Litchfield enquirer., 1879-02-20

ised he. to abstain from that time forth. Now he had fallen again, her bright, beautiful dar- ling! Her husband soon fell asleep, but she lay awake the whole night crying and pray ing and yet the absorbing love she bore Ruth ven made her too cowardly to tell her husband the truth.
 Ruthven did not come down to breakfast the next morning His mother often lndulged him because he told her he had his books in bed, and that he could study better then than later in the day. Those hard Greek and Lat in lessons must be learned, she thought, which will by and by bring him so many prizes in college MT. Blinn attacked James at the ta- ble, before his mother and he neither confess ed or denied the charge, setting his teeth to- | gether as he used to do even when very small boy when he was punished for some of Ruthvens derelictions. James supposed that his mother knew no more of the occurrence of the previous evening than his father did, for he was not aware that she had ever seen his ! brilliant brother under the influence of liquor. For her sake he would guard the secret. Mrs. Blinn studied closely the strong, broad face, | bearing another's burden, not wisely but be- cause of a rash promise, and never in her life | did she love Jim so we'll. AS she was leaving the table, she patted him on the shoulder, and | then his large gray eyes were lovely. What would he not have given, big fellow as he
 
 | look at him as she did when she fondled Ruth | ven? Jim's nature was too broad, too full of a fixed purpose, for any petty jealousy to | abide with him. No one in those parts under stood him, save his tutor, frail, sorrowful clergyman whose broken health prevented him | from preaching but who took a few scholars l to pay for his daily bread. He loved James l and used to tell the lad that as his own life was failure because he could not take I, kol kof Zoo fhof h aholou would rise to the mark he had set for himself. He should not live to see it, and yet perhaps he might in better world look upon the | fruitage of the seed he had planted. ., James stayed in the large front kitchen un- | til Ruthven came down, who looked haggard enough Their mother was not in the room, so James spoke sternly to Ruthven.
 II made you rash promise yesterday that I would take care of you once more and screen you too, but I'll never de it again. You know I mean just what say. I bore all father said to me, for mothers sake. How can you do so? It will kill her if you fail her."
 Ruthven flushed angrily. 'You begin to preach Tn the morning of life, as MT. Hunt says, I'll take care of myself with mother"
 James turned on his heel to go away, when , Ruthuen, not lost to all sense of gratitude, said ''Thank you all the same for helping fellow out of bad scrape."
 Ruthven worked hard at his lessons for some weeks, keeping regular hours, and his mother was happy again. He passed his eX- animation and entered college where his par ents heard good reports of him. Jim continu- cd his mathematical lessons under MT. Hunt. He was still very awkward and, what would be called by casual observer, homely lad. He hoped that his father and mother would ! turn now to him, as their darling Ruthven was gone, but his mother was at first almost incon- solable, and then spent all her spare time in writing to Ruthven. His father had only been partially reconciled to Jim since the night he came home, as he supposed. intoxicated.
 "None of the Blinns," he said, ''had ever | lived or died drunkards. The boys nature | was hard Why didn't he confess and be for given? He's never been drunk since, has he, | Mabel?"
 Her conscience smote her sore, as she beg ged her husband to forgive Jim. "A first of- fense, dear husband. Pm sure he'll never do so again. Many young men fall once and new | CT debase themselves again."
 "Yes, know ; but don't you be telling Jim | no such thing. He frets me to death about 1 the work. He's more arkard than Tom Clark's lout of a son who can't learn to read. He'll get ,eat, all straight one day and by the next II you spen $ -i-,il .as-
 ''That boy is an idiot and MT. Hunt, you know, assures us that Jim is learning wall of course we mustn't expect so much from him as l from Ruthven, but he has good sense for com mon things"
 ''He may have for uncommon things but l I'll be churned up if he has any for common ones. He'll never make farmer. What can we do? If Ruthven comes into the barn-yard he picks his way like fine lady crossing a brook on the stones and pulls out his hand | kerchief all scented up. After James is there | for a while he can't tell heads from tails. He's got the new fence all chalked up with outland- ish figures he calls ''plain jematry." I told him if he called that darned mess plaln, what must the hard problems be; and he larfed right out, saying he'd know more about them before he died if he could. Parser Hunt came to see me this morning and begged me to send Jim to polyglot school where he'd be turned into a engineer double-quick civil engineer, he 1 said, which is a good thing, for most of those fellows are very uncivil." .-. | Polytechnic you mean. wish you would send him. He ought to have some advantag- | es" ..sa.
 "What am to do, with no boy to help mel We would have been just as we'll off if we had had girls, Mabel"
 ''You have been prospered lately and you can afford to hire man. Do let Jim go."
 ''Ill thind of it. When I die, what will become nf Rodney ?'
 "Pray do not thlnk of that now. Come. let me finish your letter to Ruthven" l It was settled that Jim should go to the Polytechnic; and Mabel was SO busy getting him ready, she thought of and mourned for
 Ruthven less. When her husband came back | he brought her letter which he had just talk
 en from the office, telling her that Git was from a college professor and of course he couldn't read his writin'." She looked at the cramped 1 handwriting and then turned deadly pale. It
 was a warning that if Ruthven did not stop certain practices he would be dismissed. Her
 husband, alarmed at his wife's face, asked l Whats the boy been doin'2" P. l She could truthfully answer that she did not
 know, for heletter did not specify the offense | She said that Ruthven had broken some of the rules and the faculty complained.
 1 Her heart told her what the trouble was l She shut herself up in her room and wrote the
 most appealing letter, pouring out her whole 1 soul to her son, begging him by the love she bore him to abstain. In a few days she re- ceived this reply.
 1 DARLING LITTLE MOTHER I know you
 love me better than all the world, and love l you too. pll be the best boy yet you ever
 heard of and here is my picture to show you
 how look in my students gown. Too busy l for more now. Deuced hard Greek lesson to
 learn. Good bye. Your loving.
 This letter consoled her and she busted her.
 self with home duties and in reading aloud to her husband. She had accustomed him to thls | practice ever since she married him, and it
 was a real pleasure to them both. Mabel
 had way of settin' out new-fangled words so
 as they was plainer nor nothin'," he said
 James wrote home regularly, telling little
 about himself but that he was we'll and busy.
 Just before vacation, MT, Hunt paid him a
 visit, and came back with the tidings that he
 was at the head of his division and would grad
 uate high if nothing happened. MT. Blinn
 was delighted, and when he saw that Mabel
 was astenished beyond measure and then
 greatly pleased, lis enthusiasm broke out
 Perhaps he'll build some big bridges yet,
 if he couldn't yoke up. Remember the time
 told you about, Mabel, when found him a
 tryin' to put the bows of the yoke over the OK ems horns, and was so mad because they wouldn't go under" ... ...--0 | CHAPTER ". 4. l Every thing done now at Redney was in