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faded to dispel 1117 present misgivings; and
that night I wrote to Mary telling her that
I would see her father at once, but that un
til I had done so she was to keep our en
gagement secret. And I went to bed with
despair at ray heart.
I tossed about all night, and had bat short
and fitlul intervals of sleep. In the morning
I was in a high state of fever, varied by fre
qnent fits of shivering and shooting pains
nil over me. I sent a telegram to my doctor
and then went back to bed.
For three months I was laid up with a
dangerous rheumatic fever. In the early
stage I .had found it necessary to take
Edward Bold into my confidence, and he
had regularly conveyed tidings of me to
Mary; who poor girl! suffered grievously
for my sake. Her messages gave me heart
and strength; but my prostration was great,
and the paroxysms of pain frequent; at last
the muscles of the throat were affected, and
I could neither eat, drink nor sleep, Laud
anum was administered in large and in
creasing doses, and brought mo som tem
porary relief; but I overheard my dear
friend, George Vivian, my doctor, say one
day:
"If he is not better in 4S hours, it is all
over with him."
My Aunt Johanna was not the sole posses
sor of the parrot constitution. It ran in the
ll-'.T).
'H2.? o
1 j.w.-m v
Mary, Will You Kiss 2Iet
family. Therefore, teeble and near to death
as I was, I made up my mind that I would
pull through. There was never a kinder
nurse than wizened uncouth Mrs. Crump
(Mrs. Swatman's mummified assistant he
lore mentioned), turned out to be. The
hired nurse was as callous and repugnant as
nine out of ten of her class are; but Mrs.
Crump, who would tend me while the pro
fessional took her daily exercise, was a ray
of sunshine in the room. She was always
good-humored and hopeful; she smoothed
my pillows, raised my head, or arranged the
bed with the lightest of hands. Often did I
scream for her when the hired nurse was
causing me the most acute paiu by her
rough handling. Nurses are born, not
made. But at the best, I had a hard time of
it. Those who fall sick in chambers are apt
to suffer grievously. More than onceduring
those 48 hours I feared that the parrot con
stitution would be worsted after all.
However they passed, and I was not dead
yet- I began to mend; slowly but snrely
the improvement went on, and in due time
I became so far convalescent as to be able, with
assistance, to get from one room to another. A
new trouble now loomed in my horizon. On
looking into the state of my finances I made
the unpleasant discovery that, after settling
various liabilities incurred by my Illness, I
should be left with a balance of not more than
10 or 12 at f raed's, ont of which there would
be a heaw chemist's bill to pay. My dividends
were not due until December, and I was de
barred from forecalling them by tbe provision
of the will under which I obtained them, and
wbich forbade me to "assign, charge or encum
ber" the property, nnder penalty of seeing it
depart into tbe clutches of a distant connec
tion. Not without much reluctance, therefore,
1 resolved to write to my aunt Johanna and ask
her to come to my assistance. After I bad
done this a feeling of conditional resignation
came over me. I had swallowed my pride, and
such a dose, after all the other nostrums I had
been taxing, ought surely to bring about some
sort of improvement in my unlucky state.
The same day on wbich 1 wrote this letter to
my aunt. I was enlivened by a call from Mr.
Bruce. He bad looked in on me several times
durinc my illness and had made the kindest
inquiries as to my progress. He now sat down
on tbe other side of my fireplace, and we bad a
long conversation about genealogies and pedi
grees, Mr. Brace's second (bobby) horse; and
before be took hisleave I had become tolerably
well acquainted with the story of the famous
Dunedin peerage, and with tbe efforts Mr.
Bruce had made during 20 years past to make
good his claim to the title. One link, however,
and only one, was still wanting to tbe comple
tion of tbe chain of evidence forged with so
much perseverance. It was necessary to prove
the marriage of Dalrympls Bruce and Tryphena
Maddams a runaway couple who were sup
posed to have been united in matrimonial bonds
somewhere about the year 1791. Their marriage
certificate had been advertised for, and a large
reward offered for it, in every newpapcr in the
three kingdoms. Hundreds of registers had
been personally inspected; but the much desired
entry bad never been discovered. Gradually
as I listened to my visitor's narrative of his
baffled but still hopef nl efforts, something of
his own enthusiasm and eagerness In the pur
suit commnnicated Itself to me; probably I
was in a more than usually Impressionable
state, owing to tbe bodily weakness caused by
my illness; but, at all events, when I put my
qand in his at parting I felt tbat I sympathized
with him heartily, aud that, bad it been in my
pon er, I would have assisted him as tar as in
me lay.
"And who knows but I might be able to as
sist him?" I said to myself after he had gone.
"There are more reasons than one why It would
be desirable to put Mr. Bruce under an obliga
tion. Mary. Mary! what if the discovery of
your great-great grandmother's marriage regis
ter were to bring about the creation of our
own! Oh, MarT! I wish I might see yon now!
I shall never be quite my own man again until
the light of your sweet eyes have shone on me
once more. Ab, met if it were possible! well,
and why notj"
This last thought made me sit upright in my
cbair and draw quicker breath, why not, in
deed? I never did have overweening respect
lor the proprieties and conventionalities of
Mrs. Grundy. Mary's face and figure. Mary's
voice and Mary's eves, as I had seen them that
last happy day at Mario w, haunted me over. It
was really intolerable that we should be kept
apart. I could not muster up courage to speak
to her father now, since my worldly prospects
were even more unpromising than before; and
since, moreover, the long sickness which had
reduced me to a skeleton had taken out of me
the greater part of such audacity as I bad ever
possessed. No, I could not spctk to Mr. Bruce,
though it was certainly my duty to do so. But,
after thinking over tbe matter all night and
Fiart of the nest day, I did something which,
rom one point of view, required more audacity
still. I wrote to Mary. I wrote her a lone,
passionate, imploring letter, begging her to
come to see me, it only for five minutes. It
was wrong and selfish; but I could not help it,
Mrs. Crnmp posted the letter.
The following day 1 sat beside the fire in a
state of feverish expectation. Every knock at
tbe door sent the blood flooding to my heart;
and of course every one who had any btsiness
message Or parcel forme must needs chouse that
day ol all days to call. That knocker was kept
going with monotonous regularity.
bo the mominc passed away, and tbe after
noon set in. But at 3 o'clock precisely, Mrs.
Swatman came in with a mysterious air.
"A lady to see you. sir."
At last! Ob.it was too much happiness to
be truel With the help of my two sticks, I
raised myself up, and hobbled to the door in an
ecstacy of delight. The green baize screen
was polled aside, and in a moment I was in the
aims of of my Aunt Jobaunal
CHAPTER II.
I must confess that I wished my Aunt
Johanna at Nice, or even in some warmer
climate, and my welcome of her (when I had
realized the situation) was as unenthusiastic as
if she had been pressing a dun or a defaulting
washerwoman. Nevertheless, my aunt turned
np trumps turned up, in tact, what is styled a
"regular fist full." Her address and behavior
were tender and even caressing to a degree
that I had never expected from her; she had
compassion formy past miseries, and sympathy
for my present condition; she gently upbraided
me for having kept her so long in ignorance of
my misfortunes; she declared that I ought to
havo some one who belonged to me to look
after me; and in short she showed herself in a
light so different from that in which I had
heretofore regarded ber. that I took shame to
myself for the hard thoughts that I had some
times harbored against her.
"And now, my dear Charles,'' said this excel
lent woman, after about half an hour's conver
sation, sitting up and feeling in her pocket,
"and now I have brought you one or two things
which I am sure will do you good. Sear me
where is it? Oh, in my reticule, of course! No,
don't get np, Charles; 1 prefer to get it myself.
There! What do you think of that J"
"It looks like a like a raw potato," I said,
after examining the object which she smilingly
handed to me.
"A kidney potato yes; and 1 am certain It ii
LH I WJtJntlf V.l CU "MK
Wwi
one of the right sort, for I got it out of my own
garden. I got it especially for you." ,
"That was very good of you. Aunt," I re
plied, in as cordial a tone as my surprise would
permit roe to assume. "Is it to be roasted, or
am I to eat it boiled?" , a
"Hat it! Good gracious. Charles, do yon sup
pose I bought you that potato to eatT" cried my
aunt in undisguised astonishment. "It Is a
kidney potato, ltell yon a sovereign remedy
against rheumatism! You are to keep it in
you r pocket night aud day." (I infer from this
that my maidenly relative was under the im
pression that men slept in their trousers, and
possibly that they were born in them.) "If you
had only applied to me in time, you see, you
would have been spared all this dreadfull ill
ness. But put it in your pocket. It will at all
events secure you against the future."
And hereupon mv aunt went into a long dis
quisition on the merits of the kidney potato
1 rom a medicinal point of view, and recapitu
lated Innumerable cases"bf cures effected oy it
w nich bad come under her own personal ob
servation. At least, I believe she talked about
these things, but truth compels me to admit
tbat I listened to as little of it as I could.
Finally, however. I became aware that she bad
paused, and was searching in her reticule for
something else. This time she produced a
check-book.
I now rccardedher movements with a respect
ful interest, wbich was no longer feigned.
What a methodical woman she was, to be surel
I am convinced that nobody ever took so long a
time to perform so simple a function as my
Aunt Johanna took to write that check. She
got her spectacles ont of the case, rubbed them
with ber handkerchief, settled them and re
settled tbem upon tbe lofty bridge of her
aristocratic nose. Then she carefully opened
the magic volume, in which indefinite wealth
lay latent, and beedfully smoothed down the
slender pink leaves. With suspicious scrutiny
she (elected a pen from among the bundle
wbich I placed at her band, dipped it cautiously
in tbe ink bottle, squared herself at tbe table,
with straight back and corrugated brow, and
so began to trace the few but pregnant words
that w ere to place me on even terms with tbe
world.
As I sat watching this operation an idea sud
denly occurred to me which changed my mood
from pleased expectancy to ominous misgiving.
What if Mary were to make her appearance
now? It was of the last importance to tbe
prosperity of my matrimonial projects that my
aunt should receive a favorable impression of
Mary at their first interview. And although
Mary, considered in herself, was of coarse in
capable of producing other than a good im
pression upon anybody, yet circumstances are
potent things, and there was no denying that
they would be against Mary were she to come
into my room at this moment. With such an
anxiety in my mind, it is no wonder if I found
my aunt's movements, even in writing me a
check, altogether too deliberate to be agree
able. Moreover, what reason had I for sup
posing that, even after the check was written,
my aunt would immediately depart? What
more likely than that she would regard it as
Sreparatory to a further session of in
nite length? It was not in nature
to expect tbat an elderly ladv would
make a long journey and climb half a dozen
flights of stairs, merely for the sake of giving
me a kidney potato and 50, and then vanish
ing like a benevolent fairy. How imperturba
blv she sat in her cbair? Surely no profes
sional beauty ever "sat" with so mnch persist
ence and self-complacency. I became so
nervous that, by the time she bad actually fin
ished tbe operation of writing the check, and
bad torn it carefully out of the book, and bad
returned the book to her reticule, I was feel
ing much more like bundling her incontinently
out of the room than like accepting her bountv
with the gratitude which is rightfully de
manded. It was precisely at this juncture that a brisk
knock came at the door, and the door was
opened. I felt that I turned pale. But no it
was not Mary; it was the doctor. He was just
the man for the occasion quick witted, au
dacious and intrepid. My horizon cleared
again. I saw my wav.
i presented him to my aunt, whispered a
word to him aside, and he sat down. After ex
changing a dozen general remarks, he turned
to roe and exclaimed briskly:
"Now, my dear boy, are you ready?"
"Quite ready, doctor."
'Madame. I presume, has no objf ctionr con
tinued the doctor, as he extracted an imposing
looking case of instruments irom bis pocket.
"Ehf" said my aunt, settling her specta
cles inquisitively.
"Only tbe examination," returned tbe doc
tor; "a mere notblnc; now, then, my boy. off
with your shirt quickl"
"Eh!" cried my aunt, jumping np in dismay;
"his shirt?"
"Oh, the baok and chest will, I think, he suffi
cient; if we need to look at the legs, we
can "
"Gracious goodness!" gasped my aunt, red
dening to the forehead; "let me go show me
the way ont at once I never c6uld think of be
ing present at my dear Charles, why didn't you
tell me? how could you snppose J'
"This way, aunt, this way," said I with diffi
culty maintaining my eravity, while at the
same time taking shame to myself for the ruse
I was playing off on her. A thousand thanks
to you, dear aunt; it is most unfortunate tbat
tbe interruption should have come at this time;
but doctors, you know, "
"I understand, of, course." she answered,
pressing tbrongh the doorway and venturing
to face me only when she was on the landing
outside. "And I was going at any rate in a
moment, and I only wanted to tell you.my dear
nephew, that that I am your aunt, and tbat
I intend tbat is, that you may expect I mean
that you need not fear in short, it will be all
right! And so, my dear, goed-bv and God bless
your And with this the best of relatives
kissed my unworthy cheek and hurried down
stairs.
"Fine old lady, thatf- observed the doctor
when 1 hobbled back to tbe room.
"The world does not contain her equal for
her age!" I replied. "And now, doctor, all I
have to ask of you is to follow her example."
"What! write you a checkfor50!" exclaimed
he. "Not me!"
"I expect nothing so sensible of you. What
I want is to be left alone. Solitude is to me my
medicine for this afternoon."
"Ah!" ejaculated tbe doctor, smiling.with an
arch twinkle in his eye. "Well, Tm off. but
mind you! no more aunts of any age or I'll or.
der you mustard plaster and tartar emeticl"
And with this threat and a laugh he took his
leave.
"And now," said I to myself, sinking hack in
my chair, "of course Mary won't como after
Si."
But I was mistaken: she did come; and she
came in the most natural and unsensatlonal
way in the world. She came she was m the
room for a moment she was in my arms; and
then all my doubts and troubles were forgotten
and I felt as if our long separation had been
but a weary dream.
"My own darling Mary!"
"Charlie, my love, how thin Ton aret I am so
glad!"
"That I am so thin?"
"Oh. Charlie "
Well, we were very happy. I was almost
afraid to love ber so mnch as I did, and yet I
knew that 1 could never love her so much as
she deserved. We were together and we were
happy; tbat was all that eicber of us knew or
cared. But at last Mary declared that I must
light the gas.
"For," said she, "how can you pretend to say
you leve me, if you cannot see my facer'
I do not love you for your face."
"Do you really love me?"
"leve you! I ob, Maryl"
"But I am so stupid!"
"You must be the cleverest of women."
"Why?"
"Because you can find something worth lov
ing in me."
"Light the gas, sir!"
"First, then, one more . The matches
are on the mantelpiece; you can light the gas
yourself, if you will. 1 wash my hands of it."
The gas was lighted. Soon after the middle
Temple clock struck Ave in its most aggressive
tone.
"My father is dining at the Freemason's
Tavern to-night," said Mary, "and he is going
to dress at Ins chambers; so I can stay ever so
long yet if you will let me."
"If you stay here till I ask you to go, Mary,
you may make up your mini! to leave as an old
woman."
The words were scarcely out of my mouth
when I beard the outer door open. There is a
series of four doors between my rooms and tbe
onter passage. A heavy footstep sounded be
tween the first door and the second. Mrs.
Swatman or ber assistant imbecile had evi
dently neglected to safeguard the approach,
and here was some unknown intruder forcing
himself in.
"Mary," I cried, "for heaven's sake into my
bedroom quick!"
She appreciated the urgency of the occasion
and vanished like a bird. Just as tbe door was
closing upon her in walked her father.
"Come. I'm glad to see you looking so much
better." said he in a hearty voice. "Why,
you've quite a color!"
Not a doubt of It. In fact, I felt as though
my face might be tbe tint of a tomato.
Luckily, Mary, when she came in, had not
taken off any of her things except her sealskin
jacket, and that she had snatched up and car
ried away with herwhen she escaped.
"Thank you,yes, I'm getting better," was my
reply.
-That's right! I'm very glad to hear it I've
something to talk to you about something I
think you can do forme when you're able to get
about, which will occupy you and give you
what I'm sure will be beneficial to you change
of air and scene."
Then, talang a chair beside tbe fire (the very
one in which Mary had just been sitting) Mr.
Bruce proceeded to unfold his plans. He must
have thought tbat my illness bad rendered me
extremely fidgety; for it was with the greatest
difficulty that I could keep still or even pretend
to be listening. I was on tenterhooks for poor
Mary. The weather was cold, and there was
neither fire nor fireplace in my bedroom. I
knew moreover that she would be able to dis
tinguish tbe tones of her father's voice; and
tbe discomfort and distress of ber position wor
ried roe so much tbat every other considera
tion was dwarfed in the comparison. All this,
however, did not prevent Mr. Bruce from stat
ing his belief that tbe man-lace of Dalrymple
Bruce and Tryphena Maddams bad been sol
emnized in the county of Berkshire, and most
probably in tbe vicinity of Abingdon. At any
rate tbe information gained led to the infer
ence that the ceremony In question had taken!
THE
place at one of the churches in one of the
riverside towns or Berkshire. His proposal to
me was tbat I could undertake to make a thor
ough search among the parish registers, Mr.
Bruce paving all tbe expenses and compensat
ing mo for my labor at tbe rate of a guinea
and a half a day. ,. . ,
While he was talking, Mr. Bruce had Invol
untanly taken up an old woolen glove which I
kept on the top of the coal box by the fireside,
to put on when shoveling out coals for tbe fire.
It was grimy as Mrs. Swatman's hands the
ne plus ultra of honest dirt and before I
noticed what be was about, his fingers were as
soiled as those of a finance agent.
"Oh, what a nuisancer' exclaimed Mr. Bruce.
"Dear me! I'll just step into your bedroom
and wash." He rose and approached the door.
"No, nor' said I hurriedly, and laboringoutof
my chair, under the influence of abject terror.
"No here let me fetch the basin in here for
7"N onsense conldn't think of troubling you.
I know my way," he answered amicably
motioning me back to my seat with one hand,
while he opened the door with the other; and
before I could say or do anything further to
prevent him, Mr. Bruce had entered the bed
room. If a benevolent earthquake wonld kindly
have made a meal of me at that moment, how
grateful I should have been. In a state of
mind which I do not care to analyze, I waited
the inevitable explosion. A long second passed
away an everlasting minnte and there was no
sign. What had happened? Could Mary have
contrived to hide herself anywhere? I tried to
reflect. There was a large, deep cupboard in
the room that served as a wardrobe. Surely
Mary bad not had the presence of mind to
conceal herself there? Yet it was the only
place I could think of into wbich she could
have retired; there was no other solution of the
mystery. In a few minntes Mr. Brute returned
with clean hands and unruffled demeanor.
Manifestly he had seen nothing and suspected
nothing. He resumed the conversation where
we had left It off, and after some further talk
it was agreed that I should start for Berkshire
as soon as the doctor would authorize me to
leave tbe bonse; first, however, calling on Mr.
Bruce to receive his written instructions and a
cheque on account for whatever I thought I
should need. Then, at last, my benefactor
took his leave, and I hailed his departure as I
should tbat of the gout. I hastened to the bed
room. 1 "Maryr1 1 called. "Maryf
No answer. I searched tbe cupboard.
She was not there.
I looked behind the curtain, in a forlorn hope
that she might have hidden herself there. No
Mary. By what magic badshe disappeared? I
went down on my hands and knees and peered
under the bed. Two overland trunks and a
bootjack, but still no Mary.
I summoned Mrs. Swatman.
"Miss Bruce where is she?" I demanded.
"Da you mean the lady, sir?"
"Yes the lady Miss Bruce?"
"She's cone, sir."
"I see she's gone, but how did she go?"
"I let her through Mr. Burnett's chambers,
sir."
"Through Mr. Burnett's chambersr' I re
peated in amazement. "How did you manage
that?"
"Why, sir, through the door'
"What door?" I interrupted impatiently.
"The door tbat leads from your bedroom into
his sitting room, sir."
There was a door by my bedside which was
always locked, and for the key of which I had
been going to ask, thinking It was another cup
board. Through this doorway Mary had es
caped. How thankful I was. now, that it had
not been a cupboard. It turned out that Mrs.
Swatman occasionally used the door when Bur
nett was away and I was engaged, and tbat in
this instance, tbe laundress having called, Mrs.
Swatman bad gone in that way, and had hap-
?ily been in time to release the terrified Mary
rom her embarrassing predicament.
I blessed Mrs. Swatman, and did not, as I had
f ally intended, give her a good blowing up for
admitting Mr. Bruce when she knewthat I was
engaged. She did not know, by the way, tbat
I was "engaged" in tbe common acceptance of
that term. I blessed ber, therefore, and fur
thermore presented her with a sovereign, which
made ber happy for the rest of the week
honest old descendant of Cinderella tbat she
was!
Next morning by the first post I had a letter
from Mary, bhe had been "terribly fright
ened." poor darling. She had not fully re
alized the impronnety of coming to my cham
bers until her father had come upon tbe scene
and she had felt tbe dread of discovery. 1 1
must "never again ask her to be so foolish and
wicked," she said. In my answer I promised
not to be selfish any more, acquainted her with
her father's plans, and pointed out tbat if I
were successful we might perhaps hope to ap
proach Mr. Bruce. -
In about a fortnight I received my instruc
tions and proceeded to hunt up the Berkshire
registers; and a more wearisome task I never
undertook. In some cases the registers were
well enough kept and were easy of access; in
some they bad been sold as waste paper, or
were altogether imperfect; while in a fow in
stances they were so ill-cared for that they had
become well nigh valueless: and one I found in
a decayed old box in a loft over tbe vicar's
cow shed. At Abingdon, and more especially
at St. Nicholas, the registers had been admira
bly preserved, and it was here tbat I spent the
longest time; but I failed to find tbe least trace
of what I wanted, and not a word either of
Dalrymple Bruce or of Tryphena Maddams.
Once, at Bray, and again Of Wallingford, I
thought I was upon tbe track; while at Cook
ham a whole colony of Maddams appeared to
have been born, married and buried; but not a
Tryphena among them all. At St. Lawrence,
Realing. there was a record of the marriage in
1793. of a certain Tbeodosia Maddams to David
Bruce; and this bothered me a good deal until
I discovered tbat Theodosia was the widow of
one Hezekiah Maddams. "butcher of this
towne." After a laborious and painstaking
search 1 came to the conclusion that I was on
tbe wrong scent, and I returned to London in a
gloomy and dejected mood.
But Mr. Brnce was very kind, and not only
thanked me heartily for the trouble I bad been
at, but marked the genuineness of his satis
faction by presenting me with a check consid
erably larger than I was entitled to or expected.
Mary, who had taken tbe deepest Interest in
tbe investigation, told me one evening when I
was dining at their house that she felt certain
she could not tell why that I should yet,
somehow she could not tell bow unravel this
Gordian knot; nay, that it was to be the means
whereby we should attain the fulfillment of our
hopes. I hoped with all my heart she might be
right, but conferred to some skepticism on the
Soint; for which unbelief I received the most
elightfnl scolding from Mary; and "You are
not to laugh at mc, sir! I will not be laughed
at!" (Ob, the way she emphasized that "notP)
"It is very rude of you to laugh at me, and you
shall do penance."
Seeing tbat Mr. Bruce was nodding over his
book I did penance, thongb, perhaps, not jnst
in the way that Mary bad anticipated. It was
a very rash act on my part; but the temptation
was irresistible. You have never seen Mary, or
you would understand. Mary blushed horribly,
and was both scared and indignant; but I
pleaded eloquently for absolution, and finally
appeased her. At parting she said:
'You will see, Charlie, you will find the
thing out. Depend upon it. Women know
things, you know, that men don't know. Well
I know, I don't know howl know, but I do
know that you will discover this Dalrymple
Brace's marriaze. I'm as certain of it as I am
tbat we well, as of anything. So goodnight,
and be a good boy and don't contradict. No?
not one, I declarer' (Alarms, excursions.)
The first news that greeted me on my return
to ray city chambers, was tbat Mrs. Swatman's
mummified assistant, Mrs. Cramp, was seri.
ouslyilL Of coarse I lost no time in seeing
that she had proper attendance, and any little,
comfort that the doctor might think good for
her. The doctor gave a poor account of ber.
Few men In chambers ever knew anything of
the inner life of their "laundresses," and from
what I learned of Mrs. Crump's surroundings
I should say their Ignorance was bliss.
In a wretched room in a disreputable look
ing building in a squalid court off Drury Lane,
the poor old creature bad her home. Home!
A room not much larger than an old-fashioned,
cupboard; a crazy tumble-down old wooden
bedstead, with aulte unmentionable bedcloth-
ing; two rickety cbairs with a table to match; a
deal wasbstand with a broken basin; a triangu
lar bit of looking-glass, scratched and smeared:
four or five moldy books on the top of a paint
ed deal chest of drawers, from which the draw
ers were missing; these, together with a few
household goods a kettle and saucepan and a
torn and discolored fragment of drugget,
formed the furniture of tbe place. Three of
the panes of glass in the solitary window were
smashed, and the hole filled up with what ap
peared to be fragments of old stuff petticoats.
In this delectable apartment Mrs. Crump lay,
and there my doctor attended her. She wanted
for nothing that we could provide her; and one
evening at Mr. Brnce's I managed to interest
him and Mary in the old woman.lnsomuch that
Mr. Bruce not only permitted Mary to visit her,
but himself sent to her at various times a
quantity of port" out of his own cellar. He
bad bis reward.
On Christmas day I was dining at his table,
and during dinner Mary found an opportunity
to tell me that she had a Christmas present for
me upstairs; but she refused, notwithstanding
my urgent inquiries, to tell me what it was. I
bad visions of smoking caps and slippers, and
other ornamental and useless rnbbish tbat girls
usually think appropriate gifts for men. It
turned .nut to be something much more to my
liking. I bad. and have a weakness for old
books, and my chambers were almost lined with
tbem. Mrs. Crump, it appeared, desirous of
testifying her gratitude for my Itttlo attentions,
bad commissioned Mary to present to me in
her name, one of the moldy volumes I had
noticed on the chest of drawers. This biblio
mania of mine was shared by Mr. Bruce, who
had a magnificent collection, but while he
Issued semi royal mandates to Quarltch and
Torrey, to Ellis and Pickering, I bad to content
myself with an occasional prize from a book
stall, or at a country auction. Mrs. Cramp's
Christmas present was an old folio copy of
Ambrose Pari in fair preservation except as to
the old calf binding Vbich needed repair. I
was turning over tbe familiar leaves, and show
ing Mary some of the least eccentric of the old
woodcuts.
"Haf said Mr. Brace; "a copy of old Pari,
and a nice clean copy, too! Let me look at it,
Mary, and let me have some coffee." .-.
He and I turned over the hook together, and
had some talk about the author. As Lira
PITTSB1JKG- DISPATCH,
closing it, tbe fly-leaf fell to the ground and
flattered to Mr. Brace's feet. Ho picked it up
and was about to hand it to me. when he sud
denly exclaimed with some excitement:
"This is extraordinary! Did you not notice
this?"
On the fly-leaf was written in a straight, stiff
handwriting, "Dalrymple Bruce, Jhls book,
lTSW."
We looked at It together in silence for about
a minute. Mr. Bruce spoke first.
"Wto was your Mrs. Cramp? Do yotfknow
her maiden name?"
"I know nothing about her except that she
once told me she was in service at Chicksands
Priory in Bedfordshire."
"In what part of Bedfordshire is Chicksands
Priory?"
"Really I don't know; my acquaintance with
the place Is confined to Aspley Guise and Wo
barn, and it certainly is not la that neighbor
hood." "Do you mind my keeping this? I must see
Mrs. Cramp in the morning, and you had bet
ter perhaps come with me. Come to my cham
bers about U, and we will go together."
I willingly agreed to be with him at the hour
named; and the next day, accordingly, we in
terviewed Mrs. Crump, who, by this time, was
well enough to be up, though not to be about.
Poor old woman! sbe was quite frichtened at
Mr. Brace's somewhat protessional method of
cross-examination. He, however elicited the
information tbat ber maiden name was Med
lock;ber father bad been a laborer in Lord
Ongley's employ at Warden, in Bedford
shire. Her mother's maiden name she did
not know. Both her father and mother were
dead. They had both died while in service at
Chicksands Priory, and were both buried at
Warden. She was the only child, and on her
parents' decease she had sold the few things
tbey possessed except two or three books
which she had played with as a child and did
not like to part with. There was no family
Bible among them. There was an old alma
nac. There they were on the drawers, and we
were quite welcome to look at them, or, for
that matter, to take them away. Tho almanac
was not among the books on tbe drawers: It
was in her "box." Her box was under the bed,
and if we very particularly wanted to see the
almanac, she wooia get it for us.
We did want to see tbat almanao very partic
ularly indeed; but I made Mrs. Crnmp sit in
ber chair while I pulled tho box out from under
the bed, and dragged it up in front of ber. She
opened it, revealing astrange heterogeneous col
location of articles, whence derived or where
foro treasured onlv Mrs. Crump and possibly
not even sbe could have explained. All three
of ns even tbe dignified Mr. Bruce, too
united in ransacking that veteran receptacle.
It seemed as if there was no end of things,
except the ono thing that we wanted. I began
to fear that the almanac had gone to the limbo
of almanacs, and that we were destined to an
other aud a final disappointment. I took up an
aged pair of stays to look underneath them,
and a dingy pamphlet dropped oat of tbem. I
caught up tbe pamphlet and examined it; it
was an almanac of the year 1794. With trem
bling fingers I turned to the date of,the mar
riage: Opposite it, in faded ink were written
the words, "This daye I was nnlted to my be
loved Tryphenia Dalrymple Bruce." I turned
to the cover; tbere was a pocket in it: in tbe
pocket was a folded document. I drew it out
and unfolded it and there, at last, was the
long sought marriage certificate that estab
lished tbe Danedin peerage!
Tbere Is not much more to my story. Mrs.
Crump otherwise Lieutenant Louisa got well
and passed the rest of her days in peace and
plenty. My aunt, who is still living, made over
to me half her property, with a reversionary in
terest in tbe remainder of it. I had a private
interview with Mr. Bruce, and he is now my
father-in-law: and Mary and I are as happy as a
wife and husband can ever expect to-be.
(THE END.)
Copyright, I8S9: all rights roserved.
SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION.
How It Comes About and tho Materials
Which Cause In
From the Baltimore Snn.i
From all tbe principles of chemistry sponta
neous combustion is a possible and, in fact, a
f requent phenomenon. Prof. William P. Ton
ry, the chemist, says tbe flame in such cases in
variably arises from a combination of oxygen
with some material favorable to producing
heat.
'Wherever there is turpentine there is always
danger of spontaneous combustion. If the
substance be poured on rags, especially when
they are soaked with grease, fl.e is likely to
result, furniture establishments and all
places where oils and turpentine are kept are
especially liable to visitation from fires of inex
plicable origin.
Hay, when moist and packed tightly, fer
ments by a natural process and absorbs oxygen
so freely as to produce flame in many Instances.
Sulphuric acid if allowed to come in contact
with bagging at fertilizer factories is also a
source of great danger. The same acid, if
mixed with water, produces intense heat.
A common source of unexpected combus
tion is the gas which escapes from a v jet which
has been carelessly left open. Gas and cons
mon air produce an explosive compound wbich
can be touched off like gunpowder by a tiny
flame.
Prof, Tonry says it is very difficult to pre
vent combustion which arises from natural
combinations, although thorough ventilation
and cleanliness in nnrate houses and business
establishments will go a long way toward re
ducing tbe danger, 'ihe phenomenon is com
mon to all seasons, although a temperature of
70 or 80 degrees, jvblch is high enough for fer
mentation, is most favorable to it.
An accumulation of inflammable materials is
always to be avoided. It was "once believed
that human bodies, especially those of
inebriates, were liable to take flie and be con
sumed spontaneously, bat tho theory finds but
little acceptance in these days.
A EEMAEKABLT QUEER TEEDICT.
Settles a Prisoner Free to Save tbe County
His Bonrd.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.!
Speaking of the sometimes queer verdicts
rendered by a jury, recalls a case I was engaged
in once at Louisiana, Mo. Two men, employer
and employe, had quarreled about a matter of
wages. Shortly after aDd while tbe employer
was engaged in conversation with two gentle
men, the employe stole np behind his employer
and plunged a knife into his neck, almost cut
ting it half in two. It was a marvel how the
man survived the ugly thrust. He would not
have done so, perhaps, but for the fact that one
of the men with whom be was conversing was a
physician. The physician at onco took the un
fortunate man in charge, stopped tho flow of
blood and got him properly bandaged.
Six months later he was entirely recovered,
and the trial of his assailant began. All the
material facts were proven conclusively. There
did not seem to be any palliating circumstances
whatever. The jury retired, and shortly re
turned with a verdict authorizing a fine of $100.
Curious to know by what process of reasoning
tbey reached so unusual a verdict, I accosted,
one of the jurors. "Well." said he, 'If we sent
him to the penitentiary the county would have
to support bis family, and if we sent him to jail
it would be the same, neither of wbich the tax
payers would like, so we thought the best thing
to do was to fine him 3100."
A DAINTI FLORIDA FBUIT.
Something Abont tbe Roso Apple, Which Is
Useful ns Well as Ornamental.
Orlando (Fla.) Times. 1
One of the daintiest of all the dainty fruits
that grow nnder the Florida sou is the rose
apple, or jambosade, or as the botanist call it,
Eugenia jambos. A roso apple tree, full of
the interesting fruit, is now growinc in the
Kgrounds of L. P. Westcott, or this city. The
foliage is sniaii, pointea ana smning, and quite
beautiful. The fruit looks like a small, oblong
guava, creamy white, and with a perfect odor
of a fall blown rose. Tho flesh consists only of
a thin, crisp shell, inside of which the large
brown seed lies loose.
The flavor is sweet, and the strong rose odor
is all through It. It is altogether too light and
airy for eating raw, but makes a jslly that is
unsurpassed for delicacy of flavor. The rose
apple is quite tropical, and will not stand any
more cold than a guava, but everybody ought
to have at least one tree as au ornament and
cariosity.
Afraid of tho Hereditary Influence.
Hiss Plumpe Araand, you haven't met
my family before. This is Great-grandma
Wingate, this Grandma Parsons, and this
mamma.
Her Intended Hooking ahead a lew years)
Sav, Bessie, take back what you said, and
"be simply a sister to me, won. you?
Judge. , .
SUNDAY, JULY 28,
CHASING KAN6AB00S.
Bow the Australian Bushman Com
bines Hospitality With Hunting.
COBB'S CUMBERSOME COACHES.
A Hot Chase Across Country
Game Until the
After ihe
OLD MAN FACES HIS FOES AND FIGHTS
ConnssFO'TOXHcn or the DisrATCn.l
Stdnet, N. S. W., June 8. "Take a hol
iday from your instruments, pack up your
riding gear and a change, and come down
to the run and chase au old man or two?"
said a squatter friend the other day. Such
was his proposition, and I had better at
once explain that his suggestion was not to
engage in any man-hunting mission, neither
was it intended to run down a black fellow
or so, as Is sometimes indulged in in Queens
land, but merely to hunt the wily kanga
roo, or "did man," as the natives are given
to calling the patriarchs ot the tribe. The
invitation had not to be repeated, and in an
hour's time we were comfortably bestowed
in a first-class carriage on the Western
Bailway'and rapidly leaving the city be
hind us. Half an hour's traveling brought
us to the foot of the Blue Mountains, a high
and precipitous range which rises abruptly
and almost perpendicularly out of the
plain, and unbroken by a pass.
The work of carrying a railway across
this range was a triumph of engineering
skill, the ascent being accomplished by a
zigzag route of very steep grade, the train
now being hauled very slowly up one in
cline and now backed up the next. Beach
ing the summit, the road runs for 40 miles
along the crest of the range, affording some
magnificent panoramic views of the country
beneath. Very curious was the appearance
presented by the dense foliage of the forest
below, whose trees reared their lofty crests
skyward for hundreds of feet, and over
which the eye traveled uninterruptedly for
miles, drinking in an ocean of wonderful
verdure as level and green as a wheat field
in the early spring.
OX A COBB'S COACH.
Bv means of a similar "zigzag" the plains
on the other side were reached, and we soon
arrived at the station whence the journey to
my friend's homestead would be con
tinued on a Cobb's coach. These are
the mail coaches by means of which
communication with the interior is
maintained; and long may they survive,
cumbersome though they be, for nothing is
more exhilarating than to be whirled off on
top of one of them throngh a section of
beautiful country, with a spanking team of
picked horses stretching the traces in front.
A word or two as to these coaches. They
are built more on the side oi durability than
ornament; the bodv is formed like one-half
of a walnut shell, hung on leather springs
and carried on a strong frame work, running
on equally strong wide-tyred wheels. Bat
now the guard's bugle sends out a note of
music and we swing ourselves up on deok;
the driver draws the ribbons through his
hands, gently feels his horses' mouths, allows
the fall of his whip to drop with a resound
ing crack, the hostlers jump away from the
leaders' heads and we are oft on our 40-mile
drive,with five hours of daylight to do it in.
The conditions were all favorable for a
pleasant drive; we carried enough passen
gers tor companionship and comfort, and a
light mail; a skillful driver acted as pilot to
the five good horses that hauled us, there
was just sufficient sharpness in the wintery
air to make the drive the more exhilarating,
and the orb of day beaming mildly upon us
from the deep blue vault above gave unerr
ing indication ot a fine day. A stranger
would be required to be told that it was al
most midwinter as we sped along at a lively
pace through thinly timbered woods of ever
green BtriDgy-bork and black butt, every
now and again rolling by thickets of sweet
smelling acacia and myall, or over a sweep
ing plain of green and tufted grass, for there
was more appearance of spring in the aspect
of the country than of winter, as understood
in more northerly climes. Soon we began
to leave the level country, and the group of
hills which we had observed looming up in
the distance were now immediately be
fore us.
A PLSASAXT rEOSPECT.
A change of horses was made, dinner dis
patched, and alter another mile the pace
slackened and it became all collar work for
our good horses. Almost imperceptibly we
found ourselves rising above the level of the
surrounding country and winding upward
round a deep gorge,through which the track
ran. At the summit the road had been cut
out of the side ot the gorge, barely wide
enough for a pair of coaches to pass at a
time, and so continued for a level stretch of
about half a mile. We learned from our
driver that the up coach should have passed
him at tbe wide opening we had left, and as
we reached the level stretch he said: "If
Tom Hardy is on this stretch now it will be
a touch-and-go business getting one coach
past the other, for I doubt if there is room.
He's all right, for he has the inside, but I
always tried to keep clear of being caught
on this ledge." The prospect was not reas
suring. On one side, our side, too, was a
sheer precipice of fully 300 feet, and on the
other a high bank. The coaches must
pass, but how? Some of the pas
sengers were beginning to express
a desire to get down and walk, and were
about doing so, when our attention was at
tracted by the approach of the other coach.
It was hugging the bant as closely as it
could so as to enable us to pass on the out
side. It was not possible, we thought, lor
our driver to get his coach by there cer
tainly was not room, and we were
beginning to suggest the advisa
bility of getting down and walk
ing, when he called out, "Hold fast, gentle
man, and keep as much as possible on the
offside; I'm going to run through," and
now followed as skillful and coolheaded a
piece of coachmanship as I ever witnessed.
A COOL COACHMAN.
Suiting the action to the word, he
whipped the team into a canter and bore
down on the other coach, increasing his
pace into a brisk gallop as he neared it. In
another moment we flew past it, hub sep
arated from hub by not a quarter of an
inch, and as we looked back the maik of
the rear wheels could be discerned on the
very brink of the precipice. A wild cheer
greeted us as we sped along, and which we
returned with the zest ot men who but a
moment before had expected to be hurled
into space. 'That was the only way to do
it, gentlemen. When you are caught in a
tight place you can never pilot yonr horses
so certainly as when you have them well in
hand and going at a strong pace."
In due time we rolled down the hill,
across the plain below, changed horses, and,
alter finding our way across a Government
reserve, through which the tracks extended
for a quarter of a mile wide, running over
fallen timber, against stumps and Cetweeu
trees which grazed both hubs ot oar wheels,
we found ourselves in the thriving township
of Winalong and five miles from my friend's
"station" of Bingarra. Half an hour's
drive behind a pair of fleet ponies brought
us to our destination, where a hospitable
welcome awaited us at the, hands of mine
host's wife and daughters.
Early next morning I was awakened by
the neighing and stamping ol horses, and
turning out I found that half a hundred sta
tion horses had been driven into the bomepad
dock, a small enclosure adjoining the home
stead, and from whieh we were to select our
mounts for the day's sport The squatter
was already about, and falling in with his
uggestton ot a canter as an ap-
etlzer previous to the morning meal, we
etcn seized a sauaie ana criaie ana pro
ceeded to the paddock. The mob had been
cokiered by a coaple of stockmen, and in
routh and ready bush style we climbed the
posJand rail lence, and, driving in among
the, slipped our bridles over the heads of
the hf rses first at hand. Any picking or
choosW i regarded with disdain by the
1889.
stock-riders, who dearly loye to see the ar
rival of city folks on the station, for they
are generally rather in dread of the horse
they are mounted upon, and seldom stay upon
his back very long. Bat I yet had to saddle my
horse and place tho crupper in position, and
this was only accomplished after a long strug
gle with the prepossessing brute I bad chanced
upon, which plnnged and bvek-jumped at every
attempt to draw tight tbe girths, by screwing
tbe animal up against tbe rail and keepinghim
there by main strength.
OFF FOR THE HUNT.
But now everything is ready for a start to
the habitat of the kangaroo; half a dozen grey
hounds, large framed, long limbed, sinewy
brutes, specially reared for such work, the re
sult of years of judicious blending of the
coursing greyhound strain with tbat of tho
bloodhound, possessing the keen nose of tbe
latter with the speed of the former, note the
tightening or girths and fixing of surcingle
withlntelligeut interest as final preparations
are made: Our party is a select one, consisting
of the two ladies, habited and mounted on
trained thoroughbreds reserved for their use;
tbe superintendent, a stockman and tbe squat
ter and myself. The dogs are signalled to the
rear and we more off under tbe guidance of
tbe stockman who bad located a small tribe of
kangaroos during bis morning's ride in a gully
a few miles from tbe homestead.
Half an hour's easy ride brings ns in the vi
cinity of tbe marsupials, and the stockman Is
sent ahead to reconnolter. He moves can
tlously forward to where a few rocks rise sud
denly up out of a growth of brush, and Is seen
to halt. He views the head of an old man
above the undergrowtn with ears erect, keenly
sniffing around as If scenting danger. His in
stinct is not at fault, for, at a signal, the
honnds spring forward, there is a crunching of
dead tlm ber, a rustling in the undergrowth, fol
lowed by the thud, thud of tbe leaping long
tails as they bound away with enormous jumps,
the dogs at first, dividing and chasing, sever
ally, three or fonr of the herd, but they are
quickly called off and set on the trail of the
patriarch who is quickly putting yards at a
time, at every jump, between him and his pur
suers. ACBOSS COUNTRY.
With very little urging of oar steeds we are
soon in hot pursuit, with all the conditions
favorable to a rattling run. Tbe country here
abouts is fairly open, what timber there is be
ing scattered and of small growth, there is very
little undergrowth, and we speed away with
ever-Increasing zest for the hunt, now
getting a momentary glimpse ot our game
as the springs across an opening far
in advance of us, and now flying over tbe bed
of a driedup creek. Fortunately for the full
enjoyment of oar fair companions, the long
tailed gentleman whom we are chasing keeps
in the open line of country, and they are
enabled to 'live,' for once, with the men, be
cause in riding through timbered country they
have to proceed with more caution owing to
their side seat. On this occasion they all but
lead us, their speedy thoroughbreds skimming
the grass tufts in as keen appreciation of the
sport as their light-hearted and light-limbed
riders, bearing them over tbe brush fences and
popping across yawning chasms, with all the
precision of old hunters. But we Nimrods are
not far behind our fair Dianas, exchanging
with them jest and repartee, quip and joke as
we swing along in fullest enjoyment of the ex
hilarating work and with the deepest relish for
the character of our surroundings, drinking in
deep draughts of the pure air with every stride
of onr nags, in the clear, mild atmosphere of
the Australian winter's day. On we gallop,
hardly keeping tbe swift-running hounds in
view, now breasting an eminence from which
we see that our kangaroo is making for tbe
timbered country to the right, and now coursing
along a gully, clearing the small creek at
the bottom in one stride. Bat rapid traveller
though the kangaroo is his bolt Is soon shot.
His early education was neglected in the mat
ter of staying for miles across country for the
pleasure of human kind, and the old, man, who
has given us a better run tbau ordinarialy, be
gins to falter In his speed; tbe bounds are even
now at his quarters and as we ride up, making
our way through the thick scrub, we And him
'balled up,' as the Australian expression has it.
against a massive gum tree, and
FIGHTING VICIOUSLY
with his short forearms and powerful legs. Our
chase Is ended, but as sportsmen we will not be
content with less than tbe death of our quarry
The method employed by the aborigines In
dispatching the kangaroo when in extremis is
by handing him a waddy or short club, which
the animalselzes, as wonld a monkey, with his
fore arms, and then striking him with another
on the head This king of tbe marsupial order,
though tlmfU and gentle when unmolested, is a
daagerous adversary in a fight. Using bis long
tallas a lever, he is capable of dealing a telling
blow with either of his long, powerf ullegj. and
before the unequal combat, of which we were
now spectators, had progressed very far howls
of pain'from the honnds and their bleeding
sides bore testimony to the trouble which the
"old man" was making for tbem. But It was
only prolonging the agony of the prey to allow
the dogs to worry it any longer; a shot from a
revolver dropped him to eartb, and tbe knife
of the stockman quickly removed bis scalp and
.ears. Well pleased with our day's sport, we
pursued our way leisurely homeward, and after
ward dined with keen appetite: a delicacy of
the "bill," equaling any other in quality, being
a soup made from the tail of our kangaroo.
Feank Kempsteb.
BATHER AN AWKWARD FIX.
A Barber Leaves a Customer Half Bhaved
to Go to a Fire.
Chicago Herald.:
"Funny thing happened to me once," said the
doctor. "I was at a little town in the western
part of Iowa last fall, where I had stayed over
night to see a friend, and expected to go on to
Sioux City next morning. The train was
scheduled to leave at 10 o'clock, and shortly
after 9, having seen tbat my trunk was duly
checked, I decided to get my sideburns shaved
off, so strolled into a barber shop nearly oppo
site the station. There was only one chair in
the place, and that was ran by a little fat bar
ber. He received me cordially, worked along
quite leisurely, and bad one side nicely shaved
when a bell began ringing furiously and a man
ran along the main street yelling fire! fire! at
the top ot his lungs. Without waiting to ex
plain or apologize my fat friend threw
down his razor and rushed outdoors, leaving
me in tho chair to await his return. I sat
very patiently for 10 or 15 minutes, cr until it
was near train time, and then I began to grow
restive. It was absolutely necessary for me to
get to Sioux City that day, and yet there I sat
with a beautiful sidewbisker on my left check
and tbe right one as bare as the palm of my
band. Finally I threw away the cigar I was
smoking and went outside, where sat a small
lame boy, tho only creature in sight. 'Where in
thunder is the barberf I askjd.
" 'O, he's down ter the fire, mister. Yer see
Billy's foreman o' ther hook and ladder com
pany, an' specs ter be 'lected chief o' ther de
partment next spring, an' he don't miss no
fires, Billy don'tf
"I groaned and went back in the shop: it
lacked two minutes of train time, so seizing
the scissors I clipped off the left whisker as
close as I could, then rushed for tbe depot,
wbich I reached just as the train Dulled in. I
sneaked aboard and hid in the smoker until we
arrived in Sioux City, whore I had the job
properly finished. Nice experience, wasn't
ttr
PILLOWS MADE OF PINE
Said to be nn Excellent Remedy for Conchi
and Bronchial Troubles.
Coccoa (Fla.) Spirit
Daring the visit to the home of a most esti
mable lady living on Indian river, this editor
was told of a discovery that had been made
which may prove a boon to sufferers from lung
or bronchial troubles. This lady having heard
that there was a peculiar virtue in a pillow
made from pine straw, and having none of that
material at hand, made one from soft, fine pine
shavings, and had the pleasure of noting im
mediate benefit. Soon all tbe members ot the
household bad pine shavings pillows, and It was
noticed tbat all coughs, asthmatic or bronchial
troubles abated at once after sleeping a few
nights on these pillows.
An Invalid suffering from lung trouble de
rived much benefit from sleeping npon a mat
tress made from pine shavings. The materia
is cheap, and makes a very pleasant and com
fortable mattress, tbe odor ot the pine per
meating the entire room and absorbing or dis
pelling all unpleasant and objectionable odors.
An Indelible Corse.
Friend of the Family I don't think that
dog Is very appropriate for a case of be
reavement. "Widower Thai's Jest the rub. Poor
Marthy had him dyed for the fourth of
July an' we can't git th' color out of hira.
""", . .,-i A
A MODERN MARTYR.
The Beroic Life and Work of Joseph
Damiea De Venster
AMONG TBE LEPERS OP HOLOKAI.
Dr. Wade's Eeplj to Prof. Huxley's Attack
on Christianity.
FATHER DAMIEK'S DEFENSE IS BETTER
iwmrrejf von rax dispatCh.i
Out in the Pacific Ocean, among the
Sandwich Islands, there projects above the
water the peak of an extinct volcano. Some
people, indeed, hold that all these islands
are but partially submerged volcanoes. In
the southernmost one the old fires are still
burning, and in all are found great blocks
of lava and other eridences of volcanic
origin. In the crater, as it would seem, of
one of these ancient mountains of fire-, now
standing only a few feet out of the water,
are built two little villages, inhabited by a
,strange and miserable population. I sup
pose that nowhere else in the world, except
in certain afflicted villages down in deep
valleys of the Alps, can be found any towns
to be compared with them. Everybody in
these two villages is sick, and sick with one
of the most fearful diseases known to the
race of man. These people are lepers.
By a wise provision of the Government ot
Hawaii, all lepers in that country are
isolated. They are put apart from other
citizens upon the little island of Jlolokai.
Molokai is accordingly a sort of national
pest-house.
Now, let several hundred human beings
be gathered together, all of them afflicted
with an incurable disease, all of them wait
ing for death; none of them very well edu
cated nor very good Christians put these
wretched people off by themselves and cer
tain conditions are pretty sure to follow.
These conditions will all be fairly summed
up in the word, degradation. There will be
physical degradation. These poor people
will so lose heart that they will not even
keep themselves clean. There will be in
tellectual degradation. What ambition can
stir these miserable beings to improve their
minds? There will be moral degradation.
There will be a general giving way of all
which, under ordinary conditions, keeps
men up and gives them some heart. Even
the certain and near approach of death will
make small impression upon most of them.
"Let us eat and drink," they will say, "for
to-morrow we die." An island of lepers
will be the abode of
DEGRADATION AND DESPAIR.
This is a very fair description of the con
dition of this island of Molokai as it was 16
years ago. But 16 years ago a new settler
arrived upon the scene and proceeded im
mediately to change things. The new settler
was a Boman Catholic priest, a young man
only a little past 30 years of age, a member
of the order of the "Sacred Heart of Jesus
and Mary."
Joseph Damien de Venster, or Father
Damien, as all the world knows him to-day,
was born in 1841 in Belgium. He was early
possessed with a desire to be a priest. He
had a brother who was preparing for the
priesthood in a neighboring town, and one
day, when Joseph was about 19 years old,
going with his father to visit this brother.he
insisted on staying. Nothing could per
suade him to go back. He, too, would be
a priest.
Joseph's brother had planned to go as a
missionary to the South Seas, but as the
time drew near for him to go he fell
sick. Joseph was eager to go in his place.
He wrote, offering himself for the work,
and begging the privilege of going, and his
request was granted. So the young priest,
not yet, as it seems, ordained, became a mis
sionary. Among the South Sea Islands he heard
of the poor, forsaken, miserable leper folk
at Molokai, and his heart went out to them.
A third time he heard the voice of God
speaking in his heart, and a third time he
answered: "Here am I; send me." In 1373
Father Damien began the work in which
theTemainder of his good life was spent.
There was no doubt in father liamien's
mind as to what the end wonld be. He
knew perfectly well that he would die a
leper. But he went straight forward. No
soldier ever marched into battle more
bravely than this soldier of the cross.
It is worth while to note just here that
Father Damien had nothing to gain of those
rewards alter which most people nowadays
are striving. There was no money to be
had at Molokai. There was no chance of
winning any ecclesiastical position by
WORKING AH ONO LEPEES.
There was no fame to be had away out
there on that obscure Pacific island. 'Ihere
were not even the ordinary comforts of life.
There is a good deal of epicureanism among
men to-day a good deal of the spirit which
urges thoughtful people to make the most
of this life, and to think little about any
other. We want to be comfortable, above
all things. But Father Damien seems not
greatly to have coveted comfort. When he
arrived at Molokai there was at first no
roof under which he could be sheltered and
he slept out-of-doors for several nights bc
neatha great tree. He often thought ot
those homeless nights. So strong was the
memory he had of them tbat when he lay
dying the other day he asked to be buried
just there, under that hospitable tree. We
may believe that as he lay at night, looking
up into the face of the sky, amid the silence
ot the strange land, in the presence of God,
he bowed again more earnestly than ever to
follow Him who for love of ns lived upon
this sinful eartb, cared for the sick and sor
rowful, touched even lepers and healed
them, and died at last, making His cross an
emblem of love and sacrifice forever. If
he could bat serve Him, and win His
blessing, that was all that Joseph Damien
wanted.
There is no objection in any Chris tUn
doctrine to human comfort. ChrisJ.nity
teaches evidently the duty of making the
most of life. All that was good and true in
the philosophy of the Epicureans is to be
found in the teachings of Christ. Chris
tianity, indeed, as Christians know by ex
perience, not only teaches the duty of mak
ing the most of life, but reveals a'heavenly
secret, without which it is hard to see how
one can succeed in making very much of
life. Christians have a perfect right to be
comfortable wherever comfort does not
stand in tbe way of Christianity. Every
body has a right to rest, bnt not when an
important work needs helping hands.
Christianity puts the soul above the body,
puts character above comfort, crowns life
with the cross. Christ says that they alone
will find their lives who lose tbem, who
give them to God and their neighbor. That
does interlere with
SOME KINDS OP COMFORT.
It did interfere with Father Damien's
comfort. Daily he lived "in a polluted at
mosphere, dressing the sufferers' sores,
washing their bodies, visiting their death
beds, and even digging their graves." That
is not the description of a "comfortable"
life.
And yet Father Damien was abundantly
happy. Comfort and happiness do not al
ways go together, but genuine Christianity
and happiness go together always. "A
lady wrote to him," says Mr. Clifford, in an
article in the Nineteenth Century, " Ton
have given up all earthly things to serve
God, to help others, and I believe that yon
must have now that joy that nothing can
take from you, and a great reward here
after.' Tell her, he said, with a quiet
smile, 'thatr It is true I do have that joy
now.' "
Father Damien even made these poor
lepers happy. Under the inspiration or his
example and Instruction the island of the
lepers was civilized and Christianized.
Despair was changed into hope. Tbat is an
illustration of what one man can do. Father
Damien was not in any way great nor re
markable. He was not a learned theolgian,
nor a wise scholar, nor an expert adminis
trator, noraa eloquent preacher. He Va
not a remarkable Individual, as it seemed
In any way. He was like the man with
two talents, in the parable, neither very
rich nor ray poor in the qualities and gifts
which make success possible. Joseph
Damien was just an ordinary, common
place man, having no particular genius for
anything, unless a genius for beiDg and
doing good be taken account ofthat he
had. This man wanted to do good. To
tbe depths of his very soul he wanted to
help somebody who was down. It was not
with him a theory, nor a sentiment, but
reilly a passion, an absorbing desire. And
when this plain, good man, with the long
ing in his heart to help, put his foot on the)
island of Molokai, a new era began there.
Such is the contagion of
GENTINE, SINCERE GOODNESS.
Father Damien is best described by say
ing that he was a Christian. All his In
spiration came from his faith. He did what
he did and was what he was, because he
simply and loyally followed Christ. That
brave life of his is an example of what
Christian faith is still helping men to do.
In spite of all the frowns of tbe critics, ia
spite of all the assurances of philosophers
that the foundation has been quite removed
from beneath the Christian religion, there
is a good deal of faith still left intbisworld.
I do not believe that tbere is a single
Christian village anywhere in which there
are not ten Christians living at this hour
who would for Christ's sake do just such,
work as Father Damien did, if it came ia
their way as it did in his. Indeed, who
will deny that there are Christians beyond
numbering who, in obscure ways, under
various burdens, with crosses of various
shapes, are to-day doing God just as good
service as Father Damien did. Two years
ago who of us had heard of Father Damien?
Yet tbere he was, doing his good work, wit
nessing to Christ's power in this epicurean
century.
In the number of the nineteenth Century
in which I learned the tacts of Father
Damien'slife, thereis anothernotaBle article
standing just next to this. It is Dr. Wade's
reply to Mr. Huxley. Mr. Huxley had
affirmed, in the common fashion of the
modern opponents of the Christian religion,
that all good scholarship to-day denies the
authenticity of theNewTestamentScriptnres
as adequate records oi Christ's life. This,
everybody will remember, was tbe position
assumed in "Robert Elsmere." The books
in that remarkable library wbich the 'Squire
had, overturned the whole system of Chris
tian belief. But Dr. Wade, as it happens,
knows just as much about Biblical criticism
as Prof. Huxley does about natural science.
And he shows by quotations from the very
authors whom Prof. Huxley names that
their conclusions are by no means those
which a great many people take forgranted.
The best scholarship to-day affirms the
authenticity ofr the New Testament Script
ures. The article is a strong and able de
fense of the Christian faith against honest,
but ill-informed attack. Still, for the most
of us. Father Damien's defense is better.
The best argument for Christianity is
A GOOD CHRISTIAN.
Four years ago Father Damien became a
leper. On the 16th of April, four months
aeo, he died. "Thy will bo done," he said,
when be knew tbe plague was upon him.
"Death is not far off," he said near the close of
March. "The good God is calling me to keep
Easter with Himself! God be blessed!" As
Palm Sunday drew near one ot tbe priests at
tending him begged him to leave him his
mantle, as Elijah left his cloik to JSlisha.
"Why, what would you do with Jtt" be asked,
keeping to the end his perfect simplicity, lack
of cant, good sense. "What would you do with
itf It is full of leprosy." "We had the great
est difficulty to get him to accept a bed." writes
one who was with bim at tbe last. "And bow
poorly off he was! He who had spent so mnch
money to relieve the lepers had so far forgot
ten himself tbat he had not a change of linen
or bedelothes," So he went to bis reward.
And now that Father Damien is dead sud
denly his name Is on everybody's lips. They
bad great difficulty in getting money to help
him in his work while he was doing it. Father
Damien had small reward in tbe shape of ap
preciation while be lived. But now he Is dead,
money Is abundant. There is a "Damien Me
morial fund." Leprosv Is to be more scien
tifically investigated. England is going to look
into the condition of her 250,000 lepers in India. -Tbat
Is a part ot tho "advantage of death."
From the days of the earliest martyr death has
emphasized character, pleaded the cause for
which life has been given, made people think. '
But how much better all around it we could ti
think and help without waiting for such tragio
emphasis. --1 Geouge Hodgks.
CLERKS WHO LOSE CUSTOMERS.
A Falllnc Off la Custom Doe to mistakes of
Salesmen.
St. Louis Globe-Democrat.l
Some "drygoods clerks possess very little
knowledge of human nature; otherwise they
would ntt drift irom store to store or city to
city. I know three clerks who have held their
positions twenty years or more, and command
large salaries. The secret of their popularity
is that they are just as polite to a lady who
does not purchase as one who does. If she
buys nothing to-day, to-morrow she will. Fre
quently a lady goes into a store for an article
which she very much needs. She asks for it,
examines it, prices it, and finds it costs HS0,
.and sbe has but $i in ber pocket; rather than
tell this to the clurk. who has not sense enough
to divine it. sbe says it is too short, too long, or
not the right shade. A St. Louis clerK thinks
the proper thing to do is to jerk it from under
her gaze, shove it in a box and strike tbe box
on the counter, thereby trying to insult a lady
and succeeding iu losing a customer for bis
employer. I had set my heart upon buing a
certain article of furniture, and thought I had
sufficient money; so I went into a store and
found jnst what I wanted, but it cost J5 more
than I possessed. I made some trivial excuse.
Intending to save tbe money and return for it;
but the clerk was too obtuse to take the hint,
and followed me to tbe door with his importun
ities. The result is when I have saved tbe
money I shall purchase at another establish
ment. Men imaeine women ask to see articles
from idleness, but such is rarely the case.
HICEE THAN SHOOTING.
A Young Iiadr Greatly Admires iho Way
Soldiers Uso Their Arms.
"Washington Post.
Two very charming young ladles were chat
ting in a street car last evening:
"So you've been down to the campf" asked
one.
"Yes; and it's perfectly splendid down there."
"Did the soldiers take their arms with them?"
"Of coarse they did. Yoa don't suppose they
would leave them at home, do you?"
"I shouldn't like to be there when they were
shooting. I hate shooting."
"Why. sill?, thev don't shoot."
"Don't they? What do they do with their
arms, then?"
"Why, tbey put 'em around you, of course;
and it's ever so nice"
HE DESERTED THE BLOW.
An Uncallant Hnsbnnd Quickly Silenced by
nn Indignant Wife.
Scottish American.
Jl'Taggart received another paper from
America the other day. and as soon as Kirsty
was settled down to bis knitting, he proceeded,
according to custom, to read choice extracts
therefrom for her special benefit.
"Ebl bit here's a carious thing," ho said;
"jubt hear to this: 'A. woman living at Wmne
peg has entirely lost her power of speech
through partaking freelvof tinned peaches.'
Ma certy. bit that's awful strange. Kirsty,
woman, are ye no' fond o' peaches? Because I
wad bring ye a '
He got no farther. Indignation lent strength
to an outraged wife's arm, and Sandy slept
that night adorned with a large and varied
selection of sticking plaster.
Hard and Hardy.
Fair Tourist Oh, how interesting! Those
are real cowboys, aren't they? What hardy;
rugged creatures they aret I suppose their
every-day life is fraught with the greatest
dangers.
Guide Yis, mum; 'twas only last week
we hung three of this for horsestealia'.
Puck.
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