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TWO
“The Story of Waitstill Baxter”
copyHffht. ibis, by MATE DOUGLAS WIGGIN
Kate Douglas Wltfgin '
Author of “Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm"
PROLOGUE.
Strength and interest of quiei
Uvea in the New England oj
three-quarters of a century age
provide the framework of "Thi
Story of Waitatill Baxter.” Thai
is the skeleton. The flesh anu
blood of human beings, living
and loving and moving in a warla
of their own that is a minialuri
picture of the greater world out
side, are also there. The story
is a cross section of life as seen
and described by a woman who
has been well called ‘ America's
greatest living woman novelist. ”
Amtd the hills of New England
are many nun and women likt
Waits! :t <,nd Patience Baxter
and their father, Ivory Boynton
and his afflicted mother and
funny Cep as Cole, who woo*
hopefully, but with small chance
of success. They find their way
into books but seldom, for it
takes a master hand to deacribi
faithfully the doings of real
people. And that is the reason
why "The S 7 >ry of Waitstill
Baxter won highest praise
from cri tho know a good
book r. rl •: see one.
(Continued from Yesterday.)
"I'H say ;:i »lby now, Ivory, hut I'l
•cc you hi tin- im-etlug house,” hli>
mild un she neiired the store. “I'll g<
lu here aml brush the (due needles oft
wiish m\ bauds Mini rest n little lie
fore relieiirs'il. That's n puzzling hii
them we have for tomorrow.”
“I have uiy horse here. Let me
drive you up to the church."
”1 can’t. Ivory; thunk you. Father's
orders are against my driving out with
any one. you know.”
"Very well. The road I* free, at nnv
rate I'll hitch my horse down here h
the woods somewhere, and when yoi
•tart to walk I shnll follow and catch
up with you. There's luckily only om
way to reach the rhurrh from here
and your futlier can't blame ua If vvi
both take it.' 1
And ao It fell out (lint Ivory nn>
Waltstlll walked together in the co
of the ufternoou to the meeting hotis.
on Tory hilt Waltstlll kept the beat
en path on one side and Ivory that un
the other, so that the width of tin
country road, deep lu iluat, was be
tween them, yet their nearness seemed
»<> tangible a thing Hint each euuld fee
the heart l>enllng In the other's side.
Their talk was only (hat of tried
friends, n talk Interrupted hv Ion."
beautiful alienees -alienees that conn
only to a man and wumuu whose un
dentandlng of eueh other is beyond
question and answer. Not a sound
broke the at illness, yet the very sir. Ii
seemed to them, was shedding mean
Inga, the flowers were exhaling a lev
secret with their fragrances, the birds
were singing It boldly from the tree
tops, yet no word passed the mau's
Him or the girl's. Patty would have
bung out all sorts of signals and lures
to draw the truth from Ivory and
break through the walla of Ida sell
control, hut Waltstlll, never, and Ivory
Boynton was made of stuff so strong
that he would not speak a syllable of
love to a woman unless be could say
•11. lie was only live and twenty, but
he had been tvured tu a rigorous school
and bad learned tu Its poverty, louelt
ness anil anxiety lessons of self do
Dial and self control that hors dully
fruit now tie knew that Deacon ltax
ter would never allow any engagement
to exist tietween Waltstlll aud him
•elf He also knew that Waltstlll
would never defy her fa
ther if It meant leaving her younger
etaler to fight alone a dreary battle for
which she was not fitted. If there was
little hope on her aide there seemed
even leas on hia.
His mother’s mental illness made her
peculiarly dependent upon him and at
the same time held him in aueb strict
bondage that It was almost Impossible
for him to get on In the world or even
to give her the comforts ah# needed
In villa gos like Kiverboro In those early
days there was uo putting away eveu
of men or # omen so demented aa to be
something of a menaoe to the peace of
the household. Hut Isita Hoynton was
So gentle, ao fragile, ao exquisite a
spirit, that she seemed in her sad aloof
•eaa simply a thing to tie sheltered aud
•bielded somehow In her difficult life
(Mmol. ivory often thought how
sorely sbe needed a daughter In her
affliction. If tlie Imby sinter had only
lived the home might have been differ
ent; but, alna, there was only a aon a
eon who tried to be tender and aympa
thetle, but after all wan nothing but a
big, elunitty, uncomprehending man
erenture, who ought to be felling treea.
plowing, Rowing, reaping or at least
atudying law, making Ills own fortune
and that of some future wife. Old
Mrs. Mason, a garrulous, good hearted
grsndame, was their only near neigh
bor, and her visits always left his
mother worse ruther than better. How
such a girl as Waitstill would pour
comfort and beauty and Joy into a lone
ly house like his If only he were weak
Z.
"Tall ma mora,” aha aald.
enough to call upon her strength aud
put It to no cruel a teat! God help
him! He would never do that, eNpe
dally ns he could not earn enough to
keep a large family, bound down as In
wan by Inexorable responsibilities
WaltHtill thus far In life had suffered
many sorrows and enjoyed few pleas
urea Marriage ought to bring hei
freedom and plenty, not parking curt
aud poverty. He stole long looks at
the girl nenast the separating apace
that was ao helpless to separate, feed
lug hla starved heart upon her woman
ly graces. Her quick, springing step
was In harmony with the fire and
courage of her mien. There was a llm
or two lu her face—small wonder. Hut
an "unconquerable soul” shone In her
eyes, shone, too. In no nil certs In way.
hut brightly and steadily, expressing
an unshaken joy in living. Valiant,
aplendhl. Indomitable Wnltstill! He
could never tell her, ulns! But how he
gloried lu her!
It la needless to say that no woman
could tvs the possessor of such a love
aa Ivory Boyntons and not know of
Its existence. Wnltstill never beard a
breath of It from Ivory's llpa; even hi*
eyes were under control Htid confessed
nothing, nor did bis hand ever clasp
hers to show by a telltale touch the
truth he dared not utter: nevertheless
she felt that she was beloved. She
hid the know ledge deep in her heart
aud covered It softly from every eye
hut her own, taking It out In the safe
darkness sometimes to wonder over
and adore lu secret. lMd her love for
Ivory rest partly on a sense of voca
tion—a profound. Inarticulate divining
of his vast need of her? He was so
strong, yet eo weak because of the
yoke he bore, so bitterly alone in his
desperate struggle with life, that her
heart melted like wax w henever she
thought of him. When she contem
pUt<>d the hidden mutiny lu her own
heart she was awestruck sometimes ni
the almost divine patience of Ivory’s
conduct aa a son.
"Host la your mother this summer.
Ivory?" she asked as they aat down
on the meeting bouee stepe waiting for
Jed Morrill to open the door.
•There is little change lu her from
year to year, Walt*till—by the way.
why don’t we get out of this afternoon
aun and alt In the old graveyard under
the trees’ We are early and the choir
won't get hero for half an hour. Ur
Perry aaya that be does not underataml
mother's esse in the least and that tu
one but some great Boston phyalclat
could give a proper opinion on It: of
course that la Impossible at present"
They sat down on the grass under
neoth oua qf the elms, and Wallattil
took off her hat and leaned back
against the tree trunk.
“Tell me more.” she said: “It Is so
long since we talked together quietly,
and we have never really spoken of
your mother.”
"Of course.” Ivory continued, “the
people of the village all think and
speak of mother’s illness as religious
Insanity, hut to me It seems nothing of
the sort. 1 was only a child when fa
ther first fell In with Jacob Cochrane,
but I was twelve when father went
away from home on his ‘mission.’ and
If there was any one suffering from
delusions in our family It was he, not
mother. She had altogether given up
going to the Cochrane meetings, and I
well remember the scene when my fa
ther told her of the revelation he had
received about going through the state
and Into New Hampshire In order to
convert others and extend the move
ment. She bad no sympathy with his
•elf Imposed mission, you may he sure,
though now she goes hack In her mem
ory to tbo earlier days of her married
life, when she tried hard, poor soul,
to treud the same puth that father was
treading, so as to be by his side at
every turn of the road.
“I am sure’* (here Ivory’s tone was
somewhat dry and satirical) "that fa
tber’s road bad many turns, Waitstill!
lie was a schoolmaster in Saco, ypu
know, when I was born, but he soon
turned from teacblug to preaching, and
here my mother followed with entire
■ympathy, for she was Intensely, de
voutly religious. I said there was lit
tle change In her, but there Is one new
symptom. She bus ceased to refer to
her conversion to Cochranlsm as a
blessed experience. Her memory of
those first days seems to have faded.
As to her sister’s death and all the cir
cumstances of her bringing Hodman
home, her mind Is a blank. Her ex
pectation of futher’s return, on the
other hand, Is much more intense than
ever.”
"She must have loved your father
dearly, Ivory, and to lose him In this
terrible wuy Is much worse than death.
Uncle Hart says be bud a great gift of
language!”
"Yes, and It was that, in my mind,
that led him astray. I fear that the
spirit of God was never so strong in
father ns thfc desire to Influence peo.
pie by his oratory. That was what
drew him to preaching In the first
place, and when he found In Jacob
Cochrane a man who could move an
audience to frenzy, lift them out of
the body and do with their aplrits as
he willed he acknowledged him as
master. Whether his gospel was a
pure and undofiled religion I doubt,
hut he certainly was a mnster of mes
merle control. My mother was be
guiled, entranced, even bewitched at
first, I doubt not, for she translated
all that Cochrane said Into her own
tpeech and regarded him os the proph
et of n new era. But Cochrane's last
‘revelations’ differed from the first and
were of the earth, earthly. My moth
er'a pure soul must have revolted, hut
•he was not strong enough to drag fa
ther from his allegiance. Mother was
et better family than father, "but they
were both well educated and hud the
best schooling to be bad In their day.
So far as I can Judge, mother always
had more ‘balance’ than father and
much better Judgment—yet look at her
now!”
'Then you think It was your father’s
disappearance that really caused her
mind to waver?" asked Waltstlll.
"I do, indeed. I don't know what
happened between them In the way of
religions differences nor how much un
happiness those may have caused. I
remember she hail an illness when we
first came here to live and I was a
little chap of three or feur, but that
was caused by the loss of a child, a
girl. who lived only u few weeks. She
recovered perfectly, and her head was
as clear as mine for a year or two
after father went away. Aa his letters
grew less frequent as news of bint
gradually reused to come, she became
more aud more silent and retired more
completely Into herself. She never
went anywhere nor entertained visl
tore because she did uot wish to hear
the gossip and speculation that were
going on In the village. Some of It
was very bard for n wife to bear, and
she resented It Indignantly, .vet never
received n wont from father with
which to refute It. At this time, as
nearly as I can Judge, she was a
recluse and subject to periods of pro
found melancholy, but nothing worse.
Then she took that winter journey to
her sister's deathbed, brought home
the boy, aud, hasteued by exposure
and chill and grief, 1 suppose, her
mind gave way that’s all." And Ivory
sighed drearily as he stretched him
aelf on the greeuswtird and looked off
toward the suowclad New Hampshire
hills. "I’ve meant to write the story
of the ‘Cochrane erase’ some time or
such iiart of It as has to do with my
family history, aud you shnll read it If
you like."
"1 should like very much to read your
account. Aunt Abby’s version, for In
stance. Is so different from Uncle
Bart's that one can scarcely find the
truth between the two. and father's
hears no relation to that of any -of the
others."
"Some of us see facta and others sec
visions,” replied Ivory, "aud these dlf
feretires of oplulou crop up In the vil
lage every day when anything note
worthy Is discussed. 1 came upon n
quotation In my reading last evening
that described It. 'One said It thunder
ed; another that ci "ugel spake.' "
"IVi you feel a> it your father ws»
dead. lfory?"
(To Be Continued Tomorrow.)
inE AUGUSTA HERALD, AUGUSTA, GA.
The question is, How, if ever, are you to get away?
You don’t see or feel these balls and these chains fastened to you. But the man who looks at you SEES THEM.
(SEE EDITORIAL.)
Here Is Your “Independent
Business Man”
\ 9
The Artist Who Makes the Picture on This Page Sees
Him As He is—What Can Help Him?
• (Copyright, 1914, by tho Star Company.)
We all live on a very fine planet,
a world really worth study and admi
ration.
And most of ue are fastened to lit
tle corners, running from the flat to
the office, from the office to the flat,
in street cars or elevated railroad
trains, or, in some of the cities, un
derground.
We rush to the office, we rush
home, we rush to bed, we get up.
And we think that we are FREE
MEN ENJOYING THE BLESSINGS
OF CIVILIZATION.
Ninety-nine in one hundred are
like this man In the picture.
They are fastened with chains of
steel and held down by balls of iron
that they do not see or feel.
Expenses for food and rent.
We worry about the bills of today.
We worry about the poverty of old
age just ahead.
We worry about the fate of the
children when we are gone.
And so we rush to the office, and
back to'the flat, and b&ck to the of
fice.
And finally, in a very neat, black,
undertaker s automobile, with imita
tion curtains carved out of wood,
with a good reliable gas engine in
front of it, and nice folding glass
doors in the back of It, we rush to
the cemetery—and get a leisurely look
at the inside of the earth WITHOUT
EVER HAVING HAD A CHANCE
TO 1 jOOK AT THE OUTSIDE OF IT.
That tg about what life amounts to
for the moat of the people on this
earth after they have passed their
early boyish or girlish days of play
ing, thinking and dreaming.
What is to be done about it*
Nothing much.
We siand what we HA VII to stand,
w ait for the better day which is com
ing to the human race, find consola
tion in the infinitely worse days of
those that lived on our earth.
Let us suppose that this man at the
desk is of French descent.
If so, bis great grandfather of the
seventeenth century perhaps sat up
all night beating the nobleman's pond
with a stick to keep the frogs from
disturbing the nobleman's sleep, or
he was a miserable farmer, working
half of hl« year In the nobleman's
field, forbidden to destroy the noble
mans deer, pigeons and rabblta that
ruined his rwiu, and compelled by
I "le droit du seigneur" to send his
daughter ur to the nobleman's castle
on her marriage night
Things are bettor for the man
whose ancestors were Frenchmen -
thanks to the fighting that the French
men did In the Revolution of the
eighteenth century
Shipposc that this man Is of Irish
blood—another Celt, not so dlfter-nt
HERE YOU ARE, DEAR FRIEND
from the French.
He is perhaps descended from a
man who saw his children killed by
English soldiers, who went through
starvation, who obeyed the laws that
forbade him to own a horse worth
more than five pounds and compelled
him to sell any horse he had a; that
price to an Englishman. The Irish
man today carries his heavy load, but
at least he sees the better time here
in this country than his great-great
grandfather had in Ireland. And he
sees also in Ireland, which interests
him, the birth of a better time.
So it is with every nationality and
with every kind of man.
We carry heavy balls and chains,
but we have dropped heavier ones.
We are not to be "envied, rushing,
from feverish, half-educated youth
Into baJd middle age and into a pre
mature grave.
But, as Individuals and as a race,
we must find consolation in the fact
that we get about what we deserve.
And, tied down as we are, we must
hope and work for the day when
men will free each other, make slaves
only of the iron machines that have
no feeling, have a chance to enjoy
this earth, the sunshine, the flowers,
the stars at night, and, above all,
FREEDOM FROM THAT FEAR OF
A FUTURE THAT LIES LIKE A
LUMP OF LEAD ON EVERY
HEART.
As you pity this man, remember
that one thing may make those iron
balls as light as feathers, and those
chains like threads of silk.
If he is working for others, if that
face on his desk means more to him
than personal happiness or comfort.
If he knows that the weight he car
ries today means a lighter weight for
those who have a right to depend
upon him—YOU NEED NOT PITY
HIM.
Speedy Success.
“My daughter has recently secured
a position as stenograiher in a large
office."
"Is she a success?"
"Seems to be. She has already re
ceived three offers of marlrage."
In a Double Sense.
"We want your little girl to take
part In a patriotic spectacle. The
children will dress in red, white and
blue, and form a human United States
flag."
"Oafi my child take a leading part?”
“Sure; she can be one of the stars."
Change of Diet
Captain Jinks of the horse marines,
Tired of feeding hla horse on beans.
Gave him a little change, you know,
I lot t Rpmles in Mexico.
“Dumping” of American Autos on English
Market Still a “Bogey” to English
Politicians
London.—The "dumping” of Amer
ican automobiles on the English mar
ket is still a "bogey" to the English
politician and the advocates of a re
form in the tariff laws are becoming
almost frenzied in their desire to
place retaliatory tax upon the auto
mobiles imported from the states. Mr.
Fell, M. P., whose alarm at the Ameri
can invasion has reached pitiable
limitß, told me this week that “it is
only a question of time —and opportu
nity—when the Chancellor of the Ex
chequer will take advantage of the
temptation to place an import duty
on special classes of manufactured
goods. The anomaly of admitting
motor cars, particularly American
cars, on dumping terms is one that
even Free Traders find it impossible
to defend, while the United States are
imposing an ad valorem duty of 40
per cent on English built ones.”
“Startling” Figures.
Mr. Fell brought this out a few
weeks ago with "startling” figures,
showing tdat practically only very
wealthy Americans bought English
cars, while a large proportion of the
light cars used In Great Britain and
Ireland came from America, and, be
ing duty free, and sold at a lower
price than the states, they pushed out
the native manufacture.
Of course, the seriousness of Amer.
lean competition is generally admit
ted. It is computed that half the au
tomobiles on the English roads are
American made. Time was when the
American product was of such distinc
tive design that It could be detected
at a glance, but the new type of Euro
pean ized American auto 1b the pre
vailing fashion in the less expensive
machine.
The controller of one of the expert
auto exchanges In lamdon told me
this week that until recent years
there was every difference between
the average American and the aver
age European machine and scarcely
any between one American and an
other.
American Auto Advance.
The great advantage of the Ameri
can auto, of course, lies in its cheap
ness and its proved reliability and du
rability. The British hand made ma
chine cannot be produced at a com
petitive price and no matter if a tax
of moderate percentage is placed upon
the machine Imported from America,
It Is not nil likely to put a check upon
the invasion or the “dumping."
In the British navy an Interesting
experiment is being made by the Ad
miralty. They are trjlng an entirely
new routine, which really amount* to
tru-tlwg the man and abolishing the
system of naval police The medium
of this experiment Is the cruiser
Queen Mary and among the reforms
under test are the following:
In leave the principle of trusting
the sailor is very fully applied. Men
belonging to the watches on duty are
allowed to go ashore and return as
they pleaae during the hours leave is
given. Each watch has what Is term
ed a “leave board " Tbe boards for
the watches at liberty are opened and
every man who goes ashore puts a
SUNDAY. MAY 17.
peg into a hole bearing his number.
When he returns to the ship he pulls
the peg out again.
Reduced to a Minimum.
Sunday work has been reduced to a
minimum. It is practically finished
in the early morning. The men then
have the remainder of tbe day to
themselves. Even attendance at
church is not compulsory.
The Queen Mary also carries a kin
ematograph.
There are no naval police.
Discipline is maintained by the
crew themselves. Police duties are
done by petty officers. For the sea
men there is a chief petty officer,
termed the master seaman, who has
several petty officers under him. Sim
ilarly, for the stokers, there is a mas
ter stoker with his staff of petty of
ficers. In each case these act as
boatswain’s mates as well as carry out
disciplinary duties. It merely means
the placing of responsibility for their
own behavior on the sailors them
helves.
There is every indication that the
system is to be extended to all ships
in the British navy.
BPORTMAN’S TALE.
A few Cleveland sportsmen of the
honest-to-gosh kind that go right out
into the woods in the winter time an 1
camp, were sitting around the fire (at
the club) relating their experiences,
when a perfect stranger butted In
and began telling of some of his own
hairbreadth escapes. This made tne
sportsmen rretty sore. It always does
make sportsmen sore to hear about
other sportsmen, so finally, one ot
them saw an opening and spoke as
follows.
“That reminds me of when I was
hunting in the Rockies, a number of
years ago. I was at ehe top of a lofty
precipe, and wishing to get a bet
ter view of the valley, 600 or 00 feet
below, I laid down my gun and
crawled out on a small rock overlook
ing the chasm. There, strangely
enough, I tell asleep.
"Presently I was awakened by a
noise on the bank, and opening my
eyes 1 saw a big grizz'j) bear a few
feet from me. I was powerless. I
could not move without falling from
the rock —my gun was on the other
side of the bear. And while I was
thinking, the benr came nearer and
nearer until he finally stood directly
over me.”
After a short pause the butter-in
asked, “What did you do?”
"I lay still."
"Yes, but what did the bear do?"
"Ate’ me up, you Tool. What else
wotidl he dof’—Cleveland Plain
Dealer.
Did a Little Hugging,
"How's your arm?" inquired the
manager of the pitcher who had Just
reported.
"Fine*
"Did you give it gentle exercises
through the winter?"
“You bet. I kept steady company
with a mighty nice girl.*