r
in-:
7
B. F. SCHWEIER,
THE CONSTITUTION THE UNIONAND THE ENFORCEMENT OF THE LAWS.
Editor and Proprietor.
VOL. LIV.
MIPFLINTOWX, "JUNIATA COUNTY, PENN., WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 22, 1900
NO. o7
W
a;
Captain grabajoft
BY B. 7V.
l.yilitaiy.omaDce.Qft2outlz.WcA
CHAPTER IV. (Continued.)
"Go on. go on; I'm Just boiling to hear
tbe sequel," said Mr. Gee, nodding nil
brad like a mandarin.
"Hire me time, my dear sir. In a few
days back came a letter. Baying- that the
other was a hoax, and he bad only aent
it to try me, and feel the family pulse,
so to speak; and as I bad responded in
a liberal spirit I would never have any
cause to regret my generosity."
"1 wish to goodness a relative would
play me the same trick. A sprat of ten
pounds landing a salmon of forty thou
sand is 'plenty good business. as they
say out here. -And. by the way, about
your cousin; did she tip him too 7" grin
ning. "Not that I am aware of. She must
have beeu in short frocks at the time of
this particular episode."
"And have you never seen her V Inquis
itively. "Not to remember distinctly. There
were two little girls at Annt Jane's whea
I went fo say good-by, years ago. 1 rec
ollect chasing one of them round the gar
den, and kissing her tremendously; but
which it. waa I don't know, and I suppose
It would be a delicate subject to Inquire
into."
"Pretty picture. But If she were as
ngly as the pig-faced lady herself, I'd
marry her and never think twice about
St." said Mr. Gee resolutely. "There's a
lot of spending in forty thousand pounds;
but I can't fancy an old stick-in-the-mud
like you chasing and kissing any girl,
young or old." grinning. "Tell me some
more about ber. Where does she live
when she is at home? lias she any sis
ter that would be likely to come in for
money? Come, don't be so glum, man
alive."
"1 would have to go into our family
history." said Miles. "I will read you a
letter and enlighten you. for I know very
little about ber myself. There are lota
to choose from. See what it is to come
in for a fortnne! There's Mrs. Braba
con's frightfully gushing and fnll of de
light, congratulation, and consent. It
would be manners to wait till she was
asked! There's Aunt Jaue's, that looks
as if it were written with a pin, crammed
with advice. There's my sister Annie's "
"That's the one for my money," inter
rupted Mr. Gee, loudly snapping his lin
gers. "Mrs. Curzoo will tell us all about
it, so lire a way." and his companion, hav
ing picked out the letter in question, be
gan to read the following effusion:-
"My Dear Miles Of course you have
opened and read Mr. Barker's letter, and
know the great news, that yon are now a
rich and an engaged man! 1 wonder
ho- you are taking it? I'm anre your
face is a beautiful study this minute; 1
wish I could t?e it. Do you know how it
happened? No, of course yon don't; and
you t-hall hear without further delay
Three years ago, when Esme was return
ing from school, just as the train wai
starting from Victoria, an old gentlemai
and his man servant came scuffling up
lie was the queerest old fellow you evei
beheld, in a white beaver bat, a blue
cutaway coat and a checker tie, and car
ried an umbrella that would frighten you.
The carriage door was flung open, but tb
inmates showed no flattering desire foi
bis society; very much the other way,
squared themselves and scowled. Bui
Esme, who is good-natured, made room
for him; in fact, did the honors of tb
compartment so agreeably, and comport
ed herself so worthily, that when be de
scended at a station be begged the favoi
of ber name and address, which she gave, I
little dreaming that the yellow-faced old I
fogy was the renowned Uncle George, j
About six mouths later came an invita-.
tion, asking her to spend three days with '
1 the old gentleman. It seems mac mil
made a very favorable impression on Un
cle G., ami the conclusion that she wat
to be rewarded with your banuf and that
it was a pity to divide the money in the
funds.
"Seriously, my dear Miles, she is a very
nice girl pretty and lively, or would be
the lutter, only for her stepmother, whe
keeps these poor girls strictly in the back
ground, and is the embodiment of a dozen
wet blaukets; consequently they are shy
at any rate, Esme is and countrified.
1 should like her for a sister-in-law very
much; and you have my full and free
consent. Of course, you will come home
at once. Ity the time this reaches yon
six weeks of the six months will be gone.
You will never be so mad as to let th
money go to the college in Calcutta; it
yoj do, 1 shall consider that you are not
responsible for your actions. Mind you
sell off your little effects without delay,
and come liorue immediately to your affec
tioiiBte sister, ANNIE CURZON."
"Sell off my little effects! I think 1 see
myself!" exclaimed her brother, folding
up ber letter with deliberate contempt.
"With the suipe just coming in, and the
races on next-mouth!"
"But there are heaps of racing and
shooting at home," observed Mr. Gee.
"No sport to bold a candle to what we
have ont here. Thirty brace of snipe
w-ithiu four miles at Ya Goo; or if yon
like to go down the rircr to Liriam, there
are a couple of hundred actually expect
ing yon! Besides all this, I'm going to
have a shot for the gold cup with Des
tiny, aud I've promised Patterson to ride
Typhoon in the hunt steeplechase, so 1
don't stir for a month if then."
"I'll tell you what!" Mr. Gee'a favor
Ite preamble, "you are too old to be talk
ing such nonsense! A child would know
better than to be playing with his hit
fate ii this way! And, as. to Typhoon
a bad tempered. puTmg little brnte, wit!
as much month as a whale, he'll nearly
kill somebody yet!"
CHAPTER V.
Tr. to f r rice's doleful prophecy. Ty
phoon threw bis rider in the races which.
took place a lew aays later, wim i
result that Miles was laid up with three
broken ribs. Captain Brabaxon's acci
dent detained him more than a month in
.n.rr.nTi Tt the first of July before
the doctors gave him a reluctant permis
sion to take bis passage la the next
t earner.
Miles arrived In England early In the
mouth of August, and spent some time
with his sister at Folkestone, staving off
the evil day, as be called it in his own
uiiud, when he must present himself at
Itarousford in the ridiculous character ol
in engaged young man who had never
set eyes on his fiancee. Mrs. Carson was
I well-jointured widow, some years older
CROKBR
than tier brother, and any affection sb
rould conveniently spare from her turn
idolized boys was bestowed on him.
"There is no use in postponing the vis
it." ahe declared for the tenth time. "It
look so extremely odd; it looks as if you
did not want to carry out the engage
meat."
"Neither I do," muttered her brother.
"You don't know wben you are well
off!" said Annie, with decision. "It's not
one young man in a thousaud who has
your opportunities. A pretty girl aud a
large fortune for the mere picking up.
You would be mad not to go to Barous
ford, at least to see ber. Time is get
ting on."
In the end her eloquent counsels pre
vailed, and Miles sat down and wrote off
a letter announcing bis arrival for the
following day. "Strike' while the iron
is hot." was Mrs. Curzou's maxim. The
resources of Barousford were large, its
hospitality n old davs famous, so he
waited tor no repiy, but turning his back
upon the attractions of Folkestone, set
forth for Thornsbire the next afternoon.
In three hours' time be found himself on
the platform at Byford station, about
four miles from Barousford; and leaving
bis portmanteau to follow, set out across
tbe fields, thinking be would make the
jld short cut and? meet with familiar stiies
and pathways. But ten years bad work
ed a change. He rambled about and lost
bis way, and nearly an hour and a half
elapsed before tbe big red chimneys of
the bouse he sought were to be seen shyly
peeping through tbe surrounding trees.
As he approached the gate all bis
dreamy speculations and nervous fore
bodings vanished; his mind was galvan
ized to sudden alertness as he noticed for
the first time tbe figure of a tall girl in
white standing on tbe drive beyond tbe
rees in tbe full light of the harvest nioou.
She was young and slender, as well as
be could judge. Her bead was bent for
ward in an attitude of listening and ber
whole pose denoted eager expectation.
She was. without doubt, waiting for
somebody. Waiting for bim? Impossi
ble! Tbe instant she heard bis footsteps
and caught an outline of his figure, she
made a quick gesture of welcome, aud,
gathering up ber dress, with one sudden
swoop came flying down to meet bfni
with tbe swiftness of a white squall.
He could now hear ber ruuning toward
biui in the dark for it was dark ber
basty, high-heeled shoes 'pattering rap
idly over the gravel. Nearer, uearer,
nearer they came. His heart beat fast
er even than wben in dense and distant
Indian jungles be bad heard the stealthy
tread of a tiger creeping through the un
derwood and approaching the tree in
which he was posted. Sbe was at the
fate even sooner than be was. Sbe bad
lashed it open with burried hands, and
almost before be could realize the fact,
her arms were round bis neck. J
He drew hia bead back with a jerk, I
while sbe breathlessly exclaimed:
"I can hardly believe it! I've been
waiting for you for ages, aud now you
lave really come. It seems too good to
be true. But bow funny and dignified
you are. Let me have a look at you,"
he panted, taking him by the arm aud
Jragging bim toward tbe light.
To say that be was astonished at this
reception but feebly conveys bis feelings.
The first shock over, and having success
fully eluded her proffered kiss, bis next
thought was bis unhappy collar.
However, be yielded amiably enough to
her blandishments, and suffered himself
to. be almost hauled into the full, search
ing white moonlight to be inspected.
As its first chaste gleams fell upon bim,
bis companion stopped, as If sbe had been
shot, gazed into bia face with an expres
sion of agonized incredulity, dropped bit
arm with a kind of smothered exclama
tion, and fled up the avenue like an arrow
from a bow. He stared after ber speed
ing figure in speechless amazement till
she disappeared into tbe shrubbery aud
vanished like the Maid of tbe Mist. Th
kvbole adventure had been so sudden, and
(iad passed so quickly, that it seemed a
jtind of dream. It could not be a ghost 1
Another White Lady of A vend? But no,
that bug was certainly human,
j There is no use in my standing here
aud staring like a stuck pig," he said to
himself at last, having somewhat recov
ered hia mental equilibrium; "I may at
well be moving on, and ten to one I'll
find the key to this riddle. It's certainly
some girl who has mistaken me for her
lover; Sbe was a lady by ber voice, and
young, decidedly. By Jove! sbe can run
a bit." 3Tay be It's MT3 Augusta; there
are only two of them."
Supposing it had been bis young lady!
But, strange to say, this notion did not
please him at all; and, turning over this
very disagreeable idea in his own mind,
be reached tbe ball door. He waa soon
ushered into the drawing-room, just five
minutes before dinner-time, wbere be
found Mrs. Brabazon dressed for the
evening, awaiting tbe gong, with ber
bands lying idly in ber lap, and an air of
pleasant anticipation pervading her aqui
line features. Eight o'clock was her fa
vorite hour in all tbe tweuty-four. Klo
rian was lounging in a deep artu-cbair,
absorbed in a yellow paper-backed French
novel. Few and evil were the books that
he read. Gussie was flitting about tbe
room, putting away papers, work and
magazines. "So it was not Gussie," ob
served tbe new arrival t himself, when
be bad once more made acquaintance
wiib his Cousin Augusta, with ber saucy
black eyes and bewitching mile.
"This is quite an unexpected pleas
ure." said Mrs. Brabazon. assuming her
very best company manners. "I think It
veiy nice of you, taking us unawares like
this, without any formality."
"Unawares?" be echoed; "did you not
get my letter?"
"Your letter will probably arrive hen
tbe day after to-morrow," said Florian
sarcastically. "Don't you know that w
live in the backwoods here, aud bave no
second post? What did yon put on the
envelope? Byford?"
"Yes."
"Then that means that it stops in By
ford poetoflce for twelve hours."
"You seem to be progressing since I
was here last." said Miles, with a laugh,
glancing surreptitiously around In search
of another figure.
"Gussie, my dear." said Mrs. Braba
zan. Interpreting the pause, with her
usual alertness of understanding, "go and
tell Nokes to see about a room at once,
and Brown to. lay another plate, and,"
In a stage whisper, "let esme know."
Gussie, having given some hasty direc
tions to Nokes. rushed into the school
room with ber great news. But it was
empty. So was tbe dining-room; accord
ingly she ran np the shallow stairs, twe
steps at a time, breathless, to pant forth
the intelligence to her sister, and plunged
into their mutual bedroom headlong.' At
tbe first glance there was no one to be
seen. Stay. What was that limp, cram
pled object on Esme's white bed? Esme
herself? Never. Esme, who had cast
herself down In at attitude of hopeless
misery, and seemed crushed out of ail
shape and form.
"Why," pausing In mid-room, "what
on earth is tbe matter? Are yon ill?"
demanded Mias Brabazon, aghast. i
"No," returned a choked voice half
buried In the pillows.
''Then what are you about? Get np
this instant." Imperiously. "Mrs. Braba
zon says you are to come down at once;
Miles, your Miles is in the drawing'
room."
No answer.
"Esme. Do yon beer me?" Irritably
"Yes, of course, I hesr you. I'm not
tone-deaf," she moaned querulously;
then, all at once sitting erect, revealed
scarlet cheeks, swollen eyes, and a very
disheveled head.
"Why, you've been crying," exclaimed
her s'ter, amazed. 'Your nose is like s
plum."
"I should rather think 1 bave," im
pressively. "Gussie," she added slowly,
keeping her eyes intently fixed on ber
companion's face, 'did you ever bear ol
anybody dying of shame? because I
(ball."
"Look here, Esme," returned the other.
severely, this is no time for such non
tense. Dinner is just going in, and yon
must come down. Mrs. B. says so.'
"Here," going over to the wash-stand;
and hastily pouring out some water, "get
up and bathe your eyes, and smooth your
bair, and don't be an idiot."
"What will yoo say," inquired Esme.
slowly, getting off the bed and rising to
her feet, a tall and very much creased
young figure 'what will you say," sbe
reiterated solemnly, "when I tell you that
I have seen him already, that I was a
long way the first to welcome him?" with
a rather hysterical laugh.
"Have seen bim? And wben, if you
please?" disbelievingly.
"At tbe avenue gate! Oh, Gussie, I
don't think I ever can leave this room
alive. I took him for Teddy."
"And what harm if you did," replied
her sister.
"Harm!" echoed Esme; "just listen, and
you will soon hear. You know since my
last letter from Teddy announcing his
home coming how I have been counting
tbe days and hours till be came, and 1
was waiting for bim near the white gate
ever since 0 o'clock."
"Esme, how rash of you! Supposing
Mrs. B. had seen him skulking shout,"
ejaculated Gussie.
"I would not care two straws If she
did. I would meet him on tbe hall door
steps in broad daylight," she panted,
breathlessly. "But to go on. 1 waited
agea for Teddy, and at last I heard foot
steps, and saw someone that looked very
like bim coming along the road in the
moonlight. Need I saw that I tore down
to the gate, threw it wide open, caught
him in my arms, hugged bim Jike a bear,
telling him I could hardly believe if, it
was too good to be true, that I bad been
counting the days till I saw bim and al
together was nearly beside myself with
joy. I forcibly dragged him into the light
to feast my eyes with a good look at him'
and I then discovered that I had been
hugging a perfect stranger a dark young
man, who did not seem to approve of it
at all, and wbo my prophetic instinct told
me was Miles Brabazon."
(To be continued.)
A Promising; Pupil.
A little girl wbo bad just entered
school lately Jubilantly announced to
her father that she did better than all
the girls above ber in tbe arithmetic
;lass and went to tbe top.
"That was smart of you," said be,
encouragingly. "How- was It?"
"Well, you see. Miss Maggie asked
the girl at tbe top bow much was S
and 5: qj sbe didn't know, and said
12; then tbe next girl said 0, and tbe
next one said 11. and thenext 14. Sucb
silly answers! Then Miss . Maggie
asked me, -and I said 13, and Miss Mag
gie told me to go up top. Course It
was 13."
"That was nice," said the father. "
didn't think you could add so wel.
How did you know it was 13?"
"Why, I guessed It! . Nobody said
13."
Our Little Friend Once More.
Her little brother was entertaining
In the front room the young man wbo
bad Just called.
'Look here," be said, suddenly, "are
you goin' to propose to my sister to
night?" "Why erer What do you mean?"
asked the youth, with some agitation.
"Oh, nothln. only If you are, you
aren't goln' to surprise ber. At tea
jus' now she bribed me an' my little
brother to go to bed at balf-past 7.
She's bung four Cupid pictures on tbe
drawing-room wall, got pa and ma to
promise to go callln' next door, shut
tbe dog In tbe cellar, and 's been prac
ticin' 'Because I Love You Dearly' on
tbe planner all tbe afternoon! You'll
get her all right, only If sbe starts talk
in' 'bout Its bein' sudden, tell her It
don't work with you."
Fondness for milk caused two hogs
belonging to George Dennett, of Put
nam County. Mo., to take It surrepti
tiously from his cows. He noticed the
falling off in the supply of milk, and
watched the cows. He discovered that
at nlgbt the bogs carefully tapped
them.
'The "stinging tree" Is a luxurious
shrub of Queensland, Australia, and Is
pleasing to the eye, but dangerous to
the toucb. It grows from two or three
inches to ten or IS feet in height, and
sends forth a very disagreeable odor.
The "hello" girls have almost dou
ble tbe usual amount of work to do
on rainy days. Then the telephone Is
used to cancel engagements or transact
business which in fine weather would
be personally attended to.
A miser in Sulphur Springs, Ark.,
has no faith in banks, and be placed
11.200 In gold and silver In two tomato
cans, and concealed them In his yard.
Some one discovered the hiding place
of the money, but were not mean
enough to take the tomato cans.
In ancient times the Spartans so
detested inebriety that it was their
custom to occasionally induce slaves to
drink until they became intoxicated,
and then arouse general contempt for
their condition by exhibiting them in
public places.
A rubber club, intended for police
men, has been Invented by a St. Louis
gentleman. This Is a humane contriv
ance, as it enables a vigorous officer to
stun an unfortunate prisoner without
cracking his skull.
-ft -Deliver U$
Hal operating theater was packed'
trlth lookers-on. .
Mr. Mends)' operations were
far-famed. Ponding the arrival of the
patient from the anaesthetic room on
the other aid Of the passage, the great
surgeon stood washing hia hands and
talking to hia dressers.
An enthusiast himself, ho always In
spired hia subordinates with onthnst
asm and bis daring and suoeesa mtjftn
operator made bim the envy and ad
miration of all hia Juniors.
Hia an but stern face relaxed into a
smile over the naive remarks of ooo of
the students, and a little laugh oven
broke from his lips. It was unusual
for Mr. Mensles to laugh; he waa
known as a grave, ailent man, and the
lines of his face were severe, though
there was a great kindliness In his keen
gray eyes, and his rare smile waa par
ticularly charming. The world In which
he moved knew well enough what it
waa that had carved the sternness late
what had been so pleasant and bright
a faoe. knew what had caused the look
In his eyes which never wholly left
them.
The world had been loud In Its com
miseration, a year . before, when Mr.
Menzies' wife had left him' and their
8-year-eld daughter for another man,
wbo bad been the great surgeon's
friend. Equally loud In Its expressed
sympathy, but the surgeon bad made
all such expressions an impossibility.
To no living soul bad he ever spoken
of tbe blow which bad ruined his hap
piness, and no living soul bad even
ventured to touch upon the subject to
bim.
He faced life sternly now. Instead ot
smilingly as before, that was all; and
be lung himself, heart and mind, into
his profession, giving apparently no
thought to anything beyond it, except
to his small daughter.
The child went with him every
where, and waa even now sitting In
tbe carriage, in tbe hospital courtyard,
gravely and Intently scanning, the peo
ple who passed to and fro in the full
sunshine.
There was a sudden hushing of tbe
busy talk In the operating theater, as
the patient was wheeled In and lifted
upon the table, and the surgeon moved
forward.
"Patient quite ready, sir," said the
house sargeon respectfully.
The surgeon did not even glance at
the face of the man upon the table, but
proceeded to examine tbe seat of tbe
Injury, asking a few terse questions as
he did so.
"Came In early thia morning, you
say?"
. "Yes, sir, only Just conscious enough
to tell us he was run over."
"Poor fellow! well It is quite obvi
ous what must be done. It is a case
of life or death. . The only chance of
saving him is to operate at once."
The clear, decided voice could be
heard all over tbe theater, the strong,
steady bands were watched eagerly
from every corner as they began their
work with no hesitation, no uncer
tainty of touch.
For a quarter of an hour Mr. Menzies
Worked on in silence, broken only by
an occasional short word to the dresser
beside him.
As usual he was absorbed In the task
before him, every other thought for the
moment relegated to the back of his
mind. Outside, in the courtyard, his
little daughter sat In the carriage
watching tbe pigeons strutting to and
fro In tbe sunshine, and the people who
passed in and out of the great doors,
watched over herself by the coachman,
who adored every hair of the curly
head, and worshiped the ground that
was walked upon by her tiny feet.
There was nothing the small girl en
Joyed more than coming to the hospital
"to wait for father;" it gave ber a de
lightful sensation of being grown up,
added to the delight of the long drive
sitting beside father, and holding hU
hand and chatting, to bim upon thd
many and varied Incidents of the routel
She glanced up at the windows ami
wondered where father was Just that
very minute, and whether he would
come soon. Then sbe turned her eyes'
back again to the pigeons In the sun
shine, strutting boldly up and -down,
underneath tbe feet of the passers-by.
Upstairs, In the theater, there was a
breathless silence.
Tbe most critical moment of the
operation had been reached, when the
surgeou paused for a moment to
glance up tbe table at tbe face of the
patient, and to ask a question of the
house surgeon.
But the question was only half ut
tered, bis words broke off suddenly,
and a student, more observant than
his fellows, noticed what a curious
grayness overspread his face.
"Something gone wrong over tbe an
aesthetic," the thought flashed through
the student's brain, but even as the
flash of thought came, he saw Mr.
Menzies pull himself together with a
strange, Jerky movement, and lieareV
bim say quietly:
"Patient all right, Lettesdale?"
"Quite right, sir." The bouse sur
geon's voice was brisk and confident.
Tbe student wondered idly what had
made the usually calm Mr. Menzies
break off in that sudden, Irrelevant
manner, then his wonderings were for
gotten In tbe absorbing interest of the
operation.
The surgeon had turned quietly back
to his work, and, with steady fingers
that never faltered or wavered, waa
going on with bis task. But bis soul
was in a tumult; his brain was on tire.
Tbe helpless man lying before him the
man whose life lay in bis hands was
tbe friend who one short year before
had stolen from him his wife and his
happiness, tbe friend wbo had been
woi se than an open enemy. Some long
forgotten words swung through his
brain as his fingers moved mechanical
ly in their work.
. "It it had been, an open enemy that
from Evil. &
hi id. done me this dishonor, 1 could have
borne It. But It was even thou, mine
own familiar friend."
"Mine own familiar friend!" A queer
look flashed Into the gray eyes; he
raised them suddenly and glanced
again at the patient a white face. It
waa so very white that, except for the
faint breathing that was Just audible,
yon might have supposed that tbe one
lying upon the table waa dead. Dead?
the word sprung into Mr. Menaleo'
mind, following quickly upon those
words, "Mine own familiar friend."
Deed well, if the patient were dead,
there would be one villain leas In the
world; the wrong would have been re
venged if if tbe patient who lay so
still and white were still forever In
death.
Tbe surgeon's eyes went back to their
work; his steady fingers never relaxed
their task; there was no outward algn
of the tumult within hia soul, aavo a
certain tightening of his lips.
"Dead!" The word surged to and fro
in hia brain, until be could see It actual
ly dancing before his eyes. The man
whom- he had cursed so bitterly the
man who had vanished from his life a
year ago waa belpess In his hands,
absolutely at his mercy, and. If the
knife slipped, ever so little, by the frac
tion of a hair's breadth, the faint
breathing would cease and the Ufa
that had ruined his life's happiness
would go down Into silence.
I was so easy, too so absurdly easy!
The operation was one of extreme
delicacy. If it failed, no one would
ever blame the surgeon! Few men be
sides himself would even have under
taken It, still fewer would have been
able to carry It to a successful termina
tion.
To fall meant such a tiny, tiny shift
ing of the Instrument be bandied with
such skill and care. The most critical
moment of the whole operation was ap
proaching. There was a breathless si
lence In the theater, and across It tbe
whisper of one student to another waa
distinctly audible.
"By Jove, he has got a tough Job
there r
Then tbe stillness became almost tan
gible again as the steady fingers went
on with their work.
As though It bad been yesterday. In
stead of a year ago, there rose before
Mr. Menzies' eyes a sudden vision of
the last day on which he and the pa
tient had met.-, He saw bis wife's draw
lug room, . flooded with tbe sunshine,
and his wife smiling up Into his face,
with laughing eyes. The fragrance of
roses pervaded everything; she bad
always loved roses; and a vivid recol
lection came to him of great roses upon
the tables. A mass of gorgeous red
ones bad caught tbe flashing sunlight
and shone blood-red In Its gleams. Sbe
bad had a big pink one at ber belt; and
she bad held out to him a dainty
orange-colored bud. "For your button
bole, dear," she had said softly.
Beside her stood the man wbo now
lay unconscious under hia bands, and
their two laughing faces rose up and
mocked hint with their falseness.
Such a little slip of tbe hand, so easily
compassed, and the life of the man be
fore him would slip forever into silence,
and revenge was sweet
His Hps' tightened, his eyes grew
hard.
"Wrong? absurd!" There was no
wrong In avenging your honor. Heav
en had thrown this man In his way, tbe
vengeance was meant to be. It was
childish, ridiculous, to draw back now,
wben the game was In his bands.
His Hps had tightened till they looked
like a thin mand of steel, his eyes were
for the moment devilish.
For what seemed to him like a cen
tury, but what was In reality a quarter
of a second, his hand stayed It work,
and the patient's life bung In the bal
ance. Then all at once the tense look
on bis face relaxed, his band moved
on steadily, firmly, surely and only that
again one student more observant than
the rest, noticed that he was white to
tbe very lips.
-"Strain too much for him," was the
thought In tbe young man's mind; "no
wonder he feels bad; that was a nasty
moment, a slip of a hair's breadth, and
I pod-by to tbe patient."
"Never saw anything like It," an
other student murmured; "tbe finest
bit of operating anybody could wish
to see. That fellow ought to be grate
ful to Menzies."
Perhaps there was a little surprise in
the minds of all those in the theater
that day, that Mr. Menzies did not Im
prove the occasion by a lecture upon
the case. Indeed he uttered no syllable
during the remainder of the operation,
and never once again did be raise bis
eyes to tbe face of tbe patient
"Get Mr. Stiles to see tbe case now,"
he said briefly; "l-l shall not be able
i to come down to-morrow."
Outside, in the June sunshine, bis
little daughter awaited him as be came
down tbe hospital steps, and as be
stepped Into his carriage sbe slipped
her hand luto his. - t
"Are you tired, daddy dear?" she
said; "you are ever so white."
"Very tired, my darling," he said.1
mechanically, and his voice shook.
"And you're cold," the child went on,
"I felt you shiver, though tbe sun Is ai
hot as hot !!" .
Another shiver ran through the sur
geon's frame.
"Yes, I think I am cold." be said.
Perhaps " .
He broke off abruptly, "I bave had
a hard time," be finished after a pause.
"Poor daddy," the child whispered.
Her soft hand held his more closely,
and her little forehead puckered Itself
Into anxious lines as she looked Into
ber father's white face and tired eye
Loving little soul! All the way borne
she wondered what could have made
her father so terribly unlike himself
that afternoon; all the " evening
sbe watched him ' with tender, anx
ious eyes. Bonder! ng the sroblem still.
But perhaps sbe wondered most of all
when, aa was her wont, she said hei
prayers beside him. and at the end of
the Lord's Prayer he whispered. In a
strangely broken voice:
"Say again. Deliver as from evlL
y it for tor nil who are tempted,"
And the golden carls fell ever his trem
bling hand as she whispered, softly:
"Deliver as from evil." The Argosy.
Poklm Fires xW a Livln.
The trades of London are maav. and
some of them seem very strange to an
American, one occupation by which
a score of Britons are said to earn hi
livelihood la that of "poking fires." It
is uus aescriDea Dy a London ex
change, and whatever else may be
thought of the story. It speaks well for
the Jews of England as faithful keen-
era of their law.
By the Rabbinical law. no Jew i ai.
lowed to kindle or mend any lire on
the sabbath; and In certain places In
England, where Jews are very numer
ous, this prohibition makes it necessary
that persons shall be employed from
sunset on Friday to tbe same hour on
Saturday, In going from house to bouse
lighting fires and lamps, and attending
to them.
One woman In the East End of Lon
don often -has as many aa fifty houses
to attend to, and draws small fees from
each of them. It Is not long stnee a
male "fire-poker" In that quarter died
worth more than three hundred pounds,
which he had saved out of his earnings.
It often happens at the East End that
a strict Jew goes out Into the street and
says to some Christian passer-by,
"Would you be so kind as to come in
doors and light my lamp? Tbe 'fire
peker' haa failed me."
Many a tip do tbe police constables
get for services of this kind. One of
them said that he had received scores
of small presents for putting kettles
on the fire,
Life-Raring Salts.
There is always a fascination about
life-saving clothes, for there Is, some
how, a latent feeling of nervousness
and a desire to be provided against pos
sible emergencies among most people
wbo "go down to the sea In ships."
The latest of. these suits. Intended to
be used In tbe event o fa shipwreck,
consists of a very simple though in
many ways liberally appointed cos
tume. A pair of watertight trousers
of India rubber, lined with wool, make
up tbe lower garment which la Joined
near the waist by a bladder of rubber,
and wben Inflated surrounds the whole
of the upper part of tbe body nearly to
the shoulders.
What its proportions are cu be gath
ered from tbe fact that at the highest
part the diameter Is over six feet This
India rubber Is covered with some
waterproof material, and the upper
part is fastened around tbe chest by
means of a strap.
There are several pockets in this
outer covering. In .which are placed a
convenient spirit flask, aa well as re
ceptacles for biscuits snd chocolates, a
lamp, and a pistol to be fired to at
tract the attention of a passing vessel,
and also an air pump like that use.)
for inflating tires by which thesuitis
Ailed w'th air and given Its neceosa.y
buoyancy. London Answers.
The Secret of Success.
An anecdote of Bishop Thomas W.
Dudley reveals. In his own words, the
secrets of his success: Wben It was
first known In tbe city In which be was
settled that be was to go to Kentucky,
some of his friends were disposed to be
critical. "You are not going to Ken
tucky, are you?" asked one. "Yes, In
deed." "Do you know what kind of a State
that Is? I saw In the paper that one
man killed another In a Kentucky town
for treading on a dog." The bishop
said nothing, and tbe man continued
Impatiently: "What are you going to
do In a place like that?" "I'm not go
ing to tread on tbe dogs!" was tbe
calm reply.
Peat Fibre in Textiles.
Tbe manufacture of textiles from
peat fiber has been Introduced luto
Sweden.- Tbe fibers, produced from
peat by a mechanical process; can oe
mixed In the proportion of 75 per cent,
with pure wool for the manufacture of
yarn similar in appearance to couimou
woolen yarn.
Nothing to Criticise.
Wise "They'll never get women tc
Join the army."
Mrs. Wise "Indeed! And why not?"
Wise "The uniforms are all alike!"
Puck.
RECENT INVENTIONS.
In Washington a man has patented a
new crosscut-saw machine, to be woi k
ed by the legs, having two L-shaped
levers pivoted on a frame, the long end
of one L propectlng up and the otber
down, wlth pedals on the short ends,
which reciprocate a bar attached to the
saw.
For carriages a comfortable foot rest
has been designed by a Massachusetts
man, comprising a pair of brackets se
cured in the front of the wagon box.
with curved sockets In the brackets. In
which spindles are set to carry a bar,
which Is raised or lowered to tbe right
height
There has been patented by a New
York man a folding ladder codptislng
a tube cut In two sections lengthwise,
with a row of pivot pins In each half
to support the rungs, which are loosely
monnted to allow the two parts of the
tube to shut up and contain the rungs
in the Interior.
An improved spade for breaking np
earth into fine particles has a steel
frame shaped like a shovel blade, with
tbe Interior portion cut away and
strung with wires, which are headed in
the lower edge of the blade, and have
screw-threaded enda which are tighten
ed by nuts to stiffen the spade.
Water can be drawn from a well and
carried to the house by a new appar
atus, having a carriage riding on a
cable and carrying a windlass, wbicb Is
revolved by a gear wheel, the Utter
being operated by the movement of the
cable, which In turn Is driven' by a
crank to move the carriage and wind
lass in either direction.
OF I DAY
Preached by Rev. Dr. Talmage
bjMtl The Minion of Cllle Morally
!! Arm Urn Won Than th Country
Vies Is More Apparent, But Mot Mora
Frevalaa & Flea For Homl Ltviug.
ICoprriubt IwnlI
WabHINOTOV. T f! Frnm Sf P.l...
burg, the Russian capital, where lie was
cordially received by the Emperor and
Empress and the Empress Dowager, lh
Talmage sends this discourse, in which he
snows me nugbty good that may be done
by the cities and also the vast evil they
may do by their allurements to the unsus
pecting and the unguarded. The text is
Zechariah j, 17: "My cities through proa
perity shall yet be spread abroad.
.The city is no worse than the country.
The vices of the metropolis are more evi
dent than the vices of the rural districts,
because there are more people to be bad,
if they wish to be. The merchant is as
good aa the farmer. There is no more
cheating in town than out of town no
worse cheating; it is only on a larger
scale. The countryman sometimes preva
ricates about the age of the horse that he
sells, about the size of the bushel with
which he ' measures the grain, about the
peaches at the bottom of the basket aa
being aa Urge as those at the top, about
the quarter of beef a being tender when
it is tough, and to as bad an extent as the
citizen, the merchant, prevaricates about
calicoes or silks or haruu'are.
And u ti villages, I think that in some
respects they are worse than the cities,
because they copv the vices of the cities
in the meanest shape, and as to gossip, its
heaven is a country village! Everybody
knows everybody's business better than
he knows it himself. The grocery store
or the blacksmith shop by day and night
is the grand depot for masculine tittle tat
tle, -and there are always in the village a
half dozen women who have their sun
bonnets hanging near, so that at the first
item of derogatory news they can My out
and cackle it all over the town. Country
men must not be too hard in their criti
cism of the citizen, nor must the plow run
too snarply against the yardstick.
Cain waa the founder of the first city,
and I suppose it took after him in morals.
It takes a city a long while to escape from
the character of the founder. Where the
founders of a city are criminal exiles, the
tilth, the vice, the prisons, are the shadow
of those founders. It will take centuries
for New York to get over the good influ
ence ot the pious founders ot that city
the founders whose" prayers went up in
the streets where now banks discount,
and brokers bargain, and companies de
clare dividends, and smugglers swear cus
tom house lies, and above the roar of the
wheels and the crack of the auctioneer's
mallet ascends the ascription, "We wor
ship thee, O thou almighty dollar!"
Cities are not evil necessarily, as some
have argued. They have been the birth
place of civilization. In them popular lib
erty has lifted its voice. Witness Genoa
and Pisa' and Venice. After the death of
Alexander the Great among his papers
were found extensive plans of cities, some
to be built in Europe, some to be built in
Asia.' Tbe cities in Europe were to be
occupied by .Asiatics- the cities in Asia
were to be occupied, according to his
plans, by Europeans, and so there should
be a commingling and a fraternity and a
kindness and a good will between the con
tinents and between the cities. So there
always ouglit to be. The strangest thing
in my comprehension is that there should
be bickerings and rivalries among our
American cities. New York must stop
caricaturing Philadelphia, and Philadel
phia must stop picking at New York, and
certainly the continent is large enough
for St. Paul and Minneapolis. What is
good for one city is good for all the cities.
Here is the "irreat highway of our national
. prosperity. On that highway of national
prosperity walk the cities.
A city with large forehead and great
brain that is Boston; a city with delib
erate step and calu manner that is Phil
adelphia; a city with its pocket full of
change that is New York; two cities
going with a rush that astounds the con
tinent they are St. 1-ouis and Chicago; a
city that takes its wife and children along
with it that is Brooklyn. Cincinnati,
Louisville, Pittsburg, all the cities of the
north, and all the cities of the south,
some distinguished for one thing, some
for another,- one for professional ability,
another for atHiience, another for fashion,
but not one to be spared. What advan
tages one advantages all. What damages
Boston Common damages Washington
square. Laurel Hill. Mount Auburn,
Greenwood, weep over the same grief.
The statue of Benjamin Franklin in New
York greeting the bronze statue of Ed
ward Everett in Boston. All the cities a
confraternity. I cannot understand how
there should go on bickerings and nval
I ries. I plead for a higher style of brother
j hood or sisterhood among the cities.
I Again, in all cities I am impressed with
j the fact that all classes and conditions oi
society must commingle. We sometimes
cultivate a wicked exclusiveness. Intel
lect despises ignorance. Kehnement will
have nothing to do with boorishness.
Gloves hate the sunburned hand, and the
hiirh forehead desDises the flat head, and
the trim hedgerow will have nothing to
tn with the, wild consewood. and Athens
' hates Nazareth. This ought not so to be.
I like this democratic principle of the gos
pel ot Jesus ennst wmcn recognizes int
fact that ve stand before Gdd on one
and the same platform. Do not take on
any airs. Whatever position you have
gained in society, you are nothing but a
man, born of the same Parent, regener
ated by the same Spirit, cleansed in the
nmf blond, to lie down in the same ilnst
u ijei up in ihe same resurrection. It ii
high time that we all acknowledged not
only the Fatherhood of Uod, but the
brotherhood of man.
Again, in all cities I am impressed with
tbe fact that it is a very hard thing for a
man to keep bis heart right and to get tc
heaven. Infinite temptations spring upon
us from places of public concourse. Amid
so much affluence, how much temptation
to covetousness and to be discontented
with our humble lot! Amid so many op
portunities for overreaching, what temp
tation to vanity! Amid so many saloom
. of strong drink, what allurements to dis
mat inn! In the maelstroms and hel
gates of the street, how many make quick
and eternal shipwreck! If a man-of-wai
comes back from a battle, and is towec
into the navy yard, we go down to look
at the splintered spars and count the bul
let holes, and look with patriotic ailimra
tion on the flag that floated in victory
from the masthead. But that man i
more of a curiosity who has gone through
thirty years of the sharpshooting of busi
ness life, and yet sails on, victor over th
temptations of tbe street. Oh! how mMij
have gone down under the pressure, leav
ing not so much as a patch of canvas tc
tell where they perished. Their dishones
ties kept tolling in their ears.
Again, in all these cities I am impressed
with the fact that life is full of pretensior
and aham. What subterfuge, what dou
ble uealing, what two facedness! Do al
the people who shake hands love eacl
other? Are all those anxious about yom
health who inquire concerning it? Do al
want to see you who ask you to call? Doc
all the world know half as much as il
pretends to know? Is, there not many e
wretched stock of goods with a brilliant
store window? Passing up and down tin
streets to your business and your work
are you not impressed with the fact that
society is hollow, and that there are sub
terfuges and pretensions? Oh, how mam
there are who awagger and strut, anc
how few people Vho are natural and walk!
While fops simper and fools snicker anc
.impletons giggle, how lew people are nat
iraf and laugh! I say these things not to
;reate in you incredulity or misanthropy,
lor do I forget there are thousands of
leople a great deal better than they
lee in. but I do not think any man is pre
pared for the conflict .of this life until he
mows this particular peril.
Again, in all cities 1 am impressed with
die fact that there is a great field for
Christian charity. There are hunger and
-rwg and .want and wretchedness in
:he country", bufT The"Se evf.s chiefly Con
tregate in our great cities. On every -street
.-rime prowls and drunkenness staggers,
ind shame winks, and pauperism thrusts
ut its hand asking for alms. Here want
a most squalid, and hunger is most lean.
A Christian man going along a street in
New York saw a poor lad, and he stopped
ind said: "My boy. do you know how to
read and write?" The ooy marie no an
iwer. The man asked the question twice
nd thrice. "Can you read and write?"
ind then the boy answered, with a tear
plashing on the back of his hand. He
id in defiance: "No, sir; I can't read
lor write neither. !od, sir. don't want
me to read and write. Didn't He take
way my father so long ago 1 never re
member to bave wen 4iim? And haven't
I had to go nlrng the streets to get some
thing to fetch home to eat for the folks?
And didn't I, as soon as I rould carry a
basket, have to po out and pick up cin
ders, and never have no schooling, sir?
Sod don't want me to read, sir. 1 can't
read nor write neither."
1 all-fiities, east, west, north, south,. J
aotlce great temptations to commercial
fraud. Here is a man who starts in busi
ness. He says, "I'm going to be honest,"
but on the same street, on the samu
block, in the same. business are Shylocks.
Those men. to get the patronage of any
jne, will break all understandings with
ther merchants and will sell at ruinous
:ost, putting their neighbors at great clis
idvantage, extiecting to make up the do
licit in something else. It an honest prin
:iple could creep inco tiiat man's soul it
would die of sheer loneliness! The man
twists about, trying to escaie the ienaity
)f the law, and despises tiod, while he is
just a little anxious about the sheriff.
The honest man looks about hint and
jays: "Well, this rivalry is awful, l'er
naps I am more scrupulous than 1 need be.
This little bargain 1 am about to enter is
1 little doubtful, but then 1 shall only do
is the rest." And so I had a friend who
itarted in commercial life, and as a book
merchant, with a high resolve. He said,
'In my store there shall be no books that
would not have my family read." Time
passed on, and one day 1 went into his
itore and found some iniquitous books on
the shelf, and I said to him, "How is it
possible that you can consent to sell such
rooks as these?" "Oh," he replied, "I
have got over those Puritanical notions!
, man cannot do business in this day
.inless he does it in the way other people
io it." To make A long story short, he
lost his hope of heaven, ami in a little
nhile he lost his morality, and then lie
aent into a madhouse. In other words,
when a man casts otf God, God casts him
jff.
Hundreds of men going down in our
;ities every year through the 'pressure of
politics.
That man in the fear and love of Go. I
goes into politics with that idea antl with
the resolution that he will come out un
2ontaminated and as good as when he
went in, but generally the case is, when a
man steps into politics, many of the news
papers try to blacken his character and to
distort all his past history, and alter a
tittle while has gone by, instead 'of con
sidering himself an honorable citizen, he ,
s lost in contemplation and in admiration
f the fact that lie has so lung been kept
ut of jail!
If a man should go into politics to re
form politics.- and with the- right spirit,
ae can come out with tlie right spirit and
jnhurt. That was Theodore Krclmgliuy
len, of New Jersey. That was George
Briggs, of Massachusetts. Thtrt Ivan
Judge McLean, of Ihio.
Then look around and see the allure
ments to dissipated lite. i',ad book, un
jnown to father, and mother, vile as the
-eptiles of Egypt, crawling into some of
ihe best of families of the community,
ivho may read them while the teacher is
looking the other way or at -recess or on
the corner of the street when the groups
ire gathered. "These hooks are read late
it night. Satan finds them a snuHith
plank on which he can slide down into
peridition some of your sons and daugh
:ers. Reading bad books, one never gets over
it. The nooks may be burned, but there
s not enough power in all the apothe
cary's preparations to wash out the stain
:'roui the soul. Fathers' hati'ls. mothers'
nands, sisters' hands will not wash it out.
Sone but the hand of the Lord ran wash
t out.
And what is more icrioiis in regard to
lome of these temptations we may not
mention them. While tiod in His r,ible
from chapter to chapter thundered II is
denunciations against these crimes, people
sxpect the pulpit and the printing press
to be silent on the subject, and just in
proportion as people are impure arc tliey
tastidious on this theme. They are so
full of decay and death they do not want
their sepulchers opened. God will turn
into destruction all the uiii.lcuii. ami m;
iplendors of surrounding can make ile
lent that which He has smitten. God
will not excuse sin merely because it has
mostly array and beautiful tapestry ami
palatial residence any more than Id- will
excuse that which crawls, a blotch ol
ores, through the lowest cellar. Ever
ind anon, through some lawsuit, there
Hashes upon the people of our great cities
what is transpiring in seemingly respecta
ble circles. You call it "high life, ' you
;all it "fast living," you call it "people"
eccentricity," and while we kick otf tlit
lidewalk the poor wretch who lias not the
means to garnish his iniquity, these loi'h
ind ladies, wrapped in purple and in
linen, go unwhipped of public justice. Ah.
the most dreadful part of the whole tliuiu
is, that there are persons abroad whose
whole business it is to despoil tin? young
What an eternity such a mail will have!
As the door opens to receive him thou
sands of voices will cry out, "Sec hi-rt
what you have done," and the wretch
wijl wrap himself with fiercer (lame ami
lean into deeper darkness, and the multi
tude lie has destroyed will pursue him and
hurl at him the long, bitter, relentless
everlasting curse of their own anguish. 11
there be one cup of eternal darkness more
bitter than another, they will have tc
drink it to the dregs. If in all the ocean
of the lost world that comes billowing u.
there be one wave more fierce than an
other, it will dash over them. lint ther,
is hope for all who will turn.
I stood one day at Niagara Tails, ami 1
law what you may have seen there - six
rainbows bending over that trenieinloii:
plunge. I never saw anything like it be
fore or since. Six beautiful rainIo
irching that great cataract! And so nvi-i
the rapids and angry irreeipiivs siti
where so many have len dashed il.ivvn
Hod's beautiful admonitions howr. u
warning arching each peril -six ol tlu-ni
fifty iti them, a thousand of Iheiu. Ite
ware, beware, beware!
Young men, while you have time to re
fleet upon these things ami before thf
.duties of the office and the store :tm! tht
shop come upon you again, look ov er i Ii is
whole subject, and alter the d-iy h t.
passed and you hear in the nightfall tht
voices and footsteps of the city dyne,
from your ear. and it gets s silent ih it
you can hear distinctly your watrli mulct
your pillow going "tick, tick," th'-u ,,pci,
your eyes and look out upon the darkucs.
ind see two pillars of light, one hoi izSMal
the other pfrpcndicn-ar. but chaa-jinjj
their direction until they come toiiher
ind your enraptured vision beholds it
the cross
An acre of performance is wvirtb e
whole world of promise.
Heal worth requires no interpreter;
its everyday deeds form its blazonry.
Good company and good conversation
are the veiy sinews of virtue.
If any one speak evil of you, bit your
life be so that none will b-n. i- mm.
Make no haste to be rich ir you t ouid
prosper
You can learn virtue out of the cate
chism, but to understand vice you mu3t
mix with it a little.
Prir.k no kind of intoxicatp.if; liquors.
Avoid temptation, through liar ou
may not withstand it.
As we must render an account of ev
ery Idle word, so must vi likewise of
our Idle silence.
Some actions, like fiesco work, only
reveal their color after they have been
done awhile.
? I
7
53