Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1897-09-02


Where Bridget erst was won't to reign.
To rescue US from hungry plight
She plunges in unequal fight
With pots and pans, while with delight
, And pride watch and grow quite vain
When Peggy cooks.
How daintily she moves, and lighti
know whate'e she does is right
And wholly free from mar and stain,
And yet-and yeti find I'm fain
To dine down town upon the night
When Peggy cooks.
Marco Morrow in What to Eat.
THE BAGS BOTTOM.
Blackthorn was bachelor Of mod
crate views and moderate talents. Il
wrote for variety Of magazines, an,
he wrote for 30 years, and during thos
20 years nothing in particular happened
to him, but at the end Of the 30 year
he fell asleep in a carriage on the un
foreground railway and went pas
Gloucester road, where he should havt
changed, and got out at South Kensing
| ton.
The incident was trivial enough bu
for its effect OH Blackthorn's life ant
death. Had he on that day got out Al
| Gloucester road, as he intended, al
might still have been we'll with him.
AS 1t Is, he will be hanged tomorrow
for the murder Of the Rev. Julian Sib-
we'll.
When Blackthorn got out at South
Kensington station, he found himself
touched ON the shoulder by an elderly
parson. For the moment recognition
halted.
Am I to be cut dead by my own
nephew" the parson asked In q pleas
ant voice.
"Unole Julianp exclaimed Black
thorn. II am delighted. I should have
recognized you IN another moment,
though it's 10-no, 10 years since we
met :"
He was not delighted at all. 1t en-
barrassed him to meet ON terms Of warm
family intimacy man who was IN
reality complete stranger to him. The
Rev. Julian Sibwell had parish, re-
mote and northern, from which he very
rarely stirred. The two men were moth
ing to each other They had to pretend
to be something considerable to each
other and to pretend it at once.
Twelve years?" echoed Uncle Ju-
liam. "It's IS, to be accurate Time
flies even faster than we think Let us
hope the number mayn't prove I'M
lucky he added with jolly laugh.
Its the merest chance that we have
met now, uncle. should have got out
at Gloucester road, but l fell asleep
and"-
II see. My lawyer brought me to
London and the old passion mineralogy
to the collection near here. But come,
If you have nothing better to do you
must lunch with me; hanson to Re-
gent street.
Blackthorn gave in to the friendly re-
lated bore, and as they drove off Uncle
Julian asked, "And what are YOU doing
still at literature and journalism"
"Still at it, said Blackthorn.
The old gentleman grew inquisitive
md poured out questions When did his
nephew work-night or morning? Both9 |
Any time? 1t was remarkable. And |
What sort of work was it? Chiefly sto- |
les! Things ont of his own head? And
u an average how much in a week?
Nest remarkable, but Uncle Julian
'aused on the word "but" and shook
lis head
Over the luncheon table he gave a
riendly warning. One might 20 on
writing and making up. but one was
ound to come to the end of it. Had his
ephew no fear Of coming to the bot
ON of the bag?
I'D never thought OF it" said
'lackthorn. sit seems as natural to me
for you to do your work. With the
ay comes the idea.''
But l don't do my work any more
OF the original part; old sermons al [
avs. I've written 1000, but I shall |
ever bring it to 2,001. There was a
me when the sight Of sheets of good
rltlng paper made me want to put c
rltlng on them, but that's gone, and {
rmons don't demand the same orig {
al1ty as stories. You should make
DIVISION for the time to come, for the a
y when you get to the bottom of the b
e. It's bound to come, and for all we E
low 1t may come suddenly. Twenty O
ars you've been writing wonder Y
!, wonderfulr'
Lets talk about something more "
eerful," said Blaokthorn,
Toward tho o,,I ~
uncle to dine with him on the fol- q
wing evening. The Rev. Julian Sib- cl
III was engaged, but the dinner was 81
ranged for the evening after that. Ii
Then Blackthorn went away. He had @.
feeling Of ureasiness that he had cl
yer had before, for which he cursed &c
uncle. The idea Of 'the bottom Of b,
bag was absurd, provincial, in N
lstlo, material. Suggestion came in u
"a the life about one, was trans T.
med and used. The bag was always
Plying, hlt it was also always fill da
!. 1t wculd always have something th
it for him so long as life lasted
ere was, ne told himself, no reason m
y he should get into this nervous wi
Se, but he remained in that state. T.,
remembered authors who had "writ- 10
themselves out. !" This gift for re- tn
Ting stimulating suggestions, this tn,
aoity fer selecting the right detail. pl,
int break down, and then one would wi
'e to the bottom Of the bag. pl.
md quite suddenly he realized that
him all the eloquent crowded street
mute and empty. The phrase over ORE
I'd 10 longer told him the rest of spe
conversation and the lives of the 70,
'kers. The beautiful women passed
md left no thought or descriptive
d in his mind. All the life had lie
'ped out of the scene and left it arid see
bare. Nothing that met his eyes or
seemed really to penetrate or to =
to anything. Nothing was sug- =
i've. Everything was isolated. For
first time in his life Blacktborn
d himself consciously trying to OBJ
2. Selection and deduction had eone
something that was near to panic
i'd the very worst thing that he
] have Done He drove back to his
1bers and tried to write. IL
course he could not write. wor-