The Irish standard., 1897-01-30

ural man within him arose once moro
and Knocked him.
THE LOGIC OF PROP1NQJ1TT.
When Philip was established in the
Duncan household he wrote to his
mother. 1t was long letter, filled with
TESTING raillery at the conditions of his
exile, but containing no hint Of what
he believed to be the beginning of tho
end In the matter Of his malady. In
closing he spoke of the Duncans:
'"They are both characters. In a way. and
they would interest you If you could know
them. Duncan is typical Scot. upon whom
20 years OF exile havo left no American
izing mark His speech Is still OF the
broadcast, and his cautious habit has written
itself in capital letters all over his honlely
face. Mrs. Duncan Is Il person In whose
cheerful smile the blue devils quail ard
beg for another herd Of swine. Could APP
precia,tive eulogy &c further2 Seriously,
though, they have made me very COM
Portable and snug In a painfully neat little
box Of room undcr the caves; their tablo
is homelikc and wholesome; and Mrs. Dun-
cans hospitality is warm-hearted and cor
dial without Eeing obtrusive. For the rest.
have half Il county Of wild mountain range
ut my back upon which to spend the leisure
that ovcrflows the greater number Of my
waking hours, and you may tell DR.. PercTin
that I mean to take his outdoor prescrlp-
ton In heroic doses. -.
"Show this letter to Helen, II you please,
ard tell her I'll write her before long. Oh,
yes: and watch the expression on god
father Morrisscns face when you tell him
that ho ca: .:a:e few choice suburban lots
in Allacoochco at $2C0 front foot-at least
that was the price yesterday, though it IS
probably more now.
II suppose ought to write more. but l
shan't; tho spirit moves mo to go and CLIMB
a. mountain. Take good care Of yourself,
end write often. addressing mo care OF
Mr.. Robert Protheroe. Allacoochee.
PHILIP"
In writing this letter Philip had not
intended 70 omit the mention Of Elsie's
name and standing in the Duncan house
hold, but since the thing was done he
did not correct it..
;. cts just as WE'LL" he told himself.
'If say anything at all, III have to tell
how sweet and lovable she seems to be,
and that might, make the mother UNI
easy. I'll wait till I've discovered her
faults"
That was the beginning Of weak
ness. When he wrote again, it occurred
to him that his former silence might be
p,isconstrued if he mentioned her now;
nay, more, before he had been week
at the farmhouse he began to see that
IL he spoke of Elsie in his letters it must
be in terms Of praise. In his most self
reliant moods he had always been moro
or less dependent upon sympathetic
atmosphere; and under the circum-
stances whic', made him an inmate Of
the Duncan home, this dependence be-
came d morbid craving. And Of pity and
sympathy Mrs. Duncan and Elsie gave
him unstintiugly, out of the overflowing
kindness Of good hearts.
For few days after his removal from
town. Philip spent much time on the
mountain. Then there came week OF
rainy weather, and by the time the
skies cleared lie found it singularly easy
to stay in the house. During the indoor
week he had stumbled upon an occupa-
ton which was both pleasant and dam
Cerous This was the tact, though he
recognized only the pleasure and shut
his eyes to the danger. Elsie's lessons
had stopped at the end of her fathers
requirements, and she was ambitious
ard eager to go on. Thorndykc found
this out. and turned pedagoguc with the
idea that he would repay Kindness with
Kindness. The lessons, begun during
the week of rainy weather, were con-
tinued without interruption, until one
day, when Philip was more languid than
usual, Elsie's conscience awoke with a
start,
"Mr. 1'horudylse, you're doing
wrong!" she said, looking up in self
reproachful dismny. "You haven't
been on the mountain for two wceks!"
"It's much pleasanter here" Philip
replied.
..But that isn'tit Didn'tyour doctor
gay you must stay out of doors?-and
here I've been keeping you in the house
when every hour of sunshine is pre-
cious." 800,
"Don't blame yourself; stay in be-
cause I like. it better. It's a WEAKNESS
to the flesh TO go tramping about
alone"
Elsie put her book away and took up
her sewing. I'm not going to crcour-
age you to stay in, anyway" she said.
with a pretty affectation of .inflcxib:l-
ity; .and you ought to be ashamed to
call my mountain tiresome. l used to
almost envy your long walks"
"Why do you call it your mountain p
tBecause it's been my playmate ever
since / can remember. When I was q
little girl 7 used to sit on that big rock
behind the garden and read dcar old
Sir alter tiil imagined / could hear
H. allni;'' 81 the q s,l'5 oohR III fat
love raltey
pipe \ 4 { s q