The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1890-08-22
JOHN LONG.

Ills lie. AICcr ne Qad LnfOWn away SSV
eral years and considerable money at col
lege, and had wasted some months in
business Office, he had employed hznsel
as a campaign speaker In far Off state
first on one side, but finally on the other.
After the election, when he had used al
the money he had made and all he coult
borrow at home, he had tramped to Gin
cinnsti for miles, and borrowed q hundret
dollars of his uncle. Then, with hsrum
scarum chum, he projected a magazine
The prospectus was brilliant; after tn
first number the editors left the city, Johl
going home and the chum into sanctuar!
to develop some new scheme.
The new scheme developed. It took thI
shape of school for boys-the Kentuck.
classical college, it was to be called Thu
chum aforesaid furnished the capital thii
time. John procured the degrees Of A. III
and Phi. D., they got out glowing cata
logue, and the Kentucky classical collegt
opened with fine prospects on Sept. II. By
Oct l two boys had come. They were
graduated with honors on thu ID, and thu
faculty got homo IS best it could.
So John had been home all summer. Tt
be sure, he had not been idle. He had LAID
out trip through Europe, which he pro
posed to tramp after the fashion Of Bayard
Taylor, writing letters home to defray ex
penses.
He bad correspondent with all the leading
journals, but somehow had not succeeded
in impressing any sufficiently to get an ad
vance upon which to start Then, too
he had opened the Great Western Liter.
airy bureau, which institution read, crit.
cised and touched up manuscripts for
would be authors, and did other such liter
airy work. This was what the prospectus
announced; however, it was never called
upon to do any work.
| 1t was becoming very apparent thing
! that John Long was mo account" And
he knew it well enough; none realized
more than he that he was visionary, i'm
| practicable and lazy. He laughed at his
| own schemes and had no faith In their sue
cess; yet he vowed he would starve before
| he would work like other men. II ever he
! had serious moment he must have de-
spised himself; yet do not know that he
did.
He seemed to piQue himself on his lack
of what we cali common sense; he avoWed
himself brother to fools; he used to say
that, like Lamb, his sympathies were with
the foolish virgins and the man who built
his house upon the sand. l have known
him to spend his last dollar for a theatre
seat, or for a dinner at an uptown hotel,
when he knew he would have no supper
and no bed at night.
If John Long had had the genius of Poe
or Goldsmith you might admire him. We
expect improvidence as to comman things
in men of genius. But John was only a
commonplace fellow; never did brilliant
thing that | know of. He might have
made successful man, as men go; he was,
perhaps, as bright as the average; but at
certain point in his life he failed to be i'm
pressed with the practicalness of living,
and went off into iding and dreaming.
Now, there was Arthur Brooks. The
two boys had fair start in life; really
believe John was the more clever; but Ar
thur always got on best. John was q dis
appointment, even when he was a boy. AMI
1t was so through all his life. He lacked
the element of success
John and Arthur were great friendE
they grew out of boyhood together, and
were loyal to each other as young men
yes, even after they became rivals for the
affections of Lucy Harris. What on earth
had become of what little wit John Long
had, when he thought of entangling any
woman in his own miserable existence, |
do not know, But Lucy undou btedly liked
him. You do not care to know how great
friends they became; how, OF all living be-
ings, John poured out his heart to her, and
how tender and good she was to him You
might like to know that she was beautiful
with bewitchinS face and true eyes, and
all that could be asked for in lovely girl.
All they were good friends, John and
Lucy, and they talked of those things that
burdened most heavily their foolish young
hearts; the mystery of that life into which
they had been flung and that frightened
them when first they were awakening TO
1t, the awfulness Of life-snd.of the scepter
of life. And so John grew to love the
sweet girl with all his heart. Il is little
enough good that can be said OF John
Long, but his life was the better that he
carried through it always pure love for
Lucy.
He never told her of IT. 1t is not to be
doubted that he would have been foolish
enough to have done so; but one evening,
when no was home the last time, she told
him as she would have told her brother Of
her betrothal to Arthur Brooks. 1t was
not till she was through that the re&tizs-
ton of what it was TO John flashed upon
her. And John told her he would go
away And in the starlight she lifted up
her face for his kiss
John left that very night It may be
that after that he would have liked to have
made q man of himself, but his old habits
were upon him. He wandered about the
south for few months, persuadins him
self that he was studying the rsce cues
ton, and that presently he would write
series of magazine articles that would
staTtle the country. Finally be brought
up az Atlanta with his money gone. OF |
course, he had TO hook for work then. and, |
with unusual good luck. be managed TO |
get position on one Of the morning pa
pers.
IL would have been strange If he had |
held it longer than four months, and be |
did not. It was early one morning in Oc- |
tooer, after his own work was UP. that, as !
be sat at the telegraph EDITORS desk, his |
eye was caught by special that bad just |
come in. II was the story OF the murder Of 1
William harris, the father Of Lacy He l
had bsen found dead and by poison A /
dispute, = peculiar will, and other circunn-
stances indicating motive, pointed to tbs |
newly married husband Of Lucy Harris as
he murderer. Arthur Brooks hsd been
arrested snd was now in the county Jail
The dispatch spoke OF snoshered talk Of
ynching. and said the jail was an old one
md not strong. john Long easily pictured
he violence with which the old love for
Brooks would turn into an Overwhelming
wave Of wrath; he knew there would be
10 stopping to weigh the evidence
John Long walked cut into the early
morning air. He drank IN the charm of
lfe. The shadows lay long, and there vas