The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-11-28
GUY FAWKES "GUYED."
A LONDON STORY.
From the London Truth.

=
Harry Bertram could see distinctly across
the old quadrangle; but it was moder-
ately opaque ana eminently disagreeable,
thereby symbolizing Harry's own gloomy
thoughts. F'arrar's Inn as all the world
knows, is one of the old Legal Inns, which
have escaped demolition. 1t lies north of
Cursitor street, and consists of quad
rangle, and beyond a pretty garden,
wherein are fountain and sun-dial
The property is held by a self-elective
body of twelve called "antients." who
dine together once a term in the quaint
old hall and drink to the piOus memory
OF Nicholas Farrar, master mariner and
founder. As these antients are negotia-
ting the sale of the inn 10 an enterprising
builder with view to distribution of the
purchase money, they have good reason
TO cherish the memory of that founder.
But the true dignity of "Farrar's" lies
neither in its unpretentious architecture
nor in its president antients, but in the
personality of William Cox, the porter.
He is a portly man and tall, with gray
beard. and the gait of an emperor. BY
reason of his greatness he wears scarlet
waistcoat and gold band round his tall
hat, and his oak stick is the terror of
the little boys who would fain play
cock-shy at the sun dial His manner
is that of the trusty servant, who, from
long and faithful service, has become in
dispensable to his employers And even
the oldest antients assume the depOrt-
ment of Agag in the scriptures and zap
proach him delicately.n His duty is to
preserve-the sanctity of the precincts and
stop the intrusion of the evil-doeP. He
guards the lodge of Farrar's Inn as did
Horatius Coolies the bridge in the brave
days of old Thus is he beloved by all
the antients and by the other tenants of
the Inn, with one single exception. If
you had looked round the quadrangle on
this particular morning you would have
noticed thatthe oaks" or outer doors,
were all open; the simple inner door fire.
quently ajar, invited the approach of the
hesitating client or the faithful friend
There was, however, one ''oakr which
had for some weeks been continuously
shut. 1t was that of the ground floor
rooms on the left of No. staircase, and
the name inscribed thereon was Henry
Bertram.n Moreover, never did the
tenant of those rooms espy the self-com-
placent Cox stalking majestiCally in the
quadrangle, but he execrated him as
low scOundrel who had betrayed a sacred
trust, and was amenable to the surrepti-
tious bride
The reason of Harry Bertram's self
incarceration and his detestation of Cox
may be briefly explained. He was a
young law student, who, having to read
in chambers, " took rooms in Farrars Inn.
1t was a convenient situation near the
Temple, and cheap; moreover, imme-
diately above him on the same staircase
there already lived an old oxford chum,
by name Charley Crofton. Bertram was
the only son of wealthy retired manu-
facturer in the north, and had always
been brought .uD as the heir to a
comfortable property; and as he was in
Ordinately fond of innocent pleasure in
every phase, he did not cOntine his ex-
penses to the modest allowance of goo a
year which his father gave him Thus,
before very long he had laid up a very
nice little store of bills. Suddenly his
father, who had long been in delicate
health, died, and Harry, despite
his tilial grief, foresaw freedom from his
financial difficulties. On looking, how
ever, into his fathers affairs, he discover
ed to his CONSERVATION that that gentle
man had for the last ten years been
secretly specializing. Most of his VEN
lures were of the wildcat or
der, and, to be brief, the
estate was only enough to cover the
liabilities. AT once Harry's creditors
swooped down upon him; bills and county
court summonses strewed his table like
the leaves in VallOmbrossa. His position
was, indeed pitiful. Like the gentlemen
in the parable, he could not dig: and,
even had he been undeterred by
shame from begging, the elee-
mosyner tenner would have not
gone far amid the importunate cohort.
He went and interviewed all the cred
itors personally, and implored them to
wait until he was called which would
be in six months, when he would be in
position to earn some money. Some, con-
sidering he was not altogether responsible
for the position, treated him with cOnsid-
Grafton; others threatened him with pro
ceedings; but the most remorseless of all
were Travers g. Blake, the fashiona BILE
tailors in Conduit street, whom Harry
had for two years employed. Little did
he know that, under that title, he was
really dealing with old Emanuel Isaacs,
whose son, Jacob, Harry had, when at
college, piled for the Boniface Wine
Club, and gloried in the act 1t was now
the turn of the child of Israel, whose
paternal heartstrings had been wrung by
his sons discontinue. His bill amounted
to Rl40 odd nothing on account would Mr.
Isaacs accept. Every farthing of the bill
must be paid and at once, or else an &C
tion in the high courts would be insti-
tuted. AS Harry could as easily have
-
had now learned the identity of the firm,
he had simply to await events. He had
not to wait long. Returning one day to
his rooms he heard quickening footsteps.
down Curister street. CHANGING over his
shoulder he saw a youth with a pro-
nounced nose, bearing a slip of paper, APP
preaching him with nimble step. Harry
realized the situation and fed He Just
got nto Farrar's Inn as the burly Cox
stopped the perspiring pursuer. OF
course Harry knew full well that the
slip of paper was a writ in the high court.
But what could he do, He had to live
somewhere, and the rest of his chambers
would run for the next six months. He
had no ready money.
He could not get away; still less could
he pay the debt. He might, however,
evade service, pending some unforeseen
solution. He accordingly wrote pathetic
letters to all his relations, including an
aunt, a sister of his fathers, who lived at
Oman, and whose existence he had only
lately remembered. For some days he
took his exercises in the little garden.
Here at least, in the sanctuary of the inn
he was fain to hope that he was safe
Alas for human hopes
One day as he emerged once again into
the quadrangle, he saw at the other end
of the passage a young man pensively
waiting 1t was the hero with the nose
The truth was as clear as the monday
sun Cox, the incorruptible, had been
by the Semitic gold. Harry did
the only possible thing. AS the youth APP
preached him he smOte the nose, and so
shPeWd was the blow that the enemy