The Mason County journal. [volume] (Shelton, W.T.) 1886-1927, 1897-08-27
: HIS BROTHERS, KEEPER. ;
BY GWEND0LEN 0VERT0H. &
srET<rr%Fr<EFTTF<rFT
VIZ HEN a man who is yet young ar
wv rives at the conclusion that life

can only devote himself to the good or
others, there is still plenty of keen
WretchednesS in store for him. Ii he
gets up after bad blow and is actively
miserable and somewhat hateful and
resentful, he can yet be happy. But self
immolation is not natural, and any
thing unnatural brings it's own punish
ment. Another person and other peo-
pie cannot be the center of the universe
for very long. There may come jar
that will put you out of plumb for a bit,
but you swing back to your normal po-
sition.
The jar that came to Osborne was
hard one. The girl to whom he was
engaged told him that her parents were
forcing her to marry a certain rich man.
Now parents, in these days, do not force
one to marry anybody; but Osborne
would have believed whatever the girl
had chosen to tell him. He believed
this, and thought she was beautiful,
suffering martyr, and there was tragic
scene, which she did cleverly, and a
parting After that Osborne lost even
ambition, which had been ruling pas
sion almost above his love. The girl
was mean enough, too, to keep his
misery active by writing to him, now
and then, bewailing her gilded cap
tivity.
Life, he told, himself, was henceforth
a vain thing, only fit to be used in the
service of others. 1t is not easy to serve
others picturesquely in the army.
There are no needy and no fallen ones
because when they fall they cease to
be in the army. So Osborne bethought
him OF his brother Alexander.
Alexander lived on a ranch-as Os-
borne had done. He was II years old
At 16 Osborne had been the support of
a widowed mother and two children.
He had had no boyhood in particular.
1t had all been work, making the ranch
pay. Only those who have tried it know
what that means. Alexander was not
afflicted after this fashion. He lived
on his new stepfather, and was envious
of his brother.
Now when Osborne brought Alexan-
der on to San Antonio, the first evening
of his arrival he spoke to him thus:
There's first-class school right in the
town, Alex" Silence. II want you to
study hard, youngster, to make up for
the time you've lost up there in the will
derness"
Alex braced his feet against the porch
railing and tipped back his chair. "It
strikes me I've lost more fun than about
anything else. 1t amt fair, Herbert.
You've been having picnic for the last
eight years, while I've been shaving in
the fields; and 1 don't see it in the light
of settling down right away to digging
at books. want swing"
1T nature is ambitious, it cannot be
altered. The ambition may transfer
its object from self to some one else,
but it will not die. Osbornes had trans
ferreditself to his brother. So his heart
sank. But he had learned liberation.
well, I'll give you three months. But
you must study to make up for it,
Three months nothing! What's the
matter with siX?"
IA good deal is the matter. You'll
be nearly IS in six months, and you
don't know as much as the average boy
of IA. Of course I'm not blaming you
for that. You haven't had a fair
chance" Osborne forgot that, at 1S, he
himself had passed the competitive ex-
animation.
81 guess I haven't-at that or any,
thing else"
Young Osborne had gone barefoot
all his life, and had never had a whole
new suit of clothes to his back, nor a
dime to call his own. Osborne gave him
dancing pumps and various seemly suits
and reasonable allowance.
But he thought the allowance small.
Say, Herbert, 1 can't make out with
that measly ten. Make it Is, will you 2"
he complained.
NO." said Osborne.
Osborne's mos" were always def
mite, but Alexander persisted. "Why
pot? You've lot more than you need"
Il know best about that. Ten dollars
is enough, and it's all can give YOU
I've your education to pay for, recol-
lect. You've no expenses outside of an
occasional theater ticket and tennis
ball-or you shouldn't have"
"You always did catch all the plums,"
said Alexander.
Then the mail orderly gave Osborne
a letter from the girl. Osborne locked
himself in his workroom, and read it
and believed every word of it. And liv-
ing-even for others-seemed hard
thing for the next few days.
Alexander felt his oats promptly. He
cXcelled at baseball, he learned tennis
and dancing by magic and he rode we'll
Osborne had never been so popular. He
had served the Mammon of Ambition
exclusively until he had transferred his
allegiance to the God of Love. Since
then he had been maryland
martyrs are more pleasing in stained
glass than in life. And now he re-
turned to the first cult. and ambition
filled him. He rejoiced in his brothers
beauty, which was of the BERTHE Cecil
type, in his magnificent stature, in his
agility and his athletics. He mounted
him on the finest horse to be had in that
part of the country-and wore a shah
by uniform himself all winter. He read
with him for two hours daily, and was
well pleased when the boy remembered
just enough to give his conversation a
peculiarly brilliant turn. He argued
great things from this when Alexander
should go to school. But when he went
to school, Osborne saw the truth.
Alex, the account of you is very bad.
You've barely scratched through on two
Things, and you've failed on mathe-
mates altogether. I've told Won that