The Abbeville press and banner. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1869-1924, 1906-04-25
CHAPTER VII
Trr Tocr Dr. ~

NO prOpnecleS ever come uue TX
cept prophecies Of disaster. Perhaps
the reason is that there have never
been any other kind. Katharine went
about her duties with q sense of i'm
pending disaster due to Dittmer's pro-
phecies. The children carried on in
their usual fashion,; the mother worked
and contrived; the precise bald-head-
ed father came home every day and
read the paper slowly, with his legs
crossed, just as usual; and yet some
thing dreadful was going to happen to
them. If you knew that the day after
tomorrow there was going to be an
earthquake of so vast and extended a
character that there would be no time
to escape, would you warn the I'M
thinking folk or would you leave them
to their fate? If you warned them,
for every one who would betake him
to his knees, a dozen would take to
drink. Better leave them unconscious
until the end came. AS we'll warn
the skipping lamb that in a day or
two he will be hanging up, with his
wool gone and his inside scooped out,
in a butchers shop.
The blow fell a few days later.
1t was on Saturday afternoon, when
Mr.. Emptage generally came home at
half-past two and spent the rest Of the
day with the family, not disdaining
to turn his hand to household jobs;
few family men, indeed, were reader
at mailing up a blind, mending a door,
handle, or any of those little matters
for which the plumber is too often
called in. He generally came home
cheerful and contented-tenuity of in
come is not felt if you desire no more
than you have. This day, however, he
returned in a condition which-unjust-
ly, I declare-forced those who saw
him to think of strong drink.
"John," said his wife, sharply. what
is the matter? Where have you been?"
His face was white, his lips tremu-
lous, his hands dangled at his side-a
most undigniied thing for hands to do
and he swayed from side to side.
John" his wife repeated. whats
the matter?"
HE is i'll, Mrs. Emptage," said Kath-
arine. But she knew what had hap
pened.
"Children!" the poor man groaned,
"wife! Katharine!"-he sunk into an
armchair and buried his face in his
hands-"we are ruined"
Had he, then, been dismissed.
John! What is it? Tell me, quick.
What? John! Speak up!"
maria, I will. Give me time. I've
eaten no dinner to-day at all. What
right had I to be eating dinner with
the poor children never going perhaps
to have any more:" He uttered these
awful words with his face still in his
hands, so that they had a muflled
funeral sound, like the drums at the
burial of 4 soldier.
"Oh. John! Speak up" his wife re-
peated.
The younger children began to cry.
The elders watched their mother and
katharine. 1t would not be becoming
in them to begin the crying until they
set the example. But they were terri.
fed. John sat up and looked slowly
and solemnly around, shaking his head,
His children were about him, his wife
was at his side, and in front of him
was the governess! Oh, how few of
his contemporaries had g~overnesseS
And now lie felt In moments OF
| great trouble it is the small thing
| which seizes first on the mind. John
Emptage suffered less pain at the mo-
ment for the loss Of his income than
for the loss of his gentility. 'Our
| governess! MY children'S g~overnessr'
| Now he would be able to say these
words no longer.
Business he began, with a groan
'has been terribly bad. It is bad Will
everybody, but in Our trade it seems
to have gone altogether"
"Well, my dear, you have said that
so often"
eat last the partners have reduced
| the establishment. Reduced-reducel
the establishment, Maria"
"John!' shrieked his wife, "yoJ
haven't lost your berth:"
They've sent away half the clerks
| three are gone; and they've cut down
the salaries of those who stay on
I'm cut down. Observation-Disclosures
eLa, 1o, ham ont 1owDtr