Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1885-06-19

Aoor; n upon examining him 1 dis.
Isvereo That several of his ribs were
broken, that the internal organs had
been injured, and that there a
pract'cally speaking, no hope of his
iecoVery. Sir James was q bachelor.
ana had no female relatives in the col
Ohy. he might live, 1 knew, for some
gays; n his housekeeper, though a
Kind and thoughtful woman, was far
too advanced in years to be capable of
properly attending upon her %unfortu-
na1e master. l sent the groom back
70 Meloourne for an experienced hospi-
TAI nurse, and in the meantime re-
NAMED with my distinguished patient,
him.
When the news of the accident was
puplished in the city, it occasioned
great excitement. Several of Sir
James former colleagues Immediately
met together; and one of them rode to
the hou to request that 1 would not
ieaVe 1t SO long asmy patient continued
to breathe. [ was to summon any
assistance that 1 might need, and to do
exactly as l deemed best.
1--WE would move heaven and EARTH"
sald the gentleman, Ito preserve his
valuable life"
81 feel" sad 1, "that there is not
the slightest hope of saving it: but
you may be sure that I will spare no
Sir James had tainted during his re-
moval from the carriage to the house,
n he did not regain the use of his
senses for some hours afterward. Twas
sitting by his bedside when he opened
his eyes.
$50 I'm not gone yet, DOCTOR" he
said, with a weird kind of humor.
"Can this last for long?"
"Who can say?" I replied. ..You
are sadly hurt. Are you in much
pain?"
"No; thank God! In pain, but not
in severe pain"
81 should warn you," 1 said, as
gently as l could, ''that if you have any
worldly affairs to settle, you should
settle them speedily. There is g%rievous
danger"
II know it," he returned, with a sad
smile; "but 1 have settled everything
everything, that is, that q lawyer could
help me in. Yet before 1 die there is
something that l should like to con-
fide to YOU"
will it agitate you to tell it??"
I'm afraid it will, a little" he re-
piled.
''Then wait until tomorrow, Sir
James. The danger is great-even in
evitable, lfear; but not immediate; and
you had better wait until you are
calmer, and, let us hope, stronger. The
shock has tried you terribly, and you
have not yet had time to recover from
it,"
GAS you WILL" he assented. ..But
do not leave it until too Late"
1 recommended him to the care of
the nurse. who had by this time ar
rived; and retired to bed, not knowing
how soon l might be summoned to him,
or how long it might be before should
he able again to quit his side. In the
early morning l returned to his room.
He was sleeping. and the nurse in
formed me that he had passed an I'M
expcctedly good night. After 1 had
breakfasted, therefore, when he once
more REQUIRED to the subject which
seemed to be uppermost in his mind, !
permitted him to talk, but implered
him to control himself as much as pos
sible, and not to overtax his strength.
What he told me was in substance as
follows. l made exhaustive notes of it
az soon as l left his room, and l am
confident that I have succeeded in re-
calling many of Sir James actual
phrases. 1t made a very powerful ina
preston upon me. and l do not doubt
that it will equally excite the interest
and sympathy of the reader. The
names alone are altered.
II was born" he said, Sin London
in 1912. My father vas the rector of
St. IS; and after putting me to
a good school he sent me to Cam
bridge. l took my degree in 1888, and
then went to the bar. My chief friend,
both at Cambridge and at the Inner
Temple, was Horace Raven, a young
man who possessed astonishing ability,
remarkable good looks, great ambition,
and the prospect of succeeding to a
large fortune and to one of the Oldest
English b%aronetcies. In all these re-
spects he was, 1 need scarcely say, my
superior. l was a poor man; l had
only my energies to depend upon; and
l had no influential relatives, no near
relatives indeed of any kind. except my
father, l being an only child, and my
mother having died during my infancy.
At the bar l was, for a youngster, fair
ly successful. Raven and | had cham
bers together; we had our law-books
in common; and we were on such terms
of friendship that we were known on
our staircase as 'the Brothers, For
some years I lived a very happy life. I
made enough to enable myself to live
in tolerable comfort; and in time in
deed 1 felt myself to be justified in
looking out for a wife.
Zone evening Raven ana l went to a
ball at Lady DIS. We there met a
Miss Mary Bagster, a young girl OF
surprising beauty; and before the night
was spent we had both-as 1 learned
Observation-Disclosures in love with her.
Her father, like mine, was a poor cler-
gyman. I had but little difficulty in
establishing myself upon a footing OF
intimacy with her family; and often
whom l visited them, Raven accom-
panied me. Mary, though she was, as