The true northerner. [volume] (Paw Paw, Mich.) 1855-1920, 1906-06-22

listened 10 with special attention.
without assuming superiority Of any
kind he came to be recognized as In
fact superior. He came to he sort OF
autocrat OF the breakfast table, direct
Ing the conversations there into new
channels and better ones.
1t was his practice to buy and read
all the magazines as they appeared.
including the particularly interesting
eclectic periodicals Of that time, In
which the best European thought was
fairly represented
His reading furnished him many In
terestlng themes for table talk. and
presently the brightest ones among his
companions there began to question
him further concerning the subjects he
thus mentioned. After little while
some of them occasionally borrowed
reading matter of him by way of still
further satisfying their interest In the
matters of which he talked ut table.
A little later still these brighter
young men one by one began TO visit
Duncan's room In the evenings. In
the free and easy fashion Of that time
and region be made them welcome
without permitting their coming or go
ing to disturb his own evening occu-
pations in any serious way. His room
was very large, well warmed and
abundantly lighted. for he had almost
passion for light. There was al
ways litter Of new magazines. week
ly periodicals and the like on the big
table I'm the center Of the room. and
there were always piles Of older ones
In the big closet Still further. there
was a stand OF bookshelves which was
beginning to be crowded with books
bought one by one as they came out or
as Duncan felt the need Of them. Lit
erature was the young mans only ex-
travagance, and that was not very
expensive one.
Welcome. Help yourself. Read
what you like and you won't disturb
me-" That was the spirit of his
greeting to all these. his friends. when
ever they entered his door and it was
not long before the room Of the young
Virginian became center of good in-
fluence among the young men of the
town.
Cairo was an Ill organized communi-
ty at that time. The great majority OF
its people were newcomers from all
quarters of the country, who had as
yet scarcely learned TO know each 9th
er. War operations had filled the town
for several years past with shifting
crowds of Adventures of all sorts. who
found in disturbed conditions their op-
portunity to live by prey. There were
gambling houses and other evil resorts
In dangerous numbers, where soldiers
and discharged soldiers on their way
through the place were tempted to
their ruin by every lure of vice and
every ease OF opportunity to go astray.
The solid men deplored these condi-
TONS but were as yet pOwerless to bet
ter them. After the rush Of discharged
soldiers through the town ceased the
evil Influences began to operate more
directly upon the clerks and other
young men of the city itself.
Under such circumstances even the
least cultivated of the hard headed
business men could not fail to regard
with special pleasure the silent work
that Duncan was doing for the saliva
ton of at least a considerable group
of young men who might otherwise
have fallen victims to the evil condi-
tons that beset them
Apart from his association with the
young men who frequented his room
Duncan had no social life at all. He
never visited at any house except that
Captain Hallam frequently had him to
a meal over which the two might talk
business" or where he might meet and
help entertain prominent men of af-
fairs from other cities whose visits
were inspired by commercial purposes
far more than by considerations of
social nature.
1t created some little establishment,
therefore, when one day at the board
ing house table Duncan said to those
about him:
IL hear that you fellows are organ
izlng some sort of club for social pur-
poses Why haven't you given me a
chance to join?"
1--WE didn't think you would care for
such things. You never go out, you
know, and
what is the purpose of your organ
ization. If you don't mind my asking"
"Oh, certainly not. We're simply
making up a little group. which we
call The Coterie,' to have a few dane
ing parties and amateur concerts and
the like in the big hotel dining room
during the winter. We've a notion
that the young people of Cairo ought
to'know each other better. Our idea Is
to promote social intercourse, and so
we're all chipping in to pay the cost,
which won't be much
(COnLi1lneH merit aCegkl