The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1866-02-15

ilyS Lonely. nonsense The man has
no more feeling of loneliness or any
thing else than q dried stick. Lonely.
1T seems a pity, said the gentle voice
OF the gentlest Of all gentlewomen.
"You don't appreciate the case at all
Mary! The old goose So, nothing
but marrying will serve him-and all out
OF spite, too, Well, he is bringing =
ine lot of cares on his shoulders, and so
{ he'll find There's an end TO his quiet
| life now. The trouble of a wife
+, Here my father checked himself, seeing
something perhaps in my mothers face.
/ No, Mary, didn't mean that, You
know did not You and / have pulled
| together without rub for five and thirty
years Why Polly, what are you think
! ing Off She did not speak. but | al
/ ways thought my mothers smile was bet
ter than words am sure my father
| thought so too Her smile WAS known
! to us all to be the sunlight under which
| the sour parts of his nature ripened to
sweet
Il wonder what she is like Z? queried
Tom, unluckily giving utterancs to the
! thought that was seething in our girlish
minds.
Stuff, sir What does it matter =
said my father, effervescing again A
designing woman, no doubt; designing
women are all alike
She must be uncommonly sharp,
said Tom.
The moment our father left the table,
our pent-up feelings had free play, and
we relieved ourselves by much conver-
sation. my mother playing the part of
mod orator
Il think your uncle has right TO
please himself, she said she left the
room to attend to her household duties.
Perhaps he had. People are not to be
deprived of this ri hit because they are
old and rich, and have circle OF nephews
and nieces cxpectant of solid remem
brances in their wills. No. certainly
not; but still it cannot be denied but
that this news fell hardly on US; we had
made so sure You see. But | have not
described Uncle Jacob This is easily
done, though, there being very little of
him to describ He was q little man,
not over five feet six, certainly with
little neat, small figure. surmoanted by
a long head Uncle Jacob was long
headed man in every sense of the word.
His features were hard and small
mean that they looked physically hard
wooden, for the expression of the face
was good His hands were hard and
small too, in fact, the second finger of
the right hand where the pen leans.
seem ed to be very bone. He was my faith
er's only brother, and had been sent out
early in life with fifteen hundred pounds
in his pocket to make his own way in
the world, when my father, as the eldest
son, had inherited the freehold farm we
live on.
With my father, time had stood still,
so TO speak; he MAS no richer and no
poorer now at sixtvseven than he had
been forty yearss before; but thing had
been different with my uncle. He might
sit down at the ink stained desk in tue
little mouldy office in Mincing Lane, and
take his hard pen into those small harI
fingers of his. and write his hard name
in the crabbedest OF hands, the cheque
he wrote it on would be worth three
hundred and twenty thousand pounds
So Mr., Sneck. his clerk. would say with
a triumphant look to his familiars. As
for Uncle Jscob, he never spoke about
the state of his affairs; his mind was
tight and trim, and self-contained like
himself
Now, Uncle Jacob had never spoke
word of leaving US a sixpence. but we
built our hopes on the circumstances of
the case, and very reasonably so,
think He had not a single relation in
the wcrlt outside our house. He had
always been kind to us in his way, pay
inc TOMS school bills, and sending nv
mother presents of the auaintest orna-
ments that could well be seen. He was
really fond of her. in rs undemonstra-
tive way, and had told my father conf
a. -
excellent woman On one occasion,
too, my father had been lamenting il his
presence that we girls could have no for
tunes.
Tom must have the farm, OF course,
snd then if he marries my father had
said. and Uncle Jacob had said. Don't
fret Yourself about their fortunes
There was no promise in the words
cerlainly,-that is, no promise express
ed-but did not an implied one lurk there
so slightly hidden as to he seen? We
thought so, and reioiced and msde mer-
ry over it. and made sure of our fortunes
from that day forward.
L wonder if he will ask us to the we'd
ding? said Nettie, the youngest and
livelest of US all, as we sat together
over the fire in the work-room
He may spare himself the trouble,
said Jane.
In any case. it would not be wise to
offend him. / observed.
1t doesn't signify whether he is Of
Tended or no. said Jane with a toss
His wife will take care OF him now
I should dearly like 10 be asked
said Nettie-
Why?'
Why. Katie it would be such rare
fun
'Fun?' said l. 1 do believe you
think of nothing but fun. Nettis; and al
ter all. it will be very poor fun for Us,
this marriage
He will look so odd, Think of the
little wee man in his green cost. with his
shining bald head, with his bridegroom.s
white gloves on, and rose in his but
ton-hole. putting the ring on her finger
(he must have his spectaeIes on TO do it
Droperly D. and saving all those things