Staunton spectator and vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1896-1916, 1906-06-08
HisSeCretW aSDiSCovered
BY VIM. TRoWBRIDGE HARMED.

The vast hall was packed from pit
to dome with a great cOncourse repre-
senting the elite of the metropolis.
The hour and the man had arrived.
The time and place seemed prOpitiOus.
Taking her hand in both his own
strong palms, rough with honest toll.
yet fashioned for caressing, he began,
with the earnestness born of convic-
ton:
1.-The time has come when you must
know all. Listen, and l will tell yor
the story of my life. How true it is
that half the world does not know
how the other half lives. l was born
of poor but honest parents"
"Stay!" she interrupted. mo, no
l mean, go! Let us leave this sea OF
upturned faces, and repair to where
we are not the cynOSure of all eyes
the observed of all observers"
Listen he began again, when
they were safe from pursuit. For
years l have Rugged my awful secret
to my breast. l have passed many
sleepless nights; it has haunted my
waking hours Torn with contending
emotion-a prey to the most cruel
anxiety that words fail to describe.
and which time alone can heal, | have
waited till the eleventh hour, hoping
against hope for the turn of fortunes
wheel. Often in the watches of the
night time has seemed to stand still,
and | have waited the coming of the
morn with bated breath, remember
ing that"
''The darkest hour is just before
dawn"-she interjected with true
womanly intuition.
Even so,' he acquiesced, f1attered
that she should read his Utmost
thought in a hoarse whisper, sounding
a note of warning. 81 am free to con-
TESS that l have known the sting of
poverty, and drained the cup of sor-
row to it's dregs Sometimes my star
as seemed to be in the ascendant.
Notwithstanding the social gulf that
separates us, my spirits rose by leaps
and bounds when you came into our
midst, filling long-felt want in the
aching void of my affections. You
drew me to you as the needle is drawn
| to the pole. Behold said, the lode
star of my destiny For, after all is
said and done, it is the unexpected
that happens, and, in the last an
alysis, the right man in the right
place may drive the thin edges OF
the wedge into the oak Of opposi-
| ton.
Realizing that my early education
| had been neglected, burned the mid
night oil to the wee, sma' hours. Let
us give credit where credit is due. 1t
was in the libraries established by
| that grand old man, Andrew Carnegie
| where the worlds best literature is
put within the reach of all-that l &C
| quired a liberal education in less time
| than it takes to tell. If l could but
| apply it. l knew that l would soon
| be rich beyond the dream of avarice,
and that my fondest hopes would be
realized.
| cat this critical juncture In my ca
reer the palladium Of our liberties
were endangered, and tidal wave OF
| reform swept the country from center
to circumference, carrying all before
| it. | rose to the occasion and entered
the political arena, determining to
| sink or swim. l turned orator, and
the people hung on my words, and
| cheered me to the echo. The news oil
my coming would spread like wild
fire. Where other speakers were lis
tened to with respectful attention by
small but select audience, | was in
variably given an ovation. My
speeches may have lacked distinction
of style, and, prepared as they were
on the spur of the moment, l some
times neglected to round my periods:
yet they were always punctuated with
applause and carried conviction to the
minds of my hearers.
"But fall follows pride. ha6
thought to live down my past, and
carry my secret to the grave. But
in an evil hour"
He paused, shaken with emotion
unable to proceed further. It was &
scene never to be forgotten. Fol
though it was now high flood, and
within the memory of the Oldest in.
habitant, old Sol had never afflicted
perspiring humanity with such per
nicious activity; yet the speakers face
took on an icy pallor, and his hands
clutched convulsively at his breast
In the deathlike silence that ensued
you could hear a pin drop. AS he
trembled like leaf, book fell from
his nerveless fingers and lay open al
the title page.
The lady picked it up, and with un
erring literary instinct her trained
eye took in the contents at glance
She said nothing, keeping her owl
face spoke volumes, and it was easy
to see that his hour had indeed come
and that his fate was sealed.
Leave me, I would be Alone" ht
managed to stammer, brokenly, seeing
that concea1ment was no longer pos
sible Temper justice with mercy
Go, and may heaven forgive you as
do"
For it was idle to waste words. The
secret was out. In her hand she hello
the keynote of his success-his "Bool
of Ready-made Phrases for Orator ant
Writer" compilation made only
after many years of painstaking re-
search, and invaluable alike to the
business and professional man. 1t hat
been his wade mecum-the sine qua
non of his meteOric career. The
matchless eloquence that held his
auditors spellbound, that had made
his name household word wherever
the English language is spoken, was
only borrowed plumage.
And she-she who had worshipet
the very ground he trod on-had, il
the innocence of her heart, thought
him nothing if not original.-Cleve
| land eador