m^m&m&mmmto* **?\u25a0»*

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II Cash or Credit _^_ItCosts Nothing j

IA LittleMoney for Credit Here. |jI-: WillBuy a I^l3^ Everything Sold |IGreat Deal Here my^^S^P^^^TT at Cash Prices. :*'a..'. -•-"\u25a0 -

\u25a0-•-,\u25a0\u25a0'\u25a0' :-.. \u25a0' "- ' •\u25a0\u25a0'•••" _J . •• <

—————\u25a0 \u25a0'—

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m- \u25a0'\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0 ... .'-\u25a0>"\u25a0 .. '' ~:;~ . \u25a0 '\u25a0"\u25a0 \u25a0\u25a0 \u25a0

' '- -»\u25a05 FFIHE Christmas possibilities of this store have been told again and yet again, and !

IJill now that Christmas is closing in, we can only say it's to your interest to callJIearly. This store has never offered such grand values. |

\u25a0\u2666\u25a0"."•—— ————— '—' '—' : " ~ ~~~ ' ' ' " ~~ - ' "~

"a™'A T\ t

''~

GLurvrv&.ci-'irm Hundreds of Pretty, Comfortable Rockers, wood, leather, J"5 J± i\OCKGt* \u25a0'&llg-ggC'S>il(Jll9 and cobbler seat. Every Rocker has bean priced very low, jIand we have sold quite a lot; bat to close out the balance

'

quickly we have cut the price on all from 10 to 20 j

Iper cent. You can buy a $10 Rocker here for $8.00. "No extra cost for credit." j\u2666'\u25a0 , :

—;

—\u25a0

—\u25a0

" ~ ' ~ ~~~ ~~ '\u25a0 \

""s

•*\u25a0•'"' :r (gss>To/r "^ "W T *d- Til js^Ei~Ss /£' ®

? The best assortment of Standard Watches, Elgin and Walt-°

Ii^^^^^^^fe, ham movements, in14- karat gold and gold-filled cases, for ladies and j^^^^S^^ n

gentlemen-

We handle only Keystone rand Jas. K.Boss' cases.

f DIAMONDRINGS, PRETTY SET RINGS, BROOCHES, ?

i-^^^^^^W ' SCARF PINS> CHAINS, and LORGNETTES, |I:^SIHB^ '

' '

Cash or Credit. : ,"

." |

® '-.'•-. D-789 - ' '.- ,- G'B4l . \u2666

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_ \u25a0\u25a0

—\u25a0 \u25a0

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— —. @

w \u25a0\u25a0'.'\u25a0•\u25a0 Such an assortment of Solid Colors, and Decorated Lamps has never been shown. Lamps that were $6, |

bL3,tJIt)S9 S7, and $8, your choice, while they last, for $5.00. Others as low as $1.50; There are only 103 left. 3

'h :'———

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33

l-;-^^^^^^^^S-' \u25a0 ; - l^^l^l' APerfect Chair, that-retails everywhere at f'"-\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0^^'^^lff/- \u25a0\u25a0" Just received the c^^ifKt^ 6̂'C0' only costs.you"ss,oo" here. .?I prettiest $15 Sideboard '_r . .' V- . . |ra pltJ^3S|tji you ever saw/ Itis really |^'J^^^3| in Vefo vr, a

I an $18 value. Some beau- ® f"

1 Verona, Lea- "^^^^^^^^^B^91(fil^SSyf t?M con «« ann S3O ther and Pantesoti. Our $12 ?

&* ". _\u25a0 -\u25a0 ©. ..,.._ \u25a0...\u25a0•\u25a0 .. - . _ . \u25a0\u25a0 . *«\u25a0 \u25a0 _ - m-*- "\u25a0 . . - ——

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—~~'\u25a0

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— *:''

rffAMWp SUITES CHIFFONIERES WARDROBES. Two crates of IMPORTED DINNER SETS just in—102 pieces-afc 'slß and §20, worth fa CHAMBER SUIT^' ''f^.^iSm'^S PARLOR SUITES-Fiva-Piece Suites, thac are wonders for $25 ;Handsome Suites inDamask a

ISV^oS \u25a0 SSTfeio t^Z iraSt&?%: $**&6R^ML^RUm CARPETS, KATTHrO3,__d ART SQUARES.n- LACE CURTAINS, PORTIERES, and TABLE COVERS. ' '..

- - . - ' . .'*

•4" \u25a0 . \u25a0\u25a0 . -

1 1 1'

1 1 $p

f" '

m

I:--ir%4r\ /T*t-f£___>- mnr X A* f^f\ Fourth and Broad Streets,™\u25a0&

"&w^~i\u25a0- # _f" if if if __• F% M %Jk %b/ \^®q \u25a0 tintinft htiirtii^ni*r^ \u2666

mond. that mushroom upstart!

The Ircn Chest: Yes. that newspaperreporter comes often. My young lady Isto*marry him Insix months.It is to buy her trouseau that she sold

you for SSCO to Captain Blount.Excuse my merriment, but the joke's—

why. bles.'J my metal, but tha clock'sstopped. \u25a0 ..

Wei. well, there's no fool like an his-toric ioO^-HE DrLIGENT REPORTER.

AND

The Mystic Mistletoe.

Be Romance of Holly

History of theChristmas Tree

priest, clad in a white robe, two whitebulls being sacrificed on the spot. Thename given It by the Dru'ds signified"All-Heal"; its virtues were, believedto be very great, and- Us seed was sup-posed to have fallen from heaven.

By the Teutons, mistletoe was held sa-cred to Balder, the sun god. the son oiFreya, the Scandinavian Venus. In Bal-der, all that was beautiful, eloquent,wise, and good, was honored, and he waj

the spirit of activity, of Joy, and oilight.

Predicting his own approaching death,his mother Freya exacted an oath froiaanimals, plants, and minerals, not to in-jure him. The mistletoe among the plantshad been forgotten. When this was dis-covered by the treacherous Hoedur. th«blind god of brute strength, he took awand o£ it, and. being directed how toaim It. the mistletoe pierced Balderthrough the heart, and ha fell dead tr>the ground

So many are the traditions clustering

about the mystic mistletoe that in France,

in mediae\-al times,'\u25a0:';\u25a0 fetes were held in

its honor.

We know it as the famou3 "kissing

bunch"," which plays so important, apart in Christmas festivities: it wasselected for this honor centuries ago,

before the Christian era. At the begin-ning of this last century, when the Lordof Misrule still heid his Christmas reijn.

Now Iwas In that office. The very wax

ruDocd into my pores J.fty-nay seventy-

five years; ago. started out in drops, the

paint on my~face cracked, and Ithought

mv last hour, my last minutes had been

told But. suddenly.:: above crackling

flames and breaking glass, a girl's voice

rar.e out: \u0084 . , ,..."cave oh! save my cleck;

The next moment a strange figur*

sprang into that room. It was that of

a dare-devil 'newspaperman from Rich-mond, who was visiting the >xnl£.J*ehad hastily donned his swallow-tail coat

worn at the dance that night-arid yet

Icannot conscientiously affirm that He

was in full dress!He seized me about the middle-my

weights made me lurch from side to side—

the floor was red hot; it was a maa

struggle, but he was game: he heid on,

we reached the door and Ifell at my dearlady's feet, scorched, cracked, but happy

because— she loved me!The nest chapter In my history starts

out with a mystery Icannot yet explain.

In <=p«te of the affection my mistress T>ore

me" as ?bove exemplified, in spite of my

great v?lue, evidenced by the risk of lifethe reporter ran to save me from theflames, I wss next thrown— actually

thrown—into a shefi with a lot- of mere

lumber. Divested of my face and works,

my frame, a broken wreck.. Ilay thereforgotten, almost forgotten, for the end

of time seemed very near. While" In. this

pitifully Jcnominous position a dominick-er hen had tho termertty to lay elevene~gs in my skull. Ifso Ishould term thepart of my case behind my face. In the

end this insult proved a. blessing, anci

saved mv tottering faculties from obli-

vion. Automatically Icommenced cal-culating and countirg time betweeneggs— the period of incubation— fhe pip-

ping of the chicks. Save for this, timepassed unheeded, unmarked. But there

was still happiness Instore for me. Oneweary day my young lady ran into the

shed "all eagerness, passea trembling

hands alorrs my once polished surface,

and finally:in a sudden transport of Joy,

embraced* me. Hey? "What are. youlaughing at?

The Iron Chest: That occurred on fhefirst day of October. Iam as particularshout dates as you are about time. Therewas a visitor here on that day. a dearold lady, a fourth cousin, once removed,of ours. She sat by the fire here whileour young lady told her th<* story of thefire and the clock. "My child." Ghesald."if that Is the Blount clock and really

came from Bellmont. then itmust be theNat Turner Insurrection clock, and ifitis the Nat Turner clock, then the Ehotare still sticking In the floor." With thatthe j-oung lady flew from the room—nodoubt to rapturously embrace you! Youwill please excuse my merriment, for thelaugh Is on you this time. When she re-turned she said "M7clock Is historic—Ialways felt It.but now Iknow. Oh, Iam so proud of It."

Nott, what Iwant to hear about is notyour every-day history, but yzir historichistory. Ihave history of the most re-spectable quality and earliest dates, andyet nobody calls me "historic."

As for the Nat Turner Insurrection. Iremember it well. As far as we werefrom the scene of It3bloody deeds thishouse was filled for many nights withthe terrified white trash of the neighbor-hood.

The Historic Clock: Recember. myfriend, that' Ibear the shot fired by theinsurrectionists still in my body, and thatIreceived them 'at. my post of duty in-trepidly counting fhe bloody moments inDr.Blount's hall. But !t grows very late.

Never shall Iforget tho moment of my.

"arrival nt the front door. Istuck' outat least three feet from the back of acommon cart, to which a miserable mule

Iwas driven by a black rag-a-muilln. The!Colonel dropped his feet from the porch

rnHintr. slowly took his pipe from his lips,

and stared hard at the approaching com-bination. "I'll cat my. head." ho thun-

dered. "If that ain't a coffin! David'Simms, '""'you damn rascal, whose funeral!s this?" >.

The Colonel was wrong—it was no fune-ral, but a resurrection: the quality or hisvoice and greeting told me' that Iwasonce raoro in the company of the gen-

teel.But my adventures were not yet over.

In the nature of things, Iwas found to

be generally out of order, and Ihad lostmy voice completely; and so. until.lcouldbe repaired, Iwas put in an unoccupied

ofHce In the yard. One night there were

Kay doings here. Abride and groom were

fessted— there was much music and dane-

Inc Although my works were out of or-

der, Iknew by habit that itwas 1o'clockbefore the great house and offices weresilent, and family and guests slept. TCharhappened then Ishall give you In my

young; lady's words, for she dearly loves

to tell of my peril and safe deliverance.-I walced." she said, "suddenly from a

•^ound sleep, with a Strange conviction of

fire Iran out Into the hall where a lamp

wa? left burning; it was perfectly safe.As Iparsed a window Iglanced out. andthe strangest sight Iever saw confrontedme. Ithought in a flash of the lUrk In

Tara O'Shanta. The -office was one bril-liant Illumination from foundation to roof-ccmb-it seemed built of light. In the il-

luminated circle around It was \u25a0 collecteda large company. The horses-left out to

ctszc at night-the cov.-s. the hounds, the

setters, the ducks, the geese-all s! ent

in "astonishment— even the geese— silentThen suddenly the mystery was solved: A

«hnrp tongue of flame shot from the roof,

and the building was wrapped in fierce

conflagration. The Enell was broken, a

hubbub of barking. lowing,cackling arc*f»

from the creatures, and 'Fire! fire! Iscreamed with all my power."

you—though T know/ by his chuckle itoften stTlkcs the Colonel when Istrike.

NAT TURNEKBNSURREGTIQN^»|i \u25a0 VIRGINIA-AT-I/ARGEL: 29.-'fiKvhat talks so eloquently as eld furniture"[fioiiiy<o cerinin people, -it is true, and InIfieertAln atmospheres will 5t speak, but as

purely as the setter dog in his closeness

IPto his master Is evolvJnc a soul, so surelyr#viH\u25a0'«\u25a0\u25a0 hundred years of intimate family

Imjfe Invest furniture with;human kinship.

I'ybSlM' why ie It that vhen\"ant.to.yo" ecr-ijljjer-cupboa rd*." four-pesters, and nrm-'flcbairp are subjected to the -degradation

iflof the auction, or of private. bribery. and:*|beeome thr property of Ih©;fashionableiMMcsdrmes Xewly Rich they..assume anr|ln«<ere dignity, and Invariably fill their

llnlcbian owners with aw© arsd discomfort.•Kromctimes poir.jr so ..far 03 to emit

H'-fcaunts" into the palatial new homes||si;to which they are Introduced.

if .lenisalem. the old—very old—county seatIfnf Southampton is now and

flicknown anCourtland. Its good old name=(|was \u25a0.'suppressed because, -it is. said, some

ffofits thriving Inhabitants; objected to the

ifpost-mark "JerusaJcnV.-'on thvlr letters.

IfHowever that may be. It.was around Je-

nrasalein that the events of my old fur-

flniiure story centered.IIilt wr.s told m« >n a.quaint. quaint old cour.tr> 7

Utiome about twenty miles from the county

*|*©3t a house with firrnccfnl sloping roorpand dormer windopre. 'and f plain English

£1black oak furniture.- Iwa? a visitor at

ittthft house, but Iwas nino a descendant ofiplts founder, anfi the furniture, had sllcnt-||jy t«t warmly weV;c.me<s me on my ar-

llriva.l. The hour m^ late, the fire bright—

firnr took ended. Ihad looltcd geveral

Iftimes to-R-nrds the majestic four-poster.

Ifvrith its feather bed and turned-downIfquilts—but th« arm-chair, and the fire,

*fend the pervading comfort srour.d theUhearth ftillheld me.' Ifell to observing

f|and rnrsins upon the other occupants oflithe room—the furniture. On my right,-

3|fc#ar the foot of the bed. stood the iron

i*fchert. sis Itwas feroillarly kr.own 5n tho1| family. It wse unfioisbtedly the sreat-Hereat-grandfßther of-the modern fire andi*burglar-proof safe." It was rs.:s«d aboutjf«!x inches from th« floor by "stoct wooden

>stert. and was composed of iron at least

!%*n Inch thick: it was probably three feetllfclyh. and about eighteen Inches in depth

\u25a0ft and breadth. Its ponderous door was'Ilocked with a hupe key that hur.p aboveHit, and Iknew that it was fitted with

itpigeon-holes anfl small drawers. Iwas

Iffain to conceaJ from this- important cus-

ffeoaiari of the family papers— will?, deeds.||ejj(S maps— the Irrepressible smile thatjltrof-esp Ipictured a burglar's face, whenIthus confronted!I.In the cornrr en my. left stood a tallIeight-day cloclt of Glistening mahopany.

|tIwns somehow conscious that this arlsto-IIcr&tic time-niece was a stranger to the

\u25a0Jl house— but'

wltha! a welcoms and cor.ge-

inicl grucst.W The four-poster was evidently anxiousil-tosettle for the nicht. for it creaked com-|plaininsly from time to time, but the1chairs: were resting quietly. Only thej£ixill clock seemed -thoroughly awake

—M'ti was surely more loquacious and noisy

ithan usual. "Rapidly and loudly it count-Ited the seconds, then it cleared Its throatf-pnth a clicking eound. and emitted from

f JtK fWonant chest twelve clear strokes.i"Then ft spoke in rasping; quick tones, tc|!which. the iron chest replied ponderously

ISand Blow: and what Ilearned was his-

ftory. and Is here set down for the curious

p to read.

i§ The Hisioric Clock: There's a machine-1made wheel in my insides that -Idon't

U like at all. Itis an outrage --that the NatI]Turner Historic Clock should have such'ty a modern, common thing stuck in its me-

oh^.nism Positively. I<3or/t feel .really|f genuine.M The Iron Chest: Pardon me vIappear

fl'aWcourteous or Inhospitable— which-;I|| truet would be impossible in one of my

w gontf^l .associations— but it.'would givef| me infinite satisfaction, to learn your his-Story.S tory. Iam sure it is. honorable and In-

P teresting. for you come of a fine old': family. The Blounts. of Bellmont, are1 tlie peers of any in the land, not even1't.Tcepting my own house.

I The Historic Clock: "U"ith pleasure! The

\ dour and pl3cr arc propitious, for we are.

I1may say. among ourselves, and Ican|; speak freely. : .ii To begin with.Imust. remind you that,

ithough the manner of my arriving here

was perhaps undignified, there..was.noth-ing in it. You also know that it was all

Viecause a daughter of your house— which,

|| like mine, has fallen upon evil days—con-

1 ceived a consuming desire to possess aitall clock. Iblush for her motive. ImusticonfeFs; ithad its origin in a .fashionablefrad among the' plebians— the dregs thatti have ris^n to the top of the pot-sir.cc

Ithe Yankees stole our slaves— but enough1 r;f that: it is an unsafe subject for me; it: eends my sap to my head. AVell. to re-lFume: One of our boys, hearing her .es-;press this intense desire, remarked that« when our house passed into the possessioni tf its present unworthy owner.Iwas left[,Inadvertently, of course, in the garret.

; there, indeed. Ihad lain in dust and sl-!; lence for years, listp.ning to the Gtrange

\u25a0voices that echoed In..the rooms below,

R.nd glad that my shamed head was hid-

fien from the world.*"What "small beginnings make large

I ends!" It wss to the teasing jokes of two|]Isds thai Iowe my present comfortableIhome, my historic reputation, and most

s of all. the dear love of my sweet young:Xady. Tou doubtless know that ratherIlhan be laugjlied at by her brothers for\ her fashionable notions, she secretly

Ibribed a messenger to fetch me home.iShe abstracted from her respected fath-

\u25a0 cr's wardrobe a well-worn pair of panta-

Icons and a speckled waistcoat, and hung

them behind the pantry door until thathanger-on of the kitchen; ragged Davie'Simroa, should bring me in safety to

"her.* * •

You must forgive my merri-! tnent at the recollection. The Joke is on

Ihad .lust struck 9 the morning afterthis night of horror when the alarm wasgiven in one house. Ina short_while thepoor white trash and nearest neighborsran in for. advice and protection.., Oh.how breeding shows in the. face of dan-gers. The doctor was as cool as a mint-julep, but every inch equal- to the emer-gency. There were eight men in, thehouse: these remained in the hall armedwith every available firearm.' Of course,the doors- and windows were barricaded.All the women and -children who hadcome in were sent upstairs. They wereshrieking and fainting, and carrying on

The Historic Clock: Thanlo. But toresume. In order to inspire the negroes

with superstitious awe and confidencein his powers, he several times ran away

from home, and after weeks of hiding in

the woods would return, declaring he nadnot tasted food, and that he" had receivedgreat revelations from "the. spirit."- Hesaw "white spirits and black spirits en-gaged in battle.. The sun was darkened,

thunder rolled In the heavens, and bloodflowed in streams." After a.while he be-gan to hold midnight meetings In: thewoods to prepare the negroes^ for tht/great work •of \u25a0"• his destiny. Hundreds,supposed by masters and overseers, to bbquietly sleeping- 'm~ their beds, noiselesslycrept ir. bare feet through the cypressswamps to the rendezvous. Ah, what achapter such a meeting would. make. .forthe writer of one oi those ridiculous'"'his-toric novels" our young . lady ]is "so -.fondof reading- to- her brothers. What liesthey are. to.be sure! Now", "if we' coulduse: the pen, we could give them history.

This is about how they would describeit: "The forest rustled with the silenttread of a multitude of bared feet. Hoot-,

ing owls and barking' foxes _ceased :at thehuman Invasion and passed withoutsound to deeper, solitudes. Torches begnnto' flicker and to shine upon black faceswith glaring eyes— larger and larger theconcourse grew —

then a huge giant inebony mounted the broken trunk of a for-est king, once a fit type of himself"—bosh! .Then would come a lot of twaddleabout "his ."rancous"

—that's the 'fashion-

able word— "and guttural tones, the fierceeloquence evolved by an heredity of athousand years of unbroken savagery."But It fs ten minutes to strJklny I—l'veonly time for facts.

At last his followers were sufficientlydisciplined- and drilled. -and /the time forstriking; was set— the night of the lastSunday In-August. In this.'.Natmade afatal mistake: that year— lS3l—there werefive Sundays in the month. Those only,who like himself were ignorant of thisfact, met him at the rendezvous—unde-terred, however, by their numericalweakness, they started at once upon thework in hand. \u25a0-':-\u25a0\u25a0

Like shadows they crept .to the Travishomestead, through the

'confiding, open

doors, into the chamber where the masterslept in the peaceful atmosphere of hisown benevolence. He died without aflicker of the lash beneath the' terrificblow of a hatchet. Then the" wife, thechildren, and last the dear baby In thecradle, the .monster had so often holdwith seeming pride, in .his. arms.Iwill not repeat the .horrors of that

night' In detail. Undetected, unresisted,they proceeded from house to house," mur-dering the sleeping whites, augmentingtheir numbers, arming themselves withguns, swords, axes, anything. \but alwaysstopping at-tfce-brandy stills... One pitifulcase was that of a woman who wakingto the bloody work, fied to the;' woods.was overtaken and tied behind a negroon a horse, brought back and commandedto He down in.bed beside her murderedhusband. Then she was auietly dispatch-ed. . '" . --\u25a0

-\u25a0\u25a0•\u25a0 :-.-

' .

The Diligent Reporter Unjearths ttieS(ory^fnim>iOld:Furniturejtt the County ofSouthampton. >

and Imust be :brief. Kathanlel Turner,belonged to Mr;Joseph; Travis, known, to

be the kindest of masters, and so^ con-,fldcnt of his slaves' honesty and; affectionthat he never locked his house doors at"

Nat was born in ISOI. .and was a large

and active speclmenof unmixed Africanblood. He vyas very black, with wool.ly

hair and a retreating: forehead.'

The Iron Chest: Bump :.'of.combative-;

ne<=g cnormoußly developed; "that ;of do-

strucUveness as large as a • goose-egsVery curious skull Indeed,, :.no«;.top, npfront all back. Iought to.know all aboutIt for it sat'-'on top of me ror years. Out

voune Dr. Richard was just homo from

his medical course in. Paris, and ready

for anything in the name of.science. Holeft home the day Turner was hung andburied, and returned the ns-?t .night, with

a bloody sack under the seat* of his gg.-

There were'four wild blades with him

In that uncanny nighfs work. Iknew a

man also who carried a square inch ot

tanned skin In his pocket-book, which he

declared to be Nat Turner's, though he.would never tell, how it.came" into hispor.scsslon;

"" ".-\u25a0..:-"' •.."\u25a0- '..::

The[Historic Clack".r:?H« waa. remark-.

ably ingenious in shaping metal In clay

moulds, -and' even learned to .make gun-.

Iowder. He also -taught, himself to 'read?rd write, which- was against :he law ofthe Slate, for a slave. He conceived, at.an earlvfige the Idea and the overwhelm-ing ambition to become the savior ofhisrace— the means of freedom for. the slave,

ami spent much time ;in formulating hisplans.

The Iron Chest: As a. matter, of facthe was 16 years old when the Idea waspresented to him. and there was no origi-nality In his plans whatever. _

\u25a0 The .Historic Clock: Excuse me,, butyou seem to know It all. •

The Iron Chest: Yes.' Ihave inside in-

formation:. In my third pigeon-holethere Is a letter dated October. ISI6. con-taining a full account of an: Insurrectionplanned by a really remarkable negro

known as ". General Sampson: This wa?

ex-idently Turner's Inspiration. Ishalltake pleasure .in showing you the letternext Sunday night, as it is both curious

and interesting. • • •

Very £ow Priced.Ifyoa have notBOUGHT your Xnias Gifts yet, you can consider the fact a fortunate coincidence,

forwe willplace on sale, beginning Friday morning, the 19th, an extra large stock of Watches,Diamonds, and Gold Jewelry I This is INADDITION to our REGULAR stock, and was sent us onCONSIGNMENT by the largest wholesale jewelry house inNew York city1 The greatest values everseen inRichmond, ifnot in the entire South.

Now, whatever portion of this large assortment of Jewelry we fail to sell willbe returned to thisjewelry house inNew YorkXmas morning. Therefore, there is no expense to us on account of this

"•

rare consignment of choice Jewelry, and we willsell every article at the lowest possible margin of.'profit. • }• :\u25a0-\u25a0 : '\u25a0 .:-.- ,-'

Youhave practically New York's Jewelry stock from which to select your gifts! Ifyou failto take advantage of this rare opportunity, don't blame any one but yourself.

;

Misses' Solid Geld Rings... .51.50 up Manicure Sets, Sterling 5i1ver.......... 1.55.00 to JO.OOBrooches ..J2.SO to $150 OO "-Leather Purses. Silver-M0unted.......... 51. 25 to $5.00'

Wrist Bags. .........51.25 to SS.OOJackets \u0084 .54.00 to Jl3.00 Umbrellas. Gold or SUver-Mounted....s7.OO to 512.00 •\u25a0\u25a0\u25a0

Comb and BruEh, and Mirror 5et5.... 510.00 to 525.00 Opal Rings, with or without Diamonds. sl.so to $75.00 ."\u25a0 *\u25a0

gifts for Men. yScar* Pins. SolM Gold ..................... .75a to $25.00 Gold-Headed Canes.. ........ ..........$3.00 to JIG.OOScarf Pins, with Diamomis .. ..$3.50 to $IO«M Umbrellas $3.50 to JSiOOr.,ff nmt.« Rniw r,M

' .^"AaV \u25a0\u25a0*_..«__ Card. Cases. Bill Books-Best Leather. 'Watch"

;; Cuff Buttaiw. Solid Golfi $2.00 to $i5.00 Chains-Solid Gold and Filled.: Our Filled Chains are\u25a0 Cutf Buuonc with Diamonds $4.00 .t_ SlS.oo made by Simmons, who are conceded to be the finest; ; .WnxcY.ts. 1«K..:Solid Gol<J. guaranteed. .$20.00 up Chain-makers. \u25a0

•

Gold-Filled Watcnes, best grade.... ..SiS.OO to SiS.oo Our stock of Watches !» the largest ever shown ,in i:Lockets. Solid-G01d'...... ....&4.00 to $15.00 Richmond. You will find our prices "the lowest, con-. :'

X S, et \u25a0\u25a0'Rir'Zs-•\u2666'•••• ••• ..54.00 to $10.00 Bistent with quality—and, remember, every article sold

,| Colored Stone Rices .................... .$5.00 to 510.00 bears our guarantee. • ;' :-. \u25a0 •

L j.&/Allen\&:Co.9 fourteenth and Main Streets, ;r

With his death. light, and purity fledfrom the earth. The unholy one who hadcaused the death of the god was confinedwithin a cave; above his head was hunja venomous serpont, to drop its poisonon his face. But his wife Digyn. stoodby him and caught the drops in a cup.It was only when she emptied the gob-let that the venom touched him. whenhe caused the earth to be shaken as withan earthquake.

There are many traditions also connect*ed with the holly.

One. that itis unlucky to brir.s it Into th*house before Christmas Eve. Thera aretwo kinds of, holly—the prickly and th«non-prickly—and according a3 the hollywhich is brought in for the Christina*decoration, is smooth or rough, the wlfsor the husband will be master.

A bunch of holly, with berries, mustbe broken from holly which nas beenused in church decoration and kept untiltne next. Christmas, to protect freeslightning and insure a lucky year.

the privileges sanctioned by the presenceof the mistletoe were permitted to allranks of society, from the lowest tothe highest.It is seldom that we see it hung prop-

erly nowadays. Two hoops twined withevergreens must be suspended from thecentre of the room; within the bunch isplaced a bunch of small rosy apples withthe mistletoe.

The cavalier who has a right, or claimsIt, of saluting a maiden, must pluck offa berry at each kiss. The pearly berriesare symbols of purity, and associatedwith, the rights of marriage. From thisDruidical superstition the transition wasbut slight to the kiss beneath tha cabal-istic bough. .

Very unlucky is- it If tho mistletoe fallfrom, the ,place where it has been hung

UP- \u25a0 :.•

•"\u25a0'" "

So, sacred was the mistletoe to theDruids that wherever it was found itwas considered a gift direct from heaven,and was cut with a golden knife by a

lost Its symbolic significance.. and theHeavenly Messenger, with the priceless.Imperishable tidings, has been supersededby a-benignant but very material SantaClaus. It flourishes, however, bearing:abundant fruit, and Is not without itauses 'since Itgladdens annually thousandsof little hearts all

:over the new world.GLLBERTA S. WHITTLE.

Removal Sale.* Until after Christmas in order to c!oa*out all our"neckwear, we are making th*fohowins prices: Mcny oi the 50c. kindat 25c., j$1.50 'scar f8. ».:75c. :reduced to Mew"

CONSTABLE!BROTHSH*.

-.Siberian. squirrel fur Is a prominent ele-ment of mlilinery departments. A hatwith a soft crown of blue velvet has abroad brim of the gray fur. which finishesin wide tabs held close to the hair by *long steel ornament. The linins U shirredblue satin.

The renewed demand for Indian blank-ets and Italian slumber robe 3is fast ap-proaching the craze stage. The Navajoand other hand loom weaves, as well aithe plalded and jacquered patterns, areprime favorites. Christmas goods are al-ready appearing in new and attractiv*styles, such as may be utilized for couchcovers, draperies, travelling rugs, athleticblankets, etc" Some of the fancy pattern*are tied with satin ribbons and prettily.boxed for gift making. ;.-=

The little eiderdown coats, red. tan.blue,, and gray, with a hood of the /RedRidinghood variety, are among the warm-est and most serviceable wraps for thetoddlers: \u0084•"".. : -,A hairpin that Is "unlosable" is one /ofthe-noveltles'Been in,the'stores.-, It.con-sists of the regulation pin. with an or-namental \u25a0;cap, which = flts-on- the point ofthe :\u25a0' pin;- After:the pin-thas .";been- stuckthrough; the"*hat .this separata •cap itsflipped ov«r tho protruding point. :\u25a0

It-was -weeks before aught was knownof Turner's fate. \u25a0 One day a gentlemanwas hunting in the Travis woods, whenhis dog. :attracted by the smell of meat,began, scratching in the ground. A cavewas .revealed in which the fugitive wascaptured. \u25a0

-. On

'Saturday. November sth. of thesame year, Nat Turner was tried "forplotting in cold blood the indiscriminatedestruction of men, helpless women, andof infant 'Children." There was no de-fence, the' prisoner having made a fullconfession, -and the sentence was death.On Friday the 11th. he was hanged fromthe limb of a tree that to this day stands"on the outskirts of Jerusalem. He v.-asburied- beneath the same tree.'

You have the story. Heroic deeds growlustrous with the friction of time. Ilit-tle ithought -when Iticked away thosebloody moments, neither too fast nor tooslow,'lwas kndling a spark that would

\u25a0in Uhe-. future cast upon me a blaze ofnotoriety. ,Ihave a piece of news for you: It pains

and pleases me. both—lcannot decidewhich in the greatest measure. My.younglady has received a letter from a navalofficer, whose home Is In Texas, and whois the son of little Simon Blount. My

fame has reached him, and he begs to

have the honor, of placing me in hi3hallas his most precious heirloom.^ Of course^Ishall go. It is right and fitting thatI-should occupy my own natural andhonorable, position. •""•And yet Idread thatawful railroad journey, lying like a deadman in a coffin; silent.' too. as the dead.Ionce sailed from Liverpool to^Perta-mouth in the schooner, "Pretty Polly,

whence Iwas transported by wagon toBellmont; from that place my ludicrousjourney to this hospitable mansion ;jbe-vond \u25a0 this Ihave stood- for over a hundredyears' in my corner. My heart fails meat the thought of leaving; my dear.;dearyoung" lady,1 how will she find strength

for. the sacrifice? ..I am an alien in thishouse— honored-, though gby all—but therels;poverty here, and Iam often broughtInto

-association with ;people who^are

not the equals of the Blounts. The Colo-pie, and .even- myiyoung ;lady, are not^aspartlcular/as? they have.; ay rifht to 'be;Tghr-thVi nmwaaaaer r«a)Q*t*r from Bioa»

• By the way, this boy,; only 12 yearsold," fought with intrepid bravery, sideby side with. the rr.cn. Thus repulsed, thenegroes pressed on to Jerusalem, wherepreparations had already been made fortheir reception. About two miles fromthe town they were met by a small ad-vance guard of the whites. Turner ordei-ed his men to halt and wait until theywere within fifty yard3. Then came th<vorder "fire! rush en them!" The whitesbroke and fled, and many were overtakenand dispatched. At this critical momentthe main body of the whites came up andthe negroes were quickly, routed in greatpanic and disorder. Turner once moresucceeded In partially rallying them andthey again endeavored to reach Jerusa-lem: by crossing the Thomas plantation.Mrs. Thomas, Judith and Ann, werecrouching in the bushes when theypassed. '• "

Since George H. Thomas has becomehistoric like myself these little facts areof interest.' Met at every cross roadsby armed white men. Turner's followingmelted like snow, until at last only twoor three remained. Then in bitter dis-appointment lie returned to his old hidingplace on the Travis plantation, where hehad once held communion with "the>spirit.".. When the troops, sent from OldPoint by the" government, and the volun-teer companies .from Richmond and Pe-tersburg, reached the scene of action

—summoned by the slow process then invogue— even, the ashes of rebellion werecool; •

\u25a0 . .

awfully, but our own young lady stayed

below "and loaded the guns as the mendropped them smoking from their 'handsto take up others. The attack was shor.and bloody. • The doctor afterwards, saidhe felt sure a negro dropped to every

shot fired from our windows. On theirside, frenzied wifh blood and brandy,

their shots went wild,"all flying above theIliads of our defenders, except, alas! onedischarge thai buried itself in my ma-hogany. My face was uninjured, and thepain was slight, but my vanity sufferedconsiderably at the time. Little did Iknow that the scars then Inflicted wouldbring me honor and love in the future!Now. Iunderstand why a grateful gov-ernment, findingno personal reward suit-able for my heroism, bestowed

• uponyoung Simon Blount a commission In thenavy.

In the thousands of humes In which thßChristmas tree will soon burst Into bloom,

ir. may be oi interest to Imcw that the

American scion springs from a stock ofunknown antiquity, indigenous to Ger-many, the existence of which may betraced with certainty to the dawn of thesixteenth century. With the German, in-deed, it is not only an object of pride

as the product of his native soil, but atype of his faith, and a means by whichha instils his creed into the minds of hischildren; and any alteration in its. ar-rangement is regarded both as a tamper-ing with national tradition, and a dese-

cration of a sacred observance. Unwill-ing to forego or even abbreviate the plea-

sure of preparing for it, he discards asmuch as possible the tinsel ornamentsof commerce, the older members of the

household gildingand silvering with theirown hands the nuts and fruits, withwhich it is to be laden.

As symbolizing the unchanging: love 01,

God—"the same yesterday, to-day, andforever"—of which the anniversary itselfis the most convincing proof, he adopts

the evergreen for his purpose. Procur-ing a symmetrical fir or holly,he fixes itfirmly in the midst of a table, occupyingthe centre of the principal apartment ofthe dwelling. Above it is suspended thefigure of an angel, with outstretchedwings, the bearer of "glad tidings of greatjoy." From the boughs hang the glit-tering ornaments, simulating gold anaprecious stones, types of the "glories andexcellencies revealed in the §on of Man,"

while from every twig slime gleamingtapers, emblematic of Him as "the lightof the world."

Santa Claus. the patron saint of Amer-ican children, has no existence in Ger-many. The gifts are bestowed by KrisKringle, a corruption of Christ Kindleln,

or the infant Christ, "from whom comethevery good and perfect, gift." They arenot suspended from the tree, but areplaced on the table to signify that Inconferring upon us His bounties/ ourSavior in no. way diminishes His own glo-

rious beauty.The celebration occurs on Christmas-

Eve, when standing beneath the tree,

German parents direct the attention .oftheir children to faults which they hava

observed in them during the year, earn-estly and solemnly calling upon them foramendment, and at the same time, com-mending them for any .good conductwhich they may have exhibited. .In Germany the tree Is never denuded

in the presence of the cnildren. It re-mains intact from Christinas to Newdear's Eve, wher. it Is privately borneaway, by the older members of the family.

Although it was originally confined to.the Fatherland, it;has sent up shoots !nall of the German provinces in the northof Europe; and after the marriage of

Queen Victoria" to Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg-Gotha, was Introduced Into Eng-

land. ..Its first appearance' In France was on

the Christmas anniversary after the,ar-

rival at Fontair.bleau =.of. the PrincessHelena, of :Mecklenburg-Schwerlri. theoride of the Duke of Orleans, when QueenAmelia, 'the wife of' Louis' , Philippe,anxious! that her daughter-in-law shouldbe' deprived of none .'of .tne pleasure*which she enjoyed In her own countr..addedto the usual festivities of theroyalhousehold, her own national celebration. \u25a0 ;

'\u25a0'\u25a0 Through the agency of the German feet?:tiers .'iJn. :.America, the 'emblematic \tree"has. been Implanted; ln.the soil ofbur owncountry. Xa tJw'r«hoval itfc_s unhappily ]