South-eastern Independent. (McConnelsville, Ohio) 1871-1871, 1871-08-11

of course it gathered strength and dimen
! sions with each repetition. Stories of the
fabulous wealth of the mysterious stranger
: were circulated, and it was with deferen
tial regard that the glances of those he
met on his daily rambles were directed
toward him. Day by day the public Gu
! riosity about him became greater, but he
, seemed to care not a straw-in fact, ap
peared unconscious of being the best no.
ticed man in the village. He had no in
, tercourse with any casual acquaintance
AS the days went on he even grew
moodier and more reserved than ever,
passing an hour or two every morning
surveying his newly bought ten acres,
tramping them over and over again, and
busying himself in all sorts of quiet spec
ulations. One day, Just a week after the
purchase, he called on Squire Jessup.
The kind-hearted lawyer received him
cordially, as before, and wondered that he
had not called sooner for his papers.
"rVe been very busy, all by myself,
was Mr.. Thompson's answer. And
now I've called to engage your services
again. Let me see. The deed is all right,
is its'
Perfectly. There it is, sir, signed,
sealed and delivered"
Mr.. Thompson took the document, read
it carefully through, asked one or two
questions, and then, folding it up again,
laid it away in his capacious wallet, and
proceeded:
az wish to begin building at once. The
plans and specifications for the proposed
edifce have here with me, and ready for
the builder. Now what want you to do
is to obtain for me a fair estimate of the
total cost of materials and labor required
for its completion before the 18th of next
December"
Mr.. Jessup stretched out his hand to
take the drawings which his visitor had
produced, and glanced over them hastily.
"Why," said he, "this calls for larger
and finer building than any we have in
town"
Mr.. Thompson's eyes sparkled for
moment. "Indeedp was all he said.
"Of brick, with one hundred and fifty
feet front and one hundred feet DEPTH"
the lawyer read. why, you don't mean
to occupy such house as this all alone,
hope" he said, lsughingly.
Not replying, Nh. Thompson continued:
"If the estimates, which, by the way, l
should like YOU to submit within week,
are satisfactory, would ask the privilege
of naming you, sir, as my representative
in carrying out the details of the work, in
drawing up the contracts, and in making
the payments when they fall due; in return
for which you have only to name your
compensation. have my particular rea-
sons for asking this of you, and hope
you will consider it favorably."
az thank you for the trust you desire to
repose in me-" said the Squire, "and &C.
cept it."
"Send in your bill whenever you de-
SIRE" said Mr.. Thompson; and let there
be no unnecessary delay in the estimates.
Do as you would do for yourself, and my
word for it you will not regret it."
And SO he left the puzzled lawyer to his
reflection. Straightway there went forth
mysterious summonses from the dingy
little Office to carpenters and joiners, and
bricklayers, and plasterers, and painters,
and for several days thereafter there was
quiet little conclaves where figures and
plans and roughly-scrawled calculations
held high revel, and, finally, within the
time appointed, Squire Jessup sent his
client word that he was ready to see him
again. The terms were concluded satis-
fsctoIily, the papers were signed, Mr.
Thompson deposited check for one half
the amount of the estimate, took a receipt
for it, and directed that the work should
be begun at once. al am going away for
a while" said he, "and will keep you ad-
vised of my whereabouts, so that you may
write me from time to time what progress
is being made"
"You have placed in my hand" said
the good old lawyer, "a trust which
hope you will find has not been misplaced"
And they shook hands and parted, and
the next days stage coach took away Mr..
John Thompson in the direction from
which he had come.
A month passed away, and then another |
and another, and the calm, genial days of
the Indian summer came around once
more to throw their garments of scarlet |
and gold and russell over the fields and |
orchards and woods about the peaceful |
little village upon which we have looked |
And day by day the walls grew higher, |
the great building began to loom up more |
and more distinctly on the little knoll |
overlooking the village, and with it rose |
proportionately the speculation and curl |
osity of beholders. A glorious mansion |
it was, with great, wide, airy halls, and |
long corridors, and high ceilings, and |
broad, covered verandahs, and galleries |
suggestive of those to be seen in the
tropics. There were in it rooms innu- |
IuCIdUlc,
rooms, with great, generous windows for |
letting in the sunlight cosy little bed
rooms, and pantries and closets of all |
kinds. And all with such an air of bright |
ness and completeness throughout, from |
top to bottom, that every one who strolled |
up there to look at "old ThompsOn's |
place." as they had come to call it, in
variably envied the comfort of the future |
inmate.
And then there came at intervals, con-
signed to Squire Jessup Che alone knew
from whom, vases, and figures, and bird
houses. and no end of odd rustic chairs;
and the workmen laid out paths and
graveled walks, and set out shrubbery and
hedges of box, and put high board fence
about the whole ten acres with huge |
gateway in front, so that now people could |
no longer enter at pleasure, but had to
peep in through the trellis-work; and then |
the workmen all left, a monster paddock |
appeared at the gate, and lol MIR. Thomp-
sons place was finished and ready for all
occupant.
Bv this time winter had set in, and 'peo-
pie were already talking of the holidays. |
Just before the happy season arrived,
came back, sort of harbinger of Santa
Claus, Mr.. John Thompson-not in a
dusty stage coach in the twilight, Dut
wrapped up in buffalo robes behind a lot of
jiDgling sleigh-bells, and well into the
hours of night.
The next day his arrival was the town
topic; everybody had expected him, of
course; he looked oldermany thought, but |
he was as active as ever, for all that-made |
an early call at the Squire's, passed most
of the day in going over the building and |
grounds, and, returning in the evening, |
slipped away to his bed before any one had |
even half chance to see him Then, as if |
surprises would never end, or, rather, as If
Mr. John Thompson's fund of eccentrici-
ties were inexhaustible, there appeared a
day or two after, posted up all over the
village, an invitation to high and low,
rich and poor, young and old, to attend
house warming to be given on Christmas
eve, by "John Thompson, Esq, of New
Orleans, at his recently completed resi-
dence in this village" And the village
newspaper in its next issue contained the
same invitation, strengthened by sundry
hints, and pretty broad ones, too, that no
one could well afford to miss such an oc-
casion as this promised to be. And so