The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1866-07-05
UNCLE INGOT.
From Chambers journal.


the city of London, to Dorothea Elizabeth
his widowed sister-in-law, who had applied
to him for pecuniary succor, about three
months after the death of his younger
brother Isaac, her husband. There was
harshness and stubborn determination in
his reply, but there was no niggard cruelty.
Mrs. Isaac wanted money, it is true, but
only in the sense in which we all want it.
She was only poor in comparison with the
great wealth of this relative by marriage.
Her income was large enough for any ordi-
nary-Mr Ingot said Legitimate"
pose but not sufficient for sending her boy
to Eaton, and finishing off at the Universe.
ties, as it was the maternal wish to do. Mr..
Ingot hated such genteel intentions; Christ's
Hospital had been a fashionable enough
school for him, and he had finished off as a
clerk at forty pounds year in that very re-
spectacle house of which he was now the
senior partner With the results of that
education, as exempliied in himself, he was
perfectly satisfied, and if bis nephews only
turned out half as well, their mother, he
thought, might think herself uncommonly
lucky. Her family had given themselves
airs upon the occasion Of her marrying Is
aac-allying herself with commerce. some
of them called it-and Ingot had never
forgiven them. He gloried in his own pro-
fession, although government had never
seen fit to enoble any member of it, and
perhaps all the more upon that account for
he was one of those Radicals who are not
'snobs at heart, but rather aristocrats He
honestly believed that noblemen and gentle
men were the lower orders, and those who
toiled and strove, the upper crust of the
human pie. When he was told that the
former classes often toiled and strove in
their own way as much as the others, he
made a gesture of contempt, and blew
like an exasperated whale. 1t was vulgar
sort of retort Of course, but so eminently
expressive, that his opponent rarely pursued
the subject.
He rather liked his sister-in-Iaw, in spite
Of her good birth, and would have, doubt
less, largely assisted her had she consented
to bring up her children according to his
views but since she preferred to take her
own way, he withdrew himself more and
more from her society, until they saw moth
ing at all of one another. He had no in
tention of leaving his money away from his
brothers children he had lnuch too strong
a sense of duty for that and as for mar
riage, that was an idea that never entered
his hard old head. He had not made fool
of himself by falling in love in middle age
as Isaac had done Gin youth, he had not
time for such follies,) and it was not likely
that at sixty-fve he should commit any
such imprudence. So his nephews and ME.
ces felt confident of being provided for in
the future. In the present, however, as
time went on, and the education of both
boys and girls grew more expensive, Mrs.
Isaacs income became greatly straitened.
Her own family very much applauded the
expensive way in which she was bringing
up her children, and especially her indepen-
dence of spirit with relation to her trades
man brother -in-law, but they never assisted
her with penny. The young gentlemen
at Cambridge was therefore kept upon very
short allowance; and the young ladies F.;
whose beauty was something remarkable,
affected white muslin, and wore no mere
tricious jewellery. Their pin-money was
very limited, poor things, and they made
their own clothes at home by the help of a
sewing machine If Uncle Ingot could
have seen them thus diligently employed,
his heart would perhaps have softened to,
wards them, as L said they now never got
that chance. Julia, the elder, had been but
six years old when he had called at their
highly-rented but diminutive habitation in
Mayfeld, and now she was eighteen, and
had never seen him since. Although she
had of course grown out of the old mans
recollection, she remembered his figure head,
as she wickedly called his rigid features,
uncommonly well; and, indeed, nobody
who had ever seen it was likely to forget it.
His countenance was not so much human as
ligneous; and his profile, Nephew Jack had
actually seen upon certain nobby tree in
the lime walk of Clare Hall at Cambridge
much more like than any silhoutte ever cut
out of black paper They had laughed at
the old gentleman in early days, and snap
ped their fingers at his churlishness, but ii
had become no laughing matter now.
That remark of Uncle Ingots, IF evel
you or yours get five pounds out of me-
madam, before die, | promise you, you
shall have five thousand and am mar
Of my word had become a very serious
sentence, condemning all the family to, il
not poverty, at least very urgent want
What it meant of course was, that he was
resolutely determined to give them nothing
In vain the young ladies worked for Uncle
Ingot slippers and book-markers for his
birthday, and sent to him their best wishes
at Christmas in Rimmels highly scented
envelopes; IN vain Jack sent him pound
of the most excellent snuff that Bacon's
emporium could furnish, at the beginning
of every term. He always wrote back a
civil letter OF thanks, in a clear and clerkly
lattar ht1ft bara
When Mrs. Isaac asked him to dinner, he
declined in a caustic Misunderstanding that
he did not feel himself comfortable at the
aristocratic tables of the West End-and
sent her pineapple for the dessert, of his
own growing. He had really no ilI-feeling
towards his relatives, although lie kept him
self so estranged from them; but | think
this sort of conduct tickIed the old gentle
mans grim sense of humor. If he coulc
have found some legitimate excuse fol
making it up with his sister-in-Iaw, within
the first year or two of their falling out,
perhaps he would have been glad to do so
but time had now so widened the breach
that 1t was not to be easily repaired. VIVA
he had satirically written when he declined
her invitation, had grown to be true: h
rarely went into society. and almost neve
into the company of ladies, the elder por
ton of whom he considered frivolous an,
vexatious, and the younger positively dan
gerous. He had few old bachelor friends
however, with whom he kept up a cordia
intercourse, and spent with them variou
festivals OF the year as regularly as the
came round.
On the 31st of December, for instance, h
never omitted to so down to Reading, an
see the old year out, and the new wear in
in the company of Tom Whaffles, wit
whom he had worn the yellow stockings i
those school days that had passed ava
more than half century ago. Tom au
Isaac had been even greater cronies as boy
than Tom and Ingot, but the latter did n
like Tom the less upon that account S
cretly, think, he esteemed him the mo
highly as link between himself and tn
luckless family whose very existence
yet chose to ignore. Mr.. Whaffles had i
innate relations with them still (; they can