Newspaper Page Text
lOTIMES
■ JF HMM MMB
1 WEEK
•
VOL. 45.
T O M,
BY HELEN MATHERS,
Author of “Cornin’ Thro’ the Rye,” “Cherry Ripe,” etc. '
Copyrighted, 1895, by Helen Mathers.
CHAPTER I.
Torn woke up very early as usual,
hours before any one else in the house wajj
Btlrrlng.
For a longr while ho lay staring at the
sky, for he abhorred blinds, and always
opened his window as far as possible from
the top, the nearest approach to breathing
that he could get 'indoors these stifling
summer night®.
It would be ages before the slipshod ser
vant (how could she sleep With those
' pushing Angers of the day at her eyelids?)
would shuffle down to open doors and win
dows, and dabble with dustpans and
# brooms; the same hands later on preparing
the coffee that nobody could drink, and
the rasher of bacon that was clean when It
went into the frying pan and black when
It came out. If the missus were down they
might possibly get fewer blacks and more
bacon, but the missus was getting into an
old lady now, and had a knack of dozing
oft when she quite intended to do other
wise.
The boy's soul sickened at the prospect
of the gruesome meal, at Billy-goat who
would comedown unwashed and unkempt
to turn up his- nose at k, at the spoiled
younger brother who passed all his indoor
'life in having rows with Billy—rows in
which he was invariably backed up by the
missus.
Then Billy would cry—partly because
his muscles did not allow him to try con
clusions with the Benjamin of the family,
a-nd Benjamin would presume on Tom’s
neutral attitude towards both parties, and
very likely would insult him, and an aw
ful revulsion of feeling would oome over
Tom as he saw the sorry figure they cu t,
three able-bodied men all Mving in hatred
and bitterness of spirit on one poor old
mother, and not doing a stroke of work
to help themselves or her.
Tom thought of all these things as he lay
in his hard bed (true thee earth was harder
but then it had smelt sweeter) debating in
his mind whether ‘ho would read, or get
np for a six mile walk In a fifth rate Lon
don suburb. He glanced at the yellow
backed book near him, and turned his eyes
away.
He was Mck of books. He had been liv
ing on them for months now, ami he
would have given the whole lot of them
for one clear, fresh page out of Nature
such pages as he had turned contentedly
day by day for years, till at tola mother's
bidding he hrd come home, because ahe
was sick, she satfii. aqd would like to see
him once more before she died.
His thougftils wi-til clean out of the
fthabby .m.i-ruw I. m ac A i si.rw..
f ... '..r : <nd'‘<ttbably’ex
V Aillriutwig, and ini inuu/wativ.t iho leaped
on on® of those ftottwe, Jkarwbacked,
and never hitherto ridden, of man-that it
wag nl« trade to break in, a trade he had
brought to the utmost perfection.
It wag his metier—the one thing he
tairsolutely excelled in, and if nature must
take a share of the credit In fashioning
him a Hght-welglit, the other qualitie*
necessary to the making of a successful
cowboy were his own. and in hfe hum
ble way he rejoiced in. and was proud
of them.
That had been the. one good he had
learned that he had nev»-r forgotten—
that had outlasted all the Latin and
Greek and other ueekw things he had
been taught in those exthavsugant days
of his you th, when the poor old dad. had
more horses in hla stable than sons in
his house, and the youngest child of all
could ride well before it had atrenght to
Climb into the saddle.
Those day's were long over now, and
Wiowo gently-roared sons anti daughters
wore all out in the world, the girts all
married, some of the l>oys doing well,
others camo home as ne’er do wools to live
on their mother’s scanty Income. But
Tom was not one of thewe latter, and his
present life was aw grit, between hits teo.h,
and he longed to go back to the old tndc
penamt on** from which he had been
taken.
For a few brief moments the poor boy
•nlffcd the accustomed scents of his be
loved bush. f elt the tierv and bounds
of the animal beneath him, was back
jumped with equanlmtty, and kept his
seat, by what seemed a series of mira
cles... then the blue gum trees vanished,
the glorious new world gave place to a
natch of morntag sky, and he found
himself once mon* face to face with the
problem how iho ehotnld waste three hours
of precious time. Suddenly a thought
struck him. We are apt to remember in
tho morning the last thing (especially if
it be dtaiigir«'*xiblo) that wv thought of
over-night, and now ho thought of some
expwtuMtory remarks that ho had heard
the Missus, In the mildest of tone®, ad
dr®*® to Billy-goat at bedtime.
* w ™’' ril tn <®t any more beer
in till Saturday,” she had said. “You
«tad make what Is 1n the houso
hud. till then.'*
Now Tom know that -Billy had away
of waking up early, wy at 6 o’clock, or
thereabouts, thirsty, and having an in
<tense distaste for water, was in the habit
of descending to the kitchen and there
quenching his Christ on bear, and it oc
curred to Tom that people who don’t earn
anything have no right to fancies in their
moat and drink, and an idea struck him a®
has before be*w» stated.
Partly drawing himself, as he stole down
stairs, and made his way to the kitchen
unlovely, as all London ones are (and is
■not a neat country one the cheerlet apart
ment to the whole house?) and investiga
tedthsi cupboard tn which the drinkables
of the house were to be found.
On® sM® of the cupboard was filled alas’
with anti in tho proportion of
at IwsO to oiw <*f the small phalanx
at full bottles on the oth« r side.
Tom grinned, and swiftly removed th®
latter to a safe corner of the >oa] cel la r
rhon carried a considerable numix'r of
empty bottles to the tap, tilled them with
water, carried them back to the cupboard
then, and there was the rub .’found himself
stumped for corks. Bottles, Indeed, there
wore gw torn -but no corks* anywhere to be
found.
Tim® paswM. RHiv-goat might be down
at any time what was to la done? He
rubbed his head, and an idea, the second
that morning, came.
A vorkavrew was handy, he seixed it,
•nd rapidly returned to the coal cellar
w hereupon ensued a popping of corks al
most as rapid as those drawn by Grip tho
Raven in Barnaby Kudgv, and he quickly
reappeared with a handful, that he cut in
half and duly rammed tato toe bottles of
w»Wr bo tightly (w’rh the aid of the wall)
that they presented no appearance of being
tampered with, then hid himself behind a
door whence to w»tch the march of events.
He had not long to wait. Whether in
that ill-built house Billy-goat had heard
sounds tn the region where all his hopes
were centred I know not, but very soon
his slippered h*et were heard on the stair
and he came shuffling In, blear-eyed, tho
little gratae beard, wlx*mv he derived his
name, nil unkempt, and with that curious
monkeyish look that had been stamped on
him ever since fee wus horn, and that
seemed to tiiervvise orf' ieasen aa he
grew into a middle-aged nmn.
He looked around susptcioush'. but the
scullery doer told no tales, and satlsfac
tlon illufflinad his wtien face as he opened
the cuubean.l door, and saw Inside the
plump bottles ttghth- corked, that tu*em< 1
(o invite him to a drink. With a si l :'* of
•ntr tpat’.on he took one. uneork» I it
gw*
e dim jX eW6.
_ E O R
lr '™'- ■■■——— p
( THE ifitieic, r "’EWS. )
•< Established 1850. - 'X-S -*<>4 1888. >
< J. H. ESTILL, Pre*,., i >
fetched a tumbler from the dresser hard
by, sat down for the greater enjoyment
of the occasion, then with a flourish
poured out a foaming—but did It foam?—
glass of water!
Billy-goat swore, danced, knew that he
was the victim of a trick, though t*e was
not quite sure which Os his brothers was
responsible for it, and vowed vengeance
on whoever it was. Then, with sore mis
giving, uncorked another and another, and
another, and by time he came to the
last was ripe for Bedlam!
Never had Tom seen this Incarnation of
laziness display such energy before. The
variety of his step-dance, the fervor of
his language, the magnificent capacity of
his threats, all proceeding from so wholly
in adequate a source, at last affected Tom
to the degree of bursting out laughing,
whereupon there were ructions, in which
Billy was the assaulting party, while Tom
confined himself to warding off blows,
and retreating upstairs as fast as possi
ble.
After which he sat down and laughed
for awhile, then dressed, and went out for
a walk.
CHAPTER 11.
Tom, ’ said Rose Clovelly, putting her
work down on her knee, “when are you
going to get something to do?
Tom’s eyes, of that vivid beautiful tint
we call hazel for want of a better name,
and which Is rare as it is beautiful, fal
tered before the girl’s earnest blue ones,
and fell.
“I don’t know,” he said, irresolutely.
She shook her head a little impatiently.
Yes, that was the fault in Tom; you saw
it in those pathetic eyes of his, that said
so much more for him than he was ever
able to say for himself, and let you Into
the secret places of his timid, gentle soul.
Irresolution was written in the lines of
his mouth, of his chin, yet it was a sweet
and lovable face, strikingly like that
of poor Frank Miles when in his young
prime.
"But you must find out,” said
in her quick, bright way. “Providence
doesn’t knock at people’s doors to bring
work, you know. You must go and look
for it yourself.”
“It's no good,” said Tom, hopelessly.
“I don’t understand anything but horses,
and nobody wants them broken in over
here, and nobody wants me either. I’ve
tried, and it’s no good.”
“Then go on trying,” said Rose, cruelly,
as she counted some stitches in the waist
coat she was knittinp, “Begin on Mon
day morning and stop on Saturday night,
but go on.”
“London is a bfg place,’ he said, heavily.
“It’s not much good to walk about it
ail day unless you know where to go,
and some fellow has said a word to In
sure you a hearing. You get turned away
like a stray dog come after scraps, and
it doesn’t seem to be considered even
honest to try and earn your living.
“It’s hard, I know,’ said Rose, smooth
ing out the big. shaped piece of knitting
on the little table before her. ’lt was
months and months before 1 found any
thing to do—and it was my own idea,
hitting on these waistcoats that all the
swagger men wore last winter. And it’s
wretched pay,” she sighed, “but little
, a»- U to it Lelpn mother; • i /
' Tom flushed. He would have been
proud to take oven a copper home that
he had earned.
The little room in which they sat was
very fresh and neat, quite unlike his
own home in Marigold Road. Rose and
her mother were poorer than he and his,
yet they achieved comfort and content.
“You see, Tom,” said the girl, as she
threaded her needle with pale blue silk,
to pqt In the little dabs of color the
walßtcoat’s plain brownness demanded,
“if you don t make a start, the other
two never will, and it’s telling on your
mother; she is getting to look quite hag
gard and old.”
Tom admitted it. He had noticed it him
self. But be did not think the sight of
him in full work would have any stimu
lating effect on Billy Goat or Benjamin.
When they had beein abroad, they had
been compelled to work or starve. Now
that their mother had got them home,
and they could eat without the disagree
able preliminary of earning what they ate,
it was not likely they would exert them
selves.
Tom did not tell Rose this. If she could
not se>e for herself the stuff of which his
brothers was made, he was not going to
tel) her. And he could not blame the poor
old mother, because her desire to see him
haxl taken him out of a state of life in
which he was happy, and even success
ful, and planted him here, where he was
degraded to the position of a loafer. Per
haps his eyes spoke for him, as they so
often did, for Rose looked earnestly at
him, and said gently.
“why did you come back Tom—was it
wise?”
For a moment he was silent. Then a
great desire to right himself with this
bravo, pretty girl, who was the only gleam
of Bunshino in his life, overcame him, and
he ,«rpoko.
“It was this way, Rose,” he said. "You
know—you remember how. when the poor
old dad died, we wore all chucked out into
the world anyhow, anywhere, with only
mother’s little private income saved out
of the wreck, to bring us all up on. Luckily
some of the* girls were married, others
were engaged—things somehow fell out all
right for them, but it took time, and mean
wnllo all of us boys who could, tried for
work. Some succeeded, some didn’t. Billy
Goat (Rose (smiled) got the best chance,
and went out to a teaman in India, Ho
rubbed along there somehow till mother
got him home—they don’t hurry up much
over anything there, you know/’ he added
wisely.
"No," said Ros®, laughing outright, “or
he couldn't have earned enough rice to
keep him alive. To lie down and wait till
the clouds roll by, Tom, that’s Billy’s
motto."
“Yes.” said Tom. "we did hear that
whenever he was wanted for anything he
was usually found sound asleep—rolled
up somewhere—and I can quite believe it.
Well, two of the others got berths in
banks. They are in them now, respectable
members of the family, who look down
on us ne'er-do-wells, and we seldom see
em.
'They lump you in with the others,” said
Rose, nodding her bright head indignantly,
"and It s a shame.”
‘‘W®! l *’* continued Tom. "I wak always
a fool. There’s one in every big family,
you know, and I never could do anything
The only thing I could do, and the'others
could do it. better than I could—was to
ride. And by accident I heard of a man
who wanted a light-weight who under
stood and could break in horses, and after
a bit—” here Tom stammered, unaccount
ably—"after a bit—when—when the missus
could ret me a steerage passage—l *•
he drew a deep breath—“l went.”
Ro’se looked searchingly at the boy—for
he looked but little more, with his light
figure, his close cropped curly head, and
fresh skin.
•And why didn’t you go at once, Tom?”
she said.
Tom did not immediately reply. He had
turned absolutely pale, and a look had
come into his beautiful eyes that was not
fear, or horror, or shame, y»< n was com
pounded of all three.
“Rose." he said, almost in a whisper
"don’t call me a coward or a fool, rve
tried to get over it; I can't. I have a hor
ror of the sea. I always had, and though
1 don’t fear death, something tells me
that I shall die at sea—that's the only way
I can account for my loathing of lt.’ r
"Yet you went upon it. and came back
safely.’ said Rose, gently, ‘which proves
t)»at your fear of it is all moonshine.”
I Ton* shivered.
"I didn't want to go. and I didn’t want
to come home." he* said simply, "and
that’s the reason; And I wish.” he paused i
and his eyes fell on her face." if it were «
not for one thing, I mean.” he added, th® !
cold coming Into his marble white face, j
' "That I'd been coward enough to refuse I
to come home when Benjamin fetched
“He fetched you?”, exclaimed Rose,
sharply, “and who sent him?”
“The missus. He was in Melbourne, you
know, and I was a hundred miles up
country from Sydney. She wanted us both
to come home, and sent him to me. The
man I was with didn’t want me to come—
he couldn’t replace me at a moment’s
notice, and told me if I left him I left him
for good. I hesitated a bit.” Rose could
well believe it). “But you know what a
will of his own Benjamin has got—and
he made me come.”
"Poor boy,” said Rose, softly, and bent
her head over her work. Was it To hide
a tear?
“Wej had bad luck all the way along,”
eald Tom, “everything went wrong from
the beginning, then Benjamin had an ac
cident with a gun at Sydney, and I had
to get a doctor, and he nan us up a long
bill; and the money went so fast—”
"What money?” said Rose, quickly.
"Benjamin’s?”
“Benjamin! Os course, he hadn’t got
any. It was what I had saved.”
“How much?”
“A little over a hundred pounds.”
“And you had saved all that? Tom,
how old where you when you went out
there?”
“Eighteen.”
“And how old jare you now?”
“Twenty-seven, he said, in a shame
faced way.
“And you never had any help from
your mother—never came upon her in any
way?”
“Os course not! The idea of such a
thing ”
“Tom, you are a hero. Q! Tom, poor
Tom—brave Tom,’! and the girl put her
head down on her work and sobbed
aloud.
"Rose, Rose,” he cried, distracted, “don’t
cry—what is there to cry about? I wish I
hadn’t saldl a word about anything.”
“GO on with your story,” she said, dry
ing her eyes fiercely, “but I can tell you
the end of it—l know! You spent every
farthing of your hard-earned hundred
pounds on that scamp of a brother, and
briging him and yourself home; and now
you haven’t a penny to call your own,
and are girded at every day because you
are not working! And I have girded the
worst of all—noor Tom! O! poor Tom!”
“You haven’t,” said Tom, stoutly, his
handsome, weak mouth trembling.
“You’ve just kept me alive, or I might
have blown my brains out long ago.”
“I always hated Benjamin,” said the girl
still flushed, and piteous, and angry, and
pretty, for the way he treats
you, and your mother airways backing him
up too—but now I loathe him. And it was
wicked of her to get you home, when you
were happy and earning your living in a
way that contented you—and all for what
for what?”
“The poor old missus was ill,” said Tom,
“and she hadn’t seen us for a long time.
If she could find the ‘money to send me
iback ” He paused, and got furiously
pale again—"l—l’d chance the sea and go.
But she can’t. If I go abroad again it
must be some short distance—some jour
ney that will only cost a few pounds.”
Rose saw that his pallor remained, in
deed it was still there when at last he got
up lingeringly and wished her good-bye.
Long afterwards she remembered it, with
tears she remembered it, with the fruitless
wish that she had been wise before the
event that we have all known to. our bitter
sorrow.
CHAPTER 111.
Things had come to a climax in Marigold
s.. ■ z k V
Tne'tni'ee men shut*Ujr within a narrow
compass quarrelled, and occasionally
fought (the elder and younger especially),
and tho mother began to fall really ill in
trying ’to reconcile Irreconcileable ele
ments, independently of the daily problem
of how to teed them.
Two of them desired nothing better than
to drive out the third—a poor creature in
their estimation—who neither fought nor
swore, who delighted in none of their- pur
suits, and even on occasion as has been
shr>wn in the matter of the beer bottles)
went out of his way to thwart them in
their cherished likings.
So Benjamin, who was his mother’s
tyrant, and right hand, and general ad
viser, spent a good hour every day poring
over advertisements of cheap passages to
foreign parts, and after some considera
tion came to the conclusion that a voyage
which cost £f>‘ 10s. from start to finish would
about meet the requirements of the case,
the state of the family purse, and the ca
pacities of the Intending emigrant.
All of which views being duly impressed
asked him what he was going to do when
on his mother, and by her passed on, and
with some womanly circumlocution con
veyed to Tom, that personage turned a
little white rpund the lips, drew a deep
breath, and announced himself ready to
sail when his passage money should be
forthcoming.
Then the poor woman, whose weak
craving to behold him had lost him his
humble, happy career, set to work to
make flannel shirts for him, and other
such things as mothers love to make ready
for their sons when they journey from
them, but since he never said anything,
or bullied her after Benjamin’s fashion, it
never occurred to her that she was assist
ing at a tragedy, and indeed it is probable
that no one in the world, not oven Rose,
knew what was coming.
Rose wept hot passionate tears when he
told her that he was going, but when she
he got there, he said he did not know—
and he might have added that he did not
1 Ton id, unresourceful, irresolute and
doubtful of himself to the last degree,
he might have gone on to the end nf life
In the safe groove of his open-air con
genial Australian life, but rudely taken
out of It, thrown as he so soon would
be entirely on his own exertions in a for
eign land, where he would not even know
a word of its language, it is no wonder
if his mind shrank from looking forward,
and that he prepared to obey orders like
a bitted and bridled brute.
So that, when he answered Rose after
that fashion, something deeper than pain
stabbed Roe®’, it was fury, indignation, it
was a nameless fear and passionate affec
tion all in one, and if she could have
saved poor Tom by any impossible feat
of work, she would have attempted It
there and then.
But everything was already settled.
Tom had spared her until the last mo
ment, and in another three days he would
be gone. .. .... ..
“Rose ” he said, presently, "that’s a
prettier waistcoat than usual. Is it for
sale?"
Rose blushed, and hung her head over it.
"No, Tom,” she said, softly, "it s—it's
for *1 istolc * *
Tom sat silent—siWnt, and very, very
St pcrhaps he was a fool—he had never been
as capable of taking care of himself as his
father’s other children—but without an
other word, without a look at her, he knew
who Jack was.
So still he sat that at last she stole a
look toward him.
And she knew then, knew it for all time,
that this poor boy loved her. would love
her, who knows? When to him all other
earthly things faded, as he did. W hen he
had gone away, saying no word, she burst
suddenly into wild weeping.
“It is murder,” she said, “to send him
awav like that, and out of the whole
world no one will really care but me. O!
Tom—poor Tom.”
Next day she went—it was no great dis
tance—to his mother.
Mrs. Holmes drew her young guest’s at
tention to the fineness or the satin stitch
in Tom’s new flannels, showed the shirts,
the housewife, and the rest of a lonely
boy’s outfit going far from home.
Billy Goat, caught in wild deshabille, sat
on the horsehair sofa, ogled the pretty
girl and fondled his beard.
In the distance Benjamin’s strident voice
might be heard bullying the maid.
"Mrs. Holmes.” said the girl, and her
young face looked strangely stern, "do
you thing it right to send Tom to a place
where employment is doubtful, and It is
most unlikely he will meet with anything
, for which he is fitted?”
j Mrs. Holmes folded the shirts, and
■ wished that Benjamin were present.
j "He anly understands, horses." pleaded ■
< the girl, “tee is a genius with them. Can’t !
SAVANNAH, THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 1895.
you send him back to Australia, to where
he was before?”
Mrs. Holmes said it was impossible—
she co-uld not pay the passage-money.
“No,” said Miss Clovelly, giving Billy
Goat a level look of scorn beneath which
he squirmed visibly, “with your expenses,
I know it is difficult. But you should
recollect, dear Mrs. Holmes, that for
nearly ten years he has entirely sup
ported himself—that he had saved up a
hundred pounds, which he spent, mainly
on his brother, and that it is your turn
now to help him.”
She was outrunning tlie constable now
with a vengeance, and she knew it, but
her blood was up, and she was fighting
for Tom, poor Tom, who would not fight
for himself. ‘
“Really,” began Mrs. Holmes, and then,
to her intense relief, Benjamin, black
browed, sullen faced, came in, and Rose,
scorning to stoop to such an adversary,
went abruptly out.
Tom that evening received much ele
gant chaff on his bright young compan
ion, but for once in his life he flashed
out with such a vengeance as to silence
them both, though to his mother, from
first to last, he never said an unkind
word.
When he came to bid Rose good-by,
he was calm, and even cheerful, but
when she pressed him to write to her, he
made no reply. He was to go down to
the docks that afternoon, and sail at
daybreak.
When the actual moment of parting
came he held her hand a long while,
and his beautiful eyes, with their dumb,
inarticulate pleading said more than he
guessed.
"Good-by, Rose,” he said, “you are
the only person in England I am sorry
to leave.”
That was all. Lung, long after she
wished with ail her heart and soul she
had granted the request in his eyes, and
kissed him, and even Jack wished it too.
That night she dreamed a dream of him,
and its terror haunted her for the few*
days before she knew.
Sbe thought that she was coming down
stairs and saw, in the narrow* passage,
Tom, his back against the wall, his arms
stretched out wide, and when she stepped
close and looked in his face he was—
dead. i
CHAPTER IV.
Rose Clovelly waited, with an indiscrib
able fear and anxiety for news of Toni.
He had got the worst, of it over now—he
had faced the sea (did not that dread
speak dumbly among other things in his
eyes that night?) and' all might yet be
well with him.
And yet the thought of that simple fel
low bewildered, helpless, in a strange place
smote her with even sharper pain, and
many a tear fell on the bright silks that
made the glory of much hard work, and
she longed for Jack, now on his very way
home from India, who would be sorry with
her, and possibly hit upon some plan to
help her friend.
Rose conquered her aversion to Billy-
Goat and Benjamin and ‘went more than
once to Marrigold Road to inquire anx
iously if any news had come of Tom.
Mrs. Holmes began to think that the
only good-looking on® out of all her boys
had actually made R&se fall in love with
him, so was kind to, her, and made her
welcome. But there was no news, and
the weather, for of year, was
extraordinarily cold, i.
One day, Tom had been gone over a
fortnight, Rose was sitting with Mrs.
Holmes when the postman’s knock was
heard, and the girl stopped working and
grew white as snow.
• S|3On th® in with a letter—
» only way
pushed into Rose’s hand, as being nearest,
and shuffled out.
. Rose, sat, scarcely breathing, and read
ing the superscription of the letter. It
was addressed to any relatives or friend of
the late Mr. Thomas Holmes.”
And then she knew—knew that poor
Tom’s awful dread of the sea was well
founded—that he. knew that he was going
to his doom when he bld her goodbye;
•that her dream of him had foreshadowed
what was to come.
“What is it?" said Mrs. Holmes, looking
up from an intricate stitch that the entry
of the servant had not disturbed, and then
Rose's whiteness, the agony in her face
struck her, and she began to tremble.
“It's Tom,” said the girl in a whisper,
then kneeled dowm, and put her arms
round Tom’s mother.
“Don’t cry,” she said, not knowing what
she said, only longing to soften the blow’
•to her; “he is happy now, and he was
never happy here. O, Tom! Tom!”
“What is it?” said the* mother again;
“something has happened to Tom—it is
in that letter.”
She too made no effort to open it, only
fell into the sad, hopeless weeping of old
age, and Rose opened it.
Some of it she read aloud, some of it she
did not. If any one could be found who
had the heart to read it all to any poor
mother then she was not that person.
But Mrs. Holmes knew that Tom was
dead—that he had died the very night he
sailed, had been buried at The Hague,
and his clothes and personal effects were
now on their way home to her.
Rose kept the letter fast within her palm
even when the brothers had come, and
there was confusion and some real grief,
for she could not make up her mind to
part with it—lt seemed hers.
Presently she escaped, and In the room
that ha<J been Tom’s read and committed
to memory every word of the chaplain’s
letter; then she went back to the others,
and subsequently, on search being made
for the letter, it was found on the table.
It was not a long letter, but its intention
had evidently Men kind.
The writer said that Tom Holmes had
come on board just before th® ship sailed,
that he was observed to be strange in
manner, or, as the sailors put it, “afraid,”
and all that day he stayed apart, neither,
eating nor drinking, nor answering any
one who spoke to him.
That night there was a hard black frost,
and the cold of this first night at sea,
intense. In the morning, in an unfre
quented. unsheltered place on deck, with
out a morsel of anything but his thin
clothes to cover him. he was found stretch
ed out—frozen to death.
Did he He down there on purpose, poor,
friendless, timid Tom? Did he prefer* the
safe anchorage of death rather than that
fierce struggle with life for which he was
eminently unfitted? Perhaps, who knows?
God solved the riddle for him in the wav
he thought best, and he whom we called
"Poor Tom” is passing rich Tom now.
(The End.).
TIPPER REPORTEDSXIRBED.
A Reqnest for Information Elicits
no Reply.
Ottawa, Ont., April 24.—1 n the House of
Commons this afternoon Mr. Langelier,
opp>osition, asked the government if there
was any truth in the report from Wash
ington that Secretaiy Gresham had
. snubbed Sir Charles Tupper during an in
terview with Sir Julian Pauncefote and
the secretary. There was no reply.
Mr. Laurier asked for the correspond
ence concerning the Bering Sea ques
. tion. and Mr. Coatigun, the minister of
marine, said all the papers he coifid pro
duce would be brought down, but the
negotiations were not yet completed, and
until that was done all the correspondence
could not be had.
SUGAR TRUST AAO THE SENATE.
The Counsel Unable to Agree on a
Date for the Trial.
j Washington, April 24.—Nathaniel Wilson
: of the counsel representing H. O. Have
| meyer and John A. Searles in the proceed
j ings against them for refusing to an
i swer questions asked by the Senate com
mittee that investigated the alleged re
; lation of the sugar trust to the tariff
’ legislation, has had a final conference
! with District Attorney Birney, which re
j suited in a failure to agree upon a day for
the trial of Mr. Wilson’s clients. Th<‘ dis-
* triet attorney will >;ccordlngiy ask the
I cbu'rt to ‘■•ct elf early day.
ONE OF CUBA’S LEADERS DEAD.
JOSE MACEO DIES FROM WOUNDS
RECEIVED AT PALMARITO.
His Body at First Supposed to Be
That of Gen. Antonio Maceo —The
Insurgents Repulsed in a Fight; at
Ramon Jagnns and Their Captain
Killed—The Queen Regent Com
mutes a Death Sentence—Gen.
Campos’ Movements.
From the Staff Correspondent of the
United Press.
Havana, April 24.—Absolutely reliable
information confirms the report of the
death of the insurgent leader, Jose Maceo
as the result of the wounds which he re
ceived in the recent fight at Palmarito.
The governor general of Cuba to-day re
ceived a dispatch from Senor Castellanos,
the Spanish colonial minister, announcing
that the government was in receipt of as
surances from the governments of Hayti,
San Domingo and Costa Rica that they
would prevent the formation in those
countries of filibustering expeditions in
aid of the Cuban rebels. The dispatch
further stated that the British and Danish
authorities had renewed the assurances
previous given Spain, and had instructed
the officials of their respective colonies to
put down all attempts to aid the insur
gents.
Gen. Martinez Campos arrived to-day
at Puerto Principe. A crow’d of 6,000 per
sons, among whom were many ladies,
gave him an enthusiastic greeting and
cheered him repeatedly. It was expected
that at a o’clock this afternoon Gen. Cam
pos would proceed for Havana.
Santiago De Cuba, April 24.—The body,
supposed to be that of Gen. Antonio
Maceo, the insurgent leader, has been fin
ally identified as that of his brother, Jose.
A battle was fought on Sunday at Ra-»
mon Jaguas. Little is known of the de
tails, beyond that the insurgents were re
pulsed and Capt. Julian Miranda was
killed.
Lieut. Benjamin Gallego, who was sen
tenced by court martial to be shot to-day,
was saved by a cablegram from the queen
regent, commuting his sentence to life
imprisonment.
Madrid, April 24.—Some 3,200 troops will
s<ail for Cuba next week. The Official Ga
zette publishes a call for 20,000 more men
to enter active service.
Jacksonville, Fla., April 24.—The story
sent from Birmingham, Ala., a day or two
ago that 300 filibusterers had sailed from
this port for Cuba is the baldest sort of a
fake. No such expedition sailed and there
is nothing to indicate that there is any
filibustering movement afoot in this vi
cinity.
New York, April 24.—Passengers on the
Ward line steamer Yucatan, which arrived
from Havana to-day, say the people of
that place are much excited, owing to
the expected arrival of Gen. Martinez
Campos. A large number of young men
of Havana and vicinity are leaving the
country on steamers for Tampa and New'
York.
The Spanish steamer Panama arrived at
quarantine this afternoon, after a trip of
three days and fifteen hours from Ha
vana.
Among the passengers on board was
Dupuy De tome, the Spanish minister to
the Vnited States ZTh®' -minister snicli
IncFkc*it i'nt ulPris qaSmuifi n'bwn
and I am confident that tffe troubles wilT
soon be settled. The captain general, Mar
tinez Campos, will be in Havana before
many days. He is now visiting the affected
districts, with a view o-f suppressing any
disorders that may arise. The alleged in
surrection is eontined principally to ne
groes, the whites not taking active part
with them. I feel assured, from my
knowledge of the captain general, that he
will be prompt and energetic. His perfect
knowledge of Cuban affairs makes him
the best man for the place.” The minis
ter will remain in Nev/ York for several
days.
Boston, April 24.—The Boston Fruit Com
pany’s Jamaica line steamer Ethelrid, be
fore reported as chased into Port Antonio,
Jamaica, by a Spanish cruiser, reached her
dock this morning. Capt. Hopkins says:
“We had no trouble this time from any
man-of-war, and we were not chased into
Port Antonio, nor did anybody lire at
us.”
One of the ship’s company said: “That
Spaniard wasn’t after us. He ran in
after an American schooner that had
sailed from Florida and was suspected of
carrying arms and contraband of war.
He was there ahead of us, but we heard
nothing from him at all.”
STRIKE OF THE BUS DRIVERS.
The Company Make* Coneesßions
and the Men Apt to Return to Work.
Paris, April 24.—The situation in the
omnibus strike changed somew’hat this
afternoon. There were very much fewer
riotous demonstrations to-day than yes
terday. which is perhaps accounted for by
the fact that all of the strikers arrested
for rioting yesterday were promptly con
victed of disorderly conduct to-day and
punished. The moral effect of this action
was greatly enhanced by the physical ef
fect produced by the procedure of the
prefect, of police, who to-day employed
2,500 regular policeman and 1.500 of the
municipal guards in the preservation of
order. It is now believed that the strike
Is approaching its end. The omnibus
company has consented to the point made
by the men tljM the minimum pay shall |
be francs a day and the men, in consid
eration of this concession, will probably
abate some of their claims. Several other
points have been conceded to the strikers
and it is probable that most of them will
return to w’ork.
Proust and Deville, leaders of the om
nibus strikers, have been arrested for in
citing the men to violence.
I , 111 Ill’ll —I IW.U ..I I. U«| i*.., w... —I- ■
HOLLAND TAKES TO HIS HEELS.
The Defnnlting; Bank Caahier's
Wliereahonh Now Unknown.
Charlotte. N. C.. April 24.-J. R. Hol
land, tne defaulting cashier of the Mer
chants and Farmers National Bank of
this city, left last night and his where
abouts are unknown. He has not yet
been taken under arrest.
To-day United States Marshal Allison
swore out a warrant for him and a de
scription of him was wired in all direc
tions. To-day, also, the bank offered a
reward of SI,OOO for him.
There are no further new developments
as to the shortage, which is understood
to be about $60,000. The bank is absolute
ly safe. It can stand its loss and still
have a good part of its surplus left, with
out the necessity of going upon its uifiii
vlded profits or capital.
MRS. PARNELL -SINKING.
She Is no Longer Able to Recognize
Ac<i uai n tan ces.
Bordentown, N. J., April 24.—Mrs. Par
nell is still alive, but her condition Jhis
afternoon is considered as extremely crit
ical. The convulsions are less frequent
and less violent, but the patient is grow
ing weaker and does not recognize her
neighbors and acquaintances. No relative
is yet present, but friends are doing all
‘that can be done for the patient.
Called on to Rally for Cleveland.
Austin, Tex., April 24.—The democratic
bimetallists in the legislature at a meet
ing to-night, called on the people to rally
to the support of Cleveland and the Dem
ocratic party on the financial policy. This
move was made necessary by the fact
that the free coinage members of the
legislature will to-morrow issue a proela- >
mation asking the people to support the i
16 to T policy. ■■'.•-■ 1
( WEEKLY 2-TIMES-A-WEEK $1 A YEAR 1
4 • 5 CENTS A COPY. <.
I DAILY, $lO A YEAR. f
ENGLAND AND JAPAN.
The British Not to Meddle in the
Pence Settlement.
London, April 24.—The Daily News will
announce positively to-morrow that Eng
land will not act in concert with the
continental powers regarding the Shim
onoeski treaty. It will say editortally:
“England’s refusal to co-operate with the
other powers is clue solely to the desire
not to take part in matters in which she
has no immediate concern. We trust it
is not the policy of any of the powers to
do more than to endeavor to persuade
Japan. nothing to be gained
worth even the remote risk of war.’’
From St. Petersburg the News learns
that Russia has sent a note to Japan sta
ting the various conditions of the treaty
which she cannot allow.
The Times correspondent in New
• Chwang says: “There is a famine in
Southern Manchuria owing to the badness
of the harvest in 1894, the presence of the
rival aimies, the .stoppage of transporta
tion from the north and the paralysis of
trade here.”
WILLIMANTIC’S BANK WRECK.
The Controller Decides to Malte the
Recelvershii> Permanent.
Washington, April 24.—Controller Eckels
has received a preliminary report from
Bank Examiner Dooley on the condition
of the closed First National Bank of Wil
limantic, Conn. From it he has decided
to place the bank in the hands of a per
manent receiver. Examiner Dooley re
ports that the assets are about $440,000 and
there are due depositors and other banks
$300,000 and from these figures Mr. Eckels
thinks all the creditors will be finally paid
in full.
The loans and discounts are placed at
$344,000, the greater part In the bank, but
part of them rediscounted. The books
statement is $44,000 incorrect. The bank’s
paper to the extent of $59,000 is forged,
most of which is in the books, but part
of these notes have been discounted. The
estimate as to missing paper and forged
paper is found to be correct. The bank’s
capital of SIOO,OOO and surplus of $25,000 is
wiped out.
ARMS FOR EQUADOR.
Secretary Gresham Refuses to Pre
vent Two Shipments.
Washington, April 24.—The consul of the
republic of Ecuador at San Francisco,
adopting the error which has widely pre
vailed, that shipments of arms from the
United States to countries where revolu
tionary movements may be in progress are
Illegal, notified Secretary* Gresham that
two vessels were about to leave San Fran
cisco with consignments of arms, sup
posed to be destined for rebels in Ecuador.
He asked that the United States interpose
to prevent these shipments. Secretary
Gresham referred the matter to Attorney
General Olney, whoi gave it as his opinion
that.there was nothing illegal in the acts
complained of. The United States authori
ties, accordingly, declined to interfere and
41?
SCHrLZE'S surcinß.
He Wait Mailly in Love With Marie
Wainwright.
Tacoma, Wash., April 24.—Instead of a
few thousand dollars, as first supposed,
the defalcation of the late Paul Schulze,
who was land agent of the Northern Paci
fic railroad, will amount to $50,000 and may
be more by $200,000 according to the report
of the experts who are engaged in exam
ining the accounts of the suicide. This
shortage and disappointment in love are
believed to have led to his suicide. A
farewell letter to Marie Wainwright, the
actress, was found on his person and the
statement is made by his friends that he
had played the part of the lover towards
her for some time, but the collapse of her
divorce proceedings placed an insuperable
obstacle in the way of the marriage of the
actress and Schulze, who obtained a di
vorce from his German wife over three
years ago.
GOT READY AND DIED.
1 J
A Newark Man Settle* III* Business
Affairs and Commit* Suicide.
Newark, N. J., April 24.—Jacob Webber,
40 years of age, swallowed two ounces
of carbolic acid this morning and died
with in ten minutes. A week ago Webber
ordered his coffin from a firm of under
takers. On Sunday he made a tour of the
homes of his friends, bidding them good
bye. On Monday and Tuesday ho sold his
property and engaged his burial plot.
His actions, very strangely, did not lead
to a suspicion that he intended to take
his life.
ON FIRE AT SEA.
A Sailing; Vwmei Seen Ablaze Off
Cape Matterns.
Norfolk, Va., April 24,—The British
steamship Dunbeth, Capt. Makenzie, from
Galveston to Liverpool, has just arrived
and reports that at 6 o’clock last evening
she sighted a vessel near Hatteras on fire,
which proved to be a sailing vessel with
her foremast and yard standing, but which
soon went by the board, leaving the vessel
a mass of flames, it being impossible for
any living being to remain on board. It
is thought that the officers and crew* were
saved by a schooner near by. The name
of the vessel could not be ascertained.
SHOT DEAD IN THE ROAD.
* 11
An Old Fend Culminates In Homi
cide In Alabama.
Eutaw, Ala., April 24.—Near Union yes
terday J. Marshall Chambers killed Har
vey A. Mize in the public road by shooting
htm with a pistol five times. An old feud
had existed between them for some time
and culminated in the killing»as above sta
ted.
A preliminary trial will be had some day
this week, when the facts in the case will
be made known. Chambers.la here in the
custody of the sheriff. Both men are
white and were considered good citizens.
SELLING OUT FAIR’S WHEAT.
A Seventh Part of His Holding* Dis-
I>osed of So Far.
San Francisco, April 24.—Lewis Mc-
Glaufiln, who was intimately associated
with the late Senator Fair in wheat oper
ations, sold the larger part of 10,060 tons,
principally of the May option, to-day
His sales during the last few days have
been very heavy, and will probably
amount to nearly 30,000 tons, or the sev
enth part of the wheat which the late
Senator Fair is reputed to have pur
chased.
Art in ihe Champ* De Mars.
Paris. April 24.—The exhibition at the
Champs De Mars salon was opened to-day
with the usual crowded attendance and
display of beautiful toilets. The collection
of paintings and other works of art great
ly surpasses last year’*exhibit, and a high
< degree of success is promised to the ex
i hiMtion in every respect.
MONDAYS
ANO
THURSDAYS
DARK CLOUDS OVER DURANT.
HE WAS SEEN WITH A WOMAN JUST
BEFORE THE CRIME.
A Witness Tells of the Blood Stain*
in the Wash Room of the Church.
A Blood Stained Coat Left With a.
Woman by a Man Who Resembled
Durant—The Pastor of the Church
Put on the Stand.
San Francisco, April 24.—A close Inves
tigation of the wash room in Emanuel
church was made yesterday. This wash
room could only have been reached by
some one thoroughly familiar with the
building. Besides a number of stains qn
the washbowl, there are numerous stains?
on the splashers surrounding it. Blood
stains have also been found on the walls
of the little hall leading to the wash room.
The extent of the blood stains goes to
prove that the murderer had no light, for
a judicious person, as his actions prove
him, would not have splattered bo much
blood around had he seen what he was
doing.
The blood stained coat which was
brought to light in Berkley on Monday
has caused a sensation there, hut there is
considerable difficulty In determining the
date on which it was found. Mrs. Bofilot,
with whom the package was left, tells
th . r ?c different stories as to the date on
Which .a strange man asked permission to>
leave a bundle at her home for a few
“® u , rs - Mrs - Boillot says the man resem*
bled Durant very much and she believes
she could identify him.
The interest In the trial continues una
bated. A new witness was presented to
day. His name is Adolph A. Kobe. He had
been a school matq of the prisoner and.
had known him for about eight years. He
testified to having seen Durant at the
ferry at 5 o’clock on the fatal night. The
accused was accompanied by a young lady
who answered the description of Miss Wil- •
Hams.
Dr. George Gibson, pastor of Emanuel
Baptist ohurch, followed Hobe. His ap
pearance on the witness stand created ai
great stir in the court room and the spec
tators evinced great Interest in the testi
mony given by him.
In reply to questions Dr. Gibson said
that he left his study* in the church on
Friday evening, April 12, at 7:30 o’clock,
and went to Dr. Vogel’s house, his object
being to attend a meeting of the Young
People’s Endeavor Society. Durant did
not arrive until after the business session
was over, about 9:30 o'clock. The witness
did not know whether or not the defendant
had a key to the church. He met him there
alone several times. “I went into my study
the Saturday morning the body was found
and while there I heard noises in the front
part of the church,” said the witness. “I
was soon afterward told by the son of the
janitor that the lock on the library door
had been broken. I went to the room
and saw the broken lock. I looked into
the room, but not into the closet. I then
returned to my stury and remained .there
until the ifiano tuner drove me outwrith
his noise, and went to my home. The
first I knew of the body being in the clos
et was when I went back to the church
on being told by Mrs. Nolte that it was
them.” ... „
».-'Pbv
rant's alibi that he was at a clinic in
Copper’s medical college on Wednesday
afternoon, April 3, about the time he was
said to have got on a car near the Normal
school with Miss Lamont. Detective
Gibson said on this point to-day: “We
have questioned every student who was
at the college on that afternoon and none
of them remember having seen him there.
We have not found any one who answered
for him at roll call, but we have clearly
established, that he frequently got others
to answer for htm. We have positive
evidence that he got qn the car with Miss
Lamont that afterndon. Not only the
three school girls wi|l testify to that, but
the conductor and gripman saw him.
They knew both him and Miss Lamont
and frequently saw him escort her to
and from school. We have a great deal
of evidence that has not been made public.
The Lamont case is the strongest of the
the recess hour Durant, received
a number of admirers in his cell. They
were young women who seem to regard
him as something of a hero. Some of
them were acquaintances and some en
tire strangers, who called to gape at hint,
through the bars. Durant chatted pleas
antly until the officers came. .
Another new witness, Dennis Welsh,
an Alameda policeman, was introduced
this afternoon. Welsh said that he saw
Durant and Miss Williams together Im
Alameda on several occasions within two
weeks prior to the discovery of the girl’®
body in the church. The Lamont inquestl
has been postponed indefinitely.
BUCHANAN STILL HOPEFUL. I
He Urge* Hl* Lawyer to Try to Aver*
the Denth Penalty.
Sing Sing, N, Y., April 24.—Buchanan
before he retired last night, wrote a long
letter to Gov. Morton thanking him fob
listening to the appeal of his wife and foB
granting him a respite of one week.
Buchanan’s young wife came direct from
Albany last night to Sing Sing and spent
some time with her husband in the prisoff,
Buchanan told her that he did not expect
to be executed next week, and he still had
strong hopes of escaping the death pen
alty. Buchanan’s final words to his wife
were tp keep up her courage, to see his
Jawvers to-day and urge them to take ad
vantage of whatever chance there might;
row be to prevent the execution of thff
death sentence next week.
Warden Sage said to-day that he would
not execute Buchanan until he had con
ferred with the attorney general as to
whether it would be legal to carry out the
law next week, when the respite granted,
by the governor will expire. He said no
did nos think it would be necessary to have
Buchanan re-sentenced, and another day
appointed for the execution. He said that
he would be governed, however, by the de
cision of the attorney general. He will go
to Albany to confer with that official.
NO NEW ARMY DEPARTMENT, j
No General Officer Available to Com*
manti It at Present.
Washington, April 24.—Secretary La
mont will not reconsider the question of
establishing a military department with
headquarters at Atlanta during the pres
ent recess of congress. At the instance of
southern senators and representatives the
matter was thoroughly weighed some
time, when it was concluded by Gen. Scho
field and other authorities that the project
was not possible for the present. V. hue
the secretary of war has ample authority
to arrange the army departments as he
deems advisable, it is pointed out that no
general officer would be available for the
command of the new department, unless
congress should increase the number. Inis
may be accomplished in the future by
makifig the grade of lieutenant ®c"®ral
permanent for commander of the entire
armv and adding another brigadier to the
present list. If this should be done there is
scarcely any doubt* that the department of
the South Atlantic will be established.
Garment Worker* Win.
St. Louts, Mo., Aprl 24.—The strike of the
garment workers against the “Sweat
shop” contractors ended to-day in a vic
tor* for the strikers. The garment work
ers yesterday organised under both the
Federation and Knights of Labor, and thia
movement was too strong for the con
tra/ !<.-;>■, and they granted the terms ask
ed by the strikvi-s.
NO. 32.