Macon beacon. [volume] (Macon, Miss.) 1859-1995, 1871-01-28

The Squire wiped his Deet,Ied
brow and secretly wished he bad
read Moor and Byron i'll his young
en- DAYS, 50 as to be able to converse
ogreeably with q pretty girl Of eight
cen.
"Thats the house, he said at last,
pointing to the gable end of the
mansion, peeping through
a mass ofelm boUghs. As Miss Car
roll had been familiar with the
neighborhood for eighteen years,
she replied with some acerbity.
II know that, Squire Peckwood!'
How will you like it for your tu
ture homer he asked with a clumsy
effort at badinage.
Il don't know may like it we'll
enough answered May Indifferent
ly, "6ut it has got to be altered very
much.'
Squire Peckwood's jubilant coall
tenance fell, To him the family
home OF the Pcckwoods was modern
Mecca, a sacred spot, fAultless in its
perfection, and susceptible Of no
possible improvement,
Altered. he echoed. HoW|
'That horrid old elm.trcc must
ac cut down first" said May, With
a l~iSparaging motion of her p%araSol
uv7rA Il at shades everything.
" That elm tree, ma'am,' said
Squire Fleetwood hnskily, "Nas
planted BY Moses Fleetwood, ma'am,
my great grandfather, 1t is known,
ma'an, as The Fleetwood Elm!"
at must make the house as damp
as a vault" said May, "and don't
wonder that your two first wives
died. The Tcckvood Elm must be
cu, down, Obed.'
1t was the nrSt time she had over
called him By his Christian name,
yet it did rot sound sweet III Squire
pcckwOod'S cars,
GLOW narrow this hall isl! said
May pettiShly, as the Squire threw
omen the front door and silently mo
| toned her to enter. " Can't it be
widenedl And only me snu1y lit
Ito paTlor,'
at was good enough far Susan
Emery, the first MIS-. Fleetwood,
cried the Squi c IrateIi - nor did
Alicia Jane, my second wife, ever
venture to object to it!'
"Tney must have been milk aud
water sort of people" said May
n%revcrently. "DeaF mr., Obed, !
never can five here. The two rooms
must be thrown into one, with an
arch across the rentefT'
" You can't do 1t; the chimney
stack is between
"Put the chimney stack some
where else"
"That would be equivalent to
building a new house." SrQGned
Squire Feckwool,
well, suppose We do, ObedW crl'
cd May, suddenly graspmg at this
novel idea. "A new house would be
perfectly delightful, a Gothic cottage
with ornamental grounds just on the
slope of the hill; OF a Swiss chalet
with dear little balconies and point
ed caves. Pm sure | never should
be contented in this old shell of a
honse.p
Mrs, PeckAI mean, Miss Car
roll, " slowly %enunclatep the Squire
Pm not made of coined gold, conse-
quently | can't afford to build, May
/ ask what your rational objections
can do to this houseW
at isn't big enough said May,
with a toss of her defiant little head.
"Not big enough! There arc thir-
teen rooms, besides q very good
cemcnted ~callar.p
~ dare say; but, you see, Pm not
going to live like a mole burroNing
in solitude and darkness. | shall
ill the house with company thevery
first thing
There was q speculative CLEAN in
Squire Peckwood's grayish green
orbs as May Carroll spoke.
Do you mean, take summer
boardersi A good plan, q@y."
mo" said May abruptly, ~ mean
nothing Of the sort. | mean ihrited
company-my cousins and friends
who are to stay here rs long as l
can cOntrive to make it pleasant for
them. OF course | shouldn't for an
Instant contemplate receiving any
money from them. And we gould
have the sweetest summer picnics
up here, with a band from New
York, and refreshments from Santil.
lani's! In strawberry time, Iesulr
pose we could have our own berries,
and"
"By no means,' i~nterpoSed the
Hurried Squire. IL always make a
contract with a man i'll Fulton mar
ket for my berries, twenty cents a
quart the season through"
ooh, we'd change all that" said
May ca%relessly. Though, indeed,
| shouldn't care what you did with
the fruit the weeks spent at Cape
May and Nahantp
The Squire's face darkened.
seThe first Mrs. Fleetwood spent
q day in New York once in four
years; the second Mrs. Fleetwood
never wished to go anywhere except
to church, audE
uAnd The fhird Mrs y n~innontlv