The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1883-09-08

:
but just as field mice, by gnawing the
bow-strings of the Assyrian army. en-.
abled the enemy to obtain an easy vic
tory, so will trifiing checks and annoy
ances often destroy noble nature. Mr..
Dollar saw, as clearly as any man
could see, the unlovely, sordid side OF
money, but nevertheless he realized by
slow-bought and better experience the
value of wealth in enabling us to make
the best of ourselves. Be us lofty.
minded as we please, we are yet CON
strained to accept the worlds standard
as we accept its mintage, till a better
one be found.
From generalities to particulars:
In his fortieth year Rev. Mr.. Dollar
could hardly accuse himself of an ex-
travagance. The virtue might have
been obligatory, but it was virtue
nevertheless. He naturally possessed
fastidious tastes. He liked. for in
stance, glass of good wine, the glitter
OF ancestral plate on the board; the
science of cooking was extremely inter
esting to him; his health, he felt sure.
had deteriorated in consequence of poor
and often ill-cooked food. The SAVIOR
of exquisite meats, already flatterino
his senses, he found very pleasant. But
this was one of the least qualifications.
For it could never crafty those tastes
that really uplifted man. He could
travel, and felt the keen interest of a
scholar on classic ground, would listen
to the nightingales at Athens, and fol-
lowing the track of Horace and his friend
ffrom Rome to Brundusium Biblical
| scenes had as strong fascination for
his mind. He would fain tread in the
steps of Paul in Pisidia and stand by the
ruins of On.
Hitherto he had only been enabled to
make one or two of those cheap little
Swiss tours by contract, which may be
compared to hearing ''Fidelio'' from the
topmost gallery.
Most of us have seen Mont Blanc GER
tainlv. But the vulgar company, the
crowdlng, the confusion. Better to be-
| hold such marvellous natural scenes by
the minds eye only.
How different travel that takes no &C
count of the cost! All! the mind is re-
freshed, the body invigorated then.
To lounge at will through foreign
picture galleries, to float idly in Condo
las, to be in no hurry to reach en-
chanted spots, under no obligation to
tear ones self away. The gist of travel
is surely here, to be able to take it as
we should take nature when we are in
the humor. Then he thought of an
other luxury.
He was a lover of books. He was
| almost a photographer to boot But he
had never yet been able to indulge in
this taste except on the most limited
scale. There were books he had sighed
for as a girl signs for lover-not at
all costly ones either-yet they had
seemed as far off yesterday as they had
done twenty years before. Again-and
any poor possessor of a library will
sympathize with him-the cover of a
book was matter he had great respect
for. He hated to see a good book i'll
bound. He adored fine editions, but
where he could not have them, hand
some bindings. 1t savored to him of
dlsrespect to see grand old author out
at elbow, threadbare, and tumbling to
pieces. What joy to have the faithful
friends of so many years at last be-
digit as became them 1t ever cost
him pang to see the great authors of
the world in ill-condition, how much
more so when they were his own! 1t
seemed a downright slight on his part.
Homer, Cervantes, Milton, Spenser,
should now all be superbly yet staidly
bound in that dark-blue morocco, with
silk lining, that so well became them;
his mind glowed with pleasure at this
perspective translation of his library
He possessed a really handsome one,
but in terribly dilapidated condition
from sheer want of money. On the
whole, perhaps, this thought was more
animating than any other. A lonely
man, scholar, he had held more COM
munion with the dead than the living.
He had never envied his rich friends
their equipages, fine horses, parks and
establishments, but he had coveted their
libraries, especially those of non-read-
ing men. And it is all very well to
sermonize on Beranger's test, "Voir,
c'est avoir;' more practical wisdom
lies in Touchstone' dictum, can i'll
| favored thing, sir, but mine own" All
of US would fain own Horace's portion,
especially in the matter of books. In
his eagerness Mr.. Dollar even took out
a notebook and began to put down the
names of those time-honored favorites
destined for binding, to cost a guinea
apiece. He was thus jutting one name
after another when the door was opened
with solemnity that could announce
| one piece of news only.
The heart of the new-madc million
aire stood still.
1t was one of the physicians who had
been in attendance on the sick man.
He looked at Mr.. Dollar curiously and
paused.
Then he said slowly and with touch
of meaning impossible to be misunder-
stood: ''An extraordinary, almost
phenomenal change has happened My
patient shows signs of returning con-
seriousness and vitality. For the mo-
ment, danger is over!'
He seemed hardly to expect an
answer, and his listener had none to
give. He added: ''In this kind of dis
ease such changes are not unheard of,
though very rare. | have throughout
nv professional career witnessed not
more than one or two such apparently
miraculous recoyeries, never one more
startling than the present. +"
He was bent on apologizing for the