The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1892-03-19
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MY FRIEND THE THIEF
From All the Year Round.

From All the Year Round.
He was an Oxford man, and the very
last fellow in the world to commit crime;
at least, we all thought so in the days when
we were happy together at school and col
lege. | should indeed have found it diff
cult at that time to suggest any situation
which would develop the law-breaking in
stinct in my friend Leonard Rugby. He
was eminently good natured and adaptable
he had courage, kindness, health and per
severance; but he was also very clever, and
he contrived to invent and prepare the
requisite situation for himself.
He married very beautiful girl, who
had fortune of her own; and he was him
self happily endowed with more money
than he seemed likely ever to want, for he
had no expensive personal habits. We all
of us thought that the fates had been par.
ticularly kind to Leonard. They did not
even put any difficulty at first in the way
of his lovemaking; it wa; after his proposal
had been accepted that Gwendolines rela-
tions objected to the scheme of life which
he suggested for himself and for her
Gwendoline was, however, faithful to him
and quite resolved to forward the under
taking which she had helped HIM to plan
1t was only necessary to wait until she was
of age, when she would be at liberty to dc
as she liked with herself and her fortune
| paid them a visit after they had been
married about six months, and they seemed
then to be very happy and hopeful. 81
am only afraid that the life is little toe
hard for Lima" Leonard said to me, with
touch of uneasiness in his voice II
struck me, however, that his wife was look.
ing unusually well; it was on his own hand
some face that the lines of secret dread
dread lest he had made mistake, and
begun what could not 90 on-were to be
seen. Gwendoline's early home had been
in the house of her uncle, venerable pro.
fessor of an ancient university town. AL
things about her had been subdued into
keeping with the suggestions of the place
learning, intellect and cultured habits.
found her now in remote settlement
without any servants, and with hardly any
possessions which she did not hold in com
mon with women of another class and kind
1t had been Leonard's dream and hel
own to found new society which should
not suffer for the faults of the old nor be
eptangled in its evil customs His idea
could only be carried out in some unsp9iled
plot of earth, far from the ancient laws and
the ancient temptations of humanity
Leonard looked for such place and found
it. His settlement was on cliff, and the
cliff was cut in two by gorge, through
which stream ran down to the narrow
strip of shore Behind it was desert and
before it was the sea. On the stretch Of
land between the two it was his plan to SOW
corn, to rear cattle, and to live on the pro.
duce of his peoples industry. All were to
work alike and to share alike. 1t was ia
be one of the Utopias of which SO many
dream, in which so many believe but which
so few who have anything to risk care to
work into a practical experiment. Into
this undertaking Leonard cheerfully put
his aEp fpTtHpe, apd was prepared to put
his wife's,
at isn't quite fair" | said to him, ''you
didn't start free of the old society after all
You have brought with you lots of things
which neither you nor the men with you
could have made for yourselves.
ave must have start" said Leonard
isapd these poor fellows had to see some,
thing tangible to raise their hopes at iirst. y
"Have You got a good set with you p
l asked
His handsome face flushed uneasily.
"There's only one really good workman
in the lot, that's Joe Brown" he said, and
then he laughed little. aHe has poor
opinion of our future. He said to me
when he joined us You mean well, and
I'd ike to stand by and see you out. One
place is as good as another to me now.
'There's quick-spoken man, who seems
to have the control Of everything "Who
! is that ?" l asked
II suppose you mean Matthew Law.
But nobody here has more control than
anybody else"
doesn't character come in to contradict
you? I don't suppose you can eqnalize
that | remarked
owe can't do everything at once" said
Leonard. ''We have to work through in
herited difficulties and differences.
"TheFe are half dozen very big fellows
that ! have seen lonngipg about" OBJ
served.
eLounging2" repeated Leonard, with a
eomical look. "Well, | suppose they do
lounge. Nature having provided them
with an undue share of muscle, has aright
to compensate herself by giving them a
smaller share of perseverance than she gives
to smaller men,"
$50 | should suppose. And who are
the others 2"
"Well, there are the Brigges father
and mother and several children-they
are of a complaining sort, and rather shift
less; but they mean well, they have had a
bad time in the old world, and have lost