g:p$tt i-St ill I L
B. F.
SCHWEIER,
TUB OOJSTIT U TIOI THE TJXIOI iXD TEE EITOBOIMIffT OF TEE LAWS.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. XXXIX.
MIFFLINTOWN, JUNIATA COUNTY. PENNA.. WEDNESDAY. MAY 6, 1885.
.NO. 19.
n
TAKCMV HAXn. I
S1.VP itbin herlmle crib.
hsi.U her mother's bed
lie Hhtkis. long J
h -mii.M'ryer was .aid 8 T'D'
,;;lilUS? .btfl
1 cannot understand
Trouble uiy chi .1? She only wld
1 luiiiuit, take my baud,"
Al,i, h b little tanJ in uii.e.
te. hu that I was near
"bout a thought of fear
l l ucb cUnd-like ta.tb as Lera
K- aiiy at uiv couioj oii
M hen tears distrea., bow'soon Id cry
Hy railur, take my baud.-
AimI. ,-veu though I way uot see
lhy ptvsetjaj at my nuitz,
Vet, it 1 fw Iny uauJ iu
1 vou!d be sat:snfd.
And tUoug , the way be cold aud dark
If by my thou'lt taud
I il trust iu tbee aud onward go
t tatter, uke uiy baud.
lM LU,ttIoa life, pathway through.
Mu-t kuowthewa to lead,
Aud if 1 follow such a guide,'
i aui secure, iuderd;
Aud wbeu, ltte i journey safely o'er
1 reach that happy land, '
1 II praie the. Father, everou-re,
1 hat thou did'st take mv hand.
Al.NT MAKTHAt CLOCK.
"You know, my dear Herbert," said
iuy aunt Mart'ia, "that in the precari
ous state of ny health, with lay life
banging as it were, upon a thread, it
behoves ine to see thai all my affairs are
lu order."
"Cerlaiuly," 1 responded, with duti
ful but difficult gravity.
My aunt was only a little past middle
age, weighed eleven stone two, bad a
color like a peony, and a waist which
measured 1 1 enty-eigtt inches was, in
truth, in full health and vigor, and
likely to live to a ripe old age; so that
her favorite fiction that she was the vic
tim uf a hopeless and mysterious mal
ady, and might at any moment shuffle
oil tins mortal coil, was without the
slightest foundation iu fact. .Never
theless she derived much enjoyment
from the illusion, and delighted in the
contemplation of her own premature
decease, and iu perpetually going over
all the details of her interment and
other cheerful accessories of the supreme
event.
She was a dear old soul, and I was
indebted to ber for niurh of tbe happi
ness of uiy childhood and the easy en
joyment of my youth. 1 owed ber both
affection and duty, and paid them heart
ily ; but 1 must confess I found it diffi
cult to respond becomingly to tbe con
stantly -recurring claims on my sympa
thy with reference to this death bed
bogy of hers. The perpetual cry of
"Wolf!" had hardened me, 1 suppose.
"TLe.se anniversaries are solemn
things,'' my auut observed, shaking her
head aud sighing profoundly. "1 can
not disguise from myself, Herbert, that
I shall in all probability never see an
other b'.itliday. Before the second of
March comes round again 1 shall most
likelv be mouldering in the silent
tomb."
Viiiir-r r gurr-r-r boom boom
bang!" sounded from the dim corner
immediately behind my seat.
"Good heavens!" 1 exclainied.spriug
iug to my feet, and turning rouud so as
to face tbe enemy. "What on earth
was that? Something exploded!"
My aunt sat still, perfectly unmoved
and placid.
"That, my dear boy," she explained,
"is your grandfather's clock."
"A clock!" 1 echoed. "Is that all?
I thought it was an infernal machine.
What, in the uame of all that's diabol
ical, is tbe matter with tbe tbiug?"
"The chime is out of order," auut
Martha replied. "Tbe clockmaker says
it is worn out; but it used to have tbe
sweetest, clearest tone. I remember it
when 1 was a child."
"It's a hideous discord nowl" I le
marked, with some antmus, for I was a
good deal ruffled at having made such a
donkey of myself in my tirst alarm.
"1 am very fond of tbe old clock,"
said my aunt plaintively. "It is asso
ciated with the happiest days of my
life, and its chime altered as it is
brings back my dear father's voice. He
was a martinet w ith regard to punctu
ality, and that dear old clocU kept time
for the whole bouse. It lias always
since been in my bed-room. I liked to
fee it the hist thing when I awoke in
the morning; but I bad it moved down
here last week. It it" reluctantly
"disturbed me a little in the night. I
dou't sleep so well as 1 used, I liud an
other symptom of the end, Herbert
and I thought it better to move the
lock "
' "I "dou't wonder tbe brute!" I mut
tered resentfully.
' "I have felt the change," continued
my aunt- "at my age one feels every
thing. But I am trying to wean my
self from earthly things, Herbert, and,
as 1 said just now, 1 am anxious to see
that ail my affairs are in order aud pre
pared for what may come at any mo
ment. I liave done mj best, I think
modestly "to save everybody trou
ble, and have explained my wishes as
clearly as I can, both in writing aud
verbally " -
"Yes; you bave nothing t' reproacn
yourself with on that score," I acqui
esced, with veiled Irony.
"it will 1 for you, Herbert, to see
that they are carried out faithfully,'
concluded my auut, complacently ac
cepting' my remark.
"You may trust uie, aunt Martha,
I leplied.
" Yes, my dear boy, I know I can.
You are .i y beir, of course, Herbert,as
ibave ofteu told you. Everything is
lett to you, excepting the legacies to the
servants, poor things and a provision
for my niece. Phyllis Mortimer, my
,.oor titers only child. I
seen her; her falber q.urrelled with me
after poor Annie's death, and then he
died, and the girl gre up amongst ter
owu nUtives on the other side ofi.be
water. Oueer sort of people they must
be.l fa.Xv.or they wouldn't live ;
such a place as Calais. Tbey evidently
shared Philip Mortimer's PrJ"d
against me, and of course 1 could not
force myself upon the child after ber
father's death; if we had been recoup
ciled before that, it would have been
different. However PbylUs b bjow
. .ister's child, tbe only one left of our
family excepting yourself, and I bave
thought it right to remember the rela
tionship and to treat ber as my niece in
my will. I have left hr one hundred
and fifty pounds a year.'-
"1 am very glad to hear it, aunt Mar
tha," I said heartily.
"Yes, my dear boy; I knew you would
approve," my aunt panaeJl
now there is only one thing unset lied.
and that ia-4.be clock. 1 'd
looking anxiously at ne-you would
not care to have it, though."-
tender glance at the abominable taaU-
-at cU,ime9uy twice in the day
i??'ve cI?ck six. I could
r,rathinkpara
dealer 0rtl90ld to 8ecoud hand
dealer, or anything of that sort, Her-
ctamUerlil"CUld hVe R ln your
wi?'h0wwh,d furnisned my chambers
with hat l considered exquisite taste
I bad carefully eschewed Queen Anne
monstrosities and rhubarb colored abom-
fueuds to an anti-am Qetic creed. I
glanced ruefully at the ugly heavy-Llf,Jnachine-
What a blot it
would be amongst my French mirrrors
and satin covered chairs, aud how the
fellows would chaff! And then that
horrible chime! I should be tbe laughing-stock
of the club. So, I could not
staud it, not even for auut Martha!
Aunt Martha saw my decision in my
race, and sighed. Evidently her last
bo died out in that sigh.
"Tbe clock tas a history, Herbert,"
she said, "ltbtlonged to our ancestor
sir John Mordhurst, iu the time of
Queen Anne, aud is the last relic of our
past grandeur. Sir John's grandson,
Mr XeviL, ran through everything; he
aud his son cut off tbe entail, the es
tate was sold, and the son died unmar
ried. The title went to a distant
branch; but they were poor people, and
did not care for the empty honor; so
the family died out. My father was de
scended from them iu the female line;
and the clock came into his possession
from his mother, and he taught us all
to revereuce it. I prize it above all my
other relics, and so did Auue in fact,
it was about the clock that the Morti
mers and 1 quarrelled. Philip Mortimer
claimed it for Auue aud I Uatly re
fused to part with iu My father left it
to me; be had no opinion ot Philip Mor
timer, aud he knew 1 loved tbe clock
aud should take good care of it, which
I have done."
"Perhaps," I suggested, "Miss Mor
timer "
"Yes," responded my dear old aunt,
"I have been thinking of that. Girls
bave more revereace thau young men,
and more seutimeut too. Phyllis must
bave beard her mother bpeak of the
clock, aud for her sake she would value
it."
"It would be a sort of olive-branch,"
I suggested insinuatingly.
"Exactly,' agreed my aunt. ''And
I should like to think" here the dear
old lady became somewhat involved
"when I am in my coffin, that I was at
peace with all the world, and especially
with poor Anne's child."
"It would be only right to leave it to
my cousin," I urged, with decision.
"Yes, I think it would be right," as
sented aunt Martha, with an air of re
lief. "J shall seud for Preston in the
morning aud make a codicil to my will."
Then the cheerful rattle of cups her
alded the enLrance of tea, and euabled
me to change the subject of conveisa
tiou. "Thauk goodness," I said to myself,
an hour or two later, as I drew on mv
overcoat iu the ball, assisted by iuy
aunt's venerable butler and factotum
Peters, "1 bave airauged that matter
of the clock, aud without hurting the
old lady's feelings too! Miss Mortimer's
are another matter; but they don't con
cern me."
"Uerbertr' called my auut from the
doorway of the drawing-room.
1 stepped back from the already-op-ned
ball door.
"Heaven bless you, my dear boy!"
exclaimed the good soul lervently.
''iiememler, if my symptoms should
come on to-night, aud the worst should
happen it is angina jieflorti, I have not
a shadow of a douot before I have
bad time to execute that codicil, you
will baud the clock over to your cousin
Phyllis! Promise me. Herbert!"
"I promise faithfully," I auswered,
with fervor; aud then 1 kissed the ru
bicund cheeks for the second time, and,
with a good-night nod to old Peters,
stepped out into the bleak east-windswept
street.
"Can't see anyone, Morice not even
tbe Prince of Wales! I'm particularly
eugaged. Tell him to come to-morrow,
or next day, or whenever ne likes. Can't,
see him uow!" I called out from my
dressing-room in answer to a summons
from my man, one evening shortly after
my aunt's birthday. "It's perfectly
impossible!" I reiterated, applying my
double balr-brushes vigorously, aud so
overpowering an expostulatory murmur
from Morice outside the clo-ed door.
It was already 7;35 p. m., and I was
hurrying through my toilet for a dinner
at eight sharp at Sir George Iince
mere's Sir George had three pretty
daughters, aud Uuly Laucemere was
dispo ed to be exceeding gracious,and
I was getting a little tired of my bach
elor life, and beginnm?. like Benedict,
to have certain tender thoughts aud
dreams, all prompting me "how sweet
v..ung Hero was." Una Lancemere
was certainly uncommonly pretty, aud
the remembrance of her big innocent
blue eves aud rose tinted complexion
bad made me more particular than usual
in the choice of the button-hole which
waited now iu a glass of water on my
dressing-table.
"Beg pardon, sir," said tbe voice of
tbe irreinessible Morice once more at
the door; -but it's M.ss Overton's but
ler, sir, and his message is very pertick-
" U right, Morice; I'm coming m a
minute!" I returned graciously as I
put the finishing touch to my white tie
and emerged from my sanctum in a.)
the glory of my best war-paint-a mes
Se from auut Martha was not to be
""IvS'Peters, what is it? All right
at home, I boie?"
-o Mr. Herbert; I am sorry to say
unstress is very M-very ill 1 in
deed I" repbed Peters. "he was took
atTbout halt-past six with the heart
spatms; sir-worse than she had ever
ln her, fusan Miles says. I went for
doctor sir; and then, by my mis
Ks orfers, i came for you. She said
I was to bring you at once; but she
Jardf, exited you would nnd her
Go!dWh1aent'Peters,"Iexdaimed,
i, itW that?" 1 had forgotten
fully "Stia'l I call a cab?
luujt wiv a raouieiitl
vw ves at uuict
J Morice to me," I .said, dashing -to
Send Moric
my writing
table ana sciioouug
.Excuse-bud news at last moment -udden
illness many apologies.
'Here Morice; Uke a hansom, de
Uver thTs'no at once, and desire then,
o nut it into Lady Laucemere's hands
l atelv! My coat-here-qutck!
Peters!" And I was off, with
Sn a fretful thought for Una
SC and her -blue babyeyea.
Susan 'Miles, my annt's maid, met
me at tbe door ot ber room.
"Thank goodness you've come, Mr.
Herbert!" she exclaimed, whilst the
tears coursed each other down ber fur
rowed cheeks. . "She does nothing but
ask for you; there's something on her
mind, and she cant be easy till she's
seen you,"
My aunt was propped up ln bed, look
ing certainly paler than I bad ever seen
ber, but, so far as my unprofessional ex
perience went, not exactly at the point
of death.
"I am glad you bave come, Herbert,"
she murmured weakly. "It is over for
this time. Doctor Porter says; but my
life hangs upon a thread a mere thread.
This evening's shock is the beginning
of the end. It is a solemn warning to
me, Herbert, a very solemn warning;
and 1 must be prepared for a sudden
call a very sudden call it may be.
When I was so ill just now, I pictured
the whole scene, the confusion, your dis
tress, Herbert."
I bowed my head, whilst a queer
choking sensation in my throat pie
vented my usual parrying repartee.
"Aud I felt," continued my aunt,
"that, in all the circumstances, the one
thing left me to be anxious about the
clock, you know might be overlooked
or forgotten at that time. It was on
mv mind in that agony, Herbert: and
now I am determined, whilst I have
strength, to settle the poor thing in iu
new home before 1 go myself." She
spoke as if the clock were a living crea
ture. "It will be an effort, Herbert,"
she went on, the tears tilling ber eyes;
"but 1 shall feel happier for it. And
delays are dangerous. I want you to
take the clock at once over to Calais,
find out your cousin Pavllis,aud deliver
it into her own hands. Then come back
and report to me bow she received it."
"Do you wish me to go now?" I in
quired, looking, now that my alarm was
over, a little regretfully down at my
die-suit.
"Yes," replied my aunt. "I will not
risk another day; that terrible spasm
may return at any moment, and iu my
weakened state "
"Yes, yes," 1 interrupted hastily,
taking out my watch. "It is nearly
nine o'clock I have missed the even
ing mail; but I can go in the morning,
cross by tbe early boat, and come back
in tbe afternoon. 1 shall get back by
diuuer-tiuie that is," I ameuded, pull
ing myself up in my glib program by a
sudden remembrance, "if I have uo de
lay in finding Miss Mortimer. You
have her address, 1 suppose?"
"Well, no, I haven't; but the Morti
mers have been for some years at Calais
You might find out at the English
bankers', 1 should say, or the (Consul's
perhaps."
"Oh, it will be all right!" I replied.
"I shall have uo difficulty iu unearthing
them, 1 have uo doubt.''
"I dou't see any necessity for your
hurrying back so quickly, Herbert,"
observed my aunt, whose spirits were
rising; "you might stay and aud maiie
your cousin's acquaintance, aud tell me
all about her, whether she is like Anuie,
or has the Mortimers' nose a short
snub nose, quite different from our fam
ily Uituiau a very common nose, lu
fact, t hope Annie's child has escaped
it; aud er Herbert, I should bke to
hear how the family receive the clock."
That was the real secret; auut Martha
was more anxious about the time-honored
relic than the unknown miece.
"I have bad a case made for it." said
my aunt plaintively, as she slipped a
ten-pound note into my band for ex
penses, "and Peters has packed it very
carefully. You will find it ready for
you in the halL Good-bye, my dear
boy, and Heaven bless you and bring
you safe back again!"
With this solemn benediction I was
dismissed. In the hall 1 found Peters
stauding over a remarkable - looking
black box, a cross between a child's cof
fin and a violin-case. This he handed,
with the gravity of an uudsrtaker, into
my cab.
Strange to say, I had never before
crossed the Channel, and I bad under
taken the expedition in all the confidence
of ignorance. The crossing from Dover
was calm and short; but it was just
when my difficulties, according to "my
owu calculation, should have been over
that they really began. 1 ought, I sup
pose, to have been prepared to hear the
French language spoken on French soil;
nevertheless it took me quite by sur
prise; so did the utter failure of my
French to convey any impression what
ever to the mind of the gendarme who
barred my pate to the gangway.
"Oi", oui, oui, U miengune cloche,'''
I explained, resisting the official's at
tempt to possess himself of aunt Mar
tha's black box, which 1 had carefully
se-'reted under my travelling ulster.
"11 n'y a pat de coiisfquein-e,1' 1 con
cluded, with a wave ot my disengaged
hand and a proud impression that I was
sieakiug French well and flueutly "I
n'y tf pas de consequence, us.oorl"
The man however was not to be pro
pitiated; he put me aside with m r
force than politeness, whilst be poured
out a torrent of perfectly unintelligible
speech before which my feeble effort
went down like a reed before a moun
tain stream.
He evidently regarded me with sus
picion, for he beckoned to a couple ot
his comrades stationed at the top of the
ladder, and pointed, to my intense an
noyance, to the miniature sarcophagus
in its "decent black." I was not, after
all, to effect the unobtrusive landlug on
which I had counted.
"C'cst une cloche," I repeated more
loudly "uik clDckeV
The men glared at me. The eldest
aud apparently most important of tbe
three demanded something of me in an
uncompromising tone which made my
British blood boil
"La cltft Ua est la clef t" ("The
key! Where is the ky?")
lie might have been speaking Greek
for anything I knew to the contrary. I
was reaping the just reward of sins
against the much-despised "Froggie"
of my schoolboy days.
"La clt''" imperatively repeated the
official.
I shook my head desperately. Just
then I remembered with dismay an ac
count I had lately read ot an accom
plished lady-smuggler who was found
to bave secreted some hundreds of yards
of valuable lace hi a child's coffin. I
was evidently suspected of an intention
to defraud the revenue.
"ias enntrabande!" I protested. "Pa
euRtralHinJe,j'asure! It is Oh,
hang it all, can't you see it is a clock,
you idiots?" as I found myself being
conducted on to the pier in a procession
which was too suggistive of the escort
of a Loudou pickpocket to be agreeable.
Suddenly, as the one drop wanting to
fill up the cup of my humiliation, the
diatiolical instrument thought fit to
strike.
' Whirr-r-r gurr-r-r boom boom
Lang!" sounded with distinat and hor-
rible clamor from tbe iuterioi of tbe
black case.
The man in charge of the box dropied
it with a positive shriek of terror, the
spectators scattered ln alarm. I felt a
determined grasp tighten upon my
shoulder, and resigned myself with the
calmuess of despair to the next phase of
tbe ridiculous drama.
One word, repeated several times,
came to me distinctly out of the con
fused Babel of sounds. It bore a sort
of German-cousinship to the English
word "dynamite," and flashed a sudden
illumination into my bewildered and ex
asperated brain. I was supposed to be
a"dynamitard,"and poor aunt Martha's
innocent relic a Nihilistic or Fenian en
gine of destruction, which had missed
tire for the moment, but might presently
fulfil its deadly mission.
A movement on tbe part of au indi
vidual who carried a long pole was too
suggestive of aa intentiou to drop the
dangerous importation into the harbor
to be calmly borne. Roused to the de
fence of my charge, 1 sprang torwaid,
shaking off the detaining grasp on my
arm, aud seized auut Martha's precious
treasure.
"Idiots! Fools!" I exclaimed hotly.
"Can't you see "
.,y ludignant glance' rested at this
juncture, not upon any blue-coated gen
darme, but upou a brown-robed slim
gin who, flanked on either side by a
half-growu lad, stood on the edge of the
crowd of spectator. Her face was
sweet aud fresh as an English rose, and
tbe lovely gray eyes which met mine as
1 stood, barassel, bunted, desperate,
were so compassionate aud sympathetic
that, moved by something I do uot
know wbat "mysterious affinity," 1
suppose I instinctively raised my hat.
The young lady colored deeply, and,
pulling' one of the lads forward with
her, took a step nearer to me, aud said,
in a very trembling and timid voice
"Can we explain anything for you?
You cannot speak French perhaps ;
Charlie will,"
But Charlie, wnoui she had evidently
been holding by main force, would not.
He "backed" contumaciously, aud left
her aloue, covered with confusion.
'Y'ou are very good," I exclaimed
eagerly. "1 shall be immensely obliged
if you will tell these fellows that this
box of mine, which seems to alarm
them so much, coutains nothing more
formidable than an old clock."
With a brave effort she rallied her
courage aud spoke some sentences in
French to my persecutor. The man
seemed to know her; he bowed politely,
aud listened attentively. The hand
which held her suushade trembled per
ceptibly, aud tbe color came and went
in her cheeks such au exquisite color
too! yet she held on bravely.
The official eyed me keenly.
''Ouri-ez" be exclaimed, indicating
with a dramatic gesture the unlucky
cause of all my troubles.
"Would you mind that is," stam
mered my Interpreter, "he asks you to
open the box. It is necessary, you
know. Everything is opened uow a
the Custom House here."
1 have not the faintest objection," I
answered, producing tbe key at once.
"If we had only arrived at this under
standing sooner, it would bave saved a
great ileal of trouble. I am more
obliged to you than I can say. and I
must apologize very sincerely for the
trouble I have given you."
She murmured some inarticulate words
as she retreated hurriedly, and disap
peared after the recreant Charlie, no
doubt, iu the crowd.
The band of officials still held aloof
suspiciously as advanced to the pros
trate object of their horror and pro
duced tbe contents for their Inspection;
then a peal of irrepressible laughter iu
which I joined heartily, iu spite of my
self echoed along the pier. Tbe indi
vidual in command raised bis hat with
what I understood to be 'a polite apol
ogy, a dozeu officious bauds were ex
tended to relieve me of my burden, and
I proceeded, in what was now changed
to a sort of triumphal progress, towards
the nearest cab stand.
I was speedily set ou my way to the
English Consul, from whom I soon
learned the address of Mrs. John Mor
timer, the auut with whom Miss Morti
mer residad. I was determined to rid
myself at once of my compromising
charge, aud so drove straightway to the
abode of the Mortimers.
A trim white capped maid, who re
stored my self-esteem by responding im
mediately to my necessarily brief in
quiryin French for "madame," an
swered the little bell which I found at a
door on the first floor, and ushered me
into a talon bright with gilding and
sweet with dower scents. A ladylike,
graceful womau came forward to receive
me, and, after my few words of explan
ation, called softly through a door one
of several which I had thought led into
cupboards
"Phyllis, come here, dean"
There was a little rustle of feminine
garments, a quiet footstep, and my in
terpreter of the pier stood before me.
Then there was, after all, something
in "mysterious affinity!"
"London, March 24th, ld-.
"My dear Nephew, It is now a fort
night since you left here, and I bave bad
nothing more from you than the very
short note in which you announced your
arrival at Calais with the clock,and told
me that you had succeeded in finding
Phyllis Mortimer. I have been looking
for the longer letter which you promised
me, and I am beginning to fear that you
have been taken ill, and are laid up in a
foreign country, with only a French doc
tor, and I tbe cause. Do, my dear boy,
write, if only a line, to relieve my anx
ietyl Accept my best love, and believe
me, my dear Herbert,
" Your very affectionate aunt,
"Martha OveSton.
P. S. Has Phyllis Mortimer taken
kindly to the clock, and what is she
like?"
This was the epistle which reached
me and overwhelmed me with remorse
just as I was leaving my hotel one even
ing, exactly fifteen days after my arrival
at Calais, to pay my usual visit to the
flower scented talon in the market-place.
I ran lightly up the u near pe ted wooden
stairs, and rang the little bell which be
longed to the Mortimers' apartments.
Sophie smiled a welcome, according to
her wont, and, in answer to my stereo
typed inquiry for Madame Mortimer,
poured forth a voluble and utterly mys
terious trade. I failed in this instance
to catch the drift of Sophie's peroration,
aud walked past her with a smiling nod,
intended to convey Intelligence, into the
talon.
At first I thought, with a chill sense
of disappointment, that the room was
empty; but, as my eyes grew accustomed
to the dimness, I discerne I the glimmer
of a white dress near the window, and
tb4n, aa it floated towards me, a voice
which made my pulses tbrob In an ut
terly UBprecedentfd manner said softly:
"Mr. Overton! I My aunt
Did not Sophie tell yeu that they are all
out? Charlie and Ned wanted to go
to the theatre, and aunt Lucy has taken
them. I am so sorry! I told Sophie to
say so to any visitor."
"Sophie obeyed orders," I auswered;
"but unfortunately, cousin, I still re
quire an interpreter."
She laughed a little low laugh which
I had learned in the short fortnight to
think the sweetest music I had ever
heard.
"It is my misfortune, not my fault,"
I went on. "And I thiuk, even if
Sophie's meaning had been plain, I should
still on the strength of my relationship,
yon know have persisted in trying to
gain au entrance to-night; for I was
very anxious to see you. 1 have re
ceived a summons home. 1 must go
back to England to-morrow."
I played my trump card boldly on the
inspiration of the moment, and, my
eyes being now accustomed to the light,
1 saw that Phyllis turned pale aud
caught at the back of the velvet-covered
chair near her.
"Phyllis, my darling," I exclaimed,
seizing her little trembling hands in an
instant, "I cannot go without telling
you that I love you! Canyon will you
give me a little love in return?"
I do not know to this day what sbe
said I do not believe she said anything;
but ber little bead sank down upon my
should. T as I bent over her. and, when
my arm stole round her waist, she did
not repulse me.
'When did you first begin to think
about it?" whispered Phyllis shyly, au
hour later.
"When?" I laughed. "I really can
not tell. 1 believe it was when you
stood forward so pluckily that niornin?
on the pier and saved aunt Martha's
clock from being pitched into the har
bor. That blessed clock! I owe to it
the happiness of iuy life."
"The dear old clock!' exclaimed
PhUlis. "We will uever part with it,
will we? I shall always love that cl.uk."
She hastened away when Mrs. Morti
mer, followed by her boys, came tramp
ing up the staircase, and 1 was left to
confront the hostess alone.
"You here, Mr. Overton!" ci led Mrs.
Mortimer, in surprise, looking round for
Phyllis.
"Yes," I answered coolly; "1 was
waiting for you. Mrs. .Mortimer. I have
been waiting a long while."
"Alone, aud in this half-light?" he
exclaimed, as she turned up the duplex
burner.
The boys, hungry after their enter
tainment, had retired unceremoniously
to the diuiug-room.
"No; I have not been aloue," I re
plied; "Phyllis has been with uie." She
looked up quicklv. "Phyllis has prom
ised to be my wife, Mrs. Mortimer; will
you give her to me?"
"Indeed 1 Willi" she answered, with
tears in her eyes. "We have known you
only a short time; but I have heard of
you ofteu, and 1 know that 1 can trust
the dear girl to you."
"And you have lieeu a mother to
her," I said gratefully. "She has told
me all you have done for her."
Puyliis came down, wh?n the boys
had gone to bed, to say good night
which I need hardly say was not good
bye and then I w.-nt home aud wrote
to aunt Martha as follows
"Dear aunt Martha, I am quite
well, and propose staving another week
at Calais, unless you want me very
badly. And I have altered my niiud
about the clock; 1 am going to under
take the charge of it. and of something
else too of my cousin Phyllis! Phyllis
declares she will never part with the
clock, and I delcare 1 will never part
with her; so, as the two must go to
gt tier, what can I do?
"Seriously, my dearest aunt, wish me
joy. I have wou the dearest, sweetest
little girl for my wire as you win say
when you see her. And I owe my treas
ure to you. Yes, you have crowned all
your other goodness to me by this last
gift for it certainly comes fr m you.
Send us your blessing, and believe al
way s in the grateful love of
'Your affectionate nephew,
"Herbert Overton.
"N. B. Phyllis has the Overton nose.
Five years later. My aunt is alive
and welL She confided to me, about six
mouths after my marriage, her suspi
cions that the heart spasms were "no
thing but indigestion;'7 aud a consulta
tion with a specialist proved that she
was right. 1 believe that my wife was
responsible for the suggestion which has
renewed dear old aunt Margaret's youth
and given her a new lease of life.
Tbe clock stands on a handsome
bracket in our hall. Aunt Martha bas
considerately refused to take back her
gift, declaring that, as she is an almost
daily visitor at our house, the treasured
relic is as much her own as ever.
Art IB Bandung m ran.
When fans were first introduced into
Europe they were used by men as well
as women, but it was soon discovered
that tbe awkward hands of masculinity
had nothing in common with an imple
ment so light and graceful, and soon it
became the sole prerogative of women
to carry a fan. In her bauds it became
a means of fascination, of grace, of
love making, rf coquetry and of a kind
of silent talk on all kind of subjects.
To it she confided her joys, her hates
her revenges, aud after the combat she
would kiss it as a duelist sometimes
does bis sword. A French lady of the
time of Louis XV declared that however
agreeable, graceful and elegantly
dressed a lady might be she would nec
essarily be ridiculous unless she knew
how to handle a fan; that you could
tell a priccess from a countess, a count
ess from a marquise, a marquise from
an untitled lady by the delicate move
ments of ber fan, and that this subtle
instrument, by its opening and closing,
its rising and falling, its sweeping and
waving, its pointing and beating, con
veyed an encyclopedia of meaning.
Sir Frederick Lelghton, president
of the Royal Academy, is painting a
fresco, "The Arts of Peace," in the
great ball of the British Museum.
The pupils of the public schools of
San Francisco are regularly given a
spring vacation, which this year exten
ded from the 2oth to the 30th of March.
There are now four artesian wells
In Asbury Park, N. J., the average
depth of which is about 400 feet. The
water which flows from them is paid to
be excellent.
The glory of the Creator, in tbe exter
nal and manifold world, is to be seen,
not in one object here and there, bat iu
every ebject it contain.
9mm Cranky Bathara.
There are tricks in every calling it
seems," said the proprietor of a fash
ionable Turkish bath establishment in
New York.
"What peculiar tricks are in your
business?" inquired a reporter.
"In the message operation much de
ception is frequently practiced by the
operator. In the first course after leav
ing the sweat bath a hand-rubbing is
given with warm water T is is a very
delicate and soothing performance, and
when rightly administered places the
bather in a splendid condition to re
ceive the flesh-brush. Exert opera
tors can with well-feigned labor slight
their work" and leave the bather in
doubt whether the performance is satis
factory or not. It is done by noise
chiefly. The hands in running over
the flesh are raised and brought down
hurriedly, producing a series of pops,
pops, which is music to the ear of the
manager. It does not hurt- but at the
same time it is not as beneficial as a
rub. When the operator pops a great
deal he is doing the bather so to speak
up, rushing things to get through.
Some bathrs, though prefer these pop
ping operators. The popping is in the
massage as flourishes are in writing,
nt.rely superfluous, but still ornamen
tal when produced by exerts. Some
old operators can carry on a conversa
tion by means of these pops. I remem
ber I had two operators who had at
tained to this proficiency. A million
aire was stretched on one of the mes
sage tables and a dry goods clerk on an
other near by. The operator for the
former conveyed the intelligence to the
one for the latter that he expected a big
tip. Tbe latter answered in a disgust
ed tone, telling of his cheap customer,
and predicted no tip. Tbe millionaire
did not tip, but the cheap clerk did,
much to the surprise of his customer.
"But these attendants or operators
deserve great credit for their skill and
frequently their forbearance and gixxl
nature. Customers are often exacting
and wniit double the scrubbing others
get. There is a wealthy old gentleman
who is a bull in the market and a regu
lar liear in the bath-house. He has a
habit of imagining that on a certain
Krtion of his body a cancer will come
because, many generations ago, a sec
ond cousin of his grandfather died uh
one. For this reason he has au hour
consumed in scrubbing that particular
place. He doesn't p.ty any more either.
These are some of thedraw backsexper
lenced." "You often have some queer custom
ers, do you not?"
"Yes, plenty of them, ftom the full
fledged crank to the inonouuniac and
mild idiot. An uld lady imagines that
by a regular course of sweating she can
change her disposition and ideas entire-
iy.
"In every seven years." she said, 'we
take on a new form, and I propose a
system of sweating to do it in a year or
less time.' Poor thing, she stays iu tbe
hot room until tlteperspiraiioti rolls off
her. But it is doing her good, and her
ideas are evidently improving. A young
cripple thinks his withered arm will
grow out again, and takes a bath every
day. I could mention many other
cases. The attendants soon learu to
humor the cranks, aud pity human na
ture." Jay 4aoull oa fating.
"I am very fond of baked potatoes,"
said Mr. Jay Gould to a gentleman who
was talking to him the other day. "They
are about the simplest thing one can
eat, and I find that the simpler mv food
is the better for my head. At home I
do not care for what you call 'fancy
dishes.' Plain meats and vegetables,
good bread and butter, good milk, some
times porridge or grits for breakfast,
satisfy me. As jvn may suppose, I find
my time filled up retty well with busi
ness, and I certaiu y find that I can get
along better when my food is the plain
est of the plain. I have never lost my
fouduess for the country food 1 used to
le accustomed to in my boyhood, and I
think I could reli. h one of those 'mid
night melons as well now as I did then,
although I should probably eat it at a
d.ffereut time."
"What do you do when you go to
some of the elaborate dinners?"
"Those are terrible things, those
heavy dinners," said Mr. Gould, with a
smile. "I rememlx r once being at one
and eating some dbh, I forgot the name
of it, which was very good, but after
which I was sick for a week. Now
when I go to them 1 take a little soup if
it is plain, a piece of roast meat or gunie
and some plain potatoes, if 1 can get
them. If not, some peas or in fact any
vegetable, provided it is w ithout sauce,
for I have found that these sauces,
which they put ou what would other
wise be good, spoil the food at least
for me. For the rest of the time I sit
at the table, play with something on my
plate and pass the time as well as I can.
I do not myself believe that any
man can stand the strain of a large
busiuess unless he lives upon the sim
plest food he can get. Men who train
for feats of physical endurance find that
they are obliged to be careful in tl eir
diet, and when the strain is mental, it
has been my experience that the .-ame
rule applies. I do not mean to say I do
not like some of the dishes which I
cannot eat, but I find that I cannot eat
them with impunity. Fortunately I am
not sufficiently loud of them to make it
any sacrifice to give them up. My idea
Of a good breakfast is a piece of steak, a
mealy baked potatoe, some graham
bread and a glass of milk, and I find
that I can get along very well when 1
have it. Your complex dishes of high
flavors are very gotd, but they are not
business."
No further comment thau this from a
mau who has demonstrated the power
of brain in the work f the world is
uecessary to show what the real Import
ance is of proper food to any person who
works. Whether lie is au artisan at
three or four dollars a day, or a million
aire who sways the fortunes of corpora
tions by the touch of a finger on a tele
graph instrument, the truth remains
"that the Americau citizen makes bis
way by bis work, either of biain or of
baud. And the first question he has to
cousider is the kind of fuel be shall con
consume in keeping the machinery in
motion.
Numrou. Tenant.
William Scully, an Engli-hinau, re
cently arrived at Lincoln, Illinois to
look after his landed interes's, which
in this country exceed 2'X).0" acres.
Mr. Sciillv's wealth is estimated at 30,
0U0 0OO. He has over 3UU tenants in this
country."
Tbe lord intends that our wealth shall
be our servant not oar mastez.
arryi( Dancbtan OaT.
in France the parents make the
match. If not as ostensibly , yet no less
really is this often done in England
It is not the man, but the maintenance
which is uppermost in the parental
thoughts. It is painful to reflect, while
taking a survey of the matches of fifty
years' experience, how rarely we ever
jould detect that the character of a man,
atherwise eligible, iafluenced the paren
tal decision. For the most part, all the
evidence offered of a man being a scamp
jt a profligate is set aside as envy, ma
lice, and all uncharitableness; or else
with the remark, "Well, all young men
are wild; but tbey grow steady when
they ate married." We once heard a
lady, in speaking of a matrimonial
event just coming off. say, "Capital
match; nrst-rate chance for Ellen. Not
at all the sort of man we all know, that
she ever intended to marry; but not
one woman in twenty does get that."
Certainly in this men bave an advan
tage, for they can choose; the ladies
must submit to be chosen, save in tbe
case of some remarkable belle who has
admirers at. command. But these ad
vantages on' the side of the gentlemen
are less than they seem. Their choice
is anything but free, as far as reason is
concerned. They are the victims of a
natural illusion. Tbev choose from the
charm and fancy of the hour; or the
pride of possessing some Lady Clara
Vere de Vere, or some simpering dim
pled doll, while all companionable quali
ties, aud that sunshine of the heart
which relieves tbe darkest while it adds
warmth to the brightest days of this
checkered life, are rarely even named
among men as the motive of their
choice. Truly "marriage is the door
that leads deluded mortals back to
earth," and, as with many a pretty bar
gain that has caught our fancy in a
shop-w indow, great is the disenchant
ment when we have brought it home.
The married ladies iu tbe ball-room
are the pests of the poor mammas. They
bave attained the object of all balls and
dancing, and yet they have not the
grace to feel for and give place to young
girls who sit in rows against the wall.
Men prefer the married women and
why? They can indulge in a kind of
conversation at which we should hope
that, in spite of French novels, the
jingle would turn away. It is strange
tiiat tbe busbauds should endure to see
their wives whisked and whirled and
dragged about, well knowing that the
lo-callevl waltzing and galopading
Always, ucless unusually well doue, de
generates into little better than unseem
ly romping, indeed uo one would be
lieve even in its innocence if seen where
we seriously believe it would not be
tolerated, in a Piccadilly aataou. A
fact: a dressmaker who had seen from
in orchestra the dancing now ln fashion,
when asked by a lady next day how she
'bad been entertained, replied: "I sup
poee it is all right in high life, but in
our line or uie uo young men wouiu
Jare to take such liberties with young
women." No. madam, your daughter's
prospects never can be the better for
being exposed to such scenes as these,
least of all in the new fashionable cos
tume of a skirt and a pair of shoulder
ftraps. It is not the sensuous, but the
sentimental, that should prevail. The
free and easy dancer, not the graceful
young lady of proper dignity and self
respect, takes the lead ln a modern ball
room, and foolish it is for the really
modest and reserved to compete in such
a sphere. Granted tbey may enjoy it,
and you may eijoy it too. If so, be
bappy in your own way. Only for "in
troducing" your daughters, and looking
to the main chance, we cannot recom
mend such society.
M iMindaratood.
Two young lawyers made a dying
trip up North the other day. One is
stout and roseate, the other pale, ca
daverous, and of the proportions of a
stovepipe. The business for which
they had set forth being accomplished
they passed a leisure hour with brother
lawyers in the sample room of the ho
tel. Soon the party became somewhat
mellow, and as time grew apace the
stout gentleman grew more roseate
and good natured, while his specter
like companion grew more boisterous
and ill-natured. Anally reaching such a
bellicose condition that be offered for a
small consideration to whip any indi
vidual in the hostelry who ventured to
disagree with him upon any of tbe top
ics touched upon, war, science, poli
tics, governmental and sporting mat
ters, further offering at the same time
to back bis judgment for a sum of
money which, in the widest range of
vision, had never crossed his eyesight.
There were some pretty tough custo
mers about the hotel, who took offense
at some of the remarks ventured, but,
strange to relate, none in any way at
tempted to controvert the statements
made or resent tbe same but to the
astonishment of the lean lawyer, look
ed wisely at each other, smiled signifi
cantly, and partook of more refresh
ments. When tbe hour for departure
arrived, one of the above-named at
taches assisted in carrying the luggage
of the Albanians to Uie depot, and
when he perceived the direction which
the passengers meant to take, he looked
suspiciously at the stout lawyer and in
quired in a subdued voice: "Say, Mis
ter, aren't you an officer?" "An of
ficer? No, certainly, not," replied the
astonished disciple of Blackslone;"why
do you ask?"
" "Cause I thought you were going
the other way, and was bringing a lu
natic to Utica."
Tbe fat lawyer never informed his
lean contemporary how he escaped a
thrashing at tbe hands of tbe village
hotel men
Announcing Engagement.
When a couple are engaged there is
seldom any sensible reason why all the
world should not know it, and, there
fore, the new fashion of announcing en
gagements just before a prominent ball
and having the ladies and gentlemen
congratulated by their friends is to be
commended. To be sure, if the engage
ment is afterward broken, the thought
of these public congratulations wouid
be emtarrassing;but if the fashion tends
to prevent promises of marriages being
lightly given it will serve good purposes.
The girl whomightsayyeswlienaskeil to
marry, with the ment,U reservation that
if anything better comes along she will
contrive not to keep her word, will think
twice about it if she has to go thiough
such a form. Marriage engagements
are frequently too lightly entered ln.to
and too lightly set aside. Tbe engage
ment should be nearly as sacred a con
tract as Uie marriage itself, and it
should be such an engagement that both
parties would be proud to have it known
among ail their common acquaintancea,
NEWS IN BRIEF.
Fifteen railways were foreclosed
last year.
There are 11,000 hotels in the State
of New York.
Germany bas no hod carriers. Bricks
are passed by hand.
The roller skating craze has struck
the Sandwich Islands.
TheZuni Indians have smoked ci
garettes for 70u years.
A street railway will soon be in op
eration in Macon, Ga.
Berlin has but oue church to every
50,000 of its inhabitants.
Quails in Montana are exempt from
the sportsman's gun for six years.
A millionaire Chinaman is among
the residents of Bockford, Dakota.
The Rothchilds never employ a man
who has the reputation for ill luck.
The volume of Southern travel this
season is said to be unprecedented.
Fifty-five per cent, of persons dying
in Paris are buried at public expenses.
A five-year-old child was choked to
death in Cincinnati recently, on a pea
nut. Missouri produced last yearthe lar
gest crop of corn ever gathered in that
state.
Forest fires have been quite numer
ous In the vicinity of Wild wood, Fla.,
of late.
Capital is being raised in London
for a new American cable via the Az
ores. General Earle, killed in the Soudan,
is to have a memorial in Liverpool, bis
native city.
Cases of small-pox aud scarlet fever
are reported from various points on the
Pacific Coast.
A sash and blind factory with ioO,
OOo capital has been established at Bir
mingham, Ala.
A plate glass insurance company
reports 7t)l loaees during H4 out of
about GOuu risks.
Napoleon Bonaparte is the name of
a colored man now living iu Iuicaster,
South Carolina.
Large crowds of colored people con
tinue to leave South Carolina for Ar
kansas and Tex. is.
Coulter and Barton, large farmers
of Grayson, Texas, have 700 mules, 8'2
of which are gray.
In a Saeo mill a man recently sawed
4'.t,liMJ feet of boards in one day, thus
beating the record.
Meisson':er's pictuies in his latd
Pu is exhibition were Issued at the rata
of JlOu per square inch.
To entourage Irish manufactures
the Lord Mayor of Dublin contemplates
giving a "poplin ball."
The value of real estate iu Birm
ingham, Ala. has increased il7S,40U ia
the past twelve months.
A boa constrictor, 13 feet long, has
been presented to the Sydney, Austra
lia, Zoological Ganlen.
Stark W. Arnold, a nephew of
"Stonewall" Jackson, is a mem bet of
the West Virginia Senate.
The ties and wood fuel used by the
railroads of the United Mates cost an
nually about 5J0.UX,0iO.
The authorities of Dalton,Ga.,have
prohibited marble playing upon the pub
lic thoroughfares of the town.
An Americus, Ga., citizen carriea
an open face watch.thechrystal of which
was placed ou it 40 years ago
At a recent election for towu offi
cers in Smithtown, L. L, there were 5
Smiths on the Republican ticket.
An original Raphael will soon be
placed ou exhibition in New York city.
It is said to be worth 100,000.
Alpharetta a young Georgia city
with a population of 'li, has Ave law
yer, or one for evety '.'J persons.
Tbe artesian well in Atlanta, Ga.,;
has been sunk nearly o.ie third of a mile,
but without encountering auy water.
The Hudson river ice crop wilf
reach 4,000,000 tons this year, and of a
quality which has never been surpassed.
Mocking birds are being trapped
and shipped by the "hundreds by a party
of Indians encamped near Anaheim.
Cal.
The great screen of Winchestei
Cathedral, built in the 15th century, 11
to be restored with its 56 marble stat
ues. Twelve wagon loads of letters and
papers are delivered daily at the Capitol
for memliers of the House of Represent
tatives
iu a glass works near Paris air
stored under pressure has been made to
successfully suirsetle gas blowing by
the mouth, except in a few cases.
Fortlaud, Me., has 904 boys who
recently signed tbe triple pledge against
intoxicating liquors, tobacco and pro
fanity.
The Legislature of Alabama has
passed an act prohibiting State, county
aud municipal officers from getting;
drunk.
A citizen of Stockton. Cal., died
of lock-jaw recently, being the last, of
four brothers, all of whom died of that
disease.
A juvenile faimer, eight yean old,
who plows almost as well as a veteran
tille of the soil.is boasted of by Henry
county, Ga.
A pair of shoes measuring 20s have
just beeu made by a Milford. Mass.,
shoemaker for a female resident of San
Fraucisco.
A Puoghkeepsie gossip was fined
100 for circulating reports prejudicial
to a person in that place. This 13 an
age of reform.
Little speckled trout come up with,
the water of the artesian wells in the
vicinity of Aust'n, Nev., from a depth
of Jbo feet.
Water in the flooded Com stock
mines ebbs ami flows with the regularity
of ocean tides, the Virginia, Nev.,
Chroiiii lt says.
Tbe Sexton of a New York church
has a crank iu bis pew by turning which
he regulates the temperature of the
house during service.
The use of return-request envelopes
by all business men.it is thought, would
reduce the business of the dead letter
office to a miunium.
The British Columbia militia are
drilling twice a week in anticipation
that their services may be required by
the mother couutry.
Over ten thousand dollars in cash
and bonds were found after his death
secreted in tbe bed of a Biddeford,Me..
man who died recently.
Seven hundred bushels of potatoes
were baked at one time recently in Ham
ilton. Mass. Tbey were in a car that
took Ore and was totally destroyed.
I!
i.
i
1 1
i
r
ft
-A
' .
S I.- ",T-
1
. ii in a.