The Wichita daily eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1890-1906, 1892-02-03
"GRACIOUSw


Mr.. Farlow was a compact business
man, bright, shrewd and kindly. He had
seen good deal of life in his day, and it
was not commonplace life, either. One
evening as we sat cozily together, he told
me how he found his wife. for he knew
loved her as well almost as he did, and
his tone was a trifle more confidential than
usual If am to repeat the story it must
be in strictly confidential manner, out Of
regard to my friend, though there is
nothing that any man could be ashamed
ofin it, except the parading of ones sacred
heart to the world. But there is way in
which the sacred heart can be told about
that makes it remind US of our own
sacred hearts and the days of our own
courtships and little affairs, which, though
we may pretend to have forgotten them,
are always vivid enough if anything hap
pens to call them up.
| will let Mr. Farlow tell his own story
for he can tell it better than could:
'You know my marriage all came ont Of
South American trip that once made,
and that is the interesting part of the lit
tie romance. | was only twenty-one and
San Francisco. | had been with them
about year and half, and think they
trusted me good deal; in fact. they must
have done so to have sent me on the expe-
dition they did. A captain and his crew
had run away with ship that belonged TO
the company, and they wanted me to catch
him. He had started with his booty to
ward Cape Horn, and if he once fairly left
the South American waters he was pretty
safe from US. | boarded the swiftest
schooner that sailed out of Frisco bay, apd
we stretched every inch of canvas for the
south. The runaway had a good two days
the start of US and was nearly as good a
sailer as we, but we resolved to do our best
and hope for luck. In any kind of an en-
terprise man may always hope for luck.
though he can't really count on it. Atany
rate it serves to keep the courage up.
I'm five days we sighted the islands of
Colombia and stopped to make inquiries.
The vessel we were after had been sighted
two days and half before, and WIS going
straight for the Cape. The news was not
encouraging, but we set off again, with
two days and half instead of two days TO
gain. But we still hoped for luck. or some
happy thought. 1t was not luck, but a
happy thought that finally decided me to
leave the ship at Valparaiso and strike
across country to Buenos Ayres in the hope
of heading off the robbers before they
cleared that port Sailing round the Cape
| knew to be hard work and often slow
and with good luck could probably catch
the vessel, or at least have gained in the
chase.
The trip across the Andes and the vast
plains beyond was memorable one to me-
1t took fortnight of the hardest tramping
and riding l ever did in my life, but l saw
some things have never seen since, aud
never will again. The guides that we
started with were crusty, malicious fell
lows, and made me wonder every night
when l lay down to sleep on the open
ground whether l should not wake up to
find my throat cut. Fortunately that never
happened; but the reason was that they
had the better part Of my money before we
set out. Otherwise | think my life would
have been held pretty cheap by life in
surance company.
Half way up the mountains we found
an old monastery and little chapel At
first it seemed deserted, but when at last
we heard baby cry we knew that there
were human beings about. We peered in
at little old kitchen and saw there lit
tie old woman who seemed to have been
born about the time the kitchen was built,
say hundred years ago. We asked for
food and lodging in every language we
knew, but the only reply we got was
grunt and gesture toward an inner door.
We tried the door, but some one was lean
ing against it on the other side. By this
time was quite out of patience, and lift
ing the latch of the door gave it a terrible
push inward. Some glass thing fell and
broke in thousand pieces on the stone
floor and as the door swung open we saw
white old priest stagger backward IN the
little oratory of the chapel. and on the
paving were the fragments Of long black
bottle that had contained some black
liquid. The old fellow looked very much
frightened and depressing. and fastened
to explain that az his age he found drop
now and then necessary We made his
feelings ali right on that point by Offering
to drink some more with him, if he had
any. Ii appeared that there were num-
Der Of bottles in the cellar The old priest,
and even his wife, the old woman vino
seemed unable to speak, proved very hos
pitabie in the end, and we went on our
way early the next morning.
AT last the mountains were passed. and
before Us stretched broad. level grassy
plain, and twenty miles away, though the
distance seemed much less. lay city half
the size of Boston, but whose site was on
no map In existence, and whose name proc
ably not ten educated men in this country
had ever heard. But that was forty years
ago. OF course things have changed since
then.
Here my guides said they must leave
me, and though entreated their company
to the city, they utterly refused. l there
fore set out alone.
You can imagine my deso.ation AZ be
ing left. even by the desperate. black hued
men who had been NV companions so far.
Even they had some sense of humanity in
them, some sympathy for my loneliness,
though il was q moody. silent sympathy.
But now ! ~as alone, s strange city that J
did not know before me. the Andes behind
me II was ever honeslck in my life IL
wss on that morning. II / ever wished
were 81 home with wife and children
about me, that was the time As Itramped
On dreamed of all these things l care
fully recalled all the young ladies OF my
10 see if any Of them wo1ld
do for q wife Some were more or less at
t-sctive, bat there were many difficulties
in the way of really marrying any one OF
them After time turned from a con
sideratlon Of the individual female 10 a
OF the money question Thzt
seemed less doubtful. for | had begun 10
know my own powers and to trust them.
then and there resolved that ! would work
no longer for another master. but go into
business for myself when l returned TO san
Era aas-aa had . hrEis aAnital lad hT.