Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1896-07-02
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mlideF moods on that coast. and ! had
4 dreaded the effect of the seasons rig
ors upon Lamar. who certainly had had
I 10 experience Of the protraeted cold OF
the latitude. Luckily. the house on the
/ knoll had been built TO withstand
/ storms, and / saw to it that an abundant
supply Of fuel was laid in, so that. on
the whole. in spite of its exposed posi-
ton, the dwelling was fairly com
Portable even in the worst weather It's
owner made no complaints. He spent
much of his time in one of the upper
rooms. which he had fitted up as a sort
of laboratory. HIS interest appeared
TO be divided between chemistry and
! electricity, though whether his expert
ments in either had any object save his
own amusement never learned. Two
or three cases of books had been shipped
from Trent to my address, but for his
use, and, when he cared to read, mis-
cellaneous collection of worthless could
I he drawn upon. There were a few
I Portuguese books and few Spanish. a
good many in Latin, and a still larger
number in French and in English. Bur
tons Anatomy. Cicero's Letters, AMI
Noltaire's works seemed to be his ia
vcrites. l say seemed . for he never
took the trouble to speak of any of the
authors he read.
He was still as cadaverous as ever,
though his general physical condition
was as good as could be hoped for by
any man who led so sedentary a life.
De ember dragged through its tenn
pestuous length, and January followed
with an even more trying stretch of
gales and extreme cold These condi-
tons he withstood so well that had
hopes that the winter would pass with
out illness at the house on the knoll:
but one day early in February found
him suffering from a severe cold and
eNhil ting symptoms which were most
unfayorable. 1t was my first oppor-
tunity to earn the salary of his medical
adviser, and fortune was kind. AL
though he developed a good deal OF
fever, and at the worst it was touch
and-go with pneumonia. a week saw
him practically out of danger. though
still quite willing to keep to his bed,
and a good deal safer there than he
would have been prowling about the
house. He expressed no opinion of his
treatment, no thanks to his doctor. no
impatienee to be about again / was
his physician, hired by the year, and so
long as he was i'll my orders were to be
obeyed unquestioningly; there was
no need OF gratitude either way. 1t
was all very logical, no doubt. but it in
creased my dislike for him. There
would have been more real satisfaction
IN persuadng a dropping sapling to
keep alive
After his recovery we slipped back
into the old routine. He gave orders
occasionally, and I obcyed hem. with
ont question and without any great
heed for the reasons for them. In fact.
specializing upon this mans history or
his plans was such prohtless business
that, for the time, gave it up in dis
gust. He was person who was to be
visited daily, who paid literally for the
attention. and who thus enabled me to
PASS my many leisure hours in careless.
easy-going comfort. The people mer
were no longer inquisitiye about the
hermit; the theory of the brewer from
Charleston appeared to have spread
widely and to have been accepted, find
ing believers far more easily than
would have been the case with any state
Inent of the facts concerning him, SO
far as they had fallen within my lnowl-
edge.
At last winter drew to a close, and
spring came on, advancing eoyly. as is
the custom of maidens before whom
the world is ready to bow in eager hom-
age Then the last of the snow-banks
disappeared from the reeesses of the
hills, the slopes grew green. and the
rank vegetation Of the marsh tlourished
in all the vigor of its strong new life
Once more there were birds in the trees
and flowers in the fields. and once more
from the sea swept invigorating
breezes.
To all about me spring brought re-
newed activities. There was a fine
hustle on the farms, ana even the sleepy
village seemed to be awakened For
the first time NY ease became onerous;
| fell To inventing tasks to convince
myself that one could be busy if he
would. My horse, whose existence
during the winter had been all that
equine sloth could desire. was now in
steady service, for the roads were excel
lent, being sufficiently sandy soon to
rid themselves of undesirable moisture,
and | explored the highways and by
ways for miles around. Near the vii
lage let my 1teed choose his own gait
but when we found q level bit Of road
where there were likely to be no spec
tators the trotter had an opportunity
to prove his speed. Hewas an that Car
penter had said for HIM; devoid of
nerves, yet, when pushed, by long odds
the fastest animal in the region. His
appearance certainly was against him
Arching the neck he left TO the younger
and less philosophical Of his kind; his
head was carried as low as that OF the