Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1882-01-14
JACOB PLINIs JOURNEY.

have been, neither he nor anyone eise Gun"
have expla ned bEt SO 1T was. On the
dav that he first went to school, his any,
frightened face marked him as tar game
for the rougher and stronger boys, and they
subjected him to all those exquisite rehne-
ments OF torture which boys seem to get by
direct inspiration of the devil. There was
no form OF their bullying meanness or the
cowardice of their brutal strength which
he did not experience. He was born under
a fading or falling star-the inheritor OF
some anxious or unhappy mood OF his
parents, which gave Its fast color to the
threads out of which his innocent beng
was woven.
Even the good people of the neighbor
hood, never accustomed TO look below the
externals of appearance and manner, saw In
his shrinking face and awkward motions
only the signs of a cripgng, ablect soul.
"You'll be no more OF a man than Jake
Flint " was the reproach which many
farmer addressed to his dilatory boy and
thus the parents, one and all, came to re-
peat the sins of the children.
If, therefore, at school and before
folks, Jacobs position was always uncom-
Portable and depressing, it was little more
cheering at home. His parents, as all the
neighbors believed, had been unhappily
married, and, though the mother died in
his early childhood, his father remained
moody, unsocial man, who rarely left his
farm except on the lst of April every year,
when he went to the county town for the
purpose of paying the interest upon mort
gage. The farm lay in a hollow between
two hills, separated from the road by
thick wood, and the chimneys of the lonely
old house looked in vain for neighbor-
smoke when they began to grow warm OF
morning.
Beyond the barn and under the northern
hill there was log tenant house, in which
dwelt a negro couple, who, in the course of
years had become fixtures on the place and
almost partners in it. Harry, the man,
was the medium by which Samuel Flint
kept up his necessary intercourse with the
world beyond the valley he took the
horses to the blacksmith, the grain to the
mill, the turkeys to market, and through
his hands passed all the incomings and out
goipgs OF the farm, except the annual
interest on the mortgage. Sally, his wife,
took care of the household, which, indeed,
was light and comfortable task, since the
table was well supplied for her own sake,
and there was no sharp eye to crltlclse her
sweeping, busting, and bed. making The
place had forlorn, tumble-down aspect,
quite in keeping with its lonely situation !;
but perhaps this very circumstance fiat
tered the mood of its silent, melancholy
owner and his unhappy son.
There was only one person with whom
Jacob felt completely at ease-Mrs Ann
Pardon, the wife of neigboring farmer !;
and, for her sister, Becky Morton, he felt
something which might have developed
into love. But Becky fouted him like the
rest, Knocked at the poverty of his fathers
farm, saying it was covered with as much
as it would bear, and at merry meeting
of lads and lasses said she would dance
with Jacob after he came back from his
Journey" That was the cruellist sting of
all to his sensitive nature.
1t was a very little thing, after all, which
annoyed him, but the mention of it always
touched a sore nerve of his nature. a
dozen years before, when boy at school,
he had made temporary friendship with
another boy of his age, and had one day
said to the latter, In the warmth of his
generous confidence 'sWhen l am little
older, 1 shall make great journey, and
come back rich, and buy Whitney's place."
Now, Whitney's place, with its stately
old brick mansion, It's avenue of silver frs,
and its two hundred acres of clean, warm
lying land, was the finest, the most aristo-
cratic property in all the neighborhood,
and the boy friend could not resist the
temptation OF repeating Jacobs grand de-
sign, for the endless amusement of the
school. The betrayal hurt Jacob more
keenly than the ndicule. 1t left a
wound that never ceased to rankle;
yet, with the inconeeivable perversity OF
unthinking natures, precisely this joke
las the people supposed it to bel had
been perpetuated, until Jake Flint's
Journey" was a synonym for an absurd or
extravagant expectation. Perhaps no one
imagined how much pain he was keeping
alive; for almost any other man than
Jacob would have joined in the laugh
against himself, and thus good naturally
buried the joke in time. 8 He's used to
that, the people SAID, like Becky Morton,
and they really supposed there was nothing
unkind in the remark.
After Jacob had pas sed the thickets and
entered the lonely hollow in which his
fathers house lay, his pace became slower
and slower He looked at the shabby old
building, just touched by the moonlight
behind the swaying shadows of the weep
ing-willow, stopped, looked again, and
finally seated himself on stump beside the
path.
''If 1 knew what to do /" he said to him
self, rocking backwards and forwards, with
his hands clasped over his knees-"if
knew what to do p
The spiritual tension of the evening
reached its climax he could bear no more.
With strong bodily shudder his tears
burst forth, and the passion of his weep
ing filed him from head to foot. How long
he wept he knew not it seemed as if the
hot fountains would never run dry. Sud-
denly and startliDgly hand fell upon his
shoulder.
Boy, what does this mean 2?
1t was his father who stood before him.
Jacob looked up like some shy animal
brought to bay, his eyes full of feeling
mixed of ferceness and terror, but he said
nothing,
His father seated himself on one of the
roots of the old stump, laid one hand upon
Jacobs knee, and said with an unusual
gentleness of manner, sd ike to know
what it is that troubles you so much"
After pause, Jacob suddenly burst
forth with '' Is there any reason why
should tell you? Do you care any more
for me than the rest of em:"
81 didn't know as you wanted me to
care for you particularly" said the father,
deprecatingly. Il always thought you
had friends OF your own sge."
Friends? devils !" exclaimed Jacob.
"Oh, what have l done-whst is there
SO dreadful about me that should always
be laughed at, and despised, and trampled
upon You are great deal older than
am, father what do you see in me? Tell
me what it is, and how TO get over it y
The eyes of the two men met Jacob saw
his fathers face grow pale in the moonlight.
while he pressed his handinvoluntarilyu pon
his heart, as If struggling with some physi-
cal pain. At last he spoke, but his words
were strange and incoherent.
81 couldn't sleep" he said, got up
again and came out o doors. The white
OK had broken down the fence at the cor