Sh ly a
SRA
a Sa ~~
mmm osm sma
979990 VLDL
: The Split Button. ‘
999999999999 9999979902 VLLVLLT
1 often think that the aphorism
which proclaims the truth that trifies
make the sum of human things was
invented by a member of the profes-
sion to which I have the honor to be-
long, for in no walk of life more than
in the detective business is the accur-
acy of this statement more often and
more positively born out. In a case
which passed through my hands some
seven years ago and which created a
profound sensation under the name of
“The Margrave Mystery,” it was the
presence of a tiny witness, about one-
tenth of an inch in dimension, which
enabled me to track the perpetrator
of the crime, and to bring him to the
scaffold which he merited.
One morning, early in June, I re-
ceived a telegram from headquarters
bidding me to proceed at once to the
village of Margrave, in Berkshire,
where a certain Dr. Powis desired to
interview me immediately. Arrived at
the doctor’s residence after a 40 min-
utes’ journey in an express from Wat
erloo, I was ushered into his library,
and found him awaiting me with an-
xious eyes.
He was a broad-shouldered, firm-
faced man, with eyes and mouth which
proclaimed honesty and steadfastness
of purpose, but it was obvious to me
that he was under the influence of
some terrible shock, and his very first
words proved that my diagnosis of his
emotions was correct,
“A horrible and painful episode has
just occurred, Mr. Harding,” he said,
speaking very hurriedly. “My patient,
Sir William Margrave, of Margrave
Hall, has been poisoned by a bottle
of physic sent to him from this house
by me—understand that—a bottle of
physic prepared by me, with my own
hands, last evening and taken by my
messenger to his house. Unless the
mystery is cleared up before the in-
quest, I shall be in a dreadful posi-
tion, and may even have to stand my
trial at the assizes. For Heaven's
sake, tell me what is to be done.”
“I can teil you, Dr. Powis, what is
not to be done,” I answered, without
hesitation, “gnd that is not to excite
yourself thus unnecessarily. By pre-
serving your calmness as much as pos-
gible, and giving me a clear and con-
cise account of this affair, you will
be helping the cause of justice, and I
have no doubt that I shall beable to
aid you to some extent.”
“Very well, then,” he exclaimed, ris-
ing and pacing the room nervously.
“I may tell you at once that for some
time past I have been attending Sir
William for gout, and have been in
the habit of sending him a bottle of
physic «every Wednesday evening, to
counteract the effects of the complaint
in some degree, Last night I prepared
the medicine as usual in my surgery
downstairs, and having despatched my
messenger with the physic, I sat down
to read the Lancet in my study until
bedtime.” “x; LEAs
He paused, wrung his hands in an-
guish, and then went on. “All went
‘on as usual, but about midnight I was
summoned from my bed by a footman
from the Hall. He merely announced
that Sir William had been taken very
ill—was in violent agonies—and that
the servants believed him to be dying.
Without a word I followed the man
back to the housc, and only arrived
in time to find the poor old baronet on
the point of death, whilst he gasped
out to me, as I knelt over him, these
words:
“ ‘Analyze the medicine!
the medicine!’
“He never spoke again, and from the
manner in which his body was con-
torted, and from the odor in the room,
it was obvious to me that he had swal-
lowed a dose of the deadly drug
known as oil of almonds—in other
words, prussic acid.
“Directly I had lain the dead man
upon his bed (for in his struggles he
had fallen to the floor) I turned to
examine the bottle of medicine, and
one whiff at the drug told me what
had occurred. An infusion of prussic
acid had been added to the gout mix-
ture, and to its addition Sir William's
death was to be traced.
“l sent for the servant who had
summoned me and bade him ride to
the police station and inform the night
inspector of what had occurred, and
then lay down upon the sofa in the
dining-room till 8 o'clock, when the
official in question arrived in company
with the police doctor. The latter
agreed with me that the deceased had
met his death through poisoning by
prussic acid, and I can assure you,
Mr. Harding, that from his manner to-
ward me it was plain he considered
that I was to blame, and that througa
some criminal oversight I had commit-
ted a blunder and sent Sir William to
his death.
“However, he said nothing of the
sort to me, and, having taken an offi-
cial note of the affair, went away. The
body now lies at the Hall awaiting the
inquest, which will doubtless be held
on the day after tomorrow, and you
will, therefore, appreciate my pcsition,
Mr. Harding. If something is not ad-
duced by that time to show that the
horrible affair has come about through
no fault of mine my reputation will be
shattered, and I shall be a ruined
man.”
“One moment,” I said. “1 should
like to see this messenger of yours.”
“You shall do so at once,” returned
the doctor, and, ringing the bell, he
told the maid who answered it to send
him in.
The messenger, Travers by name,
was a tall, thin man, with bushy side
whiskers and neatly-parted black hair.
He answered my questions in a
straightforward manner, and informed
_me that he had conveyed the medicine
as usual to Margrave Hall, where he
Analyza
had handed it to the footman. His
master, he added, had seemcd perfect-
ly composed and calm when he hand-
ed him the bottle, and he was quite
at a loss to account for the extraordi-
nary incident.
It was so obvious to both Dr. Powis
and myself that this man could have
nad no earthly reason for desiring the
life of the departed baronet that we
did not trouble to question him very
closely, for after all he was but a
messenger, and could not be expected
to give us much vital information.
Having thanked him for his words,
I told him he could withdraw, and he
went away as silently as he had en-
tered.
“He seems right enough,” I said,
when the door had closed upon his
retreating form.
“What about the servants at the
Hall?”
“All of them are absolutely trust«
worthy, and all of them loved poor Sir
William as a father. He lived in the
house quite alone save for the ser-
vants, and was a bachelor, his only
surviving relative being a brother,
who, however, has not been heard of
for a long time.”
“And the brother succeeds him, I
presume?” I asked quickly.
“Yes. There is no other heir, and
thouh the gentleman has not been in
evidence for some years, I expect he
will turn up now that a large estate
and £20,000 per annum await him.”
“No doubt,” I replied drily; and then
having asked Dr. Powis a great man
more questions,
all of which he an- |
swered most satisfactorily, I took my |
leave, promising to go on to the Hall |
and see if I could elicit anything
"there.
“Let me know,” I said, as I shook
hands in parting; “let me knoy by
wire the exact hour of the inquest and
I will come down, so as to back you up
if you need any assistance. And let
me advise you, Dr. Powis, to agitate
yourself as little as possible, fcr I
hope and believe that this mystery
will be traced to its fountain head be-
fore you and I are much oider.”
“Heaven grant it so,” he said wear-
ily, and then taking my hat and stick
I set out for the Hall.
Every information that I desired was
given me at that place, but it helped
me but little. I journeyed back to
town at 4 p. m., telling myself that the
affair was a black mystery and that
the doctor's position was, indeed, a
sad one. The jury would, of course,
take the view that he had blunderea
in preparing the physic, and he would
be a ruined man. .
* * * % - $
Next morning I received a note from
the doctor that ran thus:
“Dear Mr. Harding—The ‘inquest is
fixed for next Friday at 12 noon, at
the Hall itself. I would have wired
you the information, but as I have
some other news to communicate I
write instead.
“Toe news in question is that my
messengers, Travers, has suddenly dis-
appcared. He went out at 7 o'clock
this evening and has not returned.
Foll'® ing so closely on the terrible
tragedy at the Hall, the disappearance
seems suspicious, and I presume you
will use all your influence at Scotland
Yard to have him traced.
Yours faithfully,
“CLAUDE POWIS.”
“Now, ‘what does, this mean?’ I
asked myself, as I read and re-read the .
letter.
senger vanish at this point?
“Why on earth should the mes-
A'ssum-
the crime, what possible motive couid
he have possessed for committing it?”
However, it was of little use to ques-
tion myself thus, and I went to work
iminediately to have the man traced.
All our efforts in this direction proved
useless, and when I went down to Mar-
grave to attend the inquest on Friday,
the man was still beyond our reach.
Dr. Powis, who looked exceedingly
haggard, was very pleased to see me,
but his face fell when I told him that
Travers was not to be discovered.
The jury will say that I have got
him out of the country for some rea
son of my own,” he mumbled heip-
lessly; but perceiving that the coroner
» Le i %
inz even that he was responsible for | on made 5 full confession
| brother's estate, and believing that if
returned to England, where he had re
sided at his London club for some five
years. He was convinced that his rel
ative had had no tendency toward sui-
cide, and that the present tragedy
must be attributed to something else.
That was all he had to tell, and very
well and very glibly he told it.
He was about to glide from the
apartment when something that I had
not noticed previously sprung to my
gaze, and even as it did so an illumi-
nating intelligence swept my entire
consciousness.
Rising to my feet I said, in a loud,
clear tone:
“Mr. Coroner, I must ask for an ad-
journment of this inquest, as I bave
new evidence to offer.”
The coroner started, Margrave stood
rooted to the floor, and the doctor's
face lit up with joy.
“New evidence,” said the coroner;
“of what nature?”
“The nature of my evidence,” 1 re-
plied triumphantly, “will take the form |
cf an accusation of ‘wilful murder’
against the last witness, Arthur Mar-
grave.”
A Jow murmur went around the
room, and watching Margrave's face, I
saw the color come and go. His knees
shook, his hands twitched—if ever
guilt was written in a man’s face and
in a man’s figure, they were written
in his face and his figure at that mo-
ment.
But I was resolved to lose no time
in following up my master clew, and
taking from my bag a pair of bushy
whiskers and a black wig which I
carried for the purposes of my busi-
ness, I clapped them onto Arthur Mar- |
grave as he stood there, rigid and
amazed, and then turning to Dr. Powis,
who was regarding the scene with eyes ‘
of amazement, I cried out:
“Dr. Powis, do you recognize Mr.
Margrave in his new character, or
rather his old one?” .
“Heaven have mercy on me!” shout-
ed the doctor, leaping back. “It is
John Travers, my missing messenger.”
“Exactly s0,” I returned, as I re-
moved the disguise and quietly hand- |
cuffed the terror-stricken scoundrel,
“exactly so; and there is no doubt, doc-
tor, that your old messenger knew
what he was doing when he took up |
his situation with you. Further evi-
dence will, of course, have to be col-
lected as to Mr. Margrave's alleged
residence at his London club during
the past few months; and I venture
to think that the club is a myth, and
that we shall have no difficulty in
proving it to be such. However, all
the necessary evidence will be forth-
coming at the further hearing, and in
view of these developments I must ask,
Mr. Coroner, for an adjournment.”
“It is granted,” he said, without a
moment's hesitancy. “I hereby ad-
journ the hearing until this day fort-
night.”
“By which time,” I added quickly,
“1 have every reason to believe that
my case will be complete.”
* * * * * *
We went to work with a will at
Scotland Yard, and very, scon proved
that Arthur Margrave had been seen
at no London club during the past six
months; and in view of the fact that
he was unable to account.for his
whereabouts, the coroner's jury, tak-
ing into account also my evidence and
the evidence of Dr. Powis, returned a
verdict of “wilful murder” against him
after a very short deliberation.
This verdict was confirmed a month
later at the assizes, and he was con-
demned to death, while Dr. Powis re-
ceived the congratulations of the whole
district upon the glad knowledge that
he was freed from all suspicion of
having blundered on that fatal night.
On the eve of Margrave's execution
he sent for the governor of the jail
It seemed
being anxious to inherit his
he lived he might marry and have is-
sue, the villain had conceived the no-
tion of disguising himself as a man
| servant, had waited for a vacancy to
was at this moment entering the li- |
brary where the inquest was to be |
held, he checked his speech and fol-
lowed the official silently into the
apartment.
The jury were called in, sworn, and
seats were allotted to them. The usual | tne servant I had met in Dr. Powis’
formalities followed, and then the ex-
amination of the witnesses took place.
These included Dr. Powis, two of the
Hall servants, and the present baronet,
Arthur Margrave, who had read of his
relative’s shocking end in the papers,
and who had come dewn to the Hall
immediately to take up his residence | ing on the hint brought a murderer to
there and to give the lawyers any aid
that might be required.
The evidence of the servants was
disposed of very quickly, and was of
small service. The doctor's turn fol
lowed, and it was evident from the
manner in which the coroner ad-
dressed him the lattter believed the
physician to have been guilty of gross
carelessness in the handling of the
drugs. The doctor feit that the coroner
was taking this harsh view, and i
did not help to make him more com-
fortable. On the contrary, it broke
down completely what little nerve was
left in him, and when, at length, he
was curtly told that he might stand |
{ ate
down, he collapsed completely, and
was obliged to seek the nearest chair.
Arthur Margrave's ‘turn now came.
He was a tall, clean-shaven young
man, with easy, confident manner and
pleasant voice. He told how he had
been wandering about the continent
occur in Dr. Powis’ household, and
then had obtained the post of messen-
ger, knowing that all the medicine
sent to his brother’s house would be
conveyed by himself. Gaining admit-
tance to the doctor's surgery one
| night, he had obtained several drops
of prussic acid, and on the following
night had taken advantage of his posi-
tion as messenger to infuse the poison
into the medicine he was conveying to
his relative’s house. He had disap-
peared from the doctor’s residence af-
terward, in order that he might dis-
| card his disguise and turn up as his
brother's heir.
And how had I associated the gen-
| tlemanly witness at the inquest with
ubrary?
Well, I had noticed that the messen-
ger’s left boot contained a split button
midway, and the very same mutilation
| appeared on the same button in Mr.
Arthur Margrave’s boot. I put thetwo
unusual breakages together, and act-
his doom, being actuated, as I have
said, by nothing more or less than a
split boot button.—Tit-Bits.
Russians in Jerusalem.
Says the Jewish Chronicle: “The
great Russian monastery occupying a
dominant position at Jerusalem is lit-
| tle else than a strong piace of arms
for the past few years, had recently |
in disguise, to which munitions of war
are constantly brought in small and
unobtrusive quantities. A few years
back one of the grand dukes inaugu-
rated, with much imposing ceremon-
ial, a church upon the Mount of Olives,
the most noticeable feature of which
is a tower of singularly disproportion-
elevation, from the summit of
which, it is said, one can signal as far
as the Mediterranean. The Czar does
not proclaim his policy from the house-
tops, but only men as simple and blind
as the pilgrims at the C
Holy Sepulchre could mis: the signifi-
cance of these things.”
LIVING OVER A VOLCANO
THOUSANDS DWELL IN PEACEFUL
HOMES ON VESUVIUS.
| Scenes About the Historic Monster of
Southern Italy—Indifference to Danger
fromm Lava is Dne Largely to the Trust
and Faith in the Patron Saint.
~The volcano Vesuvius rises on the
i mainland about 15 miles from the city
| of Naples and about five miles from
the coast, writes W. E. Curtis, in the
Chicago Record-Herald. It is encir-
i cled by a railway at the base, and up
to the Leight of 1900 feet is covered
with cities, villages, farmhouses and
vineyards. At least 80.000 people live
in the midst-of continual danger, to
which they seem entirely indifferent.
It seems strange that a section ex-
posed to such constant peril should
be so densely populated, and thousands
among those who brave it must have
{ witnessed the terrible destruction from
the disturbances of 1872. There were
eruptions in 1895 and 1899, which de-
stroyed the roads but did not other
damage, although they were a loud
warning to all who occupy the great
{ amphitheatre within the range of vol-
canic catastrophe. Last May the ma-
chinery of the railway that carries
| people to the crater was partially
| destroyed, but little lava was thrown
out. silo
From every window of the white
houses which glare in the sun can be
seen the floods of lava which have so
often poured from the crater of the
monster and forced their way down
to the ‘sea, burning and burying every-
| thing in their track. Yet the peasants
continue working in the vineyards
i within a few yards of the significant
{ streams, producing that popular wine
i
|
| with the blasphemous name, Lacrima
{ Christi
i is intensely fertile, which is one rea-
| son for the indifference to the danger.
| The material thrown out from the
| bowels of the earth is composed of
| elements especially adapted for grow-
| ing of grapes. But the volcanic soil
|
(tears of Christ.) AL The lava
is equally productive of other crops.
The greatest security, however, is
assured by San Gennaro, the patron
i saint of Naples, who has repeatedly
| averted earthquakes and relieved the
anxiety of the frightened people. Tne
remains of this saint repose in one
of the churches, where there is also
a crystal vial containing a quantity
of his blood. Upon certain anniver-
saries the priests take this crystal
from the depository. The sacred relic
is first conducted at the head of a
procession to different sections of the
city, in order that as many people as
possible may share in the adoration.
At the end of the march high mass
is celebrated by the bishop or arch-
bishop or some prelate of distin-
guished rank, while the crystal vase
stands upon the altar.
An image or picture of San Gennaro
is to be found in every cottage on the
volcano, within reach of the danger,
and pious peasants will tell you how
often the good saint has averted from
their vineyards torrents of fire, which
had crawled to a point where . it
seemed that not even divine power
could avert destruction. So great is
this faith that the thousands of peo-
ple continue to live conscious of se-
curity upon the ground where thou-
sands before them nave perished. It
is true that there has been no great
loss of life of recent years, but Pom-
peii and Herculaneum were entirely
destroyed, and 3000, 4000 and 2000 peo-
ple have lost their lives on three differ-
ent occasions within the last two cen-
turies. The cruption of 1794 was the
last in which many lives were sacrl-
ficed, although in 1872 20 people were
killed by their own folly, being led
to curiosity too near the point of dan-
ger.
Pompeii and Herculaneum were de-
year 79, when the country was devas-
tated far and wide and buried under
showers of ashes and vast streams of
lava. It was then that the present
cone of the mountain was formed.
Previously it was a low. ridge, not
more than 2000 feet in height. Now
the peak extends nearly 4500 feet
above the sea and has increased from
3900 feet ‘since 1845 and from 4255
feet since 1869. It is gradually grow-
ing, altmough with every eruption a
few feet of the crater is usually
knocked off. Last fall the height was
reduced 242 feet.
The great naturalist, Pliny, who was
also a naval officer, was in command
during the eruption of 79, and lost
his life. His nephew, the younger
Pliny, gives a vivid description of the
catastrophe in a letter to Tacitus, the
historian—how the earth: was shaken
by internal convulsions and the day
turned into night, the extraordinary
agitation of the sea, the dense clouds
overhanging land and sea and broken
by incessant flashes of lightning and
terrific thundering; the terrible floods
of fire and ashes; and the terror of the
people, who believed that the end of
the world had arrived.
About once in 20 years these phe-
nomena reappear, although none has
since been so destructive. Near the
foot of the cone is a meteorological
observatory 2220 feet above the sea,
perched among the streams of dead
lava, It is equipped with seismo-
graphs and other apparatus for regis-
tering the movement of the earth, and
the observer can predict several days
in advance any unusual disturbance.
But the cats, dogs and horses which
live on the sides of fhe volcano are
quite as sensitive and never fail to
perceive the approach of danger as
soon as the automatic instruments.
The crater which destroyed Pompeii
Burch of the |
and Herculaneum is extinct. Its work
was done and was well done, and it
has been gradually filled up by the
overflow from other craters which
| describably beautiful.
stroved on the 24th of August in the |
have broken out since. Every few
years there is a break in the side of
the cone. Today you can see the last
one, which opened in 1839, and the
yellow color of the surface of the earth
around it is due not to sulphur, as
people as first suppose, but to the heat
still retained by the earth. The man-
ager of the railway tells me that the
rocks and the lava have not yet cooled,
although two years have passed, and
it is impossible to approach nearer
than 50 or 60 yards on account of the
heat. The temperature of the lava
recorded by the observers in 1899 was
2000 degrees Fahrenheit. I am not
able to understand how the record was
taken, but give the fact as stated to
me.
There was another and an even
greater outbreak in 1895, from which
flowed several streams of lava with a
roar resembling the detonation of ar-
tillery. The roadway which had been
built at great expense up the side of
the mountain was buried under the
floods of liquid lava and several hun-
dred yards had to be rebuilt. So far
as can be ascertained, that crater was
only temporary, and has closed again;
but the surface of the mountain is so
hot that it cannot be reached.
Since 1872 there has been no erup-
tion from the main crater at the top
of the mountain, although a cloud of
steam or a pillar of smoke.continually
arises. The effect of the steam is in-
Its form va-
ries according to the direction and
the violence of the wind. When the
air is still it rises from the crest of
the cone like a titanic plume, At other
times it takes the form of a streamer,
tapering off into the sky far distant,
and again it will settle about the sum-
mit of the mountain like a pure white
cloud. Occasionally the vapor ceases
| and volumes of thick, black smoke as-
| kin
of the fleet in the harbor of Naples | 2
cend, which throw a shower of soot
over the surrounding country. Atrare
intervals flames have been seen to
shoot up, and sometimes there is a
glow at the base of the column of
smoke which is explained by different
people with different theories.
Notwithstanding the long list of pub-
lications by eminent scientists which
have appeared since the art of printing
was invented, the cause of these phe-
nomena is still a matter of conjecture
and controversy. The highest authori-
ties believe that the pit of fire is inti-
mately connccted with the sea, and
that the regular column cf stream is
due to the continual flow of water
from it into the furnace. When the
steam ceases and the black smoke ap-
pears they assume that the current of
water has temporarily been checked,
perhaps by dislodging some block of
earth or lava in the interior of tie
crater, and the smoke continues until
the obstacle is removed. But all this
iz disputed and nobody knows any-
thing about it. There is also a theory,
based upon a comparison of observa-
tions, that Mount Etna in Sicily is
connected with Vesuvius underground,
and that both volcanoes are only two
chimneys of the same furnace.
QUAINT AND CURIOUS.
The only gem which cannot be imi-
tated is.the opal. Its delicate tints
cannot be simulated,
Burns committed his poems to mem-
ory as he composed them, and when
he sat down to write he had before
him no labor of composition, but oaly
the task of writing down what he had
already finished. :
The Siamese have an instrument
which they call the ranat, a ‘species
of harmonicon, with 17 different wood-
en keys, united by cords and resting
upon a stand, each strip of wood giv-
ing a different note. The instrument
is played with two wooden hammers.
Holland is the cow’s paradise; there
the family cow is the family pet. She
is washed, combed and petted, her
tail is plaited up and tied with blue
ribbons as carefully and elaborately
as the hair of an only daughter, while
her health, food and digestive powers
are as carefully considered as an in-
fant’s.
A curious custom takes place in vil
lages of the Luxemburg district, Bel-
gium, every May. After Sunday ser-
vice numbers of lads cluster round
the church entrance, and as the girls
come out ‘seize them one by one, one
lad grasping a girl by the shoulder
and the other by the heels, the two
lifting her well up while a third bump-
passes under the human bridge
thus formed. This is done in the
presence of the parents, who them-
selves have passed through the ‘same
ordeal.
A notorious old house is to be demol-
ished in Edinburgh, Scotland. The
den is situated in what 1s been
known for generations as the West
Port, where, in olden days, the heads
and limbs of covenanters, witches and
criminals of every kind used to be
fixed to the gates.
known as the Beggar's hotel, lived
Burke and Hare and carried on their
nefarious traffic at a time when all
the country was roused and excited
over stories of “body-snatchers,” as
they were called. Stolen bodies and
desecrated churchyards were terrible
enough, but the wholesale smothering
of human beings to procure bodies to
sell to doctors for dissection was a
crime undreamt of by even the most
hardened “snatcher,” till the disclos-
ures following the arrest of Burke and
Hare,” The verb “to burke” remains
in the langnage.
His Experience Was in Mines.
“Did you ever salt sheep?” asked the
farmer of the new hired hand who
came from Colorado.
“No,” replied the new hired hand,
“put I've had considerable experience
in salting mines.”—Ohio State Journal
Here, in a hovel,
BUCKEYE STATE NEWS CONDENSED.
PENSIONS GRANTED.
Fire Fiend Insane—Released From
Quarantine—Iindian Relics—To
dJnite Veterans.
The following names are added to
the pension roll during the past week.
Thomas Francis, Stroughsville, $6;
Zora Lathrop, Zanesville, $6; Jerry A.
Kirby, Mechanicsburg, $6; Daniel M.
Fasing, Akron, $12; Adams Smith,
Oil City, $17; George F. Au, Canton,
$17; John Williamson, dead, Massill-
ion, $72; Philip Field, Medina, $10;
George W. Deaver, Deavertown, $12;
Matthew Lennon, ™ Zanesville, - $12;
William Hughes, Newark, $8; Saman-
tha Leeper, Osgood, $8; Adaline E.
Williamson, Massillion, $20; Cather-
ine A. Vogelgesgang, Canton, $8; John
H. Martin, Fredricksburg, $8; Alba G.
Martin, Marietta, $17; David ' I. Kes-
singer, Athens, $10; George H, Brush,
Warren, $14; William P. Schott, West
Salem, $24; Silas Stott, Zanesville,
$30; Catherine E. Waltemeire, Fulton-
bam $8; Mary A. Watson, Conshocton,
$12.
William McBride was badly burned
by an explosion at the American Ship
Building company’s plant at Lorain,
which may cost him his eyesight. He
had charge of the amalgamated iron
furnaces, which are heated by oil, and
when he lighted them the accumulated
gac let go, and vurned his head, face,
chest and hands.
A movement is on foot, favored, it is
said, by President Roosevelt and Gen-
earl Charles Dick, for the unification
of the two societies of the veterans of
the war with Spain now in existence.
These two sccieties are the Veterans
of the War With Spain and the Span-
ish American War Veterans. :
Sarah Robinson, colored, was sen-
tenced at Canton, to serve 17 years in
the penitentiary for the killing of Wal-
ter McNair in Massiilon last April.
Mrs. Robinson was indicted for mur-
der in the first degree, but in the
midst of the trial offered to plead
guilty to manslaughter.
Funeral services, attended by Meth-
cdist clergymen from all over Ohio,
were held at Bellefontaine, over the
remains of the Rev. Walter Leather-
ran, drowned in the Miami river, te-
gether with Earl Needham, whom he-
was trying to save from death.
Police Judge Wachenheimer at Teo-
ledo, sentenced John Cornet, fatber
of the ten-year-ola girl burglar, Fran-
ces Cornet, to 30 days in the work-
house and $100 fine on charge of re-
ceiving and concealing stolen prop-
erty.
W. C. Etaley, of Urbana, has gone
to New York to assume the duties of
secretary and assistant treasurer of
the United Box Board and Paper com-
pany, the new trust among strawboard
mills. The salary is $10,000 a year.
Official intelligence was conveyed
Attorney-General Sheets that the ha-
beas corpus prcceedings instituted by
former Insurance Commissioner Wm.
M. Hahn in the Circuit Court at Mans-
field had been dismissed. i
The Ohio Gas and Fuel company
drilled in an immense gas well on the
Miller farm south of Mt. Vernon. The
well is worth 5,000,000 cubic feet a day
and is the third strong one drilled in
cn this farm.
Elder C. B. Fccklor.
ngure of the vowiete tr
field two years ago, ned for the
first time since he ren d a coat of
tar. He conducted a funeral in the
country.
Many human bones and a corduroy
road were unearthed by sewer diggers
at Marion. The bones and the road
are considered evidence of battles
fought between Indians and early set-
tlers.
County Commissioner W. F. Light-
hiser, of McConnellsville, injured in
the wreck died. Robert Janes, of
Pennsylvania, and Charles Bailey, the
Marietta traveling man, may recover.
Oats and corn crops, orchards, barns
and small buildings were destroyed by
a hail, wind and rain storm in Hardin
County. The spire was torn from the
Salem Church. The loss is heavy.
A report reached Ashtabula that the
Christy School of Methodism and Ped-
agogy, a summer school for teachers,
was closed at Austinburg, on account
of a case of smallpox in the town.
The attendance at the Chautauqua
meeting, near Urbana, is quite large,
and better than anticipated. The only
trouble is with the electric road in
getting the crowds to the grounds.
Rev. W. H. Leatherman, pastor of
the Methodist church at DeGraff, was
drowned near Bellefontaine while en-
deavoring to save Earl Needham, a
12-year-old boy, who also perished.
James E. Burk, the Somerville rail-
way mail clerk, who was reported to
the police of many cities as missing,
has returned to his home. He was ill
inn a hospital at Richmond, Ind.
Dr. Walter Brown reported to Judge
Jones at Hamilton, that Mark Wel-
born, the 15-year-old boy who burned
the Franklin and Forham paper mills,
is insane from melancholia.
Lightnining destroyed John Ullery’s
large barn at Bloombdale, containing
three acres of wheat, 30 tons of hay
and farming implements. Loss $2,500,
partially insurea.
Fired by lightning the barn of A.
E. Cheny, at Marion, the finest in the
County, was destroyed, with all con-
tents, entailing a loss of $7,000.
the central
le at Mans-
The Shiloh campmeeting associa-
tion will hold its 65th annual session
at the Shiloh campmeeting grounds at
Goshen, Clermont oounty, commenc-
ing August 15.
Francis M. Starr of the Scioto Lime
and Stone company of Delaware, has
filed a suit for the appointment of a
receiver.
Frank Snyder, a farmer of near
Wooster, while talking to his wife,
was struck by lightning and killed in-
stantly. ¢
Jos. W. T. Dubel, of Wapakoneta,
has been appointed to a position in
the Agricultural Department.
Bible
the hi
we se
seekin
veh, 3
perier
disobe
cause
old b
speak
exper
of oul
terest
Fir:
ondly
the
wind
TI bt bd fab Pp Pet Bde ep Sede A bd bd
Re Ta