Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1906-05-13

made no verbal comment, 1 offered my
opinion tersely as 1 could.
" Thank you, Lieut. Drummond.' rum
bled Sir John in his deep voice. as if he
were pronounclng sentence, and, my testi-
mony completed, the committee rose.
Il was out in the street before Billy
Richardson overlook me. and then he called
himself to my attention by resounding
siar on the shoulder.
Alan. my boy he cried, you have
done yourself proud. Your fortunes made
AS how? I asked, shaking him by the
hand
Why, we've been for weeks holding an
inquiry on this blessed gun, and the ques-
ton is whether or not lot more OF them
are to be made You know what an opin-
louat ted beast Old Crouch is. Well, my
boy, you have corroborated his opinion OF
the gun in every detail. He Is such a
brow beating, tyrannical brute that the
rest of the committee would rather like to
go against him II they dared, but you have
put a spoke in their wheel. Why, Sir John
never said thank YOU TO human being
since he was born until twenty-seyen min
yates and fifteen seconds after IL this morn
ing as you would have put It, and at the
time Of writing this letter this surmise OF
Billys appears TO be justified for the tape
in the club just now announced that the
committee has unanimously decided in IA
vor of the gun, and adds that this Is re-
gsrded as a triumph for the chairman. Ad-
miral Sir John Pendergast, with various
letters after his name.
Dear Miss Amhurst this letter, as I
feared has turned out lntolerably long, and
like our first conversation, 1t is ali about
myself. But then. you see, you are the only
one on the other side of the water to whom
I have confided my selfish worries, and l
believe you to be so kind-hearted that /
am sure you will not censure me for this
once exceeding the limits OF friendly corre-
spondence. Having been deeply depressed
during all the previous long days, the sud
den reaction urges me to go out into Pail
Mall. fling my cap in the air, and Whoop
yyh artian is mute evidently remnant
Of my former cowboy aspirations. Truth
to tell, the Russian business seems already
forgotten, except by my stout old captain
on the CONSERVATION, or my uncle. The
strenuous Sir John has had me hailed across
the ocean merely to give testimony lasting
about thirtyfiye minutes, when with a lit
tie patience he might have waited till the
Consideration herself arrived, else have
ca bled for US TO try the gun at Bar Harbor.
] suppose, however that after my unfor-
tuuate contretemps with Russia our gov
eminent was afraid I'd chip corner off the
United States. and that they'd have to pay
for it. So perhaps after all it was greater
| economy TO bring me acriss on the liner
Enthusiana.
by the way I learned yesterday that the
| CONSERVATION has been ordered home. and
so l expect to see Jack Lamont before
many days are past. The ship Will be paid
/ off Mt Portsmouth. ana then l suppose he
and I viii have our freedom for six months.
l am rather looking forward to Jacks cook
/ ing me some weird but tasteful Russian
! dishes when reach his blacksmith shop
, Ia St. Petersburg. If l get on in Russia as
/ l hope and expect. ] shall spend the rest
| of my leave over in the states. ] saw very
| little indeed Of that great country, and am
extremely anxious 70 see more. When one
/ IS on duty aboard ship one can only take
| very short excursions ashore. I should like
/ 20 visit Niagara 1t seems ridiculous that
| one should have been all along the Ameri-
| can coast from Canada 10 New York. and
never have got far enough Inland to view
! the great falls.
Prussia Is rather dilatory in her methods.
but / surely should know within two or
/ three weeks whether l am going to succeed
! or not. If rot, then there is no use IN wait
! ing there. l shall try TO persuade the
! ing the weeks l am waiting In st. Peters
burg / shall continually impress upon him
the utter futility of a life which has not
| investigated the great electrical power plant
at Niagara Falls. And then he Is interested
IN the educational system OF the United
States While we were going TO the sta
tIon early that morning he told me that the
| United States educational system must be
the most wonderful In the world because
he found that your friend Miss Katherine
Kenpt knew more about electricity, metal
lurEy natural philosophy and a great num-
her of ether things he is interested In than
all the ladies he has met In Europe put to-
yether He thinks that's the right sort of
education for girls. and all this rather
astonished me, because, although your
friend was most charming. she said moth
ing during my very short acquaintance With
her u lead me to suspect that she had re-
ceIved scientific training.
Dear Miss Anlhufst / am looking every
day for a letter from you, but none has yet
they get one will forward IL to whatever
| mart If The world happen to be In -