Frostburg mining journal. [volume] (Frostburg, Md.) 1871-1913, 1889-03-02
TRAVELLING DAYS OVER.

Morgan had been on the road for one
louse about twenty year-, This is a long
period of travel In less time than that
most men work up or work down. No
| nan can continue on n dead level rs a
salesman during that time. even If his
habits are good. If he has ability he is
sure, with raro exception, to work himself
off the road. If he is mediocre no one
housc can afford to carry him for twenty
Years. Morgan was the rare exception
Just mentiolc,!, He was an excellent
salesman, and his ability and success but
| served to weld him the closer To his work.
The house had made him partner loIg
since. but the business he controlled was
80 large and So Profitable that they oil
knew. and he best, that to withdraw him
and experiment with Il new man would be
but playing with fire over = magazine of
powder SO he went on his way year
after year, making no plans for the future
that would change his work Of his life.
But his family, consisting of his wife
and their one Daughter, Mary, romping
girl of twelve, was not of his disposition,
These two could not see husband and
| father start off without Il protest Tho
wife had always on her heart a burden of
anxiety about him; of dangers on rail
roads of his possible robbery and murder:
of the discomfortS of hotels, and the fear
| Of his falling sick among strangers. She
was naturally timid woman, and the IT.
sponsibility of the house weighed upon
her. The whole burden of Mary's growth
in body and mind, her training her COM
panions. and her pleasures We're matters
the mother would gladly have shared with
the father but she was generally COM
PEELED to decide them alone.
The fathers continued absence was a
constant pain and grievance to Mary.
There was never a week but that she felt
| deprived of some special outing because
| he was not at home to 90 with Ter. Sat
nrday night and Sunday if H. was where
he co It'd run home, were 20 many solid
hours of happiness to them all. but to
| Mary they were full of perfect bliss.
| Morgan was known 10 all his fricn Is rs
| man who never worried. Ii a train was
late he sat down and waited; if customer
| failed he always signed "a compromise; il
he didn't get the lest room in the hotel
he took whit he could get: and h, lost no
sleep in picturing how his competitors
might get ahead of him. He always left
home with the assurance that everything
would go on all right until he returned
and when he went away he thought of the
two he loved rs being happy and we'll.
bNl uS ne Sldllttl ON lIt UP ne tOUlu
not shake off slight feeling of anxiety
that had possessed him all the night. and
had grown since he awoke Their talk the
previous day had been about the entrance
| of diphtheria into the neighhorhool, and
of the fatal ease but two blocks away from
their door. Mary hal complained Of a
| slightly sore throat, but on Monday morn
ing declared II WAS entirely we'll az i'm
kissing him gooi-by with more spirit than
usual, as if trying to convince him of the
| truth of her words, and send him away
assured and happy.
When he was seated III the cars the
shadows came ov,r hi, spirits again and
| began to torture him with doubts and pos
sibilities 1t might be- he thought. that
her sprightlineSs of the morning wa, due
to fever, rather than health. He wished
he had looked into her throat, and he le-
GREETED that he had not cautioned his wife
about her. He rurscl these fears until
he felt himself becoming wild with alpre-
hension, and then he reoolu ely put the
| thoughts aside, declared lie was foolish
and would have no moro of it, and devoted
himself to- companio AID to h papers.
Men cannot always govern their minds
These are kingdom. that freqgently rebel
against all government. Several time,
during the day Morgan caught himself
gong back TO his morning thoughts and
he resoluteiy changed tie current. But
at night, try as he would. he could not
conquer them. Even his dreams took MP
the forebodingS of the day, exaggerated
and intcnS fed them. and tortured him.
Next morning found him ont of sorts.
nervous and miserable He had II long
drive to take il the country. hut he shrank
from it rs if he saw danger in the track
All his intultlonS seemed to be CRYING to
him to go home, but what he thought was
his common sense kept insisting that he
should go on with his business. and not
cross the bridge of trouble until he came
to it.
The day was one Of tn, loyeliest Octo-
Der days he had ever seen. His drive was
thlough twenty miles of the best corn land
III Illinois. The black road was as dry as
n board, and as level rs only prniri can
be. The first effect of the leaUtiful day
and pure air was invi9omting. He en-
ioyed the drive through the street into the
country road. Then the b. Dad fields, the
pleasant farm houses. the herds OF horses
and tile, the long Usage hedges. tine
perpetual but always surprised rabbit at
the road side, all these attracted and en-
tertained him, and his ride was successful
in driving away his blues. His customer
seemed especially S'au 10 Sc: MN, took
him to his house to dinner; talked with
him of important personal matters, and
gave him large order for goods. He
turned back to the railroad feeling as
happy as lie had ever Gone; took ont his
order-hook and fgued up the amount of
the bill and the plotit, rs was his custom,
and then began to sing
Suddenly there cIme ac oSS him II wave
of anxious wolIy, and all his thoughts
flew back TO the daughters sore throat and
the funeral he saw last Sunday. He
could not drive these away. They c:ung
to him; they whispered to him; they un-
folded themselves like n panorama. and
on the canvas he saw Mary sick. then
worse, ard then dead, 1t was the longest
twenty mile ride he had ever taken, AMI
his old friend. the landlord. concluded
from his face that Mo gan had met with
bad luck in sales that day.
He had n night run to Decatur and de
termined that he would telegraph to the
house, and quiet these nervous apprehen-
sions that were so cruel, though probably
so absurd. 1t would cost but little. h
reasoled, and though foolish. it was wiser
than TO continue to he torn 10y doubts. Sc
before going to bed he gave the operators