Fayetteville observer. [volume] (Fayetteville, Tenn.) 1850-1966, 1851-07-22
The Tiff.
BT JEREMY SHORT.

How are you, my dear fbllow?-
John, chair for Mr.. Graham lex
cuse my rising, you see I'm equity
beefsteak and bumpers have done
at last, and, though only eighty-sey
en-, l I'm really beginning to feel old
Sorry to hear it, Jeremy! Blu
you look quite hearty yet. Ah
what have you there? Shirley
vbw "a good novel, ism 'tit?'
/, 'Passabl le, my young friend, bu
inferior t3 Jane Eyre. Caroline
Holsten, the principal heroine, lis
little angel; but in Shirley hersel
there's cross Of the devil, L I'M afaid
Her husband led a dogs life Of it, i
the truth was but known. She re.
minds me Of the heroine of that pic
ture- the one over the mantel-piece
THE Tiff / call it.
Z have often heard you say, Jere-
my. that u ere vas story connected
with it. T qll US Tie tale
well stir up the IL take q
cheroot. John, retire till you re
called-apd now, my dear lad, wei be
as cosy for the rest of the evening,
as if we'djuF st eaten a Thanksgiving
dinner, and had had cur fill Of boiled
turkey and oyster sauce. fBlessed
be the man, as Sancho Panza says Of
sleep, that first invented turkeys -
though to IA y taste,i it would be better
if they all an about, ready boiled,
swimming in gravy and OYSTER ). But
10 my tale.
when ! was about twenty u that
was In the year l785-cotemporane ne
Gus, | believe, with your grand dlather's S
marriage q knew as pretty d girl as
ever sewed a sampler on Week-da US,
or carried her prayer book On S I'M
days to church.
Bella Belgrave was the behuty of
the district. Her step was like a
dryad's might be supposed to be; her
lips we're as fragrant as strawberries,
and twice as sweet; and her voice
sir, if you could have heard it, you
would have fancied that nightingale
had nestled in her throat, orIthat ST..
Cecilia herself was come down from
heaven. At twenty man falls in
love as naturally as he takes to
smoking; and he does BOTH ] sup
pose, to prove himself fall-grown.
Well, l soon lost my heart to Bella.
Nor was my suit hopeless! ! am
handsome yet, as you see-don't
laugh at me, you young scapegrace---
and, Of course, l was handsome at
twenty. / wrote poetry, too, which
won girls hearts just as a m6ustache
does now; and | had a pretty little
fortune; SO l was soon the accepted
lover Of Bella,
Bella possessed but one fault.
She had deuce Of a temperl Now,
a little sharpness in a wife occasion
ally may be very excellent, just to
spice the monotony of matrinlony, as
mustard spices beef; but too MUCH of
it is as bad as spilling the contents
Of a whole pepper-box in yodr plate,
when you had just taken the last bit
Of what was nice on the table. Not
that Bella was what is called quick
tempered often wished She had
oeen-for it's better to blow off su-
perabundant steam now and then,
than to keep it screwed stgbbornly
down, till, some day, a grand explo-
sion takes place, that sends every
Thing to kingdom come. rnfortu-
nately, Bella both took offence easi-
y, and then 'nursed her warmth to
keep it warm She had been so
much petted that nothing short of
lbjsct slavery on the part of q lover
would suit her; and, faith, d grew
ired of it at last, as you shall hear.
One day ] had been singing to-
Ter ballad she had asked me to
vrite to some. Of her music, when
me of her friends came in-IIa dash
ne little creature she was-4-since a
,reat-grhndmother, my lad, with
hree hundred and fifty GReal de
gad-and !, as in duty
ound, did my best to be agreeable.
however, had the visitor
one, when Bella, with a face like
hunder-cloud began
Mighty sociable you and Alice
Sreen are she said, 4 suppose you're