Devils Lake inter-ocean. (Devils Lake, Ramsey Co., Dakota [N.D.]) 1884-1905, 1885-12-05

we'll begin by spar
Ing a few lines to those Of another man, a
man on whose grave the grass has been
growing for manv a long year.
His nam, was Julian Lorraine. His home
from the day when first l knew him to the
day of his death. was Herstai Abbey, a fine
old house in that part of wooded Somerset.
shire where railways AVE not yet como.
Although Mr.. Lorraine was a man Of
wealth, and moreover, by education and, I
believe, family fully entitled to take a high
social position, Herstal Abbey was not his
ancestral home. He had acquired it by
simple right of purchase, having bought out
an old. i~mprovident, but popular county
family-bcught it out SO completely
that, If he did not literally step into its
shoes, he sat in its very chairs and used its
very tables.
Such a wholesale buying up Of ono Of their
W class by an unknown man always
Rnnoys. perhaps frightens. county people,
and Julian Loraine's neighbors for some
time looked at him askance. He took none
Of those steps by which a new colner may
occasionally gain access to the magic county
circle. He brought no introductions. He
gave no large subscription TO the hunt-in.
Iced. there was not much hunting In that
part. He did not, in a covert way, let his
willingness to give grand entertainment be
Known. He simply completed the pur-
chase Of Herstal Abbey and its contents;
took up his abode in the old house, aud
troubled nothing about his n%eighbors, which
nc doubt annoyed them all the more.
Little Julian Lorraine cared for this. The
truth is he was one Of the most unsociable
men alive, and his cynicism, if distributed
through the county, would have made
Rorro,,ca<chir a roni,n in u.hiph 1ro r.o,,ll
have been unbearable. He was-I pen the
words reluctantly-an utter disbeliever in
humanity. Perhaps the life which he had
hitherto led brought him to his state Of
mind.
For in a very short time his neighbors
found out that he was by no means the un.
known man they thought him. People who
knew London life had much to say about
this Julian Lorraine. 1t was soon made
clear to the countryside that the new mars
social claims to the right hanl of fellow
ship were i~ndisputable; but other things
we're also made clear.
Lorraine had led a terrible life-the vorv
fastest of the fast. The wonder was that
be had survived-even greater wonder that
be was still wealthy. AT one time it was
tho, ght he had run through evorythiny, for
he had disappeared, and no one So anything
of him for ye airs. But it turned out he had
only been leading a rowing life in far coun-
tres. Repenting, let us hope. No; Julian
Lorraine was not a nice man.
But, nice or not, no one had my longer
the wish to keep Mr.. Lorains at arms
length. Fad he cared for it, he might have
enjoyed mixing with the pick OF county
society. But he treated civility almost as
he treated GOODNESS, with complete indiffer-
ence; and it soon became understood that
the owner of Herstal Abbey was u man who
no longer cared to mix with his kind,
1t was, of course, incomprehen,ibl, that
any ono should buy a fine property aud
settle down to the life Of a let.uss; the
more 80 as the man was still in the prime
Of life, handsome and wealthy. But Julian
Lorraine was an incolnprchensible man. /.
for one, have never been able to determine
his true character. Perhaps l nave stunned
investigating it. Perhaps. had l tried, l
shoull have been unable to gather trust
worthy information as to his true nature.
from the fact that tales afoat concerning
his early life would reach me last OF all.
When he bought Herstal Abbey he was n
widower with one son, a boy OF Z. This
boy he petted and neglected alternately.
There were days when the child vas with
him from morn to eve; there were weeks in
which he never saw him from SUNDAY
morning to Saturday night; there were
months during which Mr.. Lorraine went
wandering of, heaven knows where, leav-
ing the child to The cara Of servants.
Whether at home or abroad, he kept I'D
his establishment in a lavish, wastef,iI
n he threw his money about IN a
cynical way, as one VINO cared not how it
went. He expected bis servants would rob
him-no doubt tney did. This he considered
but human nature, and troubled moth n,
about it; but Voc to the man or woman who
In the slightest degree neglected auytuine
which his CONT ort or VIII m demanded! His
dependents soon understood their master
pecul4arities, and by the exercise Of due
care managed to keep their place, Tor years
and years, and no doubt grew rich upon tie
money he wastol.
As will soon be seen. 1 have related all.
or the greater part Of the above, from hear.
say. The following incident in mir. Lor.
ains's lfv 1 can vouch Tor, as l heard it
from his own lips.
In the year 1853 he was returning from
Australia. He did not tell me wat had
taken him there, but l suspect he went in
search OF health. He was in q sailing vo,-
sel-the black swan was her name. There
were other passengers-men, women and
children. One night there was a crash: q
horrible grinding sound, a recoil, AMI the
Elack Swan quietly settled down to the
bottom of the ocean. Whether the disaster
was due to a collision or to a sunken rock
was never known. All was over in five
minutes. and Julian Lorsine found himself
swimming for life, yet without a hope Of
saving it.
In swimming, as indeed in every manly
exercise, Lorraine was all but unrivalei
but wen his great strength was gone wher
be felt a hand on his collar and was pulled
all but inssnsibls into a small boat, which
it appeared, was the only one that had bee,
lowered, or, at any rate, had succeeded IL
getting away from the wreck.
1he sea. fortunately, was comparatively
smooth or the tiny beat cculd not hav
outlived the night. Whes the moruin,
broke, Julian Lorraine saw all that survived
Of the ship and her freight
Himself, four sailors, three women and
baby in armsl
The sailors were pulling, not from tn,
hope Of reaching land, but to keep the boat
bead to the waves. The mother. with he
child clasped to her breast, aud the tw,
other women. were crouohing In thu stel7
sheets.
In the boat were a dozen biscuits and
anan keg Of water.
With The light, all turned TO Lorraine TO
advice and aid He was q mar of com
msnding presence, to whom people Of
v organization would naturally turn Il
dtmculttA BE assumed the responsibility
H. told the Wan t. stoo thu mast an