Little Falls transcript. [volume] (Little Falls, Morrison County, Minn.) 1876-1894, 1883-08-24
THE ROMANCE OF PUMP COURT.

TIoNs.
''Ralph Oldcastle is OVERRIDING it. He'll break
down." one barrlster remarked to another, as
the tall, gaunt form of well-known @. c.
passed out of the Temple s'He works all day
and writes al night, and no man can stand that
sort OF thing very long He looks positively i'll
to- day"
''No wonder. Haven't known him to take q
holiday for fifteen years; if he don't take care
he'll cave suddenly, It's a mistake for man
to pursue two professions when he can live
comfortably by either;" and the speaker sighed
regretfully. besides, Oldcastle is rich man,
he has no need to work at all, and, as matter
OF course. evary good thing falls in his way. I
hear he's retained in the great Clifton swind-
ling case"
eyes, he's certainly lucky: but he's uncom-
monty sharp, TOO. However, Judging by his
appearance to-day, he won't last long-hes
breaking fast-fast," and the speakers, who
had been standing under the Temple gateway
from a heavy shower, nodded coInplacently
and went thec several ways; the removal of
even one successful man from among them
would give each a chance of filing his place.
Ralph Oldcastle meantime walked hurredly
cisyward, unn,indful Of the drenching rain.
At the top Of Ludgate hill he wheeled around
suddenly and walked back again. tall man,
round shouldered and gaunt, with thin,
straggly gray hair and bright deep-set eyes;
keen, honest, repe]lant man, with a hard
mouth, that neyer smiled He was intensely
respectable anC respected, but he had few
friends and fewer acquaintance, aud no anna
Bile weaknesses. He was charitable, never be-
hind in subscribing to legitimate "relief'
funds never refusing donation when de-
mauded in due and proper form, but no one
ever saw him buy penny flower in the street,
or a ''ffth-aditiOn special' of an evening
paper He never went hons encountered with
useless ''notcns'' or ''novelties.'
Stock brokers and bankers migh purchase
dancing dolls and terra Gotta 1nonstrosites,
live mice amt patent purses, as every one knows
they do, else why should the vendors Of snch
wares multiply ana flourish outside the stock
exchange and the bank. Ralph Oldcastle
never even cast d passing glance at such
trumpery, nor was he over s,,nn with Il bass
basket conta ming fish Or fruit, or a fern in a
pot He mover thought Of such things, never
carried loose pennies IN his oYercoat pocket for
emergencies, never uv5rpaid cabby-in
short, ho had 10 visible weaknesses at all. His
inner life was as hard, cold and unsylnpa-
thotlc as Ha outer.
He had chambers in Pump court, close to
where ga white store flashes over Goldsmitn's
ashc5'a s;pn" white no longer, but snlirchol
aud stained with the CRIME of the clty-but the
lawyer 4" w Ave It q passing glance. Had
you montU:'eI The name he would possibly
have turned to the Law List 10 see WO Oliver
Go'd5u1i'n wa
Is.turuiH from his hurried, aimless walk up
And dow Feet street., Ralph Ollcust,e entered
his sitln-, toin ana rang bell. 1t was an
swered by ,G'ii, Il slim, dark eyed, obscquious
youth, whose history was romance. Born in
wee, crauleN md uurtured i'll iniquity, edu-
catod among sang of thieves be miracuously
escaped Ng either u house-breaker
or convict. olara~'le picked him up
one Gay (whtn his hf art was softeD, fed
him, clvt9.r HIM, took Nun .nto bis serv-
ice, exp=cto, ,I~'hins in re'uro, and WA paid
by the wa m; y, gratitude and e~teom. + iward
Little could Not owe his master, but he nearly
worshlpel him. He had served HIM faithfully
for sever, years, ala would serve him TO his
lifo's end The Lawyer smiled srmiy He did
not beli9ve IN gratitude; and some day when
1t suited MIN, Little would turn round and
rend him But h. cannot hurt me-" he said
to himself, with lis hard, dry laugh. ''No Que
can do tina. LOW. I've ,ivun Little nothing but
the bread he las ea:na,l I expac: nothing in
return." The 1ar- -eyol clerk looked at his
master a:tennye!y, and waited his orders IN
silence. ~ 4hajl De occupied al the after
nGoA. Edward; 10 lot allow me to be disturbed
on any pretelhY Iv'atever,n he said, shortly,
aud Edward withdrew puzzled, but silent II
never answered lis master; no one did
Left alone the lawyer sat at his writing table
and took q lrt,5r firm his pocket After a few
moments Les!at!''n he read it, Reluctantly, IS
If it was thing lie Was constrained to do in
spite Of himself; 'hcn he slnoothed it out care
fully on his table, and selecting a key from one
OF the drawers, unlocked the bureau, and from
a secret receptacle drew forth packet of
letters and laid them beside that other on the
table-stil man acting III spite OF himself.
His face was horribly pale his eyes flashed and
sparkled in then sunken sockets, and his
hauds slight and " hitc with we'll -tended nails,
quivered nerYouaty. One by one he read the
letters overland there were many Of them
once or twice he laughed savagely at some ex-
preston; and when no hal got through them
he pushed them aside with a scowl. ''Twenty
years have ! waited for this-lived for it,
worked for it, hoped for it! knew it would
come. and it has" he said, aloud; snow, to
make the most Of it.
For long time Ralph Oldcastle sat silent,
regarding the correspondence before him. On
the right two dozen Of loose letters, written in
slender, girlish hand and oyertowing with
girlish expressions of unalterable love aud
undying DEVOTION beginning: my own dear.
est Ralph ending your ever loving Connie, "
On the left blurred and blotted note, con-
tanning few lines i'll woman's hand, heavy
with sorrow and suffering ':Dsar MIR. Old
castle, am in sore distress; know no one in
the wide world to turn to for advice and assist
heaven knows, I have been bitterly punished
all my life. VIII you help me for Aud Lang
Syue? You were my husbands friend, and
something more than mine. We are
both friendless and helpless now, and
Wilton" II wonder if she has been as con-
slant to him 80 she has been to me-" Mr. Old
castle said, as he locked up the letters. 81
wonder if she has smiled on him with that Ten
der trustfulness she pracuced on me; |
won1er if she softened his heart and turned
his head with her witcheries and then drove
him mad by her coldness; sent him to the
devil by her heartlessness, as she might have
sent me, had I not been made of sterner stuff
than most mon. I wonder what she expects
me to do for Henry Wilton, the friend whom
loved and trusted, and who repaid me by treach-
cry and deceit; I wonder what, in reason and
common Justice, she expects me to do for him.
But there is no limit to woman's expecta-
tons, and she knows nothing of reason, and
me by all means, and tell me her history. II
cannot fail to be interesting to me, after
waiting twenty years for it. Oh, yes, will
hear the history of Constance and Henry Will
was once my promised wife and he my dearest
friend, and that both played me- false. It is
perfectly true that everything comes to him
who knows how to wait, and revenge is not the
worst thing in life worth waiting for"
Hard, stern, uncompromising, was Ralph
Oldcastle's face, as hs wrote a few lines on
! half sheet of paper:
! s.If Mrs. Wilton will call on Mr: Oldcastle al
o'clock on Monday, he will be pleased to
learn in what way he can be of service to her. u
almost fendish malignlty as he thought how il
! would mislead her; yes, he would be pleased
enough to know how he could help her, but
knowing how, would he do it, was a more
doubtful matter. If man like Ralph Old
castle waits twenty years for revenge for a real
| or imaginary injury, he is not going to forege
+ it at q moments notice. It was foolish of Con-
/ stance Wilton to appeal to him for auld Ians
syne, for the memory Of those days was still
| aore in his heart 49,
sscoNNIE. uNALTERED BIZ TIME OR crRcUM
K STANCE, STOOD BEFORE HIN"
E 1t was on Saturday afternoon that the lawyer
n wrote to Mrs. Wilton, aud on Sunday morning
/ he went, according to his usual custom, to the
q Tarn1,tsf ch1rch Nathan tha rnrxyioo ~ So,