Urbana union. [volume] (Urbana, Ohio) 1862-1872, 1869-06-23

much to the delight Of the worthy COu-
pie; and so to cut matters short, very
good dinner we had. I insisted upon the
whole party adiOurning to the best par
lOr after dinner, when mine host prOduc-
ed some choice port from the cellar. It
being Easter Monday and I having been
so to speak, admitted into the bosom of
the family, I ventUred to brOach the qUes-
ton Ofthe egg. If not of a private, nature
whatdid itrelate to? \ general laugh, and
chuckle from old JOshph himself, sug-
gested that there was something amusing
connected with the egg, and it didn't
require much pressing to induce Mr..
Clarke to tell the tale, which he did
as fOllOws:-
"Let's see, it must be gOin' on for fif-
teen years since that happened. How
sumever, I ii begin at the beginnin.' Ne-
We, maybe, noticed that big house OppO-
site. Well, there a DR.. Carter lives. He's
Il widOwer,- -wife's been dead this ten
years, suppose; he has couple O'dar-
teTS, but they're married and settled
elsewhere. It's one o. them as I'm going
to tell We of. Deary me! I remember
when them darters eff fhissem was young
oiTls,-what TOmps they used to have!
Dye see that round hole in the big door
thar, close to the latch? Well that's
where they used to stand tiptOe and
peep through when they heard any gen.
tlemen drivin' up here, and we used to
have Il power o. young college gents
far more than now. But Pm gettin' off
the line; well, matter o. fifteen years
ago, there was young chap stayin' here
a learnin' medicine with DR.. Carter
a Frenchman he was, Alfred ChabOt they
called him. A merry, nice-lOOkin' little
felleT he was, far decenter to look at and
talk to than ever 1 thought furriner
could ha' been. He was fond o. comm
here of an evenin, and would bring his
fiddle with him, and sing to it sweet as
a bird. And he was that amusin' with
it all, that tell We, I've many a time
thought pd ha' died with Iaughin' at
him. think he must ha, had some larks
with the yOungladies opposite, too, when
the old man was away, for I'VE heard
'em laUghin' in the garden like good uns,
many a time. And my wife, she says
to me one day.
'I tell ee what Joe,-that young
French chap I'll be spliccd to one O'them
Miss Carriers afOre long, or my name
amt Betty Clarke
ED'ye think so Betty?' says |. For, to
tell the trnth, never cast q thOnght on
the matter afOTe,-wOmen is such sharp
er hands than men, ye see, at indin'Out
them sort 0, things.
i'Think itu says she, I'm just certain
of it; and what's more, tits Miss Susie,
the younger one, he's arter. Have MT
watched 'em lOOken' at one another in
church. so sly, when they thought no
bOdyls eve was on 'em? La! bless yer,
'is we woman folks that have the eyes;
YOU men are as blind as bats
well, afterwhat Betty said, 1 thought
I'd look at my lady and gentleman in
church the next Sunday I was there.
But never a sign did see, bless We, pass
between 'em; their eyes seemed glued to
their prayeT-bOOkS, leastways hers were.
What they were at in sermon time, I
can't tell We, fOrI generally listens to our
parsOn with my eyes shut; it must both
er a man, We know, when he's preachin', ,
to see folks all staring at him with their
eyes wide open; so l always shuts mine.
This young ChabOt, he lived in lodging
in the village, in the very house where
our Lott lives now. Old Billy HeWes
and his wife lived there then, and Billy
says to me, when we were smOkin' our
pipes together one eVenin' beside the
club room fire:
joe says he, my old oman tells
y
French chap have his darter.'
lgNOnsencev says I, you don't mean
to say young Chabot has asked for one
of 'em.
LAY! that he has, Joe; and old Car
ter stOrmed and swoTe dreadfully at him,
so my Sally SAYS, but how she come to
hear ont, unless the young genelm'n
told her hisself don't know
(Which of 'em did he ask,-did Sally
say?'
'sWeIl the young 'uu believe
t'Ah! then,' says l, we may depend
upon it, it's because he didn't choose
t'Other. Yesee, the young 'uni is young,
and can afford to wait; but the old 'un,
she is gettin' on in years, and it'll be
hard to getr Of her sOOn.'
''Well there's a deal Oftruth in that,
joe says Billy. Just then my missis
came in, and Billy had to 90 minute
arter; so we didn't have any more talk
about old Carter and his daTter that
night.
" 6Howsumever, young Chanot stayed
on and seemed as friendly with the old
man as ever, so began to think that
Billy Hawes' missis had been CANNON
in him with some cOck-and bull story
as wasn't true.
mWeIl, time went on. Christmas came q
wentt. and a mortal cold Christmas it was.
Poor old Billy Hawes, he was laid
up that bad with it that I never saw a
sight Of him for three months after
wards.
"On Easter Monday, old Garter went
TO Norfolk on some business or other.
The day after he had gone, about six
o'clock in the evenin', young ChabOt
comes into the bar, and says to me:
''NIr. Clarke, I've got friend here
who has come to see me. We're going
to travel up to London to night by the
last train from Welbeach. | want to
know if you'll drive us over Welbeach
in your shandry. I've got a couple of
small portmanteaus, and that's all our
luggage
|'What time dye want to start from
this? I asked.
''Oh, little after ten-say quarter
past
every well, then, sir, says 1; I've no
objection to drive We; but l hope yell
not keep me Waitin', for its cold night
to let q horse stand about In harness
go, no fear of that. Well be here
to the minute says he, and
without more words walks about his bu-
siness.
rYe see we had no line nearer than
Welbeach in those days, and that was
good five miles off. I had rattlin' mare
then, though, that could cover the dis
tance easy in twenty minutes.
We'll, by ten minutes past ten the
was ready, and just on the min
ute of the quarter my young gentleman
comes up with his friend and boy car
ryin' the portmanteaUs. The horse be-
in ready, and we three ready too, with
out more ado they hoped into the trap.
Mr.. ChabOt sat in front with me, and
his friend perched himselfOn the back
seat, and off we drove.
II hadn't much time to look at Mr..
friend, but he seemed about the
same height as the young Frenchman,
with little more beard and mUstaChiOs.
Mr.. ChabOt and me, we talked away
pretty fast; but the gent behind din't
put i'm a word; though, for the matter O
that, it amt comfortable to talk from
the back seat to a party in front. Once
Mr.. Chabot turned round and said:-
''Have yOUany cigars there, Philip?
dare say Mr.. Clark would like one; and
Pm sure I should
eyes, SAYS Mr.. Philip, and hands over
u case full. ! took one, Mr.. ChabOt took
one, and, Us heard Mr. Philip strike Il
match directly afterwards, | concluded
he took one too.
NV old mare soon did the distance, |
and before we had been twenty minutes !
on the road the red lights of the station
came in sight.