The Indianapolis sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis, Ind.) 1880-1904, 1885-03-08

vim rheann,ic fever he sat Up with hin
nigh after night and mipis'eren 10 hin n
antss. When Robbins vas bstteri and sol'
to receive our call, he sat up In his b a lean
.rg on the Major, who bad bis arm rouns
MIN. and smiled and looked m pleased viii
\ ,ur congratulations ~ though that vu'ea
! r lbblns hi al been his Own son.
kind old mon lie allowed u young
tiers to poke liule ,kss ct him We called
i aim the Centurion. When en- italian bans
ua, ed play ng Ia Ebmy street We would tel
nim his proper place was To lead 10 On sun
lays, when he arrived for dinner one o "a
would ask. Been 20 church, MajorY' Fhsf
| Robbins or another would answer. %
coune he has. Whit is the good OF asking
Does not Scripture tel US that Cornelioul
| va n dsyout csnturionY" These little ex
| hlbltIons OF feeble fun he bore with Rrea
| GOOD humor, but We instinc lively felt tina
| there was limit We must not transpress
| rhe only man among u,. coarse In percep
tlon. who could not rec )gnize this Was Rob
| blps. When he pushed his butf1oneIy toe
Tar the Major would rise, bow, aud leave th'
room. Then the rest OF us fell upon ga upon
and nattered out Robbins.
The Major diued daily with Miss Jones a.
| he lodging houte We never knew OF wha
that week day dinner cons sted. but We be
lieyed II vas made out OF the remains oil The
great Sunday feast After chicken Sunday
4
and mutton Sundays the meat no doubt
was minced aud ovrriald with blanket oil
DO alto or cottage pudding-much potato
and little mipce: or was served rs harlcl II
with carrot and large sippets OF toast; OF
was lost In natter aud called tcat-in hole
or buried In boiled dough We aid not know
we only guessed. No information could be
extracted from the Major when We H. quired
sftef the ''cold remaln as or the "venerabi 4
relics" or Duke Humphreys dinner" He
would answer gently without q smile. vi
assure You Miss Jones and i have Jared
su "a ptuously." The old man prscticed the
sevs rest economy. He denied himself every
thing he could; he drank only water AZ din
ner and supper Each OF US had = separate
jug; one bad stout, aao,ner pale ale another
bi Ter beer; Robbins drank brandy and Wa
ter; the old lady MARSHA. Ale meant TO the
Major fourpence day, or two andiourpence
& week, that is, over six pounds per annum,
aud the six pounds was needed foe ntcessa
ries. His boots were to him constant
source of uneasiness, care and
alarm. Boots come expensive
and go quickly. The same pair was soled
aud resoled till the crease over the toe on
the outside roughened, then parted. Still
they encassd his feet A lis,le backened
crease filed the split, some stickingpaster
disguised IL and was polished over; butthese
we're expedients postponing the evi day.
nothing more. That the Major pinchtd AUD
.crewed TO raise the money for new par We
ali knew, and we all noticed the Tenderness
with which the new boots were regarded how
they were spared work, kept indoors when
the streets were muddy and the rain fell.
The long slender hngers-they were nearly
were wonderfully skilfui with
the needle. The Major repaired his own gar
ments; we believed that he mended his own
stockings. The maid told us his darning was
beautiful. One day that Robbins stayed at
home with a cold. ne heard the Major ask
tho naid- of ALIVE very kindly TO let him
nave q not fiat iron in his room. Next Sun
lay be appeared in brilliant-well, clothes
aud We found he had turned an Old pair him
self; we noticed that they bulged in, instead
Of out, at the knee for some weeks, till they
accommodated themselves to their altered
eit1ation.
IL Major Cornelius was self.dsnying in the
matter of drink and clothing twas not that
he could not appreciate generous liquor, and
vas not particular about dress. On the con.
Lrary he was good judge OF wines, and he
was ias.idious about garments. am sure
that nothing CALLED his self esteem more than
to have to dress shabbily. he did as much
of his own washing as he we'll could with .
can of boiling water ia bis own ba'in. Wash
ing is heavy item in expenditure in Lon
don. l believe that some OF the Majors gar
ments were SD thin threadbsre and patched,
that he was ashamed 10 ser them to the
wash, lest they should be commented on, and
therefore he did his best with them at home
His bedroom was high up, i'll the alto. He
paid less than we. aud was therefore Obliged
to put up with interior acc om modaCicns. In
winter he suffered much l fear, from want
Of fire. The psrlor FIRE was not lighted till 4
o m, so that 1t was beginning rsluc autly
to burn up when the clerks returned from
their offices. In his own room under the
sla es it was cold; nevertheless he sat there
when the bed was made. that is, FROM about
about noon to 4. Before that he remained
in the parlor, watching the expiring of the
little fire lit for show, not warmth, during
breakfast Only during the coolest weather
would he.descend to the kitchen for a few
moments to stand by the stove and warm
his hands, whilst Miss Jones, h-shov-
slled." hid in the pantry. If the day were
frosty he walked out, to put his blood In
circulation, aud then his cheeks warmed
into coIor-a bright color in his clear skin
ike the roses in q child. That old cat with
the teeth and the false front and the dirty
collar rented the first floor and had her own
sttiDg-room and fire there; but FIR I'm mo-
tives OF dslicacy, no doubt. and for fear of
Establishing a precedent, never invited the
Major to it.
He was so modest that it was only casually
we learned that he had once moved in the
best circles, and had ACC ualntances n1gn IN
military positions and titled. He visited
aud was visited by none OF them. Since
that affair of his brother he had Withdrawn
d mself from his fellows. He shrank from
&c eeting those who knew the circumstances.
and he suspected more OF being aware of
them than really did know. He was very
sroud-pot naughty, understand-but with
a sense of his honor and breeding which
made him reserved. One luxury he would
Inv Of fvfrr tics
to I'll who served him. / believe that the
lhalf-crowns as wales" to the footmen who
took his greatcoar, hat and gloves had much
10 do with his refusing the invitations he at
one time received weekly from Old brother
officers and frieuds. DE could not be mean.
and to avoid the wound to his self.respect OF
seeming mean, he would not go TO his fell
lows. At last Invitations, always declined,
ceased to come in.
The winter of 1853 was cold. o. Novem-
Der Is the Duke OF Wellington was buried In
st. PauI's Cathedral with great display OF
military pomp Our old friend was one Of
the veterans who walked in the procession
That winter saw the fall of the Conservative
Ministry under Lord Derby, and the fall oil
something much more iInportsnt-at least
to Us in Miss Jones's establish ment-ths
falling to pieces of the Majors great coat
We had followed the progress OF decay In
that venerable article of clothing for some
time with interest and We had wondered
what the MAJOR would do VIXEN it Was worn
completsly out. We hoped il would hold
~ t. Aid rnt IN fall IN r:aca<