The San Francisco Call. Newspaper, November 19, 1905, Page 2

THE SAN FRANCISCO SUNDAY CALL () Qi/’/ wf. O v give what reason vou like for going.” “*“Only a week, sir?” he cried, in a despeiring volce. “A fortnight—say at least a fortnight!” ‘““A week,” I repeated, ¢ consider yourself to leniently dealt with.” “He crept gway, his face sunk upon his breast, ke a broken man, while I put out the light and returned to my “and you have been or two days after this Brunton ™ most ass!duous in his attention to his duties. I made no allusion to what had passed, and waited with some curi- osity to see how he would cover his disgrace. On the third morning, how ever, he did not appear, as was his cus- after breakfast to receive my in- for the day. As I left the 1 happened to meet Rachel £ e mald. I have told you that she had omly rec Iy recovered from an [llness, and was looking so wretchedly pale and wan that 1 remon- ated with her for being at work. ‘You should be in bed,” 1 said. e back your dutles when you strong oked at me with so strange that I began to suspect n was aftected. enough, he Mr. Mus- “We see what the doctor I answered. “You must stop and when you go downstairs 1 wish to see Brunton.” ler is gone,” said she. Gone where?" No one has seen him. e is room. Oh, ves, he is gone e : She fell back against -the -wall with shriek after shriek of laughter, while I .horrified at this sudden hysterical mttack, rushed to the bell to summon belp. The girl was tuken to her room, still screaming nd sobbing, while I made Inquiries out Brunton. There was no doubt t it that he had disappeared. His had mot been slept in, he had been y no one since he had retired s room the night before. and yet difficult to see how he could the house, as both windows were found to be, fastened in ng. His clothes, his wateh s money were in his ro black suit which he usually was missing. His slifpers, too » gone, but his boots were left be- Where, then, could Butler Brun- gone In the night, and what e become of him now? e we searched the house from but there was no trace as 1 have said, a labyrinth e, especlally the original which is now practically uninhabit- t we ransacked every room and cel- t discovering the least sign of man. It was incredible to me d have gone away leaving all nd him, and yet where lled in the local police, cess. Rain had fallen on and we examined the hs all round the house, s were in this state, pment quite drew our be! from the original mys- Rachel Howells had nes deiirious, some- t a nurse had been her at night. On nton’s disappear- , finding her patient sleep- had dropped into a nap in ir, when she woke In the early ng to find the bed empty, the win- n no signs of the invalid. s aroused, and, with the started off at once in search ng girl. It was not diffieult to irectlon which she had taken, after was in; two 00 ow her footmarks easily across to the edge of the mere, where hed close to the gravel path h leads out of the grounds. The lake is elght feet deep, and you cam im- our feelings when we saw that the f the poor demented girl came to at the edge of it rse, we had the drags at omce, set to work to recover the remaims, of the body could we find. r hand, we brought to the sur» a most unexpected kind. linen bag which contained within ass of old rusted and a:scolored d several dull-colored pleces of MARGARET pebble or glass. This strange find was all that we could get from the mere, and. although we made every possible search and inquiry yesterday, we know nothing cf the fate either of Rachel Howells or of Richard Brunton. The country police are at their wits’ end, and I have come up to you as a last résource.’ “You can imagine, Watson, with what eagerness 1 listened to this extraordinary sequence of events, and endeavored (o plece them together, and to devise some common thread upon which they might all hang. The butier was gone, The maid was gone, The mald had loved the butler, but had afterward had cause to hate him. She was of Welsh blood, fiery and passionate. She had been terribly excited Immediately ufter his disappear- ance. She had flung into the lake a bag containing some curious contents. These were all factors which had to be taken into consideration, and yet none of them got quite to the heart of the matter. What was the starting point of this chain of events? There lay the end of this st see that paper, Musgrave,’ sald I, ‘which this butler of yours thought it worth his while to consult, “at the risk of the loss of his even absurd business, this ritual of ours,’ answered. ‘But it has at least the saving grace of an- tiquity to excuse it. I have a copy of the questions and answers here if you care to run your eye over them. “He handed me the very paper 1 have here, Watspn, and this is the surange catechism to which each Musgrave had to submit when he came to man’s es- tate. 1 will read you the questions ‘and answers as they stand ““Whose waé it? “‘His wHo is gone.’ “Who shall have it?' ““He who will come.’ “Wh was the sun? “‘Over the oals’ *‘Where was the shadow? Under the elm. jow was it stepped? orth by ten and by t is rather an ten, east by two and by ., west by one and by one, and so der.’ What shall we give for it?' All that is ours.’ ‘“Why should we give it?' “‘For- the sake of the trust’ “*The original has no date, but it is the spelling of the middle of the seventeenth century,’ remarked Mus- grave. ‘I am afrald, however, that it can be of little help to you fn solving this mystery.’ “ At least,’ in sald I, ‘it gives us an- other mystery and one which 1s even more interesting than the first. It may be that the solution of the one m prove to be the solution of the other. You will excuse me, Musgrave, it I say that your butler appears to me to have been a very clever man and to have had a clearer insight than ten generations of his masters. “‘I hardly follow you,’ sald Mus- grave. ‘The paper seems to me to be of no practical importance.’ “*But to me it seems Immensely practical and I fancy that Brunton took the same view. He had probably seen it hefore that night on which you ght him.' is very possible. s to hide it ‘He simply wished, I should imag- ine, to refresh his memory upon that last occasion. He had, as I under- stand, some sort of map or chart which he was comparing with the script, and which he thrust fnto pocket when you appeared.’ ““That is true. But what could he have to do with this old family cus tom of ours and what does this rig- marole mean? “‘I don’t think that we should have much difficulty in determining that, said I; ‘with your permission we will take the first and go a little more deeply Into the matter upon the spot. “That same afternoon saw us both at Hurlstone. Possibly you have seen pic- tures and read descriptions of the famous old bullding, so I will confine my account of it to saying that it s bullt in the shape of an L, the long arm being the more modern portion, and the shorter the ancient nueleus, from which the .other has developed. Over the low, heavily- linteled door, in the center of this old We took no pai ‘his train down to Sussex part is chiseled the date, 1607, but experts are agreed that the béams and work are really much older than this. The enormously thick walls and tiny win- upws of tais part had in the last century driven the family Into butlding the new wing, and the old one was used now as a storehouse and a celler when it was used at all. A splendld park, with fine old timber, surreunds the house, and the lake, . to which my ellent had referred, lay elose to the avenue, about two hum yards from the building. I was already firmly convinced, Wat- son, that there Were not three separate mysteries here, but ouly one, and that if I could read the Musgrave ritual aright 1 should hold in miy hand the clew which would lead me te the truth concerning both the butier, Brunton, and the mald, Howells. To that then I turned all my energies, Why should this scrvant be so anxious to mester this old formula? Evi- dently because he raw something in it which had escaped &ll those generations of country squires, and from which he ex- pected some personal advantage. What was it then, &nd how had it sffected hls fate? , “it was nerfectly obvious to me, on reading the ritual, that the rements must refer to some gnot to which the rest of the document alluded, and that if we could find that spot we should be fn a 1air way toward finding what the secret was which the ald Musgraves had thought it necessary to embalm in so cu- rious a fdshion. There were two guides given us to start with, an cak and an elm. As to the oak there could be no question at all. Right In front of the house, upon the left-hand side of the drive, there stood a patriarch among oaks, one of the most magnificent trees that I have ever seen, “*That was there when your ritual was drawn up,’ sald [ as we drove past it. * ‘It was there at the Norman Conquest in all probability,’ he answered. ‘[t has a girth of twenty-three fee:i.’ “Here was one of my fixed points se- cured. *‘Have you any old elms? I asked. “ “There used to be a very old one over vonder, but it was struck by lightning' ten vears ago and we cut down the stump.’ ““You can sce where it used to be” “¢Oh, yes.' “*“There are no other elms? **‘No old ones, but plenty of beeches.’ T should like to see where it grew. We had driven up In a dogeart, and my client led me away at once, without our entering the house, to the scar on the lawn where the elm had stood. It was nearly midway between the oak and the house. My Investigation seemed to be progressing. “ ‘I suppose it is impossible to find out how high the elm was? I asked. “‘I can give it to you at once. It was sixty-four feet.' “‘How do you come to know it? I asked, in surprise. * “When my old tutor used to give me an ecxercise in trigonometry it always tock the shape of measuring heights. When I was a lad 1 worked out every tree and building In the estate. ““This was an unexpected piece of luck. My data were coming more quickly than 1 could have reasonably hoped. ““rell me,’ I asked, ‘did your butler ever ask such a question? “Reginald Musgrave looked at me in astonishment. ‘Now that you call it to my mind,' he answered, ‘Brinton did ask me abaut the height of the tree some months ago in connection with some lit- argument with the gom.’ manu-| it showed me t “road, in less than an hour It uld e Just above the topmost branchés of the old oak. Oue condition mentioned In the;rit- ual would then be fulfilled. And the shadow of the elm must mean the farther end of the shadow, otherwise the trunk would have been chosen as the guide, I had, then, to find where the far end of the shadow would fall when the sun was just clear of the oak.” “That must have been difficult, Holmes, when the elm na longer there.” “Well, at least 1 knew that if Brunton could do it, I could also. Besides. there was no real difficulty. I went with Mus- grave to his study ond whittled myself this peg, to which I tied this long string with & knot at each yard. Then I took two lengths of a fishing-rod, which came to just six feet, and I went back with E. SA Music and 9:11' fihol Girls. (Copyright, 1905, by Joseph B. Bowles.) HE plain truth is that to study music is not the grind it used to be. Priscilla, daughter of Phyl- lis, approaches the piano by the scientific modern method and by gradations. Phyllis used to be driven to her practicing and it was the bugbear of her life. With a watch by her side, or an eve on the clock, she sat on the backiess music stool and pounded away, putting her little foot on the loud pedal that the noise might be deeper, counting one, two, three, four, five, over and over, till she went like an automaton, fingers strum- ming, voice marking time, and loathing t all the while. Very severe teachers thumped little hands if they made mis- kes. Very rigid motherssexacted the full tale of half hours and whole hours, and scolded the luckless girl who lin- gered on the way from school and was tardy in her duty to her plano. As for the meighbors, they hated it, too. Nothing was mpre torturing to sensitive ears than the dreary repeti- tion of five finger exercises, to the right, to the left, for every house had ts plano, and every family with daugh- ters had several of them drilling at one and the same time. “I would rather study astronomy,” said Phyllis, pouting, when her mother told her that her music lessons were to begin “next Monday.” “Astronomy,” replied the mother, “is 2 mere amusement. Music is a neces- sity in education.” Phyllis had no taste for it, but that made no difference. ARSI R e e O We have learned a better way, as well as adopted a better method, and Priscilla of the golden braid is the gainer. Her mother, Phyllis, looks on in pleased ap- preciation when she finds that before ever she touches the keyboard she is taught the value of different notes, is casy trained to read at sight. and is intre- duced intelligently to the first principles of an exact science, which was formerly to every beginner a chaos or a labyrinth without meaning or clew. Twenty lessons or thirty may be given before the keys that answer to the score are sounded by any one except the teach- er. Eye, ear and brain are trained before the training of wris: and fingers is at- tempted. A good deal of instruction is given about music itself, and about the masters of music, the great creators and artists, who were interpreters of the soul that slumbers in the silent instrument and awaits a musician to awaken {t. Priscilia’s mother was expected to play a plece by the end of the first quarter. Any jingling tune would do, but if the tune were not forthcoming papa shook his head. His money was being wasted. A girl who could not play “Home, Sweet Home,” or ‘‘Monastery Bells,"” with vari- ations, by the end of the second quarter was pointed out as a dunce. Many girls had only a twelvemonth's lessons allowed them. After that they were expected to go and play pieces ga- lore. Priscilla will probably go on with her lessons for eight or tem years, and, if fortunate, may study at some great mu- sical center abroad—Stuttgart, Munich, Berlin or Vienna. She will not only play, but will know good playipg when she hears it, and will enjoy the best music. A source of unfailing and exquisite pleas- ure will be opened in her life. She need mever let her sense of enjoy- ment wane. She may lose facllity in making music for other people, but she need never lose the delight that comes from thorough understanding when one listens to an orchestra or a single per- former. Organ, violin, plano, bugle, cor- net, mandolin, harp, each and all will bestow on her a rare felicity. . . . . . But Priscllla, my dear, there was one advantage the girl of other days had that you have let slip away. She was ready to play when she was asked. The min- ister called, and mamma sent for her daughter to help entertain him. Guests happened in and Phyllis played. Papa was tired. He threw himself back in his big armchair and put his feet on the fen- der, and the lines smoothed out of his forehead, the pucker faded from between ‘his eyes, for Phyllis played her last piece, and over the heart of the weary man crept a, realization of divine comfort; he was at home, the spirit of household peace was the and Phyllls was the pride of his eyes, and the fulfillment of his dreams. She played “Annie Laurle,” and “Maggie's by My Bide," and “Nell Was a Lady,” and “Call Me Pet Nam and father and mother sang, and the hour was a waft from paradise. . May 1 advise you girls who with Pris- cilla are studying in a class, which is & splendid way to learn, that every girl of' you should learn to play accompani- ments? Ior this you need precision and accuracy, and sympathy and phrasing, for the successful accompanist sustains the singer, but does not overshadow her. Learn to accompany your orother on the violin. Have concerts at home. Keep in practice, go that you need not always of- fer the excuse that you are out of It, when an -old-fashioned friend asks you for a little music. Cultivate memory. It is a great pity to be in bondage to your notes, 3 Have your fingers so trained that the four-and-twenty white slaves, the four- and-twenty black, on the piano shall obey the slightest call those magical fingers make on them. Music does something for us in. mental discipline that nothing else, except math- ematics, can do so thoroughly. It de- mands and obtains close attention and swift obedience. We must bé accurate. ‘We must be all there, not half on the playground, or half in Japan, when we are studying. Theory or practice, what- ever we attack in music, we must, un- less we have exeeptional genius, give our whole selves to it. Of course there are players from time to time who, like the negro Blind Tom, seem able to play with- out Instruction and cannot tell how thy do it. But, apart from music, Blind Tom was almost an idlot, you, Pris- cilla, would not wish to be that. The thorny path, though :ur:sr now, still leads to glory in this To be an accomplished musician you must work, and you cannot quite avoid drudgers. but the drudgery will not be lhll’dll“’llitu to be to Phyllis. shorn of much of its . all the nt Blod ta the face and no man could have reeognized that dis- shadow of nine, a tree of sixty-four feet would throw one of ninety-six, and the line of the one would, of course, be the itne of the .6thér. I measured out the distance, which brought me almost fo the wall of the house, and I thrust a peg into the spot. i-can imagine my exul- ;u:wn. W‘t;up. ~when within two' inches Y e saw a conl depression in the ground, I m& «nu'f&' was the mark made by Brunten in his measurements and that T was stiif ;upon his trafl. “Trom thls starting point I proceeded to step, having first taken the cardinal points by my pocket compass. Ten steps with each foot took me along parallel with the wall of the house, and again 1 marked my spot with a peg. Then I earefully paced off five to the east and two to the south. It brought me to the very threshold of the old door. Two steps to the west meant now that I was to go two paces down the stone-flagged pas- sage, and this was the place indicated by the Ritual. ““Néver have I felt such a cold chill of dissppelutment, Watson. KFer a moment «it seemed to me that there must be.some radical raistake in my calculations. setting sun shome full upon the passage floor, and I could ses that the old, foot- worn gray stones with which 1t was paved were firmly cemented together, and had certalnly not been moved for many a long year. Brunton had not been ‘at work here. I tapped upen the floor, but it sounded the rame all over, and there was no sign of uny crack or crevice. But fortunately, Musgrave, who had begun to Appreciate the meaning of ‘my' praceed- ingsz, and who was now as excited as my- self, took out his manuscript to check my calculations. “'And under,” he cried. omlitted the ‘and under.'” “I had thought that it meant that we were to dig, but now, of course, I saw at once thaut | was wrong, “There is a cellar under this then?"' ] cried. “'Yes, aud as old as the house. Down here, through this door.’ “We went down a winding stone stalr, and my companion, striking a match, lit a darge lantern which stood on a barrel in the corner. In an in- stant it was pbvious that we had at last come upon the true place and that we had not been the only people to visit the spot recently. “It had heen used for the storage of wood, but the billets, which had evi- dently been littered over the floor, were now piled at the sides, 80 as to leave a clear space In the middle. In this space lay a large and heavy flagstone with a rusted iron ring in the center, to which a thick shepherd's check muffler was attached. *‘By, Jove!” eried my client. ‘That's Brunton's muffler, I have seen it on him and could swear to it. What has the villain beén doing here?’ “At my suggestion a couple of the county police were summoned to be present, and I then endeavored to raise the stone by pulling on the cravat. I could only move it slightly, and it was with the ald of one of the constables that I succeeded at last In carrying it to one side. A black hole yawned be- neath, into which we all peered, while ‘You have torted Hver-colored gountenance; - but his t, his dress and his hair were an ent to show my client, when we had drawn the bedy up, that it was Indeed his missing butler. He had been dead some days, but there was no wound or bruise upon his person to §how how he had met his dré 1 end. When his body had been ca d from the cellar we found ourselves ‘still con- fronte most as formidable as we had started. 2 “I confess that o far, Watson, I had been disappointed in my investigation. 1 had reckoned upon solving the matter when once I had found the place referred to in the Ritual; but now I was there, and was apparently as far as ever from know- ing what it was which the family had that with ‘which concealed with such elaborate precau-: = A tions, It 1s true that I had thrown a light Vo may fad upop the fate of Brunton, but now I had to ascertaln how that fate had come upon him and what part had been played in the matter by the woma# who had disap- peared. 1 sat down upon a keg in the cor- ner and thought the whole matter care- fully over. “You know my methods in such cases, Watson. I put myself in the man's place and, having first gauged his Intelligence, The I try to imag ne how L shou'd mys<if have 41d duil proceeded under the same elreumstances. In this case the matter wa: plified by Brunton's . intelligence 4%@ first- rate, so that it was unni y tgf make any allowance for thé parsenal tion, as the astronomiers have dubbed it. He knew that something valuable was con- cealed. He had tted the place. He found that the stonme which covered it was just too heavy for a man to move unaided. What would he do next? He could not get help from oufside ewen it he had some one whom he could trust, without the unbarring of doors con~ siderable risk of detection. It was better, if he could, to have his helomate inside the house, But whom could-he ask? This girl had beengdevoted to him. A man always finds W hard to realize that he may have finally” lost a woman's love, however badly he may have treated her. He would try by a few attentions to make his peace with the girl Howells, and then would engage her as his accomplice. To- gether they would come at night to the cellar, and thair united force would suf- fice to radse the stome. So far I could fol- low their actions as #f I had actually seen them. “But for two of them, and one a wor- an, it must have been heavy work, the raising of that stone. A burly Sussex po- liceman and I had found it no light job. What would .they do to assist them? Probably what I should have done my- self. 1 rose and -examined carefully the different billets of wood which were scat- tered round .the flor. Almost at once 1 came upon what I expected. One plece, about. three feet In length, had a very marked indention at one end, while sev- eral were flattened at the side as if they had been compressed by some consider- able welght. Evidently as they had dragged the stone up they had thrust the chunks of wood into the chink, until at last,. when the opening was large enough to craw! through, they would hold it open by a billet placed lengthyise, which might very weil become indefited at the lower end, since the whole weight of the stone would press it down onto the edge of the other slab. So far 1 was still on safe Musgrave, kneeling at the side, pushed down the lantern, 4 ‘A ymall amber about seven feet. 4 four quare lay open to one side ¥ ‘ his was a squal brass-bound wood box, -the lid o -which was hinged upward, with this from the lock, It was furred outside by a thick layer of dust and damp and * worms had eaten through the wood, so on the Inside of it. Several discs of metal, old coins apparently, such as I hold here, were scattered over the bot- tom of the box, but it contained noth- ing else. “At that moment, however, we had no thought for the owa chest, for our eyes were rivited upon that which crouched beside it. It was the ligure of a man, clad In a suit of black, who squattered down upon his hams with his forehead sunk upon the edge of the box and his two arms thrown out on each side of it. The attitude had drawn _ &ro TE .:n’gnow how was I to proceed to re- ‘construct:this midnight drama? Clearly, only. one could fit Into the hole, and that one w mton. The igirl must have waltéd above. Brunton then unlocked the box, handed up the contents presumably— curioua old-fashioned 'key projecting gince they were not to be found—and From that day to this it then—and then what happened? “What smoldering fire of vengeance had soddenly sprung into flame in this sdw the man who had wronged her— wrongdd her, perhaps, far more than we suspected—in her power? Was it a chance that the wood had slipped and that the stone had shut Brunton into what had become his sepulcher? Had she only been guilty of silence as to his fate? Or had some sudden blow from her hand dashéd the support away and sent the siab craghing down into its place? Be that as it might, I seemed to see that woman's figure still clutching at her treasyre trove and flying wildly up the winding stairs, with her ears ringing perhaps with with & problem which was al- " the fi muffled sereams from behina her and with the drumming of frenzied hands t the slab of stone which was el ng her faithless lover’s life out. “Here was the secret of her blanched face, her shaken nerves, her peals of hysterieal laughter on the next morning. But what had been In the box? What had she done with that? Of course, it must have been the old metal and pebbles mh my-ellent bad dragged from the had thrown them in there at “epportunity to remove jhe last her crime. “For twenty minutes I had sat motion- less, the matter out. Musgrave still stood with a very pale face, swing- “lantern and peering down into the hole. * “Thewe are coins of Charles the First- said he, holding out the few which had been In the box. ‘You see we were right in fixing our date for the Ritual’ ¢ something else of Charles the First’ I cried as the prod- able meaning of the first two questions of the Ritual broke suddenly upon me. ‘Let me-see the eomtents of the bag which you fished from the mere.’ ‘“We ascended to his study, and he laid the debris before me. I could understand “hbis regar@ing it as of small importance reri I lcoked at it, for the metal was os€, black NQ the stgnes lusterless T rabed one of them on my sleeve, however, and it glowed afterward like a spark inithe dark hollow of my hand. The metal work was in the form of a double ring, but it had been benmt and twisted out of its original shape. ““You must bear in mind,’ said I, ‘that the royal party made head In England even after the death of the King, and that when they at last fled they prob- ably left many of their most precious pofsessions buried behind them, with the intention of returning for them in more peaceful times “‘My ancester, Sir Ralph Musgrave, was a prominent Cavaller and the right- hand man of Charles the Second In his wanderings,” sald my friend. *‘Ah, indeed” I answered. ‘Well now, I think™ that really should give us the last link that we wanted. I must con- gratulate you on coming into the pos- session, though in rather a magic man- ner, of a rellc which is of great intrinsic value, but of even greater importance as an historical curlosity.” ““What it is, then?” he gasped in as- tonishment. 1 “‘It is nothing less than the anclent crow gs of England.’ Consider what the Ritual How does it run? “Whose was 1t?" That was after the execution of Charles. Then, “Who shall have it?" “He who will come.” That was Charles the Second, whose advent was already foreseen. There can, I think, be po doubt that this battered and shape- less diadem once encircled the brows of the royal Stuarts.” *+And how came it in the pond? “*Ah, that's a question that will take some time to answer. And with that 1 sketched out to him the whole long chain of surmise and of proof which 1 had constructed. The twilight had closed in and the moon was shining brightly In the sky before my narrative was finished. “‘And how was it then that Charles did not get his crown when he re- turned? asked Musgrave, pushing back the relic into its linen bag. “‘Ah, there you lay your finger upon the one point which we shall probably never be able to clear up. It is likely that the Musgrave who held the secret died in the interval, and by some over- sight left this guide to his descendant without explaining the meaning of it. has, _been handed down from father to sonm, until at Jast it came within reach of a man who tore its secret out of it and lost says. “His who is gone.” that a crop of livid fungl was growing passionate Celtic woman’s soul when she his life in the venture. R “And that's the story of the Mus- grave Ritual, Watson. They have the crown down at Hurlstone—though they had some legal bother and a consider- able sum to pay before they were al- jowed to retain it. I am sure that If you mentioned my name they would be happy to show it to you. Of the wo- man nothing was ever heard, and the probability is that she got away out of England and carried herself and the memory of her crime te some land beyond the seas.” R'S TALKS On Benefits of Traveling. (Copyright, 1905, by Joseph B. Bowles.) RAVELING in these days is so common and. en e whole so comfortable that it Is the ex- ceptional person who stays at home. : An old lady on whom I once called in her home in the mountains of West Virginia told me that in the four-score years of her life she hau never been out of her own county. The railway, ten miles distant, she had never seen. %Anngly she was perfectly contented v ?e placid and monotonous tenor of her existence. She had taken deep root in her native soll, something like a great oak tree. Her children and grandchildren had caught the spirit of the age and one by one had left the ancient roof and had found their niches in other parts of the country, Two had even crossed the ocean and gone to the East, but wander where they might, they could always think of the old mother, sitting in her armch: knitting gray wool stockings, looking out the window down the long road, and grecting_her neighbors with a smile as often as they crossed her threshold. She was brown and wrin- kled, but her eyes were bright, her heart as untroubled as a child's, and bits of quaint ‘wisdom fell from her Ups. Though traveling were ever so easy, she wanted none of it. The very notion of an observation car rushing through the landscape at fifty miles _an hour, of a sleeper into which peo- ple were tucked at night as in the nar- row confifies of a coffin, of whirling across the continent in le: than a v aging to Europe with equal speed, to her an impossible dream. I can think of no dynamic force strong enough to move that woman from her chosen vantage ground, except the all-conquering power of death. and burdens, to get away from baffing problems and to take in a new stock of strength as well as of ideas. The trav- eler who takes the road in summer should heavily encumbered with goods and chat- tels when we move about. It is quite abroad and spend elght or ten weeks very profitably and pleasantly in jaunting over nooks in France and Switzerland, carry- ing all the clothing requisite for decemcy; Men constantly do this, and sensible wo- mén occasionally, thus minimizing anx- thought to enjoyment of the new scenes without worrying lest m&b or other In the last few since fl:::flu cars have comparativel. inexpensive trolley trips have become not need a deep ‘his ter and start on a ten days' trolley trip. In this way, while tumn is mild enough to make ou..oor life enjoyable, tourists can see many historic their country from maps to realism, as they sit in open cars, flying on sometimes of the Arablan Nights, and again going in more leisurely fashion. years made It a point to take a summer journey in their own conveyance, driv- road and stopping to rest at wayside inns, ‘When they find a place that suits them have become famillar with the country as no one does W excursions are a distance from home as well as near by. Driving trips are very satisfaetory. less tramps in this country at this mo- ment. They are not paupers. I met one Catskill Mountains. She and her family were established in a cottage that com- carry little luggage. Most of us are too possible, If one choose wisely, to gQ England and Scotland, or exploring little convenlence and comfort in a'suit case. iety about luggage and giving time and box or trunk has the entire sur- face of this wide country, com aceount to pick up the weather of late summer or early au- spots and translate the geography of with the speed of the enchanted carpet A physiclan and his wife have for some ing thelr horses over leagues of good they tarry there for several days. They made only by rail. may do this at There is a large contingent of home- in a superb valley rimmed about by the bined the luxury of a castle with the ap- . parent simplicity of a cabin. From the ‘verandas one surveyed a glorious pros- pect of forest, cloud and hill, and indoors there was everything to minister to the most refined taste, while the ample fire- place within and the flower garden with- out left nothing to be desired. “This segms like a bit of heaven,” I said “Oh,” replied the weary owner, “peo- ple tell me so, but we never spend more than three wi here during the year. We have four other places, and we try to go the round in the season when we are on this side the water. On the nqu. ‘we are oftener abroad than at ome.” <1 Poor things! With all their wealth and luxury they were simply vagrants, “without the real freedom of the tramp, who snatches a meal and a bed where he may and Mves under the open sky. Our wealth has produced a class of restless folk, who can never stay long in one place. What is a summer journey to them? It merely empha- sizes the ennul of a life in which things have surpassetl all prerogatives and made their possessors slaves. As Em- erson has pithily said: “Things are in the saddle and ride mankind.” It isn't true for all of us, but it is a mournful truth for some. . s . To those who are fond of the water the ideal summer trip is not by land at all, but in some roomy sailboat, where there is space enough with close. packing for everybody to sleep, where charmed hours are spent in scudding before the wind, and nobody minds that now and again drowsy hours are passed in Inaction, when the wind ceases and the sloop or schooner is becalmed. Never are there such appetites for homely food as thase have wno take this water trip. The air ruffies the waves of the bay is pur- 1ty itself. Pallid cheeks take on the color of the rose, tired eyes grow bright, fret- fulness and irritability are exorcised, health returns to the Invalid, and the mystic tle’of ily life and family love | asserts itself In subtle strength and ten- derness. A summer trip of this kind. if properly managed, may be very Inexpensive, and if the blood of sallor forefathers still lin- gers in the veins of their descendants, every hour off shore will be filled to the brim with a keen pleasure that almost approaches ecstasy.