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About Lincoln County leader. (Toledo, Lincoln County, Or.) 1893-1987 | View Entire Issue (July 23, 1896)
I FIVE f.THOU':) MY doar girl, you'll havo to let me off. I'm awfully sorry, but the Governor won't give way. I'm really fond of you, and I think you are of me, but " "O! why didn't I want to marry a decent barrister, a doctor, or even a Journalist, Instead of an Earl's younger Bon?" said Miss Muriel Mallett, with a frown on her pretty face, and a tear or two In her large, limpid eyes eyes which made all the men think, wrong ly, that she was poetical and sentiment al. "But, seriously, can you give me up?" The Hon. Hob Martindale looked at her. She was Just his Ideal tall, well built, but with a saucy face In which the big black eyes seemed out of place, If fascinating. There was In her coun tenance the strangeness which, accord ing to Bacon, Is necessary to great beauty. She affected a tailor-made gown and was always well groomed; yet, though her dress was a trifle man nish, In the brusque movements which bowed that she was fidgety, glimpses of gossamer stocking and fine Valen ciennes revealed themselves, and show ed that she had a conscience In coBtume that would have delighted the hero of Gautler'g novel with the famous pre face. "My dear girl, If It were a question of risking my life, or anything like that.I wouldn't hesitate; If It were even one of those affairs of fellows who for a few hours of of well, you know, gladly die, I'd be there; but but I can't be a cad. They have brought me up as a swell without any profession, and I'm a bit of a fool, and I couldn't live on your earnings as actress, so there you are." Mlsg Muriel sighed. Bob was a hand some fellow and manly, and he would have the title and estates some day If two obstacles were to disappear. "I did like you. Bob, and do, and you were always straight. I should like to have been your wife. If only we'd wine money to run a theatrical com pany with!" "Yes, If I hadn't been such a Juggins as to blue the five thou, old Uncle Tom left mo I didn't know you then." "Yes, If we'd the five thou.!" she started a little. "Yon will marry me If ever I have 3,000? O, you'd have to work, have to be my manager." Ho nodded. "It's a promise for two years?" "Yes." "Honor bright?" "Yes, of course. If " "If I run straight? Well, look here, i we've been engaged honorably and I you want to break It off." , IIo lowered his head. ' "I'm young, only 24 even at Somer set House. I'd like to have married you, and I should have been a good .wife, too. However, some day I may want to marry some one else." The man shuddered. "A broken engagement Isn't a cer tificate of good character; you must give me one. That's fair." She got up and wheeled to him a little round table, on which was a croc-odllc-Hkln writing-pad, with silver edges. She opened It, took out writing paper, and found him pen and Ink. "Now. then, write this "My Dear Miss Mallett: It Is my painful duty to tell you that I have made fruitlessly a desperate effort to 'gain my father's consent to our mar riage. He utterly refuses, saying that he In so old-fashioned as to object to have an actress as daughter-in-law. Therefore, I am compelled to break off my engagement with a woman whom I still love and esteem." The Hon. Bob signed tho letter sad ly. i "Now, be off. I've to go to rehearsal. No, you mustn't drive mo down. Once more, If wltliln two years I have five thou, as capital, you promise you will miarry me?" I "Yos, darling, on my word of honor!" I With a swift movement she threw her arms around his neck ond kissed ililm passionately. A minute later he fouud himself In the street, sad and bewildered. That evening there- was rejoicing In jthe big mansion In Belgrave square, and the Karl of Hexham drank too much In honor of tho return to re spectability of the prodigal Bob. i "We'll soon find you a wife, niy boy," lie said, over the port, which he drank jln honor of the affair and In defiance of gout and doctor's orders. "None of your rich American trash, but some one of decent family and the sort of sol Id, reasonable dowry that a younger son deserves. ; Next morning at 12 o'clock, when the Earl was valuly trying to put on bis boots without swearing at the pain, the Hon. Bob entered the library with document In his hand. "I never thought she'd have done It, sir," he said. "Hone what?" "Look; the beustly thing says, 'The plaintiff claims damages for breuch of promise of marriage." "Bring me my slippers!" shouted the Earl; "damn the horse! send round the brougham!" Off he went to Lincoln's Inn Fields. "You'd better settle," said Mr. Pou der. the old family lawyer. "Settle!" he shouted, "settle! I'll show up tho baggage, the ! I'll put every detective In Loudon on the job. I'm not nfrntd nf nmrti ptvl ivhi'n the jury hears what she reahy Is " "But the scandal V" "Don't talk about scandal; euter an appearance, and leave the rest to me." "My dear Governor," interrupted Bob, who had accompanied him, "be fair to tho girl. I didn't thluk Muriel would have done It; but she's perfectly straight I'd stake my life on it." "Nonsense, Bob! You're a fool, and you'd better stay abroad till the af fair's over. I'll attend to It. I'll show her how to tight." The Earl's eyes gleamed. "We'll teach her, won't we, Ponder, what litigation means?" Then he told a lengthy, stale tale of his suc cessful lawsuit about right-of-way a success which added a new mortgage to tho family collection. "It's all very well," said Mr. Ponder, "but that wag chancery, this Is com mon law. I'm sure we should make a mess of It. One of my articled clerks has set up In business In Bedford Row; he's a smart fellow, and will fight bard, and Just suit you." Bob went off to the Riviera, and lost all the money his father gave him. During his absence the old gentleman employed a detective a fellow with splendid Imagination, but very poor powers of observation and the skir mishing was done under the Earl's supervision. Bob was to have staid away till after the trial; however, an urgent letter from a club friend of his father brought him home in a hurry. Ho arrived In the evening, and, going to the Carlton, learned that the case was In the list for next day. When he reached Belgrave Square and was shown Into the library he found his father with Mr. Illcks, his Bedford Row solicitor. There was a row going on at a high pitch. 'Tray tell your father he must set tle," said Mr. Hicks. "Settle be damned!" interrunted the old boy. "Settle. I sav." reiolned the anllfltnr "You see, Mr. Martindale, Sir Edward says he won't cross-examlno the plain tiff as to her character. He suggests that the material Is absurd, unit ha does not believe a. word of the detect ive g story he says he'd sooner return the brief." "And tho check?" gasped the Earl. "Yes, and the check. He snva tli.Ws no decent defense, and ho won't try to support the detective's tissue of lies. Moreover, he Insists that If he did he'd fail, and the damages and disgrace would be awful." "What doeg It matter to nit?' Rlimitpil the old gentleman. "It's not my case. It's my son's." That's a bit steep," observed the son. My retainer Is from vou. mv lur.i " urged Mr. Hicks. "O, I'll nay your confounded but where will they get their damages from?" Bob groaned. "They've told me they'll mnke htm bankrupt," replied Mr. Hicks, "and his discharge will be suspended for two years at least." What has that to do with me?" said the Earl grimly. Bob Interposed: "Lord Salisbury has many claims on his patronage, and In my bankruptcy he'd find a decent ox. cuse for leaving me out In the cold." The Karl had no gout, but he man aged without Its help to use very vig orous language concerning sons, solicit ors, advocates, and actresses. "They will take f.TOOO for Anm.. with a full apology and withdrawal in open court," said Mr. Hicks, "and 500 for costs." "An apology! A withdrawal!" "A withdrawal of all the eha on the record." Next day, to the Infinite disgust of the reporters and the crowded court. Sir Edward, In a graceful speech, made an apology of the most ample char acter, withdrew all Imputations, and announced that 5,000 would be paid as compensation for the Injury to the lady, together with her costs. The Morning Tost, on the morrow, announced that the Earl of Hexatn had gone to Buxton. When tho honorable Robert, a day later, received a letter from Murlei, saying she was most anxious to see him, he took a cab to Brompton Cres cent, and grew more and more per plexed' every Inch of the way. Miss Muriel, looking very neat, nat ty, handsome, and piquant, with a pro digious glow of life in her eyes, shook hands with him warmly and made him sit down on the sofa by her side. For a quarter of an hour she stimulated his curiosity by talking about nothing In particular. At last his patience broke down. "Look here, Ella," he said brusquely, "stow the cackle and come to cues. I'm delighted to see you, and don't bear malice; but what on earth put It into your pretty head to send for me?" She laughed loud, long, and heartily so loud, long, and heartily that at last he laughed with her. j vt ell, you are a goose: sue sam. "I know It," he answered. "I dread Michaelmas." "I think your brain Is developing; you're growing witty. O, you haven't got there yet!" "Well, but" "Listen to me. The Hon. Robert Tal bot Hiesnies Clarence Martindale made a promise to Miss Muriel Mallett that If within two years she had 5.000 to ! nuance a theatrical company with he'd ', marry her." H" g:i?.t upon mouthed. She wheeled up the little round table to him, opened the crocodile-skin writ ing pad with silver edges, and look a bundle of crisp "flimsies" from the flap. "One, two, three, four," she counted out up to fifty; 'fifty' brand new Bunk of England notes, each for 100 beauti ful, shining sovereigns. You see, I've got the five thou." He stared, mentally paralyzed. "The damages!" she shouted, hyste rical with laughter. "The dampges!" "Yes, and your promise." "Yes, but " "There are no'buts about It; you've promised, and you love me." He nodded. "And I love you. If the Earl hadn't played it so low down In the defense I might have chucked up the game. As It Is, I hold you to your word as a man of honor. Will you marry me?" She looked Into his eyes. He really loved her. She took hold of his left hand, his right arm wandered round her waist. "Will you marry me?" she repeated, her Hps an Inch from his. He replied affirmatively without a word. There Is now one obstacle the less between the husband of the fascinating Murlei Mallett and the earldom of Hex ham, for his lordship died suddenly from apoplexy on getting a tebgram from an old club friend concerning his son's marriage with the fascinating actress. The Sketch. AWDfJ Interviewing Casey. A reporter of a New York daily once went to the office of the late General Casey to get some information concern ing the Lydecker tunnel story. General Casey looked at the young man rather sternly at first, and the reporter ex pected but scant detail to follow. "Come In, sir!" he exclaimed, In a tone of almost unpleasant command. The two doors of his office were open. The reporter was standing. The gen eral, without a word, went to one door and closed it with the utmost pre cision; then he went to the other door and closed It with the samp nraplalnn The reporter was In doubt. The two were in the room alone. Coming up to the newspaper man, he pointed his Index finger straight at hig eye, and said: "Sit down there, young man, and I'll tell you the st story you ever heard." And he did. A Long Shot. James Shields was elected to the Sen ate In 1S48, defeating his predecessor, Senator Breese. Shields had distin guished himself In the Mexican War, and at the Battle of Cerro Gordo be was shot through the lunga, the ball passing out at his back. His recovery was one of the marvels of the day. Shields' war record Is believed to have secured to him nis triumph over Breese. When the news of Shields' election was received, a lawyer named Butter field was speaking of It to a group of friends, when one of them remark ed: "It was that Mexican bullet that did the business." "Yes," retorted But terfleld, "that was a great shot. The ball went clear through Shields with out hurting him, and killed Breese one thousand miles away." Fiery Dragons. In the "Statistical Account of Scot land," published at Edinburgh In 1793 there Is an account of the "rare appear ance" of fiery dragons, which sailed through the rarifled atmosphere of the Scottish highlands In the latter part of November and the first few days of September, 1792. According to the ac count, they had a "fiery red color" and made their appearance In the north flying rapidly In an easterly direction' The account adds that "many people tegarded the phenomenon with much terror" because It "was indeed a strange and startling sight to behold. A Vacuum. A perfect vacuum Is a perfect insula, tor. It Is possible to exhaust a tube so perfectly that no electric machine cau send a spark through the vacuous space, even when the Bpaee is only one centimetre. ' Saw a Meteoric Stone Fall, Mr. J. F. Black, a farmer, living about nine miles from Ottawa, Kan., saw a small meteorite fall on his land late In the afternoon of April 9 lust, and going to the spot where It fell, picked it up. It weighs thirty-one ounces and con tains a little Iron, but consists In the main of stony material. New Zealand's Gents, Agate-hunters from Germany are now exploring New Zealand with very prom ising results. Blue mid white topaz and splendid specimens of amethyst havo been discovered by theni, as well us lurgo pieces of quartz so filled with sleiulop nit!!e crystals as to resemble masses of matted hair. Java's Man-Ape, Frof. Marsh, of Yale, has recently an nounced his opinion, that the remarka ble remains of a skull, teeth and other tossil bones found by Dr. Pubo's In Java belonged to au animal that "was not human, but lepreseuied a form Intermcdlatebetweeu man and the high er apes." This opinlou confirms the be lief of tiie discoverer of tho bones, who called the animal pithecanthropes, or "ape-man." The bones were found In ancient volcanic deposits, and belong. Prof. Marsh think,, to the age known as the Pliocene. New Kind of Kites. Meteorologists are now trying to study the atmosphere high above tho ground with the aid of self-recording barometers and thermometers, etc., sent up In kites. This has resulted In a great Improvement In the forms of kites, which are now constructed on scientific principles. At the headquar ters of the Weather Bureau In Wash ington box-shaped kites, with open ends and sides partly covered with silk, aro used. Instead of twine or cord, fine piano wire is employed to hold the kite. At the Blue Hill Observatory, near Bos ton, box-shaped kites have been Bent up to an elevation of almost a mile above sea-level. A Phosphorescent Party, Monsieur Henry, of the Paris Acad emy of Sciences, has Invented a phos phorescent starch with which surpris ing effects can be produced. Used as a face-powder, It makes the countenance glow in a dark room with mysterious radiance. Recently a "5-o'clock tea" was given In Paris after dark, no light being employed except that supplied by phosphorescent starch sprinkled over everything In the room. The carpet, the ceiling, the pictures on the walls, the furniture, the teacups, the flowers, the faces, shoulders and dresses of the ladles all glowed and gleamed, making a spectacle that was at once startling and beautiful. Oldest Man in the World. According to statistics collected In Germany the oldest man known to be living anywhere on the earth Is Bruno Cotrlm, a negro born In Africa, but now living in Rio Janeiro. Upon the same authority Is based the seemingly incred ible statement that there are 3,883 per sons living In Bulgaria, each of whom has reached, or passed, the age of 100 years, making one centenarian to every 1,000 Inhabitants of that country! Ger many, with a population of 52,000,000, claims only 78 centenarians, and France, with a poulatlun of 40,000,000, 213 centenarians, while Ireland, whose population numbers only 4,000,000, bus 578 centenarians. Destroying Friction. Af ter calling attention to the fact that man was content with the use of oil to keep machinery In running order until he began to ride the bicycle, when he demanded some better labor-saver and Invented ball-bearings, the Scientific American proceeds to Illustrate and de scribe some recent applications of such bearings. They are employed for wag on and carriage wheels, for the carrier wheels of cable roads, and for the shafts of swift-running machinery. They practically dispense with the use of the oil can and greatly reduce the amount of friction to be overcome, thus adding to the effective power of all ma chines In which they are used. The singular fact Is noted that Prof. Boys, of London, showed experimentally that ball-bearings, when properly construct ed, are practically proof aginst wear He demonstrated this fact by weighing the balls of a bicycle-bearing when they were new. and again after they had been subjected to long service. They showed no loss of weight. American Soapstone. In the Ragged Mountains, In Albe marle County. Virginia, the scene of one of Toe's weird tales, exists a great deposit of soapstone which Is said to be the finest in the world. It was dig covered only about twelve years ago but now a small colony exists at the gpot and three quarries have been open ed. The stone, which Is very hard and f fine-grained, is cut out In bta, aging nine tons in weight tu ward Is sawed Into slabs, h u.,us uunga, oru.i chemical laboratories tnh, ..,1 laundries, linings for flrepla dies, which need made of soapstone, tables anrtV iu iiuniuuiis uuu oissecting-rooa. Is said to have no effect upon th, Tinea Urtmnn I.',. xuuusauus ui women worki.li mines of Belgium, England mil i"c "lai-uuuiea countn formerly worked from twelve i teen hours a day, with no Sunda The linen-thread spinners of X,, sey, according to the report c Labor Commissioner, are 'it branch of the industry compel, stand on a stone floor In water ft. round, most of the time barefoot a spray of water from a revolt lnder flying constantly agniii,' breast; and the coldest night ig ter, as well as the warmest In mer, these poor creatures must their homes with water drippin, their underclothing alouir th because there could not he spaa few moments allowed them vrtt chimire their clntlilit,. " v.. ' are "exempted" from labor ar-P"1 by hardship! Despite these washerwomen,!; and linen-thread spinners, wear, "it Is womun's privilege genera: be exempted from the care of c her livelihood and that of lit spring." It would seem to be time th' libel upon woman should be t by fair minded men. From alias ty the majority of women hare faithful workers, rendering a equivalent iu labor for theirs share of the world's goods. Th( of every Industry bears testimo: this. In our own era, while i were still bomekeepers, did the earn their livelihood? What J weaving, the sewing, the cookljj doctoring, the nursing, the child "the work that was never done; was not earning a subsistence? In these days, when woman gots and receives the reward of her as publicly as man, she Is no worthy of her hire. Her aneest sweet and saintly soul! did not or recompense. But was It no: due. and shall we refuse tn erc because man was then a self-sufE Ignoramus who deemed himself only one lit to acquire property!-! uiar science Monthly. Will Not Submit to Dioutb The subject of renewing then leges of the Bank of France will ly come up for discussion in theti ber, after having been in abejl since 1892, when the senate app: a bill for the purpose. The bill has not since been mot and the provisions Included Id it It Is thought, be adonted wlthoi; terial alteration. One of them, t: was to empower the bank to Inc Its note issue from 3,500,000,000 fi to 4,000,000,000, was passed as far as 1893. The charter exnlres on 31, 1897, and the proposal Is to er it for a Derlod of twenty veanl that date, In consideration of tie i making certain concessions to state. Among these ronepsalnns is Oft which the bank is to forego all ftf Interest on the government debt 000.000 francs, and not to denial payment of the capital so long is charter Is In force. The bank; undertake tho service of the Mt debt and transact other business the treasury, hnth nt tho hpnii offiff branches, free of charge, and mi' annual payment to the latter fori1 000 francs during the first year o! currency of the new charter and- 000 francs ner nnnimi siihseai It Is to open several new br' and make advances to agrlculturt operative societies. It lg not lmnrnhnhln tlmt an will be made to convert the ban! a state institution hut Qii.'h a or doeg not command support eitbf nnanclal.-or ministerial circles, I not In the least decree likely to with success. Edinburgh Seotanuj Edison's Speech. Mr. Edison has only once trfc make a speech. It was before l seminary, where he had agreed ture on electricity. He had enpf a friend named Adams to.operat' apparatus while he talked; but the "Wizard" arose before his ence, he felt so dazed that be said: "Ladies, Mr. Adams will address you on electricity, and demonstrate what he has to WJ the apparatus." Heard While Waiting. A passenger, while waiting at way station for his train amused self by watching the queer looto' antics of a tailless cat as it played i on the platform. The station happening to pop out of his offlc Intending traveler pointed to UV and said, "What kind of a cat is Manx?" "No," replied the statlox' ter, with a sly smile, "Brighton press." A woman should at least be g"1 for one thing: she la never asked 1 a paubearer.