Evening Star Newspaper, February 20, 1897, Page 19

THE EVENING STAR, SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1897-24 PAGES. ‘ STRIKING OF OIL Grapb& Story of the Beginnings of the Great Petroleum Industry. —— + COLONEL DRAKE AND BILLY SHITH 2 The Men Who First Successfully Drilled for Oil. —_-—_+—_— IN THE WAKE OF THE BOOM — ———— MeClure Co.) T IS RELATED OF 4 discouraged pioneer resident of what af- terward became fa- mous as the Oil Creek ofl regions of Pennsylvania that interest was suf- ntly kened reports, which d him in some r, to cause and repair to Canada. ng that a resident of the The chief the a wildernes subsequent oil from T: — s were iS. valle . Was practically uninhabi a little lumbering village, industrial and commercial in- ed of the saw mill and gen- ewer, Watson & Company where the Alleghany rafts men stopped, marked the site of Ot Ci Back from the creek and river hills were attered the log cabins of the hard-up but Ithy whose hardships were trying ones of all settlers in wilderness regions, and for whom substantially the only means of raising their tax money was by Tiodi fer extra work to the = and rafting regions. a matter of wonder, therefore, eral store of I A river tavern, pioneers, Col. Bawin Drake, the Virst Struck Oil. Man Who ettler of whem the a5 So eas] oyjection- princi- it from the me quit also ha a profi It limited use as 1a more limited its crude st In son of Ebenezer Brewer of the a botth H lof Dart: stitution Dr. B of the to Pp. ch ir THE ORIGINAL a student. F verdict was | that the produ te, but would not t nd quantities for comm als same ture Mr. Bissell hap- © window of a New a circular descriptive of a bottied prepara called “Kier's Petro- leum,” which came from salt wells at Tar- entem, Pa., and had been put up hy S. M. Kier, a Pittsburg refiner. The circular set forth that the fluid was found at a depth of several hundred feet in sinking the salt wells. It had been encountered in other rezions In the drilling of salt wells, but, es tts res! value was not then recognized, it was considered a nuisance to be gotten rid of in the best available way without spoliing the salt wells, just as the strik- pened to no York drug st ing of salt water subsequently in the drill- ing of ofl wells became a similar annoy- ce Drilling for O11. This incident suggested to Mr. Bissell the idea of drilling into the rock for oil. | The other stockholders were favorably tm- pressed with the suggestion, and on May 1, 1858, the company sent to Titusville to take charge of its work Col. Edwin L. Drake, who had been a railroad conductor at New Haven, Conn., and was a small | ir.vestor in the oil stock. His salary was to be $1,000 a year, and the company had provided him with $1,000 with which to go ahead with the work of sinking a well. The litile village afforded but few of the necessary equipments for the work, and the nearest raliroad station, Erie, Pa. was forty miles away. funds were exhausted, and josing faith in the enterprise voming: indifferent, failed to advance | ore money. It was then that Col. a troubles began. The drillers he well, struck in May, 1861, on the flats about seven miles below the Drake well. It was the first well drilied to the third sand, and the off and gas poured out in a manner which gave that sand an immediate popu- larity. September 20, 1861, the Empire well, dritied near the Fountain, began flowing at the rate of 2,500 barrels a day. Then came the Phillips well on the Tarr farm, struck November 14, 1861, and start- ing at the rate of 3,000 barrels a day. These were the three leaders among the large wells at this date; of the smaller wells there were several eo = lack of storage and shipping ies an immense quantity of ofl was wasted. In 1862 a small lake of petroleum was kept between the Fountain and Empire wells, and many a boat load was procured from it at 10 cents a ba-rel. At this period shipping and refining fa- cilities began to multiply more rapidly and thereby to ircrease the value of the pro- duct. An ice gorge contributed to this ad- vance by breaking Icose in December at the mouth of the creek and reducing the visible had engaged failed to appear. This was | found The multitude of people thus drawn together | were their general good nature, their quick- outh College, | ness to respond to calls of distress and wer had been j lum tun supply of petroleum. It smashed into 350 A TYPICAL OIL TOWN IN THE EARLY art to the report spread over the ons that Drake was crazy in believing oil would be found by drilling into the But his faith en this point was un- s en, after his study of the salt wells ard other investigations. Ridicule, coupled | with imputations of irsanity, only served to intensify his determination to demon- that the theory was correct. Dur- rs that summer and the succeeding fall, sinter and spring his experience was like of many another experience hefore and nee of moneyless custodians of an idea derided at the time, but destined subse- quen to become famous. Of1 at Last. It was not until the middle of June, 1: that he was able to proceed with the well. He was enabled to do so then, not through any aid rendered by the company, but throuzh the sympathetic personal assist- ance of R. D. Fletcher and Peter Wilson of Titusville, who provided ‘him with local credit and indorsed at a Meadville bank (about thirty miles from Titusville) the paper on which he raised the necessary funds to go ahead with the well. “Uncle Billy” Smith and h's two sons, drillers from the ‘Tarentum salt well regions, came on to take charge of that part of the work, which was done at that time by old spring- pole process. On Saturday, August 28, 185 the driil at the shallow depth of 6913 feet, feet in the rock, dropped into a “as the day’s work was being finish- nd the tools were puiled out until y morning. The fellowing day, Sun- the senior driller, “Uncle Billy,” took med to be o'l within a few feet of the tcp. He dipped an improvised bailer into the well and it came up filled with petro- . Thus was the first ofl well conceived ard completed. was le: it As has been indicated, ot the first artesi for oil. Boom Days. The period in which the high tide mark was reached in the regions, in the vol- of business, in interest and DOD- in the six years following Col. | s strike. The ax of that period fully 100,000 people in the re: had been practically a befere: and in this estimate | taken of the tender transients | failed them after they hac ay into the regions by . on horseback and on foot, soon as they couid, hem nightmare recoilectio! ur ions of mud called roa: of floun- | dering mule nd drivers; of houses where sat neal time | process | ; Where the the beds of the sleep crowded h tired human’ the cracks in the drying green ber of the walls were often so large | hat the inquisitive red squirrel had little gnawing to do in order to effect an en- | a General Confidence. three chief characteristics of the | honor. their commercial Deals involving DRAKE WELL. mounts equal to fortunes were carried out | without the scratch of a pen. Men who | verbally agreed to sell the output of their wells for a certain period at a stipulated price faithfully kept their promise, re- gardiess of subsequent fluctuations in Prices. By way of illustration, an incident be recalied where a producer thus ver- y agreed to sell his oil for a period ral months at 20 cents a barrel. sh oil went up in the meantime to barrel, he delivered the product of his according to promise, at the 20-cent It was the same in the purchase or of lands, and in other transactions. ple kept their word. There was a gen- se of safety, too, which seems re- even to those who shared § at the time. In the trans- business people carried large ts of money with them amid al dat all hours of Banking agents, sup- point and that, rode sions with their saddle bags 1} with money. Selling and purchas- for other i ersed s in this way, carrying fortunes . ‘They were well known, and no nt of their business was attempt- Money was kept in all kinds of insecure | devi | fences of an inte; SIXTIES. beat loads of oll lying in the Allegheny river, causing a loss estimated at $350,000. Smaller wrecks of this kind were of fre- quent occurrence, both on the creek and river. At High Tide. The three years following were the high- tide years of the business. On May 20, 1863, the Noble & Delamater well, on the Farrel farm, began flowing at the rate of 3,000 barrels a day, and in a little more than two months there was sold from it $354,000 worth of oil. The Caldwell well, which was deemed to be interfering with its production, was bought for $175,000 and plugged. The sales of oil from the Noble & Delamater weli during the next six months brousht the amount received for its pro- duction to that date up to more than $1 000,000. ‘The whole regions were now teem- ing with multiplied activities. Everybody either was rich or expecting to become rich immediately. The Oil creek valley for practically its whole length, with Titusville at one extreme and Oil City at the other, was a concave forest of derricks, where a ereat army of fortune hunters had en- camped. Every oil farm along the creek | Was a town, and made the whole vailey well nigh a continuous city. In point of rest and quietude there was no night. Work went on by night as well as by day, and the sound of the hammer and saw, the creaking walking beam and pulley, and the various other noises of that Character were heard at all hours.” It is left to the imagination to picture in what ways and to what limits the revelrics and orgics of the tougher elements contributed toward making night as wakeful as the day. All the roads, old and new, were simply a series of mudholes, muck and ruts, Cara- vans were wallowing through them all the time, and the sides of the roads were strewn with the wrecks of vehicles and all kinds of overland freight, thrown off to lighten the loads. Ebb Tide. In the years 186 and 1865 the climax period was reached. It was in the latter year that the famous -Pithole, which was located a few miles cast of the Oil creek jopments, spi into existenee. With- in a few months it acquired all the conve: and had a r pulation which its post office to Sylvania post offices, t and Pittsburg almos i t and trans caused the bus uiladelphia The cit rving the unmetropolitan pu e of a sheep pasture. in 1865 hi ny e, in which milllions of dollars drawn from people in all w al s of life, in every quarter of the country, and in other countries as well, reached its greatest inflation and caused the speculative bubble to burst. All that now remains of what were form- erly live are grass-grown exca- vations, like these of old battlefields, and eeestive like them of the waste of ener- gies in the accomplishment of the achieve- ments associated with them. An idea of the magnitude of the oil business of the whole country will be conveyed by the statement that since its inception there has been received for exported petroleum and its preducts alone an aggregate amount <xceeding the present total money wealth of the United States, in gold and silver, as skown in the latest summary of the latter in the treasury reports. Colonel Drake was born at Greene county, N. Y., March 29, 1519, and died at Bethlehem, Pa., November 9, 1881. He acquired a comfortable fortune through his strike, but subsequently met with finan- cial misfortune, and became broken in kealth, eventually becoming an invalid. Old friends rendered him financial assist- ance in a modest way, and in 1873 the Pennsylvania legislature granted him a pension of $1,500 a year, which continued until his death, and thereupon reverted to his wife. ireenville, —+e+ Why He Liked It. From the Cleveland ‘Leader. Stranger—“So this is a prohibition town, ig it?” Native—“Yes, sir. Stranger—“Well, I swear, I don’t see how as intelligent and fine a looking man as you can stand it In a piace where such a ridiculous law 1s put in force. Native—My dear sir, it meets with my enthusiastic approval. I wouldn't have things changed for a good deal.” Stranger—“Come, now, I can’t believe that. Explain yourseif. Native—“Well, you see, I run the only drug store in town.” —_____e-___ Difficult, but Remunerative. From the Chicago Journal. “Well, my son, now that you have been | admitted to the bar I hope you will select a specialty. This ts the age of specializa- | tion of talents, and a general practice rare- ly leads to the top of the ladder.” “Oh, I've chosen my line already, father.” ‘What is it?" “Albis and expert perjury.” ————+e--— The Orgunist’s Mistake, From Pack. Colver—“How did Westervelt’s wedding go off?" Demarest—“‘All right, except when his old chum, the organist, got the wedding music mixed with some from Westervelt’s bach- elor dinner and started to play “The Streets of Cairo.” A ROYAL ELOPEMENT 4 __. THE LOVE STORY OF A WILLFUL PRINCESS, So From the St. James The great winfer was filled with guest#¥ A few months be- fore Atigustus, the young elector of Insels- land, had been betrothed to the Princess Irene, the only daughier of the Margrave of Hesséistadt, ant tht Margravine, an as- tute politician, who Had brought about the match, had arrangedfthat he should enter- tain a large party of relatives for Christmas at the magnificent Yatunhof, which had been untenanted since the early days of his minority. A week had passed, and the Margravine began to doubt the wisdom of her plan ia throwing the young people so much togeth- er before their marriage; for the elector, an earrest and conscientious sovereign, ard a man who hid-an extreme sensitive- ness and deep affection beneath a reserved demeanor, proved himself but a lukewarm iover, while the princess seemed utterly in- different to his presence. One afternoon the Princess Irene stood upon the terrace of the Italian garden over- looking the lake, upon the frozen surface of which the winter sun was casting long s of crimson light. She looked eagerly among the groups of skaters, and then at the open tent where her mother and ladies were sitting round a flaming brazier. An expression of intense disappointment cross- ed her pretty face, then she smiled con- temptuously, and when her skates had been fastened by an attendant, said indifferently to her lady-in-waiting, the Countess von Vogel, “Have you seen the elector?” but her fingers were nervously closing and un- closing upon a little note hidden in her muff. “No, madam,” the countess replied, look- ing irquiringly at her mistress. “I’ heard that a dispatch had come from the capital and probably——” but the princess had glided over to her mother, to whom she re- peated her question. The Margravine looked anxiously at her daughter, but answered her lightly, “You must not be too exacting, Irene. The prime minister arrived after luncheon, and Au- gustus is probably deep in politics.” “His serene highness is not skating this afternoon,” said a handsome young man standing ‘behind the Margravine’s chair. “There is a question of a new tax to be settled, I believe.” The ‘princess smiled taxes,” she cried, “in this weather? There will be a revolution. What a pity,” she added, to her mother, turning the hidden note in her fingers, “that Augustus shoula lose this afternoon; the ice is in splendid condition! Baron Hederich,” turning to the young man who had spoken, “will you teach me that new figure you were describ- ing yesterday Baron Hederich yon Egidy bowed, and, slipping on his skates, joined the princess. They passed among the other skaters, and after several turns gradually made their way to a remote part of the lake, until at length they stepped beneath the shadow cast by overhanging trees that grew down to the water's edge. They had scraceiy spoken, and now there was a silence, which Baron Hederith broke, his hitherto cour- tier-like manner giving way to the tone and bearing of a lover. “Did my note reach you, madam?” he asked softly in French, taking her hand. “Yes, the Countess von Vogel was a messenger,” #h®- princess replied, frowning, but she did not withdraw her hand. == “Then—then I may-stil-have hope?” “Hope!—where would your hopes lead you?” she asked, cotdly, taking the note from .her muff and_tearing it Into little pi and scatteringe them on the ices “Beyond th> limits-of-audacity,” he an- swered, smiling int@iey ey ‘or I can arcely believe tha$ ¥@u discourage me— new.” Pa oy Again there wass-stience, the princess skating’ In widenin&™ cfrcles round and round 2 twig frozen in the ice, like a hom- ing pigeon that hesitates te” alight wpon the cote. Suddenly ghoys their heads came the sound of an axistruek fierccly upon a by the Zatun Seb brightly. — “More tree, the ring of othe. metal vijratjal tBrough the stfif a all we Skate on?” Baron Hederich a! ill in French, as the broad shoufdery Gf peasant showed for-a jmoment between the trunks of the !" the princess replied, decidedly, a bright color flaming in 3 much safer here, and besi she added, Meaningly, “he will not understand “Irene ied the baron, raising her hand to his lips, “im “Oh! T am a age.” said the prince but her voice to the baron Seemed louder than was its wont. “f am only a human chatlel to be bidder—a creaty litical expedient- nded over to the high: ficed to po- to be made to nd to die, per- statesman.” cried Paron Heeerich, pa “ e elector ne- glecis you, e ore he marries you. To ou madly for three eems a living death. “1 have thought, I have thought, and—T want to love, to give love, to be loved. If a woman hi made a man's life happy, whether he be prince or peasant, she has not lived in vain, and I—but how can I expect love, 1, whose marriage has been made, not erdained? “By making my life happy, Irene,”’ whis- pered the baron, “a love song to the end. Bver since I joined your father’s suite I have loved no other woman save yourself, but I have never dared to speak until we came to Zatun, and I thought you seemed to care for me.” The princess shivered. she murmured. sht,”’ replied the baron, “a carriage will be waiting outside the private entrance to the palace. near which you know there are no sentrics, and the men at the outer ates will be told the prime minister is re- turning suddenly to the If you can arrange to leave at midnight, we can catch the train for Paris at a smail station out- side Elbersdorf, where I shall be waiting for you, and then, Irene’—— “I understand,” said the princess slowly, “I am to sacrifice everything.” “If you will have it so, yes,” he answer- ed, with an odd narrowing of his eyelids. “But you gain what you crave—love The princess looked up the bank. “Yes!’* she cried suddenly, as she saw the glint of the peasant’s blue dress through the trees; “yes, no sacrifice is too great for love. I will at the private entrance at mid- night.” “And then for Paris—and happiness,” whispered the baron as they skated away. When they were out of sight, a man in peasant dress slipped down the bank, and, refully collecting the fragments of the nete the Princess Irene had tern and flung upon the ice, placed them in a little book which he had taken from a pocket of his blouse. Sr OU AS) iS. ets |e ene Sores The Princess Irene of Hesselstadt had never been in such brilliant spirits as upon that evening, and the young elector hover- ed about her chair in a corner of the great white drawing room after dinner with an almost loverlike fondness. But she turned away from him with an indifference that became se marked that/the Mergrayine in despair asked her toysing. Waving aside a lady-in-waiting who rose to accompany her, the princess sat down at.the piano and ran her fingers, flashing with jewels, lightly ee the keys. Raising her eyes from the keyboard for a moment, a malicjous,smile crossed her face. By a strange coincidence the elector and Baron Hederich were facing her, standing together beneath a plerglass, in whicn she saw the backs of their heads “But how is it reflected. ‘Their characters are written up- on a square of looking glass,” she said to herself, as she noted the almost massive Proportions of the elector’s head standing out in sharp contrast with the alert poise of that of the baron. ‘Then she began to sing—to sing with a passion and a meaning that were unmis- takable, Greig’s lovesong, “Ich liebe dich,” her eyes more than once meeting the bar- on’s as the refrain rang through the lot chamber. The Margravine moved uneasily in her carved oak chair, feeling conscious that a mystery was on foot which even her astuteness could not fathom; and when the song ceased there was a significant silence, which the elector himself broke by leading the applause. “The princess sings well,” he remarked to the baron, meaningly. “Yes, sir,” the baron answered, looking him full in the face, “and with great feei- ing and true expression.” For a moment the eyes of the two mez met, the elector's inquiringly, the baron’s contemptuously, yet with a lurking fear in their depths. “You are an excellent critic, baron,” the elector seid slowly. “Her serene highness sings with true feeling as you say. But { is not always wise to express our feelings in public.” Then he joined the group gath- ered round the princes ‘To Hederich von Exidy the brilliance and warmth of the superb room where the court Was saihered suddenly grew gray and cold. A moment before, intoxicated by the ac- quiescence of the princess in a scheme am- bition alone had prompted and not the } he had so fervently protested, he allowed his gratitied vanity to betray him. For a moment he stood irresolute beneath the glowing candles on the pierglass, prudence counseling the abandonment of the elop2- ment, ambition urging its attempt. Pru- dence had conquered when the Countess von Vogel came up to him, and, whisper- ing, “At the private entrance ‘at 12. to- night,” began to talk of irrelevant matters. ron Hederich’s courage returned, and E andsome face a > figure htfitting uniform in the mirror, his optimistic dreams of hi: iuture as the husband of ihe Princess irene returned. “Even if the Margrave refuses to support s,"" he thought, “irene is rich, and or her husband”—, but the countess was ask ing him a question, and his pleasant re- flections w nterrupted. The clock in the great square of the Za- tunhof had scarcely struck midnight when two veiled and ‘cioaked figures crept through the small door of the private en- trance to the palace, and as silently en- tered the waiting carriage which was drawn up in the shadow of the portico. The wheels moved noisclessly over the thick snow, but the ratile of the horses’ harness filled the two women with alarm. “We shall be discovered,” whispered the countess as the sentry stopped the carriage at the bronze gates of the outer court. “We shall be discovered. For answer the Princess Irene placed her hand over the trembling woman's mouth and dragged her back into the shadow. “His Excellency Prince Schaumann is re- called to Elbersdorf, ‘The sentry hesitated, and the countess al- most screamed wi “The password?” the soldier shoute before the coachman could reply a ray of light from the guar@house fell upon the carriage door. “Pass!” cried the sentry, saluting as he saw the royal arms upon’ the panel; the massive doors opened slowly, and the car- riage rolled swiftly into the snowclad coun- 2 after mile slipped away, and the cold more intense; twice the horses slip- id twice the countess implored her Ff to return. But the princess maintained an absolute silence until, as they were neari destination said, “l won miss the train?’ “Pray God that we 4 countess from her corner. foci moaned the “I have been a touching her angel. For per- given me happiness instead But the count could not mile that played about the No,” said the princess, hand, “you have been haps you hav of a crown. see an odd princess’ mout The frost was so thickly incrusted on the carriage windows that they had no idea they were near the ilway station il the herses drew up with a jerk. Muffling themselves closely in th furs, they hur- ried to the little waiting room, which was empty save for a peasant, whose face was Aidden by the lappets of a large fur cap, amd who was carefully inspecting the ad- was vertisements with hung. After a few silence, during whic not repr her violent trembling. 1 von Esidy entered hurriedly, a € cold air following him. Ihave kept you waiti he cried, ping the p hands in both hi: own and frowr at the peasant, who “My horse which the room oments of brea could pod with his back: to them. fell, and I was delay: Irene! How si How good of you, that is due in that plea: 3 them ing, they bot 2 in the p: elector oi Inselsiand. Von Started back with an oath, but the princess made a profound courtesy, aying, mockingly, “Since when has your serene ness added the role of detective to your many accompl id ten minutes, aid a voice behind ry to pro- 5 madam,” wa the answer; and the princess flushed and bit her lip. There was a painful silence, only broken by the unrestrained sobb’ ng of the cona- tess. The baron fidgeted with the cap he had taken off when he recognized the elec- tor, threw imploring glances at the prin- cess, whose eyes were resolutely fixed upon the flocr; but her lips were smiling. The elector regarded the baron with open con- tempt. The carriage is waiting,” he said at length, offering his arm to the prince: but, turning to Baron Hederich, she said: “What do you advise me to de? “I think, madam, that you had—better return,” replied the baron, weakly, and to his bewildered mind it seemed that her smiling face was not that of a woman whose brightest hopes had suddenly been shattered. “Al, baron,” replied the princess, amia- your advice is sounder than your ations, I fear.” But a sting lay be- hind her words, and Von Egidy winced. Still smiling, ‘the princess took the elec- tor's arm, and the slamming of a carriage door sounding through the still air as the Paris train rumbled in the distance told the baron that his house of cards had tumbled about his feet, and that he was an exile. The return journey to Zatunhof was per- formed in silence, and it was oniy when they reached the foot of the grand siair- case that the princess spoke. “Is it up or down, sir?” she asked flippantly, her foot upon the lowest step, “to the deepest of your dungeons or to my apartments?” The Countess von Vogel will conduct you to your rooms, madam,” the elector re- plied, coldly; and,. bowing profoundly, he disappeared down a corridor. ° * . * The next morning a letter was brought to the elector from the Princess Irene, ask- ing for an interview, and with a grave face the young monarch immediately went to her boudoir, the Countess von Vogel leav- ing as he entered. The princess rose to receive him with a shy awkwardness in her manner that he had never seen before. know you must be thinking very iil of ” she said, looking away from him, as he stood with his hand resting on a table, “and now that everything is over, I—I want you to know—that—that—I am not so foolish as I appear to have been.” “I am afraid that I do not grasp your meaning,” the elector said coldly. The princess moved nearer to him, and as she came into the light he saw that her eyes were swollen with weeping. “It is very hard to tell you,” she said, her ice breaking, “‘you are so cold; but I felt From Life. 4 the ents of some common sates ran into millions of dollars. with all the dissipation and wickedness loped, it was not until weil toward the close of the six-year period indicated that the first murder for robbery was known to have occurred tn the whole oil country. | Some Famous Wells. ‘Though the striking of the Drake well caused feverish excitement at once, an im- mediate Influx of people to the regions, and sent skyward the value of lands along the creek, there was a bar to the boom in the limited means for storing afd market- ing the product. Within three years the supply so much exceeded the demand that the price dropped fram 50 cents a gallon to 2a oe EVOLUTION OF THE HATCHET, I could not leave Zatunhof without telling you that I never had any intention of elop- ing with Baron Hederich von Egidy.” ‘the elector started. “What was your object, then,” he said, adding, with a kinder note in his voice, “in allowing mat- ters to go so far?” The princess blushed, then grew pale. “I cannot tell you,” she stammered. For a moment the elector looked at ker intently, then, crossing to her side, took her face between his hands and looked into her eyes. “I thin I understand,” he id, softly. “Irene!” and as he put his arms around her she buried her head on his shoulder, passionate sobs shaking her slender figure. “I never knew you cared,” the princess said later, as they were sitting in the window seat. “I—1 liked you from the first, you were so different to other men. But you always were so cold, so reserved, and I felt that you would never love me— never. “And you were so merry, so bright, Irene, that I felt you could never think me any thing but a dull and tedious bore, but— “Yes, there are a great many ‘buts,’ ” in- terrupted the princess, with a touch of her old gayety, “and I musi make a confession. The poor barcn was a tool, and when I saw that I could not provoke you by my open Interest in him—well, I lost my bet- ter sense. His note, making an appoint- ment, was a terrible shock to my pride, but when I found you were not upon the ice that afternoon I kept it. I had deter- mined to end the matter at once, but catch- ing sight of a peasant cutting down trees, I recognized you, and remembering your favorite hobby and disguise I determined to consent to the elopement, and to arrange to see the plans in your hearing, simply whether you cared for me sutticie prevent it. I knew it was madness on my part, for if you had not come— “The end in this instance, Irene, justifies the means,” said the clector, kissing her “for if I had not overheard the baron's plans, as you Intended, I should never have known how much you loved me “And if you had not loved me, the princess, “you me from my folly. Yet you played a desperate game s, but the stakes were happine and you.” nd the baron? echoed would not have saved asked the elector play- fully “Ant” the princess replied, smiling, “he, too, played a desperate game; but he for- got that his opponent was a woman, and a woman in love.” = oe. ART AND ARTISTS. In Mr. Parker Mann's studio a number of interesting canvases in various stages of completion testify to his industry during tne winter months. They are for the mest part t Gloucester subjects from the studies and sketches which he made last summer. A large marine, showing a heavy si breaking on the rocks, is one of the pi tures which Mr. Mann intends to send to the exhibition of the society. It is an en- largem<nt of a small study which the artist painted on a stormy day, and is a very telling subject. The other picture which he plans to exhibit this spring is in marked contrast to this, and shows instead of a Vine of angry breakers, a quiet piece of mecorland, broken here and there by spaces of calm, ‘placid water. Mr. Mann is ing upon a small figure co ich a group of fishermen are hau the lifeboat out of a shed and preparing, to go to the rescue of those on board the dis- mantied sbip that is seen a short distance cut at sea. He has recently added two lit- tle gems to his galle of victures—an In- ness and a Julien Dupre. Ed * * Miss Bertha E. Perrie has contributed but one picture to the exhibition of the Amer- ican Water Color Society, which opened in ew York on the Ist of this month; but it is a very representative specimen of her work. She has of late been doing a good deal of work in ol, and has now upon her easel y of an ok man’s head. On Wednes- fternoons Miss Perrie and M! Svile- re at home to their friends in their * H. J. Ellicott expects to enter the ition for the Gi Slocum statue, to be heid in New York before very long, and has been at work upon a small sketch model. Gen. Slocum is represented on horseback with his head bared, and holding broad felt hat carelessly in his right hand. Mr. ElHcott will soon comm! work upon the life-size figure of Frankiin for which he obtained the award Ellicott’s k upon it for man: , endeavoring to give it a’ i of the figur one side of nd upon the Prof. Shute now going anatot such th body Mr. G. D. M. Peixotto, whose work is familiar to the Washington public through the portrait of Sir Moses Montefiore in the Corcoran Gallery, has been painting like- nesses of two men very much before the public eye just at present. During a short stay in Canton, Ohio, he was engaged upon a portrait of Mr. McKinley, though of a necessity his sittings were brief and often interrupted by cullers. Mr. Peixotto suc- ceeded, however, in making numerous quick sketches, which will aid him in the com- pletion of the portrait. From Canton he went to Chicago, where ke commenced a likeness of Lyman Gage, and he will probably be able to finish this portrait also without any further sittings. The walls of the main gallery at Veer- hoft’s are covered with a large collection of water colors by Chas. Morris Young, who exhibited there a year ago. He is most successful in painting early morning and evening effects, and works always in a very light key. In general his pictures lack strength and decision, but in subjects where a vague atmospheric effect is desir- able his style is remarkably pleasing. In the same gallery with the water colors an attractive collection of decorated china by Miss J. L, Pierce has been displayed. * oe ** A short time ago a movement was set on foot by Mr. Mann, by which money was to be raised for the Art Students’ League. The plan was to solicit donations of sketches and pictures frcm the local art- ists, and to-hold an auction, the proceeds of which were to be devoted to the needs of the Art League. This method of raising funds 1s thought to be unwise and im- practicable at the present time, and the announcement {s now made that the pro- ject has becn abandoned. * x * Senor Raymundo Madrazo, the celebrated Spanish portrait painter, whose recent ar- rival in New York was the cause of so much comment, reached this city early in the week, and Is now staying at the Ar- lington. He comes here to paint Secretary Lamont’s portrait and will probably make only a brier stay. ** Mr. Clary Ray has been doing some work upon a large canvas showing the Trocadero in Paris at sunset, and may send this pic- ture to the spring exhibition at the Cos- mos Club. The golden hues of the sky |- are reflected in the water of the Seine, and the picture has throughout a warm glow- ing tone. Mr. Ray is always fortunate in his marine effects, and has recently made an excellent drawing of the battle ship ‘Texas, seen by meconiight. He has been painting several poriraits and may ex- hibit this year a quickly executed study head. PS * oe There is now on cxhibition in the base- ment gallery at Fischer's a small collec- ticn of water colors by Richard B. Gructie, who is row In Indiana. He has, however, spent a good decal of tine sketching in the environs.of Washington, and all the studies exhibited were made within a short dis- tence from the city. Mr. Gruelle does little |: or no studio work, and his studies all have “* A short time ago Mrs. Ann Speare paint- SS A 16-Year-Old Girl Has Nervous Prostration. The Re fying Effects of a Proper Nerve Food Demonstrated. F om the Era, Bradford, Pa Several morths ago Miss Cora ¥ the wlx- ten-year-old daughter af Mr. IC. Watrous, a lo- <omotive fireman, of G1 Clarion street, Bradford, Penna., was seized with a nervous disonter which threatened to end her life. ‘The first Symptom of the ailment was a loss of appetite. Fup some tit- tle time Miss rous had no desire to ent and complained of « fevling of extrenie lassffinde. This was followed by severe pains im the head. For three weeks the young lady Was neariy crazed with he aud nothing could be procured het relict. after tryiag numerous cromedios, a plysi- Jed and began treating the patient. tromhle wae tense WY Tmpovertabed blood, but after several weeks of bis treatment the young ‘s condition had “hot Tmproved and the Parents decided (o procure the servines of another cian, In the meantime Miss Watrous’ ner- ad increased, the pains Invher bead had crown more severe and the sufferer’s parents had almost given up hope of ber It was at this time that Mr Dr. Williams’ Pink Pilis for 1° found that the pills were highly re nervous disorders’ and concluded te trlal. A box of the pills was pu: had all been taken the improvement in the dozen boxes had be yomg tite had ed, the pain in her head bh wi she Was stronger than at any t her illness. Miss Watrous con plete and eft home grape country mear Dankirk, N.Y taking the me the ailment Symptoms were felt Miss Wi box of pills, and the iiness She ts ao rous, clan was He sald th People sure Was com: a visit to relatives in the as the returning 3 secured wer ame away. Hition than she Jares that she owes her as sean drive in better physteal ox ears and d - Williams’ Pink 7 1 Mrs. Watrous w on ed by a re oth a ome " ~My daagly porter at their jond in their prais life was saved by th said Mes. W rous, “Her condition was almost bopeless whem she commenced taking them now she Is oe strong and health recommen Dr. Williams’ Pink Pills contain, in a form, all the elemonts necessary to gi aud richness to the blood and nerves. They are an unfailing speci diseases a8 locomotor ataxia, partial Vitus’ dance, sciatica, ne vous headache, the afte tation of the heart, pale and sallow eamplexions, all forms of weakness either In male or female. Pink Pills are sold by all dealers, or wit ts post paid on receipt of price, 50 cents a bo six boxes for by the 160), by addressing Dr, Williaws’ Medicine Company, Schenectady, N.Y. san: 1 cannot for mach aralysis, effect a porirait of Dr. Thomas Chalmers Easton, D.D., pastor of the Eastern Pres- byterian Church. Dr. Easton is the only yterian minister in the city who we a gown, and as the portrait shows him in tume it hes, bes! its value as a ess, a certain pictorial qualit x * * At the new Congressional Library a gang of men has been busy during the week in putting in place the colossal statue of Nep- tune, by Roland Hinton Perry, a you sculptor of great promise. Neptune is the principal figure in the group of bronzes for the fountain in front of the west main en- trance. It is a remarkably fine flew a represents the god of the sea as powerfully built, with immense muscular development. The other figures for the group have not yet arrived, though some of the bronze serpents and other mythical creat vhich are to be scattered around in t n of the fountain, are here. e bronze lamp bearers hav and have been placed in position just outside of the ave highly orname carry five globes, each globe c luster of incandescent lights. Iding the final touches are bs hing, and men are busy c! work and filling in cracks Two mas- also arrived on tt may now get a glimpse of the room, which i best of the roo ated by the aft of painters ve ch lar panels there were pa Mr. Kolstag, who is a very able colo! A very interesti 1 scene, bear- ing the signature of Jules Veron, 1s 1 hibition at Heitiuller’s. It is cail- Gateway of the Temple of Jerusa- and through a dark archway, wl ly ag e picture is full of s handling. A Broken Twain, From Leslie's Weekly. Except for their ages and the fact that they are each working in the decline of lite to recoup a shattered fortune, there are few points of similarity between Mark Twain and ex-Senator Tabor, yet out of the superabundance of sympathy for the bank- Tupt humorist, a little may be spared for the fallen bonanza king. No other Amert- can since Coal Of Johnny has ul £0 pointedly by his collapse the fic of fortune. It seems only yesterday t torting his millions from “LAvtle and investing them im every- thing that the fancy of man could desire, from opera houses to frilled night shirts and now he is swinging a pick, like a day pple Creek. Tf every news- paper writer who has told and sold a new story about the old man's eccentricities were to contribute a dollar to him now he would be well grub-staked. ‘There w vanity and selfishness and coarseness in his make-up, but he was never as had as he was painted, and at the bri time of his dazzling prosperity he was as interesting a bonanza king as we have had. brilliant color and ——+0- They Were All There. From the Cincinnati Tribune. The wild-eyed gentleman paused and looked Iong and earnestly at the little wheel ventilator, which was whizzing around in the window pane high over his head. “Can it be,” he asked, half aloud. Placing one finger in ‘his right ear, he 1 his eyes thoughtfully for a second. “No,” he said, with a sigh of rellef, as ne moved on again; “it isn’t one of mine, lost from its place. ‘They're a!l there.” Unlike most men, he could count his wheels. Of mankind —comtagivus lood polson—claim-a as its victim Mr. Frank B. Martin, 926 Pennsylvenla #¥etue, Washington, D.C, ond the usual physician's treatment did him not the slightest good. His condition 7c that deplorable stage which only this terrib: disease can produce. HE CURE After all else failed, Was at Inst found ta 8. S. S.—the greatest of all bioal remedies. Eighteen botties removed the disease erm nentiy, and left his.skiu without a Nemisis, 8. 8. 8. is guaranton® purely vegetable, ang is the only known cure for this most territte Jdisease. Books free; na- dress Swift Bpccifle Com- pany, AUasta, Ga.