The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1896-03-15

some reckless ventures, and his aunts
which Tom had handled for years had
been.
once more he found himself. as far as
capital was concerned, a beggar. To make
matters worse. Hetty-who would have
shared her last dollar with him-had gone
abroad with her mother, whose failing
health had made ii incumbent upon her 10
take that step So Tom, for once, was
left entirely alone to face misfortunes.
This time he let himself go to. the bad
unreserVedly. He went pretty lar down
in the social scale, became out at the ell
bow and did not seem to care what be-
had expectations; but now he had nothing
to depend upon, except what little his
mother and sister could spare, and al
a man cannot subsist on air alone, and the
idea of going to work never entered Toms
head.
Although he had taken up his abode in
his late aunt's house, he had never inves-
tigated-as instructed nv her will-the
room which contaiped the means of car
rying out her last advice to him. This
wGls partly to please Hetty, who made him
premise that he would never follow that
un-Christian advice; partly also because
he had no particular desire to become IA
miliar with the apparatus prepared for
him TO put an end to his worthless exist
ence. He had not before found that 1t
was a worthless existence, perhaps. for
life is sweet, even to unsuccessful people
Now he felt that he had failed in every
way; that he had drunk the cup, of bit
terness to the dregs; that he had moth
ing to hive for; that his aunt was right
and the best thing for man to do who
was situated like himself-who had used
up his pGtrimony impoverished his moth
er and sister and lost money enough in
fruitless speculation to have kept him in
moderate comfoTf all his days-was TO
put an end to himself with as little de-
lay as possible. When this idea came
creeping into Toms mind he allowed il to
dominate him. The lonely life he lived
in that dreamy Oil house no doubt helm
ed to make him morbid. He spent<one
day. in Strengthening out what few affairs
he had TO straight en-, wrote long loving
letters to Hetty and his mother and en-.
closed them in one to Lawyer Chase, who.
if he received them in time did not take
tentions-then unlocked the old oak es-
critoire and in the left-hand side soon
found the little drawer which was only
wedged with a bit of paper.
Within the drawer lay a sealed envelope
addressed to hims elf, which made Tom
feel a little queer when he took it in his
Aunt was an odd old party" Tom said
to himself as he read the address upon
the envelope and felt the fiat key within
the key which would admit him-accord-
ing TO his aunts instructions-to such a
simple. easy way out of all his present
But the day was done and the night far
spent before Tom had the courage to fol-
low out the instructions laid down so
infinitely in Aunt E,eturahs we'll known
grabbed penmanship.
Tom had felt miserably mean more than
once in his life but never had his mean
ness, his worthlessDess, doomed up before
him as it did that night, when he sat i'm
the lonely house, with his dead aunt's let
ter grasped in his trembling fingers He
admitted that every word in the closely
written sheets was as true as the srospel
He had by his conduct forfeited every
right which men usually not only esteem.
hut highly value He knew that he had
almost broken his mothers heart ana bad
taken all the sweetness out of life for his
only sister: that he had been the only one
of his family, on either side, to go to the
bad, to bring disgrace upon the name of
Rrabason. When he had summed up all
the counts in Aunt Keturah's brief he
quite agreed with her that such an un-
profitable career had better by far end
and end quickly.
Having arrived at this conclusion, Tom
of instruction and the key in one hand
and a small lamp In the other, assembled
to the upper story of the silent old house.
When he had toiled up the stairs and
found the place indicated, the courage to
requisite to carry out his aunt's advice
nearly failed him.
The room was small almost closet
like lighted by an oval window, which
nrust have looked out over the neglected
grounds. From the ceiling hung a book
OK. The old lady had evidently made sure
not be frustrated by the instability of
was a stool, while on corner shelf was
a new rope all ready to his hand when
he mounted the stool to adjust it. Some
how all this preparation acted on Tom
like a. suggestion to hypnotized patient
1t did not seem any longer that he was
going TO do wicked thing-an act for
which he had to nerve himself He re-
moved his coat collar and neck scarf
calmly mounted the stool and with fingers
which no longer trembled slipped the
noosed end of the rope around his neck
and flung the other adjusted end upon
the hook. Then, though he certainly shud-
dered when the rope touched his bare
neck his courage did not falter: he kicked
the stool from under him and swung
second in empty space with a horrible
sense of suffocation. Then he had a feel
ing of falling a great distance and of
some huge body with him. Then all was
When Tom came to himself he was ly-
ing on the floor while around him Law
strewn a portion of the ceiling, and a fat
tin box, which had burst open in its fall.
scattering all about him its contents
which were voluminous. Money and
He had certainly proved that his aunt's
last advice had been the most profitable
When Tom went, as he had to the next
day, to see Lawyer Chase, that gentle
man smiled at him broadly as he listened
to the account of the hanging-though he
was careful not to call his attention to the
exact wording of his old clients will for
fear it might weaken the impression made
upon his new one. He simply promised
to put all Toms affairs in good shape by
the time he returned with his mother and
sister from obroad.
From the end of his hanging Tom
Brabason was a changed man, much Go
the happiness of his mother and sister
who as often now bless Aunt Keturah
as before they censured her for her un-
Christian advice. But to this day neither
of the trio has noticed the exact wording
of the same advice which brought about
the end of the hanging.
Mr.. oishi, managing editor of the lead
ing Japanese newspaper of Toxic. arriv
cd a a HTRnPiGpn flx-