Fremont journal. [volume] (Fremont, Sandusky County [Ohio]) 1853-1866, 1855-05-25

"Oh, II that is all, - he said gaily, II viii
promise 10 spend one thousand dollars on
the evening of the party, not in furniture
however, but in manner far more crafty.
ing to our guests. and profitable TO our.
selves, and which shall exonerate us from
all imputation of parsimony; and You may
expend in dress, eatables, and desert, Just
what sum you please; and DO not forge
the wines"
And SO the colloquy ended. The minis
ter resumed his studies, and his wife CAV,
her mind to the consideration of the dres
which would be most becoming, and the vi
aads that were the most expensive. TheI
next she went busily about her prepare
tions, wondering all the time how her hus
bsnd would expend the thousand dollars
but as she had learned something OF The
eccen.ricity of his character, she doubted
not that he meant to give an agreeable sur
prise; and her curiosity grew SO great tha
she could hardly sleep during the interval
AT length the momentous day arrived
The arrangements were all complete, and
Mrs. W retired, to perform the all
important business of arraying her fine per.
son in fine attire. She fingered long al
the toilet relying on the fashionable un.
punctuality of fashionable people; and al
length, when everything was complete she
left the room arrayed like judith of old
gloriously, to allure tie eyes of all who
should look upon her, and full of sweet
smiles and grsces, notwithstanding the un-
comfortable pinching of her shoes and COR
sets. Her husband met her in the hall.
"Well. my dear, our guests have all ar
rived" be said, and opened the door of the
receiving room. Wonderful! wonderful
what an assembly! There we're cougrega-
ted the crippled. the MANNED, and the blind,
the Palsied, and the extreme aged. A
group OF children from the almsheuse we're
also there, who regarded the lady, some
with mouths wide open, others with both
hand thrust into their hair, while others
peeped out from behind the furniture, to
the covert of which they had retreated from
her dazzling presence. At first she was
petri6ed with establishment, then displeas-
ure crossed her face, till, having run her
eyes over the grotesque assembly, she met
the comically grave expression of her hus-
bands countenance, when she burst into a
violent fl of laughter, during the paroxysms
Of which the bursting of her corset laces
could be distinctly heard By the company
"Maryl !" said her husband, sternly. She
suppressed her mirth, stammered an ex-
cuse, and added:
"You will forgive me, and believe your
self quite welcome"
~That was well DONE" whispered Mr..
W, then turning to the company, be
said,
my friends, as ny wife is not acquaint-
ed with you, l will make few presenta-
TONS"
Then leading her towards an emaciated
creature whose distorted limbs we're una.
ble 10 support his body. he said: "This
gentleman, Mary, is the Rev Mr. Brown.
who in his youth travelled much, and en-,
dured much, in the cause of our common
Master. A violent rheumatism, induced by
colds contracted among the new settlements
of the West, where be was engaged in
preaching the Gospel to the poor. has re-
duced him to bis present condition. This
lady, his wife, has piously sustained him,
and by her own labor. procured mainte-
nance for herself and him. But she is old
and feeble. as you now see."
Then turning to a group Of silver locks,
and threadbare coats, he continued
"These are soldiers of the Revolution
They went out in their young strength to
defend their oppressed country"
"They endured hardships. tolls and suf-
fering; and such as we hardly deem it pos
sible for men TO endure and live. They re-
turned home at the close of the war. maim-
ed in their limbs, and with broken consti-
tutions, to find their patrimonies destroyed
BY FIRE or the chances of war, or their prop
erty otherwise wrested from them. Aud
these men live in poverty and neglect in
the land for the prosperity Of which they
sacrifice their ALL These venera5led ladies
are wives Of these patriots, and widows Of
others who have gone to their reward
They could tell tales tina: would thrill your
heart, and make it better"
Then turning to another, he said: "This
is the learned and celebrated Dr. M,
who saved hundreds of lives during the
spotted epidemic; bat his great success
reused the animosity of his medical breth-
ren, who succeeded in running his practice
and when blindness came upon him, he was
forgotten by those whom he had delivered
from death. This lovely creature is his on
ly child, and she is motherless. She leads
him daily BY the hand. and earns the food
she sets before him. Yet her learning and
accomplishments are wonderful. She is
the author of those exquisite poems which
appear occasionally in the --- Mag
azipe."
"These children" said he, turning to the
group of Juveniles who gathered at the
ether end of the room, "were orphaned in
infancy by the Asiatic cholera; end their
hearts have seldom been cheered by a
smile, or their palates regaled by delicious
food. Now dry your eyes love, and lead
on to the dining room"
She obeyed; and. Notwithstanding the
emotion the humping of coarse shoes, and
the rattling Of canes, crutches, and wooden
legs, behind her, well nigh threw her into
another indecorous laugh.
To divert her attention, she glanced over
the table. There stood the dishes for
which her husband had stipulated, in the
shape of two monstrous, hOmely meat pies,
aud two enormous platters of baked meats