The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1897-07-03
CHAPTER L.

pared to u superb annual which, tower
ing sllyward, blooms hravcly for sea-
son, but dies rootless, leaving to those
who have loved and admired it tender
memories of beauty and fragrance
nothing more.
He inherited early in life good I'M
Outstanding. fine estate, a famous cellar
of Madeira, and the handsomest legs in
America. These, in combination, fur
nished himself and his friends with an
abundance of meat, drink and enter
tainment. He spent his money like
prince, and. wherever he went, scat
tered broadcast both dollars and tjests.
Need l add that his purse grew lighter
than his laughtcr?-that he died full
of years and honors-a rauper?
A brilliant man of the world, lie never
attempted to make money, because, as
he often observed, the catchpcnny cares
of merchant or banker wore away, by
constant attrition. the bloom of high
breeding-that exquisite veneer which
distinguishes from the common herd
the gentleman of lineage, leisure and
culture.
My mother-s'wect. soul! lean scarce
recall her facc-was a Schermerhorn;
her full-length portrait (by the younger
West) hangs to-day in the gallery of
Barabbas Bouldc. The curious will
please note that it is fanked on the left
by remarkable picture of u sapphire
and diamond necklace, a masterpiece
Of Mcissonicr (the great Frenchman
has paid but scant attention to the
coarse, putty-colored features of Mar
tina Boulde, rightly considering that
the gems, not the woman. deserved ilu-
mortality, and on the right by Ma
donna of Andrea del Sarto. between
these two prcsentments of things
material and things spiritual stands my
dear mother, who settled with the MIC
est adjustment in her own lovely per-
son the conflicting claims of body and
soul My father has said thousand
times that she loved him tenderly to the
day of her death-I was barely ten
years old when this great misfortune
befell me-and he sworc fondly that of
all the women he had met she alone
had enshrined herself in his heart as
the l<indest, the truest and the purest
of her sex.
So much for my elders and bctters.
Before my father died, he gave me
some advice. He had little else to be-
stow.
Hugo" said he u vas named after
tim), what are your plans for the fu-
ture?"
"The future?" replied, vaguely;
"upon my soul, I've cen so occupied
with the PRESENT. had just been
graduated from Yale-"that the future
has not had my consideration"
''you arc young and ardent; and to
such the choice of a profession is no
ba'pcnny matter"
"There is the law"
"You would make sorry lawyer"
II might go west"
The farmer, Hugo, is the historical
fool Go east, if you wish to travel;
the Picrian spring is not to be found in
Colorado or California. If you were
an Englishnan, l should advise the
army or navy; but you are too old. and
our officers play but a paltry role. Asa
money-grub!,er you would have to sac
rifice on the altar of Mammon your
youth, your breeding, your conscience"
Il quote my father verbatim. neither
indorsing nor condemning his words
''and that precious thing, your leisure"
"What am to dos"
"Make haste slowly, my dear lad.
The small sum you inherit under your
mothers will is sufficient to carry you.
Of oil
name and wits should prove passports
to decent society. Leave this question
of profession sub judicc; but don't
idle, and. wherever you may be, set
apart SO many hours each day to seri.
GUS study"
Concefiing that my father was man
OF prejudice. I submit that his advice
was sound as Newton pippin. and
came not amiss. I believe in the con-
servation of energy, and his words
climcd tremendously with my own
ncbulous ambitions. Accordingly.
some two months after his funeral
decided to set forth upon my travels,
being reasonably certain that he knew
me better than 1 knew myself, and
doubling nothing Of his affection and
solicitude for my welfare.
1.-THE Lord help you'll" said my moth
er's cousin, famous banker, who had
offered me stool in his counting
house. You are bigger fool than
your father"
"Did you ever toll my father to his
face that you considered him fool?"
I looked him ferccly in the eye, and
he stammered out: "N-n-no."
II thought not. have his whip in
my possession, sir. and know how to
use it,
In this Cambyscs vciu / cut adrift
from an influential kins1nan who had
good-naturcdly flung NE "a tow-line. In
his wake might have steered my bark
to fortune, lolling at ease in the stern
sheets; but ! was no parasite, and my
dear fathers good name was my most
precious possession.
For two years logged cheerily along
the high roads Of life, avoiding as much
as possible the by-paths, the Was tene-
brosa, and following the finger Of
Fancy, surely the most complainant