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OF THE R.HINE.3R1 Bv ST. GEOR.GE RATH BORNE Oopyrisbi, by STnmrr & Suras. New Voik. OBiPTUt XXI 1|> Conclusion. When the little martinet thru an­ nounced his decision it created some­ thing of an excitement. Hildegarde's face lost its pallor, and Paul smiled grimly, at the same time he kept an eye on Aimee. Just as he expected, the' baffled countess aimed to carry out a desper­ ate plan. "It is a He, a base forgery, a trick to deceive fools; but it cannot hood­ wink me. What is this you say--that the man shall go free, he, caught red handed in the act, a spy, a hated Ger­ man spy, fit only for the halter? And ^ou dare to say that, you who swore ®n bended knees that my word should ^e law?" The poor major, victim of cross purposes, could only shrug his ahoul- ters. "There Is a previous oath, ma'mselle, my vow to my country to obey my pnperiors. That 1s above life to me, pince my honored name is * involved. £ven for you I dare not order my feen to arrest one who is under the protection of such a sacred document, Written by Marshal Bazalne him­ self.'" The countess, apparently cheated fat of her prey, and deserted by an Cwhom she had believed could be snded upon through thick and thin, looked about her sullenly. Des­ peration had made her temporarily pud, and she would risk even her own destruction in order to gain revenge. From figure to figure this glance {went--and then he saw a fierce Joy Hash over her face. It was as though she had discov­ ered that all was not yet quite lost Ah! it was Karl! Remembering as he did that the (Bther had candidly confessed he was |n Metz as a secret agent of the Ger­ man forces, no wonder Paul felt a sudden fall of his spirits when he recollected that the magic document pt his British friend would not cover two companions, and that the dread­ ful fate of death at the hands of the mob, from which he had Just escaped Pr a mere scratch, would probably be the doom of his friend and brother, poor Karl. Still keeping her eyes glued upon Karl, the countess once more ad­ dressed the major, resolved to test the last remainder of her power over that worthy. "One has escaped us, you say, but to not forget, my friend, there are two. Yonder man, his comrade, is the spy we seek. Tou prate of your •acred duty as a soldier--let us see some of it now--arrest that man and search him for positive evidence of his guilt." The major woke up. He was once more the warrior bold, eager tQ faith­ fully serve the woman he adored. Heaven help the poor devil upon whom his concentrated wrath now fell, for, having been held in the leash ao long the fighting major was apt to be exceedingly ferocious. However, if the bellicose soldier an­ ticipated any quailing on the part of Karl Von Stettin, he made the most grievous mistake of his life. The young Heidelberg philosopher even Bmlled as brightly as one eould Wish. In fact, he even appeared pleased to have all eyes concentrated in his di­ rection. This was not braggadocio. What could it mean? Beatrix crept up beside Karl, and caught hold of his arm. Her action could not be mistaken-- ft meant as plainly as those words of old which Ruth spoke to Naomi: "Whither thou goest I shall go, thy country shall be my country, thy God God my God." Karl put an arm around the girl •nd strained her to his heart And into Hildegarde's cheeks, hith­ erto as white as marble, the color •urged, as the light of a great revela­ tion began to force its v>ay. Paul, then, was not lost--he had not teen unfaithful--he was all her most fervid fancy had ever painted him-- and deep down in her heart she knew he loved her. No wonder, then, she glowed with sudden hope and the world took on a new brightness--after all, it is our condition of mind that makes or mars the scene. To the happy soul even a 4reary day of rain affords seasons of rejoicing. Thus one good thing had come about through this concentration of atten­ tion upon Karl. Utterly helpless himself. In so far MM assisting his comrade . was con­ cerned, Paul could only turn to watch the progress of events, praying that f}ir Noel could see the way to lend a hand, or that Karl himself might have a card concealed up his sleeve that would sweep the board. "Your name?" demanded the major, gruifly, as he frowned upon the smil­ ing young student-spldier, who stood With one arm thrown reassuringly •round the girl. "Karl Von Stettin," came the prompt reply. "Native of Germany?" "It is true." "You belong to the army of 'the Crown Prince?" "Yes." "Hare you been a prisoner on pa­ role, the same as this gentleman?" Karl shook his bead in the negative. While the others hung upon his words eagerly, waiting for the light that was •O slow in coming--Karl seemed so positive, so utterly reckless of conse­ quences that one could almost believe he expected a corps of the Feldwache with their spiked helmets to apear upon the scene whenever he chose to turn wizard and utter the words that Insured their oomlng. "I have not, Monsieur la Major," he said, firmly. "Ah! Then you freely admit that you, a German soldier of the line, have entered Metz for some purpose other than sight-seeing?" eagerly. Karl did not hesitate an Instant in replying. "Even that is true," he said, calmly. Whereat Paul mentally groaned, and the Britisher elevated his eyebrows in surprise, for both of them believed the frank soldier of the Rhine was giving himself bodily into the hands of the enemy. "Since you have confessed that your mission is that of a spy, there is no other course open for me but to con­ vey you to a dungeon and put your case before a drumhead court. Resist­ ance, you realise, is utterly useless. I shall proceed to have you searched on the spot, so that you may not get rid of any incriminating evidence." "Ah, do," said Karl, composedly, "since it will save me very much trouble in explaining certain facts which had better been whispered in your private ear--facts that your com­ mander most particularly desired should be kept secret." His words, of course, aroused the major's curiosity. Since seeing the magic paper carried by the English­ man, he was fearfully afraid of ex­ ploding some other hidden mine. "Come, monsieur," said the accom­ modating major, "you are concealing something from me--something I should know." "Something you shall know," de­ clared the other, placidly, nodding and smiling. "It is for your ear alone, Monsieur le Major." The soldier waddled forward, while the countess hissed and showed her utter disgust by crying: "Fool! coward! you would lose all!" Karl spoke a few sentences in a low tone. Whatever their Import, they startled the French major, who looked at him In amazement. "Can you show me the proof?" he demanded, hoarsely. Apparently it was the fashion to produce papers, for Karl took one from some concealed pocket Paul had a glimpse of It and felt sure the peculiar chlrography was ex­ actly the same as that which char­ acterized the Bazalne letter or pass­ port Sir Noel carried. At any rate, the effect upon the ma­ jor was quite as startling--his hand trembled as it held the magical docu­ ment, and his little eyes glowed like sparks of fire. "Enough," he cried, handing it back to Karl hastily. "I have come upon a fool's errand. There are no spies in Metz--there will be no need of any after to-morrow, the 27th, for Metz will no longer be ours. Sergeant, take your men off. Go and tie crepe upon your left arms, soldiers of France, for we are undone." Evidently the gallant fighter had read that which chilled his heart The order was given. Tramp, tramp, tramp, the tall guards marched out of the room--tranip, tramp, tramp, they went down the stairs until all had disappeared. Those who were left stood and stared. x "Gentlemen--ladies--I congratulate you on the very happy outcome of this adventure--for you. Pardon my un­ warranted intrusion, and, bon soir." With this the stout, discomfited ma­ jor betook himself off, accompanied by the countess, whose angry voice could be heard far down the stairs as she be­ rated him for not taking drastic meas­ ures to accomplish their desired end in spite of the commandant and his passports. Already Beatrix was clasped in her lover's arms, and the sight must have inspired Paul, for he immediately strode over to where the blushing nurse stood. "Hildegarde, once I told you that a Rhinelander never loved twice. I failed then to explain my meaning-- kept back by a dreadful fear of a fam­ ily secret 1 have found a mother and a sister, and you must hear the sad story connected with the past of this parent it is now my duty to love and cherish. After that, if you do not look down on me because of the shame upon my name, I want to tell you of my love for you, which will life to the end of my life, whether I win your consent to be my wife or not And Hildegarde put her hand in his, like the noble, true-hearted girl she was, saying: "My heart has been yours this long time, Herr Paul--take my hand and all I have with it I do not wish to hear the story now--at some other time, perhaps. Stop, do not insist I may have an idea as to the truth, but it is enough for pe to know you are innocent. I am only too happy to trust my whole future in your hands." What could he say? He sealed the compact as any bold lover would have done, and the bar­ gain made while German shells still exploded in the streets of Metz was founded upon such mutual respect and perfect faith that neither could ever regret it. The sturdy Briton appeared to be especially tickled over the fact that Karl had seen his lead and gone hiip one better in the way of legerdemain. "You came very near ending our friend for good. I declare, the major was so staggered his life hung by a thread," he laughed. Perhaps there was a tinge of curios­ ity in his tone. "You heard enough to give you an inkling of the truth, gentlemen, and now I feel in duty bound to tell all. I am not in Metz as a spy, though I thought it my duty to allow even Paul here to believe it for a time, as my mission was supposed to be a dead secret On the contrary, I have come here at the written solicitation of Mar­ shal Bazalne, who desires to discover 'the best terms he could secure for hla brave army of the Rhine. "At first he demanded that there be some allowance made for their emi­ gration ts Algiers, which the Crown Prince declined, and matters have be­ come so bad that the French com­ mander has agreed to an unconditional surrender. At midnight I shall go out of Metz bearing his acceptance, and after that time, when this document is in the hands of the Crown Prince, not another bomb will fall within these walls, for Metz will have fallen." Paul looked delighted, and even the non-partisan Briton seemed pleased to know the era of bloodshed in this par­ ticular region was at an end. ^'iXfeank God!" he said, reverently, "then peace will follow when Paris also falls." "Yes, we have much to be thankful for," said Paul, glancing toward Hil­ degarde. As for the doctor, spying a bottle of wine with three glasses upon a side­ board, he poured some Into the crystal receptacles. "Gentlemen, Join with me In this toast--here's to the gallant major!" "And may he escape the almost uni­ versal fate of those who worship at Aimee's shrine," added the Rhine- lander, earnestly. And so they drank It down. Little d!d they guess that at the very moment Countess Aimee was be­ ing carried into the hospital, a victim of an exploding Prussian shell, and that if she lived through the dreadful shock it would be as a helpless wreck of ber past beautiful self. The judgment had come at last, and in this hour her myriad victims were avenged. What more need be said? Paul and Karl served until Paris fell and peace came upon the stricken fields of France. There is no necessity to tell how they married, and what joys or sor­ rows came their way, for this world holds its share of both for all who love and wbo are chosen. Paul tenderly cared for his mother the rest of her years, and at her re­ quest finally laid her away in the American cemetery, where rested the husband who had been so fearfully wronged, yet who, with his last dying breath, had pardoned all in the great­ ness of his love, believing that to those who have sinned much, if they truly repent, everything shall be forgiven. THE END. SENTENCED TO ATTEND MEETINGS New Jantj Judge ImpoM* Unlqae Penalty Upon • Prisoner. Magistrate Charles P. Smith of Bur­ lington, N. J., is famous for his unique methods of dispensing justice, and on more than one occasion has butted through a problem that would have driven old Solomon daffy. Some time ago Magistrate Smith gazed down from his judicial throne on a man whom he had seen lined up at the bar--bar of justice, if you please--no less, than a thousand times, and had sent him to the county Jail so often that the city had gotten tired of paying his car fare. The 'Squire scratched his head thoughtfully as he surveyed the prisoner and listened to the officer's charge of drunk and dis­ orderly. "It don't do any good to send you t6 jail, does it?" he remarked. "I'm afraid that It does not, your Honor," replied the prisoner. "Well, I am going to give you some­ thing new this time," returned the jus­ tice. "You are hereby sentenced to attend forty consecutive meetings of the Salvation Army, but in order that the oommunlty at large may not suf­ fer, you will be exempt from singing or beating a drum. Officer, see to it that the will of the court Is complied with." For forty days the prisoner attend­ ed the meetings, with a cop on one side of him ana an officer of the army on the other, and for forty days he was as sober as a water pipe. At the end of the forty days, however he went on the biggest "bust" of the year, and was hauled before Justice Smith in a push cart. "What have you got to say for your­ self?" asked the magistrate. "Nothing, your honor," replied the soaked one, "except that if it don't make any difference to you I will go to jail this time." And he went WANT ANTELOPE FOR AUSTRALIA. They May Be Imported to Keep Down Unwelcome Bushes* There has always been a desire to acclimatize the eland, the largest and most ox-like of all antelopes, and the only.one which puts on fat Though it has been reared for generations in Paris and herds have been formed in English parks the eland has not proved a profitable beast. It wastes too much grass and does not mature quickly. But the Queensland agricultural board has a scheme for using them which sounds promising. There is an immense quantity of useless bush in the colony which cattle will not grace and which cannot be kept thinned by artificial means. Elands are fonder of grazing on bushes than grass, and eat dry and arid bush fodder by prefer* ence. The belief is that, if imported into Queensland they would "fend for them­ selves" and feed down a large amount of superfluous bush. There is this in favor of the idea-- that there is no indigenous carnlvora to kill off the eland calves, and that there is much in common between the vegetation of a good deal of the eland country and that of Queensland. They flourish in the Kalahari desert, where water Is generally atoen*. _• -- Life. It Is better to be a good man In a bad place than a bad man In a good one. i QO >yf,\ •• • mmm Neb** BONDHOLDER WANTS PAYMENT VILLAGE BUSINE88 18 TIED UP 3HURTLEPF DIAMOND JUBILEE Sues Village to Recover $10,000 on Waterworks Certificates. The city of Louisville, the county seat of Clay county, has been sued in the United States circuit court at Springfield by Harry B. Powell of Woodstock, 111., who holds $10,000 In waterworks certificates against the municipality. The plaintiff alleges the certificates are invalid, because $4,500 of the amount was used in building the town's lighting plant, while the cer­ tificates call for the whole amount to be used in the construction of the waterworks plant. He also claims that no payments have been made, either ton the principal or interest, since the bonds were issued, and asks that they be canceled and the amount, $10,000, and interest since March 1, 1900, be paid to him. ELGIN MAN 13 ELECTED MAJOR Benjamin E. Gould Chosen by the Third Illinois Regiment. Benjamin E. Gould of Elgin has been elected major of the Third Illi­ nois regiment Gould succeeds for­ mer Major Joseph Caughey, who Is now in the Philippines with the com- H BENJAMIN B. GOULD. (Major of the Third Regiment, I. N. Gk) mission of fl^st lieutenant. Gould has been identified with the Third regi­ ment for a number of years. He has been the quartermaster and for sev­ eral years was captain of company E of Elgin. He saw active service in Porto Rico. He has been a resident of Elgin all his life. Stable Roof Collapses. The roof of the recently built Pal­ ace livery stables at Springfield, cov­ ering nearly a quarter of a city block, collapsed under the weight of water during a heavy rain. A number of car­ riages stored on the second floor were completely ruined. The debris fell in a mass to tne ground floor, where sev­ eral employes and a number of horses had narrow escapes. Faulty construc­ tion and a lack of drain spouts caused the accident C. dk A. Improvements. The Chicago & Alton railroad com­ pany is making extensive additions to its sidetracks along its line. New sid­ ings have been completed at Shipman, Plainview and Anderson, and work has been started on new sidetracks at Mitchell and Granite City. The sid­ ings recently constructed are the iol- lowing lengths: Shipman, 2,000 feet; Plainview, 3,400; Anderson, 1,500. The new siding at Mitchell will be 3,000 teet long. Army Worms on the March. Reports from the country in several of the counties surrounding Tazewell state that the army worms have ap­ peared and tne farmers are prepared to stop their march across the fields possible. They travel in armies of mnlions, anu in one direction passing over a field they destroy every kind of vegetation. Many meadows have been entirely devastated of the grass and will be planted in grain. Sets Fire to County Barn. A large barn at the Hillsboro poor farm was set on fire by Ira Huffhines, a demented inmate, and was totally destroyed, with two mules, two horses, 100 bushels of corn, ten tons of hay, some oats, harness and farm imple­ ments. The loss to the county is es­ timated at $1,500, with $500 insurance. The loss of Supt. Barringer is about $500, with no insurance. Mandamus Suit Begun Against Mem­ bers of Buffalo Board. The village of Buffalo is in trouble. Hold-over members of the village board refuse to attend the board meetings. Several big contracts for village work are pending and because the board members will not attend the meetings the business of the village is at a standstill. In the Sangamon county circuit court G. L. Hunter, president of the board, filed a petition for mandamus against Messrs. Mc- Daniels, Cooper and Hageman, board members, to compel them to attend the board meetings. Excursion for Boys. A novel excursion is being planned by the Sangamon county farmers' in­ stitute for the boys of the county. The plan contemplates a trip to Cham­ paign and a day on the agricultural experiment farm at the University of Illinois at Lhat place. Col. Charles F. Mills is in charge of the arrangements and the indications are that several hundred boys will take advantage of the low rate. The officials of the university and experiment station are planning to entertain all who may take the trip. Election Officials Not Laborers. In an opinion rendered by Attorney General Hamlin, the services of judges and clerks of election are held to be official and not in the nature of labor. For this reason it is held that the law making eight hours a work day has no application In the case of these persons. Compensation is al­ lowed such officers at $3 a day, with­ out reference to the number of hours required for such service. The eight- hour work day applies to labor, arts and employments, except farmhands. New Race Track at Alton. Announcement is made that the new driving park to be backed by Al­ ton horsemen and bicycle riders will be opened to the public July 4, and that a racing matinee will be given as the opening event After July 4 the park will be open to the members of the association. The track is being put in good condition for speeding horses and bicycle riding. Orders to Mobilize. Capt Galbraith, commanding com­ pany C of the 4th Illinois regiment, stationed at Carbondale, has receive- orders to mobilize the company at Camp Lincoln in Springfield in July. He has also received fourteen first- class and twenty riflemen's badges, won by members of the company on the rifle range. Randolph Republicans. The Republican central committee of Randolph county has issued a call for a county convention at Coulter- ville Tuesday, June 3, for the purpose of nominating county officers and electing a new county central commit­ tee. The local primaries will be held Saturday. May 31. Damages Courthouse Cupola. A drought of four weeks' duration ended at Mount Vernon with an elec­ tric storm and much wind. The dome of tne courthouse cupola was dam­ aged by lightning. Nearly three- tourths of an inch of rain fell, which will be of incalculable value to the growing crops. Mount Vernon Gas Company. The certificate of incorporation of the Citizens' Gas, Lighting and Heat­ ing company of Mount Vernon has been filed for record in the recorders office by Herbert R. Kingman. The capital stock is $2u0,000. All of the stock is held by Chicago parties. The principal offices of the company will be in Mount Vernon. Begin Work on Library. Work on the excavation for the new Carnegie library on the corner of Charleston avenue and Sixteenth street has been started at Mattoon. Started Fire with Oil. Mrs. George Arney was seriously burned by the explosion of a coal oil can while she was starting a Are. She is a resident of East Hillsboro. The man who wouldn't kiss a pretty girl if he got her where she couldn't help herself hasn't enterprise enough to get out of the way of an automobile^ Fear 8an Jose Scale. The San Jose scale has appeared in the vicinity of Mount Vernon and fear is expressed by agriculturists and fruit growers that the insects will spread to various parts of the county. The large-orchard of Norman A. Pier- cy, three miles northwest of Mount Vernon, has been attacked, and all but 20 per cent of the trees are re­ ported as ruined. Fire in Carlyle Courthouse. A fire was discovered in the interior of the Carlyle courthouse by E. A. Kahlert, who conducts a restaurant on the southwest corner of the square. He gave the alarm and the volunteer fire laddies soon had the flames quenched. One of the partitions In the anteroom to the grand jury room was partially destroyed. The damage amounted to $150, which is fully cov­ ered by insurance. Tne fire originat­ ed from a lighted cigar which had been thrown into a box of sawdust used as a spittoon. Convention Called. Albert Campbell, chairman of the senatorial committee of the 42d dis­ trict, issued a call for a senatorial convention to meet in Effingham May 31 to nominate a minority candidate for representative on the Republican ticket. Mexican Veteran Passes Away. Edward Doyle of Jacksonville died at the state soldiers' home in Quincy. Deceased was a veteran of the Mexi­ can war and was over 80 years of age. Enlarge Waterworks. The city of Waterloo has purchased an acre and a half of land from Frank Toenjes^nd will enlarge the reservoir at the waterworks plant. feacher Turns Cashier. Prof.'H. C. Chaffln, former superin­ tendent of the Flora schools, has been elected cashier of the Rinard Banking company. 8tone Cutters Form Union. The stone cutters of Decatur have effected a union organization. Honorcbly Discharged. Honorable discharges from the mili­ tary service of the state have been granted to Privates F. B. Ayres and Manford Nelson of troop D, 1st cavalry, of Peoria. The dishonorable discharge of Private F. Wilson Maurice of troop B, 1st cavalry, was revoked. Cars Crush Man's Arm. Harry Gelsel was painfully injured while at work in the Alton Lime and Cement company's quarries. His arm became caught between two freight cars and was crushed. Piasa Chautauqua. The hotel at the Piasa Chautauqua grounds will be conducted on im­ proved lines this year, the directors having voted to employ an experi­ enced hotel man to have charge'for the summer. It was also decided to Improve the hotel service and to make the Piasa Chautauqua more attractive for St. Louis people. New School Superintendent. E. E. Webster of Ann Arbor, Mich., has been appointed" superintendent of the Jacksonville schools, to succeed Prof. John W. Henninger, resigned. Programme for Celebration at Alton Beginning June 1. The programme for the diamond jubilee of Shurtleff college, celebrating the seventy-fifth anniversary of the founding of the school, has been com­ pleted. The baccalaureate sermon to the graduates will be preached Sun­ day, June 1, in the Upper Alton Bap­ tist church by the Rev. Dr. S. A. Mc­ Kay, president of Shurtleff. Sunday evening an address will be delivered before the college literary societies by the Rev. W. F. Scott, D. D., on the subject, "Higher Education and Christianity." The reunion of the literary societies will be held Mon­ day afternoon, June 6; In the evening a recital will be given. The Kendrick memorial services, in honor of the late president of Shurtleff college, Rev. Dr. Adin A- Kendrick, will be held. The jubilee exercises will be held Wednesday afternoon. Thursday evening the reception by Mr. and Mrs. S. A. McKay will be the closing inci­ dent of the diamond Jubilee. It is ex­ pected that some Important announce­ ments Will be made at the diamond jubilee relative to a substantial in­ crease in the endowment of the insti­ tution. Poleet Reads Novels. John Poleet, the self-confessed mur­ derer of his companion, Charles Isaac­ son, has not yet indicated the time he desires to be taken into court for a hearing. It is thought that he will plead guilty to the charge and throw himself on the mercy of the court His time in the jail Is spent with novels, of which he is an insatiate reader, his sole request of the au­ thorities being that he have plenty of reading matter. On Sunday he ' at­ tended religious services in the corri­ dors of the Springiield jail and also read for the first time a newspaper account of his crime. Madison County Wheat Crop. Wheat growers in the vicinity of Alton say that the prospects for the wheat crop were never so good as this year. The wheat is now in bloom and has an extraordinarily healthy appearance. Not an unfavorable in­ dication has been noted, and it is probable that Madison county will har­ vest the biggest crop of wheat this year known in many years. The weather conditions this year have been the best that could be desired. On Missouri "point," opposite Alton, the agriculturalists are counting on a great wealth of crops of all kinds. Teacher Wins Lawsuit. A Jury in the Clinton county circuit court decided that Miss Samantha Fisher of Huey was entitled to $53.17, which was due her as salary for an unexpired term when she. was dis­ charged as teacher of the Clinton school in Brookside township by the directors. The school officials al­ leged she was not competent to teach the school, while she declared she was deposed as teacher because she whipped a son of one of the directors. Blind Horse Breaks a Window. A blind horse ridden by Ben Spike, a young boy, ran away at Alton and plunged through a plate glass window in a pawnshop. The horse was partly in the show window before he < could be Btopped and was mixed up with a pile of musical instruments which were being displayed in the window. The horse was badly cut, and the boy, although he fell at the feet of the frenzied animal, was not injured by the kicking of the horse. Alton Elks Plan Street Fair. The Alton lodge of Elks Is planning to hold a street fair in Alton next September similar to the one held by the Alton Commercial club last summer. It is probable that the Elks will apply to the city council for a franchise to control the street fair and to dispose of privileges. Poleet Not a Minister. John Poleet, the murderer held in the Sangamon county jail, is not a Baptist minister, as he has said him­ self to be, but is merely a member of the Grafton Baptist church. The members of the Grafton Baptist con­ gregation indignantly deny that Po­ leet ever was a preacher. Water Plant Nearly Paid For. City Treasurer Cale Weitzel paid off a $2,000 bond which was issued to construct the TayJorville waterworks system. The city now owes but $7,000 on its waterworks plant Drilling for Coal. The drilling for coal near Buxton continues. The depth of 430 feet has been reached by the drill, but no vein of coal of satisfactory thickness has yet been found. Measuring Worms. The so-called measuring worm has made its appearance in the orchards around Springfield, a few fruit grow­ ers reporung that some trees were completely stripped of leaves. Plans for the extermination of the pest are under discussion. Dates for Fairs. The farmers' free fair will be held in Effingham September 30 to Octo­ ber 4. The Pana fair will be held Septem­ ber 9 to 13. Dr. Million's Will Set Aside. The will of the late Dr. John L. Mil­ lion of Springfield was set aside at the instance of the heirs. Judge Creighton holding that Mr. Million was not of sound and disposing'mind when the Instrument was drawn. The estate involved is quite valuable. Rain Benefits Crops. A dry spell of considerable duration was broken at Lebanon by a copious rainfall, which will greatiy benefit the growing crops, especially the younx corn. NO CLEAN MONEY Iff OIL BECT Mtvar Cotiii* Tuned Blaefc kf MM trom Tuu Walls. "Mcrey is curiously colored in th# oil region," said a gentleman froaa Beaumont, "and during my recent e» perience in the Texas city I could not really tell whether I was getting good money or bad half the time. The ap­ pearance of the silver in circulation, in and around Beaumont was a revel* ation to me,( but, of course, men wha have been in oil regions before, where the very air is filled with gas, knew just why it was. Shiny dollars am really very rare now in the Texas oil belt. The black oxidized dollar la the rule. The dimes, quarters and halves are black. ' It is marvelous how quickly the silver will become ax&* dized. ) "I was talking-' to ode of the mas who was actively engaged In working at one of the wells, and just for my benefit he made a little experiment. He searched around until he got a new looking dollar, one that had just ai* rived and had not had time to be af» fected by the oil and gas of the plaoSk He put the dollar in his pocket and went to work at one of the manholes. He did not remain there a great while. "When he returned he pulled OOt the dollar and handed it to me for 1b spection. It was black enough, and It had not got out of his pocket until ha gave it back to me. The gas simply permeated the man's clothes, got into his pocket, and when it struck th* silver the necessary Chemical proc­ esses were set in motion to leave ths dollar colored. All the silver which has been at Beaumont for any length of time is in this condition, and the man who would draw the color line on the dollars In the Texas oil belt would simply be unable to do bo# ness." SOLDIER WAS JUSTLY INDIGNANT Vttuu of CItII War Referred «• *0 "Battle See red" General. Prof. Win. F. King,president Of Cor­ nell College, of Iowa, believes that,* newspaper reputation is somewhat precarious. At the dinner given in honor of Leslie M. Shaw, secretary of the treasury, at the St Denis hotel recently President King told of the experience of a famous general of the civil war, who was described in the leading newspaper of the town where he lived as a "battle scared generaL" "The general," continued President King, "was Justifiably indignant, and expressed himself to the editor of the paper in no uncertain language. Ha demanded that a correction be made in the following issue, and pa hla great dismay on picking up the paper on the following day found himself described as a "bottle scarred gen­ eral." "There la no fear," said Presldeat King in conclusion, "that any of the guests here to-night will go home 'bottle scarred.' I notice that lnaa* much as the menu contains no wines, the guests have been indulging freely in plain water. However, the edibles have been luscious enough to make the mouth of the Hudson water."-- New York Tribune. ^ • J' The Inverted Oomat, Mr. Bernard Shaw will hare the sympathy of writers--and we should think of compositors--in his protest against the use of the apostrophe. He has himself dropped it out of "alnt," "dont" and "shouldnt"--but not out of "he'll"--before he wrote his protest in "The Author." But why all these inverted commas, "the silly triclr of peppering pages with these uncouth bacilli"T You will find none of these bacilli in the Bible. Take this pas­ sage, chosen at random: Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye In- quire among yourselves of that J said, A little while, and ye shall not see me; and again, a little while, and ye shall see me? The modern compos* itor would set that passage between two brackets of inverted commas, for it is a quote within a quote. But It is beautifully clear as it stands. And among all Biblical misunderstand­ ings, no one we think has been misled by the absence of an Inverted comma. --London Chronicle. v'£| Didn't Know "Plekwlek That Dickens Is no longer the most popular author, especially among the great middle class and the common people, who used to read him gladly, there seems to be no doubt Henry Sturges Ely, the globe trotter, veri­ fies this by an experience he had the other evening at a boarding houses just out of Washington Square, where he always puts up when visiting this city. He had come in early one even­ ing, and rang up his landlady to know if she had anything he could read. This landlady had long been one Of bis special admirations for her aA» curate and general information. "I'll try the '-Pickwick Papers,** said Mr. Ely, "if you have It in th* house." "Well, now, I'm sorry," replied the landlady, "but we dont take that. We have The Christian Advocate' and 'The Ram's Horn' regular, perhapa they'll do."--New York Tribune. Feeallnr CiitoaeH. "We certainly do have some pe­ culiar customers," conceded the wool underwear salesman. "Take, for In­ stance, that man just going out Why he's tried everything as often as .it came out with sufficient advertising to suggest itself. Linen, cotton and every other material he has gone into with equal enthusiasm, only to be on the lookout for something new the next season. Why, I verily believe he'd try chain armor if the case wert attractively put before him! To-day he was real wicked. He said he had a scheme whereby be intended to us. His idea is to buy four suits of wool gauze underwear many sizes too large for him. He reasons It will be all the cooler and more airy, so he *; will be comfortable all summer. Then by winter the things will have shrunk until they're as thick as boards, at he'll be right in it summer and winter with the same underwear. He's one of our prize Cfanks."--Philadelphia Record. «• People like jollity, bet aotberag lied.--New York Sun. o \