Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1885-10-18
STUDIES OVER THE WAY,
Jamaica-S Square.

Jamsica.squsre, and now you might as wen
look for Tyre and Sidon on the Syrian coast
rs for Jamaies-squArein the city Of London.
All, how fast ths wheels Of timerun on! l
never had more pleasant rooms The house
stood at the corser Of the square, where a
narrow street issued, and jsined Us on to
the great artery Of trade hard by. Its walls
were ofsoun5, honest brick aud mortar, and
iss doors and staircase of reasoned oski
but not 81 these structural merits could
save it from the ravages Of the demon OF
progress, who by one whisk Of bis tSil
swept it and nine-tenths of the square be-
sides into the void, to make room for 8
new street and district railway station
l occupied the whole Of the second door,
and | remember that at this particular
time, l was sleeping very badly often
lying awake to kelr the clock strike five,
and then, perhaps, sleeping till eleven that
painful sleep which comes when body ard
mind are both outEorn and wearied. l
rarely brtakfasted before noon; and BY the
time had finished my meal and settled
myself to survey the world outside used
TO end that the world had been up and st
business for some hours.
The front wiadow of my sitting room,
the one overlooking the sqgare, could
scarcely be said to have an over the way st
Gil. 1t is true, our square was q very small
one, hardly wider than POItland-Plaee, so
that the houses opposite were BY no means
distant but they were Of an unpromising
unsympatheGic character; hardly better
than warehouses, any of them. therefore
soon shifted my writing table to one OF the
windows al the side; and, though the light
wss not so good, had no reason to regret
my change, for by 1t had become possess
ed of an over the way after my own heart.
1t was On old house, four stories high, oulit
after a fashion which showed thai 1t had
been, in its prime, house Of more eonsld-
Grafton than it's neighbors The windows
were high and narrow. Three or four stone
steps led up to the door, which was orns-
mented above BY one of those quaint pro-
iecting canopiss, enriched inside with the
scallopshsll pattern. Above the third
story was 81 ornsmenta'al brick course,
the holdings of which had now almost dis
appeared under the corrodiBg deposit OF
London smoke. Above this the roof rose
in deep slope, covered with those rich,
ehocolate-brown Tat lints which our tore
fathers had the good taste to prefer TO the
hidsous, hard, cold blue states Of the cen.
temporary builder. Bat must De leaving
the house and 20 on to speak CT lis denl-
zens.
The first one | recognized was heavy
stout, square built man With long hair,
mishapen, dubious nose, and thick lips. he
was invariably the first to sally forth, and
sometimes failei to mark hisreturn. Inen
there was a tall, slim young man, with
pale face aCd dark, piercing eyes. de
generally went out in company with an
other, who was, as far as appearances went,
the very opposite to himself. This latter
was of middle height, strongly builr, with I
svusrs shoulders and fresh rosy face, well
covered with a closely curling light brown
beard. These two latter, either separately
OF together, went out every afternoon. The
biz man sometimes remained indoors oil
day long. -.
1t happened the very afternoon when .
had satisfactorily accounted to- oil toe exits
and the administration | had carefully
sifted the pecuharities Of the three strange
men who lived over the way-thst had
q visit from Simpson, snd when | taxed
him with having lately neglected me, ne
excused himself by saying tnathe had been
for the past month IN Paris. This was IN .
IS7l-in April, II / remember Alright, and .
at that period Paris aud the Commune
were the poiats toward which men thoughts .
and Discourse turned invariably. For the
time forgot my owu story which 1 had 10 .
unfold, and sat spsll5olnd, as listened to
the tales of horror and adventure which my
friend had to tell Of the awful days follow
ing the second seigs just as he was hn'sh- .
ing the Goor opposite opened and the two
Young men went ou;- [ at once called .
Simpsons attention to them, aud likewise
10 the other, the STOUT, i'll looking man, who
followed them after very b'lst interval
Yes" be sad, in answer TO my !uquiring
glance. II kUow them all ! hard much
about them from my friends - Paris, and
| think / know Why they are all come over
to England, ct any rate | viii try aud ind
out, and let you know. i
He took his leave and | saw no more OF
him for q week. Daring this interval
could never mark the exact day-my three
Frenchmen from over the way vanished.
watched uuremittingly for almost foar,snd'
twenty hours aud not one OF them either went
out or came in. was sitting perpleNed,
and a little annoyed over this new comph-
cation, Wishing that Simpson would come
and tell me the reult Of his search, when
he silently entered the room and sat down
beside me. / could see by the lock on his
face that he had something to tell me, and
80 it turned out +.
$50 your neighbors have gomez he said,
with his peculiar smile; Il thought they
they would not live long under the same
roof. Poor Rsoul! he had not the heart
TO come back; but now, if you have time
to listen, ! will tell you sll about them
viii tell the story, as near as l can, IN
the words Of the narrator. i
The tall, dark young man was named
Pierre Lagrange, and his friend, the one 4;
with the light brown beard, Raoul de Pom
tigny. Lagrange was man Of wonderful i
abilities, and when he was a student st the (
Ecole Polytschniqus, be took nearly al the !
prizes of his year. Every one predicted !
for him a brilliant future, and brilliant re- !
wards might very likely have been his had /
he not been gifted with certain qualities (
virtues old fashioned people would call /
them perhsps-Which qualities were very |
much at a discount at that period, especl- !
ally if the possessor thereof might have '
sny idea Of seeking Preferment from the {
Government Of the Second Empire. Pierre '
Lagrange was q young man Of the most q
incorporating honesty. The word "oP
had not then come to the front :
as a unit of the politicians vocabulary 5
but il may be taken to express all that La. !
grange held in deepest deteststion. He /
vas stubborn of will and rough Of speech, r
and he certainly would have been Just as 7
lila 20, nrinya IN and