Lincoln County leader., August 18, 1899, Image 2

'ASLAND stood on
the crest of the bill
and looked across
the waste of tangled
gorse. He wiped
his forehead with
.his h a n d k erchlef
and stretched him
self at full length on
the sun-baked turf.
"What weather!"
he growled, fumb
ling Idly with his
sketch book. "Too
hot to live, almost,
and only May! That
girl must be as mad as myself to think
of walking on a day like this."
He glanced down the winding path
with a pathetic curiosity, unbuttoned
his coat,1 and fanned himself vigorous
ly with his sketch book. Then he lay
still for fully ten minutes. ,
"Hallo!"
The ejaculation stifled a ponderous
yawn. Hasland sprang to his feet,
pulled off his coat spasmodically, and
faced the girl with a flush of embar
rassed pleasure.
"Miss Thornton!"
"I I had almost abandoned all hopes
of ever seeing you again," he began.
"You know I was away when you left,
and "
"And what are you doing here In the
wilderness?"
"Trying to kill two birds with the
proverbial stone," he answered lightly.
"Endeavoring to earn a living and get
ome fresh air at the same time, and
faring badly on both sides. It's too
AN ABT1ST WAS BUSILV WORKING.
hot to work, and the heat won't give
the fresh air a chance. I suppose you're
taring In the village, E:h Miss Thorn
ton?"
"Yes, at the manor. I have a sltua
tlon there for the summer."
She looked down at her dusty shoes,
and Hasland realized with a little pang
of pity that fortune was still unkind to
her. She was wearing the sa me plain
white dress that she had worn the first
time he met her two summers before.
"And do you like your new position?"
ho ventured.
"Oh, yes." She raised her head with
a start. "I am companion, to a lady,
and 8 he Ih generally very good to me.
I have not a great deal to do, but some
times "
"Well?" asked Hasland, with eager
Interest.
"She Is very Irritable at times. Poor
soul! she Is lonely, and I think she has
had a lot of trouble. I have been here
nearly four months, and we have never
bad a visitor. She lives in London dur
ing the winter, and I tbluk her niece,
Miss Colmore "
Hasland wan busily engaged In filling
his pipe, but both pipe and tobacco
pouch slipped from his fingers, and his
teeth closed together with a snap.
"Miss what?" he gasped.
"Colmore. She was at the last drawing-room,
you know, and they say she
Is engaged to be married to Lord Flsk
erton. She is coming to stay at the
manor for a few weeks."
He rubbed his chin and gazed away
pensively toward the river. The girl
held out her hand, but he dkl not notice
It for a moment.
"I must really go, Mr. Hasland," she
Bald. "It Is almost 4 o'clock. I cannot
tell you how pleased I am at having
seen you again. I hope you are selling
plenty of pictures ?"
"I shall see you again," he ques
tioned, furtively evading her glance.
"I am staying at the Inn. Oh, yes, I am
doing fairly well," he went on, hastily.
"There are some charming bits of
landscape down in the valley; It's a
regular artist's paradise. But, Ethel
Miss Thornton "
, "Good-by."
1 "Au revolr, then!" he answered, re
luctantly, raising his cap. "I shall see
you again one of the days."
Stretched there In the sweltering
base ho mused with half-cloned eyes
over the days he had spent In the shabby-respectable
Loudon boarding-house.
Every morning at 0:30 precisely the
plaintive creaklnjr of the unpalnted
gate would draw him cautiously to his
window to watch her set out cheerfully
to meet that monotonous unchanging
round of toll.
'Toor little girl!" he said, rising and
picking up his sketch book. "And what
a coincidence! If l can see Kate tne
fates may take It into their heads to
smile, after all."
He descended the hill whistling, and,
crossing the common, reached the
dusty road leading to the village. A
rumble of wheels and a rattle of har
ness made him turn his head inquisi
tively, and then a scene almost Identi
cal with the one that had taken place
on the hill half an hour before was
enacted.
"Harold!"
Hasland staggered under the hall of
questions that followed, but struggled
manfully to answer them. Giving the
coachman orders to drive slowly, she
tripped down and they walked on side
by side.
"Have you seen Aunt. Carrie?" she
asked.
"Good gracious, no, Katie! It's the
queerest thing In the world. I only
came down here a day or two ago, and
I hadn't the faintest Idea in the world
that she was within 100 miles of the
place. I haven't seen her or had a line
since our mutual understanding and
the battle that followed. I suppose
she's as flinty as ever?"
"Poor fellow," .she said sympatheti
cally. "It must be a horrible experi
ence to be cut off with a shilling or
without even that; but I'm Bure It
would be Infinitely worse for both of
us had we countenanced her pet scheme
and married. I am very fond of you,
Hal, but "
"It would hardly have been a Darby
and Joan existence, eh? What does
aunt think about your engagement with
Lord Fiskerton?"
"She didn't like It at all at first and
gave me homilies by the hour on my
base Ingratitude In abandoning her In
her old age. She declared she would
leave every penny she possessed to
some home for lost donkeys, or some
thing similar."
"But she seems more contented since
she got this new lady's companion and
she never writes me without lauding
this person to the skies."
A sudden bend In the road brought
them In sight of the straggling village
street, and both paused simultaneous
ly. Hasland was embarrassed and irri
tated. "I I wish you wouldn't call Miss
Thornton a person,' Kate?" he blurted
out, after an awkward pause.
"Oh. you know her?"
"You see, Kate,'! he stammered, with
sudden resolution. "I'd better make a
clean breast of It, for after all you owe
me something. The fact Is, I'm in love
with her over head and ears. She's
had a rough passage, poor little wom
an, but even taking that into consid
eration, I can't ask her to marry me,
my princely salary being something
like $1,000 a year. If you can do hoth
lng else, be kind to her. Promise."
"Of course I will," she answered.
The old lady was not In a pleasant
temper. She motioned to Miss Thorn
ton, who had been reading to her, to lay
down the book.
"I think a little sunshine will do me
no harm," she said sharply. "Let us
walk down as far as the river."
They crossed the quaint wooden
bridge and turned down the shady
path under the willows.
Near the gate that barred the path
stood an easel, and an artist was busily
at work under the shade of an um
brella. The recognition was Instantaneous,
aud the old lady caught her breath
gaspingly, while Hasland compressed
his lips.
Then, for the third time In the three
days the little tableau was enacted.
"Harold." she said hesitatingly.
"Aunt!"
The old lady stood Irresolute for a
moment, and then extended both hands,
which Hasland caught In his.
That evening, Just at dusk, Harold
Hasland and Ethel stood on the broad
veranda together. His arm was about
her waist.
"It Is all so strange," she whispered,
"that I can hardly realize It yet."
"It is strange," he answered, with a
kiss, "but It is true for all that." Lon
don Evening News.
REALISTIC LAKE BATHING.
Chicago Small Boy Defies the taw and
F corns Clothing.
Summer Is the Joyous season when
the small boy goes down to the lake
front, climbs over the frowning wall
of the Illinois Railroad Company, tres
passes upon the right of way regard
less of the warning signs, and takes off
his clothes In view of the audience
when he has reached the breakwater,
says the. Chicago Chronicle. Then he
Jumps Into the shallow water and
flounders gleefully In the sand for some
time. Passing 'railroad trains filled
with passengers disturb him not. He
pays no heed to the disturbed gaze of
the resident on Lake avenue, who
views his antics with undisguised dis
favor. He wants to swim, and there
Is the water, and what more Is neces
sary? Anoa comes the railroad police
man with raucous voice and threaten
ing club, hurtling across the tracks,
filling the air with strange oaths and
acilng generally as though he were
trying to disperse a riotous mob. Then
the small boy takes his clothing, usual
ly consisting of two pieces, and hies
him along the piling to the convenient
shelter of a boathouse. If the uniform
ed' minion of the corporation pursues
him he slips into the clothes with two
motions and defies the law. If the cop
per gets tired of the Job and weakens
in the pursuit the small boy drops the
cioi'uts aud dives iuio the water again,
If only one small boy did this he
might not attract much notice. But
there Is more than one small boy in
Chicago who pants for the cooling wa
ters of the lake on sultry days, and
when scores of them line the break
water pier they occasion some con
ment among passengers on the subur
ban trains. The boys have never ac
quired the bathing-suit habit. The
law prescribes It, but the small boy
never did have much respect for the
law and Ignores it unless It begins to
chase him with a club. Therefore the
spectacular effect of the bathers Is a
bit startling to the eye as viewed from
the flying trains.
They don't, give the boy much of
chance in Chicago. If he flies a kite in
the streets he is arrested; if he plays
base-ball on forbidden territory he is
chased from It by the police; if he
throws stones, one of the prerogatives
of all boys in all times, he Is break-
lngthelaw, and If he goes swimming in
the great, cool lake which stretches so
Invitingly before him he Is harried by
the police and arrested If they get near
enough to him. The city eternally for-
' police I"
Making a Left-Handed Admission.
Three citizens one a lawyer, one a
doctor and one a newspaper man sat
In a back room recently In the gray
light of the early dawn. On the table
were many empty bottles and a couple
of packs of cards. As they sat In silence
a rat scurried across the hearth Into
the darkness beyond. The three men
shifted their feet and looked at each
other uneasily. After a long pause the
lawyer spoke. "I know what you fel
lows are thinking," he said; "you think
I thought I saw a rat, but I didn't!"
You can always please a woman by
guessing under her age.
bids him to swim In the big lake unless
surrounded by proper facilities In the"
way of bathing suits and bathhouses,
V. . . . I A ,. . m ' . i
uui n uwa uui luruisu me suits or
build the houses. If both were sup
puea ny the uiunlclnpllty the small
boys In droves would take advantag
of them. There are two or three pub
lic bathhouses in Chicago, but they are
not what the average healthy boy
wants. They are all right for the pur-
make shift vrlrh what he nnas tne
lake and the pier and if he uncon
sciously furnishes a summer spectacle
to all beholders he feels it Is not his
fault. In the meantime bathing must
be done from the piers with such scant
nrotectlon from the gaping world as Is
furnished by the advertising signs and
the boathouses.
Of course it is against the law near
ly everything the small ooy aoes or
GREAT PRINCH CF INC?! A T
He Ha Placed Hia Herd of Elenh
at Dt.posal of Lady Curan! ,
The pretty, girlish creature whos.
beauty once captivated the niarrlae!
able men of Chicago and Washington
society circles, but who married n
English lord and Is now vicereine n
India, has Just added to her list of
sought admirers the Maharajah 0f
LADY CURZON, FORMERLY MISS LEITER OP CHICAGO.
wants to do in Chicago Is against some
law. But, while the law expressly for
bids bathing In public without the out
ward and visible signs of a bathing
suit It offers no recourse to the pant
ing youngster who, free from school
and home duties, wanders about to
ward the great, blue, cool looking lake
on a hot day and Is possessed of a de
sire to "go in." He sees no reason why
he should not. The lake Is public
property. He climbs on the pier or
walks out on some rotting stringer,
"shucks" his clothing and wades slow
ly Into the water. Perhaps a score
or a half-dozen go In together. In half
an hour a few more boys, drifting Idly
along, see the bathers and are Inspired
with the same desire to swim, and In
they go. Policemen often try to arrest
the lawbreakers, and there Is a hasty
exodus of the happy boys when they
see the minions of the law coming.
Df velopment of English Language.
If some recently published statistics
are to be trusted the English language
Is developing more than any other,
past or present While the German
contains 80,000 words, the Italian 45,
000, the French 30,000 and the Spanish
only 20,000, Dr. Murray's English Dic
tionary Is expected to contain no few-
BOYS BATHING ON THE LAKE FRONT.
poses for which they were designated
to furnish bathing facilities In crowd
ed tenement districts. But the boy
who wants to cool off and splash
around In the water docs not want to
go Into a building under a roof and
slip into a warm, nauseating pool, the
limits of which he can see with half
an eye, and whose scant dimensions
are shared by a hundred others at the
same moment. He wants to get Into
the lake Into the limitless, heaving
body of blue water which lies, at the
very door of Chicago with nothing
over him but the blue sky and plenty
of room for 100,000 other bathers.
Finding himself without the facili
ties la the way of bathhouses aud bath
ing suits, the small boy Is obl'tod to
er than 250,000 words, more than half
of which have come Into use during
the last half century. A great part of
""' uuiuons are, of course, tech
nical or scientific terms, which the
wiser German translates.
die,
' A Celeatial Reproach.
Dorothy Mamma, If I should
would I go to heaven?
"Why, yes, darling; of course you
would."
"And If you should die, would you go
"I hope so. dear."
"I hope so, too; because It would be
very awnwara ror me to be known as
.1141. 1-1 - I .
iuc time Kiri wnose mother Is la hell
Life.
Durbhunga, one of the premier noble
men of Ulndoostan and a trusted advis
er of Lord Curzon. This Hindoo prince
ha 8 respectfully placed at the disposal
of Lady Curzon the splendid herd of
elephants that are among his vast pos
sessions, thus making Lady Curzon the
possessor pro tem. of more of these
lordly creatures than any other woma'S
In the world. Her ladyship has devel
oped a great liking for the elephants,
and frequently takes advantage of the
friendliness existing between the vice
roy and the maharajab to ride forth on
one of the gorgeously caparisoned ele
phants of state. . " - . ! , 1
With that happy spirit of frank
friendliness In the company of under
lings that only an American woman
knows how to Indulge without loss of
dignity, the vicereine has made herself
the Idol of the attendants at the palace
of the Indian prince. To penetrate the
reserve of an Oriental of high degree
a feat that not every white man or
woman, even among the upper ten of
India, can boast of having accomplish
ed. To be given the freedom of the
magnificent palace of his highness the
Maharajah of Durbhunga Is a compli
ment even to a viceroy and vicereine.
The elephants belonging to the rajan
are under the control of an old man
upwards of eighty years of age. Eacfi
elephant rejoiced In an appellation
taken from the names of mythological
or historic heroes; and It Is their veter
an keeper's boast that every elephant
Is known to him by name.
The title dates back only to 1808,
when the then Maharajah Chutter
Singh was formally recognized and in
vested by the British Government But
the origin of the .family can be traceu
as far back as the reign of the Em
peror Akbar, whose lieutenants they
were In the province of Behar.
The growing friendliness of such
man for T.nrri onii T.mlv Curzon !
viewed with pleasure by those Interest
ed In the welfare of India, for If the
hearts of the native princes are with
the Queen's representatives the
billty of the Government Is doubly as
sured. To have won so emphatic
demonstration of regard from the
Maharajah of Durbhunga shows thai
m the future of the great Indian em
pire the American wife of Lord Curzon
Is destined to play a significant part
Anecdote of Rosa Bonbeur.
Mme.Rosa Bonheur (Rosa stood foi
Rosalie) was not without a sense ol
humor, so It is told of her that whfl
presiding over a school pf design li
Paris, the pupils being girls, the artlsl
was disgusted with the class, because,
Imitating their teacher, the yc-uH
women had cut their hair short
"Grand Dleu!" cried Rosa Bonheur,
"how horrid you all look! This Is nol
a class of boys. You silly creatures,
let your hair alone and do your best sfl
as to retain all the advantages of you
sex."
Every woman occasionally curls nei
hair and starts out fiercely to be IlaPPJ
In Spite of Fate. (By fate Is meant a
runappreclatlve husband.) .