~~ GOOD NEws. ~~ 189 NEVER MIND IT. (each idec nicl BY MRS, M. A. KIDDER. ee Never mind it; You will find it Better in the end. Hot words spoken, Yows, soon broken,§ Never make or mend. Trust not feeling— Better healing For a wounded soul Is the sweetness And completeness, Gained by self-control. Never mind it; Do not bind it On your stricken heart ; Cast it hither— Let it wither— Nobly do your part! ——____.¢—0-—_@—_ SWIPES; OR, f THE Worst Boy IN THE WARD. By “FRANK,” Author of “Smart Aleck,’ etc. eeepc pene 4 Ay sate ma pS” was commenced in No.1. Back numbers ri tained of all News Agents.] pa Se eens! NUMBER TWELVE. SWIPES IN THE COUNTRY. DILAPIDATED looking specimen i) y of humanity was Professor Cicero ish allus as he slowly picked himself t godt been ie from the lawn, where he had ided % Bush, hrown by the gay and festive Mr. nelof “At hi and gazed about him. 18 best the professor would not put nv) Vi Ls, of yo taken the prize at an exhibition of : Tt) Such th auty, but now his appearance was e prick » la hi at even Swipes stood appalled. us andl foong th haste to leave the house, when he ‘ “thas his society was not desired, he fnereul the sayielectied to open the window, and 0%) Ue. >, NOW hung gracefully around his ‘ His face and hands had been cut apd places; his coat was in rib- | HY I van Psi Metohen” altogether, he was about as gy off, Sy Sen j Seen, a looking being as had been 2 those parts in many a day. 1e cla } ed hi bi ¢ ver} De his eyes upon Swipes with a in wa derea expression, but said not a | prove "| Uist yy) Evidently he did not yet realize rst-clay y “Ro? at had occurred. tbo € Lawd’s sake!” exclaimed Rain- put 1 yy ON, the? it What : dow? "4 Doyppnt appears to be the matter, Rain- Mquired Swipes, calmly. of 8 i ow nd l “—wha’ de matter, sah?” gasped g £0 i aihegro ; ed Thats’ aptily oo hats What I said.” He i off Dj ’ iad 2 we t yo’ see dat gemman, sah?” adwa, i “Ww at gentleman?” d #6) Ming,* fat gemman w’at fall out 0” dat OM gee Py er, Sah ’ 4 ; » tow I see what 3 3 28 oo mean,” smiled N dia Why, Rainbow, that gentle- "t 0, Rah ¥ fall out of the window.” : Y, certain! t.' That’s th eal ainly not. at’s the wa re Rives a house.” r . Corgan So, sah?” And Ily itis. He was born that way, hever been able to overcome the “" Rainbow f’ fi pmnustn’t stand here talking all ,gbter angen cass unfortunate gentleman , you Md abr ’Pes hurried toward the luck- 1 yous ion, Ssor, followed by his dusky com- kes a i 8 ize jigrtessor had not yet begun to re- Rize at What had happened to him. He opProge Swipes and the darky as they Nog, Che him with a dazed expression sMttnance with a ed express b Mies. h S happened, professor?” asked et Tay’ an, Is anything wrong?” mi nye in ve ing wrong?” gasped the old “Othin litter sarcasm. “Do I look as if Rely» “8S wrong, or do I not?” ‘bow. hplied Swipes, as, assisted by “ion't t of th € hurried the professor out of ring ben Been g ROMS, “I should judge from Mae eee Berar that there had : ityqutttoa disaster of unparalelled ey, 10 the neighborhood, and that that sue of the victims. C But, know- is not the case, I am at a loss n . om Nase. What can have brought you to r & Dp! e ; Gi tten, Tl] tell you,” howled Pro- ta US, beginning to pull himself atre little.“ “IT have been the victim 0 ae assault.” : 2 | Xrac Lessor?” gasped Swipes, wit e egasion of the utmost horror. » Cicero Gallus. Gus I was seated in ‘tin. -260n’s parlor, engaged in con- 4% when!” aor al Pes, See it all now!” exclaimed 18, Neh’. Wanting the darky. to hear pe tions , »ut this is no time for ex- 4 ¥ isn’t ity” demanded the professor. “Because it isn’t. You are in deadly peril.” “ Eb gr” “T mean what I say, professor. We want to make tracks out of this the quick- est way we know how.” “But,” howled the old man, “I’m not going until I have reduced the wretch who assaulted me to an rt powder.” “If you hesitate another moment you are lost!” cried Swipes, in a thrilling whis- er. “W—what do you mean?” demanded the professor. “What I say. Come, professor, come,” | and the youth almost dragged his com- panion down the graveled walk. Rainbow, who had been listening with | an air of intense astonishment, interposed } with: ; “B—but, gemmans!” “Well, what is it?” asked Swipes. “Yous ain’t a-goin’ dat way, is yous?” His extended hand, and the gleam in his eye, told the two travelers that a tip would be the proper caper. But Professor Gallus had no cash, and it was not es day for dispensing charity. The youth, how- ever, was, as usual, equal to the occasion. “That’s all right, Rainbow,” he said, with an agreeable smile. “We'll be back in a few minutes.” “Am dat so, sah?” “Certainly it is. We are going to stay here a week or two. Just now we are going to take a stroll down the road to get the air. S’ long, Rainbow.” And the unprincipled Swipes dragred Professor Gallus, nearer dead than alive, down the walk. He wanted to get him “But if you return now you are lost.” “No; I’m _ not. lost, either,” maintained the professor, who had not yet lost all the “Dutch courage” which his copious liba- tions aé dinner had given him. “Cicero Gallus has never seen the time when he could not defend himself.” “Yes, I know you are a very brave man,” admitted Swipes; “but what is the use of putting your valuable life in un- mecessary peril? You’d better wait until the lunatic is out of the way before you go back to the house. Besides, you could not present yourself to Mrs. Gufferton in this plight.’ The old man gazed at himself with a sorrowful expression of countenance, and then ‘said, hesitatingly : “T don’t know but you’re right, Swipes.” “Of course I am. omen fear, professor, ou will have another chance to make ove to the widow, and you’d better wait until you have had a chance to lay upa while for repairs.” “TI will follow your advice, Swipes.” “That’s right, professor.” “But I can’t go about in this way. Oh, this is awful! Here I am, a fugitive from justice, far from home, and without even acoat to my back. Oh, that accursed duel !” “Don’t fret,” counselled Swipes, consol- ingly. “You'll come out all right. We'll see if we can’t get you a coat.” “se How?” “Why, we'll stop at the next house and ask for one.” “And get the dog set on us.” “No danger. The sight of dog.” = => i a SNS Se SSS = = <5 = SS a = S Soe = = U - = aA Se Ss ~ SS AS — > SSS =< Ss SS SSS SSS Yh) S Sa Ss SS SSS Ss = —S SSS Sees ——= SS SS —= —S SS Ss = >s SSS ne SS SSS =S = — = a = = i CLINGING TO THE PROFESSOR’S THUMB WAS A SNAPPING TURTLE, WHICH SOME PERSON OR PERSONS UNKNOWN HAD PUT IN THE BOOT. out of the way before Mr. Rusher discov- ered that he had “bounced” the oe man, and came out to explain matters an apologize, as he probably would. In this the youth was successful, and in a very few minutes he and his companion were at a safe distance from the house. “Saved, saved!” he exclaimed, striking an attitude. The professor stared at him in hopeless bewilderment. “What in the name of all that’s great and good does this mean?” gasped the wretched old man. “TI will explain,” said Swipes. “Don’t you know who the man that assaulted you was?” “No, of course, I do not.” “Did you not suspect that he was a madman?” “A madman, Swipes?” — “Yes, an escaped lunatic.” “Ts it possible?” “Of course it’s possible.” “But how do you know this?” and the professor fixed a penetrating gaze upon the face of his young companion. “Oh, the darky, Rainbow, was telling me all about him. He’s Mrs. Gufferton’s brother.” “Ts that so?” “Tt is.” “Well,” said the old man, bracing up a little. “I’m going back to the house.” “Going back!” exclaimed Swipes, with an expression of horror. “Yes, going back. I was getting along famously with the widow when that un- fortunate interruption occurred. It is the ‘chance of a lifetime for me, and I’m not going to give it up.” “You are disrespectful, Swipes.” “T didn’t mean to be, Professor Gallus. T’ll ask for a coat for you, and you can bet I’ll get it, too.” “You have the nerve of a sewing- machine agent, Swipes,” said the old fos- sil, half admiringly, “but you won’t get that coat.” “Yes, I will. Just watch me.” The professor did watch, expecting to see the youth “fired.” But Swipes me a ot left, and he did not on this occasion. te told the woman who came to the door some pathetic story that he invented on the spur of the moment, and to the aston- ishment of the old man, who was con- cealed behind a tree at the roadside with an eye on the house, the coat was forth- coming. It was a peey decent coat, too, and as luck would have it, fitted the old man quite well. “Well, Swipes,” he said, “if I had your all ao be a millionaire to-day. But see ere |” “What?” “There’s something in the pocket of the coat.” “Haul it out.” The professor did so, and it proved to be a roll of bills. “Hoop la!” shouted the old man, for- getting his dignity. “I’m in luck this time. Five—ten, fifteen—why, Swipes, there are eighteen dollars here *” “Ts that so, professor? Well, of course, you want me to take it back.’ “Er—no, Swipes, I do not. I shall con- sider this money in the light of a loan, to Here is a house now. ‘be repaid whenever I receive the money ou would | scare the senses out of any well regulated from England which is certain to be mine in time.” “Just as you say, professor. But it strikes me that half of that pile is mine.” “ —yes, my boy,” hesitated the old man. “I acknowledge the justice of your claim.” “Then hand over the money.” “Here is a dollar on account. The rest you shall have at my earliest convenience. Just now, as you are aware, I need all I can raise.” “All right, professor,” returned the ac- commodating Swipes. “Well, what are you going to do now?” “T shall now,” replied the old man, who, now that he had a few dollars in his pocket, began to feel that he was an indi- vidual of some importance, “seek a place of shelter. Look at me—don’t I look as if I needed rest?” “You do, indeed; and you need a bath retty badly, too. You are covered with blood and mud,” “Very true, Swipes. Where can I go?” _ “There is asmall hotel up the road a little way. Suppose you go there?” “Very good.” “T’ll show you the way; I’ve been here before.” In a few minutes they reached the hotel, where the professor’s appearance created a sensation, as may be imagined. He explained his condition by saying that he had been thrown from a horse, and demanded a bath. In a short time it was ready, and the old man locked him- self in the room, leaving his boots outside to be polished. One might have thought that the youth had had fun enough for one day at the un- lucky old professor’s expense, but we re- gret to say that he hadn’t. He was on the lookout for more, and had begun to feel very unhappy because he could not see any way in which he could add to the old professor’s misery when he espied one of the employees of the hotel sauntering through the hall with the old man’s boots under his arm. “What have you got there?” he inquired, with an insinuating smile. “Tt’s de old gentleman’s boots,” was the reply—“him as you’re wid.” “Oh, is that so?’ returned Swipes. “Well, give them to me; I will place them at his door.” Our hero did place them at the pro- fessor’s door but not until he had had a little fun with them. Swipes was a great admirer of the beauties of Nature, and he spent some time in admiring them while the old man was at his bath, and we regret to say that he brought some of them into the house with him. The beauties of Nature are all right in their place, but there are times when the artificial condition of the society of the present day being taken into considera- tion, they are a little out of place. To illustrate our meaning let us inform our readers what occurred when the pro- fessor had finished his bath. The old man was feeling in first rate condition. He had, as far as possible, re- moved from his person all traces of ‘the recent affray, and once more began to feel like the Professor Gallus of yore. Humming amerry air, he opened his door and took in his boots. “A very good shine,” he murmured, as he surveyed them with a pleased smile. “Really, the attendance in this house is remarkably good, remark——” He did not finish the sentence. Other matters engrossed his attention at this mo- ment. He was engaged in pulling on his right boot, and had become aware that some obstacle had interfered with the progress of his foot. “What the mischief is that?” he mut- tered, as he gave the strap an extra strong pull. The next moment he uttered a howl, and.as he did so the air was filled with an odor the nature of which could not be mistaken. ; The professor pulled off his boot in much quicker time than he had put it on, and an egg dropped out. ; It was nota modest, unobtrusive egg, which shrank from contact with the rude world; on the contrary, it was an egg so venerable and case-hardened that it giori- fied in its shame. It was an egg which had evidently seen much of the world, and had become wearied of life. It had long since seen the vanity of all things here below, and had acquired a taste for higher things. What it wanted was rank, and it had got it. It was very, very rank. It was an egg which in its younger and happier days might have been the ob- served of all observers. It might at one . time have been an ornament to society, but at the time of which we write it was only fitted to pose as, the leading attrac- tion of some not over-particular morgue. In other words, it was an egg with flow- ing whiskers on it, and the old professor recognized it at sight. He was in the habit of dining at a Third avenue restaurant, and he was well ac- quainted with the family. | It was an egg of an affectionate nature,