The Sumter watchman. [volume] (Sumterville, S.C.) 1855-1881, 1871-08-16

SILL 1888 uO LIZ nhSW AoH "SAA
value of those little words of few letters
like his coins, he would not let them
go without certain guarantees of theil
being properly placed. He put of thu
young man to the following Sunday, aDd
meanwhile communicated the proposal
to his daughter.
"Micoutet is very nice young man.
said Bernadotte. 81 stop and talk with
him every morning on passing his farm
He has fine oxen, good fields, and ar
excellen. vineyard. Casterez, the baker
however, appears also to good advau-
tage would it not be we'll"
"Casterez, the baker !w replied Father
Hugh, in reflective mood. "Ry Our
Lady, there is always bread on q bakers
counter !"
"Aud tarts on the dinner table, y
added Bernadotte.
"I will find out, my child, what the
baker means before deciding"
"His meaning, father, is plain
enough. He buys every morning all
that 1 take to town, and without
higgling about the price, please you
If 1 we're to ask him double, he would
not make the slightest objection.
"Without higgling about the price y
Father Hugh, who did not do
business in that fashion. "That young
fellow is very much smitten . We will
look into the matter, Bernadotte; and
if bis grannery and his purse are as we'll
stocked with -four and cash as his heart
seems to be with love, We will try to
make some arrangement"
Father Hugh strobe off to town to see
the baker, who, delighted with this
proceeding, showed himself deeply
enamored.
(Which of the two" exclaimed
Father Hugh to himself. "The thing
works we'll. We will set them to COM
petins; goods in demand increase in
value"
He returned home, and, communlca-
ting the bakers sentiments to his daugh-
ter, promised her to decide quickly
which of the twoi would be best for
her to marry.
"The baker is a very nice young
man." added Bernadotte, the same as
she had said Of the ploughman alicoutet,
'but there is another, the hair dresser
Firmin. He buys something Of me
every day, and keeps me an hour talk
ing about his tour through France, the
yarn my stockings are made of, and my
good mich COW. He assures me that
he has never seen any one more eugas-
ing than she whom he has the pleasure
of looking at when he looks at me-"
"The compliments of barber y in
Father Hugh. Everybody
knows what they are worth No matter,
the affair progresses; competition among
three makes the profits all the greater !!
We will see the hairdresser, my dear,
and fud out what to expect from his ad
Hugh again returned to town, where
he had an interview with VI. Firmin !;
and, as he knew that the larger the com
pany of buyers the more active the
bidding, he invited each Of the com
petitors to come to his house the follow
ing Sunday after Mass.
"Humpp be muttered to himself as
be canvassed the situation, "the plough
man courts my daughter, but without
ncglccting his work or spending .
farthing; the baker is doing the same
thing, lettering about the market-plaee,
and spending his money to win the
saleswoman; the barber overwhelms
with fulsome compliments
aud triaing presents. There is no hurry !;
things car be cleared up, and the
characters of these gallauts tested, to
make them solve one of my riddles"
When Sunday came Beruadotte made
herself look as beautiful as the virgin
queen of May day festival. She put
on her best starched muslin cap, calico
pettlcoat, red cotton handkerchief and
morocco shoes, and awaited the appear
ance Of her three suitors, who, on pre-
,enting them selves, the father welcomed
in these terms:
"You three wish to provide husband
for my daughter, and you all cherish the
same object. A custom obliges her TO
reject two in the selection Of onc-she
must proceed cautiously in this even
uncertain lottery. Every scholar who
goes to college passes five or six years
10 aseertaining whether he will wear
he uniform Of soldier, the robe of a
awver, or that of a doctor. A young
,irl may be excused if she asks days to
decide what kind of moose she will put
around her neck. Come back here next
Sunday, my friends, in your best attire.
am little particular in the interest
IF my dear Bernadotte, and I have al
ways felt somewhat superstitious 10 the
matter of tidiness You must not be
surprised fyou see me give my daugh-
Ter to the one ,cho shall sboa0 me the
chaca hands"
Father Hugh uttered these last words
with marked emphasis.
II.
Micoutet was almost ready to die with
grief, working in the fields had made
his hands drier tkan so much pumiee
s..,n Tho hakar and the harher On