The Mount Holly news. [volume] (Mount Holly, Burlington Co., N.J.) 1891-1942, 1897-10-12
A BROTHERS KEEPER

] $780, - 49, 1900 "a =
Henry ". Longfellow
A BROTHERS KEEPER
When man who is yet young ar
rives at the conclusion that life holds
| nothing more for him and that he car
only devote himself to the good Of
others, there is plenty of keen wretch
edness in store for him. If he gets NJ
after bad blow and is actively miser
able and somewhat hateful and resent.
full, he can yet be happy. But self i'm
notation is not natural, and anything
unnatural brings it's own punishment
Another person and other people can.
not be the center of the universe fol
very long. There may come jar that
will put you out of plumb for bit, but
you swing back to your normal posi-
ton.
The jar that came to Osborne was 6
hard one. The girl to whom he was en-
gagged told him that her parents were
forcing her to marry certain rich
man. Now parents in these days de
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 beau
tiful, suffering martyr, and there was 6
tragic scene, which she did cleverly,
and parting After that Osborne lost
even ambition, which had been a ruling
passion almost above his love- The CIR
was mean enough, too, to keep his mis-.
cry 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, be-
cause when they fall they cease to be in
the army. So Osborne bethought him
of his brother Alexander.
Alexander lived on a ranch, as o.
borne had done He was II years old.
At 16 Osborne had been the support Of
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 il
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. ISiienoe. "Iwant you tc
study hard, youngster, to make up fol
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 | don't see it in the light
of settling down right away to digging
at books. want a swing"
If nature is ambitious, it cannot be
altered. The ambition may transfer its
object from self to some one else, but il
will not die. Osborne's had transferred
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 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 fair
chance. Osborne forgot that at IS he
himself had passed the competitive ex-
animation.
81 guess l haven tat 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 or a dime to
call his own Osborne gave him dane
ing pumps and various seemly suits
and reasonable allowance.
But he thought the allowance small
Say, Herbert, can't make out with
that measly ten. Make it 10, will your
he complained.
mo-" said Osborne
Osborne's noes were always def
mite, but Alexander persisted. "Why
not? You've lot more than you need. "
II know best about that Ten dollars
is enough. and it's all can give you.
I've your education to pay for, reool-
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
letter from the girl Osborne locked
himself in his workroom and read il
and believed every word of it. And
living-even for others-seemed hard
thing for the next few days.
Alexander felt his oats promptly. He
excelled at baseball, he learned tennis
and dancing by magic and be rode
we'll Osborne had never been so popu-
lar. He had served the Mammon OF
ambition exclusively until he had
transferred his allegiance to the god OF
love. Since then he had been a martyr
and martyrs are more pleasing in
stained glass than in life And now be
returned to the first cult, and ambition
filled him. He rejoiced in his brother q
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
shabby uniform himself all winter. He
read with him for two hours daily and
was we'll pleased when the boy remem-
bered just enough to give his converse
hon peculiarly brilliant turn. He ar
gued 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 Oh
mathematics altogether. I've told you
that mathematics is the test at the
Point" Osborne admonished.
"Oh. come, say, let up, Herbert.
I'm trying to learn this piece. He
picked on with beautiful absorption al
the guitar the lieutenant had given him.
"Put up that thing and listen to me. y
Alexander obeyed, as all men die
when Osborne willed.
81 am going to get you into West
Point at 90 When l say am going tt
do it, you know it is going to be done,
Don't you? None of it depends on yor
except the study. 1 can't make yor
drink, but I'll take you to water and
keep you there until you find it will bc
easier to drink You can go back to the
ranch if you like, but I'm not afrait
you'll like it. l don't want to trea
you as small boy unless you act the
part of one You can learn and yoI
must learn or the theaters will stop
and the hops will stop, and the guital
will stop-also the tennis. You have
been cutting time, but henceforth yot
will study four hours day and will
L I A