The herald., 1912-02-15
BEING
INSPECTED
By HENRY c. WILLING
Copyright by American Press Asso-
citation, 1911.

indifferently good and bad. regret to
say that | was of the third class-bad.
The badness in college boys is usually
but a superhuity Of health, youth and
spirits, and when look back upon my
self at that period see simply boy
passing into manhood.
AS soon as was graduated / sought
the freedom Of the wild west Ranch
ing was my vocation and cowboys
were my associates. The only thing
that | can remember creditable to my
self while q rancher was falling in
love with Eleanor Warfeld. a visitor
at a neighboring ranch. This occur
red during my first year in the west
and some time before | had been
| transformed from the grub. youth, in.
| to the superior being, man. Miss War.
field returned my prOffered affection
and consented TO be my wife, but on
one condition. l must be approved by
| her uncle. He was rich, and, being a
| bachelor, she was TO be his heir New
ried a man displeasing to him he
would leave his property elsewhere.
My fancee, having finished her visit,
left for the east. She was TO announce
her engagement to her uncle and Gre
ate as favorable an impression with
regard to me as possible. Then, the
way having been made smooth. | was
to go east myself and present myself
for inspection.
Miss Warfield wrote me some time
after her arrival that she had inform
ed her uncle of her engagement. She
was not overhOpeful in the matter, for
he had asked number of questions as
to my antecedents which she knew very
well would not please a critical old
gentleman who had never sOwn his
wild oats and whose ideas of q hus-
band for his niece inclined TO the cler-
ical profession. What troubled Eleanor
was that he asked at what college
had studied, and from my career at the
university as had frankly given 1t to
her she was quite sure he would hear
no good of me. She was agreeabiy
disappointed in this, however, for the
faculty spoke very well of me, a cir
cumstance which surprised pe and led
me to believe that these gentlemen
consider unmeritorious students more
needful of encomiums than those who
are meritorious. At any rate. have
found them far more lenient to my
faults as a graduate than they were to
me as student
When the time came for my inspec-
ton l wrote my fiancee. giving her the
day and train on which / would ar
rive. On the way fell in with an old
gentleman who was the only person
on the train | cared to talk to and
whom l engaged in conversation. He
was one Of those men who have more
sympathy with young people than
those Of their own age. He talked
horse. and l was delighted to talk
horse with him. He smoked to excess
and drank whenever it pleased him to
do so. We hadn't been together half |
an hour before he brought out flask, |
cigars and cards. l was not personally |
averse to any one Of the three and pre-
ferred them together. Having i'm
bibed and lighted weeds. we proceed. |
ed to play. l found the gentleman the |
best eucher player / had ever. met. |
Possibly my reason for so considering |
him was because befora we reached |
our destination he had taken out of me |
all the money 1 had brought with me
for expenses.
WELL" said, "Tm cleaned OUT
Come to my bank tomorrow MORN |
Ing" he said. "and I'll cash a draft for
you"
Since needed money from the start,
the first thing did after my arrival |
was to call at the old gentleman's |
bank. found him a very different |
person there from the man with whom |
/ had travelled. He was dignity itself. |
He cashed my draft without the slight |
est reference to the manner in which |
we had whiled away the time on the |
train, asked few civil questions and
dismissed me with the remark that |
this was his busy day.
l felt a tribe groggy, and 1 feared / |
looked groggy. Therefore l took a
long nap, deferring my call on my
dancee till evening. I was anxious to
see Eleanor, but feared to present a
dissipated appearance to her uncle.
At 4 o'clock took Turkish bath,
dined, and at 8, quite freshened, rang
the doorbell at the Warfields. Eleanor
received me lovingly, of course, and
told me that the account the profess
sors had given Of me at college had
made her quite hopeful. After chat
ting for some time she led me into the
library to be inspected. An old gentle
man rose from an easy chair, and
well, was appalled,
He was my fellow traveller.
He told me to sit down. Then he
said that instead of making the in
spection Of me In his home he had
gone west for the purpose of seeing
what really was by taking me of my
guard. He was very well satisfied
with me and considered me a much
better man than I had been represent
ed by the professors under whom I
had studied, cor, rather, had not stud
h.