The Literary echo, and Pawcatuck advertiser. [volume] (Westerly, R.I.) 1851-1854, 1852-07-15
Original 9ketfbes.
SKETCHES OF
AND ITS"DENIZENS
BY L'INCoGNITA.

In one of my former sketches
promised that Esquire Gripe should b
my alpha and Omega" i. e. my open
ing and closing theme. Half Of tn
promise I fulfilled in the beginning, ant
now hasten to perform the rest b.
detailing in as brief manner as posi-
bic, the fortunes, or misfortnmes rather
that befell our hero, until he finally
ceased to be the great man OF Gripe
1 vile.
We left him in the full tide of worldly
prosperity, yet vexed and fretted, ant
maddened at the outwitting keenness o
the one, and the infexitle independence
of the other of his two unmanageablt
neighbors, Holdfast and Goodwell. Nov
it came to pass that the strife between
Miss Charity Holdfast and Gripe waxed
hotter aud fiercer, when 10 in the very
midst of the contest she was summoned
hence by the angel of Death, and Gripe,
much to his felicitation, was left sole
master of the field. And yet this short
lived victory was of but little use, for
his old enemy had had the precaution to
prepare herself, in one sense at least, for
the unwelcome visitant that sooner or
later will give US call, for she had
made her sciu, by which after establish
ing and literally endowing church of
her own persuasion she had entailed the
rest of her property-no small sum by
the way-upon certain iron-hesrted,
light-fsted Mr.. Chetching and his chill
dren and children's children, even to
|" the third and fourth generation" This
was to prevent the possibility of Gripe's
getting any portion of it.
Misfortunes seldom come alone,"|
and this failure of Gripe's plans (for he
had really aimed at fraudulently obtain
ing some portion Of her water-privilege
or land, or both) was soon followed By a
disaster of a more terrible kind. The
bank-that same infalible, indestructi-
bic bank in which ne had deposited such
large sums of money-actually failed,
and Gripe lost every cent of bis which
it contained. This was hard blow in
deed, but his landed property was left
and still his factory brought him large
profits, but the more he lost the meaner
and viler were his tricks and twists and
turnings to heap up gold. But another
|" vial of wrath" soon burst upon him in
the shape of love affair between his
darling only son William, and Mary
Goodwell. In vain did Gripe forbid
his sons union with the daughter of a
man whom he hated above all others, in
vain did he lecture on the necessity of
securing fortune by matrimonial
alliance, in vain did he expiate on the
disgrace and degradation which man
yacturcr's son would sink into by mar
rying a factory girl! MARY Goodwell
had worked in the factory some, not
from necessity, but to please her father
who, realizing that money will stake
to itself WINGS" &c. determined, as he
said "to give Mary thorough, educa-
ton, not only in 'book learning but
in work, so that she might never be
without some means of supporting her
|self.") Williams determination to
marry Mary Goodwell was immoveable.
"Father," he would say, CT soorn
the meanness of sacrificing the hearts
affections for gold. Ishould be happier
with your consent, but l love none other
and will marry none other but Mary
Goodwcll, provided her father is willing
which 1 think he will be when he knows
me better and if we begin the world
with no other fortune but our own hope
ful, loving hearts, willing hands and en-
crgetic minds, il will not be too great an