Waterbury evening Democrat., 1891-05-11
IN THE MIDDLE WEST.
A Story of Life in the Great
 Mississippi Valley.

deserted ascending the hill, nothing less coercive than instant death would probably have restrained him rom tiptoeing with terror out the back way and down the back path to the mill, followed by Ether's laughter. To have remained through the lingual flood that descended upon the cottage with such occasions, to him, would have been not unlike an hour of dark ana fragmentary delirium. Nevertheless, it often descended, and having exhaust ed itself, left Julius, since Mrs. Popp had supplanted him with the little con- servatory upon her own, languidly stranded upon Absalom's porch, with ing eyes watching the smoke of his ci- gar, and the figments of his mind dis solve together in the air. One among the divers images that thronged the weeds blue vapor especially invited his eyes to follow. It was @ vision of Joel in Congress, with his swollen son holding through Yeslit the position of son to himself An! what a brilliant lifting up! On such occasions he could not forbear cracking his heels together on the rail, and fetching long de- licious "Hahr' as if he had just drawn down a most glorious gulp of liquor. And the thing seemed not improbable. JoePs nets were drawing inward, his wires focus- ing upon himself, and, set to focus hlm in the worlds eye, were growing taut, while Harry, circling in the glow that surrounded the phosphorescent Yeslit, seemed ever drawing nearer and near CT the honied flame. The first fact Mrs. Whitney was ignorant of; for Joel discreetly cloaked his ambition from every one, save within the month he had slowly uncovered it to select and obedient few, who, from under the secret shelter of his wings, were to carry it to the many at the right mo- ment; but of the latter fact Mrs. Whit ney was fully cognizant, and sallowed. and yellowed, and greened, and fumed, and wrought herself all to no purpose into the jaundice over it Harry did nothing"- which was nothing new she averred to Joel, ''but dangle, and dangle, and dangle, after that pre- suming, planning. chattering Popp girl. It was fishing after position on her part, too abominable for patience; it was enough to set one wildr' And Joel had gruffly intimated in return that |" the chattering Popp girl would probably go wild enough herself in time if she married himr' And Mrs. Whitney had rejoined that cit was hateful and miserable in him to talk sol" And Joel had further re- turned '.that the girl was a mighty sight the best of the two, and carried more sand to the square inch than their stall-fed sucking did to the cubic yard," and other like observations, that had the effect of putting Mrs. ko IoI kkn Very dark were the sacks under Joel S eyes on such occasions; not that the | girl was not meet for his son, for he honestly thought her too good, but that his son did nothing but dress, play billiards and lounge; in short was an idler, to Joel the most incompre- hensible anddespicable thing under the sun. He knew why it was, or thought he knew; the boy had had feather bed life; had never felt necessity push | ing him into action; had been softly cushioned and padded on all sides from work; it was his mothers fault. Alas! after all. this was what riches had done for him! It had made his only son something else than a Man!
 Still, Joel was good deal numbed l to life's little stings in these days by the approaching birth of his long-nurt- urcd project. That it's delivery should be successful was naturally to him 8 supreme care; had it been accompanied by a less prurient desire perhaps he would have exhibited more concern for his sons choices; as it was, he had little beyond an occasional growl of impa- tience for the son. and a growl of pity for the girl. In the main. however, he was a walking smile, an enormous sun beam, living charity, and indeed very difficult to dislike. For long l time he had been the secret dictator of county political affairs; the leaders of district politics had been placed again and again under obligations to him for large gifts of money; Openstone Coun- ty, mainly through Joers care, had not for ten years been favored with Congressional honors; the time seemed ripe; he would put his future to the touch. He thought it best to take the outgoing tide, for if he waited until in two years it should set toward the Capitol again, something that he
 dreaded within his heart might then
 come to pass; John Earrings flaming
 words might light him wrathfully to
 the people then. That he secretly
 feared might prove disastrous.
 It surely seemed strange enough that
 this great beaming bulk of ambitious
 earth should feel chill of trepidation
 run over him with the thought, but ii
 was not John Earling physically that he
 feared, it was his principles, his hatred
 of indirection and his tongue. Secret ly he revered the young mans scru
 pulosity; all his life he had reverenced
 honesty; from the bottom of his being
 worship of it like a hidden incense
 had wavered up, but at the top tho
 fires of greed, the lust for power, Der
 Tapped and smothered it. He had beer
 drawn onward through all these year
 by self, by an appetite for possession
 not appeased by the sweet food tha
 even dealing brought He had over
 reached and he had been filled, anC
 out of that plethora had risen hunge
 for renown. Should not that, too, b. [ metz Should he not ere the gracious Christmas came again, go up the mar hle stens with preaInesSp Nothinp hu