West Virginia argus. [volume], September 08, 1877, Image 1

About West Virginia argus. [volume] (Kingwood, W. Va.) 1877-1946

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♦MW Per Annum, _• <« Hemal Vigilance is the Price of Liberty.” In Advance.
-~ ----K INC WOOD, UKKSTON COUNTY. W.YAA^ATURDAY. SEPTEMBER 8.1877. NUMBKK 1.
tmi; i *t'ih<iNii»:i» i.trrTt.H.
.. . Nu tt PlUDWUOU.
DkakJ**xy; r
“ ' rrarbwl here tl»ls punning,
I <*iu I'.tker. Not hsiiisnl ami f ;
*'** tom see that, layplty at your warning,
I he end of our Jouruey is nigh.
Hie redakiM—'#tw-ane w..rih a meniion,
'*"i» « worry ahyol iue, I prat—
i 1 ■*' •• show II IIS (to little all* HI |a ^ -
i onlound Ihriii! —along on our way.
•4 Poor Neil's got a ball In the idioulder_
Another one just graced miv aide- —
It'll pshaw' ere ae're Imlf a day older
W «• II W at tin* « n«l of our riur.
44 We’re camped here for breakfast. Tolu’s
splitting
Koine kindling wood, oil in tlie pine.,
And astridea dead cedar I'm sitting
To limit ily |k*ii you tbw-M* line*.
i4 A courier from BNuIwwcmI—we i*M him
Ju-Ht now with a mail for the Stair*.
(Ah. Jenny, Til never fnrvrt him).*,
for this most obligingly ‘rails.
o„ t
too. the iiilners are earning
» V 'odlao a day, every man.
tl illoa here comes Tom -he’s retcining_
And running as lust as he can.
4* It’s nothing. I guess; he la only
At one of his practical " hang'
And sharp through that solitude lonely,
The crack of Kloux rirte shnta rang.
And as the dire volley came Mended
tN 1th echo from cannon uml pass,
The letter to Jenny was ended—
It's writer lay dead on the grass.
_
\ mibmliii drama*
''hat a sigh was that! not noisy, hut
profound ami eloquent at once of an old
griet and a fresh jierplcxitv. Boh i
Withers, the gentleman in his shirt '
sleeves In-fore the mirror, had heaved
that sigh every night for ten years :
simultaneously with the act of rcmov- ;
ing from his head the line chestnut wig ;
which conceals the almost complete des- '
ti tut ion ol the natural covering. The
grief is therefore an old one, but an ele- ]
ment of perplexity has mingled with I
this nightly sigh more lately—namely,
since having wooed and won Angie Me
Lane in his wig, he has lH*en screwing up
his courage to the point of revealing to
her that it is a wig, as he feels in fairness
he ought to do. He has just put it off,
and put it off, never finding just the
right opportunity for the confession,
until now the wedding is hut a month
off, and the task seems harder, more iin* j
possible, than ever. He is at present
spending a couple of days at the house
of the Me Lancs in the country, with a
view of getting Acquainted with the
family. For the sake of enjoying un
alloyed the pleasure of Angie’s society
for this short time, he has com promised
with his conscience by resolving at once
on ’caving to write to her and tell the
\ truth, aiul by no means to procrastinate
\ fyrther.
Meantime the process of getting ac
quainted with the family docs not irct
on very prosperously. Bob is a poor
match from a parental |>oint of view,
and a hitter disappointment to the Mc
I'Hites. Nothing hut Angie’s resolute
character could have extorted the grudg
ing consent which their engagement had
at length’received. The family consisted,
besides Angie, of her father and mother,
and two brothers, John and (ieorge. Mr.
Me Lane kept his room, lieing a con
firmed invalid. John, strong-willed and
arrogant in temper, ruled the family
with a rod of iron—(ieorge lieing kinder
tompered, but of much less strength of
character. Angie was the only member
of the family whom John could not rule,
and she had carried the |Miint of her en
gagement against his hitter opjiosition.
Mrs. McLanc was a mere shuttlecock
lie tween John and Angie, receiving an
impulse from one which lasted until the
other got hold of her. John had ac
cepted the engagement with exceedingly
bad grace, and made scarcely a decent*
pretense of concealing from Bob his con
tempt and hostility, and his desire to
find any pretext for forcing a quarrel.
This was particularly unpleasant and
demoralizing to Bob, because the injury
to his own self-respect by the sense of
the tacit deceit he was guilty of as to
his wig left him unable to meet John’s
overbearing insolence with the quiet
dignity he would have liked to assume.
After going to lied he lay awake a
couple of hours thinking over these em
barrassing circumstances, and the delight
ful fact of Angie's love, to which they
were offsets. In the course of his toss
ings he liecame aware that his seal ring
was noton his finger, ami instantly rc
incmltcred that, after using it for n* for
feit in a parlor game that evening, he
had forgotten to replace it. Vexation
at his carelessness instantly made him
tviiln u tvul/n Tlis. rtnif *»«■««# lvA a 1_
library table. If not, then he knew not
where; and, if there, it might lie filched
by a servant in the morning. Associa
tions made it invaluable, ami he found
himself so uneasy alnmt its safety that
he could not sleep. Perhaps the liest
thing he could do was to quietly step
down stairs in his stockings without dis
turbing anyltody, and make sure about
it. lie knew that he could, even in the
dark, steer his way straight to the
' library. In this sleepless, excited state I
of flind the slight tinge of adventure in ,
hiM plan had an attraction.
Jumping out of l»ed he put on apart of j
his clothes, and, softly opening the door '
of his room, went across the hall and j
down the -(airs to tho ground floor. It i
was quite dark, hut he found his way
^easily, having a good topographic in- J
stinct. From the lower hall he entered
the dining room, and from that the !
library. The sea-ooal fire in the grate !
„ was still dickering brightly, iltumiuat- I
- mg the sumptuously-furnished room !
with a faint, soft glow of peculiarly rich
ctlc< t.
^ ^There on the table his ring glittered
» eh the fitful firelight, and, as he slipped
it on his finger, lie felicitated himself on
ft is successful enterprise. The room was
»*n charmingly cor* that he felt It Would
he a sin not to Huger awhile. So, throw- ;
ing himself m a «ofa before the grate he
Jell into a delightful reverie. ;
J list, there, in that, chair, Angie had
sat during the evening, and there he !
pictured her again, finally going and,
leaning over it in a care«*ing attitude
fondly cheating himself. Over there !
had sat Mrs. Melons, and the chair
hack at once transfixed him with two
critical eyes, till he was fain to look
away. The brothers were there-. „nd
there.
Boh chuckled with a loud sense of
hurfuptitiouwies* »« he thought how
!
they would stare could they see him now.
Hie subtle pleasure of clandestine
things is douhtles*. the exaggeration of
the personality which takes phieeas the
pressure of other minds i» withdrawn,
lo pecsona of Boh's sensitive mental
atmoaphere that pressure is painful when
sueh minds are hostile, and often jrk
some even when they are friendly, if
not in jterfeet acconf. Si that now it
was with a (sisitively voluptuous sciisa
tiou that his personality expanded till it
tilled and felt the whole room.
The tire burned, and liuKly Hew the
shuttles of his fancy, weaving ouce
again tin-often varied' patterns of the
future. Those shuttles had little leisure
now-a-days, for all the well must be un
raveled and rewoven, that through it all
might run the golden thread of Angie’s
love. How rarely did it light up the
fabric, liefore so null and dark !
The bronze metal-clock sounded with
a silvery tinkle at thchour of two, hut the
sound fell ap|iarently unhei*de<r on the
ear of the dreamer. It was a full minute
liefore the impression reached his mind.
I hen* are times when the thoughts
throng so that each new sensation has
to take its place in the cue and wait its
turn to get attention. Then lie stirred
and roused himself.emerging reluctantly
from tin* wurpi. voluptuous atmosphere
of imagination, as one leaves an enerv at
ing hath. He had been lying thus a full
hour, and it was high time to return to!
bed. He left the library and started
aeross the dining-room with a hasty step.
Perhaps long gazing at the lire had
dazzled fiis eyes, or {lorhap* his haste,
together with an undue confidence in
his skill in navigation by dead-reckon
ing. rendered him lesseareful than when
ho had come down. However that may
he, a light stand which he had easily
voided then, he now blundered fullv
a pon.
imuwuj- knows mat wncn one i
stubs the t<k* in the dark, instead of do
livering theldow when the toe is moving
slowest, at the beginning, or at the end 1
of the step, it always hap|>cnsso that the
toe trikes with the maximum inomcn- !
turn. So it was this time. If Boh had
been kicking football he could not have
made a nicer calculation of force, and
the shock sent the stand completely over.
ft would have made noise enough any
how, but it must hap|K'n that on this
stand the family silver was laid out for
breakfast, and tlie clancor was similar to
that of Apollo's silver now, that time be
let fly at thotJrecian host l»cfore\rroy.
Bub stood paralyzed with horror. X'en
the anguish of a terribly stnblied too
was forgotten in an overisiweriug sc use
of the awful mess lie hail made, and the
unimaginable consc«|itcuces that would
at mice ensue. As the hideous clangor
and clatter rang through the house shat
tering its sacred silence, he shrank to
gether and made himself small as if lie
could impart a sympathetic shrinkage to
the noise. The racket to his own ears
was splitting enough, but lie fell, in ad
dition, as if he heard it with the curaof
all the family, and he wilted lie fore the
conception of the feelings that were at
that moment starting up in their niinds
toward the unknown cause of it.
Ilis first rational idea was to bolt for
bis room, and gain it before any was
fairly roused. But the shock had so
scattered his wits that he could not at
once recollect his bearings, and ho real
ized, with indescribable sensations, that
he was lost, lie consumed precious mo
ments bumping himself all around the
room Iteforo he found the right door.
Ashe reached the*footof the staircase
voices were audible almve, and lights
wore gleaming down. Ilis retreat
was cut off; he could not go back to bis
room without being discovered, lie
now distinguished the voice of Mrs. Lane
in an agitated tone entreating somebody
to l»e careful and not get shot, the gruff
Voices of the brothers responding, and
then their steps rapidly descending the
stairs, should he go up and take the
risk of a volley while announcing him
self? It would make a pretty tableau.
Presenting himself in such a guise and
under such circumstances, what sort of a
reception could he expect from John,
who treated him w ith undisguised con
tempt in the drawing-room, and whose
study it was to place him at a disadvan
tage? He might have hesitated longer,
hut at this moment the voice of Angie,
crying (low n to her brothers to In* care
ful, decided him.
He could not face her under such ter
ribly false circumstances, and without
his wdg.
oil nil* mh)k place lar quicker Ilian l
could write it. The glimmer of the de
scending lamp already shone dimly in
the hall, ami Boh frantically looked
nlsxit him for a hiding place. But all
the furniture stood tip too high from the
floor, and the corners were distressingly
hare, lie sprang into the dining-room,
hut in the dark heenuld not see how the
land lay, and hurried on into the library.
'The dying fire still shed a dim light
around, and he eagerly canvassed the
various possibilities of concealment
which the room offered. Youthful ex
perience in the game of hide-and-seek
now stood him in good stead, and showed
him at a glance the inutility as refuges
of half a dozen places that would have
deluded one less practiced hy the spacious
hut too easily guessed shelter they af
forded.
Vainly seeking a safe refuge, he ran
round the apartment like a rat in a trap.
He already heard the brothers in the
dining-room picking up the silver and
wondering to find it all there, when,
obeying a sudden inspiration, he clam
bered up a lofty bookcase that ran across
one end of the room, Arching al>ovc the
dining-room door, and reaching within a
few feet of the ceiling. In cold blood
he never could have scaled it. I.yingat
full length upon the top of the Issikcase
with his hack to the wall, the bulge of
him was still visible from the further
part of the room, in case it should occur
u» his pursuers to look so high.
The latter now entered the library;
and, peering over the edge of the l»ook
ca*e, Boh recognized with singular sen- i
sations the two gentlemen with whom he
hail l»een quietly conversing a little
earlier in the evening. Then they were
arrayed in faultless evening dress, and
their manner, although supercilious
enough, was calm and |Kilished. Now he
saw them half dressed, with disheveled
hair-John carrying a student’s lamp in
hUWfthand, and in his right an ugly
looking cane-sword. with n Made pain
fully naked, whileticorge held a revolver
at tult cock.
talking in a low tone, a.** they called
out* another * attention to various spot*
where possibly the burglar might !*e con
cealed, they went slowly from corner to
corner, prolung every recess with the
sword, ami in an attitude of strained at
tention to t very sound. There faces,
grotesquely lit by the mingled lire ami
the lamplight, showed a lieree hunterV,
l<s*k that nia<ie Hohfairlv siek.
Hcdid not dare t«* look at them long
lest tin* magnetism of his gaze should at
tract their involuntary attention. Nay.
he even math* a frantii:effort not to think
of them, from the fear that some physical
current might have the same c licet-—for
be l»el»eved strongly', tbough vaguely, in
the mysteries of animal magnet ism, and
had a notion that a js'rson sensitive to
such influences might detect the presence
of his victim by the very terror the lat
ter had of him.
lie could scarcely lndievo his fortune,
when a moment later, the two brothers
passed again iHMieath him hack into the
dining-room. *
From there they went on through the
nsiius Itcyoml, and the soumlof their
footsteps died away entirely.
IVrhnps live minutes after, they re
turned, that is, as far as the dining-room
— and Hob gathered from their conversa
tion that they had found one of tlie fast
enings in the basement in a condition in
dicating that the burglar might have es
caped there,
Mrs. Mcl.ane and Angie, having satis
fied themselves that the coast was clear,
descended to thcdiniug-i ooin, and a lively
discussion of all aspect* M the problem
ensued, which was highly edifying to Hob.
I hen the conversation Ih'caiuc still
more interesting, as it turned on himself.
He heard Mrs. Me Lane saying:
“lie must be a ban! sleeper, for I
knocked several times on his door.”
I hen one of the brothers grunted
something contemptuously, and he hoard
Angie’s voice excusing him on the
ground that he must Is* tired after his
long journey.
T'MI ntiir juii lUUMimrrvwnPrO
ill tin* library?” wiu. Mrs. Mil,a tie’s
next question, at which a cold sweat
started out on Hob’s fare, lie bad just
begun to feel quite comfortable.
John and (it*urge, however, declared
that they had looked everywhere.
“ Did you look under the sofa?”
“ Behind the window curtains?”
‘In that dark corner by the ls»ok
oaso?’’ asked the ladies in succession.
Ingenious cruelty of fate! Kven
A ngie was racking her brain to guess his
hiding-place. What if it should Ik> she
who hit upon it!
Bob drew a breath of relief as John
replied, with somo a«|»erity, to all these
questions, that he had told them once
that they looked everywhere.
This silenced tlu-m, but Angie said, a
moment after:
“Just let me ask one mors question:
Did you look on ton of the lmokoaso?”
It seemed to Bob that be died then,
and ciime to life again to bear John re
ply, contemptuously:
“ < >ver the bookcase? There’s no room
there; and if there were, nolsidy hut a
monkey could get up.”
“There’s room enough,” |K>rsistcd
Angie, “and I have often noticed, when
sitting in the library, what a nice hiding
place it would l>e. What if he should
nr up there now, and hear what I’m say
ing! ' she added in an agitated whisper.
“ Nonsense!” Haiti John.
“ Well, the re is no harm in looking
anyway,” said Mrs. MrLane.
“Come along, then,” grumbled John.
“ You shall see for yourseIves.”
At this Boh shut Ids eyes and turned
his face to the wall. Thcnstrieh instinct
is the human inMinct of despair, lit*
tried to fly away from himself and leave
his body there as a derelict. The cflort
was desperate, and seemed alm<*>t suc
cessful. But lie could not quite sever
the connection, though his soul appeared
to Ik- hovering over his body, only
attached by a single thread—hut a thread
which, alas! would not break.
A moment after they all passed
through the door directly beneath him,
and. going to the other end of the- library,
stood on tiptoe,and peered at his hiding
place. There seemed to lie eyes in his
back, which felt their scrutiny. But the
lamp they carried did not suffice to bring
out Iim figure clearly.
“ I’m sure I see something,” said
Angie, getting up on a chair.
“ It’s only the shadow of the firelight.”
replied John.
• '•uni inr gas ann ici us make sure,
said Airs. Ale Banc.
George stood upon a chair under the
chandelier and lit one of the hurners.
An inarticulate ejaculation fell from
every mouth. A human, figure was
distinctly visible, reclining on the top
of the bookcase, with his fare toward the
wall. The ladies would have forthwith
run away hut for the fact that one door
of the room was directly beneath the
Isiokcase, and the other close to it. l)|K>n
Itoh’s paralyzed senses fell the sharp
words of John:
“ We’ve got you. f let down V1
lie did not move, tint at the summons
his soul with inexpressible reluctance
and disgust, began to return from the
end of its floating thread, and reinhahit
the qiurters for which it could not quite
shake" If responsibility.
“Get uii, or I’ll sh«s>t!” said George.
“ <>h, don’t slnsit him I” cried Airs.
Ale Banc, while Bob, still motionless,
dimly ho|ied he would.
' Get up!’’ reiterated John; and he
did get up. His own will was inactive,
ami John s was tin1 force that moved
his muscles, lie turned around mid set
up, his legs dangling over the edge of
the IsHikcase, and his wet, white
wretched face blankly directed toward
the group— a m«»st pitiable figure.
“Jump down,” said John; “and if
you try to escape you will get shot.”
w>li let himself drop without regard to
how he was to alight, and in consequence
was severely bruised against a chair and
the edge* of the Ixsikcasc.
He st/xwl facing the group. His eyes
mechanically sought Angies. What
was his surprise not to jereeivc in her
expression of mingled curionity and
fright the slightest sign of recognition?
A glance showed him that It was the
same with the others. John and George
evidently supposed they were dealing
w ith an ordinary burglar, and the others
were apparently quite as devoid of sus
picion as to his identity, llis wig! lie
had forgotten all about It. That ex-'
plained their singular demeanor.
> I lie l»ald man in stockings, grouser*
and shirt, caught hiding in the library
after an attempt on the silver, quite
naturally failed to recall to their
minds the youth of rather foppish attire I
and luxuriant locks who bade them good
night a few hours previous. As this
fact ami its explanation broke U|m>ii
Hob s mind he felt an immense sons*' of 1
relief, instantly followed hy a more
poignant perception of the inextricable
falsity and cruel absurdity of his iiocm
tion. lie had little time to think it over
and determine hi* heat course.
John step|Hxl forward, and with the
jH»int of his cane sword motioned him
into a corner, thus leaving the way clear
for the ladies, who at once hurried into
the dining-room, throwing glances of
fear and aversion ti|K>n Hob as they
passed. Angie paused at the doorwav
and asked:
“ \Vhat are you going to do w ith the
dreadful man?”
Hoh even then was able to notice that
, lie had never seen her -o ra\ishiuglv
i beautitiil as now, with hi'r golden hair
fulliup over her ih w hile her eves
scintillated with excitement. She would
have blushed to have been seen bv him
in such an inidri** toilet, but. with an
odd feeling of lieing double, he perceived
that she now regarded him as she would
have an animal.
[ “(ieorge mid T will attend to him. I
! \ ou hud lietter go to ls-d,” replied |
John to her question; nnd then lie sent
(ieorge after some cord, meanwhile |
quietlv standing in front of Bob with
corked revolver. Had he scanned his
prisoner closely, he might have detected
something familiar in his lineaments,
hut in careless contempt he took him in !
with a swooping glance as an average
burglar, whose identity was a question
for the poliee.
Bob had not uttered a word. In the
complex falsity of his jiositioii he could
not indeed muster presence of mind to
resolve on any course, hut regarded with
a kind of fatuity the extraordinary
direction events were taking. Rut when !
(ieorge returned with a ro|H>,and ordered
him to put his hands behind him, lie
said, in a tone so quiet that it surprised
himself:
“ Hold on, Mr. McLnne; this joke has
gone too far. I am Robert Withers, at
your service, and respectfully decline to
la> considered in the light of a burglar
any further.”
< ieorge s jaw drop|ied with astonish-!
ment, and John was scarcely less taken
aback.
“ Hanged if lie isn’t I” ejaculated the
former, after a moment, in a tone of in- I
credulous conviction, as ho recognized
at once the voice and now the features i
of Roh; “ blit where’s your hair?”
Roh blushed painfully.
“ I wear a w ig,” lie replied, “ and to
night coming down stairs after you were
all alicd to get my ring which I had left
on the table here, I did not fully dress. j
doing hack It was my luck to stumble!
over that cursed stand in the other
room!”
“But what did you hide for?” asked
John sharply.
Roh just touched his bald head and
replied :
“ I heard the ladies up.”
John pitched the revolver on the sofa
and stood (tensive. Finally he said, with
a sardonic smile:
“ Mr. Withers, how do you propose to
get out of this? Shall I call the ladies
in and let you explain? They will •»res
ently lie wanting to know what we have
done with the burglar.”
Roh made no reply. Already bitterly
humiliated, he saw no way of avoiding
indefinite nnd yet bitterer humiliations.
John thought a few' minutes longer,
and then he said:
“Take a seat, Mr. Withers; I have a
proposition to make.”
'I hey sat down.
“ You are aware,” continued John, in '
the calmest, most iinficrtiirhahlc tone !
“that I don’t like your match with my '
sister, and have done my liest to break |
it ofl. Rut she is an obstinate girl, and
I had pretty much given up hope. These
peculiar circumstances have most unex
js'ctedly put you in my power, and I
propose to make the utmost of my arivan
tage. If I were to call in Angie now
and introduce you, f feel tolerably well
assured that it would lie the end rtf your
matrimonial expectations in that quar
ter. Still, you nave a chance for your
life. I will call her if you say so?” And
John rose.
I* ‘»r (bid's sake don't let her come in j
here!” groaned Hob, in abject panic.
.lohn grinned, stepiied toward the
door, and then turned hark irresolutely, !
muttering:
” Wonder if it wouldn't be the short
est way out of it to rail her down?”
Then, with a saving reflection upon the
uncertainty of a woman's course under
any given set of circumstances, he came
, hack, and reseating himself opposite j
Hob, said, with a sardonic smile: “Ho
you don't like my little suggestion of
giving you one more chance with Angie 7
On the whole, f think you are wi«e. The ,
other alternative is to leave the house
at once, relinquish your engagement, j
and never sec her again. Make your
choice, ami asquieklvas convenient, for
I m getting sleepy/’ ami he yawned j
I lazily.
Bob sat in an attitude of utter deice- !
tion, staring at the ashes of the fire, i
which an hour ago had blazed as bright ly !
l as his own love-lit fancies. He was j
completely demoralized and almost in- '
capable of thought or resolution. There
was something so pitiable in Bob’* odd
looking, dismantled figure, half-dressed,
with that queer, white, hulhous head,
dimmed, muck eyes, and expression of
crushing shame and defeat, that it would
have moved almost any one to compas
sion. It did stir compunctions in
drttrf,re, hut there was no mercy in ,
John s still, blue eye*. Two or three
minutes passed in a silence so complete
that even the almost noiseless movement (
of the French clock on the mantel was
distinctly audible.
M You are taking altogether too long
to make up your mind, Mr. Withers. It
will make shorter work to call Angie,”
finally said John, sharply, his patience i
«|»iito nl an end. He rose ami stopj*od to
the dmir as he s|>oke.
"It won't Ih> iicivwsrv, John—here l
am!" said a clear voice, with a sharp
ring in it that the family had learned to
know meant decisive work, and Angie
•tepped into the room, her blue eyes
flashing with indignation and her lips
trembling with scorn, beautiful as a gt*d
dess.
Hob startl'd up from hisahjcct attitude
and atom! facing her with the look of a
man waiting his doom from the tiring
s<jiiad. As he stood there, drawn up to
Ins full height, with jttst a touch of a|v
l-eal softening the defiance of his ex
pression, it was a manly face and figure
in spite of Jill. Hut licr brothers re
ceived Angie's first attention.
" ^ «»u mean, cowardly fellows!” sh,
said, in tones of concentrated content »t.
I would not have believed that men
were so mean!—And I am almost as
milch ashamed of you, Mr. Withers,”
she added, turning to Hob, with a softer,
hut yet angry voice. “ Hid you think,
sir. that I took you for your lteauly ? I
don’t rare if you wear forty wigs, or
none. \ oil are absurdly vain, sir. She
was smiling now. "You should know
that when a woman loves a man it is of
grace and not of works. Anyhow.
John." she added, turning to him', as if
contrasting his slight figure with Hob's
line phytique, "Mr. Withers doesn't wear
shoulder puds.” With that fair ting
shot she dtHup|>curcd into the dining
r«N*m, in a moment rcap|>curiug to say:
Mr. Withers, you may forgive them if
you want to, I’m by no means sure that
I shall. And now go to lied, all of you,
ami don’t lie keeping us awake.”
’I here was an outward silence for a
few moments. 'I hen John said :
“ I don’t ask your pardon, Mr. With
ers, Itccaiisc I meant to succeed, and I'm
sorry I didn’t. Hut I know when I'm
beaten, and you need expect no further
opposition from me. Let's go to bed.”
Mounted Infantry Officer*.
Il’sll Mull Unrrltr.]
Tin* necessity of mounting all Cap
tains of infantry companies, if the
officer* arc to perform their duties
efficiently, is lieing again dwelt u|ton
l<^ the French military press. In the
French nrniv. as in nearly all other
Continental forces, a company on a war
footing, iiuiuIht* two hundred and
fifty men, and it is urged that
it is simply impossible for the Cap
tain, however active he may lie,
to properly superintend its working if
he lias to move about on foot. F.xtcndcd
in skirmishing order, a formation which
has now become it* normal lighting
order, or employed as an advance or
roar guard, a com puny of two hundred
ami lifty men covers a long stretch
of ground, and ran, it is argued,
only I * * adequately controlled hy a
mounted officer. After a march, again,
the captain of a company ought to
look after the comfort of hi* men,
visit them in their bivouacs, satisfy
himself that they have received their
proper ration*, and see that all camp
duties are properly performed, lint if
he is fatigued hy a long march on foot
he will l»c but too likely to |N'rform his
work in a (icrfuuctory manner; and
consequently his company will sillier.
.Moreover, now that a slmrt-wrviee sy«
tem prevails in nearly every European
army, the captain of a company will
generally lie one of the oldest, if not the
oldest man in it, and therefore not so well
aide to endure fatigue as the younge/
men under his command. For all these
reasons it is generally recognized as
necessary that the captain should lie a
mounted officer. In the German army
lie i* provided with a horse, and in
time of war even with two. In Austria
and Italy the mounting of all captain*
ha* only liccn temporarily po*t|*mod
from considerations of expense, and in
France a captain, when on a line of
march or during maneuvers in the
field, may ride if he choose* to provide
himself with a horse at hi* own cost,
lint unfortunately the small pay re
ceived by them doe* not allow many of
the French officers to avail tH'mseltres
of this permission.
How to he Welcome.
What a ceremonious alf'air we make
of entertaining company! Too many of
it* lose all sense of lieing at home the
moment a stranger crosses our thresh
old, and he instantly feels himself to
lie a mere visitor—nothing more—and
act* accordingly. The inan who knows
how to “ drop in ” of an evening, draw
up hi* chairto the hearth, as if it were
his own, and fall into the usual evening
routine of the household a* if he were a
member of ib—how welcome lie always
Is! The man who comes to stay under
your roof for a season, and who, with
out lieing intrusive or familiar, make*
you feel that he is “ at home ” with you
ami i* content in hi* iisiihI fashion of
occupation — how delightful a guest he
is! And the house- ah, how few of
them!- into which one can go for a day
or a week Hnd feel sure that the family
routine is in no wise altered, the family
comfort is no wise lessened, hut on the
contrary, increased by one’s presence- —
what joy it is to cross their thresholds!
What harlmrs of refuge they are hi
weary wanderers! What sweet remin
i see nee* they bring hi the lonely and
homeless!
Thr other day a woman walked into a
bank in ('hemnitz and aaid that aixteen
yeara ago *»he had drawn Home money
from it, ami on reaching home found
that ahe had received two ducat* too
milch. Mcing in proaaing need at the
time ahe Imd kept the money, and until
now had lieen afraid to return it. Hhe
waa tohl by the bank officer* that ahe
might keep the dltcat*, whereupon ahe
became highly excited and inaiated upon
returning them with compound intercat
which, together with the principal,
amounted to over forty mark*, which
«um waa thereupon handed over to a
p»ior family.
KfUTU’H mamma waa aiek, and the
little fine felt,a* ahe expreawed it, “very
mournful.” At night ahe prayed: “O
Ixird, pleaac to make my near mamma
well again. 8hc muat have eaten aome
thing that didn’t digest. f>on’t let her
he aick any more, for it’a no fun to her,
nor to me aithar.”
A Famous Itide to kimi-lon.
• lAHwm Kx|»n •»» |
I'ho writer *ut in a well-known saloon
at noon yesterday, eating a delicious
salad and sweltering over a cun of hot
tea, when tile proprietor stepp'd up.
“ The Is*vs have a'nice day for their
excursion at King-ton,” -aid he.
“ They have, indeed. K.vor hccu
then* f
“Ye-; I t€s»*|c a couple of (tank, robbers
down then* twenty tixe or thirty years
ago." ♦ *
“ Indeed!”
^ os, sir. Never told you about ,1 hut
affair, did I ?”
I “No.”
M ell, I will. It wa- let me sue
in 1810. I was working at the Old Tingle
I Hvorn ; had a couple «if nice InirM's, and
for a young man, was doing a line busi
ness. Those days there was neither
railroad- nor telegraph. The stage coach
was the only mode of public travel, and
i it xvas tin* event of tin* day to sec the
coaches from the West und Now York
hustle into tho tavern yard. You knoxv
where the tavern stood, don’t you?”
“ N-uo, 1 think not.”
“t'oilier of Hroadxvay and Ilaniiltou.
Well, one cold morning, in the middle
of 1 Vcenihor, I xxas jn-t stepping out
from the office to the long xvondcit veran
dah, when | noticed two xxell dressed
gentlemen, each carrying a good-sized
traveling satchel, hurrying toxvard the
hotel. One of them addressing me, said:
"Stage fur Noxv York gone vet?”
“ Yes, sir.”
“ Hnxv long?”
“ Mor’n two lumrsngo.”
I I hey xve re much excited over the
I iicxvh, and asked xvliat they could do to
get to New York speedily. I told them
I didn t know, 1 lie boats had stopped
miming a mouth, although one of them
still ran to Kingston, the river being
open that far up. She xvould leave that
evening for NoXv York, and the stage
coach xvhioli left Albany a couple of
hours before xvould transfer its passen
gers and mails to the steamer at King
ston Point. Then the gentlemen said
they must get that bunt, and asked if I
knew of a couple of fast homes in the
city, and if they could hire or get a car
riage to heat tho stage in. If xvas a mnt
'*•!* of life and death, they said, and
they would pay any price. I asked what
price, and they told me they xvould pay
six hundred dollars to beat the stage to
Kingston. It xvas a big sum, and I
xvliistled, but I told them I'd take them,
and off I rail. I found a friend of mine
— Ilauk l<ewis we hitched up the
horses to a four-seated sleigh; the two
gentlemen Isiught some whisky, and
axvay xve went "hollersplit” for King
ston. liord, hoxv we did go! Two hours
behind the stage, and yet Indore xve
reached Athens xve passeil it. NearCat
skill the horses gave out completely,
and xve had to hire a new team. I didn’t
want to go any further on account of the
horses, hut one of the gentleman asked
“ Wluit is that team of yours xvortli?”
“Three hundred dollars,” I said.
“ Drive on,” he answered, ‘‘I’ll nay
for them.”
Once wo tipped over, and half an
hour was s|>eiit in getting to rights. Then
we went at it again, and at half past
four we drove up to Kingston Point,
where the steamer lay all loaded, hut
waiting for the Albany mail.
The two gentlemen went on hoard and
asked for Captain Demi, lie came aft,
and they told him what they told lewis
and I coming dowf). Mow they resided
in ('a mu I it, hut were sons of an Knglish
nobleman, who had died recently, Wav
ing a valuable estate. Their prose net*
was needed immediately in lamdon, if
they would save the estate from a de
signing relative. The packet sailed from
New S’ork for Liveriiool on the first tide
the next morning. They must get it or
wait thirty days for the ne*‘ ship, and
so lose their fortune. Tlu^r oflered the
('aplain two thousand dollars if he would
leave then and there, and mako certain
of catching the ship.
u Would like to make that two thou
sand dollars, gentlemen,” said Captain
Dean, hut my orders are not to leave till
I get the Albany mail, and I can not ac
cept.”
They deemed much disappointed, but
said “it couldn’t lieex|>ected,” and then
they made themselvesairreeahle toeverv
Imdy about. They pain me the six hun
dred -dollars promised, gave me three
hundred dollars for the lost horsed, and
gave the driver and the men over one
hundred dollars each. We waited until
the stage came in; the mails and pas
sengers were transferred; away went
the Iwtat in a hurry. Then we rode leis
t urely hack to Albany, it lading a line
night, hut before we got there we met
the mounted jiolico furiously coming
after our passengers, the dead noble
man's Isigtis sons. They were hank
rohl»ers, and those two satchels they
held contained over non in gold and
Hank of Kngland notes, the proceeds of
a big Montreal robliery.
“ Did they catch them ?”
“Catch ’em! No. When the boat
started that night they talked with Cup
tain I>chii am) ottered him live hundred
dollars if he would put them on board
of the outward lanind ship before lie
landed, as she would la* lying in the
ehannet. Captain Dean accepted, and
just at daylight the stcamltont lay along
side tllC vessel, and by the time Captain
lH-an got to his pier and the passengers
awoke, the ship wassailing through the
narrows and away to Kngland.”
“Ami the robbers were never heard
of?”
" >ever. \\ by they had a start of
thirty days, and, lieing young men, they
are |ierha|>s living in elover in some
Kuro|**an country on their ill-gotten
wealth. They were smart enough to
take us in by their smooth talk and
gentlemanly address.”
.lust then the salad was finished, and
so was the storv. The writer nicked up
his cheek and Sir. Vea/.ic walked to an
other part of the dining room to see that
his waiters were paying pro per attention
to other hungry enstomers.
The story has the merit of being liter
ally true.
T mb average < Connecticut farmer
will suffer all day with colic liefore
spending a cent for medirine, hut let om
of his oxen look embarrassed and tiff tho
old man rifles lor a veterinary surgeon.
w in in i r
•' Willie, lirro’a 0 foniilhtruoi! Wliy'n • "
Then 4* she Maiiinumi ami |*au*t*l In think,
llcrllnl. “ Shi ml 1C nil! W hoO|i'el III*, 'l.iaal
IU-» y' I’ll iftiewn II qulrkiv'n a wink.*'
“ Wall, tutpalkenec! litre me a mlniim-**"
She |iload«*l, I hen Mild, •* What crime l« a lai—”*
Ami Mm k nine inure. " There'* a gout Joke loll!"
she wUiil, while he, *' Mow *low you arel"
Avaln 'he l*« gall, •• Wlial etime iloew a *allor,
In a Rotdlrr'a quartern token Mek,
li.'i-iiil.le! Now. than, >onm*l»y rniler!
Juat kuc" It! Clive ii*X!*io mii«n <|iilck!"
lie gin'mxI Ilir»w» w«*'k», amlilliln'l gel niglill;
Ale lloli to 'ImuHlIieO III' |ilnM>|>liorlr litalu,
N t nil hi* liigenioii' friend* In try ll;
I lien got »haii«|MMMi«d, nn«l weul nl it again.
\t ln-t lie gave u|>, ami'lie lolil l lie aii'wrr:
" A xallor took kick In mu-Ii a |*laee, Will,
l» lik*' an alieiu|it liiuunlMa man, air!
You mx* lie’a a Mill wtlliln lent took III!"
A klirlek like the wIiimi|H*I a Sioux lie littered,
■ Then fell In a aw««>u< They luuillleed hi* hood j
III ft week they xiw tlial III' |iiiIm‘ 'till itnlli ie<l ;
In a moo Hi they l»>l'lere<l him ii|>Iii InxI.
Ng,
The doetiir m>h^IiI I ll/a to la'll ligr,
“ Yoiii dill In H) I'i lurv ; ol"fi tc dial giln ;
III* nit ml 'dll wainler*; you'll kill dial (ellei
•'l you e\ei ixniumlruiii to him aglul"
-•Af« Tor* li'myAk,
KYUUY'DAY SPUEK1ES.
Wlir.RKVKU there is much to offend,
there is much to pardon ; ami when there
is anything to pardon, he assured therein
something to love.
IIoWkvkk many friends von have, do
not neglect yourself. Though you have
a thousand,not one of them loves von ho
much as you ought to love yourself.
Sim»av is the strongest of all the
days, for the others are week days and
tins is hot. And yet Sunday is oftener
broken than any one of the week fel
lows.
No character will please long which is
uniform. To lie always jocose is buf
foonery ; always pathetic, silly; always
wise, sententious; always grave, tire
some.
KI.KIIY IN A COUNTRY 1'ARMltOVHK, 11Y A
SI MMKl( MOJOl’IINKIt.
Know >«> I lie tt|> where theuauey uhMiuIh'
Kver >Iiuks tliroilult the milk hihI getn tmiglnl In
Where lhe liitir* me n.i roll iin the youth Ihry en
twine,
The hue iiuhiI eni luuitlun, the null I- nilMt ill vine1
’ l l* (he |||i of •* your* truly,** tlie tmnl of th«*kle*,
1 Tile llmt at the tahl^tlie hot one to tine.
J —At., in / niton lilobr.
Tin: fly which awakens you at early
I dawn, hy crawling over your nose, may
| drop into your neighlstr’s butter dish
before dinner, and be served up in your
own sauce for supper.
ItociiKKTKH Pntiocraf: “Money in a
nutshell" is the title of an article in the
Cincinnati ({turtle. We shall not trust
our money in so large a receptacle as
J that. It would get lost.
Ai.uany Art/tut: At a fashionable
wedding recently when the bridegroom
knelt down, “$Jf.r»0" was plainly seen on
tin* soles of his shoes. There1 is noth
ing like economy in beginning married
life.
A on BAT philosopher says: In the
economy of nature nothing is lost. The
inside of an orange may refresh one man,
while the outside of the same fruit may
serve as a medium for breaking another
man’s leg.
Woiutxtkh The grittiest
chap in the country lives in Napa
County, California. A cargo of rock
: splinters was blown Into him hy the
nrreinature discharge of a blast, ami now
ic resembles a section of patent gravel
j cement.
IHKill: arc* but three way* for a
man to revenge himself of the censure of
the world: To despise it, to return the
like or to endeavor to live ho iih to avoid
it. The first of these in iiHiially pre
tcudcd, the hint is almost impossible; the
uni vernal practice in the. second.
I'.v reference to the mortality rciMirts,
*ays an exchange, it will he found that
fourteen death* last week were attributed
to (dd nge. This deserve* ncrious con
sideration, and the Board of Health
ought to take effective steps to prevent
such a disease assuming the proportion*
j of an epidemic.
gt'MMKK THOUGHT*.
Upon n imwHy knoll in the fore*!, I
hay looking upward al the eteriml 1dm*
ill tlielnfliih* and utili 1 lioiion*, through
The oak-h'af and the licmlo, k'n iminiir,
And now and then a rloiul went drilling hy, ,
hlatli km and alow, and changing to I lie view,
llow like inv fh-ctlng anninier thought,) to you,
Culm, peaceful cloud*! Ami now the evening *ky
A deeiier, darker, lovelier a/.urc hath,
The liirdH have cesucd their alnglug, and the breeze
U tilled with Iiiiiii of Inweta; diirkiiou.
Wltli the flrat few alars twinkling itixmgli the
Ireea— ^
That night hath ,'onie. A little while, and death
hike night, will eml life’s Hummer reveriea.
—tfctilntrr.
Many si young man *|>cnda his money
like a prince for ice-cream to tresit hi*
girl on Sunday night, and is willing to
stand at zero hi the estimation of hi*
friend* all the next week, by hi* per
sistent lagging of a stray chew of to
Intern, in cniisetjlienee of the ifhpecuni
osity produced by one Sabbath's gener
osity.
Who can explain the operation ‘of
that sentiment, which create* around the
one object of our love a halo of life and
beauty, which extend* to all animate
and inanimate nature, anti of that other
sentiment which, when we cease to hive,
strip* the object of our latejpa**ion of all
its adventitious charm* ano reduce* it to
i the ordinary level ?
Mrs. 4'r*H|mi*h Trip.
Mrs. 4‘rapo, who with her husband has
just crossed the ocean iri a boat, writes
lioiiie t«i Now Bedford confirming the
s(4»ry of their hardships. Hhe slept on a
wet bod all through the voyage. They
had several gales, the last Is'ing very
hard but,” she says, "(h d was with
us, nnd lleealnu d the sea so that we were
able ls» make sail. The next morning
OikI spoke t<» me. and said, * I am with
: thee* don’t fear. Trust in me, and f will
land thee safe on the shore.’ The teara
! dropped down my face like rain." Mrs.
! ('ra|H»comi>laineaof pains all through her
1 Iwsly, and she fainted twiee on the
passage. The husband, U*>, was badly
used up, and ls*th have unite enough
dory voyaging. “ We would not under
take this voyage again for eonsidcrnble.
Nothing eon In make us go,”
Thu pay of th#- French army officers
has I sen increased, A Marshal of France
will get ♦•»,'.Kil » year; a General of
l )i vision, $8,8X8,and a Brigadier General.
$2 692. ( ha plains will be paid $475, and
Adistant C haplain* $60.