Daily Ohio statesman. [volume] (Columbus, Ohio) 1855-1870, 1867-07-20
VOL. sXXXIV,.A n

and iltroductions, hurried us off to our sew
eral apartments to prepare for dinner. y -
j shall never forget that dressing. Ihad
heard so much of first Impressions, be-
| ileved in them SO implicitly, that my desire
to produce the proper effect almost Amount
ed 20 frenzy, and | eonld have. straLgled
Fred Clayton for his coelness and equanim-
4 ity, when he good d-naturedly came Into my
| room to accompany me down through the
ordeal of first appearance in a drawing
| room, ~ EAL,L 80 y 81 ~ = AII
Miss Effing was there; and the moment
| saw her | understood the failure of all
former suitors; Irealized the almost super
human effort that would be necessary vol
UNFAIRLY tolresign such. companionship for
that of the superannnated uncle, and re-
solved to steel myself by the constant re-
collection of my predecessors fates. Grace
full, witty and lively to degree, no Won
der the old man dreaded to lose the sum
light of her presence, and the affectioDate
charm of her manner towards himself.
With exemplary fortitnde dashed at
my, task, and before the evening was over
found my self, to my great surprise, estab-
lished as the chosen companion of Mr.. Mer-
rick. 1 .hstenedJ with admirably-got-u
interest5to long, dreary anecdotes of his
past Experiences, comprising minute de-
tails of the dates and even hours at which
people, 1ongb since dead, had been born
the, memories of these old people are al
ways prOdigious land submitted to an
account of his present devotion to the col
lecting of minerals, which now occupied
season., for the old gentleman was very
proud, of. still being able to carry a gun.
of course / Immediately. professed NV
self an. enthusiast on the subject of min
eralogy, and was forthwith, carried off in
trinHiph to a large cayernous den, to adj
= The examination OF these hldeous little
plts Of Lib and stone lasted, ~ appeared TO
me, about Two hours and Wnen, Ultimate
ly, we returned to the dIawing-room, hui
man nature asserted lts rlgnts, anu uneon-
sclousIy stol2 over 10 tne piano, Wnere
MISS E1nngs Ialry nhgers WanuereG ISL
lessly over the Keys, wnlie FRED clayton
stood before ner LOOKING tnrougn some tnu-
sic. Immediately warning glance from
FRED recaiiea 20 me sense % on danger, ana
turning IN the uirectioh di hr. nerrich l
perceived an uhmlsGakaole seow1 upon MS
iaee as !. no ~ascneu e the paIGy;; Has1euins Id
70 ms sue: succeeuea psr1ia,IS pa III te,noN- L1o
HhS ~ ~ tie PfoRoSeI Vi Saile vi Snees'
which apsorpeu al ms IaculCles, aLu ago
lizso an an lp!.e, tlli the sehelaA noFe was
lhaue ioI reClris., ,,..u :. ,,;,,,
As pr9icnei uiss t5iinS t ~ isi. Ioi o
COCO nlghe, oVernearu tne 9lu 5YranS re-
marx; conuescenellnSIys ~ T reu, .O,l oui
Irienu is an inGeIiigenG ieiioW we Sy !hPa--
tllize, anu ilhe nllD IaSiieI 81 Ilolai IN
mlneralogy' OUT we must tFy anu remedy
InaG oy nakinS tne lnosC VI our silie, as
your stay win noC eA.enu oeyonG q lew
Gays. IN rae! Sne yo5nS IN man 9uiSe Ead- I,ise
es!s me I"lsh you U nau MS tastes' reu-
er1eh. Sa a1hoa odo
& 90 siiuue i; was re"arue''' anu na'' iii"oe
sooo iui ies'ion'
m
e.
The next morning we started early. in
tent on the wholesale slaughter OF part
ridges; and on this occasion Fred hurt his
hand so severely as to incapacitate him
from joining our fhture expeditions; in
fact, every possible combination OF clrcum-
stances favorable to my advancement in the
good graces of Mr.. Merrick seemed to sur
round me. 10 say what an e11ort 1t requlr-
ed TO submit cheerfully to his perpetual
presence would be Impossible. He appear
ed, after little, to regard my continual
ompanionship as matter of course; and
so well had acted my part that the man
actually believed enjoyed his society
Presuming, therefore, on my established
popularity, ventured casually, on an oc-
easion that appeared favorable, to introduce
the subject of his niece into one of our con-
versations.
sAh!'' said he, and his face grew hard
Instantly. .Rella. requires to be watched
closely. she is SO honest and noble minded
herself that she cannot understand the
mercenary designs of the butterflies that
hutter about ber. But never lose sight
OF her; am always there to ward OF art
ful attentions, and keep would-be suitors
at bay. am always there. and l shall be
always there; but, he added, changing his
tone, which had been growing excited, sit
is well we are free from such intruders at
present. have never seen SO little of my
niece as during your visit. You have
made me forget myself and her; but then
it is only once in a lifetime that one may
meet so congenial a spirit 2s yours; and,
as for Frederick, Bella khows-and he
would not dare noc." He stopped with a
growl. aais1lf
Mr.. Merrick was then aware of Clayton's
secret engagement. This accounted for
what had already somewhat puzzled me-
his apparent Indifference to the young and
fascinating lawyers constant tete-a tete
with his niece; but his marked emphasis
on the word noao solved the incongruity,
and also betrayed what would have been
his tactics, had he not felt secure; and yet
such knowledge argued a more intimate
association with Fred's affairs than should
have expected from a man whose present
hospitalitywas founded on thirty-years-
ago mountaineering with his father: but
ON reflection, detected in it an act of gen.
erosity on the part of my friend, who had
evidently taken the old man into his conf
dence, to set his mind at ease, and leave
him perfectly free to be won over by me.
So time wore on, and. as the day fixed.
for our departure approached I began to
fee. rrifie oualmish, in spite of the unde-
niabIe favor shown me by Mr.. Merrick. 1t
was all yery we'll to have secured the un-
cleft had secured him: but was GER
tain of secnrino the niece3 + had scarcely,
exchanged half a dozen words with her
Old Merriek had remorselesslv absorbed
every second of NV time-the covers ali
dav. mineraioov and chess all the evening.
tiII tbe yerv sight of chess-bo gener,
ated a nausea that have never since got