LITERATURE.

Globe, Volume VIII, Issue 1005, 14 September 1877, Page 3

LITERATURE.

MARY CARROLL,

[“ Dublin University Magazine.”] { Continued )

At school it was the same, all the prizes were won by Edward ; all the punishments came to William, till at last he began to hate the very sight of the poor boy, who would only have been too glad to assist him in his tasks if he had allowed him ; but all whose advances were met in sullen silence or with bitter taunts, till at length he ceased to offer his services, While his father lived, William JBassett dared not openly exhibit his ill will to O’Hara, who, on leaving school, was fortunate enough to attract the notice of a lawyer in his native town, who, offering him a place in his office, promising to educate him to his own profession. The offer was most thankfully accepted, both by Mr Bassett and Edward himself, who, at the time my story commences, had held his situation with credit for several years, and seemed to bs in a fair way of entering into partnership with his employer. When Mr Bassett died, the orphan whom he had adopted found himself owner of a handsome little dwelling in the town of L , together with a small yearly income. This, of course, but added to the ill-will which William already entertained towards him, so that nothing was wanting, hut the knowledge that Vie was also his rival in love, to complete his enmity. Had he not cared for Mary Carroll (which he really did) independently of the hope of getting hold of her fortune, which, from his spendthrift habits, had become very desirable the tt ought of taking her from Edward O’Haia weuld have given zest to the pursuit’; so, with a bitter oath, he turned homewards that evening, swearing fiercely to himself that she should be his wife; no matter what means he should be obliged to employ in order to accomplish his purpose. It was two or three evenings aftewarda, and Edward O’Hara, after closing his office, strolled towards the river, to enjoy the beauty of the night before returning to his solitary abode. He was tall and handsome, with a*frank, fearless face, and honest brown eyes. Altogether, his appearance was prepossessing enough to justify the choice of Mary Carroll, of whom he was thinking as he sauntered along, and towards whose dwelling his steps seemed tending. A light touch on the arm and a few whispered words arrested his attention ‘ Is that you, Mr O’Hara ? I would like to have a few words with you, if convenient. ’ Edward recognised the speaker instantly ; he was a man named Smith, who had lived with Mr Bassett, and who still worked for William. The man bad always been friendly to him, so Edward held out his hand with a few words of kindly greeting. ‘ Hush ! Mr Edward,’ said the man, ‘don’t stop to talk with me now, but step quietly down to the brink of the, river, and I will follow you ; I have something to tell you.’ Edward nodded, and in a few minutes was walking by the river. The man soon joined him. * I am so glad to have met with you, Mr Edward,’ ‘Why, Smith, what is a trouble to you ?’ ‘ I hardly know how to tell you, Mr Edward, but the master is up to some villany, and as I think that it concerns you, I want to give y»u a hint about it, so that, maybe, you will be able to upset this plot of his.’ ‘ What plot do you mean. Smith ? for I do not know what you are talking about.’ ‘ Hush, sir, and do not interrupt me, as I have only s, few minutes to spare ; he does not like me to be away from him long, for 1 think he does not more than half trust noe ; ' ami ii he saw me speaking to ytm ho would

be sure to suspect me, and would most likely turn me away. The master has planned to carry off Miss Carroll and marry her by force. Some of his good-for-nothing comrades are coming to help him, and I must be there too, though God kuows 1 would rather hinder than help him, especially as I know that you are after the girl yourself, sir ’ Astonishment almost took away the breath of Edward O’Hara, and he staggered like one who had received a blow, for reckless and unscrupulous as he knew William Bassett to be, he would never have imagined him capable of an act like this. ‘ Great Heavens !’ he exclaimed, ‘can this be true? Or am I dreaming? Can such villany be possible ?’ Then, with a strong effort mastering his feelings, he turned to the man. ‘ Never mind about me, Smith, tell me all that you know about the plot; please God we shall be able to circumvent him yet, nnless he means to carry it out immediately. When was this nefarious business to come off, Smith ?’ ‘ As far as I could learn to-morrow night, sir; but as I was telling you, he does not more than half trust me, so he only told me not to be out of the way, as I might be wanted at any minute.’ ‘ How many people are likely to be employed in this outrage ?’ asked Edward, with wonderful calmness. ‘ About half a dozen, I think,’ said the man ; ‘but I must go now. If I find out anything more, I will try and take some means of informing you. ’ ‘ Thank you, Smith,’ said the young man warmly, ‘and if we are able to disappoint him, you shall have no cause to regret this generous warning. ’ ‘ I never thought of that, sir,’ said the man, turning away as he spoke ; ‘ but I should bo sorry to see the poor girl thrown away upon the like of him, ’ As soon as the man was gone, Edward O’Hara turned his steps towards Mr Carroll’s house. He could not rest without assuring himself of Mary’s safety, and he wished to inform her father of the threatened danger, and to consult with him what steps were to be taken to meet it. To his dismay he found Mr Carroll absent, he had gone to a distant fair, and would not be home until the next morning. Uneasy as he himself was, he could not bear to frighten Mary by a hint of her danger, considering that as the attempt would not be made until the next night, there would still be time enough to avert it. So, Avith a laughing warning to Mary and the servants to be sure that all the doors were well secured he departed, determining to intercept Mr Carroll on bis way homeAvards. Early next morning, he was walking along the road by -which Mr Carroll was to come, and had not long to wait. As soon as he perceived him, he pi oceeded to inform him of the warning Avhich he had received. Mr Carroll Avas terribly shocked, but never questioned the truth of the story, as unfortunately, abductions Avere only too common at that period, and William Bassett was just the kind of man to be engaged in one ; reckless and off-handed as he was, and so lavish in spending his money, he would not have much difficulty in securing the assistance of men as reckless as himself, to whom the very danger and dash of the undertaking, Avould be sure to prove a strong incentive. ‘ God help us, Edward,’ he said, as soou as he could speak, * Avhat is to become of us ? come home with me at ouce, nay, stay until I can collect my senses, for the shock has almost crazed me ; Jbut avc must see about gathering help to meet them.’ So Edward returned Avith him, but a terrible reception awaited them ; |everything in and about the house bore traces of an aAvful struggle. Every door was lying Avide open, and some of them torn from their hinges ; furniture every whereto verturned and brokeu, while articles of female apparel lay scattered here and there through the house in confusion ; but not a living creature was anywhere visible. Mr Carroll sank helpless into a chair, and covered his face Avith his hands, while poor EdAvard, himself almost heart-broken, tried in \ r ain to rouse him. At last, a faint stilled moan drew their attention to the kitchen, and there, securely bound to the foot of the table, and closely gagged, lay the female servant. As soon as the girl was released she informed them that late the preceding night, she and her mistress were sitting by the fire before getting ready for bed, when a loud knrek at the door startled them. Too much frightened to answer it, the girls sat in silence, when the man servant Avho had already retired to rest in the room above the kitchen heard it ret eated, and hastily throwing on some clothing, came doAvn to see what was the matter. As soon as he opened the door he reoeiA’ed a blow which stunned him, aud more than half a dozen rough-looking men, with white shirts over their clothes, and black masks upon their faces, rushed into the kitchen. Miss Carroll rose in alarm as they entered, but before she could del end herself, even if she had been able to do so, she Avas surrounded, and in spite of her struggles carried out of the house. As soon as she saw her mistress carried away, the girl said that she commenced to scream as loudly as she could for assistance, but tAvo of the ruffians seized her, and while their comrades proceeded to ransack the house gagged her, aud in spite of her resistance, tied her firmly to the foot of the table. (To he continued.) MR WEBB’S EXCURSION. (“ Detroit Free Press.”) If you had looked into the corridor at the Central Station the other day you would have seen a long, shiny nose sticking through the barred door of cell No. 4, and you might have heard a lonesome A'oice crying out—- ‘ Puttin’ me in here won’t make a bit of difference ! I’ll rip and tear all the harder when I git out!’ His name is Webb. He is the oldest son of an old farmer in Greenfield Township, He was in toAvn the other day Avith produce, and just as he Avas ready to leave the market a bey approached him and asked if he didn’t want to buy a church excursion ticket for half-price. It Avar? to be a beautiful excursion, the boy s?,i(V Avith ice-cream and lemonade, and handsome girls, and bashful widows all J, 0A T er the boat, and there avouM be soft ' music by the band, SAveet singing by the choir, and shadowy angels woukTbe hovering ■near to pick np the awful good children who tumbled overboard. ‘ I’m right there, bub,’replied the oldest I Ephj a& he wxmt down into hie vest for a

quarter ; and he further said that he’d been for years hankering to go on a boss excursion up the river The ticket read that the boat would leave her dock at sharp 9 o’clock a.m. <>u Thursday, i'he oldest sun wis in time He went to the foot of Woodward Avenue and kept his eye looking for the steamer -North west. He didn’t see any church deacons around. -No crowds of white robi d children surround id him. At ten o’clock the oldest son pulled out bis card, walked up to a knot of men, and remarked ‘ Has this excursion gone?’ ‘ That excursion,’ replied one of the men as he read the ticket, * took place three weeks ago this morning ’ ‘ And I’m left!’ ‘ Yes, sir—you are just twenty days and some odd hours too late.’ ‘ I paid two shillings for this ticket, ’ grimly observed the oldest son. ‘lt calls for an excursion. I’ve got bread and butter and ham and currants, and a pint bottle full of tea in this basket, and I’m going on the excursion or know the reason why.’ * There are several reasons why,’ laughed the crowd. * Gentlemen, trot out your steamboat!’ said Mr Webb. They laughed again. ‘Gentlemen, I give you just two minutes to pull your old steamer around here !’ More laughing. ‘ Gentlemen, I’m no blowhard. I want my rights, and I’m going so have ’em. I ain’t going to plank down two shillings in cash, sit up half a night to grease my boots, sew on buttons, and oil up my hair, ride twelve miles in an old waggon and find the boat gone, and not let folks know how I feel about it. Bring on your boat!’ ‘ We don’t own no boat,’ they answered. ‘Can’t help it—l hold you responsible. Puff your old boat around here or I’ll climb the whole town !’ He put down his bundle and went in, the odds being eleven to one. He hadn’t spit on his hands over three times before he was all twisted out of shape, and a gxd share of his body jammed into an old cheese-box. A policeman pried him out, untied the knots in his legs, smoothed out the kinks in his spinal column, and led him away to the station. ‘ Don’t that call for an excursion ?’ demanded Mr Webb, as he slammed his ticket down before the captain. ‘lt does, if I know how to read, and now where is the excursion ?’ ‘ Gone,’ was the brief answer. ‘Well, I hain’t gone. ‘l’m right here. I’m waiting for that boat, and if she dosen’t come I’ll wade up and down this town like a festive cyclone I I’ll give you just two minutes to put me aboard of the excursion 1’