Perrysburg journal. (Perrysburg, Wood Co., O. [Ohio]) 186?-1965, 1880-11-19

" You are already an hour late," replied
the woman Of science, in her usual business
like voice. "Your substitute will be sleepy
and restless that affects the patient. Go
back to your work as fast ~ you can. Ask
me no more foolish questions
She drew her veil; there was an unprOfes-
siOnal moisture on her long, feminine
lashes. She held ont her hearty hand-gTasp
to him, touched the tackey, and galloped
away.
"She Is good woman,v said Zerviaho
half aloud, looking down az his cold fingers
"She touched me, and she knewl Lord,
I should like to have you bless herW
lie looked after her. She sat her horse
finely; her gray veil driited in the hot wind.
His sensitive color came. lie watched her
as II he had known that he should never
see her again on earth.
A ruined character may be as callOus ~ a
paralyled limb. A ruined and repentant
one is in itself an independent system Of sem
| sitive and tortured nerves.
| Zerviah Hope returned to his work,
shrinking under the foreknowledge Of his
| fate. He felt as IN he knew what kind Of
| people would remind him that they had be-
come acquainted with his history, and what
/ ways they would select to do IL.
lie was not taken by surprise when men
| who had lifted their hats to the popular
nurse last week, pas sed him on the street to-
| day with a cold nod or curious stare. When
| women who had reveTenced the selfosacritice
and gentlcncss of his life as only women do
/ or can reverence the quality of tenderness in
a man, shrank from him as ifhe were sOme-
| thing infectious, like the pague-he knew
| it was just, though he felt it hard.
His patients heard OF what had happened,
| sometimes, and indicated feeling of recOil.
| That was the worst. One said:
| al am sorry to hear you are not the man
/ we thought YOU" and died in his arms that
night.
| Zerviah remembered that these things
| must be. He reasoned with himself. He
| went into his attic, and prayed it all over.
| lie said.
Lord, cant expect to be treated as IL I'd
| never been in prison. Pm sorry | mind it
so. Perhaps I'd ought not to. I'll try not
| to care too much"
| More than once he was sure OF being fol-
! lowed again, suspiciOusly or cuTiously. 1t
| occurred to him at last that this was most
| likely to happen on pay days. That puzzled
| him. But when he turned, 1t was usually
/ some idler. and the fellow shrank and took
/ to his heels a. il the nurse had the fever.
In point of fact, even in that death strick-
| en- town, to be alive was to be a. able to gos-
| sip as well people, and drumor, wearied Of the
monotonous fever symptom, found a divert
/ ing zeSt in this shattered reputation.
! ZeTyiah Hope was very much talked about
| in Calhoun; so much, that the Relief Com
mittee heard, questioned. and experienced
/ official anxiety. 1t seemed mistake to lose
| so valuable a man. II seemed a severity to
/ disturb 50 noble career. Yet who knew
what sinister cOuntenance the murderer
/ might be capable Of shielding beneath his
mask Of pity! The official mind was per-
/ picked. Was it humane to trust the lives of
/ our perishing citizens to the ministratiOns of
I a felOn who had so skilfully deceived the
most intelligent guardians of the public
veal? There was, in particular, chairman
/ OF a subcommittee ton the water supply
| who was burdened with uneaSiness.
| Its clear enough what brought him TO
! Calhoun" said this man. "What do you
suppose the fellow does with his five dollars
I a day."
| promptly divided into Sub Vigilance, and
/ to the Stlb-Visilance Committee Zerviah
/ Hopes case was referred. The result was,
| that he was followed on payday.
one saturday night, just rs the red-hot
sun was going down, the subcommittee re-
turned to the Re ief Office in state of high
official excitement, and reported to the chief
as follows:
"We've done it. We've got him. We've
found out what the fellow does with his
money. He puts it"
"Well:'' for the subcommittee hesitated.
"Into the relief contribution-bOXes on the
corners Of the street."
What ,"
every dollar. We stood and watched
/ him count it out-his weeks wages. Every
mortal cent that Yankees turned over to the
! fund for the sufferers. He never kept back
red. He poured it all in"
"FollOw him next week. Report again."
They followed, and reported still again.
| They consulted, and accepted the astOund
I ing truth. The murderer, the convict, the
miserable, the mystery, Zerviah HOpe-YOi-
unteer nurse, poor, friendless, discharged
I from Sing Sing, was proved 20 have surren-
dered to the public charities, of Calhoun.
| every dollar which he haa earned in the
/ service Of her sick aud dying.
The Committee on the Water supply. and
J the Sub-YigIlance Committee stood, much
/ depressed, before their superior officer. He,
| being just man, flushed red with a noble
rage.
| where is he? Where is Zerviah Hope:
! The man should be sent for. He should
| receive the thanks OF the committee. He
should receive the acknowledgements Of the
city. And we've set on him like detectives.
l hunted him down. ZOunds, The city is
[ disgraced. Find him for me-"
we have already done our BEST replied
I the subcommittee, sadly. We have
/ searched for the man. He can not be
/ found"
"Where is the woman-doetor: persisted
I the excited chief ''She recommended the
fellow. she'd be apt to know. Can't some
I of YOU ind herr"
| At this moment young DIR. Frank looked
[ ha=garJily into the Relief Office
Il am taking her cases." he said. She
/ is down with the fever"
1t was the morning after his last pay-d day
sunday morning, the fiTst in October;
I dry, deadly, giitJering day. ZeTyiah had
I been to MS attic 10 lest and battle; he had
I been there some hours since sunrise, IN the
/ old place by the win 1Ow, and watched the
I red sun kiGdle, and watched the deal-caTts
I sink away INTO the color, and kneeled and
I prayed for frost. Now. being srTengthed IN
mind and spirit, he WAS descending To his sab
| baths work, when message met him At the
, door. The messenger was negro boy. who
( thrust slip OF paper into his hand, and,
. seeming tn be seized with supeTstitiOu>
fright, ran rapidly up the street and disap-
peared.
The message was a triumphal result OF the
education OF the freedmen's evening school,
and succinetly said;
1--WE Gut IT. Nobuddy Wunt Nuss me.
Surr no DOcter nEther.
Fps. JOOpiter ghe Darn hee sed he'd ker-
y This don't >erIIl-e you'd KUN. SCTP-"
The sun went down that night as red IS II
had risen. There were no clouds. There
was no wind There wsS no frost. The hot
dust curdied in the shadow that coilsd be-
meath the stark palmetto. That palmetto
always looked like 1 corpse, though there
OF Scip's howell for air, and looked Al TIE
thing. II seemed ike something that ought
TO oe buried. There were no other trees.
The everglades were miles away. The sand
and the scaut- starved grass stretched AL
around. SciD's hut stood quite by ITSELF No
week. or even more. Zeryiah looked from
the door Of the hut 10 the little
city. The red light lay between
him and II, like 4 great pool. He
felt less lonely 10 see the town, and the smoke
now and then from chimneys. He
thought hOE many people loved and cared
for one another in the suffering place. He
thou mt how much love and care suffering
SsNe liTth 10. IN human hearts He begau
totuInk liltle Of his own suffering; then
Seip called him, sObbing wretchedlV- Scip
Was veFy sick. Hope had sent for DR.. Dare.
She had not come Scip Was too sick 10 bs
left The nurse found his duty with the ne
Ern- Scip Was growing worse.
Zeryiah thought Of these things. He had
never felt 80 lonely befsre- II seemed hard
, Place for man 10 die in. Poor Scip,
ZeEviAh clzsped his thin hands and looked
up Al the purple sky.
} Lord" he said. ''iI Is nv duty. came
south to do NV duty. Because he told Of
me, had l ought 10 turn against him. II i
lonesome place; he's gOt il hard, but IN
stand by him Lord .ff-his MOrn
n ~ a = =.