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Show what. K;uusuy in his brilliant, earnest fashion began to inveigh against peojilo who miirrieJ and brought into tho world children curved with tho seeds of gome dreadful malady. " 'Let me n il you a story,' ho said, 'and it will hhow you how many lives may bo ruined by one aueh deed. The facts came to my knowledge years agci. Once theia waa a boy never mind his uame who, his friends said, showed e.T-leeilin' e.T-leeilin' great promise in his youth. His mother, a widow, stemed ui terly wrapped up in him. Sho traveled wiih him in foreign lauds, sent him to tho finest schools and spared neither pains nor expense ex-pense to improve the talents nature had bestowed tiw:i him. Ho was hopeful and happy, and one thing only troubled him ho used often to wonder about his father, whom lie couldn't remember, and but w:w incarcerated in a private hospital hospi-tal in America violently, hopelessly mad. " 'Well, you can understand how he felt, or, rather, you can't comprehend it. Tho girl that ho loved was true to hiin, but how could ho marry her knowing what ho did? E'eu if tho lunacy slumbered slum-bered in his vein3 it would surely awaken to curse their children. Ho he left her, and almost crazed with sorrow hinwclf he sailed for America wlvro he still remains. A liitlo while ao ho heard that his betrothal was dead-killed dead-killed by the ileublo shock of his disappearance disap-pearance and his mother's fearful and untimely end. " '( ';;ti you wonder,' continued Ham-say Ham-say in a tone of suoducd passion, 'that a fpeciesof liif.Tuesofteu mingle., half unconseiou-iie. with his sorrow for his sermon and to remain indefinitely if his hearers were pleased. "Well, in duo timo Jlr. Ramsay arrived ar-rived and delivered a discourse which, for eloquence and lo;ric, I have never heard excelled. You may be sure the church lost not a moment in engaging him, and they marveled much at (heir (food luck, wondering that so talented a man should wish to stay and bury his gifts in such a small, obscure town. "The new acquisition speedily arose to the place of first favorite n the rauks of the ministers. His sermons fairly scintillated with brilliancy, and wo soon found that he certainly possessed a remarkably re-markably fine education iu the bart-aiu. Though he never spoke of tho past, his conversation gave evidence of hid having traveled extensively in pretty much every country on the faco of tho f.lobe. Moreover he was young, and such a i genial, warm hearted fellow that everybody every-body liked him at first sight. They couldn't help it. 'Uut, as I caid, ho never alluded to his former life. For aught we knew ho might have been a bkhop or u hi.ghwav-m;m, hi.ghwav-m;m, an Atntnean gambler, or tho son of an English duke, but tho rHmvh members were too proud of the prize tiiey had captured to bo very curious cu-rious about tho previous record, and the touch of uiv.-derv climriiitr to ) to summon me. Hev. Mr. Ramsay was ! taken very suddenly ill. I put on my j hat and coat and went to him at once, and somehow before I'd reached his bedside bed-side it flashed over me that he had swallowed swal-lowed tho poisou I saw him buy in tho morning. Tha moment I entered the room I knew that it was so. "Ho lingered threedays, suffering horribly, hor-ribly, but not u word would he say as to the motive of his deed. Before he died he showed me a photograph he wore upon his bosom tho picture of u young woman and a child, each very beautiful and very like the other. And he asked that it be buried with him, and so it was. The church gave him a most imposing im-posing funeral and erected a line Monument Monu-ment over his grave, and they have never censed, 1 believe, to mourn their mysterious mys-terious but dearly beloved minister. For a long while, they sought to find out the secret of his lite, but tho mmute.-.t iu-(iiuiics iu-(iiuiics failed to lvveal a single fact. With characiorirtio forethought he had destroyed his iK.pers, leaving nothing that would tiirow light upon his former history. 'I often recall him even now," added the young d' .ctur, "and I can't help wondering won-dering if ho was not the hero of the strange tale lie told me. Andinili.it fas,., was he i,::-a:io when he killed him-si him-si If, or did ll" do it beej;;o of grief for his mother waa reticent upon that point md replied to all his questions scantily .aid vaguely. " 'They were, living in England at the time, having coruo there from. America after tlio !a!l:er's death, and being iu easy eircnne.r. noes financially the future lucked very bright and glowing iink-ed. " 'i:i due lino tho yoim.g fellow prad-tated prad-tated from the u:m cr.-ity with high ...mor?, and soon after Uc.une engaged a beautiful pivl. He had long been 'stiiMil to enter the ministry ft work parents? Aud is it strange that ho feels almost r.f. if they had committed a crime iu bringing l.i u into existence, knowing as fh'-y ii; 1 licit he i.it perforce bo dowered with tho fatal, inevitable family fam-ily curse':' "Tl,i.',s tale l.iado a strong impression in my mind." ; a young doctor resumed. "At tir.-'t I ( i qu;';;tion'.l if Ram say wasn't liisus- if tiie hero ( f it, and thoiigu his a; ;, , lent gayety led me to '.li,-misi that t ;i;j;;ltt. Mill I couldn't help fe. li.ig i.,t tho events lie'd nar- A MYSTERY. i I i "Hid you ever bump up against an in- I livid ti.tl who baCieil your curiosity by j Irawing a veil of accrecy over his pa.'-.t?" . queried tha young doctor, wh.en it came 1 his turn to contribute a story to the general gen-eral fund. "I nrtd t. think," ho continued, con-tinued, "that filch characters emanated lokdy from thoferfile brain of t lie fiction writer. But I was mistaken. Js'otmany yeaiii since 1 formed the acipiaiutaneeof a n.au wlio was harder to make out ilu.a his lii.-uotheil? Wlio tiieu was tiie child who-e ponie.it he wore upon his brea.-t? "soiiieiiincs 1 f.incy that ho hail committed com-mitted an olVeii-e v.'b.ich made him a fugitive from jut-.ti-.te and led kim at blot to t:il."-,! his own life in remorse. Tho ro-meiu'un.nec ro-meiu'un.nec of lii j upr.-i face and kindly, syeip.it!! -ii manner makes this seem impo-.-in.', and y ; iu thin rirange world, where p -n; le are butdi curious, contradictory contra-dictory !.ii': j:i- s of gowl and evil, who can teii'.-" i.uiTulo Express,. him only j-endercd him his more at tractive to n For wy part, I thought the ptrange-st fhing concerning him was that he s'.-euied ne-. er tohobl communication communi-cation witii m'-y'iMv ouf iiiiu tiie town. A fellow so engaging and couipanion-nliio couipanion-nliio unfit have made friends wlierever he went, and yet so long as we knew biin he didn't receive one letter or telegram tele-gram from abroad .lot a single me.s.age of any kind. "At least, that is what the p:.siunstor and the depot agent taid, and tiie.se oilicials keep track of sucii tiiiitg.s in little lit-tle towns, you had b 't: ; ii iieve. "Ram ay and I got to be quite intimate inti-mate inter a while, a i l many v.ei - (lie walks and talks we njoyed together. Rut be wasn't any more confidential with mo than ho was with others, and of conrso 1 asked no (jue- tions. !:ly once did he say something which migtit be construed as bearing upon the-ecret I w:is convinced tiiat he had. h was hi this way: "Ramsay had dropped into my o!7i''o, and we ftdl to cenver.-iiig alwut ben-'li-tary disease. It grew oat of some eases I Was treating lin n. I dun't. ri ineiuber I ...r which his taste nud a'oiliiiei best fitted hii.'i and inpnediately upon hij Liarriagc he was to settle downi i charge cf a parish at some distance from Iim home. There was but one drawback to happiness. His mother, although she consented to f lie betrothal, did not s,-eni to fctd the pleasure in it that ! could have wi- lied. Rut he put it all down to l.er grief at the j.rospe et of paniiig wilh bin:, a.e! preparation:) for 1 lie we l ling went on in the. inerrv-.t fashion. "'But one morning they.' was an nlarm. The mother v.-e.s mi .viro.rhad liisi.I ; eir d in a v.; yu'i::. -l.ut.iMe a'i.i n-ystrrioii., m. uincr. All the day tie y searehe.l for !,.-r and jtisl :.t i::.;!:l my !:ero. pa-.sieg t io'oee h eu.t w.i.id i in u f-i'luiieil part of the .-.-.n.ml.:. found he,-lying he,-lying face dowtiviutl ai a shallow Luhi pool of water flier.'. Drowned i . r. '." during temp;- riry aber.aiion if ti:-- mind" v. as ihe Ver.iiet, and t J' n it w..:; the young In ,u learned ti'at i:s.-:;;ity V.:vl W .i i.t jce-;-cr.ii iv.ni bit. li a heredi'.ury f;-.,:t in Lis. m.'illier-'s family. Y.ie:i, a! ;., rxt be" toM the veal tr::'.!i ;;' I i- f h .r. nU he found that tiiat fari.v r '..'as s:...t ue.-.d I rated had in r-t-.w way p.roduced a last-, last-, iag eileet in h: .ii;",.. I " !1, m-:i:--rs wire rjuile tranrpillly 'on for a y. or so, and .Mr. ifam-ay ! grew in the j.eoul ir favor nit tko v.hilc. I bee was a liiTal follow, nnd !:is serinons j were fn qaeiiily re.t.KT unorthodox, but ! his l'o 1; hi: . i hi;:l to :-u: h an ex tent that if h ' lj:;d :' 'd tilem with I atheism tie - v.-m!d:;': .ve g'-uuib..,! a : bit. The :, j;, ijve with him, L'very si-vs'e o ;,. .;:! b;;t u. v; r did- , ihey fii: 1 the .ay t . !.' '. heart. Lie reso-: reso-: lately ihtdtii- i 1. l-e drawn into flirtation, flirta-tion, ti:. ...:.;i! h.Mti.-.d- bimseif agreealilo to all tl... d.. e ' . taught them (u-rmau, played t.-n::w ,,..:,.;(.;;. ! !,,.;Ti ( rhs wi.h a inijr;- thd.ty very pro-volnng pro-volnng ! tit,, si1::, iailitiej of the peer, ntah.i.s yc ;;;. eve: ; ,r. e.,. "0::e .,,,;,.:.., . . rxt j t,p drug -t'ii. !::!. .: ;: .', :.;;;;. ;v h.'.pp-.'licd ill Ulld P:::e: -ia;.; hav:' . " rat j ,:i w.:i. He laee. !e... .; (:..,::'..- , '; tlo- o.je;- yo re b .': . 1 in, : :.e... i a m.-uieni .,-:.:-.:,:!!g wi.h o.i.-eless good iiuitmr aud ti: -is : i "!'.::. i ;.; -: ; ; JJ(. o. :nnn v,-i'.i wliom lie as i ea. ai.. -e..,.,e hurriedly to my oilico the mcit ingenious creation cf a novel:.-t could pt-ssibly be. A regular hiiiaau enigma in short, and he wasn't obliging enough, you know, to clear up tho mystery mys-tery before he died cither. "If was early in the 'SO's," began the doctor, lighting a cigar, "and I had just finished my medical studies and was trying to pick vp a little practice in a pleasant village in the southern part of Wisconsin. Business didn't, flourish by any means, but as I had friends there, and was too pour, besides, to think of establishing myself in a large city, 1 was very well ecnteut to remain there, for a while at least. "There were several churches in Iho town, but at the lime of which I speak the Congregational pulpit was empty. Numerous applications lor the position . appeared, but none suited until at la. t one of tiie trustees arrived home after a short trip nnd announced that he had found the very person. A Rev. Mr. ; Ramsay it was whom he had run across quite accidentally, and who, though : traveling for Lia health, had finally con- ; fl rciriA r.nt and r.i'naeh a trial ' |
