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About The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936 | View Entire Issue (Sept. 29, 1899)
. . .uy. . . ilium. \s * Jf - f , x x A ' CHAPTER III. ( Continued. ) "Oh , dear , yea ! " assented Falkland readily , "it was the talk of London. Well , what have they discovered ? " "Why-Hint a man who answers to the description of a suspicious-looking person who disappeared from England In rather peculiar circumstances at the time of all those forgeries is supposed to have le'ft New York on the steamer City of Chicago on the 12th of this mouth ; and , should this really be so , he ought to have arrived in Liverpool at the bot.innniff of the week. Just as you were .speaking of this Brown of London it struck me " "That he might be the forger him self ? Ah , perhaps he is , " exclaimed Evelyn , with a gleam of amusement in her eyes. "Let us all keep a careful watch upon him , and do our best to gain the reward which somebody has offered for him. " "Very well , Miss Eve ; you may de pend upon me to help you in your in vestigations. My services are at your disposal whenever you may require them , " was Falkland's reply ; but , though the words were uttered lightly , there was a sort of resolution lying latent beneath his apparent careless ness. "Only do not forget to take care of your own cheque-books , or in the meanwhile you may find he has been dipping pretty heavily into your ex chequers ns well. But goodby for the present. I shall b coming again to see for which night you will like tick ets for the theater , and then I will telephone down. " As the door closed behind the tall , rather gaunt , but at the same time prepossessing form of Gilbert Falk land , Lady Howard sank back in her chair with a sign of supreme satisfac tion. "Dear me , what should we do with out that man ? lie is really too good his words had carried more weight than he had had the satisfaction of imagining. At the lime it had never struck her as peculiar that a man who was an absolute stranger to her should have been able to single out from the num ber of letters one in particular for her , thus showing that he knew her address perfectly. It puzzled her though , con siderably now , especially as the idea flashed through her mind , as it had done before even as she stood in the hall that that letter was not lying among the others when she had first looked over the table. It had ceemed a trifling matter at the time ; she would never have troubled to think anything more about it if Mr. Falkland had not declaied that this man must have ki'wn something of her name and had taken the earliest opportunity of trying to make ht-r acquaintance. But now , since he had told her what really villainous characters were con stantly to be found at such quiet sea side hotels as the "Royal George , " she began to realize that , if this Mr. Brown were one of the number , he would be capable of anything , and , seeing her coming , had probably hid den her letter in order to obtain the necessary excuse for addressing her. "Well , at any rate , he shall not speak to me again ! " mentally resolved Miss Luttrell , as she stirred her coffee and buttered a piece of toast. "Mr. Brown of London is mistaken if he imagines that Aunt Lydia and I are two helpless individuals whom he can take in and impose upon as he likes. He had better try that is all ! " CHAPTER IV. Evelyn , however , had reckoned with out her host. Later in the morning she was hurrying upstairs with a mes sage to her aunt's maid , when , as she * * ' "OH , YES IT IT IS MINE ! " in troubling himself so much about us and cur concerns. " Lady Howard spoke feelingly. No body could have ever taken the reins of government more unwillingly into her own hands than her ladyship had done upon the death of her husband three years before , when she had been left a rich but somewhat helpless widow , with a large estate and three growing children. In the years of her married life everything had devolved upon Sir Wilfred ; and , though , as time ivore on. she became more accustomed to her sense of perfect independence , and had actually consented to an addi tional care in the shape of the guard ianship of her niece , her brother's child , she was still only too thankful if any one would relieve her a little of the weight of the responsibilities which hung so heavily upon her shoulders. Consequently Gilbert Falkland , whom they had chanced to meet upon the continent for the first time only n month before , but who had intro duced himself as one of the late Sir Wilfred's oldest friends , had found his attentions thoroughly acceptable to the widow ; and. as it happened that he had been going by the same route as Lady Howard and her niece , he had constituted himself courier and guide , and had taken upon his own shoulders all the troubles and worries insepa rable from continental traveling. At home in England once more , for tune had thrown Mr. Falkland across their path again , and Lady Howard was only lee pleased if he would still do anything for her , even if it were merely to arrange a drive or decide which of the pieces at the theaters was really worth seeing. But Evelyn scarcely heard the sigh of contentment which had followed Mr. Falkland's departure. Her thoughts another direction were running in quite tion ; for , in spite of the nonchalance with which she had laughed away Gil bert Falkland's observations upon the encounter with the man in the hall. was somewhat breathlessly mountin _ the last flight , a tall figure , which she recognized at a glance as Major Brown's , suddenly appeared at the top of the staircase , which he was just about to descend. Summoning all her dignity to her aid and with her head set proudly back , Miss Luttrell had prepared to pass on quickly without deigning him more than a coldly regal bow , when to her amazement , as his eyes met hers , he immediately paused before her. "I beg your pardon , Miss Luttrell , but I believe I have found some lost property of yours. Did you not drop a handkerchief in the dining room last evening ? " It was a trifling question , certainly , still it sent the color flaming into the girl's cheeks. "A handkerchief ? " she repeated. "No ; I am sure I did not" with a de cided shake of her head. "Are you quite sure , though , because I feel certain it is yours at least it has your initials on it ? " he returned , producing the article in question and holding up the corner where the crest of the Luttrells was embroidered over the initials "E. C. L. " "This is it. Is it not yours ? " Evelyn looked at it astonished. It was impossible to deny the ownership. "Oh , yes it it is mine ! " The admission was made T.-ith such reluctance that Major Brown was con scious of a feeling that in delivering up the handkerchief to its rightful owner he vas rather under an obliga tion to her for deigning to accept it than that she owed anything to him. He was therefore quite astonished at the polite but distant "thank you" which rewarded his efforts , and stood for some minutes lost in contempla tion of the slight graceful figure as it" retreated down a long corridor. "It is no go , I am afraid , this time. " he muttered half aloud. "Sambo's mistress has scented mischief already. " Yes , undoubtedly his scheme had 1 failed. She had not neon so blind as t believe that In both cases his effort t < speak to her was merely chance ; am the major realized with a sense of th : keenest disappointment that , as mat ters stood , it was practically uselcs : hoping to make the slightest progresi toward a more intimate acquaintance There was nothing for It therefon but to let things take their owi course for a day or two , in the mean while preserving such a strict sllenco when chanting to encounter Miss Lut troll , as to disarm her of all suspic ions , and then to trust to fate t < throw her in some way across hi ! path. At any rate , he was prepara to remain an occupant of No. 40 , 01 the second floor of the "Royal George , ' even it' he had to remain until dooms day for that auspicious moment to ar rive. rive.Until Until doomsday ! Yet , when onlj one hot sultry afternoon , one coo dewey evening , and one sunshinj morning had passed , Major Brown was thoroughly impatient. It was the afternoon of the seconi day after his decision , and he was standing at the open window of the smoking room with a most dejected expression upon his face. It seemed such a hopeless case to imagine thai by keeping aloof from her in this waj he was making the slightest progress towards the stage of friendship at which he wa. 5 resolved sooner or latei to arrive. What should he do with himself ? Go for a stroll in the town Yes ; anything would be better than dawdling away his time as he had been doing all the morning. He was on the point of withdrawing when foot steps beneath Ihe window and voices in slight but decided altercation ar rested his attention. "No ; it is of no use you are not to come ! 1 want to have a quiet af ternoon under the trees , so that I can read my book without any chance ol an interruption. I have just reached a most exciting point , and I am dying to see how it all ends. " "But how can my presence affect your peace and comfort if I promise not to speak ? Surely , if I bring plenty of literature of my own in which I am equally interested , you cannot ob ject " "Yes ; but I do. I know so well \vhat v/oultl happen. Just at the most pathetic part , when the hero and he roine were plunged in the depths of despair , you would look calmly up from one of Renter's most matter-of- fact telegrams , to discover me with tears streaming down my cheeks. No , Mr. Falkland go into Saltcliffe , as you had arranged , buy a new flower for your coat and " But at that point the voices and footsteps passed out of hearing. The Major shrugged his shoulders and knocked the ashes somewhat im patiently off his cigar as he suddenly found himself lost in a vague mental speculation as to how far those en treaties would fail or succeed. All the same , there was a slight frown upon his forehead as he turned away from the window ; and , apparently forget ting his resolution to take a walk round the town , he threw himself into a low chair , to puff away at his cigar with renewed energy. The hour of three had struck in loud measured tones before he roused liimself again ; and then , as though by instinct , he returned to his post at the window just in time to catch a glimpse of Miss Luttrell and a large white parasol disappearing across the lawn in the direction of an inviting L-ltnnp of trees. So the fellow had failed , after all ! Involuntarily a smile rose to the Ma jor's face , a particularly unsympathet ic smile. "Poor beggar ! " he ejaculated. ( To be continued. ) Ancient { ctlillnjj Houses. In olden times certain towns and vil lages in England used to possess a wedding house , where poor couples , af ter they had been wedded at church , could entertain their friends at small cost , the only outlay being the pur chase of such provisions for their guests as they brought with them , the house for the day being given free of payment. At Branching ( or Brach- inges ) , in Hertfordshire , there was a wedding house of this kind , which had a large kitchen with a cauldron , large spits and dripping pan ; a large room for merriment , and a lodging-raom , with good linen. At Great Yeldham , in Essex , there was another such house , which was used lay the poorer folk for dining in after they returned from the church. As the practice became obso lete the wedding house was turned into a school. In 1456 Roger Thornton granted to the mayor and community of Newcastle-upon-Tyne , the use of the hall and kitchen belonging to Thorn ton's hospital , for the use of young couples , when they were married to make their wedding dinner in , and re ceive the offerings and gifts of their friends. iVhy Purple ltcinie the Imperial Color Purple became the imperial color be cause of its enormous cost and rarity. The only purple known to the ancients ft as the Tyrian purple , which was ob tained in minute quantities only from i ileditc-rannean species of shell fish , : alled the murex. In the time of Cice ro , wool , double dyed with this color , was so excessively dear that a single pound weight cost a thousand denarii , 3r about thirty-five pounds steling. A jingle murex only yielded a little drop > f the secretion , consequently very large numbers had to be taken in order : o obtain enough -to dye even a very small amount of wool. Amongst more than one of the nations of antiquity it was death for any person but the sov ereign or supreme judges to wear gar ments dyed with Tyrian purple. Upon ; he accession of Julius Caesar a law was pass-ed forbidding any private per son to wear it. TALMAGB'S 8EJMION I EASY "DIVORCES. LAST SUN DAY'S SUBJECT. " \Vbitt Therefore Cod Italli .Joined To gather Let Not Man J'nt Asunder ' Mutt. HI : ( I SkeU-lom All OVIT Hi' ' Homo E. * V/ell us In tin : Closet. That there are hundreds and thou sands of infelicitous home in Americ : no one will doubt. If there were onlj one skeleton in the closet , that mighl be locked up and abandoned ; but ir many a home there is u skeleton ii the hallway and a skeleton in all tlu apartments. "Unhappily married" arc two words descriptive of man } ' a home stead. It needs no orthodox ministei to prove to a badly mated pair thai there is a hell ; they are there now. Sometimes a grand and gracious wom an will bo thus incarcerated , and hei life will be a crucifixion , as was the ease with Mrs. Sigourney , the great poetess and the great soul. Sometimes a consecrated man will be united to n fury , as was John Wesley , or united tc a vixen , as was John Milton. Some times , and generally , both parties art to blame , and Thomas Carlyle is an intolerable grumbler , and his wife has a pungent retort always ready , and Fronde , the historian , pledged to tell the plain truth , has to pull aside the curtain from the lifelong squabble at Craigenputtock and 5 Cheyne row. Some sw that for the alleviation of all these Domestic disorders of which wo hear , easy divorce is a good pre scription. God sometimes authorizes divorce as certainly as he authorizes marriage. I have just as much regard for one lawfully divorced as I have for one lawfully married. But you know and I know that wholesale divorce Is one of our national scourges. I am not surprised at this when I think of the influences which have been abroad militating against the marriage rela tion. For many years the platforms of the country rang with talk about a free-love millennium. There were meetings of this kind held in the Acad emy of Music , Brooklyn ; 'Cooper insti tute , New York ; Tremoat temple , Bos ton , and all over the land. Some of the women who were most prominent in that movement have since been distin guished for great promiscuity of affec tion. Popular themes for such occa sions were the tyranny of man , the op- pre sion of the marriage relation , women's rights , and the affinities. Prominent speakers were women with ahi rt curls and short dress and very loig tongue , everlastingly at war with Gcd because they were created women ; wfjile on the platform sat meek men with soft accent and cowed demeanor , ajologetic for masculinity , and hold ing the parasols while the termagant orators went on preaching the gospel of free love. That campaign of about twenty years cot more devils into the marriage relation than will be exor- cjsed in the next fifty. Men and wom- ea went home from such meetings so parmanently confused as to who were taeir ! wives and husbands that they never got out of the perplexity , and tjie criminal and the civil courts tried tj ) disentangle the Iliad of woes , and ( His one got alimony , and that one got s. limited divorce , and this mother kept the children on condition that the fa ther could sometimes come and look at fneni. and these went into poorhouses , : md those went into insane asylums , : : nd those went into dissolute public life , and all went to destruction. The mightiest war ever made against the Uiarriage institution was that free-love campaign , sometimes under one name and sometimes under another. Another influence that has warred upon the marriage relation has been polygamy in Utah. That is a stereo typed caricature of the marriage rela tion , and has poisoned the whole land. You might as well think that you can have an arm in a state of mortification and yet the whole body not be sick- ; ned , as to have any territories or ctates polygamized and yet the body of : he nation not feel the putrefaction , rlear it , good men and women of America , that so long ago as 1SG2 a aw was passed by congress forbidding polygamy in the territories and in all he places where they had jurisdiction. Thirty-seven years have passed along and nine administrations. Yet not un- il the passage of the Edmunds law in 18S2 was any active policy of polygamic suppression adopted. Armed with all the power of government , and having an army at their disposal , the first brick had not till then been knocked from that fortress o libertinism. Every new president in his inaugural tickled that monster with the straw of condemnation , and every congress stultified itself in proposing some plan that would not work. Polygamy stood in Utah and in other of the territories , more entrenched , more brazen , more puissant , more bragart and more in ternal than at any time in its history. James Buchanan , a much-abused man of his clay , did more for the extirpa tion of this villainy than all the subse quent administrations dared to do up to 1SS2. Mr. Buchanan sent out an army , and although it was halted in its work , still he accomplished more than the subsequent administrations , which did nothing but talk , talk. talk. Exen at this late day , and with the Edmunds act in force , the evil has not been wholly extirpated. Polygamy in Utah , though outlawed , is still prac ticed in secret. It has warred against the marriage relation throughout the land , it is impossible to have such an awful sewer of iniquity sending up its miasma , which is wafted by the winds north , south , east , and west , without the whole land being affected by it. Another influence that has warred against the marriage relation in this country has been a pustulous litera ture , with its millions of sheets every week choked with stories of domestic wrongs , and infidelities , and massacres , and outrages , until it is a wonder to me that there are any decencies or anj common sense left on the subject ol nmrrlnnn. One-half of the news stand ; of our Kvont cities reek with the filth "Nov. ' , " cay some , "we admit nil these evils , and the only way to clear them out or to correct them Is by easy divorce. " Well , befoie we yield to that cry , let us find out how easy it is now. I have looked over the laws of all the states , and 1 find that while In some states it is easier than In others , in every state it is easy. The state of Illinois , through its legislature , recites a long list of proper causes for divorce , and then closes up by giving to the courts the right to make a decree of divorce in any case where they deem it expeti.cnt. After that you are not sur prised at the announcement that in one county of the state of Illinois , in one year , there were So" divorces. If you want to know how easy it is , you have only to look over the records of the states. In Massachusetts , COO divorces In one year ; in Maine , -178 in one year ; In Connecticut , 401 divorces in one year ; in the city of San Francisco. 333 divorces In one year ; in New England. In one year , 2.11. divorces , and in twenty years in New England , 20,000. Is that not easy enough ? If ths same ratio continue , the ratio of multiplied divorce and multiplied causes of di vorce , we are not far from the time when our courts will have to set apart whole days for application , and all you will nave to prove against a man will be that he left his slippers In the mid dle of the floor , and all you will have to prove against a woman will be that her husband's overcoat was buttonless. Causes of divorce doubled In a few years , doubled in France , doubled in England , and tumbled in the United States. To show how very easy it is. I have to tell you that in Western He- serve. Ohio , me proportion of divorces to marriages celebrated was in one year one to eleven ; in Rhode Island , one to thirteen ; in Vermont , one to fourteen. Is not that easy enough ? I want you to notice that frequency of divorce always goes along with the dissoluteness of society. Rome foi 500 years had not one case of divorce. Those were her days of glory and virtue. Then the reign of vice began , and divorce became epidemic. If you want to know how rapidly the empire went down , ask Gibbon. Do you know how the Reifen of Terror was intro duced in France ? By 20,000 cases of divorce in one year in Paris. What we want in this country , and in all lands , is that divorce be made more and more difficult. Then people before they enter that relation will be persuaded that there will probably be no escape from it , except through the door of the sep ulchre. Then they will pause on the verge of that relation , until they are fully satisfied that it is best , and that it is right , and that it is happiest. Then we shall have no more marriages in fun. Then men and women will not enter the relation with the idea it is only a trial trip , and if they do not like ir they can get out at the first land ing. 'Ihen this whole question will be tanen out of the frivolous into the tre mendous , and there will be no more joking about the blosoms in a bride's hair than about the cypress on a coffin. What we want , is that the congress of the United States move for the changing the national constitution so that a law can be passed which shall be uniform all over the country , and what shall be right in one state shall be right in all the states , and what is wrong in one state will be wrong in all the states. How is it now ? If a party in the marriage relation gets dissatis fied , it is only necessary to move to another state to achieve liberation from the domestic tie , and divorce is effected so easily that the first one party knows of it is by seeing it in the newspaper that Rev. Dr. Somebody a few days or weeks afterward intro duced into a new marriage relation a member of the household who went off on a pleasure excursion to Newport era a business excursion to Chicago. Mar ried at the bride's house. No cards. There are .states OL the union which practically put a premium upon the disintegration of the marriage relation , while there are other states , like the state of New York , which has the pre eminent idiocy of making marriage [ awful at 12 and 1-1 years of ago. The congiss of the United States needs to move for a change of the na- cional constitution , and then to ap point a committee net made up of single gentlemen , but of men of fami lies , and their families in Washington who shall prepare a good , honest , righteous , comprehensive uniform law Lhat will control everything from Sandy Hook to Golden Gate. That will put an end to brokerages in marriage. That will send divorce lawyers into a iecent business. That will set peo- ile agitated for many years on the luestion of how they shall get away : rom each other to planning * how they ; an adjust themselves to the more or .ess unfavorable circumstances. More difficult divorce will put an istcppal to a great extent upon mar riage as a financial speculation. There ire men who go into the relation just is they go into Wall street to purchase ; hares. The female to be invited into ; he partnership of wedlock is utterly jnattractive , and in disposition a sup- iresscd Vesuvius. Everybody knows it , but this masculine candidate for natrimonial orders , through the com- nercial agency or through the country eccrds , finds out how much estate is o be inherited , and he calculates it. rle thinks out how long it will be be- 'ore the old man will die , and whether ic can stand the refractory temper mtil he docs die , and then he enters be relation ; for he says , "If I cannot ; tand it. then through the divorce law ; will back out. " That process is going m all the time , and men enter into j he relation without any moral prin- j : iple , without any affection , and it is J is much a matter of stock speculation | is anything that was transacted yes- erday in Union Pacific , Wabash , and Delaware and Lackawanna. Now , sup pose a man iMidcrstooil , as ho ought to understand , that If he goes Into that relation there Is no possibility of his getting out , or no probability , ho would be more slow to put his neck In the yoke. Ho should say to himself. "Rather than a Caribbean whirlwind with a whole licet of shipping in its arniH , give me a zephyr off fields of sunshine and gardens of peace. " Rigorous divorce law will also hinder women from the fatal mistake of mar rying men to reform them. If a young man , by 25 years cf age or HO years of age , have the habit of strong drink fixed on him , he Is as certainly bound for a drunkard's grave as that a train starting out from Grand Central depot at 8 o'clock tomorrow morning la hound for Albany. The train may not reach Albany , for it may be thrown from the track. The young man may not reach a drunkard's grave , for something may throw him off the Iron track of evil habit , but the probability is that the train that starts tomorrow morning at 8 o'clock for Albany will get there , and the probability is that the young man who has the habit of strong drink fixed on him before 25 or 20 years of age will arrive at a drunk ard's grave. She knows he drinks , al though he trios to hide it by chewing cloves. Everybody knows he drinks. Parents Tarn , neighbors and friends warn. She will marry him ; she will reform him. If she Is unsuccessful in the experiment , why then the divorce Inw will emancipate her , because habit ual drunkenness Is a cause for divorce in Indiana , Kentucky. Florida. Con necticut and nearly all the states. So the poor thing goes to the altar of sacrifice. If you will show me the pov erty-struck streets In any city , I will show you the homes of the women who married men to reform them. In ono case out of ten thousand it may be a successful experiment. I never saw the successful experiment. But have a rigorous divorce law and that woman will say : "If I am affianced to that man it is for life , and if now in the ardor of his young live , and I the ? prize to be won , he will not give up his cups , when he has won the prize surely he will not give up his cups. " And BO that woman will say to the man : "No. sir , you are already married to the club , and you arc married to that evil habit , and so you are married twice and you are a bigamist. Go ! " UNIQUE SCHEME. I'y Which n I'liiver .linn IMiiilo 11 Living by I-itlnfc Oyslorn. New Orleans Times-Democrat : "I used to know a young man here who made a living by eating oysters. " said one of a little group about the coun ter of the Grunewald. "Ate them on a % \ager , eh ? " asked an Englishman ia the party. "No , " replied the first speaker , "he had a much better schema than that. He would stroll into a-a oyster bar you know how many there are in New Orleans and order a dozen on the deep shell , always selecting . time when several customers wer-'i present. After swallowing two o/ three he" "Two or three custon.- crs ? " interrupted the Englishman "Naw ! " said the story-teller , frowning , "two or three oysters. After he p-it them away he would stop all of a siui- tleri and feel in his mouth. 'Look hern ! ' lie would sing out to the bartender , 'what kind of things do you keep in rour oysters , anyhow ? I've near/ broken a tooth ! ' With that he would take a beautiful big pearl from between his lips. Of couroc , there was no quflj- tioning the genuineness of a gem in Lhat way , and everybody in the crov/il would look envious. Some one was morally certain to make a guess as to its value. 'Ch , well , ' the oyster-eater would say , 'I don't know anything ibout pearls , and I'd be glad to sell this 3ne for $5. ' I don't think he ever 'ailed to make a trade on the spot , and is soon as he got the five in his inside jocket he would saunter out and v/ork mother bar. He used to find a.-iout 'our pearls a week , and as long a ; be < ept it down to that game was per- 'cctly safe. Rut he grew avaricious at ast. and found so many that folks got suspicious and he considered it heaithy 0 leave for another fishery. He Bought the pearls by the gross tum 1 house in New Jersey. They were ; ery pretty pearls- , and cost him about > y > cents apiece net. I have one in : carf-pin now. low Tlioy KewareUjcl 3Iufluii < > Sterling. Madame Antoinette Sterling , the ontralto singer and evangelist , had an xperience in the Bombay presidency , ndia , which is as quaint as any ot Kipling's tales of the hills. She was ampaigning with Pundita Ramabai. nd through her magnificent voice was [ rawing thousands of natives to her tieetings. They lia.il never seen tfaat : ind of a missionery before , and had tever heard a voice like hers. They i-ere so pleased with her work thac hey said to themselves : "This is a oreign woman guru , and for fear or Iving offense to us she has omitted o put her begging-bowl outside of her cor for us' to put in the customary ontributions. " In India , every guru r holy person carries a brass , wood or lay begging-bowl into which the de- out put some small sum o ? money , ladame Sterling walked out upon the eranda of her bungalow one morning. nJ there , to her amazement , fount ! , vo begging-bowls. One , a little one. rith a few annas in it intended for the 'undita. and one , an enormous affair , cntaiuing a handsome sum cf annas nd rupees for herself. The only ex- lanaticn she could ever extract from he servant was this : "Little bowl Ule money for the little Punditei with ittle voice. Big bowl big money for ig Missahib with big voice. " Madame terling was one cf the principal neakers among the American women t the International council recently eld in Lcnuon. The shiftless man accuses fortune eing blind.