The Arkansaw traveler., 1885-10-17
THE STORY OF THE TELECUST

The afternoon was dull and gloomy. It had been raining all day, and the bad weather had keps people ln doors, SO that had been aione III my study and able to bend all my energes 10 the difficult and entaGgIed task iu hand. l had TeaC, ed stopping pl2ce-or rather place where a con ,ultatlou at authorities was neces- sary, and with sigh of relief picked I'D volume ot rynda!ts essays. and throR- ing myself on the sofa, lit d ctsar and gradually became ab ,orbed IT the close reasoning of that master of modern physics.
 For some reason q certain passage in one of his lectures attrlc ed my attention strongly It was thus:
 We have the strongest reason for believing that what the nerves convey to the brain IS, in all ses, motion. IL is the motion excited by sugar in the nerves ot ta tie which, transmitted to the brain, produces the sensation of sweetness, while bitterness Is the result of motion produced by aloes."
 put aside the book to follow out an odd train of thought which the passage suggested. Just then my cigar went out ana as arose to get match to relight 1t, some one knocked at the door. opened it. The hallway was dark, and for moment I could discern no one but gradually the figure of man be- came visible some distance off, as If he had hastily moved away.
 Why don't you come in r" de. manded. The man hesitated a moment, and then entered. He refused the prof. fered easy chair, and seated himself on the edge of an uncomfortable stool, which l never use except to mount upon in order to reach books on high shelves.
 He was a peculiar looking person, slight and spare in build, with bushy gray hair brushed back from wrinkled forehead. somewhat retreating, but pro- trudlng tar over pair of keen eyes. The lower part of his face was covered with a beard of the same bushy character as his hair, which, however, did not conceal the outlines of long chin and the somewhat vacillating expression about his mouth. It was countenance which, once seen, would be difficult to forget-singular in the mutual contradiction of its features.
 He wore child's felt hat with a very narrow brim. perched. on one side of his a'SoN AH ah lhNVp6 tuouSlf JAunty way d hat with curious multiplicity of venti- lating holes scattered over the crown, in one ot which was knotted piece of frayed hemp twine which led down 10 enc of his buttonholes. The hat seemed merely to rest on his head, and was de- Cidedly too small for him No doubt it fell oil frequently, and hence the neces- slty for the cord. His loose blue flannel coat had but one button, all others hay ing abandoned their fdstcninEs and left little tangles of rusty black thread behind them. The neither portion of this gar ment had been partly torn off, and sewn fast again with white string in great c,iss- cross stitches.
 His trousers were baggv where they should have been tight, and tight where they should have been oaggy; and re- marked, also, that his shoes were laced with the same sort of brown twine that confined his hat, and that one of them had a loose half-sole which clapped in a singular way when he walked.
 For few moments after seating him. self he regarded me silently but closely, as ii studying my features, until, in fact, his gaze became actually irksome to me. Then it seemed suddenly to occur to him that his hat was still on his head, for he removed it quickly with nasty apology, and placed II carefully on the table be- side him.
 Then he stared at me again.
 Can do anything for you?" I asked somewhat uneasily, His presence was beco ming an annoyance.
 He made no reply, but instead. after peering hxedly into his hat, carefully ex- tracted therefrom little parcel seem ingly sort of box wrapped in a scrap of newspaper-and roll of wire. These he placed on my study table, then once more staring at me under his bushy eye. brows, he demanded abruptly, "Have you had your dinner?"
 "No," replied, somewhat astonished at the question.
 Hungryp