Wood County reporter. [volume] (Grand Rapids [i.e. Wisconsin Rapids], Wis.) 1857-1923, 1888-11-08

"Well, upon my wordI'' said Lady Holm
hurst, when she had listened with tears in
her eyes to the history of poor little Jean
MES death, upon my word, of all the
brutes ever heard of, I think that this
publisher Of yours is the worstl Will cut
him, and get my husband to cut him, too.
But no, have a better plan than that.
He shall tear up that agreement, so sure
as my name is Bessie Holmhurst; he
shall tear it up, or-or"-and she nodded
her little head with an air Of infinite wis
dom.
CHAPTER VI.-3fE. TOMBEY GOES FORWARD.
From that day forward the voyage on
the kangaroo was, until the last dread
catastrophe, a very happy one for Angus
ia. Lord and Lady Holmhurst made much
of her, and all the rest Of the frst-class
passengers followed suit, and soon she
found herself the most popular character
on board. The two copies Of her book
that there were on the ship were passed
on from hand to hand. till they would
hardly hang together, and really, at last,
she got quite tired of hearing of her OWL
creation. But this was not all; Augusta
was, it viii be remembered, an exceeding.
ly pretty woman, and melancholy as the
a pretty woman is, in the eyes of most PEG
pie, more interesting object than a man,
or than a lady who is not ''built that way"
Thus it came to pass that what between
her youth, her beauty, her talent, and hel
misfortunes-for Lady Holmhurst had not
exactly kept that history to herself-Au-
gusta was all of sudden elevated into
the position of perfect heroine. 1t really
a Inn <rffr 1aH +lay1 r1rl -,a 4
been accustomed to nothing but sorrow,
i'll treatment, and grinding poverty, to
suddenly find herself in this strange posi-
ton, with every man on board that great
vessel at her beck and call. But she was
human, and therefore, of course, she en-
Joyed it. 1t is something, when one has
been wandering for hour after hour in the
wet and melancholy night, suddenly tic
see the fair dawn breaking and burning
overhead, and to know that the worst is
over, for now there viii be light whereby
to set our feet. 1t is something, too, to tbs
most Christian soul, to utterly and com
pletely triumph over one who has done all
in his power to crush and destroy you:
whose grasping greed has indirectly been
the cause of the death of the person you
loved best in the whole world round. And
sons conduct to her got about, the ittIe
society of the ship-which was, after all, 8
very fair example of all society in minia-
ture-feu away from this publishing
prince, and not even the jingling of his
money-bags could lure it back, He the
great, the practically omnipotent, the
owner of two millions, and the hard mas
ter of hundreds upon whose toll he bat
10
clerk, who was going out on a chance Of
getting place in a New Zealand bank,
would have nothing to say to him. And,
what is more, he felt it more even than an
ordinary Individual would have done. He,
the ''Printer-devil," as poor little JEANNE
used to call him, he to be sighted and
fouted by pack of people whom he could
buy up three times over, and all on &C
count Of g wretched authoress-an au-
thoress, if you please! It made Mr.. Nee
son very vida state of affairs which was
brought to climax when one morning
Lord Holmhurst, who had for several days
been showing growing dislike to his So
ciety, actually almost cut him dead; that
is, he did not notice his outstretched hand,
and passed him with slight bow.
''Never mind, my Lord-neyer mindr'
muttered Mr.. Meeson after that somewhat
pompous but amiable nobleman's retreat
| ing form. ''We'llse if I can't come square
| with you. I'm adog who can pull string
or two in the English press, I am! Those
who have the money and have got hold
| of people, so that they must write what
| they tell them, amt people to be cut by
any Colonial Governor, my Lordr' And
in his anger he fairly shook his fist at the
| unconscious peer.
'Seem to be little out of temper, Mr..
| Meeson," said voice at his elbow, the
owner of which was big young man with
hard but kindly features and large mus
| tache. "What has the Governor been do
| ing to your"
! 'Doing, Mr.. Tombey? He's been cut
ting me, that's all-me, Meeson!-cutting
| me as dead as offal or something like it.
! I held out my hand and he looked right
| over it, and marched by"
"Ahr' said Mr.. Tombey,- who was a
! wealthy New Zealand landowner; "and
now, why do you suppose he did that?"
"WhyP I'll tell you why. It's all about
j that girl"
| ''Miss Smithers, do you meanP" said
! Tombey the big, with g. curious fash of his
( deep-set eyes.
! eyes, Miss Snithers. She wrote a book,
! and | bought the book for fifty pounds,
| and stuck clause in that she should give
! me the right to publish anything she wrote
for five years at q price-a common sort OF
/ thing enough in one way and another,
when you are dealing with some idiot
/ who don't know any better. Well, as ii
happened, this book sold like Wildfire, and,
in time, the young lady comes to me and
wants more money, wants to get out Of the
hanging clause in the agreement, wants
everything, like a female Oliver Twist;
/ and when I say, No you DON'T loses her
! temper and makes q scene. And it turns
out that what she wanted the money for
was to take a sick sister, or cousin, OF
aunt, or some one, out of England; and
! when she could not do it, and the relation
died, then she emigrates, and goes and
tells the people on board ship that it is al
my FAULT
"And 1 suppose that that is a conclu.
sion that you do not feel drawn to, Mr.
Meeson"
'tNo, Tombey, don't Business is bust
ness; and if 1 happened to have got tt
windward of the young woman, why, 81
much the better for me. She's getting hel
experience, that's all; and she amt the
first, and won't be the last. But if she
goes saying much more about me, I go fol
her for SANDER, that's sure"
ION the legal ground that the greater
the truth, the greater the libel, I pre-
sume?"
"Confound herIn went on Meeson, with
out noticing his remark, and contracting
his heavy eyebrows, ''there's no end to the
trouble she has brought on me. I guar
relied with my nephew about her, md now
Il she's DRAGGING my name thrn,1yh .Eka dir