The record-union., 1899-01-01

Il mean juststhls, was my Sp'rlteu
answer; that if-the time ever comes
when you are held in general contempt
by the people of this community 90
that your own judgment shall con-
vincess you that you are Justly De.
spised, Will you then consents that 4
may Marcy your daughter s.l5.
The Judge was at first indignant At
the boldness of my assumption, butt
eyed him without a hesitation In my
glance as he answered. Though a
powerful man., of : violent temper, re-
Election disarmeds him; and-it was plain
that my question amused, rather than
angered him.
"Ha! ha, ha! ha! ha! ha! no! no!
hQ!' yhe laughed, what a crazy propo-
sition! If the honor of this family de-
ponds upon the continued good name OF
it's present head, sir, you may bank on
| the fact that it will never be a shade
lower than it is to-day"
IT am delighted to see you so firm
| in your good opinion of yourself" said
I, land since you are so confident, why
do you not accept my propositions"
IF I accede to your terms, sir he
| inquired, win you agree that you will
not bother me further on this NATTER"
Il positively pledge you my word, .
1 said, that I will never speak of the
| subject again unless the whirligig. of
time should bring you to a humiliating
social condition.
1T is a bargain he said, land
suppose this interview is now at an
end"
mot until we shake hands and pledge
our honor" returned with great firm
ness.
looked at him with steady eye,
and, as I firmly grasped his hand, I
said: Judge Williams, I now pro-
nounce upon you, sir, the. curse with
| which true courage always meets
empty boasting. Do not interrupt me!
By virtue of my fellowship in the So
| ciety of men of brains, and by reason
of my great and honest love for your
| daughter, now decree that you shall
| speedily fall below the dignity of a
pauper. Good day, sir!'' said l. throw
ing into the "Sir!" (his favorite ex-
pression) all the contempt could
| summon-and as I hurried away he
| CROPPED in amaZement. It was not
| strange, for do not think that any of
us are quite free of the superstition
| that breads fellow creatures solemn
| curse.
| In the few weeks Immediately fol-
lowing this strange interview, 1 think
| that Judge Williams suspected my
sanity, for the whole proceedings Ito
any one except myself must have
| seemed like plan of the insane. The
| suspicion was heightened by my conduct
| on two occasions. Passing the Judge
twice in a quiet street, I each time
waved my hands in front Of him and
muttered "R-e-m-e-m-ber m-y-y-y
| cursei'
The only communication that had
with Jane during this trying time was
| to send her message by trusted
| friend. The burden of my note was
| this: Whatever occurs, whatever
seems to go amiss, tell your father
| that I am hypnotist. Follow this in
junction, and our victory is assured"
And Jane harped away on that
string, in season and out, never for a
moment losing confidence in me or my
plans
'sThe foop4s going crazy" the OLD
Judge is said to have exclaimed again
and again-when my name came up at
the table: and he told of the wild
passes which I had made at him in the
street. > ssps-s-5-s
HE is only hypnotizing,' was James
perpetual explanation of my conduct.
It was about two weeks after the bar
gain between Judge Williams and me,
when my plans began to count in IA
vor OF Cupid...nThere was great suffer-
ing over the. whole thing, and the eff
fects of my curse were diabolical in
their severity.
Without going into tiresome details,
let it be said that it soon began to be
noticedsthat itheA staid old Judge was
making himself surprisingly and ag-
gravatingly familiar with other peo-
pies property. There were stories that
he had habit Of flching books from
lawyers offices and stealing various ar
ticles of value from stationers' stores.
At the outset he was excused on the
theory of absent mindedness, but these
strange lapses in the conduct Of a man
whose character, position and family
name had always stood as an example,
began to shock the people Of Silver
Bow. HeA had many defenders and
apolOgists-but the best of them could
only suggest some such humiliating de-
Tense as that he had kleptomania, or
that his conduct was the result of ner-
vous exhaustion from overwork. He
consulted physicians, and confessed to
them that the desire to steal had come
upon him suddenly; that when the i'm
pulse seized him first, as we'll as every
time thereafter, he lost all self-respect
and self-control-and finally, that he
was afraid that he was losing his mind.
They gave him bromides and prescribed
rest-but he stole worse than ever.
Finally the scandal of his conduct be-
came so great that his appearance at
a store was the signal for renewed vi
GLANCE. If he was seen to steal any
thing, he was confronted the next day
by a collector, who usually presented
bill for two or three times the value of
the article that had been stolen.
The most humiliating feature of the
ruinous. situation was that the Judges
desire to steal usually seized him with
out premonitory symptoms, for he was
taken with fits Of dishonesty and pill
| fering once or twice a week. without
moments warning. When the spells
| passed away he had his usual high
sense of personal honor, intensified
somewhat by the bitterness of remorse
He paid the most outrageous bills with
| out protest, for his delinquencies were
so notorious that every store keeper in
| town felt at liberty to send the Judge
| bill for anything that CHANGED to be
stolen from the shop, without stopping
| to prove whether he or some one else
! had taken the property. If the Judge
protested his innocence. he was not be-
lieved-and his life became a burden