Part 20

"Ye--es, as far as you've gone, but I wouldn't have known there was such a person as Mary--bless her!--if you hadn't sent me East, an' your wife--bless her too--hadn't given me a letter of introduction to Mary, so I don't see but that honors are about even. You might as well go back a little further, though, and say that you wouldn't have been here to send me East if your Uncle Jethro hadn't loved your father, an' made up his mind that your father's son shouldn't fool away his life in pleasin' his eyes an' fancies in New York, but should get the disciplinin' that makes a man out of a youngster that's got the real stuff born in him."

"Caleb, what are you saying?"

"Exactly what your Uncle Jethro said to me--an' to nobody else. Mebbe I hadn't ought to have let it out; mebbe, on the other hand, it may make you feel kindlier to your Uncle Jethro. But, to go on backward, there wouldn't have been any Jethro to lay up a business start for you if the Somerton family hadn't begun somewhere back in the history of the world, an' when you get that far back you might as well go farther an' say that if Noah hadn't built the ark, or if he'd been in too big a hurry to get out of it, there wouldn't have been any of us to do anythin'. I tell you, Philip, an' just you keep it in mind against anythin' that may turn up anywhere or at any time, that when there's any glory or credit to be given out, an' you want to do the square thing, you'll have to spread it so thin that nobody'll get enough of it to make him feel over an' above cocky."

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People, like nations, usually become happy in prosperity, but through prosperity their lives become less eventful, and consequently less interesting to other people. The water-power of Claybanks' "crik" was soon developed, and the mills that were erected, and the people who came to them, made new demands and prices for real estate, as well as for certain farm products. But before all this had come to pass Grace made haste to gratify a consuming desire to spend the springtime at her birthplace in the East. While she was there, Caleb one day received the following despatch from Philip:--

"Caleb Wright Somerton born last night. May he become as good a man as you."

Caleb showed the despatch to his wife, and then started to put it between the leaves of his Bible; but Mary made haste to put it in a frame, under glass, and affix it to the front of the store, to the great interest of the people of Claybanks and vicinity and to the great benefit of the business of Somerton & Wright.

D'ri and I

By IRVING BACHELLER, author of "EBEN HOLDEN." Bound in red silk cloth, illustrated cover, gilt top, rough edges. Eight drawings by F. C. Yohn. Size, 5 x 7¾. Price, $1.50

A Tale of Daring Deeds in the Second War with the British. Being the Memoirs of Colonel Ramon Bell, U.S.A. And a Romance of Sturdy Americans and Dainty French Demoiselles.

PHILADELPHIA PRESS:

"An admirable story, superior in literary workmanship and imagination to 'Eben Holden.'"

NEW YORK WORLD:

"Pretty as are the heroines, gallant as Captain Bell proves himself, the reader comes back with even keener zest to the imperturbable D'ri. He is a type of the American--grit, grim humor, rough courtesy, and all. It is a great achievement, upon which Mr. Bacheller is to be heartily congratulated, to have added to the list of memorable figures in American fiction, two such characters as D'ri and Eben Holden."

BOSTON BEACON:

"Mr. Bacheller has the art of the born story teller. 'D'ri and I' promises to rival 'Eben Holden' in popularity."

ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCRAT:

"The admirers of 'Eben Holden,' and they were legion, will welcome another story by its author, Irving Bacheller, who in 'D'ri and I' has created quite as interesting a character as the sage of the North land who was the hero of the former story."

Lothrop Publishing Company - - Boston

When the Land was Young

Being the True Romance of Mistress Antoinette Huguenin and Captain Jack Middleton

By LAFAYETTE McLAWS. Bound in green cloth, illustrated cover, gilt top, rough edges. Six drawings by Will Crawford. Size, 5 x 7¾. Price, $1.50

The heroine, Antoinette Huguenin, a beauty of King Louis' Court, is one of the most attractive figures in romance; while Lumulgee, the great war chief of the Choctaws, and Sir Henry Morgan, the Buccaneer Knight and terror of the Spanish Main, divide the honors with hero and heroine. The time was full of border wars between the Spaniards of Florida and the English colonists, and against this historical background Miss McLaws has thrown a story that is absorbing, dramatic, and brilliant.

NEW YORK WORLD:

"Lovely Mistress Antoinette Huguenin! What a girl she is!"

NEW YORK JOURNAL:

"A story of thrill and adventure."

SAVANNAH NEWS:

"Among the entertaining romances based upon the colonial days of American history this novel will take rank as one of the most notable--a dramatic and brilliant story."

ST. LOUIS GLOBE-DEMOCRAT:

"If one is anxious for a thrill, he has only to read a few pages of 'When the Land was Young' to experience the desired sensation.... There is action of the most virile type throughout the romance.... It is vividly told, and presents a realistic picture of the days 'when the land was young.'"

Lothrop Publishing Company - - Boston

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Transcriber's Notes:

Obvious punctuation errors repaired.

Page 21, "portmonnaie" changed to "portemonnaie" (also a portemonnaie containing)

Page 59, "buscuits" changed to "biscuits" (fried potatoes, tea-biscuits)

Page 267, "that" changed to "than" (luxury than Queen Elizabeth)