Daily Yellowstone journal., 1891-06-18
TIE MIDNIGHT HOUR.

In the heart Of western Pennsyl-
vania's beautiful and fertile valleys lies
the picturesque town Of N The
unsightly chimney stacks of noisy in
dustry have not vet married its pictur-
sequences. and business. with a few FIX
ceptions. is sufficient 10 maintain a
quiet commercial equilibrium which
the fever Of Enterprise has never dis
turbed. The principal impetus to trade
Il given by q T. s%oiouru 81 three or Tour
hundred 81 lerts al the collegiate in
stitution 10, tied on an eminence over
loOking tn, town.
At this lace ! spent four years, pre-
pairing TO- subsequent collapse in the
practical world There were other EN-
thusiasts whose ardCr felt the temper
ing process during the latter part Of the
course. and who, after the spasm Of
commencement have continued to.
Among these | found a companion to
my fancy who, in the main, was my
complete antithesis. And this will prob
ably account for the warm friendship
which attached Us, undisturbed save by
a few minor differences which the
slightest advance from either would
reconcile.
Stanley Writ was a quiet looking fell
low, possessing an honest face and a
corresponding reputation. This good
name, I judged, was principally due to
passivity, and l shortly discovered
his disposition 70 be sensitive and re-
firing, enforcing a certain amount
Of avoidance of ordinary companion
ship. He thus illustrated the principle
that a man may not be i'll judged who
has not committed himself. To me,
however. his daily companion, he re-
vealed a nature rich in endowments, re-
qusring only the harsh surveillance Of
discipline TO render them effective. But
as | considered his se~nsitiveness, his re-
luctance 70 express, ever to his init
mates. his peculiar views of humanity,
j felt certain he would never submit
even the hardest of these mental Off
spring to the rigid scrutiny of the com
mercial minded publisher.
He unraveled with the greatest ease
the intricate tangles Of idiomatic wretch
edness and involved Latin and Greek.
And I must acknowledge that | fire.
~quently made use of his superior pene-
tration to prepare my labored transla-
ton for the disturbing supervision Of
the class Argus. Ii was not difficult TO
notice the chief tendency Of hi, mind,
for an examination Of that portion Of
his library which claimed his unwearied
attention revealed a love for that weird,
imaginative, legendary lore usually 50
disastrous to practical mindedness. |
am sure | never beheld in the limited
space such a collection of tales and
traditions Of this kind. embOdying the
superstitions of nearly every civilized
nation.
By the usual ~perversity Of fate this
retiring. modest fellow was gifted with
a voice melodious and pleasing enough
TO have cajoled the affections Of the
most obdurate maid. The only use he
made Of it, however, was to read, at
night. some of these Elusive romances
which. although | sometimes wearied
Of them. | enjoyed on account Of the
way they were rendered Often. in
this manner we became 20 deeply alb
sorbed in these unnatural themes that
! felt a sense of relief to know that the
Journey to bed was but a few short
steps across a lighted apartment, and
not up flights Of shadow haunted stair
cases.
During the latter part Of the course
the citizens Of NJ we're very much
disturbed 10y a series Of ~skillfully eX-
ecuted burglaries. Houses were riied
with surprising frequency considering
the amount Of attention attracted in
this direction. and the evidence of a
certain amount of guiding intelligence
was the mos disturbing aspect of the
case. as the plumber secured by these
midnight depredators was usually most
profitable Not the slightest indica-
ton as yet had suggested a clew that
might lead to the solving Of the mys-
terry
One evening, in order TO escape the
hubbub in tile dormitory, Stanley and
left the college hall and stroled slow
" down the street. On the way con.
versation fell on the late burglaries, and
from that. Jy an unaccOuntable leap,
h. animal magnetism, which was at
that time exciting considerable interest
and comment a peculiarly gifted ex
poneut Of the principle was then in
town, and several Of the students had