, but ft was time that manager Stepped out, husband stepped in. Who he would be I did not know; Clarice evidently did. The twenty-ninth arrived, and, everything had been prepared. Wbca the sun sank we lighted the great bouse, room to room, until it looked like a festal palace. As I was hastening to dress, Clarice called down the lull: "Prink yuur prettiest. Pbifc 'Tis the last chance you'll have to dance with me before my wedding. This warning was not one calcu lated to lift me into the very best of spirits, I must acknowledge. Toilet completed, upon scrutiniz ing myself in the glass, us many a man has done in fact as wdl as in fiction, I beheld a face n melan choly m that of a mute at a fune ral. The guests streamed in. so that for aa hour we were kept busy wd coming them. Quickly the ball room filled. Wecould hear, where we were standing below, the strains of the orchestra and the rhythmic swish ct feet upon the polished floor. "You can go up, Clarice," final ly I suggested "You might as well be dancing, and IH stay here to greet late comers. I don't care to dance anyway." "But you'll dance with uae, wont yon?'' she inquired. "By all means," I answered, ad ding glumly, "if I have a chance. "You'll have the chance, I promise you," she returned, over her shoulder, smiling bad: at me as she sasended th wide stairway upon the arm of a fortunate cava lier. So subtile was the smile that I ' The Business That Does Not Talk Is as Tight as air™" 6^ Open the Bliell ami it is Delicious. Have you ever tried it ? Try opening your biisinow ho People will know al>out it- Now is the time THE ENTERPRISE. W3l open your Bastaeas Shell and bring SiWirlory Results. If you are not satisfied, bring jwir tronUalo .......... X. THE ENTERPRISE -IT WILL PUSH YOUR BUSINESS FOR 1903^ myglumnrss melted, and I. too. soiled. It w»s a shame for me to throw a damper upon the occa sion. A number of things, here and there, occupied me. and when I - was enabled. at last, to seek the (ball room. I was in better humor. I j" But. as I had thought prolnMt,, .; ray •■chance" to dance with Clarice •' was an extremely forlorn one. in- • , I asmnch as upon me developed to j 1 1 attend to the least pcjnSlir girls, > , J and she herself was the belle as ; j as well as the hostess of the gather-j , mg- In fact. I never got near her un j til. during an interval between J • danced, she beckoned to me. ! , j "It's ten o'clock, Phil," she an-! r! nounced. as I bent over her, "and I time for the get man. you know. I 1 Now make your speech." i I glanced at ber imploringly .The f task appalled me. "Oh, Clarice, I can't!" "Can't! The idea!" she protest ed gaily. ''Who ever beard of a j lawyer having stage-fright! Go! ahead you goose" "If you don't I will,"she threat ened. while I faltered. "Pshaw! I'll do it if you will tell, me what to say. Miss Everett." . volunteered John de Yoe, who was sitting beside ber. That was enough. The effrooter of this nincompoop gave me the needful stiffening, and while every body watched I stalked across the room, and took stand before the re- 1 cess where the orchestra was con , cealed. " Ladies and gentlemen." I said | —the words which I had been re hearsing to myself for a week com ing mechanically to my tongue. ■, " I'm sure that you will agree nitb j me that Everett Place ought to have a master as well as a mistress. ] i We are about to begin the german. j and Miss Everett has done us the ( ! honor of inventing for the first fig ore what she terms 'the matrimon : U figure!' It is for the men gen erally. but the man—" ■ l| . " Only single men need apply," ' : interrupted Clarke,ln duket tones. « to my confusion. "The man," I proceeded, frown j ing. "whose favor she accepts i*—l is himself accepted, and —and—I, fadievw that's aIL" i With this lame finish I started, rto sit down, i' » I "Not all, by any means!" cor-i rccxi d Clarice, mischievously, bop- j ping upon ber chair to speak, and > there steadying herself by grasping . tbe shoulder of her neighbor on either hand. "My partner—who [ ever he may be — and I will lead r the german, company permitting. . and we'll be married, and live hap r pyever-after,*of course. And it; - was Phil who advised me to choose, t a busty ud, so he is responsible. j Phil, help the men select their fa vors—in case they want any. They may favor other ladies tlint should be understood. please—but. they will not necessarily lie co:ivicted of wishing to marry them." I Clarice subsided, and a buzz of amazed eoranint aro\ The men | raUkd quicker than did'tfcc women , and led by the more audacious • Uades like- Brandon Sawley and I : Tait. Hocjked to the table {tvberupon were diqJ'ayrl ths espec [ ial golden hearts. j of the men returned' to [their seats; others lingered on the I floor. A hush of anticipation l fell Sorer the gathering. AH waited. "Well,'" said Clarice, plaintively, I "does nobody want me?" Nobody" Why hardly a bachelor •in the room but was opetdy ber I - uilor. » bile not a few of the staid | benedicts were accustomed to cast I sheep's eyes at her. The red in her cheeks deepened, ; until, above her fair neck and shoul i dels, her face was a beautiful crim- Ison rose poised in a marble vase. On a sudden Brandon Sawley. with the remark. "Nothing dare, nothing do," marched straight a- | cross the floor, and, bowing low .offered his favor. Clarice looked him full in the eyes, and, smiling, sltook her bead. Brandon l«owed again, and defi autlv marched back to his chair. People laughed, but I admired Ins i pluck. II is fadure emlio'dencd other as-. ! ptrants. Jasper Tait strutted to dis- j oomliturc. Next Fritz Fentox shatn ■ b!«d over, ami sheepishly retired. Then Horace Mutin, Robert Hay ne and Gilbert Henry, in a row.' "Mercy!" exclaimed Clarice. "I : can't marry the three of you, so I | will have none," and she hid ber .face behind ber fan. | One after another.'old and young I of town and country, some joking ly, some daringly, and some white with a great hope, essayed the ven ture. and one after another met a refusal which, while varied to fit ibe opportunity, was the same in purpose. Finallv came a lull. The list of candidates seemed to be exhausted. "Oh, dear, sighed Clarice, de murely. but ber eyes a-sbine with la merriment."must I miss thisJove [ly waltz?' * " ! ." Z..... From my station by the table I [ scanned the room, and Idid not see : a single available man left. Was j this tcherr.e merely a joke ? Had I j ; been inveigled in a farce ? Already | | couples, unable to resist the strains . which had long been calling them, were drifting over the floor. That minx of a Clarice! Suddenly a hum of interest at tracted my attention. T turned my j head toward the spot where Clarice j bad been sitting,but here was Clar | ice by my side! THE Rj^TRRPRISEI RATES OP ADVERTISING: ITillyii r JjCMfc. - - two kracrtioM lls - ■ aaooth ti-00. - m Ibtt Mtbi .. • • •4 °°- - - n •• - - tadn " fcrhy. ■illllWSMinll I r TT-* * ** "Phil." she pouted, I*» want f to dance !" I I started in amazement, now at ■ her, now at the golden heart. I per f ceivcd, I had been unconsciously twirling in my fingers. The poet f changed to a tender smile : before i my stare her brave gaze fell. > A great light broke upon me.and s unrebiiffed I laid the golden heart I in lier soft palm. Tctacc* ia Texas. , Culn ami Sumatra must look to . their laurels as producers of fine I tobacco, if the plan of tfce Southern Pacific railroad to establish Texas as a toliacco State do not miscarrv. Thc road's industrial agents have r long been experimenting with the r soil of certain sections of the Lone [ Star State, and arc convinced that t that it is well adapted to the cul i ture of high grade tobacco, inclnd ' ing many kinds now imported. . I If these plans of tba Southern 1 Pacific carry through, well inform ed tobacco men say that the tobac tco trade will be almost revolution ized, with inestimable benefits to to the country at large. If Texas . can place itself on a level with the [ foreign toliacco markets the vast •sums now paid lor transportation will be saved. The Texas product would not interfere with that of Kentucky. I - , i Virginia and other States, owing Ito tlie different grades in tobacco | grown. The seedleaf planters of the North would not suffer, but ( [ the foreign leaf would be displaced. . ' Of course not nearly all the vast • State of Texas is adapted to tobac co growth. Experts believe that the rice belt is the only part fitted for the cultivation of the high grade product. President Castro, the South American Dictator, whose recent defiance of two world powers has j so astonished Europe, is. in truth J an extraordinary man. Measuring g but five feat four inches in height, ■ lame, of humble origin, uuedncat- « ed, and essentially ignorant of all J the refinements of western culture. ] he is none the lea one of the most { forceful men Venezuela has pro duced since the days of Bolivar. _ He won his way sword in hand to - the Yellow House, or Presideets Mansion of Caracas. He has met ■ pressure from abroad by insulting , first France, then the United States. I and now Germany and Great Brit ian. His latest defiance of these i powers, after they had wiped out his entire one fell blow, was such a delightfully Spanish performance that it made him the - hero of the hour in all Sooth Amer r ica. It remains to.beVeea whether . Cipriano Castro is *a]Don Quixote . or a Fernando Cortex. —Collier's Weekly. J 4 » • / WHOLE NO. 173 - > V « Professional Cards. gR. JOHN D: BIGGS, DENTIST\ Jj§ OFFICE: icainstrrkt. GEO W NEWF.LL, ? A TTORKKY-A T-IJL W, m rw Ofttr ap «Uin i« Nrv Bfeak mm ia«.lrf«l»ad aide, top «rfalc»«. "ViLLiAMSTON. M C. •rfndm «ktnm wnhi» m Wr4, «tnW Mtnlna |hra to tinUq mm* «k --•tlUcfK of Uabn mm* limWr M. Mai to. fill FOWLEI/Haufir- . - I AMERICAS AND - - - - EUROPEAN PLAN. T-i • ' 1 1 18 to 28 Prat Street, . " . . • . BALTIMORE, MD. Thoroughly Renovated and put in First-Class Order. • ijyilT Bntw«« r.4aU>»M tm » i a bxti Ibnl. X. C-. j *-■'•« -T39 GEO. R. DIXON ~ Practical Sheet fletal Worker. Tin Rinfin);. GutteHnt; nnl Toiwcco Flan a Sj«th!v. also Tin Roofs Painted 1 » ill |«jMlivt'ly lie on hanl AT WILLIAMSTON to [snsiih Hit I'arincrs with TOBACCO FLUES •luring U»c Season of 1903. If yna want the Rest Material ami the Best V.'oik. Call on ut addms GEO. R.DIXON, Rocky Mount, N. C. - *«••' MO r ~ 1 >Tm> ~ 1 is Y£LLO# PC»SOU h 1.-* \ - Ir Pbyilz.HT.3CS.I i| il .t'jiiial (term. IdM te :£sa J I > h-T-'llJ I ti Kkf H I l :'- •. t . r-if. It Woriii) Cs:j nr. I I iri-.ftt. it turn's yoif com- j3 potion jtßow. Cfiliy, aching 3 MRiitfc-ra creep down year H i>.:V.b-*t«r. Ycu fed wesU aril M | v. orlisieM. fIQEERTS* CHILI TONIC [j tv a! tup rkc trouble row. It H enter* tin Nood at c ace u>J t| 1 drites ami the yellow poison. H If crjittlU a«J when •.nilts, J I Fevers, Night -Sweats an J a gca I eril brc7k-linvi rome bttron, I Reigns* Teak nill cure yoo p th.-n -but why wsit ? Prevent g fi-iuir id!«c«. The maitufac- f I terers know ail cbout this yel- 1 low poijcn sni lwv4 perfected 1 Roberts' Teai: to drit: it oat, I rx'Uh your s -t'.cm. restore | cppeUtc. purify the bf xjd, pre- | ye*t rnj cire C?»:l!s, Fever* rid | Materia, it has cured I — lt will cure ycu. I 1 y l>-.k. This is !iir, "I cj E | it. Hiicf, Z^reolj. ' -- - sag* Sea— For sale by Anderson, Hassetl & Co. ,anp Eli Ocrgiaut. v i. Kodol Dyspepsia Cure Digests what yon eat-e This preparation contains all of tht dlfNlaiiH and digests ail kinds ot food. It gives instant relief and never fail* to cure. It allows yoo to eat all the food you want. The most sensitive •toma' ii- can take it. By its use many tbou>a:»ds of dyspeptics have beea cur«ii after everything else failed, la uncii'talled for the stomach. Child ren with weak stomachs thrive on ik first dose relieves. A diet unnecessary. Cares al siemach trsaUw n«Ki"l only by E. C. IHWitt* COL. OMfMP B. IL buttK CKMUIns t',i line. Uk Sk. ikb _ S B. BICCS AevvM«n4taf ftAMHianddMoMlniMf «Mly our opttwa frmm whether m i firaM la patwuMa. Cummmtm tkamt c a|JmU«l flflAookoßhMMi •hi fre% iwli igmy "or MMrtMaataMk P*:- *i Ui« tLr »ultli Malta 4 Co. Mkl Mfcrf MCfe«. arttlmt «*»*•. ft* t£» Scßiitific flwctlcaa.* JB.