THE END.
People began to remember that they had not seen their silent and
singular little poet since the death and burial of the Gopher.
Surely he was ill. At all events, the Widow went boldly and regularly
now to his cabin. And to the credit of the camp, be it said, it at last
began to look with toleration on these missions to the humble vine-clad
hermitage of the sad and lonesome little poet.
Only once more he came out and sat by the door, pale and dreamy and full
of mystery.
The schoolmaster, not an unkindly man, stopped a moment with his book
and slate under his arm, as he led a little girl by the hand, and
looking into the palid face before him, said:
"It is a hard old world, Billie. A hard old world. At best we have to
belabor the old earth; beat her to make her give us bread."
"Beat her!" The little thin hands clasped and lifted as if in prayer.
"Belabor my dear mother Earth? Why, she gave us birth, she gives us all
our bread, she gives us all that is beautiful and good. She will take us
again to her bosom. I will pray to Earth, that I may have rest on her
tranquil breast."
The schoolmaster passed on, and the sad little dreamer arose with
difficulty, and passed for the last time from the light of the sun.
When the schoolmaster walked by next morning the door stood open. The
little girl looked in, and then ran away as if afraid. Did she see with
her child vision the face of death? The Schoolmaster, perhaps fearing to
compromise his character by any association with this singular being,
hurried on after the little girl, and did not turn around or look back
till he had set foot over the sill of the little log school-house on the
hill. His heart was beating very wildly. He had said nothing, he had
heard nothing, he had seen nothing. But somehow the man's heart was
beating with a strange terror, and he wanted to turn back and enter the
cabin, and speak once more to the lonely little sufferer.
The man called his school to order, however, took off his coat, hung it
up behind the door, ran his two hands through his hair, time and again,
but failing to pacify himself by this means, called out a little boy,
and flogged him soundly.
He afterwards remembered that there was a black cat sitting in the door
as he passed, quietly washing her face, yet at the same time looking
intently at him out of her green eyes.
The heroes of the world are women. The women, as a rule, have done the
great deeds of valor. Men, however, have written the histories and
appropriated a great deal indeed to themselves.
I know very well that in a certain kind of noisy heroism man makes a
great mark, and instances of valor, even in a quiet way, where man
fights his battle alone and in the dark, without the observation or
applause of the world, are not wanting. But the great battles, in
darkness and disgrace, where death and ignominy waited, the small-great
battles, the heart the battle-field, where no friend would come, where
no pen should chronicle, these silent fights have been fought and won by
women.
Understanding all this I can understand why the Widow chose to bear all
the reproof, and let her friend, the refugee, the dreamer, the "Poet,"
live and die unknown and in peace.
The next morning as the Schoolmaster came by, with the little girl
sliding up close to his legs, on the opposite side from the cabin, the
Widow with a face of unutterable sadness was outside trying to tie a
piece of something black to the door-latch.
The man lifted his hat, and came reverently and slowly forward.
There was no need of saying anything now. He understood it all, and
after assisting her in silence to do the office of respect for the dead
within, he took the little girl's hand again in his, turned to go, took
a few steps forward, and then stopping and turning around, again lifted
his hat and said softly to the Widow:
"I will stop at the saloon and send up some of the boys to take charge
of the body and prepare it for the grave."
"No," sighed the Widow in a voice that was scarcely heard above the
beating of her heart, "No, George," and she came slowly and calmly up to
the man and stood there with her white face lifted close into his. "No
George, you will go back to the house, and get your mother and your
sister to come and help me now at the last. For it is a woman that lies
dead there in that little vine-covered cabin."
The woman had kept the woman's secret. She had given her life as it were
for the life of another. But now that all was over; the whole story was
to be written in the single name on the little granite gravestone. It
was the name of NANCY WILLIAMS.
THE END.
PUBLICATIONS OF JANSEN, MCCLURG & CO.
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.
CATON.--A Summer in Norway, with Notes on the Industries, Habits, etc.,
of the People, the History of the Country, the Climate and Productions,
and of the Red Deer, Reindeer, and Elk, by Hon. J. D. Caton, LL.D.
"The tone of the book is frank, almost colloquial, always
communicative and leaves a favorable impression both of the
intelligence and good nature with which the author pursued his
way through unknown wilds. * * They are excellent specimens of
terse and graphic composition, presenting a distinct image to
the mind, without any superfluous details."--_New York
Tribune_.
'The book of travels, which Judge Caton has presented to the
public, is of a high order of merit, and sets forth the
interesting natural phenomena and popular characteristics of
the land of the 'unsetting sun' with great strength and
clearness."--_Boston Post._
"He is, as far as we know, the first foreign traveler who has
given anything like a correct statement of the nature of the
union between Norway and Sweden."--_The Nation._
CHARD.--Across the Sea, and Other Poems. By Thos. S. Chard.
"This little gem of a book is one of the best instances of
_multum in parvo_ that has been furnished the reading public in
a long time. * * The poetry is of a kind not often seen
now-a-days; it is of the soul, and reads as though given by
inspiration. * * There is a mysticism in the little book, which
reminds us of the 'Lotus Eaters' or 'Festus.'"--_The Alliance._
CLEVELAND.--Landscape Architecture, as applied to the wants of the West;
with an Essay on Forest Planting on the Great Plains. By H. W. S.
Cleveland, Landscape Architect.
"My object in these few pages is simply to show that, by
whatever name it may be called, the subdivision and arrangement
of land for the occupation of civilized men, is an art
demanding the exercise of ingenuity, judgment and taste, and
one which nearly concerns the interest of real estate
proprietors, and the welfare and happiness of all future
occupants."--_Extract from Preface._
CRAWFORD.--A Few Thoughts for a Few Friends. By Miss Alice Arnold
Crawford.
"There is about these poems an air of trusting faith, of gentle
tenderness, as if of one who, soaring upon the confines of a better
life, had longed to leave some sweet remembrance here. They stand
forth from the way-side of poetic literature like some peaceful
chapel robed in ivy, where the dead are strewn with flowers, and
the living steal in the shadows of the evening to seek a rest from
weariness and pain."--_Inter-Ocean._
FOYE.--Tables for the Determination and Classification of Minerals Found
in the United States. By James C. Foye, A.M., Professor of Chemistry and
Physics, Lawrence University, Appleton, Wisconsin.
"Following Dana, our chief American authority, and gathering
aid from various distinguished European writers, this brief
manual aims to furnish the student with such help as is needed
in order to determine and classify the minerals of the United
States. Some useful hints as to apparatus, and suitable notes
upon other matters, precede the tables."--_Journal of
Education._
GILES.--Out from the Shadows. A Novel; by Miss Ella A. Giles.
"Miss Giles' first work has had a very large sale, and has
attracted the attention of readers and critics throughout the
country. Her second book gives evidence of the ripening powers
of the authoress, and shows the improvement which she has made
as a writer, and a mastery of style and effect which are really
uncommon."--_Milwaukee News._
"The characters are all well conceived, and the story is
pleasantly written." _Inter-Ocean._
GILES.--Bachelor Ben. A Novel; by Miss Ella A. Giles.
"A story of great descriptive and analytic mastery. * * A
master-piece of free and natural handling of human life, and
marks a new departure in fiction, in that the hero never
marries, and the author has attempted to group the sympathies
of readers about an unconventional man."--_Home Journal_ (New
York).
"The book is refreshingly guiltless of all superfluous
characters. The tone is good throughout. The moral
apparent."--_Chicago Times._
HALL.--Poems of the Farm and Fireside. By Eugene J. Hall.
"In vigor and pathos they are certainly equal--we should say
superior--to Carleton's Farm Ballads; in humor scarcely
inferior to the Biglow Papers."--_Interior._
"There is a nobility of mind even among the toilers of the land
too often overlooked, and for this reason we like the flavor of
these poems, because they smell of the field and forest, as
well as portray the inner life of society at the
fireside."--_Pittsburgh Commercial._
HEWITT.--"Our Bible." Three Lectures, delivered at Unity Church, Oak
Park, Ill., by Rev. J. O. M. Hewitt.
"This volume is rich in erudition and conspicuously clear in
the enunciation of the objections to the orthodox idea of an
inspiration which makes it infallible in all
particulars."--_Chicago Journal._
LAMARTINE.--Graziella; a Story of Italian Love. Translated from the
French of A. De Lamartine by James B. Runnion.
"'Graziella' is a poem in prose. The subject and the treatment
are both eminently poetic. * * * It glows with love of the
beautiful in all nature. * * * It is pure literature, a perfect
story, couched in perfect words. The sentences have the rhythm
and flow, the sweetness and tender fancy of the original. It is
uniform with 'Memories,' the fifth edition of which has just
been published, and it should stand side by side with that on
the shelves of every lover of pure, strong thoughts put in
pure, strong words. 'Graziella' is a book to be
loved."--_Tribune._
MASON.--Mae Madden. A Story; by Mrs. Mary Murdoch Mason, with an
introductory poem by Joaquin Miller.
"There is hardly a page in which you may not find some bright,
fresh thought; some little generalization full of the flavor of
true wit, or some charming description, deliciously feminine,
and running over with the spirit of poetry."--_Cincinnati
Times._
"We have read this little book with great pleasure. * * * It
frequently reminds us of Mr. Howell's delicately constructed
stories, and in it, as in a mirror, we see reflected that true
refinement and culture of the author's mind."--_New Haven
Palladium._
MASON AND LALOR.--The Primer of Political Economy, in Sixteen
Definitions and Forty Propositions, by A. B. Mason and J. J. Lalor.
"We know of no other work anywhere of sixty pages that begins
to give the amount of information on the subject that has been
put with such remarkable clearness into these sixty
pages."--_Hartford Courant._
"For a short and comprehensive treatise, we know of nothing
better than 'The Primer of Political Economy.' The information
is conveyed in a very concise and happy manner. The style is
perfectly transparent, and the illustrations admirably chosen.
We venture to believe that not a quarter of the men in the
Lower House of Congress know as much about Political Economy as
can be learned from this compact and interesting little
treatise."--_Christian Register._
MILLER.--First Fam'lies of the Sierras. A Novel; by Joaquin Miller.
A most graphic and realistic sketch of life in a mining canon
in the very earliest days of California. The rough heroes and
heroines are evidently drawn from life, and the dramatic scenes
are full of thrilling interest. Bret. Harte has never worked
this rich vein of American life to better advantage.
MUeLLER.--Memories; A Story of German Love. Translated from the German of
Max Mueller, by Geo. P. Upton.
"'Memories' is one of the prettiest and worthiest books of the
year. The story is full of that indescribable half-naturalness,
that effortless vraisemblance, which is so commonly a charm of
German writers, and so seldom paralleled in English. * * *
Scarcely could there be drawn a more lovely figure than that of
the invalid Princess, though it is so nearly pure spirit that
earthly touch seems almost to profane her."--_Springfield
(Mass.) Republican._
McLANDBURGH.--The Automaton-Ear and Other Sketches. By Miss Florence
McLandburgh.
Any one of the many who have read "The Man at Crib," "The
Automaton-Ear," or "The Anthem of Judea," which have been so
widely copied in various periodicals, will look with the
highest anticipations to this author, who is no less gifted
than she is original and eccentric.
SWING.--Truths for To-Day. _First Series._ By Professor David Swing.
"The preacher makes no display of his rich resources, but you
are convinced that you are listening to a man of earnest
thought, of rare culture, and of genuine humanity. His forte is
evidently not that of doctrinal discussion. He deals in no nice
distinctions of creed. He has no taste for hair-splitting
subtleties, but presents a broad and generous view of human
duty, appealing to the highest instincts and the purest motives
of a lofty manhood."--_New York Tribune._
SWING.--Truths for To-Day. _Second Series._ By Professor David Swing.
This volume will contain the latest discourses of Prof. Swing,
some of them preached at the Fourth Church, but most of them
spoken at the Theatre to the New Central Church. It is
universally conceded that these are the finest efforts he has
ever made, and the general demand for their preservation in
more permanent form than the newspaper reports, has led to
their issue in this volume. They are selected, revised and
arranged for publication by Prof. Swing himself.
SWING.--Trial of Prof. Swing. The _Official Report_ of this important
trial.
"It constitutes a complete record of one of the most remarkable
ecclesiastical trials of modern times."--_Boston Journal._
"This volume will be a precious bit of history twenty-five
years hence, and its pages will be read with mingled interest
and surprise."--_Golden Age._
End of Project Gutenberg's First Fam'lies of the Sierras, by Joaquin Miller