The Charleston daily news. [volume] (Charleston, S.C.) 1865-1873, 1867-12-25

looked at The jewelers. box, uncertain what it
might contsin. Opening the box, and discover
ing the s.udiously simple form under winch
Vendale's little keepsake offered itselfto her, she
penetrar I'd his motive on the spot. Her face
turned IN him brightly, with o look which said,
II W you have pleased and t1attered. me"
Never had she been so charming, In Vendale's
dress-a p~etticoat Of dark silk, with q bodice OF
black velvet rising to her neck, and lncloslng
it softly in q little circle Of swans down
heightened, by all the force OF contrast, the daz-
zllng fairness Of her hair and her complexion. 1t
was only when she turned aside from him to the
glass, and, taking out the brooch that she wore,
put his New Years gift in it's place, that Ven
dale's attention wandered far enough away from
her to discover the presence OF other persons IN
the room. He now became conscious that the
hands Of ObenreiZer were affectionately In pos
session oe his elbows. He now heard the voice
OF Obenreizer thanking him for his attention to
Marguerite, with the falntest possible ring OF
mockery In its tone. {" Such a simple present,
dear sir and showing sucn nice tack l"( Henow
discovered, for the first time, that there was
one other guest, and but one, besides himself,
whom Obenreizer presented as q compatriot and
friend. The friends face ives mouldy, and the
friends figure was fat. His age was suggestive
Of the autumna period OF human hfe. In the
binary capacities. One was q capacity for 81
lenke; the other was a capacity for empty bot
Ties.
Madame Dor was not in the room. Neither
was there any visible place reserved for her
when they sat down to table. Obenreizer e3-
planned that it was 1.-the good DORIS simple
habit to dine always in the middle Of the day:
She would make Ter excuses later In the even
ing" Vendale wondered whether the good Dor
had, on this occasion, varied her domestic EN-.
ployment from cleaning Obenreizer's gloves to
cooking Obenreizers dinner. This at least was
certain-the dishes served were, one and all, as
achievements in cookery, high ABOVE the reach
of the rude elementary art OF England. The din
ner was unobtrusively perfect. As for the wine,
the eyes Of the speechless friend rolled over 1t,
"Goodv n when a bottle came In full and some
times he said "Ah!" when 3 bottle went ont
empty-and there his contributions to the gayety
Of the evening ended. /:
Silence is occasionally infectious. Oppressed
by private a~nxieties Of their own, Mar
guerite and Vendale appeared to feel the
influence Of the speechless friend. The
whole responsibility OF keeping the talk
going rested on Obenreizer's shoulders, and
manfully did Obenreizer sustain it. He opened
hiS heart in the character Of an enlightened for
eigner, and sang the praises OF England. When
other topics ran dry, he returned to this mex
hsustible source, and always set the stream rum
ming again Is copiously as ever. Obenrelzer
would have gwen an arm, an eye, or Q leg TO
hsve been born an Englishman. Out Of England
Woo AN 6aNA eR ASNAN ~
such thing as o freside, NJ such object as o
beautiful woman. His dear Miss Marguerite
would excuse him, If he accounted for her at
fractions on the theory that English blood must
have mixed at some former time with their
obscure and unknown ancestry. Survey this
English nation, and behold o tall, clean, plump,
and solid peoplei Look at their citiesl What
msgnifcence in their public buildlngsl What
admirable order and propriety ia their streets
Admire their laws, combining the eternal princl-
49, - H. ILL.,. ~~~ -~rnAtNl
pounds, shilllngs, and pence and apply
ing the product to all civil injuries, from an in
jury to q mans honor, to an injury to q mans
nosel You have ruined my daughter-pounds,
shillings, and pence You have knocked me
DOWN with o blow in my face pounds,
PROSPERITY Of such q country as that to stop
Obenreizer, projecting himself into the future,
failed to see the end Of it. Obenreizer's en-
thusiasm 'entreated permission to exhale itself,
English fashion, in a toast. Here is our modest
little dinner over, here is our frugal dessert on
the table, and here IL the admirer OF England
conforming to national customs, and making q
speech A toast to your white cliffs OF Albion,
Afr. Venoslel to your national virtues, your
charming climate, and your fascinating women
to your hearths, to your homes, to your habeas
corpus, and to all your other institutions! In
enc word-so England Heep-heep !-heep1
Obenreizer's voice had barely chanted the last
note Of the English cheer, the speechless friend
hsd bs.ely drained,the last drop out OF his glass,
when the festive proceedings were interrupted
BY . modest tap ct the door. a woman servant
came in, and approached ermaster with q little
note in her hand, Obenreizer opened the note
With o frown and, after reading it with az e1-
preston OF genuine annoyance, passed it on to
his compatriot and friend. Vendale's spirits
rose as he watched these proceedings. Had he
found an ally In the annoying little notep Was
the longlooked-for chance actually coming at
lastf =,
81 am afraid there is no help for it ?" said
Obenreizer. addressing his felow-countryman.
ST am afraid we must 60"
The speechless friend handed back the letter,
shrugged his heavy shoulders, and poured him
self out q last glass of wine. His fat fingers lin
eered fondly round the neck Of the bottle. They
pressed it with q little amatory squeeze at part
ing. His globular eyes looked dimly, as
through an intervening haze, at Vendale and
Marguerite. His heavy articulation labored,
and brought forth q whole sentence at q birth.
"Ithink,h he said, "I should have liked a little
more wine." His breath failed him after that
effort; he gasped, and walked to the door.
Obenrelzer addressed himself to Vendale will
IN appearance OF the deepest distress.
If am so shocked, so confused, 80 Distress