OCR Text |
Show ' BAEBEItS BEOTIIEE. P.lse The barber s second brother that was what he gae tunielt out to br , not that the barber knew anything about him He appeared at the little ahop one day at noon when the barber's assistants were all away. "Shave me he said, and settled himself in the chair His heard was a full black one and handsome "You wish to sacrifice ?ur whole beard, sir" "Every hair down te the roots And you may also cut my haw, and do It rather close ' The hair was luxuriant and a degree lunger than that worn by most gentlemen of fashion When the barber had completed his appointed tasks, his patron arose, shook himself, and (aid ten 100 bills on the counter which contained the pomades and the bay rum "I like your conversation, said he, "and 1 like the way you shave 1 am going to remain and learn the trade from you. 1 am your second brother "Excuse me," said the barber, politely, the hand with which he stroked his pale mustache trembling perceptibly, "but what is the nature of the trouble you are In It will depend upon that whether 1 give my consent or not" "One thousand easy dollars, mused the man, spreading out his bribe at- "Are they likely to come tractively. your way again, and for a thing so agreeable as the acquirement of a new relative? "But I have a wife, cried the barber, "what am I to tell her? Tell her I am your second brother, friend. No, stay, I will tell her myself. Where Is she? "In the room behind The man went to the door and called A black-eye- d woman with a sharp nose entered. She was tidy, and her elbows Jerked as she walked "Is this she? The barber nodded Madam, said the stranger, gravely, It has come to my ears how poorly provided your husband and yourgelf are with desirable relations. Also 1 have learned that there Is a dearth of barbers' apprentices Therefore, 1 have come to offer my services in a double capacity. I desire to learn this ancient trade of your husband, and also to call myself his second brother. In consideration thereof I tender him those ten bills, each, as you see, of a aoble denomination. We may get ourselves In a peck of said the woman, shrewdly. trouble, I think It is worth more." An almost Imperceptible sigh of relief escaped the strangers llpB. How much more? he asked. I should like as much more as there Is there for pin money for myself." A reasonable request If I give it to you I shall trust you to refrain from letting the world know of my generosity?" The tone was Jesting, but the man was really a terrible thing to look at at that moment There was a menace in his eye that d made the barber faint I shall never mention it myself, and I shall undertake to see that my bus- hand keep Ulh Thanks. Bl8ter-tn-laIt t tg oath. "No familiarity, if you please." "Pardon me, none was intended. It was a jest Almost everything Is a Jest Do not let me detain you any longer." The woman may have wondered how it came about that she was tacitly dismissed from her own shop. But she left without protest, having gathered up the billa the man had laid out for her. At the door she turned. "Why, are you our second brother? she Inquired. She was smiling. The bills had been a spiritual emolient Why not? said he. And he smiled, too. All that afternoon he took lessona from the barber. This la my aecond brother, said the barber to everyone who entered. He has grown tired of professional life he was on the stage, you understand and he has come to me to learn the trade. But ha was not an able apprentice. That evening, while ecraplng his own cheek, the razor slipped and made e . hideous gash in hla cheek, almost letting his eye slip from Hs socket Yon will carry the reminder of that piece of awkwardness to the day of your death, said the physician, who took five good stitches In his face. "Congratulate me, said the barbers second brother to the barber after the physician had left "You beard what he said I shall be scarred forever? T "You pay a high price, said the bar' ber.. The aext day the man appeared lp the full outfit of a barber, and devoid himself to his work. He kept the shop scrupulously clean, he pollshedwln-dow- e and oiled the floor. He brushed thecustomers and blacked their an enter- hoots this last w pale-hatre- w his of own. At the end jf a month the shop began to feel bU It had become popular. Mea Influence. who felt sociable, or whose children cried too much, or whose wives did not ardently enjoy their conversation, got In the way of frequenting ths place. It was odd, for the barber s second brother said little But he hsd a way of making every one feel at home, and he put padded cushions In the chairs and bought the finest towels and best soaps "You have made an excellent barber, sir," remarked the barber to his second brother Thank ou You have been an excellent brother " The man lived with the barber and In the little his wife six jears-sle- pt bedroom off their kiUhen, ate at their table with them, walked with them to the park, and read aloud to them evenAt the end of those six years ings. hecemained as much a mystery as the day he came, but he had inspired affection and even gratitude in the hearts of the barber and his wife, who by all reckoning should have disliked him mightily One day he disappeared. My brother has- gtme back to the stage, explained the barber. He said it sadly He was really lonesome. Hs tried to keep up the habit of reading evenings, but he could not be Interested He endeavored to make the shop look aB It had for the six past years, but he could not "succeed Trade began to fall off Evcr thing Beemed dull The barber found fault with his wife and she found fault with him. He ought not to have left us," they sighed "He might have known how lonesome we would be." They weie like children who have suddenly become orphans One day a letter came for them from a distant city a city at the under side of the world. Shave no more chins dear brother, It read "I send you and Miranda ths means of rest And I wish, by the way, if you have the desire, you would come over here and see me I have a palace here beside the sea, and a ser vant for every different want But 1 am lonesome I do not require K of you but I long for you It is easy for me to send ou the inclosed. Your Second Brother. He had lost all his old friends, 1 suppose the friends he had before the barbers wife got no further. "I think wed better go at once," said the barber. He may be needing ns. Besides. It will be pleasant living In a palace. "I always liked the shop well enough," said the woman rather wistfully, but its easy enough for us tc She sighed go, having no children." and looked about her. The barber wiped his razors and pul them tn their cases "We might make a present of the shop to poor little Bill, said be. BUI was the assistant. The next day the barber and his wife held a sort of reception and said good-b- y to everybody. We are going to our brother," said they. But on the verge of going a message reached them. It Is all over. Have been apprehended. No hope. Farewell." Why didnt he stay here, where he was safe. sobbed the barber. "Poor Iamb, poor lamb, she wept They never heard from him again. They never learned his true name. They went away and lived in a quiet place upon the fortune he had Bent them. They had no compunctions of conscience about using the money. What was good enough for him is good enough for me, said the barber. - KIiium Across the Borden Many Americans gladly acknowledge their kinship with the Anglo-Saxobeyond the water, but we must remember that we are still more literally cousins of the great people to the north of us. For a century and a quarter Canadians and Americans have intermarried freely, and the border cannot divide ties of blood. Not long ago the dispatches from South Africa TBOastii of Ltetitr Wood' of Halifax, the first Canadian to did for the British empire in the Boer war. It la an Interesting comment on our relations with Canada to note that this young lieutenant was the of Zachary Taylor, who yraa a major In the war of 1812, and fought against the British with all the sest for fighting that was In him, and that waa Jefferson his Davis, who, as a young man, married It Is usually repTaylor's daughter. resented as a runaway match, but Mr. Davis himself Wrote That If was nothing of the sorb In spite of such American antecedents, Lieut. Wood lived a loyal subject of the queen, and died for her majesty's empire. ME WOMAN and yet not wishing to do anythin A digniprejudicial to his interests fied silence, not 'trying to Influence her THE HE BFINC CORNELIUS VANfiance in any way, created great reDERBILT. JR.. spect tor her, and her friends were very happy when she was finally marAS ill Woman l.ran W lUoa tu-itrlU- t. ried. These two young people disreeverything but love in their Now 111, nu, oe. ( garded choice of a partner for life, and then lb Sew lot Maul, An hw U are few men or women in the world UmIiIi Set possessed of a grain of sentiment who do not approve of the course they V ( Ni chose. oi k I.i tter ) In ail p ii it) mi unun in New York h - mi ms j nt ly Le'ore the deserved his crackef eyes of ii . p ,1 u during the last two polly HI years as Mr (. n tn us Vanderbilt, Jr. Aws Suitr Whn Burglan Event afar ent tailored which conC'mofis nt the 81lvis cerned hit and ihost near her, events A Philadelphia writer relates tin which were of gieu interest to all story of a parrot that protected hei who hate known of the Vanderbilt afowners home from burglars, who hac fairs Mrs Cornell is Vanderbilt, Jr, entered through one of the front par was born Grate Wilson, one of the lor windows They crept through ihi three daughters of Hh hard T. Wilson had room past the bird and begai. of New York Her mother has been Jimmying open the sideboard in the called the Napoeon of matchmakers dising rcotn. where the Oliver wua by those who are witious of her sucOne of the other men gsthered kspt cess, it is doubtful if lo tr children of up the costly Turkish rugs on ths one family hate eier married more floors and another was taking down brilliantly than her children (Before t. if, curtains when Polly spoke tp. Is Mrs Vandtrbj t was married she rethat you. Fyank she queried The ceived more than her share oi the at- burglars stopped as If they had been tentions of prominent men Col John shot Polly repeated the question in a Jacob Astor waa one of the first to louder and more Imperative key. The admire her at her debut, and at one noise of the parrot awakened her time rumor, width ta so precipitate master, Mr. Fister He grasped a to Jump at com which he had bought only a reported that they would bet ome engaged This fev days before, and kept under his rumor receited its quietus when her pillow, and made for the head of the engagement was announced to the stairs He pressed an electric button Hon. Cecil Baring of the famous family on the wall and lit the lights in ths of London bankers This was looked had room, where he saw three men upon aa a brilliant match, and great straggling to open the front door. Ho surprise was felt when the engagepromptly opened Are, but they succeedment was broken off The host of aded in getting away Mr. Fister then mirers nevej deserted her and the weat downstairs, where he found ths Marquis of Ava, eldest soa of the Earl parrot in her cage under the piano. HE LOVED i Ik It BcfascA ta Be Cenferted, Mr. Henry Irving, the well-kno- actor, once took a fancy to a beautiful colli dog belonging to a Highland shepherd. The man was very unwilling to part with hla dog, but the sum offered for it 60-?- as a little fortune In hla eyes, and he resolved to sell it There are two In the making of a bargain, however, aa the saying Is, and when' the collie reached London it to be comforted. In fact, It was so unhappy In its new life, and its misery caused Mr. Irving to feel so uncom- fortable, that he determined to restore it to Its old master. Imagine the dogs Joy, and the shepherds, too, when the creature returned to its Highland home. One la reminded of the love of the Arab for his steed in reading of - this pretty etory. A Jones thing. Frlmd la Weed. A friend in need is a great Bonee Indeed it la. Jones Yee, indeed; I met one this morning and he cost me $5. Detroit Free Press ALEX. But up to 2859 mall Jfnttha Atlantic seaboard waa carried' by steamer to the isthmus of Panama 'find then by steamer again up the western coast, and at the least the trip enquired 22 days Senator Qwin of California believed that the establishment of an overland expreaa would lead to increased Immigration, and finally lead to the building of railroad and telegraph lines, which it did. He persuaded Col. Majors and hla partnera to atart the pony express, aad Col. Majors at that time became the Virtual head of the overland freight, overland tage line and pony express Up to that period the fattest time ever made by news from the Missouri river to San Francisco waa 21 days The pony express curtailed this to 10 days, taking dispatches from the wire at 8L Joseph, Mo and carrying them the rest of the way on horseback. The route waa divided into ISO stations, and 500 horses and 280. men were required for the work. Eighty of these men acted as riders The riders were all old plainsmen and scouts, brave and daring, and the story of the pony express is one of thrilling Adventure, Twa hundred and" fifty miles a day waxmiule by the express, and none of the riders carried an extra ounce of weight. The horses were wiry mustangs used to the trail, full of endurance, and as sure-footas mountain goats. The work done by the pony express was the marvel of the day and the feats of horsemanship then accomplished are atlll talked of. However, It never paid running expenses and was eventually old. For ome years past Col. Majors bad been living a quiet life, hla ttma being occupied In the writing of a book of his experiences. In many respects he was a wonderful man, and history wilt claim him as a most remarkable delL MAJORS, ,fP originator of pony express IN THE WEST. Re Bsm Frl(ht SwtlM aa tha Plata la 4S aad Did a Kcmarkabl Baal-aa- a Kuipluyad 5,000 Staraad 40,000 tlaaa. (Chicago Letter ) The man to whom was due more than any other the advance of civilisation across the plains of the great s west and who became as the originator of an overland freight line and pony express was Col. Alexander Majors, who died In Chicago last week. At the time of his death Col. Majors was 86 years old Seventy years of his life he had spent on the plains, and Into this time had been crowded events which are history It was in 1848 that Col. Majors began his freighting on the old Santa Fe trail, running a line of wagons between Independence, Mo , and Santa Fe, N. M Majors Overland Freight koonbecame famous all over the world. He was not the first man to carry freight over the trail, but he was the first man to develop overland freighting as an industry and to insure to any degree the aafety of his goods. Hla beginning waa made auspiciously on the edge of the gold fever, and soon he, and the partnera he afterward associated wlih him, has established lines to Mexico, California, Colorado and Utah, and in one year the profits of the firm of Majors, Russell & Waddell amounted to $500,000. Nearly all of ths freight carried over the Rocky mountains by contract at that time was carried in Majors wagons, and the government contracts were all Intrusted to him. When Col. Majors began operations the eastern terminus of the freighting trails was Independence, Mo. He started in business with a little outfit of six wagons and 40 oxen, for it took six oxen to draw one of the wagorfa. His first trip was made to Santa Fe and the run of 800 miles and back was made in 82 days. This was unprecedented at the time, and the fact that Majors brought hts oxen In as fat and leek as when they started out gave him a reputation among the traders. Up to that time it had been conceded that no man could mapaga a yoka of world-famou- -- ed -- i 51 ns great-grandfath- er COL MRS. CORNELIUS VANDERBILT JR. of Dufferin, British ambassador to The cage was upset, but the bird unFrance, became very devoted, and her injured. The owner placed her right de up upon the piano, when she lifted friends expected a betrothal. About this time Cornelius Vanderbilt, Jr., her frightened head from under her began to assume prominence in ths wing and asked: Ie that you, Frank? College An.npp,elsASjna at prominent ocIa.lly, UffcWsr Shads tious with all the great wealth to Rhodes la Inordinately fond of old which he was to be the heir, he was things even old women. He has more one of the most popular young men la old ffirnituro, old china and curios Nrw York. He became attentive to generally than afiy man In South Af-riMias Wilson, and when he was d Anything old and Dutch catches he announced to his father that him. He is half Boer, no be Intended to marry. The late Cor- he may hate the Dutch. matter how How n man nelius waa oppoaed to the match and an hate a and yet so love and people ordered hla heir presumptive to forget admire their arts and Institutions is a ths girl of his choice. Obediently, mystery. Orootschur is an young Cornelius went to Paris. After house, filled with old things six months the Wilson family also old benches, old chairs, old chests, old went to Paris in the course of their books, old silver,-o- ld gold,-ol- d glass,' yearly visit to the contlnenL Upon old tiles, old old vases, old picJugs, news ths Mr. Sr., hearing Vanderbilt, tures, old parchments and old wines. sent for hie son, asking him to return. Rhodes possesses typewritten translatHis request was not complied with for h ome time, and when he finally came ion of all the foreign dasslci,-whicto New York he told his father that be chiefly reads. Froude, Carlyle end the idea of being disinherited could not Gibbon are his favorite authors. He knowe keep him from the woman he loved. tbwe Isthe letter by heart To him nothing in the whole field of Without his parents consent he was married to Miss Wilson. Not one of fiction that can compare with "VanHi favorite painter la Sir the Vanderbilt family was present at ity Fair. ths ceremony. The solicitations of his Joshua Reynolds. He owns n 8ir brother and sisters in his behalf were Joshua. Victor Smith tn the New York Press. unavailing; hla father would not yield. When a little child waa born to them Ploeblag Flower. K was thought that his A peculiar tiny hands and species of climbing plant bright little face would soften the, grows Jn Braiil. Its flowers are prowas grandfathers heart, but be, too, vided with flat, horny platee, situated powerless. above the nectar Several times It was said that Cor- . the blossom, andeups in the center of nell nr Vaaflurtittrhad' forgiven hlssoB 'pinching Dodiea. which are called When an Insect tor his love marriage, but when the thrusts Its proboscis Into the nectar, WtUf the manager of the Vanderbilt ths Plates plnch.lt Interests was probated it was found parture the Insect fast, and on its demust either carry young Cornelius had been left but one off the pollen masses of the flower or part of the vast estate. lave its proboscis behind. In the Thara is considerable difference former case, the pollen-I- s likely to !xty minion dollars, reseb end fertilise another flower; la but Alfred, hie brother, come forward ths latter, the unfortunate insect, degenerously and gsv him enough to prived of Re proboscis, diet. Some-tim- e th of the other children. the legs, aa well as the coses, of 1t - had remained neu- Insect are found sticking tn the flow-er- a tral throughout the whole Only the bumblebee appears to be to give up the man affair;loved tnwg the nugh to escape amputation, i vr III, "e 1 c- grad-nate- bt-J1- 1! ,t,r s INDIANS GOOD WITNESSES.dadg Shir Bmj Thy Are - 0rlly Truthful than Whit. "Indlalus make good witnesses and they stick closer to facts than white This statement was triads people. the other evening by Judge O. P. Bhl-rof the United States district court , of northern Iowa.' Speaking of his interesting experience tn coming tn con tact with the Indians in court he says the red man or woman is generally accurate. He says: "Ask a white man it he was drunk on a certain occasion .and he.wlll try to wiggle out of It, but the Indian will come out with a Yes If be was. On one occasion a lawyer asked a squaw if she understood the nature of her obligation in giving testimony. She answered that aha had taken a strong word to tell the truth , and she would do so. She was asked to define the difference between the ; truth and a lie, whereupon she said: The truth is the truth, and a lie Is a lie; they are different and you cant make them. alike" Judge Shlraa says the Indian makes a SOoH lnror, Ga whkck capacity . be may sit after relinquishing tribal relations and complying with government severalty laws He says too, that he has come In contact with tome good Indian lawyers "I think, said he, theres a mistaken Idea about the red man having been mistreated by the government The facts show tbit they are the richest people per capita in ths ' whole country. Ths troubls is that they jiave a poor idea of the value of money, and spend It recklessly. , Indians will walk clear across one state Into another to draw their annultlea, and In twenty-fou- r hours after getting the money they will have gambled every cent of It away before they leavs the vicinity and then walk back boms to do the same thing on the next pay day. It is astonishing to sea tha methods adopted by aa Intelligent red man to get away with his money. Among other things he has a weakness for a certain kind of amusement known aa the Merry Co Round.,, Recently one of these coneerna got permission to set up one of their machines on a reservation within my. ctrcuiL Tha bucks Mora aa COL ALEXANDER MAJORS, oxen without swearing. A teamster waa hired more on hi reputation for swearing and shooting than tor driving. Col. Majors was a religious man and for a long time conscientious scruples stood In the way of his going into the freighting business He would not employ men who swore, and he would not haul freight on Sundays As traffic Increased it fell gradually into the hands of Majors overland freight, and he took in two partners and changed the name to Majors, Russell A Waddell. They soon Increasedrihelr teaming outfit to 40,000 oxen and 4,000 wagons, dividing them into outfits I eace7Mo.ron a cefULln daterandsched- - I nl tfra lun64 or uled to reach Santa Fe or Salt Lake gan would rids ths whole blessed day or Denver, as the case might be. on a They spent all the money they had and certain data The organization of a pawned different articles to gst Dora for ths same amusement During tha freight train for crossing the1 plains lost few years tha women took a great consisted of 25 wagons carrying from craxe for wearing these blue bathing one-half to and tons each, three three suits in whits braid. The the merchandise being protected by traderstrimmed are said to hsvs disposed of a Each wagon was sheets of ducking. quantity of this toggery. Chidrawn by 12 oxen, and the train waa large Record. cago 30 or with 40extra animals. provided In case some of those drawing the The Karts Spot wagons went lame. The whole train hottest region on the earth's consisted or from 220 to 250 tkttleyaiid a half-dozmules, for herding aud surface is, from all accounts, to be riding. The force of men consisted of found on the southwestern coast of a wagonmaster, 'his assistants, tbs Penis, on ths borders of ths Persian teamsters, a man to look after the ex gulf. For forty consecutive days la tra cattle, and three or four reserves the months of July and August the Oxen almost altogether were used la mercury has been known to stand freighting, because they wers more re- above 100 degrees in the shade night liable lor long trips, and because they end day, and to run up as high as 13d foraged for their own food, and, frith degrees in the middle of the afternoon, proper cm, could travel 2,000 miles In Bahrein Island, which is situated between April and November, and sUR ,n th ceter ot th mott torrI(1 this most torrid belt, as though Ik , be sleek and salable. to er I Batur The business done by'ths freight line unbekrabls as possible, water established by the colonel was enor- moua. In one year bs carried 16.000,000 is sometimes unknown. Great shafts have been sunk to a depth of 50Q feet pounda ot government supplies to In the endeavor to find wells, but alIn Utah. States United troops Forty same no water. with result the ways thousand oxen, a thousand mules and over 5,000 men, under his supervision, ones carried freight and mall from ths Tw WIiS Big Bworfla The way things are fixed a good Missouri river across ths Rocky mountains. CoL Majors' greatest en many cities is t b 6sfl Lfiited States have I terprise, from a spectacular point of I things to brag about For Instance, Leavenworth. Kan., is the first Amerl- was of the the establishing view, in the days of ths I can city in the shipment of apples. pony express. California go)d fever this was to the I Right around there are 203,000 bearing coast what the flying mall trains "are apple trees, and the biggest apple to the people today. From the ter-- orchard In the world, 1,400 acres. Is minus ot the eastern telegraph lines I near. Denver, Colo., has more blcy-thewas s stretch of 2,000 miles to I cles per head of population than any the coast. Majors had already estab- - I other city. Albuquerque,' N. M has listed an overland stage line, operated I more sunny days In ths ytar than any by the firm of Majors, Russell a Wad- - other American city. Th' en Prt 1 f1" re 4 |