Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1884-1886, 1886-08-08
written for TIE DAILY EAGLE, by member of tn
ENOCH HENRY.
Or, A TALE OF TRUE FlLiAL LOVE
CHAPTEI. =

In the GUNNER of 1867, after the recon
struction measures in the insurrectionar,
states, five young men, possessed of bert
age OF poorly, pluck snd ordinary physique
left northern village, 10 find . home, rs.s'
a family, and found fortune in the South.
They represented medicine, dentistry, mer
chandise, carpentry and law, and one not &C
qusinted in the South would have drawn tbs
conclusion that they expected to introduce
their several callings south of "Mason anc
Dixon's line" and perhaps have the same
"patented" and prosecute all who infringed
on the franchise.
The writer was the lawyer, i. e. he thought
he was, having spent two sum running
errands, sweeping dirt under the office stove
and copying papers, the legal meaning OF
which were AS uninteligible the day he ma
circulated rs they were the first day be
counted the chapters in Blackstone.
After going from ore state to another, ard
realizing that their several fields were not
only white for the harvest, but that the har-
vesters were not few. They met at sn inter-
Tor town in Georgia to decide finally on their
location, and after prospecting the town,
they went into committee of the whole, ana
voted, four to one to return home, the writer
hereof being too proud to borrow money to
out" played "brag," and bidding him good
bye the other four left, and he was, for the
first time in bis life, alone; but the Rubicon
was crossed, and it was now either ignomini-
Gus fiji yht or battle. slope is brightest when
il dswns from fears" and ''Remete, un-
friended, melancholy, SLOW" aimlessly wan-
dered along the street and WAS awakened
from my Ithergy by hearing; 'Going to be
ready in'Commonwealth We Henry this NOM
ing, Joe?" Turning | saw two men cross
ing the street to a large rickety tumble down
two-story building, and followed. | en-
tered as the court called out Commonwealth
VS.. Henry" gentlemen, are you ready? The
response WAS Yes! The prelimnaries we're
soon done, the jury empannelled, evidence on
part of prosecution ntroduced-proving for
gerry by circumstantisl evidence-and the de-
PENDANTS attorney introduced no testimony
10 srguement was hai--the jury retired, ard
in five minutes returned verdict, Guilty IS
charged in the indictment" Despite the
fact that there Was no defense, murmur If
dissatisfaction ran round the courtroom,
II h,f hn md
eral persons walked forward and shook
hands with q person whom for the first
time realized was the defendant. | bad ali
the time supposed that a short, bull-necked,
peck marked, red-complected man, with
short-cropped sandy hair was the defendants
but he proved to be the junior attorney in
tn, Gaze. had taken The defendant for =
student or lawyers son who was taking
his first lessons in 'practioe." He was about
nineteen years old, very eheminate, and
perfect blonde and used crutches and it
almost seemed q girl in boys attire. Save by
his counsel he seemed unattended, and yet
the sympathy Of the town was aroused in his
favor, and while every one seemed to think
he was guilty, yet ali said it WAS shame to
convict him.
learned thst his father was ly ing at the
point of death, his mother unable to leave
him, his sister and brother away st school
and that he had declined the offer of q con-
tinuance of the case, until his relatives could
be present. but requested that the trial, con-
yiction and sentence be concealed from his
father and that he be permitted to stay in
fail until his fathers death or recovery, which
request WAS granted.
Naturally my curiosity and sympathy
were ouickenod, snd inquired into the matter
and learned that his father in former years
prosperous country merchant had
almost through mismanagement, careless
bookkeeping, propensity to run in debt, and
general neglect of bis own business to look |
after the good Of the community, gone I'M
der and to keep going had mortgaged every |
thing and the creditors some four years prior |
to this trial had determined to close him and /
offering ut the same time to give |
old, poor, helpless and broken down in |
health, with feeble wife, a crippled son and |
| daughter and son who were lazy, yet very |
ambitious and full of high flown ideas of gen.
us fettered, and in their minds eye go--
veous image of future professional career.
This son and daughter were now away at
chool.
Enoch's only passion, if any. was love for
,is father; if his face ever lighted up with
INV emotion akin to JOY it WAS in the pres
,nce Of his father. to all Others his eye was
,old Is ice and his face a. expreesionless rs
he portrait OF an u amateur painter. like
,oal of fire that died down when the sir was
till, and glowed when famed by tbs breeze.
cnoch,s face radiated and darkened in the
,rssence or absence OF his father. He had
ever been to school but was taught by his
athcr and in proportion As he learned and
nrrassed his brother and sister the hatred
+ al but his father increased toward him.
Ie was treated as child. educated to believe
"a wss q burden, and that there was but one
hing he could do to earn their good will and
hat was, die, which despite neglect he per-
istentlv refused to do. Year by year he
I'd lived uncomplainingly on, and If he
bought of or murmured at bis lot it was
uown only to his Crestor, and the only ev-
fence of his ever thinking" is line writ
IN on the front page of every book be has;
NDreams, books, are each . world; and .
books we know,