Ceredo advance. [volume] (Ceredo, W. Va.) 1885-1939, 1897-10-06
NX
THE END OF ALL THINGS.

THE END OF ALL THINGS.
Like a few other sensible people
Philip and Helen deferred their we'd
ding journey to a time when it came
rs a welcome relief from the round o.
domestic and social duties for the wife.
and needed rest from the drudgerv
of business for the husband. Philip
had said summer AM Europe, bu-
Helen had pleaded for autumn and The
south, and she had her way.
I'VE can go on 10 New Orleans il YOU
like, but l want TO see Allacoochcc." she
said
You're too late for that; Allacoo-
chez is dead and buIied-so Protheroc
writes"
NO matter; we can see the place
where it was. l shall always love it.
alive or dead, for what IL did for YOU"
And so 1T came about that on GER
tain golden October day, when the rug
Sed outlines of Jubal mountain were
melting in the soft autumn haze, aud
the fragrance of summer blossoms had
given place to the spicy sweetness Of
withered leaves and ripened fruit,
thinly-peopled train on the Chiwassce
Valley Extension debarllcd two or its
passengers at the ornate station which
aforetime had been too small to ac-
commodatc the throngs beseging il
ut train-hours There was no lack OF
room now, however, and when Philip
lifted Helen to the platform the empty
train-shed echoed their steps as if pro
testing against the invasion of it's soil
tude. At the arched entrance. where
the crowd OF vocifcrous hackmen used
To fight for patronage. they were met
10y a single decrepit negro.
Hotel, sah?" he asked. dofTing his
battered hat and bowling with a touch
OF unspoiled courtesy.
Yes; you may take US TO the Johan-
nisberg."
"Cayn't do dat, sah-no. sab; Gaze
hit amt runnin' no mo-. Dee amt no
hotel in de new town now, sab. lab
To take you-all to de Mountain house"
Philip put his wife into the shac<ly
vehicle rs your horse good for six
mile drive, uncle?"
"Oh, yass, sah-he suttinly am dat:
Of hits anywhars on de plain dirt
road"
"All right Put the top down so we
can see, and drive us around town
bit; then I'll tell you where to go"
Three hundred yards from the sta
ton the carriage turned into Broad
way. Nature reasserts herself speed
" in n semi-tropical climate. and the
rank grass sprouting between the pas
ing-stones deadened the sound of the
horses hoofs aud mufIlcd the jingling
accompaniment of loose bolts in the
WORKOUT hackney-coach.
"Protheroe didn't stretch it much.
said Philip, uDconsciously lowering his
voice in Difference TO the sepuchral
quiet of the street You'd hardly be.
lieye that have stood on the sidewalk
just here. waiting my chance to dodge
across through the endless stream OF
carriages and wagons and electric
cars"
at doesn't seem possible"
mo, it doesn't. And in that last
afternoon, when / was breaking my
heart to catch the New York train.
the Johannisberg omnibus was actually
stopped in a jam of vehicles somewhere
along in this square, and was afraid
we'd miss il"
On either side OF the grass-growu
streets were the costly monuments Of
the sham city's brief day OF activity and
life. Lofty buildings. empty from Gel
lar 10 roof rows OF vacant store-rooms.
lined with dusty shelving and Uttered
with the forlorn debris OF hasty re-
movals; shattered glass on the side
walk; withered grass festooninU the
cornices; and. in front OF the disman-
tied Bank of Allacoochee, the skeleton
Of an electric car left to dissolve peace.
fully on the rusty tracks in the road
way. Here and there the desolation
was emphasized rather than relieved
By scanty and shop-worn display in
the windows of some merchant who
had been unwilling or unable to ioin
his ncighbors in the general exodus
following the crash; pitiable hotsam
ard jetsam left by the high tide of
commerce 10 bleach and molder on the
rocks Of an uncharted island i'm the
ocean Of traffic. or these stranded
wrecks, the most notable was the store
Of a dealer in hardware just across
from the Chiwassee national bank
That is where I bought my pistol
on the night of the garroting." said
Philip, telling the driver to pull up at
the curbstoDe.
The proprietor Of the place was sit
ting on spool Of barbed wire in from;
OF his own door. and he rose and crossed
the sidewalk in response to Philips