Eagle River review. [volume] (Eagle River, Wis.) 1890-1927, 1896-09-10
All these win be

l
| ishes me. 1t will be the most useful
| clock in the world
| $50 far that is all easy, and would not
make it even a very remarkable clock,
| mother. 1t will take account Of leap
years, and be constructed to run till the
year ten thousand Of the Christian era"
when once wound up"
| "Oh, no, you simple mother. 1t Will
| have to be wound up every week"
| "But will not the machinery wear out?"
| eyes, the metal and the stones will
wear out and rust out before eight thou
| sand years. But the principle will have
| eight thousand years of vitality in it.
Steel and brass and rubies yield to fric-
| ton and time, but principle lives for
| ever if it is a true principle"
"And good principle" interrupted the
| voice Of the old woman piously.
"Good or bad, if it is true it will last,
| said the voice Of the hunchback harshly.
Then he went on in more gentle and even
| tones: "On another face it will tell the
time of high water in fifty great mari
time cities. There will be four thousand
! figures Of time, figures of all the great
men of the past, each bearing symbol OF
| his greatest work, or thought, or achieve
ment, and each appearing on the ami
versary Of his death; thus there will be
from eight to twenty figures visible each
day, and that day will be the anniversary
of the one on which each Of the men died
years ago."
-Four thousand figures! Why, it will
cost fortunev'
"Four thousand historic figures each
presented on the anniversary Of death!
I am at work on the figures Of those who
died on the 22d Of August just now. They
are very interesting to me, and one OF
| them is the most interesting of all the
! four thousand figures. Richard Planta-
| genet, of Gloucester, commonly called
| Richard the Third Of England, and nick
named the Hunchback Tyrant," mali
| ciously.
'Oscar!' in tone of protest and mis-
eyes Hump and all, am now making
the figure Of the most famous hunchback
in history. L take delight in modelling
the figure Of my Hunchback Tyrant. in
body and soul / can sympathize with
him." He spoke furiously, and there was
| sound in the room as If he rose
| ooh, you break my heart, my boy, my
boy, my son! Don't, don't. You cut me
to the soul! You brighten me when you
look in that way" She spoke in terror
and anguish.
"Break your heart, motherv' went on
Leigh, in tone Of excitement. "What
| hurt can words do? Look at me! Me!
| If I were to say my heart was broken,
no one would wonder. l am not reproach-
ing you. Heaven knows, if turned upon
| you, I should have no friend left in all
the world. Not one who would care for
me-care whether l lived or died, whether
I prospered or was hanged by the common
hangman on gibbet!"
ooh, Oscar! What has soured you SO ?
You never talked in this way until now.
What has changed you?' The woman
was weeping through her words.
ga girls face. A girls face has chang
ed me. I, who had heart to the core Of
| adamant betting the crooked carcass in
which it is penned and warped. But there!
I have been vaporing, mother. Let my
| words pass l am myself again. I know
your advice is good. mean to follow it.
T will marry a wife. I will marry a
| pretty, shapely wife. You shall have
grandchildren at your knee, mother. be-
fore long, before you go"
"Who is she? Do know her? Do
know even her name?"
call that is my secret, mother. I will
| not say any more Of her but that / am
accustomed to succeed, and I will succeed
here. I will keep the secret Of her name
in my heart to goad me on. [ am accus-
toned to succeed. Rest assured I will
! succeed in this. We will say no more of
! it. Let it be forbidden subject between
us until I speak Of it again; UNTIL per-
haps, bring her to you. All! that storm
! has cleared the air. I was excited /
have reason to be excited to-day. At this
moment-it is now just twelve o'clock-at
this moment I am either succeeding or
failing in one Of my most important
| aims"
"Just now, Oscar. Do you mean hereY'
''No, not here. In Chicago. You do
not believe in magic, motherY
"Surely not. What do you meanY
Cor in clairvoyance or specters?"
''No, my child. Nor you, hope"
"And yet not everything-not half ev-
erything-is understood even now"
"Will you not tell me of this, either?"
'Not tonight, mother. You know l
| had a week ago no intention of coming
here to-day. l did not come to welcome
! Miss Grace. / had another reason for
coming. I am trying an experiment to-
| night. At this moment l am putting the
result of many anxious hours to the touch.
! If my experiment turns out we'll I shall
| come into a strange power. And now,
| mother, it is very late for you. We must
| go to bed. That patent couch still en-
| ables you to do without aid in dressing"
Go be continued.)