The Denison review. [volume] (Denison, Iowa) 1867-current, 1898-09-09


entirely in earnest, so perceptibly
worthy of a good woman's love, so
heathily built morally, mentally and
physically, that this past master of char
acter III search found himself at the start
prejudiced. Il state of things he always
at distance contemplated with out
spoken contempt, embodying, as it un-
doubtedly must, no opportunity for hon
est and unbiased Judgment, but which
at close quarters he found contained
force hitherto unoncountered and hence
this he suddenly acknowledged, to
his inward Observation-Disclosures un-
manageable.
Judge Delno never hesitated to ex-
press wholesome aversion toward
having things sprung upon him.
This morning things" had thus agi-
tated his honor with vengeance. He
was smarting with irritability at hav-
ing been taken unawares and rendered
cognizant of an entirely unsupported af-
fair-first. coolly mastered; second,
passed under a microscopic investiga-
ton; third, submitted to competent and
authoritative experience, and, finally,
presented for his own digestion with
precision which was above praise.
The judge had always felt an ir.-
mense respect for Stornmouth, first,
because he was a successful man, a I ~
who had overcome obstacles brilliantly
and would overcome more obstacles
more brilliantly, and, second, because
he had rarely met with so honorable and
upright specimen of the not always
improbable genus known as homo. His
own act of saving the Stornmouth es-
tates from almost total humiliation had
been governed more by his characteristic
bulldog tenacity and desire to get even
with an unworthy adversary than by
any more high minded sentiment.
When the fee attendant upon his VIC
tory had been sent i'll, lie had even been
amusedly aware that lac was sorry it
signified that the fig { was over. AL
though he retired With flying colors
from the fray he had honestly regretted
that his adversary had not scented, as
he had, the promise OF richer develop
ment for the opponent than that OPP
ponent had suspected. Ultimately he
had wondered if he ever would find
contemporary who would see, as he did,
two sides Of case with the same lack
of prejudice and choose the side which
promised the least, just for the sake of
experiencing the keen sense of exhilara-
ton attendant upon abstracting good
development from a bad ground plan.
When Stornmouth had thanked him,
therefore, lie had been happy to per-
ceive that the fellow was worth the
cause. He had followed him up some
what to see what he would do with the
unexpected wealth thrust upon him.
Stornmouth, to his surprise, had met
his individual bulldog tenacity with q
tenacity which matched it. He had
evinced reserve which ultimately was
discovered to contain evidence of I'M
common force. He proved that he pref
ty generally preceded Ono matter how
masterful) an advcrsary's opportunity
by outwitting that adversary before the
latter had Weakened to even an inkling
of his power.
This to Delno was revelation.
What to him had been conscientious
study appeared to come to Stornmouth
as naturally rs the flush to a maiden s
check. What to Delno was an acquisi-
ton was to Stornmouth an intuition.
He read men like a flash, docketed them
OFF in the pigeonholes of his memory
and brought them out when he needed
them with unfagging accuracy to dis
pose of them with remarkable perspi-
cacity.
But when Stornmouth confessed him
self in love with Priscilla Judge Delno,
manlike, strove to forget personal affec-
ton and take what he considered an
unbiased view of the situation To an
\ onlooker this might not have been con-
sidered fully as kind as it was just to
Stornmouth. 1t at least was fair and
square as regarded Priscilla. "Storn-
mouth is too masterful, thought Judge
Delno. "He can bully me into saving
him his thousands, but if he thinks he
is going to bully me into marrying to
him my own daughter he is mistaken.
He is fine fellow, superlatively fine
fellow, but, by Jove, girls heart
must be considered in these matters. "
He made the latter statement aloud.
~ am precisely of the same opinion,
sir, returned Stornmouth tersely.
He had returned from Europe the day
before, and had run in on his old friend,
as he expressed it, "to place the entire
lamentable occurrence before him in
nutshell"
"Who asked for your opinion?" de-
manded the judge testify. He had been
confined to tho house for week with
influenza and was unusually irritable in
consequence. Besides any father expert
ences sense of revolt when hitherto
unconsidered parsonage, no matter how
desirable, presents himself as a possible
member of his family.
"The case in point is as follows" an
nounced Stornmouth, going straight to
the aforesaid point with his customary
ability-an ability which Judge Delno
heretofore had never hesitated to laud
openly, but which today limited at pos
sibilities in a son-in-law which perhaps
\ roiubt no oopci1o,od ,,,ora foro; bIa tbo,,