St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1885-07-17
A HAPPY MISTAKE.
How Fortunate That 4 should Have
Sheltered Here.

as q doctor IN the lltle IOWn OF O~OchIcpoIt,
then gradually emerging from the obscurlty
of a small fishing village into the dawning
of its present renown as a fashionable wa
tering place.
When about a years experience had con-
WINGED me that my venture was likely to
prove successful my mind began TO dwell
upon the loneliness of my condition, and to
reflect how much it might be frightened by
the presence OF a pretty and sociable COM
panion. l could never quite determine
whether this idea was spontaneous in IFS
origin or arose from a circumstance with
which it was ~inseparably connected in my
mind: for a few pews before me at the
church which l usually attended on Sun
days Dit stood about a mile or so out Of
town.. there sat a lady, having dark eyes
and wearing a sealskin jackeJ, i'll whose
face and expression there was something so
pleasing that, when seated by my lonely
fireSide and smoking a last pipe before go
ing to bed, my mind dwelt upon the advant-
age it would be to have a companion upon
the opposite side of the hearth, the image
I coniured up in that position always took
the form of the young lady who sat III front
of me in church.
In those early days I used to dispense my
own medicines, and was engaged in this
occupation one wintry afternoon Gt was
just after C~hriStmaS), when there was a
ring at the bell, and l was told that ayOung
lady was waiting to see me. So. taking up
one or two bottles of medicine which / had
Just prepared, l made my way into the con-
sulting-room to see who it was.
1t turned out to be the young lady whose
features had attracted my attention so
much in church. 1t appeared that one of
the servants had consulted me respecting
some slight ailment, and that, being in
town, Miss Sherbrook (for that was her
name), had volunteered to call for a fresh
supply Of the medicine l had ordered, which
was, as it happened, one of those L had
just been preparing when she came.
When she had gone L could not help re-
flecting that L had missed a great OppOr-
tunity. COnSoling myself. however, with
the reflection that possibly 1 might have the
chance of renewing the acquaintance on
some future day, L took up the second
bottle of medicine, with the intention Of
sending my errand boy out with it.
1t was a liniment for outward applica-
ton, and noticing that 1 had not labeled it
"Poison," L was making my way along the
passage to procure a label, when some
sudden fancy caused me to pull the cork
out of the bottle and smell the contents. A
cold Shudder passed through my frame as l
hli 81. IOl III OOOIIC l. CIu III IL hdllu
contained the mixture l should have handed
to Miss Sherbrook. and it flashed across Inc
in an instant that l had given her the
lotion, which was deadly poison.
For a moment l stood as if thunder
struck. l could scarcely estimate how long
l had been standing, lost in ~reverie, after
she had left the house; it might have been
half an hour, or, perhaps, only a quar-
ter. There were two ways of reaching the
house where she lived, one by the road, a
distance of about two miles, and the other
by a shorter cut across the sandhills. 1t
seemed most probable that she would have
taken the road, and, therefore, by follow
ing it, l was more likely to overtake her:
but, on the other hand, by going across the
sandhillS l would in all probability reach
the house before she arrived, and thus all
danger would be avoided.
Accordingly l started over the hills, but
before [ had gone far a thick storm of
snow began to fall, which the wind blew
about in all directions, binding my eyes.
and rendering the air so thick with its
small white flakes that 1 could not see a
yard before me. Still, 1 felt so much con-
fidence in my knowledge of every in and
out of the country that L hurried on, think
ing little of the mclement weather, and it
was not till l had gone so far that l felt
sure l ought to have reached the point at
which / should have got out upon the high
road, and peering about for the short dis
lance which my eye could reach perceived
no trace of the landmarks with which l was
familiar, that it first struck me l must have
wandered out of my way. Once aroused,
the conviction was strengthened every mo-
ment, and did not fail to strike me with the
greatest terror.
l was but little affected by the fact that l
was wet to the skin or that the night was
fast approaching, and l feared being COM
PEELED to wander throughout its darkness
over the dreary waste. The thought which
overwhelmed all others was that while | was
straying there a fellow creature might be
dying through my carelesSness.
In vain l Strove to collect my thoughts
sufficiently to devise a means of escape if
there were any possible. 1t was equally
useless to go forward or backward or to
stand still, so l roaned round and about,
climbing the hills and straining with all my
power to catch a glimpse of some object
which might afford a clew to guide me. All
my endeavorS were in vain. and l stumbled
on, sometimes calculating the probability of
the medicine not being used before morn
ing; sometimes feeling a crushing certainty
that all such hopes were vain: sometimes
even longing for the time when my doubts
would be set at rest and my suspense put
al end to, even though it were by the very
tidings that L feared the most. At least.
well-nigh exhausted, and in an agony of
frenZied emotion, l raised a silent PRAYER to
God that He would avert the calamity which
seemed to threaten me, and others through
my mistake.
And now [ perceived dimly, a few yards
IN front of me, a low building, the sight of
which filled me for a moment with a thrill
OF hope, to be at once cast down as l re-
membered that it could be nothing but a
deserted hut, a few of which were scattered
here and there about the hills, but none OF
which were now inhabited. l thought
would enter this for a few moments. to eS-
cape from the driving snow and collect my
thoughts.
AS approached I became aware of q
figure standing in the doorway, which with.
drew a little into the cabin as | entered.
The interior of the hut was dark. and i
was a few moments before l could discern
clearly the features of the other occupant.
who seemed rather alarmed at INV intru.
sion. But when L could do so l recognized
with a start of joy the lady who had called
for the medicine.
"MiSS SherbrookIn / exclaimed breath
lessly. 1.-The bottle! You are Miss Sher
brook. are you not? You called for som,
medicine-she has not taken it! You hay,
not been hOme!'
mo; 1 have the medicine in my reti
cule," she answered quietly. 81 was over
taken by the storm and sheltered here"
'Oh, thank heaven!" l cried. Give i
TO me, please"
She handed me the bottle. and thinking
that it at any rate should cause no more mis-
chief, l dashed it on the floor of the cabin