i My Fellow Laborer.
metti
By H. RIDER HAGGARD.
*
9
CHAPTER III.
BOUT three months
after my dear
wife’s death, Fanny
Denelly and I com
menced our investi
gations in good
earnest. But, as I
had prophesied, I
soon d i s covered
that I could not
serve two masters.
It was practically
impossible for me to carry on the
■every-day work of my profession, and
at the same time give up my mind to
the' almost appalling undertaking I had
in hand. Any spare time that was left
to me, after providing for my day’s
work, was more than occupied in col
lecting notes of those particular kinds
of physical and mental, or, to coin a
word, spirituo-mental phenomena—
some of which are, as readers of “The
Secret of Life” may see, exceedingly
rare—that I required as a groundwork
of my argument, and with the carry
ing on of a voluminous correspondence
TTUU OUtU DU1CU Hilv; 1UCU ail UtCl lUC
world as did not set me down as a
'dreamer, or worse. So I had to make
up my mind either to do one thing or
the other, give up my search after the
moral philosopher’s stone, or surren
der the lease of my chambers in ths
city. For some months I worked dou
ble tides, and hesitated, but at last my
decision could no longer be postponed,
It must be one thing or the other. So
in my perplexity I consulted Fanny,
and having laid the whole matter be
fore her, asked her which course she
thought I ought to take. Her answer
was prompt and unhesitating. It was
to the effect that I should give up my
profession and devote myself exclu
sively to my investigations.
“You have six hundred a year to live
on,” she said, “and therefore will not
starve; and, if you succeed, you •will
achieve immortal fame; for you will
have found the way to minister to a
mind diseased, and, if you fail, you
will have acquired an enormous mass
of knowledge which you may be able
to turn to account in some other way.
I have no doubt myself on the matter.
Think of what the reward before you
is.”
I did not quite like Fanny’s way of
putting the matter. She always seem
ed to me to dwell too much upon the
personal advantages that would re
sult from my success. Now such a
quest as mine is not for the individual;
it is for the whole wide world, and for
the millions and millions who are yet
to live upon it. What does it matter
rwho finds, provided that the truth is
found? Why, any right-thinking man
should be glad, if his circumstances
will permit of it to give his life to such
a cause; aye, even if he knows that, so
far as he is concerned, he will never
reach the goal, but be trodden down
and forgotten. He should be glad and
happy, I say, If he can only think that
some more fortunate seeker will be able
to step a pace to forward on his pros
trate form. But, after all, even the
best and widest-minded women, as I
have found them, will look at things
In a strictly persona] light. I do not
think that as a class they care much
for humanity at large, or would go far
out of their way to help it; of course, I
mean if they are certain that nobody
will hear of their good work. But this
is only an opinion.
I pointed this out to Fanny, who
shrugged her handsome shoulders, and
said that really she did not think it
mattered, much which way one looked
at It; the great thing was to succeed.
Well, I took her advice, partly be
cause it fell in with my own views, and
partly because I have always paid more
attention to Fanny than to any other
living creature. Indeed, to this dav I
hold her judgment in almost childish
veneration. It was a hard wrench to
me, giving up the outward and visible
following of my profession, more espe
cially as I was then in a fair way to
achieve considerable success In it; but
it had to be done. I felt it my duty to
-do it, and so I made the best of It.
What was still harder, however, was
the reception that my decision met
with among such few relatives as I
possessed, and my friends and ac
quaintances. They remonstrated with
me personally and by letter, and an
noyed me in every way, and upon every
possible occasion. Even relatives with
whom I had never had the slightest In
tercourse thought this a good oppor
tunity to inaugurate an epistolary ac
quaintance. One old aunt wrote to ask
what amount of truth there was in the
rumor that I had given up my profes
sion, and what I had taken to in place of
It? I replied that was devoting myself
to scientific research. An answer came
by return of post, to the effect that,
having heard that I was doing so well
as a doctor, she had recognized my
talents in her will. This she had, on
receipt of my letter of explanation, at
once given instructions to alter by the
ommiasion of my name; she was not
soititf to have her money squandered
on scientific researches, which always
ended in smoke. “Science, indeed,”
her letter ended. "Why you might as
well have taken to looking for the
North Pole or even literature!”
Finding my resolution unalterable
tor one of my few good points is that
I do not turn back—I was, however,
soon given up by the whole family as
an irreclaimable ne’er-do-well, and it
was, I believe, even hinted among them
that I was not altogether responsible
for my actions. At any rate, the rumor
did get round, and whether it was ow
ing to this or to the fact that I could
no longer be looked upon as an In
dividual who waa likely to make
money, I soon noticed a decided change
In the manner of my acquaintance,
professional and lay, toward me. Be
fore, their attitude had at least been
respectful; now it was. If not con
temptuous, at least tinged with su
perior pity.
Well, I put up with it all humbly
enough, but now that my position Is
such that these very people who have
treated me with contumely for so many
years, go about and boast of their in
timacy with me, and are even so kind
as to supply the papers with the sup
posed details of my private life, I will
confess that the pill was a bitter one
for me to swallow. Not that I was al
together without comfort, faintly fore
seeing the hour of trlump that has
come.
Besides, even when we must perforce
do worship to Mammon and bow the
knee to Baal, there are yet consola
tions. It is something to feel with
the keen instinct which knows no er
ror that the minds of those contemptu
ous scoffers, who think so well of them
selves and so ill of you, are to your
mind as the ditch-mud is to the mir
ror reffecting heaven's own light; that
in you there dwells a spark of the
glorious' creative fire of which they
know nothing, and cannot even under
stand; and that they, the rich, the re
spected, the prosperous and unctuously
happy, are as far beneath you, whom
they despise as an unsuccessful dream
er, in all that really tends to make a
man divine, as their dogs and horses
• are beneath them.
| That was how I thought in those
days, and think so still, though now
that it is showered in upon me, I do
not care much for that world-wide
praise I used to covet in my bitterer
and more lonely moments, when im
minent failure seemed to press me
round like the darkness closing in. It
is too rank and too undiscerning, and
much of it is merely tribute to suc
cess and not to the brain and work that
In short, as will be understood with
difficulty, being human, I felt all this
neglect of which I hare striven to show
the color, pretty sharply, and though I
submitted, and was perfectly able to
analyze Its causes, it gave my mind a
misanthropic turn, from which it has
never quite recovered, for the world’s
adulation can never atone for the
world’s contempt, or even for the neg
lect of those around us who make our
world. And thus as time went on I
gradually acquired a greater and
greater dislike to mixing in society,
and began to attach myself more and
more to my studies and to Fanny, who
became by degrees the only person
that I thoroughly trusted and relied
on the world.
When my dear wife had been dead
eighteen months, it occurred to me
that there were Inconveniences attach
ing to our mode of life, and that if she
saw matters in the same light, It would
be well to draw the bond of friendship
and affection yet closer by marriage.
Not that I was in love with Fanny
Dennelly in the sense in which the
term is generally used. Indeed, it was
one of her great charms in my eyes
that it seemed possible to live on the
terms of the closest friendship and
affection with her without any nonsense
of the sort being imported into the in
timacy, either on one side or the other.
Also, as far as I was concerned, I had
buried all passion of that kind with
my dear wife, and my speculations oc
cupied my mind far too entirely to
allow of the entry into It of any of
those degrading imitations to which
imaginative and intelligent men are,
oddly enough, especially liable if they
are not very hard worked, probably on
account of the greater irritability and
sensitiveness of their brains.
What I looked forward to in marry
ing Fanny Denelly was a reasonable
and sensible companionship, entered
into for the comfort of congenial so
ciety and to furtther the end to which
we had both devoted our lives. Also
I was desirous of giving my unfortunate
boy a permanent substitute for his
dead mother, and one whom he dearly
loved. Accordingly, I took occasion
one evening after dinner to speak to
Fanny about the question, before we
settled down to our night’s work. This
I did with some trepidation, for how
ever well you may think you under
stand a woman, it is not always pos
sible to know how she will take a mat
"ter of the sort. Still I put the best
face on it that I could, and talked for
a quarter of an hbur without stop
All the time she sat still with her
hands behind her head, and her dark
eyes fixed upon my face, and never said
a word.
“You are a very curious man, Geof
frey,” she answered, with a little
laugh when at last I had done.
“Why?” Iasked.
“Because you have put the whole
question to me as though marriage
were a chapter out of ‘The Secret of
Life.’ ”
“Well, for the matter of that, so it
generally is,” I said.
"And you have not said one word of
affection. ' It has all been ' business,
from beginning to end.”
“My dear Fanny,” I answered, “you
know how deeply I am attached to you.
I did not think It necessary to en
large upon the point.”
“Yes,” she answered, gently, and
with a new light shining in her eyea,
"but it is a point that women like to
hear enlarged upon. I am only a wom
an, after all, Geoffrey. I am not all
scientific and mathematical.”
I saw that I had made a mistake, and
had appealed too much to the reason
ing side of her nature as opposed to
the sentimental. To tell the truth,
when one lives day by day with a wom
an, and all one's talk is of the highest
problems of existence, one is apt to
forget that these matters are, after
all, only more or less accidental to
her, and that the basis of flesh and
blood, on which they are built up, re
mains the same. In short, one gets
to view her more in the light of a
man.
A man can lose his old Adam in
studies or aspirations, or in devotion to
a cause; but a woman, so far as my
experience goes, and as the moral of
this story tends to prove, can never
quite get rid of the original Eve.
“My dearest Fanny,” I said, "for
give me,” and then I took another line
of argument with her which I need
not enter into—for that tale has been
told so often before, and besides one
always looks back at those sort of
things with a kind of mental blush.
Sufllclent to say that it proved effec
tive.
“I will marry you, dearest Geoffrey,”
Bhe murmured at last, “and I hope that
in looking together for the Secret of
Life, we shall find the secret of Hap
piness also.”
“Very well, love,” I said; "and now
that we have settled that, let us get to
our work. We have lost an hour al
ready!”
(TO BE CONTINUED.)
Tower* for Electric Uihth
When arc lightB were first Introduced
for street lighting there was a very ex
aggerated idea of their lighting power.
A light of 1,000 candle power seemed
such a powerful Illuminator that the
Idea was very naturally conceived of
placing; lamps on the top of tall tow
ers and lighting the whole area of the
city. Several municipalities adopted
this tower system of lighting, of which
the best known example is doubtless
Detroit. It was at once found, however,
that a cluster of arc lamps 150 feet or
more from the ground might be an ex
cellent plan for lighting the whole of
a large area; but was a very poor plan
for lighting city streets. In the aver
age American city, with long blocks,
the streets comprise not more than one
third of the area. Hence with the tow
er system of lighting 66 per cent of the
Illuminating power is wasted In light
ing up house roofs, backyards and va
cant lots. Nearly every city of which
we have Information that orglnally
adopted the tower system of lighting
has abandoned it. It is therefore quite
surprising to learn that Des Moines,.
Iowa, proposed to put In a municipal
street lighting plant and to use the
tower system. What consideration in
fluenced the city authorities to adopt
this system we do not know, but we
would strongly urge them to investi
gate the experience of Detroit and oth
er cities with the tower system of light
ing before they construct such a plant
in their own city.—Engineering News.
The Freaks of False Teeth.
Accidents will happen sometimes,
even to the veteran in official or social
life. But when a certain congressman’s
eloquence grew so spirited Wednesday
that his false teeth flew out Into space
very few knew it, except those sitting
close to him, and the adept manner in
which he caught them went to show
that he is familiar with their freaks.
It reminded a Kansan of a man whom
he once knew, a prominent editor of
cne of the largest newspapers in his
state. He had beautiful false teeth, but
he didn’t love them, and when he had
visitors and got into a reminiscent
mood it was his habit to remove his
teeth and play with them. In this man
ner they were 'liable to get lost and
would be found in the most unexpected
places. One day he absently mailed
them among a batch of letters, and the
mischief was to pay until he saw them
advertised in his own paper. After
that he had his name engraved on the
solid gold plate and felt that he was
quite safe. When he talked very rapid
ly his teeth had a startling habit of
flying out. He was a picturesque im
pruviser of profanity, and when he got
excited his false teeth would often
punctuate his remarks by their sudden
appearance. One day his unfortunate
foreman was thus attacked, and the
teeth struck him in one eye, nearly
blinding him. He kept the teeth, sued
and recovered damages.—Washington
Star,
A Joking' Monkey.
There is a monkey in one of the sub
urbs of Washington that is a practical
joker of the most irrepressible sort. A
few days ago, a member of the family
found the Simian apparently stiff in
death. As the animal was a great pet,,
there was a great howdy-do, and a
quick summons for a doctor. The phy
sician came and after a thorough exam
ination pronounced his monkeyshlp
dead. No sooner had he delivered his
opinion than the monkey hopped brisk
ly up, gave the doctor a military sa
lute, and scampered away, chattering
and screeching at the top of his voice.
The physician is hearing a great deal
about the affair from his friends.
Decidedly Objectionable.
The Tenant—I want to change my of
fice for one on the second floor. The
Agent—What’s the trouble? The Ten
ant—You know I’m on the fourteenth
floor now. Well, every time my wife’s
mother comes up to see me it gives her
palpitation of the heart so to come
up on the elevator that she invariably
insists upon stopping in my office two
hours for the palpitations to ease down.
Gimmie a room that can be reached
by a stairway.—Cleveland Plain Deal
er.
Unavoidable.
Wallace—Wasn’t it rather strange
for Tippler to marry that snake charm
er? Brutts—Yes. It was brought about
through circumstances. He had de
lirium tremens that night, and she was
the only one who could do anything
with him.—Philadelphia North Ameri
can.
THE WRECK OP FREE TRADE.
CAUSE OF THE STRIKE
THE WILSON TARIFF BILL AT
THE BOTTOM OF IT.
F*ce« Have Decreased Precisely th«
Sam* Amount a* Tariff Redaction—
And Still the Cleveland Administra
tion Wanted It Made Worse.
From the Chicago Inter Ocean: The
McLeans and calamity howlers in Ohio
who are chuckling over the coal strike
will do well to avoid all facts of recent
history. We notice that President
Ratchford of the United Mine Workers’
association, in a communication to the
New York Herald, dated June 3, says:
“A miner’s wages in the western Penn
sylvania field ranges from 54 to 47
cents per ton in thin veined districts,
and from 30 to 28 cents per ton in the
thick-veined. In 1893 the mining rate
in thin-veined districts was 79 cents,
and in thick-veined 65 cents per ton.
During the same year the rate in Ohio
and Indiana was 70 and 75 cents re
spectively. Now it is 51 cents, with
a reduction proposed in Ohio to 45
cents per ton. This ratio holds good
in a general way all along the lines:
Illinois, a portion of Iowa, eastern and
central Pennsylvania, and the Virgin
ias are all equally affected.” These
figures point directly to the fact that
miners’ wages have fallen from 20 to
30 cents per ton since 1893, following
directly the Wilson tariff law, which
reduced the tariff on coal 35 cents per
ton. The humblest miner cannot mis
take the fact that “the starvation
wages” were the result of Democratic
legislation, which not only struck a
blow direct in the face of the coal
workers, but added general prostration
in business. The free traders in coal,
such as Mr. Wilson, Bryan & Co., will
have to meet and answer these suffer
ing working thousands, and it will be
more than they can do. The facts are
too plain and the history too recent to
give them any comfort.
The South for Protection.
The voting on the Dlngley tariff bill
in both house and senate has brought
out some Interesting and significant
tacts, some Democrats and even a tew
Populists have joined with the Repub
licans in support of a protective meas
ure. This evidences that the principle
of protection has grown broader than
party lines. But the most significant
fact is that nearly all of these non
Republlcan votes for protection came
from the south. The day was when In
making a forecast of election returns
the votes of the "solid south” were
assigned without discussion to the
party of free trade. But that day has
gone never to return. The “solid
south” Is broken and the break Is
greater than that which is measured
by party lines. Not only has the party
whose watchword Is protection more
southern members in congress than
ever before, except at the time Im
mediately following the civil war, but
the number of their votes does not
measure even the whole strength of
protection sentiment In the south. The
growth of manufactures in the south
and the opening up of southern resour
ces Is swinging the south surely and
not slowly into the protection column.
It Is quite conceivable that in the not
far distant future we will have again
a "solid south”—a south solid for the
American system of protection.
Prosperity in MlaaUiilppl.
For four long years everything has
been as dead and still as a door nail,
and nothing but patch work going on,
from the application of the notorious
Cleveland badge to stopping leaks on
the housetops. But now, presto change!
as soon as the election of McKinley
and common sense was assured people
all over this country woke up and
went to work, and I don’t have to go
away from home to tell you that con
fidence has come back to the hearts
and minds of the people. There ar& .u
this writing six new brick stores, no&e
Unit than 100 feet long, a large hot.*;,
wider course of construction in Acker
man, together with a fine brick and
Iron courthouse. New residences and
improvements of old ones visible on ev
ery hand. Of a truth, there has been
more painting done in this town since
the 1896 presidential election than for
ten years last past. Everybody is ex
pecting better times, and If we can on
ly get prompt and effective protective
legislation we shall see a marvelous
growth of that idea In the south, and
a steady growth of the Republican
vote here. Hoping for the speedy pas
sage of a Republican tariff law and a
realization by our people of its tar
reaching benefits, I am,
Ackerman, Miss. E. E. Buck,
What Farmers Depend Upon,
Farmers depend upon a protective
tariff just as surely as does the pros
perity of every other American pro
ducer. The remedy for agricultural de
pression is an enlargement of the mar
ket for agricultural products. In order
to secure a larger market for agricul
tural products we must make the home
market larger and Increase the home
demand. The only way to do that is
by building up our manufactures, by in
creasing the number of our industrial
plants, by giving employment to all
idle workingmen, by creating such a
demand for labor through the opening
up of new industries, that the increased
number of consumers will afford a mar
ket for all the farmers’ products. This
is the best way to Becure prosperity to
the farmers, and the enactment of a
protective tariff law will benefit no
class of workers more than it will bene
fit the farmers.
A Question of Ilevenao,
The industrial Invasion that has been
overwhelming the United States since
August, 1894, will soon be checked by
the reconstruction of our wall of pro*
tectlon.—American Economist.
Whence, then, is to come the addi
tional revenue which Major McKinley
declares to be necessary and to provide
which the present extraordinary ses
sion of congress was called?—Demo
crat, Johnstown; Pa.
The additional revenues will come
from the same sources as It did under
the McKinley tarltf when we had reve
nue enough for all requirements
amounting to $1,006,682,378 during the
first 33 months that It was in force, as
compared with a total revenue of only
$867,265,939 during the first 33 months
of the Democratic free trade tariff.
The loss of $139,416,439 of revenue un
der 33 months of the Democratic fiscal
policy has compelled the restoration of
a protective tariff for the purpose of
again providing revenue Just as it
formerly did.
WUl H* Win Her?
Among Free Traders.
High protective tariffs are breeders
of discord and ill feeling at home as
well as abroad.—Salt Lake Herald.
Certainly they are, among the free
traders.
=555*55* -
Interest of Comuiaen.
At no time bare the intereets of the
consumers been considered. They con
stitute the greater portion of those af
fected by a tariff, but their welfare does
not enter Into the delusive schemes of
the protective tariff theory,—Easton,
Pa., Argus.
Oh. yes; they have been considered!
Who are the consumers but our great
army of workers? A protective tariff
is enacted In order that our masses
may have work, may earn wages, may
spend their money and may “consume”
what they buy. Without the work
they cannot earn, they cannot spend
money, they cannot buy, and they
cannot consume. A protective tariff
is designed to serve the best Interests
of the millions of our “consumers.”
Republican Fundamental Principle.
The fundamental principle of Repub
licanism is protection—protection to
American labor, protection to American
capital, protection to American farm
ers, protection to American finances,
protection to American Interests and
the American citisen no matter where
he may be found. Therefore, the men
who voted for McKinley on account of
his standing on the financial question,
must show that they are in accord with
the foundation principle of Republican
ism—protection—before they can he ac
corded a hearing In Republican coun
cils.—Darlington, Mo., Record. /
Why Not?
Some European nations subsidise
their steamships; others subsidise
their shipbuilders; others again exempt
their ships from taxes, only taxing
their net earnings; others give a boun
ty on Imports on their own vessels;
others give a bounty on tonnage for
distance sailed. In various ways as to
them seems best, they protect and en
courage their shipping. Why may not
this, a sovereign nation, adopt dis
criminating duties, then, to protect Its
shipping,'since that form of protection
to our people seems best?
Democratic Breaches. .
The country has been pleasantly dis
appointed by the large number of Dem
ocrats In the senate who have caft off
the heresy of "tariff for revenue only"
to the winds and who have voted as
Jackson and Jefferson would have vot
ed in a crisis like to the present.—Chi
cago Inter-Ocean.
And there will be still greater pleas
ure, during future tariff discussions,
when It Is seen that the supporters
of the old heresy number leas and leas.
One of Wilson’s Vrlsnds,
w
A member of the British board of
trade reflecting upon the effect of the
Dingley protective tariff upon British
industries.
WhaL They Are After.
The Democrats do not cease their
attacks on the Dingley tariff bill. The
measure is a continual source of wor
ry to them, and they are already sit
ting up nights to discover what can
be done with a surplus when we get
it.—Williamsport, Pa., Gazette, May
14, 1897.
Then they’ll be sitting up nights to
concoot plans for looting the treas
ury.
Pottpon. the Evil Day.
But the main thing U to do what la
best to pull the wheels of Industry out
of the rut. Discussions of Democratic
policies will he more to the purpose
when Democrats shall have again been
clothed with power to administer the
affairs of the nation.—Philadelphia
Record.
And may this date he long postponed
is the earnest prayer of every well*
wisher of American labor and Industry.
Hit
Is there any honest American toller
who rejoices in slightly cheaper cloth
ing with the knowledge that It came at
the cost of loss of employment and
wages to many thousands who, like
themselves, must depend upon the pros,
perlty of an Industry for what they
eat and wear?—Wheeling, W. Va„ las
telligencer.
Demote Dealing.
The importers who are rushing goods
into the country have the double pur
pose of making an extra profit by rais
ing the price on them when the Ding
ley bill goes into effect, and putting *
that law into disrepute by making ita
receipts light during the first year.—•
Trenton, N. J., Gazette.
One at Grower.
There are some Individuals so cos.
stltuted that they would rather shuf
fle off this mortal coll than admit that
they could be mistaken.—Binghampton,
N. Y., Herald.
Is this a slap at the ex-presldent?
Qln It a Push.
Protection to American labor la ft.
goad thing. Push it along.
