ngineering department. Fisbee was left with nothing. His
wife and her kinsfolk exhibited no brilliancy in holding a totally
irresponsible man down to responsibilities, and they made a tragedy of
a not surprising fiasco. Mrs. Fisbee had lived in her ambitions, and
she died of heartbreak over the discovery of what manner of man she had
married. But, before she died, she wisely provided for her daughter.

Fisbee told Parker the story after his own queer fashion.

"You see, Mr. Parker," he said, as they sat together in the dust and
litter of the "Herald" office, on Sunday afternoon, "you see, I admit
that my sister-in-law has always withheld her approbation from me, and
possibly her disapproval is well founded--I shall say probably. My wife
had also a considerable sum, and this she turned over to me at the time
of our marriage, though I had no wish regarding it one way or the other.
When I gave my money to the university with which I had the honor to be
connected, I added to it the fund I had received from her, as I was the
recipient of a comfortable salary as a lecturer in the institution
and had no fear of not living well, and I was greatly interested in
providing that the expedition should be perfectly equipped. Expeditions
of the magnitude of that which I had planned are expensive, I should,
perhaps, inform you, and this one was to carry on investigations
regarding several important points, very elaborately; and I am still
convinced it would have settled conclusively many vital questions
concerning the derivation of the Babylonian column, as: whether the
lotus column may be without prejudice said to--but at the present moment
I will not enter into that. I fear I had no great experience in money
matters, for the transaction had been almost entirely verbal, and
there was nothing to bind the trustees to carry out my plans for the
expedition. They were very sympathetic, but what could they do? they
begged leave to inquire. Such an institution cannot give back money once
donated, and it was clearly out of character for a school of technology
and engineering to send savants to investigate the lotus column."

"I see," Mr. Parker observed, genially. He listened with the most
ingratiating attention, knowing that he had a rich sensation to
set before Plattville as a dish before a king, for Fisbee's was no
confidential communication. The old man might have told a part of his
history long ago, but it had never occurred to him to t