The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-04-29


question. ~ aEEE
Heaven knowsl" was the answer.
But the long and short of the matter wa
this:
Mr.. Tom Soper, an attorney by profeC
sion, had established himself many year
ago, In the little town Of Cogswell, unde
the patronage of old Lady Dudgeon, VIII
was distant cousin of his; and, being
man of agreeable manners, he became s.
great fayorite with that lady that not onl
was the managementofaH all her affairs places
IN his hands, but it was generally supposed
that she had, ina manner, adopted him
he being an unfortunate orphan, of abou
fve-and- -thirty-and intended to endow hin
with ali her worldly possessions, when sh
should require them no longer herself
But Mr.. Tom Soper was an ambitious man
he was an impatient man, and was not con
tent to look forward to happy future, bu
wanted happy present as well; and, IL
seeking that hsppine S, which with hin
assumed the shape ofmoney, he permitteC
himself SO to manage his relatives affair
that portion of her income found its wal
into his own purse. Lady Dudgeon dis
covered these proceedings, and there wal
8 hot quarrel Mr.. Soper was forthwith
dis-adopted, and was sent about his busi
ness; he had killed the goose that laid tbs
golden eggs, and went about declaring thai
It had only died to spite him, that any rea
sonable bird would have lived through the
operation and been all the better for its
little gentle bleeding for the good of itS
health. Lady Dudgeon, however, refused
to look upon it in that light, and forthwith
installed another distant cousin, q young
lady this time, in the position of first favor.
ite. People said that Nh. Soper's ingrati.
tude had broken Lady Dudgeonis heart and
hastened her death; but, as she survived
that little episode some ten years, and was
eighty-eight when she did die, perhaps old
age had as much to do with it as anything
else.
Mr.. Soper, on receiving the melancholy
tidings, put on his hat and went up to the
house of mourning; for, said he, notwith-
standing certain unpleasant. t.misunderstand-
ings that had arisen between him and the
deceased he had ever regarded her with
unlimited affection. and all difference were
forgotten in the grave, and moreover, as
next of kin, it was his melancholy privilege
to take the management of affairs into his
own hands. This claim of being Rext of
kin startled everybody, but nevertheless
was just claim; Lady Dudgeon had out
lived all her nearer relatives, and no one
had given q thought to the matter except
the party most interested and that he was
interested to very great extent was soon
proved by the discovery that there was no
will No, poor little Miss Champion had
to pick up her things and GO home again;
and after ten years of expectation and sec
lusion with old Lady Dudgeon this was
hard; but there was no help for it, so home
81.
ernoss. t- s-s-- 5--L.---. go
AS inheritor of Lady DHdgeon's wealth,
Mr.. Tom -Soper retired from business
from mere dint of money; he, spent
profusely, built schools, erected q
pump, gave stained glass window to the
church, and Christmas dinners to the poor,
and, what was more than all, he founded
a literary and scientific institution, which
was to do wonders in the way of elevatingi
the masses; and as to those who were not
of the masses, there was no fertelhng to
what a height they might be exalted: it
was only to be hoped that the CogSwellians
would not get severe fall through pride.
All this, you will understand, is by way
of introduction, simply necessary for the
understanding of what shall folloE,sss
1t had been determined to open the in
stitution with great splendor. All the
neighboring gentry were to be invited; ;
there was to be q scientific address by
professor brought expressly from Bondon;
there were to be mineralogica1 specimens,
and geological specimens, and other won
ders of like nature; telescopes, micros-
copes, steth6scopes-tha is to say, stereo-
scopes; and the proceedings were to con-
cert In the grestroom of the Black Lion, J,
adjoining the institution; and, save that
the weather was as bad as bad could be,
the affair was as successful as could be de-
sired. A particular success-as the fore
runner of Cogswellian enlightenment was
the professors address. He was a little
quick man, who, with the aid of 9 glass OF
water, undertook to discourse for half an
hour on the indestructibility of matter
Everybody considered him very sffable for
a man of learning, and he had the pleas
antest way of imparting knowledge that
you can imagine.
''Now," he began, abruptly, ''you no
doubt often think you have destroyed some
thing"
Mr. Soper was sitting infhe very centre
of the first row of cane bottom chains, and
on him the professor fixed his sharp eyes
when he spoke; naturally, perhaps, but Mr..
Soper didn't like it. fssi37 ~ 6
"a bit of paper, for instance" said the
professor Mr.. Soper begun 10 fdget
In his chair-'syou put it on the fire, we
will say, it burns, and then-it is destroys
ed? No such thingP
''What do you mean?" said Mr.. Soper.
81 mean, my dear sir, mean, ladies and
gentlemen, that it is simply altered, not
destroyed; il was was once paper, now 1t
is SO much tinder, SO much vspor. You
will understand, before have finished my
address, that what once has been, always
will be; and that what is, always has been
under some shape or other. Perhaps at
the present moment" here he took 3 ap
of water-'I am imbibing a portion of
love-letter written one hundred years ago.
Mr.. Soper allowed the professor to con-
clude his discourse without further inter-
ruptioD, leaning back to his chair thought
fully, and paying no heed TO the words of
knowledge. he complained of not being
very well; and when the first part of the
entertainment-the scientific part-=cane
to close, and the dancing and feasting
was about to begin, he excused himself
from further attendance. He was an old
mar now, he said, and would leave that
sort of thug to the young people; SO he
went round to the '.Blaek Lion, and or
dered them to put his horse to, while he
fortified himself with a strong glass OF
brandy-and-water the night being parts
culsrly nasty one; and on top of that he
had another glass, still stronger, and then.
pulling his coat well up about his ears and
his hat well down over his nose, ,fhe got
into his gig, and went rattling down the
street. .-
There was no mistake about the rain; it
was that dogged, downright rain that evi-
IDENTIFY means to make q night of it, and yet
was not of that steady description that may
circumvented by an umbrella, ora parh-
cular inclination of the body. No! 1t was
in league with the wind, which was howl
ing with the force of forty lunatic asylums
let loose, and blown hither and thlther IN
q Wild, diserderly manner the was no
guarding against: and then the horse, m
stead of running straight ahead, as horse
should do in the experienced hands Of Mr.
Soper, insisted on zig-zag course, as
Though with the idea that, if he could but
make a flank march, he would get behind
the wind and be all right. -i--i - Z
lThereI it was decided at last. II had
been a matter of contention, all along, pc
tween Mr.. Soper and the wind. as to which
sbouId have his hat; he naturally thought
that he had right to his own property,
bnt the wind seemed to be of different