The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-12-24

miration Of women and envy Of men.
After leaving the room. he returned TO
say, ~ hope, Cousin Hal, you will &C.
knowledge shat in this matter Of the
girl l have acted in manner becom-
ing gentleman Of course | could not
permit myself to be insultcd by per-
SON of her class"
With, this se)fjusti6cation he left
the house, resolving to join the Young
Mems Christian Association at its next
meeting. In this ho did not propose to
be bypocrite; for after all that he's
been said and written about stealing
"thc livery of heaven to serve the devil
in" few men can stand before them
selves i1 the conscious deformity of
evil ; and the cloak which but conccals
from other eyes is Of less .noment to
the most hardened villain than the cum
ming device which hides him from him
self. .
Mr.. Twiuzy had been brought up by
.pious parents, and had once joined the
church, partly to place himself in the
Interesting position oa young convert,
but more in the hvpo that something
in that position would release him from
tho hard military necessities OF that in
dividual "good fight" through which
alone the soul can achieve victory over
sin and receive the immortal crown.
He was coward, "bummer )" and
while the army of christian civilization
marched on to the sea, conqueriag the
barbarisms of the ages, he hung upon
its skirts, robbing hen roosts and fam
cying himself hero.
As ho tloatel away from the COM
parative innocence and aspirations Of
boyhood, he dragged tho anchors which
should have taken hold "vithin the
veiP and held him "sure and stead-
fast;" and when he felt the cables part
ing be often struggled against the
tide; but as the Jews of old sought
to avoid divine wrath by "new moons
aud solemn tasts" in lieu Of tho strict
justice Of undoing the heavy burden
and letting the oppressed go free, 70 he
sought the same end by attention to re-
ligious rites, and the tender indulgence
Of sentimental devotion in singing
hymns. Thus he sought to permeats
his soul with pious thoughts, like a
nurse filling a sickroom with the fumes
Of burning sugar to deaden the senses
to the poisonous malaria which per-
vades it. He had not the courage to
open the windows aud call in the cx-
pelliDg, cleansing breath of God's pure
air; and so he aoated, and rottcd, and
decayed, within his fair exterior of re-
spectability; for Mr.. Edward Twinzy
was thoroughly respectable, being ae-
counted m odcl 0. a long list of vir-
tues beginning with P. OF these, pie
ty Of course headed the list; for, al
though not professor, ho had such a
pretty way Of stating his regrets that
one felt in moment it was piety alone
which kept him worshipping in the
vestibule, while his prudence aud po-
hteness were beyond question. Even
his petulanoe, (for he had not quite
reached the final P, i. e. perfection,
was SO pretty that both men aud wo-
men rather enjoyed it, and pitied him
for that fac sense Of propriety which
made him pervcrse. All, he was a
maj velous proper man, was Mr.. Twiuzy,
and one whe valued rersimu,ons above
all fruit.
His purposes toward Margaret were
such as to require special effort in or
der to keep up the false appearances
with which he sought to deceive him
self, hence his resolution to complete
project long entertained and from
which he had hitherto been held by
the thought Of initiation and quarterly
fees, viz /: joining the Christian Asso-
ciatiou This he would do at once !;
and Thompson should feel that it was
through his influence; and so Thomp-
son would be secure as fiiend and ally
in any case.
While he related his grievances and
pursued his plans, Margaret met the
othe, servants at breakfast. These con-
sisted Of Kate, already described, and
Malissa, the nurse, a vain, tawdry girl
struggling with the lassitudc Of rapid
growth, and silly in an unusual degree.
Of course any kind of . girl answers for
a nurse. A man docs not commit his
horses to a servant without some assur-:
ance that be is competent to the trust.
A cook must have strength and skill
for the duties Of her post. The woman
who takes charge Of the plate aud obi
ma must be responsible person but
anything in skirts will do for a nurse.
Reason: If the horses ar, injured, din
ner spoiled, plate bruised or china bro
ken, somebody is to bl,me but if b.
by dies from cold and hunger, OF from
falls, or cruel wrenchlngs and jars, or
from poisonous drugs administered to
keep him quiet, it is a dispensation Of
Providence; and his mother is moro
than ever martyr to dressmakers in
the necessity for a whole set Of new
dresses.
Tho family had taken their mael
without any recognition Of tho hand