The Hocking sentinel. [volume] (Logan, Ohio) 1871-1906, 1897-09-09
HIS BROTH
ER'S KEEPER.

When man who is vet young ar
rives at the conclusion that life hold
nothing more for him and that he cal
only devote himself to the good o
others, there is still plenty Of keeI
wretchedness in store for him. If HI
gets up after bad blow and is active
ly miserable and somewhat hateful ant
resentful, he can yet be happy. Bu
self-immOlatiOn is not natural, an(
anything unnatural brings its own pun
ishment. Another person and Other
people can not be the center of the uni
verse for very long. There may come
jar that will put you out of plumb fol
a bit, but you swing back to your nor.
NAL position.
The jar that came to Osborne was a
hard one. The girl to who mhe was
engaged told him that her parents were
forcing her to marry 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 be-
lieved this, and thought she was a
beautiful, suffering martyr. and there
was tragic scene, which she did clev-
erly, and Il parting. After that Osborne
lost even ambition, which had been a
ruling passion almost above his love-
The girl was mean enough, too, to keep
his misery alive by writing to him,
now and then, bewailing her gilded
captivity.
Life, he told himself, was henceforth
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 fail they cease to
be in the army. So Osborne bethought
him of his brother Alexander.
Alexander lived on 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 bad 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 a first-class school right In
the town, Alex" Silence. 81 want you
to study hard, youngster, to make up
for the time you've lost up there in the
wilderness"
Alex braced his feet against the
porch railing and tipped back his chair.
ut strikes me I've lost more fun than
about anything else. 1t amt fair, Her
bert. You've been having a picnic for
the last eight years, while I've been
Shaving in the fields; and don't see it
in the light Of settling down right
away to digging at books. 1 want a
swing"
If nature is ambitious, it can not be |
altered. The ambition may transfer
its object from self to some one else.
but it will not die. Osborne's had trans |
ferred Itself to his brother So his heart
sank. But he had learned federation.
well, I'll give you three months. But
you must study to make up for it,
"Three months nothing! What's the
matter with Skip
"a 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 fourteen. OF course I'm not
blaming you for that. You haven't had
a fair chance" Osborne forgot that.
at IS, he himself had passed the COM
petitive examination.
Il guess 1 haven't-at that or any,
thing else"
Young Osborne had gone barefoot all
his life, and had never had whole
new suit Of clothes to his back, nor
dime to call his own. Osborne gave
hin dancing pumps and various SEEM
~ suits and reasonable allowance.
But he thought the allowance small.
Say, Herbert, l can't make out with
that measly ten. Make it fifteen. will
you?" he complained.
NO." said Osborne.
OsbOrne's mos" were always defin-
tie, but Alexander persisted. "Why
not? You've lot more than you need"
Il know best about that. Ten dollars
s enough, and it's all can give YOU.
we your education to pay for, recol-
ect. You've no expenses outside of an
occasional theater ticket and tennis
,all-or you shouldn't have"
''You always did catch all the pIums." ,
aid Alexander.
Then the mail orderly gave Osborne Z
letter from the girl. Osborne locked
himself in his wOrk-rOOm, and read it
nd believed every word of it. And
lving-even for Others-Seemed a hard ,
hing for the next few days.
Alexander felt his oats promptly. He
Xcelled at baseball, he learned tennis :,
nd dancing by magic, and he rode +;
yell. Osborne had never been so popu-
ar. He had served the MammOn of
ambition exclusively until he had >
transferred his allegiance to the God of
owe. Since then he had been Il mar
martyrs are more pleasing il
tained glass than in life. And now
C returned to the first cult, and Ambi-
on filled him. He rejoiced in his
rother's beauty, which was of the
ertie Cecil type, in his magnificent :.
tature, IN his agility and his athletics
le mounted him on the finest horse to
e had In that part of the country
nd wore a shabby uniform himself all e,
Inter. He read with him for two G,
ours daily and WAS we'll nIpased | r