Morning journal and courier., 1880-07-16
A Tale by Mark Twain.

The new Atlantic contains the tale of Ed
 ward Mills and George Benton by Mark
 Twain, which is as clever satire on the sen
 timentality over crime as that sort of gush
 has ever received. Edward Mills minded from boyhood; George Benton never did. Edward prospered. George always had to be helped. They had the same adopted parents, who left all the property to George because
 Edward could take care of himself. So it went in all things; even the girl that Edward
 was engaged to dropped him, as it was her
 duty to save George. Hard times threw Ed ward out of regular work, and he relapsed to common labor while; but George became
 f1ourishing drunkard. We give the last part
 of the story, leaving it to readers of the At.
 lantic to get the full enjoyment of the whole =
 A grand temperance revival was got up, and after some rousing speeches had been
 made, the chairman said, impressively, ''We are now about to call for singers; and think there is a spectacle in store for you which not many in this house will be able to view with dry eyes" The1e was an eloquent pause, and then George Benton, escorted by red-sashed detachment of the Ladies of the Refuge stepped forward upon the platform and signed the pledge. The air was rent
 with applause, and everybody cried for joy. Everybody rung the hand of the new convert when the meeting was over his salary was enlarged next day; he was the talk of the town, and it's hero. An account of it was published
 George Benton fell, regularly, every three months, but was faithfully rescued and wrought with every time, and good situa- tions were found for him. Finally, he was
 taken around the country featuring, a
 formed drunkard, and he had great houses and did an immense amount of good
 He was so popular at home, and so trusted during his sober intervals-that he was en-
 abled to use the name of principal citizen,
 To, OF of ba ho
 mighty pressure was brought to bear to save
 him from the consequences of his forgery,
 and it was partially successful-he was ''sent up' for only two years. When, at the end of year, the tireless efforts of the benevo- lent were crowned with success, and he emerg-
 ed from the penitentiary with pardon in his pocket the Prisoners Friend society met him | at the door with situation and comforta- ble salary, and all the other benevolent peo- ple came forward and gave him advice, en- couragement and help. Edward Mills had once applied to the Prisoners Friend society for a situation, when in dire need but the question, ''Have you been prisoner ?" made brief work of his case
 While all these thinns were going on, Ed 1 ward Mills had been quietly making head against diversity. He was still poor, but was in receipt of steady and sufficient salary, thet respecr ed and trusted cashier of bank. George Benton never came near him, and was never heard to inquire about him. George ! got to indulging in long absences from the l town; there were ill reports about him, but | nothing definite.
 One winters night some masked burglars forced their way into the bank, and found Edward Mills there alone. They commanded him to reveal the combination, 3 so that they could get into the safe He refused. They | threatened his life. He said his employers ! trusted him, and he could not be traitor to ! that trust. He could die, if he must, but hal haI hax | not yield up the combination" The bur glars killed him.
 The detectives hunted down the criminals i; | the chief one proved to be George Benton A wide sympathy was felt for the widow and orphans of the dead
 dead man, and all the newspapers in the land | begged that all the banks in the land would
 testify their appreciation of the fidelity and | heroism of the murdered cashier by coming l forward with a generous contribution of mon l ey in aid of his family, now bereft of sup port. The result was mass of solid cash, amounting to upwards of $5O0-an average | of nearly three eighths of centfor each bank | in the Union. The cashiers own bank testi- | fled it's gratitude by endea~oring to show | (but humiliatingly failed in it) that the peer | less servants accounts were not square, and l that he himself had knocked his brains out | with bludneon to escape detection and pun 1 ishment.
 George Benton was arraigned for trial.
 Then everybody seemed to forget the widow | and orphans in their soicitude for poor | George. Everything that money and influ- ence could do was done to save him, but it all failed; he was sentenced to death. Straightway the Governor was besieged with petitions for commutation or pardon they
 were brought by fearful young girls; by sor-
 rowful old maids; by deputations of pathetic widows by shoals of impressive orphans.
 But no, the Governor-for once-would not yield
 Now, George Benton experienced religion. The glad news flew all around. From that time forth his cell was always full of girls and
 women and fresh flowers all the day long
 there was praying, and hymn-singing and
 thanksgiving, and homihes, and tears, with | never an interruption, except occasional 1 fve-minute intermission for refreshments This sort of thing continued up to thevery gallows, and George Benton went proudly home, in the black cap, before a wailing au- dience of the sweetest and best that the re- 1 zion could produce His grave and fresh l flowers on it every day, for 8 while and the the head-gtone bore these words, under 9