Omaha daily bee., 1896-11-29


Barnard Hope commonly known as
Barney, never quite got over his surprise at
finding himself the son OF James Hope and
Euphcmia. his wife. James Hope, the
Junior member Of the firm Of Monkton d
Hope. was an undersi2ed man, with touch
OF badness and an air of constant apology.
He seemed to attach a mental string to
every hcsitating opinion he uttered, so thdt
he might instantly pull 1t back II necessary.
Meeting him on the street, one would take
him for a very much bulied, very much
underpaid clerk in the city. In his ONCE
he lived in fear of his manager, at home he
lived in fear of his wife. The chief charac-
tcristic OF his wife was uncOmpromising
rightly She was a head taller than her
husband, and when one met them on the
way to church he mad the meek attitude OF
an unfortunate little boy who had been
found out, and was being taken to church
as a punishmcnt by a just and indignant
school mistress Mrs. Hope joined in none
of the fashionable frivClities Of Surbton,
where she lived. She had a mission and a
duty toward her fellow creatures-that is,
toward those who were poor and who could
not very well resent her patronage. She
had an idea that If all the well to do did
their duty. the world would be a brighter
and better place-which is doubtful.
We may all be more or less grateful that
Mrs Hope has not been intrustcd with the
task of making this world over again; many
interesting features would, in that case. have
been eliminated Hope himself was not an
example of unmitigated happiness Inc
lady always had number Of protegccs on
hand. whom she aftCrward discovered, as a
usual thing, to be undCserving, which dis
coycry caused them to be thrown over for
new cases, that in turn went bad. She was
also constantly in demand by organizations
needing momhCgs with long purses, but Mrs.
Hope had a wonderful talent for managing
which was not always recognized by these
with whom she associated. This often led
TO trouble, older members claiming, as they
vulgarly put it. that she wanted to run the
whole SHOW, ana one outspoken person
advised her to amCliorate the condition of
her husbands wOrkmon If she desired fit
subjects for her efforts. This remark turned
Mrs. Hopes attention to the mandatory OF
MonktOn & Hope, and led TO her calling upon
Mrs. Sartwcll in the neighboring suburb of
Wimbledon.
Now, the son OF these two dissimilar
but Cstimablc persons ought to have been
solemn prig, whereas he was in fact,
boistCrous cad, and thus does nature revel
in unexpected surprises.
Barney was brOad-shouldcGed, good
naturc1 giant, who lowered over his shrink
ing father as the monument towers over
the nearest lamppost. He was hail-fcllow
well met. and could not shake hands like
an ordinary mortal. but must bring down
his great paw with an over shoulder motion
as If he were throwing a cricket ball. and
after the resOunding whack of palm on
palm, he would crunch the hand he held
until it's owner WINGED. Friends Of the
young fellow got into the habit of placing
their hands behind them, aud saying, I'm
quite we'll thank YOU Barney whereup0n
Barney laughed and smOte them on the
shoulder. which, though hard to bear, was
the lesser of two evils.
"Boisterous brute" his comrades said be
hind his back, but the energetic shoulder
blow or haui-clasp merely meant that Bar
ney was very glad indeed to meet a friend,
and to let the friend know that although
he was very poor and Barney very rlCh
this circumstance need not make the slight
est difference between them.
1t Is possible that in the far west or in
the Australian bush. where muscle counts
for something. there was place yawning
tor Barney; perhaps there was a place for
him even in London, but If there was fate
and BarnCys own inclinatlons removed him
from 1t as far as possible Barney was
an artist; that Is to cay, he painted, or
rather he put certain ColOTs on canvas. For
some years Barney had been the amazement
of Julian's school in Paris He had
suite Of rooms at the Grand hotel. and he
drove to the school in b. Rue du Dragon
every morning with a cClChman and foot
man. the latter carrying Barney's painting
kit, while the former Sat in statuCsque
position on the box with his whip at the
correct angle OF course, the art students
were not going to stand that sort Of thing,
so they closed the gates one day ana at
tackled the young man in body Barney