Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1890-08-08
JOHN LONG.

It had been bitter summer for John
Long AT least, it ought to have been. 1t
was miserable career, indeed, that he re-
garded, if be cast his eye backward over
his Life. After he had thrown away sew
eral years and considerable money at col
lege, and had wasted some months in a
business office, he had employed himself
as campaign speaker in far off state
first on one side, but finally on the other.
After the election, when he had used all
the money he had made and all he could
borrow at home he had tramped to Gin
cinnati for miles, and borrowed hundred
dollars of his uncle. Then, with a harum-
scarum chum, he projected magazine
The prospectus was brilliant; after the
first number the editors left the city, John
going home and the chum into sanctuary
to develop some new scheme.
The new scheme developed 1t took the
shape of a school for boys-the Kentucky
classical college, it was to be called. The
chum aforesaid furnished the capital this
time. John procured the degrees of A. M
and Phi. D., they got out a glowing cata-
logue, and the Kentucky classical college
opened with fine prospects on Sept II. By
graduated with honors on the 3D. and the
faculty got home as best it could.
So John had been home all summer. To
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 had corresponded 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
arg bureau, which institution read, criti-
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 a 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. If ever he
had a 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 call 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. have known
him to spend his last dollar for a theatre
seat, or for dinner at an uptown hotel,
when he knew he would have no supper
qnGI no bed at night.
If John Long had had the genius of Poe
or Goldsmith you might admire him. We
ex,a It improyidence as to comman things
in men, of genius. But John was only a
commo, 1place fellow; never did brilliant
THING tn vt I know Of He might have
made on, cessful man, as men go; he was,
nerhans az bright as the average; but at a
CERTAIN noint IN his life he failed to be i'm
pressed with he practicalness of living,
and went off into idling and dreaming.
Now. there wa Arthur Brooks. The
two bows had a fair start in life; really
believe John was the more clever; but Ar
thur always got on b. >st. John was dis
appointment, even whe. \ ne was boy, and
it was SO through all his Life. he lacked
the element of success.
John and Arthur were great friends;
they grew out of boyhood ,ogeIner, anu
were loyal to each other as yc ung men
YES, even after they became riv. MS for the
affections of Lucy Harris. What on earth
had become of what little wit John Long
had, when he thought of entanglin g any
woman In his own miserable existen &c,
do not know. But Lucy undoubtedly IL eo
him. You do not care to know how gretW
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 bewitching face and true eyes, and
all that could be asked for in a 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
it. the awfulness of life and of the scepter
of life. And so John grew to love the
sweet girl with all his heart. It 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.
doubted that he would have been foolish
enough to have done SO; but one evening.
when he 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 realiza-
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
~ birooo1f hJ1f hio old ho hifc
we're upon him He wandered about the
., nth for few months, persuading him
col that he was studying the race ques
+inn and that presently he would write a
sor;a, of magazine articles that you'd
startl, the country. Finally be brought
m at Atlanta with his money gone. OF
course he had to look for york then, and,
With nm .su.,l good luck, he managed to
oct a. nos itio,l on one of the morning pa
pers. 90.
held IL long er than four months, and he
did not. 1t was ear ly one morning In DC
tober. after hts own work was up, that, as
he sat at the TELEGRAPH editors desk, his
eve was caught by q special that had Just
comein. It was the story of the murder OF
William Harris, the fatlner of Lucy. He
had been found dead and by poison. A
dispute, peculiar will, anal other circum-
stances indicating motive, pointed to the
newly married husband Of LEcy Harris as
the murderer. Arthur Brooks had been
arrested and was now in the county jail
The dispatch spoke of smothered talk of
lynching. and said the iail was an old one
and not strong. John Long easily pictured
the violence with which the old love for
Brooks would turn into an overwhelming
wave of wrath; he knew there would be
no stopping to weigh the evidence.
John Long walked out into the early
morning air He drank in the charm OF
life. The shadows lay long, and there was
thrill and joy in every breath. How
hard for Brooks, with the blood OF youth
in his veins, to yield his life. How could
Lucy live without him? Never before had
John SO felt the pride of life as he did now
that it seemed that his rival was about to
lose his. The earth was never SO bright,
the earth was never so fair. If you Will
look in the Atlanta - of that day you
will find this from his pen:
''The china trees are hanging out their
banners, yellow, golden, glorious, Dr1ght
signals of the changing season. The hlck-
ory and the maple are blushing little,