I1IK CITIZEN, FRIDAY, JULY 30, 1000.
THE SKYLIGHT ROOM
How Dr. Billy Jackson Found the
Girl It Sheltered.
By O. HENRY.
Copyright, 190G, by McClure, Phillips &
Co.
First Mrs. Parker would show you
the double parlors. You would not
dare to Interrupt her description ot
their advantages and of the merits of
the gentleman who had occupied them
for eight years. Then you would man
age to stammer forth the confession
that you were neither a Aloctor nor a
dentist. Mrs. Parker's manner of re
ceiving the admission was such that
you could never nfterward entertain
the same feeling toward your parents,
who had neglected to train you up in
one of the professions that fitted Mrs.
Parker's parlors.
Next you ascended ono lllght of
stairs and looked at the second floor
back at ?S. Convinced by her second
floor manner that it was worth the
$12 that Mr. Toosenberry always paid
for it until he left to take charge of
his brother's orange plantation in Flor
ida, near Palm Beach, where Mrs. Mc
Intyre always spent the winters that
had the double front room with private
bath, you managed to babble that you
wanted something still cheaper.
If you survived Mrs. Tarkcr's scorn
you were taken to look at Mr. Skid
der's largo hall room on the third floor.
Mr. Skldder's room was not vacant,
lie wrote plays and smoked cigarettes
in it all day loug. But every room
hunter was made to visit Ills room to
admire the lambrequins. After each
visit Mr. Skidder, from the fright
caused by possible eviction, would pay
something on his rent.
Then oh, then if you still stood on
one foot, with your hot hand clutching
the three moist dollars in your pocket,
and hoarsely proclaimed your hideous
and culpable poverty, never more
would Mrs. Tarker bo cicerone of
yours. She would honk loudly the
word "Clara!" She would show you
her back and march downstairs. Then
Clara, the colored maid, would escort
you up the carpeted ladder that served
for the fourth lllght and show you the
skylight room. It occupied 7 by S feet
of floor spaco at the middle of the hall.
On each side of it was a dark lumber
closet or storeroom.
In it were an iron cot. a washstand
and a chair. A shelf was the dresser.
Its four bare walls seemed to close in
upon you like the sides of a coffin.
Your hand crept to your throat, you
gasped, you looked up as from a well
and breathed once more. Through
the glass of the little skylight you saw
a square of blue inlinlty.
"Two dollars, suh," Clara would say
in her half contemptuous, half Tuske
geonlal tones.
One day Miss I.eeson came hunting
for a room. She carried a typewriter
made to be lugged around by a much
larger lady. She was a very little
girl, with eyes and hair that had kept
ou growing after she had stopped and
that always looked as if they were
saying: "Goodness nie! AVhy didn't
you keep up with usV"
Mrs. Parker showed her the double
parlors. "In this closet," she said
"one could keep a skeleton or an
aesthetic or coal"
"But I am neither a doctor nor a
dentist," said Miss I.eeson, with a
shiver.
Mrs. Parker gave her the incred
ulous, pitying, sneering, icy stare that
TO
"I'll JUST A POOR LITTLE WORKING OIItL.
she kept for those who failed to qual
ify as doctors or dentists and led the
way to the second floor back.
"Eight dollars?" said Miss Leeson,
"Dear me! I'm not Iletty, If I do look
green. I'm just a poor littlo working
girl. Show rno something higher and
lower."
Mr. Skidder jumped and strewed tho
3oor with cigarette stubs at the rap
on his door,
, "Excuse me, Mr. Skidder," said Mrs,
Parker, with her demon's smile at his
pale looks. "I didn't know you were
In. I aslil'd tho lady to have a look
at your lambrequins."
"They'ro too lovely for anything,"
said Miss Leeson, smiling In exactly
the way tho angels do.
After they had gone Mr. Skidder got
very busy erasing tho tall, black haired
heroine from his latest (unproduccd)
play and Inserting a small, roguish
one with heavy, bright hair and viva
clous features
"Anna Held '11 Jump at It," said Mr.
Bkidder to himself, putting his feet np
against tho lambrequins and dlsap
UM
pearlng in a cloud of smoke like an
aerial cuttlefish.
Presently the tocsin call of "Claral"
sounded to the world the state of Miss
Leeson'8 purse. A dark goblin seized
her, mounted a Btyglon stairway,
thrust her into a vault with a glimmer
of light in Its top and muttered the
menacing and cabalistic words "Two
dollars!"
"I'll take it," sighed Miss Leeson,
sinking down upon tho squeaky iron
bed.
Every day Miss Leeson went out to
work. At night she brought home
papers with handwriting on them and
made copies with her typewriter.
Sometimes she had no work at night,
and then she would sit on the steps
of the high stoop with the other room
ers. Miss Leeson was not intended for
skylight room when tho plans were
drawn for her creation. She was gay
hearted and full of tender, whimsical
fancies. Once she let Mr. Skidder
read to her three acts of his great
(unpublished) comedy, "Ifs No Kid;
or, The Heir of the Subway."
There was rejoicing among tho gen
tlemen roomers whenever Miss Leeson
had time to sit on the steps for an
hour or two. But Miss Longnecker,
tho tall blond who taught in a public
school and said "Well, really!" to
everything you said, sat on the top
step and sniffed. And Miss Dorn, who
shot at the moving ducks at Coney
every Sundajv.nd worked in a depart
ment store, sat on the bottom step
and sniffed. Miss Leeson sat on the
middle step, and tho men would quick
ly group around her.
Especially Mr. Skidder, who had cast
her in his mind for the star part in
a private, romantic (unspoken) drama
In real life. And especially Mr. Hoo-
cr, who was forty-five, fat, flush and
foolish. And especially very young Mr.
Evans, who set up a hollow cough to
Induce her to ask him to leave off cig
arettes. The men voted her "the fun
niest and jolliest ever," but tho sniffs
on tho top step and the lower step
were implacable.
I pray you let tho drama halt, while
Chorus stalks to the footlights and
drops an epicedlan tear upon tho fat
ness of Mr. Iloover. Tune the pipes
to the tragedy of tallow, tho bane of
bulk, the calamity of corpulence. Tried
out, Falstaff might have rendered
more real romance to the ton than
would have Borneo's rickety ribs to
the ounce. A lover may sigh, but ho
must not puff. To the train of Momus
are tho fat men remanded. In vain
beats the faithfulest heart above a
fifty-two inch belt. Avaunt, Iloover!
Hoover, forty-five, flush and foolish,
might carry off Helen herself. Iloover,
forty-five, flush, foolish and fat, is meat
for perdition. There was never a
chance for you, Iloover.
As Mrs. Parker's roomers sat thus
ono summers evening Miss ljcoson
looked tip into tho firmament and
cried, with her gay littlo laugh:
'Why, there's Billy Jackson! I can
see him from down here too."
All looked up, some at the windows
of skyscrapers, some casting about for
an airship, Jackson guided.
"It's that star," explained Miss Lie
son, pointing with a tiny finger. "Not
tho big one that twinkles the steady
blue ono near it. I can see It every
night through my skylight. I named
It Billy Jackson."
"Well, really!" said Miss Longnecker,
I didn't know you were an astrono
mer, Miss Leeson."
"Oh, yes," said the small star gazer
"I know as much as any of them about
the style of sleeves they're going to
wear next fall in Mars."
"Well, really!" said Miss Longnecker.
"The star you refer to is Gamma, of
the constellation Cassiopeia. It is
nearly of the secoud magnitude, and
Its meridian passage is"
"Oh," said tho very young Mr.
Evans, "I think Billy Jackson is
much better name for It"
"Same hero," said Mr. Iloover, loud
ly breathing defiance to Miss Long
necker. "I think Miss Leeson has
just as much right to name stars as
any of those old astrologers had."
"Well, really!" said Miss Longnecker,
"I wonder whether It's a shooting
star," remarked Miss Dorn. "I lilt
nine ducks nnd a rabbit out of ten
In tho gallery at Coney Sunday."
He doesn't show up very well from
down here," said Miss Leeson. "You
ought to sco him from my room. You
know, you can see stars even in the
daytime from tho bottom o.flfe well
At night my room is like the shaft of
a coal mine, and it makes Billy .Tacit
son look like the big diamond pin that
Night fastens her kimono with."
There came a time after that when
Miss Leeson brought no formidable pa
pers home to copy. And when she
went out In tho morniug, Instead of
working, she went from office to office
and let her heart melt away lu tho
drip of cold refusals transmitted
through insolent office boys. This went
on.
There came nn evening when sho
wearily climbed Mrs. Parker's stoop
nt the hour when sho always returned
from her dinner at the restaurant But
she had had no dinner.
As she stepped Into tho hall Mr.
Iloover met her and seized his chance,
no asked her to marry him, and his
fatness hovered above her like an ava
lanche. She dodged and caught the
balustrade. lie tried for her hand, and
she raised It and sinoto him weakly
In tho fnce. Step by step she went
up, dragging herself by the railing.
She passed Mr. Skldder's door as he
was rod-lnklng a stage direction for
Myrtlo Delormo (Miss Leeson) in his
(unaccepted) comedy, to "plrouetto
across stago from L to tho sido of tbo
count" Up tho carpeted ladder she
crawled at last and opened the door
of tho skylight room.
Bho was too weak to light the lamp
or to undress. She fell unon the Iron
1 cot, her fragile body scarcely hollow
ing the worn springs. And in that
Erebus of a room she slowly raised
her heavy eyelids nnd smiled.
For Billy Jackson was shining down
on her, calm nnd bright and constant
through the skylight. There was no
world about her. Sho was sunk in a
pit of blackness, with but that small
square of pallid light framing the star
that she had so whimsically and, oh,
so ineffectually named. Miss Long
necker must be right it was Gamma,
of tho constellation Cassiopeia, and not
Billy Jackson. And yet sho could not
let it be Gamma.
As she lay on her back she tried
twice to raise her arm. The third
time she got two thin fingers to her
lips nnd blew a kiss out of tho black
pit to Billy Jackson. Her arm fell
back limply.
"Goodby, Billy," sho murmured
faintly. "You're millions of miles
away, nnd you won't even twinkle
once. But you kept where I could see
you most of tho time up there when
there wasn't anything else but dark
ness to look at didn't you? Millions
of inlls. Goodby, Billy Jackson."
Clara, the colored maid, found tho
door locked at 10 the next dny, nnd
they forced it open. Vinegar and the
LET LOOSE Tim PRACTICED SCALPEL OP
HIS TONGUE.
slapping of wrists and burnt feathers
proving of no avail, some one ran to
phone for an ambulance.
In due time it backed up to tho door
with much gong clanging, and the ca
pable young medico, in his white linen
coat, ready, active, confident, with his
smooth face half debonair, half grim,
danced up tho steps.
"Ambulance call to 40," ho said
briefly. "What's tho trouble?"
"Oh, yes, doctor," sniffed Mrs. Par
ker, us though her trouble that there
should bo trouble in tho house was
the greater. "I can't think what can
be tho matter with her. Nothing wo
could do would bring her to. It's a
young woman, a Miss Elsie yes, a
Miss Elsio Leeson. Never before In
my house"
"What room?" cried tho doctor in a
terrible voice, to which Mrs. Parker
was a stranger.
"Tho skylight room. It"
Evidently tho ambulance doctor was
familiar with the location of skylight
rooms. He was gone up the stairs,
four at a time. Mrs. rarker followed
slowly, as her dignity demanded.
On the flrst landing she met him
coming back, bearing the astronomer
in his arms. Ho stopped and let loose
the practiced scalpel of his tongue, not
loudly. Gradually Mrs. Parker cram
pled as a stiff garment that slips down
from a nail. Ever afterward there re
mained crumples in her mind and
body. Sometimes her curious room
ers would ask her what tho doctor
said to her.
"Let that be," sho would answer.
"If I can get forgiveness for havln
heard it I will be satisfied."
The ambulance physician strode
with his burden through the pack of
hounds that follow tho curiosity chase,
nnd even they fell back along tho side
walk abashed, for his face was that
of ono who bears his own dead.
They noticed that ho did not lay
down upon tho bed prepared for It in
the ambulance the form that he car-
Wed, and all that he said was "Drive
like sin, Wilson," to tho driver.
That is nil. Is it a story? In tho
next morning's paper I saw a littlo
news Item, and tho last sentence of it
may help you as it helped mo to weld
tho incidents together.
It recounted the reception into Belle-
vuo hospital of a young woman who
had been removed from 49 East -
street suffering from debility induced
by starvation. It concluded, with these
words:
"Dr. William Jackson, the ambu
lance physician who attended the
case, says the patient will recover."
A Quaint Tract.
A quaint tract entitled "Woo to
Drunkards," being a sermon by Sam
uel "Wnld, preacher of Ispwich, was
printed In London in 1027. The
preacher based his remarks upon
Proverbs xxlll, 20-32, "Look not thou
upon tho wine when it is red," etc.,
imd Illustrated his arguments by ex
amples from various parts of the king
dom of "God's judgments on drunk
ards." Among other instances ho
quotes tho following ono from Ten
by: "At Tenby, in Pembrokeshire,
Drunkard being exceedingly drunke
broke himself all to pieces off an high
and steep rock in most fearefull man
ner, and yet tho occasion and clrcum-
Btancos of his fall so ridiculous as
thtnke not fit to relate, lest in so seri
ous a judgement I should movo laugh
ter of the Header." Cardiff Times.
NIGHT TALKS roajbmaINO?
By REV. F. E. DAVISON g V ' ""(1 )
I OCXX)OOC)COOOCOCOOCOCOOOCQ
THAT BLESSED HOPE.
International Bible Lesson for
Aug. 8, '09 ( 1 Thess 5: 12-24).
Of the twenty
one epistles of
the New Testa
ment at least
thirteen bear the
name of Paul. He
wrote one letter
to Romans, eight
to Greeks, and
four to individu
als. These let
ters aro not
bound up in the
Bible in the or
der In which they
were written.
The flrst letters
which the apostle wrote were the 1st
and 2nd epistles to the Thessalonlans,
and they were written upon Just one
theme, the second advent of Christ.
History Unrolling.
The Jews for hundreds of years had
been living in anticipation of the
coming of a Messiah. For them,
world-history had unrolled itself in
this order, viz.: a chosen man, Abra
ham, was called out of Ur of the Chal
dees, and this chosen man had be
come the head of a chosen family,
Hebrews, and this chosen family had
become a chosen nation, Israelites,
and this chosen nation should produce
chosen, supreme teacher, Jesus
That was as far as they went. And
right here the apostles took up the
chart, and taught that this chosen
Jewish Messiah is the Saviour of all
men, and that this chosen Supreme
teacher has founded a chosen church
and that to this chosen church shall
ultimately be given all nations.
The Gentiles on the contrary the
Greeks, Romans, and barbarians could
not be reached by that argument The
Old Testament, and the Jewish
prophets were nothing to them.
Whether Christ was the Messiah or
not was 01 no particular force so
far as they were concerned. What
they wanted was a living Lord,
mightier divinity than Jupiter, or
Jove, one who could appropriately be
termed King of Kings, and Lord of
Lords. To them, therefore, Paul
preached a Mighty Redeemer of all
men, now enthroned in heaven, a vic
tor over death and the grave, and a
king who was destined sooner or later,
to ride down the skies in clouds and
great glory, to judge the world in
righteousness. The thought of the
imminence of the second advent, that
the judge was even then at the door,
that the trump of the archangel might
6hake the earth at any moment, was
a mighty incentive to repentance, and
a cordial for every fear in the days of
fiercest persecution.
The King's Return.
It is doubtless true that the early
church anticipated that Christ would
return to earth in person within the
lifetime of those then living. They
felt that they were living in the last
days and they looked with longing
eyes for the absent King to burst
upon the world with the voice of the
archangel and the trump of God, de
stroy their enemies, restore the an
cient glory of David's kingdom, and
make the twelve apostles his prime
ministers of state, to rule over na
tions. The tendency of the doctrine was
to make people indifferent to anything
that made for permanency. If every
thing was going to be so completely
revolutionized so soon, what was the
use of trying to evangelize the world,
or establish institutions only to have
them wiped out of existence when He
came. Therefore, to correct that er
ror, Paul wrote his second letter, not
to deny what he had already pro
claimed in any way, but to dispel the
idea tbat Christ had already returned
or was just on the eve of it
Two thousand years have rolled
away and the Parousia or appearing
of Christ has not yet taken place. Two
thousand years is a long time as men
count time, but not in the clock of
eternity. According to the chronology
of heaven, "a thousand years In thy
sight are but as yesterday when it is
passed." And, "A thousand years is
with the Lord as one day," That be
ing so, it follows that it is not yet two
days since Christ ascended from
Olivet, and it is still perfectly proper
to say, "The Lord Is not slack con
cerning His promise as some men
count slackness, but is long-suffering
to usward, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to
repentance."
Now, suppose the tidings should
suddenly go forth that He was com
ing to-morrow. Suppose it should be
definitely established that at precise
ly 12 o'clock, noon, August 9, 1909,
the heavens would roll together like a
scroll, the throne of the universe
would appear In tho clouds, and every
eye should see Him, on whose head
are many crowns! What do you sup
pose would happen? Wouldn't there
bo some revolutions in society? What
would happen In the individual life?
In the homes of the people? In busi
ness, in legislation, crooked things
would bo made Btralght Injustice and
oppression would cease, the churches
would be crowded, the halls ot pleas
ure would be deserted. Well, If these
ttitnca to mild hnnnnn fhn In vfow nf
mio rnmimr onn Anv nn. Hv nnv
I OI -wv 0. T w
good and sufficient reason, why they
I
1 should not take place now?
A GOOD ROADS BOOM.
Present Impulses Toward Their Build
Ing Never Equalled.
There has been manifested in the
several States of the East and South,
the past year, an impulse toward the
construction and maintenance ot good
roads, that has never been equalled In
the past and that is likely to grow
as the years come and go. In almost
every one of the older commonwealths
there has been an awakening to the
economic value of such improvement
Perhaps the multiplication of automo
biles has been one of the impelling
causes of this larger movement but
the farmers and all others Interested
in local transportation have caught
its spirit, and have come to realize
that business as well as pleasure
would be promoted by the es
tablishment of thoBe conditions to
ward which It tends. When a hus
bandman masters the simple calcula
tion that because a span of horses
can draw twice as much over a good
road as a poor one he is therefore
getting twice as much service at no
additional expense, he is pretty sure
to give his approval and support to
the enterprise.
Almost every State along the Atlan
tic slope has taken action within the
past year looking to the betterment
of its highways. Although Massachu
setts has been a leader In this re
spect for a number of years, the new
distribution of a percentage of the ap
propriation made for this purpose
among the small towns is bound to
show material Improvement in a very
short time. It will not give all sec
tions such roads as the highway com
mission constructs for demonstration
purposes, yet It will Inevitably raise
the general standard and stimulate
local Interest to a larger extent In
this form of Improvement. New Hamp
shire has projected a decided advance
in this respect by taking steps to
build three trunk highways through
the State. New York has bonded her
self for millions for a like purpose
and the result will doubtless promote
her internal interests to a greater ex
tent than her barge canal and at a
much earlier date. By much pressure
the governor of Pennsylvania succeed
ed in having authority given by tho
recent Legislature for the construe
tion of a great highway between tho
principal cities of the State, represent
ing the eastern and western halves.
With her comparatively limited re
sources, Maryland has appropriated
millions for this purpose and in con
junction with West Virginia has ar
ranged for a hignway that will bo a
revelation to the people of those
States.
Similar action, even If on a less ex
tended scale, might bo instanced in
other States, but, comparatively
speaking, Georgia seems to have gird
ed up her loins for the most signifi
cant advance in the whole sisterhood,
COVERS THE HOT WATER JVG.
Simple Cosy That Will Aid in Keep
ing the Contents Warm.
It is quite as necessary to keep the
hot water warm that has occasionally
to be added to the teapot as it is to
keen the tea itself warm. It is, there
fore, a good plan to make a cosy of
a similar nature to the ordinary tea
v hut. of course, differing in
shane. to fit the hot water jug.
simple cosy of this kind Is shown in
our sketch, with the picture of a hot
water jug embroidered on one side.
It is edged with a stout cord, with
three loops at tho top to form a han
dle by which it may be lifted when
required. A cover of linen or campric
that can bo removed Is nice, as it can
then bo frequently washed. A wad
ded foundation covered with sateen
6hould bo made, then tho cover
should be a trifle larger so as to slip
on easily, and button at the lower
edge to buttons on tho foundation.
The French Method.
Tho excellence of the French road
is due not to the superior quality of
the material used in their construc
tion, as the same materials oxlst most
everywhere, or to the perfection of
tho French method of construction,
for their roads are built according to
the Macadam plan, which is also
used in this country, but to the su
periority of the French method of ad
ministration, which places all roads
under constant and Intelligent super
vision.
I The value of commercial fertilizer!
( . Alt At. 1
I aepenub on voeir conunmB uie bib
ments which the soil needs.
WHEN THE ENGINE COMES
8 no time to be regretting your neglect
to get insured. A little care beforehand
is worth more than any amount ol re
gret. KRAFT & CONGER,
ieneral Insurance Agents
HONESDALE PA.
Holmes Memorial, St. Rose Cemetery,
Carbondale, Fa.
Designed and built by
MARTIN CAUFIELiD
Tooth
Savers
We have the sort of tooth brushes that nre
made to thoroughly cleuusu uml save tho
teetn.
They are the kind that clean teeth without
leaving vour mouth full of bristles.
We recommend those costing 25 cents or
more, as we ran guarantee them nnd will re
place, free, any that show defects, of nianu
facture within three months.
O. T. CHAHBERS,
PHARHACIST,
Opp.D. & It. Station,
HONESDALE, PA.
JOSEPH N. WELCH
Fire
The OLDEST Fire Insurance
Agency in Wayne County.
Office: Second floor Masonic Build
ing, over C. C. Jadwin's drug Etore,
Honesdale.
FOR SALE 1
One of the best equipped farms in Wayne
county situated about three miles from
" Honesdale,
Everything llp-To-Dale.;
Over $5,000.00
as been ex
ended with
n the Inst fivR
years in buiuuna
165 tatfv
tools and improvements.
of which 75 acres are good hard-
oou umuer.
ill ue som reasonably.
A Bargain.
For further particulars en-
quire of
W. W.WOOD, "Citizen
office.
For New Late Novelties
-IN
I ruj.' tti. 1 jff Mf
I" f I IF' -. I
L'W.
JEWELRY
SILVERWARE
WATCHES
Try
SPENCER, The Jeweler
"Guaranteed articles only sold."