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ST. HELENS, COLUMBIA COUNTY, OREGON, JANUARY 5, 1883!
vol. in.
NO. 22.
CHILDLESS.
MRS. M. V. SMITH.
I wonler so that mothers ever fret
At little children clinging to the gown;
Or that the footsteps, when tlie d&ys are wet,
Are black enough to make them frown.
If I could find a little muddy boot,
Or ca, or jacket, on m -chamber floor;
If I could kiss a rosy, restless foot,
- And hear its music on my Lome once more;
If I could mend a broken cart to-day,
To-morrow make a kite to reach tnesky,
There is no woman in God's world could sav
She was more blissfully content than I.
But, ah ! the dainty pillow next my own
Is never rumpled by a shining head;
My singing birdling "from its nest has flown-
The little boy I used to kiss its dead.'
now he wos ins tyife.
i.
"Oyounff Lochinvar is come out of the West '
August is nearing its close ami going
out in tears. Such mists and watery
looking clouds! Such drippings and
droppin gs and miserable, forlorn little
showers! It requires a cheery
spirit to bear up under the wholesale
gloom, but rain never depresses Dr.
John Miles; it rather exhilarates him,
like fine wine.
To-day as he rides along throngh the
black mud, he is whistling in boyish
fashion some endless tune that falls in
musically with the slush, slush of his
horse's feet. Now and then it is tem
porarily stopped by an intrusive drop of
rain, or violently interrupted by a great
dab of native soil; .but even these seal
his lips only for a time, for with a laugh
he wipes them off, and resumes his
merry note again.
His is a joyous nature. Just as he
- brushed away that last drop of rain does
he throw off all the lighter worries of
Life. Some who know him think his
heart is only a surface all current and
no depth. We sometimes find that the
deepest, most dangerous pools lie just
below the lightest, swiftest currents.
But what is all this expanse of water
just ahead of him? He has been in Texas
only five years, but he knows what it
means. The Blanco river is up! The
continued rains, gathering slowly day
by day, in tho main springs that feed its
head, have suddenly rushed together in
one mad, bounding torrent, and pouring
through the river-bed have widened and
deepened it an along its course, tearing
up trees and rocks in its way until what
in the morning had been a harmless,
fordable little stream is now a dangerous,
roaring river.
Dr. Miles Is a brave man light
hearted men generally are but "looking
across the swift, foaming waters, where
swimming 3 well nigh impossible, he
admits that his prospects for reaching
the further shore are very, very uncer
tain. He looks down at his horse.
Brown Dick has good blood in his veins,
and the Doctor always trusts good
blood in man or beast. He pats him on
the neck. "Old fellow, can you do it?"
The horse whinnies back, and his master
takes Courage. He and Dick have been
through many dangers together and have
always come out safe on the "other
side," so why not this time?
To retrace his steps and find shelter in
some friendly farm-house is to be
come weather-bound perhaps for days,
and imperative duties call him home.
Patients are waiting for him;an appoint
ment with another physician has been
made for the following morning; and
then and then, too when Jennie Cam
eron looked up at him last evening and
asked him to come to her "little musi
cale to morrow night," he had promised
that he would, and he had never yet
failed to keep his word.
He remembers just how soft and lumi
nous her brown eyes were when, with
that little touch of imporiousness in her
voice, sne nau auaea: now aon i ian
to come, sir." Her eyes would always
plead even when her voice commanded,
and how he had answered back in his
jesting way: "Foul or fair, I will be
there,"
He wonders why be did not tell her
then how dear those brown eyea were to
him; why he did not take heart "to speak
out what was in him, clear and strong."
He has gloved her faithfully all these
years, and yet in his humility has never
dared to tell her so. ,Bnt then, he thinks
she must have guessed it over and over
again must have felt the tenderness and
passion that lap always just back of his
light words.
Well, he will tell her to night. This
decides him. He will try the river. He
Eromised her to be there, and once told
er that to be false., to your word was to
be cowardly. He remembered, too, last
but bitter thought, that his rival, hand
some Joe Dudley, will be there, and
with the thought there springs into his
eves such a fiery gleam of passionate
resentment tt at the laughing gray orbs
become in their Srce displeasure al
most unrecognizable. It is a glimpse of
the still life of the soul.
"Foul or fair, he must be there" in
terrible earnest now. Commending him
self to a Higher Power he cheers his
anxious steed and boldly " plunges in.
The strong current beats them back like
huge powerful arms; the uprooted trees
and broken branches rush past them in
mad haste; the "other side" seems to re
cede as they near it.
Oh, it is a fiece struggle, but at last
they are almost there! But a yard's
length and they will reach it! Just here,
obeying a boyish impulse, he stoops and
kisses Brown Dick on the neck. Brave
horse and braver rider! They well do
serve to triumph over wind and rain.
But that moment of inattention is for the
rider a fatal one. As he raises his head
he receives a severe blow, which sends
him entirely of his horse, dashing him
almost senseless into the bank. A loos
ened stump just above him has been
wrenched suddenly away and whirled
violently against him.
With the desperate clutch of expiring
vuaiuy ue giaspa tue roots of tli9 old
tree against which he has been thrown
and drags himself round to its further
side. There he fights manfully with the
terrible tamtness that is rapidly over-
powering mm. in ins ioreneaa is a
deep gash. The horse struggles to the
shore, sees his master's unconscious face
and whinnies long and pitifully.
II. .
Cameron Hill looks strangely beauti
ful in the pale, placid moonlight. The
rain has stopped, but the air is heavy
with the promise of more. Just outside
the p irlor door, on the southern gallary,
Jeannie is listening; in a happy, absorbed
way, to Joe Dudley.
This man, with his handsome face and
smooth tongue, has 'never attracted her.
There is about him a certain half
developed tendency to deception, from
which she instinctively withdraws. A
woman weakly accessible to the least
touch of the real, the earnest, the true,
flattery puts her on the defensive, and
hardens her into a statue of contempt.
So these two souls, -while often meeting,
have never touched; But to-night he is,
for the moment, carried out of himself
by the force of a real passion, and is woo-
ingwitn an me lencier simplicity oi num
blest, truest love, j
She is following him surely, surely,
across the borders of that misty, dream
enshrouded land of unreality and delu
sion, led on by the magic of his voice.
Across the borders into the heart of
the beautiful, mystical country, when
she is called back by the sound of a
name just a dear: commonplace name,
uttered in tones of careless inquiry, but
it startles her spell-bound soul from its
strange enchantment, and wakes her
heart into a very rapture of life. Joe
Dudley can win her mind; he can al
most absorb her intellectual being into
his own, but the mere syllables of John
Miles' homely, old-fashioned name sent
every pulse a throbbing. She starts up
and goes into the; parlor. "What are
you all saying? Is the Blanco up? Where
is Dr. Miles? Why! don't you tell me
what you all were saying?"
Some one answers her that it is proba
ble that the Doctor has attempted to
cross he is so reckless of danger and
as he has not returned yet, anxiety is felt
for his safety. j
With the unreserve of a great fear and
a great love she ' excitedly demands,
"Why did you not tell me this before?
Why don't some of you go and see ? Do
you intend to let him die? He may be
drowning now. Oh, won't some of vou
go and help him?'? The pretty voice
grew so pitmul nere, ana tue darK eyes
became so full of 'intreaty, that every
man feels ready to serve her, even to the
death of his own hopes.
"I will go and find him, and save his
life, too, if you will give me my reward,"
J oe D. Jdley whispers in her ear, and she
thinking only of the kindly face that may
be already set in the rigid outlines of
death, impulsively answers:
"Yes, yes; I will'give you anything
everything, if you will only go now and
quickly, and save the lite of that brave
man!" 5
My poor, pretty Jeannie! You do not
know that you have unthinkingly bound
yourself by a fatal promise, which only
a generous wooer will let you take back
again! I
in-.
Lying against the rough side of the
old tree, protected from the water by the
spreading roots, they find John Miles.
The horse is pathetically licking his mas
ter's face.
They carry him home, and throngh the
long fever that follows, Joe Dudley nur
ses him with all the faithful devotion of
a friend. With returning consciousness
Dr. Miles notices this, aud puzzles his
mind over it. One day, when he was
almost well, he gratefully acknowledges
the kindness. j
Joe Dudley laughs as he makes this
answer:.
'You need not thank me; I am only
paying off a debt. ! I promised to save
your life if it could be done, and I have
been successful; thit is all except that
in six months Jeannie Cameron will be
my wife." j
The sick man starts up, flushing pain
fully: .
"Who says so? Does Jeannie Camer
on say so?" j
"I s:iy so," the other answers tri
umphantly, "and that is sufficient for all
purposes. In six mouths that lady will
be my wife or prove false to her word
and you know as well as I that she
will never do that.")
John Miles rises to his feet and
claims: j
ex-
"Joo Dudley, I believe you are play
ing me false! I will see Jeannie Cam
eron to-night and
my wife; aud f
as I have reason to
no power on earth
ask her to be
she loves me,
believe she does,
shall keep her
from my arms. You are deceitful to the
heart's core, and my pure, proud girl
never promised to be your wife unless
you maddened her into it. Leave me!
I am weak, but if you were to tell me any
more falsehoods I might be tempted to
strike you!" j
Dudley is, physically, no coward, but
his pury, moral nature falters before the
grand, heroic soul shining out of the
sick man's eyes. He laughs uneasily.
and goes out ot tue , room, lie lias bo
falsified everything to Jeannie and so
worked upon her exaggerated, strained
sense of honor, that the careless, heedless-spoken
words Yes, yes; I will give
you anything, everything" have been
j
I ,
a l r r
construed into a solemn, plighted troth,
from which there is no withdrawal. Al
though wickedly false himself, he es
timates at its full value the fine, sensi
tive nature of the girl andf feels ; secure
accordingly. That night Jeannie. in a
bit; chair by the window, is startled out
of a troubled reverie by what she thinks
is a ghostly visitant.
"Don t be i Tightened: it is only l. a
familiar, well-loved voice calls out, and
she troes forward gladly, to meet and
welcome Dr. Miles.
He notes that these few weeks have
changed her too. She is thinner and
paler, and has a restless, uneasy manner,
as if she were always, mentally, warding
off a blow. He watches her with anxiety, -
and feels that she is troubled and un
happy. In a litilo while he tells, her
what he has come to say. She listens to
him nervously, and the troubled look
deepens. Whe he finishes she struggles
feebly with herself, and then, looking at
him through tear-dimmed eyes.opens her
poor, depressed, heavy-laden heart, and
tells him all.
How he loves her! She was dear to
him before, but never so madly loved,
so fondly worshiped as now, when he
sees for the first time into the very
depths of her pure soul. So spotless it
is, and so free from guile, that he al
most hesitates to take it unto iiis un
worthy self.
But when he tries to prove to her that
her promise to Joe Dudley is no promise
at all, but only the mean advantage of a
base, ungenerous man, he finds her lm
movable. She loves inm, but she can
not marry him. His own words, "To be
false to your word is to be cowardly,
have haunted her of late, and now rise
up to keep them apart. She knows he
loves her dearly, but will he respect her
as highly if she break her word, even
though it be for him?
He is still vainly pleading, when Dud
ley's dark face appears at the door
With a malignant scowl, as he looks at
John Miles, he says in a threatening
voice:
"Jeannie Cameron, you belong to me.
You can i marry that man.
She rises at sight of him, and stands
looking helplesslv from one to the other.
Was ever a woman so terribly tried?
Love, happiness, rest on one side; on the
other her bacred, plighted word, and
misery, dull, hopeless misery.
"Jeannie, Dr. Miles voice is husky
from emotion, "will you be my wife?
He holds out his hand to her.
She turns despairingly to Joe Dudley.
"Won't you give me back my promise ?
I cannot love vou. You would not have
an unwilling bride
The obstinate gleam only deepens in
Dudley s eyea as he crosses over and
takes her rudely by the hand. "I would
have you now if I had to drag you to the
altar. You have promised to marry me,
and by all the powers above, you shall V
There flashes into John Miles face a
look that comes into gray eyes only when
there is something desperate to be done.
Going toward the trembling girl, who
is mutely accepting him with her beauti
ful, soft eyes, he says, firmly, but ten
derly too: "Jeannie, darling, you are
mine whether you will or no, so there is
nothing else for me to do but to steal you
from yourself. I don't like to do it, but
I see I will have to run awuy with my
wife and get her consent afterward.
Before either can guess what he is go
ing to do. he takes her lovingly in his
arms and carries her, weak as he is, to
the carriage that is in waiting, and which
he had .brought in anticipation of this
very scene. A few minutes' drive brings
them to the old parsonage, where she is
absolved from all the promises and re
sponsibilities of Jeannie Cameron, by
becoming Mrs. John Miles.
Joe Dudlev, helpless with rage, re
mains standing where they left him. As
he realizes the whole truth he mutters a
curse and rushes from the house.
Years afterward some one meets him
in Eastern Texas, leading a religious
meeting a deluder of souls to the last.
It is hard to tell which gets the most
petting Brown Dick or his master but
it remains an unanswerable fact, that
they are both terribly spoiled.
She Dldu't Dare to.
The other day a man and woman came
to a sudden halt on Grand Biver street,
and the woman dropped a basket she
was carrying and called out:
"I will! I will! I'll not live with you
another day!
"You'll leave me, will you?" lie calmly
asked.
"Yes, I will!"
"When?"
"Now right off this minute!"
"You'll go away?"
"Yes, sir!"
"I wouldn't if I were you."
"But I will, and I defy you to pro-
vent me! I have suffered at your hands
as long as I can put up with it!"
"Oh, I shan't try to stop you," he
quietly replied. "1 11 simply report to
the police that my wife has mysteriously
disappeared. They will want your de
scription, and I shall give it. You wear
No. 7 seven shoes; you have an extra
large month; you walk sun in your
knees; your nose turns up at the end;
hair the color of terra cotta, the newest
in fashion; eyes rather on the squint,
voice partakes of
"Wretch! you wouldn't dare do that!"
she screamed.
"I certainly will, and the description
will go into all the papers."
They glared at each other for a minute
like cats.
"Then he walked on. She looked up
and down the street, gritted her teeth
together, and then followed on after. He
had what they call the dead wood on her.
Detroit Free Press.
TED'S ACCOUNT OF NEW YEAR'S.
"By the way," said Mr. Samuel Gloss.
"I've a letter from little Ted; it's quite
a heavy one, you see, for a chap of ten;
but I can't make out such a scrawl. Here
mamma, you read it."
Before Mrs. Gloss could reach out her
hand Uncle Joe, Mr. Gloss' bachelor
brother, interfered with:
"Let me have the boy's letter; I al
ways did like that young scamp of
yours."
After smiling at the down hill tendency
oi the supercaription, Uncle Joe soon be-
came absorbed over the pages that began
in text-hand, continued in spider tracks,"
and at last rose to the dignity of hiero
glyphics. The Gloss family, tired out after the
holiday season, were having a domestic
evening in the dining-room. The li
brary, artistically hung in old Spanish
leather, lacked the embellishments that
grow out of daily use, and oppressed one
like a great bronze extinguisher; the
long drawing-room, the conventional
parlor, was too like a mammoth and
splendid hearse to admit of even its pro
prietors feeling home in it. So about
the dining-tablt, .ere gathered papa and
mamma Gloss, the Misses Lou and Bosie
Gloss, Mr. Sorghum, a gentleman of
many smiles and compliments, of many
suits 6f fine clothing, of a dog-cart, and
gorgeous living generally, and Uncle
Joe, unmarried, crusty and rich. There
was also a young fellow called Fred.
Tremane, but he was only a chap in
papa's office at a small salary, though he
had six feet of uncommonly good looks,
still he was very modest. "And no won
der," as Lou whispered to Bosie, "he
ought to be. Twelve hundred a year, in
deed." Sorghum remarked, in his sweetest
tones, "How seldom a poor dog of a
bachelor like me has the chance of en
joying a happy family gathering.
A sigh, carefully given out for only
Bosie to hear, was a graceful hint of
his dissatisfaction with a bachelor's exist
ence.
Mamma Gloss clasped her plump
hands in a little ecstasy, and answered:
"No one can have any idea of the peace
and content of family life." A smile
both maternal and encouraging showed
that Mr. Sorghum was an approved can
didate for the position of son-in-law.
Liou, who was clever, and had a lofty
bearing, a marble-white skin, and won
derful rows of coal black scallops on her
pretty forehead, made a properly inno
cent and girlish comment on the bachelor
remark; but liosie, who., was a confiding
blonde with big grav eyes, said nothing,
and kept on with her crochet work.
Sorghum used inwardly a warm emolli
ent of Wall street invective, and wished
himself tho Afghan stripe that could so
hold her attention.
Just then Charlie Hedge (the young
stock brokerage firm was Hedge &
Sorghum) dropped in, and nodding
familiarly to his partner, joined the fam-
ily circle by taking a place at Lou's side.
He exclaimed:
How jolly?" A regular boom in do
mestic evenings, eh, Miss Lou?
Now Uncle Joe was sixty at least, tall,
grizzled, clean-shaven, heavy-browed,
with a cast-iron look that seemed ex
pressly made to withstand humbug, and
steel-cold, sharp eye that could pierce
the neatest coating of sham. Having at
last finished his reading, he sat awhile
shading his face with his hand; then
looked up suddenly, as if ho had made
up bis mind to something, cast a search
ing and discomfortiug glance around the
table, and asked:
"Who would like to hear Teddy's let
ter?"
"I, - said Sorghum, with the liveliest
interest. "Ted must be a capital boy.
ue your brother. ( rnis last in an
aside to Bosie.)
"Fine boy, confirmed Hedge. "Saw
him here New Year's. So cheeky.
Cheek is business capital. Ted will suc
ceed. Let's have the letter."
"I think my Teddy is very bright,"
remarked Mrs. Glose, "and so I always
keep him at school, where he has the
best advantages.
"Yes,"' answered Uncle Joe, with an
inscrutible intonation, "the boarding-
school is such an advantage to a child of
ten."
"Oh, yes, undoubtedly"' sighed
mamma, with a pensive look at the dia
monds on her nice fat fingers; "and we
mothers sacrifice everything to the good
of our dear children.
Uncle Joe coughed noisily, and then
asked, "Are you all sure you want to
hear the letter and that you'll sit still
until the! tnd?"
Quite an amiable clamor of voices as
sented ; so he began the epistle, which.
grammatically, and orthographically ran
in this wise:
"Dkab Father Mother Professor
Whacker gave us a subjec for our first
composition when we come bac after the
new Years & put into it all we saw &
herd wile we was home at New year
time so i roto mine & yisterday he gave
it back onto me with very good marked
onto it and he sed for me not to leave it
Lyin roun luce So I guess he
thort it was pretty goad & i guess I will
send it to You so as you see I make prog-
gres i brush my teath very carefull evry
nite & I am entirely out of pokit money
your aff son "Teddy."
A murmur of amused admiration went
around, and every one composed him
self with a smile, for further listening.
"an account of new years
"Boys & gurls hav fun at Christmas
and get presints in there stockings &o
but new Years times is for grown folks
Christmas eve children has lots of fun so
i think Grown folks ort to have fun New
vears eve. l don t want to be mean about
nothin so I didunt anser back nothin to
my Sister loo wen she called me a trub-
t
blesome bov for sittin down in her room
after dinner New years eave she was
"BKOiamg a little woman wot was a
dressmaker and had brort a long tailed
pink drfes home sumhow fixed up wrong
and she; had her hair .all in little iron
griddions to make it skullup nice the
next day.
Miss Lou flushed, then laughed aloud
nervously, to show that she enjoyed the
ITT -
joe. juncie joe, witnout so canon as a
quiver of his busy eyebrows, west on:
"Rosy was sitting with her feet kurled
up under her eting candy and reding a
story cook in her room she sed go way
Teddy and ma she was in her room . hav
ing a row with Kamil the made about her
does and she said co wavTeddvtoo.
then II says were shall I go to, and she
says ydu may go to the Club and find
your father. I know where the Fenix
Club is. Just roun' the korner but
father was bussy playing cards with
some men and he said go and sit down
my son.
"So I set down & looked at some pic
tures there was two men talking & i
guess they didunt know me but they
knowedl my sister good kause one
says Charlie, you go in for
loo if I You can stand her tem
per & He go in for the blondy then
we will nake the old man gloss settil our
bills ile brake her temper if I get her
says charlie & i will get more capatil for
the Firm.
"blondy is meek & will stay at Home
& not inter fear with me i Guess says the
other feller any way we will share the
proffets.f'
A funereal silence feel upon the room.
Hedge looked unnaturally child-like and
unconscious. Sorghum pulled his mus
tache over a bad imitation of a smile.
"thenjfather he after a good while he
got up & put on his Cote to go home c
just outside the door of the club House
a man feaid something to father and
father said lots of Swear Words that
ain't allowed boys in Professor Whack
er's skool & It was all about a Settil
ment. "And father said he
hadunt got the
I money for it. So i thot
it was a new
year's presint that the Man wanted pa to
buy,himl
"then we went home. Mother says to
pa the gurls will look elleganc tomorror
& they f ill be sure to ketch something
wurth wile at last.
"Father Suva thev hed better ketch i
pretty quick then for things is comin to
an end then all of a suddin pa pou used
on me & sent me to bed.
tne nex vy wnicn was newyears no
. 1 w a
boddy ei breatfast down stares but me
and! father looked splendid & so did
we had on our bes does & tae oamage
was ready to take us callin. wen ma &
the ! gurls came down they were very
butiful espeshully loo tho I like Bosy
best.
ma says pa what do you think of
vour chick er Biddvs and kissed him.
"Pa says humf ! And we went Out ani
I he banged the front door.
Mr. Gloss used every wile to turn
Uncle Joe's attention ; but he went on
mercilessly:
Some of the ijadys we called on was
old & some was ynng. the ole ones
mosely had no necks in their Dresses &
a good many had orfully pink cheeks &
dirty eyes with black Smudg under
them.
"but
wheres.
"how
pa to a
Pa sed the Same thing evry
charming You Are to Day says
1 of them & he bowed & bowed.
And he kinder laffe d & Bobbed round &
looked Silly then he come out & jumped
in The carriage & says Swear words
agen. I
"says i is it Fun to make calls pa.
"Says pa its a nusense so says 1 wot
makes you do it Pa.
"Sosierty says pa then i asked who So
sierty wis & pa says Nusense agen then
he tells me to hold my tung
so "thein we went to see a ugly old
woman with lots of dimons & she wanted
to Kis3 Me & i wouldunt do it & after
Wards pa skolded me & said she was
Misses Koopons & I must always kiss
such a Bich ole lady Then I asked pa
if he was sick & he sed he wasunt and I
told Him I herd Misses Eoopons say be
was a siik Ofifant.
"Andjfather sed more Swear words &
made the Coach man drive me home,
ma & the gurls wer in the parlor & so
was the two men that talked A Bout loo
And rosy at the club The big feller with
the miiB tash said to Bosy she was a
crewel darling & rosy She turned her
back to him
"then jma pin sed Rosys arm and said
she was a little fool & had no fealing for
her family & rosy cryed softly rite down
on the Mackaroons i was eting cake all i
ranted & no boddy notised
"charlie forgut all a Bout loo s temper
I Gues bekause he said to her my
butiful kween i will be a good abbediunt.
husband, loo laffed & hit him with her
fan then lots more came in & they all
looked silly like father & all the ole men
told ma she looked like rosy's sister,
that aint so bekause ma is orful fat."
By this time the whole company had
risen, acid were trying to interrupt the
reading;! when Uncle Joe, in a voice of
thunder commanded attention. They
all fell back into their seats, and re
mained, with many curious changes of
countenance, silent to the end.
"then jNite come on & Loo & rosy went
Up stares & put more wite powder on
there fades & looked at there Beck hair
in the Glas & loo said rosy ort to mary
mister Sore Gum bekause he was so rich
& loo said she was going to mary mis
ter hedge bekause He was rich All tho
he was a fool & then they went Down
Stares.
"a bitf
tall yung man come into the
hberary
were i had nid my kaudys &
rosy sed
but loud i want to show you
this Nice room, they was behind the door
& be sed
haven't you got eny new years
for me Bosy & she sed yes f red & gave
him a kiss behind the door '& be sed o
rosy if i was only rich & then ma came
to the entree & they ran out & looked
Silly two.
"then i went to sleep sittin on my bun
dil of candy s & when . ma woke me up
every body had gone away & ma sed she
hated new Years & loo sed the men were
all munkeys and roy had a Hedake.
then i went to bed but Some thing had
made me orful sick tho i dont belief it
was cake & i went To rosys Boom softly.
She was cryin & setting on the floor by
the fire then i went into maa room r
She waa cryin too and Pa was say in We
are Livin on a Volcaner i tell you;
"i was kinder skared bekause volka
neers burn you all up & are verrv
dangerus. ' Ma says Samuel i Kant help
it the. gurls must dress & we must keep
up appearances, says i ma why kant we
moove off the volkaneer and buy a new
House up to Sentril Park.
"pa says where did that yuncr skamp
come from & then the flor jumpt up &
hit me & ma sed it was kause i had et
two much terrash.
"& i was orful sick all nite. The next
morning Kamil the made helped me crit
up and sed i was to go rite off to . skool
Agen and the Coachman was to take
Care of me i went to say good By to loo.
she was in bed with gridirons in her
hair eting lots of brekfast. rosy kissed
me & her eyes was al red & she sed teddv
deer they are braking my hart & J prom
ised Her when I grow up I will lick them
all.
"i like Rosy pretty well considerin she
is my Sister, pa and ma was shut up in
the liberary & pa had lots of little papers
on the tabel.
"He said look at them. -
"dresses, bonnits. finearv. iewelrv. 1
kant pay them I tel you we are livin be
yond our menes. So is evyery boddy
says ma but the gurls will marry wel,
says pa look at rosy she is in love with
that good lookin Rasgal on 12 hundred a
year.
"She shanthav him savs ma now don't
be a brute and cut down expensis per-.
haps jo will help you out my brother jo
is a Stingee ole kur; says pa. i it he
knows we are Hed an ears over in det.he
wuddent leve Ted a cent.
"I dont want a sent pa says I five sents
aint much & one sent aint nothin & un
kle jo is an ole bare says i. o Send the
boy to skool he makes me Cray Zy says
pa & ma kissed me in a hurry & pusht
me Long to the dore. . v
"pa had his hed bnrryed in his hands
& kept sayin roo-ined, rooined, and all
for appearances So i am tired of riting
such a long Compersishun and the coaoh
man took me bao to-akooI'JL' that is al i
know a Bout new years.
Uncle Joe quietly folded- up. the
scrawl and looked out-from under the
thatch of his eyebrows at Hedge, who,
glancing at Lou, and seeing she was
dangerous, silently left the room and the
house. Sorghum followed, also po
litely escorted to the door by Uncle Joe's
steady gaze. The method failed with
Fred Tremaine, for the look only sent
him as far as Bosie's side, where he sat
down with determination. .Mrs. Gloss
was sobbing hysterically, and her hus
band seemed inclined to drop down
dead. ,
"Well," Uncle Joe began; "well,
arent you a pack of idiols to sacrifice
your own comfort and honesty for this
wretched show of fashionable fife ? Now
I've always disappointed you in the
money way, and I'll do it still. Mr.
Sam Gloss trembled. "I'll do it still;
for you think I'm going to see you to
rnin and I won't. I will look over mat
ters with you, Sam, and find out how I
can put you on your legs ag,iin. But
stop this high-pressure living, and give
this girl, Bosie, to Tremaine, who is a
good fellow, if he is poor."
Ivosje and Fred tried to ay some
words of thanks, but failing to do just
ice to their feelings, consoled each other
by clasping hands.
"There is worse misery than poverty.
Uncle Joe went on, 'and Miss Loo had
better cast about for some good boy at a
thousand-dollar salary, for no more
brokers will desire her dowry to mend
their capital. As for Ted." and Uncle
Joe rose to go in the library with his
brother "he's an example to all young
writers exact, truthful, impartial. I
value his manuscript. I shall keep him
in pocket money and make him mv -
heir."
The story of Reuben Porter Lee,
who has just been sentenced to ten
years in the penitentiary for embez
zling 9200,000 from the First National
Bank of -Buffalo, reads like a romance.
Entering the institution as messenger
boy at the age of: httoen, he had filled
the .positions of book-keeper, teller,
cashier, vice president and president
At the ago of thirty-two. He was
elected to the latter position last Jan
uary, at which time the stock of the
bank was worth 1G0. Three months
afterward the institution closed its
doors, hopelessly insolvent. Lee ob
tained the money by discounting his
own, bis'wite s, and bis father s notes,
each in excess of the ton per cent, of
tho bank's capital stock, which is the
ghest limit allowed to any single
borrower, lie allowed the reserve
to be drawn below tho fifteen per
cent, required by law and carried
paper for a worthless firm to the ex
tent of one million of dollars at times.
He received bis sentence with seem-
ng iodifFereuce, but bis young wife
was nearly heart-broken. He appears
to have been aconsmmate and heart-
the punishment he got.
2