The Warner weekly sun. (Warner, Brown Co., Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1885, 1885-02-27
A TOY DRAMA.

Col. Poland, of the Indian army, and
late of the husSars. was a man whose
ilEluck had long been ]proverbial
among his friends. He had originally
Joined a crack cavalry regiment, in
which he Was by far the most popular
officer. But good nature was . more
conspicuous quality in Frank Poland's
character than discretion, and in an
evil moment he backed a brother of
fcer's bills for a very considerable
amount. Needless to say that his
friend abscOnded, and was declared
bankrupt, and hat Poland, being only
a younger son, with a small allowance,
was obliged te exchange into a reg
iment of Indian native cavalry. He
was a married man, with a delicate
wife and a couple of young children.
and the climate speedily made his
wife a chronic invalid, while the chill
dren faded away and died before their
parents eyes. The unfortunate man
was too poor to afford to send them to
England, and his father declined to as-
sist him, saying, with more truth than
kindness, that he had been the cause
Of his own ruin, and must make the
best of his altered circumstances.
Grief almost killed Mrs. Poland, and
nearly broke the majors heart-for he
was not colonel then. He would have
resigned his commission and left the
country he looked upon as accursed
but necessity kept him at his post, and
he lived On a dreary, hopeless exist
snce among a people he hated and in
q land which had become detestable
to him. Two years after the death of
their second child a third was born to
the colonel and his wife-a son, whom
he called Rupert. The two loved this
youngest baby with a devotion that
was almost pitiful in its intensity, for
they dreaded the fatal air of the place,
and scarcely dared to hope that he
would escape the fate of his brother
and sister but Rupert was a strong,
healthy child, and for the first three
years of mis- life scarcely had a days
Illness. Poland began to think his
tuck had turned at last. He had re-
gently been promoted TO a colonelcy,
and shortly expected to command his
regiment his wife, too. seemed to re-
vive in the delight of her boys exist
ence and Rupert himself was as little
spoiled as any child could be, consid-
ering the amount of affection which
was lavished upon him. But just
when the prospects of the family SEEM
eG TO brighten, q new terror rose to
torment the luckless colonel. His
child began to show premonitory
symptoms of the same wasting disease
which was already so terribly familiar
to his parents, and the chances of los
ing him. too, began to present itself
with dreadful persistence before their
imagination. So far, indeed, there
was DO cause for immediate alarm.
Poliud's perceptions were quickened
by his oyer-powering anxiety and af-
lection, or he would scarcely have
noticed that little Rupert's face oc-
casionally wore q hectic flush. and that
be seemed to tire of play sooner than
was altogether natural. Husband and
90 the painful farce of pretending to
ignore each others fears, but an ex-
PLANTATION was finally inevitable. Poor
Mrs. Poland. vainly striving to check
her tears, implored her husband to
cell her candidly If anything was re-
ally wrong with her darling, and he
was forced to admit that the doctor
had recommended a sea voyage and a
change of climate.
.And how the poor child is to get
eithcy the one or the other I cant i'm
agine,'' he groaned.
surely your father Wouidtdo some
Al 80 <E - --f- l~~9#