The Hancock Jeffersonian. [volume] (Findlay, Ohio) 1857-1870, 1869-03-26

", some she guessed, already. Don
cry Zay. i have a presentiment
he will all come out right yet.''
"Right" meant to these voun
ST girls the way most desirable in the
id finite eyes. that saw such little wa
at into life and the great Beyond.
We So Milly went back to the GOSSIP
- ing aunt, and Eliza went forward
bit take up the burden of life fro,
n. which the sun was darkened and Il,
| moon withheld her light. But
u, The darkest tav.
" Live till tomorrow. will have passed away
/ And already The word had been sDo
d ken that should turn the color of he
d fate.
u Aunt Betsey was right about
a, great many things; and at the YER
moment she was taking her pinch O
snuff, and unconsciously thrustlp,
|. poisoned arrows into the heart O
@ Eliza Orange, the same subject wa
being discussed by Frederic Ches
d hunts father and mother in the clean
|, airy kitchen of heir farm house.
n "Did you give Frederic hint O
c how you felt, mother?'' asked Mr.
/ Chestnut, anXiously.
II "Not word for nor against.
n wouldn't. l treated the girl just a.
S well as knew how, though l never
: could stand it with the Dudgeor
Y blood. | always did feel as thougl
s ! was a porcupine with my quiils out
1 whenever / saw one of the family
Y even as long ago rs they and wC
= were young together, though DOM
, know any reason Why" replied Mrs
1 Chestnut, stopping a moment to
. mediate upon the metaphysical side
of the question. "WelI, so it is
she resumed cheerfu!ly, after an un.
availing pause; ''some folks can't
3 bear cheese, and / never took TO
, Dudgeon. But, nevertheless, | shall
try and treat Freddy's wife like a
daughter, whoever she may be; so
Showed her my cheeses, and took
/ her out to see the garden and the
pig, and never breathed a breath for
nor against to Freddy. Only as she
was off putting on her things in the
real Dudgeon way, dawdling and
dowdy, just said to Freddy, sort of
aside, said L: 'iNeXt time you come
bring Eliza And he never said a
word, and I never said a word.
wouldn't for anything.
All, kind hearted Mother Chestnut !.
Unconscious influence is sometimes
mightiest; and word spoken in due
season how good is it!
"Frederic didn't tell you, / sup
pose, asked Mr.. Chestnut, anything
about what made The trouble betwixt
him and Eliza Orange? Or wasn't
there ever anything To it only our
musings, after all p
"Well, | don't know" replied Mrs.
Chestnut. all the more cheer.ully to
balance the gloom of her husband.
II guess they liked each other, no
mistake about that; but they are
both pretty proud and pretty stuffy,
and / mistrust something has gone
wrong that they won't either of them
come back of. But, then, nobody can
tell the betwiXts and betweens of
couple of young folks, and themselves
as little as any body. Young folks
don't know more than q couple OF
rabbits What they want and what
they ought to want, and they are just
as apt to stumble upon the wrong
thing as the right thing" pursued
Mrs. Chestnut, with the wisdom of
experience and of long observation
stirring in her brain. "Why, / can't
positively say there was sny certain
engagement or the like of that, but l
supposedit it was an understood thing.
Well, don't know, father, it will
come out right, one way or the other,
and talking won't feed the pig, or
pick the peas for breakfast. tomorrow
morning.
So saying, Mother Chestnut put
on her sun bonnet and went briskly |
out with pail Of milk in one hand
and an empty basket in The other. 1t
was not her heart that was on the
anvil, and 80 she could comfort her.
selffo her disappointed expectations
by the homely duties of her homely
life.
Meantime, at the same moment,
Frederic Chestnut, alone in his
counting room, trotted his foot and
thought.
Since that one black day, so long
past now, he had been in whirl of
wounded self-love, suspicion, ard
despair. Unsaiisfied and restless,
he had been tossed from one mood to
another, sure of nothing but repent
ing whatever he did in one stage of
feeling as soon as he had passed into
the next.
Ah, If he could be wise enough TO
wait TILL the tide of passion has gone
down, and he finds which is sitting
sand and which is solid rock But
youth is so wise, and its wisdom is
such foolishness.
At last, just when Mother Chestnut
went out with her pigs pail, and
Eliza Orange parted from her friend
MiIly, under the maple tree, and
walked along the quiet country road
with wet cheeks and a suffocating
weight at her heart, Frederic Ches-
hunt jumped up, threw on his hat,
and went out with his hands in his
pockets, like man resolved.
The next day he went l2t again
at the same time-just after TIE close
of office hours-and the next day,
and the next. Then the look of
dcgped determination that had been
clouding his face cleared away like
fog before sunshine, and he got to
whistling at his work and buying
new neck-ties. .
s'Do you know, Aunt Betsey,'
said his landlady, Miss Halsey, "that
| am confident young Chestnut is
really in love this time p
Miss Halsey was spruce little spin .
ster, with as many wrinkles as a loaf
of bread just ready 10 60 into the ov-
en-, and beard enough to quite set up a
youth of moderate ambition. She was
as great a snuff taker and as great G
talker as Aun. Betsey herself; and
she trotted in, puckered and spry,
upon this morning, with her snuff
box and her tongue, to talk over
things.
There is one certain sure sign
Aunt Betsey, don't you know it ?