The Conservative. (M'connelsville, Ohio) 1866-1871, 1870-01-14
MY DAUGHTER MOLLY's STORY.

PART
"Then you can give me no reason for
your objections, father
Molly's voice sounded defiant, but her
quivering mouth showed how much pain I
had given her; aud it is very hard to look
ct your own child, Is loving lovely girl Of
seventeen, and feel that you are making her
unhappy.
l do not think it is because Molly * my
child q at / say she WINS lovely at seven.
teen. Other people thought so, too. She
had such u rare face; q fair skiun little
ireckled; dark brown hair, which clustered
in boyish fashion over her white temples;
black-iringcd, clear gray eyes-thc long
fringes trembled o as %neryously MS the
closely shut scarlet lips. I knew the poor
child was trying TO keep from crying, and l
felt an unnatural tyrant, sitting there inmy
easy chair looking at her. Il became nee
essary TO repeat my objections, TO save my
self from yielding.
81 give you two reasons Just now, Molly.
i think Dir. Wickham Is too old for you;
and also, l want TO know n little more
about him before you promise to be his
wife"
"oh, father!" She had been standing
by the door. I hoped this painful inter
view was over, and she was going away
NAANNie buN INV Biz NaNAe bAGh TO NV wis
ting-table and pressed her clasped hands
upon II, az II 30 steady herself.
you know / don't like young men: Mr..
Wickham is only forty; you are young
still, and you are torty-seyen; and, father,
though you have only known him a few
weeks, remember / saw a good deal OF him
at Brighton; he and 1 used to spend every
morning on the beach.
Then where was Mrs. JacksonY" ask
ed angrily; for my cousin Tom Jacks1n's
wife had assured me IL would trust Molly
with her 20 spend u month at Brighton,
she would never let her go out alone.
'Ah, she used to talk to Mr.. Wickham,
too. Why, father, l told you all this, the
first day he called here after / came back:
she talked TO him till she began to read,
but you know, when once cousin Emma
gets her head in a book, she is not much
of Il companion 60 anybody"
''This is all irrelevant" I said. II must
still keep to what l told you just now, Mol
lyi l don't yet know enough of Mr.. Wick
ham to consent to your marriage with him;
and until l do know q little more about
him, he must not como here, my darling
l looked at her lovingly. But when q
father takes upon himself 10 thwart his
daughter affections, though his heart NAV
be running over with love Tor her, it is all
one; he IL looked upon as themost unnatu-
raj tyrant that ever oxisted-a creature
taking actual delight in promoting the
misery OF others.
otis very, very hard, " said Molly, ipnor
ing the fond look that went with my last
words. 81 must know best who will make
me happy"
There was such a quayer in the sweet
voice, as she shut the door behind her.
that l felt sure Molly would go straight up
stairs to her own room and cry her dear
heart out; and though IwaE such an infex-
ible tyrant, young ladies, l leaned back in
my chair, and covered my face with nv
hands, NJ l thought of my darling's suffer.
ing. Molly was all l had of darling now
Her mother had been taken from me three
years before, and / had thought that the
poor lonely girl would be happier Mt school
than with such an utterly c~ast-down, shirt.
less wreck as this loss had left me: for my
wife and l had never been separated, and L
was to me now as If half Of myself, half OF
my feelings At least, and my better iudg
ment, lay buried in the quiet little church.
yard at Fulhhm.
''oh, Mary, if only had you now, thi
would all be easy"
And then, it seemed to me, that if he
mother Lad lived, this could never hay,
Happened to Molly. Ny own lost darlin,
would never have sat reading novels on An,
beach, while a blooming young creatur,
like that talked 10 a stranger.
"No, said to myself firmly. 81 hat,
prejudice, and l think young people shoult
marry for love; bat / consider an attach
ment safest when it springs up in A girl
own home; especially when a girl is mother
less, and has lost the only safe conhdarte il
such matters.
Still l was very uncomfortable.
Tea-timo came, and Molly did not com
down to mike 1t. l grew more and NOR
uneasy. l got up, aud began to walk Il
and down the large ~old-fashioned room
sat in.
A room you never SEQ in newly-buil
houses; but a room You will often find i
the old ~unfreguented parts of London be
tween Ellington and Gray's-inn. A suuar
room, with n wide, shallow bo~w-window
the shutters Of which were oncrusted wit
richly-sarved woodwork carving to be foun
too on wainscoting and door panels en-,
chimney-piece; the ceiling was also richl
decorated. A room that, even with scant
furnishing and meagre allowance of lipht
lent far more Of dignity 10 orr straitene
means than the small, smart, bran-ne,
drawing-room of n suburban villa coul
ever have given. l could never tell why
l have Iacked my memory for this link i
my poor child's sad story, and / have neyt
been able 10 find it-but as / paced up an
down my walk, bounded by the limits
the Turkey carpet, which did not rene
nearly as far as the wainscoting, / kept O
looking at the ceiling. IL was not Very di
tinct in the light given by our lamp in thu
space; but still the festoOns stretching fro
one bunch OF flowers to another kept on O
tracing my notice more and more.
More and more, till my neck ached fro.
the effort oflooking up at them. / stoppC
short suddenly, and asked myself stern
how / cosld let my attention wander in tn
childish fashion, when 1 had to consider
important a subject as the happiness of II
ehild's life7 And then ! tried TO recall h
thought that was in my mind when l fin
began to walk mp and down.
Before long ii came back; but il certai
ly had no connection with the ornaments
ceiling, at least 40 it then seemed to me.
My thought was this: That L had n
been quite truthful with Molly; that Il
strong motive power of my objection to NJ
Wickham's suit was a prejudice against h
man himself, A prejudice conceived Il
Instant | saw him, and which the iaVOrab
after impression his manner aud oonyers
ton had produced had utterly failed to 7
move. The strangest part about this pr
JUDGE was that il seemed to rave been
my mind before ! saw him. 1t seemed
me as II l must have known this man in
dream, or IN some previous state Of exis
enee.
Molly had not talked abouther new frier
before he presented himself; 80 L could
no way account for my prsdispositi'
against him,