St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1889-09-23
THE GAIN OF EARTH.
From Belgrayia.l
CHAPTER /.

Hacking little man; all the more disas-
frous was it, therefore, when one heroic
moment came in his life, and he failed
10 act as heroes are commonly supposed
TO act: all the more melancholy was 1t
that his name should be handed down
to posterity as that of a coward.
1t needs but step from the sublime
to reveal the ridiculous, so narrowly are
antitheses divided: and in his case 1t
was NOT his fault, and scarcely to be
wondered at, that the world, failing 10
recognize in him the heroic, should ny
to the other extreme, and stamp MIN a
coward by way of sealing its own bind
He was a hero In his own way, but
his was kind of self-sacrifice to which
all were accustomed, and which needed
advertising before it could become pop
ular.
Paul Jennings. barrister-at-laW,w was
wealthy man, comparatively speakliig.
All wealth is comparative, ana tnat MS
was more than he wanted made MN res
nected. ,Jennings-Little Jennings, as
his friends patrOniZinglycalledh im-had
formerly had the credit of being 1901;
thai was in the old pOgerty-Strlcken
DAYS. though: now, in these days OF ms
success. it was only the extra dull Oh
comDrehenSion that failed TO see tnat
his dizziness was but yelled WISDOM,
that his QuietnesS came not so much
from lack of, as from Superabundance
of. brainsi
He had not always been rich. There
had been time when church mouse
would have cut him as beggar. lie
had passed through one of the blttereSl
trials that poverty can impose on the
sons of men, and now at 1iVe-ahd-thlrty
he stood as little Jennings, hard work
ing. earnest and sincere. A mali with
his whole life Subordinated to one nXed
belief-a hermit by inclination, put
never in the rear when a duty lay
ahead.
As man of means he had many ac-
ouaintances and but one living friend-
Sydney Greg.
SYDNEY had been his first friend in
the old struggling days: they had come
together by the law of oppOsltes. Syd,
ney was a cynic and a pesslmlSt, Paul
an idealiSt and an optimist: and now, 10
complete the contrast i'll material Things,
Paul had become rich. while MS Irlenu
remained rOOr and chung to his poverty
as convenient soil III which 10 noufIsh
the roots Of cynicism.
Neither knew what it was that ne
liked in the other. 1t is doubtful, III
deed. whether either would have ac-
knoWIedged that there was anything;
but from the day when they first met
and had a dispute, friendship was
founded, and when later their feelings
found vent in the expressions 'Jen-
nings, you're a fool and wv nat
brute you are, Greg"-that day the
friendship was cemented, lifelong ana
unchanging.
mod knpW III and
said SO. Sydney Greg was mad with
this difference; no one recognized lt,and
no one said so. Between these two
forms of incipient madness lay world
of intermediate degrees, but they
grasped hands across it and so found
life more tolerable.
CHAPTER IL.
Twelve years ago jennings, then
newly awakened to the responsibilities
of life. had found himself cast on the
world with an invalid mother and four
sisters to keep, and profession which,
far from supporting him, needed sup
port itself. 1t was characteristic of him,
in those days. that he never looked
ahead to invent a threatening future,
but lived in each day with renewed
yigOr. That was the happiest, and at
the same time the most miserable,
period of his life, for extremes always
run in pairs. On the dark side there
was grinding poverty, needing his
every effort TO fight against 1t; ON the
bright side was Helen Forsyth.
When they became enraged, Helen
knew as we'll as Paul that the prospect
of their being able to get married was
exceedingly remote; but he, knowing
that he had her love fully and unreser-
Yedly, was content to wait any time.
With unlimited confidence in her he
found nothing unbearable, and, with
the knowledge that through all his wor-
ries and troubles some one understood
and was ever sympathetic. he went his
way unhesitatingly and thankfully,
though, like the rest of the world. he
HAD his fits of depression and relapseS.
And Helen, she thought very much the
same: it seemed TO her then privilege.
which she scarcely deserved, that one
little gentleman, however poor, how
ever insignificant, should love her more
than life itself. 1--WE are the best Of
friends she used to say. land, though
we may never be able to marry, yet no
poverty can come between US here"
Nor did it.
Paul was not in any way brilliant,
and industry and perseverance, though
they eventually come forward to a
greater or less extent, have to put up
with a long apprenticeship; SO the years
passed by with his financial position
scarcely changing, while mutual rela-
tiOnShips remained unaltered.
At the end of four years Paul al
lowed himself a holiday. He was tired
and overWorked. Again and again he
had been OH the point of breaking down,
so, when this great temptation came-a
trip across the channel with Helen and
Tom Forsyth-he cast all hesitation to
the winds, and went.
Then for a brief space he was per-
fectly happy. Never before in his life
had he known such happiness, and,
until all TOO soon, like dream, it was
dissipated, he enjoyed himself to the
utmost.
That was the year when the Dublin
City was run down, and it was on that
ill-Starred vessel. disabled and rapidly
sinking, that Paul and Helen found
themselves one summers night. Tom
had sappeared-whether killed IN the
first collision are drowned afterwards
was never known-and in the excite
ment and shouting which IenSued Paul,
like many other, was too distracted to
notice accurately what had occurred.
All that he could recall afterward was
seeing the dark outline of another YES
S6l DIS IL DdChtu Ou SlUMl1 llilO tIlC OdI n
ness, apparently sinking too, and then
even that was lost sight of in the hor-
rOrs around him.
For brief space there were confu-
sion and awful uncel iinty, terror
stricken men and women impeding
those who could alone save them-a
fearful scene. and, for Paul, CHASTITY
descent from the heaven in which he
had been living.
1t was almost relief when the first
strain was over, and all knew the worst,
for with that news the panic subsidized,
and in the presence Of death came a
temporary hush.
Having found his way to Helen, he
took her hand quietly and waited; with
her he would face death as cOOlly as he
would die.
Helen was the first to break the ST.
lence. us there nothing can be done.
Paul?;
He shook his head. mo; not till
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