Caracas and the Venezuelan Scourge THE ILLUSTRATED BE IS. il.'opyrlKht. I'Ml, by Collier's Weekly. ) an old maid who Is still careful of her ap pearance On her haml she wore a ring that she might look tho moro beautiful Hut her face was like the face of tho man. Her companion was tall and dark-eyed cliar, because the disease was yet with her and fair to see. Her skin was clear and in the first stages unblemished. Her figure was neatly cut 'lint tho urriltf'Mt tili'RRlfli? nf nil la (lint peoplo who wulk utid talk and llvo within nud nho seemed to have taken care with her theru Is no pain," said tho doctor. "This black pots and pans were collected In a corner beneath the roof. At the opposite end from these sat u woman in front of a sowing id .chine. The skin of her faco was Tho day wus hot hot oven for Caracas- - tho city. They belong outside. Kven their dress even tho knot of her black velvet so hot that tho hotel proprietor lemarked houses were built chlelly of mud. Uuo or belt was tied to llo Hat and even. She car- upon tho heut and wanted to bo back In two, In trying to Imitate thu dwellings ot rled herself with the proud bearing or an Switzerland, where ho had beun born, llo- thu nioio wculiny inhabitants, were buiu ''leal Queen. eausu It was early in tho atlernoon tho with stucco walls; only thu stucco was IHhi-iinc AMih-I.n r.reniltl i-'lrni doctor stood in tho shade ol tho hotel cracked In many places and lined with -Tl0 dlseaso attacks the extremities poicli and leaned witu one- snouiuer ugumsi streaks of dirt, 'I ho poverty of these dls- Urst," explained the doctor as wo passed l,,uu four ",L,1 lud about a plain board thu wall. That his eyes might bo guardud trlcls brings forth the appearance of deso- ,y thoso two standing In tho shade of' the lubl Paying cards. One man leaned with from thu glaru of tho llerco sunlight on the latlon. Hero to tho severest poverty was veranda. "She Is beautiful now but hlcr '"8 'hows on tho table; tho ouo opposite wniiu wans oi tnu city no nan biiovcu mis mined groat neglect. t Wl como t0 m,p f(u,t, .. nui lorwaiu, unco iiuwiiwiiru uvui mo imv- j no carriage continued slowly on Its What tho doctor knew th head, thus exposing tho beginning of thu way, and tho doctor smoked. At limes Hit? much we know, but little else besides." A iliiiMll (iiime of (.'Urdu. We left this woman, sewing always and her eyes always watching tho cloth which she shoved benealn tho needle. On our re turn toward the arch and tho exit wu came girl also mi- bald spot behind. Thu city was iUlut. driver Jerked on ihu reins, or spoke to IJurlng thu hours of thu strongest sunshine ihe horsus, or whipped thuin, but thu horses most people remain imloois. Tho foot- proceeded as before. Tho nolsu of thu city, falls of a man walking sounded distinctly, whiih wo had left behind thu nolsu of the grew rainier, and died away. Now a siring streut wheio tho road had begun, with of donkeys passed, returning to the country i's hotso tin a and its shops and the people toward thu east Horn tho lnnrkul piacu; now who walked on tho sidewalk gradual! ouo of thu horsu cars went by. Thu doctor pushed his hat still further over his fore head, lighted a cigarette with his last match, thruw away tho box, and said; "Well! It takes llieui u long tlmu to fetch that carrlagu. grew rainier, and sounded now only us a low tumbling. Ulitll In ill (lie ICikI lit llii' llninl. Then tho houses became less freiueni. lleyoml rose a high mountain range, still and slluni In the sunlight. 'I no carrlagu plodded "Llo you know," ho continued, speaking on steadily. Tho road luy ahead, u thin straight into thu streut and looking at uu streak of white curving slightly back and onu, "foreigners aren't liked huru so uw- forth through tho brown and sunburned ful much? Last year thu United States plain which reached toward the cast from consul ut I.u Uuayra was threatened with thu outskirts of tho city. On either side was death while some Venezuelan olllclala tho barren land whuru grow hero and thero looked on. And this government did not small bushes or clusters of scrub, all pow- tako much trouble to make uu apology lu dured with the, dust which had blown across tho United States. Then, a fow months ago, from tho road. Now, thero were not uvun tho United States consular agent at Harcu- thu houses of tho poor to mark the dwell lunu wus arrested without causu utid put Ingu of human beings. All was empty and lu prison. A year ago thu same consular Hat, with thu white, stilling sunlight ami olllcur was arrested and uu utluinpt madu tho grand ratine of silent hills beyond. The by local military authorities to extort cairlago turned around a sharp corner lu money from him by furco. haul fall u liur- tho road, and before us stood a low, onu- man murchant at llarculona was arrested story building- all alono lu thu country of und tortured by tho olllolals thuro uuill thu forsaken plain thu building which had ho guvu thuiu a largo sum of monoy. In- been reared as un asylum for thu lepers of sldo of twenty days u U.OOU-ton Uurman tho land. utulser turned up, gut buck thu money As wu camo nearer to thu placu wo saw and obtained ample satisfaction for thu a group of llvo or six men lying under the outrage. shudu of a tree. These men looked up as "Hut tho worst of all was what happened the carriage passed. Ono of them espe- i,. two Americans a few weeks ago. They dally, lying on his stomach, had tho look were men of high character respectable people, mind you. They weru going down to lu liuayra uu thu morning train when they were arrested by one of these kuow-ll-ail olllclalB and thrown into prison. Thuy didn't gut especially lino treatment lu Jail, and they lust tho Nuw York sleamur by reason ol their detention. Thu uxcuso thu olllclal gavu was that one of them had spilled sumo cigarette ashes on thu seat lu front of him. Oh! thuy'ru a bird gang. Whuru lu that carrlagu, 1 wondur? Must havu gut lost in thu shutllu." Thu duutor crossed ono foot over tho othur and shoved his bauds lu his pockuta. Ho was ono of thoso men who will tulle much and lluuntly at somu times, and at other times will say nothing. Hu had eatun wull at lunch, and so, according to thu custom of tho land, ho talked of thu ull purvadlng subject of revolution. "Well," ho said, "thuy say tho alfalr Is all ovur. This caiuu through thu French cablo, not from tho governinuut, so thuru Is somu chuncu to bulluvu It. l'ruslduut Castro said that If hu caught Acosta, who was tho louder of tho revolution about Carupano, hu would shoot him. This Is not lu his eyes of some wild and languid ani mal who has eaten well, and so, wishing to sluep, carefully regards the passing ob ject. Thu cheeks of thu man were fat and pully, thu oyes were half closed. "Are these some of them?" "Yos," auswerud tho doctor, "somu of them. Seu that fellow theru lying on his stomach7 See thu leoniuu east of counte nance that I told you about? Hu belong!) to ono of tho early stages." Then as wo camo to thu building thu others collected lu a wondering group near him also leaned oil thu table. Thu thlid man, curiously enough, wore glusses to hide his eyes, and tilted backward lu his chulr. 'Ihu fourth sat erect, carefully scrutinizing the cards before him. Tho doctor lolled a fresh cigarette. "Got a match?" he asked. "Yes. Hold on a minute. 1 have given you ii box." "So yuu did. 1 forgot. .Must have been thinking of something else." At last we came lu the open sunlight and die clean air. According to thu hublts ui ihosu people, tho silent men and women and children again gatheted near thu uu iruuco to thu building und as wu drove away thuy lifted their hats lu salute. On thu other sldu of thu runge of moun tains tho sun wus sinking down to the horizon. Theru wus a clear, bright glow in tho heavens, against which tho sky-line of the mountains stood forth distinctly. Also uu evening breeze bluw fresh across tho waste of empty laud. The sumo us be fore, the carriage swayed from sldu to side, with thu whujls slumping into the holes in ihu road and thu dust cloud riding thick and hanging about thu horses nnd tho car riage. Once more wo passed through thu out skirts, strongly marked with thu povori and neglect of thu people, whuru stood a child with its eyes full of strange knowl edge aud a pule wumuu. Nu ono tulked for a long tlmu. The uoctor rolled a clgurutte, but ho tore tho paper; so hu threw It away and rolled another. Hu struck u match, still lu si lence. Then between thu tlrst hurried pulls hu spoke; "I've got a mutch now," ho said, hold ing UU a box. "You see. I remembered 1L durstood the disease would later come tja time, didn't 1?" to hur fucu. Shu stood thero holding her- slowly 'tho curriagu crawled back toward self erect, as If proud of what shu still thu city. Thu noise of thu streut cuuld bo possessed, und wotidrous fair to see, with heard now thu low rumbling which grad- her arm laid rusting about thu waist ot uully grew louder until It resolved Itself thu other womau-thls other woman, who ,ll0 distinct sounds, in which thu tinkling was always present us a living uxamplo tlu horsu car bulls could bo distinguished of what shu herself would boon become. IIom tho tratllc of heavy wheels. Wo ru- Euturlug through thu urch wo caiuu to passed another train of donkeys returning tho opeu place lu thu center of tho build- fro, tilu city to thu country, with tho man Hi MISS (SHACK HUNTKH. March 21. 11)01. that ho was, tho next query was, "What line?" "You look a pretty shrewd lot of fellows and I'll give you a chance to guess," re sponded Mr. Smith. "Jewelry?" wus the guess of the man who hnd started the conversation, after he had taken a careful Inspection of the clothes Mr. Smith had ndornrd himself with. "Sporting goods," was the guess of the sec ond ninn. "White goods" followed, and each In the party tried his hand at It half a dozen times or more until they had ex hausted their nhlllllea al guessing nnd wcr In turn assured that they were wrong. Finally, confessing themselves stumped, there enme the query In unison. "What In the world do you sell?" "Lighthouses!" wns the thoroughly truth ful answer that so completely feazed the traveling men that but one of them was nblo to continue the conversation for an liiHtnnt. nnd hp could only gasp, "Where, In heaven's name, do you carry your samples?" Then Mr. Smith explained to the party that ho wns one of tho few lighthouse ex perts In the country. Poem that Won a Bride Thu February Kalends, the periodical published by students of the Woman's col lege, contains a bit of dainty verse by n Haltlmoru alumnus of 'US. And thereby hnngs a tale, relates the Haltlmoru Sun. This young Haltlmoru student had n way of scribbling verse to such an extent Hint a young male cousin sighed ns he said if he could write like that ho might make some speed in wooing n certain fair Maid Marian. Immediately tho young poet became a ver itable Cyrano, and wrote a poem which she handed over to tho faint-hearted lover. Tho engagement has Just been announced and tho mnrrlngo will tako place soon. The poem follows: TO MARIAN. If Oh, would Hint It wcro so, Marian, tny lady! I had lived long, long ngo, Marian, my lady: In tho days of which wo read, I should rldo a llery steed And perform some noble deed, All for you, my lady. If but who can ever tell, Mnrlan, my Indy? Maybo It Is Just as well, Mnrlan, my lady. For tho fairest of tho fair. Other knights would bravo deeds dare. And for ino you might not care, Might not bo my lady. Though I ennnot bo your knight, Mnrlan. my Indy, I can still your battles fight, Marian, my lady. I will brave tho world for you, I will daro nil things to do, I will bo your lover true, I If you'll bo my lady. lug whuro thero were muuy plants somu i soiled while trousers uud soiled uudev- Iho cutting In thu wall-u hlgh-peuked urch faring colored llowerb-uud a fouutulu of shirt walking In thu dust busldu tho au- which stood In tho place of a doorway. wulor -"'Hug lit" " earthenware basin. Jmuls. And no ouo spoke. Wo repassed They camo forth from tho Insldo of the 0u thu CUB of l,,la ljas111 8al u lrl cblld. tho brewery with its slgu painted In black building, steadily, silently, gathering from uua becuusu shu wus only a child shu letters ucross thu front of tho stucco wall, tho far ends of tho broad brick veranda Pushud "tick of wood back and forth 1'ueu we caiuu to thu cubblestoncs, where which fronted tho hospital. Thuy came In through thu watur of tho baslu lu playing the street of tho city begun again, aud wo twos and threes, or singly, hut always lt represented somu Bhlp. Shu wore a tell tho wheels beneath us rattling haul with scarcely any noise. Here came a man white dress und blue Blockings uud black 0Vcr thu uneven pavemunt. Here was thu ilrossed lu all white. Hero came another "hoes. Hur hair was bare to tho sunlight, city, full of life and movement, und peoplu from out beneath tho archway resting his A Kroeu purouuet luy ugulust her breast, yvho lived und were cleuu. Thu dcsolatu weight on tho shoulder of a young boy, uml' 113 the Klrl shoved tho stick Urst onu j,uuu 0f sunburned land had passed behlud whoso faco had nlrundy become horribly way aud theu tho other, tho bird p-.-ckud us. u wus not until then that auy more marked with disease. Hero camo a man eouBiuuuy ui mo ruiuo oi mco uuoui ner word8 were said walking close to the balustrndo of the veranda who, with an outstretched, ilnger less hand, leaned with each step ho took ih( way thoy generally do. Capital puu- .. ........ Hlnlla nf im. imluntrndn Ishmcnt Is seldom practiced huru. When ,,,,,,, ,,,, f()owtMl two women, each Andrado left ailur tnai ninny imiuu wlt, n nl,out tho other's waist. In- ueck. "Aud this ono?" was nuked. "She also," answered tho doctor, lu following thu guldu wo pussed along tho Inner court, where the rooms opened "And thero Is no cure," said the doctor. What llis Line Was F, Hopklnsou Smith, the art critic, uu one out tuto tho garden. Thu doors were thrown of his trips lust summer hud a llttlo fuu eleiired with a barrulful of money uud u i.,-,,,!,,.,!,,.. ...im, ,,, r,,ffiu n,,,u., wide. Tho rooms inside weru bare. In with u uarty of drummers that weru occu- gunboat. Hut ho sunt thu gunboat back clum, Hn(.itly could bo heard the reg- some of them a piece of a looklug-glaas pants with him of tho butfut car ut a train with his compllinunts to Caatro, who had um(, (nJ)H ()f tJo t,1(lB of (lo cn,tcj,eH f wns fastened to tho fall, but, besides tho bouud for Chicago. Mr. Smith was dressed kicked him out. Ho thought that Castro ,1()S0 w,oso fcut had fallen from them, hod, this was all tho furniture. Women lu a rather uucouvuutluual fashlou lu a might llud ubu for tho gunboat. You boo he ,,.jm8 (ll()y K,lthered lu front ot tho open- wuro liiBldo tho rouins, but ihey turnod bull that was noticeable because thu knew his country. Wull, thu president Bald m(, of nrci, away al thu sound ot approaching foot- llguro was u lurgo plaid. Ho wore u golf that if ho captured Acosta that would bo ,j.10 min w,m un,u,,i ,, ti10 balustrndo steps. Hiding their faces In tholr hands cup as well aud was smoking a plpu. The the end. Now tho French cablu said that tood head and shoulders above tho rest, they spoke somo hurried words to tho In- drummers did not know Mr. Smith nor did Acosta has been captured und shot by tho Tj,0 fn(,0 ()f (j,ls man was unlovely, nnd torpreter. thoy know his many accomplishments ns president's ordure. So that llulBhus thut yol w,n lle laughed at something tho In- "They hay thoy don't want to bo seen," writer, mathematician aud engineer. Hut follow. Huro'B that confounded carriage. ior,,r,.tr said that laugh was like a human uxplnlned tho guldu. "Thuy say thoy are they had agreed among themselves that he Como on." being's, lu tho background stood tho two too ugly." was ouo of their sort and a nuw man to the Itoiul I.emlliiR from CiirneiiH. women. One of theso wns well on lu years At tho end wo camo to the rear of tho western trade. So when opportunity came Headed eastward from Curacas thero runs - tho hair had receded far back from tho building, whero thoro wns a back veranda, one of them bronehed the subject by nsklng a narrow road which takuB Its beginning In forehead and thero wore curia thoro, llko presumably belonging to tho kitchen. Many If he was a traveling man. Helng assured one of the main Btroutu or mo cuy. uu this streut, ueueatu tuo glaring buhum" I I III fWlm I SWWi . p ? - W tir. -) '.'TT r" "- : 1 ' k r, mm -'JYfii V ot tho early afternoon, u carriage drove languidly over tho rough cobbtcBtonus. Thero were four persons In thu carrlagu. Thu other three were the doctor, thu photo grapher and a negro on tho box seat, whoao regular occuputlon consisted lu guiding tho strangers about Caracas, and who Illled lu his spare tlmu In burying tho dead among thu people wo had Blurted out to seo. Tho rond grow nnrrower. After a tlmo the cobblestones cntno to an end, und tho wuy becumu llko u country luuo, only empty of all things beautiful, and desolate. Then' wore deup holoa lu tho road. Tho carriage wheels slumped Into theso with a lazy lurch, and thu negro on tho box-scat swayed back uud forth uceordlng to tho luruh of tho currlago, and tho photographor Bwayod, nnd tho doctor swayed against tho sldu. Tho horses plodded on steadily and slowly through the thick dust cloud which rose from tho ground nnd hung close about tho moving currlago. Tho doctor was tho Urst to speak. "That's tho brewery wo Just passed," he said, "(lot n match?" "Yes hero, tnko tho whole box. I've got another." "Thanks." Tho doctor smokod In sllenco. Tho rond buenmo more barren. On olther sldo wurc thu houses of tho poorer districts of Cnrncns. All such districts of a city nro haro. There live tho peoplo Joyless people tho hangers-on, so to spoak, of tho othor NEW WALKING SKIRTS .HIST A It HI VI ID AT 0 K srnfinM fln.nk- & "suit fn Style No. t-Prlco J7.G0 Comes In brown and oxford graduated flounce three- clus ters stitching llvo rows each. Stylo No. 2 l'rlco $S.75Come.s In medium gray, oxford und blue grudjutod llounce two clusters stitching three rows each. Stlo No. a 1'rlco $10.jo Comes In covert cloth-navy, oxford and medium gray graduated llounce live clusters stitching. Our new Uuo of spring suits, Jackets, soparato skirts nnd silk waists aro ready Iiur )uur iiiici;wuii. Mall orders accompanied with money or der. promptly filled. Satlsfuctlon guaran- teed or money refunded, less express , charges. OK 3CQFIELD CLOAK & SUIT CO. THR STADIUM PAN-AMRHICAN EXPOSITION. HUFFALO, Inclusive dealers In ladles' Rcady-to-Weur Uarments ir.io not (ii,.s sthi:i:t, o.maiia.