THE COLUMBIAN. BLOOMSBURG, PA.
THE BISHOP'S GUEST.
A CHRISTMAS STORY.
Tlu Know liml Bt'ltliMl on llit west
ern country like a while eloint. nnd the
keen north wlml liml frozen It over
crisply. The nlr liml the touch of win
ter, mid the lreHth of .luck l'rosi wiis
everywhere. The IMnmotid C'entritl,
the fast express ou the Northern I'u
clflr, a trifle lute, eutl siieedlnn rapidly
to make up Its lost time, was whirling
past mile posts and flag stations ou Its
way westward. It carried, besides Its
mail, express and ImppiiKO cars, a smo
ker, a day coach and u couple of sleep
ers. When they stopped at l'.isiimrck,
a man got out and went Into the tele
Itrapli ollice. lie wrote his telcKrain
slowly and without a qualm. lie had
telei'splnnl to Mllus City Just before
leaving St. 1'uul. This seeoud mes
sage he sent to make doiildy sure:
"Mary Is 111. I oui going to see her.
Send mall to ollice. How Is Willie?
J. V. HIIOWN."
He addressed It to William Martin,
Medora, X. I). It read easily to the
men who received It:
"I go to Denver. Money O. K. Train
No. 2. Three In express car. Dill
Thompsou on engine."
Then he went back over the slippery
platform and climbed In ou the end of
the sleeper. He was well above the
average height, and broad and squure
through the shoulders. His Jaw was
clou 11 cut and strong, his chin clipped
at the corners, where a long, Jagged
scar ran from It down across his
thront. His eyes were Indolent and
curiously luminous, his brows heavy
and brown. He stood smokiug Idly,
his mind full of the outcome of his
many days of skilled Investigation. He
had shadowed the money step by step,
from the bauk to the express wagon,
from the station agent to the train
agent. And then he had sent word to
Miles City, so that the men could get
down to Medora; from there they
conld reach the chosen point on horse
back. The day hud seemed endless to
him. He knew the men were waiting
impaticutl.v as he, and he felt sure
they had cursed him for his tardiness.
He shrugged ills shoulders wearily,
looked ahead of him, and he saw a
high, curiously shaped car, which they
were backing to meet. After it was
coupled and they had started, he could
see into It, and he caught a glimpse of
the bishop's tall figure. As he leaned
forward, interested, he saw a Christ
mas tree.
He was a man of Impulses, and he
crossed over and opened the car door.
The bishop turned and faced him.
The car of the bishop was famous
throughout that western country, and
as well known to the trainmen as the
bishop hims"lf. Through the courtesy
of the road it was taken along the line
free of charge wherever the bishop
wished to hold his services. It was
the bishop's own Idea, and a novel
oue.
"I beg your pardon, sir," the man
said, "but I was so interested In the
Christmas tree, and I thought, per
haps, I might lend a hand."
The bishop smiled at him cour
teously. "That's very good of you," he said.
"It is quite an undertaking alone."
"What a curious car," his companion
said. "Is it a movable church V"
"You have never heard of my car?"
the bishop said. "That takes my van
Ity down a peg or two. So many news
paper men have written of It and so
many magazines quoted it, that 1 had
begun to feel myself quite famous.
Ah. well, pride goes before a fall."
His companion laughed quietly.
"I am jirohuhly the one man who
hasn't," lie said. "Won't you tell me
about It? I feel Interested to know
about it and you."
"Come back into my little study,"
said Hie bishop, as he led the way.
"You see when I first came out to this
western country I was a young man,
ami too full of hope to recognize dis
couragement; otherwise I should have
failed. But, (Joel be thanked, I weath
ered those years; and terrible years
they were, before these cities and
towns had sprung up like mushrooms
and tills great railroad laid Its path.
Travel was well-ulgh Impossible in
those days, and travel I had to, and as
best I might. lo you know I had then
KM) points to reach wltlilu the year,
ami I walked and' rode in the saddle
ami drove my poales to them all? So
1 have grown old with these people.
I have eaten and slept and wakened
with them. Smoked their cigars nud
drank their whiskey and eaten their
luicon, and. perhaps, I may say they
are a bit fond of ine. They seem a
Luge .family of unruly children to nie,
and I try to be a lenient parent. This
cur vvus the dream of my heart In
those early days, anil I never dared
hope it would be realized. Then,
when the railroad came, 1: seemed pos-
slMo; and once on a Visit In the oast i
1 spoke of It In a sermon, and after-'
ward two men whom I knew came to (
me and said they would buitfl It, and
they made It as complete as they
could, bless them. I take It from town ,
to town, and have service In It. And
today I mil trimming a Christmas tree
for the children at Medora, where I ,
am to have services tomorrow. May
I nsk your name, sir?"
'Ilrown,' ' said the man slowly.
"John Urown. Cau't I help, you trim
the Christmas tree?"
"I shall be Indebted to you if you
will," said the bishop. ".Shall we be
gin, or will you finish your cigar here
first? I have never smoked In the
chapel."
"Surely not," said Mr. Prown. "I
will throw it away, or we will begin
at once. It Interests me more than I
I can tell you. this car. It seems more
like practical Christianity, and that Is
what the world needs."
He and the bishop worked together
cheerily. He draped the frosted moss
and the strings of popcorn cnrefully,
a hundred thoughts in his head. He
could fairly see that eager group of
men, drinking, smoking, cursing, wait
ing, probably playing poker to pass
the time. And her such peace such
restful peace.
Ilrown fastened a tin trumpet firm
ly. "I fancy your Christmas will be a
happy one, for you will be surrounded
by those with whom you have worked
and lived. And I shall have no one
to even give a Christmas present to,
unless you will It me give this gold
The bishop thanked him warmly.
"Now I am quite content." he said.
"I needed oue more gift, and I wanted
It a very nice oue. It Is for a little
girl who Is very ill and who cannot
walk, and she longs for a large dolly,
with flaxen curls and eyes that open
and shut, and this will give it to her
poor little Florence "
"Florence," he said, "Is that her
name? I should like to give you this
too, for her. Will you get her some
thing else she wants?"
"I am afraid you are robbing your
self," said the bishop. Brown smiled.
"I am not robbing myself," he said.
"I earned that quite honestly by writ
lug a story for one of the papers, and
I would like the little girl to have It,
because Florence Is the name of that
oue woman who has trlel vainly to
make a better man of me."
"My dear sir," said the bishop,
"Florence was the name of that one
woman who died long years ago."
They looked at each other silently, and
then Brown said:
"Those tiu soldiers weigh that limb
down; shall I change them?"
The bishop was charmed with his
new-found friend. He proved Intelli
gent and sympathetic, nud a famous
listener so he talked to him of his
work.
"This will be a happy Christmas for
me," he said, "because I have such a
splendid Christmas present for my
people at Medora. The money to build
their church, $2,)HI, I have raised It
all myself, and I am very proud to
have It. This summer while I was east
I begged it from my richer friends,
and they were good enough to be In
terested. And Just last week I got the
last of it, and I have It all. I suppose
it would have been wiser to have
taken them a check for It. But I had
a fancy to put the money Itself on the
J altar, and so I had them give It to
me at the bauk in a few large bills,
j And I will confess to you that I feel
; uneasy to have it about me. So wheD
we stop again I think I shall go for
ward to the express car and ask
Mauey, the express messenger, to keep
It for me until we reach Medora
, Maney Is a vestryman of mine and a
: good fellow. It will be safer witl'
him."
I A curious new sensation shot
through Brown a sensation thai
made him dizzy for a second, lie had
grown so Interested In the bishop and
hlsClirlstmastreethat he had forgotten
the rest. "I'erhnps you are right," he
said," "but If my opinion would
carry any weight with you, I would
advise you strongly to keep It your
self. You hint at train robbery; It Is
always the express car that suffers,
and nowadays trains are wrecked and
robbed frequently."
jiy uear iouow, auia tne bishop,
"you alarm me. Of course, If you
really think so, I will keep It here.
It would break my heart to lose that
money; It was so hard to get."
"You aren't going to lose It," Brown
said; "of course not. The people are
; going to have their church and the
I .1ill.lp.iti tlw.li. o,.,l 114. 1.. M..tJ
..... ....... ...... ....7, u,... iiii.it; 11JU1U
-Florence her dolly. But keep the
money here with you. This Is a wild
country, a rough country, and who
knows?"
"Perhaps I had tetter lildo it," said
the bishop. "In my shoe, eh?"
Brown smiled indulgently. "Sure
ly," he said, "ttaaft quite nn Idea; youi
shoe by all means."
The bishop unlaced his shoe and lab
the fiat package against bis foot.
"I wonder," Brown said, "wbethel
yon will ever know how glad 1 am thai
I met you, bishop? You will, at al
events, never know how much 1 linvi
learned to like you."
"My dear boy," said the bishop,
"how nice of you. It's so pleasant ti:
be liked, and I am often lonely
enough. As for you If I were a?
young as you are, I would not be alone
at Christmas time."
"1 think you would If you were me,"
Brown said, slowly.
The train had stopped for water
and the conversation of the Bishop
and his guest run along In a desultory
way for some moments.
"The train Is stopping for a long
time," said the bishop. Brown nod
ded; his throat was parched and dry.
"I wonder why," said the bishop,
and Just then the conductor of the rem
deeper came In.
"It's a hold-up," he said. "They
have gotten the engine and express
away. We must make an effort to fol
low them."
The bishop's face was full of nnxl
rty. "now terrible," he said, "and to
happen right here In my working line.
Let us go at once to the aid of those
poor fellows; they may be killing
them."
"They've no time for that," the con
ductor said. "We were carrying a big
sum of money they evidently knew
that and that Is what they want."
"We ought to hurry," Brown said.
"Walt Just a moment until I cnu get
my revolver It's In my valise." He
delayed them a moment or two easily.
Leaderless nnd excited, no one knew
Just what to do, and when the little
body of men got started he knew the
jthers were safe. But as they saw the
missing train, the engine moved slow
ly backward to meet them. They were
toon talking wildly, shaking their
heads over the shattered remains of
Lhe once sturdy express car, and lend
ing a helping hand to the dazed ex
press messenger. Maney was able to
sit up, but he was speechless, and of
the robbers there were only the marks
jf their horses' hoofs heading for the
river. The train moved on toward Me
:lora, and Brown went back to the
bishop's car with him. The bishop was
much overcome.
'My denr boy," he said, "what n
dreadful thing, and how nearly I lost
my little all. How cau I ever be grate
ful enough that you made me keep thu
money?"
"That Is one of the few good Im
pulses I ever had," Brown said.
It is the beginning," said the bish-
Dp, " will you not say so?"
'I will remember," Brown said.
t Medora they parted. The blsii-
jp's car was laid off.
"Ho not forget ine," the bishop said,
'and thank you for the Christmas tree
Hid everything."
"(lood-by," Brown sald;"buy n very
urge (loll for that little maid." And
lie watched the bishop's car eagerly
Jilt il It was out of sight.
And some days later, In one of their
numerous retreats, he met with the
jtliers to divide the spoil. Their plan
was to go over to England or Aus
tralia, where the notes would not be
recognized, and could be easily ex
changed. They were loud in their
praises of bis shadowing, proud of
Iheir own success. They divided the
money up fairly and put each portion
in a fiat canvas bag.
Brown looked at his slowly and then
lie counted out some notes and threw
them on the table. They stared at
him.
"Thnt's yours," he said; "divide It
up among you.
Ilawley looked at It.
"Two thousand dollars," he said,
"for what?" We divided up square."
Brown nodded.
"It's yours, I said," he continued,
because there was $2,000 you might
have had but for a bit of foolishness
on my part. It makes little difference
Just how you missed It, but you did.
Of course, you would uever have
known It, but you remember the old
saying, 'honor among ' And now
there is one more thing. I inn booked
to help you In your Virginia raid. I
want to be let off. And as a fair ex
change, 1 offer this."
He threw the bag with his share of
the booty ou the table.
"Let that buy me off. I haven't
gone crazy, as you may think, but I've
had all I want of this, and l am think
ing of turning honest for a change.
There isn't any need of my making
promise to secrecy. Von nil know mc
well enough, and you've been good
pals to mo, and I shu'n't forget. It. (Ju
your way, anil let me go mine. Per
haps some day 1 may come back
again."
Alter he had gotten away from them
he thrust his hands Into his pocket
Joyfully.
"Free," he said, softly. "And now
Florence! That good old man said
women always forgave. I will go back
and learn to repent and to care, and I
will stop drifting, and perhaps after a
while she will forget those past days
and venture with me Into the future.
To think of It (his face lighted up radi
antly) those days that 1 have before
ine, all my own."
As he stood there thinking, behind
him was the darkness, and ahead of
him the glare of the city; the future,
Its possibilities, Its chances, Its pence.
And between them a shadowy path.
But as he looked uncertainly, the
moon cumo out from under a cloud
and shone brilliantly, throwing a flood
of silver light everywhere. As 1 he
shadows faded, the road to the city
lay clear and unswerving, ami he
turned " and walked ahead Into the
light.
Above a Storm Cloud.
An American aeronant thus de
scribes, in Popular Science News,
a storm as seen from a balloon :
" The storm viewed from above the
clouds has the appearance of ebulli
tion. The upper surface of the cloud
is bulged upward and outward, and
has the resemblance of a vast sea of
boiiing, upheaving snow. Immediately
above the storm cloud the air is not
so cold as it is in the clearer atmos
phere above or in the cloud itself.
The falling of the rain can be distinct
ly heard making a noise like a water
fall over a precipice. The thunder
heard above a storm cloud is not
loud, and the flashes of lightning ap
pear like streaks of intensely white
light on the surface of the gray-colored
vapor."
Mahanoy City Undermined.
Great excitement prevails at Mah
anoy City, owing to the settling of
the earth in the vicinity ol Third and
Centre streets, one of the most valu
able and prominent sections of the
city, due to the fact that the mine
workings have honeycombed the
earth. Reading Railroad officials
held a meeting and made extensive
preparations to prevent a catastrophe,
and decided that the only preventa
tive would be to slush all the under
ground workings of Elmwood colliery,
which are located under that section
of the city. An immense scraner
line will be constructed from the dirt
banks near Mahanoy colliery. From
this point the culm in large quantities
will be conveyed to the underground
workings by means of chutes.
It will be a costly undertaking to
the Philadelphia & Reading company,
but will be the means of probably
saving the comgany many thousand
dollars damages and prevent the de
struction of a large portion of Maha
noy City. Work will be immediately
commenced. Pliila. Record.
An exchange says :
" A farmer named Berkhouse, of
near Reynoldsville, was in his barn
with a lighted lantern Sunday night,
and observed two boys stealing his
apples. He dropped his lantern and
ran after the boys, and upon return
ing found that the lantern had tipped
over and set fire to the barn, which,
together with its contents, was des
troyed. Loss $2,000."
Constipation
Causes fully half the sickness In tlio world. It
retains tlie digested food too long in the bowels
nnd produces biliousness, torpid liver, Indi-
gestion, bad taste, coated
tongue, sick headache, In
somnia, eto. Hood's Tills
cure constipation and nil its
results, easily and thoroughly. 25c. All druggists.
Prepared by C. I. Hood & CO., Lowell, Mass.
Tho only nils to take, with Hood's Sarsaparilla.
HUMPHREYS'
VETERINARYSPECIFICS
Per Ecrses, Cattle, Sheep, Cogs, Ecrs,
AND POULTRY.
200 Page Knnk on Treatment of Animals
nud I burl fieui t ree.
citrus ( FpTer.C'on(teHilou.Inniimmotlon
A.A. jbpiuiil itlruiiiiritiit, SI ilk Fever.
Jl.ll.a-Hiruinn, l.ameiirH. Itbi-uuiutisui.
('.'. DlHteinper, Nnitul liixrburuu.
1.I. Uuik or C rutin, W orms.
K.K.--'niuliH, Heaves, I'm-union In.
F.K. Ciillo or l.ripcn, llellyarbe.
Mimurrlnge, Ileiiiorruniiea.
Jl.ll. I rluarjr nud Kidney Itlneasea.
1.1. Eruptive ilisennes. Mange.
J.K. liiaeu.e of Jiuuitou, Paralysis.
Blngle Bottle (over SO doses), - . .(JO
Citable Cane, with Specifics, Mnnnal,
Vuioriuury Cure OU and Mtxilcalor, $7a00
Jar Veterinary Cure OH, 1,00
Sold by UrntRlitit or wot prepaid onrwhtrssnd lo lay
oulUy oo rrtlit of prlco.
Ill JJI'llliUfS- BtD. (0., 111a lit minus 8t, low Tork.
nuiipniiEYS'
HOMEOPATHIC
28
SPECIFIC No.
In ua :i vtiHrfi Tha aclv iiArtt.Mfnl ntuitif iaP
Nervous Debility, Vital Weakness,
nd Frost ratio o, from over-work or other causes,
fl per Tiftl, or 6 vials and large vial powder, for t&.
bold hy DrutfrfUl! or aitl pljtlil uli receipt ol price.
llimi'l.HltYir MM. CO. a 111 A lit ffUH&a iiU, Hew York.
ELY'S PREAM BALM Is a posltlvecnre.
Apply into the nostrils. It is quickly absorbed. 60
cents at Draefrltts or by mall ; samples luc by mall.
ELY HKUTHKKS, 66 Warrua bu, New York C'ity-
rl5f-backs,fljll-backs a
weak-backs arc relieved by
IT TOUCHES
THE
SPOT.
ca
odls
Pills
"for CaXariK
I The Cough SonL-
which Lingers d!tin of j16
o svstem. and ts
not affected
medicines, will yield readily to
s
s
S
because it gives strength to the
weakened body and enables it to S
throw off the
500. and $1.00. Alt Druggists.
juveniles0.1! CHATTERBOX 1896
No book bat ovtr besn mad for young people which compares la value, or baa had
one-tenth the sal ol tbls great annual.
SIX
HANDSOME
COLORED
PLATES
ADDED
TO
THIS
YEAR'S
VOLUME.
Millions of Copies
have been sold.
Order from your Bookseller or
ESTES & LAURIAT,
ALEXANDER BROTHERS & CO.
DEALERS IN
Cigars,- Tobacco, Candies, Fruits and Nuts
SOLE AGENTS XOR
Henry Mail lard's Fine Candies. Fresh Every Week.
DP-N-xrie Gooes .a. GzPECi-xyr--.
SOLE AGENTS FOR
F. F. Adams & Co's Fine Cut Chewing Tobacco
Sole agents (or the
Hanry Clay, Londres, Normal, Indian Princess, Samson, Silvor Ash
Bloomsburg Pa.
fttdetf Iow Jutd W Wofk.
For the finest and best stoves, tinware, roofing," spouting
and general job work, go to W. W. Watts, on Iron street.
Buildings heated by steam, hot air or hot water in a satisfac
tory manner. Sanitary Plumbing a specialty.
I have the exclusive control of the Thatcher steam, hot
water and hot air heaters lor this territory, which is acknowl
edged to be the best heater on the market. All work guaran
teed. W. W. WATTS,
IRON STREET.
SHOES
We buy right and sell right.
OUR SUCCESS IS BASED ON THIS .FACT.
Honest trading has won us hosts of customers but we wantmore.
We are selling good shoes, so good you ought to eee
them. Drop in and we will make it pay you.
Co?v:,teh Ikon and Main Sts.
IF YOU ARE IN NEED OF
CARPET, MATTING,
op OIL CJLOTII,
YOU WILL FIND A NICE LINE AT
W. IHL
2ud Door above Court Iloubc.
A large lot of Window Curtains in stock.
A5K. FOR THE B8SKLET ONUGnT'AND
GIVES kBEST LIGHT IN THE W6JUB ADAI9MELy StfE
FOR SALE BY
THE ATLANTIC REFINING CO.
by ordinary cough
disease
Over 400 Pages. ;
200 Full Page
Illustrations.
5sversl new Stories,
sch a book In It Mil.
and hundred of Short
Stories, Anecdotes. Pax
lies, Ac.
The best possible
CHRISTMAS PRESENT
for boy and girt
of all age.
ol u. Evsry Dealer carries It.
Publishers,
BOSTON.
following brands ot Cigars-
231oomsburgv Pa.
in.ai.ir
SHOES
W. H. Hoore.
Try the COL UMBIAN a year.