The Tiffin tribune. (Tiffin, Ohio) 1868-1887, 1876-11-09
John CamPbelI'S COnVer-
SatiOn.
[FRGM HARPER's BAZAR.1

1t was never quite clear TO Mr..
Campbell whether 1t was the sudden
bitter cold draught from the door, or
the sweet voice OF the woman, or the
surging in OF the crowd Of do-nOth-
ings, that caused him to set his cup
Of hot soda quickly down and face
about. Mr.. Campbell did not drop his
cap, for that would have indicated
precipitation, and John Campbell
never did but one precipitate thing
In his whole life long, and that was
some months later.
"This poor boy Is seriously injured, !"
said the lady to the druggist 81
fear his leg is broken. Will you take
him into your private Office and ex-
anime the hurt ? Perhaps can help
you dress it. l have had some ex-
perience."
While she spoke the lad was care
fully carried behind the glass doors st
the rear Of the shop, and the crowd,
| finding itself deprived OF the rich treat
Of gazing at a fellow-being's suffer-
ing, melted away with the wonderful
facility of dispersement that marks
the throng that never had any ade-
quate cause for collecting.
Then John Campbell and the
brown-eyed lady were left alone. She
; unconscious Of any presence but her
| own, her thoughts a thousand miles
away he calmny finished his inter-
rupted hot soda and watched his
companions face. At last he ventur-
ed, sympatheticRlly, "Does that un-
| fortunate little fellow belong 70 you,
madam and might be OF any SER
vice in helping you home with him ?n
For the first time she looked up at
him brightly, and said, "Oh, dear,
no, sir The child is some poor gam
IN, 1 suppose. He was knocked down
| just as came along; and as the men
Who picked him up seemed not to
know what to do with him, ] ventur-
ed to direct them here. II his leg is
| fractured, he will have to 20 to the
hospital and 1 should be glad to pay
| for q carriage, IL you would be kind
enough to find one."
Before Mr.. Campbell could reply,
the druggist came back, said the boy
had only badly sprained his ankle,
and begged the kind lady wOnld hold
his hand while the druggist bandaged
the leg for by this time the poor lit
tie fellow was crying nerVOusly, as
much from fear as from pain. She
rose st once to follow the man of po-
tions, while John Campbell followed
her, partly from an unacknowledged
thrill Of curiosity, partly from q
genuine desire to be OF service.
The lady knelt by the ehild's side,
soothing him to quietness in that
cooling dOve-like way peculiar to
women, whose strongest instincts are
toward motherhood. Then taking
the cloths and lotions from the apothe-
cary's hand, she quickly and gently
bound up the swooIen ankle, talking
softly to the boy ali the while. John
Campbell looked on wonderingly at
the deft performance, thinking that
| IL he had been the street Arab, instead
OF the heir to the great Campbell es-
tste, IL would be q strong sntidote to
| pain to be tended by those long slim
fingers that did their work so swiftly
and so well.
"Now 1 must CO." said the lady,
rising and shaking out the folds OF
her simple gown. "But I wish I
could see this boy on the way to the
hospital first He will get so much
better care there than he will at
home"
"I will take him there myself my
own carriage is at the door, and ean
do so without trouble" returned Mr..
Campbell, promptly, reused to q pitch
of benevolence he would have regard
ed as impossible two hours before.
"Tbank you, sir" responded the lit
tie woman smiling up into his face
with her besming brown eyes. "I
am sure you couldn't do q kinder act.
am sorry l cannot go with him my
self"
And the shadow of regret that had
crept into Mr.. Campbelps mind after
making his offer faded into nothing.
John Campbell wasn't bit mean.
He would give you money, and liber-
ally, too, for almost any object under
the sun but there's no denying he
was chary Of himself, his personal
satisfaction, hls individuality. He
was fastidiOus also almost to morbid
ness. While he would gladly have
paid for q dozen carriages, had they
been necessary 20 remove the injured
lad, to transport him in his own elRr.
ence required 8 degree OF self-sacrifice
that would have been Incompetent.
sible to the unknown woman he
wanted to please. Why he wanted
/ to please her he could not have told.
He had never seen her until an hour
before. He had hardly exchanged
twenty words with her, and those Of
the most ordinary kind. He did not
know her name, even her nationality,
though, with 8 newborn patriotism,
| he decided she must be his own coun-
| try-WOmRn. She was not young nor
cOnventionslly pretty, but there was
that in her face hs felt to be more
beautiful than beauty. He should
never see her again, yet he was not
only willing but anxious to do some
thing positively unpleasant for the
sake Of honestly earning that bright,
thankful smile.
As he drove Of With his charge he
said TO himself. "What fool I am 90
which might have been freely rem
dered into, "aow magnetic she is,U
Safely enscOnced before the fire In
the luxurious solitude Of his own IL