The anti-monopolist. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1874-1878, 1878-09-12
"WE MEET TO X
N Episode Which the Man Remembers
and the Woman Forgot.

Prom Harper's Weekly.
One wild clustering night not many
years ago a stage coach made a short de-
tour through one of the mountainous re-
gions of Pennsylvania, and stopped at the
house of a preacher. II was an old
brown house at the foot of a sterile rock,
seemingly as remote from civilization as
the heart of an Arabian desert. The Rev.
Pau Hume has already spent here, so far
as vitality went, the best years of his life.
He had been of late glad to find the old
rebellious longings, the fierce ambition,
even the fretting discomfort and talent
hope of the future, becoming more dim
and dull, and he began to believe, as the
years went by, he would be able to live
u those allotted to him horofably at
least, and in a measure resignedly. He
had given up to foolish fondness for put
ting fire and tervor in a long Sunday dis
course. He was quite content that some
OF his congregation should sleep quietly
through the sermon, and ruminate over
whatever feshly aggrevation or joy that
was upper-most in their minds. Prob
ably his spiritual companion, wei in the
degree suited to her capacity, was his
serving woman Hager-black, straight
featured, stoical and reticent, but given
to bursts of religious enthusiasm that il a
measure relieved the dull monotouy of
life they lived there alone together.
Hagar ought to have known her mas
ter better than to believe that he would
refuse succor to any helpless fellow
creature, and it was foolish Of her to
shorten the chain that barred the door
that night in March when the driver of
the coach begged that they would take
temporary care of a sick passenger. She
had been getting worse and worse, the
driver said, for the last ten miles, and
'seein' there was no hotel nor hospital,
nor anything handy,"he had made bold
to fetch her to the parsons house. Hagar
shook the crimson turban on her fine
Egyptian head, and declared it was not
the parsons business to risk his life with
pestilential fevers.
Even as she spoke, however, the par
son had Embossed the chain and gone out
Ia his scant gown and close cap to the
coach, and lifted the poor woman out in
his strong arms. Hagar followed him
and his burden up stairs, and. as the light
from her candle fell upon tangled curls
and braids, b,.s of ribbon. and a long
strip of em~brcslfTcd lace that hung from
the head OF tie sick woman, a gold chain
about her neca and other personal gew-
gaws that appealed TO the contempt of
Hagar, she muttered to herself that her
master had had quite enough of these
miserable fiummeries for the rest of his
natural life.
The lady's trunks had been bumped in
after her, and presently they had to be
pried open, for the lady's lips and eyes
were closed, and she could net tell Hagar
where the key lay 70 these fine treasures.
But Hagar went to work with a will, and,
before the preacher had sadled his gray
cob and started off on his five-miie
journey across the mountain for q doctor,
Hagar had put aside the ribbons and bits
OF travelling adornment for a long white
muslin robe, which struck the preachers
heart with a chill somehow. and made
him speed the pony on his way.
The doctor had some broken bones to
set, and told Mr.. Hume frankly that. so
tar as levers and disorders of that kind
went, that black womaa of his was worth
dozen such ordinary practitioners. and
that he had long counted upon her in ex-
tremities Of that sort; and. trotting over
to Mr.. Humes the next morning on his
way from the setting of broken bones,
the doctor c lied out to the psrson to
know If he were not night about the CAP
ability Of Hagar. The sick ladyis wrists
and ankles were bandaged up with COOL
ing herbs, and tho strength Of some heal