San Marcos free press. [volume] (San Marcos, Tex.) 1877-1892, 1889-02-07

indeed, this poor woman's child was all
that was left 10 love her In this world
30 we must not think 1t hard that sho
turned deaf ear to her good friends,
who sought to prove 10 her that Dolph
would come 10 a halter.
To do tho varlet justice, too, be wns
strongly attached TO his parent. He
would not willingly have given her pain
ON any account; and when he had been
doing wrong, IL was but for him to catch
his poor mothers eye fixed wistfully and
sorrowfully upon him, to fill his heart
with bitterness and contrition. But hc
was needless youngster. and could not,
for the life Of him, resist any new temp
tation to fun and mischief. Though
quick at his learning, whenever he could
be brought to apply himself, yet he was al
ways prone to be led away by idle COM
pany, and would play truant TO hunt
after birds nests, to rob orchards. or To
swim In the Hudson.
In this way he grew up. tall. lubberly
boy; and his mother began to be greatly
peIplexed what to do with him, or how
to put him In way to do for himself;
for he had acquired such an unlucky
reputation that no one seemed willing 10
employ him.
Many were the consultations that ste
held with Peter de Groodt, the clerk azd
sexton, who was her primo counselor.
Peter was rs much perplexed as herself,
for he had no great opinion OF the boy,
and thought he would never come to
good. He at ono timo advised her to
send him to sea-a piece of advice only
given In the most desperate cases; but
Dame Heyliger would not listen to such
an idea; she could think Of letting Dolph
70 out Of her sight. She was sitting one
day knitting by her fireside, in great per
plexity, when the sexton entered with an
air of unusual vivacity and briskness.
He had lust come from O funeral. It
had been that of n boy Of Dolph's years,
who had been apprentice to o famous
German doctor, and had died OF con-
sumption. It Is true, there had been a
whisper that the deceased had been
brought to his end by being made the
subject of tho doctors experiments, on
which he was apt to try the effects OF
new compound, or quieting draught-
This, however, 1t Is likely, was a mere
scandal; at any rate, Peter do Groodt
did not think IL worth mentioning;
though, had we time to philosophize, 1t
would be q curious matter for specula-
ton, why doctors family Is apt to DO
so lean and cadaverous, and butchers
so jolly and rubicund.
Peter de Groodt, as | said before, en-
tered the house Of Dame Heyliger with
unusual alacrity. He was full OF bright
idea that had popped into his head at
the funeral. and over which no had
chuckled as he shoveled tho eartll Into
the grave OF the doctors disciple. 1t had
occurred to him, that, as the situation OF
the deceased was vacant ut the doctors,
it would be tho very place for Dolph.
The boy had parts, and could pound q
pestle and run an errand with any boy In
tho town-and what more was wanted in
q student?
The suggestion Of the sage Peter was q
vision of glory to tho mother. She al
ready saw Dolph, In her minds eye, with
q cane at his nose, knocker at his door,
and an M. d. at the end Of his name
one Of tho established dignitaries OF the
town.
The matter, once undertaken, was soon
effected; tho sexton had some influence
with tho doctor, they having had much
dealing together In the way Of their sep
arate professions; and tho very next
morning no called and conducted the
urchin, clad in his Sunday clothes, to
undergo tho inspection of DR.. Karl Lodo-
wick Knipperhausen,.
They found the doctor seated In an
elbow chair, in one corner of bis study or
laboratory, with large volume In Ger
man print, before him. He was n short,
fat man, with q dark, square face, rem
dered more dark by n black velvet cap.
He had a little, knobbed nose, not un-
like tho ace Of spades, with pair OF
spectacles cleaning on each side OF his
dusky countenance, Like couple OF bow
windows.
Dolph felt struck with awe, on enter
ing into the presence of this learned man;
and gazed about him with boyish
wonder at the furniture OF this cham
Der of knowledge, which appeared
to him almost as the den OF magician.
In the center stood q claw footed table,
with pestle and mortar, phials and gall
pots, and n pair Of small, FURNISHED
scales. At ono end was heavy clothes
press, turned into q receptacle for drugs
and compounds, against which hung the
DOCTORS hat and cloak and gold headed
cane, and on the top grinned a human
skull. Along the mantelpiece were glass
vessels, in which were snakes and lizards,
and human fntus preserved In spirits.
A closet, the doors OF which were taken
off, contained three whole shelves OF
books, and some. too, Of mighty folio
dimensions-a collection tho Like OF
which Dolph had never before beheld.
AS, however, the library did not take up
the whole of the closet, the doctors
thrifty housekeeper had occupied the
rest with pots Of pickles and preserves,
and had hung about the room, among
awful implements OF the healing art,
strings Of red pepper and corpuent Gu
cumbers, carefully preserved for seed
Peter de Groodt and his protege were
received with great gravity and saten-
ness by tho doctor, who was q very wise,
digniffed little man, and never smiled.
Ho surveyed Dolph from head to foot,
above and under, and through his spccta~
cles; and tho poor lads heart quailed as
those great glasses glared on him Ike
two full moons Tho doctor heard oil
that Peter de Groodt had TO say In favor
Of tho youthful candidate, md then,
wetting bis thumb with the end Of his
tongue, no began deliberately to turn
over page after page Of the great Hack
volume before him. At length, after
J many huns and haws, and strokings OF
tho chin, and all that hesitation and do
! liberation with which wiso man pro
ceeds 10 do what hc intended 10 do from
tho very first, the doctor agreed 10 take
tho Id os a Disciple; 20 give him bed,
! O.
2f5