Arizona silver belt., 1894-03-03
A DROPPED LETTER.

David Elliott was what is called
 good boy, Elo thought it was wrong
 crib and would not for anything hav
 opened his Homer during Rep.
 though if the fellow next him han
 pened to have . loose leaf on bis kue
 that was another matter, of course. am
 he saw no harm in taking a glance 8
 that just before getting on his legs IL
 had hatred of bullying especiall,
 when be trst went to school-and wa
 always most kind to the small bows
 Everybody knows that certain amour
 of discipline is good for them, and taa
 ii they become arrogant the ttutst kind
 ness IS Co show them their real position
 in society, and this David always dit
 by moderate and iudicious use of th,
 middle stump He was never cruel [,
 dumb auimals
 Cats, by the way, are not dumb an-
 unals, as everybody who has ever bro
 ken cats leg with stone well knows
 indeed they are really beasts of prey.
 so that chivying them is nothing but
 tiger hunting on a small scale. Above
 all, he never told lies He was always
 strictly accurate iu his statements. and
 If people sometimes carried away a
 wrong impression after asking him Q ! question t was always because they
 had not put II properly.
 ln tho midsummer vacation. when
 David was l4. be wen, to spend week or two at lngloby manor, where his uu.
 cle, Sir Walter Ellioit, lived. He was much batter or than Davia's father. who was the youngest sou and clergy.
 man, and from whom David had learn cd his love of truth.
 Now lugleby manor was a very nico place for boy to spend his summer holidays in. lt stood in a large park with a lake in it, in which there were qnite numter Of fsh. A pnut was moored in one corner of the lake. and Q stream ran out of it in which there were delightful little pools for bathing and plenty ol water rats that wero always ready for a romp with the terriers. In the house were a billiard table. with whole set Of pool balls, and e room full of guns. In the stables there were six or seven horses. and a number of dogs lived in different parts of the place. There were also skittie alley and large kitchen garden, In fact, t was perfect paradise, and like every other paradise it contained an Eve-aud serpent-both cousins of David. The Eve was named Lucia She was year younger than David but she always showed promise of growing into-what sine now is-the handsomest woman in the county, She was an orphan and spent good dead of her time with her uncle, who was very fond of her, as in- deed was everybody else.
 David fell in love with her at once and the more be loved her the more he l dlliked bis other cousin Hughie. He l also dcspisgd him and considered him | seug which is a rude word and oue not | to be used to anybody whoi is big enough | to punch toe head of the Joy using it. Indeed though Hugh was not altogeth- CT a gentleman still less was he alto gether cad He was a very handsome boy and gentlemanlike enough in some things but be WIS not dressed quite like the boys at DIyid's school. and he did not know how 10 treat servants. Worse than ail, be dropped bis hs-uot always but only if be got excited about lnything,
 David will never forget the look that anne on his uucle's face when, as they were watching a county match one aft. .rnoon Hugh cried out. We'll it, sir; well it indeedl' He turned quite lale and said very quietly. Come, ,oys, ] think we've seen enough of his, and they had to leave the ground. lthough the second inning was only ust beginning But, in spite of this. lucia liked Hugbie much better than he did David When she climbed rec, it was always to him that she alled to help her down. and when they layed cricket she never cared bow far be had to run after the ball if Hugbie ad hit 1t. Ouce-it was q very hot { fternoon, and David couldn't get Iughie out--he called out for fun, J Well 1t, sir, indeej!' Hughie only lughed, but she turned as red as a ' irkey cock and walked of into the ouse, leaving David to field as well as owl. She and Hughie used 10 go off I IT long walks together, leaving David { } lounge about by himself and wish nat his uncle would send Hughie back q his mother, little knowing that the | me was close at hand when he would } very near to being sent home in dis. ! race himself. f Now, the uncle of these boys was e an who thought great deal oout 8 'ting aud drinking. Inc ed he o4ght of little else, for he was too q zy to walk and too fat to care about : ding and never opened book by sny c lance. One reason that he liked David I tier than Hugh which at that time
 certainly did was that Hughie had h
 immense healthy appetite, which l him 70 deyour anything he could ct t, without much carirg what it was tl long as there was plenty of it, d hereas David was much more partic- q ar, and generally took only what he W d seen his uncle take. knowing that i, at was pretty certain to be the test. tl It happened about this time that h. lend of Sir Walter who was in the O. lbassy at St. Petersburg sent him a of some very special Rgssian del- ii