The Challis messenger. (Challis, Idaho) 1912-current, 1922-03-22
Condensed
CLASSICS
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John HALIFAX,
GENTLEMAN
~ !,
J. By MRS. UNLOCK
Condensation BY
Condensation by
Basil King

>pOUGH a boy Of sixteen, was
u tho Ill and crippled to walk.
owing to the rain my father
.,,d nv hand-carriage under an
hvav Taking shelter there we
,'snd a handsome boy Of thirteen.
ls W.. huilt strong and looking more
than bis age.
p r..,,ne to lose time from work in
q. tonnery, my father engaged this
~ n push me home when the rain
S..od Arrived at our house, l asked
VIM II for q meal. After his dinner
| + the kitchen he Joined me in the din
no room, telling me something Of his
s,s.orv His name was John Halifax,
:. ornhan, without home. relatives
!, money, and so obliged to roam
No country, looking for work. His
.os treasure was Greek Testament,
M the Ay-leaf Of which was written
NO name of Guy Halifax. In addition
mere we're entries of the marriage of
cuv Halifax, gentleman, to Muriel
lovce. spinster, in the year 1873; Of
mo birth of John Halifax in 1880; and
the death of Guy Halifax in 1871.
R.Ing unable to write, the lad asked
mo to make the additional entry, "Mu-
td Halifax, died January I. 1901"
Never having had a companion.
hok this boy as friend, inducing my
hther, Abel Fletcher, to give him
york in the lanyard. 1t was humble
work, at a pittance a week, and the
boy took such good care Of himself as
be could. sleeping in or on a pile Of
EMBARK, and eating no more than
enough to keep him alive.
Those were the days Of hard times
Incidental to the Napoleenic wars,
With scarcity both Of work and food.
Is was helpless, 1t meant much to
my father to have growing up under
bis eye a lad to whom his masters
interests were his own. In a measure
John Halifax took my place in the tan
merry, and during the labor riots from
which my father suffered, as did most
employers Of the time. my friend was
,lways on hand to soothe the workmen
md protect my fathers property.
In proportion as Abel Fletcher grew
Old and infirm greater responsibility
fell on the younger mans shoulders.
By the time he was twenty-one my ia
her was willing to take him into part
hership, promoting him thus from the
handing Of a waif, which was that
which he held in the eyes Of our con-
Rryative fellow-townsmen in Norton
Bury, in Worcestershire, to that of
olid citizen. No young man ever de-
served good fortune more. Develop
ing. too, force of character which
could not but be progressive. he more
man once found himself at odds with
the old Tory elements that had long
0ed our townspeople In submission
md contempt.
chief among the petty tyrants Of the
instocratic class were the earl Of Lux
more and his son-in-law, Richard
bnthwood. the important landowners
" our neighborhood. Hard-drinking,
nafd'rldlng and profligate, they made
cs OF the full privileges Of birth and
position which in those days allowed
@e nobility to be overbearing to all
WON they regarded as interiors. To
sard this spirit John Halifax bore
a,nself respectfully but manfully, ex-
auns the hatred Of his opponents by
useating their ends. A combination
" circumstances brought him in the
"ae run into closer connection with
'e'a than either he or they cared to
ecognize.
,, Mnen I WIS twenty.three and John
ualilax twenty, we took our first hol-
%'y together, lodging ut a farmhouse
y tae neiehboring hills, where some
~uslns Of Richard Brithwood, Mr..
aa.en and his daughter, Ursula, were
%tlng a temporary residence. The
..as. being an invalid. and growing
,.pluiy worse while we we're there,
,vao Halifax was able to perform val
Ia''e services for the daughter. BY
W.. ume the father died, John and
,., .s march were in love. The diff
k,.s 10 their marriage were Of a
, r-u only to be solved by overriding
sosa John Halifax was poor and a
NV Ursula March was high-born
nv. aa neiress. When he would have
n. 1t was she who, with the in
, n..t. OF big and Ipble heart, took
M. u into her own hands. She did
h.. 'n az more bravelJ. owing to the
y. that Richard yBrithwood. her
sssardian. had the pbwer to withhold
NJ '"e'me' which nd did for years.
noa.e marriage las therefore In
,,n.. conditions, but none the less
n ~. .or that. Thelk first sorrow may
,hns 70 nave come when their eldest
,o,H Muriel. proved ID to have been
,,e,, " Almost d he last act Of my
INA o'u father was Ito bless the babe
noc'aim her thl child Of peace.
N, x :. 10 his wife TIL IS little blind girl
lsa,.,s OBJECT Of hei fathers dearest
ma Nv Three b, bys, Guy, Edwin,
.stl, sn were bo in after her, and
tie sI Ssass i, little but to % NOME on,