The Wilmington daily Republican. (Wilmington, Del.) 1890-1902, 1894-01-08


self he bent forward, again saying in tone
of simulated compassion; After all, as I'm
a Christian, ought to pity you. There Is
/ shilling for you. Take it. Before seven
days are over dare say You will find it use
Il full
4 Such was my amazement at this speech
d and the sudden change Of his manner that i
mechanically held out my hand and took
the shilling. But its touch, which was as
sting in the quick, restored my senses,
and flung the coin back In his face.
A "You may insult but you cannot degrade
me-" cried, a hot, moist, prickly sensation
" springing to my eyes. "What your mean
ing is cannot tell. only know that, be-
ing yours, IL must be spiteful and malicious.
But before the seven days of which you talk
are over will repay your affront with in
terest. And in the meantime will say in
the spirit of Timon, 1t 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 a dead silence, the picture, as
an eyewitness afterward told me, of fury
incarnate. Peters tongue, however, was
not long still.
! "Ha, hal" he cried mockingly ere had
gone 30 yards; $50 the beggar would ride
on horseback, would he2 Pride goes be-
fore fall. The pauper who refuses aims
today may tomorrow dispute with the dogs
| for a bone. Even highlander may find
it hard to feed on his pride"
turncd-qetclsiy 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
nj, h.,t 7
o frenzy Of passion; "They laugh best who
laugh last Tllsilence 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 fooli One brief moments presci-
ence, one glimpse Of the future, and the
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
mot have diminished my sense of wrong
My enemy's evil influence was predomi-
nant, and, little as / guessed, it was to
shape my whole subsequent career
On reaching my rooms / found letter
from homo awaiting me. The superscrip-
tion was my fathers, a circumstance that at
fhnoputT bliuo anu Ill u cufIuOr mOOQ 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 saw and thought of-the de-
tested object of my wrath. He loomed upon
my distracted mind like portentous fate,
shutting out oil else. Instead of making
haste to learn the news, crushed the letter
In my hand and strobe about the apart
sment darkening it with violent language.
At length tore the envelope and read
the letter. The effect was as If a fevered
,nan were to plunge into an icy.food and
have all his flaming currents chilled in an
Instant i seemed to have passed in a mo-
ment from one dreadful state of existence
into another still more dreadful. had
leaped, in the words of our poet, from shell
heat to arctic cold," from the region of an
ger into that of despair, and for awhile
WAS paralyZed. AT first l read incredulous-
lly, thinking that fury must have disordered
my brain. Holding my head in my hand, l
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 voluminous document, covering
D full half dozen sheets of large, closely
written letter paper. That might the bet
ter understand the crisis which had come
hpon US and the course of events leading
pp 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 lfcb 20
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 its touch Of pathos, mo man of
them was ever known to do what did not
become a Kilgour of Kilburnie" But he
was constrained to add, Though l am
afraid they were not always as wise as Solo.
mon.n
The eulogy was the preface to very Bit
ter tale. Bog and crag and moorland but
Ill fit people with chvalrous spirit and a
lavish hand. The Kllgours having ex-
hausted the treasury in keeping open
house began to borrow. Then bit by bit
the estate passed away, till only a remnant
remained. when l came into possession
Sf it, wrote my father, with a stroke of
Sardonic hnmor, ''it was like succeeding to
an almshonse" Then he went Oh to tell Of
the incessant attacks of fharpies-Israelitish
usuYers aided by conscienceless lawyers
and how these harpies were now CLOSING
Up like ravenous beasts of prey bowling for
hood. Wherefore it comes" continued
The letter, that things arc pressing hard
On us at this present writing, and and
ypur mother are sore distressed" There
was, however, chance of keeping the foe
Beyond the gates' by temporizing until
snch 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 hsrpies at tlaeir own
game. In other words, was to retrieve
our fallen fortunes by turning lawyer
forthwith.
after much meditation" pursued my
father, "the law eommends 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 / 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 20
TO court and make 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
In Dundee-that is to say, was
TO put myself completely and uncondition-
ally in my enemy's power My father
heaven that had an opportunity
of making so good start. II will write
10 your uncle immediately.a he said. "and
Il 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 rcso-
ution. We look to you TO save us, and I
am sure we do not look in vain. have
lin memory of hearing you once say that
four cousin, who will naturally be your
lnce's partner and successor, Is your fell
ow student at the university. Cultivate
lis good will and by the grace of God he