That
. . .BY. . .
Mysterious
ETHEL A. SOUTDAM
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TIC % jtt TR ifc
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CHAPTER VI.
"It Is very awkward , but then it is
fust oxnetly what one might have sup
posed would happen. " Lady Howard
spoke In a strangely perturbed tone.
For the past few minutes she had been
occupied in reading the London pa
per , but the remark , which was ac
companied by a faint sigh , was evi
dently the outcome of a previous con
versation. "If one has a particular
antipathy for a certain individual , one
raay be quite sure that , as Ill-luck will
have it , one will be brought in con
tact with that very individual at every
turn and corner ; and it has just been
so with Major Brown. During the past
four or five days we must have had oc
casion to speak to him at least a
dozen times. What with lending us
bis umbrella on the day wo were caught
in that thunder shower , helping in the
search for Sambo when you lost him
the other morning , and to crown all ,
rescuing you almost from under the
hoofs of that tiresome horse upon the
shore yesterday , we seem to have pass
ed our time in saying nothing but
'thank you , ' to him. Really every
thing has happened as awkwardly as it
could. Of course accidents are con
stantly occurring ; still I cannot imag
ine how you managed to get under
the hoofs of that horse. "
"Well , yes it was troublesome of
me. It would have been almost bet
ter if it had killed me outright , " was
Evelyn's answer from the deep em
brasure of the window , where she was
sitting before a small writing table
busily scribbling off several notes.
"But , anyhow , we were under an ob
ligation to him for getting wet through
on our account the other night , when
In that pouring rain he found us a cab
after the theater. After that , we were
obliged to be polite to him. "
"Yes polite of course , " agreed her
ladyship , twisting her rings somewhat
thoughtfully round and round upon her
fingers ; "but you have to be more than
3rdinarily polite to a man. who has
saved your life. "
Yes that is it , " said Evelyn lugu
briously.
"It is very annoying the whole af
fair has been so unfortunate , " pro
ceeded Lady Howard with emphasis.
"If it were absolutely necessary that
you should be rescued by somebody , all
well and good ; but there is not an
other person in the hotel whom I
.vould not have chosen to undertake
: he task in preference to that man. "
Evelyn received the information in
silence. Leaning her elbows on the
fdge of the table , she let her chin
jink slowly into her two palms and
lazed out reflectively through the
apen window.
"Still there is nothing really against
aim , " she suggested at length , with
slight though perceptible diffidence.
-He he Is very nice to talk to. The
anly objection is that nobody knows
who he is , and that his name is
Brown' plain common 'Brown' with-
3ut even an 'e1 to add a little elegance
; o it. And of course one generally
onsiders that an officer is at least
i gentleman. "
"An officer ? Nonsense , child ! Be-
: ause he calls himself 'Major Brown , '
io you suppose that is any criterion of
lis position in society ? " Lady How-
ird spoke quite disdainfully. "He may
ae an officer , certainty he has the ap
pearance of a soldier but it is far
nore likely , since nobody can discov-
r what regiment he is in and there
is no such name in the retired Army
list that he is merely a major of vol
unteers in an obscure country town ,
following a vulgar but honest trade
is soap boiler or sugar refiner. "
. Pigs , I believe
"He may be , of course.
lieve , may fiy , " returned Evelyn , nib
bling the end of her pen with a per-
ectly unconvinced expression. "But
there is nothing suggestive of either
- about Major Brown. "
soap or sufc-ar
"No I do not say that there is ; but
I dislike making promiscuous ac
quaintances. Mr. Falkland was talkIng -
Ing about him only this morning , and
ho scorns thoroughly to understand my
feelings upon the subject. "
"Yet a month ago Mr. Falkland was
quite as promiscouous an acquaintance
himself. It was only by chance we
got to know him ; and in his case he
had not even done anything for which
we were under any obligation to him , "
was Evelyn's prompt reply.
"My dear child , what arc you talk
ing about ? " Lady Howard's tones were
slightly impatient. "Mr. Falkland's
was quite a different case. We made
his acquaintance by chance ; but I
should have been just as reluctant
to have anything to say to him as I
am about this other man if we had
rot discovered in him an old friend of
both my husband and your father. At
the same time I must say I never met
anybody before in whom I could place
such complete confidence. He is so
different from the general run of young
I'.ien , who can talk of nothing but their
shooting , their horses , and their dogs. "
"Oh , yes he is very nice , of course ;
but" Miss Luttrell paused for a mo
ment "he is not exactly a young
man ! "
"Possibly not. " The touch of impa
tience in her ladyship's tones was su
perseded by one of distinct annoyance.
"Neither , " she added , "is this myste
rious individual with whom you have
struck up such a warm friendship. I
should imagine there are only a very
few years difference in their ages. "
"Now , Aunt Lydia , do not talk non
sense ! Major Brown may be as old
as Methuselah for all I care ! And ,
as for saying that I have struck up
a friendship with him well , that is
really mean of you ! " Evelyn pushed
back her chair , advanced to the mid
dle of the room , and with her hands
clasped behind her , gazed serenely at
her aunt. "You surely know that you
THRUSTING IT INTO HER WRI TING CASE , LOCKED THE KEY.
did more towards making that ac
quaintance in the ten minutes when
you talked to him last evening and
overwhelmed him with thanks for res
cuing me than I could have done in
a whole year ! Why , if I had not known
to the contrary , I should have thought
ho was the one person in the hotel for
whom you had the greatest respect ! "
"Yet , what else could I do , when ,
but for his timely aid , you might at
this very moment be lying lamed for
life or even dead ? " returned Lady
Howard , with a little shudder.
"Oh , no ! You did quite right , of
course ! " said Evelyn thoughtfully.
Perhaps nobody realized more fully
than herself how much she had to be
thankful for. "But do not say it is
my fault if he well , if for the future
he does not merely take off his hat
and pass on with a distant bow when
he chances to meet you ! " laughing
lightly.
No ; the distant bow was quite a
thing of the past , their acquaintance
was on a totally different footing now
a state of affairs to- which Major
Brown himself was thoroughly alive
when , half an hour later , he chanced
to meet Miss Luttrell in the garden.
He welcomed her warmly , persisted in
showing her some new plans for a
projected golf course , and was still
walking by her side when a turn in
the path brought them face to face
with Gilbert Falkland.
"So there you are , Miss Eve ! " he
began by way of greeting , utterly ig
noring her companion. "I was just
wondering where the bird had flown. "
The words were spoken lightly , in
the same familiar half-patronizing
strain which Mr. Falkland usually
adopted towards the daughter of his [
old friend. "Five minutes ago , when
I was passing along the verandah I
noticed that the window of your sit
ting room was wide open , that the
apartment itself was empty , and that
SBBE
ft check book was lying on the ta
ble. "
"A check book ? " Evelyn nodded.
"Ah , I dare say it was mine. "
"So I suspected , " observed Falkland
calmly. "Are you aware , though , that
it is a most dangerous practice leav
ing your check book about like that ? "
"Dangerous ! " Evelyn laughed. "Well ,
yes ; I suppose that it would be con
sidered dangerous by some people who
go on the principle of locking up ev
erything , from the wine cellar itself
down to such trifles as penny stamps
and halfpenny post cards. "
"Yet check books , I should imag
ine , scarcely come under that cate
gory , " remarked Falkland with quiet
sarcasm. "But perhaps you have for
gotten our Conversation of a week
ago ? " he supplemented , with a signi
ficant glance from Evelyn to Major
Brown , who was standing silently pass-
Iiig his stick along the edge of the
gravel path , an edified listener to the
discussion.
At his words the hot color rose
quickly to Evelyn' < 5 cheeks , mounting
to her forehead and spreading over
throat and ears. Like lightning her
thoughts had gone back to that morn
ing when her first encounter with Ma
jor Brown had taken place ; and , as
she realized to what Mr. Falkland
was alluding , a feeling of the utmost
annoyance took possession of her.
But worst of all was the knowledge
that Major Brown had raised his head
and was wonderingly surveying the
crimson hue of her cheeks , and prob
ably even divining the cause of her
confusion. This last thought was too
much for her. Without another word ,
and giving Gilbert Falkland only one
flash of her angry eyes , she suddenly
turned away and walked off indignant
ly towards the house.
"The wretch ! " I hate him ! " she mur
mured a moment later , as she stepped
through the open window of Lady How
ard's sitting room and threw herself
into a low chair.
One contemptuous glance she gave
at her check book as it lay open on
the table by her side , and then , as
though annoyed by the very sight of it ,
she took it up , and , thrusting it into
her writing case , locked the key an
grily upon it.
CHAPTER VII.
It was two days later a soaking
wet afternoon. Ever since early morn
ing the rain had been descending in a
steady persistent downpour , beating
upon the scorched grass , dashing to
pieces the rows of stately calceolarias
and geraniums , and converting every
path and flight of steps into as many
miniature streams aud turbulent cas
cades of seething waters.
Major Brown , driven almost to des
pair by the depressing prospects of
the day , wandered aimlessly from
billiard room to smoking room , from
smoking room to library , and at last
sat down before one of the writing
tables and hastily dashed off one or
two unimportant letters. His corre
spondence completed , he directed and
sealed the envelopes , and was leisure
ly affixing the stamps , when his at
tention became suddenly arrested by
something on the sheet of blotting pa
per before him.
What was it ? With the exception
of a number of indescribable hierogly
phics and the impression of a line of
more boldly written characters , which
had evidently been hastily blotted , the
surface of the pink sheet was perfect
ly blank. Putting up his eye glass ,
he scanned them for at least a couple
of minutes in absolute silence , and
then , giving a cautious glance round
the room , as though a sudden thought
bad struck him , he advanced , blotting
book in hand , towards a fantastically-
framed mirror which stood above the
marble mantel. This further scrutiny
was , to all appearance , even more suc
cessful , for , as Major Brown held up
the strangely interesting sheet close
to the glass , a smile of satisfactior
immediately lit up his face.
( To be continued. )
Two Happy Thoughts.
From far-away Ceylon comes a
funny little story. A tea planter who
had a glass eye was desirous of going
away for a day's shooting with a
friend , but he knew that as soon as the
natives who were at work on the plan
tation heard that he was going they
would not do a stroke of work. How
was he to get off ? That was the ques
tion. After much thought an idea
struck him. Going up to the men , he
addressed them thus : "Although I my
self will be absent , yet I shall leave
one of my eyes to see that you do your
work. " And , much to the surprise
and bewilderment of the natives , he
took out the glass eye and placed it
on the stump of a tree and left. For
some time the men worked industrious
ly , but at last one of them , seizing his
tin in which he carried his food , approached
preached the tree and gently placed it
over the eye. This done , they all lay
lown and slept sweetly until sunset.
ft'averly Magazine.
Strong Glasses.
Mr. Stubb Can Sally see good
through her new glasses ? Mrs. Stubb
Yes , John , but she says they exag
gerate. Mr. Stubb Exaggerate , Ma
ria ? Mrs. Stubb Yes , outrageously ,
rhe other night she declared the moon
iiad a golden rim , and then she found
jut it was her glasses that had a
golden rim.
Grounds Tor It.
Quinn I wore one of those new rub
ber collars to save laundry bills. De
Fonte Was it a success ? Quinn No ,
had to throw it away. Every one I
met yelled "Rubberneck. "
Spain's Sunday Schools.
In all Spain there are only 3,230
children ia. the Sunday schools.
THEIR TBUE GENESIS
TRUSTS ARE NOT CHILDREN
OF THE TARIFF.
Quaint Allegory Illustrating the loj > lor-
able Consequences Attending flllns In
dustry's Departure from Conjugal
Rectitude.
( From advance sheets of "The Phil
osophy of Trusts , " by Prof. Ernest
Mas. )
Grandmother Independence had two
beautiful daughters , both American to
the core. The elder's name was Agri
culture. She was a handsome girl of
pure unmixed stock , calm , very labori
ous and of bucolic inclinations. . The
younger daughter had a little foreign
blood in her veins. Her name was In
dustry ; a very flretty girl , indeed , full
of life , not averse to flirtation , and of
extremely vivacious temperament. Sel
dom indeed have two sisters presented
a more striking contrast.
To complete her education , the
younger daughter , the more promis
ing , went abroad. She visited Lanca
shire and spent some time in the old
ancestral manor. While there she made
a lot of desirable and undesirable ac
quaintances , which were subsequently
to exert a most disastrous influence on
her happiness. This phase of her his
tory would fill a good-sized volume.
The wayward girl came back home in
cosmopolitan attire , affecting a Lon
don accent , a free thinker in matters
of economy , i j she exhibited all the
outward signs of unrestrained prodi
gality , old Sister Agriculture could
never get along with her. The original
chasm had developed into an abyss.
It was not long before Mother Inde
pendence's keen eye could detect the
dangerous propensities of her prodigal
daughter ; so she deemed it wise to ap
ply a strong corrective at once , in the
shape of a health } ' ' , vigorous husband.
Young American Industry needed it
very badly.
Her mother had beforehand selected
a virile companion of athletic frame ,
and equally well built morally. His
name was The Tariff. He was not of
noble extraction , had not been edu
cated for diplomacy ; but in place of a
university diploma or a heraldic coat of
arms could on almost every occasion
show a lot of hard American common
sense , character and individuality. He
had been raised at the school of strict
est economy , and was sure to be a
model of domestic virtues. A mar
riage took place on a good day early in
November , and the mother at last felt
relieved of all anxious cares and re
sponsibilities.
The young wife was at first very fond
of her husband , whose kind attentions
anticipated her smallest wants and
most capricious desires. She had more
pin money than any wife of a suc
cessful business man ever dreamed of.
This was the beginning of the trouble ,
as Industry was too versatile to stand ,
like Sister Agriculture , uninterrupted
prosperity and domestic felicity.
A most happy event of providential
timeliness prevented , or , better said ,
postponed a family cataclysm. Two
lusty sons , twins , were the legitimate
fruit of this union.
Father and mother decided to call
the first one Labor and the second one
Enterprise. As they had in their veins
the virile blood of the father and the
healthy constitution of the mother ,
both boys were very strong , full of
health and appetite , but and very
likely owing to the widely different
characteristics of the father and
mother they were far from being
physically and morally alike. Baby
Labor was fond of the milk bottle ,
but , for some reason or other , Baby
Enterprise ever managed to have it
most of the time in his little mouth.
"What a big glutton ! " used to say
the mother. "Each baby should have
his turn. This is not fair. " "Never
mind , " rejoined the father ; "I shall
niake one boy a lawyer and the other a
mechanic. With such blood in their
veins as that of Father Tariff and
Mother Industry , both will succeed in
their respective callings. " And this
was to happen some day ; but we must
not anticipate.
Four years after marriage the tem
perament of Industry , for some time
under restraint , asserted itself more vi
olently than ever before. All was not
harmony under the conjugal roof. To
make matters still worse , the two chil
dren , Labor and Enterprise , had to
be separated , as they were fighting all
the time over the milk hottle. Baby
Labor , like Aunty Agriculture , was of
a happy and conciliatory disposition
never seeking quarrels without mo
tlves ; but Baby Enterprise had more o
his mother's blood , and no amount o
milk could stop him from making
trouble. The separation of the two
boys was easily accomplished by giv
ing each baby a nurse , and letting
them see each other from time to time
when the "spirit of Enterprise" was In
the right mood.
But what could not be so easily ac
complished was harmony between hus
band and wife. The union of Miss In
dustry with Mr. Tariff , having been
prompted chiefly by considerations of
interest , did not prove altogether
love match. The extravagant wife had
at her command untold thousands ; she
wanted untold millions. This her kind
husband could not give. A cataclysm
was in the air.
One day , coming home after busi-
nres hours , earlier than usual , Mr. Tar
iff found his beautiful wife in the arms
of a false friend , a Trust Magnate. Pie
shot the destroyer of his home and rob
ber of his affections. The drama
ended in a divorce , and the court gave
Father Tariff the custody of Labor and
Enterprise , his two legitimate boys.
The divorced wife , having become
again Miss Industry , lost no time in
trying to secure another husband more
to her fancy , but she found only tem
porary acquaintances.who never would
consent to let her bear their names
nor share their rank and social posi
tion. Illegitimate children were the
result of Miss Industry's culpable re
lations. They bear the genus name of
Trusts , but have no relations whatever
to Mr. Tariff , and are universally os
tracized.
And what became of Mr. Tariff , the
divorced husband ?
Why , there is still another chapter
to this sad story.
Miss Industry , after four years of
abandon and miserable life , bit
terly regretted her faults. She re
pented , and tearfully asked forgive
ness , pledging herself to become a
faithful , devoted wife. Mr. Tariff , be
ing of kind and generous nattire , for
gave and welcomed Industry under the
conjugal roof. The reunion of the
mother with her two legitimate sons ,
Labor and Enterprise , was one of those
events which can be better imagined
than described. Father Tariff went so
far as to adopt the "little Trusts" chil
dren and to look after them , but never
consented to legitimize them nor al
lowed them to bear his name.
When they became of age they were
placed in a good school for infant in
dustries , and received there a splendid
education at Father Tariff's expense.
Father Tariff's early prediction as to
the future of his two legitimate sons ,
Labor and Enterprise , was to be fully
realized. Today Baby Enterprise is
somebody. He is a prosperous lawyer
and successful politician , often talked
of as a possible candidate in some fu
ture campaign. As to Baby Labor , he
is now a mechanical engineer and in
ventor of the Edison type , who sets
the world to thinking all the time as
to what is to come next from him In
the way of inventions.
Moral : There is a moral to this
story , too , and it is this :
Trusts are the offspring of American
industry , but are not and never were
the legitimate sons of the tariff.
ERNEST MAS.
Buying Better Goods.
Merchants all over the country are
reporting through the medium of
newspaper correspondents that not
only are their customers buying more
goods but also that they are buying
better goods. A St. Paul , Minn. ,
merchant said , for instance : "Women
who last year were buying 25-cent
stuffs for shirt waists and dresses are
now getting dollar materials. " It is
the buying of higher priced goods
which in part swells the volume of
trace for 1899 beyond that of 1898. It
Is the better quality of goods .which is
represented by these higher prices
which in large measure marks the ad
vantage which the people of the coun
try will have in 1899 beyond that
which they had in 1898.
Last year the prosperity which came
in with protection was of sufficiently
great proportion to give to all the people
ple of the country who were willing to
work all the necessities of life , and in
many cases to settle up the debts con
tracted in tariff reform times and to
make them square with the world.
The additional year of prosperity , of
increasing prosperity , since then , has
meant such an increase of money taat
the luxuries of life , in quality as well
as in quantity and variety , have been
brought within reach.
ILLEGITIMATE OFFSPRING.
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"Mr. Tariff , being of kind and gen erous nature , forgave and welcomed I
Industry under the conjugal roof. * * * Father Tariff went so far as to t :
adopt the 'little Trusts' and to look af ter them , but never consented to legit I
imize them nor allowed them to bear h Is name. " From Advance Sheets of
c :
"The Philosophy of Trusts. " b ? Prof. E rnest Mas. 1
r
The BiriMPH In Two
Archbishop Ireland , who but a short
time since returned from a prolonged
trip abroad , has said a few most sig
nificant words In respect to the con
trast between conditions abroad and
those In this country. His statement
Is that :
"The contrast between the masses In
this country and the masses In the old
world In and out of the church Is moro
remarkable than ever. The American
poor are happier and a hundred per
cent more intelligent. Their surround
ings are better , their chances are bet
ter. Where there is one case of misery
here there are hundreds abroad , and by
abroad I mean England as well as th
continent. "
The one thing which more than all
else Is responsible for the advantage
which Americans have over the citi
zens of other countries Is the protec
tive tariff. That it Is which keeps
wages in this country high ; that it is
which makes employment sure for the
laborers of this country ! that It Is
which prevents the foreign manufac
turers who employ the pauper laborers
of other countries from sending their
products to the United States to enter
into free and unrestricted competition
with the products of the well-paid la
bor of this country. Archblshdp Ire
land Is a man whose word can be relied
upon , and the contrast which he draws
between the situation in this country
and that abroad is worthy of most
careful attention.
Will Not Jlo Doubtful.
A short time since twenty-five buy
ers , representing the same number ot
departments in erie of Chicago's de
partment stores , arrived in New York
city at the same time. It was stated
that not only was this the largest num
ber of department buyers ever sent to
the New York market at one time by
this concern , but that it was the larg
est number of buyers ever sent to New
York for the purchase of goods at the
same time by a single firm during the
entire history of American retail mer
chandising. Apropos of this event , the
son of one of the members of the firm
represented by these buyers said in
conversation with .a reporter :
"Every trade condition in Chicago
and throughout the West is indicative
of a more prosperous fall season than
has been experienced many years.
These evidences of prosperity are not
confined to any single branch of com
mercial industry , but seem to cover the
entire field. We have enjoyed a period
of unprecedented activity this summer
in every department of our establish
ment , and the statements of business
associates in Chicago indicate that
these conditions are well-night univer
sal. "
It Is safe to say that the West will
not be "doubtful" territory in the next
campaign if the maintenance of the
protective tariff is put in the balance.
Tin 1'liitu Prices.
Every one knows that tin plate has
advanced considerably in price within
the present year. The Democratic the
orists claim that the advance in the
United States is due incidentally to the
tin plate trust and primarily to the
tariff , it being their theory that a
protective tariff is a promoter of
trusts.
Now let us look at the prices which
the Welsh tin plate manufacturers re
ceive. They now obtain ? 1.15 a box
more than they did in January last.
This is a greater advance than has
been made In the United States.
We respectfully ask our Democratic
friends to explain this. If the protec
tive tariff and the trust caused the ad
vance in the prices of tin plate in the
United States , what caused a greater
advance in price in Wales , where there
is no tariff at all ? We pause for reply.
Toledo Blade.
TVIll Not See.
Senator Vest of Missouri will not see
or believe that any prosperity has come
to the farmer in the past two years. He
said in an interview at Toronto , Can
ada , on Monday : "Republicans claim
prosperity as due to the tariff policy ,
but farmers have received no particular
benefit from the prosperity , and are as
dissatisfied as ever. " Facts from all
sections of the country , especially the
great farming west , disprove the sen
tence above uttered by Mr. Vest. Mil
lions of mortgages in Kansas , Nebraska -
ka , Missouri , Iowa and the Dakotas
were in 1898 paid ( iff by the increased
sale of their products , and millions
more will be paid and canceled before
Christmas chimes are rung from the
gold the 1899 crops will bring them.
Fremont ( Ohio ) Journal.
Reason to Celebrate.
Labor day this year should have had
an extra big celebration. It stands for
more than it has stood for for a num
ber of years past ; for more , at least ,
than it has stood for since the free
traders got in their knock-down blow
it American industries in 1892. It is the
rear's holiday which is especially ded
icated to the wage earners , and the
vage earners of the country have plen
ty of reason to celebrate this year.
Fhey have had more work for which
Lo celebrate and more money with
K-hich to pay for their celebration.
A Mighty Nation.
Oswald Ottendorfer says that this
ountry is no longer the ideal America
o Europeans that it vas. It must be
onfessed that it has changed in some
f its features. At one time itwas the
Mecca of the poor of Europe , who mi
grated hither because it offered a wel-
ome to the home seekers. Then it was
tlso the market for European products
Sow we are a mighty nation , Invading
he markets of Europe and growing
jrosperous at the expense of older
ountries. Seattle ( Wash. ) Post-Intel-
igencer.
I r