The Council Bluffs nonpareil. [volume] (Council Bluffs [Iowa]) 1857-1867, 1857-05-23

10 Do sure QO," Cfle0 Mf6s vlner6
..whas :. 2 dear, good tempered, pleasant mar
they say he is"
aHem! do you remember his dsughter?''
"Tall-very handsome dark eyesI re-.
member perfectly rather bald, ! think,
with whiskers slightly grixxled."
ssWhislers-Julia Tracy-why, aunt, you
must be dreaming-I tell you she - the
most beautiful little creature that fancy e'el
conceived or poet feigned."
~Takesspuf, recollect," continued the
widow; s'they told me he was very rich
certainly, Harry, you may bring him a,
soon as you ike.''
ssWen, see must keep my secret fol
some other time. You will 20 on talking
about Mr.. Tracy, when all want you to dc
is to listen for few minutes, till have fin.
ished telling you about his daughter"
"Ah! poor thing, Irecollect her very well.
What have you to tell me of her?"
ssSimply that hope very shortly she will
stand in as near relationship to you as do.
Will You treat her well?''
ssGracious! how you hurry one. Has Mr..
Tracy empowered you to say all this?"
ssNot he-but Julia has"
ssIndeed! l should like to be little more
acquainted with them before decide on so
important matter"
stShe will be as dutiful to you as if you
were her mother. She has no female rela-
ton, and on that account her home is Of
course not SO happy as it would otherwise
be-"
ssShe must be rather sensible sort of
person for one SO young. How old is
she9'' D..
ssNot quite eighteen
ssPoor child! what time she has to wait
before she reaches the maturity of her
charms" a.
As she said this, Mrs. Villiers looked with
benign expression at the image of robust
lady, with q red face, reflected in the oppo-
site mirror.
ssDid she tell you all this herself?"
s'Every word Of it, and good deal more
besides. She has great deal of delicacy
on the subject, and made point of gaining
your consent and full acquiescence be-
foro any offer was formally made.''
81 must make some more inquiries-are
they coming again to Cheltenham?''
aOh, yes-and that is the reason i am SO
anxious to secure favorable reception to
her beforehand. Chamberfeld house is let,
and she tells me her father is lookinEsous
for another, if possible, in this very street,
ssHow excessively complimentary. Did
you tell them intended TO leave this house
for the summer, as DR.. Snatcher recommends
the Seaside!" .H. #
ssOh, yes; told her that-but 1 was in
hopes you would remain this summer, more
especially as they are coming here in week
or two. He is resolved not to be very dis
this he will q course caftivate Tie acaaain "a n.
tance very sedulously; and if everything is
settled satisfactorily, it will prevent the
trouble of moving"
She laughed good-humoredly as he said
this, and Harry was delighted with the
friendliness of the manner in which she en-
tered into his views. He had now little
doubt, since he had obtained the concur
renee Of his aunt, that even Mr.. Tracy wo'd
be satisfied with his proposals, and he ac-
cordingly prepared himself to open the siege
in due form the moment that gentleman ar
rived.
In the meantime, affairs at the manor
house were getting on more uncomfortably
than usual. Mr.. Tracy was forced to ex-
pend so much Of his good nature and pleas
antry among the parties he met at dinner,
that he had not grain of any of them left
for his home consumption. His harshness,
in fact, seemed every hour to increase, and
it was with great delight that Julia heard
him announce his intention of Immediately
proceeding to Cheltenham. She was order
ed to have all her preparations completed
by certain day, and it was resolved that
he should write to the Plow, securing apart
ments till they could obtain house. Julia
ventured to suggest the propriety of writing
to Mrs. Villiers; to ascertain whether she
intended to let her mansion for the summer,
and as Mr.. Tracy had a particular liking to
the street where it was situated, he resolved
to act upon her suggestion. The letter was
written, with request that the answer
might be addressed to the Plow--the prep
srations were all completed, and in due
course of time handsome travelling chariot
deposited the father and daughter at the
door of the hotel. Not unobserved did they
make their appearance, and flush on the
cheek of the young lady, and perhaps sud-
den start, showed that she was not uncon-
scious of the presence of Harry Villiers.--
He was now delighted with the certainty Of
being within q reasonable distance of the
object OF his admiration; every day, he felt
satisfied, would throw them together, and
he resolved to cultivate the friendship Of
the old man, in spite of the knowledge he
had of the responsiveness of his qualities.
Buoyed up with these pleasing anticipa-
tions, he hurried off to the house of Mrs.
Villies, to announce to her the arrival of
the party-but for the last few days there
had been an air of mystery about that usu-
ally ingenious lady, which puzzled him very
much. On the present occasion she re-
ceived his announcement with an affectation
Of such interesting consciousness, and made
so many ordinations Of wonder, surprise,
and indecision, that Harry was perfectly as
at the fuss she made about the ar
rival Of one who was so shortly to be her
niece. But his aunt's eccentricities were
well known to him, and the kind way in
which she spoke of Julia, the compliments
she paid to her good sense and delicacy,
reconciled him to the old lady's
absurd behavior in other respects. He was
delighted with the interest she
seemed to take in his happiness, when she
told him that in order to settle the business
as speedily as possible, she intended to In
vite Mr.. Tracy to call on her the next NOR
ming; and then, whatever arrangement was
come to, the comforts of Julia should not
be forgotten. With this intention she re-
tired to her writing desk, and after an hour
or two Of hard labor completed note, ad-
dressed it to MIR. Tracy, and sent it of to
he Plow hotel. On this Harry was enrap-
'ured with the prospect Of success that his
aunt's cooperation afforded him, and re-
solved to make formal offer of his heart
md hand, as it is called, on that very day.
He called on Mr.. Tracy for that purpose,
but found neither of them at home; he
thought it best to lose no time,
md though be was NO great penman, he
managed to ask the fathers consent, and
assure him Of his aunt's concurrence, in q
yery business-Iike manner, upon paper
His acquaintance with the father was very
light; and his love for Julia had grown up
mpercepably By their frequently meeting
It the houses Of nutual friends; particu-
arly at the house Of : distant relation Of
lula, with whom during her fathers resi-
lence in Cheltenham, she was nearly domes-
icated, and who did al in her power to en-
Irritation. Satisfied with him.
elf, !, RE- pRlessed with al the world, he
vq roOf n than Il Il tlas night and dreamed Of .
! may desire sghite surpiicc, and couple of