Evening journal. [volume] (Wilmington, Del.) 1888-1932, 1892-08-24

begun Thursday. Aug. 1l--Back numbers at
the Counting Rooml
81 must have comfort" thought
Jierck.
When sorrow is too sharp TO be borne
and comfort must be had at once men
go to the anodynes and stimulants. Kos
mos provides these in great variety
The four Of most universal application
are:
Tobacco, alcohol, marriage, death.
Poor Jierck Dewitt wanted comfort at
once. A Whit of smoke from his pipe
was not concentrated enough, and he
could not wait to try what virtue there
was in bigamy.
Rum or this!" he said wildly. The
alternative "this" seemed to attract him |
for an instant. He drew his knife from /
his belt and felt along the cold edge. |
Was he about to taste that mighty mar
cote, Death?
Deathl He touched his knife blade. |
Gloom alighted upon the landscape. |
The golden woods grew lurid. Silence,
deeper than he had ever known, deep
ened and deepened, until he fancied that
nature was hushed and listening for his
death moan.
An imagined picture grew before his
eyes; Time, morning. Scene, this glade
of the big chestnut. A man lies under
the tree The first sunbeams melt the
frost that dabbles his hair He must be
sound sleeper, for a chipmunk has
picked his pockets of their crumbs, and
now stands on his forehead. chuckling
over his breakfast. Mrs. Jierck Dewitt
enters the glade. She sees the sleeper.
She starts and approaches cautiously.
She stares, and then looks up with a
great bold smile of relief and scorn.
For the sleeper is her husband. He lies
dead with knife in his breast.
"No!' Kissed Jierck, dashing away
this picture from his eyes. IN not
kill myself to please her"
Rum! must have rum, or / shall
go mad. The old mans jug will be in
the old place in the kitchen cupboard"
he continued.
He sl1ulked along rapidly through the
woods, like beast of prey. The great
dull agony in his heart paused a mo-
ment. He could keep it down from
maddening him while he thought Of his
sorry consolation to come.
1t was growing dusk now, and he was
reckless. He stopped by the kitchen
window Of his fathers house and peered
in.
The family were at supper. These
We're the early years of the Revolution,
and war had not yet utterly desolated
this region. Squire Dewitt's was still a
prosperous household, and he, a fine old
patriarch, presided at a liberal board.
Opposite him sat the mild mother of the
house
The harmony of a lifetime Of love and
companion thinking on companion cares
had made her expression almost identi-
cal with her husbands. Pretty Kate, a
daughter of her parents old age, hustled
the meal along and hoped her Hendre-
Gus was not getting hungry. Jiercks
only sister, widow, was making two
smiles grow in the place of one on her
boy Tommy's round face by cutting his
gingerbread fatter than usual. The cat
from a dresser watched every morsel
and every sip with feline look, which
Is a thief look.
This homely scene, instead Of sooth-
ing poor Jierck, was double bitterness
to him.
Course the woman I made my wifer
he thought. "She has spoiled my chance
of home and freside, of a happy age and
children to love and reverence me
Curse her for making me hate my lifev
He turned away, half mean, half fierce
and stole in by the back door to the cup
board.
There sat the great jug as Of yore. 1
was of gray stoneware with blue splash
es. Its spout was fashioned into fact
on the broad grin. Comfort here" thu
grinning mask seemed to wink, and die
not reveal how short lived and bastar,
was the comfort it promised. Jiercl
heaved up its clumsy heft, balanced
upon his lips and swigged.
There is a sage and honorable law tina
limits the robbing of orchards-"Ea
your fill. but don't fill your pockets.
Jierck was rash enough to violate thi
also He pocketed a pint of his sorr
comforter. He found an empty bottl
labeled "Hair Oil" There were name
less unguents before Macassar, and thi
bottle had held one of them. Jierck file
it from the jug, and made for the bar
Just in time to evade pretty Kate carry
ing supper to the others and her Her
drecus.
Supper was done. Dusk was come
Jierck set out with his party for the rel
devious The peril was considerable
Hanging was the penalty for bein
vaught. So they sharpened their eye
ericked up their ears, trod softly an
tried to persuade the runt pony to do Il