Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1883-05-05

caslOnS MISS CIsSy WOuiO Initiate MIN TO his face
in the most amusing way. looking all the time
as demure as little mouse, while Welstead
leaned up against the piano, not quite sure
whether to laugh or be angry. Even he usually
broke down, however, when the two came to dis
cuss ''hetiquette," and Joe. in the character of
gentleman laid down his views as to when
''feller should raise is at, ;" and when not The
argument was generally closed BY burst of
laughter from all of US, in which Joseph would
join, though protesting loudly that he was
unable to see the joke.
tits aprOverbally dangerous thing to play with
edged tools. have never been sure whether Smith
knew how matters stood between Welstead and
the young lady. / am inclined to think that at
first he did not Perhaps, if some one had in
formed him Oft then. he might have mastered
his feelings, and much misery have been averted.
1t was clear to Us young fellows who had gone
through the same experience how things were
tending, but we held our tongues rather than
spoil what we considered capital joke. Cissy
may have seen 1T, too, and given him a little
mschievous encouragement-at least young
ladies have the credit of not being blind in such
cases. Certainly Smith pursued his hopeless
suit with vigOr which astOnished US. During
business hours he lived in a sort Of day-dream,
musing upon his perch like some cogitative fowl.
and getting into endless trouble over his &C
counts while every evening found him inter-
fering with Welstead's tete-a-tete at the high
corner house in Edon street.
AT last the crash came. There was no need to
quietly into the office one morning with dishev-
eed hair. melancholy face, and eyes bleared
with the wakefuness of a restless night. We
never learned the particulars of his dismissal
Sufi1ce it that he was informed once and forever
that gap which there was no crossing lay be-
tween Miss Cissy NewsOme and himself He
bore up brayely, and tried to hug his sorrow to
his heart. and hide it from the vulgar gaze of
mankind, but he became an altered man.
what had been but a passing fancy with us had
N hil cnrpl ay,1s<
that he, who had hardly known when it was
planted was now unable to wrench it out The
ordeal he had gone through chastened him to
great extent from his vulgarity by tOning down
his natural spirits, and though he occasionally
ventured upon ''Haw! haw J" it was painfully
artificial, and a good deal more suggestive of
dlrge than of merriment The worst feature of
his case was that every week increased the
gloom which hung over him. We began to sus-
pect that our estimate of his character had been
a superficial One and that there were depths in
the little mans soul of whose existence we had
been ignorant.
-Four months had passed away. None of US
had changed much during that time, with the
exception OF the Gentleman. We saw little of
MIN except In Office hours. Where he spent the
rest OF the day was mystery. Once l met him
late at night in the docks, stumbling along
among ring-bOlts and chains, careless of the fact
That a trip or slip might send him into eternity.
Another time l saw coaked figure lurking in
the shadow beside the house in Eldon street.
which fled round the corner on my approach.
His naturally unhealthy complexion had become
so cadaverOus that the sandy eyebrows and
moustache stood out quite dark against it. His
clothes hung loosely on his figure. The eve
glass was discarded. Even the once gorgeous
ring seemed to have assumed a sOmber and
melancholy luster. as if in sympathy with the
feelings OF It's owner. His manner had lost all
Its Old audacity. and become timd and retiring.
doubt if any of his rustic acQuaintances would
have recognized their gaudy Joseph in the
stumbling. unkept figure which haunted the
counting-house of Ducat Gulden Ducat.
The termination of Westead's engagement be-
gan to draw near. 1t had been arranged that
aiter his marriage he was to be promoted to the
management Of another branch in q distant part
OF the country. This approaching breakup in
our little circle drew us ali closer together and
made US the more sorry that the general har-
mony should be DESTROYED by the unhappness
OF one OF our number. If we could have cheered
him we would, but there was something In his
look, for all his snObbishness, which forbade
even sympathy on subject so sacred He en-
deaVOred to put on careless manner when he
joined us all in wishing Welstead good luck at
midday on the Saturday preceding the Monday
on which the wedding to take place We
expected then that we would not see our fellow
clerk again until he appeared in the character of
bridegroom How little did we guess the ca
tastrophe which was impending!
| remember that Saturday evening well. II
was IN January, and clear wintry sky with q
suspicion OF an aurora In it's northern quarter
spread over the great city. There was a Slight
frost In the ar and the ground ciinked cheerily
under foot. One of my w-clerKs-Dullan-
and had kept by little Smith all day, for there
was Wild look about his eyes which made us
think it might be unsafe to leave him to his own
devices: We dned at a restaurant and after
"afu cropped into a theater, where JOe's
ghastiy face in the stalls had very depressing
effect upon the pantomime. We were walking
slowly h0meWard after supper 1t being then
between II and 1, when we saw a great crimson
glow upon the heavens. such as aurora never
threW ana nre engine dashed past US with a
whistle and a clang, the big-boned, shaggy
horses whirling 1t along at such rate that we
only caught glimpse Of a flash of lights and q
cluster of bearded, helmeted heads suspended.
as it were, In the darkness
have always had weakness for fires There
Is something grand and ennobng in the irreslst-
IDLE sweep OF a great volume of flame. l could
morallZe over cOnf1agratOn as Chateaubriand
did ever Niagara DuIlan Is of the same bent of
mina,and the Gentleman was ready to turn any
wheSe from his own thoughts We all beran
running in the direction of the blaze.
AT nrst we ran languidly. jogging along with
many other people who were hlNrying toward
the same goal Then, we came into a quarter
OF the town which we knew well. we almost in
voluntarily quickened our pace, until. tearing
round familiar corner at racing speed. we
pulled up. and gaZed silently into each Others
pale faces There, not hundred wards from
US. STOOD the high house of Eldon street.-the
mousse under whose hospitah,e roof we had spf MT
so many happy hours-witl tle red flames lick
ing round the whole lower story, and squirting
out OF every chink and crevce, while dense
pan or smoke obscured the upper windows and
the roof.
We dashed through the crowd together and
fought our way to the clear space on which the
hremen were connecting their hose As we
reached them, half-naked man, bare-f0oted
ana dlshevelled, was pleading with the superin-
tendent cutching frantcally at his arm, and
pointing up to the dark clouds above him,
already rent with jagged streaks of ascending
flame.
TOO shOrt.' he screamed in voice which we
were horrifed to recognize as that Of Mr. New
some. ut can't bet mustn't be! There are
more escapes than one. Oh, man, man. she is
burning-choking- suffocating g. Do something!
save her: My child-my beautiful child-the
In the agony of his fear he fell at the fire.
mars feet and implored his assistance.
80 l was paralyzed by the horror of the thing.
Inc situation was apparent at glance There.
seen dmly through the smoke was Cissy New,
s0mes window, while beneath It, separated by a
broad eXpanse of wall, was the head of the fire.
escape. 1t was too short by good twelve feet.
The whole lower story was Ona seatbin1 maea