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diff --git a/.gitattributes b/.gitattributes new file mode 100644 index 0000000..6833f05 --- /dev/null +++ b/.gitattributes @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +* text=auto +*.txt text +*.md text diff --git a/28502-8.txt b/28502-8.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..06331cf --- /dev/null +++ b/28502-8.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2418 @@ +Project Gutenberg's The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories, by W. H. H. Murray + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories + +Author: W. H. H. Murray + +Release Date: April 5, 2009 [EBook #28502] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Woodie4 and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + +Transcriber notes: +For the benefit of certain readers, explanatory names have been added to +some illustration tags and these have been identified with an asterisk. + +A list of contents was not in the original book and has been added. + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN +AND OTHER STORIES + +BY + +W. H. H. MURRAY + +[Illustration: Cover]* + +[Illustration: W. H. H. Murray] + + + +THE + +BUSTED EX-TEXAN + +AND + +OTHER STORIES + +BY + +W. H. H. MURRAY + + +AUTHOR OF "DAYLIGHT LAND," "THE STORY THE KEG TOLD ME," +"ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES," ETC. + +PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT AND EIGHT FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS +BY THOS. WORTH. + + +BOSTON +DE WOLFE, FISKE & CO., PUBLISHERS +1890 + +COPYRIGHT 1889 BY W. H. H. MURRAY. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. + + +CONTENTS + +The Busted Ex-Texan + +How Deacon Tubman And Parson Whitney Celebrated New Year's. + +The Leaf Of Red Rose + + + + ILLUSTRATIONS. + + I. "I AM A BUSTED EX-TEXAN." + + II. "PRACTICALLY INSIDE THE PAIL." + + III. "AND WHEN I CAME DOWN." + + IV. "LAY ABOARD OF THE OLD CUSS." + + V. "LUFF HER UP--LUFF HER UP." + + VI. THE DEACON AND PARSON. + + VII. THE RACE. + +VIII. THE FIRST PRIZE FOR THE _Wickedest Cow_. + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN. + + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN. + + +We were camped amid the foot-hills on the trail which led up to the +Kicking Horse Pass. The sun had already passed from sight, beyond the +white summits above us, and the shadow of the monstrous mountain range +darkened the prairie to the east, to the horizon's rim. Our bivouac was +made in a grove of lofty firs, six or eight in number; and a little +rivulet, trickling from the upper slopes, fell, with soft, lapsing +sound, within a few feet of our camp-fire. We did not even pitch a tent, +for the sky was mild, and above us the monstrous trees lifted their +protecting canopy of stems. The hammocks were swung for the ladies, and +each gentleman "preëmpted" the claim that suited him best, by depositing +his blanket and rifle upon it. The entire party were in the best of +spirits, and nature responded to our happiness in its kindest mood. +Laughter sounded pleasantly at intervals from the busy groups, each +working at some self-appointed industry. The hum of cheerful +conversation mingled with the murmurs of the brook; and now and then the +snatch of some sweet song would break from tuneful lips, brief, +spirited, melodious as a bobolink's, dashing upward from the +clover-heads. And before the mighty shadow lying gloomily on the great +prairie plain, which stretched eastward for a thousand miles, had grown +to darkness, the active, happy workers had given to the bivouac that +look of designed orderliness which a trained party always give to any +spot they select in which to make a camp or pass a night. An hour +before, there was nothing to distinguish that grove of trees, or the +ground beneath them, from any other spot or hill within the reach of +eye. But now it commanded the landscape; and, had you been trailing +over the vast plain, the bright firelight, the group of men and women +moving to and fro, the picketed horses, the fluttering bits of color +here and there, would have caught your gaze ten miles away; and were you +tired or hungry, or even lonesome, you would have naturally turned your +horse's head toward that camp as toward a cheerful reception and a home; +for wherever is happy human life, to it all lonely life is drawn as by a +magnet. + +And this was demonstrated by our experience then and there. For, +scarcely had we done with supper,--and by this time the gloom had grown +to darkness, and the half-light of evening held the landscape,--when out +of the semi-gloom there came a call,--the call of a man hailing a camp. +Indeed, we were not sure he had not hailed several times before we heard +him; for, to tell the truth, we were a very merry crowd, and as light of +heart as if there was not a worry or care in all the world,--at least +for us,--and the smallest spark of a joke exploded us like a battery. +Indeed, so rollicking was our mood that our laughter was nearly +continuous, and it is quite possible that the stranger may have hailed +us more than once without our hearing him. And this was the more likely +because the man's voice was not of the loudest, nor was it positive in +the energy of its appeal. + +Indeed, there was a certain feebleness or timidity in the stranger's +hail, as if he was mistrustful that any good fortune could respond to +him, and, hence, deprecated the necessity of the resort. But hear him we +did at last, and he was greeted with a chorus of voices to "Come in! +Come in! You're welcome!" And partly because we had finished our repast, +and partly from courtesy and the natural promptings of gentlefolk to +give a visitor courteous greeting, we all arose and received him +standing. And, certainly, had the kindly act been unusual with us, not +one of our group would have regretted the extra condescension bestowed +upon him at his coming, after he had entered the circle of our +firelight, and we saw the expression of his features. + +What a mirror the human face is! Looking into it, how we behold the +soul, the accidents that have befallen it and the disappointments it has +borne! Are not the faces of men as carved tablets on which we read the +records of their lives? The face of childhood is smoothly beautiful, +like a white page on which neither with ink of red or black has any pen +drawn character. But, as the years go on, the pen begins to move and the +fatal tracery to grow,--that tracery which means and tells so much. And +the face of this man,--this waif, so to speak,--this waif that had come +to us from the stretch of the prairie, whose southern line is the +southern gulf; this stranger, who had come so suddenly to the circle of +our light, and so plaintively sought admission to its comfort and its +cheer, was a face which one might read at a glance. Not one in our +circle that did not instantly feel that he embodied some overwhelming +calamity. A look of sadness, of a mild, continuous sorrow, overspread +his face. There was a pitiful expression about the mouth, as if brave +determination had withdrawn its lines from it forever. From his eyes a +certain mistrustfulness looked forth,--not mistrustfulness of others, +but of himself,--as if confidence in his own powers had received an +overwhelming shock. The man's appearance made an instant and +unmistakable impression upon the entire company. The ladies--God bless +their sweet and sympathetic natures!--were profoundly moved at the +pitiful aspect of our guest. Their bosoms thrilled with sympathy for one +upon whose devoted head evil fortune had so evidently emptied its +quiver. Nor were our less sensitive masculine natures untouched by his +forlorn appearance. + +"A target for evil fortune," whispered Dick to the major. + +"A regular bull's-eye!" was the solemn response. "A bull's-eye, by gad! +at the end of the score." + +It was not a poetic expression. I wish the reader to note that I do not +record it as such. I only preserve it as evidence of the major's +humanity, and of the unaffected sympathy for the stranger, which at that +moment filled all hearts. + +Naturally, as it can well be imagined, the gayety of our company had +been utterly checked by the coming of our sad guest. In the presence of +such a wreck of human happiness, perhaps of human hope, what person of +any sensibility could maintain a lightsome mood? Had it not been for one +peculiarity,--a peculiarity, I am confident, all of us observed,--the +depression of our spirits would have been as profound as it was +universal. This peculiarity was the stranger's appetite. This, +fortunately, had remained unimpaired,--an oasis in the Sahara of his +life. + +"The one remnant left him from the wreck of his fortunes," whispered +Dick. + +"A perfect remnant!" returned the major, sententiously. + +For myself, acting as host to this appetite, and being naturally of a +philosophic turn, I watched its development with the keenest interest, +not to say with a growing curiosity. "Here is something," I said to +myself, "that is unique. That fine law of recompense which is kindly +distributed through the universe finds here," I reflected, "a most +instructive and conclusive demonstration. Robbed, by an adverse fate, of +all that made life agreeable, this man, this pilgrim of time, this +wayfarer to eternity, this companion of mine on the road of life, has +had bestowed upon him an extraordinary solace, has been permitted to +retain a commensurate satisfaction. Surely, life cannot have lost its +attractions for one whose stomach still preserves such aspirations." +And, prompted by the benevolence of my mood, and the anticipations of a +wise forecast, I collected in front of me whatever edibles remained on +the table, that, if the supply of our hospitality should prove +insufficient, the exhibition of its spirit should at least be +conclusive. + +But, if the countenance of the stranger was of a most melancholy cast, +there were not lacking hints that by nature he had been endowed with +vivacity of spirit; for, as he continued, with an industry which was +remarkable, to refresh himself, there were appearances, which came to +the eye and the corners of his mouth, which made the observer conclude +that he was not lacking the sense of humor; and, if his experience had +been most unfortunate, there was in him an ability to appreciate the +ludicrousness of its changeful situations. Indeed, one could but +conclude that originally he must have been of a buoyant, not to say +sanguine disposition; and, if one could but prevail upon him to narrate +the incidents of his life, they would be found to be most entertaining. + +It was something like an hour before our melancholy-looking guest had +fully improved the opportunity with which a benignant Providence had +supplied him,--a freak in which, one might conclude, she seldom +indulged. He ceased to eat, and sat for a moment gazing pensively at the +dishes. It seemed to me--but in this I may possibly be mistaken--that a +darker shade of sadness possessed his face at the conclusion than the +one that shadowed it so heavily at the beginning of the repast. "The +pleasures of hope," I said to myself, "are evidently greater to my +species than are those of recollection. Now that there is nothing left +for my guest to anticipate, it is evident that memory ceases to excite." +And I could but feel that, had our provisions been more abundant, the +stranger's appetite would not have been so easily appeased. With +something of regret in my voice, I sought to divert his mind from that +sense of disappointment which I judged from his countenance threatened +to oppress his spirits. + +"Friend," I said, "I doubt not that you have trailed a goodly distance, +and your fasting has been long?" + +"I have not eaten a meal in two days," was the response. + +"Heavens!" exclaimed Dick in an aside to the major. "Is it credible that +that man ate two days ago!" + +"Gad!" exclaimed the major, "the man's stomach is nothing but a pocket." + +"A pocket! I should call it an unexplored cavern!" retorted Dick. + +"The direction and reason of your long trail would be interesting," I +resumed. "And, if not impertinent, friend, may I ask you whence you have +come?" + +"I have journeyed from Texas," replied the man, and his voice nearly +broke as he said it. + +"_Oh!_" exclaimed the ladies, and they sympathetically grouped +themselves, anticipating, with true feminine sensitiveness, some +terrible dénouement. + +"_Texas!_" I ejaculated. + +"_Gad!_" said the major. + +"The _Devil!_" said Dick. + +"Yes, _Texas!_" repeated the man, and he groaned. + +By this time, as any intelligent reader will easily divine, our whole +group was in a condition of mild excitement. Several of us had resided +in Texas, and we felt that we stood at the threshold of a history,--a +history with infinite possibilities in it. For myself, I knew not how to +proceed. My position as a host forbade me to interrogate. The sorrows of +life are sacred, and my sensitiveness withheld me from thrusting myself +within the enclosure of my guest's recollections. That his experiences, +could we but be favored with a narration of them, would be +entertaining,--painfully entertaining,--I keenly realized; but how to +proceed I saw not. I remained silent. + +"Yes,"--it was the stranger who broke the silence,--"I am a busted +ex-Texan!" + +[Illustration: I AM A BUSTED EX-TEXAN.] + +The relief that came to me at the instant was indescribable. The path +was made plain. We all felt that we were not only on the threshold of a +history, but of a narration of that history. The ladies fluttered into +position for listening. I could but see it, and so I am bound to record +that I saw Dick irreverently punch the major. It was a punch which +carried with it the significance of an exclamation. The major received +it with the face of a Spartan, but with the grunt of a Chinook chief. + +"Friend," I said, "we are accustomed to beguile the evening hours with +entertaining descriptions of travels, often of personal incidents of the +haps and hazards of life; and, if it would not be disagreeable to you, +we would be vastly entertained, beyond doubt, by any narration with +which you might favor us of your Texan experiences and of the fortunes +which befell you there." + +For a few moments, the silence remained unbroken, save by the crackle of +the fire and the soft movement in the great firs overhead,--a movement +which is to sound what dawn is to the day; not so much a sound as a +feathery suggestion that sound might come. It was a genial hour, and the +mood of the hour began to be felt in our own. The warmth of it evidently +penetrated the bosom of our guest. He had eaten. He was +filled,--appreciably so at least, and that happy feeling, that +comfortable sense of fulness, which characterizes the after-dinner hour, +pervaded him with its genial glow. He loosened his belt,--another +tremendous nudge from Dick,--and a look of contentment softened his +features. Whatever storm had wrecked his life, he had now passed beyond +its billows, and from the sure haven into which he had been blown he +could gaze with complacent resignation, if not with happiness, at the +dangers through which he had passed. I am sure that we were all +delighted at the brightening appearance of our guest, and felt that, if +the story he was to tell us was one which included disasters, it would +at least be lightened by traces of humor and the calm acceptance of a +philosophic mind. + +"I was born in the State of Connecticut," so our guest began his +narration. "I came from a venturesome stock, and the instinct of +commercial enterprise may be regarded as hereditary in my family. My +grandfather was the first one to discover the tropical attributes of the +beech-wood tree. He first perceived that it contained within its fibres +the pungency of the nutmeg. With a celerity which we remember with pride +in our family, he availed himself of the commercial value of his +discovery, and for years did a prosperous trade on the credulity of +mankind. He was a man of humor,--a sense which has been to some extent +transmitted to myself,--he was a man of humor, and I have no doubt he +enjoyed the joke he was practising on people, fully as much as the +profits which the practical embodiment of his humor brought to his +pocket. My father was a deacon, a man of true piety and eminently +respectable. He was engaged in the retail-grocery business,--a business +which offers opportunities to a person of wit and of an inventive turn +of mind. The butter that he sold was salted invariably by one rule--a +rule which he discovered and applied in the cellar of the store himself; +and the sugar which he sold, if it was sanded, was always sanded by a +method which improved rather than detracted from its appearance." + +Here our guest paused a moment, as if enjoying the recollections of the +virtues of his ancestors. His face was as sober as ever, but his look +was one of contentment; and I could but note the suggestion of +merriment--the merriment of a happy memory--in his eye. How happy it is +for an offspring to be able to recall the character of his forefathers +with such liveliness of mind! + +"The motive which impelled me towards Texas," he resumed, "was one which +was natural for me to feel, thus ancestrally connected. I had heired my +father's business,--the deacon, who had died full of honors, ripe in +years, and in perfect peace. But the business did not prosper in my +hands; perhaps, I had not heired, with the business, the deacon's +ability,--that accuracy of eye, that gravity of appearance, that +deftness of touch, so to speak, which underlay his success. Be that as +it may, the business did not pay, and without hesitation I sold it; and, +with a comfortable sum for investment, I journeyed to Texas. + +"It is proper for me to remark that the welcome I received was most +cordial. I chose a populous centre for a temporary residence, and +proceeded to look around me. I found the Texans to be a warm-hearted +people, much given to hospitality, and willing, with a charming +disinterestedness, to admit all new-comers, with capital, to the +enormous profits of their various enterprises. + +"For the first time in my life, I found myself among a people who were +successful in everything they undertook. Their profits were simply +enormous. No speculation could possibly fail. However I invested my +money, I was assured that I would speedily become a millionnaire. Cotton +was a certain crop. Corn was never known to fail. The Texan tobacco was +rapidly driving the Cuban out of the market. The aboriginal grapes of +the State, of which there were millions of acres waiting for the +presses, yielded, as Europe confessed, a wine superior to Champagne. If +I preferred herding, all I had to do was to purchase a few sheep and +simply sit down. There was no section of the globe where sheep were so +prolific, fleeces so thick, or the demands of market so clamorous. And, +as for horses, I was assured that no one in Texas who knew the facts of +the case would spend any time in raising them. The prairies were full of +them, hundreds of thousands of them, all blooded stock, 'true +descendants, sir, from the Moorish Barb, distributed through the whole +country at the Spanish invasion.' I need do nothing but purchase fifty +thousand acres, fence the territory in, and the enclosed herds would +continue to propagate indefinitely. Such were the delightful pictures +which my entertainers presented to me. Captivated by the charming +manners of my hosts, my sanguine temperament kindled into heat at the +touch of their enthusiasm. Where every venture was sure of successful +issue, there was no need for deliberation or selection. I invested +indiscriminately in all, and waited buoyantly for the results." + +Here the stranger paused, compelled, perhaps, by a slight interruption. +Dick had retired, closely followed by the major. Our guest certainly was +not devoid of humor, and I was convinced, as I watched the play of his +features, that he apprehended and appreciated the reason for their +retirement. He lifted a plate from the table, inspected it closely, +turned it over, gazed contemplatively at its reversed side, and, +poising it deftly upon the point of three fingers, quietly remarked:-- + +"The gentlemen, I judge, have been in Texas?" + +"They have," I replied: "we three were there together." + +"Ah!" + +It was all he said. I might add, it was all that could be said. + +At this point, Dick and the major rejoined us. Their eyes showed traces +of recent tears. They were still wiping their faces with their +handkerchiefs. With that refinement which is characteristic of true +gentlemen, and which seeks concealment of any extraordinary emotion, +they had considerately retired to indulge their laughter. + +"I am delighted," continued our guest, after Dick and the major had +resumed their seats, "I am delighted to find myself in company with men +of experience. I feel that you will not question the veracity of my +story, or fail to appreciate the outcome of my enterprises. At the end +of two years, my property was distributed promiscuously throughout the +State, and I was reduced to the necessity of making one final venture to +recoup myself for the losses which, to the astonishment of the entire +Texan community, I assured them I had met. I was the only man, as they +asserted, 'that had ever failed to make a magnificent success in Texas.' + +"You can readily conceive, gentlemen, that I was determined to make no +mistake in my final venture. There were other reasons, beside the one of +caution, which persuaded me to begin with a moderate investment; so I +bought one cow. It was impossible for me to make a mistake from such a +beginning. Every person in Texas that had rapidly risen to financial +eminence had started with one cow. Many a time had a Texan ranchman +swept his hand with a royal gesture over a landscape of flowers and +Mesquite brush, dotted with thousands of cattle, and exclaimed, +'Stranger, I started this yer ranch with one cow.' And then he would +take out a piece of chalk and figure out to me on his saddle how that +one cow had multiplied herself into seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-three other cows, which had proceeded to promptly multiply +themselves, 'regular as the seasons come round, sir,' in the same +reckless manner, until it was evident that the number of her progeny was +actually curtailed by the size of the saddle and the lack of chalk. Now, +I was eager to possess a cow with such a multiplication-table +attachment, and, being unable to wait even ten years before I could +tingle with the sensation of being a millionnaire ranchman. I decided to +shorten the probationary stage by half, and so I purchased two cows." + +At this point, Dick rolled over upon the grass, and the major was +doubled up as with sudden pain. As for myself, I confess I could not +restrain my emotions. I had been through the same experience as had +fallen to my guest, and I appreciated the sanguine characteristics of +his temperament, which prompted him to the investment, and the humor of +the situation. I laughed till my eyes flowed with tears, and the +stillness of the foot-hills resounded with the unrestrained merriment of +the entire camp. + +The humor of our guest was truly American, the humor of suggestive +restraint and exaggeration both. He narrated his experiences, which had +resulted in the loss of his fortune and the collapse of his hopes, with +a face like a deacon's, and with a quaint and most charming sense of the +ludicrousness of the position--a position of which he himself was the +cause and central object. He fairly represented that type of men who +combine in their composition that which is most practical and +imaginative alike; whose energy can subdue a continent, and whose +boastfulness would awaken contempt if it were not palliated by the +magnitude of their achievements. A humor that is often barbed, but which +is most willingly directed against one's self; but, whether directed +against the humorist or his neighbor, carries no poison upon its point +and leaves no wound to rankle. + +"My financial condition," said our guest, resuming, "my financial +condition at the time I made this final investment contributed to the +hopefulness of my mood, and made me feel the excitement of a reckless +speculation, for, though my two cows only cost me seventeen dollars and +fifty cents each, nevertheless, when the purchase was concluded, and the +goods delivered, and I had made a careful inventory of my remaining +assets,--a business proceeding which the average Texan found it +necessary to go through about once in two weeks, in order that he might +know what his financial standing was, or whether he had any standing at +all,--when, I say, the purchase was consummated, and an inventory of my +remaining assets made, I discovered that the two cows had swallowed up +nearly my entire estate, and that a few dollars of farther expenditure +would plunge me into bottomless insolvency. I must confess that this +disclosure of my financial condition added zest to the undertaking, and +filled me with that fine excitement which accompanies a desperate +speculation. I have always felt that another cow would have made a +financier of me, and that I could have taken my place among my brethren +in Wall Street without a tremor of the muscles or the least sense of +inferiority. + +"The cows were both black in color; so black that they would make a spot +in the darkness of the blackest night that ever gloomed under the +cypresses of the Guadaloupe. 'If those cows,' I said to myself as I +looked them over, 'if those cows ever do bring forth calves at the rate +that the Texan of whom I purchased them figured out on his saddle, +they'll put the whole State under an eclipse.' + +"I cannot say,--speaking with that restraint which I have always +cultivated,--I cannot say, ladies and gentlemen, that I regarded either +cow with any great affection. There were peculiarities about them, which +checked the outgoing of my emotional nature. They had a way of looking +at me through the wire fence, that made me feel grateful to the inventor +of barbed wire. I cannot describe the look exactly. It was a direct, +earnest, steady, intense inspection of my person, that made me feel out +of place, as it were, and caused me to remember that I had duties at +home, which required me to get there as rapidly as possible. + +"One morning, seeing that the basis of my speculation was near the +centre of the field, and busily feeding on the bountiful growths of +nature, I crept softly through the wires of the fence that I might +gather some pecan nuts under a big tree that stood some twenty rods +away. I reached the tree in safety, and proceeded to pick up the nuts. I +had filled one pocket only when I heard a noise behind me, and, looking +up, I saw that all the profits of my stock speculation, and all my stock +itself, were coming toward me on a jump. I was never more collected in +my life. My mind instantly reached the conclusion that the pecan crop +that year was so large in Texas that it would not pay to pick up another +nut under that tree; that the whole thing should stand over, as it were, +until another fall, and that, the sooner I retired from that field, the +better it would be for me and the few pecans I had about me. + +"Acting in harmony with this conclusion,--which to my mind carried with +it the force of a demonstration,--I started for the wire fence. I have +no doubt but that the line of my movement was absolutely straight. I +assure you, gentlemen, that if cows had multiplied in my business +connection as rapidly as they did in my imagination during the next +sixty seconds of time, I should have been in Texas to this day. The +whole field was actually alive with cows. I reached the fence just one +jump ahead of the oldest cow, and, seeing no reason why I should take +time to crawl through between the wires, I lifted myself over the airy +obstruction in a manner that must have convinced that old animated bit +of blackness that I had absolute ownership in every nut about me. This +little episode supplied me with material for reflection for at least a +week, and made me realize that any northern man that enters into a +speculation with Texas cows as a basis must keep his eyes open, and not +allow his thoughts to be diverted by any side issues, like pecan nuts, +while the business is developing. + +"The sixth morning after my speculation had arrived at the ranch, my +profits began to roll in upon me,--or, to state it more practically, and +in a business-like manner, the oldest cow produced a calf. This raised +my spirits, and made me feel that my business was fairly started. I went +to my stock-book and promptly made an entry as follows: 7523-1. This +meant that there were only seven thousand five hundred and twenty-_two_ +yet to realize on; that is, if seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-two calves should promptly come to time, seeing that one calf had +already actually come to time, my herd would be complete. I think, +gentlemen, you can readily understand my feelings as I stood +contemplating the first fruition of my hopes from behind a tree. The cow +was securely tied, but still from habit I took my usual position when +inspecting my stock. My mood was very hopeful. I felt as every Texan +felt, in those days, when by some accident he found himself in +possession of actual property. 'There is a calf,' I said; 'I've only had +to wait six days for that calf to materialize. Suppose another calf +should materialize in six days.' I extracted a pencil from my pocket and +began to figure. I multiplied that calf by six--I mean that at the end +of six days I multiplied that calf by another calf. Every time I put +down a new multiplier I took a look at the calf, and every time I looked +at the calf it multiplied itself, as it were, until I felt the full +force of the Texan's statement, save that, the more I multiplied, the +more I felt that seven thousand five hundred and twenty-three did not +fairly represent the certainties of the speculation. That cow would +surely make a millionnaire of me yet--if nothing happened. + +"But, gentleman, something did happen, and it happened in this wise: You +have doubtless, by this, concluded that the cow was a wild cow. The man +who sold her to me had not put it precisely that way. He had represented +her to me as a cow of mild manners, thoroughly domesticated, of the +sweetest possible temper, used to the women folks, playful with +children,--in short, a creature of such amiability that she actually +longed to be petted. But I had already discovered that her manners were +somewhat abrupt, and that either the man did not understand the nature +of the cow or I did not understand the man. I was convinced that, if she +had ever been domesticated, it had been done by some family every member +of which had died in the process, or had suddenly moved out of the +country only a short distance ahead of her, and that she had utterly +forgotten her early training. Still, I had no doubt but that her +amiability was there, although temporarily somewhat latent, and that the +influences of a gentle spirit would revive the dormant sensibilities of +her nature. 'The sight of a milk-pail,' I said to myself, 'will surely +awaken the reminiscences of her early days, and of that sweet home-life +which was hers when she yielded at morn and at night her glad +contribution to the nourishment of a Christian family.' + +"There was on my ranch a servitor of foreign extraction who did my +cooking for what he could eat,--Chin Foo by name,--and to him I called +to bring me the large tin pail, which served the household--which, like +most Texan households in the Tertiary period, so to speak, of their +fortunes, was conducted on economic principles--as a washtub, a +chip-basket, a water-bucket, and a dinner-gong. It also occurred to me, +as I stood looking at the cow and caught the spirit of her expression, +so to speak, that, as she had come to stay, was a permanent fixture of +the establishment, as it were, Chin Foo might as well do the milking +first as last. Moreover, as the Texan from whom I purchased her had +assured me that she was a kind of household pet, the children's friend, +and took to women folks naturally, the case was a very clear one. For, +as Chin Foo had long hair, wore no hat, and dressed in flowing drapery, +the cow, unless she was more of a physiologist than I gave her credit +for, would be in doubt somewhat as to the sex of the Chinaman; and +before she had time to ruminate upon it and reach a dead-sure +conclusion, the milking would be over; and I would have scored the first +point in the game, if she was a cow of ability, had any trumps, and was +up to any tricks, as it were. So I told Chin Foo, as he approached with +the pail in his hand, that the cow was a splendid milker, thoroughly +domesticated, accustomed to Chinamen, and that he might have the honor +of milking her first. I remarked, furthermore, that, as everything +about the place was new to her, and she was a little nervous, I would +gently attract her attention in front, while he proceeded to extract the +delicious fluid. I charged him, in addition, to remember that it was +always the best policy to approach a cow of her temperament in a bold +and indifferent manner, as if he had milked her all his life, and get +down to business at once; and that any hesitation or show of nervousness +on his part would tend to make her more nervous. + +"I must say that Chin Foo acted in a highly creditable manner, +considering he was in a strange land, and, to my certain knowledge, had +no money laid by for funeral expenses; for, while I was stirring the +dust and flourishing my stick in a desultory manner in front of the cow, +to divert her mind, and keep her thoughts from wandering backward too +directly, he fluttered boldly up to her, and laid firmly hold of two +teats, with the familiarity of an old acquaintance." + +At this point of his narration the stranger paused a moment. There was a +sort of plaintive look on his face, and he gazed at the plates with an +expression in his eyes of sorrowful recollection. + +"I cannot say," he resumed, as one who speaks oppressed with a sense of +uncertainty, "exactly what did happen, for I never saw the Chinaman +again until he alighted. I only know that when he came down he was +practically inside the pail, and that he sat in it a moment with a kind +of dreamy eastern look on his face, as if he lived on the isle of Patmos +and had seen a vision. And when he had crawled out of the pail he went +directly into the house, saying, 'The Melican man is dam foolee to try +to milkee that cussee!' or words to that effect. + +[Illustration: PRACTICALLY INSIDE THE PAIL.] + +"But I did not agree with him. I reflected that the Chinese are only an +imitative race, and wholly lacking in original perception. 'They never +invent anything,' I said; 'never study into causes, never get down to +principles, as it were. It requires a purely occidental intellect to +master the problem before me. This cow has a strong disinclination to be +milked. Why? What is the motive of her conduct? If I could only answer +that!' All at once it came to me,--came like a flash. The reason was +plain. 'This cow is a mother. The maternal instinct in her case is +beautifully developed. Her reasoning faculties less so. She has a calf. +To her mind, we are trying to rob her beloved offspring of its +nourishment. She naturally resents this injustice on our part. Beautiful +development of maternity,' I apostrophized, as I looked at the cow in +the light of this new revelation. 'Thy instincts are those that sweeten +the world, and remind us of the benignity that planned the universe. I +will bring thy calf to thee. I will show thee that I am not devoid of +the spirit of equity; that I am ready to go shares and play fair, as it +were. Thy calf shall take one side of thee. I will take the other, and +thy soul will come forth to me in gratitude!' + +"I was delighted. I went directly to the pen, and gazed benevolently at +the calf. The little imp was blacker, if possible, than its mother. +There was that same peculiar look also in its eyes. 'You're all hers!' I +joyfully cried, 'you are your mother's own child!' I seized hold of the +neck-rope. I opened the pen-door and I went out through that door +quicker than a vagrant cat ever got round a corner of a house where a +Scotch terrier boards. The calf went under the cow and I struck her, +head on. But I had come to stay. I grabbed the pail with one hand and a +teat with the other. I tugged it, pulled it, twisted it. Not a drop +could I start. A suction pump of twenty horse-power would have found it +drier than Sahara, and all the while the calf's mouth, on the other +side, was actually running over with milk! In two minutes he looked like +a black watermelon. Then the cow, with a kind of back action, +suddenly reached out one foot, and when I came to I found myself +facing a mulberry tree, with one leg on each side of it. + +[Illustration: "AND WHEN I CAME DOWN."] + +"By this time I had reached a decision, and I had the courage of my +convictions. I felt it to be my duty to milk that cow. I reminded her in +plain, straightforward language that I was the son of a deacon, and that +she'd find it out before she got through with me. I assured her that I +understood the beauty of righteousness, and that I held a strong hand--a +straight flush, as it were. I was well aware that the metaphor was +somewhat mixed; but it expressed my sentiments and relieved my feelings, +and so I fired it at her point-blank. She snorted and pawed and +bellowed, and swore at me in cow-language, but I didn't care for that. +So I shook the old, battered milk-pail in her face, and told her I was +born in Connecticut, and did business on spot-cash principle; and that +she would know more of the commandments than any cow of her color in +Texas, before we said our long farewell. + +"By this time the matter had attracted a good deal of attention, for I +had carried on my conversation with the cow in the voice of a tragedian +when the chief villain of the play has stolen his girl, and my next +neighbor, an old sea-captain from Mattagorda Bay, and his hired men had +come over to assist me. They were of the nature of a reënforcement, +which consisted of the captain, a Mexican, a Michigan man that +stuttered, and two negroes--Napoleon Bonaparte de Neville Smith, and +George Washington Marlborough Johnsing, by name. Hence we were six in +all, and I decided to take the offensive at once. The captain was +advanced in years and rheumatic, but a clearheaded man, used to command, +and had 'boarded,' as he expressed it, 'several of the----crafts in his +own waters.' So I put him in charge of the marines, namely, ourselves, +and told him to fight the ship for all she was worth. He caught on to +the thing at once, and swore he would 'sweep the old black hulk fore +and aft, and send every mother's son to the bottom, or make her strike +her colors.' The vigor of the gallant old gentleman's language, and the +noble manner in which he shook his cane at the old pirate, put us all in +good spirits, and I verily believe that, if he had at that fortunate +moment given the word 'board!' we would, niggers and all, have gone over +the bulwarks of that old cow with a rush. + +"The captain's plan of action was proof of his courage, and in harmony +with my own ideas of the matter. He said that our force was ample, every +gun shotted, and the ports open: that we had the windward gauge of her, +and that the proper course was to send a boat in to cut her cable, and, +when she drifted down with the current, we would ware ship, lay up +alongside, grapple, pass lashings aboard, and send the whole crew on to +her deck with a rush. Assaulted in such a man-of-war style, he was +confident she would become confused, be intimidated, and strike her +colors without firing a gun. The brave and sonorous language with which +our commander set forth his plan of assault captured our imaginations, +and we all longed for the moment when the word of command should permit +us to swarm up the sides and over the rail of the old bovine. + +"Not only was the general plan thus agreed upon, but each man had his +post of duty assigned to him. When the 'cable was cut,' that is, when +the cow should find herself at liberty and bolt, as she would be sure to +do, the Mexican was to lasso her and hang on; Napoleon Bonaparte de +Neville and George Washington Marlborough were to lay hold of her horns +to 'port and starboard,' as the captain insisted, while the Michigan +man--who was over six feet tall, and leggy--was to fasten with a good +grip on to her tail, that he might serve not only as a 'drag,' as our +commander phrased it, but as a pilot as well, 'if she should get to +yawing or be suddenly taken aback, and be unable to come up into the +wind promptly,' while I was held in reserve to guard against +emergencies. I did not quite like the position assigned to me, and so +intimated to the captain, but he said no one could tell how it might go +when we once got out of the harbor, and, if any of the braces should +part, or the sea get high, that he would have to send an additional man +to the wheel, 'for,' he added, in a whisper, 'God knows, that +long-legged Michigan land-lubber could never keep her to a straight +course if she should once get running with the wind over her quarter, +and everything drawing, through that cornfield.' I saw the force of his +reasoning, and felt easier. + +"So, without farther delay, we went into action. The old captain stood, +knife in hand, ready to cut the lariat which held the cow to the tree, +but, before he did so, he hailed, '_All ready to cut cables!_' + +"'Fo' de lawd, cap'in!' yelled Napoleon de Neville, 'what is dis yere +nigger gwine to do if de udder nigger lets go?' + +"'Go way dar, nigger!' retorted George Washington Marlborough; 'what you +takes dis nigger for if you tinks I's gwine to let go dis ole black +cow?' + +"'I'll give a silver dollar to the nigger that holds on the longest,' I +yelled. + +"'Well answered, mate,' sang out the old captain. '_All ready to cut +cables. Cut she is!_' + +"The cow gave a bellow like the roar of a lion, and made a rush with +lowered horns at the captain. Now, this was not the course laid down on +his chart for her to take; and he and the rest of us were struck all +aback, as he afterwards expressed it; but he met the emergency with +spirit. He broke his big, Spanish-oak stick on the nose of the brute, +and then the old mariner rolled in the dust. + +"'Lay aboard of her, men!' shouted the old hero, in a voice like a +fog-horn, flourishing the fragments of his stick. 'Lay aboard of the old +cuss, I say! Cast your grapplings, Greaser! Seize her helm, some of +ye, and throw it hard over to port!' + +[Illustration: "LAY ABOARD OF THE OLD CUSS!"] + +"These orders were obeyed with alacrity. Not a man flinched. The loop of +the lasso settled over the polished horns to the roots, and Don Juan San +Diego set it tight with a twang. Napoleon Bonaparte and George +Washington rushed headlong upon her and hung to horns and ears; while +the man from Michigan fastened a grip on her lifted tail, as she tore +past him, which straightened him out like a lathe. As to myself, I could +only stand and gaze with solicitude upon the terrific contest, on the +issue of which depended not only the chances of my speculation, but even +the preservation of my self-esteem. + +"The combat deepened and enlarged itself, as it were. A bull-dog, who +was wandering along the road in search of adventure, and two foxhounds +joined in the fight. The calf, the only one of the seven thousand five +hundred and twenty-three I was ever destined to behold, broke from its +pen and ran bellowing to its mother. The dogs bayed, the niggers yelled, +the Mexican swore in his delightful tongue; and the stuttering +Michigander remained silent, simply from his inability to pronounce the +profanity of his feelings. + +"Suddenly the cow, which had been slowly working her way, with her +several attachments clinging to her, toward the road which ran along the +front of the field, turned and started pell-mell toward the river, which +flowed wide and deep, through the rushes, at the rear of it. She left +the path and took to the corn, and through the mass of growing stalks +she swept like a whirlwind. Onward she came. I anticipated the awful +catastrophe, and stood riveted to the spot. The old captain still sat in +the gravel, where the cow had bowled him, his hand grasping the +shattered cane, and his game leg extended. He too foresaw the +inevitable. Through the corn came the cow, like a black Saturn attended +by her satellites. But her career was too terrific for these to hold to +their connection. The laws of the universe forbade it. Napoleon +Bonaparte de Neville lost his hold as she crashed into the sorghum +patch. George Washington Marlborough tripped over an irrigation ditch, +and soared away at a tangent, like a sputtering remnant of a burnt-out +world. Don Juan San Diego went the wrong side of a mulberry tree, and +the lasso parted with a snap. He never stopped until his momentum +carried him through the slats of the neighboring cow-pen. Only the +long-legged Michigander kept his hold, and he looked like a pair of +extended scissors. I stood aghast at the impending ruin of my hopes, +with my lower jaw dropped. The captain alone retained his presence of +mind. As the black unit of my last Texan speculation shot by him, with +Michigan, elongated like a peninsula, fastened to her tail, he rolled up +to his knees and roared:-- + +"'_Starboard your helm, boy!_ _Luff her up! Luff her up, for the love +of God, or the colonel is busted!_' + +"It is doubtful if the Michigan man ever heard the stentorian call of +the captain, for sound travels only thirteen hundred feet to the second, +and the cow was certainly going considerably faster than that; and, +besides, he was himself engaged, with a terrific earnestness, in a vain +effort to extricate a word out of his throat, which stuck like a wad in +a smutty gun--a word of undoubted Saxon origin and of expressive force, +and which has saved more blood-vessels from bursting than the lancet of +the phlebotomist, for as he streamed past there was left floating upon +the air a long string of d's, thus: d----d----d--d--d--d-d-d...! + +"No one who did not hear them could ever conceive of the awful +sputtering, hissing sound that they caused in the atmosphere as they +came out of the mouth of the mad and stuttering Michigander; and as he +and the cow bored a hole through the reeds on the bank of the river, +and, hitting a cypress stump, ricochetted into the water, that fiery +string of d's, still hot and sputtering, reached half across the field. + +[Illustration: "LUFF HER UP! LUFF HER UP!"] + +"The splash of the two as they struck the water brought the old captain +to his feet, and, in spite of his rheumatic leg, he rushed toward the +river, crying:-- + +"'_Man overboard! Man overboard! Gone clean over the forechains! +Life-floats to port and starboard!_' + +"With such a frightful catastrophe, gentlemen, the remembrance of which +actually makes me nervous, my last speculation in Texas ended. Going +over the whole matter with the captain that evening,--a process which +took us well into the night,--it was our united opinion that the +speculation was a failure. This conviction was mutual and profound. The +cow was not only gone, but she had shown such disinclination to be +domesticated, and such a misapprehension of the true purpose of life, +that the prospect was truly disheartening. + +"'Why, damn it, colonel,' said the captain, 'we've no evidence that the +old cow wanted to be milked!' + +"To this discouraging conclusion of the captain's I was compelled to +give a sorrowful assent. I recognized that my speculation was in +arrears, as it were, and that it would never figure up a profit. + +"Therefore, next day I divided my few personal effects between the +captain and the noble men who had risked their lives for an idea; who +had seen the tragedy played out and the curtain rung down to my last +appearance, as it were. And, with the few dollars which alone remained +of the fortune which I took with me to Texas, I mounted my horse and +started northward, to join that noble army of martyrs, that brotherhood +of sufferers, that fraternity of the busted, whose members are legion, +and who are known as '_Ex-Texans_.'" + +The hilarity of the camp that evening under the foot-hills will never be +forgotten by those of us who composed the happy number, and who +listened with streaming eyes and aching sides to the narrative of our +unfortunate guest. He told his story with a directness and simplicity of +narrative, with a gravity of countenance and plaintiveness of voice, +which heightened the humor of the substance. Never did the stars, which +have seen so much of human happiness, which have listened to so much of +the rollicking humor of those who were fashioned for laughter, looked +down upon a jollier camp. Long after our guest had ended his narrative +and was apparently sleeping in happy forgetfulness of his Texas +speculation, succeeding pauses of silence would come roars of laughter. +The remembrance of the humorous tale banished sleep, and, even after +slumber had fallen on us all, fun still held possession of our dreams. +For Dick, starting from sleep in a nightmare of hilarity, roared out: +"_Luff her up, luff her up, or the colonel is busted!_" + +Ay, ay, thank God for laughter. Thank him heartily and ever, dear +friend, blow the winds, run the tides as they may. The sorrows of life +may be many, and its griefs may be keen, and we who are frosted with +years and you who are blooming have felt and will feel the sting of +false friends and the burden of losses; but, lose what we may, or be +pained as we have been and shall be, we are happy in this,--we who know +how to laugh,--that we find wings for each burden, solace for pains, and +return for all losses, in our sweet sense of humor, thank Heaven! So, +whether rich men or poor, healthy or sick, brown-headed or gray, we will +go on like children, with eyes for all beauty and hearts for all fun. +Let lilies teach us, and of the birds of the air let us learn. The day +that is not shall not make us anxious, for of each day is the evil +enough, and the morrow shall take care of itself. + +[Illustration: THE WICKEDEST COW.]* + + + + +HOW DEACON TUBMAN + +and PARSON WHITNEY + +CELEBRATED NEW YEARS. + + + + +HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY CELEBRATED NEW YEAR'S. + + +"Mirandy, I'm going up to see the parson," exclaimed the deacon, when +the morning devotions were over, "and see if I can thaw him out a +little. I've heard that there used to be a lot in him in his younger +days, but he's sort of frozen all up latterly, and I can see that the +young folks are afraid of him and the church too, but that won't do--no, +it won't do," repeated the good man emphatically, "for the minister +ought to be loved by young and old, rich and poor, and everybody; and a +church without young folks in it is, why, it is like a family with no +children in it. Yes, I'll go up and wish him a Happy New Year anyway. +Perhaps I can get him out for a ride to make some calls on the people, +and see the young folks at their fun. It'll do him good, and them good, +and me good, and everybody good." Saying which, the deacon got inside +his warm fur coat, and started toward the barn to harness Jack into the +worn, old-fashioned sleigh, which sleigh was built high in the back, and +had a curved dasher of monstrous proportions, ornamented with a prancing +horse in an impossible attitude, done in bright vermilion on a blue +background! + +"Happy New Year to you, Parson Whitney! Happy New Year to you," cried +the deacon, as he stood in the doorway of the parsonage and shook the +parson by the hand enthusiastically, "and may you live to enjoy a +hundred." + +"Come in, come in," cried Parson Whitney, in response. "I'm glad you've +come; I'm glad you've come. I've been wanting to see you all the +morning," and in the cordiality of his greeting he literally pulled the +little man through the doorway into the hall, and hurried him up the +stairway to his study in the chamber overhead. + +"Thinking of me! Well, now, I never!" exclaimed the deacon, as, assisted +by the parson, he twisted and wriggled himself out of his coat, that he +filled, a little too snugly for an easy exit. "Thinking of me, and among +all these books too--Bibles, catechisms, tracts, theologies, sermons. +Well, well, that is funny. What made you think of me?" + +"Deacon Tubman," responded the parson, as he seated himself in his +armchair, "I want to talk with you about the church." + +"The church!" ejaculated the deacon in response. "Nothing going wrong, I +hope?" + +"Yes, things are going wrong, deacon," responded the parson. "The +congregation is growing smaller and smaller, and yet I preach good, +strong, biblical, soul-satisfying sermons, I trust." + +"Good ones! good ones!" answered the deacon promptly, "never +better--never better in the world." + +"And yet the people are deserting the sanctuary," rejoined the parson +solemnly, "and the young people won't come to the sociables, and the +little children seem actually afraid of me. What shall I do, deacon?" +and the good man put the question with pathetic emphasis. + +"You've hit the nail on the head, square as a hatchet, parson," +responded the deacon. "The congregation is thinning. The young people +don't come to the meetings, and the little children are afraid of you." + +"What's the matter, deacon?" cried the parson in return. "What is it?" +he repeated earnestly. "Speak it right out; don't try to spare my +feelings. I will listen to--I will do anything to win back my people's +love," and the strong, old-fashioned Calvinistic preacher said it in a +voice that actually trembled. + +"You can do it--you can do it in a week!" exclaimed the deacon +encouragingly. "Don't worry about it, parson; it'll be all right, it'll +be all right. Your books are the trouble." + +"Books?" ejaculated the parson. "What have they to do with it?" + +"Everything," replied the deacon stoutly. "You pore over them day in and +day out; they keep you in this room here when you should be out among +the people,--not making pastoral visits,--I don't mean that,--but going +around among them, chatting and joking and having a good time. They +would like it, and you would like it, and as for the young folks--how +old are you, parson?" + +"Sixty next month," answered the parson; "sixty next month," he repeated +solemnly. + +"Thirty! thirty! that's all you are, parson, or all you ought to be," +cried the deacon. "Thirty, twenty, sixteen!--let the figures slide down +and up, according to circumstances, but never let them go higher than +thirty when you are dealing with young folks. I'm sixty myself, counting +years; but I'm only sixteen, sixteen this morning, that's all, parson," +and he rubbed his little round plump hands together, looked at the +parson, and winked. + +"Bless my soul, Deacon Tubman, I don't know but that you are right!" +answered the parson. "Sixty? I don't know as I am sixty," and he began +to rub his own hands, and came within an ace of executing a wink at the +deacon, himself. + +"Not a day over twenty, if I am any judge of age," responded the deacon +deliberately, as he looked the white-headed old minister over with a +most comic imitation of seriousness. "Not a day over twenty, on my +honor," and the deacon leaned forward toward the parson, and gave him a +punch with his thumb, as one boy might deliver a punch at another, and +then he lay back in his chair and laughed so heartily that the parson +caught the infectious mirth and roared away as heartily as himself. + +Yes, it was impossible to sit hobnobbing with the little, jolly deacon +on that bright New Year's morning and not be affected by the happiness +of his mood, for he was actually bubbling over with fun, and as full of +frolic as if the finger on the dial had, in truth, gone back forty-odd +years, and he was "only sixteen. Only sixteen, parson, on my honor." + +"But what can I do?" queried the good man, sobering down. "I make my +pastoral visits." + +"Pastoral visits!" responded Deacon Tubman. "Oh, yes, and they are all +well enough for the old folks, but they ar'n't the kind of biscuit the +young folks like--too heavy in the centre, and over-hard in the crust +for young teeth, eh, parson?" + +"But what shall I do? what shall I do?" reiterated the parson, somewhat +despondently. + +"Oh! put on your hat, and gloves, and warmest coat, and come along with +me. We will see what the young folks are doing, and will make a day of +it. Come! come! let the old books, and catechisms, and sermons, and +tracts have a respite for once, and we'll spend the day out-of-doors, +with the boys and girls and the people." + +"I'll do it!" exclaimed the parson. "Deacon Tubman, you are right. I do +keep to my study too closely. I don't see enough of the world and what's +going on in it. I was reading the Testament this morning, and I was +impressed with the Master's manner of living and teaching. It is not +certain that he ever preached more than twice in a church during all his +ministry on the earth. And the children! how much he loved the children, +and how the little ones loved him! And why shouldn't they love me, too? +Why shouldn't they? I'll make them do it! yes, I'll make them do it! The +lambs of my flock shall love me." And with these brave words Parson +Whitney bundled himself up in his warmest garments, and followed the +deacon downstairs. + +"Tell the folks that you won't be back till night," called the deacon +from the sleigh; "for this is New Year, and we're going to make a day of +it," and he laughed away as heartily as might be--so heartily that the +parson joined in the laughter himself as he came shuffling down the icy +path toward him. "Bless me! how much younger I feel already!" said the +good man as he stood up in the sleigh, and with a long, strong breath +breathed the cool, pure air into his lungs. "Bless me! how much younger +I feel already!" he repeated, as he settled down into the roomy seat of +the old sleigh. "Only sixteen to-day,--eh, deacon?" and he nudged him +with his elbow. + +"That's all, that's all, parson," answered the deacon gayly, as he +nudged him vigorously back; "that's all we are, either of us," and, +laughing as merrily as two boys, the two glided away in the sleigh. + +Well, perhaps they didn't have fun that day, these two old boys that had +started out with the feeling that they were "only sixteen," and bound to +make "a day of it!" And they did make a day of it, in fact, and such a +day as neither had had for forty years; for, first, they went to +Bartlett's Hill, where the boys and girls were coasting, and coasted +with them for a full hour,--and then it was discovered by the younger +portion of his flock that the parson was not an old, stiff, solemn, +surly poke, as they had thought, but a pleasant, good-natured, kindly +soul, who could take and give a joke, and steer a sled as well as the +smartest boy in the crowd; and when it came to snow-balling, he could +send a ball further than Bill Sykes himself, who could out-throw any boy +in town, and roll up a bigger block to the new snow fort they were +building than any three boys among them. And how the parson enjoyed +being a boy again! How exhilarating the slide down the steep hill; how +invigorating the pure, cool air; how pleasant the noise of the chatting +and joking going on around him; how bright and sweet the boys and girls +looked, with their rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes; and how the old +parson's heart thrilled as they crowded around him when he would go, and +urged him to stay,--and little Alice Dorchester begged him, with her +little arms around his neck, to "jes' stay and gib me one more slide, +please!" + +"You never made such a pastoral call as that, parson," said the deacon, +as they drove away amid the cheers of the boys and the "good-bys" of the +girls, while the former fired off a volley of snow-balls in his honor, +and the latter waved their muffs and handkerchiefs after them. + +"God bless them! God bless them!" said the parson. "They have lifted a +load from my heart, and taught me the sweetness of life, of youth, and +the wisdom of Him who took the little ones in His arms, and blessed +them. Ah, deacon," he added, "I've been a great fool, but I'll be so, +thank God! no more." + +Now, old Jack was a horse of a great deal of character, and had a great +history; but of this none in that section, save the little deacon, knew +a word. Dick Tubman, the deacon's youngest, wildest, and, we might add, +favorite son, had purchased him of an impecunious jockey, at the close +of a disastrous campaign, that cleaned him completely out, and left him +in a strange city a thousand miles from home, with nothing but the +horse, harness, and sulky, and a list of unpaid bills that must be met +before he could leave the scene of his disastrous fortunes. Under such +circumstances it was that Dick Tubman ran across the horse, and partly +out of pity for its owner, and partly out of admiration of the horse, +whose failure to win at the races was due more to his lack of condition +and the bad management of his jockey than lack of speed, bought him +off-hand, and, having no use for him himself, shipped him as a present +to the deacon, with whom he had now been four years, with no harder work +than ploughing out the good old man's corn in the summer, and jogging +along the country roads on the deacon's errands. Having said thus much +of the horse, perhaps we should more particularly describe him. + +He was, in sooth, an animal of most unique and extraordinary appearance; +for, in the first place, he was quite seventeen hands in height, and +long in proportion. He was also the reverse of shapely in the fashion of +his build: for his head was long and bony, and his hip bones sharp and +protuberant; his tail was what is known among horsemen as a rat-tail, +being but scantily covered with hair, and his neck was even more +scantily supplied with a mane, while in color he could easily have taken +any premium put up for homeliness, being an ashen roan, mottled with +flecks and patches of divers hues; but his legs were flat and corded +like a racer's, his neck long and thin as a thoroughbred's, his nostrils +large, his ears sharply pointed and lively, while the white rings around +his eyes hinted at a cross, somewhere in his pedigree, with Arabian +blood. A huge, bony, homely-looking horse he was, who drew the deacon +and Miranda into the village on market days and Sundays, with a loose, +shambling gait, making altogether an appearance so homely and peculiar +that the smart village chaps riding along in their jaunty turn-outs used +to chaff the good deacon on the character of his steed, and satirically +challenge him to a brush. The deacon always took their badinage in good +part, although he inwardly said more than once, "If I ever get a good +chance, when there ar'n't too many around, I'll go up to the turn of the +road beyond the church, and let Jack out on them;" for Dick had given +him a hint of the horse's history, and told him "he could knock the +spots out of thirty," and wickedly urged the deacon to take the starch +out of them airy chaps some of these days. Such was the horse, then, +that the deacon had ahead of him, and the old-fashioned sleigh, when, +with the parson alongside, he struck into the principal street of the +village. + +Now, New Year's Day is a lively day in many country villages, and on +this bright one especially, as the sleighing was perfect, everybody was +out. Indeed, it had got noised abroad that certain trotters of local +fame were to be on the street that afternoon, and, as the boys worded +it, "there would be heaps of fun going on." And so it happened that +everybody in town, and many who lived out of it, were on this particular +street, and just at the hour, too, when the deacon came to the foot of +it, so that the walk on either side was lined darkly with lookers-on, +and the smooth snow-path between the two lines looked like a veritable +homestretch on a race-day. + +Now, when the deacon had reached the corner of the main street and +turned into it, it was at that point where the course terminated and the +"brushes" were ended, and at the precise moment when the dozen or twenty +horses that had just come flying down were being pulled up preparatory +to returning at a slow gait to the customary starting-point at the head +of the street, a half-mile away, so that the old-fashioned sleigh was +surrounded by the light, fancy cutters of the rival racers, and old +Jack was shambling awkwardly along in the midst of the high-spirited and +smoking nags that had just come flying down the stretch. + +"Hellow, deacon," shouted one of the boys, who was driving a +trim-looking bay, and who had crossed the line at the ending of the +course second only to a pacer that could "speed like a streak of +lightning," as the boys said,--"Hellow, deacon; ain't you going to shake +out old shamble-heels, and show us fellows what speed is to-day?" And +the merry-hearted chap, son of the principal lawyer of the place, +laughed heartily at his challenge, while the other drivers looked at the +great angular horse that, without any check, was walking carelessly +along, with his head held down, ahead of the old sleigh and its churchly +occupants. + +"I don't know but what I will," answered the deacon, good-naturedly; +"don't know but what I will, if the parson don't object, and you won't +start off too quick to begin with; for this is New Year's, and a +little extra fun won't hurt any of us, I reckon." + +[Illustration: THE DEACON AND PARSON.] + +"Do it, do it; we'll hold up for you," answered a dozen merry voices. +"Do it, deacon: it'll do old shamble-heels good to go a ten-mile-an-hour +gait for once in his life, and the parson needn't fear of being +scandalized by any speed you'll get out of him, either;" and the merry +chaps haw-hawed as men and boys will, when every one is jolly and fun +flows fast. + +And so, with any amount of good-natured chaffing from the drivers of the +"fast 'uns," and from many that lined the road too,--for the day gave +greater liberty than usual to bantering speech,--the speedy ones paced +slowly up to the head of the street, with old Jack shambling demurely in +the midst of them. + +But the horse was a knowing old fellow, and had "scored" at too many +races not to know that the "return" was to be leisurely taken, and, +indeed, he was a horse of independence, and of too even, perhaps of too +sluggish, a temperament, to waste himself in needless action; but he +had the right stuff in him, and hadn't forgotten his early training +either, for when he came to the "turn," his head and tail came up, his +eye brightened, and, with a playful movement of his huge body, and +without the least hint from the deacon, he swung himself and the +cumbrous old sleigh into line, and began to straighten himself for the +coming brush. + +Now, Jack was, as we have said, a horse of huge proportions, and needed +"steadying" at the start, but the good deacon had no experience with the +"ribbons," and was therefore utterly unskilled in the matter of driving; +and so it came about that old Jack was so confused at the start that he +made a most awkward and wretched appearance in his effort to get off, +being all "mixed up," as the saying is,--so much so that the crowd +roared at his ungainly efforts, and his flying rivals were twenty rods +away before he even got started. But at last he got his huge body in a +straight line, and, leaving his miserable shuffle, squared away to his +work, and, with head and tail up, went off at so slashing a gait that it +fairly took the deacon's breath away, and caused the crowd that had been +hooting him to roar their applause, while the parson grabbed the edge of +the old sleigh with one hand and the rim of his tall black hat with the +other. + +What a pity, Mr. Longface, that God made horses as they are, and gave +them such grandeur of appearance when in action, and put such an +eagle-like spirit between their ribs, so that, quitting the plodding +motions of the ox, they can fly like that noble bird, and come sweeping +down the course as on wings of the wind! + +It was not my fault, nor the deacon's, nor the parson's either, please +remember, then, that awkward, shuffling, homely-looking old Jack was +thus suddenly transformed, by the royalty of blood, of pride, and of +speed given him by his Creator, from what he ordinarily was, into a +magnificent spectacle of energetic velocity. + +With muzzle lifted well up, tail erect, the few hairs in it streaming +straight behind, one ear pricked forward and the other turned sharply +back, the great horse swept grandly along at a pace that was rapidly +bringing him even with the rear line of the flying group. And yet so +little was the pace to him that he fairly gambolled in playfulness as he +went slashing along, until the deacon verily began to fear that the +honest old chap would break through all the bounds of propriety and send +his heels antically through his treasured dashboard. Indeed, the +spectacle that the huge horse presented was so magnificent, his action +so free, spirited, and playful, as he came sweeping onward, that cheers +and exclamations, such as, "Good heavens! see the deacon's old horse!" +"Look at him! look at him!" "What a stride!" etc., ran ahead of him, and +old Bill Sykes, a trainer in his day, but now a hanger-on at the +village tavern, or that section of it known as the bar, wiped his +watery eyes with his tremulous fist, as he saw Jack come swinging down, +and, as he swept past with his open gait, powerful stroke, and stiffles +playing well out, brought his hand with a mighty slap against his thigh, +and said, "I'll be blowed if he isn't a regular old timer!" + +It was fortunate for the deacon and the parson that the noise and +cheering of the crowd drew the attention of the drivers ahead, or there +would surely have been more than one collision, for the old sleigh was +of such size and strength, the good deacon so unskilled at the reins, +and Jack, who was adding to his momentum with every stride, was going at +so determined a pace, that, had he struck the rear line, with no gap for +him to go through, something serious would surely have happened. But, as +it was, the drivers saw the huge horse, with the cumbrous old sleigh +behind him, bearing down on them at such a gait as made their own speed, +sharp as it was, seem slow, and "pulled out" in time to save +themselves; and so without any mishap the big horse and heavy sleigh +swept through the rear row of racers like an autumn gust through a +cluster of leaves. + +By this time the deacon had become somewhat alarmed, for Jack was going +nigh to a thirty clip,--a frightful pace for an inexperienced man to +ride,--and began to put a good strong pressure upon the bit, not +doubting that old Jack--ordinarily the easiest horse in the world to +manage--would take the hint and immediately slow up. But though the huge +horse took the hint, it was exactly in the opposite manner that the +deacon intended he should, for he interpreted the little man's steady +pull as an intimation that his inexperienced driver was getting over his +flurry and beginning to treat him as a big horse ought to be treated in +a race, and that he could now, having got settled to his work, go ahead. +And go ahead he did. The more the deacon pulled, the more the great +horse felt himself steadied and assisted. And so, the harder the good +man tugged at the reins, the more powerfully the machinery of the big +animal ahead of him worked, until the deacon got alarmed, and began to +call upon the horse to stop, crying, "Whoa, Jack! whoa, old boy, I say! +Whoa, will you now, that's a good fellow!" and many other coaxing calls, +while he pulled away steadily at the reins. + +But the horse misunderstood the deacon's calls, as he had his pressure +on the reins, for the crowd on either side were now yelling, and +hooting, and swinging their caps, so that the deacon's voice came +indistinctly to his ears at the best, and he interpreted his calls for +him to stop as only so many encouragements and signals for him to go +ahead; and so, with the memory of a hundred races stirring his blood, +the crowd cheering him to the echo, the steadying pull and encouraging +cries of his driver in his ears, and his only rival, the pacer, whirling +along only a few rods ahead of him, the monstrous animal, with a +desperate plunge that half lifted the old sleigh from the snow, let out +another link, and, with such a burst of speed as was never seen in the +village before, tore along after the pacer at such a terrific pace that, +within the distance of a dozen lengths, he lay lapped upon him, and the +two were going it nose and nose. + +What is that feeling in human hearts which makes us sympathetic with man +or animal who has unexpectedly developed courage and capacity when +engaged in a struggle in which the odds are against him? And why do we +enter so spiritedly into the contest, and lose ourselves in the +excitement of the moment? Is it pride? Is it the comradeship of courage? +Or is it the rising of the indomitable in us, that loves nothing so much +as victory, and hates nothing so much as defeat? Be that as it may, no +sooner was old Jack fairly lapped on the pacer, whose driver was urging +him along with reins and voice alike, and the contest seemed +doubtful, than the spirit of old Adam himself entered into the deacon +and the parson both, so that, carried away by the excitement of the +race, they fairly forgot themselves, and entered as wildly into the +contest as two ungodly jockeys. + +[Illustration: THE RACE.] + +"Deacon Tubman!" said the parson, as he clutched the rim of his tall +hat, against which, as the horse tore along, the snow chips were pelting +in showers, more stoutly, "Deacon Tubman! do you think the pacer will +beat us?" + +"Not if I can help it! not if I can help it!" yelled the deacon in +reply, as, with something like a reinsman's skill, he instinctively +lifted Jack to another spurt. "Go it, old boy!" he shouted +encouragingly. "Go along with you, I say!" and the parson, also carried +away by the whirl of the moment, cried, "Go along, old boy! Go along +with you, I say!" + +This was the very thing, and the only thing, that huge horse, whose +blood was now fairly aflame, wanted to rally him for the final effort; +and, in response to the encouraging cries of the two behind him, he +gathered himself together for another burst of speed, and put forth his +collected strength with such tremendous energy and suddenness of +movement that the little deacon, who had risen, and was standing erect +in the sleigh, fell back into the arms of the parson, while the great +horse rushed over the line a winner by a clear length, amid such cheers +and roars of laughter as were never heard in that village before. + +Nor was the horse any more the object of public interest and remark--we +may say favoring remark--than the parson, who suddenly found himself the +centre of a crowd of his own parishioners, many of whom would scarcely +be expected as participants of such a scene, but who, thawed out of +their iciness by the genial temper of the day, and vastly excited over +Jack's contest, thronged upon the good man, laughing as heartily as any +jolly sinner in the crowd. + +So everybody shook hands with the parson and wished him a Happy New +Year, and the parson shook hands with everybody and wished them all many +happy returns; and everybody praised old Jack, and rallied the deacon on +his driving; and then everybody went home good-natured and happy, +laughing and talking about the wonderful race, and the change that had +come over Parson Whitney. + +And as for Parson Whitney himself, the day and its fun had taken twenty +years from his age, and nothing would answer but the deacon must go home +and eat the New Year's pudding at the parsonage; and he did. And at the +table they laughed and talked over the funny incidents of the day, and +joked each other as merrily as two boys. Then Parson Whitney told some +reminiscences of his college days, and the scrapes he got into, and a +riot between town and gown, when he carried the "Bully's Club;" and the +deacon responded by narrating his experiences with a certain Deacon +Jones's watermelon patch when he was a boy, and over their tales and +their mulled cider they laughed till they cried, and roared so lustily +at the remembered frolics of their youthful days that the old parsonage +rang, the books on the library shelves rattled, and several of the +theological volumes actually gaped with horror. + +But at last the stories were all told, the jokes all cracked, and the +laughter all laughed, and the little deacon wished the parson good-by, +and jogged happily homeward; but more than once he laughed to himself, +and said, "Bless my soul! I didn't know the parson had so much fun in +him." And long the parson sat by the glowing grate after the deacon had +left him, musing of other days, and the happy, pleasant things that were +in them; and many times he smiled, and once he laughed outright at some +remembered folly, for he said, "What a wild boy I was, and yet I meant +no wrong; and the dear old days were very happy." + +Ay, ay! Parson Whitney, the dear old days were very happy, not only to +thee, but to all of us, who, following our sun, have fared westward so +long that the light of the morning shows dull through the dim haze of +memory. But happier than even the old days will be the young ones, I +ween, when, following still westward, we suddenly come to the gates of +the new east and the morning once more; and there, in the dawn of a day +which is cloudless and endless, we find our lost youth and its loves, to +lose them and it no more forever, thank God! + + + + + THE LEAF OF RED ROSE. + + + + + THE LEAF OF RED ROSE: + + THE OLD TRAPPER'S STORY. + + A story? Why, yes. If Henry, there, will translate it + And put it in verse and print as he promised + To do when it happened. Will he do it? I doubt. + He dislikes to dabble with rhyme and with measure. + Says that good honest prose is the best and the sweetest + If the words be well chosen, short, Saxon, and pithy. + And that making of verse is the business of women, + Of green boys at school, and of lovers when spooning. + But try him. It may be he will. For a lesson + Is in it, and that makes it worth telling. + The woods have their secrets and sorrows and struggles + As well as the cities. You can find in the woods + Many things, if you look, beside trees, rocks, and mountains. + + Jack Whitcomb he said his name was, though I doubted. + For the name on his bosom, tattooed in purple, + Didn't point quite that way. But that doesn't matter. + One name in the woods is as good as another + If a man answers to it and it's easily spoken. + So we called him Jack Whitcomb and asked nothing further. + Brave? Why, of course he was brave. Men are not cowards. + Cowards don't come to the woods. They stay in the cities, + Where policemen are thick and the streets are all lighted. + In the woods men trail with their ears and eyes open, + And sleep when they sleep with their hands on their rifles. + Why? Well, panthers are plenty and cunning and quiet, + And a man is a fool that goes carelessly stumbling + Under trees where they crouch, under crags where they gather. + Furthermore, with the saints, now and then there are sinners + That live in the woods; and some half-breeds are wicked, + And know nothing of law unless taught by a bullet. + I've done what I could to teach knaves the commandments. + Yes. Jack Whitcomb was brave. Brave as the bravest. + His glance was as keen and his mouth was as silent + As a trailer's should be who looks and who listens + By day and by night, having no one to talk to. + His finger was quick when it handled the trigger, + And his eye loved the sights as lightning loves rivers. + I've seen him stand up when the odds were against him. + Stand up like a man who takes coolly the chances. + That proves he was brave as I understand it. + + One day we were boating on far Mistassinni. + We were fetching the portage above the great rapids, + Where they whirled, roaring down, freshet full, at their whitest, + When we saw from a rock that stretched outward and over + The wild hissing water as it swept on in thunder, + A canoe coming down, rolling over and over, + With a little papoose clinging tight to the lashings; + And as it lanced by Jack went in like an otter. + How he did it God knows, but at the foot of the rapids, + Half a mile farther down racing onward, I found him + High and dry on the beach in a faint like a woman, + With the little papoose pulling away at his jacket. + And when he came to, he put child to his shoulder, + Nor stopped till it lay in the arms of its mother. + + We were trailing, Henry and I, trailing and trapping + In the land to the north, where fur was the thickest, + And knaves were as plenty as mink or as otter. + We took turns at sleeping, and trailed our line double + To keep our own skins, if we didn't get others. + It was folly to stay where we were, and we knew it, + For the knaves they got thicker, and soon there was shooting + Going on pretty lively. But we held to the business + And scouted the line once a week like true trappers. + And no accident happened save some holes in our jackets, + And my powder-horn emptied by a vagabond's bullet. + So we mended our clothing and felt pretty lively. + But the signs pointed one way. Our enemies thickened + Around us each day, and we weren't quite decided + To stand in for a fight and settle the matter, + Or pull up our traps and get out of the country, + When it settled itself. And in this way it happened. + + We were scouting the lake on the west shore one morning, + To find the knaves' camp and how many were in it, + When a short space ahead there came of a sudden + A crash as of thunder, and we knew that a dozen + Or twenty placed rifles had burst an ambushment. + And then in an instant there sounded another. + Two sharp, twin reports and the death yells that followed + Told us as we listened where the lead had been driven. + Knew who he was? Of course. The man was Jack Whitcomb. + Do you think men who live by trapping and shooting + Don't learn to distinguish the voice of their rifles? + Jack was trailing the lake to find our encampment, + For far away in the south there had come to his cabin + A rumor that we in the north land were holding + Our line and our furs with a good deal of shooting. + So he left his own traps and came by swift trailing + To give us the help of another good rifle. + That was just like Jack Whitcomb. If you were in trouble + He was there by your side. You could always count on him, + With finger on trigger and both barrels loaded. + + So Henry and I both took to our covers + Right and left of the trail Jack must take in retreating. + We didn't wait long, for the boy knew his business, + And soon he came backward, loading and running, + Like a man who was busy but wouldn't be hurried + Beyond his own gait, if he stopped there forever. + As he passed our two covers I piped him a whistle; + And he stopped in his tracks, and with low, pleasant laughter, + Stood there in full view coolly capping the nipples. + I have shot on each Gulf, both Southern and Northern. + I have trailed the long trail between either ocean. + Brave men I have seen, both in good and in evil, + But never a braver than the man called Jack Whitcomb. + Well, why describe it? Call it scrimmage or battle, + It was done in a minute, or it may be a dozen. + It came like a whirlwind, and we three were in it + As men are in whirlwinds. It came like the thunder, + With a crash and a roar and a long running rumble + Dying down into silence. There were dead and some wounded, + And a few lucky knaves that fled wildly backward; + And Henry and I, when it passed, were left standing + By the body of him whose name was Jack Whitcomb, + Who lay as he fell, when headlong he tumbled, + His rifle still clinched and both barrels smoking. + I have seen in my life many wounds made by bullets, + And a good many gashes by spear-points and arrows. + I have learned in my trailing a good many simples + Which have power to keep men from crossing the river + Before the Lord calls with voice that is certain. + And the wound that we found on Jack Whitcomb's body, + Though ugly and deep, was not beyond curing. + + We cleansed and we stanched it and fought a brave battle + With death, for his life, and we won. For Jack mended. + We made a canoe and we bore him far southward. + A hundred good miles down the river we boated, + Till we came to his house of huge logs, strongly builded, + Beneath the big pines on the bank of a rapid, + Which under it flowed its soft rush of brown water. + 'Twas a place to bring peace to a heart that was troubled, + If peace might be found this side of the silence + Which brings peace to all that know sorrow in living. + + Yes, we boated him down to his home by the rapids. + His home? No, rather his house let us call it. + For how can a house be a home with naught in it? + In house that is home must be love, warm and human, + A voice that is sweet, a heart that is gentle, + A soul that is true, and beside these a cradle + That prattles and coos; and the quick-falling patter + Of little white feet that run hither and thither. + To his house, and not to his home, then, we brought him, + For certainly nothing and no one was in it, + Save himself and a dog, a bed and a table, + Some chairs, a few books, and a--Picture. + And this was the story that he told us in dying. + The man might have lived, beyond doubt, had he cared to. + But he didn't. No motive, he said. And he had none, + As we felt later on, when he told us his story. + So he died without word or sign. And in silence + We stood and saw him go forth on his journey + Without speaking a word, without a hand lifted + To hold or to stop him, for we did not feel certain + What was wisdom for one who went forth in such fashion. + Perhaps it was best he should go and be over + With pain, loss and trouble for ever and ever. + Henry says, it were well we should all of us go + When life has no aim and no hope; and no doing + Remains to be done; and days are but eating + And drinking and breathing, only these and no more. + + But before he went forth he gave me a message. + "I loved her," so his story began. Henry, + You remember the look on his face as he said it, + As he lay with his eyes fixed fast on the Picture? + "She was strong, and she drew me as life draws the young + And as death draws the old. I could not resist her. + She was vital with force, to attract and to hold. + She raced me a race for my life, and she won it. + I was man, not a boy, and I loved as man loves + When the forces of life are in him full-flooded + As rivers in meadows, when they flow to the sedges. + Did she love me? Perhaps. Who can tell? She was woman, + And hence she was dark as the night, and as hidden! + Who could find her? Who the depth of her nature + Might measure? I tried but could not. Then boldly + I spake--spake as man speaks but once unto woman. + True and straight did I say it man fashion. + But she drew back offended; she shrank from my praying, + And with coldness of tone and suspicion dismissed me. + Had a man shown a tithe of that look in his eye, + On his face, he or I would have died on the instant. + But what can a man do, when scorned by a woman? + So I left her. + + I need not say more. My life it was ended. + It wasn't worth living;--I am made in that fashion. + So I came to the woods. Where else when in trouble + Can man go and find what he needs, consolation? + Go you down to her house, in the city, John Norton, + To the house where she lives, and give her this message. + Word for word let her hear it,--say where you left me. + There's gold in that box to pay your expenses. + Word for word as I tell you, nor say a word further." + Then he bade us good-by, and marched away bravely, + As a man on a trail that is somewhat uncertain. + And under the pines on the bank of the rapids + We buried the man whom the woods called--Jack Whitcomb, + And the picture he loved we placed on his bosom. + + * * * * * + + I went down to her house in the city. A cabin + Of stone, brown as tamarack bark, trimmed with olive. + It was high as a pine that stands on a mountain. + The door was as wide as the mouth of a cavern. + At the door stood a man rigged up like a soldier; + His face was as solemn as judgment to sinners; + He looked at me some, and I looked him all over, + Then he suddenly bowed like a half-breed with manners, + And told me to enter, and he would call Madame. + The room was as large as a town house where settlers + Hold meetings to vote themselves office and wages. + The walls were like caves in far Arizona. + All covered with pictures of houses and battles; + Of ships blown onward by gales in mid-ocean; + Of children with wings, pretty queer-looking creatures; + Of men and of women, and some were half-naked. + But the floor was of oak, which gleamed like a polish; + And with mats thick as moss, and with skins it was covered, + So I felt quite at home, as there I stood looking, + And noting the size and signs of the cabin. + + Then, all of a sudden, there came a soft rustle, + Like the rustle of leaves when the wind blows in autumn. + And down the wide stairway across the great hall, + To the door of the room in which I was standing, + Stately and swift, came a woman and entered. + Tall as the tallest. Made firmly, knit firmly + Both in form and in limb, but full and well rounded; + Dark of eye, dark of face, with hair like a raven, + Like the girls of Nevada, where live the old races, + Whose blood is as fire, and whose skin is of olive, + Whose mouths are as sweet as a fig when it ripens. + Arms bare to the shoulders. Neck and bosom uncovered. + Her gown of white satin gleamed and flowed downward + And round her in folds of soft, creamy whiteness. + No ring on her hand, nor in ear. Not a circle + Of gold round her throat. One armlet of silver, + And one at her wrist loosely clasped, small and slender. + So she entered and stood, and looked me all over. + + Then slowly she spake. "Your name, sir, and business?" + "Madame," I said, "in the woods men call me John Norton; + John Norton, the Trapper." Then I stopped mighty sudden, + For her face it grew white to the lips and the chin, + And she swayed as a tree to the stroke of the chopper + When he sinks his axe in to the heart and it totters + And quivers. So I stopped, stopped quick and stood looking. + + Then her dark face it lighted, and she said, speaking quickly: + "John Norton, I know you. I know you are honest. + You live in the woods. You are good. I can trust you. + All men, I have heard, come to you in their trouble. + Have you seen in the North, have you met in the woods, + Has there come to your cabin a man, tall as you, + Brave as you and as tender? A man like to this?" + And out of her gown, from the folds on her bosom, + She lifted a locket of pearl-colored velvet, + Touched a spring, and I saw, as the lid of it opened, + The face of the man I and Henry had buried! + + "John Norton," she cried, and her eyes burned like fever. + Her hand shook and trembled, her face was as marble, + "Have you seen in the woods man like to this picture? + Speak quick and speak true as to woman in trouble. + For I did him great wrong, I thought he held lightly + My fair name and fame; held lightly my honor. + I thought he meant evil, and my heart, filled with anger, + Dismissed him in scorn; but I learned, I learned later, + He was true, and spake truth and loved me as heaven." + + Then I stood and I looked and held my face steady, + So it gave her no sign of what I was thinking. + I saw she was honest, and I wished then to spare her, + But my word it was pledged, pledged to him in dying, + To stand as I stood, face to face with this woman, + In her house, in that room, and give her his message. + Beside, not to know is far worse than the knowing + At times. So I rallied and told her the message, + Word for word, as he charged, the night he lay dying + In his house on the bank above the swift rapids. + + "Madame," I said, "I have seen man like that picture, + Face and form. He was brave as you say. He was tender. + He was true unto death, and he loved you as heaven. + And these are the words that he sent you in dying. + I, a man of the woods, bring you this as last message, + From one who now sleeps on the bank of the rapids + Of that northern river which pours its brown water + To the Lake of St. John from far Mistassinni. + 'Tell her, John Norton, I loved her. Loved her in living, + With a love that was true, and with same love in dying. + Loved her like a man, like a saint, like a sinner, + For time now and time ever. That the one picture + She gave me I kept;--living, dying, and after. + That it lies on the breast of the man that you buried; + On the breast of the man who living did love her, + And that there it will lie until it shall crumble, + With heart underneath it, to dust. So tell her. + And in proof that I tell her the truth, and did tell it + The night when we met, and I told her I loved her, + Give her this, the watch that I wore on the evening + We met, and the evening we parted. Let her open + And see. With her eyes let her see that I loved her. + So say and no more." + + Thus I spake. Word for word as he told me I spake. + I gave her the watch, and I said no word further. + I had done as I pledged, I had said as he charged me, + So I stopped and stood waiting for word of dismissal. + But she said not a word, nor made she a sign. + The watch she took from me, touched the spring and it opened, + And there, 'twixt the glass and the gold, withered and faded, + Lay a leaf of Red Rose. One leaf, and--no more. + + For a moment she stood; stood, and gazed at the leaf, + Her face grew as white as her gown, and she trembled + And shook like a white swan in dying, then she cried, + "My God, I have killed him, my lover!" + And down on the floor, on the skins at her feet + She dropped as one stricken by bullet or lightning. + + It was only last month that we two, in trailing, + Trailed a hundred good miles across to the rapids. + For we wanted to see before going northward + If evil had come to the grave of our comrade. + But the grave lay untouched, by beast or by human. + The grass on the mound was well rooted and growthful. + At the foot of the grave the rose-tree I planted + Was as high as my head. And the leaves of the roses + Lay as thick as red snow-flakes on the mound that was under. + And we knew that on breast, as he slept, was her picture. + So we felt, as we gazed, it was well with Jack Whitcomb. + + But often at night, when alone in my cabin, + I hear the low murmur of far northern rapids. + And often I see the great house and its splendor, + And wonder if death has helped the proud woman + To lay off her grief and escape from her sorrow. + And blazed a line through the dark Valley of Shadow, + And brought her in peace to the edge of the clearing, + Where I know she would see Jack Whitcomb stand, waiting. + + So I say it again, and I say it with knowledge, + That the woods have their sorrows as well as the cities. + And he knows but little of this great northern forest + Who thinks there's naught in it save trees, lakes, and mountains. + + + +SELECT LIST +OF +Standard and Popular +BOOKS + +PUBLISHED BY + +DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO., +_361-365 WASHINGTON STREET, +BOSTON, MASS._ + +Any book on this list will be sent, postpaid, on receipt of price. + +_In addition to the works mentioned in this list, we will furnish any +books in the market at lowest possible prices, and would respectfully +solicit correspondence in regard to prices or any desired information._ + +_DeWOLFE, FISKE & CO., Boston, Mass._ + +_P.S.--Catalogue of books at special reductions mailed free to any +address._ + + +_Standard and Popular Books_ + +PUBLISHED BY + +DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO., + +PUBLISHERS, GENERAL BOOKSELLERS, AND LIBRARY AGENTS, + +_Boston, Mass._ + +* * + *_In order to insure the correct delivery +of the actual works, or particular Editions specified in this List, the +name of the Publishers should be distinctly given. These books can be +had from any local bookseller; but should any difficulty be experienced +in procuring them, Messrs. DeWolfe, Fiske & Co., will be happy to +forward them direct, postage paid, on receipt of cheque, stamps or +Postal order for the amount, with a copy of their complete catalogue._ + + * * * * * + +NEW EDITIONS OF W. H. H. MURRAY'S FAMOUS BOOKS. + +=DAYLIGHT LAND.= The experiences, incidents, and adventures, humorous and +otherwise, which befell Judge John Doe, Tourist, of San Francisco; Mr. +Cephas Pepperell, Capitalist, of Boston; Colonel Goffe, the man from New +Hampshire, and divers others, in their Parlor-Car Excursion over Prairie +and Mountain; as recorded and set forth by W. H. H. MURRAY. Superbly +illustrated with 150 cuts in various colors by the best artists. 8vo, +350 pages. Unique paper covers, $2.50; cloth, $3.50; cloth, extra gilt, +$4.00. + +_The New York Herald_; says, + +Impossible to find a handsomer book on outdoor life than this. The +author's peculiar faculty for describing days in the woods and rambles +with good company has long been known. "Daylight Land" is longer than +the book in which the same author made the Adirondacks seem some other +place to men whose eyes were not as wide-open as his own, and the style +is even breezier, if that is possible. Seldom does a book appear which +is so entirely creditable to author, artist, and publisher. + +=HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY KEPT NEW YEAR'S, and Other Stories.= +By W. H. H. MURRAY, author of "Adirondack Tales," etc. 12mo. +Illustrated. $1.25. + +Deacon Tubman, a jolly, fat, good-natured man, is presented with a +woollen night-cap on New Year's morning by his housekeeper, "a typical +spinster not overburdened with fat." This so rejoices the Deacon that he +is possessed to make others happy, goes to call upon his pastor, and +makes him leave his books and spend the day skating, sleighing, and +driving with his parishioners. + + * * * * * + + +=STORY THE KEG TOLD ME, AND THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW MUCH.= By +W. H. H. MURRAY, author of "Daylight Land," "Adirondack Adventures," +etc. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. + +"Two admirable stories by W. H. H. Murray, in both which appears John +Norton, the trapper, a character that promises to become as much of a +favorite as is the hero of the Leather Stocking novels. These stories +have a bracing outdoor freshness and a delightfully crisp realism: are +vigorous in tone, and strong and picturesque in the relation. Taken +altogether, they may be pronounced in the most artistic of Mr. Murray's +excursions into the realms of fiction, and fascinating generally." +--_Saturday Evening Gazette._ + + +=DEACONS.= By W. H. H. MURRAY. 16mo. Paper, 50 cts. Cloth, 75 cts. + +"Mr. Murray is an expert in the art of character drawing; he can +manipulate humor and pathos with equal facility. No one will gainsay +their freshness and individuality."--_N. Y. Commercial Advertiser._ + + +=ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES.= "In the Wilderness; or, Camp Life in the +Adirondacks." By W. H. H. MURRAY, 12mo. Illustrated. Paper, 50 cts. +Cloth, $1.25. + +"In the 'Adventures in the Wilderness' W. H. H. Murray strikes the happy +hunting ground, which long ago earned for him the popular title, +'Adirondack Murray,' and here, as in his other books, he fairly revels +in stirring incident, lively and faithful conception of character, and +the powerful but delightful description of natural scenery which have +already given his work an enviable and lasting place in American +literature."--_Nashville American._ + + +=THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN, AND OTHER STORIES.= By W. H. H. MURRAY. With +photogravure portrait of Mr. Murray, and eight full-page illustrations +by Thos. Worth. Square 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. + + * * * * * + +=CIVILIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND OTHER ESSAYS CONCERNING AMERICA.= +By MATTHEW ARNOLD. 16mo. Unique paper boards, 50 cts. Cloth, uncut, +$1.25. The cloth binding matches the uniform edition of his collected +works. Comprises the critical essays, which created so much discussion, +namely, "General Grant, an Estimate," "A Word About America," "A Word +More About America," and "Civilization in the United States." The +collection gathers in the great critic's last contribution to +literature. + + * * * * * + + +BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY. + +=THE AGE OF CHIVALRY; Or Legends of King Arthur.= "Stories of the Round +Table," "The Crusades," "Robin Hood," etc. By THOMAS BULFINCH. A new and +enlarged edition. Revised by Rev. E. E. HALE. Large 12mo. Illustrated. +$2.50. + +In "The Age of Fable," Mr. Bulfinch endeavored to impart the pleasure of +classical learning to the English reader by presenting the stories of +Pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern taste. In this volume the +attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the second +"age of fable"--the age which witnessed the dawn of the several states +of modern Europe. + + +=THE AGE OF FABLE; Or, Beauties of Mythology.= By THOMAS BULFINCH. A new +and enlarged edition, containing over 100 illustrations from ancient +paintings and statuary. Revised by Rev. E. E. HALE. Large 12mo. $2.50. + +Young readers will find this book a source of entertainment; those more +advanced, a useful companion in their reading; those who travel and +visit museums and galleries of art, an interpreter of paintings and +sculptures. + + +=LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE; Or, Romance of the Middle Ages.= Stories of +Paladin and Saracen. By THOMAS BULFINCH. 12mo. Illustrated. $2.50. + + * * * * * + +PROF. CLARK MURRAY'S WORKS. + +=SOLOMON MAIMON=: An Autobiography. Translated from the German, with +Additions and Notes, by Prof. J. CLARK MURRAY. Cr. 8vo. Cloth. 307 +pages. $2.00. + +The London _Spectator_ says: "Dr. Clark Murray has had the rare good +fortune of first presenting this singularly vivid book in an English +translation as pure and lively as if it were an original, and an +original by a classic English writer." + +George Eliot, in "Daniel Deronda," mentions it as "that wonderful bit of +autobiography--the life of the Polish Jew, Solomon Maimon:" and Milman, +in his "History of the Jews," refers to it as a curious and rare book. + + +=HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY.= By Prof. J. CLARK MURRAY, LL.D., Professor of +Mental and Moral Philosophy, M'Gill College, Montreal. Cr. 8vo. 2d +edition, enlarged and improved. $1.75. + +Clearly and simply written, with illustrations so well chosen that the +dullest student can scarcely fail to take an interest in the subject. + +Adopted for use in colleges in Scotland, England, Canada, and the United +States. + +Prof. Murray's good fortune in bringing to light the "Maimon Memoirs," +together with the increasing popularity of his "Handbook of Psychology," +has attracted the attention of the intellectual world, giving him a +position with the leaders of thought of the present age. His writings +are at once original and suggestive. + + * * * * * + + +_Standard and Popular Books._ + +THE POPULAR WORKS OF SALLY PRATT MCLEAN. + +=CAPE COD FOLKS.= A Novel. Twenty-third edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, +$1.25. Paper, 50 cents. + +=TOWHEAD: THE STORY OF A GIRL.= Fifth Thousand. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, +50 cents. + +Since the production of Miss McLean's first effort "Cape Cod Folks," she +has steadily advanced in intellectual development; the same genius is at +work in a larger and more artistic manner, until she has at length +produced what must be truly considered as her masterpiece, and which we +have the pleasure to announce for immediate publication. + +=SOME OTHER FOLKS.= A Book in Four Stories. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, 50 +cents. + +These books are so well known that further comment seems superfluous. +Suffice it to say that the entire press of the country has unanimously +spoken of them in terms of high praise, dwelling not only on their +delicious humor, their literary workmanship, their genuine pathos, and +their real power and eloquence, but what has been described as their +deep, true _humanness_, and the inimitable manner in which the mirror is +held up to nature that all may see reflected therein some familiar +trait, some description or character which is at once recognized. + +=LASTCHANCE JUNCTION: HUMAN NATURE IN THE FAR WEST.= A Novel. By SALLY +PRATT MCLEAN. 1 vol. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. + +"Terse, incisive descriptions of men and scenery, drawn with so vivid a +pen that one can see the characters and their setting, delicious bits of +humor, passages full of infinite pathos, make this book absolutely hold +the reader from the title to the last word, and as, when finished, one +sighs for the pity of it, the feeling rises that such a work has not +been written in vain, and will have its place among those which tend to +elevate our race." + +=MISS FRANCES MERLEY.= A Novel. By JOHN ELLIOT CURRAN. 420 pages. Square +16mo. Paper covers, 50 cents. Cloth, $1.00. + +The first important work of an author familiar to American readers by +his remarkable sketches to _Scribner's_ and other magazines. + +=AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A NEW ENGLAND FARM HOUSE=: A Romance of the Cape Cod +Lands. By N. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 380 pages. Square 16mo. Paper covers, 50 +cents. Cloth, $1.00. + +A novel of singular power and beauty, great originality and rugged +force. Born and bred on Cape Cod, the author, at the winter firesides of +country people, very conservative of ancient English customs now gone, +heard curious talk of kings, Puritan ministers, the war and precedent +struggle of our Revolution, and touched a race of men and women now +passed away. He also heard, chiefly from ancient women, the traditions +of ghosts, witches and Indians, as they are preserved, and to a degree +believed, by honest Christian folk, in the very teeth of modern +progress. + + + _Publishers_, +_DeWolfe, Fiske & Co._ _Booksellers_, _BOSTON._ + _Library Agents_. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories, by +W. H. H. 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H. H. Murray. + </title> + <style type="text/css"> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; } + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both;} + +p { + margin-top: .75em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .75em;} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; + clear: both;} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /*visibility: hidden;*/ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: smaller; + text-align: right;} /* page numbers */ + + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%;} + + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.caption {font-weight: bold;} + +.u {text-decoration: underline;} + +/* Images */ +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center;} + +.dropcap {float: left; + width: auto;} + +.border1 {border-color: #000000; + border:1px solid} + +.border2 {border:2px solid} + + </style> + </head> +<body> + + +<pre> + +Project Gutenberg's The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories, by W. H. H. Murray + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories + +Author: W. H. H. Murray + +Release Date: April 5, 2009 [EBook #28502] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ISO-8859-1 + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Woodie4 and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + + +</pre> + + +<p>Transcriber note: <br /> +A list of contents was not in the original book and has been added.</p> + + + +<h1>THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN +AND OTHER STORIES</h1> + +<h3>BY</h3> + +<h2>W. H. H. MURRAY</h2> + + +<div class="figcenter border2" style="width: 470px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/cover.png" width="470" height="600" alt="Cover" title="Cover" /> +<br /></div> + +<p><br /><br /><br /></p> + +<div class="figcenter border2" style="width: 470px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/front.png" width="470" height="600" alt="W.H.H. Murray" title="W.H.H. Murray" /> +<span class="caption">W.H.H. Murray</span><br /><br /> +</div> + +<p><br /><br /></p> + +<h3>THE</h3> + +<h2>BUSTED EX-TEXAN</h2> + +<h4>AND</h4> + +<h2>OTHER STORIES</h2> + +<h5>BY</h5> + +<h3>W. H. H. MURRAY</h3> + +<h6>AUTHOR OF "DAYLIGHT LAND," "THE STORY THE KEG TOLD ME,"<br /> +"ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES," ETC.</h6> + +<h5>PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT AND EIGHT FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS<br /> +BY THOS. WORTH.</h5> + +<h3>BOSTON<br /> + +DE WOLFE, FISKE & CO., PUBLISHERS</h3> + +<h6>1890<br /></h6> + +<h4><span class="smcap">Copyright 1889 by W. H. H. Murray.</span></h4> + +<h6>ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.<br /><br /><br /></h6> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Contents"> + +<tr><td align="left"> +</td><td align="right">Page</td></tr> + +<tr><td align="left">The Busted Ex-Texan</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_5">5</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="left">How Deacon Tubman And Parson Whitney Celebrated New Year's.</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_55">55</a></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="left">The Leaf Of Red Rose</td> +<td align="right"><a href="#Page_85">85</a></td></tr> + +</table><br /><br /></div> + +<h3>ILLUSTRATIONS.</h3> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" summary="Illustrations"> + +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#I">I.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">"I am a Busted ex-Texan."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#II">II.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">"Practically Inside the Pail."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#III">III.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">"And when I Came Down."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#IV">IV.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">"Lay Aboard of the Old Cuss."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#V">V.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">"Luff Her Up—Luff Her Up."</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#VI">VI.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Deacon and Parson.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#VII">VII.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The Race.</span></td></tr> +<tr><td align="right"><a href="#VIII">VIII.</a></td> +<td align="left"><span class="smcap">The First Prize for the</span> <i>Wickedest Cow</i>.</td></tr> +</table><br /><br /></div> + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_5" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN.</h2> + +<p> +<span class="dropcap"><img src="images/w.jpg" alt="We" title="drop capital" /></span> + were camped amid the foot-hills on the trail which led up to the +Kicking Horse Pass. The sun had already passed from sight, beyond the +white summits above us, and the shadow of the monstrous mountain range +darkened the prairie to the east, to the horizon's rim. Our bivouac was +made in a grove of lofty firs, six or eight in number; and a little +rivulet, trickling from the upper slopes, fell, with soft, lapsing +sound, within a few feet of our camp-fire. We did not even pitch a tent, +for the sky was mild, and above us the monstrous trees lifted their +protecting canopy of stems. The hammocks were swung for the ladies, and +each gentleman "preëmpted" the claim that suited him best, by depositing +his<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_6" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</a></span> blanket and rifle upon it. The entire party were in the best of +spirits, and nature responded to our happiness in its kindest mood. +Laughter sounded pleasantly at intervals from the busy groups, each +working at some self-appointed industry. The hum of cheerful +conversation mingled with the murmurs of the brook; and now and then the +snatch of some sweet song would break from tuneful lips, brief, +spirited, melodious as a bobolink's, dashing upward from the +clover-heads. And before the mighty shadow lying gloomily on the great +prairie plain, which stretched eastward for a thousand miles, had grown +to darkness, the active, happy workers had given to the bivouac that +look of designed orderliness which a trained party always give to any +spot they select in which to make a camp or pass a night. An hour +before, there was nothing to distinguish that grove of trees, or the +ground beneath them, from any other spot or hill within the reach of +eye. But now it commanded the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_7" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</a></span> landscape; and, had you been trailing +over the vast plain, the bright firelight, the group of men and women +moving to and fro, the picketed horses, the fluttering bits of color +here and there, would have caught your gaze ten miles away; and were you +tired or hungry, or even lonesome, you would have naturally turned your +horse's head toward that camp as toward a cheerful reception and a home; +for wherever is happy human life, to it all lonely life is drawn as by a +magnet.</p> + +<p>And this was demonstrated by our experience then and there. For, +scarcely had we done with supper,—and by this time the gloom had grown +to darkness, and the half-light of evening held the landscape,—when out +of the semi-gloom there came a call,—the call of a man hailing a camp. +Indeed, we were not sure he had not hailed several times before we heard +him; for, to tell the truth, we were a very merry crowd, and as light of +heart as if there was not a worry or care in all the world,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_8" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</a></span>—at least +for us,—and the smallest spark of a joke exploded us like a battery. +Indeed, so rollicking was our mood that our laughter was nearly +continuous, and it is quite possible that the stranger may have hailed +us more than once without our hearing him. And this was the more likely +because the man's voice was not of the loudest, nor was it positive in +the energy of its appeal.</p> + +<p>Indeed, there was a certain feebleness or timidity in the stranger's +hail, as if he was mistrustful that any good fortune could respond to +him, and, hence, deprecated the necessity of the resort. But hear him we +did at last, and he was greeted with a chorus of voices to "Come in! +Come in! You're welcome!" And partly because we had finished our repast, +and partly from courtesy and the natural promptings of gentlefolk to +give a visitor courteous greeting, we all arose and received him +standing. And, certainly, had the kindly act been unusual with us, not +one of our group<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_9" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</a></span> would have regretted the extra condescension bestowed +upon him at his coming, after he had entered the circle of our +firelight, and we saw the expression of his features.</p> + +<p>What a mirror the human face is! Looking into it, how we behold the +soul, the accidents that have befallen it and the disappointments it has +borne! Are not the faces of men as carved tablets on which we read the +records of their lives? The face of childhood is smoothly beautiful, +like a white page on which neither with ink of red or black has any pen +drawn character. But, as the years go on, the pen begins to move and the +fatal tracery to grow,—that tracery which means and tells so much. And +the face of this man,—this waif, so to speak,—this waif that had come +to us from the stretch of the prairie, whose southern line is the +southern gulf; this stranger, who had come so suddenly to the circle of +our light, and so plaintively sought admission to its comfort and its +cheer, was a face which one might read<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_10" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</a></span> at a glance. Not one in our +circle that did not instantly feel that he embodied some overwhelming +calamity. A look of sadness, of a mild, continuous sorrow, overspread +his face. There was a pitiful expression about the mouth, as if brave +determination had withdrawn its lines from it forever. From his eyes a +certain mistrustfulness looked forth,—not mistrustfulness of others, +but of himself,—as if confidence in his own powers had received an +overwhelming shock. The man's appearance made an instant and +unmistakable impression upon the entire company. The ladies—God bless +their sweet and sympathetic natures!—were profoundly moved at the +pitiful aspect of our guest. Their bosoms thrilled with sympathy for one +upon whose devoted head evil fortune had so evidently emptied its +quiver. Nor were our less sensitive masculine natures untouched by his +forlorn appearance.</p> + +<p>"A target for evil fortune," whispered Dick to the major.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_11" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</a></span></p> + +<p>"A regular bull's-eye!" was the solemn response. "A bull's-eye, by gad! +at the end of the score."</p> + +<p>It was not a poetic expression. I wish the reader to note that I do not +record it as such. I only preserve it as evidence of the major's +humanity, and of the unaffected sympathy for the stranger, which at that +moment filled all hearts.</p> + +<p>Naturally, as it can well be imagined, the gayety of our company had +been utterly checked by the coming of our sad guest. In the presence of +such a wreck of human happiness, perhaps of human hope, what person of +any sensibility could maintain a lightsome mood? Had it not been for one +peculiarity,—a peculiarity, I am confident, all of us observed,—the +depression of our spirits would have been as profound as it was +universal. This peculiarity was the stranger's appetite. This, +fortunately, had remained unimpaired,—an oasis in the Sahara of his +life.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_12" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</a></span></p> + +<p>"The one remnant left him from the wreck of his fortunes," whispered +Dick.</p> + +<p>"A perfect remnant!" returned the major, sententiously.</p> + +<p>For myself, acting as host to this appetite, and being naturally of a +philosophic turn, I watched its development with the keenest interest, +not to say with a growing curiosity. "Here is something," I said to +myself, "that is unique. That fine law of recompense which is kindly +distributed through the universe finds here," I reflected, "a most +instructive and conclusive demonstration. Robbed, by an adverse fate, of +all that made life agreeable, this man, this pilgrim of time, this +wayfarer to eternity, this companion of mine on the road of life, has +had bestowed upon him an extraordinary solace, has been permitted to +retain a commensurate satisfaction. Surely, life cannot have lost its +attractions for one whose stomach still preserves such aspirations." +And, prompted by the benevolence of my mood, and the antici<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_13" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</a></span>pations of a +wise forecast, I collected in front of me whatever edibles remained on +the table, that, if the supply of our hospitality should prove +insufficient, the exhibition of its spirit should at least be +conclusive.</p> + +<p>But, if the countenance of the stranger was of a most melancholy cast, +there were not lacking hints that by nature he had been endowed with +vivacity of spirit; for, as he continued, with an industry which was +remarkable, to refresh himself, there were appearances, which came to +the eye and the corners of his mouth, which made the observer conclude +that he was not lacking the sense of humor; and, if his experience had +been most unfortunate, there was in him an ability to appreciate the +ludicrousness of its changeful situations. Indeed, one could but +conclude that originally he must have been of a buoyant, not to say +sanguine disposition; and, if one could but prevail upon him to narrate +the incidents of his life, they would be found to be most entertaining.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_14" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</a></span></p> + +<p>It was something like an hour before our melancholy-looking guest had +fully improved the opportunity with which a benignant Providence had +supplied him,—a freak in which, one might conclude, she seldom +indulged. He ceased to eat, and sat for a moment gazing pensively at the +dishes. It seemed to me—but in this I may possibly be mistaken—that a +darker shade of sadness possessed his face at the conclusion than the +one that shadowed it so heavily at the beginning of the repast. "The +pleasures of hope," I said to myself, "are evidently greater to my +species than are those of recollection. Now that there is nothing left +for my guest to anticipate, it is evident that memory ceases to excite." +And I could but feel that, had our provisions been more abundant, the +stranger's appetite would not have been so easily appeased. With +something of regret in my voice, I sought to divert his mind from that +sense of disappointment which I judged from his countenance threatened +to oppress his spirits.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_15" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Friend," I said, "I doubt not that you have trailed a goodly distance, +and your fasting has been long?"</p> + +<p>"I have not eaten a meal in two days," was the response.</p> + +<p>"Heavens!" exclaimed Dick in an aside to the major. "Is it credible that +that man ate two days ago!"</p> + +<p>"Gad!" exclaimed the major, "the man's stomach is nothing but a pocket."</p> + +<p>"A pocket! I should call it an unexplored cavern!" retorted Dick.</p> + +<p>"The direction and reason of your long trail would be interesting," I +resumed. "And, if not impertinent, friend, may I ask you whence you have +come?"</p> + +<p>"I have journeyed from Texas," replied the man, and his voice nearly +broke as he said it.</p> + +<p>"<i>Oh!</i>" exclaimed the ladies, and they sympathetically grouped +themselves, anticipating, with true feminine sensitiveness, some +terrible dénouement.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_16" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</a></span></p> + +<p>"<i>Texas!</i>" I ejaculated.</p> + +<p>"<i>Gad!</i>" said the major.</p> + +<p>"The <i>Devil!</i>" said Dick.</p> + +<p>"Yes, <i>Texas!</i>" repeated the man, and he groaned.</p> + +<p>By this time, as any intelligent reader will easily divine, our whole +group was in a condition of mild excitement. Several of us had resided +in Texas, and we felt that we stood at the threshold of a history,—a +history with infinite possibilities in it. For myself, I knew not how to +proceed. My position as a host forbade me to interrogate. The sorrows of +life are sacred, and my sensitiveness withheld me from thrusting myself +within the enclosure of my guest's recollections. That his experiences, +could we but be favored with a narration of them, would be +entertaining,—painfully entertaining,—I keenly realized; but how to +proceed I saw not. I remained silent.</p> + +<p>"Yes,"—it was the stranger who broke the silence,—"I am a busted +ex-Texan!"<br /><br /></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_17" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</a></span></p> + +<p><a name="I" id="I"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 412px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/page17.png" width="412" height="600" alt="I am a Busted ex-Texan." title="I am a Busted ex-Texan." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">I am a Busted ex-Texan.</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>The relief that came to me at the instant was indescribable. The path +was made plain. We all felt that we were not only on the threshold of a +history, but of a narration of that history. The ladies fluttered into +position for listening. I could but see it, and so I am bound to record +that I saw Dick irreverently punch the major. It was a punch which +carried with it the significance of an exclamation. The major received +it with the face of a Spartan, but with the grunt of a Chinook chief.</p> + +<p>"Friend," I said, "we are accustomed to beguile the evening hours with +entertaining descriptions of travels, often of personal incidents of the +haps and hazards of life; and, if it would not be disagreeable to you, +we would be vastly entertained, beyond doubt, by any narration with +which you might favor us of your Texan experiences and of the fortunes +which befell you there."</p> + +<p>For a few moments, the silence remained unbroken, save by the crackle of +the fire and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_18" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</a></span> the soft movement in the great firs overhead,—a movement +which is to sound what dawn is to the day; not so much a sound as a +feathery suggestion that sound might come. It was a genial hour, and the +mood of the hour began to be felt in our own. The warmth of it evidently +penetrated the bosom of our guest. He had eaten. He was +filled,—appreciably so at least, and that happy feeling, that +comfortable sense of fulness, which characterizes the after-dinner hour, +pervaded him with its genial glow. He loosened his belt,—another +tremendous nudge from Dick,—and a look of contentment softened his +features. Whatever storm had wrecked his life, he had now passed beyond +its billows, and from the sure haven into which he had been blown he +could gaze with complacent resignation, if not with happiness, at the +dangers through which he had passed. I am sure that we were all +delighted at the brightening appearance of our guest, and felt that, if +the story he was to tell us was one which included<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_19" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</a></span> disasters, it would +at least be lightened by traces of humor and the calm acceptance of a +philosophic mind.</p> + +<p>"I was born in the State of Connecticut," so our guest began his +narration. "I came from a venturesome stock, and the instinct of +commercial enterprise may be regarded as hereditary in my family. My +grandfather was the first one to discover the tropical attributes of the +beech-wood tree. He first perceived that it contained within its fibres +the pungency of the nutmeg. With a celerity which we remember with pride +in our family, he availed himself of the commercial value of his +discovery, and for years did a prosperous trade on the credulity of +mankind. He was a man of humor,—a sense which has been to some extent +transmitted to myself,—he was a man of humor, and I have no doubt he +enjoyed the joke he was practising on people, fully as much as the +profits which the practical embodiment of his humor brought to his +pocket. My father<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_20" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</a></span> was a deacon, a man of true piety and eminently +respectable. He was engaged in the retail-grocery business,—a business +which offers opportunities to a person of wit and of an inventive turn +of mind. The butter that he sold was salted invariably by one rule—a +rule which he discovered and applied in the cellar of the store himself; +and the sugar which he sold, if it was sanded, was always sanded by a +method which improved rather than detracted from its appearance."</p> + +<p>Here our guest paused a moment, as if enjoying the recollections of the +virtues of his ancestors. His face was as sober as ever, but his look +was one of contentment; and I could but note the suggestion of +merriment—the merriment of a happy memory—in his eye. How happy it is +for an offspring to be able to recall the character of his forefathers +with such liveliness of mind!</p> + +<p>"The motive which impelled me towards Texas," he resumed, "was one which +was<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_21" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</a></span> natural for me to feel, thus ancestrally connected. I had heired my +father's business,—the deacon, who had died full of honors, ripe in +years, and in perfect peace. But the business did not prosper in my +hands; perhaps, I had not heired, with the business, the deacon's +ability,—that accuracy of eye, that gravity of appearance, that +deftness of touch, so to speak, which underlay his success. Be that as +it may, the business did not pay, and without hesitation I sold it; and, +with a comfortable sum for investment, I journeyed to Texas.</p> + +<p>"It is proper for me to remark that the welcome I received was most +cordial. I chose a populous centre for a temporary residence, and +proceeded to look around me. I found the Texans to be a warm-hearted +people, much given to hospitality, and willing, with a charming +disinterestedness, to admit all new-comers, with capital, to the +enormous profits of their various enterprises.</p> + +<p>"For the first time in my life, I found myself<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_22" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</a></span> among a people who were +successful in everything they undertook. Their profits were simply +enormous. No speculation could possibly fail. However I invested my +money, I was assured that I would speedily become a millionnaire. Cotton +was a certain crop. Corn was never known to fail. The Texan tobacco was +rapidly driving the Cuban out of the market. The aboriginal grapes of +the State, of which there were millions of acres waiting for the +presses, yielded, as Europe confessed, a wine superior to Champagne. If +I preferred herding, all I had to do was to purchase a few sheep and +simply sit down. There was no section of the globe where sheep were so +prolific, fleeces so thick, or the demands of market so clamorous. And, +as for horses, I was assured that no one in Texas who knew the facts of +the case would spend any time in raising them. The prairies were full of +them, hundreds of thousands of them, all blooded stock, 'true +descendants, sir, from the Moorish Barb, distributed<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_23" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</a></span> through the whole +country at the Spanish invasion.' I need do nothing but purchase fifty +thousand acres, fence the territory in, and the enclosed herds would +continue to propagate indefinitely. Such were the delightful pictures +which my entertainers presented to me. Captivated by the charming +manners of my hosts, my sanguine temperament kindled into heat at the +touch of their enthusiasm. Where every venture was sure of successful +issue, there was no need for deliberation or selection. I invested +indiscriminately in all, and waited buoyantly for the results."</p> + +<p>Here the stranger paused, compelled, perhaps, by a slight interruption. +Dick had retired, closely followed by the major. Our guest certainly was +not devoid of humor, and I was convinced, as I watched the play of his +features, that he apprehended and appreciated the reason for their +retirement. He lifted a plate from the table, inspected it closely, +turned it over, gazed contemplatively at its reversed side, and, +pois<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_24" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</a></span>ing it deftly upon the point of three fingers, quietly remarked:—</p> + +<p>"The gentlemen, I judge, have been in Texas?"</p> + +<p>"They have," I replied: "we three were there together."</p> + +<p>"Ah!"</p> + +<p>It was all he said. I might add, it was all that could be said.</p> + +<p>At this point, Dick and the major rejoined us. Their eyes showed traces +of recent tears. They were still wiping their faces with their +handkerchiefs. With that refinement which is characteristic of true +gentlemen, and which seeks concealment of any extraordinary emotion, +they had considerately retired to indulge their laughter.</p> + +<p>"I am delighted," continued our guest, after Dick and the major had +resumed their seats, "I am delighted to find myself in company with men +of experience. I feel that you will not question the veracity of my +story, or fail to<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_25" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</a></span> appreciate the outcome of my enterprises. At the end +of two years, my property was distributed promiscuously throughout the +State, and I was reduced to the necessity of making one final venture to +recoup myself for the losses which, to the astonishment of the entire +Texan community, I assured them I had met. I was the only man, as they +asserted, 'that had ever failed to make a magnificent success in Texas.'</p> + +<p>"You can readily conceive, gentlemen, that I was determined to make no +mistake in my final venture. There were other reasons, beside the one of +caution, which persuaded me to begin with a moderate investment; so I +bought one cow. It was impossible for me to make a mistake from such a +beginning. Every person in Texas that had rapidly risen to financial +eminence had started with one cow. Many a time had a Texan ranchman +swept his hand with a royal gesture over a landscape of flowers and +Mesquite brush, dotted with thousands of cattle, and exclaimed, +'Stranger, I started this yer<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_26" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</a></span> ranch with one cow.' And then he would +take out a piece of chalk and figure out to me on his saddle how that +one cow had multiplied herself into seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-three other cows, which had proceeded to promptly multiply +themselves, 'regular as the seasons come round, sir,' in the same +reckless manner, until it was evident that the number of her progeny was +actually curtailed by the size of the saddle and the lack of chalk. Now, +I was eager to possess a cow with such a multiplication-table +attachment, and, being unable to wait even ten years before I could +tingle with the sensation of being a millionnaire ranchman. I decided to +shorten the probationary stage by half, and so I purchased two cows."</p> + +<p>At this point, Dick rolled over upon the grass, and the major was +doubled up as with sudden pain. As for myself, I confess I could not +restrain my emotions. I had been through the same experience as had +fallen to my guest, and I appreciated the sanguine characteristics<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_27" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</a></span> of +his temperament, which prompted him to the investment, and the humor of +the situation. I laughed till my eyes flowed with tears, and the +stillness of the foot-hills resounded with the unrestrained merriment of +the entire camp.</p> + +<p>The humor of our guest was truly American, the humor of suggestive +restraint and exaggeration both. He narrated his experiences, which had +resulted in the loss of his fortune and the collapse of his hopes, with +a face like a deacon's, and with a quaint and most charming sense of the +ludicrousness of the position—a position of which he himself was the +cause and central object. He fairly represented that type of men who +combine in their composition that which is most practical and +imaginative alike; whose energy can subdue a continent, and whose +boastfulness would awaken contempt if it were not palliated by the +magnitude of their achievements. A humor that is often barbed, but which +is most willingly directed against one's self; but, whether directed +against the humorist<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_28" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</a></span> or his neighbor, carries no poison upon its point +and leaves no wound to rankle.</p> + +<p>"My financial condition," said our guest, resuming, "my financial +condition at the time I made this final investment contributed to the +hopefulness of my mood, and made me feel the excitement of a reckless +speculation, for, though my two cows only cost me seventeen dollars and +fifty cents each, nevertheless, when the purchase was concluded, and the +goods delivered, and I had made a careful inventory of my remaining +assets,—a business proceeding which the average Texan found it +necessary to go through about once in two weeks, in order that he might +know what his financial standing was, or whether he had any standing at +all,—when, I say, the purchase was consummated, and an inventory of my +remaining assets made, I discovered that the two cows had swallowed up +nearly my entire estate, and that a few dollars of farther expenditure +would plunge me into bottomless insolvency. I must confess that<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_29" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</a></span> this +disclosure of my financial condition added zest to the undertaking, and +filled me with that fine excitement which accompanies a desperate +speculation. I have always felt that another cow would have made a +financier of me, and that I could have taken my place among my brethren +in Wall Street without a tremor of the muscles or the least sense of +inferiority.</p> + +<p>"The cows were both black in color; so black that they would make a spot +in the darkness of the blackest night that ever gloomed under the +cypresses of the Guadaloupe. 'If those cows,' I said to myself as I +looked them over, 'if those cows ever do bring forth calves at the rate +that the Texan of whom I purchased them figured out on his saddle, +they'll put the whole State under an eclipse.'</p> + +<p>"I cannot say,—speaking with that restraint which I have always +cultivated,—I cannot say, ladies and gentlemen, that I regarded either +cow with any great affection. There were peculiarities about them, which +checked the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_30" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</a></span> outgoing of my emotional nature. They had a way of looking +at me through the wire fence, that made me feel grateful to the inventor +of barbed wire. I cannot describe the look exactly. It was a direct, +earnest, steady, intense inspection of my person, that made me feel out +of place, as it were, and caused me to remember that I had duties at +home, which required me to get there as rapidly as possible.</p> + +<p>"One morning, seeing that the basis of my speculation was near the +centre of the field, and busily feeding on the bountiful growths of +nature, I crept softly through the wires of the fence that I might +gather some pecan nuts under a big tree that stood some twenty rods +away. I reached the tree in safety, and proceeded to pick up the nuts. I +had filled one pocket only when I heard a noise behind me, and, looking +up, I saw that all the profits of my stock speculation, and all my stock +itself, were coming toward me on a jump. I was never more collected in +my life. My mind instantly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_31" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</a></span> reached the conclusion that the pecan crop +that year was so large in Texas that it would not pay to pick up another +nut under that tree; that the whole thing should stand over, as it were, +until another fall, and that, the sooner I retired from that field, the +better it would be for me and the few pecans I had about me.</p> + +<p>"Acting in harmony with this conclusion,—which to my mind carried with +it the force of a demonstration,—I started for the wire fence. I have +no doubt but that the line of my movement was absolutely straight. I +assure you, gentlemen, that if cows had multiplied in my business +connection as rapidly as they did in my imagination during the next +sixty seconds of time, I should have been in Texas to this day. The +whole field was actually alive with cows. I reached the fence just one +jump ahead of the oldest cow, and, seeing no reason why I should take +time to crawl through between the wires, I lifted myself over the airy +obstruction in a manner that must have convinced that old<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_32" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</a></span> animated bit +of blackness that I had absolute ownership in every nut about me. This +little episode supplied me with material for reflection for at least a +week, and made me realize that any northern man that enters into a +speculation with Texas cows as a basis must keep his eyes open, and not +allow his thoughts to be diverted by any side issues, like pecan nuts, +while the business is developing.</p> + +<p>"The sixth morning after my speculation had arrived at the ranch, my +profits began to roll in upon me,—or, to state it more practically, and +in a business-like manner, the oldest cow produced a calf. This raised +my spirits, and made me feel that my business was fairly started. I went +to my stock-book and promptly made an entry as follows: 7523-1. This +meant that there were only seven thousand five hundred and twenty-<i>two</i> +yet to realize on; that is, if seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-two calves should promptly come to time, seeing that one calf had +already actually come to time, my herd<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_33" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</a></span> would be complete. I think, +gentlemen, you can readily understand my feelings as I stood +contemplating the first fruition of my hopes from behind a tree. The cow +was securely tied, but still from habit I took my usual position when +inspecting my stock. My mood was very hopeful. I felt as every Texan +felt, in those days, when by some accident he found himself in +possession of actual property. 'There is a calf,' I said; 'I've only had +to wait six days for that calf to materialize. Suppose another calf +should materialize in six days.' I extracted a pencil from my pocket and +began to figure. I multiplied that calf by six—I mean that at the end +of six days I multiplied that calf by another calf. Every time I put +down a new multiplier I took a look at the calf, and every time I looked +at the calf it multiplied itself, as it were, until I felt the full +force of the Texan's statement, save that, the more I multiplied, the +more I felt that seven thousand five hundred and twenty-three did not +fairly represent the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_34" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</a></span> certainties of the speculation. That cow would +surely make a millionnaire of me yet—if nothing happened.</p> + +<p>"But, gentleman, something did happen, and it happened in this wise: You +have doubtless, by this, concluded that the cow was a wild cow. The man +who sold her to me had not put it precisely that way. He had represented +her to me as a cow of mild manners, thoroughly domesticated, of the +sweetest possible temper, used to the women folks, playful with +children,—in short, a creature of such amiability that she actually +longed to be petted. But I had already discovered that her manners were +somewhat abrupt, and that either the man did not understand the nature +of the cow or I did not understand the man. I was convinced that, if she +had ever been domesticated, it had been done by some family every member +of which had died in the process, or had suddenly moved out of the +country only a short distance ahead of her, and that she had utterly +forgotten her early<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_35" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</a></span> training. Still, I had no doubt but that her +amiability was there, although temporarily somewhat latent, and that the +influences of a gentle spirit would revive the dormant sensibilities of +her nature. 'The sight of a milk-pail,' I said to myself, 'will surely +awaken the reminiscences of her early days, and of that sweet home-life +which was hers when she yielded at morn and at night her glad +contribution to the nourishment of a Christian family.'</p> + +<p>"There was on my ranch a servitor of foreign extraction who did my +cooking for what he could eat,—Chin Foo by name,—and to him I called +to bring me the large tin pail, which served the household—which, like +most Texan households in the Tertiary period, so to speak, of their +fortunes, was conducted on economic principles—as a washtub, a +chip-basket, a water-bucket, and a dinner-gong. It also occurred to me, +as I stood looking at the cow and caught the spirit of her expression, +so to speak, that, as she had come to stay, was a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_36" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</a></span> permanent fixture of +the establishment, as it were, Chin Foo might as well do the milking +first as last. Moreover, as the Texan from whom I purchased her had +assured me that she was a kind of household pet, the children's friend, +and took to women folks naturally, the case was a very clear one. For, +as Chin Foo had long hair, wore no hat, and dressed in flowing drapery, +the cow, unless she was more of a physiologist than I gave her credit +for, would be in doubt somewhat as to the sex of the Chinaman; and +before she had time to ruminate upon it and reach a dead-sure +conclusion, the milking would be over; and I would have scored the first +point in the game, if she was a cow of ability, had any trumps, and was +up to any tricks, as it were. So I told Chin Foo, as he approached with +the pail in his hand, that the cow was a splendid milker, thoroughly +domesticated, accustomed to Chinamen, and that he might have the honor +of milking her first. I remarked, furthermore, that,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_37" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</a></span> as everything +about the place was new to her, and she was a little nervous, I would +gently attract her attention in front, while he proceeded to extract the +delicious fluid. I charged him, in addition, to remember that it was +always the best policy to approach a cow of her temperament in a bold +and indifferent manner, as if he had milked her all his life, and get +down to business at once; and that any hesitation or show of nervousness +on his part would tend to make her more nervous.</p> + +<p>"I must say that Chin Foo acted in a highly creditable manner, +considering he was in a strange land, and, to my certain knowledge, had +no money laid by for funeral expenses; for, while I was stirring the +dust and flourishing my stick in a desultory manner in front of the cow, +to divert her mind, and keep her thoughts from wandering backward too +directly, he fluttered boldly up to her, and laid firmly hold of two +teats, with the familiarity of an old acquaintance."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_38" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</a></span></p> + +<p>At this point of his narration the stranger paused a moment. There was a +sort of plaintive look on his face, and he gazed at the plates with an +expression in his eyes of sorrowful recollection.</p> + +<p>"I cannot say," he resumed, as one who speaks oppressed with a sense of +uncertainty, "exactly what did happen, for I never saw the Chinaman +again until he alighted. I only know that when he came down he was +practically inside the pail, and that he sat in it a moment with a kind +of dreamy eastern look on his face, as if he lived on the isle of Patmos +and had seen a vision. And when he had crawled out of the pail he went +directly into the house, saying, 'The Melican man is dam foolee to try +to milkee that cussee!' or words to that effect.<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="II" id="II"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 412px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/page38.png" width="412" height="600" alt="Practically Inside the Pail." title="Practically Inside the Pail." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">Practically Inside the Pail.</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"But I did not agree with him. I reflected that the Chinese are only an +imitative race, and wholly lacking in original perception. 'They never +invent anything,' I said; 'never study<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_39" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</a></span> into causes, never get down to +principles, as it were. It requires a purely occidental intellect to +master the problem before me. This cow has a strong disinclination to be +milked. Why? What is the motive of her conduct? If I could only answer +that!' All at once it came to me,—came like a flash. The reason was +plain. 'This cow is a mother. The maternal instinct in her case is +beautifully developed. Her reasoning faculties less so. She has a calf. +To her mind, we are trying to rob her beloved offspring of its +nourishment. She naturally resents this injustice on our part. Beautiful +development of maternity,' I apostrophized, as I looked at the cow in +the light of this new revelation. 'Thy instincts are those that sweeten +the world, and remind us of the benignity that planned the universe. I +will bring thy calf to thee. I will show thee that I am not devoid of +the spirit of equity; that I am ready to go shares and play fair, as it +were. Thy calf shall take one side of thee. I<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_40" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</a></span> will take the other, and +thy soul will come forth to me in gratitude!'</p> + +<p>"I was delighted. I went directly to the pen, and gazed benevolently at +the calf. The little imp was blacker, if possible, than its mother. +There was that same peculiar look also in its eyes. 'You're all hers!' I +joyfully cried, 'you are your mother's own child!' I seized hold of the +neck-rope. I opened the pen-door and I went out through that door +quicker than a vagrant cat ever got round a corner of a house where a +Scotch terrier boards. The calf went under the cow and I struck her, +head on. But I had come to stay. I grabbed the pail with one hand and a +teat with the other. I tugged it, pulled it, twisted it. Not a drop +could I start. A suction pump of twenty horse-power would have found it +drier than Sahara, and all the while the calf's mouth, on the other +side, was actually running over with milk! In two minutes he looked like +a black watermelon. Then the cow, with a kind of back action, +suddenly<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_41" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</a></span> reached out one foot, and when I came to I found myself +facing a mulberry tree, with one leg on each side of it.<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="III" id="III"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 412px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/page40.png" width="412" height="600" alt=""And When I Came Down."" title=""And When I Came Down."" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">"And When I Came Down."</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"By this time I had reached a decision, and I had the courage of my +convictions. I felt it to be my duty to milk that cow. I reminded her in +plain, straightforward language that I was the son of a deacon, and that +she'd find it out before she got through with me. I assured her that I +understood the beauty of righteousness, and that I held a strong hand—a +straight flush, as it were. I was well aware that the metaphor was +somewhat mixed; but it expressed my sentiments and relieved my feelings, +and so I fired it at her point-blank. She snorted and pawed and +bellowed, and swore at me in cow-language, but I didn't care for that. +So I shook the old, battered milk-pail in her face, and told her I was +born in Connecticut, and did business on spot-cash principle; and that +she would know more of the commandments than any cow of her color in +Texas, before we said our long farewell.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_42" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</a></span></p> + +<p>"By this time the matter had attracted a good deal of attention, for I +had carried on my conversation with the cow in the voice of a tragedian +when the chief villain of the play has stolen his girl, and my next +neighbor, an old sea-captain from Mattagorda Bay, and his hired men had +come over to assist me. They were of the nature of a reënforcement, +which consisted of the captain, a Mexican, a Michigan man that +stuttered, and two negroes—Napoleon Bonaparte de Neville Smith, and +George Washington Marlborough Johnsing, by name. Hence we were six in +all, and I decided to take the offensive at once. The captain was +advanced in years and rheumatic, but a clearheaded man, used to command, +and had 'boarded,' as he expressed it, 'several of the——crafts in his +own waters.' So I put him in charge of the marines, namely, ourselves, +and told him to fight the ship for all she was worth. He caught on to +the thing at once, and swore he would 'sweep the old black hulk fore +and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_43" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</a></span> aft, and send every mother's son to the bottom, or make her strike +her colors.' The vigor of the gallant old gentleman's language, and the +noble manner in which he shook his cane at the old pirate, put us all in +good spirits, and I verily believe that, if he had at that fortunate +moment given the word 'board!' we would, niggers and all, have gone over +the bulwarks of that old cow with a rush.</p> + +<p>"The captain's plan of action was proof of his courage, and in harmony +with my own ideas of the matter. He said that our force was ample, every +gun shotted, and the ports open: that we had the windward gauge of her, +and that the proper course was to send a boat in to cut her cable, and, +when she drifted down with the current, we would ware ship, lay up +alongside, grapple, pass lashings aboard, and send the whole crew on to +her deck with a rush. Assaulted in such a man-of-war style, he was +confident she would become confused, be intimidated, and strike her +colors without firing<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_44" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</a></span> a gun. The brave and sonorous language with which +our commander set forth his plan of assault captured our imaginations, +and we all longed for the moment when the word of command should permit +us to swarm up the sides and over the rail of the old bovine.</p> + +<p>"Not only was the general plan thus agreed upon, but each man had his +post of duty assigned to him. When the 'cable was cut,' that is, when +the cow should find herself at liberty and bolt, as she would be sure to +do, the Mexican was to lasso her and hang on; Napoleon Bonaparte de +Neville and George Washington Marlborough were to lay hold of her horns +to 'port and starboard,' as the captain insisted, while the Michigan +man—who was over six feet tall, and leggy—was to fasten with a good +grip on to her tail, that he might serve not only as a 'drag,' as our +commander phrased it, but as a pilot as well, 'if she should get to +yawing or be suddenly taken aback, and be unable to come up into the +wind promptly,'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_45" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</a></span> while I was held in reserve to guard against +emergencies. I did not quite like the position assigned to me, and so +intimated to the captain, but he said no one could tell how it might go +when we once got out of the harbor, and, if any of the braces should +part, or the sea get high, that he would have to send an additional man +to the wheel, 'for,' he added, in a whisper, 'God knows, that +long-legged Michigan land-lubber could never keep her to a straight +course if she should once get running with the wind over her quarter, +and everything drawing, through that cornfield.' I saw the force of his +reasoning, and felt easier.</p> + +<p>"So, without farther delay, we went into action. The old captain stood, +knife in hand, ready to cut the lariat which held the cow to the tree, +but, before he did so, he hailed, '<i>All ready to cut cables!</i>'</p> + +<p>"'Fo' de lawd, cap'in!' yelled Napoleon de Neville, 'what is dis yere +nigger gwine to do if de udder nigger lets go?'<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_46" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</a></span></p> + +<p>"'Go way dar, nigger!' retorted George Washington Marlborough; 'what you +takes dis nigger for if you tinks I's gwine to let go dis ole black +cow?'</p> + +<p>"'I'll give a silver dollar to the nigger that holds on the longest,' I +yelled.</p> + +<p>"'Well answered, mate,' sang out the old captain. '<i>All ready to cut +cables. Cut she is!</i>'</p> + +<p>"The cow gave a bellow like the roar of a lion, and made a rush with +lowered horns at the captain. Now, this was not the course laid down on +his chart for her to take; and he and the rest of us were struck all +aback, as he afterwards expressed it; but he met the emergency with +spirit. He broke his big, Spanish-oak stick on the nose of the brute, +and then the old mariner rolled in the dust.</p> + +<p>"'Lay aboard of her, men!' shouted the old hero, in a voice like a +fog-horn, flourishing the fragments of his stick. 'Lay aboard of the old +cuss, I say! Cast your grapplings,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_47" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</a></span> Greaser! Seize her helm, some of +ye, and throw it hard over to port!'<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="IV"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 412px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/page46.png" width="412" height="600" alt=""Lay Aboard of the Old Cuss!"" title=""Lay Aboard of the Old Cuss!"" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">"Lay Aboard of the Old Cuss!"</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"These orders were obeyed with alacrity. Not a man flinched. The loop of +the lasso settled over the polished horns to the roots, and Don Juan San +Diego set it tight with a twang. Napoleon Bonaparte and George +Washington rushed headlong upon her and hung to horns and ears; while +the man from Michigan fastened a grip on her lifted tail, as she tore +past him, which straightened him out like a lathe. As to myself, I could +only stand and gaze with solicitude upon the terrific contest, on the +issue of which depended not only the chances of my speculation, but even +the preservation of my self-esteem.</p> + +<p>"The combat deepened and enlarged itself, as it were. A bull-dog, who +was wandering along the road in search of adventure, and two foxhounds +joined in the fight. The calf, the only one of the seven thousand five +hundred and twenty-three I was ever destined to behold,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_48" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</a></span> broke from its +pen and ran bellowing to its mother. The dogs bayed, the niggers yelled, +the Mexican swore in his delightful tongue; and the stuttering +Michigander remained silent, simply from his inability to pronounce the +profanity of his feelings.</p> + +<p>"Suddenly the cow, which had been slowly working her way, with her +several attachments clinging to her, toward the road which ran along the +front of the field, turned and started pell-mell toward the river, which +flowed wide and deep, through the rushes, at the rear of it. She left +the path and took to the corn, and through the mass of growing stalks +she swept like a whirlwind. Onward she came. I anticipated the awful +catastrophe, and stood riveted to the spot. The old captain still sat in +the gravel, where the cow had bowled him, his hand grasping the +shattered cane, and his game leg extended. He too foresaw the +inevitable. Through the corn came the cow, like a black Saturn attended +by her satellites. But her<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_49" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</a></span> career was too terrific for these to hold to +their connection. The laws of the universe forbade it. Napoleon +Bonaparte de Neville lost his hold as she crashed into the sorghum +patch. George Washington Marlborough tripped over an irrigation ditch, +and soared away at a tangent, like a sputtering remnant of a burnt-out +world. Don Juan San Diego went the wrong side of a mulberry tree, and +the lasso parted with a snap. He never stopped until his momentum +carried him through the slats of the neighboring cow-pen. Only the +long-legged Michigander kept his hold, and he looked like a pair of +extended scissors. I stood aghast at the impending ruin of my hopes, +with my lower jaw dropped. The captain alone retained his presence of +mind. As the black unit of my last Texan speculation shot by him, with +Michigan, elongated like a peninsula, fastened to her tail, he rolled up +to his knees and roared:—</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_50" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</a></span></p> + +<p>"'<i>Starboard your helm, boy!</i> <i>Luff her up! Luff her up, for the love +of God, or the colonel is busted!</i>'</p> + +<p>"It is doubtful if the Michigan man ever heard the stentorian call of +the captain, for sound travels only thirteen hundred feet to the second, +and the cow was certainly going considerably faster than that; and, +besides, he was himself engaged, with a terrific earnestness, in a vain +effort to extricate a word out of his throat, which stuck like a wad in +a smutty gun—a word of undoubted Saxon origin and of expressive force, +and which has saved more blood-vessels from bursting than the lancet of +the phlebotomist, for as he streamed past there was left floating upon +the air a long string of d's, thus: d——d——d—d—d—d-d-d...!</p> + +<p>"No one who did not hear them could ever conceive of the awful +sputtering, hissing sound that they caused in the atmosphere as they +came out of the mouth of the mad and stuttering Michigander; and as he +and the cow bored a hole through the reeds on the bank of the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_51" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</a></span> river, +and, hitting a cypress stump, ricochetted into the water, that fiery +string of d's, still hot and sputtering, reached half across the field.<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="V"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 412px; height: 600px;"> +<img src="images/page50.png" width="412" height="600" alt=""Luff Her Up! Luff Her Up!"" title=""Luff Her Up! Luff Her Up!"" /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">"Luff Her Up! Luff Her Up!"</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"The splash of the two as they struck the water brought the old captain +to his feet, and, in spite of his rheumatic leg, he rushed toward the +river, crying:—</p> + +<p>"'<i>Man overboard! Man overboard! Gone clean over the forechains! +Life-floats to port and starboard!</i>'</p> + +<p>"With such a frightful catastrophe, gentlemen, the remembrance of which +actually makes me nervous, my last speculation in Texas ended. Going +over the whole matter with the captain that evening,—a process which +took us well into the night,—it was our united opinion that the +speculation was a failure. This conviction was mutual and profound. The +cow was not only gone, but she had shown such disinclination to be +domesticated, and such a misapprehension of the true purpose of life, +that the prospect was truly disheartening.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_52" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</a></span></p> + +<p>"'Why, damn it, colonel,' said the captain, 'we've no evidence that the +old cow wanted to be milked!'</p> + +<p>"To this discouraging conclusion of the captain's I was compelled to +give a sorrowful assent. I recognized that my speculation was in +arrears, as it were, and that it would never figure up a profit.</p> + +<p>"Therefore, next day I divided my few personal effects between the +captain and the noble men who had risked their lives for an idea; who +had seen the tragedy played out and the curtain rung down to my last +appearance, as it were. And, with the few dollars which alone remained +of the fortune which I took with me to Texas, I mounted my horse and +started northward, to join that noble army of martyrs, that brotherhood +of sufferers, that fraternity of the busted, whose members are legion, +and who are known as '<i>Ex-Texans</i>.'"</p> + +<p>The hilarity of the camp that evening under the foot-hills will never be +forgotten by those of us who composed the happy number, and who<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_53" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</a></span> +listened with streaming eyes and aching sides to the narrative of our +unfortunate guest. He told his story with a directness and simplicity of +narrative, with a gravity of countenance and plaintiveness of voice, +which heightened the humor of the substance. Never did the stars, which +have seen so much of human happiness, which have listened to so much of +the rollicking humor of those who were fashioned for laughter, looked +down upon a jollier camp. Long after our guest had ended his narrative +and was apparently sleeping in happy forgetfulness of his Texas +speculation, succeeding pauses of silence would come roars of laughter. +The remembrance of the humorous tale banished sleep, and, even after +slumber had fallen on us all, fun still held possession of our dreams. +For Dick, starting from sleep in a nightmare of hilarity, roared out: +"<i>Luff her up, luff her up, or the colonel is busted!</i>"</p> + +<p>Ay, ay, thank God for laughter. Thank him heartily and ever, dear +friend, blow the winds, run the tides as they may. The sorrows<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_54" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</a></span> of life +may be many, and its griefs may be keen, and we who are frosted with +years and you who are blooming have felt and will feel the sting of +false friends and the burden of losses; but, lose what we may, or be +pained as we have been and shall be, we are happy in this,—we who know +how to laugh,—that we find wings for each burden, solace for pains, and +return for all losses, in our sweet sense of humor, thank Heaven! So, +whether rich men or poor, healthy or sick, brown-headed or gray, we will +go on like children, with eyes for all beauty and hearts for all fun. +Let lilies teach us, and of the birds of the air let us learn. The day +that is not shall not make us anxious, for of each day is the evil +enough, and the morrow shall take care of itself.<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="VIII"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 600px; height: 281px;"> +<img src="images/page54.png" width="600" height="281" alt="The wickedest cow." title="The wickedest cow." /> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_55" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</a></span></p> + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<h2>HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY CELEBRATED NEW YEAR'S.</h2> + + +<p>"Mirandy, I'm going up to see the parson," exclaimed the deacon, when +the morning devotions were over, "and see if I can thaw him out a +little. I've heard that there used to be a lot in him in his younger +days, but he's sort of frozen all up latterly, and I can see that the +young folks are afraid of him and the church too, but that won't do—no, +it won't do," repeated the good man emphatically, "for the minister +ought to be loved by young and old, rich and poor, and everybody; and a +church without young folks in it is, why, it is like a family with no +children in it. Yes, I'll go up and wish him a Happy New Year anyway.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_56" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</a></span> +Perhaps I can get him out for a ride to make some calls on the people, +and see the young folks at their fun. It'll do him good, and them good, +and me good, and everybody good." Saying which, the deacon got inside +his warm fur coat, and started toward the barn to harness Jack into the +worn, old-fashioned sleigh, which sleigh was built high in the back, and +had a curved dasher of monstrous proportions, ornamented with a prancing +horse in an impossible attitude, done in bright vermilion on a blue +background!</p> + +<p>"Happy New Year to you, Parson Whitney! Happy New Year to you," cried +the deacon, as he stood in the doorway of the parsonage and shook the +parson by the hand enthusiastically, "and may you live to enjoy a +hundred."</p> + +<p>"Come in, come in," cried Parson Whitney, in response. "I'm glad you've +come; I'm glad you've come. I've been wanting to see you all the +morning," and in the cordiality of his greeting he literally pulled the +little man through the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_57" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</a></span> doorway into the hall, and hurried him up the +stairway to his study in the chamber overhead.</p> + +<p>"Thinking of me! Well, now, I never!" exclaimed the deacon, as, assisted +by the parson, he twisted and wriggled himself out of his coat, that he +filled, a little too snugly for an easy exit. "Thinking of me, and among +all these books too—Bibles, catechisms, tracts, theologies, sermons. +Well, well, that is funny. What made you think of me?"</p> + +<p>"Deacon Tubman," responded the parson, as he seated himself in his +armchair, "I want to talk with you about the church."</p> + +<p>"The church!" ejaculated the deacon in response. "Nothing going wrong, I +hope?"</p> + +<p>"Yes, things are going wrong, deacon," responded the parson. "The +congregation is growing smaller and smaller, and yet I preach good, +strong, biblical, soul-satisfying sermons, I trust."</p> + +<p>"Good ones! good ones!" answered the deacon promptly, "never +better—never better in the world."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_58" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</a></span></p> + +<p>"And yet the people are deserting the sanctuary," rejoined the parson +solemnly, "and the young people won't come to the sociables, and the +little children seem actually afraid of me. What shall I do, deacon?" +and the good man put the question with pathetic emphasis.</p> + +<p>"You've hit the nail on the head, square as a hatchet, parson," +responded the deacon. "The congregation is thinning. The young people +don't come to the meetings, and the little children are afraid of you."</p> + +<p>"What's the matter, deacon?" cried the parson in return. "What is it?" +he repeated earnestly. "Speak it right out; don't try to spare my +feelings. I will listen to—I will do anything to win back my people's +love," and the strong, old-fashioned Calvinistic preacher said it in a +voice that actually trembled.</p> + +<p>"You can do it—you can do it in a week!" exclaimed the deacon +encouragingly. "Don't worry about it, parson; it'll be all right, it'll +be all right. Your books are the trouble."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_59" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Books?" ejaculated the parson. "What have they to do with it?"</p> + +<p>"Everything," replied the deacon stoutly. "You pore over them day in and +day out; they keep you in this room here when you should be out among +the people,—not making pastoral visits,—I don't mean that,—but going +around among them, chatting and joking and having a good time. They +would like it, and you would like it, and as for the young folks—how +old are you, parson?"</p> + +<p>"Sixty next month," answered the parson; "sixty next month," he repeated +solemnly.</p> + +<p>"Thirty! thirty! that's all you are, parson, or all you ought to be," +cried the deacon. "Thirty, twenty, sixteen!—let the figures slide down +and up, according to circumstances, but never let them go higher than +thirty when you are dealing with young folks. I'm sixty myself, counting +years; but I'm only sixteen, sixteen this morning, that's all, parson," +and he rubbed his little round plump hands together, looked at the +parson, and winked.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_60" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</a></span></p> + +<p>"Bless my soul, Deacon Tubman, I don't know but that you are right!" +answered the parson. "Sixty? I don't know as I am sixty," and he began +to rub his own hands, and came within an ace of executing a wink at the +deacon, himself.</p> + +<p>"Not a day over twenty, if I am any judge of age," responded the deacon +deliberately, as he looked the white-headed old minister over with a +most comic imitation of seriousness. "Not a day over twenty, on my +honor," and the deacon leaned forward toward the parson, and gave him a +punch with his thumb, as one boy might deliver a punch at another, and +then he lay back in his chair and laughed so heartily that the parson +caught the infectious mirth and roared away as heartily as himself.</p> + +<p>Yes, it was impossible to sit hobnobbing with the little, jolly deacon +on that bright New Year's morning and not be affected by the happiness +of his mood, for he was actually bubbling over with fun, and as full of +frolic as if the finger<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_61" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</a></span> on the dial had, in truth, gone back forty-odd +years, and he was "only sixteen. Only sixteen, parson, on my honor."</p> + +<p>"But what can I do?" queried the good man, sobering down. "I make my +pastoral visits."</p> + +<p>"Pastoral visits!" responded Deacon Tubman. "Oh, yes, and they are all +well enough for the old folks, but they ar'n't the kind of biscuit the +young folks like—too heavy in the centre, and over-hard in the crust +for young teeth, eh, parson?"</p> + +<p>"But what shall I do? what shall I do?" reiterated the parson, somewhat +despondently.</p> + +<p>"Oh! put on your hat, and gloves, and warmest coat, and come along with +me. We will see what the young folks are doing, and will make a day of +it. Come! come! let the old books, and catechisms, and sermons, and +tracts have a respite for once, and we'll spend the day out-of-doors, +with the boys and girls and the people."<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_62" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</a></span></p> + +<p>"I'll do it!" exclaimed the parson. "Deacon Tubman, you are right. I do +keep to my study too closely. I don't see enough of the world and what's +going on in it. I was reading the Testament this morning, and I was +impressed with the Master's manner of living and teaching. It is not +certain that he ever preached more than twice in a church during all his +ministry on the earth. And the children! how much he loved the children, +and how the little ones loved him! And why shouldn't they love me, too? +Why shouldn't they? I'll make them do it! yes, I'll make them do it! The +lambs of my flock shall love me." And with these brave words Parson +Whitney bundled himself up in his warmest garments, and followed the +deacon downstairs.</p> + +<p>"Tell the folks that you won't be back till night," called the deacon +from the sleigh; "for this is New Year, and we're going to make a day of +it," and he laughed away as heartily as might be—so heartily that the +par<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_63" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</a></span>son joined in the laughter himself as he came shuffling down the icy +path toward him. "Bless me! how much younger I feel already!" said the +good man as he stood up in the sleigh, and with a long, strong breath +breathed the cool, pure air into his lungs. "Bless me! how much younger +I feel already!" he repeated, as he settled down into the roomy seat of +the old sleigh. "Only sixteen to-day,—eh, deacon?" and he nudged him +with his elbow.</p> + +<p>"That's all, that's all, parson," answered the deacon gayly, as he +nudged him vigorously back; "that's all we are, either of us," and, +laughing as merrily as two boys, the two glided away in the sleigh.</p> + +<p>Well, perhaps they didn't have fun that day, these two old boys that had +started out with the feeling that they were "only sixteen," and bound to +make "a day of it!" And they did make a day of it, in fact, and such a +day as neither had had for forty years; for, first, they went to +Bartlett's Hill, where the boys and<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_64" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</a></span> girls were coasting, and coasted +with them for a full hour,—and then it was discovered by the younger +portion of his flock that the parson was not an old, stiff, solemn, +surly poke, as they had thought, but a pleasant, good-natured, kindly +soul, who could take and give a joke, and steer a sled as well as the +smartest boy in the crowd; and when it came to snow-balling, he could +send a ball further than Bill Sykes himself, who could out-throw any boy +in town, and roll up a bigger block to the new snow fort they were +building than any three boys among them. And how the parson enjoyed +being a boy again! How exhilarating the slide down the steep hill; how +invigorating the pure, cool air; how pleasant the noise of the chatting +and joking going on around him; how bright and sweet the boys and girls +looked, with their rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes; and how the old +parson's heart thrilled as they crowded around him when he would go, and +urged him to stay,—and little Alice Dor<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_65" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</a></span>chester begged him, with her +little arms around his neck, to "jes' stay and gib me one more slide, +please!"</p> + +<p>"You never made such a pastoral call as that, parson," said the deacon, +as they drove away amid the cheers of the boys and the "good-bys" of the +girls, while the former fired off a volley of snow-balls in his honor, +and the latter waved their muffs and handkerchiefs after them.</p> + +<p>"God bless them! God bless them!" said the parson. "They have lifted a +load from my heart, and taught me the sweetness of life, of youth, and +the wisdom of Him who took the little ones in His arms, and blessed +them. Ah, deacon," he added, "I've been a great fool, but I'll be so, +thank God! no more."</p> + +<p>Now, old Jack was a horse of a great deal of character, and had a great +history; but of this none in that section, save the little deacon, knew +a word. Dick Tubman, the deacon's youngest, wildest, and, we might add, +favorite<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_66" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</a></span> son, had purchased him of an impecunious jockey, at the close +of a disastrous campaign, that cleaned him completely out, and left him +in a strange city a thousand miles from home, with nothing but the +horse, harness, and sulky, and a list of unpaid bills that must be met +before he could leave the scene of his disastrous fortunes. Under such +circumstances it was that Dick Tubman ran across the horse, and partly +out of pity for its owner, and partly out of admiration of the horse, +whose failure to win at the races was due more to his lack of condition +and the bad management of his jockey than lack of speed, bought him +off-hand, and, having no use for him himself, shipped him as a present +to the deacon, with whom he had now been four years, with no harder work +than ploughing out the good old man's corn in the summer, and jogging +along the country roads on the deacon's errands. Having said thus much +of the horse, perhaps we should more particularly describe him.<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_67" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</a></span></p> + +<p>He was, in sooth, an animal of most unique and extraordinary appearance; +for, in the first place, he was quite seventeen hands in height, and +long in proportion. He was also the reverse of shapely in the fashion of +his build: for his head was long and bony, and his hip bones sharp and +protuberant; his tail was what is known among horsemen as a rat-tail, +being but scantily covered with hair, and his neck was even more +scantily supplied with a mane, while in color he could easily have taken +any premium put up for homeliness, being an ashen roan, mottled with +flecks and patches of divers hues; but his legs were flat and corded +like a racer's, his neck long and thin as a thoroughbred's, his nostrils +large, his ears sharply pointed and lively, while the white rings around +his eyes hinted at a cross, somewhere in his pedigree, with Arabian +blood. A huge, bony, homely-looking horse he was, who drew the deacon +and Miranda into the village on market days and Sundays, with a loose, +shambling gait, making<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_68" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</a></span> altogether an appearance so homely and peculiar +that the smart village chaps riding along in their jaunty turn-outs used +to chaff the good deacon on the character of his steed, and satirically +challenge him to a brush. The deacon always took their badinage in good +part, although he inwardly said more than once, "If I ever get a good +chance, when there ar'n't too many around, I'll go up to the turn of the +road beyond the church, and let Jack out on them;" for Dick had given +him a hint of the horse's history, and told him "he could knock the +spots out of thirty," and wickedly urged the deacon to take the starch +out of them airy chaps some of these days. Such was the horse, then, +that the deacon had ahead of him, and the old-fashioned sleigh, when, +with the parson alongside, he struck into the principal street of the +village.</p> + +<p>Now, New Year's Day is a lively day in many country villages, and on +this bright one especially, as the sleighing was perfect, everybody<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_69" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</a></span> was +out. Indeed, it had got noised abroad that certain trotters of local +fame were to be on the street that afternoon, and, as the boys worded +it, "there would be heaps of fun going on." And so it happened that +everybody in town, and many who lived out of it, were on this particular +street, and just at the hour, too, when the deacon came to the foot of +it, so that the walk on either side was lined darkly with lookers-on, +and the smooth snow-path between the two lines looked like a veritable +homestretch on a race-day.</p> + +<p>Now, when the deacon had reached the corner of the main street and +turned into it, it was at that point where the course terminated and the +"brushes" were ended, and at the precise moment when the dozen or twenty +horses that had just come flying down were being pulled up preparatory +to returning at a slow gait to the customary starting-point at the head +of the street, a half-mile away, so that the old-fashioned sleigh was +surrounded by the<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_70" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</a></span> light, fancy cutters of the rival racers, and old +Jack was shambling awkwardly along in the midst of the high-spirited and +smoking nags that had just come flying down the stretch.</p> + +<p>"Hellow, deacon," shouted one of the boys, who was driving a +trim-looking bay, and who had crossed the line at the ending of the +course second only to a pacer that could "speed like a streak of +lightning," as the boys said,—"Hellow, deacon; ain't you going to shake +out old shamble-heels, and show us fellows what speed is to-day?" And +the merry-hearted chap, son of the principal lawyer of the place, +laughed heartily at his challenge, while the other drivers looked at the +great angular horse that, without any check, was walking carelessly +along, with his head held down, ahead of the old sleigh and its churchly +occupants.</p> + +<p>"I don't know but what I will," answered the deacon, good-naturedly; +"don't know but what I will, if the parson don't object, and you won't +start off too quick to begin with; for this is<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_71" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</a></span> New Year's, and a +little extra fun won't hurt any of us, I reckon."<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="VI"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 600px; height: 329px;"> +<img src="images/page70.png" width="600" height="329" alt="The Deacon and Parson." title="The Deacon and Parson." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Deacon and Parson.</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"Do it, do it; we'll hold up for you," answered a dozen merry voices. +"Do it, deacon: it'll do old shamble-heels good to go a ten-mile-an-hour +gait for once in his life, and the parson needn't fear of being +scandalized by any speed you'll get out of him, either;" and the merry +chaps haw-hawed as men and boys will, when every one is jolly and fun +flows fast.</p> + +<p>And so, with any amount of good-natured chaffing from the drivers of the +"fast 'uns," and from many that lined the road too,—for the day gave +greater liberty than usual to bantering speech,—the speedy ones paced +slowly up to the head of the street, with old Jack shambling demurely in +the midst of them.</p> + +<p>But the horse was a knowing old fellow, and had "scored" at too many +races not to know that the "return" was to be leisurely taken, and, +indeed, he was a horse of independence, and of too even, perhaps of too +sluggish, a<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_72" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</a></span> temperament, to waste himself in needless action; but he +had the right stuff in him, and hadn't forgotten his early training +either, for when he came to the "turn," his head and tail came up, his +eye brightened, and, with a playful movement of his huge body, and +without the least hint from the deacon, he swung himself and the +cumbrous old sleigh into line, and began to straighten himself for the +coming brush.</p> + +<p>Now, Jack was, as we have said, a horse of huge proportions, and needed +"steadying" at the start, but the good deacon had no experience with the +"ribbons," and was therefore utterly unskilled in the matter of driving; +and so it came about that old Jack was so confused at the start that he +made a most awkward and wretched appearance in his effort to get off, +being all "mixed up," as the saying is,—so much so that the crowd +roared at his ungainly efforts, and his flying rivals were twenty rods +away before he even got started. But at last<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_73" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</a></span> he got his huge body in a +straight line, and, leaving his miserable shuffle, squared away to his +work, and, with head and tail up, went off at so slashing a gait that it +fairly took the deacon's breath away, and caused the crowd that had been +hooting him to roar their applause, while the parson grabbed the edge of +the old sleigh with one hand and the rim of his tall black hat with the +other.</p> + +<p>What a pity, Mr. Longface, that God made horses as they are, and gave +them such grandeur of appearance when in action, and put such an +eagle-like spirit between their ribs, so that, quitting the plodding +motions of the ox, they can fly like that noble bird, and come sweeping +down the course as on wings of the wind!</p> + +<p>It was not my fault, nor the deacon's, nor the parson's either, please +remember, then, that awkward, shuffling, homely-looking old Jack was +thus suddenly transformed, by the royalty of blood, of pride, and of +speed given him by<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_74" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</a></span> his Creator, from what he ordinarily was, into a +magnificent spectacle of energetic velocity.</p> + +<p>With muzzle lifted well up, tail erect, the few hairs in it streaming +straight behind, one ear pricked forward and the other turned sharply +back, the great horse swept grandly along at a pace that was rapidly +bringing him even with the rear line of the flying group. And yet so +little was the pace to him that he fairly gambolled in playfulness as he +went slashing along, until the deacon verily began to fear that the +honest old chap would break through all the bounds of propriety and send +his heels antically through his treasured dashboard. Indeed, the +spectacle that the huge horse presented was so magnificent, his action +so free, spirited, and playful, as he came sweeping onward, that cheers +and exclamations, such as, "Good heavens! see the deacon's old horse!" +"Look at him! look at him!" "What a stride!" etc., ran ahead of him, and +old Bill Sykes, a trainer in his day, but now a hanger-on at the +village<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_75" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</a></span> tavern, or that section of it known as the bar, wiped his +watery eyes with his tremulous fist, as he saw Jack come swinging down, +and, as he swept past with his open gait, powerful stroke, and stiffles +playing well out, brought his hand with a mighty slap against his thigh, +and said, "I'll be blowed if he isn't a regular old timer!"</p> + +<p>It was fortunate for the deacon and the parson that the noise and +cheering of the crowd drew the attention of the drivers ahead, or there +would surely have been more than one collision, for the old sleigh was +of such size and strength, the good deacon so unskilled at the reins, +and Jack, who was adding to his momentum with every stride, was going at +so determined a pace, that, had he struck the rear line, with no gap for +him to go through, something serious would surely have happened. But, as +it was, the drivers saw the huge horse, with the cumbrous old sleigh +behind him, bearing down on them at such a gait as made their own speed, +sharp as it was, seem slow, and "pulled out" in time<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_76" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</a></span> to save +themselves; and so without any mishap the big horse and heavy sleigh +swept through the rear row of racers like an autumn gust through a +cluster of leaves.</p> + +<p>By this time the deacon had become somewhat alarmed, for Jack was going +nigh to a thirty clip,—a frightful pace for an inexperienced man to +ride,—and began to put a good strong pressure upon the bit, not +doubting that old Jack—ordinarily the easiest horse in the world to +manage—would take the hint and immediately slow up. But though the huge +horse took the hint, it was exactly in the opposite manner that the +deacon intended he should, for he interpreted the little man's steady +pull as an intimation that his inexperienced driver was getting over his +flurry and beginning to treat him as a big horse ought to be treated in +a race, and that he could now, having got settled to his work, go ahead. +And go ahead he did. The more the deacon pulled, the more the great +horse felt himself steadied<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_77" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</a></span> and assisted. And so, the harder the good +man tugged at the reins, the more powerfully the machinery of the big +animal ahead of him worked, until the deacon got alarmed, and began to +call upon the horse to stop, crying, "Whoa, Jack! whoa, old boy, I say! +Whoa, will you now, that's a good fellow!" and many other coaxing calls, +while he pulled away steadily at the reins.</p> + +<p>But the horse misunderstood the deacon's calls, as he had his pressure +on the reins, for the crowd on either side were now yelling, and +hooting, and swinging their caps, so that the deacon's voice came +indistinctly to his ears at the best, and he interpreted his calls for +him to stop as only so many encouragements and signals for him to go +ahead; and so, with the memory of a hundred races stirring his blood, +the crowd cheering him to the echo, the steadying pull and encouraging +cries of his driver in his ears, and his only rival, the pacer, whirling +along only a few rods ahead of him, the mon<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_78" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</a></span>strous animal, with a +desperate plunge that half lifted the old sleigh from the snow, let out +another link, and, with such a burst of speed as was never seen in the +village before, tore along after the pacer at such a terrific pace that, +within the distance of a dozen lengths, he lay lapped upon him, and the +two were going it nose and nose.</p> + +<p>What is that feeling in human hearts which makes us sympathetic with man +or animal who has unexpectedly developed courage and capacity when +engaged in a struggle in which the odds are against him? And why do we +enter so spiritedly into the contest, and lose ourselves in the +excitement of the moment? Is it pride? Is it the comradeship of courage? +Or is it the rising of the indomitable in us, that loves nothing so much +as victory, and hates nothing so much as defeat? Be that as it may, no +sooner was old Jack fairly lapped on the pacer, whose driver was urging +him along with reins and voice alike, and the contest seemed +doubtful,<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_79" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</a></span> than the spirit of old Adam himself entered into the deacon +and the parson both, so that, carried away by the excitement of the +race, they fairly forgot themselves, and entered as wildly into the +contest as two ungodly jockeys.<br /><br /></p> + +<p><a name="VII"></a></p> + +<div class="figcenter border1" style="width: 600px; height: 354px;"> +<img src="images/page78.png" width="600" height="354" alt="The Race." title="The Race." /> +<span class="caption"><span class="smcap">The Race.</span></span> +</div> + +<p><br /></p> + +<p>"Deacon Tubman!" said the parson, as he clutched the rim of his tall +hat, against which, as the horse tore along, the snow chips were pelting +in showers, more stoutly, "Deacon Tubman! do you think the pacer will +beat us?"</p> + +<p>"Not if I can help it! not if I can help it!" yelled the deacon in +reply, as, with something like a reinsman's skill, he instinctively +lifted Jack to another spurt. "Go it, old boy!" he shouted +encouragingly. "Go along with you, I say!" and the parson, also carried +away by the whirl of the moment, cried, "Go along, old boy! Go along +with you, I say!"</p> + +<p>This was the very thing, and the only thing, that huge horse, whose +blood was now fairly aflame, wanted to rally him for the final effort; +and, in response to the encouraging cries of the two<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_80" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</a></span> behind him, he +gathered himself together for another burst of speed, and put forth his +collected strength with such tremendous energy and suddenness of +movement that the little deacon, who had risen, and was standing erect +in the sleigh, fell back into the arms of the parson, while the great +horse rushed over the line a winner by a clear length, amid such cheers +and roars of laughter as were never heard in that village before.</p> + +<p>Nor was the horse any more the object of public interest and remark—we +may say favoring remark—than the parson, who suddenly found himself the +centre of a crowd of his own parishioners, many of whom would scarcely +be expected as participants of such a scene, but who, thawed out of +their iciness by the genial temper of the day, and vastly excited over +Jack's contest, thronged upon the good man, laughing as heartily as any +jolly sinner in the crowd.</p> + +<p>So everybody shook hands with the parson<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_81" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</a></span> and wished him a Happy New +Year, and the parson shook hands with everybody and wished them all many +happy returns; and everybody praised old Jack, and rallied the deacon on +his driving; and then everybody went home good-natured and happy, +laughing and talking about the wonderful race, and the change that had +come over Parson Whitney.</p> + +<p>And as for Parson Whitney himself, the day and its fun had taken twenty +years from his age, and nothing would answer but the deacon must go home +and eat the New Year's pudding at the parsonage; and he did. And at the +table they laughed and talked over the funny incidents of the day, and +joked each other as merrily as two boys. Then Parson Whitney told some +reminiscences of his college days, and the scrapes he got into, and a +riot between town and gown, when he carried the "Bully's Club;" and the +deacon responded by narrating his experiences with a certain Deacon +Jones's watermelon patch when he was a boy, and over<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_82" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</a></span> their tales and +their mulled cider they laughed till they cried, and roared so lustily +at the remembered frolics of their youthful days that the old parsonage +rang, the books on the library shelves rattled, and several of the +theological volumes actually gaped with horror.</p> + +<p>But at last the stories were all told, the jokes all cracked, and the +laughter all laughed, and the little deacon wished the parson good-by, +and jogged happily homeward; but more than once he laughed to himself, +and said, "Bless my soul! I didn't know the parson had so much fun in +him." And long the parson sat by the glowing grate after the deacon had +left him, musing of other days, and the happy, pleasant things that were +in them; and many times he smiled, and once he laughed outright at some +remembered folly, for he said, "What a wild boy I was, and yet I meant +no wrong; and the dear old days were very happy."</p> + +<p>Ay, ay! Parson Whitney, the dear old days were very happy, not only to +thee, but to all of<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_83" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</a></span> us, who, following our sun, have fared westward so +long that the light of the morning shows dull through the dim haze of +memory. But happier than even the old days will be the young ones, I +ween, when, following still westward, we suddenly come to the gates of +the new east and the morning once more; and there, in the dawn of a day +which is cloudless and endless, we find our lost youth and its loves, to +lose them and it no more forever, thank God!<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_84" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</a></span></p> + + + +<hr style="width: 65%;" /> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_85" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</a></span></p> + +<h2>THE LEAF OF RED ROSE:<br /></h2> + +<h4>THE OLD TRAPPER'S STORY.</h4> + +<p style="margin-left: 32%;"> +A story? Why, yes. If Henry, there, will translate it<br /> +And put it in verse and print as he promised<br /> +To do when it happened. Will he do it? I doubt.<br /> +He dislikes to dabble with rhyme and with measure.<br /> +Says that good honest prose is the best and the sweetest<br /> +If the words be well chosen, short, Saxon, and pithy.<br /> +And that making of verse is the business of women,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_86" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</a></span> +Of green boys at school, and of lovers when spooning.<br /> +But try him. It may be he will. For a lesson<br /> +Is in it, and that makes it worth telling.<br /> +The woods have their secrets and sorrows and struggles<br /> +As well as the cities. You can find in the woods<br /> +Many things, if you look, beside trees, rocks, and mountains.<br /> +<br /> +Jack Whitcomb he said his name was, though I doubted.<br /> +For the name on his bosom, tattooed in purple,<br /> +Didn't point quite that way. But that doesn't matter.<br /> +One name in the woods is as good as another<br /> +If a man answers to it and it's easily spoken.<br /> +So we called him Jack Whitcomb and asked nothing further.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_87" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</a></span> +Brave? Why, of course he was brave. Men are not cowards.<br /> +Cowards don't come to the woods. They stay in the cities,<br /> +Where policemen are thick and the streets are all lighted.<br /> +In the woods men trail with their ears and eyes open,<br /> +And sleep when they sleep with their hands on their rifles.<br /> +Why? Well, panthers are plenty and cunning and quiet,<br /> +And a man is a fool that goes carelessly stumbling<br /> +Under trees where they crouch, under crags where they gather.<br /> +Furthermore, with the saints, now and then there are sinners<br /> +That live in the woods; and some half-breeds are wicked,<br /> +And know nothing of law unless taught by a bullet.<br /> +I've done what I could to teach knaves the commandments.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_88" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</a></span> +Yes. Jack Whitcomb was brave. Brave as the bravest.<br /> +His glance was as keen and his mouth was as silent<br /> +As a trailer's should be who looks and who listens<br /> +By day and by night, having no one to talk to.<br /> +His finger was quick when it handled the trigger,<br /> +And his eye loved the sights as lightning loves rivers.<br /> +I've seen him stand up when the odds were against him.<br /> +Stand up like a man who takes coolly the chances.<br /> +That proves he was brave as I understand it.<br /> +<br /> +One day we were boating on far Mistassinni.<br /> +We were fetching the portage above the great rapids,<br /> +Where they whirled, roaring down, freshet full, at their whitest,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_89" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</a></span> +When we saw from a rock that stretched outward and over<br /> +The wild hissing water as it swept on in thunder,<br /> +A canoe coming down, rolling over and over,<br /> +With a little papoose clinging tight to the lashings;<br /> +And as it lanced by Jack went in like an otter.<br /> +How he did it God knows, but at the foot of the rapids,<br /> +Half a mile farther down racing onward, I found him<br /> +High and dry on the beach in a faint like a woman,<br /> +With the little papoose pulling away at his jacket.<br /> +And when he came to, he put child to his shoulder,<br /> +Nor stopped till it lay in the arms of its mother.<br /> +<br /> +We were trailing, Henry and I, trailing and trapping<br /> +In the land to the north, where fur was the thickest,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_90" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</a></span> +And knaves were as plenty as mink or as otter.<br /> +We took turns at sleeping, and trailed our line double<br /> +To keep our own skins, if we didn't get others.<br /> +It was folly to stay where we were, and we knew it,<br /> +For the knaves they got thicker, and soon there was shooting<br /> +Going on pretty lively. But we held to the business<br /> +And scouted the line once a week like true trappers.<br /> +And no accident happened save some holes in our jackets,<br /> +And my powder-horn emptied by a vagabond's bullet.<br /> +So we mended our clothing and felt pretty lively.<br /> +But the signs pointed one way. Our enemies thickened<br /> +Around us each day, and we weren't quite decided<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_91" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</a></span> +To stand in for a fight and settle the matter,<br /> +Or pull up our traps and get out of the country,<br /> +When it settled itself. And in this way it happened.<br /> +<br /> +We were scouting the lake on the west shore one morning,<br /> +To find the knaves' camp and how many were in it,<br /> +When a short space ahead there came of a sudden<br /> +A crash as of thunder, and we knew that a dozen<br /> +Or twenty placed rifles had burst an ambushment.<br /> +And then in an instant there sounded another.<br /> +Two sharp, twin reports and the death yells that followed<br /> +Told us as we listened where the lead had been driven.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_92" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</a></span> +Knew who he was? Of course. The man was Jack Whitcomb.<br /> +Do you think men who live by trapping and shooting<br /> +Don't learn to distinguish the voice of their rifles?<br /> +Jack was trailing the lake to find our encampment,<br /> +For far away in the south there had come to his cabin<br /> +A rumor that we in the north land were holding<br /> +Our line and our furs with a good deal of shooting.<br /> +So he left his own traps and came by swift trailing<br /> +To give us the help of another good rifle.<br /> +That was just like Jack Whitcomb. If you were in trouble<br /> +He was there by your side. You could always count on him,<br /> +With finger on trigger and both barrels loaded.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_93" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</a></span> +<br /> +So Henry and I both took to our covers<br /> +Right and left of the trail Jack must take in retreating.<br /> +We didn't wait long, for the boy knew his business,<br /> +And soon he came backward, loading and running,<br /> +Like a man who was busy but wouldn't be hurried<br /> +Beyond his own gait, if he stopped there forever.<br /> +As he passed our two covers I piped him a whistle;<br /> +And he stopped in his tracks, and with low, pleasant laughter,<br /> +Stood there in full view coolly capping the nipples.<br /> +I have shot on each Gulf, both Southern and Northern.<br /> +I have trailed the long trail between either ocean.<br /> +Brave men I have seen, both in good and in evil,<br /> +But never a braver than the man called Jack Whitcomb.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_94" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</a></span> +Well, why describe it? Call it scrimmage or battle,<br /> +It was done in a minute, or it may be a dozen.<br /> +It came like a whirlwind, and we three were in it<br /> +As men are in whirlwinds. It came like the thunder,<br /> +With a crash and a roar and a long running rumble<br /> +Dying down into silence. There were dead and some wounded,<br /> +And a few lucky knaves that fled wildly backward;<br /> +And Henry and I, when it passed, were left standing<br /> +By the body of him whose name was Jack Whitcomb,<br /> +Who lay as he fell, when headlong he tumbled,<br /> +His rifle still clinched and both barrels smoking.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_95" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</a></span> +I have seen in my life many wounds made by bullets,<br /> +And a good many gashes by spear-points and arrows.<br /> +I have learned in my trailing a good many simples<br /> +Which have power to keep men from crossing the river<br /> +Before the Lord calls with voice that is certain.<br /> +And the wound that we found on Jack Whitcomb's body,<br /> +Though ugly and deep, was not beyond curing.<br /> +<br /> +We cleansed and we stanched it and fought a brave battle<br /> +With death, for his life, and we won. For Jack mended.<br /> +We made a canoe and we bore him far southward.<br /> +A hundred good miles down the river we boated,<br /> +Till we came to his house of huge logs, strongly builded,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_96" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</a></span> +Beneath the big pines on the bank of a rapid,<br /> +Which under it flowed its soft rush of brown water.<br /> +'Twas a place to bring peace to a heart that was troubled,<br /> +If peace might be found this side of the silence<br /> +Which brings peace to all that know sorrow in living.<br /> +<br /> +Yes, we boated him down to his home by the rapids.<br /> +His home? No, rather his house let us call it.<br /> +For how can a house be a home with naught in it?<br /> +In house that is home must be love, warm and human,<br /> +A voice that is sweet, a heart that is gentle,<br /> +A soul that is true, and beside these a cradle<br /> +That prattles and coos; and the quick-falling patter<br /> +Of little white feet that run hither and thither.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_97" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</a></span> +To his house, and not to his home, then, we brought him,<br /> +For certainly nothing and no one was in it,<br /> +Save himself and a dog, a bed and a table,<br /> +Some chairs, a few books, and a—Picture.<br /> +And this was the story that he told us in dying.<br /> +The man might have lived, beyond doubt, had he cared to.<br /> +But he didn't. No motive, he said. And he had none,<br /> +As we felt later on, when he told us his story.<br /> +So he died without word or sign. And in silence<br /> +We stood and saw him go forth on his journey<br /> +Without speaking a word, without a hand lifted<br /> +To hold or to stop him, for we did not feel certain<br /> +What was wisdom for one who went forth in such fashion.<br /> +Perhaps it was best he should go and be over<br /> +With pain, loss and trouble for ever and ever.<br /> +Henry says, it were well we should all of us go<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_98" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</a></span> +When life has no aim and no hope; and no doing<br /> +Remains to be done; and days are but eating<br /> +And drinking and breathing, only these and no more.<br /> +<br /> +But before he went forth he gave me a message.<br /> +"I loved her," so his story began. Henry,<br /> +You remember the look on his face as he said it,<br /> +As he lay with his eyes fixed fast on the Picture?<br /> +"She was strong, and she drew me as life draws the young<br /> +And as death draws the old. I could not resist her.<br /> +She was vital with force, to attract and to hold.<br /> +She raced me a race for my life, and she won it.<br /> +I was man, not a boy, and I loved as man loves<br /> +When the forces of life are in him full-flooded<br /> +As rivers in meadows, when they flow to the sedges.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_99" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</a></span> +Did she love me? Perhaps. Who can tell? She was woman,<br /> +And hence she was dark as the night, and as hidden!<br /> +Who could find her? Who the depth of her nature<br /> +Might measure? I tried but could not. Then boldly<br /> +I spake—spake as man speaks but once unto woman.<br /> +True and straight did I say it man fashion.<br /> +But she drew back offended; she shrank from my praying,<br /> +And with coldness of tone and suspicion dismissed me.<br /> +Had a man shown a tithe of that look in his eye,<br /> +On his face, he or I would have died on the instant.<br /> +But what can a man do, when scorned by a woman?<br /> +So I left her.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_100" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</a></span> +<br /> +I need not say more. My life it was ended.<br /> +It wasn't worth living;—I am made in that fashion.<br /> +So I came to the woods. Where else when in trouble<br /> +Can man go and find what he needs, consolation?<br />· +Go you down to her house, in the city, John Norton,<br /> +To the house where she lives, and give her this message.<br /> +Word for word let her hear it,—say where you left me.<br /> +There's gold in that box to pay your expenses.<br /> +Word for word as I tell you, nor say a word further."<br /> +Then he bade us good-by, and marched away bravely,<br /> +As a man on a trail that is somewhat uncertain.<br /> +And under the pines on the bank of the rapids<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_101" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</a></span> +We buried the man whom the woods called—Jack Whitcomb,<br /> +And the picture he loved we placed on his bosom.<br /> +</p> + +<h2><span style="letter-spacing: 1.3em; padding-left: 1.3em;"><b>···········</b></span></h2> + +<p style="margin-left: 32%;"> +I went down to her house in the city. A cabin<br /> +Of stone, brown as tamarack bark, trimmed with olive.<br /> +It was high as a pine that stands on a mountain.<br /> +The door was as wide as the mouth of a cavern.<br /> +At the door stood a man rigged up like a soldier;<br /> +His face was as solemn as judgment to sinners;<br /> +He looked at me some, and I looked him all over,<br /> +Then he suddenly bowed like a half-breed with manners,<br /> +And told me to enter, and he would call Madame.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_102" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</a></span> +The room was as large as a town house where settlers<br /> +Hold meetings to vote themselves office and wages.<br /> +The walls were like caves in far Arizona.<br /> +All covered with pictures of houses and battles;<br /> +Of ships blown onward by gales in mid-ocean;<br /> +Of children with wings, pretty queer-looking creatures;<br /> +Of men and of women, and some were half-naked.<br /> +But the floor was of oak, which gleamed like a polish;<br /> +And with mats thick as moss, and with skins it was covered,<br /> +So I felt quite at home, as there I stood looking,<br /> +And noting the size and signs of the cabin.<br /> +<br /> +Then, all of a sudden, there came a soft rustle,<br /> +Like the rustle of leaves when the wind blows in autumn.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_103" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</a></span> +And down the wide stairway across the great hall,<br /> +To the door of the room in which I was standing,<br /> +Stately and swift, came a woman and entered.<br /> +Tall as the tallest. Made firmly, knit firmly<br /> +Both in form and in limb, but full and well rounded;<br /> +Dark of eye, dark of face, with hair like a raven,<br /> +Like the girls of Nevada, where live the old races,<br /> +Whose blood is as fire, and whose skin is of olive,<br /> +Whose mouths are as sweet as a fig when it ripens.<br /> +Arms bare to the shoulders. Neck and bosom uncovered.<br /> +Her gown of white satin gleamed and flowed downward<br /> +And round her in folds of soft, creamy whiteness.<br /> +No ring on her hand, nor in ear. Not a circle<br /> +Of gold round her throat. One armlet of silver,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_104" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</a></span> +And one at her wrist loosely clasped, small and slender.<br /> +So she entered and stood, and looked me all over.<br /> +<br /> +Then slowly she spake. "Your name, sir, and business?"<br /> +"Madame," I said, "in the woods men call me John Norton;<br /> +John Norton, the Trapper." Then I stopped mighty sudden,<br /> +For her face it grew white to the lips and the chin,<br /> +And she swayed as a tree to the stroke of the chopper<br /> +When he sinks his axe in to the heart and it totters<br /> +And quivers. So I stopped, stopped quick and stood looking.<br /> +<br /> +Then her dark face it lighted, and she said, speaking quickly:<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_105" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</a></span> +"John Norton, I know you. I know you are honest.<br /> +You live in the woods. You are good. I can trust you.<br /> +All men, I have heard, come to you in their trouble.<br /> +Have you seen in the North, have you met in the woods,<br /> +Has there come to your cabin a man, tall as you,<br /> +Brave as you and as tender? A man like to this?"<br /> +And out of her gown, from the folds on her bosom,<br /> +She lifted a locket of pearl-colored velvet,<br /> +Touched a spring, and I saw, as the lid of it opened,<br /> +The face of the man I and Henry had buried!<br /> +<br /> +"John Norton," she cried, and her eyes burned like fever.<br /> +Her hand shook and trembled, her face was as marble,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_106" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</a></span> +"Have you seen in the woods man like to this picture?<br /> +Speak quick and speak true as to woman in trouble.<br /> +For I did him great wrong, I thought he held lightly<br /> +My fair name and fame; held lightly my honor.<br /> +I thought he meant evil, and my heart, filled with anger,<br /> +Dismissed him in scorn; but I learned, I learned later,<br /> +He was true, and spake truth and loved me as heaven."<br /> +<br /> +Then I stood and I looked and held my face steady,<br /> +So it gave her no sign of what I was thinking.<br /> +I saw she was honest, and I wished then to spare her,<br /> +But my word it was pledged, pledged to him in dying,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_107" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</a></span> +To stand as I stood, face to face with this woman,<br /> +In her house, in that room, and give her his message.<br /> +Beside, not to know is far worse than the knowing<br /> +At times. So I rallied and told her the message,<br /> +Word for word, as he charged, the night he lay dying<br /> +In his house on the bank above the swift rapids.<br /> +<br /> +"Madame," I said, "I have seen man like that picture,<br /> +Face and form. He was brave as you say. He was tender.<br /> +He was true unto death, and he loved you as heaven.<br /> +And these are the words that he sent you in dying.<br /> +I, a man of the woods, bring you this as last message,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_108" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</a></span> +From one who now sleeps on the bank of the rapids<br /> +Of that northern river which pours its brown water<br /> +To the Lake of St. John from far Mistassinni.<br /> +'Tell her, John Norton, I loved her. Loved her in living,<br /> +With a love that was true, and with same love in dying.<br /> +Loved her like a man, like a saint, like a sinner,<br /> +For time now and time ever. That the one picture<br /> +She gave me I kept;—living, dying, and after.<br /> +That it lies on the breast of the man that you buried;<br /> +On the breast of the man who living did love her,<br /> +And that there it will lie until it shall crumble,<br /> +With heart underneath it, to dust. So tell her.<br /> +And in proof that I tell her the truth, and did tell it<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_109" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</a></span> +The night when we met, and I told her I loved her,<br /> +Give her this, the watch that I wore on the evening<br /> +We met, and the evening we parted. Let her open<br /> +And see. With her eyes let her see that I loved her.<br /> +So say and no more."<br /> +<br /> +Thus I spake. Word for word as he told me I spake.<br /> +I gave her the watch, and I said no word further.<br /> +I had done as I pledged, I had said as he charged me,<br /> +So I stopped and stood waiting for word of dismissal.<br /> +But she said not a word, nor made she a sign.<br /> +The watch she took from me, touched the spring and it opened,<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_110" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</a></span> +And there, 'twixt the glass and the gold, withered and faded,<br /> +Lay a leaf of Red Rose. One leaf, and—no more.<br /> +<br /> +For a moment she stood; stood, and gazed at the leaf,<br /> +Her face grew as white as her gown, and she trembled<br /> +And shook like a white swan in dying, then she cried,<br /> +"My God, I have killed him, my lover!"<br /> +And down on the floor, on the skins at her feet<br /> +She dropped as one stricken by bullet or lightning.<br /> +<br /> +It was only last month that we two, in trailing,<br /> +Trailed a hundred good miles across to the rapids.<br /> +For we wanted to see before going northward<br /> +If evil had come to the grave of our comrade.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_111" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</a></span> +But the grave lay untouched, by beast or by human.<br /> +The grass on the mound was well rooted and growthful.<br /> +At the foot of the grave the rose-tree I planted<br /> +Was as high as my head. And the leaves of the roses<br /> +Lay as thick as red snow-flakes on the mound that was under.<br /> +And we knew that on breast, as he slept, was her picture.<br /> +So we felt, as we gazed, it was well with Jack Whitcomb.<br /> +<br /> +But often at night, when alone in my cabin,<br /> +I hear the low murmur of far northern rapids.<br /> +And often I see the great house and its splendor,<br /> +And wonder if death has helped the proud woman<br /> +To lay off her grief and escape from her sorrow.<br /> +<span class="pagenum"><a name="Page_112" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</a></span> +And blazed a line through the dark Valley of Shadow,<br /> +And brought her in peace to the edge of the clearing,<br /> +Where I know she would see Jack Whitcomb stand, waiting.<br /> +<br /> +So I say it again, and I say it with knowledge,<br /> +That the woods have their sorrows as well as the cities.<br /> +And he knows but little of this great northern forest<br /> +Who thinks there's naught in it save trees, lakes, and mountains. +<br /><br /><br /></p> + +<h2><u>SELECT LIST</u></h2> +<h6>OF</h6> +<h4>Standard and Popular</h4> +<h1>BOOKS</h1> + +<h5>PUBLISHED BY</h5> + +<h2><u>DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO.,</u></h2> +<h4><i>361-365 WASHINGTON STREET, +BOSTON, MASS.</i></h4> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h5>Any Book On This List Will Be Sent, Postpaid, On Receipt Of Price.<br /><br /></h5> + +<p style="margin-left: 35%;"><i><span class="smcap">IN ADDITION</span> to the works mentioned<br /> in this list, we will furnish any +books<br /> in the market at lowest possible prices, and<br /> would respectfully +solicit correspondence in<br /> regard to prices or any desired information.<br /><br /></i> + +<i>DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO., Boston, Mass.<br /><br /></i> + +<i>P.S.--Catalogue of books at special reductions<br /> mailed free to any +address.</i><br /><br /><br /><br /></p> + + +<h5><i>Boston, Mass.</i><br /></h5> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 600px;"> +<img src="images/ad_header.png" width="600" height="201" alt="" title="" /> +</div> + +<p><span style="font-size: 200%">⁂</span><i>In order to insure the correct delivery +of the actual works, or particular Editions specified in this List, the +name of the Publishers should be distinctly given. These books can be +had from any local bookseller; but should any difficulty be experienced +in procuring them, Messrs. DeWolfe, Fiske & Co., will be happy to +forward them direct, postage paid, on receipt of cheque, stamps or +Postal order for the amount, with a copy of their complete catalogue.</i></p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<p><span class="smcap">New Editions of W. H. H. Murray's Famous Books</span>.</p> + +<blockquote><p><b>DAYLIGHT LAND.</b> The experiences, incidents, and adventures, humorous and +otherwise, which befell Judge John Doe, Tourist, of San Francisco; Mr. +Cephas Pepperell, Capitalist, of Boston; Colonel Goffe, the man from New +Hampshire, and divers others, in their Parlor-Car Excursion over Prairie +and Mountain; as recorded and set forth by <span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>. Superbly +illustrated with 150 cuts in various colors by the best artists. 8vo, +350 pages. Unique paper covers, $2.50; cloth, $3.50; cloth, extra gilt, +$4.00.</p></blockquote> + +<p><i>The New York Herald</i>; says,</p> + +<p>Impossible to find a handsomer book on outdoor life than this. The +author's peculiar faculty for describing days in the woods and rambles +with good company has long been known. "Daylight Land" is longer than +the book in which the same author made the Adirondacks seem some other +place to men whose eyes were not as wide-open as his own, and the style +is even breezier, if that is possible. Seldom does a book appear which +is so entirely creditable to author, artist, and publisher.</p> + +<blockquote><p><b>HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY KEPT NEW YEAR'S, and Other Stories.</b> +By <span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>, author of "Adirondack Tales," etc. 12mo. +Illustrated. $1.25.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Deacon Tubman, a jolly, fat, good-natured man, is presented with a +woollen night-cap on New Year's morning by his housekeeper, "a typical +spinster not overburdened with fat." This so rejoices the Deacon that he +is possessed to make others happy, goes to call upon his pastor, and +makes him leave his books and spend the day skating, sleighing, and +driving with his parishioners.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + + +<blockquote><p><b>STORY THE KEG TOLD ME, AND THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW MUCH.</b> By +<span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>, author of "Daylight Land," "Adirondack Adventures," +etc. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50.</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Two admirable stories by W. H. H. Murray, in both which appears John +Norton, the trapper, a character that promises to become as much of a +favorite as is the hero of the Leather Stocking novels. These stories +have a bracing outdoor freshness and a delightfully crisp realism: are +vigorous in tone, and strong and picturesque in the relation. Taken +altogether, they may be pronounced in the most artistic of Mr. Murray's +excursions into the realms of fiction, and fascinating generally." +—<i>Saturday Evening Gazette.</i></p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>DEACONS.</b> By <span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>. 16mo. Paper, 50 cts. Cloth, 75 cts.</p></blockquote> + +<p>"Mr. Murray is an expert in the art of character drawing; he can +manipulate humor and pathos with equal facility. No one will gainsay +their freshness and individuality."—<i>N. Y. Commercial Advertiser.</i></p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES.</b> "In the Wilderness; or, Camp Life in the +Adirondacks." By <span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>, 12mo. Illustrated. Paper, 50 cts. +Cloth, $1.25.</p></blockquote> + +<p>"In the 'Adventures in the Wilderness' W. H. H. Murray strikes the happy +hunting ground, which long ago earned for him the popular title, +'Adirondack Murray,' and here, as in his other books, he fairly revels +in stirring incident, lively and faithful conception of character, and +the powerful but delightful description of natural scenery which have +already given his work an enviable and lasting place in American +literature."—<i>Nashville American.</i></p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN, AND OTHER STORIES.</b> By <span class="smcap">W. H. H. Murray</span>. With +photogravure portrait of Mr. Murray, and eight full-page illustrations +by Thos. Worth. Square 12mo. Cloth, $1.00.</p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<blockquote><p><b>CIVILIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND OTHER ESSAYS CONCERNING AMERICA.</b> +By <span class="smcap">Matthew Arnold</span>. 16mo. Unique paper boards, 50 cts. Cloth, uncut, +$1.25. The cloth binding matches the uniform edition of his collected +works. Comprises the critical essays, which created so much discussion, +namely, "General Grant, an Estimate," "A Word About America," "A Word +More About America," and "Civilization in the United States." The +collection gathers in the great critic's last contribution to +literature.</p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h5><span class="smcap">Bulfinch's Mythology.</span></h5> + +<blockquote><p><b>THE AGE OF CHIVALRY; Or Legends of King Arthur.</b> "Stories of the Round +Table," "The Crusades," "Robin Hood," etc. By <span class="smcap">Thomas Bulfinch</span>. A new and +enlarged edition. Revised by Rev. <span class="smcap">E. E. Hale</span>. Large 12mo. Illustrated. +$2.50.</p></blockquote> + +<p>In "The Age of Fable," Mr. Bulfinch endeavored to impart the pleasure of +classical learning to the English reader by presenting the stories of +Pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern taste. In this volume the +attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the second +"age of fable"—the age which witnessed the dawn of the several states +of modern Europe.</p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>THE AGE OF FABLE; Or, Beauties of Mythology.</b> By <span class="smcap">Thomas Bulfinch</span>. A new +and enlarged edition, containing over 100 illustrations from ancient +paintings and statuary. Revised by Rev. <span class="smcap">E. E. Hale</span>. Large 12mo. $2.50.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Young readers will find this book a source of entertainment; those more +advanced, a useful companion in their reading; those who travel and +visit museums and galleries of art, an interpreter of paintings and +sculptures.</p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE; Or, Romance of the Middle Ages.</b> Stories of +Paladin and Saracen. By <span class="smcap">Thomas Bulfinch</span>. 12mo. Illustrated. $2.50.</p></blockquote> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h5><span class="smcap">Prof. Clark Murray's Works</span>.</h5> + +<blockquote><p><b>SOLOMON MAIMON</b>: An Autobiography. Translated from the German, with +Additions and Notes, by Prof. <span class="smcap">J. Clark Murray</span>. Cr. 8vo. Cloth. 307 +pages. $2.00.</p></blockquote> + +<p>The London <i>Spectator</i> says: "Dr. Clark Murray has had the rare good +fortune of first presenting this singularly vivid book in an English +translation as pure and lively as if it were an original, and an +original by a classic English writer."</p> + +<p>George Eliot, in "Daniel Deronda," mentions it as "that wonderful bit of +autobiography—the life of the Polish Jew, Solomon Maimon:" and Milman, +in his "History of the Jews," refers to it as a curious and rare book.</p> + + +<blockquote><p><b>HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY.</b> By Prof. <span class="smcap">J. Clark Murray</span>, LL.D., Professor of +Mental and Moral Philosophy, M'Gill College, Montreal. Cr. 8vo. 2d +edition, enlarged and improved. $1.75.</p></blockquote> + +<p>Clearly and simply written, with illustrations so well chosen that the +dullest student can scarcely fail to take an interest in the subject.</p> + +<p>Adopted for use in colleges in Scotland, England, Canada, and the United +States.</p> + +<p>Prof. Murray's good fortune in bringing to light the "Maimon Memoirs," +together with the increasing popularity of his "Handbook of Psychology," +has attracted the attention of the intellectual world, giving him a +position with the leaders of thought of the present age. His writings +are at once original and suggestive.</p> + +<hr style="width: 45%;" /> + +<h5><span class="smcap">The Popular Works of Sally Pratt McLean.</span></h5> + +<blockquote><p><b>CAPE COD FOLKS.</b> A Novel. Twenty-third edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, +$1.25. Paper, 50 cents.</p> + +<p><b>TOWHEAD: THE STORY OF A GIRL.</b> Fifth Thousand. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, +50 cents.</p> + +<p>Since the production of Miss McLean's first effort "Cape Cod Folks," she +has steadily advanced in intellectual development; the same genius is at +work in a larger and more artistic manner, until she has at length +produced what must be truly considered as her masterpiece, and which we +have the pleasure to announce for immediate publication.</p> + +<p><b>SOME OTHER FOLKS.</b> A Book in Four Stories. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, 50 +cents.</p> + +<p>These books are so well known that further comment seems superfluous. +Suffice it to say that the entire press of the country has unanimously +spoken of them in terms of high praise, dwelling not only on their +delicious humor, their literary workmanship, their genuine pathos, and +their real power and eloquence, but what has been described as their +deep, true <i>humanness</i>, and the inimitable manner in which the mirror is +held up to nature that all may see reflected therein some familiar +trait, some description or character which is at once recognized.</p> + +<p><b>LASTCHANCE JUNCTION: HUMAN NATURE IN THE FAR WEST.</b> A Novel. By <span class="smcap">Sally +Pratt McLean</span>. 1 vol. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25.</p> + +<p>"Terse, incisive descriptions of men and scenery, drawn with so vivid a +pen that one can see the characters and their setting, delicious bits of +humor, passages full of infinite pathos, make this book absolutely hold +the reader from the title to the last word, and as, when finished, one +sighs for the pity of it, the feeling rises that such a work has not +been written in vain, and will have its place among those which tend to +elevate our race."</p> + +<p><b>MISS FRANCES MERLEY.</b> A Novel. By <span class="smcap">John Elliot Curran</span>. 420 pages. Square +16mo. Paper covers, 50 cents. Cloth, $1.00.</p> + +<p>The first important work of an author familiar to American readers by +his remarkable sketches to <i>Scribner's</i> and other magazines.</p> + +<p><b>AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A NEW ENGLAND FARM HOUSE</b>: A Romance of the Cape Cod +Lands. By <span class="smcap">N. H. Chamberlain</span>. 380 pages. Square 16mo. Paper covers, 50 +cents. Cloth, $1.00.</p> + +<p>A novel of singular power and beauty, great originality and rugged +force. Born and bred on Cape Cod, the author, at the winter firesides of +country people, very conservative of ancient English customs now gone, +heard curious talk of kings, Puritan ministers, the war and precedent +struggle of our Revolution, and touched a race of men and women now +passed away. He also heard, chiefly from ancient women, the traditions +of ghosts, witches and Indians, as they are preserved, and to a degree +believed, by honest Christian folk, in the very teeth of modern +progress.</p></blockquote> + +<div class="center"> +<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="60%" summary="ad"> + +<tr><td></td> +<td align="left"><span style="font-size: 90%; margin-left: 1em;"><i>Publishers</i>,</span></td> +<td></td></tr> + +<tr><td align="center"><i>DeWolfe, Fiske & Co.</i></td> +<td align="left"><span style="font-size: 90%; margin-left: 3em;"><i>Booksellers</i>,</span></td> +<td><span style="margin-left: 0em;"><i>BOSTON.</i></span></td></tr> + +<tr><td></td> +<td align="left"><span style="font-size: 90%; margin-left: 5em;"><i>Library +Agents</i>.</span></td></tr> + +</table> +</div> + + + + + + + + +<pre> + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories, by +W. H. H. 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H. H. Murray + +This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with +almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or +re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included +with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org + + +Title: The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories + +Author: W. H. H. Murray + +Release Date: April 5, 2009 [EBook #28502] + +Language: English + +Character set encoding: ASCII + +*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN *** + + + + +Produced by David Edwards, Woodie4 and the Online +Distributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This +file was produced from images generously made available +by The Internet Archive/American Libraries.) + + + + + +Transcriber notes: +For the benefit of certain readers, explanatory names have been added to +some illustration tags and these have been identified with an asterisk. + +A list of contents was not in the original book and has been added. + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN +AND OTHER STORIES + +BY + +W. H. H. MURRAY + +[Illustration: Cover]* + +[Illustration: W. H. H. Murray] + + + +THE + +BUSTED EX-TEXAN + +AND + +OTHER STORIES + +BY + +W. H. H. MURRAY + + +AUTHOR OF "DAYLIGHT LAND," "THE STORY THE KEG TOLD ME," +"ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES," ETC. + +PHOTOGRAVURE PORTRAIT AND EIGHT FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS +BY THOS. WORTH. + + +BOSTON +DE WOLFE, FISKE & CO., PUBLISHERS +1890 + +COPYRIGHT 1889 BY W. H. H. MURRAY. + +ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. + + +CONTENTS + +The Busted Ex-Texan + +How Deacon Tubman And Parson Whitney Celebrated New Year's. + +The Leaf Of Red Rose + + + + ILLUSTRATIONS. + + I. "I AM A BUSTED EX-TEXAN." + + II. "PRACTICALLY INSIDE THE PAIL." + + III. "AND WHEN I CAME DOWN." + + IV. "LAY ABOARD OF THE OLD CUSS." + + V. "LUFF HER UP--LUFF HER UP." + + VI. THE DEACON AND PARSON. + + VII. THE RACE. + +VIII. THE FIRST PRIZE FOR THE _Wickedest Cow_. + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN. + + + + +THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN. + + +We were camped amid the foot-hills on the trail which led up to the +Kicking Horse Pass. The sun had already passed from sight, beyond the +white summits above us, and the shadow of the monstrous mountain range +darkened the prairie to the east, to the horizon's rim. Our bivouac was +made in a grove of lofty firs, six or eight in number; and a little +rivulet, trickling from the upper slopes, fell, with soft, lapsing +sound, within a few feet of our camp-fire. We did not even pitch a tent, +for the sky was mild, and above us the monstrous trees lifted their +protecting canopy of stems. The hammocks were swung for the ladies, and +each gentleman "preempted" the claim that suited him best, by depositing +his blanket and rifle upon it. The entire party were in the best of +spirits, and nature responded to our happiness in its kindest mood. +Laughter sounded pleasantly at intervals from the busy groups, each +working at some self-appointed industry. The hum of cheerful +conversation mingled with the murmurs of the brook; and now and then the +snatch of some sweet song would break from tuneful lips, brief, +spirited, melodious as a bobolink's, dashing upward from the +clover-heads. And before the mighty shadow lying gloomily on the great +prairie plain, which stretched eastward for a thousand miles, had grown +to darkness, the active, happy workers had given to the bivouac that +look of designed orderliness which a trained party always give to any +spot they select in which to make a camp or pass a night. An hour +before, there was nothing to distinguish that grove of trees, or the +ground beneath them, from any other spot or hill within the reach of +eye. But now it commanded the landscape; and, had you been trailing +over the vast plain, the bright firelight, the group of men and women +moving to and fro, the picketed horses, the fluttering bits of color +here and there, would have caught your gaze ten miles away; and were you +tired or hungry, or even lonesome, you would have naturally turned your +horse's head toward that camp as toward a cheerful reception and a home; +for wherever is happy human life, to it all lonely life is drawn as by a +magnet. + +And this was demonstrated by our experience then and there. For, +scarcely had we done with supper,--and by this time the gloom had grown +to darkness, and the half-light of evening held the landscape,--when out +of the semi-gloom there came a call,--the call of a man hailing a camp. +Indeed, we were not sure he had not hailed several times before we heard +him; for, to tell the truth, we were a very merry crowd, and as light of +heart as if there was not a worry or care in all the world,--at least +for us,--and the smallest spark of a joke exploded us like a battery. +Indeed, so rollicking was our mood that our laughter was nearly +continuous, and it is quite possible that the stranger may have hailed +us more than once without our hearing him. And this was the more likely +because the man's voice was not of the loudest, nor was it positive in +the energy of its appeal. + +Indeed, there was a certain feebleness or timidity in the stranger's +hail, as if he was mistrustful that any good fortune could respond to +him, and, hence, deprecated the necessity of the resort. But hear him we +did at last, and he was greeted with a chorus of voices to "Come in! +Come in! You're welcome!" And partly because we had finished our repast, +and partly from courtesy and the natural promptings of gentlefolk to +give a visitor courteous greeting, we all arose and received him +standing. And, certainly, had the kindly act been unusual with us, not +one of our group would have regretted the extra condescension bestowed +upon him at his coming, after he had entered the circle of our +firelight, and we saw the expression of his features. + +What a mirror the human face is! Looking into it, how we behold the +soul, the accidents that have befallen it and the disappointments it has +borne! Are not the faces of men as carved tablets on which we read the +records of their lives? The face of childhood is smoothly beautiful, +like a white page on which neither with ink of red or black has any pen +drawn character. But, as the years go on, the pen begins to move and the +fatal tracery to grow,--that tracery which means and tells so much. And +the face of this man,--this waif, so to speak,--this waif that had come +to us from the stretch of the prairie, whose southern line is the +southern gulf; this stranger, who had come so suddenly to the circle of +our light, and so plaintively sought admission to its comfort and its +cheer, was a face which one might read at a glance. Not one in our +circle that did not instantly feel that he embodied some overwhelming +calamity. A look of sadness, of a mild, continuous sorrow, overspread +his face. There was a pitiful expression about the mouth, as if brave +determination had withdrawn its lines from it forever. From his eyes a +certain mistrustfulness looked forth,--not mistrustfulness of others, +but of himself,--as if confidence in his own powers had received an +overwhelming shock. The man's appearance made an instant and +unmistakable impression upon the entire company. The ladies--God bless +their sweet and sympathetic natures!--were profoundly moved at the +pitiful aspect of our guest. Their bosoms thrilled with sympathy for one +upon whose devoted head evil fortune had so evidently emptied its +quiver. Nor were our less sensitive masculine natures untouched by his +forlorn appearance. + +"A target for evil fortune," whispered Dick to the major. + +"A regular bull's-eye!" was the solemn response. "A bull's-eye, by gad! +at the end of the score." + +It was not a poetic expression. I wish the reader to note that I do not +record it as such. I only preserve it as evidence of the major's +humanity, and of the unaffected sympathy for the stranger, which at that +moment filled all hearts. + +Naturally, as it can well be imagined, the gayety of our company had +been utterly checked by the coming of our sad guest. In the presence of +such a wreck of human happiness, perhaps of human hope, what person of +any sensibility could maintain a lightsome mood? Had it not been for one +peculiarity,--a peculiarity, I am confident, all of us observed,--the +depression of our spirits would have been as profound as it was +universal. This peculiarity was the stranger's appetite. This, +fortunately, had remained unimpaired,--an oasis in the Sahara of his +life. + +"The one remnant left him from the wreck of his fortunes," whispered +Dick. + +"A perfect remnant!" returned the major, sententiously. + +For myself, acting as host to this appetite, and being naturally of a +philosophic turn, I watched its development with the keenest interest, +not to say with a growing curiosity. "Here is something," I said to +myself, "that is unique. That fine law of recompense which is kindly +distributed through the universe finds here," I reflected, "a most +instructive and conclusive demonstration. Robbed, by an adverse fate, of +all that made life agreeable, this man, this pilgrim of time, this +wayfarer to eternity, this companion of mine on the road of life, has +had bestowed upon him an extraordinary solace, has been permitted to +retain a commensurate satisfaction. Surely, life cannot have lost its +attractions for one whose stomach still preserves such aspirations." +And, prompted by the benevolence of my mood, and the anticipations of a +wise forecast, I collected in front of me whatever edibles remained on +the table, that, if the supply of our hospitality should prove +insufficient, the exhibition of its spirit should at least be +conclusive. + +But, if the countenance of the stranger was of a most melancholy cast, +there were not lacking hints that by nature he had been endowed with +vivacity of spirit; for, as he continued, with an industry which was +remarkable, to refresh himself, there were appearances, which came to +the eye and the corners of his mouth, which made the observer conclude +that he was not lacking the sense of humor; and, if his experience had +been most unfortunate, there was in him an ability to appreciate the +ludicrousness of its changeful situations. Indeed, one could but +conclude that originally he must have been of a buoyant, not to say +sanguine disposition; and, if one could but prevail upon him to narrate +the incidents of his life, they would be found to be most entertaining. + +It was something like an hour before our melancholy-looking guest had +fully improved the opportunity with which a benignant Providence had +supplied him,--a freak in which, one might conclude, she seldom +indulged. He ceased to eat, and sat for a moment gazing pensively at the +dishes. It seemed to me--but in this I may possibly be mistaken--that a +darker shade of sadness possessed his face at the conclusion than the +one that shadowed it so heavily at the beginning of the repast. "The +pleasures of hope," I said to myself, "are evidently greater to my +species than are those of recollection. Now that there is nothing left +for my guest to anticipate, it is evident that memory ceases to excite." +And I could but feel that, had our provisions been more abundant, the +stranger's appetite would not have been so easily appeased. With +something of regret in my voice, I sought to divert his mind from that +sense of disappointment which I judged from his countenance threatened +to oppress his spirits. + +"Friend," I said, "I doubt not that you have trailed a goodly distance, +and your fasting has been long?" + +"I have not eaten a meal in two days," was the response. + +"Heavens!" exclaimed Dick in an aside to the major. "Is it credible that +that man ate two days ago!" + +"Gad!" exclaimed the major, "the man's stomach is nothing but a pocket." + +"A pocket! I should call it an unexplored cavern!" retorted Dick. + +"The direction and reason of your long trail would be interesting," I +resumed. "And, if not impertinent, friend, may I ask you whence you have +come?" + +"I have journeyed from Texas," replied the man, and his voice nearly +broke as he said it. + +"_Oh!_" exclaimed the ladies, and they sympathetically grouped +themselves, anticipating, with true feminine sensitiveness, some +terrible denouement. + +"_Texas!_" I ejaculated. + +"_Gad!_" said the major. + +"The _Devil!_" said Dick. + +"Yes, _Texas!_" repeated the man, and he groaned. + +By this time, as any intelligent reader will easily divine, our whole +group was in a condition of mild excitement. Several of us had resided +in Texas, and we felt that we stood at the threshold of a history,--a +history with infinite possibilities in it. For myself, I knew not how to +proceed. My position as a host forbade me to interrogate. The sorrows of +life are sacred, and my sensitiveness withheld me from thrusting myself +within the enclosure of my guest's recollections. That his experiences, +could we but be favored with a narration of them, would be +entertaining,--painfully entertaining,--I keenly realized; but how to +proceed I saw not. I remained silent. + +"Yes,"--it was the stranger who broke the silence,--"I am a busted +ex-Texan!" + +[Illustration: I AM A BUSTED EX-TEXAN.] + +The relief that came to me at the instant was indescribable. The path +was made plain. We all felt that we were not only on the threshold of a +history, but of a narration of that history. The ladies fluttered into +position for listening. I could but see it, and so I am bound to record +that I saw Dick irreverently punch the major. It was a punch which +carried with it the significance of an exclamation. The major received +it with the face of a Spartan, but with the grunt of a Chinook chief. + +"Friend," I said, "we are accustomed to beguile the evening hours with +entertaining descriptions of travels, often of personal incidents of the +haps and hazards of life; and, if it would not be disagreeable to you, +we would be vastly entertained, beyond doubt, by any narration with +which you might favor us of your Texan experiences and of the fortunes +which befell you there." + +For a few moments, the silence remained unbroken, save by the crackle of +the fire and the soft movement in the great firs overhead,--a movement +which is to sound what dawn is to the day; not so much a sound as a +feathery suggestion that sound might come. It was a genial hour, and the +mood of the hour began to be felt in our own. The warmth of it evidently +penetrated the bosom of our guest. He had eaten. He was +filled,--appreciably so at least, and that happy feeling, that +comfortable sense of fulness, which characterizes the after-dinner hour, +pervaded him with its genial glow. He loosened his belt,--another +tremendous nudge from Dick,--and a look of contentment softened his +features. Whatever storm had wrecked his life, he had now passed beyond +its billows, and from the sure haven into which he had been blown he +could gaze with complacent resignation, if not with happiness, at the +dangers through which he had passed. I am sure that we were all +delighted at the brightening appearance of our guest, and felt that, if +the story he was to tell us was one which included disasters, it would +at least be lightened by traces of humor and the calm acceptance of a +philosophic mind. + +"I was born in the State of Connecticut," so our guest began his +narration. "I came from a venturesome stock, and the instinct of +commercial enterprise may be regarded as hereditary in my family. My +grandfather was the first one to discover the tropical attributes of the +beech-wood tree. He first perceived that it contained within its fibres +the pungency of the nutmeg. With a celerity which we remember with pride +in our family, he availed himself of the commercial value of his +discovery, and for years did a prosperous trade on the credulity of +mankind. He was a man of humor,--a sense which has been to some extent +transmitted to myself,--he was a man of humor, and I have no doubt he +enjoyed the joke he was practising on people, fully as much as the +profits which the practical embodiment of his humor brought to his +pocket. My father was a deacon, a man of true piety and eminently +respectable. He was engaged in the retail-grocery business,--a business +which offers opportunities to a person of wit and of an inventive turn +of mind. The butter that he sold was salted invariably by one rule--a +rule which he discovered and applied in the cellar of the store himself; +and the sugar which he sold, if it was sanded, was always sanded by a +method which improved rather than detracted from its appearance." + +Here our guest paused a moment, as if enjoying the recollections of the +virtues of his ancestors. His face was as sober as ever, but his look +was one of contentment; and I could but note the suggestion of +merriment--the merriment of a happy memory--in his eye. How happy it is +for an offspring to be able to recall the character of his forefathers +with such liveliness of mind! + +"The motive which impelled me towards Texas," he resumed, "was one which +was natural for me to feel, thus ancestrally connected. I had heired my +father's business,--the deacon, who had died full of honors, ripe in +years, and in perfect peace. But the business did not prosper in my +hands; perhaps, I had not heired, with the business, the deacon's +ability,--that accuracy of eye, that gravity of appearance, that +deftness of touch, so to speak, which underlay his success. Be that as +it may, the business did not pay, and without hesitation I sold it; and, +with a comfortable sum for investment, I journeyed to Texas. + +"It is proper for me to remark that the welcome I received was most +cordial. I chose a populous centre for a temporary residence, and +proceeded to look around me. I found the Texans to be a warm-hearted +people, much given to hospitality, and willing, with a charming +disinterestedness, to admit all new-comers, with capital, to the +enormous profits of their various enterprises. + +"For the first time in my life, I found myself among a people who were +successful in everything they undertook. Their profits were simply +enormous. No speculation could possibly fail. However I invested my +money, I was assured that I would speedily become a millionnaire. Cotton +was a certain crop. Corn was never known to fail. The Texan tobacco was +rapidly driving the Cuban out of the market. The aboriginal grapes of +the State, of which there were millions of acres waiting for the +presses, yielded, as Europe confessed, a wine superior to Champagne. If +I preferred herding, all I had to do was to purchase a few sheep and +simply sit down. There was no section of the globe where sheep were so +prolific, fleeces so thick, or the demands of market so clamorous. And, +as for horses, I was assured that no one in Texas who knew the facts of +the case would spend any time in raising them. The prairies were full of +them, hundreds of thousands of them, all blooded stock, 'true +descendants, sir, from the Moorish Barb, distributed through the whole +country at the Spanish invasion.' I need do nothing but purchase fifty +thousand acres, fence the territory in, and the enclosed herds would +continue to propagate indefinitely. Such were the delightful pictures +which my entertainers presented to me. Captivated by the charming +manners of my hosts, my sanguine temperament kindled into heat at the +touch of their enthusiasm. Where every venture was sure of successful +issue, there was no need for deliberation or selection. I invested +indiscriminately in all, and waited buoyantly for the results." + +Here the stranger paused, compelled, perhaps, by a slight interruption. +Dick had retired, closely followed by the major. Our guest certainly was +not devoid of humor, and I was convinced, as I watched the play of his +features, that he apprehended and appreciated the reason for their +retirement. He lifted a plate from the table, inspected it closely, +turned it over, gazed contemplatively at its reversed side, and, +poising it deftly upon the point of three fingers, quietly remarked:-- + +"The gentlemen, I judge, have been in Texas?" + +"They have," I replied: "we three were there together." + +"Ah!" + +It was all he said. I might add, it was all that could be said. + +At this point, Dick and the major rejoined us. Their eyes showed traces +of recent tears. They were still wiping their faces with their +handkerchiefs. With that refinement which is characteristic of true +gentlemen, and which seeks concealment of any extraordinary emotion, +they had considerately retired to indulge their laughter. + +"I am delighted," continued our guest, after Dick and the major had +resumed their seats, "I am delighted to find myself in company with men +of experience. I feel that you will not question the veracity of my +story, or fail to appreciate the outcome of my enterprises. At the end +of two years, my property was distributed promiscuously throughout the +State, and I was reduced to the necessity of making one final venture to +recoup myself for the losses which, to the astonishment of the entire +Texan community, I assured them I had met. I was the only man, as they +asserted, 'that had ever failed to make a magnificent success in Texas.' + +"You can readily conceive, gentlemen, that I was determined to make no +mistake in my final venture. There were other reasons, beside the one of +caution, which persuaded me to begin with a moderate investment; so I +bought one cow. It was impossible for me to make a mistake from such a +beginning. Every person in Texas that had rapidly risen to financial +eminence had started with one cow. Many a time had a Texan ranchman +swept his hand with a royal gesture over a landscape of flowers and +Mesquite brush, dotted with thousands of cattle, and exclaimed, +'Stranger, I started this yer ranch with one cow.' And then he would +take out a piece of chalk and figure out to me on his saddle how that +one cow had multiplied herself into seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-three other cows, which had proceeded to promptly multiply +themselves, 'regular as the seasons come round, sir,' in the same +reckless manner, until it was evident that the number of her progeny was +actually curtailed by the size of the saddle and the lack of chalk. Now, +I was eager to possess a cow with such a multiplication-table +attachment, and, being unable to wait even ten years before I could +tingle with the sensation of being a millionnaire ranchman. I decided to +shorten the probationary stage by half, and so I purchased two cows." + +At this point, Dick rolled over upon the grass, and the major was +doubled up as with sudden pain. As for myself, I confess I could not +restrain my emotions. I had been through the same experience as had +fallen to my guest, and I appreciated the sanguine characteristics of +his temperament, which prompted him to the investment, and the humor of +the situation. I laughed till my eyes flowed with tears, and the +stillness of the foot-hills resounded with the unrestrained merriment of +the entire camp. + +The humor of our guest was truly American, the humor of suggestive +restraint and exaggeration both. He narrated his experiences, which had +resulted in the loss of his fortune and the collapse of his hopes, with +a face like a deacon's, and with a quaint and most charming sense of the +ludicrousness of the position--a position of which he himself was the +cause and central object. He fairly represented that type of men who +combine in their composition that which is most practical and +imaginative alike; whose energy can subdue a continent, and whose +boastfulness would awaken contempt if it were not palliated by the +magnitude of their achievements. A humor that is often barbed, but which +is most willingly directed against one's self; but, whether directed +against the humorist or his neighbor, carries no poison upon its point +and leaves no wound to rankle. + +"My financial condition," said our guest, resuming, "my financial +condition at the time I made this final investment contributed to the +hopefulness of my mood, and made me feel the excitement of a reckless +speculation, for, though my two cows only cost me seventeen dollars and +fifty cents each, nevertheless, when the purchase was concluded, and the +goods delivered, and I had made a careful inventory of my remaining +assets,--a business proceeding which the average Texan found it +necessary to go through about once in two weeks, in order that he might +know what his financial standing was, or whether he had any standing at +all,--when, I say, the purchase was consummated, and an inventory of my +remaining assets made, I discovered that the two cows had swallowed up +nearly my entire estate, and that a few dollars of farther expenditure +would plunge me into bottomless insolvency. I must confess that this +disclosure of my financial condition added zest to the undertaking, and +filled me with that fine excitement which accompanies a desperate +speculation. I have always felt that another cow would have made a +financier of me, and that I could have taken my place among my brethren +in Wall Street without a tremor of the muscles or the least sense of +inferiority. + +"The cows were both black in color; so black that they would make a spot +in the darkness of the blackest night that ever gloomed under the +cypresses of the Guadaloupe. 'If those cows,' I said to myself as I +looked them over, 'if those cows ever do bring forth calves at the rate +that the Texan of whom I purchased them figured out on his saddle, +they'll put the whole State under an eclipse.' + +"I cannot say,--speaking with that restraint which I have always +cultivated,--I cannot say, ladies and gentlemen, that I regarded either +cow with any great affection. There were peculiarities about them, which +checked the outgoing of my emotional nature. They had a way of looking +at me through the wire fence, that made me feel grateful to the inventor +of barbed wire. I cannot describe the look exactly. It was a direct, +earnest, steady, intense inspection of my person, that made me feel out +of place, as it were, and caused me to remember that I had duties at +home, which required me to get there as rapidly as possible. + +"One morning, seeing that the basis of my speculation was near the +centre of the field, and busily feeding on the bountiful growths of +nature, I crept softly through the wires of the fence that I might +gather some pecan nuts under a big tree that stood some twenty rods +away. I reached the tree in safety, and proceeded to pick up the nuts. I +had filled one pocket only when I heard a noise behind me, and, looking +up, I saw that all the profits of my stock speculation, and all my stock +itself, were coming toward me on a jump. I was never more collected in +my life. My mind instantly reached the conclusion that the pecan crop +that year was so large in Texas that it would not pay to pick up another +nut under that tree; that the whole thing should stand over, as it were, +until another fall, and that, the sooner I retired from that field, the +better it would be for me and the few pecans I had about me. + +"Acting in harmony with this conclusion,--which to my mind carried with +it the force of a demonstration,--I started for the wire fence. I have +no doubt but that the line of my movement was absolutely straight. I +assure you, gentlemen, that if cows had multiplied in my business +connection as rapidly as they did in my imagination during the next +sixty seconds of time, I should have been in Texas to this day. The +whole field was actually alive with cows. I reached the fence just one +jump ahead of the oldest cow, and, seeing no reason why I should take +time to crawl through between the wires, I lifted myself over the airy +obstruction in a manner that must have convinced that old animated bit +of blackness that I had absolute ownership in every nut about me. This +little episode supplied me with material for reflection for at least a +week, and made me realize that any northern man that enters into a +speculation with Texas cows as a basis must keep his eyes open, and not +allow his thoughts to be diverted by any side issues, like pecan nuts, +while the business is developing. + +"The sixth morning after my speculation had arrived at the ranch, my +profits began to roll in upon me,--or, to state it more practically, and +in a business-like manner, the oldest cow produced a calf. This raised +my spirits, and made me feel that my business was fairly started. I went +to my stock-book and promptly made an entry as follows: 7523-1. This +meant that there were only seven thousand five hundred and twenty-_two_ +yet to realize on; that is, if seven thousand five hundred and +twenty-two calves should promptly come to time, seeing that one calf had +already actually come to time, my herd would be complete. I think, +gentlemen, you can readily understand my feelings as I stood +contemplating the first fruition of my hopes from behind a tree. The cow +was securely tied, but still from habit I took my usual position when +inspecting my stock. My mood was very hopeful. I felt as every Texan +felt, in those days, when by some accident he found himself in +possession of actual property. 'There is a calf,' I said; 'I've only had +to wait six days for that calf to materialize. Suppose another calf +should materialize in six days.' I extracted a pencil from my pocket and +began to figure. I multiplied that calf by six--I mean that at the end +of six days I multiplied that calf by another calf. Every time I put +down a new multiplier I took a look at the calf, and every time I looked +at the calf it multiplied itself, as it were, until I felt the full +force of the Texan's statement, save that, the more I multiplied, the +more I felt that seven thousand five hundred and twenty-three did not +fairly represent the certainties of the speculation. That cow would +surely make a millionnaire of me yet--if nothing happened. + +"But, gentleman, something did happen, and it happened in this wise: You +have doubtless, by this, concluded that the cow was a wild cow. The man +who sold her to me had not put it precisely that way. He had represented +her to me as a cow of mild manners, thoroughly domesticated, of the +sweetest possible temper, used to the women folks, playful with +children,--in short, a creature of such amiability that she actually +longed to be petted. But I had already discovered that her manners were +somewhat abrupt, and that either the man did not understand the nature +of the cow or I did not understand the man. I was convinced that, if she +had ever been domesticated, it had been done by some family every member +of which had died in the process, or had suddenly moved out of the +country only a short distance ahead of her, and that she had utterly +forgotten her early training. Still, I had no doubt but that her +amiability was there, although temporarily somewhat latent, and that the +influences of a gentle spirit would revive the dormant sensibilities of +her nature. 'The sight of a milk-pail,' I said to myself, 'will surely +awaken the reminiscences of her early days, and of that sweet home-life +which was hers when she yielded at morn and at night her glad +contribution to the nourishment of a Christian family.' + +"There was on my ranch a servitor of foreign extraction who did my +cooking for what he could eat,--Chin Foo by name,--and to him I called +to bring me the large tin pail, which served the household--which, like +most Texan households in the Tertiary period, so to speak, of their +fortunes, was conducted on economic principles--as a washtub, a +chip-basket, a water-bucket, and a dinner-gong. It also occurred to me, +as I stood looking at the cow and caught the spirit of her expression, +so to speak, that, as she had come to stay, was a permanent fixture of +the establishment, as it were, Chin Foo might as well do the milking +first as last. Moreover, as the Texan from whom I purchased her had +assured me that she was a kind of household pet, the children's friend, +and took to women folks naturally, the case was a very clear one. For, +as Chin Foo had long hair, wore no hat, and dressed in flowing drapery, +the cow, unless she was more of a physiologist than I gave her credit +for, would be in doubt somewhat as to the sex of the Chinaman; and +before she had time to ruminate upon it and reach a dead-sure +conclusion, the milking would be over; and I would have scored the first +point in the game, if she was a cow of ability, had any trumps, and was +up to any tricks, as it were. So I told Chin Foo, as he approached with +the pail in his hand, that the cow was a splendid milker, thoroughly +domesticated, accustomed to Chinamen, and that he might have the honor +of milking her first. I remarked, furthermore, that, as everything +about the place was new to her, and she was a little nervous, I would +gently attract her attention in front, while he proceeded to extract the +delicious fluid. I charged him, in addition, to remember that it was +always the best policy to approach a cow of her temperament in a bold +and indifferent manner, as if he had milked her all his life, and get +down to business at once; and that any hesitation or show of nervousness +on his part would tend to make her more nervous. + +"I must say that Chin Foo acted in a highly creditable manner, +considering he was in a strange land, and, to my certain knowledge, had +no money laid by for funeral expenses; for, while I was stirring the +dust and flourishing my stick in a desultory manner in front of the cow, +to divert her mind, and keep her thoughts from wandering backward too +directly, he fluttered boldly up to her, and laid firmly hold of two +teats, with the familiarity of an old acquaintance." + +At this point of his narration the stranger paused a moment. There was a +sort of plaintive look on his face, and he gazed at the plates with an +expression in his eyes of sorrowful recollection. + +"I cannot say," he resumed, as one who speaks oppressed with a sense of +uncertainty, "exactly what did happen, for I never saw the Chinaman +again until he alighted. I only know that when he came down he was +practically inside the pail, and that he sat in it a moment with a kind +of dreamy eastern look on his face, as if he lived on the isle of Patmos +and had seen a vision. And when he had crawled out of the pail he went +directly into the house, saying, 'The Melican man is dam foolee to try +to milkee that cussee!' or words to that effect. + +[Illustration: PRACTICALLY INSIDE THE PAIL.] + +"But I did not agree with him. I reflected that the Chinese are only an +imitative race, and wholly lacking in original perception. 'They never +invent anything,' I said; 'never study into causes, never get down to +principles, as it were. It requires a purely occidental intellect to +master the problem before me. This cow has a strong disinclination to be +milked. Why? What is the motive of her conduct? If I could only answer +that!' All at once it came to me,--came like a flash. The reason was +plain. 'This cow is a mother. The maternal instinct in her case is +beautifully developed. Her reasoning faculties less so. She has a calf. +To her mind, we are trying to rob her beloved offspring of its +nourishment. She naturally resents this injustice on our part. Beautiful +development of maternity,' I apostrophized, as I looked at the cow in +the light of this new revelation. 'Thy instincts are those that sweeten +the world, and remind us of the benignity that planned the universe. I +will bring thy calf to thee. I will show thee that I am not devoid of +the spirit of equity; that I am ready to go shares and play fair, as it +were. Thy calf shall take one side of thee. I will take the other, and +thy soul will come forth to me in gratitude!' + +"I was delighted. I went directly to the pen, and gazed benevolently at +the calf. The little imp was blacker, if possible, than its mother. +There was that same peculiar look also in its eyes. 'You're all hers!' I +joyfully cried, 'you are your mother's own child!' I seized hold of the +neck-rope. I opened the pen-door and I went out through that door +quicker than a vagrant cat ever got round a corner of a house where a +Scotch terrier boards. The calf went under the cow and I struck her, +head on. But I had come to stay. I grabbed the pail with one hand and a +teat with the other. I tugged it, pulled it, twisted it. Not a drop +could I start. A suction pump of twenty horse-power would have found it +drier than Sahara, and all the while the calf's mouth, on the other +side, was actually running over with milk! In two minutes he looked like +a black watermelon. Then the cow, with a kind of back action, +suddenly reached out one foot, and when I came to I found myself +facing a mulberry tree, with one leg on each side of it. + +[Illustration: "AND WHEN I CAME DOWN."] + +"By this time I had reached a decision, and I had the courage of my +convictions. I felt it to be my duty to milk that cow. I reminded her in +plain, straightforward language that I was the son of a deacon, and that +she'd find it out before she got through with me. I assured her that I +understood the beauty of righteousness, and that I held a strong hand--a +straight flush, as it were. I was well aware that the metaphor was +somewhat mixed; but it expressed my sentiments and relieved my feelings, +and so I fired it at her point-blank. She snorted and pawed and +bellowed, and swore at me in cow-language, but I didn't care for that. +So I shook the old, battered milk-pail in her face, and told her I was +born in Connecticut, and did business on spot-cash principle; and that +she would know more of the commandments than any cow of her color in +Texas, before we said our long farewell. + +"By this time the matter had attracted a good deal of attention, for I +had carried on my conversation with the cow in the voice of a tragedian +when the chief villain of the play has stolen his girl, and my next +neighbor, an old sea-captain from Mattagorda Bay, and his hired men had +come over to assist me. They were of the nature of a reenforcement, +which consisted of the captain, a Mexican, a Michigan man that +stuttered, and two negroes--Napoleon Bonaparte de Neville Smith, and +George Washington Marlborough Johnsing, by name. Hence we were six in +all, and I decided to take the offensive at once. The captain was +advanced in years and rheumatic, but a clearheaded man, used to command, +and had 'boarded,' as he expressed it, 'several of the----crafts in his +own waters.' So I put him in charge of the marines, namely, ourselves, +and told him to fight the ship for all she was worth. He caught on to +the thing at once, and swore he would 'sweep the old black hulk fore +and aft, and send every mother's son to the bottom, or make her strike +her colors.' The vigor of the gallant old gentleman's language, and the +noble manner in which he shook his cane at the old pirate, put us all in +good spirits, and I verily believe that, if he had at that fortunate +moment given the word 'board!' we would, niggers and all, have gone over +the bulwarks of that old cow with a rush. + +"The captain's plan of action was proof of his courage, and in harmony +with my own ideas of the matter. He said that our force was ample, every +gun shotted, and the ports open: that we had the windward gauge of her, +and that the proper course was to send a boat in to cut her cable, and, +when she drifted down with the current, we would ware ship, lay up +alongside, grapple, pass lashings aboard, and send the whole crew on to +her deck with a rush. Assaulted in such a man-of-war style, he was +confident she would become confused, be intimidated, and strike her +colors without firing a gun. The brave and sonorous language with which +our commander set forth his plan of assault captured our imaginations, +and we all longed for the moment when the word of command should permit +us to swarm up the sides and over the rail of the old bovine. + +"Not only was the general plan thus agreed upon, but each man had his +post of duty assigned to him. When the 'cable was cut,' that is, when +the cow should find herself at liberty and bolt, as she would be sure to +do, the Mexican was to lasso her and hang on; Napoleon Bonaparte de +Neville and George Washington Marlborough were to lay hold of her horns +to 'port and starboard,' as the captain insisted, while the Michigan +man--who was over six feet tall, and leggy--was to fasten with a good +grip on to her tail, that he might serve not only as a 'drag,' as our +commander phrased it, but as a pilot as well, 'if she should get to +yawing or be suddenly taken aback, and be unable to come up into the +wind promptly,' while I was held in reserve to guard against +emergencies. I did not quite like the position assigned to me, and so +intimated to the captain, but he said no one could tell how it might go +when we once got out of the harbor, and, if any of the braces should +part, or the sea get high, that he would have to send an additional man +to the wheel, 'for,' he added, in a whisper, 'God knows, that +long-legged Michigan land-lubber could never keep her to a straight +course if she should once get running with the wind over her quarter, +and everything drawing, through that cornfield.' I saw the force of his +reasoning, and felt easier. + +"So, without farther delay, we went into action. The old captain stood, +knife in hand, ready to cut the lariat which held the cow to the tree, +but, before he did so, he hailed, '_All ready to cut cables!_' + +"'Fo' de lawd, cap'in!' yelled Napoleon de Neville, 'what is dis yere +nigger gwine to do if de udder nigger lets go?' + +"'Go way dar, nigger!' retorted George Washington Marlborough; 'what you +takes dis nigger for if you tinks I's gwine to let go dis ole black +cow?' + +"'I'll give a silver dollar to the nigger that holds on the longest,' I +yelled. + +"'Well answered, mate,' sang out the old captain. '_All ready to cut +cables. Cut she is!_' + +"The cow gave a bellow like the roar of a lion, and made a rush with +lowered horns at the captain. Now, this was not the course laid down on +his chart for her to take; and he and the rest of us were struck all +aback, as he afterwards expressed it; but he met the emergency with +spirit. He broke his big, Spanish-oak stick on the nose of the brute, +and then the old mariner rolled in the dust. + +"'Lay aboard of her, men!' shouted the old hero, in a voice like a +fog-horn, flourishing the fragments of his stick. 'Lay aboard of the old +cuss, I say! Cast your grapplings, Greaser! Seize her helm, some of +ye, and throw it hard over to port!' + +[Illustration: "LAY ABOARD OF THE OLD CUSS!"] + +"These orders were obeyed with alacrity. Not a man flinched. The loop of +the lasso settled over the polished horns to the roots, and Don Juan San +Diego set it tight with a twang. Napoleon Bonaparte and George +Washington rushed headlong upon her and hung to horns and ears; while +the man from Michigan fastened a grip on her lifted tail, as she tore +past him, which straightened him out like a lathe. As to myself, I could +only stand and gaze with solicitude upon the terrific contest, on the +issue of which depended not only the chances of my speculation, but even +the preservation of my self-esteem. + +"The combat deepened and enlarged itself, as it were. A bull-dog, who +was wandering along the road in search of adventure, and two foxhounds +joined in the fight. The calf, the only one of the seven thousand five +hundred and twenty-three I was ever destined to behold, broke from its +pen and ran bellowing to its mother. The dogs bayed, the niggers yelled, +the Mexican swore in his delightful tongue; and the stuttering +Michigander remained silent, simply from his inability to pronounce the +profanity of his feelings. + +"Suddenly the cow, which had been slowly working her way, with her +several attachments clinging to her, toward the road which ran along the +front of the field, turned and started pell-mell toward the river, which +flowed wide and deep, through the rushes, at the rear of it. She left +the path and took to the corn, and through the mass of growing stalks +she swept like a whirlwind. Onward she came. I anticipated the awful +catastrophe, and stood riveted to the spot. The old captain still sat in +the gravel, where the cow had bowled him, his hand grasping the +shattered cane, and his game leg extended. He too foresaw the +inevitable. Through the corn came the cow, like a black Saturn attended +by her satellites. But her career was too terrific for these to hold to +their connection. The laws of the universe forbade it. Napoleon +Bonaparte de Neville lost his hold as she crashed into the sorghum +patch. George Washington Marlborough tripped over an irrigation ditch, +and soared away at a tangent, like a sputtering remnant of a burnt-out +world. Don Juan San Diego went the wrong side of a mulberry tree, and +the lasso parted with a snap. He never stopped until his momentum +carried him through the slats of the neighboring cow-pen. Only the +long-legged Michigander kept his hold, and he looked like a pair of +extended scissors. I stood aghast at the impending ruin of my hopes, +with my lower jaw dropped. The captain alone retained his presence of +mind. As the black unit of my last Texan speculation shot by him, with +Michigan, elongated like a peninsula, fastened to her tail, he rolled up +to his knees and roared:-- + +"'_Starboard your helm, boy!_ _Luff her up! Luff her up, for the love +of God, or the colonel is busted!_' + +"It is doubtful if the Michigan man ever heard the stentorian call of +the captain, for sound travels only thirteen hundred feet to the second, +and the cow was certainly going considerably faster than that; and, +besides, he was himself engaged, with a terrific earnestness, in a vain +effort to extricate a word out of his throat, which stuck like a wad in +a smutty gun--a word of undoubted Saxon origin and of expressive force, +and which has saved more blood-vessels from bursting than the lancet of +the phlebotomist, for as he streamed past there was left floating upon +the air a long string of d's, thus: d----d----d--d--d--d-d-d...! + +"No one who did not hear them could ever conceive of the awful +sputtering, hissing sound that they caused in the atmosphere as they +came out of the mouth of the mad and stuttering Michigander; and as he +and the cow bored a hole through the reeds on the bank of the river, +and, hitting a cypress stump, ricochetted into the water, that fiery +string of d's, still hot and sputtering, reached half across the field. + +[Illustration: "LUFF HER UP! LUFF HER UP!"] + +"The splash of the two as they struck the water brought the old captain +to his feet, and, in spite of his rheumatic leg, he rushed toward the +river, crying:-- + +"'_Man overboard! Man overboard! Gone clean over the forechains! +Life-floats to port and starboard!_' + +"With such a frightful catastrophe, gentlemen, the remembrance of which +actually makes me nervous, my last speculation in Texas ended. Going +over the whole matter with the captain that evening,--a process which +took us well into the night,--it was our united opinion that the +speculation was a failure. This conviction was mutual and profound. The +cow was not only gone, but she had shown such disinclination to be +domesticated, and such a misapprehension of the true purpose of life, +that the prospect was truly disheartening. + +"'Why, damn it, colonel,' said the captain, 'we've no evidence that the +old cow wanted to be milked!' + +"To this discouraging conclusion of the captain's I was compelled to +give a sorrowful assent. I recognized that my speculation was in +arrears, as it were, and that it would never figure up a profit. + +"Therefore, next day I divided my few personal effects between the +captain and the noble men who had risked their lives for an idea; who +had seen the tragedy played out and the curtain rung down to my last +appearance, as it were. And, with the few dollars which alone remained +of the fortune which I took with me to Texas, I mounted my horse and +started northward, to join that noble army of martyrs, that brotherhood +of sufferers, that fraternity of the busted, whose members are legion, +and who are known as '_Ex-Texans_.'" + +The hilarity of the camp that evening under the foot-hills will never be +forgotten by those of us who composed the happy number, and who +listened with streaming eyes and aching sides to the narrative of our +unfortunate guest. He told his story with a directness and simplicity of +narrative, with a gravity of countenance and plaintiveness of voice, +which heightened the humor of the substance. Never did the stars, which +have seen so much of human happiness, which have listened to so much of +the rollicking humor of those who were fashioned for laughter, looked +down upon a jollier camp. Long after our guest had ended his narrative +and was apparently sleeping in happy forgetfulness of his Texas +speculation, succeeding pauses of silence would come roars of laughter. +The remembrance of the humorous tale banished sleep, and, even after +slumber had fallen on us all, fun still held possession of our dreams. +For Dick, starting from sleep in a nightmare of hilarity, roared out: +"_Luff her up, luff her up, or the colonel is busted!_" + +Ay, ay, thank God for laughter. Thank him heartily and ever, dear +friend, blow the winds, run the tides as they may. The sorrows of life +may be many, and its griefs may be keen, and we who are frosted with +years and you who are blooming have felt and will feel the sting of +false friends and the burden of losses; but, lose what we may, or be +pained as we have been and shall be, we are happy in this,--we who know +how to laugh,--that we find wings for each burden, solace for pains, and +return for all losses, in our sweet sense of humor, thank Heaven! So, +whether rich men or poor, healthy or sick, brown-headed or gray, we will +go on like children, with eyes for all beauty and hearts for all fun. +Let lilies teach us, and of the birds of the air let us learn. The day +that is not shall not make us anxious, for of each day is the evil +enough, and the morrow shall take care of itself. + +[Illustration: THE WICKEDEST COW.]* + + + + +HOW DEACON TUBMAN + +and PARSON WHITNEY + +CELEBRATED NEW YEARS. + + + + +HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY CELEBRATED NEW YEAR'S. + + +"Mirandy, I'm going up to see the parson," exclaimed the deacon, when +the morning devotions were over, "and see if I can thaw him out a +little. I've heard that there used to be a lot in him in his younger +days, but he's sort of frozen all up latterly, and I can see that the +young folks are afraid of him and the church too, but that won't do--no, +it won't do," repeated the good man emphatically, "for the minister +ought to be loved by young and old, rich and poor, and everybody; and a +church without young folks in it is, why, it is like a family with no +children in it. Yes, I'll go up and wish him a Happy New Year anyway. +Perhaps I can get him out for a ride to make some calls on the people, +and see the young folks at their fun. It'll do him good, and them good, +and me good, and everybody good." Saying which, the deacon got inside +his warm fur coat, and started toward the barn to harness Jack into the +worn, old-fashioned sleigh, which sleigh was built high in the back, and +had a curved dasher of monstrous proportions, ornamented with a prancing +horse in an impossible attitude, done in bright vermilion on a blue +background! + +"Happy New Year to you, Parson Whitney! Happy New Year to you," cried +the deacon, as he stood in the doorway of the parsonage and shook the +parson by the hand enthusiastically, "and may you live to enjoy a +hundred." + +"Come in, come in," cried Parson Whitney, in response. "I'm glad you've +come; I'm glad you've come. I've been wanting to see you all the +morning," and in the cordiality of his greeting he literally pulled the +little man through the doorway into the hall, and hurried him up the +stairway to his study in the chamber overhead. + +"Thinking of me! Well, now, I never!" exclaimed the deacon, as, assisted +by the parson, he twisted and wriggled himself out of his coat, that he +filled, a little too snugly for an easy exit. "Thinking of me, and among +all these books too--Bibles, catechisms, tracts, theologies, sermons. +Well, well, that is funny. What made you think of me?" + +"Deacon Tubman," responded the parson, as he seated himself in his +armchair, "I want to talk with you about the church." + +"The church!" ejaculated the deacon in response. "Nothing going wrong, I +hope?" + +"Yes, things are going wrong, deacon," responded the parson. "The +congregation is growing smaller and smaller, and yet I preach good, +strong, biblical, soul-satisfying sermons, I trust." + +"Good ones! good ones!" answered the deacon promptly, "never +better--never better in the world." + +"And yet the people are deserting the sanctuary," rejoined the parson +solemnly, "and the young people won't come to the sociables, and the +little children seem actually afraid of me. What shall I do, deacon?" +and the good man put the question with pathetic emphasis. + +"You've hit the nail on the head, square as a hatchet, parson," +responded the deacon. "The congregation is thinning. The young people +don't come to the meetings, and the little children are afraid of you." + +"What's the matter, deacon?" cried the parson in return. "What is it?" +he repeated earnestly. "Speak it right out; don't try to spare my +feelings. I will listen to--I will do anything to win back my people's +love," and the strong, old-fashioned Calvinistic preacher said it in a +voice that actually trembled. + +"You can do it--you can do it in a week!" exclaimed the deacon +encouragingly. "Don't worry about it, parson; it'll be all right, it'll +be all right. Your books are the trouble." + +"Books?" ejaculated the parson. "What have they to do with it?" + +"Everything," replied the deacon stoutly. "You pore over them day in and +day out; they keep you in this room here when you should be out among +the people,--not making pastoral visits,--I don't mean that,--but going +around among them, chatting and joking and having a good time. They +would like it, and you would like it, and as for the young folks--how +old are you, parson?" + +"Sixty next month," answered the parson; "sixty next month," he repeated +solemnly. + +"Thirty! thirty! that's all you are, parson, or all you ought to be," +cried the deacon. "Thirty, twenty, sixteen!--let the figures slide down +and up, according to circumstances, but never let them go higher than +thirty when you are dealing with young folks. I'm sixty myself, counting +years; but I'm only sixteen, sixteen this morning, that's all, parson," +and he rubbed his little round plump hands together, looked at the +parson, and winked. + +"Bless my soul, Deacon Tubman, I don't know but that you are right!" +answered the parson. "Sixty? I don't know as I am sixty," and he began +to rub his own hands, and came within an ace of executing a wink at the +deacon, himself. + +"Not a day over twenty, if I am any judge of age," responded the deacon +deliberately, as he looked the white-headed old minister over with a +most comic imitation of seriousness. "Not a day over twenty, on my +honor," and the deacon leaned forward toward the parson, and gave him a +punch with his thumb, as one boy might deliver a punch at another, and +then he lay back in his chair and laughed so heartily that the parson +caught the infectious mirth and roared away as heartily as himself. + +Yes, it was impossible to sit hobnobbing with the little, jolly deacon +on that bright New Year's morning and not be affected by the happiness +of his mood, for he was actually bubbling over with fun, and as full of +frolic as if the finger on the dial had, in truth, gone back forty-odd +years, and he was "only sixteen. Only sixteen, parson, on my honor." + +"But what can I do?" queried the good man, sobering down. "I make my +pastoral visits." + +"Pastoral visits!" responded Deacon Tubman. "Oh, yes, and they are all +well enough for the old folks, but they ar'n't the kind of biscuit the +young folks like--too heavy in the centre, and over-hard in the crust +for young teeth, eh, parson?" + +"But what shall I do? what shall I do?" reiterated the parson, somewhat +despondently. + +"Oh! put on your hat, and gloves, and warmest coat, and come along with +me. We will see what the young folks are doing, and will make a day of +it. Come! come! let the old books, and catechisms, and sermons, and +tracts have a respite for once, and we'll spend the day out-of-doors, +with the boys and girls and the people." + +"I'll do it!" exclaimed the parson. "Deacon Tubman, you are right. I do +keep to my study too closely. I don't see enough of the world and what's +going on in it. I was reading the Testament this morning, and I was +impressed with the Master's manner of living and teaching. It is not +certain that he ever preached more than twice in a church during all his +ministry on the earth. And the children! how much he loved the children, +and how the little ones loved him! And why shouldn't they love me, too? +Why shouldn't they? I'll make them do it! yes, I'll make them do it! The +lambs of my flock shall love me." And with these brave words Parson +Whitney bundled himself up in his warmest garments, and followed the +deacon downstairs. + +"Tell the folks that you won't be back till night," called the deacon +from the sleigh; "for this is New Year, and we're going to make a day of +it," and he laughed away as heartily as might be--so heartily that the +parson joined in the laughter himself as he came shuffling down the icy +path toward him. "Bless me! how much younger I feel already!" said the +good man as he stood up in the sleigh, and with a long, strong breath +breathed the cool, pure air into his lungs. "Bless me! how much younger +I feel already!" he repeated, as he settled down into the roomy seat of +the old sleigh. "Only sixteen to-day,--eh, deacon?" and he nudged him +with his elbow. + +"That's all, that's all, parson," answered the deacon gayly, as he +nudged him vigorously back; "that's all we are, either of us," and, +laughing as merrily as two boys, the two glided away in the sleigh. + +Well, perhaps they didn't have fun that day, these two old boys that had +started out with the feeling that they were "only sixteen," and bound to +make "a day of it!" And they did make a day of it, in fact, and such a +day as neither had had for forty years; for, first, they went to +Bartlett's Hill, where the boys and girls were coasting, and coasted +with them for a full hour,--and then it was discovered by the younger +portion of his flock that the parson was not an old, stiff, solemn, +surly poke, as they had thought, but a pleasant, good-natured, kindly +soul, who could take and give a joke, and steer a sled as well as the +smartest boy in the crowd; and when it came to snow-balling, he could +send a ball further than Bill Sykes himself, who could out-throw any boy +in town, and roll up a bigger block to the new snow fort they were +building than any three boys among them. And how the parson enjoyed +being a boy again! How exhilarating the slide down the steep hill; how +invigorating the pure, cool air; how pleasant the noise of the chatting +and joking going on around him; how bright and sweet the boys and girls +looked, with their rosy cheeks and sparkling eyes; and how the old +parson's heart thrilled as they crowded around him when he would go, and +urged him to stay,--and little Alice Dorchester begged him, with her +little arms around his neck, to "jes' stay and gib me one more slide, +please!" + +"You never made such a pastoral call as that, parson," said the deacon, +as they drove away amid the cheers of the boys and the "good-bys" of the +girls, while the former fired off a volley of snow-balls in his honor, +and the latter waved their muffs and handkerchiefs after them. + +"God bless them! God bless them!" said the parson. "They have lifted a +load from my heart, and taught me the sweetness of life, of youth, and +the wisdom of Him who took the little ones in His arms, and blessed +them. Ah, deacon," he added, "I've been a great fool, but I'll be so, +thank God! no more." + +Now, old Jack was a horse of a great deal of character, and had a great +history; but of this none in that section, save the little deacon, knew +a word. Dick Tubman, the deacon's youngest, wildest, and, we might add, +favorite son, had purchased him of an impecunious jockey, at the close +of a disastrous campaign, that cleaned him completely out, and left him +in a strange city a thousand miles from home, with nothing but the +horse, harness, and sulky, and a list of unpaid bills that must be met +before he could leave the scene of his disastrous fortunes. Under such +circumstances it was that Dick Tubman ran across the horse, and partly +out of pity for its owner, and partly out of admiration of the horse, +whose failure to win at the races was due more to his lack of condition +and the bad management of his jockey than lack of speed, bought him +off-hand, and, having no use for him himself, shipped him as a present +to the deacon, with whom he had now been four years, with no harder work +than ploughing out the good old man's corn in the summer, and jogging +along the country roads on the deacon's errands. Having said thus much +of the horse, perhaps we should more particularly describe him. + +He was, in sooth, an animal of most unique and extraordinary appearance; +for, in the first place, he was quite seventeen hands in height, and +long in proportion. He was also the reverse of shapely in the fashion of +his build: for his head was long and bony, and his hip bones sharp and +protuberant; his tail was what is known among horsemen as a rat-tail, +being but scantily covered with hair, and his neck was even more +scantily supplied with a mane, while in color he could easily have taken +any premium put up for homeliness, being an ashen roan, mottled with +flecks and patches of divers hues; but his legs were flat and corded +like a racer's, his neck long and thin as a thoroughbred's, his nostrils +large, his ears sharply pointed and lively, while the white rings around +his eyes hinted at a cross, somewhere in his pedigree, with Arabian +blood. A huge, bony, homely-looking horse he was, who drew the deacon +and Miranda into the village on market days and Sundays, with a loose, +shambling gait, making altogether an appearance so homely and peculiar +that the smart village chaps riding along in their jaunty turn-outs used +to chaff the good deacon on the character of his steed, and satirically +challenge him to a brush. The deacon always took their badinage in good +part, although he inwardly said more than once, "If I ever get a good +chance, when there ar'n't too many around, I'll go up to the turn of the +road beyond the church, and let Jack out on them;" for Dick had given +him a hint of the horse's history, and told him "he could knock the +spots out of thirty," and wickedly urged the deacon to take the starch +out of them airy chaps some of these days. Such was the horse, then, +that the deacon had ahead of him, and the old-fashioned sleigh, when, +with the parson alongside, he struck into the principal street of the +village. + +Now, New Year's Day is a lively day in many country villages, and on +this bright one especially, as the sleighing was perfect, everybody was +out. Indeed, it had got noised abroad that certain trotters of local +fame were to be on the street that afternoon, and, as the boys worded +it, "there would be heaps of fun going on." And so it happened that +everybody in town, and many who lived out of it, were on this particular +street, and just at the hour, too, when the deacon came to the foot of +it, so that the walk on either side was lined darkly with lookers-on, +and the smooth snow-path between the two lines looked like a veritable +homestretch on a race-day. + +Now, when the deacon had reached the corner of the main street and +turned into it, it was at that point where the course terminated and the +"brushes" were ended, and at the precise moment when the dozen or twenty +horses that had just come flying down were being pulled up preparatory +to returning at a slow gait to the customary starting-point at the head +of the street, a half-mile away, so that the old-fashioned sleigh was +surrounded by the light, fancy cutters of the rival racers, and old +Jack was shambling awkwardly along in the midst of the high-spirited and +smoking nags that had just come flying down the stretch. + +"Hellow, deacon," shouted one of the boys, who was driving a +trim-looking bay, and who had crossed the line at the ending of the +course second only to a pacer that could "speed like a streak of +lightning," as the boys said,--"Hellow, deacon; ain't you going to shake +out old shamble-heels, and show us fellows what speed is to-day?" And +the merry-hearted chap, son of the principal lawyer of the place, +laughed heartily at his challenge, while the other drivers looked at the +great angular horse that, without any check, was walking carelessly +along, with his head held down, ahead of the old sleigh and its churchly +occupants. + +"I don't know but what I will," answered the deacon, good-naturedly; +"don't know but what I will, if the parson don't object, and you won't +start off too quick to begin with; for this is New Year's, and a +little extra fun won't hurt any of us, I reckon." + +[Illustration: THE DEACON AND PARSON.] + +"Do it, do it; we'll hold up for you," answered a dozen merry voices. +"Do it, deacon: it'll do old shamble-heels good to go a ten-mile-an-hour +gait for once in his life, and the parson needn't fear of being +scandalized by any speed you'll get out of him, either;" and the merry +chaps haw-hawed as men and boys will, when every one is jolly and fun +flows fast. + +And so, with any amount of good-natured chaffing from the drivers of the +"fast 'uns," and from many that lined the road too,--for the day gave +greater liberty than usual to bantering speech,--the speedy ones paced +slowly up to the head of the street, with old Jack shambling demurely in +the midst of them. + +But the horse was a knowing old fellow, and had "scored" at too many +races not to know that the "return" was to be leisurely taken, and, +indeed, he was a horse of independence, and of too even, perhaps of too +sluggish, a temperament, to waste himself in needless action; but he +had the right stuff in him, and hadn't forgotten his early training +either, for when he came to the "turn," his head and tail came up, his +eye brightened, and, with a playful movement of his huge body, and +without the least hint from the deacon, he swung himself and the +cumbrous old sleigh into line, and began to straighten himself for the +coming brush. + +Now, Jack was, as we have said, a horse of huge proportions, and needed +"steadying" at the start, but the good deacon had no experience with the +"ribbons," and was therefore utterly unskilled in the matter of driving; +and so it came about that old Jack was so confused at the start that he +made a most awkward and wretched appearance in his effort to get off, +being all "mixed up," as the saying is,--so much so that the crowd +roared at his ungainly efforts, and his flying rivals were twenty rods +away before he even got started. But at last he got his huge body in a +straight line, and, leaving his miserable shuffle, squared away to his +work, and, with head and tail up, went off at so slashing a gait that it +fairly took the deacon's breath away, and caused the crowd that had been +hooting him to roar their applause, while the parson grabbed the edge of +the old sleigh with one hand and the rim of his tall black hat with the +other. + +What a pity, Mr. Longface, that God made horses as they are, and gave +them such grandeur of appearance when in action, and put such an +eagle-like spirit between their ribs, so that, quitting the plodding +motions of the ox, they can fly like that noble bird, and come sweeping +down the course as on wings of the wind! + +It was not my fault, nor the deacon's, nor the parson's either, please +remember, then, that awkward, shuffling, homely-looking old Jack was +thus suddenly transformed, by the royalty of blood, of pride, and of +speed given him by his Creator, from what he ordinarily was, into a +magnificent spectacle of energetic velocity. + +With muzzle lifted well up, tail erect, the few hairs in it streaming +straight behind, one ear pricked forward and the other turned sharply +back, the great horse swept grandly along at a pace that was rapidly +bringing him even with the rear line of the flying group. And yet so +little was the pace to him that he fairly gambolled in playfulness as he +went slashing along, until the deacon verily began to fear that the +honest old chap would break through all the bounds of propriety and send +his heels antically through his treasured dashboard. Indeed, the +spectacle that the huge horse presented was so magnificent, his action +so free, spirited, and playful, as he came sweeping onward, that cheers +and exclamations, such as, "Good heavens! see the deacon's old horse!" +"Look at him! look at him!" "What a stride!" etc., ran ahead of him, and +old Bill Sykes, a trainer in his day, but now a hanger-on at the +village tavern, or that section of it known as the bar, wiped his +watery eyes with his tremulous fist, as he saw Jack come swinging down, +and, as he swept past with his open gait, powerful stroke, and stiffles +playing well out, brought his hand with a mighty slap against his thigh, +and said, "I'll be blowed if he isn't a regular old timer!" + +It was fortunate for the deacon and the parson that the noise and +cheering of the crowd drew the attention of the drivers ahead, or there +would surely have been more than one collision, for the old sleigh was +of such size and strength, the good deacon so unskilled at the reins, +and Jack, who was adding to his momentum with every stride, was going at +so determined a pace, that, had he struck the rear line, with no gap for +him to go through, something serious would surely have happened. But, as +it was, the drivers saw the huge horse, with the cumbrous old sleigh +behind him, bearing down on them at such a gait as made their own speed, +sharp as it was, seem slow, and "pulled out" in time to save +themselves; and so without any mishap the big horse and heavy sleigh +swept through the rear row of racers like an autumn gust through a +cluster of leaves. + +By this time the deacon had become somewhat alarmed, for Jack was going +nigh to a thirty clip,--a frightful pace for an inexperienced man to +ride,--and began to put a good strong pressure upon the bit, not +doubting that old Jack--ordinarily the easiest horse in the world to +manage--would take the hint and immediately slow up. But though the huge +horse took the hint, it was exactly in the opposite manner that the +deacon intended he should, for he interpreted the little man's steady +pull as an intimation that his inexperienced driver was getting over his +flurry and beginning to treat him as a big horse ought to be treated in +a race, and that he could now, having got settled to his work, go ahead. +And go ahead he did. The more the deacon pulled, the more the great +horse felt himself steadied and assisted. And so, the harder the good +man tugged at the reins, the more powerfully the machinery of the big +animal ahead of him worked, until the deacon got alarmed, and began to +call upon the horse to stop, crying, "Whoa, Jack! whoa, old boy, I say! +Whoa, will you now, that's a good fellow!" and many other coaxing calls, +while he pulled away steadily at the reins. + +But the horse misunderstood the deacon's calls, as he had his pressure +on the reins, for the crowd on either side were now yelling, and +hooting, and swinging their caps, so that the deacon's voice came +indistinctly to his ears at the best, and he interpreted his calls for +him to stop as only so many encouragements and signals for him to go +ahead; and so, with the memory of a hundred races stirring his blood, +the crowd cheering him to the echo, the steadying pull and encouraging +cries of his driver in his ears, and his only rival, the pacer, whirling +along only a few rods ahead of him, the monstrous animal, with a +desperate plunge that half lifted the old sleigh from the snow, let out +another link, and, with such a burst of speed as was never seen in the +village before, tore along after the pacer at such a terrific pace that, +within the distance of a dozen lengths, he lay lapped upon him, and the +two were going it nose and nose. + +What is that feeling in human hearts which makes us sympathetic with man +or animal who has unexpectedly developed courage and capacity when +engaged in a struggle in which the odds are against him? And why do we +enter so spiritedly into the contest, and lose ourselves in the +excitement of the moment? Is it pride? Is it the comradeship of courage? +Or is it the rising of the indomitable in us, that loves nothing so much +as victory, and hates nothing so much as defeat? Be that as it may, no +sooner was old Jack fairly lapped on the pacer, whose driver was urging +him along with reins and voice alike, and the contest seemed +doubtful, than the spirit of old Adam himself entered into the deacon +and the parson both, so that, carried away by the excitement of the +race, they fairly forgot themselves, and entered as wildly into the +contest as two ungodly jockeys. + +[Illustration: THE RACE.] + +"Deacon Tubman!" said the parson, as he clutched the rim of his tall +hat, against which, as the horse tore along, the snow chips were pelting +in showers, more stoutly, "Deacon Tubman! do you think the pacer will +beat us?" + +"Not if I can help it! not if I can help it!" yelled the deacon in +reply, as, with something like a reinsman's skill, he instinctively +lifted Jack to another spurt. "Go it, old boy!" he shouted +encouragingly. "Go along with you, I say!" and the parson, also carried +away by the whirl of the moment, cried, "Go along, old boy! Go along +with you, I say!" + +This was the very thing, and the only thing, that huge horse, whose +blood was now fairly aflame, wanted to rally him for the final effort; +and, in response to the encouraging cries of the two behind him, he +gathered himself together for another burst of speed, and put forth his +collected strength with such tremendous energy and suddenness of +movement that the little deacon, who had risen, and was standing erect +in the sleigh, fell back into the arms of the parson, while the great +horse rushed over the line a winner by a clear length, amid such cheers +and roars of laughter as were never heard in that village before. + +Nor was the horse any more the object of public interest and remark--we +may say favoring remark--than the parson, who suddenly found himself the +centre of a crowd of his own parishioners, many of whom would scarcely +be expected as participants of such a scene, but who, thawed out of +their iciness by the genial temper of the day, and vastly excited over +Jack's contest, thronged upon the good man, laughing as heartily as any +jolly sinner in the crowd. + +So everybody shook hands with the parson and wished him a Happy New +Year, and the parson shook hands with everybody and wished them all many +happy returns; and everybody praised old Jack, and rallied the deacon on +his driving; and then everybody went home good-natured and happy, +laughing and talking about the wonderful race, and the change that had +come over Parson Whitney. + +And as for Parson Whitney himself, the day and its fun had taken twenty +years from his age, and nothing would answer but the deacon must go home +and eat the New Year's pudding at the parsonage; and he did. And at the +table they laughed and talked over the funny incidents of the day, and +joked each other as merrily as two boys. Then Parson Whitney told some +reminiscences of his college days, and the scrapes he got into, and a +riot between town and gown, when he carried the "Bully's Club;" and the +deacon responded by narrating his experiences with a certain Deacon +Jones's watermelon patch when he was a boy, and over their tales and +their mulled cider they laughed till they cried, and roared so lustily +at the remembered frolics of their youthful days that the old parsonage +rang, the books on the library shelves rattled, and several of the +theological volumes actually gaped with horror. + +But at last the stories were all told, the jokes all cracked, and the +laughter all laughed, and the little deacon wished the parson good-by, +and jogged happily homeward; but more than once he laughed to himself, +and said, "Bless my soul! I didn't know the parson had so much fun in +him." And long the parson sat by the glowing grate after the deacon had +left him, musing of other days, and the happy, pleasant things that were +in them; and many times he smiled, and once he laughed outright at some +remembered folly, for he said, "What a wild boy I was, and yet I meant +no wrong; and the dear old days were very happy." + +Ay, ay! Parson Whitney, the dear old days were very happy, not only to +thee, but to all of us, who, following our sun, have fared westward so +long that the light of the morning shows dull through the dim haze of +memory. But happier than even the old days will be the young ones, I +ween, when, following still westward, we suddenly come to the gates of +the new east and the morning once more; and there, in the dawn of a day +which is cloudless and endless, we find our lost youth and its loves, to +lose them and it no more forever, thank God! + + + + + THE LEAF OF RED ROSE. + + + + + THE LEAF OF RED ROSE: + + THE OLD TRAPPER'S STORY. + + A story? Why, yes. If Henry, there, will translate it + And put it in verse and print as he promised + To do when it happened. Will he do it? I doubt. + He dislikes to dabble with rhyme and with measure. + Says that good honest prose is the best and the sweetest + If the words be well chosen, short, Saxon, and pithy. + And that making of verse is the business of women, + Of green boys at school, and of lovers when spooning. + But try him. It may be he will. For a lesson + Is in it, and that makes it worth telling. + The woods have their secrets and sorrows and struggles + As well as the cities. You can find in the woods + Many things, if you look, beside trees, rocks, and mountains. + + Jack Whitcomb he said his name was, though I doubted. + For the name on his bosom, tattooed in purple, + Didn't point quite that way. But that doesn't matter. + One name in the woods is as good as another + If a man answers to it and it's easily spoken. + So we called him Jack Whitcomb and asked nothing further. + Brave? Why, of course he was brave. Men are not cowards. + Cowards don't come to the woods. They stay in the cities, + Where policemen are thick and the streets are all lighted. + In the woods men trail with their ears and eyes open, + And sleep when they sleep with their hands on their rifles. + Why? Well, panthers are plenty and cunning and quiet, + And a man is a fool that goes carelessly stumbling + Under trees where they crouch, under crags where they gather. + Furthermore, with the saints, now and then there are sinners + That live in the woods; and some half-breeds are wicked, + And know nothing of law unless taught by a bullet. + I've done what I could to teach knaves the commandments. + Yes. Jack Whitcomb was brave. Brave as the bravest. + His glance was as keen and his mouth was as silent + As a trailer's should be who looks and who listens + By day and by night, having no one to talk to. + His finger was quick when it handled the trigger, + And his eye loved the sights as lightning loves rivers. + I've seen him stand up when the odds were against him. + Stand up like a man who takes coolly the chances. + That proves he was brave as I understand it. + + One day we were boating on far Mistassinni. + We were fetching the portage above the great rapids, + Where they whirled, roaring down, freshet full, at their whitest, + When we saw from a rock that stretched outward and over + The wild hissing water as it swept on in thunder, + A canoe coming down, rolling over and over, + With a little papoose clinging tight to the lashings; + And as it lanced by Jack went in like an otter. + How he did it God knows, but at the foot of the rapids, + Half a mile farther down racing onward, I found him + High and dry on the beach in a faint like a woman, + With the little papoose pulling away at his jacket. + And when he came to, he put child to his shoulder, + Nor stopped till it lay in the arms of its mother. + + We were trailing, Henry and I, trailing and trapping + In the land to the north, where fur was the thickest, + And knaves were as plenty as mink or as otter. + We took turns at sleeping, and trailed our line double + To keep our own skins, if we didn't get others. + It was folly to stay where we were, and we knew it, + For the knaves they got thicker, and soon there was shooting + Going on pretty lively. But we held to the business + And scouted the line once a week like true trappers. + And no accident happened save some holes in our jackets, + And my powder-horn emptied by a vagabond's bullet. + So we mended our clothing and felt pretty lively. + But the signs pointed one way. Our enemies thickened + Around us each day, and we weren't quite decided + To stand in for a fight and settle the matter, + Or pull up our traps and get out of the country, + When it settled itself. And in this way it happened. + + We were scouting the lake on the west shore one morning, + To find the knaves' camp and how many were in it, + When a short space ahead there came of a sudden + A crash as of thunder, and we knew that a dozen + Or twenty placed rifles had burst an ambushment. + And then in an instant there sounded another. + Two sharp, twin reports and the death yells that followed + Told us as we listened where the lead had been driven. + Knew who he was? Of course. The man was Jack Whitcomb. + Do you think men who live by trapping and shooting + Don't learn to distinguish the voice of their rifles? + Jack was trailing the lake to find our encampment, + For far away in the south there had come to his cabin + A rumor that we in the north land were holding + Our line and our furs with a good deal of shooting. + So he left his own traps and came by swift trailing + To give us the help of another good rifle. + That was just like Jack Whitcomb. If you were in trouble + He was there by your side. You could always count on him, + With finger on trigger and both barrels loaded. + + So Henry and I both took to our covers + Right and left of the trail Jack must take in retreating. + We didn't wait long, for the boy knew his business, + And soon he came backward, loading and running, + Like a man who was busy but wouldn't be hurried + Beyond his own gait, if he stopped there forever. + As he passed our two covers I piped him a whistle; + And he stopped in his tracks, and with low, pleasant laughter, + Stood there in full view coolly capping the nipples. + I have shot on each Gulf, both Southern and Northern. + I have trailed the long trail between either ocean. + Brave men I have seen, both in good and in evil, + But never a braver than the man called Jack Whitcomb. + Well, why describe it? Call it scrimmage or battle, + It was done in a minute, or it may be a dozen. + It came like a whirlwind, and we three were in it + As men are in whirlwinds. It came like the thunder, + With a crash and a roar and a long running rumble + Dying down into silence. There were dead and some wounded, + And a few lucky knaves that fled wildly backward; + And Henry and I, when it passed, were left standing + By the body of him whose name was Jack Whitcomb, + Who lay as he fell, when headlong he tumbled, + His rifle still clinched and both barrels smoking. + I have seen in my life many wounds made by bullets, + And a good many gashes by spear-points and arrows. + I have learned in my trailing a good many simples + Which have power to keep men from crossing the river + Before the Lord calls with voice that is certain. + And the wound that we found on Jack Whitcomb's body, + Though ugly and deep, was not beyond curing. + + We cleansed and we stanched it and fought a brave battle + With death, for his life, and we won. For Jack mended. + We made a canoe and we bore him far southward. + A hundred good miles down the river we boated, + Till we came to his house of huge logs, strongly builded, + Beneath the big pines on the bank of a rapid, + Which under it flowed its soft rush of brown water. + 'Twas a place to bring peace to a heart that was troubled, + If peace might be found this side of the silence + Which brings peace to all that know sorrow in living. + + Yes, we boated him down to his home by the rapids. + His home? No, rather his house let us call it. + For how can a house be a home with naught in it? + In house that is home must be love, warm and human, + A voice that is sweet, a heart that is gentle, + A soul that is true, and beside these a cradle + That prattles and coos; and the quick-falling patter + Of little white feet that run hither and thither. + To his house, and not to his home, then, we brought him, + For certainly nothing and no one was in it, + Save himself and a dog, a bed and a table, + Some chairs, a few books, and a--Picture. + And this was the story that he told us in dying. + The man might have lived, beyond doubt, had he cared to. + But he didn't. No motive, he said. And he had none, + As we felt later on, when he told us his story. + So he died without word or sign. And in silence + We stood and saw him go forth on his journey + Without speaking a word, without a hand lifted + To hold or to stop him, for we did not feel certain + What was wisdom for one who went forth in such fashion. + Perhaps it was best he should go and be over + With pain, loss and trouble for ever and ever. + Henry says, it were well we should all of us go + When life has no aim and no hope; and no doing + Remains to be done; and days are but eating + And drinking and breathing, only these and no more. + + But before he went forth he gave me a message. + "I loved her," so his story began. Henry, + You remember the look on his face as he said it, + As he lay with his eyes fixed fast on the Picture? + "She was strong, and she drew me as life draws the young + And as death draws the old. I could not resist her. + She was vital with force, to attract and to hold. + She raced me a race for my life, and she won it. + I was man, not a boy, and I loved as man loves + When the forces of life are in him full-flooded + As rivers in meadows, when they flow to the sedges. + Did she love me? Perhaps. Who can tell? She was woman, + And hence she was dark as the night, and as hidden! + Who could find her? Who the depth of her nature + Might measure? I tried but could not. Then boldly + I spake--spake as man speaks but once unto woman. + True and straight did I say it man fashion. + But she drew back offended; she shrank from my praying, + And with coldness of tone and suspicion dismissed me. + Had a man shown a tithe of that look in his eye, + On his face, he or I would have died on the instant. + But what can a man do, when scorned by a woman? + So I left her. + + I need not say more. My life it was ended. + It wasn't worth living;--I am made in that fashion. + So I came to the woods. Where else when in trouble + Can man go and find what he needs, consolation? + Go you down to her house, in the city, John Norton, + To the house where she lives, and give her this message. + Word for word let her hear it,--say where you left me. + There's gold in that box to pay your expenses. + Word for word as I tell you, nor say a word further." + Then he bade us good-by, and marched away bravely, + As a man on a trail that is somewhat uncertain. + And under the pines on the bank of the rapids + We buried the man whom the woods called--Jack Whitcomb, + And the picture he loved we placed on his bosom. + + * * * * * + + I went down to her house in the city. A cabin + Of stone, brown as tamarack bark, trimmed with olive. + It was high as a pine that stands on a mountain. + The door was as wide as the mouth of a cavern. + At the door stood a man rigged up like a soldier; + His face was as solemn as judgment to sinners; + He looked at me some, and I looked him all over, + Then he suddenly bowed like a half-breed with manners, + And told me to enter, and he would call Madame. + The room was as large as a town house where settlers + Hold meetings to vote themselves office and wages. + The walls were like caves in far Arizona. + All covered with pictures of houses and battles; + Of ships blown onward by gales in mid-ocean; + Of children with wings, pretty queer-looking creatures; + Of men and of women, and some were half-naked. + But the floor was of oak, which gleamed like a polish; + And with mats thick as moss, and with skins it was covered, + So I felt quite at home, as there I stood looking, + And noting the size and signs of the cabin. + + Then, all of a sudden, there came a soft rustle, + Like the rustle of leaves when the wind blows in autumn. + And down the wide stairway across the great hall, + To the door of the room in which I was standing, + Stately and swift, came a woman and entered. + Tall as the tallest. Made firmly, knit firmly + Both in form and in limb, but full and well rounded; + Dark of eye, dark of face, with hair like a raven, + Like the girls of Nevada, where live the old races, + Whose blood is as fire, and whose skin is of olive, + Whose mouths are as sweet as a fig when it ripens. + Arms bare to the shoulders. Neck and bosom uncovered. + Her gown of white satin gleamed and flowed downward + And round her in folds of soft, creamy whiteness. + No ring on her hand, nor in ear. Not a circle + Of gold round her throat. One armlet of silver, + And one at her wrist loosely clasped, small and slender. + So she entered and stood, and looked me all over. + + Then slowly she spake. "Your name, sir, and business?" + "Madame," I said, "in the woods men call me John Norton; + John Norton, the Trapper." Then I stopped mighty sudden, + For her face it grew white to the lips and the chin, + And she swayed as a tree to the stroke of the chopper + When he sinks his axe in to the heart and it totters + And quivers. So I stopped, stopped quick and stood looking. + + Then her dark face it lighted, and she said, speaking quickly: + "John Norton, I know you. I know you are honest. + You live in the woods. You are good. I can trust you. + All men, I have heard, come to you in their trouble. + Have you seen in the North, have you met in the woods, + Has there come to your cabin a man, tall as you, + Brave as you and as tender? A man like to this?" + And out of her gown, from the folds on her bosom, + She lifted a locket of pearl-colored velvet, + Touched a spring, and I saw, as the lid of it opened, + The face of the man I and Henry had buried! + + "John Norton," she cried, and her eyes burned like fever. + Her hand shook and trembled, her face was as marble, + "Have you seen in the woods man like to this picture? + Speak quick and speak true as to woman in trouble. + For I did him great wrong, I thought he held lightly + My fair name and fame; held lightly my honor. + I thought he meant evil, and my heart, filled with anger, + Dismissed him in scorn; but I learned, I learned later, + He was true, and spake truth and loved me as heaven." + + Then I stood and I looked and held my face steady, + So it gave her no sign of what I was thinking. + I saw she was honest, and I wished then to spare her, + But my word it was pledged, pledged to him in dying, + To stand as I stood, face to face with this woman, + In her house, in that room, and give her his message. + Beside, not to know is far worse than the knowing + At times. So I rallied and told her the message, + Word for word, as he charged, the night he lay dying + In his house on the bank above the swift rapids. + + "Madame," I said, "I have seen man like that picture, + Face and form. He was brave as you say. He was tender. + He was true unto death, and he loved you as heaven. + And these are the words that he sent you in dying. + I, a man of the woods, bring you this as last message, + From one who now sleeps on the bank of the rapids + Of that northern river which pours its brown water + To the Lake of St. John from far Mistassinni. + 'Tell her, John Norton, I loved her. Loved her in living, + With a love that was true, and with same love in dying. + Loved her like a man, like a saint, like a sinner, + For time now and time ever. That the one picture + She gave me I kept;--living, dying, and after. + That it lies on the breast of the man that you buried; + On the breast of the man who living did love her, + And that there it will lie until it shall crumble, + With heart underneath it, to dust. So tell her. + And in proof that I tell her the truth, and did tell it + The night when we met, and I told her I loved her, + Give her this, the watch that I wore on the evening + We met, and the evening we parted. Let her open + And see. With her eyes let her see that I loved her. + So say and no more." + + Thus I spake. Word for word as he told me I spake. + I gave her the watch, and I said no word further. + I had done as I pledged, I had said as he charged me, + So I stopped and stood waiting for word of dismissal. + But she said not a word, nor made she a sign. + The watch she took from me, touched the spring and it opened, + And there, 'twixt the glass and the gold, withered and faded, + Lay a leaf of Red Rose. One leaf, and--no more. + + For a moment she stood; stood, and gazed at the leaf, + Her face grew as white as her gown, and she trembled + And shook like a white swan in dying, then she cried, + "My God, I have killed him, my lover!" + And down on the floor, on the skins at her feet + She dropped as one stricken by bullet or lightning. + + It was only last month that we two, in trailing, + Trailed a hundred good miles across to the rapids. + For we wanted to see before going northward + If evil had come to the grave of our comrade. + But the grave lay untouched, by beast or by human. + The grass on the mound was well rooted and growthful. + At the foot of the grave the rose-tree I planted + Was as high as my head. And the leaves of the roses + Lay as thick as red snow-flakes on the mound that was under. + And we knew that on breast, as he slept, was her picture. + So we felt, as we gazed, it was well with Jack Whitcomb. + + But often at night, when alone in my cabin, + I hear the low murmur of far northern rapids. + And often I see the great house and its splendor, + And wonder if death has helped the proud woman + To lay off her grief and escape from her sorrow. + And blazed a line through the dark Valley of Shadow, + And brought her in peace to the edge of the clearing, + Where I know she would see Jack Whitcomb stand, waiting. + + So I say it again, and I say it with knowledge, + That the woods have their sorrows as well as the cities. + And he knows but little of this great northern forest + Who thinks there's naught in it save trees, lakes, and mountains. + + + +SELECT LIST +OF +Standard and Popular +BOOKS + +PUBLISHED BY + +DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO., +_361-365 WASHINGTON STREET, +BOSTON, MASS._ + +Any book on this list will be sent, postpaid, on receipt of price. + +_In addition to the works mentioned in this list, we will furnish any +books in the market at lowest possible prices, and would respectfully +solicit correspondence in regard to prices or any desired information._ + +_DeWOLFE, FISKE & CO., Boston, Mass._ + +_P.S.--Catalogue of books at special reductions mailed free to any +address._ + + +_Standard and Popular Books_ + +PUBLISHED BY + +DEWOLFE, FISKE & CO., + +PUBLISHERS, GENERAL BOOKSELLERS, AND LIBRARY AGENTS, + +_Boston, Mass._ + +* * + *_In order to insure the correct delivery +of the actual works, or particular Editions specified in this List, the +name of the Publishers should be distinctly given. These books can be +had from any local bookseller; but should any difficulty be experienced +in procuring them, Messrs. DeWolfe, Fiske & Co., will be happy to +forward them direct, postage paid, on receipt of cheque, stamps or +Postal order for the amount, with a copy of their complete catalogue._ + + * * * * * + +NEW EDITIONS OF W. H. H. MURRAY'S FAMOUS BOOKS. + +=DAYLIGHT LAND.= The experiences, incidents, and adventures, humorous and +otherwise, which befell Judge John Doe, Tourist, of San Francisco; Mr. +Cephas Pepperell, Capitalist, of Boston; Colonel Goffe, the man from New +Hampshire, and divers others, in their Parlor-Car Excursion over Prairie +and Mountain; as recorded and set forth by W. H. H. MURRAY. Superbly +illustrated with 150 cuts in various colors by the best artists. 8vo, +350 pages. Unique paper covers, $2.50; cloth, $3.50; cloth, extra gilt, +$4.00. + +_The New York Herald_; says, + +Impossible to find a handsomer book on outdoor life than this. The +author's peculiar faculty for describing days in the woods and rambles +with good company has long been known. "Daylight Land" is longer than +the book in which the same author made the Adirondacks seem some other +place to men whose eyes were not as wide-open as his own, and the style +is even breezier, if that is possible. Seldom does a book appear which +is so entirely creditable to author, artist, and publisher. + +=HOW DEACON TUBMAN AND PARSON WHITNEY KEPT NEW YEAR'S, and Other Stories.= +By W. H. H. MURRAY, author of "Adirondack Tales," etc. 12mo. +Illustrated. $1.25. + +Deacon Tubman, a jolly, fat, good-natured man, is presented with a +woollen night-cap on New Year's morning by his housekeeper, "a typical +spinster not overburdened with fat." This so rejoices the Deacon that he +is possessed to make others happy, goes to call upon his pastor, and +makes him leave his books and spend the day skating, sleighing, and +driving with his parishioners. + + * * * * * + + +=STORY THE KEG TOLD ME, AND THE STORY OF THE MAN WHO DIDN'T KNOW MUCH.= By +W. H. H. MURRAY, author of "Daylight Land," "Adirondack Adventures," +etc. 12mo. Cloth, $1.50. + +"Two admirable stories by W. H. H. Murray, in both which appears John +Norton, the trapper, a character that promises to become as much of a +favorite as is the hero of the Leather Stocking novels. These stories +have a bracing outdoor freshness and a delightfully crisp realism: are +vigorous in tone, and strong and picturesque in the relation. Taken +altogether, they may be pronounced in the most artistic of Mr. Murray's +excursions into the realms of fiction, and fascinating generally." +--_Saturday Evening Gazette._ + + +=DEACONS.= By W. H. H. MURRAY. 16mo. Paper, 50 cts. Cloth, 75 cts. + +"Mr. Murray is an expert in the art of character drawing; he can +manipulate humor and pathos with equal facility. No one will gainsay +their freshness and individuality."--_N. Y. Commercial Advertiser._ + + +=ADIRONDACK ADVENTURES.= "In the Wilderness; or, Camp Life in the +Adirondacks." By W. H. H. MURRAY, 12mo. Illustrated. Paper, 50 cts. +Cloth, $1.25. + +"In the 'Adventures in the Wilderness' W. H. H. Murray strikes the happy +hunting ground, which long ago earned for him the popular title, +'Adirondack Murray,' and here, as in his other books, he fairly revels +in stirring incident, lively and faithful conception of character, and +the powerful but delightful description of natural scenery which have +already given his work an enviable and lasting place in American +literature."--_Nashville American._ + + +=THE BUSTED EX-TEXAN, AND OTHER STORIES.= By W. H. H. MURRAY. With +photogravure portrait of Mr. Murray, and eight full-page illustrations +by Thos. Worth. Square 12mo. Cloth, $1.00. + + * * * * * + +=CIVILIZATION IN THE UNITED STATES, AND OTHER ESSAYS CONCERNING AMERICA.= +By MATTHEW ARNOLD. 16mo. Unique paper boards, 50 cts. Cloth, uncut, +$1.25. The cloth binding matches the uniform edition of his collected +works. Comprises the critical essays, which created so much discussion, +namely, "General Grant, an Estimate," "A Word About America," "A Word +More About America," and "Civilization in the United States." The +collection gathers in the great critic's last contribution to +literature. + + * * * * * + + +BULFINCH'S MYTHOLOGY. + +=THE AGE OF CHIVALRY; Or Legends of King Arthur.= "Stories of the Round +Table," "The Crusades," "Robin Hood," etc. By THOMAS BULFINCH. A new and +enlarged edition. Revised by Rev. E. E. HALE. Large 12mo. Illustrated. +$2.50. + +In "The Age of Fable," Mr. Bulfinch endeavored to impart the pleasure of +classical learning to the English reader by presenting the stories of +Pagan mythology in a form adapted to modern taste. In this volume the +attempt has been made to treat in the same way the stories of the second +"age of fable"--the age which witnessed the dawn of the several states +of modern Europe. + + +=THE AGE OF FABLE; Or, Beauties of Mythology.= By THOMAS BULFINCH. A new +and enlarged edition, containing over 100 illustrations from ancient +paintings and statuary. Revised by Rev. E. E. HALE. Large 12mo. $2.50. + +Young readers will find this book a source of entertainment; those more +advanced, a useful companion in their reading; those who travel and +visit museums and galleries of art, an interpreter of paintings and +sculptures. + + +=LEGENDS OF CHARLEMAGNE; Or, Romance of the Middle Ages.= Stories of +Paladin and Saracen. By THOMAS BULFINCH. 12mo. Illustrated. $2.50. + + * * * * * + +PROF. CLARK MURRAY'S WORKS. + +=SOLOMON MAIMON=: An Autobiography. Translated from the German, with +Additions and Notes, by Prof. J. CLARK MURRAY. Cr. 8vo. Cloth. 307 +pages. $2.00. + +The London _Spectator_ says: "Dr. Clark Murray has had the rare good +fortune of first presenting this singularly vivid book in an English +translation as pure and lively as if it were an original, and an +original by a classic English writer." + +George Eliot, in "Daniel Deronda," mentions it as "that wonderful bit of +autobiography--the life of the Polish Jew, Solomon Maimon:" and Milman, +in his "History of the Jews," refers to it as a curious and rare book. + + +=HANDBOOK OF PSYCHOLOGY.= By Prof. J. CLARK MURRAY, LL.D., Professor of +Mental and Moral Philosophy, M'Gill College, Montreal. Cr. 8vo. 2d +edition, enlarged and improved. $1.75. + +Clearly and simply written, with illustrations so well chosen that the +dullest student can scarcely fail to take an interest in the subject. + +Adopted for use in colleges in Scotland, England, Canada, and the United +States. + +Prof. Murray's good fortune in bringing to light the "Maimon Memoirs," +together with the increasing popularity of his "Handbook of Psychology," +has attracted the attention of the intellectual world, giving him a +position with the leaders of thought of the present age. His writings +are at once original and suggestive. + + * * * * * + + +_Standard and Popular Books._ + +THE POPULAR WORKS OF SALLY PRATT MCLEAN. + +=CAPE COD FOLKS.= A Novel. Twenty-third edition. Illustrated. 12mo. Cloth, +$1.25. Paper, 50 cents. + +=TOWHEAD: THE STORY OF A GIRL.= Fifth Thousand. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, +50 cents. + +Since the production of Miss McLean's first effort "Cape Cod Folks," she +has steadily advanced in intellectual development; the same genius is at +work in a larger and more artistic manner, until she has at length +produced what must be truly considered as her masterpiece, and which we +have the pleasure to announce for immediate publication. + +=SOME OTHER FOLKS.= A Book in Four Stories. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. Paper, 50 +cents. + +These books are so well known that further comment seems superfluous. +Suffice it to say that the entire press of the country has unanimously +spoken of them in terms of high praise, dwelling not only on their +delicious humor, their literary workmanship, their genuine pathos, and +their real power and eloquence, but what has been described as their +deep, true _humanness_, and the inimitable manner in which the mirror is +held up to nature that all may see reflected therein some familiar +trait, some description or character which is at once recognized. + +=LASTCHANCE JUNCTION: HUMAN NATURE IN THE FAR WEST.= A Novel. By SALLY +PRATT MCLEAN. 1 vol. 12mo. Cloth, $1.25. + +"Terse, incisive descriptions of men and scenery, drawn with so vivid a +pen that one can see the characters and their setting, delicious bits of +humor, passages full of infinite pathos, make this book absolutely hold +the reader from the title to the last word, and as, when finished, one +sighs for the pity of it, the feeling rises that such a work has not +been written in vain, and will have its place among those which tend to +elevate our race." + +=MISS FRANCES MERLEY.= A Novel. By JOHN ELLIOT CURRAN. 420 pages. Square +16mo. Paper covers, 50 cents. Cloth, $1.00. + +The first important work of an author familiar to American readers by +his remarkable sketches to _Scribner's_ and other magazines. + +=AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF A NEW ENGLAND FARM HOUSE=: A Romance of the Cape Cod +Lands. By N. H. CHAMBERLAIN. 380 pages. Square 16mo. Paper covers, 50 +cents. Cloth, $1.00. + +A novel of singular power and beauty, great originality and rugged +force. Born and bred on Cape Cod, the author, at the winter firesides of +country people, very conservative of ancient English customs now gone, +heard curious talk of kings, Puritan ministers, the war and precedent +struggle of our Revolution, and touched a race of men and women now +passed away. He also heard, chiefly from ancient women, the traditions +of ghosts, witches and Indians, as they are preserved, and to a degree +believed, by honest Christian folk, in the very teeth of modern +progress. + + + _Publishers_, +_DeWolfe, Fiske & Co._ _Booksellers_, _BOSTON._ + _Library Agents_. + + + + + +End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of The Busted Ex-Texan and Other Stories, by +W. H. H. 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