Belford's Magazine, Vol 2, December 1888

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BELFORD'S MAGAZINE

VOL II.

DECEMBER, 1888--MAY, 1889

CHICAGO, NEW YORK, AND SAN FRANCISCO

BELFORD, CLARKE AND COMPANY

PUBLISHERS

LONDON: H. J. DRANE, LOVELL'S COURT, PATERNOSTER ROW

COPYRIGHT, 1888.

BY

BELFORD, CLARKE & CO.

DRUMMOND & NEU,

_Electrotypers_,

1 to 7 _Hague Street_,

New York.

CONTENTS OF VOL. II.

PAGE

AMERICAN CONSULAR SERVICE, THE, _James A. MacKnight_, 849

AMERICAN EAGLE UNDER DIFFICULTIES, THE, _James Steele_, 55

AMERICA, THE KING OF: A Story, _John W. Bell_, 680

AMERICA'S ROMANCE: A Story, _Henry C. Wood_, 708

ANDY'S GIFT: A Story, _T. C. De Leon_, 172

BELLA'S BUREAU: A Story in Three Scares, _E. Delancey Pierson_, 360

CERTAIN ANCESTORS OF PRESIDENT CLEVELAND, 32

CHRISTMAS IN EGYPT, _Rose Eytinge_, 42

CHRISTMAS ROUND-ROBIN, _Celia Logan_, 1

COST OF THINGS, THE, _X._, 511

COUNTER, BOTH SIDES OF THE: Almost a Tragedy, _Fannie Aymar Mathews_, 350

COVENANT WITH DEATH, A: A Novel, complete, by _The Author of "An Unlaid Ghost,"_ 573

DEAD SHOT DAN: A Story, _W. J. Florence_, 26

DECLINE OF THE FARMER, THE, _J. F. H._, 641

DOCTOR MERIVALE: A Story, _Charles P. Shermon_, 811

DOES THE HIGH TARIFF AFFECT OUR EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM? _Emil L. Scharf_, 541

FIRST REGIMENT OF U. S. COLORED TROOPS, THE, _Catherine H. Birney_, 335

FOREIGNER, AN OBJECTIONABLE, _James W. Steele_, 690

FRENCH BALL, NIGHT OF THE, _Portland Wentforth_, 530

GOING, GOING, GONE: A Story, _Albert R. Haven_, 197

IDLENESS, STATISTICS OF, _Ethelbert Stewart_, 45

IS MARRIAGE A FAILURE? 230

IRAR'S PEARL: A Story, _Thomas S. Collier_, 324

JEN: A Backwoods Story, _W. H. S. Atkinson_, 832

JOE: A Story of Frontier Life, _Rosalie Kaufman_, 65

LION'S SHARE, THE: A Novel, complete, _Mrs. Clark Waring_, 252

MAUNDERINGS, _Paul Drayton_, 701

MYSTERY, A FAMILIAR, _James McCarroll_, 801

NEGRO "LIBERTINUS" IN THE SOUTH, THE, _Preston Connelly_, 827

NOVELISTS ON NOVELS, _J. A. Stewart_, 500

PIRATES ON BROADWAY, _John W. Watson_, 857

PRACTICAL FACTS FOR SENATOR EDMUNDS, A FEW, _W. C. Wood, M.D._, 321

QUEEN OF THE BLOCK, THE, _A. L. Kinkead_, 108

REVENGE, AN ECCENTRIC: A Novel, complete, _Convers Atwood_, 747

SEASONABLE FOOLS AND FOOLING, _Celia Logan_, 666

SHEBA, A PRINCESS OF: A Story, _James O. G. Duffy_, 651

SILK CULTURE, _D. Thew Wright_, 221

'SIXTY-FOUR, AN EPISODE OF, _Cee Ess_, 842

SNIPS FROM AN OCCASIONAL DIARY, _Coates Kinney_, 675

SPOILS SYSTEM, THE ROOT OF THE, _Edward V. Vallandigham_, 208

STORM ASHORE, A: A Novel, complete, _James H. Connelly_, 393

TRIBULATIONS OF ONE EBENEZER MEEKER, THE: A Novel, complete, _Elizabeth Cummings_, 887

UNCLE SCIPIO: A Story, _Celine McCay_, 213

VAGABONDS, A COUPLE OF, _James W. Steele_, 515

WEALTH AND ITS CONSEQUENCES, _N. G. Parker_, 481

WICKED LEGISLATION, _Clinton Furbish_, 161

YOUNG GIRL'S IDEAL, A: A Story, _Julia Magruder_, 484

POETRY.

APPEAL, THE, _Charles L. Hildreth_, 572

ASLEEP, _Charles P. Shermon_, 514

BELLS OF CHRISTMAS, THE, _W. E. S. Fales_, 54

BREAKING UP CAMP, _Beulah R. Stevens_, 719

CHRYSTMESSE WYSHE, A, _W. H. Wall_, 25

CONDEMNED, _Barton Grey_, 674

EPITAH; A QUEEN'S, _Sarah M. B. Piatt_, 510

FORGET ME NOT, _Thomas Hubbard_, 31

GREAT LIBRARY, FROM THE WINDOWS OF A, _John James Piatt_, 196

HOLY NIGHT, THE, _Helen G. Smith_, 64

HONOR OF AN ELECTION, THE, _George Parsons Lathrop_, 170

HYMN OF THE DEAD, THE, _Eli Shepperd_, 718

INTERNATIONAL COPYRIGHT, _Edgar A. Fawcett_, 826

IRISH NORAH TO ENGLISH JOHN, 359

MARCH 4th, 1889: A Sonnet, _Alfred H. Peters_, 543

MAY, _Zitella Cocke_, 841

MEMORY, A, _Paul Davis_, 529

MOUNTAIN, A SHOT ON THE, _J. W. Rumple_, 371

MUTUAL ADMIRATION SOCIETY: An Epigram, 679

OLD TUNE, THE, _Irene Putnam_, 349

PASSING OF THE YEAR, THE, _Charles L. Hildreth_, 251

RESULT, NOVEMBER 6th, 1888, THE, _James McCarroll_, 220

RONDEL, _Helen G. Smith_, 848

ROSARY, THE, _James McCarroll_, 960

RUDOLPH, _Alice K. Cooley_, 858

SKYLARK, A WORD WITH A, _Sarah M. B. Piatt_, 665

SLUMBER SONG, _Thomas Addison_, 960

SOLDIERS' DAY AT SHILOH, _Joel Smith_, 40

THISTLEDOWN, _Annie B. King_, 499

TROUBADOUR, THE, _Kate B. Sherwood_, 848

DEPARTMENTS.

EDITORIALS:

About the Ballot, 89

A Beautiful Life, 239

A Plea for the Parent, 84

Civil Service Reform, 723

More of Our Diplomacy, 863

Negro Enlistments and the Negro Element, 865

Our Diplomatic Absurdity, 379

Our Foreign Policy, 720

Our House of Lords, 377

Purifying the Polls by Law, 372

The Balance of Trade, 80

The Communism of Capital, 231

The Condition of Parties, 859

The Infamy of it, 233

The Infant Mind, 554

The Kingdom of Satan, 870

The Late Election, 77

The Mugwump Element, 374

The Old Tavern and the Modern Saloon, 727

The Pulpit Cult, 236

The Sale of the Presidency, 544

The Truth about Samoa, 551

Vacant Pews and Worried Pulpits, 547

PASSING EVENTS:

The political battle has been fought, 91.--The longest session of Congress ever held, 92.--The diplomatic world and Lord Sackville, 92.--England and Germany are contending for supremacy in East Africa, 92.--Russia came near losing her ruler, 92.--Austria is contemplating the occupation of Servia, etc., 93.--Emperor William has returned from his junketing tour. The Pope and Kaiser met face to face. A curious incident that happened, etc., 93.--In France the government proposals for a revision of the constitution, etc. The efforts of Manitoba to reach a foreign market, etc. The Haytian Republic. General Salomon. Wall Street Sharpers. American Cotton Oil Trust and Chicago Gas Trust. Mr. John Taylor of Chicago. Stanley has been heard from indirectly. The Will of Mrs. Stewart. The Directors of the Richmond Terminal Company, 94.--The Umbria and the Iberia. Explosion at Frontenac, Kansas. The Theatrical Season. Steve Brodie's remarkable jump. The famous Fox Sisters. Paintings of Vasili Verestchagin. Death of four well-known journalists, etc., 95.

THE PASSING SHOW:

New York winter festivities. The theatres crowded nightly, 242.--Mary Anderson at Palmer's Theatre. Edwin Booth and Lawrence Barrett at the Fifth Avenue, 243.--Agnes Booth at the Madison Square. "Little Lord Fauntleroy" at the Broadway. "Sweet Lavender" at the Lyceum.--"The Two Sisters" at Niblo's. "The Fugitives" at the Windsor, 244.--Nellie Farren and the London Gaiety Company. German Opera at the Metropolitan. "The Old Homestead" at the Academy. The "Brass Monkey" at the Bijou. Clara Morris in Brooklyn. Louis James and Marie Wainwright. Mr. Boucicault and the Madison Square Theatre School of Acting. Mr. Amberg's new theatre, Fifteenth Street. Dramatic Events Abroad, 245.--Mr. Walter Damrosch. The Liederkranz. Joseffy and Herr Rosenthal, 246.--Mr. Edwin Booth's gift to his brother actors. Miss Mary Anderson, a critic in a sensational publication, 384.--Mrs. James Brown Potter in "'Twixt Axe and Crown." Edward Harrigan's drama of "The Lorgaire." Adolph Müller's new comic opera, "The King's Fool." Attractions at Daly's. Herr Junkermann at the Amberg, 386.--First production of "Rheingold" at the Metropolitan. "The Huguenots," "L'Africaine," "The Messiah." Walter Damrosch, Theodore Thomas, and Anton Seidl, 387.--The Actors' Club and Mr. Robert Ingersoll. Mrs. Potter's _Cleopatra_ and Mrs. Langtry's _Lady Macbeth_, 557.--The leg-show of "Nadjy" at the Casino. Mrs. Langtry, again. Mrs. Potter and Kyrle Bellew in "Antony and Cleopatra." Mr. Coghlan as _Macbeth_, 559.--Nat Goodwin as _Gringoire_ in "A Royal Revenge." Mr. Scanlan in "Myles Aroon." "Running Wild" at the Star. "The Inconstant" at Daly's, with Ada Rehan as _Oriana_. "The Runaway Wife" at Niblo's. Richard Stahl's comic opera, "Said Pacha," 560.--"Sweet Lavender" at the Lyceum again. Mr. Whiffin, Mr. Kelcey, Mr. Miller; Elsie, Leslie in "Little Lord Fauntleroy," 561.--The season at the Metropolitan. "La Juive." Frau Lehmann, Herr Alvary, Herr Perotti, Frau Hanfstangl, Manager Frohman. Sale of the late Lester Wallack's stage costumes, 563.--Our novels and plays, 720.--Publishers, Managers, American authors, 730.--"The Gold Mine," 731.--E. J. Buckley, R. G. Wilson, Harry Eversfield, Kate Forsythe, and Ida Vernon. "A Midnight Bell." Eugene Canfield, Thomas Seabrooke. "The Cavalier" at Palmer's, 732.--"Ray" at the Fourteenth Street Theatre. Maggie Mitchell. The new Twenty-third Street Theatre. "The County Fair." "An International Match" at Daly's. "Two Lives" at Niblo's. Maude Granger. "Robert Elsmere," 733.--"The Tigress" at the People's Theatre. "Drifting Apart" at the Fourteenth Street. Alleged projected combinations for the Fall season between Joseph Jefferson, W. J. Florence, etc. Wilson Barrett; Modjeska to be a member of Mr. Booth's company, 734.--Madame Albani, 735. "Honor Bright" at Palmer's. The critics of the daily New York press. The new Union Square Theatre. Helen Barry, Charles Glenny; Mr. Frank Mordaunt in "La Tosca;" Mr. Lewis. "Samson and Dalilah." The "Electra" of Sophocles, in English. "The May Queen." Col. McCaull, Mrs. Edgar Strakosch. "The Marquise" at the Lyceum. Mr. Kelcey.

REVIEWS:

"History of Tennessee," by James Phelan, 95.--"Men and Measures of Half a Century," by Hugh McCulloch, 99.--Recent Novels, 102.--"Florence Fables," by W. J. Florence, 246.--"Divided Lives," by Edgar Fawcett, 246.--"Miriam Balestier," by Edgar Fawcett, 247.--"The Professor's Sister," by Julian Hawthorne, 248.--"What Dreams may Come," by Frank Lin, 250.--The Cloven Hoof under Petticoats, 387.--"The Political Oratory of Emery A. Storrs," by Isaac E. Adams, 391.--"The American Commonwealth," by James Bryce, 563.--"Kady," by Patience Stapleton, 568.--"'Twixt Love and Law," by Annie Jenness Miller, 571.--"Yone Santo," by Edward H. House, 735.--"Bella-Demonia," by Selina Dolaro, 737.--"The Serpent Tempted Her," by Saqui Smith, 743.--"Among the Tramps," by "Uncle Tim," 744.--"An American Vendetta," by T. C. Crawford, 745.--"Broken Lives," by Cyrus F. McNutt, 745.--"The Correspondence of John Lothrop Motley," by G. W. Curtis, 878.--"Her Strange Fate," by Celia Logan, 880.--"Janus," by Edward I. Stevenson, 882.--"His Fatal Success," by Malcolm Bell, 883.--"A Blue-grass Thoroughbred," by Tom Johnson, 885.

BELFORD'S MAGAZINE.

VOL. II. DECEMBER, 1888. No. 1.

_A CHRISTMAS ROUND-ROBIN._

I.

THE MORNING BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

When Malcolm Rutherford entered the library, on the morning of a certain day before Christmas, he was surprised to find his wife in tears. This was all the more vexatious because he knew that she possessed everything to make a reasonable woman happy; but Mrs. Rutherford was not always a reasonable woman, being prone to causeless jealousy and impulsive to rashness. They lived about five miles from Winchester, Va., in which city Rutherford had a fine legal practice.

"What's the matter?" he asked. "Have any of our guests disappointed us?"

"No," she replied, drying her eyes. "They have all arrived and are in their rooms; and"--here she assumed an air of mystery--"in addition to the house-party, I have invited a couple of strangers to dine with us to-day."

"Indeed! Isn't it just a little extraordinary to invite strangers?" he interrupted.

"Strangers they are to me, but not to you. The woman claimed to be a friend of yours."

"Well, I have some friends whom you do not know."

"Miss Emily Tillinghurst, for example."

Rutherford started and turned red.

"Ah!" continued his wife, in a tone of triumph, "I think I have at last detected you. The woman who called upon me this morning--she has but just gone--was a Mrs. Honey. She had a letter of introduction from Lydia Wildfen; and what do you think her business was?"

"How should I know?"

"To solicit _our_ patronage for a school she is going to open in Winchester. She says that you can recommend her because you once personally placed a young girl-pupil under her charge. Though dying of mortification at your having such a secret from me, I pretended to know all about it, and as your friend I asked her to dine with us to-day and to bring her husband."

"Very good," was Rutherford's comment.

"It is _not_ very good; it is very bad. I demand an immediate explanation of all the circumstances."

"I cannot give it," Rutherford replied, meditatively; "not, at least, until after Christmas."

"A pretty Christmas I shall pass with these dreadful suspicions of you gnawing at my very heart. You must--you _shall_ explain it all to me."

"I neither can nor will," said Rutherford, angrily; and he abruptly terminated the conversation by turning on his heel and leaving her to suffer the tortures of what she believed to be well-founded jealousy.

Rutherford strode down the one street of the suburban village in such blind haste that he ran full tilt against old Mr. Robert Plowden, who was taking a stroll, and who, with his young wife, was a guest of the Rutherfords that Christmas.

"Dear me!" he exclaimed, "you almost knocked me over, Rutherford."

"Excuse me. I'm in an awful hurry to get to the telegraph office. It's fortunate I've met you here, as I've something to say to you which I would sooner not say indoors."

"You surprise me," said Plowden, falling into step with Rutherford. "Is it anything serious?"

"Extremely."

"And concerns me?"

"Yes. I will come to the point, so as not to keep you in suspense. Although so long settled in Virginia, you are an Englishman?"

Plowden nodded, and Rutherford continued: "And although, before you married your present wife, always supposed to be a bachelor, in reality you left a wife in England."

"Merciful heavens!" exclaimed Plowden, half-falling against Rutherford in his surprise.

He was a physically weak old man. "It is all true. I can explain everything satisfactorily, however. But how came you to know all this?"

"I learned it from an elderly Englishwoman who came to my office yesterday. She called herself Maria Plowden--"

Plowden uttered a groan.

"I see you know the name."

"Yes," returned Plowden; "it is that of my first wife, who died in England shortly after I came to this country."

"Are you sure she died?"

"Bless my soul! of course I'm sure."

"Can you prove it?" persisted the lawyer. "How do you know that she is dead?"

"I had a letter from a friend telling me so."

"Have you that letter?"

"I do not know; I may have. But one doesn't keep letters for twenty years. Why do you ask me all these questions?"

Rutherford replied gravely: "Because the elderly woman claimed to be your wife, and desired to retain me as her counsel in the prosecution she contemplated of her alleged husband, Robert Plowden, for bigamy."

"She's an impostor!" cried Plowden.

"She says she has a bundle of letters which will establish her identity," said Rutherford; "and she was so anxious to begin her suit that I could hardly persuade her that she would have to wait at least until after the holidays."

"My God!" groaned Plowden, "could there have been any mistake about her death?"

"All things are possible, you know; your passing as a single man was hardly wise."

"That may be, Rutherford; but my married life had been so full of pain and shame that I wished with her death to bury all remembrance and reminder of it. When quite young I married for her beauty a girl greatly beneath me in social station, and very ignorant. That I could have borne uncomplainingly, even after my infatuation was over, but her terrible temper and, worse than all, her intemperate habits made my life a burden, and, divorce being then next to impossibility of attainment in England, I determined to leave her. In fact, I was obliged to do so. I placed her in a private Home for Inebriates, and with my little Anna, aged six, I came to this country. Shortly after my arrival here I was informed of her death."

"By the proper authorities?"

"No; for it seems she made her escape from the Home and died elsewhere. You can understand that these sad facts made me disinclined to speak of my married life; and as people seemed to take it for granted that I was a bachelor--well, I simply did not contradict them."