Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1891-09-24
A LINK WITH SCOTT.

ALINK WITH SCOTT.
Pail Mall Gazette.
We were all seated on the pretty vi
Garage lawn in the little Isle of Wight
seaboard parish, reading The Pail Mall
Gazette, when suddenly an exclamation
from my father, the vicar, aroused us
into life. "Why," cried he, 'surely, my
dear, our good friend the P. NJ. G. is
wrong in saying that with the death of
John Bell, of Melrose, the last living
link with the days of Scott has been
broken" My mother at once replied:
"Why, of course it is, for 1 certainly
claim to be link, and a very close one,
too, with those dear old days. Dear
me-" she added thoughtfully, show those
days come back to me! The very tea
service we are now drinking out Of"
pointing as she spoke to some very
handsome old fashioned red and gold
tea-cups glistening in the sun, "that
very tea-set is link with Sir Walter.
How often have 1 seen him and Tom
Moore drinking out of it, and in later
days Tennyson. and Charles Dickens
also. l can remember, as thought it were
yesterday, and it is full sixty years ago,
and was about ten years of age, Sir
Walter, seated at our window overlook
ing the beautiful Firth of Forth, telling
us all, grown-up people and little chill
dren, his charming stories and anecdotes.
My father and the old Earl of Buchan,
Sir James Gardner, and the courtly old
Sir Henry Stewart, of Allenby, in his
knee breeches and black silk stockings,
bending eagerly forward to listen to
him. | remember Sir Walter so well
stopping down over me, with his great
shaggy eyebrows, to kiss me, and telling
me to be good little girl.
81 can remember my father reading to
us 'Ivanhoe' and Red Gauntlet from
Scott's MSS. 1 suppose we were the
very first people in the world to hear
those splendid stories. You know it
was at poor grandfather's earnest re-
quest that Scott, in Ivanhoe,' brought
Athelstane to life. Il must do it to
oblige you, James, but it is sad tour
de force What tender heart Sir Wal
ter hadl He shows that in his pitying
allusion to myself and my sisters in his
recently published journal, where he
tells of my mothers funeral, and speaks
of the poor, motherless children My
last memory is that of sitting in the
school-room, sobbing as though my heart
would break, while the other girls stood
around wondering what was the matter,
because the report had gone through
Edinburgh that Sir Walter was dead
But he fingered yet another month.
Your grandfather and he lay dying at
the same time, but they were friends to
the last"
THE NATURAL ORDER REVERSED.
Detroit Free Press
He was poor and not noticeably in
dustrious, but he managed somehow to
be quite butterfly of fashion and ia
vorite in society.
Then he married a girl in no way his
superior in energy or finances, and for
the last five years he has been barely
able to feed his following.
A friend met him the other day on
Jefferson avenue walking along very
thoughtfully.
"Hello," he said, 'why so solemn?"
"Oh, was just thinking" he replied,
vaguely.
THAT doesn't cost anything, at least"
suggested the friend; "but what were
you thinking about?"
"Well, mostly about how things go by
contraries. When l was in school | was
taught that the grub came first and then
the butterfly"
"Yes?" prompted the friend question
ingly, as the other paused a moment
"Now l discover" he went on, ''that
the butterfly is after the grub, and it is
pretty rough on the butterfly, too"
MILE IN FORTY SECONDS BY RAIL.
Philadelphia Record.
A mile in 80 As seconds, or at the rate |
of over 80 miles an hour, is the fastest
run ever made by railroad train. This
unparalleled feat was accomplished re-
Gently on the Bound Brook Railroad,
between Neshaminy Falls and Lang
horne, by engine No. 206, drawing two
ordinary coaches and President Nc
Leod's private car Reading, which is
equal to two coaches in weight. Other
miles were reeled off with speed as as
as this crack mile, and at the
end of the "fly" the worlds record was
broken. From this ont all records must |
date from the memorable Bound Brook
flight The fastest mile was scored in
80 As seconds. The fastest five miles
IN minutes 26 As seconds The fast
est ten miles in minutes IL seconds,
averaging 43 seconds per mile. \