The daily phoenix. [volume] (Columbia, S.C.) 1865-1878, 1869-08-08
CARRIE 1o1EM.
tjBY g. By

ham, throwing aside the letter he had
been reading, and tossing the Jaw book
from hisiap halfway across the table.
:Lie there, you, old tautological hum
bugP' aposteophising the book. 'fYou
are mob fit TO- associate with fellow,
whose motto shall henceforth be-'carpe
diemi'"G ts4.8 .... .,-
.To think the, old miser should have
remembered me 30 handsomely at last, :"
he continued, again taking up the letter
and running hisf'eye over its contents,
while his whole face sparkled with happy
excitement. ST swear it was kind in the
old chap, and more than ever expected.
Some people are born to lnck-as the
sparks fy upward mo, that's noti but
twill do. The. gods preside over their
births, and suit their blessings to their
necessities, Now, this fortune would.
doubtless, have been scattered to the four
winds, j, had it been mine, before, this
blasted war bsggated the whole Southern
country, but my kind old uncle nursed
it, and npqrinhed it on government pap,
untilsi grew into gigantic proportions,
and now, just in the nick of time, when
fellow car, enjoy it, he very obligingly
goes5to Kingdom come, and leaves his
pretty nursline to me. By the great
Mogu!l 1 am lucky deg, and carpe diem,
say /" yaT q
The young man folded the lawyers
letter, that had told him he WAS heir to
hall pinion, and let his eye wander
over his apartment. It had never looked
so mean to him hefore-that circum-
s9ribed Office, with its unvarnished pine
ftirniture. 6sI. ais.
''By Jove! don't see how a fellow
can exist in such miserable hole" he
exclaimed; all the importance OF half q
million breaking out in his tone. "Not
one item to redeem its bald shabbiness. !"
AS he spoke, his eye fell on TN exquisite
miniature that hung over the pine man-
tel.
"Ha!" slight sneer showing the
white teeth-"SheH think we ought to
be married at once, suppose; but not
80, my incompatible FAM not sol It
was all very to wish fof q fortune to
make two fools happy; but when the
fortune comes all on one side, my Fan,
ouAniust mot be- SO unreasonable"
Liberty! my darling, liberty! How
many men have aisd for, this glorious
phantasm of heated brain; but T, wiser
than they, mean to live for it. And yet
it is pretty little thing;" scrutinizing
the picture closely, ''and could not,
perhaps, do better. A little more style,
little more dignity-but they will come
with years; am told they always do. A
little more gravity, which will doubtless
come with waiting for Paul Graham and
his half million, and then, my Fan,
you'll be pretty nearly perfect; at least,
Iibe willing % take You" And with
oat more ado, he, with perfect GOODNESS,
thus mentally disposed of amy Essex,
the fairest girl in all that country.
Paul Graham was Virginian, of an
old and wealthy family. The late war
breaking. ont when he was but a youth,
had sadly interrupted his studies. He
was not college bred, but he had gradu-
ated on the battlefield, taking his diplo-
ma from the disastrous plains of Apopo-
mattox. He returned home to find n
desolate hearth and broken household.
There was nothing left to him but to look
/ out for himself, and he commenced the
study Of law in that same little, dingy
Office, in narrow street in Richmond,
the very place where the letter of Mr..
! Black, attorney for the estate of his
uncle, reached him, bringing tidings of
his great good fortune. His spirits, that
had been weighed down by the sad
! changes misfortunes had wrought, now
sprang up with the elastic rebound natu-
raj to youth and JOY.
"a parting visit TO Fan" he cried
gaily, "and then for .Jew York and
\ pleasurel''
That, evening found him seated by
Fanny's side, in her mothers parlor,
talking grandIy of his possessions, his
schemes and pleasures. She listened ut
4 first, with bounding pulse and kin
ding face, for the happiness that had just
been awaiting turn in fortunes wheel,
/ would surely be theirs now. But as he
went on with his airy braggadocio, it
suddenly struck her, like blow, that he
had not once included her in any, of his
plans. It had been-"I will do this"
and, "Iwill have that" with selfish
oblivion of her dearest hopes. When
this thought came to her, her hands
ceased their happy, nervous futtering,
and the flush died from her face. She