, 1864-01-09
Cousin Jacks Courtship; or. The
Lost Wager. 'tl,

tOEIlcE Vi lIt NuildCtOuo Olo-AueuAOuGu
How melancholy they looked, those EN-.
blems Of parting and adieus. Not even
the merry laughter of the. two or three
young girls who were gathered around
stalwart, handsome fellow Of about thirty
could entirely Danish an iulpalpable some-
thing of sadness from the. scene. Cousin
Jack was going away, the General mischief.
maker, tormentor aud tease Of the whole
family, and old Mr.. Chester, sitting by the
distant window, wiped his spcctacles every
five minutes and declared, pettishly, that
the type of the evening paper was terri
bic trial to old eyes. F.
"Aye, you may laugh, girls !" said Jack,
applying himself vigorously to the refrac-
tory lock Of portmanteau. "Perhaps you
may one day discover it isn't such laugh
ing matter. Think Of the loss the family
is going to sustain in my excellency"
"But you'll come back soon, Jack, dear ?"
coaxed Minnie Chester, the prettiest and
most roguish Of all his cousins, aud the one
who kept up perfect fire of practical jokes
and girlish tricks at his expense.
There she sat, on the biggest trunk Of
the coiiecton, ner Drown curs hanging
about her round iace' ana ner eyes spark,
ing with curious mixture Of iun ana
tears. r
Pm not at all certain Of that, Miss Min
ME" said Jack, decisivcly. Ii succeed
~ nnu,ng iocaticn i., 70 SUI. me, sn@,i % pro
paDly ueclue 70 se',ie permanently ~ ! norne-
VILE ana turn iahded proprletoron on my own
account.
"unly imagine our , 1ace . gentleman OF
property! laughed Minnie, appearing TO
her sisters.
:" don sec anything 30 very ridiculous
IN the IDEA, remifked tne young man,
rather piqued az the amusement o. ms
iair relatives. AZ all events, there's one
lncaiculaDle advantage tnat wan result IRON
my departure.
And what is that, Mr.. Oracle =
"Ihe TACT that i've Piayeu your iast
freak on me, you tofmentng hltlc mink .,
ION tpesoeertain OF tnat, COUSIN JACK
said Minnie, shaking her long curis'
What wal you venture 1 don't oestow o
parung trick on you YETI An maven !
settled with you Tor several n.tle pieces Of
impcrtinenee; but, pray dont imagine they
are forgotten, SIR sa3
My diamond sleeseDntlons 70 lyonr co
raj necklace that ycn dont impose on me
within the next three months Minnie,
sara JACK, gaiiy; .,
Done! SAID Minnie. Tiils, you aii
hear the wager, don't you 1 always COW
eted Jack 5 diamonds
but you won nave mem, mademol-
seile ! now darn " y ge.tng ~ thls cave,-
nous old hah; snail nng Tor ignts, uncle
Vnester! ana, py tne way, nave you VIII
ten that letter OF intrOauetion 70 Mt
1hornel
All IN good time my boy-aii IN gcod
y! nme' G sa'a 1.-The the Sla gentleman, deposi.lng
his huge silycr-bound sPectacles IN Their
ease, !" You young people are all in such
desperate hurry Ieil betsey 70 carry u
lamp INTO the library, girls. And Minnie,
whcre IS my goid pen! 1 wont DC very
long about u, and then We wall have q nice
long evening to gossip aboat Jacks pros
poets. 5as
While Mr.. Chester sat in his cosy red
curtained library, revising the letter which
he had been writing to his old college friend
Jabez Thorne, Of Thorneyille, to the effect
that his nephew, John Lacy, was in search
Of an eligible piece Of land, and wished to
aaftla dawn M n nlanker In that vicinifv