The Andrew County Republican. [volume] (Savannah, Mo.) 1871-1876, 1875-09-17

the hustle of departure. Why did :;
blonde Young man hasten alongthe plat
form with Il bouquet of rare eXoticS for
the daughtcr?: Why did she turn a
shade paler and cling to hi, arm, while
the stout lady applied Il lace pocket
handkerchief to her own eyes and evcn
papa, Il stiff old gentleman with Il mill
tary bearing, looked grave? John
Longmire observed these things from
his corner with vague curiosity. He
would like to know more about this Girl
| who understood him. even though social
| position Srndcrcd them by an impa>Sa-
bic abyss. The blonde MAJ was her ac-
ccpted lover, evidently, and the separa-
ton would be Il painful II Well!
Nobody watched the train bear John
Lonmmirc away with Il smile or a tear.
He was Il stranger among strangers and
his departure made no difference to Il
| soul Oh this whole American continent.
Among the thron@ III the depot he
had noticed two persons in convcrSa-
ton; one Il tail thin man, with nervous
energy betrayed in every motion, and
the other an oiiyc-tin@cd Chinaman, who
blinked impa>sively at the throng. The
tall thin man now entered the palace
car, his late companion having sought
humber accommodation.
"CuriouS fellerS. them Chinese" he
said, with Il nod and 4 Shrcwd smile at
John, Is if it was the most natural con-
%cluSion possible that any II should be
Interested in his own reflections.
The train moved away; night settled
down, folding the hills in gray ~ohScurity,
and hcu2,> seemed to fly past in groups
o. dark shadow liz the phantom> of
dreams. To the villages and farms by
the way-Sidc this train was nothing, Il
mcrr passing flash of intelligence from
the rrcat world; but even this one pal
ace-ca.' of which We write represented
many Il. tirrcnt spheres of individuality
gathered in Il gildrd cage, and meeting
for the first time. Here was John Long
mire, watching the trees and clouds
minglr hryolrd the window-panc, who
had stakcd his alI on this final step.
When he had tir- / taken the burden of
life on his broad voUn@ shoulders, his
whole future apparently lay within the
limits Of the snitrd Kingdom. IN his
capacity of civil engineer he would lay
railroads in Wales. perhaps dwell
amidst the rugged wildncSa >rfthc Scotch
coast, and might even be sen I Il tothc
East. Presto. \ change of ministry
di>handed the corps, and JohN Long
mire was left with ample leisure on his
and goo in his pocket to gaze
westward for future brcad-winn,n no.
The prospect had excited the same N /
nation which was now again stirringin
veins, ~ he looked out of the car
window at the gathering night. Fame,
power, were easily rcapcd in the
New World; he had gathered all the
fables of rumor into his cruciblc.
Two years of Encouragement and fruit
less cXcrtion had not quite melted the
gold to droSS yet with him. Fugitive
the crowdimg human race that he
WAS, the cities of the Atlantic border
had no space for him either; all COM
mcrcial posts We're filled; he needed
political Influence to obtain Il lucrative
position. and then arailroad
became bankrupt. He had seen on
every side mel growing old in the tread
mill, clinging with haggard anxiety TO
the certainty without which they
perish.
The tall thin individual, Ira IIacklcy
by name, would fam plumb the English
reserve in our hero. His was the gar
which wear the speaker to a
finer edge of nerve and ticShlcsS muscle,
in keeping with small eyes, restless and
penetrating, surrounded with a net
work of fine wrinkles, hair already cray
at the temples, and eager ~gcSticulation
of long bomy tingrr>-a garrulity never
to be c]OnfOundcd with the measured ut
~tcrancc and interminablc discourse Of
the stout, urbane conycrsationalist. He
had not ~iourneyed 4 hundred miles be
fore he had sketched his own misfor-
tunes in jerky sentences to this quiet
listener, and with great apparent SING
tir0id. All his life he had toilcd to gain
proprictorship of L cotton mill in his
native town, and just when he had at
tainedthis position the dam had burst,
running him in Il swift rush of dc>truc-
ton.