The evening telegraph. [volume] (Philadelphia [Pa.]) 1864-1918, 1866-01-27

luls IL Jne age OF COInplalnlngP. NOBODY SUI,
fers in silence; nobody breaks his or her heart
3 I'm secrecy and solitude; they all take "the pub
lie" into their conhdence--the convenient pub
Pic, which, like murder,
Hath no tongue, but speaks
s. With most miraculous organ.
OF course it is neither the con6ders fault nor
yet the confdant's, ii the winds sometimes
Is whisper that King Midas has asses ears.
y Mine is no such confession, l have no gossip
Y to retail of my neighbors; l am very quiet
Z gentleman, who prefer confding my interests
and observations to my own household, my own
immediate family. Ay, there lies my inevitable
# grief, there Turks my secret wrong; l am the
unhappy elder brother of a family in love.
The fact dimly dawned upon me, widening by
°rees ever since came home from India last
year. and took upon myself the charge of my
"a i've sisters, aged from about =. But Martha
might object to my particularizing. Good little
. Patty what merry creature she was when she
went nuttirg and fishing with me? And what
ugly caps she has taken to wearing, poor dear
And why can't she speak so gently, when scold-
ing the servants, as l remember our sweet,
voiced, pretty mother used always to do? And
why, in spite OF their mutual position, will she
persist in calling Mr.. Green with kind of frigid
solemnlty, "MT. 6reen?" But he does not seem
to mind 1T; probably he never was called any
thing else.
n He is very worthy person, nevertheless, and
vi have great respect for him. When my sitter
Martha-Miss Heathcote, as she has been called
- from her cradle-by letter announced to me at
Madras that she intended to relinquish that title
Tor the Tar less euphonious one OF Mrs. Green,
Il was, to say the least OF it, surprised. l had
. thought, for various reasons (of no moment noW)
that my eldest sister was not likely to marry-I
rather hoped she would not. We might have
been so comfortable, poor Patty and |. How
ever bad no business to Interfere with either
her happiness or her destiny; SO when the first
Sunday after my arrival home, cozy carriage
drove up the avenue, and bald, rather stout
little man got out, to be solemnly introduced as
Mr. Green" submitted to the force of circum-
stances, and to the duties of brother-in-laW.
4 He has dined with us every Sunday SINCE He
and are. capital friends; regularly, when the
~ ladies retire, he informs me what the funds have
y been at, day by day during the past week. and
q which is the safest railway to buy shares in for
the week following. most worthy person, |
y repeat; will make kind husbend, and suppose
Martha likes him. but. However, poor girl,
she is old enough to judge for herself and it Is
no business OF mine. Some Jlme, before long, l
n shall give her away at the old parish church
4 quietly, without any bow: shall see her walk
down the church aisle with old Mr.. Green-he
s in his best white waistcoat, and she in her sober
grey poplin, which she insists on being married
in-not the clear soft muslin and long lace veil
. quite we'll remember seeing Patty working at
and blushing over, we won't say how many
= years ago. Well, women are better married,
s they say; but think l would rather have had
Il Martha an old maid.
My second sister, Angeline, was fifteen when
. left England; and the very loveliest creature
ever beheld. Everybody knew it, everybody
i acknowledged it. She could not walk down the
street without people turning 10 look after her;
\ she could not enter a room without creating a
general whisper:-"Who is she 2" The ame
thing continued as she grew up to womanhood.
All TIE world was at her feet every one said she
s. would make a splendid marrage-become a
countess, at least; and do believe Angeline her.
self had the fullest confidence in that probability.
= She refused lovers by the dozen; every letter l
20 nj ma n nTnn no claun af Ice An.
geline's. would have pitied the poor fellows,
only she was such a dazzling beauty, and no man
falls out OF love so safely as a man who falls in
n love with a beauty. never heard that ANYBODY
4 died either by consumption, cord, or pistol,
I. through the cruelty OF my sister Angeline.
But, like most cruel damsels, she paid the
penalty OF her hard-heartedness; when / came
home i found Angeline Heathcote, Angeline
& Heathcote still. Beautiful yet, beautiful exceed
ingly; walking picture, a visible poem, it was
# real pleasure to me to have such handsome
creature about the house. Though people did
say, with mysterious shake of the head, that
handsome as she was If / had only seen my Ange
line two or three years ago! And Angeline her
self became tenacious on the subject of ne
gowns, and did not like it to be generally known
whether che or Charlotte was the elder Good
plain merry Charlotte, who never thought about
either her looks or her age!
Yet Charlotte was the first who brought me
into trouble-the trouble which ] am now called
upon to bemoan. had not been at home three
months when there came young gentleman
very lively ana pleasant young gentleman, too
who sang duets with the younger girls anC
made himself quite at home in my family circle
myself did not much meddle with him, though
him good-natured lad, and no more-untl on
fine morning he astonished me by requestinj
five minutes conversation with me in my study
(Alasl such misiortunes come not singly-m
study has never been safe from similar applica
tions and conversations since.)
was very kind to the young man; when h
blushed, / looked another way; when he trem
bled, / invited him to take a chair. listene
to his stammering explanations with the utmos
patience and sympathy; ! even tried to hel
him out with them-til he came to the las
clause.
Now, do say that man who asks you fo
your purse, your horse, your friendship, afte
only four weeks acquaintance, has considerabl
coulage; but man, who. after that brief perio
since his introduction, comes and asks you fc
your sister-why, ones first impulse is to kc
hm down st,.irs.
Happily / controlled myself. l called
mind that Mr.. Cuthbert was an honest youn
fellow and that II he did choose to risk h
whole future upon the result of month
laughing, and singing, and dancing at balls
certainly 1t was his affair, not mine. My bus
ness solely related 10 Charlotte. / was Just de
patching 1t in the quickest and frendltest ma
ner, by advising the young fellow to go back
college and not make fool of himself in val
when he informed me that nv consent on
was required, since he and Charlotte had bee