M'arthur Democrat. (McArthur, Vinton County, Ohio) 1853-1865, 1858-05-20
The paraaln for q WIG.

A young Norfolk farmer, on begin
{ ming life with a limited capital, found
that two things were wanting to do
: Justice to large farm which lie rent
: ed on long lease namely, a wife to
rule the house at home, aud an addis
tional thousand pounds to invest upon
/, the land. Like a sagacious man, ,1he'
conceived that the twomight be found
combined, and he began TO look about
! for a cheerful lass witha dowTy to the
desired amount. Accident threw him,
one day into company with the parso7B
J Of Q neighboring parish, with whom,
az herode home returning from mar
ketj he fell into conversation En-
, couraged by thedivine, the yonthun
bnrdened himself of his cares and
plans, and mentioned theJdesiFe he
bad for marrying as soon as he could
tind an agreeable lass with amederate
} dowry. IN .ua1e-el8 .-as ,r,s, ,t,
81 tell you what,p said the parson,
"Iye got three daughters, and very
nice girls they are, / assure you. Sup,
pose you come and dine with me next
market day-you will meet them at
the table; and if any Of them should.
prove to be the inevitable She that
you are in search Of, | shall not be
backward to do my part as far as |
can" ..[.. ''.'o
! "Agreed," said the youth. "I'lt
come, as sure as you're alive, if you'll
: say nothing about it to the ladies. +" y !
"That shall be the bargain. On
Saturday next, then, we shall have you
{ at dinner, at tive." H "a ''S.'
And there the roads diverging, the
two gentlemen separated.
At'the appointed hour on the fol-
lowing Saturday, the young farmer,
in handsome trim, descended from his
galloway at the parsons door. Din
ner was served a few minutes after,
and the young ladies, with their moth
} er graced the table with their presence:
All three fully justified the ecomiums
oftheir father, but the youngest-a
rosy yrfaced, roguish, cheerful lass, Just
escaped from her teens-alone made
a vivid impression upon the young
farmer. The repast progressed agreea-
: bly, and, when ended, the ladies with
> drew, leaving the gentlemen to Chat
e over their wine. ~,
6 t-.-ssygeli, said the host, 'what doyo9
= think ofmy girls ~ o'os
! ! 81 think them all charming" said
/ the youth; "but the youngest-you
/. call Nelly-really is most bewitching,
d and clever, too; and if | am to have
:; !, the honor of being allied to you, you
must give me her." at sta o.
le "That is against all rule" returned
y the host, "to take the youngest first,
a but Of course, cannot control your
!. i choice. What dowry do you expectlY
;. "My capital" said the wooer, ''is
three thousand pounds, and | want q
p thousand more-and must have it,
!, 81 will give you thousand with the
i eldest girlN NaalIg. blsat a,.,,saie
i ,o"No; the charming Nelly and the
: thousand, or i am cff." o..,o',,I
: "That cannot be; FIVE hundred with
!. Nelly, ifyOu like. The others are not
f, halfso handsome, and must have Q
? fortune, or | shall never get them off,
f, mo; my resolution is fxed," re-
> piled the young gentleman; "and I
(. shall not alter my mind" ''y'
!, , Nor l mine,n said the parson, "and
the affair was &C an end; but we will
D be good friends Notwithstanding"
The conversation, which eachspeak-
er supposed to be strictly private, ,uow
fell into another channel. The ladies
returned with the tea-urn, aud chatted
mreservedly with the farmer! Eve
ming came on, andtowards sunset, the
girls having strolled into the garden,
the youth rose to take his leave. He
. found his nag in the stable, and Ihay-
ing bid farewell to his host, took his
/ way through the shrubbery that led
J to the road. He was about alighting
to open the gate, when the rosy-faced
| Nelly darted forward to save himithe
trouble. AS she lifted the latch, she
archly looked up into his face and
said: !; a.r, a- .-or, d, ,...,.,. -,
/, "Can'tyou take my fathers money!"
E 'Yes, by Joye, | will, if you wish
u
"Then come over to the church TO-
morrow morning, and tell him SO af-
ter service" and she vanished like an
elfn ,sprite among the shrubbery, .
Musihg on the proverb, which says,
: l"walls have ears" the young farmer
rode home. He did not fail--how
could he l-of attending at the church
the next morning, and, after the SER
mon, declared tothe parson his al
D tered resolution. He marrid the fair
Nellie three months afterwards and
she brought, in due course ofyears, a
frow of goodly sons, than whom there
are few at the present hour wiserin
I their generation, or more worthy or
! more wealthy, in the whole Of broad.