The Nebraska advertiser. (Nemaha City, Neb.) 18??-1909, February 16, 1900, Image 7

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JHE NEBRASKA ADVERTISER
IV. W. 8ANDKKS Publisher.
3SEMAHA, NEBRASKA.
FflOM A FAR COUNTRY.
-What shall I ray If ho, some day returning,
Shall neck thee, knowing not?
Tell hlni I waited till polo death remem
bered The .HCe that love forgot.
If ho should ask to know thy place of dwell
ing, What Hhall my answer be?
aivo him the ring of gold from off my
linger,
Give It him silently!
But If, ns with a stranger, he still questions,
Say what then shall I do 7
Speak to him very gently, ns a sister,
l'erchancc he suffers, tool
And If no ask why silent and deserted
The halls so bright before?
Answer no word, but show tho lamp ex
tinguished, Tho widely opened door.
And lest, perchance, ho ask of thnt last
hour
What message must I keep?
Smile In his face, and say I parted smiling!
Yes, nmlle lest ho Bhould wcepl
Austin South, In Sydney Bulletin.
Copyright, 1895, by D. Applcton & Co.
All rights reserved.
CHAPTER XII. Continued.
"Quick, Jacopo follow me," and driving
my spurs home, the good horse plunged for
wards, topping the bank almost on the in
stant that the ambuscaders, who rushed
out will) a shout, reached it. The man to
the left, who was riding a white horse, pulled
up in an unaccountable manner, and mak
ing a point at the one on my sword side, 1
ran him through the throat, my blade twist
ing him clean round in the saddle as 1
dashed on. Tho nttneking party, coming
at a great pace, were carried by their
horses down tho slope into tho stream, and
before they could turn I had gained a fair
start, and to my joy heard Jacopo swearing
uh he galloped behind mu.
"Maldctto! I could not fire, signorc you
were right in front of me but here goes.''
He turned back in his saddle, nnd would
have let off his piece had I not shouted
out:
"Hold! hold! till I tell you," and for
tunatcly he heard my words, or the chances
were there would have been a miss with
no opportunity of reloading.
Wo gained a full hundred yards before
the others recovered themselves, coining
after us with yells of anger, and I distinctly
heard Ccci's voice:
"Two hundred crowns for them, dead or
alive!"
Now commenced a race for life. We had
the start nnd meant to keep it: but their
horses were the fresher, and it became n
mere question of who could last longest.
Wc made the pace as hot ns wc could, in
the hope that if we came to close quarters
again some of our pursuers would have
tailed behind. For a little time things went
well, and 1 was beginning to think we
fihould be able to show our iriendsa clean
pair of heels, when I suddenly felt my horse
pulling, stretching his neck forwatd and
holding on to the bit, in a manner which
left no doubt to my mind that he was done.
Jacopo, too, called out:
"We had better fight it out, excellency;
my horse is blown."
Jlcfore giving a final answer, I slung round
in the saddle to see how the enemy were get
ting on. The only two who were at our
heels was the man mounted on the white
horse, who had pulled aside in so strange
a manner when charging me, and another,
whom I could not make out. The rest were
well behind, but riding hard. Wo could
probably account for these two, and turn
ing back I shouted to Jacopo:
"All right; light it out."
As I said this my horse stumbled nnd
rolled clean over, killing himself on tho
upot, but fortunately throwing me clear of
him and without doing any damage to me.
i had just time to scramble to my feet, when
the two foremost of our pursuers were upon
us.
Jacopo had been carried some yards on by
the speed of his mount, but as the men came
up he turned sharp round in his saddle nnd
fired. The report was followed by a jell
of pain, 'ind the leading horseman fell; tho
other, who bestrode tho white horse, again
sheering off from me. Here he met with
Jacopo, who was coming back at a gallop,
and, it seemed to me, flung himself from
his horse, doing this in so clumsy a man
ner as to be immediately ridden over by
my knave.
"Mount mount, excellency mount be
hind me!" and Jacopo steadied his horse.
But there was no time, and three of the re
maining horsemen dashed up. Two of the
horses shied past tho body of my animal,
but the third came boldly up, and the rider
immediately engaged Jacopo. I could not
give my brave fellow any aid, for my time
was fully occupied in dealing with my own
adversaries. Their horses were too fresh, or
not well in hand, by gieat good luck, and
so they could not manage to came at me
together. Seeing this, 1 made a dash across
the road into tho wood it was but a few
feet and both my adversaries followed,
with tho result that the horso of ono of
them put his foot 111 a rut, and, stumbling
forwards, unseated his rider, and the other,
in niming a cut at me, got his sword en
tangled for a second in an overhang
ing bough. '1 his second was, however,
enough lor mo to givo him six inches of
cold steel, and he pulled round and rode off,
dropping his sword, and swinging from side
to side tn his saddle like a drunken man.
Tho man who had fallen from the horse
was nowhere to be seen. Indeed, I did not
look for him, but rushed back to the as
sistance of Jacopo, and this time, having
.opportunity for observing, if onlv for a
twinkling, saw his opponent was my friend,
tint sham monk. lie, however, hnd ns
quick au eye, and, taking in the situation,
made a sudden charge at Jacopo, nnd ns
suddenly wheeling his horso to the left,
shot past him nnd fled on ahead, leaving us
masters of the situation.
"Are you hurt, excellency?" called out
Jacopo.
"Not in the least. Hownrcyou?"
"Nothing but a scratch, excellency, which
I received from his reverence, who, with
all his monkish cowl, wields a good weapon."
"Well, jump down nnd let us see who our
friends are, but first let us look at your
wound."
"It is really nothing, ns I said, signorc,"
nnd Jncopo sprang lightly to earth. I did
not, however, listen to him, and taking
from him his Hint and steel, lighted a piece
of dry wood, which I converted into n torch.
With tho nid of this nnd tho moonlight,
I examined Jncopo's wound, which after
nil was but slight, and had just bandaged
it up with my kerchief, when I became
nwnro that the man whom Jncopo had rid
den over had risen on his hands and
knees, nnd was crawling oil in the brush
wood. "Steady, friend," I oaid, and running up
to him, gave him n prick with my sword as
a hint to stop, lie made a little outcry,
but had tho good sense to take the hint,
nnd casting the light of the torch on hi
face I recognized my old acquaintance, the
ancient Brico.
"So, signore," I said, "I have again to
be thankful to you."
Jacopo, loo, camo up nnd recognized the
mini nt a glance.
"Cnppita!" he burst out, "but it is tho
nncicnt Bricol Shall I beat his brains out,
excellency?"
"Mercy, most noble cavalier," exclaimed
Brico, "I yield mo to ransom."
"Rnnsom forsooth!" called out Jacopo,
"such ransom ns a noose will give you. Pre
pare to die."
"Be quiet, Jncopo," I said, "the nncicnt
has yielded to ran3om, nnd wo will leave
him to discuss the terms with the moon.
Fetch me tho bridle from my poor horse
yonder, and bind this knave firmly."
Jncopo needed no second bidding, and in
five minutes the ancient, securely bound,
was sitting like a trussed fowl in the mid
dle of the road, alternately cursing nnd
weeping.
"Perhaps, excellency, we had better look
at the other," and Jacopo pointed to the
ninii whom he had shot, who lay on his
face. "Perchance," he added, "he, too,
might turn out an old acquaintance."
Wc did so, and as we bent over him I saw
it was Bernabo Ccci gone to his last ac
count, lie was shot through tho heart, apd
lay quite dead, with n frown on his forehead,
nnd his teeth clenched in the death upon.
1 looked nt linn in a sad silence, which Ja
copo broke.
"I never knew a cross-marked bullet to
fail, excellency. lie is stone dead."
"May he rest in pence," I answered; "he
was a brave man, although my enemy."
"llo is still enough now, your worship
nnd sec! There is his horse grazing quietly.
It will do excellently to replucc tiic lost
one."
lie ran forward nnd secured the nnimal,
whilst 1 had a final look at my dead beast.
i. -"o
I ran him throunh tho throat.
His neck was broken, and there was an
end of him. Whilst Jacopo at my request
was changing the saddles, I stirred up the
nncicnt, who hnd, lapsed into silence, and
bogged the fnvor of his informing me to
whom 1 wns indebted for the excitement of
the night. Brico at first would not answer,
but nn inch of steel removed his tmlkiucss,
and he told 1110 nil that I believe he knew,
which was to the effect that he am! some
others had been hired by a great Floren
tine called Strozzi, to stop me at all haz
ards on my journey to Rome, and that the
party was commanded by Ceci, who was '.o
pay them 200 crowns for their trouble. More
he evidently did not know, and, disregard
ing all his entreaties to loosen him. we rode
oil', wishing him a good night. Neverthe
less 1 am afraid he suffered considerable dis
comfort. "That rascal monk," said Jacopo, ns wo
jogged along, "has gone on ahead of us, ami
to-morrow, perhaps, will rouse the coun
try in advance of us."
"Never fear, Jacopo," I answered, "he is
no monk, as I well know, and his only
chance was to escape as ho did. He will
bark back soon enough to Florence. Such
hawks as he do not lly far from their
eyries."
And in this I pioved to be right, and the
library scribe was never seen by me again.
So we kept to our wny, deciding to rest
by day on tiie banks of the Kvola, to which
we came in tho early morning. Hero we
concealed our horses in the forest which
fringed tho banks, and the tireless Jacopo,
leaving mo to watch the cattle, proceeded
on foot to a small hamlet ho knew of, re
turning in about an hour with the material
for a substantial meal, and a umiill skin of
wine.
In this manner wo continued our jour
ney, halting by day and traveling by night,
and finally reached Leghorn in safety. Hero
we tool; passage in a ship bound for Rome,
but were compelled to wait two days in
Leghorn, as the master wns not ready to
sail at once. At last, all things being ar
ranged, we got our horses and ourselves
nhonid, and put to sea with a fair wind.
The master of the ship had Hiiled with
Messcr Columbus to the new old, und
lost no time in giving us the history of his
udventures, which wero in truth marvelous
- z. -
beyond imagination. I listened with a
smooth face, nnd the good man no doubt
thought thnt I believed his stories. In this,
however, he wns mistaken, nevertheless
they were diverting in the extreme. Jncopo
was overcome by tho sickness of the son,
nnd Hung himself down in a corner on tho
deck of the ship from which spot nothing
would induce him to move. At every lurch
he threw out n prayer which ended in n
gronn, and so grcnt was his distress thnt,
as he afterwards stated, he would have sold
his soul to Satan for n pnul, if only to oh
tcin nn hour's relief. As for me, 1 wns well,
having had some experience of the ocean be
fore, when employed by the most screnu
iLpublie for service ngainst the Turk, nnd
found contentment in the master's stories,
und in pacing up nnd down watching such
things ns enme under my view. I hnd plenty
of opportunity for reflection on the voy
age, nnd came to tho conclusion thnt on de
livering my letter to tho cardinal at Rome,
1 would seek out Bnynrd if he were there,
lny my story before him, nnd beseech his
help to enable mo to recover myself.
At last, one fine tiny, we reached Ostia,
nnd there disembarked, after bidding fare
well to the master, nnd s?t out on our wny
to Rome. Jncopo recovered his spirits ns
his foot touched land, nnd though tho rud
diness of his check had paled n little, ho
wns quite himself again by the time we
crossed tho Stagno di Ostin. Finally we
came in full view of the Ktcrnnl city, nnd
towards the nftcrnoon, having pressed along
nt u good pace, our jailed horses brought
us before the gate of St. Paul.
CHAPTER XIII.
HOME.
As wc rode up to tho ruinous stretch of
Hie battered wall, and saw before us the
gale, lyin open against tho mottled grceu
nnd gray high-ground of the Avent'ine, thnt
old hill, covered with straggling and un
kempt vineyurds, and studded with tho
walls of monasteries, I wns moved more
than I can tell, for I was about to realize
11 dream of my life, nnd put my foot once
again in the place of my birth, a spot not
only bound to me by Hint tie, but sacicd
with the hundred legends of my forefa
thers' history, men who had for centuries
played so great a part in its fate, until our
house was cast forth by tho mother city,
to wander ns exiles over the land. It is
true that since the dnys of my childhood
I had not been Rome, it is true that such
memories of it as I had were dim nnd misty,
nnd that to recall them wns like trying to
bring back before one's eyes, when awake,
the vague but pleasant visions of a delight
ful dream; nevertheless my heart filled
with a strange joy, nnd my pulse began to
bent more rnpidly,'ns each stride of my horse
brought me nearer home, hi short, 1 was
a Roman come back to Rome, nnd in these
words sum up my feelings.
Filled with such thoughts, I tightened the
loins half unconsciously, and my horse,
doubtless ipset by his voyage, and the hard
going from Ostia, very willingly slackened
his pace to a Avalk. Jacopo, as in duty bound,
followed my example, and immediately be
gan to buzz into speech.
In 1 short time we come opposite Hie
Monte Testaceio, that curious mound mndo
of old pottery, which lies towards the river,
southwest of the Ostian gate, and so en
grossed were we in our talk that we did
not observe a large party of riders of both
sexes,, with an escort of mcn-nt-nrnis, com
ing ut a hand gallop from our right, straight
in our direction. Our attention was how
ever sharply drawn to tho fact by the cry
of an equerry who was riding well in ad
vance of the others, and this man shouted:
"The road! The road! Way for his holi
ness! Way! Way!"
We drew off at once to the side, Jacopo
dismounting and sinking to his knees. T
however contented mvsolf with uncovering,
and watching with no little astonishment
the party as they came up. They wero evi
dently returning from hnwking, nnd at the
head of the column of riders wero two men
in full Turkish costume.
"Who are those Turks?" I asked Jacopo,
nnd the knave, still kneeling, nnd holding
his hnnds up in supplication, answered hur
riedly: "One is the Soldam Diem, excellency
0, Lord, I trust we may not be hanged ns
an afternoon's amusement tho other, the
fair one, old Alexander VI. himself O
Lord! What cursed luck! Kneel, excel
lency; it is our only chance."
"Tush!" 1 replied, and remembered at
once thiit the brother of Jiajazet, tho Great
Turk, was a hostage in Rome, practically
a prisoner in the hands of Alexander, a
legacy ho had inherited from the Cibo, and
which brought him 40,000 ducats nunally.
1 could understand Djcm in eastern costume,
but tho popo masquerading in broad day
light as a Moor! It wns as wonderful as
it was disgusting to me. And then tho re
membrance of Corte's daughter came to my
mind, and ns they Approached, 1 could hard
ly refrain from making a dnsh to rid the
world of the monster who sat in St. Peter's
chair.
When they had gone, Jncopo arose from
his knees, and dusting them with his hands
whilst he looked up at me. said: "Corpo di
Bacco! But I gave up all for lost. I vow a
candle to St. Mary of I forget where but
to the shrine nearest to the place wo dine,
for this lucky escape."
"Come, sirrah!" J said, a little'annoyed,
"mount. J'hero never was any danger."
"Very well, your worship!" and Jncopo
drew a little to the front. "There they go,"
he said, shading his ecs with his hands,
nnd turning to the left, where a dun cloud of
dust on the Via delln Marmornta marked
the progress of the Uoigia. "The best way,
signore," ho continued, "is over the lull;
we will get a view from there, nnd then
pausing by the places you wnnt to see, make
for a quiet hostel I know of in thu Strangers'
Quartern."
Following him, we rode up the Avcntine,
until wo reached the old wall of Servius
Tulliua. hero we stopped to observe the
view. To the west and southwest wo could
see the ,nccri of the Cumpagnn merging into
the distant gray of tho Roman Miirenima,
whilst beyond th.it clear bluo line, below
the flush of the coining sunset, marked tho
sea. IJencalh us lay the Tiber and the is
land, the yellow water of tho river stirred
into ripples by the breeze, anil looking from
the distance like hammered brass. Beyond
tho Tiber rose .Monte Cianicolo, beyond
which tho top of the Vatican hill was just
isiblc. To the north thu view wns a. little
shut in by the l'alutuic and tho church of
St. I 'risen nbovo us, nnd far off rose tho
cono of Soralte. Northeast aud eaBt lay tho
Palatine, the Esquiline, with thecampnnilcii
ol Santa Mnriiv Mnggiore nnd San Pictro
in Vincoli. Over Monte Coclio wo could
see the heights of the Sabine hills, nnd run
ning our eyes along tha Appian wny, wc
could nlmost descry tho Albnn lake, the
mountains being distinctly visible. Wo
stayed for n few moments drinking in tho
view, and then going onwards, turned
northwest, past St. Prison, und begnn tho
descent, by a winding wny, held in by vine
yards. Coming down wo caught n glimpse
of the three churches of the Avcntine, name
ly, S. Subina, S. Marin Avcntinn nnd St.
Alcssio, which was held by tho monastery of
St. Jerome, whose walls rose hnrd nt hand.
A look to the right showed us tho Circus
Mnxiinus, above which towered a huge obe
lisk surrounded by four lions. At length
we came to tho Vicoln di San Snbina, and
nt thu corner of the street rose tho gray
wnlls nnd square tower of tho ensile of tho
Savelli. I drew rein, und looked at it with
n bitter heart, nnd a sigh 1 could nut con
trol escaped me, us I saw the breeze catch
nnd spread to tho wind the silken folds of
tho standard of the Chigi, who bore quar
tered on their Miicld tho stnr of the Snvclli
nnd tho tree of Be In Rovere. It Haunted
there, in nil the insolent pomp of n new
house, whose money bags were full, nnd tho
sight of it was enough for me. Jncopo must
have caught tho look on my face, for he said,
kindly:
"Who knows, excellency luck niny turn."
Well meant ns the words were, they
jarred on me, and, without replying, 1 moved
on, silently raising my sword to the salute,
ns I passed the grim gates from which my
ancestors held tho road ns far as the river,
and almost held Romu itself.
As we went past thu Island, I did not
even raise my head to see tho Theater of
Marcclluu, within which lay another nnd
the oldest of our family houses, hnving como
to us through I'ierleono towards the closo
of the eleventh century.
Jncopo was for going straight on pnst tho
monastery of tho Aracoeli, on tho Capitol;
but, unluckily, I discovered that my horse
had cast a shoe, nnd this wns a matter not
to be neglected. So we turned to the right
and entered the Cumpo Vnceino, formerly
the Forum of Rome. It being now sunset,
here were collected hundreds of oxen and
buffaloes, and from the height of Monte
C'aprino we could hear the bleating of tho
herds of goats which were pastured there
on, and the tinkling of their bells ns they
moved slowly down towards their shelter
for the night. A hundred fires were blazing
cheerfully, and served to dissipate the blue
vapor which began to hang over the place.
Round these fires were groups of people,
mostly countrymen, who seemed in the best
of spirit, as they listened to songs, or
watched numbers of their party, who danced
merrily to the tunu of a pipe. Hard by were
a number of sheds, used by mechanics, and
the blaze, which showed a forgo in work,
soon attracting our attention, we made
there at once, and hail the horse attended to.
Whilst the smith was beating out a shoe,
I sat down on a rough bench, my horse be
ing fastened to a wooden post, and Jacopo
holding his nag by the bridle paced up and
down, occasionally stamping his feet on the
ground to free them, as he said, from the
ants. In other words, ho was suffering
slightly from cramp. To my right was a
large crowd, evidently enjoying a show of
jugglery, and from their cries of wonder
ment and pleasure they seemed to bo hav
ing their money's worth. So I rose and el
bowed my way to a good place, unfortunate
ly only in time to see the end of tho affair .
The juggler was robed in a doctor's gown,
nnd nftcr performing n trick he distributed
nostrums for various ailments, free of pay
ment. Imagine my surprise in recognizing
in him no other limn Miithow Corte; and ns
I came up he placed a tambourine in his lit
tle dog's mouth, and bade him curry it
rovnd for subsc riptions. Coppers were free
ly Hung in, nnd us tho little animal stopped
befoie me I dropped in a Jlorin and stooped
to pat its head. Ah I rose I caught Corte's
eye, and saw he knew me, but as ho mndo
no sign 1 stayed quiet. Collecting his money,
tho doctor bowed his thanks and began
packing up the instruments of his trade. I
went back to my sent and watched the smith
nt work on my horse, thinking that Corto
must have somehow come into funds.
By this time the blacksmith had completed
his task, and we delayed no longer, but went
off nt once. It wns fortunate that Jacopo
knew Rome ns ho did, or we might have been
hopelessly lost in the labyrinth of streets,
some of them in total ruin, somu of them
entirely uninhabited, for at tho time so
hideous was the iiiisgovernmeiit of the city
that all who could do so had lied from
Rome, and those who remained could not
have exceeded 30,000 in number, of whom
at least 10,000, men and women, wero beings
who had lost all claim to the respect of man
kind, and wero capable of almost any crime.
These are hard words, but true, nor, indeed,
have I ever seen 11 place where all that was
bad was so shamelessly exposed ns in Homo
when Roderigo I'orgia wns pope. At length
wo reached the Strangers' Quarters, but
Jacopo's hostel was not to bo found, and,
after searching for it in vain, wo were con
tent to pull up before the door of a small inn
built on the lower slope of Monte Piucjo,
barely 11 bow-shot from S.Trinilndo J.onte,
the church elected by Chnrles of France in
1-J95, and a little beyond the convent of the
names du Sac-re Coeur. I cannot say that
the hostel was au inviting-looking place; in
fnct, it was HrMo better thnn one of the com
mon oslerie or wineshops with which Rome
abounded; but it was too late to pick and
choose, aud for tho night, at least, I deter
mined to stay here. Our first duty was to
attend to tho horses, which wo had stabled
in stalls, immediately below the room to bo
occupied by me, Jncopo having to put up
with lodgings in thu stables for the night.
After the boasts had been fed and groomed,
I set myself to a plain dinner, washed down
with the contents of n straw-covered mezzo
fiasco of Frascati. Jacopo waited on me,
nnd when I was done contentedly devoured
the rcmnindcr of tho innnzo or boiled beef,
nnd cooled his throat with a bottle of Ma
rino, which I presented to him.
(.TO UK CONTINUKD.
Dt-ntlilfH I)!vutlon.
JKind Father My dear, if you wnnt a
Rood husband, marry Mr. Goodhcnrt.
He rcnlly and truly loves you.
Daughter Are you sure of that, pn?
Kind Father Yes. Indeed. I've been
borrowing money of him for six.
months, and still he keeps coining1. N.
Y. Weekly.
SILVER REPUBLICANS.
A Convention of tlm l'urty to lln CiUlnI
nt tho Kimio Tlliin mill 1'liicn ux
tlm Dotuocrniii.
Washington, Feb. 12. "I enn rco
no reason why tho silver republican
party, so-culled, will not maintain ltn
organization intact during thu com
ing campaign' said Senator Henry
M. Toller, the acknowledged leader
of the party. "None of tho great, ro
forniH for which the party Htood In
1800 havo come to pass tinder tho
present ndmlulstrutlon. With (ho
present Hnuucinl bill enacted Into
law, the bimetallic plunk in tho St.
LouIh platform will bo aeon to havo
been but the veriest Hhatn. A con
vention of tin' pnrty will bo called
to moot at tho same time und placo
determined upon by the democrats.
If the platform of that party is con
sistent with the prlnolples for which
tho silver republicans stand, und if
the nominees are satisfactory, tho
democratic candidates will bo support
ed." SOUTHERN WAR CLAIMS.
A Itoiiuli K'tllinitn of tlm ItllU lutroilitnntl
Into UoiiKrenn Kli;ur Up to un Ak'L-rn-
gntttof S'JOO.OOO.OOO.
Washington, Feb. 12. The dctnanrtn
on the treasury at this session lu
tho wny of claim and pension bills
probably exceed anything known in
the history of congress. A rough es
timate of tho clnlm bills, exclusive of
pensions, (introduced in both houses,
llgures up to nn nggregato of over
$200,000,000. Aud, lu addition, tho
pension bills, if they should nil be
come laws, would add much moro
than that sum to the pension roll.
Among tho nncicnt. claim bills reg
refund tho cotton tax. This bill has
refund tho cotton to.v. This bill hna
30 years.
MORE VOLUNTEERS NEEDED.
(iri-ut llrltutii IliultifiMi tlm Htiinilnril of
Height for HoldUir. In Oritur to Out
iM fill to KllllHt.
London, Feb. 11. The supplement
nry army estimate shows that in
consequence, of the war tho amount
now wanted is 13,000,000 ($05,000,
000), and tho number of uddltionul
men to be provided for 120,000. Tho
original estimate for men for tho
year was 18-1,853. In October last 35,
000 more were voted nnd 120,000 aro
now provided for. This makes tho
total 339,853. Owing to the fnct that,
the labor market is generally good
nnd volunteers for service in South
Africa are growing scarce, the war of
fice has issued an order reducing tho
stnndard of height. It Is a case of
either lowering tho height, start in
creasing pay or drafting.
ONE FROM THE SOUTH.
Tlm I'mxldrnt Will I'rolmlitr Clioino a
Duiiiocrat to Servo 011 tlm Now l'lill-
Ipplno Commission.
Washington, Keb. 11. ISx-Oor.
Roger Woleotl, of Massachusetts, has
wired the president his Inability to
accept a position on the new Philip
pine commission. Tho three commis
sioners already selected are Judge
Tuft, Prof. Worcester and Col. Chiirlen
Denby, the last two having served on
the old commission. It is nltogether
probable that the president will se
lect one member from the south, anil
presumably a democrat.
MuthodWt Twniitlotli Citntury Kunil.
San Francisco, Feb. 12. Regarding
the intention of the Methodist Epis
copal church of this country to col
lect $20,000,000 as a, twentieth centu
ry offering fund, Dr. Thomas Kilben
stales that the work is progressing
smoothly, and that the entire sum
will doubtless be collected by tho
end of 1001. It is said that England
will raise a similar fund amounting to
$10,000,000, and Cnnnilu $5,000,000. This
immense sum will bo used for educa
tional, charitable and church purposes,
and a convention will be held in
this city next June to devise a proper
method for its distribution.
ItooimvHt Not for Vlc I'rrHlili'iit.
New York, Feb. 12. Gov. Roosevelt
will not be a candidate for the vicu
presidency. This was settled at tho
conference between Gov. Roosevelt,
Senator Piatt and State Chairman
Odell Saturday, in so far as they could
settle such a question. An official an
nouncement to this effect will bo
made by Gov. Roosevelt himself from
Albany this week. He will do every
thing he enn to prevent the national
convention from forcing his nomina
tion. Gov. Roosevelt will be renomi
nated for governor.
A Stiittiiiiiint ly Jv. ICooMivelt.
Now York, 'Feb. 12. Gov. Roose
velt Issued this statement last night:
"I most earnestly hope that tho
pending treaty concerning the Isth
mian canal will not be ratified, unless
amended so us to provide that tho
canal when built shall be wholly un
der the control of the United States
alike in peace and war. This seems
to me vital, no less from the stand
point of our. sea power than from
the standpoint of the Monroe doctrine."