j I
S H
h
r
which barely left room for the stamp
There was a singular look upon his
tace on which astonishment seemed
struggling with some other emotion
Then he drew a long breath After
ill these years he said to himself
So he has kept his word after all
He recrossed the hall re entered his
study and closed the door As he did
so both the young people heard the
sey turn in the lock Evidently their
lather was anxious not to be disturbed
n the perusal of the mysterious mis
sive whatever it might be Neither
Df them said anymore on the subject
ac the time but their minds were full
of it as they each turned to go their
different wajs the one to the billiard
room for a little private practice the
other to the drawing room to try over
the last new song
I wonder what it was soliloquized
the former and what made the
guvnor so queer and unlike himself
at the sight of it However its no
good troubling myself about it
Mr Silas Burritt remained shut up
in his study all the remainder of the
evening and only encountered his
son and daughter at breakfast the
next morning being Thursday when
he appeared to have regained his or
dinary manner notwithstanding to
two pairs of inquisitive young eyes
there still seemed to be a certain ab
cent expression the expression of a
man not that they described it to
themselves in any such words who
has been reviewing the past and
whose thoughts still linger behind him
among the years that have gone by
There was also a slight suspicion of
nervoushness about him and several
times he seemed on the point of saying
something which he put off from one
moment to another At last he made
up his mind to speak
My dear he said addressing his
wife I am thinking that is I have
made up my mind at any rate I am
going away for a day or so At least
Here he found that lie had by
no means miscalculated the effect of
the announcement for his voice at
this juncture was drowned by a fam
ily trio
Where to What for How long
shall you stay How strange
This last remark emanating as it
did from his son and heir seemed to
cause the object of it some little annoy
ance
Strange Ted slightly knitting his
brows as he spoke What do you
mean What is there strange in my
leaving home for a day on business
--
THE FATAL REQUEST
O R FOUND OUT
By A L Harris Author of Mine Own Familiar Friend etc
Copyright 189 1 by Oast el I fvbllshina Company
Copyright 19 0 3 bv Street ft Smith
CHAPTER I
We Shall Find It Out Some Day
About the beginning of the month of
April 18S4 the family of Mr Silas Bur
rltt observed a certain alteration In
that gentlemans habits and demeanor
ft appeared to those who studied
lilm that he became Imbued with an
of anticipation that he started
when a knock was heard at the door
and that the advent of the postman
was awaited by him if not with anx
iety at any rate with an amount of
ager expectancy which was in a gen
eral way quite foreign to him
It was also observed that the nearer
they drew to the end of the month
the more these symptoms became ex
aggerated and as day after day
went by unmarked by an unusual oc
currence he was observed to shake
bis head with a half smile and a half
sigh and mutter as he thought to
himself Dead or forgotten After
which he remained plunged In reflec
tion for a considerable time
It was his son Edward more gen
erally known as Ted who happened
to overhead these words and they
caused him no small amount of be
wilderment
He stood with his sister May in the
hall of Mr Burritts large old-fashioned
house at Dulwich It was about
seven oclock In the evening that as
the brother and sister were talking in
low voce3 the former was interrupted
by the sound of an abrupt loud double
knock
Theres the seven oclock post
said the girl I wonder if theres any-
thing for father this time If there
is Ill
But as she turned towards the direc
tion of the letter box the study door
was thrown hurriedly open and an
elderly gentleman rushed across the
hall and extricated from its receptacle
one letter in a thin foreign looking en
velope the direction on which was
written in a large scrawling hand
The last words came after a barely
perceptible pause
Oh then it is business after all
broke in his daughter May with an air
ef hardly repressed triumph I knew
it was I said so directly I saw the
letter didnt I Ted
Her father turned round upon her
rather sharply What letter
The the letter that came last
night she stammered disconcerted
by the unusual tone Then reassert
ing herself I was In the hall you
know when It came and I thought It
looked like business
Her fathers frown relaxed as he
patted her on the shoulder
Inquisitive little girl he said
what does It matter to you what my
letters are about
But It was business wasnt it
she persisted secure in her position
of spoilt child
Well yes that is partly so he
answered At least It was from an
old He seemed to remember
something and stopped short At any
rate he continued I have to go to
Dover
Dover re echoed the family
Yes he said rumpling his hair
and apparently taking some care in the
choice of his words I find I shall
to go there It is rather incon
venient just now but it cant be help
ed though it will not be more than
a couple of days at the outside By-the-by
turning towards his helpmate
it Is not unlikely that I may bring a
friepd back with me No its no one
you know responding to the question
he saw trembling on more than one
pair of lips At any rate you had
better have a room prerared in case
of that event
Half an hour later Mr Burritt took a
hasty but affectionate farewell of his
family who as they watched his de
parture and waved their hands to him
said to themselves that he would soon
be back again among them In spite
of this belief however they craned
iiff if vfi ifi iff ii n I II ifi
U
7
He recrossed the hatl
their necks to see the last of him
A little later when his sister who
had again had recourse to her piano
was practicing scales like a Trojan if
the expression is allowable the young
man put his head inside the door of
the room in which she was and the
following brief conversation ensued-
I say Hay do you know it has
just occurred to me that the guvnor
never mentioned the name of the
friend he was going to bring back with
him
The scale of C major came to an
abrupt conclusion To be sure he
didnt How funny But then you
see we forgot to ask him
I know we dia but you would have
thought that he would have told us
without that However of course it
doesnt matter and I suppose we shall
find it out some day Ta ta Im
off
CHAPTER II
After All These Years
Mr Burritt arrived at his destination
between six and seven Alighting
he gave a hasty and comprehensive
glance round as though he thought it
half possible that he might be met by
someone Then he left the station and
proceeded in the direction of the Lord
Warden
Arriving at that famous hostelry he
made a certain inquiry of the waiter
who came forward to meet him To
which the reply was that the gentle
man referred to had crossed by the
boat that morning and had engaged a
private sitting room leaving word that
he expected a friend from town who
was to be shown up immediately on
giving his name
My name is Burritt was the reply
Then please to walk this way sir
The man ushered him up a flight of
stairs and along a corridor then in
dicating a particular door said This
is the Toom the gentleman has taken
I will announce myself said Mr
Burritt and the man withdrew
Then after a pause of a few sec
onds he tapped lightly at the door A
voice from within cried Come in
and answering the summons he turned
the handle and entered The occupant
of the apartment a tall lean elderly
man who was looking out of the win
dow turned round sharply and con
fronted the visitor A look a strange
wondering intent look passed be
twei them Then the stranger
made a step forward Silas he
cried At last and the pjen grasp
cd hands
Then followed a brief toA impres
sive silence during which each oager
ly scanned thefeatures of the other
and which Mr Burritt was the first to
to break
James ho said and there were
traces of considerable emotion in his
voice you are much changed I
should hardly have known you
Changed exclaimed the other
somewhat bitterly and in twenty
years Is It to be wondered at
Then with an alteration of tone But
I should have know you anywhere
Silas
Twenty years repeated his friend
Ah well soIt is How quickly the
years have flown It seems nothing
like that to me
It is that all the same said the
other It Is twenty years to the very
day This is the 24th of April 1884
It was the 24th of April 1864 when
you said good bye to me on board the
vessel in which r was to sail to a new
country
It is a long time to remain an
exile a voluntary exile said Mr Bur
ritt you might have returned years
ago had you chosen
The other man shook his head
gloomily I have kept my word
he said You remember my last
speech to you I said I am
going to begin a new life to make
my fortune In twenty years if I have
aone so I shall return By that time
I may hope that my crime will have
been forgotten It may be that In
twenty years some of those who know
my wretched story will be dead I may
even be dead myself but if not I
shall return to the country I am now
about to leave behind for surely in
twenty years the disgrace which now
tarnishes my name will be blotted out
and forgotten Until then farewell
And now he continued the term
of my self imposed banishment is at
an end I have kept my word and I
have returned
Mr Burritt laid his hand upon his
friends shoulder
You judge yourself too harshly
he said the word crime is too se
vere a one to apply to that youthful
indiscretion sin if you will repented
of as soon as committed
Repentance cried the other im
patiently what U the good of repent
ance Will it recover a lost reputa
tion and wipe out a stain upon the
past The fortune I went to seek is
mine but I would give it all for an
unblemished record so that I might
not be ashamed to look any man in the
face Ah Silas it is a terrible thing
to think that a child of mine should
ever blush for her father
You are married then inquired
Mr Burritt gladly seizing the oppor
tunity thus offered of changing the
dismal subject Is your wife with
you
I am a widower was the reply
My wife died twelve years ago leav
ing me with one child a daughter
Tell me all about your daughter
said Mr Burritt and how you came
to make up your mind to part with her
for so long I have a daughter of my
own as well as the son who was born
before you left England and though I
have been threatening to pack her off
to boarding school for the last four
or five years I never could reconcile
myself to the idea of the separation
And now shes too old nineteen last
birthday and her father shook his
head over his own weakness and smil
ed an Indulgent parental smile
Thats the age of my Agnes within
a year said the other strange that
we should have daughters so nearly
the same age
He looked at his companion strange
ly
I am in your hands Silas he said
you can ruin me in my childs eyes
as well as in the eyes of the world
whenever you please
To be continued
The Real Thing In Toothaches
Geewhitaker Jumping Moses
But it Tvas the worst case of toothache
I ever bumped against he said It
was easy in the early part of the even
ing but when midnight arrived it got
busy for fair Liniment hot and cold
water and all the rest of the standard
remedies were applied without avail
Seven thousand devils with seven
thousand red hot sledges ihammered
hammered and hammered away at the
throbbing nerve That tooth stood
upon its head rolled over the carpet
and hung out of the window It
growled grumbled moaned and mut
tered laughed cried ran walked trot
ted galloped sailed flew dug and ex
cavated and did everything under the
heavens but quit and go to sleep like
a decent tooth and stop monkeying
But why didnt you have it ex
tracted
Just as soon as Brown could get to
the dentists he
Great Scott man Wasnt it your
tooth
No it was Browns
Floored the Englishman
At a dinner party in London Miss
Beatrice Herford was taken down by
an Englishman whom she discovered
to be a fellow of the Royal Geographic
society and who professed to know by
name all the places on the map ol
England Miss Herford had long strug
gled with such names as Cholmondeley
vohumley Crichton Cryton and
the rest and this struck her as an op
portunity
As a geographer and especially as
a Royal Geographer she said you
will be able to tell me where Winkle
is
The Royal Geographer was puzzled
and asked if she was sure she had pro
nounced it properly and how it was
spelled
l pronounced it in the most English
way I could said Miss Herford It
is spelled New
York Times
ifcn miuijmiwujytaifa
iiiji Jin
ENORMOUS BENEFITS
EFFECT OF FREE TRADE AND
PROTECTION ON RAILROADS
Against a Less of 413000000 In
Gross Receipts 1893 to 1897 There
Has Been an Increase of 1764C00r
000 from 1898 to 1902 Inclusive
AccorJing to page 407 of the Statist
ical Abstract of the United States for
1902 fiscal year published by our use
ful Bureau of Statistics the gross re
ceipts of our railroads in the four
Democratic fiscal years 1894 1897
wore compared with 1893 Republican
fiscal year
J593 1207000000
JgW 1066000000
189o 1092000000
JS J125O0OO0O
1S97 1132000000
The decreases from 1893 McKlnley
tariff year were
J9i 141000000
J822 115000000
1896 82000000
1S57 75000000
Then came the chance By the pen
of William McKInloy a brighter state
of affairs was inaugurated on July 24
1897 when the Republican Dingley
protective tariff became a law Now
compare the railroad gross receipts of
1897 low tariff Democratic fiscal
year with the Republican protective
tariff fiscal years since to 1902 the
Estimated Democratic tors
1MS 1502 61GC0OO0fl
Actual Republican gcln
1902 1764000003
Real Republican gain J22SO000
Half of this Inures to the direct
benefit of railroad wage earners and
all the rest except bond interest and
occasional dividends to the benefit oi
the wage earners of allied interests
and the country at large
Results end facts like these speak
louder than tons of argument
Walter J Ballard
Schenectady N Y
CAUSED BY THE TARIFF
Republicans Willing to Take Respon
sibility for Prosperity
Mr John F Clarke Democratic can
dldate for the United States Senate in
Ohio opened the campaign in his
state with the statement that thG
country was face to face with a panic
and industrial depression all accord
ing to Mr Clarke brought about by
the disturbance ofjausiness caused by
the high tariff taxes
Save during a brief period when
Democratic views on the tariff were in
legislative effect this country has been
under high protective tariff for a gen
eration During all that time save
during the period when the Democrat
ic tariff was in effect this country has
steadily advanced in wealth and pros
perlty Its industrial expansion has
been the marvel of the civilized world
Under this tariff system it has become
the foremost industrial nation of the
THE TARIFF TIN KERING INCUCATOR
1 FRs E XPAJL1
yS IMSUBATOR pT
IbjjWiWitt I Wfr WriS HK ii1 iUffi Jul HiMiHIiiUIUi lull nf tAjU UiHinnmiiiiilltinUI lHthVH
last fiscal year for which figures are
yet published
1S97 1132000000
1S98 1219000000
1899 1330000000
1S00 1501000000
1S01 1612000000
1502 172G000000
The figures for 1902 are from the
New York Times of September 26
1903
The increases over 1897 under Re
publicanism and protection were
1S9S 117000000
itgo 204000000
1900 369000000
M1 450000000
ISO 594000000
Republican gain
1764000000
Here i5 a gain to owners and work
ers alike of one thousand seven hun
dred and sixty four millions of dollars
gold dollars not the Bryan three
cent Johnson kind of dollars in five
years equal to 352800000 gain each
year
Inasmuch as irrespective of allied
railroad interests supplies etc fully
50 per cent of gross railroad earnings
is paid out immediately for wages to
railroad employes these figures show
that such wage earners are directly
indebted to Republicanism and pro
tection for 88200000u in five years
or 5176400000 each year
It Is worthy of note that in the first
Republican fiscal year after Demo
cratic misrule namely 1898 the re
bound was so effective as to make the
earnings 47000000 more than the
prior Republican fiscal year 1893 and
the increase has gone on increasing
each Republican year since
Further as the Democratic party Is
now advocating the same principles
and worse which it advocated m
1892 and used in the fiscal years end
ing June 30 1894 to 1897 is it possible
that any voter engaged in railroad or
allied interests can if he studies his
own welfare vote now or at any time
tor that party of disappointment and
t loss
There is a broader view and a wider
interest still The official and undis
puted figures quoted above show loss
of 413000000 in the four Democratic
years equal to 103250000 yearly It
is fair to presume that that ratio of
loss would have continued if not in
creased hail Democratic policies pre
vailed in the fiscal year3 1S9S to 1902
In such case the additional loss in rail
road earnings for the five years would
Tiave been S516250C0O Consequently
the real gain rttributafcle to
lican policies and control is
world and its commerce has expanded
in like proportion Since the present
tariff law came into effect the advance
of the country in all of these direc
tions has been immeasurably greater
than it was during any similar period
of time in the nations previous his
tory
This is the condition which has been
brought about in Mr Clarkes lan
guage by the high tariff taxes Re
publicans are perfectly willing to ad
mit that the conditions which the
country is enjoying are the direct re
suit of the application of the protec
tive tariff principle They are per
fectly willing that the responsibility
shall rest on them tor bringing about
these results The disturbance oi
business which has followed since
Democratic legislation on the tariff
was repealed and Republican legisla
tion on the subject was substituted is
such a disturbance as has brought re
lief and gratification to the home of
every wage earner m the land Mr
Clarke says the credit is due to Re
publican legislation So it is Seattle
Post Intelligencer
More Cotton in Their Ears
It is not at all likely that any part
of the country held by the Republican
party will chance a repetition of the
expeCnce of the years between
1893 6 Whatever the Northwest con
tributed to the election of Mr Cleve
land was paid for In the contrition ol
the years that followed It is eminent
ly true that the conditions have
changed brought about by the protec
tive tariff policy of the Republican
party which has spread plenty and
prosperity over the Northwest with
the rest of the country All the West
ern States that ran amuck on Popu
lism have returned to the Republican
party and it is not reasonable they
are now going to stand for Cleveland
or any other man who has a moder
ate leaning toward tariff revision
not at this time at any rate If to
refuse to Interfere with the present
prosperity is stubborn deafness on
the part of Republican leaders then it
would be well to stuff mare cotton
in their ears Wheeling Intelligencer
Prosperity Under republican Rule
The people of the United States con
sume the equivalent of 95 per cent of
all we produce and upon this fact
Secretary Shaw declares that not
while these conditions continue will
prosperity cease Can there be a
reasonable doubt as to the soundness
of this view Omaha Eee
ffl
T v - fJMfgyrr
MkMMNMMHlHM
SULTAN AND HIS PLAYERS
Actors Have Military Organization ani
Are Subject to Immediate Call
The sultan of Turkey has his owt
way of taking his theatrical pleasures
An account of the performances given
before him was recently made public
by one who was long attached to th
palace staff and It reads like me ex
aggerations of a comic opera librettist
The power that controls all these
performances Is Arturo Stravolo
known simply as Arturo who came
from Naples some years ago and set
tled with his father mother sisters
and brothers and sisters-in-law in Con
stantinople He was formerly a dia
lect comedian In Naples
He is a prime favorite with the sul
tan The other actors are called tc
the palace to perform noi oftener than
once a month Arturo acts at least
weekly
As the sultan Is very fond of variety
and will rarely consent to witness the
same performance twlco It is neces
sary to provide constant change To
do this one of the Stravolos Is always
traveling through the European capi
tals at the expense of his patron seek
ing novelties
All of the sultans actors must wear
a certain uniform They have a mili
tary organization Angelo is a lieuten
ant the violinist Luigi Is a captain
the baritone Gaetano is a major and
the tenor Nicola is a general The
performances take place at no fixed
time but whenever it appears to the
sultan that he would like to see a
show Thus the company like sol
diers must always be ready to march
Frequently the director of the or
chestra Aranda Pasha will be noti
fied in the middle of the night that
he must come to the palace as quickly
as possible He learns on arriving
that his majesty desires to hear Un
Ballo in Maschera or some other
opera As the sultans vish Is a com
mand the opera begins within half an
hour
The sultan sits entirely alone as a
rule and if any point in the action of
either play or opera is not clear he
halts the performers until it is ex
plained to him
Whence Came Hurrah
Some authorities connect Hurrah
with a Hebrew shout of joy to Je
hovah which occurs in the Psalms
Others derive it from Thor aide a
war cry of the ancient northmen
Others point to the Swedish and Dan
ish Hurra and the German Hur
ren to move quickly or the Danish
Hurre to buzz with which our hur
ry is associated
Sir Francis Palgrave in his history
of Normandy and England says It
was a wise custom in Normandy es
tablished by Rollos decree that any
one who had reason to fear damage of
goods life or limb could riise the
country by the cry of Haro Ha
Raoul justice in Duke Rollos name
Hence our hue and cry The old
English Harrow and our Hurrah
are but variations of this
There are some who regard it as
merely an imitative interjection akin
to whurra used by Addison in a play
1715 or of huzza found in Evelyns
Diary 1665 Stray Stories
Australian Hemp Crop
When Charles Lamb used to write
to his old friend Baron Field a judge
in Sydney N S W in the early days
he invariably asked in a postscript
How is the hemp crop out your
way These inquiries puzzled the
judge for a long time till one day an
other judge suggested that they might
have some playful reference to the
large amount of hanging that was go
ing on mostly through Baron Fields
strong views about the proper punish
ment for bushrangers and kindred
evildoers No hemp was grown at the
antipodes in those days when it was
required for home consumption but
the industry is likely to become an im
portant one now The government tf
New Zealand has encouraged its
growth of late and now it appears that
during the past twelve months hemp
to the value of 3750000 has been
produced in that colony
Heaps of Trouble for the Editor
No doubt our readers are wondering
why they have not received the Senti
nel during the last three weeks We
will now explain On account of drunk
enness and carelessness on the part
of our foreman while we were out of
town our press was broken so that
we had to send the parts to Baltimore
for repairs It has taken three weeks
to get them back and get in shape
to do any printing For this reason
we simply could not send out the
paper We regret it very much but it
was a matter that we could not help
We now have a new printer and have
the press repaired and hope to visit
our readers regularly hereafter Bear
with us and excuse us for these mis
haps for you do not know of the
many worries and troubles of a man
who runs a paper Lagrange N C
Sentinel
A Farewell
Hy fairest child I have no song to give
you
No lark could pipe to skies so dull and
gray
Yet ere we part one lesson I can leave
you
For every day
Ill teach you how to sing a clearer
carol
Than larks -who hails the dawn
breezy dotvn
ore
Xo earn yourself a purer poets laurel
Than Shakespears crown
Pe good sweet maid and let who can be
clever
Do noble things not dream them all
day long
Lnd so make Life Death and that va3t
Fore er
Ose grand sweet song
By Charles Kingsley
Electric Lines in Germany
Germany has but 2117 miles of elec
tric car lines
I
t
2
tl
A
ji
1 I
