CHAPTER XII
Leaning back in his chair, and sending upward clouds of smoke from hisfragrant cigar, Cobb unfolded the paper, and glanced at the title-page.
"Hello! The 'Daily American,'" he said to himself. "Another copy of thepaper I saw in San Francisco."
Opening it, he observed the same peculiarities which had attracted hisattention before, the same headings for the columns, the same wantof regularity in the spacing at the ends of the lines, and the samescarcity in the variation of the type used. Glancing at the date, heread:
"'America, September 19, 2,000.' This is the 19th," he mused; "surelythis paper could not have come from San Francisco, or its vicinity,since its issue." He would ask Hugh, in a moment, to explain it. Hardlyknowing where to commence, he took the first column, and read:
"FROM EUROPE.
"LONDON, 19, 10 D.--Congress adjourned to-day out of respect to the memory of Albert Victor Guelph, formerly Prince of Wales, and ex-Senator of the Republic, who died at 2 D., aged eighty-five years. Albert Victor Guelph was the son of Albert Victor Christian Edward, the last reigning sovereign of Great Britain, and was born at Windsor Castle, April 5, 1915. Upon the downfall of the monarchy, in 1918, the King retired, with his son, to France. In 1955 Albert Guelph returned to England, by permission of the government, and became a citizen of the republic. He became a Senator in 1962, and retired to private life in 1980."
"BERLIN, 19, 8 D.--A great fire is raging at this hour in die Strasse unter den Linden. At 2 D. smoke was seen issuing from the rear windows of the Berlin Art Gallery, and at this hour the building is doomed to destruction. The Berlin Art Gallery was one of the finest buildings in the city, and was, before the institution of the United States of Germany, the palace of the German monarchs. The last Emperor to occupy this palace was William II. grandson of that great and beloved Emperor, William I. By the dethronement of William II., in 1903, all the States which had formed the confederation united under the title of the United States of Germany."
"ST. PETERSBURG, 19, 9 D.--An imperial ukase has been promulgated granting self-government to all Siberia. By this ukase the Russian Empire loses nearly one-half of its territories. The separation is the outcome of the bitter internal war between the mother country and the distant colonies. Since the discontinuance of exiling to Siberia, which was abolished in 1895, soon after the expose to the world of the pernicious system and the atrocities practiced by the officials, and after the general amnesty ukase of that year, Siberia has grown in wealth and population to such an extent that self-government comes as a matter of right. Mutual offensive and defensive alliance only is stipulated."
"PARIS, 19, 4 D.--Le Roi est mort. Vive le Roi! The King, Louis XX. is dead. Louis Charles Philippe, great-grandson of Louis Philippe Robert, Duc d'Orleans, and afterward King Louis XVIII., expired at 23 dial of yesterday, after a prolonged and severe sickness. Louis Auguste Stanislaus, Dauphin of France, takes the throne as Louis XXI. Louis Philippe Robert, great-grandfather of Louis XX., ascended the throne in 1894, and reigned until 1917, when the republic was again declared, and Louis XVIII. fled to Naples. After thirteen years the monarchy was reestablished, and continued until 1951. For twenty-three years did poor France struggle along without the pomp and glitter of an imperial rule; but the strain was too much, and in 1974 the deceased Emperor was summoned to the throne of his forefathers. He proved himself a good sovereign, giving France peace and prosperity."
"ROME, 19, 5 D.--The Republic of Italy has sent a telegram of condolence upon the death of the French King."
"MADRID, 19, 5 D.--The Republic of Granada [Spain and Portugal] has sent telegrams of sympathy to the new King of the French."
"FROM ASIA.
"PEKING, 18, 22 D.--By a royal edict, Li Hung Tsoi, the Emperor, has decreed that, 'in view of the fact that the good subjects of Tien-tze have for ages worn the emblem of a once distasteful slavery under the Hiong-un, it is now decreed that the ban-ma shall at once be cut from the head of every one of our male subjects, and the chang-mor no longer worn.' [Ban-ma is the long braided hair worn by all Chinese, and called by us 'the queue.' Chang-mor is long hair.--EDITOR.]"
And then Cobb read on and pondered upon the changes which had takenplace, and which he here saw recorded as newspaper items. England,once so proud as a kingdom, now a republic; Germany following in thewake; Spain and Portugal and Italy numbered in the fold. And France!alas! poor France! up and down, changeable as a weather-vane; whocould expect a stable government? La belle France! to-day a republic;to-morrow a monarchy!
Turning over the pages of the paper, his eyes lighted up with renewedinterest. Though his interest was great as he read of kingdoms fallingand new ones building up, here was the page that aroused his old-timeenthusiasm. Yes; he was a crank--a crank of the veriest pronouncedtype, and he knew it as he folded out the paper in his eagerness toread:
"BOSTON, 18, 18 D.--The game to-day was a fine exhibition of pitchingand fielding. Neither side could score until in the last innings'Michael,' that descendant of the only Mike of the nineteenth century,got his wagon-tongue square against the sphere, and sent it skywardoutside of the field.
"The score:
"Innings--1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Boston 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 1 New York 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
"Errors: none. 2 b. hits: none. 3 b. hits: none. Home run: MichaelKelley. Batteries: for Boston, Clarkson and 'Ginty' Carroll; for NewYork: Keefe and Ewing. Double plays: Boston, 5; New York, 4. Umpire:Sheridan. Time of game: 1:20."
"The same grand game," he murmured, "is still the national sport. Itcould never die! No, never!"
He read on and on. Everything was of interest to him in his new life.He read of himself, of his arrival in Washington, and of his every actduring the previous day.
Letting the paper fall from his hand, he aroused Hugh from the perusalof the society columns of the "Washington Reporter" by exclaiming:
"This paper is a great affair, is it not?" nodding toward the paperwhich had fallen to the floor by his chair.
"A very newsy paper indeed, Junius," Hugh answered; "in fact, it is theonly paper of general news in the United States."
"How is that? Are there not other newspapers besides this?"
"Oh, plenty. But all others are published for local interests, andrarely circulate outside of their city or township."
"And you mean to tell me that this paper is the newspaper of the wholecountry? It must be quite stale ere it reaches many portions of thisnation."
"Not at all. It is simultaneously printed in over five hundreddifferent cities, and no copy has to be sent far to reach itssubscriber. For instance: this copy is printed in this city; the copiesfor New York, in New York; and those for San Francisco, in that town."
"But the heading reads: 'America, September 19, 2000?'"
"That is the original paper. At America, the type is set and form madefrom which copies are taken and reprinted throughout the nation."
"You astonish me; pray explain yourself."
"America," and Hugh wheeled his chair closer to Cobb, "is a small townon the Central Sea, in the old State of Kentucky. All the news of theworld is telegraphed to this place, and set in form for printing.Copies of this form are then transmitted by telegraph to every citywhich is to reproduce the paper--a very simple operation."
"Yes," dubiously; "very simple, indeed!"
"But let us not discuss the subject now; I will take you to America,and show you the whole system."
And the subject of the "Daily American" rested.
At this moment Captain Hathaway entered the room, bowing to both of thegentlemen.
"Good evening, Hugh," he exclaimed, extending his hand. Then to Cobb:"Good evening, Mr. Cobb."
"Colonel, sir; _Colonel_ Cobb. You forget you are addressing yoursuperior officer."
As Hugh spoke, he gave the other a severe look, as if to say, "How doyou like it?"
The stor
y of young Hathaway's discourtesy toward Cobb that morning hadbeen told him.
Captain Hathaway blushed, and turning toward Cobb, said, apologetically:
"I am cognizant of your good fortune and new rank. I congratulate you.You will pardon my rudeness to you this morning, will you not, ColonelCobb? Some time I will explain why I so far forgot myself," and hedropped his eyes to the floor.
"Captain Hathaway, let it be forgotten," frankly extending his hand."Let us be friends, not enemies."
Hathaway grasped the hand and wrung it with a sincere grasp offriendship. Then, saluting Cobb, he reported to him for orders.
"You are under orders to join your regiment, are you not?"
"Yes, sir."
"Do you wish to go?"
"Well, to tell you the truth, there is every reason for wishing toremain; but they will not allow me to do so," sadly.
"Who will not?"
"The President; for I have applied to him personally."
"It is rather early for me to go against the wishes of the President,"and he looked at Hugh; "but you are directed to report to me fororders, and I must give them to you."
"And I must join." Hathaway spoke in a resigned manner.
"And you will stay in Washington until further orders," looking at himkindly.
"Colonel, I thank you."
Cobb had made one more friend.
After an hour at the club, the trio parted; Hathaway to his hotel, andCobb and Hugh to their rooms.
That night, as he lay upon his bed, Cobb dreamed of Mollie Craft andher radiant beauty, and of Marie Colchis, his child love. The facesof both came in visions before him. He seemed translated to a darkand dreary region, and wandered about sad and alone. No human soulgreeted his approach. Alone and desolate of heart, he pursued his way.At last, after ages of misery, he came upon a solitary grave in thedesolate waste. Stunted and gnarled, a solitary oak grew at its foot.A headboard, worn and battered by the elements, lay, torn up from itssetting upon the ground. A rivulet of water, small and silent in itscourse, flowed away and sank into the sand.
Moving forward, he read the inscription on the moldy board:
"Junius Cobb and the heart of Marie Colchis."
With a flood of tears, he threw himself upon the mound, and cried aloudin his anguish:
"O, Marie! Marie! my own, my darling! Oh! come; come to me ere I die!"
A bright light overspread the earth; the desolation seemed to vanish,and all nature assumed its grandest garb. Rising from the grave, hebeheld an angel approaching, and leading by the hand a woman in robesof white. Nearer and nearer they drew to his wondering gaze. In theangel's face he recognized the fair and lovely countenance of MollieCraft.
"Look up! Behold!" cried the angelic form.
Its companion's face was raised, and forth she stretched her hands.
With a wild cry of joy, he sprang forward, and was clasped in the armsof Marie Colchis. He saw her ecstatic beauty, her heavenly eyes, herform divine, and felt that she was his once more. Then the voice of theangel, in sweet, harmonious tones, spoke forth the words:
"A bride I bring thee, O sorrowing soul! Those whom God hath made asman and wife, no chance of fate can set apart. Though years and yearshave fled and passed, yet life shall once again renew her heart!"