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through good and ill oliver oe brandons story by nora laugher chapier iv a cyniika web there are moments in the life of man in which he lives for ages time itself seems to stand still and he endures an as suffering in an inatint how many many times in the bitter fa tare did 1 look back to those peaceful hours of my visit to the irvlneside homestead when all was so joyous and happy for i was sup remely happy then when i no longer f the young army doctor as a rival when ii found that clad pure young haart was au my own the days passed along swiftly with shooting skating tobogganing and long sleigh drives around picturesque jmora and christmas was very near one evening we dined at mr gully grain gers a merry sleigh ride the two girls jack and i had thither through the deeply drnt- ed snow mr gulliver grainger a vilu very much resembled himself being short wide and florid by this i do not mean to insinuate that mr gully himself was built of re t brick bat that he was merely of a florid red brlok complexion the villa too like mr grainger was showily and gaudily furnishtd yet capable of hospitably enter- j- am quit sn 1l within its walls as was its uncle will welcome you but you to next friday will be christmas day when all the earth should breathe of peace and good- will go to him then at once plead with him and forgive him he wishes to be friends again with yon or he would not have gone to toronto to see yon it was a long and trying journey for an old gentleman to take this severe weather but i cannot understand it i wrote to his servant gervase le rhue the day before i came hers telling him that i should be away from toronto for some weeks ft is certainly very strange your uncle cannot know that you correspond with gervase then again why did not gervase ac quaint me of my uncles intended visit being suoh an eccentric man perhaps he did not let even his confidential old ser vant know where be intended going rea soned mrs irvine then you really wish me to go to mont- rea and see bim r asked it is not a que tlo of what 1 wish but of what yon ought tu do oliver said she kindly gently laying her hand upon my houlder as though she were speaking to her son yes go early to morrow morning aud get back to us oa christmas eve in time for the dance i am quite sure your uiniug many within its walls masters heart capable of holding many friends in his own peculiar and tyrannical fashion miss martha grainger beaming through her spectacles and gorgeously arrayed in a bright bottle green silk dress welcomed us cordially with many lamentations for mrs irvines absence we were conducted to the drawingroom where we found the young minister the reverend narcissus small and mrs fairfax by and by we paired off tothediningtoom mr grainger leading the way with mrs fair fax mary and the minister gladys fell to habten back to us now promise me that you will go give me until this evening to decide i pleaded yes 1 i am not afraid for you you are too noble to refuse your better nature will triumph you loved the old man once think of him as then before he wronged you so cruelly then think of him now in his old age lonely miserable and yearning for you all day i was alternately wavering be tweon good and evil sometimes when gladys was near me and her sweet influence mylotand miss marthas mittened hi over me i felt i could go and take the old man a cold hard hand in mine and confess i rested tenderly upon jacks sleeve jacks triumphant look almost upset my gravity the graingers were unmistakably eng lieh they always explained to their visitors that they came of an ancient worcestershire family their establishment consisted of a smart maid servant and a bo wearing livery the latter miss irvino informed me afterwards was an english emigrant whom mr grainger had recently taken into his service thinking it would add to the grandeur of his house besides looking so thoroughly english to have a man servant around mr grainger was training up the youthful orphan timothy stokes in that capacity he ws a remarkably flashy boy and his blancmange like cheeks wobbled up and down when he breathed hard with the exertion of carrying in the numerous dishes his clothes were rather short and very much too tight they were onamented very profusely with large brass buttons and every time he drew a deep breath i nervous ly expected a button to go this elephan tine eoglish youth was a source of great discomfort to gladys and myself indeed i dared not look at gladys or we might not havo controlled the expression of our coun tenances the minister lifted up his squeaky voice together with his saintly weak eyes and be sought a long poetical blessing that is he said grace in ryhme or perhaps i oupht to term it in hymnfashion all went merrily then until mr grainger was in the midst of a lengthy and exremely funny story about a certain polly parrott a celebrity of rook- woo 3 when we were all interrupted by the still louder breathing of the bewildered timothy who with his mouth wide open his large eyes staring his fat cheeks wob bling up and down with a dish of sweet pota toes in his baud stood quivering and shaking at miss marthas side not seeing a clear coast whereon to deposit his burden the un- happy stokes at last shouted in his mistress ear plase miss marther wheer ever be i to put these yeer baked taters unfortunately at that moment i caught gladys eye and we both burst into an uncon trollable fit of laughter joined in by mrs fairfax and jack a loud guffaw from mr gully grainger himself made ns feel more at ease mary and the minister were too well bred to even smile miss martha sat erect a dignified if not very graceful mixture of vinegar and starch as she condescendingly came to the aid of the miserable timothy we pitied the un fortunate youth when afterwards he would boflett to the untender mercies of that irate and grieved maiden mrs gibson the proprietor of my board ing house had never before bad occasion to write to me therefore i was very much surprised the following sunday morning when jaok who had walked to fergus for the mail placed in my hands an epistle from the hand of the kind old woman whose house had been my only home for many years the news the letter contained sur prised me even more mrs gibson telling me that a few days ago a tall old gentleman with white hair haa called at her house on jarvis street toronto to see me and by his conversation mrs gibson knew that he was my unole mr marmaduke brandon from montreal mrs gibsonb description of the old gentleman exaotly answered to that of my kinsman the old lady wound up her kind letter by begging me to go to montreal and see nim i placed the letter in mrs irvines hands asking her opinion yes i i think mrs gibson is quite right if i were you i would certainly go to montreal she replied no doubt your uncle wishes to make peace now regretting his hasty and unwarrantable conduct to you i do not think i could i returned bit terly you forget how he has treated me you forget how he turned me from his house my lawful horns when but a mere lad and ru these years not vouchsafing me one kind word although many times i have forced myself into his presence only to be driven out of it with his curst like a dog or worse he cannot live many years longer for he is a very old gentleman is he not mrs irvine asked gently yes heli quite an old man then i think you know you asked my advice that it is your duty as his nephew to hold out the hand of friendship it he asks too have been to blame let us forget the past and be friends mr brandon why are you so f ai to day gladys asked as she and i walked alone over the crisp hard snow to evening service at the little church i am trying to think and do what is right i replied you mean about your unole said she gently raising her lustrous sympathetio eyes to mine yes put yourself in my olace what would you do i would go to montreal at ence and see him he is sorry for what he did she said simply but suppose you were prevented by the devil at your heart the devil of malice and hatred lurking there still then i would pray to the good god to help me aid gladys solemnly her pure features radiant with their new and gentle air of solicitude and do you think he would if you had neglected him for years v yes yes i am sure he would said sho eagerly as we entered the door together never to mo seemed the grand church ser vice so divinely beautiful as that evening when i listened to the simple eloquent words as hitherto i had never heard them the faint light of the tapers above fell softly upon gladys bowed head as she knelt by my bide at the words forgive us our trespasses as we forgive tbero that trespass against us she slippe i her hand in mine aud i prayed then with her little hand clasped in mine as i had never done before for god to be merciful to me a sinner knowing if he could forgive my sins i could surely pardon and pity that poor lonely old man we walked home very silently both too happy for commplace words 1 but when we btood together in the porch moved by a sudden impulse i could not control i bent down aud kissed the pure red lips lips that before we entered the homestead gave me their promise true i could hardly tear myself away from irv- ineside therefore it was late in the evening when i arrived at montreal and came to my uncles house standing face to face with gervase le rhue he was a tall lean cadaverous man and his dark hair was still sleekly arranged in what i onoe boyishly told him was the english newgate knocker style monsieur oliver said he holding up his hands in surprise ah 1 the good god has mercifully sent you here to make peace so you observed the last time i came when he sent me away with his ourse but well hope for better luck this time ger vase how is my unole t i enquired as i entered the house he is not well monsieur oliver he has not been down stairs today if you will be pleased to enter the diningroom an netts shall prepare you some refreshment whilst his deaf old wife a woman some years older than himself made me some toast and a cup of strong tea gervase le rhue re lated to me the doings of my unole he appeared not to know whither his master journeyed upon his absence the previous week but i fancied his smile grew more evil when i acquainted him that it was to toronto my unole gervase said was in one of his strange moods and he begged me earnestly not to try and see him that night but to wait until the next morning i did not fear the bitter cold or the blind ing show then falling and would have gone to the windsor hotel for the night had not gladys last words- interceding for the un happy old man influenced me and i was pre vailed upon to accept thebhelter offered me by gerrase le rhue shelter which how bitter ly i afterwards regretted you will see at le rhues request in the morning i ascended the stairs aud stood upon the threshold of my uncles room perhaps the white hair was more thinly scattered upon his broad brow but his grey eye had the same hard satirical look and his gaunt wiry frame was almost as erect as when i last stood before him to what may i attribute the honor of this visit j he enquired haughtily i came here in peace uncle because i heard that last week you journeyed to to ronto to see me or i oertainly would not have intruded in peace sneered he you infernal young liar i have not been to toronto for ten years i would not enter your doors you only come here cringing and fawning thinking that i have not long to live and shall will yon my money some i cinnot help yon having i wish to god i could but the rest were you starving you should not have one cent to buy a crust in peace shouted he begone out of my sight the old mans face was livid with anger our voices were raised noisily and angri ly against each other for some time ending in my leaving the house as hitherto but without seeing gervase le rhue had he purposely evaded me surely my uncle had been to toronto i oonld not understand it there seemed to be some inhuman deviltry at word mrs gib son was a simple truthful woman could she be laboring under some strange haluci- nation i felt as if in a horrible night mare with a sad and depressed feeling i walk ed through the snowcovered montreal streets to the station and took the next train to guelph wearily the hours of my homeward journ ey dragged on until i at last arrived at irvine side how grieved and indignant were mrs irvine and gladys at the reception i had met with and how puzzed we all were as to my uncles unacknowledge visit to toronto finally it was decided that the day after chiistmas i should hasten back to loronto 0 interview mrs gibson about it it was the annual custom to hold a dance on christmas eve at the irviaeside home stead as the evening cime the miserable unhappy old man and my journey to mon treal was almost forgotten in my happiness in watching gladys who flitting about in her white robe of india muslin looked the true homelike angel she was the church bells were chiming merrily when the fiddler struok up an oldfashioned dance led off by mrs irvine and old doctor fairfax followed by stout mrs faisfax and mr gully grainger even miss martha in her blue spectacles minclngly pranced over the brightly polished floor mary irvices face shone with a new hap piness as her blue eyes rested upon clifford fairfax the reverend narcissus small was nowhere to be seen edith and ena fairfax were flirting gai ly with some young officers friends of their brothers when half way throug l a delicious waltz gladys and i paused to take breath and lis ten to the strains vf the blue danube an air which neither she or i hear even now with out deep emotion i had not withdrawn my arm from around her her hand was still clasped in mine when i observed jack who a moment before i had seen dancing with miss stone now at the other end of the long room signalling me o go to him i left gladys there beating time with her little foot as with difficulty i crossed the room between he dancers great scott jaok 1 what a long face said 1 laughing what on earth is the matter sarah has been telling me i cock and bull story of two men wishing to see yon she says one of the hired men told br they look like policemen in private clothes you dont owe any cash do you old boy no 1 a least not a stiver above 20 or so i replied laughing there is some mistake i guess they are in the parlor air said sarah in answer to her masters question i entered the room first when immediately a hand was placed upon my shoulder and a pair of handcuffs were clasped firmly upon my wrists while one of the men exclaimed oliver brandon i arrest you upon the charge of murder in the other i recognized a guelpk policeman what is it thundered irvine his tall form drawn to its full height his blue eyes flashing ominously while he seized the detective by the neck as though he were a dog upon the warrant being produced we learned that my uncle marmaduke brandon had been found that day by gervase le rhue foully murdered shot through the heart the pistol lying in the room not far from the body had engraved upon it the name of oliver brandon i cannot bear to desoribe the anguish of gladys for unfortunately the terrible news uf my arrest soon reached her she did not scream or faint she was like some stricken dumb creature her face whiter than the dress she wore as she clasped the handcuffs with her trembling fingers nervously trying to unfasten them the men touched by her silent grief more eloquent than words walk ed away to the far end of the room leaving us almost alone for a few minutes then gladys wound her arms around mv neck oh oliver my love my love if they would only take me too to be cohtinoed ated champion hurled himself against his likeness and broke the glass into a hundred fragments the mingling of astonishment rage and triumph in the birds appearance as he whirled aboo startled at the cracking noise and bewildered by the total disappear ance of the enemy was comical to behold then he rushed round behind the big pear- tree evidently thinking that the cowardly stranger might be bidden there not find- iny him the victor strutted about too excit ed to eat and crowed long and loud over his triumph the other cock had apparently been wiped out of existence and our old fighter could scarcely credit his senses prima donnas and taeir jewels how does a lady singer become world- famed 1 asks a f euilfeton writer inthe frank flutter zticung and goes on to explain that their only road to fortune is to have some of their jewellery stolen from them belllike intonation harmony a strong voice acrobat like technique impressive expression dis tinctness of pronunciation lively aotion and an attractive apperrance ought to se cure fame to a lady artiste but only those will say this who have lived in hermitlike retirement for in order to become famous a lady singer must at least have been robbed a few times just now a new candidate has presented herself as qualified for the pirt of the prima donna assoluta miss sigrld arnoldaon the attractive young swedish girl who has hitherto been like all other singing birds of the opera 1 1 the concert hall has suddenly risen above them all and her impreasario sends out the notice in grat delight at last at list she too has been robbed the object was of course a case with bracelets earrings etc given to her by empresses qaeens and princes the im- pressario was nearly in despair when it ap peared as if a row of pearls had been over looked by the thieves the clouds only van ished from his face when it wis found that the pearls too were gone a thief re maining undiscovered belongs as much to the outfit of a phenomally famous singer as does her indispensable rouge pot she can not do without a drawingroom fra diavolo the lack of a perfect shape does not signify the lack of a thief would be ruin adeline pattl has been robbed by night and by day in europe and america on shore and at sea in hotels and on rail way trains and carlotta patti and christ ine nelson and but why mention names an incredible amount of diamonds and jewels have disappeared in this way without ever turning up again but the lady artistes are generous com passionate forgiving they do not prosecute the thieves they do not go to the police they do not offer rewards perhaps they know that the gold in their throat can easily be coined and that the rippling shakes can soon be changed into rows of pearls they are easygoing and soon forget their loss but the wonder is that the august donors should still continue to present the singers with diamonds they might have learned by experience that every precious stone they give to them is doomed to be stolen a royal present to a lady artiste which does not get stolen has missed its objeot and cases have indeed occurred where presents were stolen which were never given the thieves be longing to the latter category are most fa voured by the impressario according to a rough estimate which a statistician has made concerning thefts of jewels from lady artistes jewels of the value of 15000000 have been stolen from singers during the last decade and however greatly the abili ties of the police of countries may differ in other respects they are alike all the world over in never troubling the thievos who vic timize prima donnas but there remains one consolation to the friends of the fair singers and that is that however frequently they are robbed of their jewels they are still ornamented with the same anuuut of jewel lery even directly after the theft has occur- ed pall mall gazstte his other self an old lady who has had years of ac quaintance with domestio animals empha tically says theres only one thing stupider than a pig and thats a hen a writer in the popular science monthly however takes a different view of the sland ered fowl he declares that hens show an interesting variety of dispositions aud gives numerous instances of their individual characteristics an amusing test of this difference of disposition in barnyard fowls may be made by placing a piece of looking- glass against the trunk of a large tree and laying a train of corn in front of it some hens will discover what they all take for a new arrival with mild curiosity and merely look at it intently perhaps peering behind the tree and then walk quietly away others peck the glass angrily and insist upon fighting while a few nervous females show a great deal of noisy excitement wetried the valiant old autoorat of the farmyarn with this trick and he was at once roused to fury dropping his head when some ten feet in front of tfce glass he began a cautious advance but soon lost sight of his enemy by moving too far to one slue after orowlng fiercely andlooking around uneasily for a few moments he returned to the train of com and almost instantly saw the strange cook nearer than before more stealthy approach another failure to keep sight of the foe and great excitement then a third time he began to eat only to be startled by the hostile presence nearer than before 4 at last he walked right up to the glass and braced himself for the shook of oambat the counterfeit ef course followed his every movement with ominous celerity there was one fierce peck at the angry head la the glass and then a crash as our inturi- the game dinner the annual game dinner at the grand pacific hotel given by drako parker co the proprietors to their friends is one of the events for novembe- in chicago great preparations are made and the thirtythird of the series which took place last saturday evening was equal if not superior to any preceding one mr john b drake gave his first game dinner in 1p55 at the oldxremont house on dearborn s and eaoh succeeding year he has endeavored to furnish new attractions the last ons certainly was in some respects in advance of any in the long list in the years gone by on this ocoasion john b drake and samuel w parker were the hosts and the provision made was most elaborate and ample the variety of game will be noticed from the menu as follows leg of mountain sheep deer tongue black tall deer mountain sheep saddle of antelope loin of venison loin of elk opotsum coon black bear wild goose sand hill orane ruff led grouse mallard duck virginia part ridge red head duck sage hen brant wood duck jick rabbit squirrel butter- ball duok prairie ohicksn bluewinged teal wild turkey widgeon pheasant plover quail venison steak fox squirrel black birds snipe reed birds redwing starling marsh birds english hare ornamental dishes pyramid of game en bellevue aspic of birds a la royal pattie of liver sur socle boned quail in plumage redwing starling au natural the special ornaments were the bare back rider and the hunters mis hap a modern heroules charles h sampson a new york strong man engaged to slay a steer with his fist the feat was performed with a single blow in the presence of emperor wilhelm and emperor francis joseph he wears a handsome decoration commemorating that event this feat of skill and strength was repeated at ems germany st petersburg and paris mr simpson striking but a single blow upon each of the occasions ex cept the last in this case the steer was running and his aim was not true but the first blow knocked the animal down and a second crushed its skull during his pro fessional experience this heroules has suffered broken arms no less than seventeen times he dees not attribute his great strength to any freak of nature but says it is the result of careful training and exercise it is considered very bad taste for ballet girls to pad unevenly fearful explosions are sometimes oaused by the use of poor coal oh for absolute safety and brilliant light use car bon safety oil sold by dealers everywhere la the dominion wilful cupid caroline the eldest and perhaps the most beautiful of the daughters of the duke maximilian in bavaria was while still a child selected as a fitting bride for the heir of the austrian crown and although there was no formal betrothal her father was in formed that she must be educated in such a way as would fit her for her future grand eur this was more easily said than done for money was scarce in the ducal palace but the whole family from the duke him self to the youngest child seem to have thrown themselves con amort into th work and to have cheerfuly economized for the sake of the fortunate caroline she had professors and teachers of the best andsho well repaid all the care that was lavished upon her for at 19 clever accomplished and regally beautiful she was the very ideal of what a queen should be when the time for the marriage drew near the young emperor joseph came on a visit to the duke in bavaria the family- title is in not of that he might make the acquaintance of his future wife he gszsd at the stately creature who had been so carefully trained for him with respectful admiration but he fell violently in love with her madcap younger sister elizabeth who regarded inthe family as amern child and one too for whom no high destiny was in store had been allowed to pass her days on horseback scouring the country side ministers and courtiers stood aghast but argument and persuasion were alike wasted on the emperor who refused to see that a lack of accomplishments was a blemish in the one whom he loved and a few months later elizabeth thorough child as she was knowing no more of the etiquette of courts than the veriest little gamin entered vienna in state as empress of austria and queen of hungary although this happened more than thirty years ago she has not yet learncvl to submit with patience to the restraints tnat hedge in the lives of sovereigns and the viennese in spite of thnir love for their beautiful em press openly mourn that the emperor should have chosen one who regards a court ball as a penance and a state ceremony as a thing scarcely to le lived through from the day of her marriage it seems to have been a constant endeavour to shake off the fetters of her station and perhaps the hap piest hours of her life are those which while following the hounds of england or hunting the chamois in her native land she is able to forget that she is empress queen for her age the empress eizibeth is the young est looking woman in europe when one sees her slight graceful form eyes brilliant with life and vigour and complexion that flushes with passing emotions it seems absurd that she should be the grandmother of big boys and girls caroline the forsaken one seems to have met her fate with true royal equanimity perhaps she thought that as her sister gain ed what she lost it did not really matter if one may judge by her face her life nas not been a happy one when she was about 21 bhe was married to the prince of thurm and taxis who died some nine years ater may women propose bill nye writes the following letter on the subject i do not see why woman should not propose if she so elect and then buffer the bitter bitter consequence many men who now live on unloved and in a handtomouth manner might be oh so happy 1 if the onus of popping did not weigh them down like a large threecornered incubus i am acquainted with several husbands who have been thus acquired aud i am happy to say they are turning out well several of them who were not selfsupport ing to start wjth have married well having been wooed and won by girls of means yours truly bim nye p s i am provided for myself p s again mr james whitcomb riley who as i write is brushing his hair with a dummy brush which i carry with me says he trusts that the day will speedily come when woman will propose and he hopes he will be away up towards the generaldelivery window when the office opens some good woman could make mr riley very very happy any letters ent to him in my oare will be cheerfully read and forwarded to him b n if mr nyes letter does not encourage some girl who thinks bitter bitter conse quence is not any bitterer because of her doing the proposing to utilise her very short time to receive an engagement ring for a christmas present i oant see what will mr nyes marriage certificate seems to hover around bis first p s like bumble bees around clover but there is a ohance for some good woman with mr riley for those who have not seen him i can vouch for him he is a handsome and a genial gentleman nellie bly in in y world brave in the face of death one day during the last part of the war dr willis westmoreland was dressing the wound of a soldier who had been shot in the neck near the carotid artery suddenly the blood vessel gave way and just as quickly the surgeon thrust his finger into the hole to stop the sow doctor said he what does that mem it means death said the surgeon how long can i live asked the soldier whose mind was perfectly clear until i remove my finger said dr westmoreland the soldier asked for pen and paper i wrote his will wrote an anectionate letter to his wife and when these were dono said i quietly let it go the surgeon withdrew his finger the- blood rushed out and soon the man was dead the body of the brave fellow was burled in oakland and every year since dr west moreland has gone on memorial day ant placed flowers on the grave this yea when memorial day came the doctor wa at salt springs he left the scene of ga ety came to atlanta and carried his tri bute of flowers to the grave of one who w oalm and brave in the very presence i death j i her postgraduate course yankee housekeeper whats this part my dear accomplished daughter my last p loma i nave just graduated from theu inary department of the bangup semlnfs very well my dear now putnj paper away change your dress come at the kitchen and ill teach yon how to col i