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About The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 17, 1893)
IE Wj Bracknell did sot appear at the fuuerul. It ic believed or at all events li was stated that she folt unable to face so rnel on ordeal; but the truth, as I after ward beard on excellent authority, was that she was afraid to venture wlth'n reach of her husband, who had ordered bar away from him immediately after the toy's death, assuring her that he was not j In the autumn that I was niado oware of nostra of himself, and that she would to Its having taken place, by encountering well to keep out of his sight for some time Beauchamp himself at a country house in toeome. So she took him at his word I the north of England, where I had been and lied down to the country, to the houre invited- to spend a few days. It struck of I forgot what friend, who undertook to ! me that our meeting was not a source of somfort her In her affliction. Bracknell I unalloyed satisfaction to him. There was remained iu Loudon, and, as I was told, even a sort of ehamefacedness in his de untlnued to go to his club every day, to meaner which I could not at first account gamble heavily and to drink hard. I for, but which explalued itself at dinner I called upon him several times, but he time, when Iird and I jidv Kr,.,.vn was always out) and one day when I luuiced upon him In the street, he told n roughly that I need not trouble to look Urn up again. "Kindly meaut, I've no doubt," he said; "but I should be very much obliged to my friends If they wouldn't be so etc., etc. fucloug. When I want to be condoled with I'll let them know." After that I could only leave him to himself, liven If he had been willing to Hsteu to mo, I should have been puzzled to discover any plausible form of consola tion; and certainly I should not have bit npon that selected by my mother, who In the overflowing kindness of her heart wrote him a long letter, In which she re minded him that among other blessings be still possessed his wife, I believe she was afterward a little ashamed of having taken tills bold step, and would never have let me kuow of it had she been able so resist showing me Bracknell's reply, which was brief and pithy ! "Dear Mm. Mnynaid: I told your son lb other day that I didn't wish to be con doled with, and I don't. But I must say that I hunUy expected to be congratulated. I Lady Bracknell Is not with me just now, or sue wumu, 1 am sure, desire me to thank you for shaking of her as a bless- Big, it u probably the itrst time in hor use that sue bus been called by that name, and I should think It would be the lust. Mliiooroly yours, BltAOimiiM.." My niulhar shook her head ut this, "lie ought not to speak so of Ids wife," she said. And when I brought forward certain excuses on Bracknell's behalf (I would nut shock her by mentioning all those that might have been moutluued, nor would she have believed In them If I bad) she only shook her head the more, telling me thut I bad no realizing sense of the suorediieHB of murrlage. Whether I deserved thut rebuke or not Is of small consequence, but I might fairly have retorted thut my dear mother, for hor part, was a little too sublimely Indif ferent to thu worldly side of that contract, aud that by her present conduct she was in danger, not only of making two people more unhappy than there was any oo aaslou for, but of getting herself Into seri ous trouble as well. However, I doubt whether anything thut I could have said would have prevented her from asking Lady Mildred to come In to tea evory other day, and tluiu casually getting .lira to meet her. She had mudo uo her mind that this couple ought to be married, and veu thut it was the will of heaven thut they should be married. It would have been too much to expect thut the will of heuveu should be set aside to please Lord Ntuineg or Mr. Beauchamp, the latter of whom, as my mother pointed out, mlglitjj have proposed long ago. if he had chosen. but hud preferred to go off to Norway and stub salmon. And so, during the summer, our house was made the sceuo of what, to a common place person like myself, wore very much tlieuppeurauue of clandestine love mut ing. Lord Stalnos' suspicions were at length aroused, and he sent for me to pour tliem Into uiy ear. It was ou a flue au tumn day thut, In obedience to his sum mons, I wulkwl up to Htulnes Court and was shown Into the library, where he now sat from morning to night, and whore, iu spite of the warmth of the wcuther, a lire was burning. He looked very feeble aud broken, bunding forward In his chair and balding up a thin, trembling hand to tht bbue. "Muynurd," ho said, "I want you. like a good fellow, to Bpoak a word of warning to your friend Leigh. I would rather not peak myself, bucuuse, as you kuow, he nus iieen caused trouble aud dlsuppoint tiunit by our family already, and I should bo sorry to scum unfriendly to Mm. So will you Just toll hlui us kindly as you can that it won't dof 1 see more than per nups you young folks suppose, aud of course you kuow what I allude to. It won't du, my dear Muynard. 1 am sorry for It; but it won't do." "Lord Staines," I answered boldly, "I am not going to undertake any such com mission. I cun. quite understand your anxiety to l'oop the Beauchamp property ki the family, and if you can get the per sons principally concerned to do as you wish, 1 dure say It will be in some rcapeots a good thing; but I don't choose to be a party to any scheme of that kind. My point of view Is not the munc as yours. What may become of tho Beauchamp proporty is nothing to mo; whereas it is a good deal to me that Jim Leigh should have what he wishes for. 1 believe that Lady Mildred aud ho are attached to each ' other, and, that being so, I ho; they will atuod up for themselves and marry. "- I fully expected that this audacious harangue would call forth an explosion ot wrath; but my expectations were not ful filled. Lord dtalucs only sighed wearily and said: "Uod knows I care little enough for money or hauls uowl My time is al most up, and 1 suppose Bracknell will be the lust of our name. Agaiust Leigh I haven't a word to say; only, as I toll you before, It won't do. Mildred must marry Beauchamp. I am under obligations to him which can't bediseharged lu any other way; and he will beakiud husband tober. We won't argue the point, if you please." "He will not be a husbund of her choos ing," I made so bold as to observe, despite his prohibition. i . "Yon don't know wli you are talking about " returned the old man. fretfully. "The thing must be, and there's no me In discussing it. If yoa don't see your way to speaking to your frleud, I mint speak to Mildred, that' oil." - ,., I sold nothing nbout this conversation to mm whom it concerned, nnd whether Lord Staines carried out hi Intention of remonstrating with lady M. red or not 1 cannot tell. Very likely be ,.d not, fori fancy that he shrank from dj-tressing her, and he may have thought 11 needless to take active steps before Beuucbamp's re turn from Norway. No news with regard to that event reached my ears, and it was not until late i their appearance among several other guests who had arrived late In the after noon, and when her ladyship exchanged meaning glances with my young friend, after affording him a conventionally polite greeting. The Bracknell menage, which for a time had been threatened with disruption, had been set ugotug once more (by the kindly Intervention of friends, as I was Informed), ' and was, to all appearances, being con- ducted upon much the same principles as ueretoiore. At ail events, Bracknell seemed to look with absolute Indifference upon the renewal of the flirtation which 'he once professed himself determined to check. The past few months bad worked a very perceptible change in him; he had grown stouter; his complexion hod become pasty and his eyelids heavy, and a few gray hairs had appeared about his tem ples. His manners, too, had distinctly de teriorated. He was bored, and did not at tempt to disguise Hie fact; moreover, he displayed a contradictious and quarrel some teuuency wnicu evidently caused some anxiety to our hostess. As for Lady Bracknell, she was bril liuut and radiant. Her black dress and jut ornaments threw up the dazzling whiteness of her skin; sbe looked as if she hud not a cure in the world; and if. as I suspect, the other ladles were whispering to each other what a heartless wretch the woman was, I cun only say that in my bumble opinion tkey hud a very good right to do so. Probably neither their remarks nor my opinion were matters of much moment to her, She was a cold hearted and calcu lating woman, bat she was capable, no doubt, of enjoying herself after her own fashion, and few things can be more pleasant than to Indulge In your favorite pastime, while making It Bul'serve a deil nlte, practical end. This, for the time being, nppeared to be Lady Bracknell's enviable lot. The subjugation of Beau champ wus complete. He remained by her side the whole evening through; he scarcely took his eyes off her for a mo ment; and it may be assumed that be hod no Ideu of the sorry spectacle that he pre sented to lookers ou. Hilda hud a second string to her bow, In the shapo of a certain Comte, de Vleuzue, a French attache, whom I bod met several times in Wilton place. Be Vlouswe was oue of those seml-Augllcized Gauls who get their clothes mode in Lon don, whose talk is of horses and shooting. and who dlsouss sport with a solemnity far exceeding that of their models. Being young, by uo menus bad looking, aud full oi una commence in the irresistible na ture of his charms, which is the very last thing that his oouutryraeu can bring thotusolves to part with, he most likely nattereu hiuiseit that lie had made a con quest of Lady Bracknell, and it wus easy to see that he found Beuuchainp a good deul In the way. That Beauchamp recip rocated his sentiments with Interest was not less obvious; and while one of the young mou assumed an aggravating aunorotUotu mieu aud the other scowled savagely, HUdu, arbitresa of the contest. sat between them, displaying her white teetnanu gently swaying a black ostrich feather fan. ' Somehow or other the sight of that smil ing, contented, selfish woman, playing off hor admirers one against the other, infuri ated me. I could not got the memory of poor nine Bunniug out ot my head while I watched her; it seemed to me that of all tonus of depravity the most odious is that which obliterates the natural, animal In stinct of mutcrnal love. Aud my soul being stirred within me by the speotacle of the power possessed aud exercised by thut woman, who If she hud hod her de serts would hove been picking oakum lu Millbank penitentiary, I oould at last con tain myself uo longer, but , rising from my sequestered corner, crossed tho room with the Intent to do a truly silly thing. I made straight for the sofa on which Bi-ucknell was sitting apart with his hands in his pockets, and asked him whether be didn't want tosmoke. "Of course I do," he growled. "Why tho dickens don't these people go to bed f" "We will give them the slip," said I; for I was bent npon having a fow words In private with him. "Now is our time, while nobody Is looking." So I got hiin away to the smoking room, and, asjioon us we had lighted our cigars, plunged head first Into the middle of my subject. "Bracknell," said I, "do you or do you not Intend Beauchamp to marry your sister P" I have mentioned already that Brack nell's manners had deteriorated. Ho frowned heavily aud adUod me what the devil that was to me. "I will tell you," I answerod. "You must admit, I think, that you haven't be haved very well to Jim Leigh" "Good Lord I" interrupted Bracknell, "are you going back to that old story again P Why, man, I made him an apol ogy when ho reappeared in London lost summer! What more would you havof 1 can assure you that I repent from the bottom of niy heart of having deprived him of Miss Hilda Turner." "I don't doubt it," I replied; "I only meaut to remind you that you awe him a good turn. 1 can't go Into particulars, be cause we shall have the other men In here presently, but the loug aud the short of it Is thut Lady Mildred and he are in love with ouch other." Ou, indoodl" sold BroakntU. "Well, really, I don't care." -.! "Does thut mean." I Inquired, "that you won't oppose their marriage?" "It means," answered he, "that I shall not bother myself about th matter, one way or the other. Jim hadlbetter fight it out with the governor." I ought, I suppose, to have been con- tented with that. I had not behaved with the subject at all, and I hod received an assurance, which, so far as It went, should hare been entirely satisfactory to me. But, being so exasperated with Hilda, and being also curious to learn how far Hilda's absolute lack of principle was shared by her husband, 1 must needs proceed to remark: ; "You once told Lady Bracknell In mv presence that you would not permit her 10 entice Ijeauc-hump away from your sis ter. You have ohuuged your mind as to mat, it appears." Bracknell rose slowly from his chair, advanced to that in which I was seated. and placed a heavy hand on each of my shoulders, looking straight Into my eyes. "Muynara," smu ne, "yon aren't a bad sort of fellow, taking yon all round, but you're just as cheeky now as you used to be at Eton, and 1 may as well tell yob. at once that I'm not in the humor to put up witn cnoeic. iJo you remember my giving you a licking once In Kettle's laner" No," I milled, "I do not. I remem ber your hitting me and I remember kick ing you on the shins, and I remember old Jim Leigh coming between as." Well," said Bracknell, "I dare say It was no bad thing for yon that Jim Leigh happened to bo handy. I didn't want to thrash you then and I don't want to thrash you now; but if you take upon yourself to interfere with my private af fairs a second time, by the Lord, I'll knock your bead off your shoulders!" This threat, which was embellished by certain expressions which I prefer not to transcribe, caused me to reflect I do not suppose that Bracknell could have knocked my head off my shoulders, but it is quit possible thut he might have managed to give me a black eye; and really I cannot afford to be seen going about with a black eye. Therefore 1 resolved to abstain from further provocation; and at this opportune moment our interview was interrupted by the entrance of oar host, accompanied by a large detachment of his guests. CHAPTER XIV. On the following morning I descended to the dining room to find there Lady Brack - -Hell, attended by her brace of devoted ad mirers, and I perceived at once that Hilda had resumed the gome of the previous evening. It was a game of which, as I knew, she nevor wearied. She had the ap pearance of being well satisfied with it now; which was more than oould be said for either of the other players. i . 'Atier ail," she was remarking, as I entered, "I can't ee why we should give ourselves oil's becuuse we ride and shoot better than most other nations. That is something, of court; but there are so many other ways iu which the French, for instance, are our superiors. They Ite a great deal more amusing to talk to, and they are more artistic, and they write better novels Mr. Mavuurd. aren't French novels much better than ours?" I sold I must decline to deliver inde- ment upon that poiut; It was a matter of taste. ; "Well, but," broke iu Beauchamo. who was lookiug decidedly cross. "I never denied it. I'm sure I don't know whether their novels are better than ours, and, to tell you the truth, I don't much core either. All I said wus that they are not a sporting people." "There is more variety of sport In France than In England," said De Vieuzac boldly. "We huvo, for example, the wolf and the wild bour" - - "And you gallop after 'em in green and gold coats, with horns twisted round and round your bodies," interrupted Beau champ, not over courteously. "You have perhaps derived your Ideas of French sport from the pictures in 'Punch,' " observed Be Vieuzac, without losing his temper. "They are funny, those pictures, they ure very funny; but I do not think that the artists have drawn them from life." "I have been in France," returned Kie other doggedly, "and I've seeu a lot of chasseurs, as yon call them, shooting cock sparrows on Sunday afternoons." De Vieuzac slirugged his shoulders. "Yon will come to it, my good friend," said he. "What would you have P We are a little in advance of you; we made our revolution a hundred years ago. When your game laws are abolished, when your great estates are brokeh up, when your country squires can no more live upon their routs then you will see what you will see. For the rest, the persons Who, as you say, shoot sparrows on Sim- days are not of the rank who would shoot partridges if they were Englishmen; and you must not ask of a man that he should ne a good game shot when he has never tiie occasion to shoot at game." "At any rate," observed Hilda, rising and bestowing a gracious smile upon the speaker, "we all know that Monsieur do Vieuzao can shoot as well as anybody. And isn't it time for you to go out shoot ing now P" . Beanohamp held the door open for her. "We are to have a ride this afternoon, are we notr" I heard him ask eagerly. . "Of course we arc," she answered. "Didn't you promise to toko me out P" Aud then, turning to the other, "Monsieur de Vieuzac, I am going to be very selfish, and make you join us. You will have to tear yourself away from the partridges and be iu time for luncheon." The Frenchman raised his eyebrows slightly and bowed, murmuring some thing about Lady Bracknell's wishes bciug law. Possibly he thought that a ride in company with Ms rival would not be very good fun. As for Beauchamp, he did not attempt to conceal his disgust. '-'Perhaps you will ride with me some other day. If I'm not wanted I'd just as soon shoot this after noon," he was beginning; but the closing of the door deprived me ot the remainder of hie sentence, as well as of Hilda's re ply. However, it was pretty certain that he would do what she ordered liiin, whether he liked It or not . ken oo!thncb. THE SUMMER COTTAGE. Ms Growth In Sfge and la lnprtMe Daring Iteoent Years. There have been signs that the in- (Motion known as the summer hotel has rendimi t.hA heiffht of ifji nnmilantv nd power in this country, and that it. fflant down than np. The reason is not lhat city families are learning to spend their summers at home, for they flock to the lakes, the mountains and the sea shore in greater numbers than ever, bnt a smaller proportion of them live is hotels and a considerably greater pro portion in cottages. At Bar Harbor several of the largest hotels have re mained closed, not because the vogue of Mount Desert has waned, for it was never so mnch the fashion, but chiefly because the island is full of cottages and the "best people" live in them, thereby damaging the hotels directly by the loss of their own patronage, and in directly by ceasing to serve them as bait The tendency which is illustrated in an exceptional degree at Bar Harbor is generally noticeable in the majority of the summer places, and a natural and commendable tendency it is. The part of the population to which it is most es sential to get out of town are the wom en and children, and for them hotel life even in the summer is decidedly a sec ond best expedient The American hotel bred infant, with whom Mr. Henry James in the earlier years of his literary industry helped to make the world fa miliar, is a type which it is as well should not survive outside of the fiction of the last decade. Without admitting that it ever was a very prevalent type, it is safe enough to assume that the more American children are enabled to Bubstitnto the atmosphere of a summer home for the garish delights of a sum mer hotel the better it will be for the manners of the rising generation. , Of course it is by no means a new thing for rich Americans to have sum mer homes. The growth of moss and ivy on scores of the Newport houses at test that Of course, too, a summer cot tage is a luxury, and luxuries are ever prone to make their first bows to the people with the most money. Neverthe less there are cottages and cottages, and whenever families that have been nsed to taking refuge in summer hotels once make up their minds that they would like a cottage better there is no sound financial reason why they should not eventually have one. The main diffi culties are to decide where it shall be, and to bring the family's mind to the point of giving hostages to return to the same place several summers in succes sion. For of course, unless one is rich enough to have an assortment of scat tered dwellings, it is an extravagance to build a house unless he is going to occupy it or can rent it No doubt the possibilities of vagrancy in the summer hotel method constituted originally one of its chief charmsi It enabled people to try at least one new place every year, and ascertain finally where they preferred to go. But this very quality in it has helped the devel opment of cottages, since, after a due se ries of vagrant seasons, the family is able out of its sufficient experience to de clare a settled preference for some par ticular spot There, the spirit of adven ture having given place to the desire for assured comfort, the cottage begins its growth and finally develops into a true home, with its accompanying possibili ties of hospitality and of continuous ac cretions of grace and strength. The observer who watches the prog ress of American civilization must be both interested aud edified at the spread of the summer cottage. He finds in it another sign of the settling population which is in process, and which makes the land constantly pleusanter aud more habitable as it goes on. Harper's weexiy. . An Improved Shuttle. A shuttle manufacturer in Massa chusetts has effected an improvement in that mechanism which promises to be of considerable practical value in the oper ations of woolen mills. In lien of the ordinary hinged spindle for receiving and holding the bobbin of yarn, a short rigid spindle is employed in combination with two holding jaws, one above and the other below the head of the bobbin; the latter they clasp and securely hold in a central position, a single spiral spring being arranged in the base of the shut tle so as to exert an equal pressure on the bobbin holding jaws, between which it is placed. As a result of this nniqne construction all splitting of the bobbins arising from the ubb of the long pointed hinged spiudle is obviated, with a conse quent saving of wafite yarn. The trouble from the breaking of this yarn by the canting of the spiudle poiut in the weav ing operation is also overcome. New York Bun. - ' He Followed the Advloa, A little jobbing oarpenter, unable to get his account for work done paid by his late employer, bad at lost taken action against him. The case came on for trial, defendant not appearing, and the plaintiff was briefly narrating the facte, "And did yon then call at his house and demand payment?" asked tea mag istrate. ididr 'Whatdid hesayf 'He turned me out of doors and told me to (jo to my grandmother.'' "Uh I And what did you do thenr ' "I came on here for a summons. A VESPER HYMN. iVaw near, draw near and praise stsv, This King all kings above! . Thy love alone repays bint, - Whose dearest name is Iiove. Draw near, draw neat- and bless him. If life be glad ami free. With grateful hearts confess hhs. Who gave that life to thee. Draw near, draw near unto hun. If sorrow bow thee down, , None, sorrowing, vainly sue bim lie hath worn Sorrow's crown. Draw near, draw near with weeptatL O bruised aud mourning- heart! Commend thee to bis keeping-. Whose wandering child thou art Draw near, draw near Imploring, If stained with guilt and sin. He. pitying and requiring-, l Shall heal thy wounds within; V Draw near, draw, near his altar. Though faith itself be lied; ; Deem'st thou bis love can falter, Thoua-h tblae be cold and deadr Brother, or friend, or stranger, O child of GodI draw near; - , W bate'er thy need, thy danger. Behold a refuge berel Draw near, kneel low before him. Lift, lift thy heart above, And reverently adore htm Thy God. whose name le Trivet -Graoe K. Changing In Youth's Companion. Keal Sea Serpents. -The seas from Madagascar to Panama and from Japan to New Zealand are thick ly infested with marine snakes. Dr. Stein eger, the reptilian expert of the Smith sonian institution, says they ore among the most poisonous of all known serpents, their venom being no less deiullv than Mini of the cobra and rattlesnake. Further more, tney are very fierce and owreMAivA and will commonly attack human beings if they get a chance. They do not frequent the shallows unless possibly for breeding, but live in the open ocean. When full grown they are from six to eight feet long. Fishermen in the waters where they are found are greatly afraid of them. Their bodies are flat and the Inside of them la almost wholly filled by the lungs, which are large in order that they may be en abled to stay beneath the surface for a loug time without coming np to breathe. They have eyes modified for seeing in the water, so that when they are taken out of their native element they Beem blinded and strike wildly. Their fangs, like those of the cobra, ore always erect Chicago News. KaU and Mice and Large Anlmais, ' How many neoDle are there wIia icnnn- H.n -,.! .uav cicpuiuiia, ruiuuceroses ana other large micis ssinned animals have formic able enemies in rots and miceP These small, rascally rodents have found that tne reel of the eleoliant are excellent ing, and have no hesitation in gnawing at them when the animal lies down, which, owing to its confined condition, is not very well able to defend itself against ite puny enemies. To protect these vast creatures it is found necessary in most menageries to keep terriers about the cages. These little fellows very soon disnose of the onohv. derm's tiny adversaries. It was recently discovered in a well known menaireri. that the mice and rats had been very busy with the hide of a rhinoceros. A Smrrh terrier, Fanny, was put into the cage of the huge beast, aud in the .first night she had killed no fewer than twenty-seven rats. In a few days there were no rata left to nibble the hide of the noor rhfnruwftK London Tit-Bits. ' About Afriean Snakea, I The African cobra Is regarded somewhat reverently by the natives of that country, who. once a year kill a cobra de capello and hang its skin to the branch of a tree, tail downward. Then all the children born during the last year are brought out and made to touch the ekiu. This the parents think put them under the serpent's pro tection. The cobra de capello divides with the horned viper of Africa the question able honor of being the "worm of the Nile,", to whose venomous tooth Cleopatra's death wasdue. The Kaffirs use the venom of this snake's cousin the puff adder to poison their ar rows, and when they have any small quan tity left they swallow it, having a theory thatitwill protect them from the bad el ecta of future bites. The suake tribe of the Punjab say that the bites of snakes do not hurt them, and if they find a dead ser pent they dress it in clothes and give it a superb funeral. St, Nicholas, , Nothing- In IU J. M. Barrie, popular as he Is on this side the ocean, is not likely to suffer from excess of praise from the villagers of the now famous Thrums. One old lady, with energetic but. quaint criticism, says of his -uuie minister:" "it's of ralo true, but there's naethin in't mere havers uboot things that's gaen on ilka day and wh wante to waste their time readin about sic like. Besides, what kens be aboot the sojers in Kinie. He's just been makin up bits here and there oot o' fat he's heard itberfouk tellin. He's no old euuch o hoe ouy mind o' sic things." New York Sun. . - . &he Had Experienoe. Mrs. Lenox Hill I wish you would let me have ten dollars today. I want to do a little shopping. Mr. Lenox Hill Yon are the most ex travagant woman in New York. If I wen to die before you you would have to beg for a living. Mrs. Lenox Hill Humphl I have to do that now. Texas Sittings. Woke Him Hp. Wife (midnight)-Oool Wool Wakenpt There's a man trying to get in. Husband (sleepily)-Nonseusel Go to sleep. Wife (as a last resort) Maybe he's gpt a bill. Uusbond-Whoopl Where's my gun New York Weekly, i . Oat of 60,000 guesses on a big cake off soap oa exhibition In Berlin only two weref correct The cake was a soapmaker's adf vertlsement and it weighed 1,128 pounds. A new cure for hvdronhohla o-ju J cessfully tried in the Pasteur iustitu Milan. It consisted of asubcutAiip jection of the virus uiit "fixed fcy