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The Brussels Post, 1891-1-23, Page 2THE ELEVATION OF MM. TIM. BURY, ^ ir.3. Story Of Manifed Deetilly. nal WILLIAM IMYSPALH, It is never worth while to waist() time in rellectieg upon what might have lumpened if we hod done tide, or what tremendous conaeguences 'Intuit have followed if we had ilone that, for Blowiest trivial circumstances are eonstantly altering the whole course of ourliVes. It wes the sudden death of a re- spected and lamented Doricou iti Ommecti- -cut, for instance, combined with the eevere illnem of e young gentleman in New -York, • that changed plain Mrs, Thobury into Lady McCurrie. Yet neither of these peon had ever seen Mrs. Thobory, and neither knew of her existence. When the Deacon died lie must perforce be buried, and the Rev. Howard Titus, his pastor, felt it a privilege as well eta a duty to make a long prayerwith uncovered heed, before the Deacon was laicl in the tomb, "That exposure mist the worthy clergyman a fit of illness front which he could not fully recover, the physioians said, without apenel• ing a few weeks in a warm climate. Hence the name of the Rev. Itoward Titus on the passenger list of the steamship Amazon, aboutto sail for the Winward Islands, as well as those ot Mrs. Titus and two young Tituses. "I don't know how I shall ever menage with these children," Mrs. Titus had said. "1 shall most likely be seasick , and. we can- not think of taking nurse along. If only Mrs. Timbury were going with us this -thee." • " Possibly we might induce her to go," the clerical parent had replied. "At any rate, it will do no harm to write and ask her." This was the ffistcoonecting link between -the death of the Connecticut Deacon and the elevation of Mrs. Thnhury. Two years before, that lady had accompanied the Titus family on a journey to the Holy Land, and her qualities as a, good sailor and te useful .bond with the children were understood and appreciated. The miniaterial letter from Connecticut was delivered to Mrs. Millbury at the din- ner table in the fashionable boarding house in New -York in which she.lived. "Dear me I" she exclahned, upon reading it, "this letter has put me in such a flutter t shall hardly be able to finish my dinner, Mrs. De Antoine. Such e =prise! Do you know'I have to start right off next Thursdayfor the Windward Islands. My -friends the Tituses are going with the child- ren, and of course I shalt go along. Where are the Windward Islands, Mr, St. Gene- odeve ? Somewhere in. the Smith Pacific Mr. Si. Genevieve explained their loca- tion and of course asked as many questions as int Timbury desired he should. " Oh, I must go," the excited lady went on. "Von know I've traveled with the Tituses before, in Europe, Asia, and Africa, and I couldn't think of letting thetn go alone. But it's so sudden ; only three days to make my preparations! Well, that's longer notice than I had when we went from Gibraltar to Algiers ; and we were a week n Constantinople without our trunks." The entire population of the boarding : house having thus been skillfully informed of her intended journey, lairs. 'Timbury be- gan to make preparations. There was no time to order new oostuines, but vest num- bers of old ones were inspected. There was one dress in particular that she had taken pains to wear at least once in each country she visited, which was capable of bewilder- ing transformatione by the pinning on of new trimmings, the drawing in or letting not of mysterious strings. This dress must go, as a matter of course, and a dozen others and a fancy store of rubbers, water -proofs, laces, ribbons, and ornameets. The jewels there was no question about—and they were valuable jewels, gathered in various parts of the world, diamonds and rubies, cat's eyes, sapphires, pearls, and emeralds. When Mrs. Timbury, in the earlier stages of her toilet, looked in the mirror to admire the set of a gown or the peculiar sparkle of O ring, she saw pretty much the same faded little woman of sixty or thereabout who had been left a disconsolate widow liveyears be- fore, with wrinkles to match the thin gray lair, with complexion to match the wrink- lersamd with crows' feet around the eyesthat matched all the rest except the teeth, which were too brilliantly white and even to match anything but a set of porcelain saucers. After an hour's struggle with art, however, Mrs. Timbury invariably saw in her glass the reflection of a plump and buxom little widow, not a day past forty•five, with a wealth of coal -black hair, aremarkably clear complexion, and the faintest shadow of a rose in Fetch cheek, sometimes stealing coyly upward toward the temples. Ten years earlier Mrs. Timbury had been content to pass for the quiet little middle- aged woman she was, the faithful wile of an unassuming physician in a small town, with no nares beyond herown threshold, no greater ambition than a decent Sunday gown and a black bonnet. But &change came over her life when the regretted Timbury was called to his fathers. Among other papers of importanee he left a life insurance policy, and Mrs. Timbury found herself a wealthy widow—wealthy, at least, compared with anything she had known before. She soon -developed a taste for travel, for fine clothes, for jewels, and for life—and in five years she came to be the dashing and somewhat giddy person we find her in the New. York hoarding house. For the consum- mate skill with which she wiped out at least fifteen years of her life, in reforming her ap• pearance, she is entitled to our admiration But in the reformation of her manners she met with a misfortune. Here she used such terrible pressure that not fifteen years only did ahe annihilate, but fifty, and appeared thenceforth with all thebbashingand gushing shyness of a maid of eixteeo. Before the ship drew away from her wharf Mac Rev. Mr. Titus WaS remolded of ;some little traits in Mrs. Timbury's character which he had not particularly admired on Mao former occasion, but which with the paesing years he had forgotten. Prominent amosig these traits was a tendency to fusat- nese, which Made Mra. Timbury perpetually 'uneasy, and was not, soothing to her comma - lone. When her trunks were so clearly in their proper places id at else could exhibit no further anxiety about them else diseovered that her stateroom was oil the wrong side of the ship, where she would have the morning nun in her eyes. A change being made, the new ono was too neer a hatchway, and was consequently noiey. When at length she 'was settled to her matisfacition she found an excatoe for worriment about her probable seat at table. "the Captain ifi Oa a dear, jolly -looking old Sootehman, 1 do hope they'll put us at hits table. He ought to have us next to him, • you being a elergyrnan arid briOging letters of introduotiOn to him. I shall be Very muoh dietippointed ff vie are not at least at his table. The cleegysnan's mind WaEl far rethoved from such vanities of life, but he attended ,gallaeo to the tranke tted the atateroom and dld not worn', for be WAS One of the wise men who know that nine -tenths of the to:Wile/it of thie world exist only in the mind, Mrs. Thuhury's desires were gratified witsio she first Went to the table, Thera were only paasougers enough to till one, aud, at its head, of coulee, sat the Captain, Ou hit right, in the soot of honor, Bat Mrs. Tim - bury ; on his left, Mrs. Titus Tbe clergy.- op mite him the THE BRUSSELIS POST. little Clercs, and Wore). eerettariee and aides de veiny. But there was one drawbael; to the happi- ness of having this diatInguithed party 011 beard, Sir Herbert ond Lady Clare meat; of course, have the nate of honor at the tale, and Mos. Thithery must, for a time re- linquish her vontege ground at the taptain'a ide.However, the Caplitio Seated the (JON Mal»VaS next 1115 wife, and, minor at his right hand, and, thus put hurt yoeug gentleman from Now ork, whose directly beside .111;•a. Millbury, with Lady severe illness aud consequentjourney formed Clare and Mrs Titus oppoeite, and young the second connecting link in the elevation Mr. (Mak moved clown one seat of Mrs, Timbury. "Don't let Inc crowd you, Ceptain," was Mrs, Timbuoyas (list roulade, as she tried to push a little further away the chair that WaS bolted to the deek. "You have had work to do, and we passengers must make way for you. Can you promise be smooth water all the way, Captain?" " Smooth water 1' echoed the bluff and goodmatured Captain in a voice that might have been intuited to reach a man at the masthead, " Lord bless you, Ma'am, PH promise you any kind of a voyage you want, Smooth woter or roegh, fair Will& Or foul, Pll promise anything; I always do." " What an aceommodeting Captain!" Mrs. Timbury laughed, looking slyly at Mrs. Titus, with just the suspicion of a wink. "13ut I always have good luck with my Captains. I never travelle(1 with ono yet but gave me a pleasant voyage, and I'm sure you're nob going to be the first exception." "1 can't just say about that," retorted Mac Captain, with a knowing smile to Mr. Titus ; "bat somehow the ladies all seem to like my ship pretty well—all, you under- stand, hut two or three I've offooded, be- cause I always make the purser give that seat you have to the handsomest lady on hoard, end they can't all at it." "Oh, Captain 1" Mrs. Timbery simpered. "ton sailors ere always so bola. But Pll t They were a pleaaantiamily, the Glares— sociable and gled to meet etrengera after two or tbree yeers of Antigua. Mrs Mill- bury managed his Excellency handsomely, and compelled so many table attentions that the Cep tain solemnly expostulated with her in private end left, her believing him desperately jealous But it was with Lady Clare, after tat, that Mrs Timhury was most succeesful, She spent hours with low on deck and =Medal) armfuls of finery and cases of jewels for her inspection. Lady Clare was graciousness personified. odmi d everything, and was apparently infiduated wit's hoe new acquaintance. Young air. Quick made unkind remarks about the Why some Americans run after titles, Inff Mrs. Thnbary treated them with the contempt they deserved. Tit the Wirral of a day or two the Amazon remitted the island of Dominica, where she was to lie for twenty-four hours. The Do• miniciaus, knowing their Governor tb be on board, visited the ship in considerable mum bore, and among them opine Id; Lordship the Bishop to .pay his respects. Theft was an attraction m this title thatitirs. Timbury could not reaist, and, Se she readily ob- tained an introduction through Lady Clare, she made snoli a determined effort that dur• mg his stay on board she had his Lordship by heralds) almost constantly. give you this big bunch of raisinS forhe Young Mr. Quick, having a letter of in - pretty compliment." troduction to one of the principal merchant When the first dinner was over, Mrs. ' in Reseals the capital of Dominica, went on she e to present it, tool Mrs. Timbury watelied bis departure with pleasure, and weuld have been well satisfied if he had not returned. She could not, of coarse, foresee that his lauding on the wild island of Do- minica could have ay bearing on her own affairs, but the foot is that if klr. Qnick had not gone ashore at Rossenu Mvs, Timbury probably would not at this moment be Lady McCurvie, The Dominican merchant was delighted to receive Mr. Quick, and would not hear of his returning to the steamer that night. Strangers are scaroe in Dominica, and- the young New -Yorker was escorted up the steep hill to a largo stone house and install- ed in a big, breezy room withthree windows, He did not know, ho could not have known, that thalate occupant of that room was Sit' John Winellman McCurrie, the future hus- band of thadashing Mrs. Timbury. Sir John Windham McCurrie, Chief Jus- tice of the \ indward Islands, had been caned to Dominica to transact some busi- ness, had been entertained in that very house, and had ocoupied that very room. On going away lie had left some relics of his visit—torn scraps of paper on the table, mid on one pith° window sills four or five large envelopes, not such as ordinarypeople use, nu but yellow ones of usual size and bril- liancy, with the words printed acroas the top in boldblaok letters, "On Tier Majesty's Service." Sitting by the Window to finish a cigar before retiring, Mr. Quick mechanically picked op one of these envelopes. They were different from anything he had seen and their official ohmmeter was apparent. Being a young man of a facetious trim of mind, it instantly dawned upon him that they might be made to serve a good purpose in some practical joke. and he gathered them up and put them in his pocket, Thnitury had, in her own opioion, made a decided conquest of the Captain, mid the Captain was equally confident Olathe had met a great many elderly ladies like 11 vs. Timbuty, anti that a vast &menet of anniSe- ment might always be had out of theni.olt. O dull voyage. By the end of the second day Mrs. Tim - bevy heel been Invited to visit the bridge whenever she felt int:lined, and to make free usa of the Captain's charts and glasses. And the Captain; when not. engaged, had spent so much of his time on deck with the Titus party, smoking his pipe and spinning sea yarns, as to lead that blushing lady to ask of Mrs. Titus : "Yon don't think there's anything im- proper in the Captain showing me so many atteutiona, do you? 1 shouldo't like any of the otherpeople Ito notice it." Mrs. Titus had so often received powerful nudges of the elbow from the Captain when he was saying pretty things to Mrs. Tim - bury that at this question she found it hard to refrain from laugbing, but she replied that she thought, it very kind in the Captain, arid that he was an exceedingly pleasant man. "Because," Mrs. Timbury coot:toned. I wouldn't for worlds have anybody think we were in earnest; it's all done in fun, you know," It soon became evident to all the passen- gers thet Ctt1 L Long was "guying" Mrs. Timbury at a dreadful rate, but he was an old hand at such affairs, and did it all so neatly ansi with such perfect good humor that the further he went the mote delighted Mrs. Timbury became The invalid young gentleman, Mr. Quick, on several occasions tried his skill in these little table jokes, but with such indifferent success that Mrs. Tim - bury regarded him as a forward and ill-bred young man, and a violent animosity sprang up between them. Mr. Quick's gibes were not, in fact, nearly so pointed as some of the Captain's, but there was a difference in their positions. lu the six cloys of trackless water between New -York and St. Kitt's Mrs Timbury's innocent young heart was in a continual flutter. Capt. Long Was so pleasant end so kind. On one occasion, when, on account of roogh water, Mrs. Timbury found it con- venient to remain in her berth, the Captain went to him room, and, totally disregarding the bits of feminine apparel that ley on the floor and hung against the walls, shoved the half -open door until he could get his head in, and made kind inquiries after her health. ' At Antigua, which was the second stop, news came out to the ship that the Governor, Sir Herbert Pitz -Dalrymple Clare, K. 0.11, 0, was to be a passenger in the Amazon to Barbadoes. "They're been shaking them up again, Capt. Long explained to Mrs 'Ilmbury. "You see they have a Governor at Trini- dad, with abig salary ; another alt Barbadoes, with a smaller salary; and another here at Antigua, with a salary smaller atiff. Well, the lugh jam pandrum at Trinidad dies, or gets promoted' for incompetency, and the Barbadoes Governor is sent down to take Isis place. Then this high jinks at Antigua is sent to be Governor of Barbadoes. Be is going down with us, and they are going to bring Min out in their little steamboat, at 3 &Mack. This intelligence threw Mrs, Timbury into a fever otexpectancy. She spent some hours in her cabin unpacking and trying on dresses, polishing rings, and making herself in every way as attractive and captivating as possible—for if there was anything m the world she really doted upon, it was a title. Early iu the afternoon tho little steam boot came out with his Excellency's lug- gage. It was contained in trunks, black. leather trunks, for the most part. The Governors' houses in the 'vVest Indies are all completely furnished, so when a Gov- ernor moves he has only to pack his trunks mid go, But English trunks are small, and to hold the personal belongings of a Geyer - nor and his family es surprising number of them are required. Watching tho transfer of the luggage, Mrs. Timbury made an bro portal -it discovery and hastened to impart it to the Captain. "1 don't believe he's been a 'Sir' very long," She Said in a oonfidential tone when else had dragged the Captain to the rail. "Do you see bow Ids trunks are marked?" "Hose's that?" the Captain asked. "Well, you see his mime is painted on each trunk in white letters. On every one the '1I, 3, D Clare 'le worn sod marred as if it had been done a long time, but the 'Sir' before the name is new and bright, as if done recently." Oh, that's just one of his freaks," the Captain replied. "He has ths 'Sir' made brighter, so that everybody can tee it. Why he (Sons of the greatest noblemen in England. He's the Clare taho took a fleet over to Calais and routed the whole French Army with 200 horse guards. He only comets out hero for a greatfavor tie the Queen, bemuse they're a little short of Gov. ernors." Whatever Capt. Lotig said Was gospel to Mrs. Mirnbtry, and this; Made her more anx- ious thish over to make the acquabitanee of his Excellenty. At 'knell ho arrived, and With him Lody Clam arid 00 assortment of It is to be observed biers that if Sir John Windham MeCurrie, C. J,, had not been so careless as to leave his official envelopes lying about, the present Lady 141o0urrie would still be plainMrs. Timbury. When on the next day but one the Areas zon reached Barbadoes, Lady Clare and airs Timbury parted with great effusion. and Capt. Long and Mr. Quick watched them from the bridge aud unfeelingly crack- ed jokes at their expense, Lady Clare promised that if she ever reached New - York her chief pleasure should be inflicting Mrs Timbury, and Mrs Timbury declared that her affection should be shown on the return voyage by her driving through the Government House grounds. They parted in silence, with strong probabilities of nev er meeting again in this world. At Port of Spain, where the steamer lay four days, fato threw Mr. Quick and the Titus party together in the same hotel, the quaint but comfortable Hotel de France, fronting on the public square, where vul- tures aid coolies aro constantly at roost,and Mao animosity betweenthe youngillesv-York' er and Mrs. Tiinbury hod time to expand and ripen. The children being too small to enjoy sightseeing, they were usually left under the care of a servant, and Mr. Quick made the convenient fourth person in their excursions, to share the comfort and the ex- pense of a carriage. When they drove out to the coolie settlement and Mn Quick admired O peculiarly picturesque shanty, Mrs. Tim - bury saw in it nothing but a hovel fit for pigs. When Mrs. Timbury went into ecs- tacies over the foliage of the botanical gard- ens, Mr. Quiok was sure there were far bot• ter corners in Central Park. Besides, Mr. Quick spoke unkindly of the Clara, and made suggestive remarks about Capt. Long. So, when the atay in Trinidad came to an end he and Mrs Timbury were as bitter en- emies as a young man mid an elderly lady could well he. It is the custom for passengers to make this Windward Island trip down and back in the same steamer, the whole voyage occupying ono calendar month. But Mr. Titus had become so infatuated with the French island of Martinique, where he ate turtle steaks in the odd little Hotel des Rains, in St. Pierre, that he determined to stop off there on the homeward voyage and wait for the next steamer, 'Mrs. Thnbury looked impatiently for- ward to the next landing at Barbadoes, on the return trip, where she fully intended to call upon Lady Clare—not knowing, of course, of the island ceremoolals that lock Government House doors to the public on all but certain stated occasions, It Was on the 24th day of December that the Amazon sailed away from Port of Spain, cutting grandly through the smooth watere of the Golf of Paria, and sweeping graciefully through the narrow Dragon's Mouth, with Trinidad on one hand and Venezuela oe the other, and both within pistol Shot. And it was afternoon of the next day, Chrietinas Day, that the dropped her anchor in the roadstead before Bridgetown, 13erbadoes- The requirements of trade, however, .haVe no regard for the outdoing of (moiety. When Mrs. Timbury may tho Captain's gig lower. ed, the boat that had been gallantly pet ai her disposal at nearly every port, and whet the Captain Saw hos gorgeously arrayed, waiting for an invitation to go ashore, h, dashedher hopes by holding up a warning hand. "Bo careful, Mee. Timbury 1" bo We hove to make St. Luck; to -night,... can stay Imre ooly one hour. You eon bare- ly go Itahene and come hook, but there is no time for 5 drive. Thiole how 1 should fool if v3ti were to be left 1" There was no help Mi. ; the vieit to Lady Clare must, be abandoned. Mts. Tim - bury carea nothing about landing again in Bridgetown, where an egg dropped on the curbateee would wok Mull in opo minute, lout oven lier smiles could not, iiiduce the Captain to remain longer. '11 yeall wait till I change my coat, Captain, I think I'll go ashore with you," said Mr, Quick, elated at Mrs. Tinthury'e ti isoonifitu re. " Harry up, then, young man," the Cap• tain replied. Mr, Qmiek hastened to his roam, and threw elf his coat—the coat in whose inside poeket were the officiel envelopes—and put on another, The other was better, but helLvite'IS. "ipretty warm 1" thought Mr, Quick ; =battened the second coat, and hesitated. He pulled off the heavy coat, replaced the first, (the one with the envelopes, tools hisplace in the boat, and Was rowed ashore. "I'll stroll around the dock, here, Cap- tain, while you're settling your business," Mn Quick said, and the Captain disap- Pealre.d. NrQuick [strolled, bnt deliberately, for the sun was blistering, and he strolled nat- urally toword the shade, which led him up the one short block Gut lies between the landing place and the principal business street of Bridgetown. Something induced him to put his hand in the pocket where the envelopes were, and the instant he felt them Ito was seized with an inspiration. Mr. Quick no longer strolled, but hasten- ed, notwithetandiog the climate. Two doors around the first comer he found a stationer's store, where he bought a sheet of paper and a square envelope. Scouring the use of. pen and ink, lie haetily wrote this note, imitating as well as he could a lady's hand " Duly Clnro's compliments to 'Airs. Pimbury requesting ttiepica,ure of her company .At Dinner, On Thursday, 1,, 1010–, ttieesi°.11' Governmen' This note he folded mid put in the white envelope, addressed to Mrs. Winibury. Then he drew mit one of the large official envel- opes, "On Her ;Majesty's Service' " inclosed the note in that and addressed itin a hold hand to " Mrs. Timbm•y, pesseoger on S. S. Amazon." " Capital !" baexclitimed to himself. "I send this out to the ship, and sot the old lady wild. She gets iia few minutes before we sail, so she can't go, of course, azid there's no harm done. We won't hear the last of this invitation till the end of the voyage, anti I'll let the Captain into the joke r lt was an easy matter to engage one of the colored boatmen at the landing place to carry the letter to the ship, and the official envelope, whose sacred character Mr. Quick explained to him, lent speed to his oars. But the Captain did not return, Mr. Quibk left word with the ship's boatmen that he Was going to the " icehouse," a favorite Barbadoes institution where ice cream and cold fluids are dispensed. When he came out the boat was still at the dock. He wandered up and down the street, and still no sign of the Captain. Ho looked in the shop windows, killing time; in every way he could, and at length walked down to the company's office. They had been ashore by this time considerably more than an hour, but the Captain was still busily en- gaged with the agent, and could not, he thought, start for half an hour longer. Meanwhile the negro boatman on Ger Majesty's service" marled the letter faith- fully to the ship, and it was put into the hands of Mrs. Timbury. To say that there was commotion on board would be to put it rolal 11 ri.1Y. Mrs. Timbury became almost dello, " Is there any one waiting for an an- pslivieora.?" she asked the steward -who handed her the packet. "No, Ma'am ; no one," the steward re- . " Oh ;1 thought perhaps there was a Ines. senger from the Governor." She pot the missive in her pocket and took it out again. Road it and reread it. Fondly read over and over the magic words, " On Her Majesty's Service." Blushed, laughed, almost cried for joy. " It is just this way wherever I go," she said to Mrs. Titus, as she put the invitation in her hands. "1 don't know why it is, but all the nice people seem to take a fancy to me. But what in the world am I to do It would be very rude to decline the invi- tation, after Lady Clare has been so very kind ; and if I accept it I shall lose the ship." "There might be another ship going up to afartinique in a few days," Mrs. Titus replied. "11 there should be, you could come along in that. It would be too bad to lose such a chance." So thought Mrs. Timbury, and she in- stantly made inquiries and learned that a French steamer would leave Barbadoes for Martithque the next day or the day follow- ing. This settled the question for better or for worse, and Mrs. Timbury decided to ac- cept the invitation. Through her blandish- ments the firat officer was easily induced to lower another boat and ten minutes later, (for it was now rt 4 o'olook,) after tearful adieus with the Ituses, big and little, and with a hastily-paoked saohel at her feet, Mrs. Timbury set out for the shore. The tide by this time had turned, and her boat landed muoh further down the harbor than the point where the Captain's boat lay. It is worthy of remark, an prattallti that hasi the tide nob turned at precisely the proper hour, and hed Mrs. Timbury on. countered the Captain and. Mr. Quiok, her letters would not now, in all human proba- bility, be addressed to Lady MeCurrio. There is nob the least danger of any white person landing upon the do& at Barbadoes without attracting sufficient attention ; and Mrs. Timbury was instantly surrounded by; O mob of drivers of decayed coaches end hangers -oil after sixpences, each of whom gave her the best advice possible under tho circumstances. The gleam of sense still left flickering in her bosom induced her to go first to the Bridgetown Hotel and secure accommodations ; and thoro she had barely time to give a finishing touch to the toilet that WM already made, end to (mond a minute in smiling admiration before the ;necked mirror, When Capt. Long and Mr. Quick return- ed to the Amazon, alter fully two houra speot on shore, tho young man had it on the end of Ids tongue (several tiines to toll the Captain of the harmless little plot of which Mrs Timbory was to be the victim ; but when be considered how notch time had elapsed and reflected that it was barely pos. Bibles that the lady might have gone ashore end tremble mime'lio wisely 11014 his peace. The absence of Mrs Timbitry from the leak gave hint some anxiety, but svhen, the 'hip again tinder way, hen seat was vacant St dinner, the Captain (saved hint any ;nether susponao by ;taking in his bluff way, " Where'a my friend Mre, Timbury?" Thee it all came oat ; how Mrs, Timbury rmsived mi invitation to dint; at Nov- eri unlit House t how she Mel gone aalsore in luietei boa how the would follow to Mar- tinique two dye lame to rejoin the et's, piety at St. Pierre. Thankful then Wee Mr, Quiek that he had not revealed his herniless joke to the Cep- lio meld nothing, of ;muse ; but reflected to slush an extent (het ite seemly know whether he had roast turkey or salt fish for his Christmas dinner. There would be scone at Government House ; of that he had no doul itt The forgery would he dis- covered. Mrs. Tlinbury would follow up Mao ;ship with blood in bee eye, tool, (hor• rors I) she might catch it, Was it forgery, he wondered, to write a fraudulent dinner invitation 1 And wits there any ;mocha pen- ulty Inc using ono of bloom official wwelopes for private busincm ? The paper might give e oleo and the stationer deacrthe him; the bentinan could eesily be found, end he would indentily him, Mrs Thnbury, be felt sure, would not rest until alio discovered the guilty person. There WaS no safety for hint till the allip passed St. Kitt's and Was again upon the breed Atlantis Mrs. Timbury drove out to Government House in the finest coach the hotel could supply. It wanted ten minutes to 11 when she entered the gates—the proper time pre- cisely, Her Card Wee Sent to Lady Clare, and two minutes litter she and that lady were in each other's arms. I um so glad to see you again," was Ledy Clare's greeting, 'and I must take you right up stairs to lay aside your bonnet, for (mid its so fortunate) you are exactly iii tone to eat Ohvistmas dinner with us instead of on the ship. We dine at 5, and we must not keep the gentlemen waiting—just two or three oflicial friends of Sir Herbert's: Sir Johu MaCurrie, and Lord Edward Paget, and the Hon. Mr. Harriogton. You and 'I will be the only ladies, for we are not sufficiently settled yet to attempt a State dinner, lit the plenitude of her innocence Mrs. Timbury had stumbled upou pleasant past- ures, Mr. Quick was mistaken in his opin- ion of the reception she would meet in Gov- ernment House. People who spend half their lives in studying and prim:tieing tlie customs of polite society are not likely to treat a ViSitOr rudely, and even if Mrs. Timbury had not been a weleoine guest she would not have been permitted to know it. Mr. Qefels, however, we must henceforth regard aS a failure—a dismal, irreparable failure. He had sent his enemy to .eat a Christmas dinner in the Bashadoes Govern- ment House, Witli a lord aVOSS the table and a Chief Justice by her side. He had brought Moller as much -pleasure as he had hoped to bring discomfiture. And above all he had, in the character ot relentless Fate, introduced bee to Sir John Windham MoCurrie. Sir John, C. J., was one of those colonial gentlemen whose self-esteematones for the absence of a great monk other qualities, But ho was a mon of affairs, foe although the salary of a Chief Justice in the Windward Islands is only S1800, the honor is worth loge amount ; and he owned, besides, a profitable sugar plantation and lived in a big house out of town, where a dozen color- ed ladies tool gelitlemau flew to gratifyhis slightest wish. He was chiefly distinguish- ed in appearance by a broad red sash worn around Ins waist so constantly that rumor bad it he also slept in it—and, indeed, in 13arbadoes there 11110 blanket so coinfortable as a strip of mosquito netting. It was much in Mrs. Timbury'sfavor that sho was slightly awed by the multiplicity of titles surrounding her at dinner. That sub- dued her girlish spirits somewhat and made her much more attractive. So attractive was she and so winning that Sir John hilaCturie was smitten and took great pains to make himself agreeable to her. He felt this to be et piece of presuinption on his part, for he was almost sixty, and gouty at times, and this lovely young widow, who seemed scarce past forty, and who had Seen so much of the world and mingled in the best society in many lands, might, he was afraid, look upon him rather as a father than a lover. " It is the most beautiful island I have seen in the West Indies," she declared •, and any one who has been in Barbadoes will know how her inclination warped het..judg- ment. "1 was going on to Martinique in the steamer to -morrow or next day, but now that I have aeen a little of this island I can- not think of leaving it under a week or two." "Ansi where are yon staying on the isl- and, Mrs. Timbury ? Not in the hot city, I trust?" Sir John affectionately inquired. "In the Bridgetown Hotel for the pre- sent," Mrs. Timbury replied. Oh, that would never do, Sir John declar- ed. There was a large hotel a mile or two ont'of town, a favorite Winter resort; she must allow him, if she would, to send his sister to her next day to see to her more comfortable accommodation, Mrs. Millbury shyly protested„ but at length consented. One single indiscretion Mrs. Timbury committed while in Government House, and for her to escape with a single one was 00 110. common that it is worthy of note. She found occasion to say to Lady Clare before taking leave: "I hope Sir John's attentions to me at dinner were not too marked? You know'1 an such estranger here that I cannot be too careful." Lady Clara smilingly assured her that Sir John was a man of high standing in Barba, does, and that attentions from him must be considered a great honor. A friend of .Lady Clare, a frequent visitor Government House, specially under the proteotion of the sister of the Chief Justice, Timbury's path in Barbadoese was strewn with roses. The Governor's car- riage was often ito front of the big new ho. tel ; but Sir John could not permit her to go sightseeing except in hot own oototh, driven by his own liveried darky. It was diming this period of ecstatic joy that Mrs. Millbury wrote to Mrs. Titus in Martinique, saying that never before had she so felt the need of a matronly fi•iond and counselor, Sir John's attentions, she sold,were too marked to be overlooked ; and she was in daily—nay, bourly—dread of committing SOMO act, in the innocence of het heart, that might seem improper in the eyes of the Barbadians. She had, she con - tinned, replenished hor wardrobe in the Bridgetown stores, and her stay on the is- land might be indefinitely extended, for Lady Olese positively would not hear of her departure. On the whole, ahe was en- joying herself, and Sir John was ono of the moat courtly gentlemen she had ever met, 8ix weelca after tilm date of this letter Mrs Millbury took her new trunks and be- came openly an inmate of Sir John Wind- hain MeCorrie's 1101.180i but the Barbadian 801106 of propriety leas not shocked, for the former Mrs, 'Millbury was then Lady Mc - Currie. The particulars of tide interesting court- ship °mild not fail to be entertaining., but they have no pled() in this narrative, for the Otto of Mrs. Timbury vas settled beyond cavil when young Mr Quick invited her to eat Christmas dinner with Lady Clare. If Iso could see her in her neW postition tress of Sir John's establishment, her maids timidly asking "Will my Lady have this 1" Will my Lady be pleased to lurteh to.day 1" the good old Connecticut Dolmen would feel that he had not lived(hor died) in vain, JAN 23, 1891 • WHAT AA ThIBIAN OAA.STAND. 'rim Nereid Treatment Used WSW a Mar Presets loco man. To show whet an Indian eau stand when h has to, I 011(3' tell of au incideot which ha . poned during the winter 1 wee with them, To ward evening on 10513 cold wiu ter day,whott it was slum% just a li We and drifting it grout deal, au Italian eelliC to the log hous witn tt leg half full of whisky and with rifle, I imagine that the jug bad bow tirely full tel whisky when he started,an Mao time he got to the holm he was itt rot a jolly mind Won. Thejug and the rifle we taken away from' him, and lie was ordure( to got to lila wigwam as quiets as be could before darkoess came on, Ho loft, end was euppoesed to have' gone to the camp, but early next 1110ining his squaw tippeored ab the house and said he had not coma homo Nutt night, and as the night was cold she had been anxious ebout him, Then the search for the lost Indian begam Ho was found 10 0110 of the sheds near the bern under a heap of drifted snow, end the ehanoesare that the snow that was above him haft helped to save his life, The searchers for the Indian had gone itt different diree- tions'and it was illf4 OW/1 6C11111117 WhO, with true Indian instiuot, had tracked him out, and she was alone when the found him. Apparently the Indian was a frozen corpse. She tmnbled him out of the !MOW bank and pulled off his blankets( and dragged him down to the oreek, where a deep hole was cut in the ice for the purpose of watering the cattle. Laying the Indian out on the snow, she took the pan that was beside the hole and, filling it repeatedly, dashed pail- ful lifter pailful of ice water over the body of the Indian. By the time the other unsuccessful searchers bad returned she had her old inan thawed out and seated by the fire wrapped up in blankets. There is no question that if he had been foond by the others, and hied been token in the Mouse frozen as he was, Ile would have died. Thoonvenienoe of Being V siy Rioh. To hove a 00Inpetence 1E1 to have enough ; to have wealth is to have a surplus. A com- parative minority at one social extreme are engaged itt a bitter struggle to secure com- petence ; another minority at the other ex- treme are engaged in guile ea bitter a strag- gle to secure a surplus. Is the prospective prise worth the struggle ? Is wealth better than competence ° If so, why? Competence has comforts, wealth has lux- uries ; and uomfewts aro better than luxur- ies, What is the difference ; Comfort Is pleasure with profit, loxiwy in profitless pleasure. A comfortable meld gives pleasure ih the eating, and erptips the eater with health for his work. A. luxurious meal gives present enjoyment, but impuira digestion an ;1 enervates the body, Comfortable clothing keeps us warm, luxurious clothing makes us delicate. A comfortable home is the nursery of manly life; a luxurious home is its wave. Nor are we to imagine that wealth ministers in beauty to the oyo what mere competence denies, The most beautiful homes are neither the wealthiest nor the most luxur- ious. (liven great taste and sinall purse : result, the He me Beautiful. Given great purse and small taste : result, the House Ugly. lItindreds of contrasted homes in the Units el States attest this truth. Do we say, then, that we wish wealth for our children, not for ourselves ? We de- ceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. "Groat expectations '• are it dangerous legacy. To expect something for nothing is a demoralizing expectation, even though one expects it from his own father. Andrew Carnegie, shrewd observer of life, declares that the worst use a man can make of his wealth is to leave it to his sons. Some rich men do teach their childeen solf-relianoe and industry ; but they teach with difficulty and at disadvantage What the ohildron of leas wealthy parents learn by intuition and neceasary circumstance, Only hardness can make a hero, and hardness which comes in- vited into common homes is barred out of luxurious ones. The sons of kings are mrely kingly. Tbe cradle that rocks a Moses is made of rushes and daubed with clay. If he had epent his babyhood in palace hall and not in mother's hut, his °area might have been different. But men of wealth, we imagine, are free front care. (inc moderate incomes are de- pendent on our daily exertions, and there is always a possibility that sickness or disaster may deprive us of our work, and so of our competence : the millionaire is independent. On the contrary, no man is more dependent titan he. To keep money safely is more dif- ficult than to make it ; as any ono may see who will compare the census of men making et comfortable Income, with that of men losing by an unlucky speculation or an unlooked- for disaster the accumulations of a lifetime. It is hard so to clip wealth's wings as to in- sure his not flying away. In such a crisis as that of the last few weeks the inen of compet- ence have slept soundly ; the men With re- served and surplused wealth have been rest- less at night and haggard by day. Every man of wealth carries other men upon MS shoulders. Whether be will or no, bsis truet- ed for others. His ruin means ruin to them. Bis failure means closing the factory and throwing thousands of breadwinners out of employment, or a dropping of railroad stocks and bankruptcy to hundreds of small inves- tors, One might prefer the place of General Grant to that of the private, but not because the private has cares and the General is ex- empt. But if we only had money we could do so much good with it. Yes I It ia always tho men who have not money who think that they Ootild do great good with it if they had it. But it regoires more art to bestow money wisely than to acquire it. "Let any one," said a millionaire to us recently —and one who is acting DS trustee of his own fort - tine in a very wise and wide -reaching brine- volence—" lot any one attempbto give away 5100,000 a year and do good, not harm, in the giving, and he will find he has under- taken a task of much greeter (Moldy tltan the making of $100,000 a year." The truth is so patent and so appalling to man of for- tune that the men who make great fortunes rarefy administer them, The money is paid over to Boards of Trustees made hp, not of millionaires, but of inen of compels. once, who thus enjoy the luxury of giving without the labor of acquiring. We inaintain, then, the inconvenience of being very rich ; and if any of ous read - ere can put in brief compass the counterbal- encing advantages of being a millionaire, we shall be pleaeod to give them ail oppor- tuniV to present the other side, Most peo- ple holieee in the other side, bub we hove yet to see a reasonable ground for that belief intelligently and judicially stated.—Chris- Sian Union. Frank Uncles, of Auburn, N.V.., has broken the world's mord at jumping the rope, making 2,000 skip without a break in 14 minutes and 30 seconds, The best ine- vious mord, 1,527 skims, was tnade by li L. Sweeney, of Newport, It T, The Russian Minister of Justice has issued a private eircular to the judges and Imperial procurators, notifying there not to permit Hebrews to be enrolled ars barristers, aud that those already pradising must receive notice of expulsion.