,.
fTHEfVlSlERa
f By II0NRI2 DE BALZAC
CHAPTER VII.
M. Grnndct entered the room, gave
oho shnrp glnnoo at tlic (nblo mid an
other nt Charles. He saw how it wns at
once.
"Alia! you linvo been mnking a fete for
your nephew. Good, very good, oh! very
good, indeed!" lie said, without stammer
ing. "When tho cat in away the mice
may play."
"Fete?" thought Charles, who had not
tho remotots conrcptlon of affairs In
the Graudet household.
Grandot drew from his waistcoat pock
et a Inrgo clnsp-knlfc witli a stag's horn
handle, out n nllcc of bread, buttered it
nlowly and sparingly, and began to eat
nil ho stood. Just then Charles put some
sugar Into his coffee: this called Gran
det's attention to the pieces of sugar on
tho table: ho looked hard at his wife,
Mho turned pale ntii came a atop or two
toward him; be bent down and said in
the poor woman's ear:
"Whore did all that sugar come from?"
"Nanon went out to Ecssnrd's for
some; thero was none in tho house."
It is impossible to describe tho pain
ful interest that this dumb show pos
sessed for tho threo women; Nanon had
loft her kitchen, and was looking into
tho dining room to sec how things went
there. Charles meanwhile tasted his cof
fee, found it rather strong, and looked
round for another picco of Biigar, but
Graudet had already pounced upon it and
taken it away.
"What do you want, nephew?" the
old man inquired.
"Tho sugar." i
"Pour In some more milk if your cof
fee Is too s'rong," answered the master
of the house.
Eugenic took up the saucer, of which
Graudet had previously taken posses
sion, and set it on the table, looking
quiotly at. her father tho while. Charles
had not tho remotest conception of what
his cousin endured for him, or of the
horrible dismay that filhyl her heart as
she met her father's angry eyes: lie
would never even know of hor sacrifice.
"You are eating nothing, wife?"
Tho poor bond-slavo wont to the table,
cut a piece of bread in fear and trem
bling, and took n pear. Eugenic, grown
reckless, offered the grapes to her fath
er, saying as she did so:
"Just try some of my fruit, papa! You
will take some, will you not, cousin? I
brought those pretty grapes down on
purpose for you!"
"Oh! if they could have their way,
they would turn Sauinur upside down for
you, nephew! As soon as you have Mu
lshed we will take a turn in the garden
together; I have some things to toll you
that would take a deal of sugar to sweet
en them.'
Eugenic and Iter mother both gave
Charles n look, which tho young man
could not mistake.
"What do you moan by that, uncle?
Hlnoo my mother died there is no mis
fortune possible for me."
"Who can know what afllictions heav
en may send to make trial of us,
nephew?" said his aunt.
"Tut, tut, tut," muttered Grandot.
"hero you aro beginning with your folly
already! I am sorry to see that you
have such white hands, nephew."
Ho displayed the fists, like shoulders
of mutton, with which naturo had termi
nated his own arms.
"That Is the sort of hand to rake the
crowns together! You put tho kind of
leather on your feet that we used to
make pockcthooks of to keep bills in.
That is tho way you have been brought
up. That's bad! that's bad!"
"What do you mean, uncle? I'll be
hanged if I understand one word of
this."
"Come along," said Grandot, and the
miser shut his knifo with a snap and
opened the door.
"Oh! keep up your courage, cousin!"
Something in the girl's voice sent a
Buddon chill through Charles; he follow
ed ills formidable relativo with dread
ful misgivings, Eugenie and her moth
er and Nanon went into the kitchen; an
uncontrollablo anxiety led them to watch
tho two actors in tho scone which was
about to taku place in the damp little
garden.
Uncle and nephew walked together in
Hilence nt first. Graudet felt the situa
tion to bo n somewhat awkward one; not
that ho shrank at all from telling Charles
of liis father's death, hut 'ho felt a kind
of pity for n young man loft in this way
without a penny in tho world, and lie cast
about for phrases that should break the
cruel news as gently as might be. "You
hnvp lost your father!" ho could say that;
there was nothing in thnt; fathers usual
ly predecease their children. Hut, "You
havo not a penny!" All the woes of the
world wero summed up l those words,
ho for the third time tho worthy man
walked the wholo length of the path in
the center of the garden, crunching the
gravel beneath his heavy boots, and no
word was said.
"It is very fino; very warm," said
Grandot, drawing in a deep breath of air.
"Well, my boy, "I havo somo bad news
for you. Your father Is very 111
"Whnt am I doing hero?" cried
Charles. "Nanon!" ho shouted, "order
post horses! I shall bo sure to find a
carriage of somo sort in the place, I sup
pose," he added, turning to his uncle,
who had not stirred from where he stood
"Horses and a carriage aro of no use,"
Grandot nnswered, looking at Charles,
who immediately stnrcd straight beforo
him in silence. "Yes, my poor boy, you
cuess whnt has happoned; ho Is (load.
But that is nothing; thero is something
worse; lto haB shot himself through the
head "
"My father?"
"Yes, but that is nothing:, either. The
a
UQHTER
newspapers aro discussing it, as if it
wore any business of theirs. There, road
for yourself."
Grandot had borrowed Cruohot's pa- j
per, and now ho laid tho fatal paragraph (
liofore Charles. Tho poor young follow
he was only a lad as y t made no
attempt to hide his emotion, and burst
into tears.
"Conic, that is better," said Grandot
to himself. "That look In his eyes fright
ened, me. Ho is crying; ho will pull
through. Never mind, my poor nephew,"
Grandot resumed, nloud, not knowing
whether Charles heard him or no, "that
is nothing, you will get over it, but "
"Ncvor! never! My father! my fath
er!" "Ho has ruined you; you aro penni
less." "What is that to mo? Whero Is my
father?" The sound of his sobbing filled
tho llttio garden, reverberated in ghast
ly echoes from tho walls. Tears aro as
Infectious as laughter; the thrco women
wept with pity for him. Charles broke
from his uncle without waiting to hear
more, and sprang Into the yard, found
the staircase, and fled to his own room,
whore he (lung himself across the bed
and burled his face in tho bedclothes,
that he might givo way to his grief.
"Lot him alone till tho first shower is
over," said Graudet, going back to tho
parlor. Eugenie and her mother liad
hastily returned to their places, had dried
their eyes, and wero sewing with cold,
tremblings fingers. "But that fellow is
good for nothing," wont on Grnndct; "he
is so tnken up with dend folk that he
doesn't even think about the money."
Eugenio shuddered to hear tho most
sacred of sorrows spoken of in such n
way; from that moment she began to
criticise her father. Charles' sobs, smoth
ered though they wero, rang through that
house of echoes; the sounds seemed to
come from under tho earth, a heartrend
ing wall that grow fnlntor toward tho
end of the day, and only ceased as night
drew on.
"Poor hoy!" said Mine. Grandot.
It was an unfortunate remark. Good
man Grandot looked at his wife, thou
at Eugenic, then at the sugar basin, ho
recollected tho sumptuous breakfast pro
pared that morning for their unhappy
kinsman, and planted himself in the mid
dle of tho room.
"Look hero, you two," ho exclaimed,
"there is to lie no nonsense, mind! I
am going to Cruchot's and have a talk
with him about all this."
CHAPTER VIII.
Grnndct wont out. As soon as the
door closed upon Grandet. Eugenie and
her mother breathed more freely. The
girl had never felt constraint in hor
father's presence until thnt morning; hut
a few hours had wrought rapid changes
in hor feelings.
"Mamma, how many louis is a hogs
head of wine worth?"
"Your fnthor gets something between
a hundred mid a hundred and fifty francs
for liis; sometimes two hundred, I be
lieve, from what I have hoard him say."
"And would there be fourteen hundred
hogsheads in a vintage?"
"I don't know how many there are,
child, upon my word; your father never
talks about business to me."
"But, anyhow, papa must bo rich."
"May be. But M. Cruchot told me
that your father bought Eroidfoud two
years ago. That would bo a lieavv null
on him."
"He did not oven so much as see me,
the poor dear!" said Nanon, entering the
room. "Ho is lvimr there on hU hml III
u calf, crying, you never saw tho like!
Poor young man; what can bo the mat
ter with him?"
"Lot us go tip at once and comfort
him, mamma; If we hear a knock, we
will oomo downstairs."
There was something in tho nniwli.nl
tones of her daughter's voice which lime.
oramiot could not resist. Eugenie was
sublime; she was a girl no longer, she
was a woman. With boating hearts thoy
climbed the stairs and went , together to
Charles' room. Tho door was open. The
young man saw nothing and hoard noth
ing; lie was absorbed in his grief.
"I low ho loves his father!" said Eugenie-
in a low voice, and in her tone
thero was an unmistakable accent and
hopes of which she was unaware. Mine.
Grandot, with the quick instinct of a
mother's love, spoke in her ear.
"Take care," sho said, "or you niuv
love him."
"Love him!" said Eugenie. "Ah! If
you only knew whnt. my father said."
Charles moved slightly as he lay, and
saw his aunt and cousin.
"I have lost my father," ho cried; "mv
poor father! If ho had only trusted me
and told me about his losses, wo might
have worked together to repair them.
My kind father! 1 was so sure that I
should see him again, and I snid good-by
so carelessly."
"Wo. will surely pray for him," snid
Mine. Grandet. "Submit yourself to tho
will of liea ven!"
"Take courage, cousin," snid Eugenio
gently, "nothing can give your father
back to you; you must now think how
to savo your honor,"
A woman always has her wits about
her, oven in her capacity of comforter,
and with Instinctive tact Eugenie sought
to divert her cousin's mind from his
sorrow by lending him to tiling nbout
himself.
"My honor?" cried the young man,
hastily pushing bnck tho hair from his
eves. Tin snt nnricht nnnn tln Iwnl nml
folded his nrms. "Ah! tme. My uncle
snid that my father had failed. Lenvi
mo! leavo mo! Cousin Eugonie," ho on
treated. "Oh! heaven forgive my fath
cr, for ho must have been terribly un
happy!" Thero was something in the sight of
tills youug sorrow that was terribly en
gaging. It was a sorrow that shrank
from tho gazo of others, and Charles'
gesture of entreaty was understood by
Eugenic and her mother. They went si
lently downstairs again, and sewcu on
for nearly an hour without a word to
each other. About 4 o'clock a sharp
knock at the door sent a sudden thrill
of terror through Mmo. Grandet.
"Whnt can havo brought your father
back?" she said to her daughter.
"I have hooked them, wife." said the
vino grower, In high good humor, "t
have them safe. Our wine is sold. The
Belgians were setting out this morning;
I hung about in the market place in front
of their inn, looking as simple as I could.
A man came up to me. All the best
growers nrc hrngin? off nnd holding their
vintages; they wanted to wait, and so
they can, 1 have not hindered them. Our
Bolglnn wns at his wit's end. I saw that.
So the bargain was struck; he Is taking
tho whole of our vintage at two hun
dred francs tho hogshead, half of It paid
dow:. at onco in gold, and I have prom
issory notes for the test. There aro six
louis for you. In three months' time
prices will go down."
Tho Inst words enmo out quietly
enough, but there wns something so sar
donic in tho tone that If the llttio knots
of growers, then standing In tho twilight
in the mnrkct placo of Saumur, In dis
may at tho news of Grandet's snle, hnd
hoard him spenk. they would havo shud
dered : there would have been n panic on
tho market wines would have fnllen
fifty pur cent.
"You have a thousand hobshcads this
year, father, have you not?" asked Eu
genie. "That will mean two hundred
thousand francs?"
"Yes, Mademoiselle Grandot."
"Well, then, father, you enn easily
help Charles."
The surprise, tho wrath nnd bewilder
ment with which Ilelshazzar behold Mono
Mono Tckcl Upharsln written upon his
palace wall were as nothing compared
with Grandet's cold fury; he had forgot
ten all nbout Charles, and now he found,
that all his daughter's inmost thoughts
were of liis nephew, and thnt this arith
metic of hers referred to him. It was
exasperating.
"Look hero!" he thundered; "over since
thnt scapegrace set foot in my house ev
erything has gone askew. You take it
upon yourselves to buy sugar plums, and
make a great set-out for him. 1 will not
have those doings. I should think, at my
age, I ought to know what is right and
proper to do. At any rate, I have no
need to take lessons from my daughter,
nor from any one else. I shall do for
my nephew whatever It is right and
proper for mo to do; you need not nieddlo
in it. And now, Eugenie, if you say an
other word about it, l will send you and
Nanon off to the Abbey nt Noyers, see if
I don't. Where is thnt boy? Has he
come downstairs yet?"
"No. Ho is crying for liis father,"
Eugenie said.
Grandet looked at his daughter, and
found nothing to say. There was somo
touch of the father even in him. Ho
took one or two turns up nnd down,
and then wont straight to his strong
room to think over possible invest
ments. He hnd thoughts of buying
consols. Those two thousnnd ncres of
woodland hud brought him in six hun
dred thousand francs; then thero wns
the money from the sale of tho poplars,
there was last year's income from vari
ous sources, and this year's savings, to
say nothing of tho bargain which ho had
just concluded; so that, leaving those
two hundred thousand francs out of tho
question, ho possessed a lump sum of
nine hundred thousand livres. That
twenty per cent, to be made In so short
a time upon his outlay, tempted him.
Consols stood nt seventy. Ho jotted
down his calculations on the mnrgin of
the paper that hnd brought tho news of
his brother's denth ; the moans of his
nephew sounded In his oars the while,
but he wont on with his work till Nanon
thumped vigorously on the thick wnll to
summon her master to dinner. On tho
last stop of tho staircase beneath tho
archway Grandet paused and thought.
"There is the interest beside tho 8 per
cent l will do it, Fifteen hundred thou
sand francs in two years' time, in gold
from Paris, too, full weight. Well, what
has become of my nephew?"
"Ho snid he did not want nnything."
replied Nnnoii. "He ought to ent, or ho
will full ill."
"It is so much snved." was her mas
ter's comment. "He will not keep on
crying forever. Hunger drives tho wolf
from the wood."
Dinner wns a strangely silent meal.
When the cloth had been removed Mine.
Grandet spoke to her husbnud.
"Wo ought to go Into mourning, dear."
"Really, Mine. Grandet, you must bo
hard up for ways of getting rid of money.
Mourning is in tho heart; it is not put
on with clothes."
"But for a brother mourning is indis
pensable." "Then buy mourning out of your six
louis; n band of crapo will do for ine;
you can get me a band of crape."
(To bo continued.)
Psyehologlonl.
The cnt and the infant sat upon tho
hearth rug, and regarded each other
long and seriously.
Tho cut's attitude was thnt of pura
contemplation, her look as of ono
whoso rule it Is neither to ask nor
answer.
Tho infant mind plainly struggled
with a thought, of which tho outcome,'
wns nrosnntlv this nrnfmiiul minatlnni
"Does a cnt know she's a cat?" Har
per's Magazlno.
However lady-llko a girl niny really
be, sho can't show it when chewing
gum
You'ro not in on some of the Jokes
tho men laugh nt; they're on you.
-rri-rnnr'irrrm
"Charging un enemy in fortifica
tions," said Lieutenant John McGln
tils of the Eighty-Sixth Illinois, "Is up
hill business. Whenever I think of
tho Japs going up those fortified hills
north of Port Arthur I am reminded
of our own experience nt Kenosuw.
On the morning of June 27, 1801, our
regiment was ordered to leave in camp
all camp equipage nnd to inarch with
rations, full canteens and blankets. I
wns then a sergeant In company K,
Eighty-Sixth Illinois, nnd I remem
ber well the talk of tho men as wo
moved forward.
"After a long march the regiment
was halted ami the captains went for
ward to receive their Instructions.
Each captain returned to his company
with orders to charge the rebel works,
go into them and hold them. We
moved forward until we could see the
rebel works, nnd there the brigade was
formed for the charge. We waited
some time for the signal gun, and
when It wns llred went forward with
bnyonets fixed, in good order, and
without exciemont.
"After we crossed James D. Mor
gan's works and Noyes creek we
started at a double quick. In spite of
a galling fire, we kept going, nnd were
in pretty good order as we neared the
rebel line. Gladfetter and Lair of
our company had outrun the rest of
us, and were within a few feet of tho
works, when the rebs let loose a volley,
right In our faces. Lair and Glad
fetter dropped to the ground unhurt,
and the blue smoke from tile rebel
guns enveloped us.
"We fell back a few steps and lay
down, and each man acted as his own
commander. Lying Hat on the ground,
we were partially shielded from the
rebel lire. The enemy's works were
ten feet high, and to shoot at us the
men had to raise their heads above
their wqrks. All our boys were quick
to take in the situation, and by pour
ing a rain of bullets into the head log-;
opposite us kept rebels' heads down.
"Our wounded, however, lay be
tween the lines, in danger of being
shot by both sides. Just as 1 realized
tills Coburn called to me: 'John, An
dy Keller Is out there, and he is call
ing you.' Leaving my gun. 1 crept
out to Keller and lay down bo-Iilo lilni.
Ho said he was badly hurt, and as lie
could not inove. lie feared mortally.
He asked me not to let him fall into
the hands of the rebel-, and to lie sure
and write bis mother that be fell at
the front, doing bis duty. I called Co
burn and bis In other Billy, and they
crawled out to us. We three, hugging
the ground all the time, placed a blan
ket on the ground, rolled tho helpless
Keller on It, and then the two Co
burns taking him by the fe?t and ho d
ing the blanket about his head, we
dragged him down to the company.
"Stretcher bearers carried Keller to
the rear and he died in the hospital
nnd is buried in Chattanooga ceme
tery. Julius Bridegroom, a recruit
who bad been with us only two .days,
caught three bullets that day. one
through the shoulder and two through
the arms. He recovered and is now
president of a bank in Boston, Kan.
As he went back that day I thought
he wouldn't live an hour, nnd here he
Is. forty years later, with children and
grandchildren, happy and prosperous.
Many a poor fellow, wounded In tho
charge, died between the lines. We,
who held the advance line, stayed
there until the morning of July or
until the rebels left their works, not
more than eighty-five feet away."
"Mention of the Eighty-Sixth Illi
nois," said Lieutenant E. C. SiUiman,
"reminds me of several stories of tho
Atlanta campaign. Harry Young,
Colonel Fnhnostock's order'y. was
scouting out in front for forage for the
colonel's horse, when he came upon
three Confeds, who wished to find out
lines. They gave Harry their guns
nnd followed him to camp. When al
most at headquarters Harry had the
rebs march in front of him. As he
approached tho colonel's tent he as
sumed all the dignity of a conquering
hero, and announced that he had taken
three prisoners, and turned over their
guns with great ceremony.
"nnrry was noted for a vigorous,
healthy and well-trained imagination,
being cognizant of which, tho colonel
snid: 'Harry, how did you got away
with three of them? Did you surprise
tlioniV' Harry's undoing was the mo
ment's waiting to give a proper an
swer. One of the Johnnies, seeing his
dilemma, helped him out by giving the
colonel a knowing wink and saying:
'Ho surrounded us, colonel.' The laugh
the boys gave Harry took about li,(M)0
pounds of glory out of his act, and In
sured threo Johnnies the best meal they
had eaten for n year. Harry's great
i i "nfiirrBTfrTTffrn-,Tn-trmirnminiiiwMm''nwi
exploits nfter thai were nlwnys greet
ed with, 'Did you surround thetn,
llnrry ?'
"When company C, Eighty-Sixth Illi
nois, wns mustered in nt Peoria, llttio
Mike Donovan was rejected on account
of his size by the captain of tho regu
lars, acting us mustering officer. Miko
cried over his rejectiou, but the next
day, when the officer came back to
camp to muster in the absentees from
the day before, Mike took n stand on
two bricks in the rear rank, und tho
officer, being a little full, passed blin.
Mike stood on his head and wns hn'j3
py.
"About two months afterward, ono
rainy morning, we were In Kentucky,
marching in mud shoe top deep. Not
a man had said a word for two hours,
when Miko, who was a great fuvorito
of the captain's, yelled out from tho
rear of the company, 'I say, Cap, do
yees think I'd cry would they muster
me out?' In the laugh that his sally
produced all forgot their homesickness
and marched in good humor.
"After Bentonvllle wo wero march
lug one morning, and Generals Sher
man and Howard with their staff
passed us on the roadside. General
Sherman's cigar was leaving u Jong
trail of smoke behind him. Every one
knew that the general would often
strike a score of matches and fall to
get t lilt t cigar lighted. So Mike yelled
out to the captain: 'The war Is over,
shure as the dlvll, for ould Billy's
chegar Is a smoking!' Sherman heard
this and threw his head back and
laughed heartily, every one in hearing
joining. Mike came back with enough
earned by his 'sweat cloth' to start him
In business. He died fifteen years ago
in Leavenworth, Kau." Chicago Inter
Ocean.
Vcterati'H Career Wnn Unique.
A unique military record was thu
of John II. Brooks, the aged civil Avar
veteran, Avhose funeral occurred Thurs
day aftertloon. According to his niece,
Mrs. Julia Porter. Mr. Brooks was ono
of the most famous scouts in the war
of the rebellion. He had guarded this
fact from his friends in Sioux City,
and no one here knew of his career us
a spy. Mrs. Porter said he had re
quested her to make known the facts
after his death, and she has just relat
ed the Interesting story of the old
man's career.
Mr. Brooks' early life and his com
ing us u government teamster to tho
site of Sioux City before there wns
any town here have already been
traced In the Journal in connection
with the old man's death.
A short time before the civil war
broke out Mr. Itrooks and his family
moved to Ne"w Orleans. He bad tho
Northern spirit strongly. On attempt
ing to interfere with a slave owner
who was heating a negro Mr. Brooks
was arrested and locked up in the New
Orleans jail. He remained there for
nearly six months. In the meantime
the war had broken out, and on prom
ise of Joining the confederate forces
he was released, and for three months
fought side by side with t lie confeder
ate forces. He told his niece that ho
never shot his rifle once during this
time, although he was in a number of
engagements. He said that lie always
either chewed up the paper shell or
threw it away.
At the close of the three months'
service lie had won the confidence of
the confederate officers, and at his own
request became a spy in the army in
order that he might have an oppor
tunity to escape to the union forces,
with which lie sympathized. During
one of Ills expeditions, in wlijch he was
sent to ascertain tne strength ot tno
union forces stationed in a certain lo
cality, he found the opportunity for
which be was seeking. A long line of
sentinels of the union forces was sta
tioned outside the main forces, and,
approaching one of those, he told him
who he was and that he was serving
in the confederate army practically
under compulsion. He was taken to
headquarters, where the commanding
general, realizing that he, had the confi
dence of the confederate officers, nnd
hint lie was in a position to gain much
valuable news in regard to their
forces, proffered him the position as
scout in tho union army. The offer
was accepted, and from then to tho
close of the war he acted as a scout.
Mr. Brooks returned to the confed
erate forces, enjoying the peculiar po
sition of being a spy in botli armies.
He remained with the confederate
army as a spy for fifteen months long
er, when he wns suspected of giving
out Information to the union forces
and sentenced to be hanged. On a big
oak tree which stood just outside of
camp a rope was tied, and a noose
hung dangling to the ground. Mr.
Brooks was taken to the tree, tho
noose adjusted, and nil was ready fort
the execution when a tremendous
storm came up, driving the would-bo
executioners to their tents. The pris
oner loosened tho bonds that held his
hands, and seizing luckily upon tho
general's horse ho dashed away to tho
union linos. Later he was placed at
the head of a detachment of twolvo
scouts. Ho was regarded as ono of tho
most valuable union scouts In the war.
Sioux City Journal.
Patient waiting Is often the high
est way of doing God's will. Collier.
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