Richmond Hill Public Library News Index

The Liberal, 24 Sep 1908, p. 6

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Or, The Curse 1 sb+++++++++++++++++++++++¢++++++++++++++++++t CHAPTER XXVIII.â€"(Cont’d). Alice sat by the mouldering fire until a knock at the door of her apartment induced her to cease for a moment and bid the new comer enter. She had fancied it might he a servant, but when an elderly man, whom she recognized as Mr. *Gartmore, stood before her, she started up, surprised at the unusu- al visit, and the time selected for it. He closed the door very delibâ€" erately, and walked round the table Without uttering a word, but when he had reached a point just oppo- site the girl, he saidâ€"- “You did not expect to see me here.” “I did not expect to have that pleasure,” was the reply, someâ€" what formally spoken. “Unexpected pleasures ways the greatest,”. he said. have come to talk to you.” Alice cared very little if he had come to preach to her. She was resigned to anything, and although not inde endent of every one, was lndepen out, at least so she imag- ined, of Mr. Gartmore, who, with one hand resting on the table in- ‘the very middle of her scattered papers, remained looking intently at ‘her, but by way of showing him- the only civility she had it then in her power to evince, she pulled an old easy chair out of the corner, wherein it had been peacefully re- posing, and asked him, with what civility she might, to “sit down.” “You offer me that chair,” said, her visitor, “because you have heard I am worth a couple of hun- dred thousand pounds.” “I offer you it, not because I know you have two hundred thou- sand pounds, but because I thought you might, perhaps, like it; how- ever, if there be any other chair in the room you preferâ€"â€"” “I may take it, eh 'l” finished Mr. Gartmore. “I should be sorry if you made yourself uncomfortable out of poâ€" liteness to me,” answered Alice, an amused smile flickering round her lips and lighting up her eyes -â€" whilst Mr. Gartmore dropped into the proffered seat. For a time, Alice waited with what patience she might, for some further remark; she resisted al strong impulse which impelled her to take up her pen and pull the feathers off it. Happily she be- thought her that as the candle re- quired snufling, she might move without laying herself open to any charge of feminine fidgeting. The action, however, failed to arouse him, and for two or threeI seconds more Alice had to sit watch-l ing her visitor as he hung forward over the embers. At last, suddenly titiirning towards her, he demand- e â€". ._“What do you mean 'I” “What do I maan’l’b repeated Alice, quite taken by surprise. “I said nothing, sir.” “No, you said nothing, I know, but you do something. What are you doing?" “What am I doing 7” she again repeated, looking in blank aston- ishment in her Questioner’s faee~ “What am I doing ’l” “Don’t echo my words!” ex- claimed her visitor, “particularly when you understand me perfectly well. You need not deny it, for these speak for themselves ;” and he laid an impatient hand on thel blotted sheets. “You need not deny it.” “If you mean the fact of my writ- ing, I do not wish to deny it,” she "eplied. “Yesâ€"yesâ€"I see you have startedl as an authoress, and are proud of! it~and want it known, andâ€"â€"â€"” l “No,” interrupted Alice. “I-' have started as an authorcss, as! you say; yet whilst I do not at-. tempt to conceal the fact, neither am I proud of it.” are alâ€" (KI There “’35 Something “mm‘nhfl 1“,8.nd the tears came unbidden intolwsuld take the the tone of her voice, which took; the sting off her Visitor's tongue.) and as he asked his next question, he looked almost pityingly in her faceâ€" “Do you know what you are doâ€" ing. child? Have you thought: about it 3 Has anyone ever told youl what you are beginning?” l “No one has over explicitly told! me.” she answered; “but I knowf I am beginning a profession which? may gain me a livelihood and \Vlilxill may not; which is full of strugglel and disappointment I" ,: T SHADOWED PATH; @©@@©@@ Of The Family +++++++++++++++++++++ “In plain words, you write for moneyâ€"for the sake of the lucre, against which'all authors rail, but which all authors love in their hearts. You imagine passions, and pen scenes, and dream dreams, and rave of virtue, and anathemaâ€" tive viceâ€"all for money.” There was a bitter scorn in the speaker’s voice â€" it seemed as though he were talking of barter- ing away the heart's affectionsfor goldâ€"~so vehement was the gesture that accompanied his words, but Alice’s conscience fclt clear of the implied offence, and therefore she beganâ€" “We cannot 03,â€"?) “True!” interrupted Mr. Gartâ€" more, vehemently; “but are we then to live for money. Is there noâ€" thing else under heaven precious to haveâ€"lonely to seeâ€"good to ad- mireâ€"-worthy to long for, but the accursed thingâ€"gold l” Mr. Gartmore had gone into such a .passion during the progress of this speech, that he arose from his chair and commenced walking up and down the room, whilst Alice, after a moment’s pause, answeredâ€" “Authors must liveâ€"and to live, people must have money. If you do not like the idea of authors sel- ling their thoughts, why not look upon it, that they are paid for the actual manual, bodily labor of writing and correcting; will not that do ’1” ' “No, it will not,” said Mr. Gart- more. “I do not object to pay,â€" Heaven knows, the recompense of genius in all branches is frequently a. pittance, but I would not have talent always grubbing downwards. I would have genius paid-not trad- ed withâ€"let it have mone yif it can get it honestly, but do not let it hot, and toil, and labor, and put forth all its best energies for money alone.” “And did ever the meanest drudgc in the cause ' of literature labor merely for his daily bread?” is manded Alice. “I cannot think there ever was a writer yet, who would not have written on, even though money, and fame, and repu- tation were never destined to come to him after all.” “Do you feel thus?” demanded Mr. Gartmore, stopping abruptly in his walk, and looking with his keen, shrewd worldly eyes into the young girl’s face. “I do,” she answered, the warm blood crimsoning her usually pale cheek; “for years writing has been my dell ht, my pleasure, my hope; long be ore I thought of making money, before a desire for fame was born, since that desire died, it was the one thing I cared for ~â€" why should I not care for it still?” “I have known authors," said Mr. Gartmore, “who detested their vocation, who worked like galley slaves at their desks, loathing the toil, who catered for the ‘popular taste’ as it is termed, and had to hunt like dogs along the old tracks, never daring once to lift their noses from the ground and follow their own fancies. Bah! 1 am sick of the world,â€"â€"sick and weary of the men and women in the world.” “Perhaps you know too much of it,” ventured Alice. “T00 muchâ€"far, far too much.” he said bitterly. “But now, little girl, what can I do for you? How are you succeeding in your literary endeavorsâ€"“what has your experi- ence of life taught you? I will help you if I can.” There was such a change in his voice, that Alice absolutely started; scarcely a word of kindness had greeted her ear for months previ- ously, and her very Soul had sick- ened for it. Now, when with softened tone and gentler manner, her strange live without mon- visitor turned out a friend in dis-" guise, the surprise was too great, her eyes, as she answeredâ€" “Thank you, Sir, a thousand times, but I do not think you cant help me. I am as grateful to y Ill as if you could; but I bolicvc thch is only one person in the world who might assist me, and I am afraid I must not expect a stranger even to think of mo." “Humle And who friend or enemy be?” “Oh, she is a lady Mr. Lai‘occa mentioned. HO said if she Could may this \be got to edit a book for me. he should not be afraid to publish it;' and promised to write to her; but he was so long about doing so, and seemed to care so little about the matter, that I sent a note to him to ‘forward to her; but I suppose she does not intend to notice it, for I have received no answer." “And did you expect her to noâ€" l‘ice it?” “When I sent my note? Yes.’ “On what grounds?" “Because she says in her boak 'Lhat it is our duty to help one an- other; that the mere fact of requirâ€" ing assistance is sufficient intro- duction without the usual formaliâ€" ties of society.” “Heaven help all authors, if they were bound to act, up to the exact meaning of such potty scntencos. Do you not know you have asked this woman to do almost an impos- sibility for you? In fact, were I an author, I would rather give you five hundred pounds than stand sponsor to any other person‘s lit- erary child. You have made amost improper request, in so strange a manner, that I do not wonder at the lady’s silence.” “I am very sorry," began Aliceâ€"â€" and she looked sorry. and grieved and mortified, and angry, into the bargain. “There then, don't look so hu- miliated,” be interposed; “forget (11' about her, and never do such a thing again. Where is this manu- script of yours? In the hands of Mr. Larocca 2" “No,” answered Alice. “I have it here; but he knows the book, and with a good editor has no objec- tion to publish it." “And give you how much 7” “Mel Nothing. He would have to pay the editor. Then he gives the money, and I the book, and we should both expect to make our profits out of a second ” “Out of the devil I” almost shrieked Mr. Gartniore, as he heard this exposition of a very common literary proceeding. “Give me your manuscript, child, and I will get you better terms than that. Pay an editor, and makeâ€"humbug‘. I will squeeze something for you out (f them, or my name is not Thomas Gartmore.” “But you, sir, are as much a stranger to me as Mrs. Spierson, and I do not see why I should put you to so much trouble and annoy- ance,â€"~andâ€"â€"â€"’.’ “I choose to be put to trouble,” interrupted Mr. Gartmore, short- ly. “Now make over the copyright of that book to meâ€"write as i die- tateâ€"soâ€"sign your name, and date the document. You are of course aware,” he added, as he pocketed the transfer, “that I can now sell your work, and keep the proceeds â€"â€"that you have made it over to me, not in trust, but in fact.” “If you get anything for the book, I am not afraid of 'losing it,” answered Alice With a smile. “More fool you,” he retorted. “But then, indeed, women are the greatest fDOlS in creationâ€"except men.” Having delivered himself of which complimentary speech, Mr. Gart- more nodded to Miss Crepton, and left the room, with the manuscript under his arm. “If that is not an adventure!” soliloquized Alice as he departed. “I wonder whether any good will come of it 2” Mr. Gartmore hurried on mat- ters with the publishing office of Mr. Larocca with such impetuosity as resulted in his quarrelling with that gentleman. in the course of an interview. He finished matters off by telling that friend of authors, 'f he went down on his knees, and. prayed for the manuscript, he should not get itâ€"a threat, be it remarked, which affected the pub- lisher’s peace of mind but Slightly. Finally, after he had rated half the novel publishers in London in a manner which was, to say the least of it, extremely unreasonable, he came to the conclusion that, if he waited for any of the “caterers of public taste” to pay for the book, he would have to wait a long time. They bummed, and hawed, and talked about sharing the profits, which meant nilâ€"and of taking half ,tbe risk, which meant relieving Mr. Gartmore of a few superfluous hun- dredsâ€"and of subscribing a bunâ€" dicd copies amongst his friends. which meant giving them a hundred and fifty pounds clearâ€"‘and of get- ting an editor to advance the au~ tllous standing, which mount an ex- ?tia profit for theiiselvcs. Or they book on chance. land pay nothing: in fact, the cool linen of business throw so many olrl stacles across Mr. Uzirtlnurc‘s ptllil; that at last. fairly losing his tom- pcr. or. rather. faining an llk‘Cr‘sS‘i-xll of it. be throw an unofl'wudiug. n.idr dlcragcd. (lulud‘ullshudilhg ii-d Edu- zl off his balance. by mull. g :1 vilhcrinu‘ denunciation against all authors. publishers. printers. edi- tors. and the rest of thc "cmifoumb rd. rubbish." and rushed out of the lust l-liice of his list in a state of ‘ixiincl lraldcring on lunacy. "My dear Mr. Muywcll,” he ex- claimed, entering his solicitor’s ofâ€"l fice, "do you think you could find me such a thing in London as an honest publisher?" , “I do not know,” replied the lawn yer. “They, like ourselves, all think themselves honest." “Because,” continued Mr. Garb, more, unhecding this remark, “I have been running about all day,l and cannot find even a sensible one amongst the lot. So-you see that manuscript," and he threw the of- ftnding parcel down on the table. “Now list n to my instructions. It must be on the library sbclvcs by this day six weeks~it must succeed ~it must be brought out by a gond' housewit must not have an editorâ€"- it must have every fair chance givcn itwand I must not, in any case, lose more than a couple of hundrcd, pounds; by the transaction. must not be published by any of these people,” jotting down a list of those he had not been able. as he styled it. “to mak: listen to rea« son.” “Now do you understand my wishes? and etc you arrange the matter for me '1” “Without difficultyâ€"only, if the book have not talent in it, no money will ever make it a success.” “I tell you, sir, the book has tal- ent, and it shall be a success,” re- torted Mr. Gartmore; having re- lieved himself of which decided ex- pression of opinion, he walked off tr his banker’s. and returned thence to Upper Emery Street with a new fiftyâ€"pound Bank-of-England note in his pocket. (To be Continued.) Q+++++++++++++++++++++ + 4 s + r + ‘Ab ll ‘ + + . Elli earm. + + + + s + fl+++++++++¢o+++++++++t PASTEURIZING ESSENTIAL. Experienced dairymen who have looked into the dairy practises 0f Denmark state that they do not excel, and in some instances are not as upâ€"toâ€"date as those followed in other dairy countries. Types of dairy utensils and machinery deâ€" scribed by dairymen in Australia, the United States and Canada years ago as being out of date, are still in use by the Danes. And yet, they excel. all other dairymen in the uni- f9r,m1ty and good quality of their dairy products. This is especial 13’ true in butter-making. Danisn butter in Great Britain is the stanâ€" dard by which all other butter is Judged: The butter from other countries ranks second to Danish rarely equal to or ahead of it. What is the secret of the Dane's success’.Z It is pasteurizing. What- bver defects there may be in their system of making butter they cling tenacxously to pasteurizing. The Daneswould no more think of mark ing butter without pasteurizing the cream or milk than of growing grain on the sands of the sea. It is an essential part of their butter- making system. Every creamery and every butter-maker practises it. They look upon it as just as necessary in butter-making as rip- ening the cream. Pasteurizing more than any other thing is responsible for Denmark’s high standing in the butter. markets of the world . Pasteurizing has been before the diarymen of this continent for many years. Evcry dairy authority reâ€" commends it and advocates its adoption. And yet how few cream- eiies practice pasteurizing the milk or cream in butter-making. In Can- ada we are constantly agitating for better care of the cream and milk, a very necessary thing in mak- ing fine butter. But we fail in adopting a practice that would help to overcome the effects of bad cream. We do not mean by this, that less attention be given to the care of the cream. Every patron should be urged at all times to give ,the best of care to the cream he supplies his creamery with. Cream, however, received from a hundred different persons giving in the beat of care cannot but vary greatly in quality. Pasteurizing will make it more uniform in quality of butter, and thus enable the butter-maker t) make a more uniform quality of‘ butter. DOCTOR I NC FOWLS. W ___,._____._â€"_â€"â€"â€"â€"â€". curly stages of sickness, it is sel- (him that doctoring is of much avail. If he manages once or twice to be successful in checking a mild epidemic, or curing an individual icasc here or there, he gets into the habit of fussing about his fowls, (losing them up wh< n they get sick, and usually ends up by getting his place stocked up with a lot of birds of cnfccblod constitutions, predis- posed to disease. A little know- ledge of the different fowl diseases is essential to success in poultry- raising, but more as a means of de‘ tecting disorders in the early stag- es than for applying remedies to cure the trouble. The one fact that a poultryman wants to be able to grasp firmly is that, when once jiv' ease becomes established in his flock, the best thing he can do is Itito use a good sharp hatchet pretty vigorously. In the long run it will prove more profitable than all the drugs in the world. LIVE STOCK NOTES. The best way to cure scratches is m prevent them altogether. And the best preventives are clean stables and thorough care of the horse when it comes in from a mud- dy, wet drive. The legs and belly should be cleansed of mud and rubbed until dry. Cobmeal will be perfectly safe to feed to horses and colts if mixed with a small portion of cut hay. Cobmeal is not as dangerous to feed to a horse alone as corn ground without the cob, because the cob increases the bulk of the meal and. thereby renders it less harmful. The reason why shelled corn is saf- er to feed to a horse alone than cornmeal, is because the horse in masticating the corn only cracks it, and it cannot go into the stomach in such a pasty condition as corn- meal does. If every drop of milk in the cow’s udder be not carefully removed at each milking, the secretion will gradually diminish in proportion to the quantity left behind. Milking should be conducted with skill and tenderness. A gentle and expert f" /"/‘“’/ milker will not only clear the udder. with greater case than a rough and inexperienced person, but will do so with far more comfort to the cow, who will stand pleased and quiet, placidly chewing the cud and testifying by her manner and attr- tude that she experiences pleasure rather than annoyance from the op eration. , Cows will not yield their milk to a person they dislike on dread. * BAT CLUBS IN LONDON. Plan to Form One in Every Parish of the City. The Society for the Destruction of Vermin is organizing a number of rat clubs in London, England, its object being to exterminate the mischevious rodent and at the same time to afiord exciting sport. Mr. W. R. Boelter, a member of the society’s executive committee, stated recently that £300 would be devoted by the society to prizes durâ€" ing the first year. “It is our am- bition," he said, “to have a rat club in every parish of London and in every town and village in the coun- try. Thc prizes, which would near- ly all be in money, would be given in the following way :â€" “A national trophy for the club that has the best rat-killing year. “A county prize, either moneyor a trophy, for the county in which most rats are exterminated by its clubs. . “Fifty individual prizes of one guinea for club members who kill the greatest number of rats during a given time. “In addition, other people who are interested in the destruction of vermin would doubtless offer prizes. “The manner in which a rat club would get to work is perfectly Simple. No one likes a verminâ€"in- fcsted place, and would readily give permission to members of clubs to set traps on their property. There are various means which could be adopted for destroying the rodents. Among them are traps, air-guns, fcrrets, terriers. _ i “There is nothing more exerting than a rat hunt," continued Mr. Bocltcr. “If a trap is used the best baits arc oil of rhodium, am. seed, or bread saturated with oil of caraway. Any of these will at- .\ prominent authority on poultry states that. ‘ To succeed in d«,)ctor4,‘ ing a stubborn case of sickness of] :L pcrsistcnt epidemic in his llUCli.‘ :< one of the worst misfortunes -tracf the rats readily, and then. as thcv Come out. they can be shot, or 'killcd by the terriers. A good stout stick, too. is a sure way of killing them.” it.“ ihut can befall a pullltl‘y-kecpf‘l‘. moaning thereby that bciicr. from tho dollnr-and-ccnis \lzii'nlpnint. for the poultrymun to kill fowls as soon as they exhibit} r“.l!:pt'\llll~i of di" :~c than it I: to] potter about and cudwuvur to treat! the inlet-ch birds. A _\s a gcncral rule. this advicel holds good. Unless a man can de-i trot the trouble. diagnose the disâ€" ease. and apply treatment, in the, it is much l, _ Jack (who has just treated his nicnd to the dinner of the estab- li~liiixcr-t)â€""I’rctty gnarl dinner for half-a dollar. ch?" His Friend â€"- “first rate. Let's have another." "I say. morhcr i" “What is it? ’ “\Vbat's the hefzht of the ridicu- lous?" “Wollfi said Mrs. chv peck, “your father is about ‘Evc fact eight, I believe." a.--”

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