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.
