The Saint Paul globe. (St. Paul, Minn.) 1896-1905, 1900-08-19

the country, I decided to beg an easy
chair, drop of grog and pipe"
And then he, whose heart was as thai
Of little child smiled In his own great
hearted way, and. dropping into the chair
tell to happy talk with proud and happy
Abner Jones.
Before Abner realized that the night
| had grown old the church clock announc-
| ed the midnight hour. On TIC last stroke
his visitor vanished, and then the old
clerk tumbled into bed and fell heir to
the most refreshing sleep he had known
since childhood
This was the first Of a series Of happy
evenings with the genial, gentle colonel.
And old Abner, with Emilys worn copy
OF The NewcomeS" lying open on his lap
would nightly drift and dream along the
hours. But in his readings from the IA
Vor1te book Abner never allowed himself
to approach that part wherein the colonel s
death is recorded. He had read over that
scene once, when Emily and the children
were yet with him. But now he actually
humbugged memory into forgetting that
it had ever occurred
AS time passed Abner renewed acquaIn-
lance with another favorite of the alb
sent Emily. The boisterous, breezy Maj.
Dowd called one night and painted
Waterloo" pictures-pictures rich in en-
and the major sent the dispirited bank
rupt, Sedley to sup with Abner. And Alb
ner labored hard to quicken in the demor-
allied old man a robust love of life and
a new hope. Then the splendid Rawdon
CraWley came to sip and sup with him.
And thus, in rapid succession, from be-
tween the covers of Emily's old books a
host of Emily's old friends came to visit
Abner Jones. What they could see in
NIL 10 of
understood. But he was very grateful,
and he took them all into his big warm
heart.
One stormy night Abner had planned to
spend a few hours in Vanity Far" WI en-
he opened his book he discovered that
fate had put into his hands one of Emf
lys books he had never before had cour-
age to open, because it's title was too for
bidding. This book was called 1.-THE BIZ
BILE in Spain"
Now Abner Jones was not Bible read
er, although he was a Bible lover. He
troubled as little with theology as with
politics; he had fixed and unaIterabIe
opinions regarding both. His own sim
pie faith sufficed; 1t required neither ex-
PLANTATION nor analysis. This is why Abb
ner had never read THE Bible in Spain"
He thought the book theological work.
But tonight Abner CHANGED to open the
book where Borrow, In his inimitable
way, paints a picture of adventure.
After an hour of absorbing interest Alb
ner glancing over his spectacles, saw
through the cloud Of smoke in which he
was enveloped that he had a visitor;
second glance showed him that his Wis
itor was the celebrated author, Borrow
himself. Day was breaking when Abner
babe his visitor goodbye Before parting,
however, Borrow volunteered to person
ally conduct Abner on short tour
through Spain on the following evening.
And thus was born Abner Jones, the
humbug travelled, and a most indefatiga-
BILE traveller he soon became. Night after
night he left his lodgings in London,
crossed the channel, and journeyed old
world ways, always accompanied by this
noted Travelled. His pretend" trips all
opened in the same realistic manner.
Turning down the lamp and opening the
window Abner would sit, mufflled in a
great coat and vigorously puff himself
across the raging channel It was all
very real to him. Even the heavy Lon
don air. blowing in through the open win
dow, fell on his smiling face with the
soft kiss of the sea. Indeed, when In
mid-channel, 1t was impossible for him to
sit still on his chair for the rocking of
the ship, and when, at the end of a glori-
GUS five minutes of boisterous sea and
winds, he reached the foreign port, he
was a new man
And when the new Abner was at last
safely ashore. down came the window.
off went the topcoat. the lamp famed
high End bright and then Borrow's
travel book open on his knees, the au-
thor sitting opposite, away Abner flew
over the smiling hills and through the
sun-kissed valley of summer-loving Spain.