HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Wingham Times, 1889-08-02, Page 2ing Pu Urs -
FRIDAY, AUGUST 2, ISO.
RS. J3IW W1`i'S WU1T a Wert'
PHANT.
. a l-
'HANT.
• FR I9RAa L omarii;LL.
He wasn't' worth two hundred thou-
sand dollars, nor auything like it, but
Fell the salute,he was worth a pretty
penny—at hetet, Mrs. Brown said eo,
and if there was any one in the world
able to field out the figure f Mr. Bou-
beti Wagner's fortune, tba individual.
w i bad low
been a
w r Blown. lie a
as Mrs. .
boarder ice her house for t elve years
—not always the only o , but ever
the most important --an from the
hour that he first entere it till the
present moment his goi gs•aut and
his coruiugs•in, with all th time inter-
vening, had been regard with the
liveliest interest by hi gossiping,.
oiiieious, but enure-hearte landlady.
Twelve years. age, wli little Airs.
Brown was just that eau h younger--
thirty-two, in fact—an very- much
prettier, although far fr m plain yet,
she had had "hopes" garding her
new lodger. However, he very soon`
relinquished them one and for all
upon finding out what m4nner of man •
Mr. Wagner was.
Ides -a great studentand reader,
slie remarictd,`vith a nose of pride in
her voice, to a'taneighbora and gossip ;
a' regular book -therm, aiJ6ays groping
among papers aud boo with those
big, pale blue, nearrtigbte eyes of his
till it's a wonder he has nyeyes left
in•his head. But, la! dear heart, no
'more chatty or sociable than a broom-
stick, and as for one's a `lpearanoe, a
body might wear saffron ibbons and
have a cheek like a talo 7 candle, for.
all the difference it would Wako to him;
and she tossed her head and gave a
good natured laugh as s}e thought of
her own 'wasted olaarms.
Mr. Reuben Wagner ;,was a tall,
fair man. ungainly as to figure, and
rather elumtly as to, movements.
Nevertheless, he was guile a hanclsorne;
Yvan in his way, albeit was rather'
an elephantine way, end lie had a smile
and a voice that drew children around
him. t
Little Alice Brown etas eight years
old when he came to live in her
another's house, and they became the
greatest friends at once, for his love
for children amouuted' to a passion.,
What seines and foe they lied, and
what talcs be told 1 Alice learned
.frora him the German language, and
soon spoke it Iike any little girl of •his •
native land.
Underthese circumstances one
'would f ardly agree with Mrs. Brown
in thinking it necessary to send her
daughter to a boardi ug school in the
city. Alice had grown to be a lovely
girl—tall and .slender, but vigorous,
and bino,ning es a pea h, with eyes of.
velvet softness and black as aloes. Her
mother looked at her, with fond, ad•
miring eyes. '
•&y grin is a beauty; aud may make
her mark in the woad, she said to,
herself, I will just skimp and save a
" bit, :and send.her to school for a year
,. 'to finish her.'
So Altar's wardrobe avas overhauled,
and rouovated, and she and it were
packed away to Madame l)'Aubigne's
Se;ninary for Young Ladies,
A drearier house than Mrs.Brown's,'
after this event, could hardly be found.
In her fedora loneliness she went to
her lo'iees in hope of isympatliy, but:
bo failed her utterly ibt her time of
need, for after wandering around from
room to room in the meet disconsolate
:'nenner, he had re 4gned himself:
p:itietttly to the inevitable, and had'
levied himself mere deeply than ever
. in his studies, dei
It's too bad, said Mei. 13rewn tri a
friend, at this time, I'd,ike to fill the
house with gay young people to while
away the time till Alice: comes home;
but thereat Mr. Wagner ---be never
seems ceinfort,tble whet% there's any
one else around.
But,. dear ine, you're not bounce to
consider him iu everything, are you ?
Does be pay you so well 1 was the na-
tnral question. '
Oh, :t:a to pay, be ha always been
moat enF'rnn , and so asy to please;
t11e're c ntidn't bea more agreeable:
weegentlenetn, But, of ur. e,one hoarder,
no reett,.'r how well lin 'pays, is paver
;<.t pro,it:lble lis a irten aer; lent suites
a1ivA, •I ' i so erred, to hint, I'd never
Ir,.,,t of sending' hien !away, and she
s:;t sweet', ^' l iter Y+lacntlders a tv1 gave a little
. v , eni !:iettla.' Ilea's coniewhat of x
,., . heel knit telt my hands, she con -
a• e ; :':ow that I little Nit,, I don't
de., a. 'r •t to do faith I ins itnd don't
Yen:, et pt 1, -eel abet. .
;t el wee tat', Mrs. trown's new
mime for her lodger, being considered I
appropriate to 'his large phy eique emit
Wilde appearance,clung to hike, end
he carne to be known is the neighbor-
hood as 'MreeBrewn's white elephant.'
At the end of the year Allot) rettn W-
ed with a pale cheek and languid, ''ye
quite foreign to her, and her mower i
realized with a pang of alarm, ttiat her 1
boarding school had indeed done ita
be to finish her. The country -bred '
girl had suffered from chronic home-
sickness and depression, chafing under
the school diseipliue and tho oonfine-
outlet incident to a aity residence.
Affairs fell into their old grooves at
Mrs. Brown's, but, uufottuntttoly, not
with
the same happy results,
'Alice
q
recovered her health, and ,avec more
than her previous beauty, bub her
spirits were intermittent; sometimes
;ay aud lively to the verge of hysteria,
and again subdued and melancholy.
Mr. Wagner bad grown morose and
moody,and more bound up in his books
then ever.
For some unaccountable reason,Mrs
Brown said, everythiug in her house
was at sixes and sevens. The exact
state of confusion indicated by this
numerical 'figure' of speech I never
quite understood; neither can 1 tell
whether the good little woman .con-
sidered the problem at all ,simplified
when her lodger fell upon the ice one
slippery day in February and broke
his arra. Ile hors the pain . nd
trouble with the most angelic patieee;
every trace of the crankiness that had
characterized his temper for some time
back, and of which Mrs. Brown had
frequently complained of late to Alice.
disappearing iu the presence of real
calamity.
They nursed hien faithfully, Alice
showing a tender solicitude that would
certaiirly won the patient's heart, had
it not been hers already. But what
hope hadhe, a dry -as -dust old sch lar
—forty, if a day—to win the love f a
young lovely ,
a n ire who as fresh Ind
l ovel
sweet as a flower,who was still a child,
in spite of her twenty years. And yet
he loved her so dearly, with all the
ardor and passion of youth, combined
with the steadfast devotion of his mite'
advanced manhood. Suoh theughts
and emotions .filled his mind and
gteftrt, as he watched her with loving
and furtive glances while she flitted
about hie room putting things in order.
Once or twice, .when she banded h
his lemonade, or aa'ranged his po r
wounded arm more comfortably, tae
seized the gentle, ministering, 1itt0
hand and kissed it several tithes, and
then relinquished it with a lingering
pat. .At these moments words aeemed'
to hover on his lips—Alice saw them
quite plainly—and hie eyes met hers
with a longing look in their blue
depths which she perfectly well under-
stood ; ,consequently she -remained by
his side by an effort of will, though the
impulse was strong within her to flee
and hide her tingling cheeks of damask
line. But however well she may have
seen the words, she did Con -hear them,
for Reuben Wagner would crush there
baokfretn his lips, and tura away with
a sigh ; and Alice knitting her pretty
brows, and giving her nether Hp a
vicious nip, wouldpresently leave the
room, closing the door with consider-
able emphasis. -
One morning, after Mr. Wagner had
sufficiently recovered from his accident
to go out for a short walk, Mrs. Brown
was busy sweeping the passageway
others as blind as he—and to think I
never guessed it. Well, I never t And
she turned and closed the gentleman's
door, which had been ajar, polishing
the handle vigorously with the duster
which she held in her hand.
Now if Ors. Brown had chanced to
look into hes' lodger's apartment at that
moment her amazement would certain.
ly hast been increased, and she might
have had at least one hearty laugh.
afforded her by the serious tenant.
That gentlernau was then in the act of
performinga dance, eccentric and
original, it is true, but executed with
a grace and sirinese of which no one
would have believed filial capable.
" It was fortunate for all concerned
that the lady had expressed her
feelings in a loud sollloquy,,q ndor the
impression that he was, out, for her
daughter's words, while deeply wound-
ing his aftectietiete, sensitive heart,
had filled him Witt a grieved concern
for her own comfort, and he had int
stantly decided to relieve her at once
of his unwelcome presence. Of course
it would never have oeew.red to him
to plaoe the contrary and woman-
like cnnstruotion upon these words,
which her mother had not hesitated to
do, and his faintheartedness would
have lost all.
However, all was well now. She
loved hint ! Joy incredible—•but her
mother vouched for the truth of it.
:end who could read a girl's heart
better than her own mother ?
I3alf an hour afterwards the hall
dome ;closed upon Mr. Wagner's re•
treating footsteps with a loud and
energetic clang.
He was in I pried Allee, in her little
rooin upstairs, and sank into a chair,
hastily trying to recollect her unlucky
words, and horrified when . she did
remember tlienn.
He wasm't out 1 said Alice's mother,
complacently rolling, out • some puff
paste in the kitchen below ; and she
finished her work with an amused and
knowing ensile upon her comely ;face.
Mrs. Brown and her delight -or diued
alone, for their guest did not rotgrn in
time for -their early meal. indeed, it
was drawing very neer the hour for
their (toiletry six o'clock tea when he
appeared. His arrival was noted with
a sense of relief by both, for his un -
Usual absence bad created some slight'
anxiety, being almost without prece-
dent. ' *
When Mr. .Wagner .entered the
parlor aud took his seat at thlittle
tea table—which was round, like King
Arthur's --bis face was a . study for
any person desirous • of reading it.
But such a person Alice Brawn cer-
tainly was not. Shah avoidedt.bis eye
with the greatest care, scarcely daring
to glance in the direction of his ohair;
and it was a very difficult thing to do
tor she was conscious • all the time
that he was staring at her in the
most unblushing aud" unusual mari-
ner.
Mr. Wagner's face expressed tri-
umph, excitement and happiness,
while in his large pale blue eyes there
was a perfect well of mischief twiulc
ling, sparkling and bubbling over in
the most ridiculously boyish planner.'
Before the meal had commenced,
Mrs. Brown rose to get a pot of mar-
malade, she said, of which Mr. Wag-
' nor was very fond.
Stay, mamma, I'llget it, Alice said,
springing up in a great hurry : '1 know
where it is.
ship the daughter 1 he cried taking
ter right into his great, long • arms,
and kissing the sweet mouth, with its
pleading, deprecating smile.
Forgive that little joke, darling;
but it makes the feel like a boy again
to think that you can eato for me.
Ah, dear friend, it is 1 who should
crave pardon. 13ut you know I didn't
mean anything I said. We girls tell
dreadful ilhs—we have to.
Confession most terrible 1 Put is
it possible, yott charming child, that
you can love, really love,, au ugly old
book -worm like met How thankful I
atu to have Found is -out in time ; for
I am obliged to return to my old
home in Germany as soon cell 1 can
possibly get there 1
Going to leave us, and just now 1
Oh nay Reuben, why so f I.
1 shall riot leave you, darli g, lie
said, stooping to reward the ki id lips
that framed his Christian nen a for
the first time. We mast be arried
at once ; my treasure and fro ' asoau,
and alt such fol-derole, may , come
afterwards, Fourteen years ago,
• .Alice dear, I left nay lie a in
Stuttgart to travel in America, arid I
was supposed to have been one f the
victims of a disastrous ahipc reek,
from which I was happily a sent.
My farther died almost iunnec ately
afterward, and ley yotnnger b other,
newly married, took possession in all
:;,00d faith of my title and lands. 1
- did not care to dispossess him ior 1
knew that he and hie bride ' early
the sclot of rank rata fo tune
loved ,
while fat that time placed no `value
' upon them, wattling, only to ilin-sue
ley travels undisturbed. I glade
money in this good land of pima by a
fortunate scientific discovery, an Have
lived in comfort, as you know, ever
siuco. 1 learn to -clay that my poor
brother has been dead for some weeks
leaving no heir, and 1 propose rearm-
ing nay rights. Little one,am the
Baron Von Wagner, very 4eh and
influential in Germany, and lee smiled
playfully at her wondering face.
At this moment Mee :Brown came
in with the pleasing intelligence that,
after all; elle was quite out of mar-
malacle,'so Mr. Wagner would have to
excuse bier. This the ftei:tlewan
sternly refused to do, unless she would
give !line, as a forfeit, the baud of her
only daughter in rnarriago. •
Them they told their 'wonderful tid-
ings, Mrs.` Blown ever after blessed
the day when hes white elephant
entered her house and made her
pretty little gitl a baronets.
upon which his door opoised, Raising'
her broom to demolish en audacious
spider, which notwithstanding her
watchful eye, had succeeded in building'
a web over the door, she founts her
short stature prevettted.her from ac
complishing her fell ,purpose.
Aliie, dear, come here. Yon are
taller than I. Mind you don't brush
it down on yourself ! There,• that's
right. Mr. Wagner has gain out, I
think.
1 wish he would stay out 1 said Alice
pettiehly.
Why, Alice ! what do you .mean ?
said her mother, in surprise:
Mamma, why do you keep Mr.
Wagner so long 1 It's no advantage
to you. pie's just what you say—
nothing but a white elephant on our
hands. I wish you'd give bine warning
to fro, I'm tired of Ii/r.Wagner.
Why, my daughter 1 Are you an-
noyed at having had extra waiting to
dot If so, I hope Mr. Wagner wial be
careful of bis eyes, and read less, for
lie was complaining only this morning
of sharp, shooting pains in them, and
sonic dimness of sight.
Lill, lie's as blind its a bat already
cried thegirl, with a hot blush. He
must be 1 'ind not to see that—
Then she stopped,laughed nervously,
and atraightaoay bursting into tears,
ran away to her own room.
xloighty-toightyl said Firs, Brown,
dropping her broom in astonishment.
If the child ain't de'id in lover with Me,
Wagner, Wall, to ba sure, there were
No, love --there's none in the pantry
her mother replied, and insisted upon
going it scarce ot the delicacy her-
- self.
And if she had gone to Dundee for
it, Alice thought, site could,. hardly
have stayed much longer !
Mr, Wagner opened an illustrated
paper while he waited; and Alice,
made nervous by the rustling, looked
towards it inetiveartently.
'Horror 1 What should alae see
(brat thing) but a picture of the aris-
tocratis and celebrated white elephant
, so soon to gladden the eyes ; of the
Western World 1
She tank back in her seat' ready to
sympathize with the Lady of Shalof t
when she cried, The curse has come
upon mol
.Rattier a fine looking animal, though
• he does seein to have weak Opal saiu
Air, Wagner, easily., tapping the pie-
't
R
tore with his finber. Uou. t you think
so, Miss Alien ?
"Yes, oh, yes 1 she answered faintly;
then showing a little fight; as she
realized that he was taking revenge,
she continued, in an Cff•haiid conver-
sational tone: They train them to
worship the sun, don't they And she
arose to place her little terracotta
tea.not on the fender to kep it warm
though one might think drat chime
proximity to her burning checks
'night bava had the desiredefi'ect 1
Mr. Wagner left his seattwith sud-
den swiftness, and waylaid hher,
S know of one who learned to wor-
n
An Odd Will case.
In Last week's cases, before jeclge
Ferguson, in Toroute, we find the
following :—
Williamson v. Williamson—notion
for judgment in an action to este!).
hell a will. Ball ,(Galt) for plaintiff,
Weir (Galt) for defendant. Adjourn-
ed until 4th September next.
This case grows out of the will Left
by the late Mr. I$obt. Williamson, of
Beverly, formerly of Eraueosa, whose
death, resulting from an accido:it,
occurred bast fall. The 'will appears
to have been written by Mr. William-
son himself, and is duly and properly
witnessed, hut, unfortunately, these
witnesses have disappeared, and their
affidavits as to the genuineness of the
will and the signatures . oainnot be
obtained. This fact presents 'probate
being granted, which all the heirs
under the will are anxious and willing
should be done. The witnesses to
the will are by name Win. McKenzie
and John Smith, and the inference is
that as at the time the will was ex-
ecuted Mr. Williamson lived in
Eramosa, doing his trading, however,
in Guelph, the witnesses also lived in
Eramosa, or that Mr. Williamsontook
it with kiln to Guelph, and there got
•it witnessed. Whichever luny have
been the case, the witnesses have
disappeared and dispite advertising
and minute iugttiry and search cannot
be found. •
'As we have said before, all the heirs
are agreed that Probate shuuld be.
issued, but the restrictions of the.
Court, quite proper, will not permit
this, hence this friendly suit Was en-
tered to see if relief could not. be ob-
tained thro!tgh Chancery. Ar; will be
seen the ease is adjourned until Sept.
4th next. In such a case ,as this
,there mnst'be some way of relief and
no doubt the Court, if it Cannot give
. judgment iti favor of the application,
will point out the way of getting out
of the difficulty.—Galt Reporter.
Sntroir's Vrennrzan is what yotnneed for
Constipation, Lass of Appetite, Dizziness,
and all symptoms of Dyspepsia. Price IP
and 75 cents per bottle. Por sale by 0, L.
'Williams.
In reference to the marriage of
Princess Louise of %'Valeo to Lord Fite,
one of the London pepors said that it
('was bettor for the Princess to marry
a British subject titan a foreign object,
THAT ARE 111URLE t
8041E71 -ONO ABOUT THE Mtl31+
F'IwQM',ea tlNDER' ROUNR COUSIN.
Pa ilicrnaber oI tri r. •' .t faintly That
Tickles the P'*a Epicure --Row
They Grew 0 Cangbt"•-Attomptee
at Cnitivatle eestlfeh
Probably few of the tliousande of pee.
pie who haavo enjoyed these culinary
dainties aro aware of the manner in,
which they grow or the cfrcmustances in,
whietli they aro obtained. Others, again,
who have perchance never encountered
trefflea or met with them iu the bill of
fare or upon the menu of the dinner
l �1
table—for they are not sufficient y l eatis-
ful to be a popular article of diet --will
have but a confused idea asto what de-
nomination they belong, such confusion
being heightened by reason of the term
"catching" or "hunting" being used to
denote the means by whi ex they are ob-
tained. It Is, therefore, n unnecessary
to. explain that truffles are' underground,
fungi, those which are t o subject of"
commerce belonging tot1ie a inns "tuber,"
whilst others which bear t o name are.
of related though differen , genera., In
England they were foezner c known as•
"trubbes," both names be g doubtless:
derived from the Latin ..rim tuber.
They aro somewhat oblong or globose,.
and vary in weight from couple or
ottuceeto several pounds, . ording to,
the species, locality and to cirollrn-
ethnces in which they aro g ' wn. Ther
. vary sonieivhat in color son = are whitep
but generally they aro of a b ' ok or darir
brown color, and of a roe a exterior, ..
the skin being thickly covere :with wart-
like protuberances, When e t through:
with a knife, they present a ilerent ap-
pearanco from that of any ot r imagine-
-Veins traverse the mass in all . irections,.
giving a marbled character th t is a (Us-
tinctive feature of the truf e. Wheir
closely examined, minute sa s- will ha
noticed in the veins. Thos':: contain
spores, which aro covered wits spine$.
Doors ,As TRUMP' 1itrx
Not much is• known of the arly cler-
velopment of tho "truffle, owin, princi-
pally to its peculiarityof goro-win. under.
;worked, whero•it is free from a' erva-
tion; but when found in 'the., mature
state, in which they the used fo3 food, '
they are altogether free from attach -
merit, either to the ground or to any
other body. They are ooi tnnnly,.i2 not
invariably, found in woods, the pres-'
encu of oak or beech trees appearing to
g;avortheir growth. From ',this fart it
hes been inferred that they ire of a para-
sitic: ;3 ratuxe, and that at sprue stage of
their oxieteuce they derive their nutri-
ment front the roots of trees. Light.
calcareous sows are thoxc gemiaich tiaosi;
frequently produ' tiles, and ire Frig
l fid° they aro chiefly obtained front;
the hill dfetrlcts and chalky ground
of Manta and Wilts. : ' e': however,.
w-Ehich chiefly supply the glish mar-
kets
earleets are brought from France`0rAlgiers..
... Truffles emit a fragrant odor het/eider-
Ing their growth and after thy ar^
gathered. It is this characteristie�4�ivhfcih
favors their acquisition, as, being' buried
out of sight, some other faculty has'' .So
be employed to discover their, presenw.N
For this purpoao the keen sense of smell
in the dog is taken advantage •of, and
dogs are systematically trained for the '
purpose of "truffle bunting." This ser-
vice is sometimes performed by pigs on
iho Continent. The dogs al) trained by
the device of hiding a tr Efts and re •
-
warding the dog each time the dieeovera
Its place 'of concealment. i, By Ileo ees
the deg soon learns to search iii. ` the
woods, attracted by the 'j erfnme, a_ nti
scratches at the spot under which re-
poses the hidden fungus. a is then re-
warded by a piece of br' d, and the
truffle• is carefully exit rmed. The
"catching" or "hunting" of truffles is a
regular means of employ
If
for men
and dogs in those districts fn which the
fungi exist in suficientquatities to ven-
der the work remunerative)
IIOW TO PRE'PAHL^ ir3PLI.
The attempts at artificial reproduction
or cultivation of the trufe have netball
suceeasftil, as mycelium or spawn, from
which other fungi (such al mushroom„) se aro readily produced, has .not yet beer .+ ,
ate ''v
obtained. Success has oc asianally a
tended the sprinkling of s1 table ground
with water in which the resh peel ofl
.trii:f les has been steeped.
The odor and flavor of trinities areriiast
distinctive, and the delicacy of this flavor '
is highly esteemed by coo s, these fungi
being generally employed for flavoring
'Heats. ' Tho fresher trill' are used tine
better, as they lose. their erfume by ex-
posure to the air. Thus, nglish truffles
which reach the market fresh gathered:'
aro preferable to those ;bbtainod from
Abroad ; and those, agal'n, which nit*
deeper in the ground a e superior to
thou) found near the a trace, possibly
owing to the same re on --viz, s that
they have been better protected from are.
cess of air. e
To cook truffles, they ihould feel be
well washed—if necessai7 scrubbed rv:tli
a brush ---in warm water, rinsed and then
boiled (aecording to size) from two to
three hours, They maybe serval, hid-
den in a napkin, as if they were chest,.
nuts. They aro eaten et the second.
course, dry, with cold butter. The game
iseaten with them, and' the crisp peel fs
Piot discarded, Douro people boil truffles
ire champagne, under the impression that
, they acquire the flavor of the wine. Th*0
is a heat extravagant and uncles' cuv-
tom,-as, in the•.flrat ilac+r ytha toutlstki.•
lS