The Republican journal., 1870-09-01
FIfL's DELICATE CASE.
AN ENGLISH STORY.

FIEL'S DELICATE CASE.
AN ENGLISH STORY.
When Mrs. Fiel was q bride, all tho spec
tators agreed that she was 4 pretty and in.
tcrcstng girl. who would make n fine
woman when she came to fill out But she
never did fill out; on the contrary, Time
that stole her Years away, robbed her o
plnmpness too; and after thirty annivcrsa-
rics of that wedding day, she was consider
ably more slender than at starting. She
wore curls, a black band round her forehead
and mittens-not knowing that these things
had long ceased to make her attractive, and
ON u first Introduction, would have struck
You as being somewhat of II guy; but q
better wife you would scarcely find in all
England, and that is infinitely more i'm
portant than comcliness and tasteful attire
Us YOU will own before YOU have been mar
ricd for a quarter of a century.
Excellent at all times, Mrs. Ficl culminat-
ed at meals Call no man happy till you
have seen him at breakfast; natural irri-
liability of Mr.. Fiel's disposition had been
almost entirely cured by little soothing com
forts and tit-bits. He was u solicitor, with
al office in London, and a mi-aetached
villa i'll the suburbs who had to leave the
latter ut nine to reach the former by ten
every morning. This necessitated breakfast
ut eight, but even at that early hour Mrs.
Ficl saw to every detail herself.
! 1t would have shaken Il very confirmed
bachelor to have seen her table one spring
morning n few Years ago-her linen was 50
white, and the tea 50 black, the Watercresses
and radishe, 50 fresh, the marmalade and
apricot jam 50 dainty set out, the eggs Sc
new looking, the loaf so brown and crusty
the dry toast 50 crisp and thin. And when
She heard her husbands foot on the staircase
and the flourish on his nose which invariably
heralded his approach, she rang the bell foi
the appci2ing little covered dish, which
matched and fitted the slop-basin to be
brought up This contained irzzlcd slices
of ham or bacon, delicate and curled, sausage
Il kidney, or the savory thigh of chicken
May such be your only domestic broils
! A hale. neat man. with sharp, gray eyes
and - very good opinion of himself, entered
and looked at his letters, selecting and open
ing one at once.
.'Wcll, Martha" said he. ''the ChipchoN
has arrived at last"
You don't say SOL Then Mr.. Lobycal
will be here presently. Will he come II
stay with us, do you think %
II don't know You had better have j;
bed ready; though expect he has not COME
to England with the idea of shutting himsel
up with an old man and woman four miles
from Marble Arch. Still, as everything viii
he strange to him at first, he may accept my
invitation for 4 night or two"
'This Mr.. Thomas Lobyear is rich--ls he
not ?''
win be, | suppose At present he prob
ably depends upon his father, who has giyel
me very liberal orders, absurdly libera
/
amongst savages, the old man must have
lost all idea of the value of money. How
ever, there is plenty Of it accumulating, an,
it does not matter to me-"
'sDon't YOU Think said Mrs, Fe!. III
might be well to have Sarah at home ?"
Sarah, the only child OF the Fiels, was al
n FINISHING school ut Clifton, but she was
seventeen and 4 woman.
'sAh, ah. ah,' laughed the lawyer. GA
your matchmaking, old lady? From wha
/ | am advised, he is proof against your ut
tempts Besides which, it would be some
hing like a breach of trust old Lobyear has
evidently got other views for his son thar
marrying him at present at any rate to al
Engiishwomftn"
''Whv, he would never 90 and match hin
with u ncathcn, with ring through her nose
like {, pg?'
Il don't know that replied Mr.. Ficl
laughing; elf he could discover new wee1
or a fresh variety of black beetle by ii, ht
certainly would"
1t was of good augury to Mrs. Ficl wher
her husband laughed, and a better when ht
replied to her observations, instead of look
ing deaf and gruntng, which he general,
did if she alluded to his clients or their bus
ness for it showed that he was willing to
be pumped. and Mrs Fiel's thirst for intor
nation was great, though it was rarely slak
ed. In the present instance, however, tho
lawyer thought he might require feminine
aid in the task which he had undertaken, anc
was therefore not unwilling to admit his wife
into his confidence.
| e'Ah,n said she, ''that was II curious iues
for rich man, to Danish himself completely
and give up civilized life, for the sake o
studying botany and butterflies in Japan
For Il poor man, indeed, il would not be ex
plicablc, if he expected to make something il
the end by it; but from what you say, Mr.
I.obycar has more money than he know
what to do with, Us it is"
eyes; he was we'll off originally, and go
u good property through his wife besides"
''Ah, poor man; | dare say grief from hc
death gave him craze"
''Fudgcm exclaimed Mr.. Fiel somcwha
l,,dely. '.lIe was glad enough to be free t.
so hunting on his favorite hobby. If sh'
had lived another year, it is my opinion thn
he would have boltcd and left her"
"Ah well,' said Mrs. Fiel, ''it is fortu
nate thing for him, or at any rate for his son
that he fixed on good a business man a
Yourself to look after his interests"
'Wcll," replied her husband complacent
ly, considering that the bulk of his prop
euy is in houses situated in n ranidly i'm
proving ncighborhood, and that the tenant
their rents raised, perhaps an agent who wa
not sharp might miss an advantage here ant
there. For instance there was an applica
ton for the renewal of a lease the other day
and | discovered that the tenant, who ha