Wheeling Sunday register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1882-1934, 1886-10-17

ing him with fcklensSs, but still requiring
that supreme devotion Of which his nature
was capable. It is possible that Miss Carmen
saw this too, and so set about with feminine
tact, il not to supplement, at least TO mako
her rival less p~ertinscious and absorbing.
Apart from this object, she zealously labored
in her profession, yet with small pecuniary
result, I fear. Local art was at a discount In
California. The scenery Of the country had
not vet become famous; rather it was re-
served for a certain eastern artist, already
famous, to make it so; and people cared little
for the reproduction, under their very noses,
Of that which they saw continually with their
own eyes and valued not. So that little Mistress
Carmen was fain to divert her artist soul 10
support her plump little material body: and
made divers excursions into the regions OF
ceramic art, painting on velvet, Illuminating
missaS, decorating china, and the like. /
have in my possession some wax fowers-a
startling fuchsia and q bewildering dahlia-
sold for a mere pittancc by this little lady,
whose pictures lately took the prize at a
foreign exhibition, shortly after she had been
half starved by a California public, and
claimed by a California press as its foStered
child Of genius.
OF these struggles and triumphs Thatcher
had no knowledge; yet he was perhaps more
startled than he would own to himself when,
ono December day, he received this dispatch:
"Come to Washington at once.-Carmen
De Haro."
Carmen De Haro!" I grove to state that
such was tho ~preoccupation Of this man,
elected by fate to be the hero of tho solitary
amatory episode Of this story, that for a
moment he could not recall her. When the
honest little figure that had so manfully stood
I'D against him, and had proved her sex by
afterwards running away from him, came
back at last to his memory, he was at hrst
mvstifed and then self r~eproachfuL. L had
been. lie felt vaguely, untrue to himself. lie
| had been remiSs to the self-confessed daughter
of his enemy. Yet why should she telegraph
10 him, and what was she doing in Washing
tonl To all these speculationS it Is to be said
10 his credit that he looked for no sentimental
or romantic answey. Royal Thatcher was
naturally modest and self-depreciating in his
| relations to the other sex, rs indeed most men
who are apt to be successful with women
| generally are, despite a vast degree of super
animated boSh to the contrary. To the haI
DOZEN women who are startled by sheer au-
| dacitv into submission there are scores who
| aro pioued by a self-reSpectful patience; and
where n woman has to do half tho wooInG,
she Generally makes q pretty sure thing OF 1t.
In his bewilderment Thatcher had over
looked a letter lying on his table. IL was
from his Washington lawyer. The conciud-
ing paragraph caught his eye-"ferhaps IL
would be well if you came hero yourself.
Roscommon is here; and they say there Is a
niece Of Garcia's, lately appeared, who IS
likely TO get up q strong social sympathy LOT
tbo old Mexican. | don't know that they expect
TO prove anything by her; but I'm old she Is
attractive and clever, and has enlisted the
sympathies of the delegation" Thatcher laid
the letter down q little Indignantly. STRONG
men ore quito rs liable as weak women aro
70 Sudden Inconsistencies on any question they
may have in common What right had ills
moor little bud he had cherished-he was quite
satisfied now that he had cherished her, ana
really had suffered from her absence VIVA
RIGHT had she to suddenly blossom in the sun
shine OF power to be, perhaps, plHcked ana
worn by one of his enemies, He dld not agree
with his layyer that she was in any way con
81 - ,,.,,inc. no trusted 10 her
masculine loyalty that far. But here was
something vaguely dangerous to the FEMININE
mind-poSition, flattery, power lie was Ill
most as firmly satisfied now that he had oeei'
vronred and neglected rs he had beer posi-
tive O few moments before that he had Oeeh
rcmiss in his attention. Tho irritation, al
though momentary, was enough to declde thlS
strong man. He telegraphed to San Fran
cisco: and, having missed the steamer, So
crrad nm overland passage to Washington;
thought better of it, and partly changed MS
mind an hour after the ticket was PurchtSeu'
but. manlike, once having made a pracIlcal
stem in q wrong direction, he kept on rather
tbou admit all inconsistency to himself. Yet
no WAS not entirely satisfied that his journey
was n business one. The impulSive, weak lit
tIe Mistress Carmen had prudently scored
one against the strong man.
Only q small part Of the present great
trapscontinental railway at this time had
boen built, and was but piers at either end OF
a dcsolate and wild expansc as yet unorluged'
When the overland traveller left tho ran at
Reno Ina left, as it were, civilization with 1t;
ond until he reached the Nebraska frontier,
the RESI- of his road was only the old emGrant
trail Travelled by coaches Of the Overland
company. Excepting a part OF "DeVhs CSh-
Won" the way was unpicturesque ana ha'i
and the passage of the Rocky mountains lar
from suggesting the alleged poetry OF that
ragion. was only q reminder of those sterile
distances of q level New England landscape
The Journey was a dreary monotony that
wos scnrcely enlvened by its lScom1ortS,
never amounting TO actual accident OF incl
dent. but utterly destructive to all nervous
tissue. Insanity often supervened. I'm the
third day out" said Hank Monk, drlVer,
spcaking casually but charitably OF "tare'
-"On the InlIN udO Outi N
of questions and getting no answers, he 'ooN
to chewing straws that he picked outer
the cushion, and kussin' to hiSself. From
that very day l knew it was all over with
him, and 1 handed him over to his friends at
Shy Ann strapped to the back seat, and
rayin' and cusSin' at Ben Holiday, the gen.
tlemanly proprietor" 1t is presumed that
the unfortunate tourists Indignation was ex-
cited at the late Mr.. Benjamin Holiday, then
the proprietor Of the line-an evidence OF his
insanity that no one who knew that large
hearted, s~astidious and elegantiycultured
Californian, since allied to foreign nobility,
will for a moment doubt
Mr.. Royal Thatcher was too old and expe-
rienced q mountaineer to do aught but accept
patiently and cynically his brother Calfor-
MANS method of increasing his profits. As it
was generally understood that any one who
came from California by that route had some
dark design, tho victim received little sym
patty. Thatcher's equable temperament and
indomitable will stood him in good stead, and
H. IL