Springfield daily republic. [volume] (Springfield, O. [Ohio]) 1887-1888, 1888-09-08
CHAPTER vi.
MR.. ToMBEy GOES FORWARD.

CHAPTER VI
MR.. ToMBEY GOES FORWARD.
From that day forward the voyage on
the Kangaroo was, until the last dread
catastrophe, a very happy one for Au-
gusta Lord and Lady Holmhurst made
much of her. and all the rest of the first
class passengers followed suit, and soon
she found herself the most popular char
acter on board As the story of Mr.. Nee
sons conduct to her got about. the little
society of the ship-which was. after all,
very fair example of all society in
miniature-fell away from this publish,
ing prince, and not even the jipgling of
his money bags could lure it back He.
the great, the practically omnipotent.
the owner of two millions, and the hard
master of hundreds upon whose toll he
battened. was practically cut. Even the
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 evenEhan
an ordinary individual would have done
He. the printer devil" as poor little
JEANNE used to call him, he to be slighted
and flouted by pack of people whom he
could buy up three times over. and all on
| uCIOuhL Vi u WEttCutu duluOitSS-du
authoress, If you pleased 1t made Mr.
Meeson very vida state of affairs
which was brought to a climax when,
one morning. Lord Holmhurst, who had
| for several days been showing q growing
dislike to his society. actually almost cut
him dead; that Is. he did not notice his
outstretched hand, and passed him with q
| slight bow.
| Never mind, my lord-never mindi'
muttered MIR. Meeson after that some
what pompous but amiable nobleman's re-
! treating form We'll see If can't come
square with you. I'm dog who can pull
a string or two in the English press.
ami Those who have the money and
have got a hold of the people, SO that
they must write what they tell them,
aint people TO be cut by any colonial gov
ernor. my lordl" and inDhis 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 a big young man
with hard but kindly features and large
mustache. What has the governor been
doing to youf"
| Doing. Mr. Tombey? He's been cutting
me, that's all, e-Meesonl-cutting me
as dead as offal. or something like it. !
held out my hand and he looked right
over it. and marched by"
| "Ahl' said Mr. Tombey, who was q
wealthy New Zealand land owner; land
now. why do you suppose he did thatf"
Why I'll tell you why. It's all
about that girl"
Miss Smithers, do you mean?' said
Tombey, the big. with curious flash of
his deep set eyes.
| "Yes. Miss Smithers. She wrote q
book, and | bought the book for ESQ. and
stuck clause in that she should give me
the right to publish anything she wrote
for five years at 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 it hap
pened, this book sold like wildfre, 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 q female Oliver
Twist; and when | say. No. you don't.
loses her temper and makes a scene. And
| it turns out that what she wanted the
money for was to take sick sister, or
cousin. or aunt. or some one. out of Eng.
land; and when she could not do it, and
the relation died. then she emigrates. and
/ SOto tlIlu ltliS Luo ptOpio Ou DOtru sup
that it is all my fault"
And suppose that that is a conclu-
size that you do not feel drawn to, Mr..
Meesonl'
1 mo, Tombey, l don't Business Is
business, and if happen to have got to
| windward of the young woman. why, so
| much the better for me. She's getting her
| experience. that's all; and she amt the
first and won't be the last. But II she
goes saying much more about me go for
her for slander, that's sure"
''On the legal ground that the greater
the truth the greater the libel, pre-
sumef''
"Confound heri" 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. quar-
relied with my nephew about her, and
now she's dragging my name through tho
dirt here. and I'll bet the story will go
all over New Zealand and Australia"
"Yes," said Mr.. Tombey. Il fancy you
will find it will take lot of choking; and
now, Mr.. Meeson. with your permission
/ will say word and try and throw a new
light upon very perplexing matter 1t
never seems to have occurred to you what
an out and out blackguard you are, SO
may as well put it to you plainly. II you
ere not @ thief, you are, at least. q very
well colored imitation. You take O girls
book and make hundreds upon hundreds
out of it and give her fifty. You tie her
down SO as to provide for successful
swindling of the same sort during future
years, and then, when she comes to beg a
few pounds of you, you show her the
door. And now you wonder, Mr.. Meeson,
that respectable people will have nothing
to do with you'll Well, now, tell you.
my opinion is that the only society to
which you would be really suited is that
of q cowhide Good morning." and the
large young man walked off. his very
mustaches curling with wrath ano con
tempt. Thus, for second time, did the
great Mr.. Meeson hear the truth from the
!ips of babes and sucklings. and the worst
of it was that he could not disinheiit
Number Two as he had Number One
Now this will strike the reader as being
very warm advocacy on the part of Mr..
1ombey, who. being called in to console
and bless, cursed with such extraordinary
vigor. It may even strike the discerning
reader-and all readers, or at least nearly
all readers. are of course discerning; far
too much SO. indeed-that there must
have been a reason for it, and the discern.
ing reader will be right. Augustus gray
eyes had been too much for Mr.. Tombey,
as they had been too much for Eustace
Meeson before him. His passion had
sprung up and ripened in that peculiarly
rapid and vigorous fashion that passions
do on board ship. A passenger steamer is
Cupid's own hot bed, and in this way diff
fers from a sailing ship. On the sailing
ship, indeed. the preliminary stages are the
same. The seed roo more strongly. and
grows and flowers with equal vigor; but
here comes the melancholy part-it with
ers and decays with equal rapidity. The
! voyage is too long. Too much is mutually