The Montgomery advertiser., 1902-01-07
THE MIXTURE OF GOOD
 AND EVIL IN THE WORLD.


 ler's new novel.
 Davis" said the doctor. T want some information. You are a mechanic and an honest man; and you know you can trust me if you are willing to reveal some of the secrets of the brotherhood"
 Yes" said Davis. "rll tell you any thing know Tell you in a minute"
 Well. Davis. let me state the case. When I built this house there were thtr- teen fiues upon the plan. heat-f1ues and snoke-iues. When the house was com- pleted, I found that every one of those flues was blocked with bricks and mortar. The men who constructed them. deiiber- ately dropped brick-bats and mortar and other stun into them and made them useless. I have heard scores of people say that the same thing was done with their houses. It is, in short, the univer- sal practice. l inter that there Is Q mo-, tive. Now, Davis, l want to know what 1t -is. Why does a man who takes the trouble to build hole, simultaneously choke 1t up?''
 IT. dunno said Davis. thoughtfully pufflng out the smoke, but
 "One moment said the doctor. "Be- fore you answer. let me say that this same rule appears to operate in all the trades. If you have your shoes resoled the shoemaker always leaves pegs inside. doesn't he?"
 Always" said Davis.
 Although he knows that you cannot wear shoes in that condition. When a painter comes here to work. he never fails to fill the keyholes in the doors with paint and to put upon the window-frames paint which will not dry for a year and which makes the sashes immovable. Isn't that so?'' c
 "ExactIy!' said Davis. ''I never know ed it to fail"
 'I had steam-heat put into my house, and of course there is a water-gauge in the boiler in the cellar. For months I could never perceive any water in the gauge, and at last l had the thing torn out. and I found that the workmen. in finishing up the job had driven a wooden plug into the pipe which should feed the gauge. Odd. wasn't it?'
 Not at all," said Davis. That was as good way as any of making trouble"
 While the carpenter was putting the shingles on my east gable" continued the doctor, "I pointed out one particular place where the rain would be likely to come in from a driving southeasterly storm. I asked him to take extra pains to protect that spot, and he said he would. We took out two buckets of wa ter from beneath that very place when the first storm came after the house was built. What would you say to that, Da- vis?"
 q should say. am surprised you didn't take out four buckets and have three other leaks. But I'll tell you"
 Just a moment" said the doctor. Let me finish.''
 You fixed up my bathroom for me-"
 Yes"
 Well, l told you that intended to put expensive parer on the calling of the room beneath. and asked you to make the pipes tight. Do you remember?"
 Perfectly
 And you remember. do you. that the pipes did not leak a drop for more than two. weeks; but the moment the paper was on the ceiling underneath. and the paper hangers had gone home. that very moment the pipes began to leak. Now, Davis. let me ask you. did you time it?"
 T wouldn't like to say that" said Davis. knocking the ashes from his pipe and refilling it. Not just that, but the pipe was bound to leak sooner or later. and it was just a part of the general crookedness of things that it waited till the paper was ready.
 What is your theory about it, Davis?" asked Dr. Quelch.
 Well" said Davis Cook. relighting his pipe and leaning back in his chair. 'Ill tell you how it is, only 1 dunno as you will care to listen, for you have to go away back to get the start of the thing"
 Back to what?'
 Well, you see, things was built crook ed in this world purpose. There ain't nothing that was arranged to go exactly right. You know better than I do. doctor that if we went sailing along through life smooth and pleasant, like drifting with the tide, we'd never amount to nothing. now would we?''
 "No.'
 Very well, then; there's big troubles and there's little troubles. You may lose your money or your health, or your relations. or you may not; but anyhow, it'll rain on the. day you fix for picnic, or your train'll be late the day you par ticularly want to make a connection with another train. or you'll stub your toe sos you can't walk just as you arrange Tor a pedestrian tour or the rain'n come on hard when you've left home without your umbrella (did you ever notice that?) or frishtful borell drop in to see you just when you thought you'd like to be alone. It's always that way, isn't it2"
 Yes A
 You start out in life believing that Roure going to have nearly perfect bliss and 10 and behold. there's something every day in the year and nearly every hour i'll the day to worry and annoy you. Now. why is It. doctor? Why is it?"
 What is your theory. Davis?''
 It's like this. Here We have. as the books say, evidence of design. The road of life was made rough. on purpose. And why: Doctor you know well enough. It was made so for our good
 ''l have heard something like that be- fore, l think said the doctor.
 of course. Ii things was always right, llre would be too easy. We need discip- line-discipline of diversity. It makes us tried, and so we know we have patience and We get more patience and so forth. You know all about it.
 And you think the man who chokes a fiue is appointed to help the thing along?'
 Certainly Probably he never quite ing outside agency directs him, makes him careless. throws him off his guard. He plays his part in the great drama of life. The man who chokes a flue or fixes pipe to leak is working to make men better. You migh. call him the Angel of Discipline"
 You think, then, that the whole mat ter Is Supernatural?''
 Well. I don't know as I quite call 1t that. It's just the way things is fixed. You try to toss a book on the table and it falls on the floor. If you tried to on the table. You go through your house in the dark and hold your arms straight in front of you, and an open door goes between your arms and YOU hit your nose. You could hardly steer straight enough in daylight to get the door into do 1t sure in the dark. Out in the ocean you sail along for days and never see sight of a ship. Let a fog come up and it's five chances to one you'll have a