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Show In the Days of Poor Richard By IRVING BACHELLEK cfr w ntvw. f-KCi naxrR i CHAPTER XXIX Continued. v!, bit Father!" lu cried in a kMlwB voice ml with tears streaming Ert his cheeks. "Arnold has sold torlky an' all Its folks an' gone Lvn the rher." Washington knelt beside 1.1m and foil 1 Moody garments. -Xije colonel Is wounded." he said Ms orderly. "Go for help." ; T!w scout, weak from the loss of ,lVd tried to regain tils feet but a ji'eJ. He lay back and whispered : s. "i piess the sap has all oor.01! out , me" bat I bad enough.." j aMnjUn was one of those who ;j rot ni1H on a stretcher and carried s. viq to the hospital, j. When he was lying on his bed and T y, clothes were being removed, the commander In chief paid 1.1m this well i (.served compliment as he held tils 5 "Colonel, when the war Is won It will 1 only because I have had men like mi to help me." ' Soon Jack came to his side and then Jhrsaret. General Washington, asked I tt latter about Mrs. Arnold, j -My mother Is doing what she can to cocfort tier," Margaret answered. Solomon revived under stimulants icJ was able to tell them briefly of the to struggle he had had. "It were Siors that saved me," he whispered. He fell Into a deep and troubled sP anj when he awoke In the n.'d-Ci n.'d-Ci of the night he was not strong enough to lift his head. Then these faithful friends of his began to know-that know-that this big. brawny, redoubtable sol- Sdier was having his last tight. He seemed to he aware of It himself for he whispered to Jack : Ta'se keer o' Mirandy an" the Little Cricket." Late the next day he called for his Great Father. Feebly and brokenly he had managed to say : "Jes' want to feel his hand." Margaret had sat beside. him all day helping the nurse. A dozen times Jack had left his work ci run over for a look at Solomon. On one of these hurried visits the jottng man had learned of the wish of his friend. He w-ent Immediately to General Washington, who had Just re-r re-r turned from a tour of the forts. The latter saw the look of sorrow- and anxiety in the face of his officer. , "How is the colonel?" ! e asked. "I think that he is near the end." T Jack answered. "He has expressed a -a wish to feel your hand again." J "Let us go to lilni at once." said the E rther. "There has been no greater T Kan In the army." J Together they went to the bedside of J the faithful scout. The general took lis hand. Margaret put her lips close to Solomon's ear and said : "General Washington has come to set you." Solomon opened his eyes and smiled. Tim there was a beauty not of this Id in his homely face. And that foment, holding the hand he had loved ufl served and trusted, the heroic soul of Solomon Binkus went out upon "the lonesome trail." Jack, who had been kneeling at his !, kissed his white cheek. "Oh, general, I knew and loved this "Mi taid the young officer as he arose. "It wilt fc8 weu for our peorIe t0 now what men like him have endured " ".em," said Washington. .1 Sha" have 10 lea how to live wt him," said Jack. "It will be JIargaret took his arm and they went I,!, tbe dnor an'J st0(,d a moment CIT at the glowing sky about western hills. xow you have me," she whispered, f e bent and kissed her. So man could have a better friend wl tlng mate than you." an- ltold'Pend Ur yenrs as a ,n,e tl,at o'i tl) h.j ,ack wrote from I'lilladelphla .af jta . la Albany on the 30th of T'! ttourtMS "Dei"' Mr!?aret, w s' W, 1 the stor-v was ended when tCi won' Five -vears have f ' M a watch in the night, and ow f,v lmpresslve details are Just "3i ltT Kln8 0Ut' Ta reCttU 0Ur l'Uri- topD'n HeDry Thornn111- W1en I learned that 'li W T of tht "ane who had th re had be"n lylns In his grave first A rears' He W,1S (,ne f the ab0"t liberty. What I believe fh that7 l' for one. fannt 1 poster w the man 1 "aw wns an lm h lltpVvhe "n nngeI llke thos(' n Hv) N. , the Prophets? Who shall ' 1 lok of hi ra"y' 1 thlnk often of the Pt"anc- ?nd of his s"(l'1en disap- 'ookia. ! at Hghland rond. And. 5 "ma to m Ttl0mnl". this thought . lSel5 h. !: Who can tell how manv J 111 Maw, 8 met ln the 'ay of life m hls visitor?0 1,16 ''1?h commlsslon 3 LV" trlp 1 foun1 ,hat Zt L,,tl? Rn 0 once dwelt In the ' "tiered r 8catt"ed. Onlv a fn IBaaTnt rema""- Near old h,r blank Saw a S(luaw sitting 'th ,w Her face was wrinkled rl, buaa n"dst,lp. ner eyes were - sne held In her withered hands the rugged, moth-eaten tail of a gnty wolf. 1 asked her why she kept the slmtihy thing. "'llecause of the hand that gave It,' she answered ln Kngllsh. 'I nhi take It with me to the Happy limiting Grounds. When he sees It he will know me.' "So ip.il.-kly the beautiful Llttlo White lUrcli had faded. "At Mount Vernon, Washington was as dignified as ever but not so grave. He almost Joked when he spoke of the sculptors and portrait painters who have been n great bother to him since the war ended. "'Now no drtty horse moves more readily to the thill than I to tho painter's paint-er's ehiilr,' he said. "When I arrived the family was going go-ing in to dinner and they waited until I could make myself ready to Join thorn. The Jocular Light Horse Harry Lee was there. His anecdotes delighted de-lighted the great man. I had never seen O. W. in hotter humor. A singularly sin-gularly pleasant smile lighted his whole countenance. I can never forget the gentle note In Ills voice and his dignified dig-nified bearing. It was the same whether tie were addressing his guests or his family. The servants watched him closely. A look seemed to be enough to Indicate his wishoR The faithful Lilly was always at his side. I have never seen a sweeter atmosphere atmos-phere ln any home. We sat an hour at the table after the frinlly had retired re-tired from it. In speaking of his dally life he said : "'1 ride around my farms until it Is time to dress for dinner, when 1 rarely miss seeing strange faces, come, as they say, out of respect for me. Perhaps Per-haps the word rurtoslty would better describe the cause of It. The usual time of sitting at table brings me to candle-light, when I try to answer my letters." "He had mich to say on his favorite theme, viz.: the settling of the lm- i; "now you iJJCPJ ' f HAVE ME." til UL WHISPERED. jj j mense interior and bringing its trade to the Atlantic cities. "I was coughing with a severe cold. He urged me to take some remedies which he had ln the house, but I refused re-fused them. "He went to his office while Le and I sat down together. The latter told me of a movement In the army led by Colonel Nichola to make Washington Wash-ington king of America. He had een Washington's answer to the lettor of the colonel. It was as follows: " 'lie assured, sir, no occurrence ln the course of the war has given me s$nsutions more painful than your Information In-formation of there being such ideas In the army as those you have Imparted to me and I must view them with abhorrence ab-horrence and reprehend them with severity. I am much at a loss to cou-ceiT cou-ceiT what part of my conduct could bar given encouragement to an ad-dresj ad-dresj which to me seems big with the greatest mischiefs which could befall my country." "Is it not a sublime and wonderful thing, dear Margaret, that all our leaders, save one, have been men as incorruptible as Stephen and Peter und Paul? "When I went to bed my cough became be-came more troublesome. After it had gone on for half an hour or so my door was gently opened and I observed the glow of a candle. On drawing my bed curtains I saw, to my utter-astonishment, Washington standing at my side with a bowl of tiot tea in his tiand. It embarrassed me to be thus waited on by a man of his greatness. "We set out next morning for Philadelphia Phila-delphia to attend the convention. Washington riding in his coach drawn by six horses. I riding the blaze-faced mare of destiny, still as sweet and strong as ever. A slow Journey it was over the o'.d road by Calvert's to Annapolis. Ann-apolis. Chestertown, and so .on to the north. "1 found Franklin sitting under a tree in his dooryard, turrounded bj Lis grandchildren. He looks verv white :.nd venerable now. His hair is a .rosn of glory. "'Well, Jack, it hns oeen no small part of my life work to get you hap- m Plly married.' he began in his playful way. 'A celibate Is like ttie odd half of a pair of scissors, tit only to 8craie a trencher. How many bubles have you'f " Throe," I answered. "'It Is not half enough,' said he. 'A patriotic American should have at least ten children. 1 must not forget to say to you what I say to every young man. Always treat your wife with respect. Lt will procure respect for you not only from tier, but from all who observe lt. Never use u slighting slight-ing word.' "My beloved, bow little I need this advice you know, hut I think that the old philosopher never made a wiser observation. I am convinced that civilization Itself depends largely on the respect that men feel and show for w omen. "I asked about bis health. "'I am weary nnd the night Is falling and I shall soon lie down to sleep, but I know that I shall awake refreshed In the morning.' he said. "He told me how, distressed by Ills Infirmity, he came out of France In the queen's litter, carried bv tier magnltl-cent magnltl-cent mules. Of Kngland he had only this to say : " 'She Is doing wrong ln discouraging discourag-ing emigration to America. Immigration Immigra-tion multiplies a nation. She should be represented ln the growth of the New- World by men who have a voice in Its government. Hy this fair means' she could repossess lt Instead of leaving leav-ing It to foreigners, of all nations, who may drown and stifle sympathy for the mother land. It is now a fact that Irish emigrants and their children are in possession of the government of Pennsylvania.' "I must not fall to set down here ln the hope that my sons may some time read lt, what he said to me of the treason of Arnold. " 'Here is the vindication of poor Richard. Extravagance is ot the way to self-satisfaction. The man who does not keep his feet ln the old, honest way of thrift will some time sell himself, him-self, and then he will be ready to sell his friends or his country. By and by nothing is so dear to him as thirty pieces of silver.' "I shall conclude my letter with a beautiful confession of faith by this master mind of the country, lt was made on the motion for dally prayers In the convention now drafting a constitution con-stitution for the states. I shall never forget the look of him as, standing on the lonely summit of his eighty years, he said to us : " 'In the beginning of our contest with Britain when we were sensible of danger, we hud daily prayers ln this room for Divine protection. Our prayers, sirs, were heard and they were graciously answered. All of us who were engaged ln tbe struggle must have observed frequent instances of a directing Providence in our affairs. And have we forgotten that powerful friend? Or do we Imagine that we no longer need His assistance? I have lived, sirs, a long time and the longer 1 live the more convincing proof 1 see of this truth that God governs ln the affairs of men. And if a sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His notice Is lt probnble thnt an empire can rise without His aid? We have been assured, sirs, that except the Lord build the house they labor in vain who build it. I firmly believe this and I ulso believe that without His concurring con-curring aid we shall succeed ln this political structure no better than the builders of Babel ; we shall be divided and confounded and we ourselves become be-come a reproach and a byword down to future nges. And, what is worse, mankind may hereafter despair of establishing es-tablishing government by human wisdom wis-dom anil leave It to chance, war and conquest.' "Pear Margaret, you nnd I who have been a part of the great story know full well that in these words of our noble friend is the conclusion of the whole matter." THE END |