Delaware gazette. [volume] (Delaware, Ohio) 1855-1886, 1867-07-12

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rendered his words all themore impres
sive at least fancied so.
fsOur great difficulty" said he, 'fi
the uncle, Mr.. bTerrick,-his name il
, Merrfck. I told yOu before he was &c
centric but that is not the word, ,-'ex
acting describes him better. He is aw
fully exRo9ing, and possesses fmmensS
influence over his niece an infiuencl
/ so great that his choice would be hers
/ even were she not still under age, which
I believe she is. Ny dear fellow, al
4 depends upon the impression you make
/ in that quarter cannot 6Laggerate
] the importance Of deYotiug yOuIs sell
/ from the very first to Merrickf-study-
ing his tastes, sharing his pleasures
and attaching him firmly TO your in
bterests. The old fellow is so selfish in
insisting on these attentions that don't
think, were I even free, I could stand
I enough Of his society to insure success,
/ But there's no knowing, the prize is
we'll worth winning, and perfectly at
tainable through him, and through him
alone.''
"And about Miss Eding P'' I ineired.
''AIiss Efhng is charming girl ,''said
/ Fred "quite young, and ready to be
1ieve anything bad Of lover her un-
Gle condemns. Being an heiress and q
beauty she has already received several
] proposals, but all have been rejected in
/ Consequence of the suitOrs having had
the egregious folly to pay more atten-
6eutiOu to the niece than TO the unele.H y
So then the uncle was the onIy real
difficulty not very grave one,
/ thought. At all events, forewarned
! was forearmed, and invEarSIly vowed
! to tax my patience to the utmost for 80
/ great a stake. At the moments it never
| occurred to me how reuaa rka5ly weIl-
/ informed Clayton appeared on all that
/ concerned our future hosts. j was only
/ too glad to find him 30 well able to ad-
1 wise me, and perhaps a little relieved
| that the great result did not involve
much courtship or attendance on a
| young lady.
! We We're not long in arriving at the
I station, where dOg-cart was in wait
/ ing to receive us and after a rather
/ cold drive OF a couple Of miles we reach
/ ed our destination.
/ Mr.. Merrick's or Miss Efing's house,
/ for I did not know to whom it actual
/ ly belOnged,-wa a large handsome
/ building, situated in q fine park, with
undulating lawn and Well-planted
trees so much I was able to perceive
/ in the growing darkness.
Our arrival had been heralded by a
handsome pointer that we found repOs-
ing on the terrace and on alighting,
we were met by Mr.. Merrick, who treat
ed me to a long and most uneQuiVOcaI
stare, and after greetings and introduce
tions, hurried us off to our several
I shall never forget that dressing.
had heard so much of first impressions,
believed in them so implicitly, that
my anxiety to produce the proper eff
feet almost amounted TO frenzy, and I
could have strangled Fred Clayton for
his cOOlness and equanimitY, when he
good-naturedly came into my room to
accompany me down through the or
deal of a first appearance In the draw
ing-rOom. sse.
Miss Efdng was there and the mo-
ment saw her, I understood the fail
ure Of all former suitOrs I realized
the almost superhuman1 effort that
would be necessary voluntarily to re-
sign such cOmpaniOnshlp for that Ofthe
su uperanuuated uncle, and resolved to
steel myself by the constant recOlIec-
ton of my predeCessOTs' fabes. Grace
ful, witty, and lively to q degree. no
wonder the old man dreaded to lose the
sunlight of her presence, and the affec-
ti0nabe charm of her manner towards
himself.
With exemplary fortitude dashed at
my task, and before the evening was
over found myself, to my great surprise
established as the chosen companion of
Mr.. Merrick. 7 listened with admir-
ably-got-up-intere to long, dreary an
eedOtes of his past experiences, COM
pTising minnie details of the dates and
even Ytbe7hOuFs at which people, long
Ties of these old people are always pro-
-digious land submitted to on account
Of his present devotion to bETe collecting
of minerals, which now. occupied all
his time, except during the shooting
season, for the old gentleman was VerV
proud of still being able to carry a gun.
Of course I Immediately pfofsssed
myself an enthusiast on the subject of
mineralOgy, and was forthwith carried. /
of in triumph to large cavernous den,
to admire what he called his specimens.
The examination of these -hfdeous
little bits Of tin and stone lasted, what
appeared to me, about two hours and
when, ultimately, we returned to the
draWing-rOOm, human nature asserted
its rights, and unconsciOusIy I stole /
over to the piano, where Miss Efhng's
fairy fingers were wandering listlesslV
over the keys while Fred Clayton
stood beside her looking through some |
music Immediately q warning glance
from Fred recalled me to a sense of 1
danger, and turning in the direction Of |
Mr.. 'AGerriel1, I perceived an unmistak-
able scowl upon his face, as he watch |
ed the party. Fastening to his side,
succeeded partially in removing it, by /
the proposal Of a game of chess, which |
absorbed all his faculties, and aQonized
all mine, till the general move was
made for retiring. ~
AS I approached Miss Efdng to wish /
her good night, overheard the old ty-
rant remark, =condeCsendingly Y, to Fred, |
tsYOur friend is an intelligent fellow 4; I
we sympathize, and like him rather
superficial in mineralOgy, but we must
try and remedy that by making the
most of Oul time, as your stay viii not
extend beyond a few days. In fact the |
young man quite Interests me-: I wish |
you had his tastes, Frederick ~
So virtue was rewarded, and had
made q good impression.
III.
The next morning we started early. /
intent on the wholesale slaughter Of
partridges and on this occasion Fred
hurt his hand SO severely as to incapa-
citate him from joining our future ex-
peditiOns I; in fact, every possible COM
binatiOn of circumstances favorable to
my advancement in the good graees of
Mr.. hIsrrick seemed to Surround me.
To say what an ef1Ort il required to
submit cheeFfully ta his perpetual pres
ence would be impossible. He appear
ed, after a little, to regard my cOntinU-
al conn parfionsliIg as q matter of course.
the man actually believed Eenjoyed his /
society PresuminE, therefore, on my
established popularity, I Yentured cas-
ualIy, on an occasion that appeared IA !
verable, to introduce the subject Of his
niece into one Of our conversations.
hard Instantly, 'BelIa requires to be
watched closely. She is so honest and
undetermined herself, that she cannot
understand the mercenary designs of
the butterflies that fiutter about, her
But never lose sight of her; I am al /
ways there to ward OffartfuI attentions
and keep WOuld-be suitoFs at bay. I
am always there, and I shall be always
there but" he added, changing his
tone, which had been growing excited, |
''it is well we are free from such inUrul
ders at present. I have never seen SO
little of my.niece as during your visit. |
You have made me forget myself and /
her but then 1t is only once in a life /
time that one may meet so congenial a /
spirit as yours and, as for Frederick, |
Bella, lnows,-and heW0ulda not dare
SsOl0, HE stopped with a grOwl. II n
Mr.. Merrick was then aware of Clay |
toni secret e1gagerne nent. This account
ed for what had already sOmeVVha 5ouE-
zled me,-hie apparent indifference to |
the young and fascinating lawyers 1
constant tete-G-tete with his niece but