Staunton spectator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1849-1896, 1886-06-16


ship, and so he was drawn toward this
stranger of the second saloon. According
ly, he hazarded s.It's a beautiful night
when they next met at the railing.
The stranger responded with alacrity.
He was very small and very attenuated
man, with pale, lean face, straight black
hair, an aggressive nose, and bright dark
eyes which suggested restless, sanguine
spirit too big for the weak little body.
sit is indeed beautiful night, sir. The
man who elects to stew in a hot, stufy
cabin on such a night is wanting in taste
and poetic feeling.'
Without pausing to consider to what e1-
tent he merited this indirect compliment,
the Major accepted it graciously.
81 quite agree with you" he said. mid
night on the ocean is a seductive, dreamy
hour
'It is certainly the hour for the dream
er, )" replied the stranger, looking up at the
stars, "and / am dreamer. Physicalfin-
significance, limited education, lack of
golden opportunity, and condition in life
inexorably glued to the commonplace-in
short, fate-h9s shut me out from the pos
sibility of soaring. But have my dreams.
encourage and foster them; steal away
by myself and gloat over them, ard am hap
py. Now have the might and courage of
Achilles; in an hour I have woven for N.Y.
self as adventurous career as that of
Ulysses. At one time am second Shaks-
peare; at another the mantle of Charles
Dickens has fallen upon me. l have been
all things-poet, priest, politician, philoso-
pher, scientist, soldier, navigator, and king;
and as each and all have been pre-eminent.
have dwelt in yon golden planets, and
have penetrated the most hidden depths of
| ioIf fr 7 hou froo lad fbo
through the jungle to his lair, and in the
desert have taken the lion by the beard
and slain him. l have-well, Pm afraid
have succeeded in boring you."
'Not at all, :" answered the Major; con
the contrary, | am deeply interested. But
l confess to being surprised that man of
your very evident abilities should confine
himself to dreaming. Small stature cannot
be a good excuse for inaction when we re-
member that many of the greatest men that
ever lived were of small and even weakly
frames. How often has it been proved that
great spirit may conquer any physical dis
ability. Remember that the minds the
standard of the man. and"
| "Pray, sir" Interrupted the little man.
''Do not condemn one without fair hear
ing. I told yen just now that my life is
trammelled by multitude of common
places. Let me give you few examples:
Commonplace No. my name is John
Jobson."
"And very good name, too," interject-
ed the Major.
"Your politeness does you honor" re-
piled Mr.. Jobson, smiling. 'Granted, then,
for the sake of argument only. that John
Jobson is a euphonious cognomen. Let us
proceed. Commonplace No. 2-I am, and
always have been, poor. Commonplace No.
81 am dentist ~
The Major started as though Mr.. Jobson
had discharged pistol in his place. Had
the gods offered to grant him the realiza-
ton of one wish, he would have said, 'Send
me DENTIST And this weird little man
seemed to have dropped from the skies to
his deliverance. Then the Majors ecstaey
became chilled by the reflection that den
| tist in his consulting-room and workshop
and the same individual on board ship were
two very different things. Mr.. Jobson
might object to practicing under the cir
cumstances, or, very probably, he had not
the necessary paraphernalia with him.
''You appear surprised" remarked Mr..
Jobson. cam l to infer that I have met
an unfortunate brother professional ?"
''Have you not noticed that l keep this
wrap over my mouth and that my speech is
terribly imperfect. Never did man stand
in more urgent need of your skill than L. !"
"What is the trouble ?' asked Mr.. job
son, suddenly becoming as practical as he
had hitherto been the reverse. ''Allow me
to see for myself"
Diving under the railing, Mr.. Jobson led
his patient to the nearest light. The tall
man STOPPING, with distended jaws, while
the little man, with hat thrown back, peer
ed earnestly into his mouth, was humor-
GUS spectacle, and it was we'll for the Ma
jor's tender sensibilities that they were un-
observed.
'Magnifcent teeth, those you have" re-
marked Mr. Jebson admiringly; "but you We
not three in the top row, and almost full in
front. What difference it must make to
your appearance ?"
81 should rather think it did," said the
Major, with considerable emphasis.
Barring accidents, your teeth will live
onger than you. How could you have lost
1.-The missing ones p"
"Those provided by nature were kicked
out at football over twenty years ago." re-
piled the Major. 'The admirable substi-
tutes furnished by your useful profession are
now at the bottom of the ocean.
cat the bottom of the ocean y echoed
Mr.. Jobson, in amazement.
Exactly. Perhaps the plate has gone
to supply deficiency in the mouth of some
aged shark. This is how iG happened: Two
lf-tipsy fellows came into my cabin in the
middle of the night in search of drink. l
directed them to a flask Of whiskey which
was in the lower bunk, and fell asleep
again, but have an indstinct recollection
of one of them leaning over me to empty
something through the port-hole. In the
morning the tumbler of scented water which
had contained my teeth was empty. Of
course, under the circumstances, l could
not appear among the passengers again, and
| l have had it given out that l am indispos-
ed. Mr.. Jobson, you are the only man on
board who can do anything for me- Believe
me, the happiness of at least one other be-
sides myself depends upon you."
"The difficulty would be to find work
shop" said Mr.. Jobson, thoughtfully; "but
perhaps the Doctor would assist us in that. ="
'The Doctor will place every facility at
your disposal, l am sure" replied the Ma
jor, eagerly. ''He is in my confidence"
''Then you may look upon the thing as
done, as, fortunately, I have everything
necessary in the poItmanteau in my cabin.
will match your teeth in the morning
early, and by noon on the following day you
will be yourself again.
"How shall ever reward you?" cried
the Major, grasping the little mans hand
in his gratitude. "You shall name your
own fee, besides having made a staunch
friend for lfe."
''My fee will be the usual one," replied
Mr. Jobson calmly. "But that necessity
forbids it, should make no charge at all,
for yours is the only case have met in my
profession in which there has been a spice
of novelty and interest. But perhaps may
one day ask favor of you. l am writing
book; you may be kind enough when it is
completed to permit its publication under
your patronage
/, The Major declared that he would be only
too delighted and he further pledged him.
self to take 100 copies of the work.
81 know it's very presumptuous of me, -
Sparkle was saying to Mrs. Pennington two
days after the events recorded, ''but for the
life of me can't help it. love you, upon
my honor do, most dearly"
81 doubt your word, Mr.. Sparkle an
swered the widow calmly.
"Pve been trying to pluck up courage tc
speak to you for days."
EsJust four- davs - sl1opested the lady