The Potter journal. [volume] (Coudersport, Pa.) 1857-1872, 1866-05-01
THE MERCHANTS STORY.

THE MERCHANTS STORY.
As my story will be very short one
[ will coumeDce al once, without any u0-
necessary introduction-pIuOge iu media,
res. which l suppose is Latin for make
your running from the jump" aud first
forcibly uttered b. some sharp fellow who
despised the Greek chorus and italian
relative. I have commenced life twice
once when I went iato business on nv
own account, and the second time when
got married Idon'tcount my entrance
into the world, di-ljking jntyoductiJn, as
| said befJre
Ten years ago I got married Nice
little creature, my wife Brown hair
golden, as the poets would say, bat being
a matter of-faet business man. | deem it
my dufy, as decent citizen, to protest
against all poets, past and present there
fore I say dis;iuctly-brown hair
must confess, however, that it was very
pretty, and fell iu wavy masses over heI
face, well, perhaps | can admit poetry in
this case, with the proViso that it be not
considered a preeedeat,) and when the
sun shoue upon it, it was pure goll-Dot
merchantable arucle-n3t one that
would have been quoted in the price eur.
rent-but something TO wonder at, and
make even a vagabond artist espectab be
man, by forcing him to admit that such
hues Knocked his utmost skill. She was
a prudent little creature, my wife, quiet,
aud Of a stature that could ouly have been
stated by inches, as one could never say
she was so many feet high. Perhaps if l
suggest TInauia's court, and herself as
one of the smallest of the fairy ribg who
took to the shelter of violets in storm,
I should convey something ike the fan
cles that used to cross my mind in va
grant way, when I caught a glimpse of
her occasionally before our marriage. I
am not admitting here the respectability
of poets, but stating plain matter of,fact.
She was an orphan, and lived under
the sway of Tippoo Saib il pe;ticoats,
stepmother. l don't know how she made
up her mind to marry me, as l vas so
entirely matter-of-fact; but have faint
recollection Of ere day asking her to take
q walk with me, which pedestrian feat ter
minared at a church door, through which
We passed two people, and came out but
cne-demonstrating that the days Of sor-
cery had not entirely vanished. Il is not
at all pertinent to the story to say that
she had brother who was my intimate
friend that be vas an artist, POOR, and
lived principally upon deans, that I
loaned him a sun of mone7-a purely
business transaction. aod toJk his note Of
hand for it; that be fell into a consunIp.
ton, wasted away, and vanished Ike one
of his own cloud dreams that l watched
him by night, aud buried him at last un.
der the wild flowers Poor fellow In
the worlds estimation he would lave
been great man if be had lived He
was better than that in mjne-a good
man, honest aad true; and when he died
he grasPei NJ hand, looked at his little
sister, who vas weeping over him. and
gave me a glance which plainly said,
Take care of her; she will be alone il
the world, with no companion but bitter
memories ~ I believe this accounts for
the fact that not many months afterwarl .
Alice aud l walked quietly to the church. .
Alice believed that I was desperately
in love with her, bat being a mere mat
ter-of-fact business man, I mast maintain
that the idea was 4 pure impossibiIity.
Every one will readily admit, when state
that | was 10 the queeasware, glass and
porcelain line, the supposltion to have
been grossly improbable, to say the least
However. married We were; left Tjppoo
Saib to her soli'ude-a sovereign without
subjects went to housekeeping iu a niee
little cottage where we still live; and as
all stories end or should end with mar.
rage, | might end mine here, excepting
for the fact that, from q correct point of
Siew, the story would be too short, to say
nothing Of lis bei0g slightly deficient III
point, plot, situations, adventures, eharc-
ters aud incidents, and not at al! bust
ness-lIke transaction.
Alice was an economical little creature,
aud having known poverty, was coutiuu-
ally gazing at mental landscape, the
principal feature being a steep deciiVity
at the foot Of which stood a forbiddiug