Pittsburg dispatch. (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, July 31, 1892, Page 15, Image 15

THE PIONEER III OIL
Sam Kier Develops! the
Great Natural Product
of Pennsylvania
YE1US AHEAD OF DRAKE.
At
First It Was a Rj-Product
Allegheny Kiver Salt Wells.
of
A FLASH OX THE CANAL'S D0S01I
That Led to Its Use a? a Primitive Illum
inant in the forties.
SOLD AT Si A OTTIiE A3 MEDICINE
The following story of petroleum, which
trill be concluded nest Sunday, was the last
newspaper wo rk of the late L. E. StofieL
He finished it only a few days before hii
death last January.
remote,
'that the pen, un-
less driven by the
! force of genius,
would naturally creep along the straieht
lines of truth, unwilling to risk a deviation
into one boundarv or the other.
Thu, the verv hazard of the writer's task
becomes the curb upon his journalistic
temptations and the narrative here stt
forth is essentially true. It is a bare tran
script of iaets, unvarnished and unadorned.
If, upon its conclusion, the reader decides
that it is cither dramatic or romantic, the
writer lias no right to any of the praise, for
it is the actual occurrences that will have
made it such, and any penny-a-liner may
have "written them up," once he was in
possession of the facts.
.lie MoTfm'nt for a Monument.
There had been more or less talk for sev
eral years of building a monument to the
memory of E. L. Drake, the man who gets
the credit generally all over the world for
discovering petroleum in Pennsylvania.
The proposition never amounted to any
thing more than talk. Once it did assume
the more definite suggestion that every oil
producer donate one barrel of oil toward a
lnndiorthe erection of such a monument.
But frequently recurring "shut-down"
movements reduced production, and the
philanthropic Echeme dropped back into
apathy.
This apathy about an object seem
ingly so worthy alwavs impressed me as
strange. Somehow, I got the idea that fate
had a voice in the delay, and that for some
mrstenous reason Uolonel uracei tomo
was to remain unmarked by any imposing
marble. This ague idea excited my curi
osity, so that wlien a friend in the upper
oil country, a year or so ago, proposed news
paper agitatiou of a monumental fund for
tardv honor to Drake, I was ready to first
enter into some historical researches. If
Colonel Drake was entitled to a monument
as "the discoverer of petroleum in Pennsyl
lania," I wanted to be sure ot it before aid
ing in the agitation. In the course of this
investigation I interviewed manv people,
and the result of it all was that I gath
ered much information, which convinced me
that there v as indeed something of Fate's
intervenins influence between the monu
ment lor "the discoverer" of petroleum and
the gra e of E. L. Drake.
Clearing Up the History.
Recently I have been accumulating other
reminiscences along the same line, and a
curious reason, at length, induces me to
publish this batch of strange stories. Two
incidents appear to me to indicate that the
time is now ripe for clearing uo history.
One of these is the sudden appearance of oil
in the waters of the lower Allegheny,
which a couple of weeks ago annoyed Pitts
bureers 60 much, and which has ever since
been a fruitful theme for conversation and
alarm. Tue second circumstance is the
leasins of 2,400 acres of land back of Spring
dale, Allegheny county, last week by an in
experienced oil prospector whose divining
rod tells bira to bore there, and upon which
"wild-catting" will be commenced at once.
Just what either of these oommon-place in
cidents have to do with the main subject
ii ill better appear in the fcequei.
The group of men who figure in this nar
rative are all living. They are residents of
Allegheny county. The statements they
make are about the enterprises in which
four other persons, now dead, had set on
foot. These four individuals nere Samuel
M. ICier, ot Pittsburg; Louis Peterson, Sr.,
of Tarentum; Thomas Donnelly, the late
Pittsburg banker, and E. L. Drake, of
Titusvillc Tne group of gentlemen first
mentioned will be permitted to tell their
on n stories, the only interruptions I ven
ture being to break their recollections into
two or more parts, occasionally, so that a
natuial sequence may be observed in the
whole.
Sim Kier Used Oi! as a Medicine.
By this plan a wealth of details appears
in print for the first time upon a subject
of the utmost importance to Allegheny
county. I am aware that Samuel M. Kier
has by no means passed out of the recollec
tions of Pittsburg busiuess circles, in which
lie moved as late as 1673. I am also fully
aware that whenever you mention, in the
presence cf some of the older residents of
this county, the fact ot Drake's oil well
near Titus'wlle, in 1859, jou will be told:
"Pshaw! Why, Sam Kier found oil up
here at Tarentum long before that. "Why,
he used it as medicine!"
That much has been a threadbare histo
rical fact known in Pittsburg for all these
years, and it is for the reason that so little
else has ever been told, beyond that terse
boast, that the excuse exists lor this article.
Puller details might have entitled the fact
to a place in general history.
The strange stories tell considerably
more than that. They picture a unique
community using Kier's petroleum for il
luminating purposes before he began selling
it lor medicine describe the old accident
which demonstrated its combustible nature
make public for the first time the inward
ness of two visits which E. It Drake made
to Tarentum prove how Allegheny county
genius alone made it possible tor Drake to
bore that celebrated well in the upper coun
try recount the pioneer experiments In re
fining the oil at Pittsburg finally, they
tell of a shaft in Allegheny county which
was dug hundreds of leet into the earth in
search of oil.
ATtor Oil VTlth Pick and Shovl.
Dirging for petroleum with pick and
f ho veil How fabulous that sounds to-day!
Yet it was the actual climax to a chain of
remarkable events which began with the
boring of a salt-water well by means of a
Soot-tread, right here in Allegheny oounty,
twiv i
PART I.
ONCERNING a
Cctory such as this,
the pen moves
along dangerous
boundaries. It
must quiver be
tween romance on
-vj: a one side and drama
'JX2 on the other. The
V ji tale is abont petro-
EJiftSS leuro. That out of
$131 the baser minerals
fS'Esi'HU' eitber romance or
?Z!t&Qfc&0$ drama might be
if HS?3S5i3 T'yufyZ woven, is a possi-
1 .laHarvWBr'5?' bilitv so
upon a little strip of ground which mast
forever be historic
John Kennedy, Sr., of Tarentum, is now
88 years old. He Is familiarly know among
the townspeople as"Grandfather"Kennedy,
though his great-grandchildren are by this
time well advanced in the publio schools.
Mr. Kennedy says:
In about 1S35 1 built a derrick a short dis
tance below hore for Louts Peterson, Sr. He
was going to sink a well for salt water with
which to operate a salt works. Yes, the
derrick was a much los expensive affair
than the rigs over oil wells to-day. Although
SO reot high, it only cost Mr. Peterson about
$30. The lumber was very cheap in those
times, you will understand. Out of that
sum I got $16 or $18 for my work in carpen
tering the timbers.
About the same time I built another der
rick for a salt well whloh was bored by
William Donnell and Jacob Stalcy. They
sold the well to Thomas Donnelly, whom I
believe afterward was a well-known banker
in Pittsburg. Adjoining tbese properties
was the Thomas Kier place. I built the der
ricks lor the two wells unon italo, the last
one being in either 1841 or 1812. Thomas
Kier had two sons. Samuel St., and James.
This gioup of wells turned out large quanti
ties ot salt, which was shipped to Pittsburg
on the canal and the industry was regarded
by us as important.
How the Old Wells Were Sank.
Two other residents of Tarentum give in
formation about the queer method ot boring
these early wells:
John V. Huices The Staley & Donnell well
was on my father's propertv. It was a Jour
inch hole sunk by treading" with foot The
steam engine had not yet been attached to a
drill. The wells up to that time, which In
cluded the Peterson well, had been bored by
foot also. But after Thomas Donnelly
leased the Staley & Donnell wellheattaohed
an engine and reamed it out to a six-inch
hole.
Johx W. Staley My father boiled salt at
the woiksof the Kiers and the others. When
a boy I wax arouud the salt ti orks much of
my time. The wells were not then fitted
with the iron casing which oil and gas wells
have in these days. Its place was taken by
two crude devices, via: the "seed-bag" and
the "tallow-bag." The seed-bag was a sort
aiZF&&9
Discovered in Boring
for SALT WATER
""near-.
A
IheEariiisswfea,
foati m fop.
" jj battled-in its
.
- .V
rt.
xy,&
lUVl II
( "HyTKpj&ll,
vavjt izm:
G0lsS-ifS&
of cloth pouch filled with flaxseed, which
was let down along the wall of the hole to
Bhut off the fresh water from the salt water.
The other contrivance was for wells In
which there was an offset. It was a bag
about four feet long made oat of muMin,
wrapping paper or rags, and well greased
with tallow.
Where the Salt Wells tVere.
Mr. James Kennedy, of Tarentum, a son
of the venerable gentleman first interviewed
above, fixes the location of the Tarentum
wells a little more definitely. He says:
The Thomas Connelly well on the Humes
property, the two wells on Thomas Kier's
place, and the Louis Peterson salt well were
all on a strip of laud above the canal (now
the West Penn Bailroad tracks) about a
mile below Tarentum station. Lets than
half a mile included all the wells. The site
of the Kier wells is now occupied by the ma
chine snop or blacksmith shop of the Pitts
burg Plate Glass Company at Crehrhton.
Thomas Donnelly, who, as President of
the Fouith National Bank In Pittsburg,
died only a few years ago, bad been boiling
saic witn i. nomas tuer up aiong tne jusjci
minetas river, which whs the great salt
basin or those days. Getting the idea that
there was sale water in paying quantities
down here, he started a works here about
the same time as Louis Peterson, Sr., father
of the ex-Mayor or Allegheny City.
"Grandfather" Kennedv had a whole
week in which to stimulate his memory
before I went back to him. Bobbing his
eyes, as though waking up from a pleasant
dream, he smiled, and said:
A MystArloas Fluid Appears.
Bye and bye, that salt well or Louis Peter
son's, over which I built the derrick, aston-
isnea everyooay oy bringing up a dark
colored d easy stuff. It had never been seen
in salt wells up the Kisklmtnetas, they said,
and they were afraid that it might ruin the
salt works here. It Just came right up out
of the ground alonsr with the salt water as it
was pumped by the engine. It got to be a
nuisance, for wen ere after salt water then,
and didn't want anything else. Tos, this
fluid appeared several years after the well
had been pumping salt water uninterrupt
edly. Bye and bye tne other wells here also
got to throwing this Ujly grease. It was
called "rock oil."
Mr. F. N. Humes is one of the best
known citizens of Tarentum. He is hale
and hearty, and, oddly enough, is still
active in oil and gas prospecting business.
He saysi
it was in inn or isa beiore petrolenm ap
peared in the product of the Peterson salt
well. I was Working down at the salt works
then, driving and doing general work, and
remained theie for several years. The
dirty grease that thus came up from the
well with the salt water annoyed as for a
time very much. We pumped the water,
into a tank, and there the oil wonld gather
on the top, enabling us to draw off the water
underneath. But after a while in the
winter, I think some of the petroleum, or
"rock oil" as we only knew it then, got into
the salt vats and threatened to injure our
apparatus as well as the finished salt, ana
Mr. Peterson gave orders to run the tank
over the next time so that the oil could not
possibly get Into the vats. We did this and
the oil, which in that way flowed over the
sides of the tank, ran Into the canal.
Canal Men Complained of the OIL
It would be anticipating to introduce at
this point the story of absorbing interest
which ex-Mayor Petersoa related to me in
Allegheny the other day, bat one brief
clause of what he said is apropos just here.
He observed:
When this petroleum was first found in my
iainers salt wen aiong auout ' or 'a, he
had no idea of its commercial value, nor in
deed did any of the people hereabouts until
a year or so afterward. They at first called
It "rock oil." It was a worthless grease in
their eyes, but it was a great curiosity also.
Grease is a fat, andthat the rocks down In
the earth could throw off fat seemed Incom
prehensible to many. Indeed, petroleum has
been well named "the fat of the land."
Father let the stun go to waste, running it
off into tho old canal, and sometimes Into an
old cistern below the canal, rrom which the
oil overflowed into an ancient pond, leaving
us the salt water.
John V. Humes, of Tarentum, is a brother
of the other gentleman of that name quoted
above. He says:
The oil was wasted for a long time, and
when the Kier salt well, a vear after tue ap-
Eearanco or oil in the Peterson well, also
egan to produce oil, the quantity of grease
flowing into the eanal was quite large. The
boatmen sot to complaining about It. I have
heard them myself. They said It greased
their tow-lines, making the ropes Hard to
handle, besides soiling the sides and decks
ot their canal boats.
A Coi Iteration and Its Remits.
About this time a startling episode created
much excitement about the salt works ot
Tarentum. It is well described in the fol
lowing statements:
F. U. IIrXK3 One day tho boys In the
neighborhood threw a burning .brand into
the old canal, and there was an astonishing
result The whole canal, for a distance of
hair a mile or more seemed to burst into
flames. It was a very odd eight looked like
the water burning, you know. Bat TVe
quickly understood tne trouble: It was the
oil that we had allowed to run Into the canul
that had taken "fire It burned furiouSly. I
icmemSfer It well, for we were afraid that a
cooper shop along the side or the canal, in
which the Kiers made barrels for salt, would
bo linitod rrom tho flames. Most of the
people in the vieinltr came running down
to the canal. We could do nothing but Just
let it burn ltselr oct, protaotlnz adjaoant
property. Bat, sir, it demonstrated oue
MssssMisHsOssMstttsMslsBslMilMssMsMslMssB IkAWfiEr -- 3fr. rk'mJSWt i'j&j&ifoJ&irhrfbtoitrif "-rji'- ,A. f .i. 4 Wt- a ttia- 5 mTHWKmKmi
valuable faot to us, and that was that this
greasy stuff that was bothering the salt
works would undoubtedly barn, and that Is
would make both light and heat.
G&xxsimthib KiraiDT-The Are on the
canal gave the men around the salt works
an idea. Some of the oil was collected after
that from the salt water and given to the
miners who supplied the salt works with
coal rrom neighboring pit. They filled their
little lam D3 with the stuff, and begau burn
ing it that war. Thev said It tilled the pits
with smoke, but as it burned easily, and cost
them nothing, they were willing enough to
use it for illuminating purpose when It
saved thnin from buying lard which they bad
been using.
The First Coal Oil tamp.
Jons W. Staley After the Are on the canal
the coal diggers used the oil for lighting the
pits, and then some of the people tried it in
their houses. Although I was but a boy, I
distinctly remember the experiment rny
fathermade with Jimmy Kier. They brought
some of the oil to our house ana nut it in
one of the old-time coffey-pot tin lamps in
whlcn we had been accustomed to burn sim
ple UrJ. Whew! How that lamp did smoke
that night! Bat it made a fair light, and we
kept on burning it.
And then almost everybody living in the
Tarentum got to going down to the salt
wells and bringing away a lot of the dirty
petroleum, with which they filled their lit
tle tin house-lamps. At least a score of
men and women are yet living in Tarentum
who, as I interviewed them, invariably
commenced with the words: "After the fire
on the canal," etc Then they told me of
the horrible smoke the oil made, and the
unpleasant smell that came from It, The
lamps were small tin affairs, with the spout
protruding lrom them, resembling some
what a coffee pot. This was before lard oil
had been generally introduced, and the
housewives had been accustomed to putting
several tablespoonfuls ot common lard into
these, and then slipping a wick, made oi
rags, down through the spout until It pene
trated the lard. Thus it burned without
chimney and without any modern fixture
for regulating the size of the flame.
Jons V. Hums Into these lamps we put
'"
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UpiunpeilupwWi-.tfeSalt' Water, laws
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FACSIMILE OP ONE OF KIER'S NOVEL ADVERTISEMENTS..
the crude petroleum. Mr wife, over there,
can tell you what a terrible smoke it filled
our house with. Just after we married, but
we put up with It. and kept on using the oil.
because it oost us nothinir, and the lard did
cost something. The lamps were fitted with
a wire at the baok, by which we could hang
them ud anywhere, either on the wall in the
' house, or to posts at corn huskings and
sneuings.
It was a unique spectacle, this village
ailing crude petroleum to light their homes
and shops in 1846-7. William Kennedy, of
Tarentum, another sou of "Grandfather"
Kennedy, when a young man, was em
ployed about the salt works also, and was so
intimate with the owners that he married a
sister of Samuel M. Kier. He gives, per
haps, the most definite information of how
his neighbors got the idea of burning petro
leum in lamps. He says:
The fire on the canal occurred at an op
pot tune moment. Just about the same time
one Dennis Martin had been making some
suggestions abont salt works, urging a trial
of the dark-colored oil for fuel and light. He
was Just such a genius as you will find in
every rural community a sort of Jack-or-all
trades. He had tried throwing into the fur
naces In the works a bunch 'of rags greased
with the stuff, and tried to prove that It
burned moie fiercely. Samuel M. Kier knew
of Martin's speculative talk, and. Indeed,
Kier himself had some idea ot experiment
ing with the oil that was now being pumped
out ot his well, seeing no good reason why
it, like other grease, would not burn. He
bad actually begun some inquiries among
people about lamps in which to try it, when
the boys set fire to the accumulated oil on
the canal.
The Canal Flro Was the Starter.
This canal fire brought both the Ideas of
Kier and Martin to a head. Martin suggest
ed dips from the oil for the coal diggers,and
induced them to try it in their pit lamps.
Kier and his brother experimented at once
with the tin lard lamps, and the result was
that people up here in Tarentnm generally
Introduced the oil into their houses as an
ZmtU Peterson, Sr.
illmntnant. Mr. S. M. Kier, after a while, had
heavier lamps made for burning the oil in
houses that was in 18(3, 1 think but it was
some vears before a chimney for them could
be found.
There is a vague tradition of a mineral oil
being nsed in 1826 for an illuminant in
dwellings and shops along the Muskingum
river in unio, Dut tnere have never accom
panied it such authenticated statements as
Tarentum here produces. Petroleum is said
to have been known along the Muskingum
as early as 1811. But as for that; there is
no question that it was used by the Indians
when they inhabited Pennsylvania. It is
not so much of a question as to when it was
originally known, as it is where and by
whom it was first put to commercial uses.
t Good for Man and Iteast I
F. X. Humes The Kier salt well began
producing petroleum in 1816, I think, or
about a year after the oil from the Peterson
well had been going to waste. From the
first, Samuel M. Kier became active In try
ing to discover means to tnrn the new greasy
fluid to some account. He was engaged in
business In the city, but came up to his
father's house here frequently, where I
stopped much of the time I was employed
about the salt works. Although people up
here got to using the oil in their lamps, S.
M. Kier believed it was capable ordthernses
too. He consulted medical men, and at
length ho decided that the oil really posses
sed medical properties. He had all the oil
product ot the Kier salt well sent down to
him at Pittsburg, where he bottled It and
put it upon the market as "Kier's Bock OU,"
or "Kier's Petroleum," and he advertised it
extensively as good in either internal doses
or external application.
In two or three years the bnslness of sell
ing this as medicine had so Increased on his
hands that he made an arrangement with
Louis Peterson, Sr., to' secure the entire oil
Sroduct of his well also. In 1847 or 1848 the
iierwell was pioduolng about one barrel
of petroleum a day .and the Peterson well
about tw6 barrels. Fiom a worthless stuff
that was tor two or three years allowed to
run to waste in the eanal, Kier's efforts to
give It a commercial Importance eventually
raised it to a value financially, right here
at the wells, 71 and $8 per barrel, and
that, too, long be fore' Drake bad been heard
or with his TltusvlIIe venture.
A Market far retrslram Hotter.
Jossr W. 6tAunr Wasn't it In 1MB that the l
gold fever broke out In California? Yes, I
thought It was, for I remember that Mr.
Kier sent dozens of his little boxes of
"petroleum butter" away to California in
that vear. "Petroleum batter" was the but-terv-Ilke
stuff that oozed up from oar salt
well on Kiel's place with each stroke of the
sucker rod. It was formed by the petrolenm
getting in the Iron parts, and churning from
the friction of the machinery. Mr. Kier had
ns scrape this off the iron every day and
send it to his plane in Pittsburg. There it
was put up In little boxes and sold for
burns, scalds and bruises and 1 tell yon It
was good for them, too.
The "rock oil" which he sold in bottles for
medicine was simply the crude oil of to-day,
though there is no question that that found
In the Kier well was of the very best. I
have taken many a dose of it Inwardly, and,
sir. If yon ever get a bad cold in the chest,
there is no better remedy to-day than to
soak a flannel olotb with crnde petrolenm
and lay It across your breast. Try it some
night. In thoie days everybody up here in
Tarentum used the Kier oil for medicine,
and I'll bet you will find plenty of persons
stiu living nere wno yet ueueves in tue vir
tues of petroleum as a medicine. I am never
without half a barrel of crude oil now in
the house, and it is my standard remedy.
The First Find Was of the Bast.
Jakes KnrsxnT The petroleum that was
found in Tarentum between 1S15 and 1836
was of the very finest grade. That in the
Kier and Peterson wells averaged 70 per
cent of purity, and that subsequently taken
out of the Donnelly well average as high
as 90 per oent. This may better be appre
ciated by comparing it with the petroleum
afterward produoed la Northern Pennsyl
vania, which, I think, only averages 33 per
cent
Louis Peterson. Jr. S. M. Kier paid my
father SO cents a irallon for the oil from his
well. As our well produced from two to
five barrels per day, these 200 gallons at 50
cents a gallon made a nice profit. Kier made
the oil known all over the United States.
Undoubtedly he made a paying bnslness out
of It. Yes, the Oil from the wells or Kier and
my rather was of unprecedented purity. It
only contained about 1 per cent of naphtha,
and was of a good wine color.
William Kennedy Mr. Kier was the first
man to give netroleum a financial and com
mercial value. He sold It as medicine in
"WiiMlsWsfirl
MEDICAL VIETuiS
discovered."",
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r SS n Pi
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wtoMie. fyslertif,
tffutfo'B,arrel4, s
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oprttfe
PjfWrgy fl
60-cent and $1 bottles and it became very
popular all over the country. I firmly be
lieved in its medicinal properties, and I do
still. There are many persons still living
here in Taientum who use orude petroleum
as medicine, as you have no doubt dis
covered in your investigation this week. I
was la charge of Kier's store at the salt
works at the period wlieu the rock-oil medi
cine was most popular. At that store I have
sold it as high as SI pergallon. Tne farmers
became accustomed to driving down there
every time they came to Tarentnm, In order
to buy a supply of it. They were very
friendly to oil, because it was of value at
medicine in manv ways on the farms. As
late as 1856 and 1S57, 1 have sold it at SI per
gallon.
First Law Suit Over Prtroltnm.
understand, these high values did not
come solely from its value as a medicine,
but as an illuminant for bouses also, ror by
18S7 Mr. Kier had also Introduced it to a con
siderable extent through a bnrner for lamps
which he had invented. So valuable did
petroleum become through the agency or
this ingenious Pittsbuxger, that after he got
solo control of the Peterson 'well,"Xouls
Peterson, Sr., commenced proceedings In
the courts at Pittsburg to compel S. M. Kier
to pay htm a royalty, or divide the proceeds
from his own sales. George P. Hamilton,
Esq., was Kier's attorney, and A. W. Loomls
was Peterson's. It was rather a noted else,
because it proposed to test the limitations
of a lease. Leases up to that day had been
made for sali-water alone, this mineral oil
never having been thought or. Peterson
contended that it being found without any
previous 'knowledge on the part of either
side, the owner or the land had a light to
share In the proceeds in spite or the fact
that such a mineral was not mentioned In
the lease or sale.
Johx V. Hukes When my father leased
property to Staley & Donnell to sink a well
upon, near where the Kier well was, he
wiote the lease in these words: "As long as
water runs, and grass grows, these two men
have the right to the salt water that may
come from the ground there." There was
no i eserve tor any tnlng but salt water. He
knew nothing of any suoh thing as petrol
eum, and his sole royalty for years after
ward was each twentieth barrel of salt, or
rather the proceeds from every 1 barrel in
20. By and by Thomas Donnelly, who had
bought the lease, sold it to Louis Peterson,
Jr., who bored it deeper ror oil. He paid us
Donnelly and my father $40,000, which was
regarded by us as an immense price, but
Imagine our feeling of personal loss when a
tew years later Peterson sold the property
to Pastern persons tor $150,000. That's what
come trom ns not knowing the value of this
new giease.
And It is quite true, that even to this
day nearly all the old quarter in the thriv
ing town ot Tarentum uses crude petroleum
for medicine in some shape or form. I have
heard of it in many households op there
in fact have been presented with a flask of
it for my own personal trial and satisfac
tion. L. E. Stofieu
IToTTe Concluded Next Sunday.
XBASE IK PSESIDENTAL YEABS.
An Old-Time Belief Is Shown to Be With
out Any Foundation.
North American Beriew.
In such an age of evolution and change it
is very hard to keep track of and judge cor
rectly of cause and effect, and, in consider
ing the influence ofl Presidental flections
upon business, we are very apt to overlook
many other conditions which directly or in
directly contribute to results.
If we turn to statistics we do not find
much comfort The figures of the New
York Clearing House probably furnish as
good an idea of the state of business through
out the United States as any. All the
business activities of the country are
focalized here, and "Wall street" is a
b.trometer for trade and commerce as well as
finance. Statistics show that in 1872, 'a
Presidental year, the exchanges were
13,000,009,000 more than in 1871, and only
?1,000,000,000 less than the succeeding year.
In 1876, however, they were 3,000,000,000
less than in 1876, and 1,000,000,000 less than
in 1877, but in 1880 they were 13,000,000,000
more than in 1879, but 11,000,000,000 less
than in 1881, when we had a "boom" year,
owing to the good erops in this country and
poor ones abroad.
Whatever incubus a Presidental election
might have been upon business, that year
it was borne like a feather upon the crest of
a tidal wave. The volume of exchanges
steadily declined from 1881 until 1885, bat
in the Presidental year of 1884 the ex
changes were nine billions more than in
1885, from which point there was a substan
tial recovery again during 1886 and 1887,
but in 1888 they declined again four bil
lions. The summing up of all these figures
leads to the opinion expressed in the open
ing lines of this article, that while a Presi
dental election has some influence upon
some kinds of business, there are other in
fluences far more controlling in their
nature.
Fits All flts stopped free by Dr. Kline's Great
Serve Restorer. A o fits after first day's use,
Minna cures. TTeitlu and si on trial rtnttin r
Kit eases. Dr. Kline, Kn Arch St., Fhlla., Pa. oM
Lns,
the popular photographer, will please
prompt delivery. 10 and U Sixth street, snj
you,
First-class work,' moderate tirioes.
ammz&emifa
mmfW
WMimm.
oWl !
J ' W Mssstfr 7
iSfffrSi
BOWSER HAS TROUBLE.
He Invests in a Lawn Mower With
the Best of Intentions.
A FEW HARD FALLS SETTLE HIM.
Carl Dander's Flj American Boy
Arizona Kicker Clippings,
and
SELECTIONS OF M. QUAD'S HUMOR
rwnirriN fob the dispatch, i
"Did that lawn mower come np this after
noon?" asked Mr. Bowser, as he came home
an hoar ahead of time the other evening.
"Was that a lawn mower?" queried Mrs.
Bowser in reply. "What on earth pos
sessed you to buy such a thing?"
"J?or two very good reasons Mrs. Bowser.
I propose to save about fifteen dollars this
summer, and I want the exercise. I could
have got a health lift, but I thought I
would combine business with pleasure.
Always kill two birds with one stone when
chance offers. I'll work up a muscle In a
couple of weeks to astonish you. The doc
tor says it's exactly what I need."
"But I wish you hadn't bought it."
"That's yoa to a dotl Always in opposi
tion to everything I dot That's why wo
take so much comfort as a familyl The
only thing yoa wouldn't oppose is my
dying!"
Mrs. Bowser had nothing more to say,
and after dinner Mr. Bowser made ready
for his exercise. He got into an old suit of
clothes, dragged "the lawn mower into the
back yard and oiled it up, and was presently
ready to make a start. He looked up at
the back windows, and seeing nothing of
Mrs. Bowser, he spat on his hands and
said:
"Hal This is wbat'll give a man muscle
and appetite. Only ,cost $9, and I'll get
$100 benefit oat of it. I suppose I might
as well make a start."
He made one. He had gone about ten
feet when the machine suddenly stopped.
So did Mr. Bowser. He stopped so sudden
ly that his feet left the ground and the
handle of the mower just missed his ehin
on an upper cut.
"Struck a post, eh?" he muttered, as he
investigated and found one rising about six
inches out of the earth. "That's all right,
however. I didn't expect to mow down
posts as well as grass. Seems as if my
muscle was working up a little already."
He dodged the post and headed tor the
back fence, and his countenance had just
begun to beam again when there was a great
clattering and the machine stopped.
t'Oyster eans!"he growled, as he kicked
two or three out of the grass. "She's prob
ably watching me, and she's probably
tickled halt to death, but I'd mow this yard
if it was full of deadly torpedoes. "
He reached the fence without farther mis
hap, leaving a trail behind him as crooked
as a serpent's, but at the first dash be made
on his return journey something happened
again. The machine stopped with a bump,
and Mr. Bowser pitohed forward over the
handle and brought up in a heap on the
ground.
"Now, I hope to never draw another
breath if I don't slaughter somebody for
this!" he yelled, as soon as he could get his
breath.
He was going to jump up and kick some
body or something, but it occurred to him
that Mrs. Bowser might be looking, and he
sat up and looked around and pretended to
be resting. .
Nothing could be seen of Mrs. Bowser,
however, and after a couple of minutes ho
I'll Slaughter Somebody!
got np and moistened his hands for a fresh
start Everything went as smooth as grease
for the next 20 feet Then the mower
picked up a 100 feet of stovepipe wire and
waited for results.
"That woman's hand again I' hoarsely
whispered Mr. Bowser as he saw what was
the matter; "but I wouldn't give in now if
I knew that death wasn't two rods off!"
It took him ten minutes to clear away the
wire. When this had been accomplished
he pulled off his coat and vest, glanced up
at all the back windows, and there was a
dangerous light in his eye as he gripped the
handle, drew a long breath and went ahead.
At the fifth step Mr. Bowser's right foot
found a post hole, and followed it up until
he fell forward on his stomache and plowed
along the grass. His first thought was to
get up and kick both line fences down and
make a bonfire of the splinters, but as be
slowly reached bis feet a better idea oc
curred to him. He picked up the mower
by the handle and raised it over his head
and pounded the earth with it until nothing
but the handle was left Then he gathered
up wheels, cogs, ratchets, flues, pulleys,
cylinder heads and low water indicators and
tossed them over the back fence and walked
into the house. Mrs. Bowser sat reading,
and looking verv innocent and humbl, but
he was not to be deceived. Standing be
fore her in his sternest attitude he said:
"Mrs. Bowser, let me suggest an easier
wayl"
"Why, what do you mean?"
"To kill me oft ! If you are so bent and
determined to get rid of me, why don't you
poison my food or cut my throat when I'm
asleep? No explanation not a wordl I
understand the situation perfectly, and
nothing yon can say will excuse your das
tardly machinations!"
"Bat didn'fl say I was"
"Never! Never said a word! That will
do, Mrs. Bowser! We will not discuss the
subject farther. In the morning we will
seek an amicable adjustment ot difficulties,
and I will go with you to the train. There
are two trains a day bv which vou can
reach your mother, and I will telegraph her.
ot your coming, uur child will ot coarse
remain with me. Good night, Mrs. Bowser.
-A-hy suggestions you have to make had best
be put In writing and submitted the first
thing in the morning."
CARL DUNDEE'S FLY BOF JAKE.
The Old Gentleman Smelled Monnd
Quickly Discovered Several Bats The
Lad Will Be Brought Dp With a Sharp
Turn Tlrtnons Indignation.
Mr. Dander entered the station house
very softly the other afternoon and dropped
into a chair without remark, and it was
some time before the fat police sergeant
looked np and discovered his presence and
said:
"Well, yoa here again? You don't seem
to be as tickled as yoa were the last time
yon. came."
"Sergeant, I like some advice," replied
Mr. Dunder. "I like some advice about
my son Shake, You know Shake?"
."Yes. What's the matter with Jake?"
''I belief he vas too files, as yoa call him,
und I like t-. -sk you about him. Der od
der day he cs. me 'gnferner,' and when I
look at him he - :.yi . 'Oh, dot vas all right,
you know. Do. to like all der boys la dis
"fgLg.
.
One Side Mit a Hbbogaan.
supper and. says he likes to get a dollar to
go und see der boys pat up deir 'dukes at a
scrap iron match. She gits him der money,
but we can't make it ondt"
"Ob, I seel He meant a scrap a boxing
contest"
"TJnd he goes mit a prize fight, eh?"
"Very likely."
"H'm! More rats! Sergeant, how much
vas a dog license?"
"Two dollars a year."
"Only two dollars! Vhy, I sends Shake
oafer mit seven dollar der odder day und he
only brings back one. He said it vhas six
dollar for a big dog mit a stab tail. Here
vhas a telegram from my brudder-in-law
in Chicago, nnd I had to pay
two dollar on him. Shake paid der boy unci
t paid Shake. All he says in dot telegram
is, 'Yhas dis hot enough for you?' I can't
make it oudt."
"I think I can," replied the sergeant,
after reading the message. "Jake wrote
this himself aud beat you oat of two 'dol
lars." "H'm! I seel Vhell, I am going home."
"Yes."
"Dis eafniog Shake vhill start oud mit
his hat on his ear, und vhen I ask where he
vhas going he vhill say, 'Qufercer, I vbas
shust like an American boy now, und I go
oud to see some elephants.' "
"Yes."
"TJnd I vhill take dot young mans by der
collar und say, 'My son, I vhas sbust like
an American ladder now, und I vhas onto
vou like a house!' TJnd den his heels vhill
hit oop by der ceilings, und he vhill smash
in der walls und doors, und vhen I let-go of
him he vhill be like some rags on a clothes
line 1"
"I wouldn't be too severe."
"Ob, no. I doan' kill him, but I vhas
shust severe enough to shange him back
from an American boy to a Sherman, und
to moke him so tired of dot races und to
boggan nnd scrap iron and elephant dot he
neter goes any more. Dot vhas alL ser
geant I can't make her oudt before, but I
see him now. Shake vhas shust like an
American boy I vhas shust like an Amer
ican fadder! Keep quiet und see me later!"
TBE ARIZONA KICKEE.
Points on the Manly Way of Settling Mews
paprr Grievances.
I clip the following from the last issue of
the Arizona Kicktri
Three weeks ago, in writing up some of the
local characters of the town, we mentioned
Colonel Dick White as one of the crowd who
had been here too long for his health. Sev
eral shyster lawyers went to the Colonel and
encouraged him to bring a libel suit for
heavy damages. He refused and sent ns
word to look out We were ready in 15 sec
onds after we got the message, but the
Colonel had to send his guns to the shop to
be repaired, make his will and fix np other
little matters. It was not until Monday that
he got ready to go hunting. He posted him
self In a modest and retiring position on an
empty barrel In front of Henderson's
grocery, aud had been watting 15
minutes when we sauntered np
to Inquire the price of cucumbers. We saw
the Colonel and the cucumbers at the same
instant, but he got the first shot, whloh
ripped np the cotton on our right shoulder.
We could nave shot him dead, but we didn't
Only Eleven Seconds.
do it. We simply shot his thumb off at the
Joint, and he went out of business after fir
ing only the one shot From the time he
Hied until we had him disarmed and he was
Degging our pardon was only 11 seconds, as
counted by the grocer, who bad bis watch
in bis hand. As Mayor of the town we shall
sell the guns at public auction, as usual, aud
turn the money into the street improvement
fund. We understand that the Colonel
left town lust night tor some point
In Montana. While we firmly believe his
going is a benefit to the community, we
want to thank him for the manly way he set
about KOtttug even with) us. Anybody can
begin a libel suit, bnt it takes a manly sort
of a man to go gunning for an editor who
can shoot two handed and has bad three or
four days' warning of what is to come.
ill. yUAD.
1
How to Preserve insects. ,
Butterflies, moths and beetles should not
be subjected to the cruelty ot being impaled
by a pin while still alive Every entomol
ogist should carry with him as a part of his
outfit a small yial ot ether. A few drops
of this poured on the sides ot worm, moth
or beetle will instantly kill the insect aud
enable the collector to adjust it with less
difficulty than if it were alive, as by its
struggles after capture a very fine specimen
is often completely rained.
The Indebtedness of MlssonrL
Few States of the Union are better off, so
far as concerns community indebtedness,
than Missouri. Forty-eight counties hare
no bonded indebtedness, 37 have only oounty
indebtedness and seven have only township
indebtedness. For a State ot the size of
Missouri this is as fine a sbowing ss can be
made, and better than that of many Slates
which are much abler to pay.
country.' How vhas dot, sergeant? Does
your boy call yon gnferner?' "
"Well, hardlyl"
"TJnd vhen he speaks mit his mudder he
calls her Tour royal highness.' Sne can't
make it ondt, und Shake says: Dot vhas
all right, we vhas in America row.' Does
your boy speak like dot to his madder?"
"I never heard that he did."
"TJnd his madder finds some red and blue
buttons mitont any eyes in 'em in Shake's
pocket Here vhas one. She asks him
about 'em und.he savs it vhas a new inden
tion for Oafercoat Buttons. Did you efer
see one before?"
yes, several times. Those are poker
chips, Mr. Dunder." t
"TJnd Shake vhas playing some poker?"
"Very likely."
"H'm! Here vhas a ticket we find in
Shake's pocket, too. Vhen I ask him abont
it he says it vhas good tor one ride mit a
toboggan, and dot all American boys yhas
built dot vhay."
"Jake has been playing the races," re
plied the Sergeant as he examined the
ticket "He got this ticket at a poolroom,
and it seems that he played Lone Jack for
firstplace."
"H'm! I begin to smell some ratsl Ser
geant, I like to ask yoa about a scrap iron
match."
"Scrap iron match? I never heard of
such a thing."
"Vhell, Shake goes to his mudder after
WBITTEK FOB THE DISPATCH
BY DORA RUSSELL,
Author of "Footprints in the Snow," "The Broken Seal,
Track of the Storm," "A Fatal Past," Eta
SYNOPSIS OF FBEVIOTJ3 CHAPTEB91
Two lovers, Sir James MacEennon, Bart., and Miss Miriam Clyde, are standing by the
seashore, and the former is urging her to name the wedding day. She pleads for delay. la
the meantime an accident occurs, a soldier being wounded by a firing party. Miriam binds
np his wound and saves his life. Glancing at each other's face a mutual recognition takes
place. On arriving home the doctor who was summoned to the wounded man gave
her a note whloh the soldier had hastily scribbled. It ooatatns the words "For God's sake
keep my secret." .Miriam, by means of Dr. Beed, sends to bar soldier-patient a brief mes
age, "Do not be afraid!" which he receives as be is lying in the hospital. In the meantime
Miriam's mother, Mrs. Clyde, makes np ber mind that her daughter shall be married to Sir
James in a month, and tells her so. But Miriam, thinklag of a life dearer than her own,
hanging In the balance, pleads earnestly for more time. Mrs. Clyde writes to her otber
daughter, Joan, who Is married to nam ana stern uenerai uonway, asking them to toe
wedding. Conway thinks it's a good matoh, but pains Joan by intimating that Miriam
should not so aooh forget another affair In which his nephew was the hero. He and Mrs.
Clyde agree it is best to hurrv the wedding for fear Sir James should hear of that Miriam
is obstinate, and gets Sir James to nsk Mrs. Clyde for postponement. Colonel Clyde la
unable to change Miriam's mind. She worries herself side, and Dr. Beed Is sent for. By
means of notes through him, Miriam and Private Dare arrange a clandestine meeting.
Miriam tells her secret lover he must leave the country. He says he would have to huy
his way out of the army. At her next meeting with 8ir James she asks him for the neces
sary money, and he gives her double the amount Then she arranges another clandestine
meeting, and Just as she is returning to her room in the night Mrs. Clyde catches her. Mrs.
Clyde snspects the truth, but Miriam refuses to tell her. Dare meets Ford and gives her
the money to give back to Miriam. Mrs. Clyde decides to have the wedding at London, and
she and her daughter go there. The wedding occurs and It so affects Joan that in her
sleep she speaks the name of "Kobert" Ber husband bears it and the first doubt as to her
faithfulness enters hlsmind. Then on her return home Joan becomes ill with fever and
raves about Eobert, The Colonel begins to suspect the truth. .Robert bad loved Joan. At
a meeting in the garden Hugh Ferrars, who loved Miriam, mistaking Joan for Miriam, had
shot Bobert dead. Miriam, In order to shield Joan, testified that It was she who was with
Bobert. The Court holds that Bobert committed suicide. Miriam and her husband take a
continental trip and then return to the castle of Sir James' mother in Scotland. The old
lady receives Miriam rather coldly.
COPTBIGHT, 1332,
CHAPTER XIX.
TbtjetoJoas;
"You!" exclaimed Miriam, springing to
her feet with outstretched hand, and then
something in the expression of the General's
face as he advanced into the room sent a
sadden chill to her heart
"Joan " she faltered.
"She is no worse," answered General
Conray slowly, as if he understood her un
spoken question. "I have come to Scot
land on purpose to see yon, Miriam," he
added, with bis stern eyes fixed upon her,
"to learn the truth at last from your own
lips."
As he said this Miriam's face suddenly
flushed and then grew pale, and her eyes
fell before his.
"What do you mean?" she asked in an
unsteady voice.
"I mean are the words that Joan has
spoken in her sleep and in her delirium true
or false? Was Eobert' Conray your lover
or hers?"
As he asked this question in a load, harsh
voice, the Dowager Lady MacKeunon en
tered the front drawing room and paused
on the threshold as she did so. She had
been told that General Conray had arrived,
and she knew him to be the brother-in-law
of Miriam, and she had gone into the draw
ing room for the purpose of receiving him,
when his startling words fell on her aston
ished ears. She was quick of hearing and
she distinctly heard his question, and if she
had acted rightly she wonld, of coarse,
have left the room. But she did not do
this. She stayed and listened to a conver
sation she knew very well that she was not
intended to hear. She had a sort of grim
inward satisfaction in doing this. She
never trusted pretty women, and her
daughter-in-law was pretty, and she be
lieved she was abont to hear something to
her disadvantage, and so she remained in
the interests of her son.
Miriam did not for a moment answer
General Conrayj she hesitated, and then
she looked up in his face.
"Has poor Joan been delirious then? - As
ill as that, and I. was never told!"
."Yoa are playing with me, and I did not
come here to listen to subterfuges. Yes,
Joan has been very ill, but before her iU
ness she spoke words in her sleep which
filled my very soul with horror. Miriam,
yon swore at the inquest that yoa were
with Bobert Conray at the night of bis
death7"
"Yes," said Miriam, trying to speak
steadily, though she knew her voice
faltered.
"Was this true then, or were Joan's rav-
lDgs true? She cried out first in her sleep
about Bobert Conray that she had loved
him that he was hers, not yours? Will
yon speak the truth, for this is life or death
tome; if she deceived me I must know!"
"She did not deceive you," answered
Miriam; she must save Joan at any cost she
was tninking. "Bobert Conray was my
lover, I was with him in the grounds the
night of his death."
"Of his murder?" interrupted General
Conray, sternly. "In her fever Joan spoke
at least some words which I believe to be
true; she said Hugh Ferrars, the man I al
ways suspected, killed him; the young man
who was your lover, and whom I disap
proved of, and that you hid him; that yoa
know where he is?"
Miriam visibly started.
"Why should yoa believe her ravings; the
ravings of fever?" she said in a faltering
voice.
"I do believe them at all events. X be
lieve there is something in all this: that
something has preyed on Joan's mind, and
that you are keeping something back. This
Ferrars was your lover, did he murder Bob
ert Conray in some jealous rage?"
"I know nothing," answered Miriam.
"I see by your face, I hear by your voice
you dot Joan said yoa knew where Ferrars
was hiding, and I asked where, and she said
somewhere by the sea. Did she mean
Newfcrough-ou-the-Sea? It is my duty to
hunt this man down; to discover Bobert
Conray's murderer if I can, aud you mast
UCH wit-
"I can do nothing; I know nothing."
"Joan must have had something to go
upon, and I believe she had. If this Fer
rars murdered Bobert I believe von knew
it and you screened him at the time, and
would screen him now.
"I repeat I know nothing," said Miriam;
"nothing bat what I said at the inquest I
parted with Bobert Conray alive and well
that night, and the next time I saw him he
was dead."
What is there in truth that appeals to
some subtle instinct of our souls, guiding us
almost with unerring touch? Miriam spoke
these words positively she was fighting
for her sister, lying for her sister, and Gen
eral Conray did not believe her. He had
believed her before, because no doubt had
then entered his mind. Now that it was
there her words did not convince him. He
stood looking at her hardly and severely,
aad he believed her to be guilty of what he
accused her of.
"Yoa will say nothing then," he said at
length.
"Nothing bat what I have said before. I
was engaged to Bobert Conray, and Joan
knew it, though yoa did not Bnt what
good does it do to talk of this now? Nat
urally I do not wish Sir James to hear of
this tragic story."
"I do not wish to tell him. Let him be
lieve In yoa if he can. Bat it is well
knows that Ferrars was your lover; that
you at one time at least encoorased him.
and he mysteriously disappeared the very J
The
BT DOBA EU33ELL.
dav of Bobert Conrav's death. Will von an
swer me truthfully, did you never hear of
or see him from that day?"
"Never," answered Miriam in a low tone
and with downcast eyes.
"I cannot, I do not believe it. Joan could
not have invented such a story, even in her
delirium, without some foundation. Bat
yoar father returns to Newbrough-on-the-Sea
to-day, and I shall go to him there be
fore I return to Tyeford. and institute in
quiries about Ferrars. Yon have been at
home ever since yoa left us, nearly two
years ago; if, as Jean said, yoa baa seen
Ferrer, yoa must have seen him there."
"Do as yoa please," said Miriam, with a
sinking heart, and a blanched face. "And,"
she added, "is my mother staying on with
Joan?"
"For the present, yes. Miriam, will yoa
say again uill yon swear, that poor Joan
never deceived me?"
"I will swear."
He looked at her long and earnestly; in
spite of himself, against his inner sense
these words gave him some consolation.
They might be true, thought the grey-haired
soldier, and so with bowed head he turned
to go away.
"Goodby," he said, holding out his cold
hand.
"Won't yoa stay to see my husband, to
see Lady MacKeonon?" said Miriam.
"James is oat on the hills somewhere, bat
he will be disappointed it yoa go away
without seeing him."
"I am in no mood to exchange civilities
with anyone, and Tmnst go."
"They will think it strange "
"Yon can tell them I came to see yoa
about vour sister's illness. QoodsS"
At this moment the dowager, Laa Mac
Kennon, who had remsMiett Tsithe front
drawing roooydurnTbe whola SrVsp
venation hdtWenn f3naT f?y,nv -n .,.
daughter-in-law thought fit to retire to her
own apartments upstairs, and when the
General passed through it on his way out
the front drawing room was empty.
Bat imagine toe anxiety and misery he
had left behind! As 'the General disap
peared Miriam clasped her hands together
as if in despair. For a moment or two she
felt utterly overwhelmed. Then she roused
herself. There was no time to be lost
Hugh Ferrars most be warned; must leave
Newbrough-on-the-Sea at once. If General
Conray went there he was sure to recognize
him; sure to hear that she was supposed to
have sayed his life upon the sands. The
whole circumstances would leave no doubt
in his mind. She sat down, therefore, to
write to Ferrars; to write to him with, a
trembling hand and a beating heart She
wrote:
Fly at once when yoa receive this. Hy
unhappy sister has had fever, and in her
delirium she betrayed much ot the truth to
General Conray. He came here to-day to
question me, but I denied everything. He is
now going to Newbrough-on-the-Sea, as poor
J. gave him some Idea yoa were there.
Leave Kewbrough therefore when yoa re
ceive this without a moment's delay. Ask
for a few days' leave say afteryour illness
in is will do saiest. x enclose i.3i lor yoa to
leave with, but let me know where I can
send the rest of the money: the money yoa
gave me back, and which I have kept for
you. Answer this letter addressed to my.
maid Ford, but I entreat yon do not neglect
my warning, for if yon do, even for a day, it
will be too late.
Always your friend,
M.
Miriam wrote this harried scrawl in haste
and secrecy, and then carried it np to her
own room, where she addressed the envelope
to Private Dare, at Newbrough-on-the-Sea,
aud placed four bank notes within it She
felt a subtle pang of conscience as she did so.
She remembered at this moment that she
was James MacEennon's wife, but the next
she tried not to think of this. She mast
save Ferrars, and this was the only way to
save him. Then she put on her hat and
cloak aud went out to post the letter. The
nearest postoffice to Eintore was at a vil
lage, quite two miles distant But Miriam
had noticed where it was, and $o speedily
started on her way, walking as quickly as
possible, and with a strong sensation of
nervousness and fear in her heart
But she reached the little village where
the postoffice under the superintendence of
an old Highland dame was situated without
meeting anyone, and a moment or two later
had slipped her letter into the box. She
heard it fall with a feeling of relief, bat just
as she was turning away, with a guilty start
she recognized her husband's tall form, fol
lowed by two deer hounds, approaching her
from the opposite end of the village from
where tho postoffice was placed.
Sir James did not see her at nnce, but
when he did his surprise was very great
"Why Miriam, my dear!" he cried, when
still a little distance trom her; "however
have you cast up here?"
"I I came to post a letter," faltered
Miriam, doing her best not to appear em
barrassed; "and for the walk."
"To post a letter?" repeated Sir James
smiling, and .drawing her hand through his
arm. "Why did yoa not put it into the
post-bag?"
"I had a headache, and I thought the
walk would do me good," answered
Miriam.
"A headache? My dear little girl, why
did you not tell me?" said Sir James,
tenderly looking down at her face. "I
thought yoa wanted to stay at home t&
write letters, or I should not have gone
out" '
"So I did, James but I have been very
ranch upset after yoa weat oat General
Conray came; he he was passing through
Scotland on some military duty, I think,
and he came to tell me about Joan, and
she has been much worse than I thought;
than mother told me; she has been de
lirious, and verv ill."
"I'm so awfully sorry, Miriam; so awfully
sorry, dear," and Sir James took one
of her little trembling hands in his, ..
"Why, you are shaking all over, Miriam!
My dearie, yoa must not irtt about Joan;
i
i
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