Without appearing to avoid him, Sis managed to make the presence of Mrs. Parmalee and Mrs. Hightower an excuse for neglecting him. She entertained these worthy ladies with such eager hospitality that when they aroused themselves to the necessity of going home, they found, to their dismay, that it would be impossible, in the language of Mrs. Poteet, to "git half-way acrost Pullium's Summit 'fore night 'ud ketch 'em." Sis was so delighted, apparently, that she became almost hilarious; and her gayety affected all around her except Woodward, who barely managed to conceal his disgust. After supper, however, Mrs. Poteet and her two guests betook themselves to the kitchen, where they rubbed snuff and smoked their pipes, and gossiped, and related reminiscences of that good time which, with old people, is always in the past. Thus Woodward had ample opportunity to talk with Sis. He endeavored, by the exercise of every art of conversation and manner of which he was master, to place their relations upon the old familiar footing, but he failed most signally. He found it impossible to fathom the gentle dignity with which he was constantly repulsed. In the midst of his perplexity, which would have been either pathetic or ridiculous if it had not been so artfully concealed, he managed for the first time to measure the depth of his love for this exasperating but charming creature whom he had been patronizing. She was no longer amusing; and Woodward, with the savage inconsistency of a man moved by a genuine passion, felt a tragic desire to humble himself before her. "I'm going home to-morrow, Miss Sis," he said, finally, in sheer desperation. Mountain will be raided to-morrow or next day." Sis rose from her chair, pale and furious, and advanced toward him as if to annihilate him with her blazing eyes. Such rage, such contempt, he had never before beheld in a woman's face. He sat transfixed. With a gesture almost tragic in its vehemence, the girl struck the papers from his hands. "Oh, you mean, sneaking wretch! You And then, as if realizing the weakness of mere words, she turned and passed swiftly from the room. Woodward was thoroughly aroused. He was not used to the spectacle of a woman controlled by violent emotions, and he recognized, with a mixture of surprise and alarm, the great gulf that lay between the rage of Sis Poteet and the little platitudes and pretenses of anger which he had seen the other women of his acquaintance manage with such pretty daintiness. As the girl passed through the kitchen, she seized a horn that hung upon the wall and went out into the darkness. The old women continued their smoking, their snuff-rubbing, and their gossiping. Mrs. Hightower was giving the details of a local legend showing how and why Edny Favers had "conjured Tabithy Cozby, when suddenly Mrs. Poteet. raised her hands: "Sh-h-h!" The notes of a horn-short, sharp, and strenuous-broke in upon the stillness of the night. Once, twice, thrice! once, twice, thrice! once, twice, thrice! It was an alarm that did not need to be interpreted to the sensitive ear of Hog Mountain. The faces of the old women became curiously impassive. The firelight carried their shadows from the floor to the rafters, where they seemed to engage in a wild dance,-whirling, bowing, jumping, quivering; but the women themselves sat as still as statues. They were evidently waiting for something. They did not wait long. In a little while the sharp notes of the horn made themselves heard again— Sis's voice was sharp and eager, full of once, twice, thrice! once, twice, thrice! once, doubt, surprise, and consternation. "Well, you've had a heap of fun-I mean," she added, "that you have had a nice time." "I have been a fool!" he exclaimed, bitterly. Seeing that she made no response, he continued: "I've been a terrible fool all through. I came here to hunt up blockade whisky"What!" "I came to Gullettsville," he went on, "to hunt up blockade whisky and failed, and three weeks ago I sent in my resignation. I thought I might find a gold mine on my land-lot, but I have failed; and now I am going to sell it. I have failed in everything." Gloating over his alleged misfortunes, Woodward, without looking at Sis Poteet, drew from his pocket a formidable-looking envelope, unfolded its contents leisurely, and continued: "Even my resignation was a failure. Hog twice, thrice! Then the old women arose from their low chairs, shook out their frocks, and filed into the room where Mr. Philip Woodward, late of the revenue service, was sitting. There would have been a good deal of constraint on both sides, but before there could be any manifestation of this sort, Sis came in. She seemed to be crushed and helpless, nay, even humiliated. "Why, my goodness, Sis!" exclaimed Mrs. Hightower," you look natchully fagged out. A body 'ud think you'd bin an' taken a run up the mountain. We all 'lowed you wuz in here lookin' airter your comp'ny. Wher'd you git the news?" "From this gentleman here," Sis replied, indicating Woodward without looking at him. She was pale as death, and her voice was low and gentle. Woodward would have explained, but the apparent unconcern of the women gave him no opportunity. "I declare, Sis," exclaimed her mother, with a fond, apologetic little laugh; "ef you haint a plum sight, I haint never seed none." "She's thes es much like her Gran'pap Poteet," said Mrs. Hightower, "ez ef he'd 'a' spit 'er right out'n his mouth-that she is." This led to a series of reminiscences more or less entertaining, until after awhile, Sis, who had been growing more and more restless, rose and said: 66 Good-night, folks; I'm tired and sleepy. The clock has struck eleven." "Yes," said Mrs. Poteet, "an' the clock's too fast, bekaze it haint skacely bin more'n a minnit sence the chickens crowed for ten." This remark contained the essence of hospitality, for it was intended to convey to Mrs. Poteet's guests the information that if they were not ready to retire, she was prepared to discredit her clock in their interests. But there was not much delay on the part of the guests. The women were dying to question Sis, and Woodward was anxious to be alone; and so they said "Good-night," the earnestness and quaint simplicity of the old women carrying Woodward back to the days of his childhood, when his grandmother leaned tenderly over his little bed and whispered: "Goodnight, dear heart, and pleasant dreams." Shortly afterward the lights were put out, and, presumably, those under Teague Poteet's roof addressed themselves to slumber. But what of the news that Sis had given to the winds? There was no slumber for it until it had fulfilled its mission. Where did it go, and what was its burden? Three sharp blasts upon a horn, thrice repeated; then an interval; then three more thrice repeated. Up, up the mountain the signal climbed; now faltering, now falling, but always climbing; sending echoes before it, and leaving echoes behind it, but climbing, climbing; now fainting and dying away, but climbing, climbing, until it reached Pullium's Summit, the smallest thread of sound. Two men were sitting talking in front of a cabin. The eldest placed one hand upon the shoulder of his companion, and flung the other to his ear. Faint and far, but clear and strenuous, came the signal. The men listened even after it had died away. The leaves of the tall chestnuts whipped each other gently, and the breeze that had borne the signal seemed to stay in the tops of the mountain pines as if awaiting further orders; and it had not long to wait. The man who had held his hand to his ear slapped his companion on the back and cried, "Poteet's!" and that was news enough for the other, who rose, stretched himself lazily, and passed into the cabin. He came out with a horn-an exaggerated trumpet made of tin and with this to his lips he repeated to the waiting breeze, and to the echoes that were glad to be aroused, the news that had come from Poteet's. Across the broad plateau of Pullium's Summit the wild tidings flew until, reaching the western verge of the mountain, they dived down into Prather's Mill Roada vast gorge which takes its name from the freak of a drunken mountaineer, who declared he would follow the stream that rushed through it until he found a mill, and was never heard of again. The news from Poteet's was not so easily lost. It dropped over the sheer walls of the chasm, three hundred feet down, and refused to be drowned out by the rush and roar of the waters, as they leaped over the bowlders, until it had accomplished its mission. For here in Prather's Mill Road burned the slow fires that kept the Government officials in Atlanta at a white heat. They were burning now. If one of the officials could have crawled to the edge of the gorge, where everything seemed dwarfed by the towering walls of rock and the black abyss from which they sprang, he would have seen small fitful sparks of flame glowing at intervals upon the bosom of the deeper and blacker night below. These were the fires that all the power and ingenuity of the Government failed to smother, but they were now blown out one after another by the blasts from Sis Poteet's horn. The news that was wafted down into the depths of Prather's Mill Road upon the wings of the wind was not at all alarming. On the contrary, it was received by the grimy watchers at the stills with considerable hilarity. To the most of them it merely furnished an excuse for a week's holiday, including trips to both Gullettsville and Villa Ray. Freely interpreted, it ran thus: "Friends and fellowcitizens: this is to inform you that Hog Mountain is to be raided by the revenue men by way of Teague Poteet's. Let us hear from you at once." There was neither alarm nor hurry, but the fires were put out quickly because that was the first thing to be done. Teague Poteet owned and managed two stills. He was looking after some "doublings" when the notes of the horn dropped down into the gorge. He paused, and listened, and smiled. Uncle Jake Norris, who had come to have his jug filled, was in the act of taking a dram, but he waited, balancing the tin cup in the palm of his hand. Tip Watson was telling one of his stories to the two little boys who accompanied Uncle Jake, but he never ended it. "Sis talks right out in meetin'," said Teague, after waiting to be sure there was no postscript to the message. "What's the row, Teague?" asked Uncle Jake, swallowing his dram. "Nother raid comin' right in front er my door," Teague explained, "an' I reckon in reason I oughter be home when they go past. They useter be a kinder coolness betweenst me an' them revenue fellers, but we went to work an' patched it up." Tip Watson appeared to be so overjoyed that he went through all the forms of a cotillion dance, imitating a fiddle, calling the figures, and giving his hand to imaginary partners. The boys fairly screamed with laughter at this exhibition, and Uncle Jake was so overcome that he felt called upon to take another dram-a contingency that was renewed when Tip swung from the measure of a cotillion to that of a breakdown, singing: "I haint bin a-wantin' no mo' wines-mo' winesSence daddy got drunk on low wines-low wines." "Come, Tip," said Teague, "yess shet up shop. Ef Sis aint a caution," he said, after awhile, as he moved around putting things to rights. "Ef Sis aint a caution, you kin shoot me. They haint no mo' tellin' wher Sis picked up 'bout thish'ere raid than nothin' in the worl'. Dang me ef I don't b'lieve the gal's glad when a raid's a-comin'. Wi' Sis, hit's movement, movement, day in an' day out. They haint nobody knows that gal less'n it's me. She knows how to keep things a-gwine. Sometimes she runs an' meets me, an' says se'she: Pap, mammy's in the dumps; yess you an' me make out we er quollin'. Hit'll sorter stir 'er up'; an' then Sis, she'll light in, an' by the time we git in the house, she's a-scoldin' an' a-sassin' an' I'm a-cussin, an' airter awhile hit gits so hot an' natchul-like that I thes has ter drag Sis out behin' the chimbly and buss 'er to make certain an' shore that she aint accidentually flew off the han'le. Bliss your soul an' body! she's a caution!" "An' what's 'er maw a-doin' all that time?" inquired Uncle Jake, as he took another dram with an indifferent air. Teague laughed aloud as he packed the fresh earth over his fire. "Oh, Puss! Puss, she thes sets thar a-chawin' away at 'er snuff, an' a-knittin' away at 'er socks tell she thinks I'm a-pushin' Sis too clost, an' then she blazes out an' blows me up. Airter that," Teague continued, "things gits more homelike. Ef twan't fer me an' Sis, I reckon Puss 'ud totally fret 'erself away." "St. Paul," said Uncle Jake, looking confidentially at another dram which he had poured into the tin cup,-“ St. Paul says ther' er divers an' many wimmin, an' I reckon he know'd. Ther' er some you kin fret an' some you can't. Ther's my ole 'oman: the livin' human bein' that stirs her up'll have ter frail 'er out, er she'll frail him." "Well," said Teague, by way of condolence, "the man what's stabbed by a pitchfork haint much better off 'n the man that walks bar'footed in a treadsaft patch." The suggestion in regard to Mistress Norris seemed to remind Uncle Jake of something important. He called to his boys, took another modest dram, and disappeared in the undergrowth. Teague Poteet and his friends were soon ready to follow this worthy example, so that in another hour Prather's Mill Road was a very dull and uninteresting place from a revenue point of view. THIS LILY. IF summer unto summer uttereth speech, Through all the fair, far, unremembered seasons, 'Tis death and darkness that have been your making, O lily white! 'Tis here you meet with blight, and loss, and breaking,— Here in the light. E. M. Booth. TOPICS OF THE TIME. A New Departure. WITH the beginning of the present series of this periodical under the name of THE CENTURY (November, 1881), a new enlargement of the contents of the magazine took place, amounting to about fourteen pages in each number. This enlargement was effected by the omission of ruled lines and the extension of the printed page. The pressure of original matter on our columns has since then so greatly increased, that it seems necessary to make still more room for the work of both our old and new contributors. There are several causes which tend to create the pressure of which we speak. Our readers are aware of the fact that most of the American authors whose names were conspicuous in the early volumes of the magazine are still living, and many of them are still writing for THE CENTURY. In addition to these, several well known American and foreign writers have since been added to our list of contributors; and, in the meantime, the magazine has drawn around it a brilliant company of young writers who must be provided with an outlet for their teeming stories, essays, and poems. Moreover, it would seem that during the thirteen years since we began the preparation of the magazine's first issue, the average of literary ability throughout the community has risen in quality,—at any rate, we know that we find ourselves constantly compelled to decline contributions well worthy of acceptance, for the sole reason that we have no room for them. Under these circumstances, and in order to make room for a larger amount of original work,- for matter of greater pith and moment, -we purpose to omit the three departments of "Literature," "Home and Society," and the "World's Work," and in place of them to establish a new department (not necessarily regular in its appearance) entitled "Open Letters." This new department will be the place for brief and pithy signed essays on all subjects; and in this department, and elsewhere in the magazine and in the remaining regular departments, we shall continue to treat-we trust not less well than heretofore, though not so constantly-of the most important points in current literature and current invention. It seems to us to be the province of a magazine like THE CENTURY to make room for original and creative writ ing, for the work of the imagination, for novels, short stories; for criticism of the highest order on literature, art, politics, and morals; for fresh and authoritative reports from the world of science (science in its broadest sense); original accounts of travel in new lands and old; and original historical and biographical writing, it seems to us, we say, the province of this maga zine to make room for contributions like these, rather than to encumber its pages with departmental records, such as may be elsewhere and earlier obtained, namely in our weekly and daily periodicals. This further virtual enlargement of the magazine will give opportunity for still greater variety of theme and thoroughness of treatment in the contents of each number of THE CENTURY. The Effects of Civil Service Reform upon Parties. THE probable effects of Civil Service Reform upon our national parties is an interesting subject of speculation. Hitherto it cannot be said that either party, as such, has done anything to promote the reform, though neither has offered any but a passive opposition to it. The majority of the leaders on both sides in the Houses of Congress cast their votes for the measure; but it was evident that most of them did so because they had become convinced that the people demanded reform, and not because they cared for it themselves. As for the mass of voters, there can be no doubt that the great majority in both parties are heartily in favor of reform, although its leading advocates have been, for the most part, adherents of the Republican organization. Thus far, then, neither party has gained any particular credit by its conduct toward civil service reform, while at the same time neither can be set down as its avowed opponent. But now that the reform has been begun, it remains to be seen what attitude the two parties will assume toward it, and what effects it will have upon them. In the first place, then, it is not likely that either party will actively oppose the reform; for if party lines were drawn on this issue, the defeat of the opposition party would be certain and complete. The people are so well informed on the subject and so determined on reform, that no party could now take its stand on the old doctrine of spoils with the least chance of success. There are indications, indeed, that some of the Democrats, believing that their party will win the Presidential election in 1884, are inclined to retain the old system, so far as possible, that they may reap a rich harvest of offices on their accession to power; but, in view of the strong and ever increasing sentiment in favor of reform, these bad counsels are not likely to prevail with the masses of the party. Meanwhile, the Republicans, owing to their control of national administration, will necessarily have the largest share in carrying out the reform, and they have it in their power, by administering the new law with fidelity and zeal, not only to make the reform a complete success, but to win back for themselves some of the popularity which they have lost. But the conduct of the Republican managers in the past does not promise on their part any special devotion to reform methods in the future; and therefore, if parties remain in their present form, their attitude toward civil service reform will probably be neither one of open hostility nor of active support, but of reluctant acquies cence. But there is another aspect of the case which is deserving of consideration. If the civil service is reformed, and the offices are thus removed from partisan control, will not the change have the effect of loosening the bonds of party, and thereby help to break up the existing organizations preparatory to the formation of new ones? Under a normal condition of affairs such a result would be impossible; for political parties, as a rule, have some higher object than the mere dis tribution of spoils. A party is supposed to be based upon some principle or some system of policy, which its members believe in and which their organization is designed to carry into effect; and so long as the party is working for the success of its principles, no question of spoils can dissolve or divide it. But our national parties at the present time are not based upon principle, nor is there a single measure of living interest to the people, on which the members of either party are agreed. Under such circumstances, it would seem natural and eminently desirable that the old parties should be dissolved, or else re-organized on a new basis so as to represent some positive principles, and there is already in the country a strong sentiment in favor of such a change. But hitherto the traditions of the past, the power of organization, and the desire for the spoils of office have held the old parties firmly together and effectually prevented the re-arrangement which so many desire. But the force of tradition is now virtually spent, as last autumn's elections abundantly prove, and hence the existing parties have no motive to action except the desire for office, and no bond of union except the power of organization, which is wielded by the office-holders and office-seekers themselves. If, then, the offices are removed from partisan control, this last remaining bond will be snapped asunder; and it is hard to see how, in that case, the existing organizations can be longer maintained. We look, therefore, for a re-arrangement of parties before many years, as a consequence of reforming the civil service; and if this should happen, it will not be the least of the benefits which the reform will bring us, for a more unsatisfactory division of parties than that now existing it would be hard to conceive, and almost any change would be an improvement. For some years past the case has been that a man, in casting a vote, had not the least idea what principles or what policy his vote would promote,—whether one that he approved or one that he disapproved; and so long as this state of affairs continues, it is impossible for any man of convictions to attach himself cordially to either party. A man of principle can only belong to a party of principle; and as existing parties have no principles at all, such men have nowhere to go to. Young men in particular, and educated young men most of all, find nothing in the old parties to attract or rouse enthusiasm, and they will welcome civil service reform with additional pleasure if it shall have the effect of dissolving these bodies and thereby preparing the way for new parties based upon principles and animated by ideas. The Appointment of Postmasters. THE new measure of civil service reform seems to be all that is needed for the offices to which it relates, and, if properly executed, it will effectually remove the clerkships and many other minor offices from partisan control, besides improving the quality and self-respect of the officers themselves. At first, indeed, the operation of the law is restricted to the larger offices having fifty or more persons employed; but provision is made for extending the system to the smaller offices also, after it has been established and tested in the larger ones. In this way the appoint ment of all the minor officers will be provided for, with the exception of the postmasters; but for these no provision has yet been made. It is obvious, however, that the reform will not be complete until some method is adopted for appointing these officers which will remove them also from partisan control and make them the servants of the people and not the servants of a party. At the present time all postmasters whose yearly salary is less than one thousand dollars- and there are more than forty-four thousand of them—are appointed by the Postmaster-General; and according to the pernicious custom now in vogue, he is expected to make both appointments and removals at the instigation of members of Congress. The postmasters thus appointed are commissioned for an indefinite period, and, if the service were conducted on business principles, would hold their offices as long as they filled them well. But, under the present system, they are liable to removal at any time when the member of Congress from their district so demands; while, on the advent of the opposite party to power, there may be a wholesale removal of all the postmasters in the country. The effect of this partisan management is to make the postmasters the agents of the party that controls the administration; and so long as this system is retained in the post-offices, the reform of the civil service will be but half accomplished. It seems clear, however, that in the case of postmasters the method of selection by competitive examination will not serve, for no such examination can test those qualities which in a postmaster are most imperatively required. The clerical duties in the smaller post-offices are of trifling amount and fully within the competence of any person who can transact business of a simple kind; but certain moral and other qualities are required in a postmaster, which no examination can reveal, and which can only be ascertained by personal acquaintance. Both the Government and the people have to trust the postmaster, the one with its money, the other with its letters; and he to whom such matters are confided ought, above all things, to be a man of known integrity and responsibility and of good business habits, and it is obvious that such qualities as these cannot be determined by competitive examination. Moreover, the public convenience must be consulted; and hence in a thinly settled district it is often necessary to appoint the most available man, whether he is ideally fitted for the place or not. In many postoffices the salary is not sufficient for a man to live on, and they must therefore be held by persons engaged in other business; and in such cases it may be necessary to appoint a man whose place of business is so situated as to accommodate the people, though his scholarship may be slight and his other qualifications not all that could be desired. These considerations, we say, show that the system of competitive examination cannot be applied in the case of postmasters, but that their fitness must be ascertained by other means and, in particular, by the testimony of those who are personally acquainted with them. It is obvious, however, that the Postmaster-General cannot himself make the investigation necessary to determine the fitness of candidates for such a mass of offices, scattered as they are over three million square |