New Orleans Republican. [volume] (New Orleans, La) 1867-1878, 1870-10-23

hL nome on VelVeL. II uOtlCcu, DIS cdiue
along Mr.. Hulbert's oats are beaten fiat,
and shouldn't wonder if a good deal Of III
jury was done by the hail"
Every likely" replied Mrs. Seacrest, Sc
renely. ''The hailstOnes were very large.
But it has come off beautifully now, and
| the air seems so much purer for the storm. y
Some people might have felt put aside at
this, but not Mrs. WOodcock. She per
ceived that something lay under this placid
surface, and, never being troubled by ex-
cess OF delicacy, proceeded at once to send
out her blOOdhounds.
GLOW was it here!" said she boldly,
anything damaged about your groundsF'
''The dahlias: some of them We're broken
otf-didn't father say" responded Mrs.
Seacrest, appealing to her daughter. "And
think some glass were broken in the hot
house. The doctor has just ordered a
different style of sash, SO these are out OF
the way just in time
Everything was always fish that came to
Mrs Seacrest's net.
..'Tisn't that" said Mrs. Woodcock to
herself. Something heavier than hail
stones is on her mind
She started on another trail.
Heard from Ernest lately :" she asked
Not very long since" replied Mrs. Sea-
crest, carelessly but with the taintest
shadow of a shade slipping across her sunny
face tor an instant.
THAT is it," said the visitor, inwardly,
nodding approvingly to herself For it is
not everybody who would have had the
skill to touch upon the sore spot so soon.
But before she had decided on her next
question, Mrs. Seacrest spoke again:
1--WE are expecting him home soon, Mrs.
Woodcock with his wife
''His wife y cried Mrs. Woodcock.
Even with her discerning foresight, she
WAS not prepared for this announcement,
Ernest Seacrest being yet Junior in the
State University.
Miriam looked steadily upon her work,
flushing with look of painful annoyance,
but her mothers tone was as blithe as ever.
Yes" said she, ERNEST is young. isn't
he }! But, after all, he is as Old as | was
when | married. Our children take us by
surprise. coming to be men and women so
much sooner than we expect
when do you look for him-theme" fall
tered Mrs. Woodcock, too much bewildered
for her usual aptness of questioning.
''Almost any time; shall not be surprised
if they come to-day" answered Mrs. Sea
crest, not able to conceal some nervous
dread.
Not a dread that the married pair might
arrive before Mrs Woodcock should 20
away, with her long eyes, deep ears and
broad tongue. Oh, no. Mrs. Woodcocl
would have scorned herself with contempt
uous scorning If such unworthy jealousy
had crossed her selt-assured mind.
So she sat, and sat, and sat, and sat,
while Mrs. Seacrest sewed, and sewed, and
sewed, and sewed.
Miriam. evidently unable to bear the slow
torture, soon found an errand to her cham
ber and found no reason for returning.
Wasn't lyonr sons ,; marriage s little sud sud
as she had collected her ideas.
Somewhat. But it is SO much better for
young man to settle upon some one lady
rather than fall into a habit of flirting" re-
piled Mrs. Seacrest, with cheerful satisfac-
ton. And | have always been in favor of
early marriages Where people wait till
their habits are crystalizedit is much harder
adapting themselves -"
Mrs. Seacrest's sentence was brought to
an untimely end by the stopping of car
riage at the gate-the doctors carriage. too,
with the doctor himself to drive.
$50 it seems she knew all the time they
were coming this very day. though she
made it so vague. And there was, as my
good fortune would have il, right in the
midst of the Homecoming" said Mrs Wood
cock, afterward. in relating the story to
Mademoiselle Widger.
Mademoiselle. Widger was the mlliner
who lived only three doors from Mrs Wood
cock, and said mon Dieu" to appear like a
She was equally fond of
cup OF tea and a dish of gossip, and made all
Mrs. Woodcocks bonnets for nothing.
$50 there sat and saw it all pursued
Mrs. Woodcock. And what do you think,
but Ernest came in with a
lady on his arm older than his mother!
Ny wife said he. and YOU might have
knocked me over with one of your feather
"a
in Throckmorton before"
Mon Dieu,' cried Mademoiselle with q
little foreign scream. Did you learn how
it happened"
mo more than the dead" replied Mrs.
Woodcock, solemnly. Mrs. Seacrest tried
to pass it off with her smooth-it-away man
ner, but she couldn't deceive NE. | could
see she had hard work to keep her feelings
in. But there she poured the tea and passed
the moon. She is such hand 10 cover up,
and make as though everything is just
right that happens to her.
so Won staid to lunch! queried Made
helping herself to a third cup of
that beverage from Mrs. Woodcock' 3 round
black pot as she spoke.
Yes. they asked me, and I didn't wait to
be urged. l thought it would be a good
chance to see the bride, how she looked, and
how she appeared"
We'll, how was it," asked the mlllIner,
between her sips OF tea.
''She appeared well enough. far as that
went if she hadn't seemed old enough TO be
his grandmother. You know Ernest is
master young looking for his years, and l
don't suppose he is a day over twenty"
Mon Deu But didn't you have any
surmise how it happened to take place p
pursued Mademoiseile.
III I c1n
worth property returned Mrs. WoOdcock,
who, like a wise general, never acknowl
edged defeat But for all that, | don't
commend it in him, and | had u. lief tell
him so at his dinner table
While thus the hidden affairs of the doc
tors family were being discussed and
stirred up in the Hollow, as hen stirs
among dead leaves, on the Hill they were
being carefully covered over like the lost
Babes in the Woods. 1t was never the Sea-
crest fashion to parade the family skeletons
and talked and laughed, and tried to look
1t the elderly bride without shuddering.
But her age was not the worst of it, She
was homely. And her LONELINESS was not
the worst. She was stiff and unattractive
n manner IS well as person. And it was
hardly the consolation, that, perhaps, it
should have been, to perceive the unlimited
fondness that the boy bridegroom had for
his aged companion. For it is really com
fort, though a small one, to see our friends
,hafe under degradation. Accepting
slavery with contentment makes the cap
tive twice slave.
However, the less the family felt like say
ing sweet things the more they pressed the
sugared cake, the ice cream, and the straw
berries upon their new member. But all
this time there was something in the back |
ground waiting to be brought forward and