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About The Lebanon express. (Lebanon, Linn County, Or.) 1887-1898 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 24, 1893)
BY W. S. KOBLIS, After I was left alone, 1 spent aome Ave minutes of my valuable time In won dering why Iiiuly Bracknell had asked Do Viousac to spoil poor Beauuhamp's after noon. Were I a lady of great personal attraction, I should, I dare say, enjoy having several admirers; but 1 ahould sertaiuly prefer to take them one at a time. That a second maybe found useful m a meuiw of atliunlatlng the ardor of the first 1 can understand; but the object of keeping them together after, that result luu been fully obtained 1 not ao easy to discover. I did not go ont shooting with Brack nell and the others that morning, nor was 1 able to put In an appearance at the lun cheon hour. I had to finish my admirable assay upon "Proportional Representa tion" for The Eclectic Review, and, get ting my arguments Into a knot toward the hut pages (whloh, I am sorry to say, is no unouiumon experience of mine when composing admirable essays),' I was aliuluod to my desk until the afternoon was fur advunced, struggling to reconcile oertaln Irreconcilable statements to which 1 had committed myself, and which I was unwilling to retract. Bavlng at length ruude up my mind to throw one of these vorboard for the sake of harmony, I wound up my task and sallied forth to take the air. The house In whloh I was staying stood fci the midst of one of those wild, undulat ing porks which are more frequent in the northern than in the southern counties, and which look like a survival of the Eng land of 11(10 years ago. It was very beau tiful In lu way, under the gray autumnal sky, with shafts of pale sunlight falling spoil the gnarled oaks and the withered bracken, and upon putcbea of gone and heather here and there. I hod walked some distance across it and was wonder ing whether Be Vleuzac's unpleasant prophecy would over be fulfilled whether the land upou which I was standing would ever be parceled out among peas ant proprietors, and whether, in that case, the peasant proprietors would not find out that they had made an uncommonly bad burmttu, when the thud of approaching hoofs interrupted my musings, and pres ently Lady Bracknell, riding lietween her two cavaliers, hove in sight. They wore pleased to draw rein on recog alzlng me, and Hilda aald they had had a delightful ride; which assertion was re ceived with emphatic sileuce by her com panions, In all probability some bicker ing hod taken place during the course of It; fur the two men were looking daggers at ouch other, und it struck mo thut Be Vleuaoc was not quite as cool as he hud been earlier in the day. A short distance ahead of us was an luclosure, surrounded by a high fence of iraat and rails, like a large cuttle pen. It may have been in tuuded to serve that purpose, or possibly, at certain seasons of the year, to confine the red deer, of which there was a herd lu the park. "There," said De Vieusac, pointing to it with his whip and looking at Beau shnmn. "would be a pretty leap. You sould take It, perhaps; you who hesitate at nothing." "Oh. do, Mr. Beauchumpl" exclaimed Hilda, enthusiastically. "Iff dear Lodv Bracknell," I strated, "what are yon thinking off The thing Is absolutely Impossible. " I am not sure that it was Impossible;! am an Indifferent judge of matters of that kind, and I have read wonderful accounts at tin high Jumps accomplished by Aus tralian horses. But I should certainly be very sorry elthor to attempt such a feat myself, or to see any friend of mine at tempt it. Hilda did not seem to have beard me. "Oh. do tryf ' she repeated. "I know you would get over all right." Beauchomp's reply was highly credlt ablo to his good sense and self control. "I might get over," he said. "Whethorl could get out again is another question. But, anyhow, I couldn't think of risking it with another man's horse. " De Vlouzao Bmlled, and Beauchamp turned upon him at once. "What's thut you sayf" he asked, sharply. "I assure you," answered the French man, with exaggerated politouess, "that I did not utter one word." "You were thinking somothing, though." "Oh, for that, yes. I was thinking something, I admit. I was thinking that sometimes it Isvory convenient to be rid ing a friend's horse." The words amounted to a studied insult, and would unquestionably have been so accoplud in De Vieusiuds own country. In Franco speeches of that kind arc permissi ble, their consequences being, of course, well understood; but neitlior In France nor elsewhore is It custoinury to offer such , direct provocation in the presence of a lady, and ueauciiamp went, up buvoi-ui i greee In my esteem when he answered 1 quietly: "We'll discuss the question after ward, if you like. We may aa well ride on now." Hilda suddenly broke intoashort lough, touohed her horso with tlio whip and gal loped awav. The two men followod her. ' I confess that I hurried back to the house as fast us my legs would curry me. I dis liko and depreeats quarrels above every thing; still, If quarrels must needs take place, why should I not bo thcro to seef After Do Vieuznc's inexcusable conduct, I fait that it would bo a real satisfaction to mo to see him knocked down, and I thought that if I made great haste, I . might just manage to arrive in time. As tt turned out, I reached the front door with several minutes to spare, i'rora the flight of steps which led up to it I could descry the riders, who, perhaps, had made a detour, approaching at a foot's paco, and presently I lmd the honor of assisting Lady Bracknell to dismount. . Bho stood for a moment, tapping her foot with her riding whip, and looking with an odd, satirical expression at the . rivals "Au rovoir," Bhosald, nodding to them 'I am going to lie down till din ner ti ," Then she mado a scarcely por- eepttl sign with her hand to Beuucliuiup, who Uu up the stops after her und accom panied her luto the house. De Vleusac and J remained whan wt were. I suppose we Tth knew that Bora-1 y chnmp would be out again directly. And Indeed the horses hud hardly been led away to the stables before he emerged and made straight for n& "Monsieur de Vlenssac," wild he, "you hinted Just now that 1 w..u a coward. May I usk whether that . ' what you meant r" The Frenchman etralghw .wi his back, brought his heels together, twirled his mustache, and replied: "You are at lib erty, sir, to place any construction upon my words that may suit your pleasure." "In good English, I suppose that meant that yon want to light. If you had been an Englishman I should have- hit yon straight between the eyes, and It would have done yon a lot of good; but as you're a foreigner, I'm afraid we can't settle it that way." "The method," observed De Vlennac sweetly, "seems a little barbarous. For me, I confess that I have not learned to box; but with the sword or the pistol I shall be charmed to hold myself at your disposition. Yon do not, perhaps, use those weapons f" "Oh, don't we, though!" returned Beau champ, with a short laugh. "I shall be happy to prove the contrary to you when and where you please; only, of course, it tiin't be In this country. If it's the same thing to you, I should prefer to stay out my time here; but next week 1 will meet you at Ostend or any other place you choose to name." The Frenchman bowed. "It Is usual," said he, "to leave all details to be arranged by the seconds In these affairs. Will you then be so kind as to mention two gentle men whose names and addresses I may give to the friends whom I shall ask to represent me t" Beauchamp rubbed the back of his head. "I don't want this talked about all over the place, you know," he said. "Maynard, you've heard tt all; perhaps you'll be good euongh to act for me, and find souie other fellow who can hold his tongue, And look here," he added, turn ing to De Vlenzao, "we had better pre tend to be friends for the next few days. Don't yon think sol"' "Sir," replied the Frenchman, magnifi cently, "I shall withdraw. I should be desolated to be the occasion of embarrass ment, and I will leave for London to-morrow." With that, he took off his hat, bowing low. Beauchamp stared, looked rather Inclined to laugh, then nodded and turned buck Into the house. And so this san guinary eucounter was agreed upon. CHAPTER XV. As a matter of theory, It has always seemed to me that the duello Is, upon the whole, the best means that can be devised of wiping out a mortal affront or Injury. Such behig my sentiments, and Beau champ, having been most unequivocally and grievously insulted by De Vicuzao, I could not but applaud the course taken by the former. However, it Is one thing to approve of a given quarrel, in the ab stract, and quite another to allow one's self to be mixed up in It; to see one's uatne mentioned and one's .private char acter discussed lu all the newspapers, and even, perhaps, to be hauled before the au thorities and cast Into prison. Deep, then, would have been my consternation, when my young friend so coolly nom inated me as his second, if I had thought that there was any probability of my act ually figuring in that capacity; and the genial alacrity with which I accepted the greatness thrust upon me was, I allow, due solely to the circumstance that I had not the remotest intention of permitting a hostilo meeting to occur. The line of conduct which I adopted with a view to avert bloodBhed was Bim nle. and. as I flattered myself, likely to prove effectual. I slipped awny from the dinner table that evening, a little before the other mcu, and, hurrying Into the drawing room, seated myself beside Lady Bracknell, who wus reclining in an easy chair apart, and was doubtless waiting for one or other of her victims to join her.. "Allow me," said I (for I was resolved not to spare her), "to congratulate you upon your energy and determination. If you could have persuaded Beauchamp to break his neck at that fence this after noon, it would have been very nice. You would have been au immensely rich wo man at this moment, and probably no body, except my unworthy self, would have suspected you of beiug a murderesB, lu addition to your other duims to notorf ety. But the wretched creature wouldn't jump, and so you hud to fall back upon your original plan oi maucing wini x rencu inan to challemie him and kill him. I am sorry to disappoint you, but that plan of yours will huve to be abandoned. You must try to cook Beauchnmp's goose In what the cookery book calls 'another way.' " Hilda buret ..into scornful laughter. "What in the world are, you talking ahoutt" she asked. "Have you lost your sensesP" "Not nt all," I replied! 1 retain poS' session of thein and plnoe a modest reli ance upon their evidence. But surely yours were not quite aa acute as usual wheu'Miu cast yourself, for the part of Lncrezia Borgia. Trngcily, believe me, is not yourfurte, and as ofens you attempt It you will break dowj, Mpn't you see that If this rattier diabolical Riot of yours had succeeded, yon would hevV nave been able to show your luoj in aj$ui so ciety ngulnr Do you-renlly SMagfcM that there would have boMt the sllizhtest doubt in anvbodv's mind njto who hud Instituted the duel between two men whom youihave been openly endeavoring to sat by the esrs ever since your ftrrival heroP The best thing that you cqn do now Is to get your flre eutiiiff FrcnoJmtjin to muke an anologv. which you will instruct Beauchamp to accopt." -.,.'- Hilda'i face tvas not ordinarily an ex- nrosstve one; biit as she turned it toward me now, there swept across it a look of such vindictive malice that 1 Inwardly re canted my entioisiu upon her tragic capa bilities. However, she soon subdued, that passing eiuotlou and laughed again. "I don't in tlie least understand you," she declared: "I know nothing of any duel. and how (an I help It it a couple of foolish young niiu choose toquarrelf It appears tome that you have bceu drinking too much wine, and I should be much obliged if vou would go awav for the present" "With pleasure," I reolwd. rising. "Do 'wly ret use, then, to be a peaoe- "" "I refuse." she answered somewhat de fiantly, "to be dictated to by you. 1 don't believe what yon Buy, and I shall not make myself ridiculous liy trying to smooth down a quarrel which most likely exists only in your Imagination." That was Ml mat 1 ooiaineu trom ner; but in truth I hud not expected more; and in addressing such plain spoken remarks to her I had been actuated rather by cu riosity as to how she would take them than by any hope that they would divert her from her purpose. : Tlie person whom I did hope to influence wus He Vieuzac. Him I waylaid on hour later, as he was entering the wnoking room, and drew him away into the billiard room, which ad joined that apnrlinant, und which, fortu nately, was untenanted. ! "Monsieur de Vieuzac," I began, "it It quite out of the question that yon should fight young Ueuiichump, and I think you will admit as much when I have given yon my reasons for Buying so." He tnterrnptiKl me with suave courtesy, observing that the subject wus no longer one which he could properly discuss. Any remarks which 1 might have to make must be addressed hi his friends the Count de Something awl the -Ylurouls de Something else, who would not fall to cull upon me in due course. I replied that it would be needless to give bis friends that trouble. "Of course," I continued, "you will not pretend that the ostensible cause of your quarrel is the real one." "The cause of quarrel," returned he, 'Is of perfect simplicity. . 1 have used words which 1 decline to wit hdraw, and by which Mr. Beauchamp conceives himself to b wounded. And permit me once more, sir, to tell yon that this conversation is most Irregular." "I dnro sav It is." I rejoined, "but yon had better listen to me all the same. The lady who Is at the bottom of all this" "Mr. Mttiiiard." Interrupted De Vfeu sac, "it is Impossible that 1 should listen tb you. You scandalize me positively vou scandalize mel What! yon speak of a lady! you would perhaps in another moment go so far as to mention her by name! It is unheard of I 1 must beg of you, Bir, to excuse mo." And he made for the door. "Verv well." said I. "have It your own way, then, if you are determined to bring about au explosion. Since you Insist upon it, your friends slmll talk the affair over with me and with Lord Bracknell, who will be mv coadiutor." De Vieuzac paused npon the threshold and pulled his mustache. "ura macs. nelll" he ejaculated. "Is that Mr. Beau Charon's choice, utuv I ttskr" "Oh, no: It is my choir. You heard him give me leave to Belect a colleague, and such is the selection that 1 propose to make." This brought the Frenchman to his bearings. Be returned slowly and con sented, under nnitest. to hear me. "What is it that vou have to sav?" he inquired. "Whv. sinipiv this," 1 replied. "Mr. Beauchump, as you are probably ..not aware, is the present holder of very large estates, which, lu the event of his dying without issue, would pass to his cousin, Lord Bracknell. Consequently, ii he were to die suddeuly within a short time, a certain ladv whose name we won t men tion would lie snatched from the brink of bankruntcv and raised to a position oi great wealth. Now, suppose that, by a misadventure which I am sure you would be the first to deplore, but which "you might not ue able to avert, you were to kill that young man. What do yon think would be said of you and of the unnamed lady? Or suppose, without going so far as that, that you only wounded him. Is it not certain that everybody would de clare that you had done your beBt to kill him? To me, at any rote, it la very evi dent that the insult which you offered him to-day was a nei pretext,' tad that you had deliberately made up your uuuu to lasten a quarrel upon mm. The Frenchman's countenance, while was speaking, exhibited various phases of emotion; but now he blazed forth with sudden fury and spruug at me like a wild cat i'Blr," he hissed out, "do you dare to license me of being au assassin?" "Certainly not," I replied, drawing back a few paces as a precautionary measure, "but 1 think you, are n some danger of incurring tltat accusation Irom others." Then, as he eyed me lu a sus picious maimer and appeared to be hesitat ing, I continued: "Allow me, as' an in sular barbarian, to siieak the truth to you without phrases. The fact is that you have been made a cat s paw ot by uie most thoroughly unscrupulous woman of my acquaintance. 1 venture to think that it would be more consistant with your honor aud dignity to apologize to Beauchamp, whom you can t realty ue lteve to he a coward, than to fight him for the Bake of Lady Bracknell, whom I have known all my life, aud who, I can assure you, is not worth a drop of honest blood. In any case, oepeua upou it wu we shall not allow our man to go out with you. Lord Bracknell would not tai tc sanctlou such a meeting, even if he were-, what I am convinced.!!. is not, as imam- ous a wretch as his ,t ,:e." Keep silence!" wiasperod De Vieuzac, hurriedly. , But his caution came too late. In my anxiety to bring conviction home to the mind of my Interlocutor, I hod not noticed the entrance of a third person, aud now, when 1 looM -round and saw Bracknell standing closf to my elbow, I perceived that the oat was out or the bag. "You don't mince matters, Mnynard,'-' Bracknell observed. "After that very rank expression of opinion, I (dare say youa'on,'t object to-my asking what you are talking about." "Our conversation was strictly confi dential," broke lu De Vieuzac, with some eagerness. -"Neither Mr. Maynard nor I have the rigbt to repeat it," ' Bracknell glanced at him for a moment, as a big dog glances at a little one, and then turned to mo again. "Come," he said, "I am waiting to hear In fhat re enact I am less infamous than my wife." fin.M f fhit Kmrlish mimDinc engines perform work equaling the raising of 20,000,000 gallons one loot high by tne consumption oi iw weg"i ' w. A LOVE SONG. The Mrd In li nest mora Looks out thwiiirh the leafy And sends a sweat little song JTroro its hiding plaoe- ; Only a note r two, Only a faiut"Coo! OooP ' Hut some other little bird will seat And soon draw near, - The wtaisperlnjt leaves repeat - The story they oft have heard, for oh, there's nothing- so sweet .-.:. As the sung of the bird A love sons', it Is true, Only a taint "Cool door Kut some one calls ont a-Qean "Sweetheart, 1 am here!" "Cool Coo!" says one from the neat, A sfc y little warbler she; - -' "Oool Cool" oomee the answer hook In a lower key. And then anew King Is begun Are these two birds or oneV And with thrills and twIttTlngs sweet. The love song they repeat. -Josephine Pollard in Goaeya, Dot In Hit Line Exactly. A man with an armful of hand bills went into Mr. Schoppenheim's restau rant and asked permission to tack a hun dred or so to the wall. "Vot vos dose?" asked Schoppenheim. "Circulars advertising a railroad ex cursion." You goes avay off nut a week or den days and yon goes sheaper as to stay at homer asked Bchoppenneim. "That's it." "TJnt yon vants to hang dose eirgulare mein restaurant inr' "You've got it" "GotvotT "The idea." "Den mein gustomers vould read dose drgularsr "That s the idea." "Unt go avay den days or two veeks?" "Yes." "Uut dont eat dinners here vile dey to avay!" "Well, they could hardly do that, you know," said the hand bill man hesitat ingly. ' "Dot's vote 1 dinks meinseu. nein. I guess 1 von't have any of dbse pills hung mein restaurant in. uooa uay. mein friendt" Pittsburg Chronicle Telegraph. When a Dog- Surrender. It is evident that a man who will seri ously undertake to put himself en rap port with other animals can exchange communication with them at least as satisfactorily as he could with another man who was confined to an entirely different language. My dog, who has had no special training, understands some half dozen of my gestures, and himself uses the turning aside of the head to indicate dissent, accom panied often by a plain look of disgust at being misunderstood, puts up a paw to deprecate punishment, turns on hat back to express submission, sticks up Ids tail the warrior brandishes his weapo or waves his flag: the dog has no weapon by way of defiance, lowers it for shame or alarm. - - - That turning on the back, by the wa well understood among' dogs as gesture of surrender. , If two Strang! dogs meet on the street 'aud one shews font, if the other turns on his back he will not, as a rule, be molested. Co, Mew York Tunes, i Vot C&uocr aud Slclii PoUonlnf. " Cancerous growths are the inotit difB cnlt skin diseases to control. The knife ia generally the only thing that will answer satisfactorily , bat tne drug caiieo pyoktauin has been used with consider able success. As a local dressing on painful cancers that could not be re- moved by an operation It givt coiieiu- erable relief, and in many instances has decreased the size of the growth. V or poisonings of the ekiu various drugs are used, but for ivy poison there is none better than1 permanganate of potassium, which makes an excellent wash for the poisoned skin. In Russia it ban Ieu found of great value in frost bites,: re lieving the itobmg and burning sensa tion at once. For slight burns of ;itba skin it is also of great use, but sever bums are not to be treated by it Yan kee, piade. , QtuiulbalK and Shaved Uemd. (Qm tlie upper Oongo the natives? gif a great deal imagination and labor to thrf .arrangement of their headdress. Some. of them, .however, , Uk the Bangahu keep thejr ty-ads (Closely shaved, except hit littlf tuft M hair on top and at 'th natives also Bhave tbeir beads." niMa.totel, liiit,ltlioii8l suffering from the a very Keneral custom among cannibal .ml., . XW all antiiKa!. nn iha fVttiiro shave their, heads, but it is certain tiiati all tribes which follow this practice ara cannibals. Sow York Sun..-'- . j , b' Original Asmraa i - A youth in one f the Sunday schaoli conueotad with one of the city missions, without meaning to bo sacrilegious, Irat with visions uf his own misdoings that had received deserved, puuishiueut, to the Question. "Why was our saviour. sent to this earth?" answer, "fTojava; sinners" answered, "OhI I suppose wa acted so bad they had to send hun."-. New York Tribune. WvIooumnI bj tb Old Maav, 1 - 'Sue peering 1 am afraid papa waft angry when you asked him for me, wasn't he, Jack, lover 1 Jack Hiiow Mot at all. He asked if I knew any more respectable young men who would be likely to marry your ore astern if properly ooaxed. Harper's Bazar. , . RESCUED BY A PREACHER. fhm strange Aci-ltltoit and Stranger (loo t . . c , I.ucfe of aa Old Lady. , : A number of delegates to the Pan-Peea- byterlaii council, recently In session at To ronto, went on an excursion to Niagara falls the other day, and one of the minis ters had a chance to show bis pluck and nerve. The International bridge is re served for toot and carriage traffic and affords an excellent view of the river and TUB KE8CUB. the waterfall. The iron railings which run along the sides would be sulllcient protec tion for the most reckless or the most un steady if they were supplemented with some strong wire netting. But as they are now there is a possibility, especially in the of a child, of a pedestrian tailing through the spaces between the bars. This possibility was amply aemonHcraiea by the incident referred to. It was over this bridge that Mrs. Gri mason, of Toronto : was passing, accompanied oy her two daughters and the Rev. John Ramsey, , LL.D., of Ballymoney, Ireland. Tnoy nao occupied the roadway as being safer than the sidewalk safer to one whose head is easily turned on a heightand as affording a view equally good. The approach of a carriage forced them to the walk. The planks are a few inches higher than the floor of the bridge, a fact overlooked by Mrs. Grlroason. She was slightly behind the others, and in stepping up rather sharp ly her foot caught and she went head first through one of the spaces in the railing. Dr. Ramsey, jumping to the side of the , bridge, saw her clinging to one of the iron bracings against which she had fallen in -her descent. He shouted to her to hold on and he would find aid at once. Her posi-; tion was as secure as the situation would admit ot She had fallen astride of the ' - bar, and thus while ber strength and her senses continued she had but to balance ; herself to keep from falling. To the eye witnesses of the scene, however, It was orte of hopeless horror It seemed impossible- a that assistance would reach her in time, as the Is a woman of over sixty years, enfee bled by age and by fright, Hut she clung nrmly to a narrow Htripol Iron, which watt all between her and the howling river 170 feet below. How could , she preserve her consciousness t How she aid retain it during the time taken up in procuring ropes for her rescue she will probably herself never be able to under ttami. But if those minutes were fill of unutterable terror to her, with what un speakable horror, with what alternating sensations of hope and despair, with what emotion of anguish were they charged to ber daughters! . .-, h - v?: .. It was for them a day crowded into ten minutes, but with the expiration of that time came assistance.' Mr, Ramsay re turned with ropes and assistants, one of whom was the bridge policeman. The ropes were quickly tied to,the bridge, and the reverend delegate, as brave In dan ger as faithful in his calling, ami young and active. withal, .descended hafiorer baud to the side of the imperiled woman. -A rope paused about her body, under her - arms aud securely fastened gave ample v assurauea-of her safety. ' It was uot a mo-; tuent too soouj hyvtywur. Her strength col ' lapsed as herdelivmr. reached her, and a', few 'seconds "Wer his labnl would have been without results'. Several :of the ex cursionibts by this time M fftieiierl the , Bcene, among them Mr. ISaaMey Mf J"fairn, Mr. Hugh Blam mid w DalLou, and never ; did these gentlemen pall with more hearty goon will thiia on thofopeby which tMstin' -fortunate ludy was rescued from a watery grave aud restored to the arms of her ; daughters. . . f - The strangest part of -ifle whole occur-' ; ,rencetaud the part which cannot be ex plained, is how she fell against the iron . braciug. i To do so she had to fall in under ; the bridge.. If her descent had been straight nothing could have saved her; and.Jiow she chanced to get so far under in such a short distance from whee she fell is and must remain a mystery. ne was taaento , greati ..nervous Abpckvshs was able to re turn to Toronto on the excumonnwar--,. Dr. Causland after an examiiation found that she had not been injured physically. Rev. Dr. Ramsay, who was the hero of the occasion, is a comparatively young man, between thirty-five and forty. Bounded ltatltr IteliirUmit, "I want to And the redeemor," was the rather startling ronmrit of a motherly iook tng woaian ott the fourth floor of tho0'sl Rl onjoerfll U1B niuuaeijmi. au imhwhiik Hailroad company m this otty the other day. The othemi to whom eh applied was tnelmed to smile, and Was fcemoted to sngT gese that she should arinly at "the little chureh-aroimd the Boi-onr;" but he knew that she sought Uie iswwrai Meket ofhra of theeomnauv 'a llisr 10 Ke' ha(,k a portion of the nrioe ltd tot ticket which had not been asud, apd she was directed there.--, hilsdelphia ' ' Kntl a Victor. , Mrs, fSaddslTiat new minister ain't much on visiting, is het Hn. Gabb No. I gum maybe Mb wife (t a purry good cook herself. New York .Weekly,-.' . .- --.!-