CRPPS , TIE C u v R. D. BLACKMORE Author of "LORN A DOONE," "ALICE LORR A! N B," ETC., ETC. CHAPTER XV. Mr. John Smith had surprised his friends, mill disappointed the entire pub lic, by finding out nothing lit all nbout anything nfter his one great discovery, Wade with the help of the British nnny. For homo causo or other, best known to iltnsolf, ho had dropped IiIh Indofntiga bllity ami taken to very grave shakes of his head Imitead of nimble footings. He feigned to bo very busy still with thin lending case of tho neighborhood; but though hla superiors might bellevo It, his underlings were not to be misled. All of theso knew whether Mr. John was launching thunderbolts or throwing dust, mid were well aware that ho had quit" taken up with tho latter process in the Beckley ease. But still, whatever his feelings were, or his desires in tho matter, tho resolute foco and active step of tills intelligent ofllcer were often to be seen and heard at Beckley; and to several persons In tho village they were becoming welcome, lie had Rovcrnl good. reasons of bin own for haunting the village as he 'did; one of them being that he thus obeyed tho Soneral orders ho had received. Also e really liked tho Squire, Ills victuals, and his domestics. Among these lajtcr ho had quite outlived any llttlo preju dice created by his early manner; and even Mary Hookham was now inclined to uso him as an irritant, or stimulant, for tho lukewarm Crlpps. "How is the fino old gentleman now? Mary, my love, how is ho?" Mr. Smith naked, as ho pulled off his cloak in the lobby, jiiBt after church time. "I hope you lind him getting better. Everything now is looking up ngaln." "No, Mr. Smith; he Is very sadly, thanking you, sir, for inquiring of him. He do seem a little better one day, and then there come something all over him again, tho same as might bo this here clonk, sir, thrown on the head of that there stick. But come In and sec him, Mr. Smith, If you please. I thought it wns the parson when you rang. But master will be glad to seo you every bit the same aa If you was, no doubt." John Smith, who was never to bo put down hy any small comparisons, follow ed quick Mary with a steadfast march over tho quiet matting. In tho long, old fashioned dining room sat the Squire at tho head of his table. For many years it had been his wont to have an early dinner on Sunday, with a knife and fork always ready for tho clergyman, who was n bachelor of middle age. The clergyman came, or did not come, according to his own convenience, without ceremony or apology. 1 beg you to excuse," said tho Squlro rising, ns Smith wns shown Into tho room, "my absence from church this morning, Mr. Warbelow. I had miito made up my mind to go, and everything was quito ready, when I did not feel quite so well as usual, and was ordered to stay at home." Squlro Oglander mado his fino old-fashioned bow when ho had Bpoken, and held out his hand for the parson to take It, as tho parson always did, with eyes that gavo a look of grief and then fell, and kind lips that murmurod that all thingB wore ordered for tho best. But instead of tho parson's gentle clasp, the Squire, whose sight was beglnnlne to fnll alto gether with his other faculties, was sa- uueu witn a strong, rough grasp, and n guzo irom entirely unclerlcal eyes. now is your worship? We nlcolv. I hope. Charming you look, sir, as ever I Bee." "Sir, I thank you. I am In good health. But I havo not tho honor of remembering your name." "Smith, your worship John Smith, at your Bervlce; as he was tho day beforo yesterday. 'Out of sight out of mind,' the old saying Is. I suppose you find it so, sir?" With this homo thrust, dollvorcd quite unwittingly, Mr. Smith sat down;' his opinion was that Her Majesty's service levelled ull distinctions. Mr. Oglander gnvo him one glance, like the keen look of hlB better days, and then turned away sd gazed round tho room for something mt of Bight, but never likely to bo out Of mind. Tho old man was weak, and know his weakueBs. In tho presence of n gentleman ho might have broken down and wept, and been much better for it; but beforo a man of this sort, not n sign would he let out of the sorrow that wafl killing hhn. Ho boggod Mr. Smith to tako a chair; then, weak nB ho was, ho tottered to tho bell pull, rather than ask his guest to ring. John Smith jumped up to help, but felt uncertain what good manners wero. , "Mary," Bald tho Squlro, when Mary came, "bring In tho dinner, if you please. This gentleman will lino with me, in stead of Mr. Wnrbolow." "Well, now, if I over did!" Miss Hook ham exclaimed to horsclf In the passage. "Why, a' must bo a sort of a gentle man! Master wouldn't dlno nlong of Master Crlpps; but to my mind Zak bo tho gentleman aforo hoi" Tho Squire's obllquo llttlo sarcasm if BarcaHtn at all it were failed to hit Mr. Smith; "give mo tho carving knife. ed plato nnd epoon, and fell to at the soup, which was excellent. Tho soup was followed by a fino sirloin; whereupon Mr. Oglander, through Bomo association of ideas, could not suppress a little sigh. "Novor sigh at your meat, Blr," cried Mr, Smblth; "give me tho carving knlfo, sir, if you aro unequal to tho situation To sigh at Bitch a sirloin oh, fle, or, flel" "I was thinking of somo one who nl Svaya used to like tho brown," tho old Lit man said, in the simplest manner, an if an apology were needed. "Well, sir, I like lhe brown very much. I will put It by for myself, sir, and help you to an Inner slice. Here, Mary, a plate for your master! Quick. Everything will be cold, my goodness! And who sliced this horseradish, pray for slicing It is, not Hcrapingfl" Mary was obliged to bito her tongue to keep It in any way niannersome; when the door was thrown open, and in came her mother, with her face quite white, and both hands strotched on high. "Oh my! oh my! A Bin I call it a wicked, cruel, sinful sin!" Widow Hook ham excleimcd as soon ns sho could speak.- "All over the volllago! all over the parish in two days' time at the latest It will be! Oh, how could your worship allow of it? That Crlpps! oh that Crlpps! If ever a darter of mine hath Crlpps, in spite of two stockings of money, they say " "What Is It about Crlpps?" asked the Squire, in a voico that required an im mediate answer. The first news of his trouble had como through Crlpps; and now, In his helpless condition, ho always connected tho namo of the carrier with the solution, If ono there should be. "He hath done a thing ho ought to be ashamed on," screamed Mrs. Hookham, with such excitement that they were forcod to glvo her another glass of wine; "he hath brought into this parish, and the huzzum of his family, pestilence and death, ho hath. And who bo ho to do such a thing, n road-faring, two-penny carrier?" "Crlpps charges a good deal more than twopence,' said Mr. Oglander quietly; for his hopes and fears were once more post poned. "IIo hath brought the worst load ever wore brought," cried the widow, growlug eloquent. "Black death, and the plague, and the murrain of Egypt hath como In through Crlppe the carrier. How much will lie charge Beckley, your worship? How much shnll Beckley pay him, when she mournoth for her children? when she sprcadeth forth her hands and seeketh north and south, and cannot find them, because they nro not?" "What Is It, good woman?" cried Smith impatiently, "what Is all this up roar? Do tell us, nnd have done with it." "Good man," replied Widow nookham tartly, "my words are addressed to your bottcrs, sir. Your worship knowoth well that Master Kale hath leave and license for his Sunday dinner; ever since his poor wife died, he sltteth with a knife and fork to the right sido of our cook maid. He wero that genteel, I do assure you, although his appearance bespcaketh it not, and city gents may look down on him; ho had bucIi a sense of proprie ty, not a word did ho say ail the time of dinner to raise an objection to the weakest stomach. But as soon as1 he see that all were done, and tho pnrlor dinner forward, ho layeth his finger on his lips, and looketh to mo as the prime authori ty; and when I ask him to speak out, no secrets being among good friends, what ho said were a deal too much for me, or any other Christian person." "Well, woll, ma'am, If your own din ner was respected, you might have show ed somo respect for ours," Mr. Smith ex elaimed very sadly, beholding tho noble sirloin weeping with lost opportunity. But Mr. Oglander took no notice. To Buch things he was Indifferent now. To keep the mind dwelling unon earthly victuals," the widow replied se- erely, "on tho Lord's day, and with tho day of the Lord a hanging special over us such things Is beyond mo to deal with, and calls for Mr. Warbelow. Car ter Crlpps hath sent his sister over to nurse Squire Overshute." John Smith pretended to be busy with his beef, but Mary, who mado a point of watching whatever he did, startled as sho was by her mother's words, tills girl had her quiolc eyes upon his face. and was sure that it lost color, as tho carved sirloin of beef had done from the trickling of the gravy. "Overshute! nurse Mr. Overshute?" cried tho Squire, with great astonish ment. "Why, what nils Mr. Overshuto? It Is a long time Bince I have seen him. and I thought that ho had perhaps for gotten mo. lie used to come very often, when but who am I to tempt him? When my darling was here, in tho time of my darling, everybody camo to visit mo; now nobody comes, and of course It Is right. There is nobody for them to look at, now, and no one to make them laugh a uttlo. All, she used to make them laugh till I was quite jealous. I no uuutivuj iiul ujl uijuuir, mess your 1 1 . 1 ( A. l C ... if . heart! but of her, because I never liked her to havo too much to say to anybody, unless it was ono wno could understand her. And nobody ever turned un that was able, m any way, to understand her, except tier poor oiu ratner, Blr." The Squire, at the end of thiB lomr Bpeech, stood up and flourished his fork. i it i ... which should have been better employed lu roeuing mm, ami looicotl from face to and pushed and pulled. Nobody answer faco, In fear that ho had mado hlmsolf ed. At last ho pushed the irrent door. ridiculous. Nobody laughed at him, or even smueu; ana no was pleased with this, and resolved nover to glvo audi oc casion again; becauso It would havo 1. .1 1. 1 A .1 . . Hiinuit.u uuu du, vmi uuer an it was hla own business. None of theso people could havo any Idea, and ho hoped they never might have. By this time IiIh mind wub dropping softly Into some confusion. For a few minutes Mr. John Smith had hla flourish all about tho Queen, nnd tho law of tho land, and tho jurisdiction of tho Bench, and ho threatened th ab- sent Crlpps with three months' imprb oniment, and perhaps the treadmill. He know that he wns talking unswept rub bish, but Ills audience was femole. They listened to htm without leaving off their work, and their courage Increased an his did. But presently Mr. Oglander, who had seemed to be taking a nap, nrose and said, ns clearly as ever he had said anything In his clearest days: Mary, go and tell Chorlio to put the saddle on the mare at once." "Oh, sir! whatever are you thinking of? I couldn't do It, I couldn't. You ain't nbeen ahorsobnek for nigh four months, and your orders is to keep quiet in your chair, and not even look out o' winder, sir. Do 'e plaizo to go into your slippers, sir." I will not go into my slippers, Mary. I will go Into my boots. I hear that Mr. Overshute Is 111, and I gather from what you have all been saying that his illness Is of such a kind that nobody will go near him. I have wronged tho young gentleman bitterly, and I will do my best to right myself. If I never do another thing, I will rido to Shotover this day. Order tho mare, as I tell you, and th alrd will do me good, please God!" CHAPTER XVI. Now was tho happy time when Oxford, ever old, was preparing Itself for the sweet leisure for which it Is seldom 111 prepared. The first and most essential step is to summon all her BtudcutH, and nerid thorn to chapel to pay their vows. After this there need be no misgiving or fear of Industry. With ono accord they Issue forth, all pledged to do nothing for tho day, week or month; each intel lectual brow is stamped with the strong est rcsolvo not to open a book. This, be ing bo, whether winter shatters the Isld wavo against Folly Bridge, or spring's arrival rustlo In tho wavering loaves of Magdalen, or autumn strewn the chasten ed fragrance of many brewers on ripe air how much more when beauteous sum mer fosters tho coy down on the Hp of tho junior sophist like thistlo-secd, and casts the freshman's shadow hotly on tho flags of High street now or never is tho proper period not to overwork one's self and tho hour for taking it easy. After the Easter vacation was over, with too fow fattoning festivals, the most popular tutor In Brnsouose came back to his college work with a very fine appetite for doing good. According, at least, to his own ideas of good and duty, and usefulness; all of which wero funda mentally wrong In the opinion of the other tutors. But Hardenow, while he avoided carefully all disputes with his colleagues, strictly kept to his own courso, nnd doing more work than the other fivo attempted, was permitted to havo his own way, because of the trouble there might be In stopping him. Harnenow took long .tramps for the sake of collecting his forces. Saturday was not their proper day for this very admirable coat-tail chase. Neither did they swallow hill and plain in this man ner on a Sunday. Lectures wero need ful to fetch them to the proper pitch for striding bo. Wherefore on the morrow Mr. Hardenow was free for a cruise on his own account, after morning sermon at St. Mary's; and not having heard of his old friend Russel for several Aveeks, he resolved to go and hunt him up in his own home. As ho strode up tho hill It was brought homo suddenly to his ranging mind that ho might be within view of Beckley. At a bend of the rising road he turned, and endwise down a plait of hills, and between soft pillowy folds of trecB, the simple old church of Beckley stood. Hardenow thought of the months ho had spent, Bome few years back, In that quiet place; of the long, laborious, lonosomo days, the solid hours divided well, the Bpaeo allotted for each hard drill; then the glory of sallying Into tho air, inhaling grander volumes than ever from mortal breath proceeded, and plung ing Into leaves that speak of ono great Author only. Nor in this pleasant retro spect of kindness and simplicity was the element of rustic grace and beauty whol ly absent the Blight young figure that tlitted In and out, with quick desire to please him; tho soft pretty smile with which his improvements of Beckley dia lect wore received; and the sweet gray eyes that filled with tears so the day be fore his college met. Hnrdnow had fear ed, humble-minded as he was, that the young girl might be falling into liking him too well; and he knew that there might bo on his own part too much re ciprocity. Therefore (much as he loved Crlpps, nnd fully as ho allowed for all that was to bo said upon every side), he had felt himself bound to take no more than a distant view of iJeckley. Even now, after three years and a half, there was some resolve in him to that effect. He turned from the gentle Invitation of the distant bells, and went on with his face set towards the house of his old friend, Overshute. When he camo to the lodge It caused him n llttlo surprise to find the gate wide open, and nobody there. But ho thought that, as It was Sunday, perhaps the lodge people were gone for a holiday. In this way he came to the door at last, with tho fine old porch of Pur beck stone heavily overhanging it. and tho long wings of the house stretched out, with empty windows either way. Har denow rang and knocked, nnd then set to nnd knocked nnd rang again; nnd then Hnt down on a stone balustrncln! nml then jumped up with just vigor renewed and lo! there waB nothing to resist his thrust, except Its sullen weight. (To bo continued.) Additional Room. Wife John, dear, do you love me as nvuch now as you did when wo were married a year ago? Husband Yes, darling; and I guess I must lovo you more, for the doctor tolls me I havo enlargement of the heart. TOPICS OF THE TIMES. A CHOICE SELECTION OF INTER. E8TINQ ITEM8. CoitinientH nnd Crltlclmtia Based Upon the Happeiilncs of tho Day Hint or 1 cnl and News Note. Ono of the latest is Uio lead trust And that la no pipe dream. When, n man Is (lend .effort la made to think of somothing good of him. It Is so different while he is nllvo. An Eastern fashion journal says women nro wenring larger shoes. They nro probably numbered ns smnlj as ever. There is a great field for the Santo Domingo Improvement Company If it lives up to tho Improvement part of its numo. A New Jersey bishop snys "society Is soaked -with alcohol." This condition of tilings renders the pnrlor match more dangerous than ever. A man never quito thoroughly appro-' elates tho truth of that old ndago about beauty being only skin deep un til he bites into a Ben Dnvls apple. Carnegie announced a fow days ago that ho intended to aid the smnll col leges, no has found out since tlion that thoro are lots of them ready to bo aided. Now, if a mere man had made that romark attributed to Mrs. Carneglo teven now ho would bo calling on the rocks to fall on him and the hills to cover him up. Cadets at West Point and Annapolis are to be taught Jiu-jitsu. It may not do thorn much good in -war, biit per haps it will enable them to improve their football records. Piano manufacturers are confronted with tho necessity of making stronger Instruments. When Pnderewski is in good form he can hammer tho llfo out of ono in two sittings. A Boston woman recently read a pa per entitled "Are We Growing Old Gracefully?" Of courso her conclusion was that "we" aro not growing old gracefully or otherwise. "The Japanese are not a yellow race at all," says the Philadelphia Inquirer; "thej are only tanned." Havo been undor the impression all along that it was the Russians who wero tanned. Tho Boston Herald begs leave to amend the old adage, "Hate the sin, but love the sinner," by adding, "and the sinner's money." The American board of missions has accepted the amendment and also Mr. Rockefeller's $100,000. There is another vanishing industry. Tho Jewshnrp industry is stated to bo In a bad way, owing to the collapse of tho demand among savage peoples. The advance of civilization has been so thorough that nowadays in Central Africa nothing short of Wagner will satisfy the native souls. "It is minor "I tell you, you aro mistaken; it is mine!" Divorce court Which Is a terse way of putting the sad history of ninny a marrlugo dis agreement over the things mine nnd thine and tho domestic misery that fol- ows. Tho way to settle such a dis agreement is for both parties to say, "It is ours!" Becauso of the strugglo Cor mine and thlue tho records of his tory nro rolled In blood, nations havo fallen, barriers of hatred have been raised, brother has fought brothor. Envy, dissension nnd division have como because men have contended for that which is not theirs, but "ours." Thoro has been a revival of tho proposition to call into existence the half-cent or live-mill copper piece. Five or six years ago n bill with that pur pose in view wns introduced Into Con gress, but it seems to have died out of inanition. The call for tho half cent conies strongest from largo cities in which thero are groat department stores, though It is quito likely that in all other cities tho advent of the now money piece would bo wolcomod. Com petition In trade in the great shopping centers Is now so keen that a differ ence of half a cent in price often deter mines tho mind of a would-be pur chaser. Our beliefs are largely directed by ertain sayings that havo come down :o us, some of which are wholly un true, and somo of which contain only half truths. For instance: We quote as If It were a settled truism, tho old adage, "Lovo Is blind." It all depends upon the Interpretation. If wo mean that love is blind in tho sense that It voluntarily shuts its eyes to tho faults and failings of tho loved ono, there is souio truth in tho saying, otherwise not. Tho eyes of love are tho keenest of nil eyes. And the greater the lovo the keener the insight No one better .knows the weaknesses of a husband than an affectionate wifo. And vice versa. In tho eyes of tho world which does not 1016 the individual may be without fault But close companion ship under the searching eyes that lovo reveals many defects. And this is tho suffering Inseparable from loving. Tho lover has a high standard for tho loved. His is an ideal object of nf fectlon. And when the object of af fectlou fulls below the Ideal of tha lover, as usunly happens, the heart ia hurt. And yet the soul that truly loves, loves ou, despite the faults, de spite the disappointment. It is not a blind worship. It is divine love, open- eyed, saying to itself, "With nil his faults, I love him still." And it is tho Instinct of this love that knows nndjfc. loves on Hint seeks to hide from tho world the imperfection of the loved. ono to shield It with divlncst pihrtftid to cover it with the mantle of G(-ilka perfection. And herein is tho spirit ual miracle: Not that love is blind; but that, clear-seeing, it continues to lovo nnd suffer and hide its pain and s perfected in suffering. That amiable old person the father of Frederick the Great wns accustom ed to rout tho future hero out of bed, on cold nights to give him only half enough to eat and otherwise to mnko dm miserable on tho theory that boys who were allowed anything like com fort never would amount to much. His paternal majesty was regarded as a crazy man, yet wo havo In these en lightened days some peoplo who en tertain his views to a certain extent. There are people, that is to say, who maintain that the things which are grouped under tho designation of "modern conveniences" are bad for us and that we should be a groat deal better off without them. We arc told that steam heat softens us and renders us a prey to colds, coughs and pneu monla, that electric lights are ruining our eyesight, that elevators are mak ing us lazy in short, that about every comfort that wo enjoy is really an insidious enemy of our physical or, spiritual well-being. Thero Is undoubt edly just a flavor of truth in these pes simistic outgivings ns there is a slight foundation for most or tho gloomy vaticinations which tho dismal-minded among us ludulgo In with respect to other matters. There nover has been n time when there were not people tod proclnlm that everything in the schenio l of creation was going wrong and this, is especially true wtien tho prophet of disaster deals with anything like an" innovation. Thnt any departuro from' the established order of things Is cer tain to result In disaster Is a funda- mental assumption of tho pessimist We may, nevertheless, make ourselves' comfortable in spite of the decrlers of "modern conveniences." It may bo true that steam heat is responsible for, some physical ills, but we can feel certain that the old system of shaver-! Ing beside Inadequate fires jro sponsible for more. Electric 'Mights have their disadvantages, but they aro, Infinitely to be preferred to candles. Wo go through tho whole list of com forts thnt wo enjoy and assure our selves that they are worth all they cost and that their drawbacks are more than balanced by their advantages. The law of self-preservation Is a safe guard against humanity Indulging in things that would seriously mennce the race. Modern comforts are the omh growth of the human desire to utilize tho physical resources of nature to tho best advantage, and as such a desire never will be wholly satisfied wo may bo sure that the world will discover and enjoy more rather than less of such comforts as time goes on. TOO SUDDEN ADVANCEMENT Transports Some People Into Situa tions that They Do Not Fit. In a flourishing city In Ohio a rather ignorant man had accidentally mado a largo fortune and wns proceeding to spend it In a lavish wuy. It occurred to him that if ho and his wife wero going to entertain their friends for, of courso, they now had many it would be well tor them to build a new house. Accordingly they engaged an architect and proceeded to erect a cost ly mansion. One day someone chanced to meet the worthy wife of the Ignor ant millionaire and asked her what kind of a house they wero going to build. "Wal," said she, "I don't egacly know" what kind of artchltectchoh it is, but T think I heered the artchitoct say as how It wns a ralxcher of the Ironic and the. cathartic." The same lady was traveling this winter In Europe, and was, with many1 others, driven from the Riviera by tho unusual cold, and took rofueo in Egypt- One day she came bustling Into tho court of the Eden Place Hotel at Cairo and remarked to a young American lady who happened to fall a vuiiS to her advances: Tn "Oh, we are havln such a fine tlitf.o went on canieis air wore showed tnem periods an' that other thing." Sho did not trust herself to pronounce the word sphinx. Sho added: "I do think tho Arabs Is Just magnificent? they're so straight and dignified, but the Gym sums thouisolves ain't no great shakos.' bo they?" Harper's Weekly. yV The wife may bo the patient ono in the boffinnlna. but as tho years iro by,! th buoboad. gets the' patient look.