Keowee courier. [volume] (Pickens Court House, S.C.) 1849-current, 1858-01-16
VARIETY.
How Two Households became One

How Two Households became One.
Mrs Benom Benson was fat, fair and
forty four, when her husband, soap-boiler
in very good circumstances, was called from
his life task of contributing to the general
purifcation ofmankind. Mrs. Benson took
refuge from her grief in pretty cottage
situated on the principal street in the town
of G-
At first she is inconsolable; as she used
to say, with solemn emphasis, which car
ried conviction to the hearts of her hearers,
that nothing but Che thoughts of her daugh-
ter Florence, would have prevented her
from terminating her existence by the in
tcrvonton ofpoison.
Mrs. Benson was in no small mcasurein-
debtcd to her daughtcr-since in less than
three months she threw aside her mourning
and became as lively as ever.
Touching Florcnce, she had now renab.-
ed the mature age of niuata3;;y-,''iaSI began
to tbinl nrTfflageable. She was
1--we pretty, and tolerably well accomplish
ed, so that her wishes in that respect were
very soon likely to be fulfilled.
just over the way lived Squire Markham,
the village lawyer just vcrging upon fifty
with his son Charles, who was about half
his age. Being young man of agreeable
exterior, the lattcr was quite a favorite
among the young ladies in the neighbor-
hood, and considered in common parlanco,
quite 'catch As yet, however, his af
tections had never been seriously cntangled
and might have remained so, had it not
been for the sudden apparition, one morn
ing, of Florence Benson riding by on horse
back.
1t struck him at once that she was re-
markably graceful, and really quite pretty.
Thcrcupon he cultivated her acquaintance
with increased as8iduity, and after awhile
asked the fatal question
Florence answered in the affirmative
and instead of referring him dutifully to her
mother, limited (bcing a romantic Young
LADY, how charmiuy it would be to steal
away to the next own, and get married
without anybody being the wiser.
CharlesDlarkhnm caught at this hint
w!Ichschimed with his own temperament,
andresolved to adopt it.
In order that itmight be carried out with
perfect success, it was resolved to seem in
different to each other, until the day fixed,
in ordcrto ward off any suspicion which
might otherwise be aroused.
So we'll were all these arrangements car
ried out, that Mrs. Benson had no suspicion
of what was going on
Not so with Squire Markham He had
obtained clue to the affair in some mar
ner, so that he had not only discovered the
fact of the elopement, but even the very
day on which it was to occur.
"Sly dog, that Charles, thought he to
himself, as he sat before the fire in his dress
ing gown and smoking cap, leisurely putting
away at a choice Havana. "But [ don't
wonder at it !; he only takes after me-
Still owe him something for keeping it
so secretly from me. 1t would be good
joke if were little younger, to cut him
out and marry her in spite of him"
Squire Markham, who was one of those
ioYial widowcrs who take life as it comes
muscd more and more on this idea, struck
out by chance as it were, till he really be-
gan to think it worth something.
"After ALL" shouted he, 'I am not SO old
eithor--or at least the ladies say so-7-aud
they ought to be good judges in such mat.
tcrs. ! have been bachelor a good while,
and ought to have found out before this
TOW much more comfortable it would be to
have pretty wife to welcome me home
and do the honors Of my table and to help
me keep tilat rascal Gharieg III oraer,---
Egad, I've half anlind to do it.p ''
Squire Markham took two more whiffs
and exclaimed .t
fI vow I'll do it.p
WhaBthis mysterious TT Ras, we will
leave the reader to infer from his yerYnext
movement Ringing the bell he inquired
Of the servant:
els Charles at home 2"
"No sir" was the reply, "hc went out
this morning and win be gone all day.
Hump! That'H do. So much the
better for my purpose" thought he when
left alone "Now shall have the ground
left to myself. Let me SOC. The rascal
intends running away next Thursday eyen-
ing; and to-dayis Monlayt Nothing like