THE STORYTELLER.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 345, 22 March 1910, Page 6

THE STORYTELLER.

BEFORE AND AFTER Sammy AVatkins halted outside tlio office door, which bore the gilded legend: "Lawrence Goodale —Real Estate." "This looks like a good one," said Sammy to himself. "There's something about that name which sounds promising . Without ever having seen him, I'll wager Mr. Goodale is a nice, easy-going gentleman, who'll listen to my proposition and turn me invay with a kind word and smile, even if he doesn't fall for my epiel. Here goes!" He pushed open the office door, soitly entered, and closed it after him. The stout, fiery-faced man seated at the roll-top desk did not much resemble the mental picture of a "nice, Gasy-going gentleman." Nevertheless, the young man was not abashed. "Mr. Lawrence Goodale, I presume/' lie began boldly, taking a seat near the desk without waiting for an invitation. "Let me know your business, and I'll ■tell you whether you presume or not, young man," growled the other, looking at Sammy suspiciously. "Ha! ha!" laughed Sammy. "Good joke that! I'm glad to see you're in such fine spirits, my dear Mr. Goodale. You're looking' splendid, too —a veritable picture of health, if I may be permitted to say so." "Huh! Did you come here to discuss my physical condition?" demanded the other angrily. "Yes, sir, I did. A man's physical condition is something well worth discussing, Mr. Goodale. A man ought to he thinking about his health all the time. Now, you're looking pretty good to-day; but in a week from now you may get caught fti the rain and contract a severe cold. Pnuemonia may develop, and in a few days your family may be deprived or " ; "Aw, cut it out!" interrupted Mr. Goodale angrily. 1 "I thought I had you sized up right. You've got something to sell, of course. Well, I don't care whether it's a patent medicine or a new kind of raincoat. Whatever it is, I don't want it. I'm very bus at, and you're wasting my time. Get out of my office before I throw you out. You pedlars are growing to ibe ail awful pest." "Pedlars!" cried Sammy reproachfully. "My dear Mr. Goodale, how could you? You do me a grave injustice, I assure -you. I am not a pedler." "What are you, then?" "An honored and respected representative of the greatest, wealthiest, and most liberal life insurance company in the world. That's what I am, sir; and I have come here to-day to make you one of the biggest and most generous propositions you have ever had placed betore you. I have come to tell you all about the new policy my company is issuing. Nothing like it has ever before been offered to the public. Everybody who hears about it jumps at the rOffe'r immediately. I am going to show y OU _» "You are going to show me how to close that door from the outside, young man," interrupted Mr. Goodale savagely. "I don't want to hear another word from you. I'm not interested in your new policy or your confounded company. I don't want any insurance. T hate insurance agents. Get out of here quick, before I lose raj temper and tirrow you down the elevator-shaft."

"Be calm, mv dear sir, 1 implore you," cried Sammy. "Just see how very easily you lose your temper. That's a convincing argument why you should take out one of our policies. People with quick tempers like yours seldom live to a great age." '"Confound you. you young loafer'" shouted the other, rising iwrathiully from his chair. "If you give me any more of your impudence, you'll regre! it. Are you going to leave this office immediately, or are you not?" "Of course I'm going to leave )*," replied Sammy calmly. "T couldn't very well take it with me, \ou know. I'll also ta"ke the liberty of leaving you one of mv business cards. PeThaps, later on, you may change your mind." "If I change anything, it will lie the outline of your fresh face," declared Mr. Goodale, clenching his fist threateningly. "I'll change that so that your mother won't knn w it, ii you aren't out of here by the time I count five."

"I won't trouble you to count five, sir. The mental operation wight exhaust yon,'' rejoined Sammy. "I'll' go right now." He flew out of the place just in time to escape the ink-well which the enraged Mr. Goodale hurled at his head'.

"What a mean disposition that fellow has!" Sammy said to himself as he stepped into the eievator. "A man like that really doesn't deserve to i'ave one of our life insurance policies." ■x 11. Fifteen minutes later the door of Mr. Lawrence Goodale's office again opened, and a 'bearded, professional-looking man entered. "Have [ the pelasure of addressing Mr. Goodale?" he enquired. "That's my name, sir," snapped the real-estate man, who was still boiling with rage. "Who the deuce ire you? Another pesky insurance agent?" "Sir, how dare you?" cried che beards ed man indignantly. "I am Dr. Philip Francis B:u ton-Jones, of Mineola, Long Island, and I came here to buy some metropolitan real estate. You were recommended to me by a friend, and I intended to transact my business through you; but, since you are so insulting, I will go ——" "Excuse me, doctor," said Goodale humbly. "1 apologise. The fact is I didn't "realise what i was saying. There was a fresh insurance agent in here a ; short while ago, and he provoked me so much that I was half crazy when you came in. Please forgive me ami let «s talk about this real estate you desire to purchase. I am confident I can supply you with exactly what you are looking for."

The physician was mollified by these words, and permitted Mr. Goodale to bring out his maps and give libn the dotails of some fine bargains he had to offer. Dr. Burton-Jones became greatly interested m a Harlem apartment-house, and declared he would look into the proposition and let Mr. Goodale know his decision within a few daj-s. . The real-estate man was shaking hands effusively with his prospective customer, when suddenly the latter exclaimed excitedly. "Dear me, man! What is the matter? Are you ill?" "111! Why? Me? No. Why?" gasped the other in surprise. "Your face, my dear, sir. It is as white as chalk. It is positively ghastly. It turned that way all of a sudden. Have you ever had any trouble with your heart, Mr. Goodale?" "No—no,'- stammered the real-estate man, now greatly frightened. "Good heavens, doctor, do you suspect that there is anything senous"'the matter with me?" For reply, the physician suddenly took a stlieoscope from his pocket and [placed it against the other's chest. "Ah!" lie exclaimed with a very grave face. "It is as I suspected. Your heart is m bad shape. You ought to be very careful of yourself, Mr. Goodale." Then he departed, leaving a badly scared inan behind him. "My heart in bad shape!" sighed the real-estate man. "And 1 never suspected it. I suppose I'm liable to drop dead at any time. And I'm not insured, either. Good heavens, what's to become of my family?" The door of his office opened slowly, and Sammy Watkins entered. "Excuse me, Mr. Goodale; but I was passing 'oy. and I thought I'd drop in again to see whether you might not have changed your mind about that insurance policy." "Yes," cried Goodale, eagerly. " T have changed my mind, young man. I'll .take a twenty-thousand-dolhr policy with your company, if they'll have me." '"Fin!" cried Sammy complacently. "Sign this application-blank, sir, and I'll have our physician call if examine you light away." Mr. Goodale feared that th- 1 company's d(K"tor r.vould turn down his application be'Oause of his weak heart; hut, greatly to his surprise and joy, he •was passed as a first-class risk and the twenty-thousand-dollar policy delivered to him. "Guess that Dr. Burton-Jones was mistaken about my heart," he said to himself. "I'll fell him so when I see him again. It only goes to show how little these doctors know."

While he was thus reflecting, Sammv Watkins was remarking to a bosom friend: "It's really wonderful what a difference a false beard and a change of hats can make in a fellow's appearance. You see this beard here?" producing a mass of hair from his overcoat pocket, "well, it earned me a big commission today. I expect to use it a whole lot in future. One has to be up-to-date in the life-insurance game nowadays."

ROMANCE WITH A HAPPY ENDING MARRIAGE OP DR. GRENFELL. A courtship beginning two years ago and interrupted by many heart-breaking silences when the storms of the north oiten delayed love's messages has at last come to fitting climax. RoniaiK'e has seldom thrilled with a more magic setting than that which attended the event when Annie MacClanahan and ]>. Grenfell clasped hands and plighted love at the altar. A HERO IN REAL LIFE. The man a voluntary toiler among the (ignorant and wretched natives of an inmost unknown land, a hero in real life who has shared the pain and childish joys of his adopted people, and whose promising career is destined for ever to be obscured by humble sacrifices; the women g'earning eyed, slender, surrounded from childhood by courtiers and admirers from the ranks of the country's richest sons, but single purposed, and possessing a loyalty seldom recorded outside the pages of romance, the whole country will look on with interest, speculation and curiosity, but, above all, nvith respect and admiration. Women have gone out before to cast their lives in with men battling with the desolation ot remote corners of the globe, but seldom under the circumstances which surround Anne MacClanahan. She is giving up everything which to less romantic minds makes her life and happiness, but in her eyes the giving is as receiving. She candidly avows that the great Grenfell has won her heart by the dangers that he has been through. From the moment that they first met she asserts that the weather-beaten, brownfaced hero of the far north had won "lier heart and her mind. In her own words she frankly reveals the secret of her romantic love, than which there is nothing so great in all the world to her. THE MAN" SHE WANTED. "All my life, since the time I was a little girl, I have been interested in reading of men and women who have made sacrifices for the general weliare of mankind," recently said the girl who is the first American bride to pass her honeymoon in ice-bound Labrador. "I .realised when I became « young woman that if ever my heart were won the conqueror must "be more than a mere figure in society or a successful business or professional man. The men I met in society were charming and gentlemanly, and one could not but like them, but none of them seemed to comply with the requirements of my ideal. "Two years ago, travelling in Europe, I met Dr. Grenfell. I realised almost at once that my ideal had been found. We were much together. I often asked him about his work in Labrador.

" 'lt's glorious work; simply glorious,' he exclaimed. " 'But it isn't all pleasure?' I obj#cted. 'There must be many hardships, many days when you would give almost anything to be back in civilisation, to enjoy, lor instance, one good meal such as we have here in the cafes of Paris.' "He was silent for a little while. " 'Yes,' he admitted finally. 'There are times when I long to see the crowds in Paris and New i'ork, and read a Chicago or London newspaper before it has become yellow with age, bat I love work in Labrador, and I wonkl not give it up—no, not for anything.' THE GREAT QUESTION. "While we were together in Europe we were good friends; but the idea of marriage didn't occur to us at the time. Alter that it was a year before we met again. i returned to Chicago, and Dr. Grenfell to his work in Labrador. One day I received a letter stating that he was coming to Chicago. Of course. 1 was glaa, "During his visit here he was kept very busy lecturing to the students at Chicago University and preaching from the pulpits of many churches, John J. Mitchell, president of the Hinois Trust and Savings Bank, and many other persons gave dinners in his honor. There really wasn't much time for courtship, but absence had taught us {lie depth of our affection, and his proposal came as the most natural thing in the world. "Dr. Grenfell was reluctant to ask me to leave my relatives ami friends and make my home in but I knew tlwt not even his love would induce him to give up his work for the Labrador fishermen, and by this time I had become as eager as he to continue that work, so that the prospect of living at Battle Harbor was an incentive rather than a handicap to our romance. "I expect to spend the rest of my with my husband at Battle Harbor. If he would consent to give up his sclfsaerifieing work for my sake i never could marry him, for he would then fail to men sure up to my ideal." Anr'' MncClanahan has travelled extensively, ~i'i'! ■ >5 found time between her so< ial du":e* :o •.••edicine, surgery and cor. est'- s-.i-ntr. all of whicli will be useiul to ii..- assisting her husband in the north. DR. GRENFELL',S CAREER.

Wilfred T. Grenfell has been called the mose useful man on the North American Continent. He is, among other things, a graduate of Oxford, a surgeon, a missionary, and a world-fam-ed northern explorer. But these things are merely incidental to the graphic episodes and adventures with which his life has been tried since ■he first took up his residence in Labrador.

He began his life work on a mission iboat of the deep sea trawling lleet, in 1891.

He went to Labrado' to carry the Gospel to the deep-sea fishers in 1599.

He reached 20,000 fishermen on the coasts oi Labrador every year. He got from Andrew Carnegie thirty portable libraries to assist him in his work.

He has started a series of co-operative stores in the north.

He operates on patients anywhere, wherever called, without charge.

He carries his ether and instruments in one .pocket and his Bible in tin: other. He raises £2400 in New York and much more elsewhere every yo;u- for his work. Behind this array of facts there i- a world of strange and almost unbelievable adventure wherein his life has many times been a hazard, and as the result of which to-day thousands 01 helpless natives are liis lite-long miii devoted servants.

When Di. Grenfell earned his diploma his thirst for adventure, which had been all along maturing, led him to consult Sir Frederick Treves, whose interest procured for Mm the loan of a 97-ton sailing vessel. He was to go to the Labrador coast to see whether a doetor co.uld live among the der,p-sea fishermen and accomplish practical results in mitigating the hardships of their lot. In three months Dr. Grenfell and his hospital-gospel ship had 900 patients, to whom, without fear of denominational interference, they could commend their Gospel with their pills and plasters—the picturesque phrase is the doctor's own.

But they discovered besides a condition of poverty that appalled them. Dr. Greniell discerned the chief cnuse, but his iack ot experience made inm satisfled, for three years, to attempt to cope with nothing more than the hunger, tho nakedness, and the disease. ATTACK THE TRADERS. In 1890 he decided the time had come to attack the chief evil of the coast at its root. That evil was worse than the Shyloek extortion practised by the traders. The fishermen—the men who give the world the cod that is so important an article of food—were hemmed in by a score of more of petty monopolists who could have given the American "company store" with its pay orders a liberal education in blood draining. The poor wretches who dared the dangers of the seas were paid just as little by the local trader as would keep them alive, and sold their food at prices that would make any American 'food trust "blush. It was absolute waste of money to give charity to a people who were mortgaged for more than they could earn for years ahead and were being charged by their oppressors 28s or 32s for a 12s barrel of flour, and 12s for a barrel of salt that sold for 4s at St. John's. Dr. Grenfell started co-operative stores for the benefit of the poor, starved wretches, and immediately saw Jiis wealthy tradespeople quit his little congregations. This work, with the timber-cutting enterprise recently started to provide remunerative employment for the people in the winter, is a fundamental lal>or which Dr. Grenfell's missionary work has at last led him. It is, in effect, the rule of a Governor-General without a title or office, obedient to the laws of Canada, but now so emphatically established in tli2 control of trade and manufacture that Dr. Grenfell, its administrator, plays practically the part of beneficent .autocrat, a role in government which, when intelligence is combined with altruism, constitutes almost the ideal condition. Only last Tear he was rescued from an ice-floe, where, for forty hours adrift, he had fought of! a pack of hungermaddened sledce doss with the temperature lOdcg. below zero.