Waterbury evening Democrat. [volume] (Waterbury, Conn.) 1887-1895, 1894-01-11

y
are over will repay your affront with In
terest. And in the meantime will say in
the spirit of Timon, it is pity you are not
good enough to spit on"
My outburst awed the throng that had
gathered about us, and strobe away in
the midst of dead silence, the picture, as
an eyewitness afterward told me, of fury
incarnate. Peters tongue, however, was
not long still.
"Ha, ha p' he cried mocktngly ere had
gone so yards; $50 the beggar would ride
on horseback, would her Pride goes be-
fore fall. The pauper who refuses aims
today may tomorrow dispute with the dogs
for bone Even a highlander may find
it hard to feed on his pride''
/ turned quickly on my heel, under a
frantic impulse to go back and rend my
tormentor on the spot. Perhaps it was the
vision of jeering faces that deferred me-
for the crowd were chiefly his friends, or
1t may have been an acute sense of my
physical disability, but only called out in
a frenzy of passion: ''They laugh best who
laugh last. Pll silence your tinker tongue
yet," and held on my way, my rage so fu-
rious that passersby stared at me, my
brain throbbing with the fellest purposes
of revenge.
Poor fooll One brief moments preset
kneen edged sword that fate held immi-
nent over my head would very speedily
have checked my passion and turned my
mind to other things than petty aims of
vengeance. Yet such foreknowledge would
not have diminished my sense of wrong.
Ny enemy's evil influence was predomi-
nant, and, little as / guessed, 1t was to
shape my whole subsequent career.
On reaching my rooms l found letter
from home awaiting me. The superscrip-
ton was my fathers, a circumstance that at
another time and in a calmer mood would
Immediately have struck me as peculiar,
since my mother was the invariable CORE
spondent at Kilburnie. But just then /
had not eyes to observe. One thing and
thing alone l saw and thought of-the de-
tested object of my wrath. He doomed upon
my distracted mind like portentous fate,
shutting out all else. Instead of making
haste to learn the news, 1 crushed the letter
in my hand and strobe about the apart
ment, darkening it with violent language.
At length tore the envelope and read
the letter. The effect was as il fevered
man were to plunge into an icy flood and
have all his flaming currents chilled in an
instant. l seemed to have passed in a mo-
ment from one dreadful state of existence
into another still more dreadful. I had
leaped, in the words of our poet, from hell
heat to arctic cold" from the region of an
ger into that of despair, and for awhile /
was paralyzcd. At first 1 read incredulous-
ly, thinking that fury must have disordered
my lin. Holding my head in my hand,
read again, and yet again, hoping to prove
the first Interpretation wrong. But re-
perusal only brought out the fatal truth
the more clearly. Then thought that my
father must have been mad when he wrote,
but that hypothesis also had to be aban-
doned. The letter indeed was mercilessly
sane and explicit.
1t was a voluminous document, covering
full half dozen sheets of large, closely
written letter paper. That 1 might the bet
ter understand the crisis which had come
upon us and the course of events leading
up to it, my father related the history of all
the preceding generations of our house.
My ancestors, according to the partial his
torian, were men of rare virtues and splen-
did accomplishments, brave, generous and
well favored, aiming ever at keeping their
honor bright and their hall full of good
cheer for their friends. Their hospitality
shone conspicuous in ages more princely
than ours, and, said my father with pride
that had it's touch of pathos, mo man Of
them was ever known to do what did not
become Kilgour of Kilburnie." But he
was constrained to add, Though I am
afraid they were not always as wise as Solo
mon"
The eulogy was the preface to very bit
ter tale. Bog and crag and moorland but
i'll fit people with a chivalrous spirit and a
lavish hand. The Kilgours having ex-
hausted the treasury in keeping open
house began to borrow. Then bit by bit
the estate passed away, till only remnant
int
of it," wrote my father, with stroke OF
sardonic humor, lit was like succeeding to
an almshouse." Then he went on to tell of
the incessant attacks of harpies-Israelitish
aided by constituencies lawyers
and how these harpies were now CLOSING
In like ravenous beasts of prey bowling for
blood. Wherefore it comes" continued
the letter, that things are pressing hard
on US at this present writing, and / and
your mother are sore distressed. There
was, however, a chance Of keeping the foe
beyond the gates" by temporizing until
such time as ], the sole hope of the FAM
lily, should be able to come to the rescue
The manner in which was to bring relief
was by beating the harpies at their own
game. In other words, was to retrieve
our fallen fortunes by turning lawyer
forthwith.
after much meditation" pursued my
father, 1.-THE law commends itself to me as
a high and honorable profession. A law
yer in our family would fairly set US on
our feet again. Lawyers are all rogues,
as I know to my cost, but you
might get long enough spoon to sup with
the best of them. Once started, once ris-
ing, none knows where you might stop.
You might be my lord advocate yet and go
to court and make D great name and get
influence, and then we could cock our bon
nets and whistle with the highest of them"
This was bad enough and hopeless enough,
but the pinch was yet to come That my
progress might be facilitated, was to be-
gin my legal career in the office of Thomas
Clephane in Dundee-that is TO say, was
to put myself completely and uncondition-
ally in my eneniy's power. My father
heaven that had an opportunity
of making so good a start. Il will write
to your uncle Immediately" he said, land
it lies secure in my mind that he will admit
you on favorable terms. Delay not, my
son. Let our straits be a spur to your reso-
luton. We look to you to save us, and l
am sure we do not look in vain. l have n
dim memory of hearing you once say that
your cousin, who will naturally be your
uncle's partner and successor, is your fell
low student at the university. Cultivate
his good will, and by the grace OF God he
may befriend you"
read this letter dozen times, dazed by
its news, sickened at heart by its mis-
placed and tragic hopefulness. Locking the
door to prevent intrusion, l sat down and
tried to think. What was this burden that
had been laid so suddenly upon mee What
was asked to do? Not half an hour be-
fore Peter had publicly ground his heel in
the dust to signify how he would crush me,
and had answered in angry defiance. Now
1 was to plead for his favor, his help, his
good will. was to court his scorn, to in
vite n.m to heap insults and humiliations
on my head. He might taunt me and
tempt me, call his companions to join him
in making sport of me, he might spit on
me, treat me like dog, and could give
nothing in return but the crouching sub
serviency which dog owes to its master.
l sprang to my feet and began to pace the
room in a tumult of revolt and indignation