| Show A ROMANCE OF THE CECIL RHODES MILLIONS niece of the african empire builder and heiress to his great wealth found in a mis cio nary N C july 1 in a little clad house near waycross in athla stale lives a woman missionary worth she Is a niece 0 the late multimillionaire multi millionaire cecil rhodes whose fortune at the time of his death was cs at her name Is mrs mary virginia rhodes baker at various times during the past year the following advertisement has ap 1 pearce in various newspapers in this country and england WANTED information as to aba whereabouts of my daughter mary virginia rhodes A large estate swalls her I 1 am living alone ten miles from I ondon charles W rhodes thus the brother of cecil rhodes the african millionaire advertised for aba daughter bo had not ecca for many years in the meantime the young woman had married and she and her husband were engaged in missionary work throughout the country starting eastward from denver they made their way over the endless plainer preaching the gospel as they went little did tho young missionary know that she was an heiress to million neither would sha have cared so long as there was religious work to be done now sitting in her little cottage with the hollyhocks and honeysuckle in bloom about her and all her fortune secured eho seems to think of nothing but her beloved missionary work she proposes to establish a congress of missions ando build large mission schools throughout tho country this been the dream of her life 1 I shall spend all the money for that she says simply it the search for mrs baker or mary virginia rhodes was in vain every effort was made to locale her M the missionary couple came to new york and from new york they camo south down the potomac and through the shenandoah valley establishing missions wherever they thought they were needed by slow stages they made their way to waycross where they established a little home where they resolved to spend the rest ot their days mr baker was killed a year ago about a month ago the old restless spirit and the desire to extend her field ot good works came upon mrs baker strongly so she wah a neigh tor family hitched up the old horses to the old familiar wagon and set out on an extensive trip through tho mountains here of all other places is the last in which one would expect to be overtaken by fortune mrs baker was holding a little open air meeting singing praying and exhorting alternately negroes and poor whites formed the congregation in passing among them mrs baker met a woman acquaintance who formerly lived at mra baker said the woman is your name not mary virginia rhodes baker it is replied the missionary then look at this the woman continued drawing from her pocket a crumpled fragment ot paper it was the advertisement of her father clipped from a northern paper she road it calmly and said yes I 1 presume it la for me I 1 did not know that cecil rhodes was dead he was my uncle and was the wealthy one in the family 1 I suppose it means millions but what on earth shall I 1 do with it it cannot buy salvation then mrs baker went on her way among the poor people she was ministering to afterward during a conversation mrs baker sald 1 I know very little of my fathers relatives my father and mother separated when I 1 was a mere child 1 I remember of hearing mother say there were three brothers cecil william my father and joshua none of us ever knew what became 0 my uncle joshua mrs baker saya aba t her father knew nothing about either of tr marriages she has communicated with hon II 11 clay evans united stales consul at london relative to her fortune |
