The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-17

frenzy of passion "They laugh best who
laugh last I'll 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 fool! One brief moments preset
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 tsuch foreknowledge would
not have diminished my sense of wrong.
Ny 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 home awaiting me. The superscrip
tion was my fathers, 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 ut 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 a portentous fate
shutting out all else. Instead of making
haste to learn the news, crushed the letter
In my hand and strobe about the apart
ment, darLening it with violent language.
At length tore the envelope and read
the letter. The effect was as If feveret
man were to plunge into an icy food and
have oil his flaming currents chilled in M
instant seemed TO have passed in mo
ment from one dreadful state of existence
into another still more dreadful. 1 had
leaped, in the words OF our poet, from "hell
ba snfo nm,
ger into that of despair, and for awhile
was paralyzed. AT first read incredulous
ly, thinking that fury must have disordereo
my brain. 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 volumnous document, COVERING
a full half dozen sheets Of large, closely
written letter paper That might the bet
ter understand the crisis which had CONT
upon us and the course of events leading
up To il, my father related the history of all
the preceding generations of our house
Ny ancestors, according to the partial hi
torian, were men OF rare virtues and splen
did accomplishments, brave, generous and
well favored, aiming ever at keeping thei.
honor bright and their hall full of good
cheer for their friends. Their hospitalit,
shone conspicuous in ages more princely
than ours, and, said my father with pride
that had it's touch Of patnos, mo man OF
them was ever known to do what did not
become Kilgour % Kilburnie." But he
was constrained 90 add, Though l 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
in &c people with chivalrous spirit and
lavish hard. The Kilgours having ex
hausted the treasury in keeping open
house began 20 borrow. Then bit by bit
the estate psssed away. till only n remnant
remained "Nhen | came into possession
of &c." wrot my father, with a stroke OF
sartlonic hnL. r, ii was like succeeding t
ON almshouse." Theu lac went ON to tell ol
the incessaut attacks ofharpics--1sraelitish
ustrcrs aided hy conscienceless lawyers
and how these hurpics were now CLOSING
i'm like ravenous beasts of prey bowling for
blood. Wherefore II comes" continued
the letter. that things are pressing hard