Fairhaven herald. [volume] (Fairhaven, Wash.) 1890-????, 1892-10-12

ScATcuzRY, Conn, March l2, lss-.
DEAR CAPTAIN BANKs-In fulhllment Of my
lamented brothers last wishes, have sent
ysu his telescope In remembrance Of many
happy hours passed with you while con-
templating the glory Of the heavens during
your visit to us three years ago. With regards
10 your amiable wife, I remain, yours very
truly, HANNAH CRooKE,
"Bless my soul, didn't even know
old Ben was deadr" said the captain.
"And a telescope! don't know any
thing about astronomy--I only kept him
company in his observatory and let him
rave about his hobby. Where the dick
ems can we put the thingY"
Sell it," suggested Rob.
"Give it to the academy" said Mrs.
Banks.
mo, that wouldn't be fair to the old
boy. Hal There's the pilothouse. The
very thing! III go and see Shavers
about rigging up stand or something
for it." And the captain strobe out of
the dining room, leaving a clamor of
voices behind him.
at will spoil the smoking room," said
Rob.
1--WE won't be allowed to play up there
any more" said Frank and Bess.
81 am glad it is really to be an observ-
atory after all. Now perhaps your
father will drop that absurd name, )" said
Mrs. Banks.
"And it will really be nice to look at
comets and things with" said Lily.
And so the telescope was accepted in
the dining room at least, but Bridget
went out and complained to Mike that
the ''capen was going TO put a machine
called tellhiscup in the cupilow, and
nobody could hang clothes there on
dusty washdays." The captain had been
riverman, and when on retiring from
that profession he had built a house near
the river bank in answer to his wife's
request for a cupola he had erected or
the roof a square apartment that so
nearly resembled that in which he had
spent his early river life that he fondly
called it 1.-THE Pilothouse." 1t was not
often used; though it was priced by
Bridget as a drying room and Rob as a
smoking room, it was not popular with
Mrs. Banks and Lily-possibly on ac-
count Of its name. But its hour was
come.
The captain was the head and center
Of his family. Automatically speaking
(and since the telescope is the hero of
this story such a description is appro-
priate) the family at Clematis villa was
arranged in sort Of terrestrial or do
nestle solar system, something in this
order:
First, or centrally situated, the cap
tain.
Second, or revolving nearest him, Mrs.
Banks.
Third, IN the next orbit, Robert Banks.
Fourth, or in the third orbit, Lily
Banks and satellites (the schoolmaster,
the organist, the postmaster and John
Clark.
Fifth, or revolving in one orbit, Frank
and Bess.
Sixth, revolving in an orbit, but sub
ject TO disturbing influences, Bridget
Corrigan.
Seventh, or revolving in an outer
orbit, but subject TO influence from
Bridget, Mike Flynn.
Therefore when the telescope had
been set up, and when the captain had
fallen victim TO its attractions, the rest
of the family revolved around him in
their proper orbits, with their poles
slightly inclined toward the telescope.
The first indications of the power Of
the telescope was felt when the captain
brought from town work on astron-
omy. II was not a ponderous tome, such
as discourages earlier star gazers by
weight Of wisdom and malodorous calf
skin cover, but dainty volume in blue
binding, over which gilt stars, planets,
nebule and comets cheerfully frisked,
looking like the illustrated catalogue Of
a fireworks factory. To this book, as
well as the baieful influence Of the tele-
scope, may be attributed the wreck of
the Banks family, who soon were united
in worshiping the sublime science, each
according to his or her tastes.
The captain, as befitted his position in
the domestic universe, devoted himself
entirely TO the sun, and began 10 fill a
large diary with notes Of his observa-
tons and with his theories, in many Of
which he begged leave 10 differ from his
learned coufreres-astronom lights of
the literary world. Mrs Banks was de-
voted to nebula, partly from natural
feminine delight in the mysterious and
unknowable, and partly because, as she
expressed it, there was something nice
and homelike about nebula-they re-
minded her Of jelly Telling and bread
riging-something was always going on
IA, thafn and one conld be prettv sure il
would turn out right. The planets
now were always going around and
around in the same track, like ones
sewing machine, and we're not so inter
esting as nebule.
Rob, ON the contrary, found the plan
cts most interesting. They always came
to time; you never caught one of its