The Columbian. [volume] (Bloomsburg, Pa.) 1866-1910, 1882-07-21
SELECT STORY.
FELIX DEANS ADVENTUR E.

am off" said Mr.. Charles Bevan, Jr.,
putting on his overcoat. dts one of
our free and-easy' nights; and would
mt miss a meeting of the jolly
Savages, no, not for the gold metal in
materia medica. If you're coming with
me, Dean. put on your traps, and let's
be off"
"No, Charley; not tonight. / must
really get to work and do some reading.
Time flies; and unless / make begin
ming, | shan't even have fight for it !"
sect to work! Nonsense! Lets enjoy
life little. You've got the luck to be
here in London, instead of our native
Slowcester, 80 you'd better make the
worst of it. Come with me to the Saw
ages to night, and get to work to NOR
row refreshed aud inspirited.'
"Yes; with splitting headache. No;
l have spoken. have said work, and
work l mean. You Savages must get
on without me this time. I've been
looking at dates, and feel positively
frightened. l find I've only got little
over month to prepare for examina
tion How l shall pull through l don't
know; but it is clear that I must make
start and stick at it. Don't press me
there's good fellow, but leave me
to myself"
Charles Bevan could see that his
friend Felix Dean was in earnest He
sighed, put on his hat and prepared to
90 forth unattended by his companion.
"If you won't, you wont, though l
don't see why on earth you shouldn't
However, here's luck to you over your
musty problems. l will see that your
health is proposed in neat speech by
yours truly, and we'll drink success to
virtue and industry. Ia, ia"
Left to himself, Felix Dean took out
a printed list and began to study it at
tentively AS he did so his open, frank,
good humored young face became
clouded 81 shall never do it," he said
to himself. G've put it off till it's too
late, and l shall have to so home now
like bad penny. What will the Gov
error say!"
The young fellow had certainly good
reasons for looking and feeling gloomy
The time fixed for the Competitive
Civil Service Examination, Control
Department, was drawing appallngly
near, and he had scarcely opened a
book to qualify himself for the coming
contest. 1t was the old, old story OF
the country lad with insufficient
strength of purpose to resist the allure
ments of the town. Two months be,
fore Felix Dean had come up to Lon
don from his native city, Slowcester,
full of buo, ant hope and noble resolves
lie was to join his early friend and
llow-townsman, Charles Bevan, medi
cal student at St. Bartholomew in his
chambers, and worked on steadily, with
a view to emerging first in the list OF
candidates. How had he carried oul
his resolutiousg By attending athletic
sport meetings at Lille Bridge and
Lords; by frtquenting theatres; by
being boon companion at free-and
easies, with good song invariabl,
ready; by being guilty of the thousand
and one follies which young men, who
always have been and always will be
young men, commit daily without being
in many instances apparently much the
worse for them, Only Felix Dean had
let time slip by, and gone little bit toe
far.
| Discouraged, but determined to max,
some attempt at beginning, he
brought out his Euclid and sat down il
the cosy sitting room to read. But the
task was not an easy one. Long dlsus(
made it difficult for him to concentrate
his attention to his work. Words ant
facts got somehow to be mixed. Tn,
letter A at the end of diagram refus
ed at any prce to correspond to b; ant
G fatty denied any correlation with ID
&c d." said Felix, with Just the
ghost of smile on his handsome fac,
&C ID; yes, that is exactly how fee
very see -dy indeed. | don't know
that it's much use my trying to do any
thing to night" He went on vainl,
plodding for twenty minutes or 80, bu
at last threw the book away from hin
| III uinSustS thu ~ ihhy pc oui iiioS'
that man capable of such barbarou
witticisms must have been truly at a low
ebb. w'd better go ont and take ;
turn in the fresh air." he thought
"That may brighten me bit Ill g
to bed early, too, and see what can b.
done to morrow. 1t shan't be for wan
of trying anyway
His inclinations as provincial, win
had not yet learned to despise the at
fractions of lanes with trees-eve
though barred by winters hand-an,
the soft stiffness of unfrequented path,
led him to walk onward briskly till h
came long past Haverstock Hill, up tn
steep road which takes one to HamI
stead, aud which heats ohnibus horse
aud shortens the wind of the obese.
had been good trudge from the neigl
bOrhood of the Strand; but Felix Deai
a stalwart, stout-limbed pedestrian, Il
triumphant champion of many a mi
race, felt as fresh as at starting. III
road was not exactly the place of a
ventures; but adventures and Eel