Wyandot County Republican. [volume] (Upper Sandusky, Ohio) 1869-1903, 1871-08-24

hI1OW dll dOOub CTtu
to Charlie, that no one knows, YOU know
why said Mabel, blushing at the reco lee
ton, he addressed me as Mrs. Caleph
and, when told him | wasn't married yet
the hOrrid thing said / must marry him
and right off, too, or we would both be
deadl And then he went on and talked
about all sorts of the strangest, most in.
comprthensibiet things, and read something
to me out of a dirty notebook he had
about groups and tie law, and distribu
tions, and literal identities, and l dom,
know what else. Wasn't it te-rible?"
"But he is gone-he returns no more,
said nursie, soothingly.
"Ah, but nc does return" said Mabel
disconsolately. "ue's coming here to
morrow night; he said he must come any
WY to get my answer. Think of i'll And
l iold him to come, then, because Charlie
will be here, you kncvt, and he can talk &c
him"
what name has he, my Mabelein = in
quired Christina.
"Oh, some German name; / remember
it reminded me somehow of your last
name. pursie-' Lapech.' There was &
'pech about it, and-oh, yes, know, il
was Pechal~-Dr. Pechal."
Christina started 40 that, for almost the
first time in her life, she pulled Mabel:
hair.
"AhP screamed Mabel; then, catching
sight of the old lady's face in the mirror
"why, nursie dear, what's the matter?"
"NC:hing, my Liebchen, nothing; only
that the name reminded old Christina of 8
time-long ago, before thou vast born, Ma
belein-when she, too, was engaged to bt
married. All, that was happy time 7
sighed nursie.
"Tell me- all about it, DEAR" said Mabel
persuasively; all matters of the heart were
TO her of paramount interest and import
ance.
"There is little to tell, Liebchen. He
was stout, handsome and brave; he wore
students cap, and fought with the
Schlager. He was wise, also;. he knew
more than all the professors. And he
loved his Christinchen; and to me he was
very dear, - said the old lady, simply.
"But why didn't you marry him? ?" de.
manded Mabel.
"Ah, that is a sad history, Mabelein
Thou kno y est we once were wealthy, and
had rank. But time came-we had lost
our for une-we were poor and unfortu-
nate. But he was brave; he said: l will
go, Christinchen, and see. l will make
fortune for us all And he went, but !
never after saw him, and think he died,
for believe not he would ever forget his
Christincheu."
Poor, dear old nursie," said the tender
hearted Mabel, with tears standing in her
sweet eyes. And was this before you
came to us?"
"Yes, Liebchen your father and mother
were then boarding at our house; and your
dear mother, who is now dead, liked me
and I her; so when you went away, she
took me to be nurse and to help her.
said: If he comes must leave YOU But
he never came, and am always here"
"Poor, dear, old nursie," thought Mabel,
again, an hour later, as she lay with her
cheek upon her hand, waiting for sleep.
And she never told me of it before
Well, some day perhaps he will come back
and marry her, and then she will be as
happy as-I shall be-"
Do pleasant dreams always go by con.
trariess
"Do you mean to say, sir" demanded
Charlie, who sat with MabePs little trem-
bling hand in his, "that you have evolved
and circumstances, of the death of every
human being?"
at is precisely that" replied DR.. Pc
chal, charmed at being SO well understood.
"Were the room not SO dark, sir, l would
ask you to lock over my little book. All
is explained there"
The doctor, calling late in the evening,
had come upon Mabel and Charlie Caleph
sitting together in the dusk; and, being a
somewhat abrupt gentleman, he had en-
tered upon his business at once, without
waiting even for candles.
"But how do you know your law is
true?" asked Mabel, defiantly.
"Is it not then logical?" said the doc.
tor. "The insurance companies have gone
so far as to establish the average age at
which death comes: if man die here al
sixty, somewhere must die boy of twelve,
that the balance may be preserved. Is il
probable that this balance should relate to
age alone? Is there not also the balance
ofone sex against the other, of light against
dark, OF nation against nation, of temper
ament against temperament? Not even
here can we draw the line; the farther we
search the more the conditions that arise
no trait, however subtle; no feature, how
ever insignihcant-but bears directly, how
ever lightly, upon mans destiny. What
could be more clear more inevitable
Charlie and Mabel were silent; strange
chill seemed creeping around their hearts
The doctors voice, all apparently remain
ing of him in the darkened room, sounded
solemn and mysterious as he gave
utterance to the thoughts which
he had been all his life revolving. Wholly
bound up in the contemplation of his aw
full theory, his words were not without al
impressiveness even more powerful thai
ordinary eloquence.
at is indeed strange" resumed he
"that mankind, continually prying afte
| the mysteries of science and the laws o
| life, should never have set themselves Il
learn the most important and yet th'
simplest law which tells them when the,
are to die, and who shall die with them
For no man dies alone. There is a mys
terious chain, formed of innumerable anG
invisible links, binding his life to that o
others, be their number more or less. 81
is one of group; and the breaking O
that one chain is the dissolution OF thel
common life"
"Can nothing hinder this law-if it b
law?' demanded Charlie.
doctor. "The only safety lies in NAL
rage, which constitutes new conditio,
of things-annulling the old. But it mus
be no ordinary marriage. To be efficaciou'
the most exacting conditions have to b
fulfilled. OF the many, It is only needfr
l should mention two: the husband an
wife must belong to the same group, an
their names must be COMPOSED of the sam
letters, differently arranged. And this,
added the doctor, "bears upon my erran
to night"
Mabel shuddered, and drew nearer t
Charlie, who passed his arm around he
waist DR.. Pechal proceeded:
"I have discovered, by the most exhau'
tive calculations, that before this hour tc
morrow my death, and that Of all m
group, is destined to take place. My ca
culations also showed that one at least c
the group must be resident of this cit.
l knew there were but three besides my
self: one, whom I was personally az
quainted with"-the doctor cleared h
throat" was not to be thought of, thoug
she once might have saved US all; of tn
.. two others remaining, one knew to be
woman, and, trusting she might be th
New Yorker, l came here to seek her, an
in the person of this young lady hay
| C1o l. 1or g