Gallipolis journal. [volume] (Gallipolis, Ohio) 1837-1919, 1863-02-26
MY UNoLEis CASHIER.

upon which that decision must be foul
ded. II you go to college you must 6
with very small allowance indeed
and you must work for fellowship
some kind, as ] can leave you bothin!
as yon know that, beyond provisio
for your mother and the unmarried girl
/ shall leave nothing behind me wins
/ go. Ifyou do go to college, you wi
enter a circle the entering of which wi
multiply ten-fold your chances of sue
cess in after life; it will give you po
sition in society of which nothing bu
bad conduct on your part can dePriv'
you, and will put you in the fair rcat
to become what l should like to Sc
you-a scholar and a gentleman. II
on The other hand, you accept you
uncle's offer, you will have far large
allowance, as salary, than / can Civ,
you under any circumstances, the chance
of succeeding him in a very goot
business, and soon becoming man o
Importance in the commercial world
need say no nore-you must choos,
for yourself; l shall want your answer
tomorrow in time to post; go and thinl
it over. Don't say anything to your
sisters, or they'll persuade you to go tc
Paris, for the chance of visiting you
there"
Such was my fathers address TO me
at the age OF seventeen. 1t was diff
cult question to decide-Oxford OF
Paris. Still I did decide, and next day
announced that decision.
81 should prefer going to college,
father, at all events"
"Glad to hear it, my boy, though
the other course would have been chea-
per for me; still am glad to hear it.
] can't do much for you, but in sending
you to college l can do more than |
can in any other way. If there is any
thing in you it will come out theres II
not. you will not be spoiled for other
things afterward; so God speed you,
my boy"
To college therefore I went, with
only one word more of advice from my
father. As 1 left the gate in the hired
chase for the station, he said:
"God bless you, my boy! If you
mean to be any thing, don't hear mid
night strike too often"
Three years passed, and 1 was "get-
ting on" as my mother used to tell
her friends; in few months more I
had hopes of getting something worth
having in the shape of my degree with
bonors and fellowship. Alas! my hopes
were vain. l had hardly returned to
college at the end of my third long va
cation when I received telegram an
nouncing my fathers Illness, and
reached home too late to see him again
alive. My college dreams were over
L bad not penny in the world-I must
work for all | was TO have,
Ny uncle now wrote to repeat his
former offer. / joyfully accepted 1t;
and month after my fathers death l
was in Paris.
My uncle's house was in one of the
small streets lying between Rue
Vivienne and the Rue Mont Martre,
Just north Of the Bourse. 1t was, as
may be SUPPOSED from its situation, an
old rambling place, with the banking
Offices on one side Of the courtyard and
the residence on the other. The Office,
the scene of my new duties, consisted
of suit OF three rooms, communica-
ting by swing-doors; In the farthest
sat my uncle, the next was the chief
cashiers or clerks, and the third the
Office proper. A counter stretched
along the whole length of the room,
and on top of the counter ran a high,
strong wire-guard, with two or three
small circular openings, through which
money was passed and papers were Ia
ken. Behind this guard was to sit
as third cashier or clerk. My uncle's
business was that of banker, bill-dis-
counter, and money lender, and to
Judge by the rate at which he lived,
he must for some years have employed
a very large amount Of capital, or have
lent bis money at little more than five
per. cent interest.
Ny uncle, having shown me the
Office, took me over to his house.
"My daughter, Mr.. Wardes; Vic
torine, my dear, Mr.. Wardes, nephew
of NINE"
looked at my cousin once and
sgain--sh was worth looking at-a
most singular mixture ofraces was visi-
bic in her face. She had a high,
broad, thoughtful German forehead-a
mans rather than girl's-a deli
cate chin and mouth, with the small
teeth so characteristic of the more
highly organized Frenco nature. and a
nose and eyes unmistakably English in
the clear bridged outline of the one, and
the open, fearless gaze Of the others.
She was curiosity-anew thing--and
I determined to study Victorine, my
cousin.
aYou must dine with us at six o'clock.
Where did you sleep last night?"
s.At the Bedford"
io s1You'd better bring your trunks
bere; your room is ready" "eIdl 7'sis
sadReally, I had nos the least idea that
l was to live here" @
"Wbere else, boy? Where else?
Paris is not 8 cheap place for young
men; you'll live here cheaper than any
where else; more comfortably perhaps,
il YOU and Yiclorine don't quarrel"
This was more than l had hoped for,
to find myself domiciled in my 'Hncle's